Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Learning on the Battlefield
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Could one really learn martial arts on a chaotic battlefield like this?
Fortunately, he had mastered Geuk-sok-mu-yeong, allowing him to easily evade the Golden Ghouls' attacks. Moreover, the martial prowess of the Chang-sin-dae was overwhelming the creatures.
Thus, Bu Eun-seol didn't have to engage fiercely in combat. Instead, he weaved through the battlefield, making his way toward the area where So-jeon was fighting.
*Clang! Whirrrr!*
A blade is a weapon fundamentally specialized for slashing.
But So-jeon's saber technique was more like swordsmanship, with more thrusting and coiling motions.
‘If he’s going to use moves like that, he might as well use a greatsword. Why does he insist on a greatsaber?’
As Bu Eun-seol carefully observed So-jeon's saber technique, a glint appeared in his eyes.
‘Could it be… he’s performing a sword art with a greatsaber?’
He couldn't understand it just by watching.
Bu Eun-seol drew his longsword and began to mimic So-jeon’s saber technique, which was cutting down foes in all directions.
*Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!*
But So-jeon's technique was so fast that it was impossible to discern the exact forms.
‘I need sharper senses!’
Bu Eun-seol pushed his internal energy to its absolute limit.
He planned to use the principles from the Nang-ya-il-jeon to expand the senses of his Ya-su-do with the Ban-geuk True Qi.
*Flash!*
When Bu Eun-seol opened his eyes again, they flashed like lightning.
At the same time, his pupils trembled rapidly, and he could faintly perceive the path of So-jeon's saber moves, which spread out like rays of light.
*Click.*
Gripping his longsword once more, Bu Eun-seol began to imitate the flurry of saber moves So-jeon was unleashing.
‘This is…’
Only after taking up his sword and mimicking the saber moves did he realize.
What So-jeon was using was not a formal saber art, but a Saber Stance that adapted to the enemy’s attacks.
‘So Nang-ya-gak’s practical martial arts also include techniques that use stances!’
Bu Eun-seol recalled Dan Cheon-yang’s interpretation of sword theory, which he had heard at the upper hall of the Hwa-u Sword Sect.
—Once swordsmanship reaches a certain level, it is no longer bound by forms and techniques. At that point, one can create magnificent sword moves with sword stance alone.
*Whoosh!*
Just then, So-jeon’s greatsaber once again cut through the air like a bolt of lightning.
Fountains of blood erupted from the nine Golden Ghouls that had surrounded him. Strangely, some lost their legs, while others lost their necks or arms.
‘It really wasn't a saber art, but a stance!’
So-jeon hadn't executed any particular saber art; he had simply swung his greatsaber along the openings the Golden Ghouls revealed.
Having finally grasped the essence of So-jeon’s technique, Bu Eun-seol swung his longsword with all his might.
*Fwoosh!*
A spray of blood followed as he decapitated two Golden Ghouls.
‘This isn’t it!’
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
‘The Leader cut down nine Golden Ghouls in a single, continuous move.’
So-jeon, nine lines with one stroke.
Bu Eun-seol, only two.
‘A little faster!’
Bu Eun-seol gritted his teeth and once again mimicked So-jeon’s saber technique.
But due to his lack of internal energy and imprecise technique, he still couldn’t produce more than two lines.
‘That kid!’
So-jeon, who had been swinging his greatsaber, faltered for a moment.
In truth, he had been aware for a while that Bu Eun-seol was watching him.
But after observing for some time, wasn’t the boy suddenly creating two sword shadows by imitating him?
‘He created a One-Saber-Two-Strikes after seeing it just once?’
Watching the sword moves Bu Eun-seol unleashed, So-jeon’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The saber art he used was the Cheon-pae-do-geuk-se, a technique that could only be performed by one who had mastered the Ya-su-do to its absolute limit.
So-jeon had undergone bone-grinding training to master the Cheon-pae-do-geuk-se, and it had taken him a full two years to reach the stage of One-Saber-Two-Strikes.
Yet this kid, who had just begun learning the Ya-su-do, was imitating it after merely seeing it with his own eyes?
*Whoosh!*
At that moment, a long scythe came flying toward So-jeon’s face.
His gaze had been fixed on Bu Eun-seol, and with his concentration scattered, he had failed to notice the approaching Golden Ghoul.
*Clang!*
He quickly blocked the scythe with his greatsaber and cried out inwardly.
‘I’ll think about this later!’
Whether Bu Eun-seol was copying his stance or dancing, he decided to pay it no mind for now.
“Now, to the Vice-Leader…”
After shadowing So-jeon for a while, Bu Eun-seol’s next target was Je-un.
‘Is he trying to copy my moves this time?’
Je-un had also been closely watching Bu Eun-seol as he moved through the battlefield, imitating So-jeon.
When Bu Eun-seol stealthily approached him, a faint smile graced his lips.
‘Heh heh. Does he really think he can copy my Yong-eum-geom-beop and Flying Knife Art just by watching?’
Glancing at Bu Eun-seol mimicking his movements, the corners of Je-un’s mouth curled up slightly.
‘The Leader’s Extreme Saber Stance is based on the Ya-su-do, so I suppose it can be mimicked somehow. But my sword art and flying knife technique are impossible to copy without the practical principles.’
As if to show off, he performed his sword art with his right hand while his left unleashed a fan-like spray of light, a display of the Yu-yeop Flying Knife Art.
‘Watch for a hundred days. See if you can steal my martial arts with your eyes.’
Je-un, still smiling, suddenly saw his eyes widen.
He now saw that Bu Eun-seol was neither copying his Flying Knife Art nor his Yong-eum-geom-beop.
Wasn’t Bu Eun-seol swinging a longsword in one hand and a short scythe he’d picked up from somewhere in the other, like a madman?
‘That boy?’
Watching him, Je-un felt a dizzying shock, as if he’d been struck on the back of the head.
Wasn’t Bu Eun-seol imitating what could be called his true unique secret technique, the Bun-sim-i-yong-sul?
‘Did he grasp my ultimate secret art just by watching?’
Je-un, who could throw knives with one hand and perform the Yong-eum-geom-beop with the other.
His ultimate trump card was precisely this: the Bun-sim-i-yong-sul, the ability to perform different martial arts with each hand.
‘What a terrifying kid!’
Je-un felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Bu Eun-seol awkwardly swing the sword and scythe.
He was clumsy now, but Je-un had a premonition that one day, the boy would use the Bun-sim-i-yong-sul more perfectly than he ever could.
*Whoosh!*
Just then, a sharp spear tip thrust toward the space between Je-un’s eyebrows.
Distracted by Bu Eun-seol, he, like So-jeon before him, had allowed a Golden Ghoul to get too close.
‘This is no time for idle thoughts!’
No matter how easy the Golden Ghouls were as opponents, their strength and movements were on par with martial arts masters.
In a situation like this, a moment of distraction could lead to losing one’s life to an unexpected blow.
“As expected, this isn’t a martial art one can master in an instant.”
After mimicking Je-un’s Bun-sim-i-yong-sul for a long time, Bu Eun-seol finally stopped.
‘If I hadn’t read that secret manual in the Ma-jeon, I wouldn’t have been able to build the foundations of practical martial arts this quickly.’
Bu Eun-seol had used the principles written in the Nang-ya-il-jeon to observe the two masters' techniques.
Not only that, but he was also able to indirectly learn the practical principles embedded in their movements.
“But this isn’t something that can be learned in a short time.”
If he continued to imitate advanced martial arts on this chaotic battlefield, he was likely to fall into a trance and be caught by a surprise attack.
“Now, let’s figure out the secret of that sword art.”
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol moved toward another squad member, Han-dan, who was performing his own sword art.
*Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*
Every time Han-dan executed his sword art, a flash of sword light would erupt, and Golden Ghouls would fall like leaves.
The sword art itself wasn't profound, but the power contained in each strike could split the heavens and shake the earth.
‘The terrifying thing about that sword art is its sheer power.’
Even the Golden Ghouls, whose bodies were as hard as steel, would die from a grazing blow from Han-dan’s sword. A direct hit would cause their bodies to explode in all directions.
‘But I just can’t figure it out. How can such a simple sword move generate that much power?’
In truth, the sword art Han-dan used was an application of the Jung-geom (Heavy Sword) technique, which, along with the Hwan-geom (Illusory Sword), was considered the pinnacle of swordsmanship in the martial world.
However, it was difficult to grasp the profound principles of the Jung-geom simply by studying the sword moves with his eyes.
‘I have no choice.’
He didn't know when he would get another chance to undertake a mission with the Chang-sin-dae.
The battle would soon be over, and Han-dan would stop performing his sword art.
‘I have to do what I can.’
Sheathing his sword, Bu Eun-seol began to examine the corpses of the Golden Ghouls that Han-dan had killed.
He wasn't just looking; he was tearing their clothes and touching their ruptured muscles and cuts.
‘…?’
Han-dan, who was in the middle of his sword art, wore a bewildered expression.
Touching dying Golden Ghouls on a hellish, blood-soaked battlefield?
Even though he was using Geuk-sok-mu-yeong at opportune moments, a single lapse in concentration could get his head chopped off.
*Ssssss!*
Just then, a Golden Ghoul silently approached Bu Eun-seol from behind.
But Bu Eun-seol didn’t even turn his head. He seemed so focused on examining the corpse that he hadn't even sensed its approach.
*Click.*
Just as the Golden Ghoul raised its large scythe for a decisive blow,
*Boom!*
with an explosive sound, one of the arms of the Golden Ghoul ambushing Bu Eun-seol was blown off powerlessly.
Bu Eun-seol had swung his sword without even looking back.
The power of the strike was remarkably similar to one of Han-dan’s.
‘So that was the principle.’
*Boom!*
He swung his sword again, and the Golden Ghoul’s body exploded into two pieces.
*Click.*
Sheathing his sword once more, Bu Eun-seol’s eyes sparkled.
‘He didn’t infuse the sword with True Qi. He made the True Qi explode at the sword’s tip at the moment of impact!’
The wounds on the Golden Ghouls struck by Han-dan's blows were crushed, as if hit by a heavy hammer, not a sword.
A sword art that increased power by crushing everything the sword tip touched with True Qi.
That was the core technique of the Jung-geom.
“It’s over.”
Meanwhile, So-jeon, who had been swinging his greatsaber, muttered calmly.
They had finally cut down all the Golden Ghouls, which had seemed endless no matter how many they killed.
“Uwaaah!”
Just then, a thunderous roar echoed out.
As the masters of the Chang-sin-dae finished off the last of the Golden Ghouls, a burly man emerged from a pavilion, roaring.
It was Do Pae, the Lord of Wind Thunder Valley.
“Nang-ya-gak, you stray dogs! How dare you launch a surprise attack on my valley!”
Having researched the Golden Power Liberation Art for a long time, his power was on a completely different level from the ordinary Golden Ghouls.
“I’ll tear every last one of you to shreds!”
Do Pae unleashed a ferocious palm technique at the exhausted members of the Chang-sin-dae.
“It’s a poison palm!”
As a fishy stench spread in all directions, Je-un shouted loudly. It was the Sa-hon-dok-jang, the signature technique of Wind Thunder Valley.
“So you finally crawl out.”
Gripping his greatsaber, So-jeon used a swift movement technique and rushed toward Do Pae.
“Get out of my way!”
Do Pae, who had been launching the Sa-hon-dok-jang, saw So-jeon approaching and pushed out both palms with all his might.
“Haaap!”
As Do Pae unleashed the full power of his Sa-hon-dok-jang, the area around the charging So-jeon was enveloped in a black, poisonous mist.
“Hmph!”
As the poison mist surrounded him, So-jeon raised his greatsaber to the sky, then brought it down powerfully toward the ground.
*Flash!*
Nine streams of saber energy shot out from the greatsaber, spreading in all directions before converging on the center of the black mist.
*CRASH!*
At that moment, the earth shook, and dust and wind scattered in all directions.
*Whoooosh!*
When the black mist cleared, the body of Do Pae could be seen standing tall in the center, his large frame unmoving.
*Tremble, tremble.*
Do Pae’s body trembled lightly, and then,
*Splat!*
with a sound like a watermelon bursting, his head vanished without a trace.
This time, it wasn't a stance, but a powerful saber energy he had created, unleashing the ultimate technique of Byeok-ryeok-gu-seom.
*Thud.*
As Do Pae’s headless corpse fell to the ground, a deathly silence descended upon Wind Thunder Valley.
The Chang-sin-dae had finally annihilated another sect.
*Click.*
So-jeon slung his greatsaber back onto his back and looked around at his squad members.
Though none of their lives were in danger, about half the squad had sustained serious injuries from the bloody battle against the ceaseless tide of Golden Ghouls.
‘That kid…’
But Bu Eun-seol, who had roamed the battlefield with Geuk-sok-mu-yeong while imitating martial arts, was the only one standing tall without a single scratch.
Moreover, he seemed to have gained some great insight, as he was lost in deep thought with his gaze fixed on the empty air.
‘I suppose a test is unnecessary.’
Bu Eun-seol was showing progress so rapid it was hard to believe he was a disciple who had just entered Nang-ya-gak.
If a test were needed, it would not be now, but in a few years.
Because he was curious to see how Bu Eun-seol would perform his Cheon-pae-do-geuk-se.
“Leader.”
Seeing So-jeon staring at Bu Eun-seol as if mesmerized, Je-un quietly approached and asked.
“Is there something you wish to say?”
Finally snapping out of it, So-jeon let out a low grunt and shook his head.
“We’re returning. To Nang-ya-gak.”