Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Chapter 7: Foothold (12)
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"If you master the essence of the Crimson Star Blade, the Striking White Blade will reveal itself. Once the Striking White Blade reaches its pinnacle, you can begin learning the Iron Blood Blade. Mastering the Iron Blood Blade brings you back to the origin, where the Iron Blood Qi resides within the Crimson Star Blade. That's what we were taught."
Of course, it was a story everyone knew.
The moment they picked up the Peng Clan's heavy saber, every child dreamed of reaching that realm.
Cheonwi shook his head.
"The Crimson Star Blade and Striking White Blade are one and the same. They're connected from the start. Like the first and second halves of a single book—master one, and the next flows naturally. But the Iron Blood Blade is fundamentally different. It's not another saber art derived from perfecting the Striking White Blade. In truth, the Iron Blood Blade is one with the Thunderclap Blade."
"Thunderclap Blade? You mean the elder's—"
"Yes. It wasn't originally Hero Peng's unique martial art. That's just how it's known, but in reality, it's an ancient saber manual from the Peng Clan's secret vault."
"First I've heard of it. Did you know?"
Oho asked Danmun.
"No."
Danmun gave a curt reply, as if it were obvious.
"So the elder's Thunderclap Blade... He got completely fooled."
Peng Yi, Peng Youngwoong—his name alone marked him as extraordinary.
He had already mastered the Striking White Blade's Spirit Form in his teens, then unveiled the unprecedented Thunderclap Blade, earning him dual reputations within the clan as both a heretic and a prodigy. But now it turned out it was an original Peng Clan art. It was a secret none of the young trainees knew.
Cheonwi continued his explanation.
"He wasn't fooled. It wasn't classified as a secret either. It just happened that way. Peng Yi, the genius heretic. Nice story, isn't it? From the outside, though, it might seem strange. Some veteran experts in the jianghu might know about the Peng Clan's Thunderclap Blade. But who cares what others think."
"Then why the Thunderclap Blade...?"
"Lost to time? It was only passed down through manuals, and the lineage died out long ago. I don't know the exact reason. The elders speculate it was sealed away during the Peng Clan's dark era under the previous patriarch. The meridian circulation methods were mostly lost, as were the forms. Still, Hero Peng is the only one in the Peng Clan with talent comparable to mine. He's restoring it. The Thunderclap Blade."
"No way."
"Then the Counter-Reversal Martial Art..."
"It's under Elder Baek Myeong's purview. No. Hero Peng proposed it. I was summoned to him as a child and saw the patched-up Thunderclap Blade manual full of holes. I offered a few words of advice, and he saw potential in it. That's how it evolved into the Counter-Reversal Martial Art."
Cheonwi even revealed the origins of the Counter-Reversal Martial Art.
Naturally, it was a secret among secrets.
Oho frowned and asked,
"But can you just talk about this so freely?"
"Dead men tell no tales."
"You're dead, but we're alive. Are we even supposed to know this?"
"It's fine. You received the Unnamed Blade. That must be permission."
"'Must be' isn't good enough. It has to be certain."
"If you're worried, listen and forget. Danmun, watch your mouth."
"No one to tell."
Oho immediately scolded Danmun's response.
"You'd find someone."
Killing intent flickered in Danmun's eyes.
Cheonwi calmed the two.
His explanation stretched on.
"Anyway, hear me out to the end. The Thunderclap Blade is the missing link. Without completing it, the Iron Blood Blade remains incomplete. Even fusing an imperfect Iron Blood Blade with the Crimson Star Blade can't create the Invincible Blade. The Blade God of the Hebei Peng Clan, their ultimate art of the Iron Blood Crimson Star Blade—it's just an illusion born of fame and history. The patriarch ascended to godhood not because of the Iron Blood Crimson Star Blade, but thanks to the Heaven-Earth Illusory Divine Art. He possesses an unparalleled understanding of heart methods beyond his innate physique. Especially his patience and focus in accumulating and refining internal energy—they're unmatched. That's how he patched the flaws in the Iron Blood Crimson Star Blade. But that's not enough. Against truly perfected supreme arts of the Nine Great Sects, he could lose even to someone with inferior skill."
"The patriarch losing... I can't imagine it."
"If he fought with killing intent, it would be different. But in a formal duel? It would be precarious. The elders who made their name with Peng Clan arts all share this worry. The Peng Clan's lowly rank among the Six Great Families stems purely from the arts themselves. Peng sabers can't overwhelm the Nine Great Sects, let alone other clans. That's the verdict from the Wa Emperor Pavilion. I agree. Peng saber arts have clear limitations."
A heavy silence descended over Oho and Danmun.
No matter their complaints about their father or family, their pride in their martial talent was second to none. And atop that talent sat one of the secret arts of the Central Plains' Six Great Families. To hear it had flaws was naturally bewildering.
"So, is the Unnamed Blade for restoring the Thunderclap Blade?"
Danmun recovered first and asked.
"No, that's Hero Peng's role."
Cheonwi was firm.
"Then what?"
Danmun pressed.
Cheonwi continued.
"Solving stanza flaws isn't just a Peng Clan warrior's task—it's haunted all swordsmen for ages. Everyone's tried their own fixes and supplements. The easiest mistake is patching with extra forms—before or after, alterations, covers, or concealments. Most fail. The flow gets messy. Then gaps appear in other forms."
Cheonwi raised his hand and lightly traced a Crimson Star Blade form in the air.
Smoothly, slowly.
From Heaven to Earth, the first form.
"If countered here, you'd normally respond with a side slash like this."
Cheonwi twisted his hand to connect the Horizontal Windcleaver Slash, the first form.
"If the opponent slips under this and slashes up at this angle, a stanza flaw opens here. Outside the elbow. Against a fast hand striking there, your arm flies off helplessly."
"Ah."
"I see."
Oho and Danmun, familiar with Cheonwi's skill, still listened in admiration.
"Flaws aren't fixed points. One who comprehends a martial art to its limits can create flaws even where the opponent's art has none. In truth, flaws are simple: moments where countering or defending is impossible, leaving you vulnerable. Every such instant is a flaw."
Cheonwi lowered his hand.
He lightly chained From Heaven to Earth into Horizontal Windcleaver Slash and continued.
"To seal a flaw like that, you anticipate and drop your arm at least this much beforehand. What happens then? The next flow twists. The Crimson Star Blade forms break. That's why ad-hoc fixes have limits."
This time, Cheonwi halted midway through From Heaven to Earth's downward slash, then connected Horizontal Windcleaver Slash from mid-arc to end.
"To resolve it, first dismantle the forms and flows. It's vulnerable to this counter because of the connection in this chain. Right here."
Cheonwi raised his hand again.
At the transition from From Heaven to Earth to Horizontal Windcleaver Slash, he added a small semicircular twist. It harmonized with the overall flow and trajectory without disrupting it.
"This raises the horizontal slash by an inch. It gives a slight time buffer against low diagonal counters. That inch lets you tuck your elbow. Then pull your arm inward to block with the Whipping Slash Oblique Saber."
"Oh."
"Indeed."
"It feels more refined."
"Yeah. It clicks perfectly in my head."
Oho and Danmun nodded repeatedly, sticking out their tongues in awe.
Lucky to have a friend like this.
It was rare knowledge impossible to learn elsewhere.
"Quiet. The basics of counter-reversal martial arts are disassembly, correction, and reinsertion. Even with a framework, it's no different from creating a new art."
Oho frowned.
"But dismantling the Iron Blood Blade... Is that even possible?"
"Probably not."
Danmun wore the same expression.
Knowing Cheonwi's abilities well, they also knew his limits.
Cheonwi nodded.
"You're right, Danmun. The Iron Blood Blade requires immense strength even for one form. Its meridian structure is intricately complex. But if executed, it unleashes overwhelming saber qi. So I can't do it. I can theorize calculations, but without demonstrating it myself, interference and corrections to the oral formulas are impossible. That's why I can't touch the Thunderclap Blade either."
"Huh?"
Oho tilted his head at Cheonwi's last words. Danmun provided the answer.
"I heard the Thunderclap Blade also requires mastering the Illusory to execute forms."
"Ah, right."
Oho often forgot key details.
It was his nature—no malice, just low interest. A trait common among the exceptionally talented.
"As I said, internal energy is the issue. Wielding the Iron Blood Blade implies regional overlord-level cultivation. At that level, Iron Blood or Thunderclap hardly matters—you could thrash most warriors with a wooden stick. We're talking about the higher realm. Among peers, the art's completion degree matters again. So why return to Iron Blood Crimson Star Blade instead of pure Iron Blood? Think about it. The Iron Blood Blade is devastatingly powerful but consumes massive energy. Even the patriarch can't swing it endlessly. To rival mountain sect supreme arts, it must deploy as effortlessly as basic功. That's sound reasoning. The Iron Blood Blade crushes lesser arts with brute force, but fares poorly against Wudang arts that freely manipulate four-two spread. Even perfecting Iron Blood Crimson Star Blade shares the same weakness. The Crimson Star Blade is still a heavy-strike art, after all."
"So the Iron Blood Crimson Star Blade isn't the supreme saber of the Central Plains?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"Fuck, then what the hell have we been learning?"
Oho finally let a curse slip.