Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Unseen Traces
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*THUD.*
The open door to the forge was shut tight.
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol began to examine Yeo Hwan-jin's sword with feverish intensity.
*'So this is the sword of a Dae-ui-go-su…'*
The edge was completely unharmed, but the body of the blade was subtly twisted.
It looked as if a piece of piping hot taffy had been grabbed at both ends and wrung out.
This twist was entirely different from the kind of damage sustained when executing the Drizzling Rain or Whirling Wind Sword techniques.
*'Did the sword twist because of internal energy spreading through the entire blade?'*
The Flowing Cloud Sword Style.
Mount Hua’s supreme sword art, which unleashed a single, sharp strike from within the ultimate softness.
It was also the epitome of the Flowing Sword, capable of deflecting any opposition like the wind.
*'But there's no sign of the sword style being used, nor of it cutting anything.'*
Aside from the twisted blade, there wasn't a single mark from cutting or clashing with anything.
After a moment of thought, Bu Eun-seol took out a booklet he had hidden in a corner of the forge.
In it were diagrams and lines detailing the sword paths and techniques of the Drizzling Rain Sword Style and the Whirling Wind Sword, which he had deciphered while repairing swords.
*'First, let's compare the traces on this sword with the others I've seen.'*
While a single school might create various sword styles, they all shared a common foundation.
He reasoned that if he could find the common characteristics in the Drizzling Rain and Whirling Wind Sword styles, he might be able to find something on Yeo Hwan-jin's sword as well.
*'I can't find anything.'*
Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes and shook his head. No matter how closely he looked, he couldn't find a single trace.
*'Is it impossible?'*
As the hard-won opportunity turned out to be useless, hope gave way to despair.
If he were to face Yeo Hwan-jin with such wavering emotions, Bu Eun-seol would surely be defeated every time. He would never survive beneath that man's sword.
*'I must steady my heart.'*
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol circulated his Reverse Polarity Heart Art. His stray thoughts vanished, and his spirit settled into a place of tranquility once more.
*Whoosh.*
Just then, a breeze blowing through the window swept across the booklet on his workbench.
*Fwip-fwip-fwip.*
As he circulated his energy, the sound of the pages fluttering open reawakened his dormant senses of the Path of the Beast.
*'This is…'*
As his senses from the Path of the Beast surged while he was meditating, Bu Eun-seol felt a peculiar sensation.
It was as if time had stopped, and he could see even the dust motes floating in the air with perfect clarity.
*'The heart art… I see.'*
The Reverse Polarity Heart Art.
It was an ultimate internal energy art that trained the powerful internal energy, generated by the principles of yin and yang, with the mind.
While Bu Eun-seol was circulating his energy not to move it, but to control his mind, the awakening of his senses from the Path of the Beast had inadvertently propelled him to a higher state.
*'Could this be what they call Gong-sim-tong-ryeong—Empty Heart, Spiritual Connection?'*
—The true essence of the Path of the Beast is not to maximize your senses, but to allow you to see the unseen and feel the unfelt.
Bu Eun-seol recalled the memory of Sa-u passing down the oral mantras of the Path of the Beast back on Hell Island.
—See the unseen and feel the unfelt, you say?
—That's right. It is called Gong-sim-tong-ryeong. However, this is not a state one can achieve simply by practicing the Path of the Beast for a long time.
Sa-u had murmured, gazing at the distant sky.
—Like a seed carried on the blowing wind, or a butterfly spreading pollen as it flits from flower to flower… it happens naturally, and by chance.
*'In that case…'*
If this was indeed the state of Gong-sim-tong-ryeong, the pinnacle of the Path of the Beast…
Bu Eun-seol once again drew upon the extreme senses of the Path of the Beast, having reached a higher state, and looked at the sword.
"…!"
And then he saw it—a faint nail mark on the sword's hilt, invisible before.
It was a mark made to add rotational force, a trace often seen with the Whirling Wind and Drizzling Rain Swords.
Staring at the sword for a long time, Bu Eun-seol couldn't hide his astonishment.
Yeo Hwan-jin's longsword showed no traces of specific techniques or variations.
Instead, he could *feel* the habits and movements Yeo Hwan-jin employed while wielding the sword, perceived as a form of sensation.
*'This is Gong-sim-tong-ryeong.'*
Merely by looking at and touching the sword Yeo Hwan-jin had used for so long, he could clearly sense how the man had wielded it all this time.
*'This man has completely mastered the principle of Formlessness Surpassing Form.'*
A state where one could use a sword style freely, unbound by specific techniques.
Yeo Hwan-jin had reached that state, which was why no traces of his techniques remained.
However, the terrifyingly amplified senses of the Path of the Beast, the state of Gong-sim-tong-ryeong, were conveying to Bu Eun-seol every sensation Yeo Hwan-jin had left behind when he wielded his sword.
*'If I hadn't known the variations of the Whirling Wind and Drizzling Rain Swords, I would never have been able to discover these traces, even with the Path of the Beast.'*
Taking a shallow breath, Bu Eun-seol imagined Yeo Hwan-jin executing the two sword styles, tracing his habits and movements.
*'Something's strange.'*
Having grasped his habits, movements, and even his sword intent, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
There was something hidden here, something completely different from everything he had seen so far.
*'This is…'*
At last, Bu Eun-seol was able to discover Yeo Hwan-jin's hidden ace, concealed within the sword.
It was only possible because Yeo Hwan-jin had used the same sword for twenty years straight.
Had he used a divine sword that never even scratched, or had a new one forged, Bu Eun-seol would never have seen it.
*'I was truly lucky.'*
Bu Eun-seol, who had been staring at the sword as if mesmerized, let out a breath.
He couldn't observe the changes in the sword techniques, but with the unexpectedly obtained senses of the Path of the Beast, with Gong-sim-tong-ryeong, he had managed to gather a vast amount of information about Yeo Hwan-jin.
It could only be described as a stroke of heavenly luck.
*'I have to memorize all of this, and make my body react to it.'*
As Bu Eun-seol absorbed the wealth of information from Yeo Hwan-jin's sword, a red glow, like burning charcoal, spread from his eyes.
***
Jangsan Gorge.
A gorge located at the southern tip of Mount Dang, a place of spectacular beauty where the traces of eons of weathering and erosion were on full display.
The sheer, layered cliffs piled up in the gorge looked as if they had been carved by the axes of the giant spirits, Georyeongsin and Pangu.
Around the time the fading sunset dyed the gorge's rocks crimson,
a man in white stood atop a sheer cliff in Jangsan Gorge, as still as a stone statue. It was Yeo Hwan-jin.
*Whooosh.*
As he felt the cool wind and gazed down at the leisurely flowing river, he let out a deep sigh.
"What a strange dream."
For the past few days, he had been having a series of odd dreams.
A dream in which a glowing red dragon entered his embrace.
And even after waking, the afterimage of that dream lingered in his mind.
"Is it because I feel empty without that thing in my hand?"
He had left his Jade Water Sword, which he had carried with him for twenty years straight, at the forge to have its twisted blade repaired.
Because of that, Yeo Hwan-jin felt an emptiness, as if he had parted with a friend he had known for a long time.
"Tomorrow, I'll have to train relentlessly."
As he smiled faintly, shook his head, and turned to leave,
*Thud, thud.*
a faint sound came from the distance.
"Footsteps?"
It was the sound of a healthy adult man walking.
"Did the academy send someone?"
This Jangsan Gorge, where Yeo Hwan-jin was staying, was so rugged that even herb gatherers avoided it.
Therefore, it was a place untouched by human feet, save for the masters from the Mount Hua branch who came to receive his teachings… So why was he hearing footsteps at this hour?
"You are…"
Yeo Hwan-jin's expression turned peculiar as he spotted the approaching shadow.
The one walking straight toward him, silhouetted against the setting sun, was none other than the young blacksmith from Dangsan Ironworks who had been tasked with repairing his Jade Water Sword.
"What brings you here?"
"The sword is finished."
"What?"
It was incomprehensible.
It was surprising enough that the young blacksmith from Dangsan Ironworks knew his whereabouts, but to have climbed this sheer mountain path without even breathing heavily?
"Would you like to see it?"
Bu Eun-seol held out the sword he was carrying in one hand, which was wrapped tightly in a soft cloth.
"Here, take it."
Despite the baffling situation, Yeo Hwan-jin accepted the sword with a calm expression.
*Shing.*
As he drew the sword, its ring was even clearer and deeper than before.
"Hoh."
Gripping the hilt, Yeo Hwan-jin's eyes gradually widened.
When he swung the sword lightly through the air, a sharp gleam lingered as an afterimage. The sword was much lighter and easier to hold.
It felt as if one of his own arms had been extended.
"How is it?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, Yeo Hwan-jin's mouth fell open, and he nodded.
"I'm very pleased. It's better than I expected."
"I see. That's a relief."
Nodding, Bu Eun-seol cupped his hands in a formal gesture.
"Bu Eun-seol, Sip-ma-jeon-in of Nang-ya-gak, challenges you."
"A Sip-ma-jeon-in."
Yeo Hwan-jin was not greatly surprised.
He had felt the powerful flow of internal energy from Bu Eun-seol's body as the man approached.
"I see."
Yeo Hwan-jin, who had heard the recent rumors about the Mount Hua Sect and the Sip-ma-jeon-in that had shaken the martial world, sighed deeply and spoke.
"So the Sip-ma-jeon-in are all making their move at once."
Then he laughed hollowly.
"Just like a scion of the demonic path. Did you disguise yourself as a blacksmith to spy on my sect's sword arts?"
The battle had already begun.
With a single accusation, Yeo Hwan-jin tried to shake Bu Eun-seol's resolve and provoke him.
But Bu Eun-seol simply scoffed.
"I heard that the Dae-ui-go-su received their martial training from masters well-versed in the demonic arts. Is that what you mean?"
"To challenge me, knowing even that. How reckless."
Yeo Hwan-jin chuckled.
"But rest assured. The martial arts of Nang-ya-gak have no system or lineage, so our Alliance doesn't even consider them demonic arts."
"Indeed. The martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect are quite impressive."
Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
"To think they teach you how to attack your opponent with your mouth before the fight even begins."
The leisurely smile that had been on Yeo Hwan-jin's face instantly froze.
He, who had tried to provoke Bu Eun-seol, had been counter-attacked and was now the one feeling sour.
"Hahaha. As expected, I can't win against a demonic scion with words."
Yeo Hwan-jin seemed to regain his composure and leisurely extended a hand.
"Well then, shall we have a look at the martial arts of Nang-ya-gak?"
A stream of wind rose from Yeo Hwan-jin's body.
With his hand outstretched, he had the air of an immortal.
But Bu Eun-seol was only gazing at the distant sky.
His eyes were placid, as if he had completely forgotten Yeo Hwan-jin's existence.
Watching him, the corners of Yeo Hwan-jin's mouth twisted into a cold smile.
"It seems you've studied my sect's sword style quite a bit."
The sword arts of the Mount Hua Sect, a Daoist school, were specialized in counter-attacks rather than initiating them.
Therefore, attacking first would be tantamount to revealing one's own openings.
"But I broke free from my sect's constraints long ago!"
With a short cry, a stream of sword energy shot toward Bu Eun-seol's chest.
In a flash, Yeo Hwan-jin had struck like lightning.
*Shing.*
At the same time, Bu Eun-seol's Muk-geom also emerged from its scabbard.
A chilling aura instantly spread in all directions as his sword slashed horizontally toward Yeo Hwan-jin's thrusting longsword.
"A divine sword."
Noticing the strange luster flowing from the Muk-geom, Yeo Hwan-jin immediately altered his technique.
The sword energy that had been aimed at Bu Eun-seol's chest rotated lightly in mid-air and slashed toward his shoulder.
It was the technique Gang-sim-su-jeong of the Drizzling Rain Sword.
*Chk!*
Bu Eun-seol did not evade the attack. Instead, he advanced and thrust toward Yeo Hwan-jin's armpit.
That was the opening in the Gang-sim-su-jeong technique.
"You've already mastered the Drizzling Rain Sword. I suppose you've studied all the main sword styles taught at the Dangsan branch?"
With a sneer, Yeo Hwan-jin swung his longsword again.
*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.*
The blade began to spin fiercely, sweeping toward Bu Eun-seol like a broom.
It was the ultimate technique of the Whirling Wind Sword, Gyeon-ri-sa-ui.
*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*
In response, Bu Eun-seol's Muk-geom also spun fiercely, creating shadows that bloomed in every direction.
It was the very same Gyeon-ri-sa-ui technique, but executed with even greater power than Yeo Hwan-jin's.
"You've mastered the Whirling Wind Sword as well?"
Yeo Hwan-jin's eyebrows shot up as he quickly changed his technique to avoid a clash.
It wasn't particularly difficult to discern a sword path by looking at the damage on a broken sword.
But Bu Eun-seol had grasped not only the sword path, but also all the inherent variations and principles of the techniques.
"Impressive. I'd believe you if you said you were a disciple of my sect."
Even as he relentlessly executed his sword style, Yeo Hwan-jin continued to berate Bu Eun-seol for stealing it.
"After today, I'll have to see the Ten Demonic Gates in a new light. Perhaps the roots of your martial arts lie in the orthodox factions after all."
It is no easy feat to speak continuously while executing sword techniques.
It seemed Yeo Hwan-jin had spent as much time honing his sharp tongue as he had his sword.
*Swish-swish-swish! Whoosh!*
The two men executed their sword arts within arm's reach of each other, yet their weapons never once clashed.
That was because no matter what sword style Yeo Hwan-jin used, Bu Eun-seol would immediately strike at its opening.
"So you've trained to this extent."
Yeo Hwan-jin wore a faint smile.
He had deliberately used the Drizzling Rain and Whirling Wind Swords until now to test just how much Bu Eun-seol understood of the Mount Hua sword arts.
"Then let's begin."
With a soft hiss, Yeo Hwan-jin changed his sword style.
A light breeze stirred, and then dozens of strands of sword energy poured out, wrapping around Bu Eun-seol's body.
It was the ultimate sword art of the Mount Hua Sect, the Flowing Cloud Sword Style.
*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*
Bu Eun-seol tried to strike down the sword energy with his Muk-geom, but the Flowing Cloud Sword curved like the wind, slipping through to attack his openings.
"My sect's sword is like the wind. You can neither clash with it nor block it."
Yeo Hwan-jin relentlessly poured out sword energy, pressing Bu Eun-seol.
"…!"
Staring down the torrent of sword energy, Bu Eun-seol's feet began to move in a dizzying pattern.
*Ssssss.*
As if a thin mist were rising, Bu Eun-seol's body blurred, and he lightly evaded the Flowing Cloud Sword Style that bored in like the wind.
"Impressive movement technique."
Exclaiming in admiration, Yeo Hwan-jin advanced rapidly, unleashing a storm of sword techniques.
"But how long can you keep dodging?"
The Flowing Cloud Sword Style, which enveloped the enemy like a gust of wind while striking at their openings.
Extreme Speed, No Shadow, a technique combining movement and footwork that allowed ninety-nine changes of direction in a single step.
The ultimate sword art of the Mount Hua Sect and the ultimate movement art of Nang-ya-gak were clashing head-on.
*Shriiiiek. Ssssss!*
For a moment, the entire world seemed to be filled with sword energy and shadows.
But before long, the tide of battle became clear.
The hem of Bu Eun-seol's clothes began to be torn away by Yeo Hwan-jin's sword.
*Smirk.*
Thinking he had completely seized the advantage, Yeo Hwan-jin wore a triumphant smile.
But that smile soon changed to a look of confusion.
Because even while struggling on the defensive… Bu Eun-seol's eyes were cold and low, like a beast that had locked onto its prey.