Chapter 1165
'The Soul Sword?'
Raon took a sharp, dry breath as he observed Karoon’s blade, which seemed to have flickered out of existence entirely.
'No, that isn't it...'
It was the Formless Sword. This was the legendary martial discipline that erases the physical manifestation of the weapon, allowing for strikes that can neither be perceived by the eye nor felt by the senses. Karoon was currently wielding that very power.
'It has been quite a while since I last encountered that technique.'
True to its name, the Formless Sword is invisible, and because its very aura is suppressed, opponents often find themselves decapitated before they even realize an attack was launched. It is rightfully considered one of the ultimate peaks of swordsmanship.
'And yet...'
Once one reaches the level of a supreme master, those specific benefits start to lose their edge. Transcendents, particularly those at the highest echelons, do not rely on sight alone. They track an opponent’s intent and physical shifts through a refined willpower that surpasses standard Aura Perception. This effectively nullifies the primary advantage of an invisible blade.
'Moreover, the Soul Sword can intercept it. One could argue the Formless Sword is merely a rudimentary precursor to the Soul Sword.'
Darkan had once held absolute pride in his Formless Sword, but following his defeat at the hands of Glenn, he chose to discard his sight to finally step into the territory of the Soul Sword.
'There is no way Karoon is ignorant of this fact.'
The gathering of intelligence within the Central Martial Palace, which Karoon commands, is every bit as formidable as the Shadow Agents. Raon found it difficult to grasp why a man of his stature would invest in the Formless Sword when it was objectively a step below the Soul Sword.
'What could he be planning?'
Raon let out a short breath, fixing his concentration on Karoon. With a faint rushing of air, Karoon went through the motions of a strike, despite his hand appearing empty. At first, this Formless Sword didn't seem to differ much from the version Darkan had used. Raon felt he could easily overwhelm Karoon’s technique with a simple manifestation of his own Soul Sword.
'If this hidden surge of energy is all he has to show, it's quite a letdown.'
Just as Raon felt a wave of disappointment.
"Hmm!"
Glenn, who had been watching Karoon with a stoic expression, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
-Oh ho!
Even Wrath's eyes widened in genuine curiosity. With a sharp sound, the nature of Karoon’s blade underwent a sudden transformation. The Formless Sword, which had been clearly detectable to Raon’s Transcendent intuition just a second ago, vanished entirely.
'It’s gone!'
As if it had achieved a state of true nothingness, the sword slipped past his perception for a fleeting moment. With a guttural snarl like a predator, Karoon lunged forward, thrusting his empty hand. In that instant, a terrifying ripple of energy washed over the high platform where Glenn was seated before dissipating. A soft whistling followed.
A single strand of Glenn’s golden hair drifted slowly to the floor, like a leaf falling in autumn.
"T-This... is the truth I have found."
Karoon looked as though he had pushed himself far beyond his limits. He had poured so much power into that strike that he seemed to have suffered internal trauma; his skin was ghostly pale and drenched in sweat. His legs shook violently, barely holding his weight.
'It isn't perfected yet.'
Raon’s brow twitched slightly.
'The window of total disappearance is too brief.'
Because the sword only became truly undetectable for a split second, it was still possible to defend against it. However, should he ever master that state, it would pose a legitimate threat even to someone of Raon’s caliber.
"Karoon. Why did you settle on the Formless Sword?"
Glenn asked the question that was on everyone's mind, his eyes remaining sharp.
"Huu."
Karoon took a moment to stabilize his ragged breathing before pulling himself upright.
"Initially, I sought to reach the Soul Sword, just as you have, Head of House. I had even begun to grasp a tiny thread of its essence."
He spoke of the joy he felt then, his hands trembling as he remembered the sensation.
"However..."
Karoon shifted his focus toward Raon, who was standing just behind him.
"If I spend my life merely chasing a shadow from behind, I will never close the distance, let alone move past it."
He didn't need to say the name. Everyone in the room understood that Raon was the wall he felt he couldn't scale.
"Therefore, despite my lack of experience, I used the small insights I gained from the Soul Sword to forge a different kind of Formless Sword."
Karoon looked down at his hand as the blade regained its visible shape, nodding to himself.
"To be honest, I thought it was an impossible task. But I found a spark of realization here, through training methods I had never attempted before."
He explained that this new Formless Sword was born from the raw, wild instincts he honed while clashing with the Blade Queen and the Warlord.
"You made a wise decision."
A faint, approving smile touched Glenn’s lips. He seemed genuinely pleased to see growth in the son he had once considered lacking in maturity.
"That is what the true Formless Sword looks like."
He gave a firm nod, validating the path Karoon had carved out.
"What?"
Karoon looked up, his eyes filled with shock.
"What do you mean..."
His voice wavered, unable to process the praise.
"I am saying that the route you have taken is the correct way to achieve the genuine Formless Sword. That technique is a blade of no color that even a Transcendent cannot detect through sheer will. The Formless Sword is not a lesser version of the Soul Sword—it is an entirely separate peak."
Glenn offered a subtle smile of congratulations.
"I will provide you with the relevant texts shortly."
He lowered his hand, adding that he would personally make a trip to the Central Martial Palace.
"...My thanks."
Karoon bowed low, a rare flicker of raw emotion crossing his face. He stayed in that respectful bow for several seconds before standing tall and moving back to his position.
"Hey! Advancing all on your own like that is cheating!"
Alice slung an arm around Karoon’s shoulder, teasing him for leaving her behind.
"Why didn't you invite me to join you!"
She gave his head a playful knock, insisting they should have leveled up together.
"Brother! You have to show me! How do you do that invisible sword trick?"
Balder looked on with envy, clearly thinking the technique looked incredibly stylish.
"My congratulations."
Raon offered a respectful nod to Karoon as well.
'He exceeded my expectations by a wide margin.'
Most people, when faced with a genius who grows stronger simply by breathing and breaks through barriers daily, would simply give up. If Raon had been in Karoon's shoes, he might have abandoned the race for the succession long ago to live a quiet life.
Yet Karoon had completely overhauled his own stubborn nature and fighting spirit. He refused to quit, eventually pioneering a unique path of his own.
At this moment, Raon felt he could truly respect the sentiment that Karoon was, in his own way, more impressive than himself.
"It is because of you."
Karoon looked directly at Raon.
"Because you were always ahead, I was forced to spend every waking moment thinking and training desperately."
He gave a nod, expressing a strange sort of gratitude for Raon’s lead.
"For your personal ambitions, Karoon, wouldn't it have been easier if I weren't around?"
Raon knew Karoon had evolved, but he threw out a jab just to see the reaction.
"Perhaps. But if you weren't here, Zieghart would be far weaker than it is today. What I truly desire is..."
Karoon stared at the flaming sword crest of the house carved into the throne.
"For Zieghart to remain as it is meant to be. If that happens, I don't care if I never become the head of the house."
His voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of absolute certainty.
-Whoa!
Wrath let out a genuine gasp of admiration.
-I never thought that bug-eyed human could actually be cool!
The demon gaped, remarking on how many surprising things he had witnessed since arriving in the mortal realm.
"Of course, I don't plan on yielding to you."
Karoon made it clear he would fight until the bitter end before looking away.
"I've come too far to back down now, either."
Raon matched his resolve and turned his attention back to the front.
"Man, you guys are so good at those dramatic speeches..."
Balder pouted, looking over at Karoon with a disgruntled expression.
"But... what about my new martial arts? They haven't arrived yet?"
He mumbled to himself, looking a bit dejected.
-Just give the poor guy something!
Wrath scowled, feeling bad for the large man.
"..."
It looked like Raon really would have to design a technique for him.
'I'll do it. But if I'm going to do it...'
A thin smile played on Raon’s lips as ideas began to coalesce in his mind.
'I should create a foundation that can actually lead him to Transcendence.'
Once the two-month training block concluded, Raon headed back to the annex with Sylvia and Sia.
"Raon! How did I look out there today?"
Sia waved her hand, eager for feedback on her improvement.
"You’ve changed so much. Honestly, I don't think I can keep pace with you anymore."
Sylvia spoke up first, offering Sia a round of applause.
"It's true. I can see the fruits of the hard work Mother mentioned."
Raon agreed, silently assessing Sia's internal energy.
'Her raw potential is on another level.'
Sia seemed to have fully integrated the gifts of the Green King, effectively mining the best parts of various martial arts. Her talent was comparable to a mid-tier Ring of Fire; even witnessing it firsthand was startling. If she could just find more mental stability, Transcendence was well within her reach.
"I knew my little brother would notice!"
Sia gave Raon a playful pat on the back, declaring that having a younger brother was the best.
"Mother, you did excellently as well."
Raon turned to Sylvia with a respectful bow.
"It must have been exhausting balancing Sia’s needs with your own training, but you handled it perfectly."
While perhaps not at Sia’s level, Sylvia possessed a talent that was legendary within Zieghart’s annals. She had grown tremendously over the last two months and also had the potential to cross the threshold of Transcendence.
However, because her heart was so naturally kind and empathetic, she might struggle to break through the final barrier without a significant external push.
"Oh? No, I truly enjoyed myself."
She gave a gentle smile, noting how nice it was to train in a group again.
"You're the one who worked the hardest."
She began to rub his shoulders, insisting he was the one who had been under the most pressure.
"I'll help too!"
Raon felt a soothing warmth spread from where Sia touched his back and Sylvia massaged his shoulders. It was the physical weight of their love for him.
'Even this feels different now.'
Having embraced his identity as a human being rather than just a living weapon, the love of his family seemed to resonate more profoundly within him.
'The truth is...'
Raon bit his lip as he listened to the lighthearted banter behind him.
'These two. Everyone at the annex... they deserve to live in peace and happiness.'
But the reality was grim. Derus Robert had telegraphed a coming conflict starting in the city of Cameloon. Given his treacherous nature, he would likely strike at the vulnerable heart of Zieghart and the other Great Kings while their main forces were distracted.
Raon wished more than anything that Sylvia and Sia could live lives free of violence, but for them to even survive, they had to become even stronger.
'They will be vital protectors.'
This training session had reaffirmed it. Sylvia and Sia possessed a potential that went beyond mere combat; they were necessary for the survival of the house. They were, in essence, the guardian spirits of Zieghart.
-Look at you, getting all philosophical now that you've turned human.
Wrath let out a snarky laugh.
-Just focus on training them! They have to stay alive if they want to enjoy all that family bonding!
The demon scoffed, accusing Raon of worrying about the wrong things.
'I know. I was just lost in thought.'
Raon shook his head with a small smile.
"It’s been a while, so why don't we visit Grandfather?"
He gestured toward the estate of the Ragged Saint Federick, suggesting a visit before they finished their trek to the annex.
"I was thinking the exact same thing!"
Sia beamed, saying how much she had missed the old man.
"We definitely should. It’s been over a month since our last visit."
Sylvia agreed, noting that she had only seen Rector during the brief breaks in their training.
"Maybe we can get Father to join us for a big dinner..."
As she was smiling at the sight of Federick’s home in the distance.
"Raon! Sylvia!"
A vibrant, beautiful woman was waving her arms enthusiastically from the front of the mansion.
"Ensia?"
Raon blinked in surprise at the sight of Encia Yonaan.
"If Ensia is here, then that must mean..."
His pulse quickened, remembering the specific request he had made of her.
"Rector’s mechanical arm is finished!"
Ensia announced with a radiant grin, having finally completed the prosthetic Raon had commissioned.
"And I added some brand-new features!"
