Chapter 825

“What do you mean by that…?”

Raon tilted his head, still holding the sheath of the Heavenly Drive.

He couldn’t quite grasp what Aris meant by putting something into [Sword Control] all of a sudden.

“I just had a fun idea.”

Aris nodded and raised her sword.

“What if you mixed the essence of a Spatial Blade into [Sword Control]?”

“The essence of a Spatial Blade…”

Raon rubbed his chin as he heard her words.

Up until now, he’d focused all his energy on simply using [Sword Control]. The idea of adding spatial manipulation had never crossed his mind.

“Think about it.”

Aris suspended her sword in the air. It wasn’t [Sword Control], just simple telekinesis using aura.

“Most people think the biggest advantage of [Sword Control] is its destructive power, but someone like you should know. Its greatest strength is its freedom—how it’s untethered from the user’s hand.”

“That’s true.”

As Aris said, the reason [Sword Control] was so hard to defend against wasn’t its power, but its unpredictable trajectory.

“And so…”

Aris clicked her tongue excitedly and flicked her finger at the sword. Her sword vanished and then suddenly reappeared, smashing part of the deck.

Of course, it wasn’t [Sword Control], so it lost momentum and dropped immediately, but its speed and impact as a flying sword were impressive.

“If your [Sword Control] sword suddenly appeared like that, wouldn’t it be even more fun?”

Aris smiled deeply, saying that combining [Sword Control] with the essence of a Spatial Blade could create an impenetrable, unbreakable sword technique.

“Kwaaaah! What are you doing breaking the ship!”

Rabawin, still recovering from earlier, screamed as he looked at the smashed deck.

“It’s my ship. And we can fix it.”

“You’re not the one fixing it, we are!”

Rabawin grabbed his head and furrowed his brow.

“Hmm…”

Even Aris couldn’t argue with that and quickly looked away.

“So? Doesn’t it sound good?”

Her eyes sparkled as she asked if it wasn’t a great idea.

“It would certainly become a sword technique no one could stop. But…”

Raon calmly shook his head as he looked at Aris.

“It’s not possible right now.”

Just using [Sword Control] with familiar techniques put strain on his upper dantian, making his mind and body feel like they were submerged in water.

Trying to insert the principles of the Spatial Blade into that was impossible—it took everything just to maintain [Sword Control].

He felt he’d only be able to meet Aris’s expectations after reaching transcendence.

“Then how about this?”

Rimmer stepped up as if he’d been waiting and flicked his index finger.

“You only use flame aura for [Sword Control], right?”

“Yes.”

Raon nodded. The reason he could even use [Sword Control] as a Grandmaster was thanks to the synergy between the [Ring of Fire] and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.

Without the miraculous opportunity from the underground archive, he wouldn’t have reached his current level of [Sword Control].

“Fire gets stronger with wind, right? While using [Sword Control], wrap it with the wind aura from the Light Wind Style.”

Rimmer nodded, suggesting that rather than complicated theory, they focus on increasing raw power.

“Hmm, that sounds doable.”

Applying wind aura over [Sword Control] wouldn’t consume too much mental energy, so it seemed possible.

“No way!”

Aris pushed Rimmer aside with her elbow and stepped in.

“Spatial Blade is way cooler and has way more practical use! You should go the hard route, not the easy one!”

She shook her head, saying training in spatial swordsmanship was better.

“It’s not the hard route—it’s the impossible one, y’know?”

Rimmer snorted, saying it wasn’t going to work in the current situation.

“Krrrr…”

“Hmph!”

Aris gritted her teeth at him while Rimmer shrugged nonchalantly.

“Then I’ll try both.”

Raon interrupted their stare-down and lifted the Heavenly Drive into the air.

‘Let’s see…’

Just like Aris wanted, he launched the sword with [Sword Control] and tried to incorporate the essence of a Spatial Blade.

Wuuuuung!

The Heavenly Drive trembled violently, trying to leap through space, but then stopped dead mid-air above the sea.

‘Ugh…’

As expected, it didn’t work.

Trying to bend space while maintaining [Sword Control] made his head feel like it was going to explode.

It was the result of lacking mastery in both [Sword Control] and the Spatial Blade.

“See? Told ya. No way it’ll work. Raon may be a genius, but just using [Sword Control] is already crazy hard at his level.”

Rimmer shook his head, as if the result was obvious.

“I-I never said it would work now! I said we should train for it!”

Aris bit her lip, a vein popping on her forehead.

“Raon. Try adding the Light Wind Style’s wind next. The power boost should be guaranteed.”

Rimmer nodded with confidence.

“Understood.”

Raon nodded back and focused on [Sword Control] again.

Targeting the pirate ship with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, he layered the fierce, steady flame with the wind aura of the Light Wind Style.

Kwoooaaaaaaaaang!

* * *

“My whole body was stiff from jumping through dimensional gates, but swinging my sword feels great.”

Martha grinned as she slashed a tattooed pirate with a single strike.

“Seriously. I thought we wouldn’t get to train at sea, but I didn’t expect real combat.”

Burren nodded as he cleaved through three charging pirates in one motion.

“B-but… is it really okay to kill them? We don’t even know what they did…”

Dorian swallowed dryly as he laid the subdued pirates on the ground.

“They launched cannon fire the moment they saw us—what do you think?”

Martha flicked Dorian on the forehead, telling him to get real.

“Don’t worry.”

The bald middle-aged man who had guided them below deck shook his head.

“They’re part of the Jirang Pirate Crew, the absolute worst scum in these waters.”

He said they were demons in human skin—and with that, he cut down the pirates’ throats without hesitation.

“Murder, theft, drugs, human trafficking—those bastards do anything that makes money.”

A woman wearing a black eye patch narrowed her eyes coldly, saying there were probably slaves aboard the ship.

“…She’s right. They’re below.”

Runaan, who had only been defending with her scabbard, sensed faint presences beneath the deck and drew her sword.

From the pure white blade, a blossom of frost bloomed, instantly turning the nearby pirates into living ice statues.

“Then there’s no need to hold back.”

Martha grinned and gripped her sword with both hands. Resolute, she began destroying not only the pirates but the pirate ship itself.

“This too must be for the good of the continent.”

Burren, muttering that this was also a way to protect others, began slaughtering the pirates without hesitation.

“Stop!”

Just as the Light Wind Division overwhelmed the pirates without a single scratch, the captain’s quarters burst open and a large middle-aged man stepped out.

A greatsword was slung across his shoulders, and the energy radiating from him was immense—like a war-hardened general. He was at least a high-ranking Master.

“Hmph.”

Martha clicked her tongue as she eyed the man, who appeared to be the pirate captain.

“Finally, someone decent.”

“I’ll take care of him.”

Burren stepped forward, straightening his posture.

“What nonsense! He’s mine!”

Martha shook her head, telling him to back off.

“Look inside the captain’s quarters.”

Burren pointed toward the room the pirate captain had just exited. Inside, people drenched in blood and shackled in chains were collapsed on the floor.

It meant they had been treated like toys after being kidnapped.

“I can’t forgive that scum.”

Burren’s chilling aura flared as he insisted on finishing the pirate himself.

“All the more reason for me to handle it. Someone like that shouldn’t be killed easily!”

Martha bared her white teeth, unwilling to back down.

“You brats don’t know your place!”

The pirate captain ground his teeth and raised his greatsword above his head.

Just as he gathered his full strength to strike down Martha and Burren—

Kwaaaaaaaaang!

A massive sword engulfed in flames fell from the sky and cleaved the pirate captain in two.

“Graaaaaaagh!”

The blade strike was so sharp that even after being sliced in half, the pirate captain didn’t die immediately and screamed in agony as the flames devoured him.

“Whoa, that’s a bit…”

“Raon’s on another level…”

Even Burren and Martha, who had vowed to kill the captain themselves, trembled at the brutal execution they hadn’t imagined.

“Uh, guys… I think the ship is tilting…?”

Dorian blinked as his body slowly slid across the deck.

“It’s not tilting! It’s split in half!”

Krein trembled as he stared at the pirate ship, now broken in two and starting to burn.

Kwoooooooh!

The force of Raon’s [Sword Control] was so great it didn’t just destroy the pirate ship—it split the sea beneath it as well.

“Aaaaaagh!”

“What the hell just happened!”

“The ship is sinking! S-save the people first!”

The Light Wind Division, able to walk on water, dove fearlessly into the sea to rescue the kidnapped victims.

“You damn brat! You send us ahead and then destroy the whole ship?!”

“You didn’t just break it—you obliterated it! Go show off somewhere else!”

Martha and Burren gritted their teeth as they glared at Raon.

“…Ugly Raon.”

Runaan formed a splint out of frost and shot Raon a frosty glare.

– Puhuhuhuhuhu!

Wrath pointed at Raon and cackled.

– To think you’d earn the ice cream girl’s resentment. How disgraceful!

He burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying the mess Raon had made.

“S-sorry. I didn’t expect it to be this strong.”

Raon clasped his hands together in apology toward the Light Wind swordsmen. Since the ship was large, he hadn’t thought to hold back, but the combination of wind and flame produced more power than anticipated.

While the sword technique was still crude, its destructive force had already surpassed the level of a Grandmaster.

‘This is embarrassing.’

After returning the Heavenly Drive to its sheath, Raon dove into the sea to help rescue the people with the Light Wind Division.

“See? Sometimes, focusing purely on power is the way to go.”

Rimmer shrugged at Aris.

“The Spatial Blade can wait—”

“We’ll see about that.”

Aris clenched Rimmer’s shoulder with a burning glare.

“Starting today, I’m going to train him one-on-one until he surpasses me in Spatial Blade.”

Her eyes blazed red with frustration at losing to Rimmer.

“F-fine…”

Rimmer gulped as he saw her increasingly red eyes.

‘Is there a single normal person in this damned family…?’

* * *

“That’s not it!”

Aris slammed a switch she’d gotten from who-knows-where onto the deck.

“You can see the sword’s movement! That’s not a Spatial Blade—it’s just moving fast!”

She shook her head, saying the path itself was wrong.

“I know, but it’s not easy.”

Raon lowered the Heavenly Drive and shook his head. Performing a Spatial Blade with a sword in hand wasn’t too difficult, but doing it through [Sword Control] was another matter entirely.

“No! You can do it!”

Aris shook her head furiously and yelled at him to keep trying.

“Yes…”

Raon sighed briefly and lifted the Heavenly Drive back into the air.

‘This is exhausting.’

Ever since they encountered the pirate ship, Aris had stuck to him like glue, pouring all her energy into teaching him the Spatial Blade out of frustration from losing to Rimmer.

Right now, mixing the Spatial Blade with [Sword Control] was nearly impossible, and he wanted to focus on something else, but Aris’s enthusiasm was so overwhelming he couldn’t say no.

‘Just a bit more.’

Raon launched the Heavenly Drive at a small piece of driftwood floating in the sea and tried to invoke the essence of a Spatial Blade.

Paaaaaaang!

The Heavenly Drive flew forward like a flash of light and vanished as if it had hidden in the shadow of a wave.

It reappeared in the sky directly above the driftwood.

Chiiiiiing!

It seemed like a success, but the Heavenly Drive floundered in midair like a person drowning, unable to immediately pierce the piece of driftwood.

“Agh…”

Raon grabbed his head and shook it.

‘Another failure.’

He could launch the sword with [Sword Control] and relocate it using the principles of the Spatial Blade—but failed at delivering the finishing attack.

It felt like his current upper dantian couldn’t handle any further development.

– It’s actually a failure at the relocation too.

Wrath shook his head.

– Just like that brute said, the trajectory is visible. That’s just sloppy swordsmanship.

He snorted in disdain.

‘Right…?’

Raon’s shoulders slumped.

– Honestly, it’s already a miracle you can use [Sword Control] at your current level. Without that ring in your heart, your upper dantian wouldn’t even have been able to support it.

Wrath nodded, indicating this was already Raon’s limit.

“Agh! So close!”

Aris clapped her hands in frustration and shook her head.

“Just a bit! Just a bit more, let’s try again!”

She clasped her hands together, certain it would work with more tries.

“No point.”

Rimmer waved his hand.

“Raon using [Sword Control] at all is already miraculous. Adding Spatial Blade to that is impossible.”

He shook his head, agreeing with Wrath that it would only be possible after reaching transcendence.

“Can’t you shut your mouth?”

“What, can’t I say what I want…?”

“This won’t do…”

Raon narrowed his eyes, watching Aris grab Rimmer by the collar as if she were about to throw him into the sea.

‘If the vice-division leader knows this, Aunt must know too.’

Rimmer was aware that pushing further with [Sword Control] was unrealistic, yet Aris continued to insist. Raon couldn’t understand why.

– That doesn’t mean this training is meaningless.

Wrath shook his head calmly.

‘It’s not meaningless?’

– The dantian is like a muscle. Even a little use causes it to grow and strengthen.

‘Ah…’

– Your upper dantian is overloaded right now, but after resting and using that sword technique again, you’ll find yourself slightly improved.

Wrath assured him that even if it didn’t show now, once he reached transcendence, this would make a difference.

‘I see.’

Raon nodded as he held the Heavenly Drive again.

It seemed Aris wasn’t just pushing his limits—she wanted his future self to grow stronger through this training.

“Aaaaaagh!”

As he turned toward the edge of the ship, he heard Rimmer scream—he was gone, and Aris was approaching with a cheerful smile.

“The vice-division leader…?”

“He went home.”

Aris smiled brightly and shook her head.

“Home…?”

As Raon blinked in confusion, voices from the Light Wind Division rang out.

“The vice-division leader fell into the sea!”

“His arms and legs are tied! He can’t even move!”

“Rope! Get some rope!”

The Light Wind swordsmen and the crew of the Azure Wind panicked and began pulling Rimmer up from the water.

“Shall we continue?”

Aris tilted her head with a frosty glint in her eyes.

“Yes.”

“Huh…”

Raon nodded even more eagerly, and Aris blinked in surprise.

“Wait, are you scared? Come on, I wouldn’t suppress you with aura and throw you into the ocean.”

She shook her head, telling him not to worry.

‘So she did suppress him with aura…’

Raon swallowed dryly. No wonder Rimmer hadn’t resisted—Aris must’ve locked his body down with aura.

“Don’t worry. Take your time—”

“No, you can go hard. I’ve got things I need to do too…”

Raon shook his head firmly, looking at Aris.

“I want to get stronger.”

* * *

After a week-long voyage, the Azure Wind arrived at its destination—Seville Island.

“That island over there, Giran Island, is where I saw the Soul Stone.”

Rabawin pointed to an uninhabited island west of Seville.

It wasn’t far, so they could probably reach it without a boat by walking across the sea.

“Hmm, lots of rocks and pebbles around it.”

Burren exhaled as he observed the terrain around Giran Island.

“We’re gonna have to dig through all of that…”

Martha trembled at the thought, already horrified.

“No need to worry.”

Rabawin chuckled lightly and shook his head.

“I roughly remember the location, so as long as we head in that direction—”

“Hold on.”

Raon cut him off, placing a hand over Rabawin’s mouth and narrowing his eyes.

“You said that island is uninhabited?”

“Huh? Yes. There’s nothing there, so no one lives on Giran Island.”

Rabawin nodded, saying the island was always empty.

“Then the people inside aren’t locals.”

“What do you mean…?”

“There are people on that island. Quite a few.”

Raon could feel numerous presences from the island—all of them were martial experts who could use aura.

“Gasp…”

Dorian sucked in a deep breath, visibly tense.

“He’s right. There are a lot. And at least one of them’s pretty strong.”

Aris nodded, clicking her tongue.

“First, we should scout the numbers and their positions before—”

Just as Raon began suggesting a strategy and quietly prepared to disembark—

“No way! Now’s the time to charge in!”

Aris shattered the deck of the Azure Wind and leapt straight to the edge of Giran Island.

“Get lost! From now on, this island is mine!”

She shouted, smashing rocks as if she didn’t care who was already there.

She turned back with a smug smile, giving a thumbs up as if asking, Wasn’t that awesome?

“Aunt…”

Raon’s eyes turned a dull gray.

“Please…”