Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Initiation
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My body was on fire.
The sole reason Bakerd had visited a day earlier than planned was that. He had no interest in the magic tome Island Thunder Seven Forms, which he had bid on in my stead under the condition of sharing the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist.
So I hurriedly left the inn. There was the minor issue of not knowing where Golden Lily's mansion was, but I did know the location of the Derusia Magic Tower.
I had no worries about whether my sudden visit might seem rude.
Kwonrang Bakerd was that kind of man.
He went to the magic tower, asked for Golden Lily, explained the situation, and came with her to the mansion.
'I'll just teach him the basic movements quickly and be done with it.'
Up until the moment he opened the mansion door and stepped inside, that's what Bakerd thought.
On the way to the mansion, Golden Lily had briefly told him about this 'Yuri' fellow. A guy who hadn't learned any proper martial arts until now. A guy who had only just yesterday entered the realm of internal energy through the first-rate low-tier heart method known as Pure Resonance Heart Method.
A guy who had swallowed one Azure Heaven Pill from the Namgung Clan in the process and, solely because he had a good childhood friend, even obtained the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist—a guy whose luck was outrageously good compared to his background and talent.
'A guy I can't like.'
Bakerd had rarely been lucky.
Though he was of the bloodline of the Raspeon family head, one of Siran's prestigious houses, as an illegitimate child, he had never been acknowledged by the family his entire life.
It was a commonplace story. Before becoming the family head, the young man had fallen for a fresh, unadorned girl who carried dishes at a small tavern.
The child born from that could never be called a blessing to the youth. He was more of a burden on his ankle. So money was given, and the girl tearfully accepted it by force.
Bakerd had grown up outside the family from a very young age, not even permitted to use the surname 'Raspeon.'
He hadn't even inherited the Raspeon family's famed sword arts. In rebellion against his bloodline and fate that he could never be acknowledged for, the young Bakerd took up the spear instead of the sword and joined Siran's guard corps instead of begging for sympathy from the family.
I am a man with no relation to the Raspeon family.
Living with that thought, he had never approached the Raspeon family.
Until twenty years ago.
The massacre happened overnight. Siran's prestigious house, famed for its swordsmanship, the Raspeon family, was wiped out. Not a single survivor among the dozens in the main household, and all the servants managing the vast mansion and the hundred or so knights serving the family were dead.
The sole survivor of that massacre was Bakerd, the one not permitted to use the Raspeon name.
The guard corps handles crimes in the city.
As a member of the guard corps, Bakerd witnessed the mansion's horrors. There wasn't just one murderer. Sword, magic, spear. The investigation revealed three causes of death, and even the Raspeon family head—the strongest in the family and Bakerd's father—had been killed by all three: sword, magic, and spear.
As part of the guard corps, Bakerd carried the bodies from the carnage. He carried torn-apart children in his hands and personally dug out his father's corpse from the collapsed floor of the central hall with his own hands.
In his childhood.
He had met his father exactly once.
The man, cloaked in a robe to avoid recognition, came to the now more prosperous tavern and drank alone.
He drank until late at night, talked at length with the tavern's female owner, then called over the young boy dozing at an empty table and sat him down in front.
'Don't take up the sword.'
'Don't come to the family.'
'But if there's ever a moment when you truly need help...'
That was when he received the Raspeon family crest.
He honored the earnest request of the father he met for the first time in his life. He didn't take up the sword and didn't go to the family.
A moment when he truly needed help? Such a moment never came in Bakerd's uneventful life, and even if one did, he had no intention of going.
Because his father had trailed off.
—The bodies that couldn't be called intact were all interred in the Raspeon family graveyard.
That was when Bakerd took the Raspeon crest from the drawer where it had been shoved away, never to be touched, and pinned it to his chest.
The moment he entered the graveyard, he felt the crest vibrate.
Bakerd, visiting the graveyard alone late at night, followed the crest's guidance to a hidden chamber in the graveyard.
Several letters filled with pathetic apologies.
A large sum of money.
The Raspeon family head hadn't anticipated dying like this. He had simply thought that someday, when he died, his illegitimate son Bakerd might visit the graveyard once. This chamber existed as an excuse and comfort for the sins the family head had ignored.
Who on earth had massacred the Raspeon family?
He couldn't identify the murderers, but he knew that all the Raspeon family's secret sword arts had vanished.
That day, Bakerd quit the Siran guard corps.
He set aside the spear he had chosen over the sword.
The fact that the Raspeon family members he had never considered family were pierced and killed by spears shook the young man's heart.
Bakerd still didn't attach the Raspeon surname to his name.
But someday, if he met the culprits behind that massacre—he wanted to introduce himself as Bakerd Raspeon.
He had wandered for twenty years to avenge a family he had never considered his father or kin. Bakerd still couldn't give a precise answer as to why he was wandering like this.
But the twenty years wandering as Kwonrang had now become a massive obsession.
That was the life he had lived.
A life that couldn't be called lucky.
So Bakerd didn't like this Yuri fellow. He thought him a guy without madness or obsession. No matter how he had lived before, he was a guy who came to Lutran and enjoyed luxuries beyond his station solely because he had one good childhood friend.
Bakerd still didn't like this Yuri fellow.
But now, none of those thoughts remained in Bakerd's mind. He had been momentarily captivated by the fist the guy swung. No internal energy was infused in that fist, but it didn't feel shallow at all.
'Footwork...'
The reason Bakerd so desperately wanted the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist was its footwork.
Drifting Wind Cloud Follower. The footwork of Phantom Light Fist Yang Ilsu, creator of the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist. Twenty years ago, Bakerd had obtained the Drifting Wind Cloud Follower but not the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist.
'There's no way this guy knows about the Drifting Wind Cloud Follower.'
He was a guy who had only just started martial arts yesterday.
Yet Yuri had executed the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist while using the footwork as well. In truth, it was still clumsy legwork, not quite footwork yet, but that very fact shocked Bakerd even more.
'He created the necessary footwork through instinct and intuition alone?'
Impossible.
'No way this bastard's a Possessor...?'
The suspicion that suddenly arose, but Bakerd immediately dismissed it. The talents of Possessors summoned by evil gods were affinity and comprehension for mana. Such talents didn't align well with martial arts.
There were Possessors among them who had achieved great success in martial arts.
Among the Infinite Martial Lords, the confirmed Possessors Moonlit Revelry Ox God Head and Brutal Uproar Eleia Yudel. Suspected Butcher Maniac and Radiant Extreme Heaven.
But those four shared one trait.
They were all masters of Gang Qi Arts. Gang Qi Arts, which required perfectly modulating vast internal energy, were close to magic, making mana affinity and comprehension essential.
Of course, as those who reached the realm of Infinite Martial Lord, their martial arts were outstanding even excluding Gang Qi Arts. But that was natural given the tier they had attained.
The guy before him wasn't at that realm. A fledgling first-tier chick who had just entered martial arts. He hadn't even absorbed half the internal energy from the Azure Heaven Pill, so he couldn't be a Possessor either...
"You said you'd come tomorrow, so why are you here?"
Yuri couldn't stand straight without Elena's support. His body felt too heavy, his legs trembled, and from his back to his shoulders, arms, and fingertips, no strength remained.
It was the recoil from swinging his fist for so long. He didn't know how much time had passed, but since Elena had returned from her usual visit to the magic tower, it didn't seem like a short time.
"My being here now isn't important."
Bakerd parted his stiff lips.
"Your name is Yuri, right?"
"Yes."
"Yuri. What were you just doing?"
He had clearly been watching, so why ask more?
"I was practicing the first form of the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist."
"First form. What's its name?"
"Floating Cloud Wander."
"The Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist should only have fist techniques. Why were your feet moving too?"
At those words, Yuri blinked. From midway, he had entered a trance, so his memory was hazy, but he remembered moving his feet.
'Yes, from there.'
It hadn't been entirely satisfying. Something was lacking. It didn't fit perfectly. But it felt like he was gradually closing in. Then, the moment the puzzle piece of that 'lack' clicked into place, he had wildly moved his fists, legs, and body from there.
The puzzle piece for that lack had been his feet.
Yuri pondered his answer briefly before speaking.
"Fist arts are ultimately for hitting other guys, aren't they?"
"All martial arts are like that."
"The opponent won't just stand still, so wouldn't it be stupid for me to stand there rigidly swinging only my fists?"
"That's... true."
"So I moved my legs too. Standing there dumbly swinging just fists felt wrong."
Bakerd stared piercingly at Yuri's face without a word. A simple, obvious answer with no profound depth. But there were countless people who couldn't put that simple, obvious truth into practice.
"Insisting only on forms after learning martial arts is foolish. A guy who uses a thrusting form just because it's his specialty, even when he should slash, dies quickly."
"..."
"You're not that kind of fool. As you said, fist arts are for hitting others, and the one you're hitting won't stand still. Even if he's a fool who does, you still have to approach to hit him."
"You're praising me?"
"Yes. Heavenly Thunder Orca acknowledged you, and indeed, you deserve it."
As a martial artist, Bakerd sincerely acknowledged Yuri's talent.
"But right now, that talent is regrettable. From what I see, your body isn't fully following your aptitude."
"I've been training my external arts diligently enough."
"Diligence alone isn't enough. You need to train until your muscles tear and bones shatter."
Bakerd strode forward and grabbed Yuri's shoulder. Like snatching a doll from Elena, he lifted Yuri up with both hands.
"For a man to be this light..."
"No, I don't think I'm that light..."
Yuri muttered with a sullen expression. He wasn't flabby, but having fought dogfights since childhood and lived in a gang, Yuri had a fairly solid build.
But compared to Bakerd, it was pathetic. Bakerd's forearms alone were as thick as Yuri's thighs.
"You're thin, but your frame is good. Your muscles are decently firm yet elastic—excellent. A good body for learning martial arts. Just needs more tempering."
"You mean I should build muscles like you, Bakerd?"
"No need for that. The fist art I practice is the Adamant Shattering Fist, which embodies the principles of heaviness and dominance. I shaped my body accordingly."
Yuri's feet touched the ground.
"The Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist embodies softness, speed, and variability. For such arts, there's no need to bulk up hastily."
"Speed and variability..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Yuri quickly shut his mouth. Bakerd tilted his head but continued.
"Softness and speed are hard to combine, but as you showed, the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist is basically a two-handed fist art. Even I, who say this, haven't seen the manual yet, but while wandering in search of it, I heard many tales of Phantom Light Fist. They say his left fist moved softly to create changes, while his right fist was fast enough to split light."
Bakerd crossed his arms and looked down at Yuri. Listening quietly, Yuri spoke up with a simple question.
"You said you shaped your body for your existing martial arts. Is it okay for you to learn the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist?"
"I'm best at heaviness and dominance, but that doesn't mean I can't do others."
Bakerd snorted mockingly.
"And the reason I'm learning the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist is to combine it with the Adamant Shattering Fist and create a new fist art."
"Impressive. Will you teach me the Adamant Shattering Fist too, by any chance?"
"Why... would I teach you?"
"If you combine the two into a new fist art and only use that, the Adamant Shattering Fist will feel neglected."
Bakerd blinked, unable to respond. Seeing his expression about to twist, Yuri quickly added.
"If you don't want to, forget it."
Yuri subtly placed his hand on his lower back and wiggled his fingers vigorously. It was a signal to Elena, who stood awkwardly behind. Not knowing what he meant, Elena couldn't ignore the desperately waving fingers and approached Yuri.
"I'm too tired and exhausted today, so I think I need to rest a bit."
Yuri immediately grabbed Elena's arm like a crutch.
"Y-Yes, that's right."
Elena quickly chimed in. She glanced at Yuri's hand intertwined like an arm lock and composed her expression.
"Understood."
I thought he wouldn't back down easily since he came without waiting a day, but surprisingly, Bakerd didn't insist and nodded.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll come here every day at noon for a month."
"A... a month?"
Yuri asked in surprise. He thought it would be at most a week, but a month? Just yesterday at the auction, he had openly shown he didn't want to do it, but now Bakerd's face was brimming with motivation.
As Yuri thought, Bakerd had originally planned to teach the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist perfunctorily and end it. But having coincidentally seen Yuri's exceptional talent, he wanted to instruct him seriously.
Moreover, Bakerd himself needed to learn the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist. The greatest danger when learning a new art was becoming trapped in the perspective from one's existing martial arts.
Guiding Yuri, who was completely new to martial arts, would allow him to focus purely on the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist. Using Yuri to master it quickly didn't seem like a bad idea.
"You think it's insufficient?"
"No, not that. It's just... I'm sorry you're spending a whole month just for me."
"Don't think that way. Even without you, I would have stayed long in this city anyway."
"You have a promise in this city?"
"A promise."
Bakerd smiled bitterly and murmured.
"I don't know if he considers it a promise, but I do."
Bakerd hadn't come to Lutran solely because the Raging Heaven Drifting Cloud Fist was up for auction.
"Do you know who Moonlit Revelry is?"
"Y-Yes... I do."
"I challenged him to spar multiple times to experience his Full Moon Kick Kill Fate, but he never accepted. Then last year, I met Moonlit Revelry directly at a Righteous Heavenly Alliance event."
"..."
"He found me quite annoying, but when I earnestly requested a spar, he finally agreed. He said he had business in Lutran in a year, and if he remembered then, he'd spar with me."
Yuri listened to Bakerd's story with his mouth agape in surprise.
"I don't know exactly when he'll come to Lutran, but I plan to stay in this city until he does."
Bakerd said that and turned his body.
"I'll come tomorrow, so rest well today."
"Yes..."
Yuri clung to his fading consciousness.