Chapter 6: Reading a Book a Hundred Times Reveals Its Meaning (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: Reading a Book a Hundred Times Reveals Its Meaning (5)
Word of Yeon So-wol’s name soon reached the ears of other experts in Xinxing County.
“Brother Yu-baek, are you back to your old antics again? I heard you’ve been teaching that Yeon fellow lately.”
The speaker was Hang In-woo, the leader of Xinxing’s White Dragon Gang and Lee Yu-baek’s sworn brother. He clicked his tongue in clear disapproval.
Lee Yu-baek, who had been drinking since morning, merely grinned.
“A washed-up, second-rate hack on death’s door... When I took you in, healed you, and gave you pointers on your martial arts, everyone said the same thing. They said it was a waste of time.”
Hang In-woo’s expression hardened. “Elder Brother, why must you bring that up now?”
“My point is, you never know. No one can predict what becomes of a person with true ambition. Just look at you—you became a first-rate martial artist in both name and deed, and you built the White Dragon Gang into what it is today.”
Hang In-woo said nothing, simply downing his drink in one go.
“But this case is different, isn’t it? I heard that Yeon kid endured your 'discipline' yesterday.”
“Indeed. It was impressive.”
“Right. To endure that beating... his willpower is certainly out of the ordinary.” Having experienced it himself, Hang In-woo shuddered before continuing. “That’s exactly why I’m telling you not to put pointless ideas in a desperate kid’s head.”
“Did I put ideas in his head?”
“Didn’t you? That Yeon brat is eighteen, from what I hear. There’s only one way for him to start cultivating internal energy at that age, isn’t there? No matter how talented he is, he’ll have to practice the Soyo Art for at least two years. Slow, sluggish movements, like an old man. And even if he survives that tedious process and enters the Fire Phase, the next step will be a distant dream. The boy’s efforts will never be rewarded. His willpower only makes it more tragic.”
The Soyo Art sounded impressive, but in reality, it was little more than a health exercise. While it could gather Qi and achieve the Gathering Fire stage through breathing, the effect was so minuscule that serious martial artists ignored it. It was something only old men practiced on street corners, waving their arms about sluggishly.
“We’ll see.”
“Hm?” Hang In-woo’s eyebrow twitched. “Don’t tell me... You’re planning to skip the Soyo Art?”
“I might.”
“Then what? The Warm Wind Secret? Elder Brother, you’ll get him killed.”
“...”
“Honestly, it’s at times like these that you’re the cruelest, Brother Yu-baek. If only people knew your true nature... You know as well as I do how dangerous internal cultivation methods are. And you’d teach one to an eighteen-year-old whose body is already set? He’ll end up a cripple. It only makes sense after loosening the body with the Soyo Art for at least two years.”
“...It’s not impossible,” Lee Yu-baek countered. “If one were to devote themselves to Qi circulation day and night, advancing without a single moment of carelessness, they could see results without the Soyo Art. If they could do that, they could even overcome the disadvantage of starting at eighteen.”
“...That’s just a fairy tale, isn’t it? Who in the world could actually do that? You can’t even keep your head straight after just one shichen of Qi circulation, and you want him to do it all day? With a body that stiff, he’d probably have to wake up in the middle of the night to practice, or else disaster would strike. Can you do that, Brother Yu-baek? Because I certainly can’t.”
“True. It would be difficult. No, it would be nigh impossible,” Lee Yu-baek agreed. He lifted the bottle to his lips and took three large gulps. “But In-woo, as I said before, I believe there’s nothing a person with true ambition cannot do. Yeon So-wol... that kid is one who’s willing to try. At least, that’s how I see him. He has a hidden card up his sleeve, too... If he can just solve this internal energy problem, he might just establish his own legacy in the Jianghu. Through willpower alone. Breaking through the impossible. When I think about things like that... my heart pounds.”
A smile bloomed on his lips. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he added, “Speaking of which, why don’t we take on a challenge ourselves? The subjugation of the Mount Cheonro Stronghold.”
“Ah, Elder Brother, not that again. Please... If we fight the Mount Cheonro Bandits, at least half of us will die. And there’s no guarantee we’d even win.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’ll take the lead. If we gather our friends and use the element of surprise, we can wipe them out, can’t we? Let’s do it. Success alone would allow Xinxing County to develop twice as fast as it is now.”
“Don’t tell me... you’ve talked to the Severing Sword Sect Leader about this?”
“Not just him. I’m constantly prodding the martial artists of Xinxing. I’m sending letters to the Unit Leaders in Eunpyeong and Yangjiang, and even to acquaintances in Foshan and Xichu. What do you say?”
“...Hah. I’ll think about it.”
“Good, good. I should get going. I promised to watch over So-wol’s cultivation this afternoon.”
Lee Yu-baek stood up abruptly. Instead of taking the stairs, he opened a window and leaped outside. Hang In-woo watched him go and clicked his tongue once more.
* * *
Thud!
With a light tap of his toes, Mo Cheong swayed like a willow leaf. The sight filled Yeon So-wol with terror.
Wait, this has to be a physics engine bug.
Mo Cheong approached with a bizarre, staggering motion. His center of gravity shifted several times in a single step—just when So-wol thought he was on the right, he was on the left; when he thought he was on the left, he was on the right.
Mo Cheong, who had promised to get ‘serious,’ moved in a way that Yeon So-wol simply could not comprehend.
Smack! Thwack! Whump! Crack!
Before, So-wol could dodge one out of every two attacks. Now, he was lucky to dodge one in five. He wanted to cry. He had been hit so many times that he just wanted to give up. Fine, kill me or whatever, do as you please, he thought, wanting nothing more than to just lie down.
But he forced himself back to his feet.
I can never show weakness.
In Yeon So-wol’s mind, Mo Cheong was a vile man who had lured him into a trap. And when he had avoided that trap, Mo Cheong had held a grudge, turning into a violent brute who beat him even more viciously.
“Ugh.”
As he resumed his stance, a strange pain made his mind reel. It felt as if searing threadworms were dancing beneath his skin.
Is this really okay...?
His thoughts kept turning negative. To distract himself from the pain, Yeon So-wol deliberately asked a question.
“Master Mo Cheong. What is that strange movement? I can’t seem to react to it at all.”
“Ah, this? It’s the Willow Leaf Step. One of my master’s unique lightness techniques.”
Pow!
Even while answering, Mo Cheong didn’t stop his attacks.
A relentless man.
In truth, Mo Cheong was doing his best as a sign of respect, showing Yeon So-wol everything he had. But Yeon So-wol assumed the difficulty had been raised in retaliation for him daring to avoid the "trap."
Go ahead and try. See if I give up... I never give up when things get tough...
As he rolled on the ground and scrambled back up, Yeon So-wol thought, The Willow Leaf Step? Ah, if only I could learn that!
He asked, his voice trembling slightly, “Can... can I learn that too?”
If I just knew how to do that, the number of times I get hit would be cut in half—no, by three-quarters!
In the last two days, Yeon So-wol had been beaten more than in his entire life combined. To him, this was a martial art so covetable that his hands trembled and he couldn’t help but gulp.
Whoosh!
The ‘serious’ Mo Cheong answered by kicking Yeon So-wol’s shin out from under him.
“Hm. Normally, unique martial arts aren’t taught to just anyone. But he might teach it to you. You came here to learn a lightness technique in the first place, after all. But not right now. You have to learn an internal cultivation method first.”
“Guh... Gack.”
Sprawled on the ground, Yeon So-wol crawled around in a daze. When his head finally cleared, he pushed himself up again. “Then how long will that take?”
“Let’s see... You seem to have a very good Qi Sense, so... three years?”
“I have a good Qi Sense?”
“Yeah. Even now, you’re dodging one of my attacks out of five. Even though I’m only using the strength of a third-rate martial artist, this can’t be explained by just having good eyes.”
Hwoom!
Mo Cheong’s fist cut through empty air. Yeon So-wol dodged by collapsing to the ground, scrambled backward, and then stood up straight again.
Just as I thought. Mo Cheong looked down at his fist and nodded. It wasn’t a coincidence. Missing this often...
An incredible Qi Sense. Seeing how clumsy everything else about him is, he must be accurately reading my killing intent to dodge. But how is that possible? Qi is like the air—so natural and abundant that it’s hard to even notice.
Mo Cheong didn’t know. He didn’t know that Yeon So-wol came from a world where Qi didn’t exist at all. Though Qi wasn’t visible to the eye, Yeon So-wol’s body reacted swiftly to this unfamiliar energy he was feeling for the first time in his life. Sometimes it felt like a chill, sometimes a sense of unease.
That was the reason why Yeon So-wol, who had never been in a proper fight, was able to dodge so well. Thanks to this, Mo Cheong found himself liking this person from Annam (?) more and more.
He had talent. And he had dignity.
I was being quite serious, yet he gets up every time without losing his composure.
As a fellow man, Mo Cheong felt a sense of respect, and even a spark of rivalry. At the same time, he felt a pang of pity.
If only he had started just three years earlier.
Then Xinxing County would have produced another outstanding expert.
But if we’re talking about regrets, he must feel it more than anyone. I should just give him the advice he needs.
Careful not to seem like he was pitying him, Mo Cheong answered in a flat tone.
“Normally, it would be difficult for someone who started as late as you to achieve anything even after ten years, but you might be able to enter the Fire Phase within three. A year and a half of the Soyo Art, and a year and a half of the Warm Wind Secret. If you work yourself to death. Then you’d at least be called a martial artist, even if you’re only third-rate. The realm after that... will take much, much longer.”
Three years.
A sudden impatience washed over Yeon So-wol. Let’s just endure for three years. After I endure, I’ll take the Great Restoration Pill. That was what he had resolved...
Whump! Thud!
But as he was beaten and sent rolling across the dirt, he desperately wanted to shorten that time.
I’m... so weak...
What good was the power of the Heavenly Killing Star? What if Mo Cheong, right in front of him, became an enemy? If he had just one sword, Yeon So-wol’s head would be severed before he could even react. But the Willow Leaf Step... if he just had that bizarre technique that seemed to defy the laws of physics...
His heart yearned for it, and three years felt like an eternity.
“Excellent!”
A voice, brimming with excitement, rang out. At some point, Lee Yu-baek had leaped onto the wall. Though the wall was taller than a man, Lee Yu-baek landed as lightly as a blade of grass and approached with a wide grin.
“Seeing So-wol’s face, I can tell you did a proper job. You didn’t slack off like you usually do.”
“Gasp.” Mo Cheong flinched. He knew I usually slacked off?
Meanwhile, Yeon So-wol nodded inwardly. I knew it was a trap.
He thought they were trying to get him to slack off so they could use it as an excuse to kick him out. These people are terrifying... I can never let my guard down.
Yeon So-wol’s eyes darted nervously between Mo Cheong and Lee Yu-baek. The Jianghu was a cold place, and martial artists were ruthless.
But that look in Yeon So-wol’s eyes struck a chord in Lee Yu-baek’s heart.
Excellent. The light in his eyes is still alive.
Any other kid would have broken after receiving a fraction of the beating Yeon So-wol had taken. They would have run away, or they’d be crawling on the ground, their spirit shattered.
But Yeon So-wol was different. Though his face and body were covered in bruises, he stood straight and tidied his clothes. He bowed properly to Lee Yu-baek.
“You’ve arrived, Hall Master.”
Lee Yu-baek was moved once again.
‘A gentleman does not remove his hat even in death.’
Zilu, Confucius’s beloved disciple, was struck by a spear in battle. When his hat fell, he uttered those words, righted his hat, and died. That was what Lee Yu-baek saw in Yeon So-wol right now.
What on earth does this boy carry in his heart to be like this?
In truth, Yeon So-wol was just a diligent, conscientious student from 21st-century South Korea who had been aiming for Seoul National University. He had stood out in Korea, but not to an unheard-of degree. He was simply that one brilliant kid you might find in any school. Now, dropped into the unfamiliar world of Murim, he was struggling more fiercely and desperately than ever before.
But to Lee Yu-baek, who knew nothing of his circumstances, this appeared completely different.
A will that doesn’t break even after such a beating. An unwavering focus and mental fortitude.
In a world without a proper public education system, even soldiers often lacked the discipline to do a single jumping jack correctly. In the world of Murim, this was even more pronounced. People might do what they always did, but the moment things became new, difficult, or frightening, they would run away or give up.
In such a world, Yeon So-wol’s mental strength shone with a brilliant light.
Still, it’s possible. It’s not entirely unheard of, Lee Yu-baek thought. A person with the will to travel from Annam all the way to Guangdong could be like this. Some people were born with such a strong spirit. But the dignity to straighten one’s clothes and bow properly even in such a state could never come from nothing.
Lee Yu-baek guessed at the story behind it. He must have a deep, unspeakable past.
The boy had said he wanted to learn martial arts after seeing the people of the Jianghu, but behind that simple explanation, an entire epic saga of resentment, responsibility, and secrets must exist. Otherwise, it was impossible for someone so young to display such ferocious mental strength and unwavering composure.
When his thoughts reached this point, Lee Yu-baek came to a conclusion.
Yu-baek, what have you been agonizing over? Before this noble soul who came to you with such a desperate heart... I will trust him. I will trust his desperate will and show him the one path that is impossible, yet possible.
Lee Yu-baek finally felt everything become clear.
“So-wol.”
“Yes, Hall Master.”
“I will teach you the Soft Willow Art. With it, you will be able to enter the Fire Phase in less than a year.”
Yeon So-wol was stunned. One year...!
He had been told three years was the absolute fastest.
“Thank you!” Yeon So-wol bowed his head deeply.
And then—
“What? Master! The Soft Willow Art? Not the Soyo Art? Not even the Warm Wind Secret, but the Soft Willow Art? Are you trying to kill him?!”
His disciple, Mo Cheong, who knew exactly what the Soft Willow Art was, was equally stunned.