Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Refining the Pear Blossom Spear
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They soon arrived at the garden.
With the post-disciples from the annex gone, the two stood facing each other for a moment in the silent garden.
"Hoo."
Yang Se-ryeong let out a light breath and snapped her eyes open, unfolding her three-section staff.
With a tadadak sound, the staff, which had been the length of her forearm, transformed into a massive pole as tall as she was.
She gripped it with both hands.
Stepping forward with her left foot in a wider-than-normal stance, she tightly held the upper part with her left hand and the lower part with her right, tensing up.
Yang Family Spear Art.
Or, as it was sometimes called separately, the Pear Blossom Spear Art basic stance.
'Her stance is solid.'
Cheonhwi, seeing a better posture than expected, parted his lips.
"Come at me."
Yang Se-ryeong nodded faintly.
She then focused her mind.
The moment the Yang family's hereditary technique, White Star Filling Heaven Art, activated, a pure white energy bloomed from the staff.
And at that instant.
Tat!
She powerfully stamped the ground.
In an instant, she shot forward, releasing her left hand from the front of the staff and pouring even fiercer power into her right hand.
'Oh, so that's the technique.'
Cheonhwi watched with slight surprise.
By releasing the hand gripping the front and shifting to the base, it created the illusion of suddenly lengthening.
'Most people would fall for it on first sight.'
Seeing the staff arrive faster than expected, Cheonhwi casually dodged to the side.
Then.
Whoosh!
She immediately twisted her stepping ankle, rotating her entire upper body in one motion.
The staff bent greatly.
It then whipped toward Cheonhwi's now-empty side.
Tat.
Cheonhwi lightly jumped back.
The staff swung at his side sliced through empty air.
Even amid this, her eyes followed Cheonhwi, and she spun her body once more.
Maintaining the rotational force of the staff cleaving the air, she brought it smashing down from above.
Thud!
Cheonhwi struck the staff away with his palm.
"Ugh!"
Yang Se-ryeong staggered from the impact.
But only for a moment.
Taat!
She hopped back, regaining her stance.
She opened her eyes again and began swinging the spear in her hand ferociously.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Cheonhwi's lips curved up as he dodged the ever-changing swings of the spear.
'That's why it's called Pear Blossom Spear Art.'
As the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.
Now he understood why the Yang Family Spear Art was called Pear Blossom Spear Art separately.
Why it was a martial art that could be swung anytime, in any situation.
The staff infused with pure white energy shifted fluidly and mysteriously without interruption, no matter the circumstance.
At that moment, Yang Se-ryeong's eyes flashed.
She gathered her internal energy into one.
"Hah!"
She spun and thrust the staff forward.
Returning White Flame Spear!
Pure white energy blazed like flames, targeting Cheonhwi's chest in one breath.
'But it's a bit lacking.'
Cheonhwi lightly raised his index finger.
As it met the tip of the shooting Returning White Flame Spear.
Chin.
Contrary to its astonishing momentum, a tiny sound rang out, and the Returning White Flame Spear halted.
"......!"
As Yang Se-ryeong looked on in shock.
Crack―
The tip of the staff began to split, soon shattering into pieces.
"......"
Yang Se-ryeong looked down at her now-empty hands.
Cheonhwi gazed at her stunned expression before murmuring softly.
"The staff is too weak."
"......I've used it for a long time."
Yang Se-ryeong shook her hands.
It was regrettable that the three-section staff she'd had since childhood had broken, but somehow her mind felt lighter.
'If it had shattered mid-battle, that would've been dangerous.'
"How was it?"
Yang Se-ryeong asked softly.
It was deflating that her ultimate technique had been blocked by a mere finger, but it was only natural considering her opponent.
He was the master who had felled the Chaos Demon.
As she waited for his answer.
"It's a good spear art."
Cheonhwi praised her honestly.
It was more than worthy of ranking among the top spear arts he knew.
Hearing his unexpected praise, a smile bloomed on Yang Se-ryeong's lips.
"Really?"
But then, unbelievable words reached her ears.
"With a few changes, it could become the world's greatest spear art."
"Pardon?"
Yang Se-ryeong's eyes widened round.
The Yang Family Spear Art was the Yang family's hereditary martial art, passed down since their military days.
Change it?
As she looked at him in bewilderment.
"Hm, let's see."
Cheonhwi glanced around, then swung his hand blade toward a nearby thick tree branch.
Slice!
The branch was severed and fell to the ground.
Cheonhwi eyed the massive branch as tall as himself, then moved his hand.
In that instant.
"......!"
Yang Se-ryeong couldn't hide her astonishment.
Just as Cheonhwi's hand moved, the twigs had already been neatly trimmed, turning it into a straight staff.
"Mm, this should do."
Cheonhwi inspected the newly made wooden staff, gripped it properly, and swung it a few times.
Thrusting, swinging, uppercut.
After a few motions, he nodded and assumed a stance.
The exact stance Yang Se-ryeong had taken moments ago.
"Like this, right?"
As Cheonhwi moved the staff.
"That's......"
Yang Se-ryeong's eyes grew wider as she watched him wield the wooden staff.
"Yang Family Spear Art?"
The forms of the Yang Family Spear Art unfolded.
From Horizontal Sweep of a Thousand Armies, which broadly swung to handle multiple foes, to Venom Dragon Emerging from Its Cave, drawing a circle before thrusting in one go.
Yang Se-ryeong sweated from her forehead as she watched Cheonhwi perfectly execute the forms she had just performed.
'Even without White Star Filling Heaven Art, it's half a martial art, but such perfect form......'
Her pupils trembled.
The Yang Family Spear Art was a complex and profound martial art that took at least five years just to master the forms perfectly.
Yet that stance right now......
'It's on par with Father's.'
As she failed to swallow her shock.
"As expected of a military spear art."
Cheonhwi withdrew the wooden staff.
Perhaps because it came from a military family, it was systematic and practical.
"But that's exactly what's lacking."
At those words, Yang Se-ryeong's eyes sparkled as she approached Cheonhwi.
"What's lacking?"
"It's complicated to explain."
Cheonhwi, holding the wooden staff, demonstrated the form he had just shown again.
Swoosh―
A form like thrusting a sword.
But what he held was a long wooden staff, and with the wider stance, its power was on another level.
Yang Se-ryeong swallowed hard.
The stance was perfect beyond measure.
If White Star Filling Heaven Art were added to that......
She shook her head vigorously.
There was no chance of that.
White Star Filling Heaven Art was the Yang family's hereditary technique.
He couldn't learn it.
At that moment, Cheonhwi set down the wooden staff.
"From what I saw, the Yang Family Spear Art is for facing multiple opponents, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Originally stemming from military spear arts, the Yang Family Spear Art was designed more for one against many than one-on-one.
"And it uses initiative to pursue continuously......"
Yang Se-ryeong nodded quickly, amazed at his explanation.
It was exactly what her father had emphasized when she first learned the Yang Family Spear Art.
'Seize the initiative. With the initiative, the Yang Family Spear Art becomes invincible.'
Then Cheonhwi tossed the wooden staff lightly.
"Eh, wha?"
Yang Se-ryeong caught the suddenly thrown staff with a dazed expression.
"Give it a try."
Though flustered at his words.
Swoosh―
She slowly assumed her stance.
And as she executed it.
"Make your stance a bit narrower there."
Advice came each time.
"Half your internal energy. And to the left, swing narrower instead of wide......"
A stream of continuous advice.
She heeded Cheonhwi's words and executed the forms.
How long did she practice?
'This is......!'
She began to feel the changes.
Her large stances shortened, replaced by more intricate movements.
Like quick steps.
But that allowed even faster pursuit and easier form transitions.
Immersed in the now more dazzling Yang Family Spear Art, she started making changes on her own even before Cheonhwi spoke.
"You've got quite the talent."
Cheonhwi watched Yang Se-ryeong.
It wasn't easy for most to alter forms so immediately after being told.
It required trust in the instructor.
And perfect understanding of the forms to apply the changes right away.
'At her age, that level means she's trained diligently for years.'
At that moment, Yang Se-ryeong's footwork changed.
The heavy, wide-stepping footwork had become as flashy as her Yang Family Spear Art swings.
The resulting change was astonishing.
Forms she had previously poured her full power into now unfolded lighter.
Did that make them weaker?
No.
Because they were lighter, they became even more variable than before, perfectly suiting the chain attacks central to the Yang Family Spear Art.
Like waves that start calm but later crash fiercely.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As expected, Yang Se-ryeong's forms accelerated, and finally.
The moment she executed the final form of the Yang Family Spear Art, Displaying White Wave.
Bang!
A shockwave exploded in the air.
"No way......"
Yang Se-ryeong's eyes widened round.
It was executed with less internal energy and more lightly than before, yet its power was far greater.
Cheonhwi looked at her in shock and said.
"Now it's worth watching."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Meanwhile, Yang Do-gi, the gate guard of the Divine Spear Yang family, furrowed his brow.
Two dots visible beyond that ridgeline.
As he stared blankly at them, the dots suddenly began to grow larger.
"Gasp!"
He gasped in shock.
The fingernail-sized dots had instantly become hand-sized, morphing into human shapes.
'Wh-when?'
Yang Do-gi looked in panic at the two who had closed in to point-blank range unnoticed.
An old man and a beautiful woman.
'Masters......'
As Yang Do-gi swallowed hard at their astonishing lightness skill.
Step― step―
The two stood before the main gate.
The old man glanced at the gate, then stared at Yang Do-gi and spoke.
"Is the family head inside?"
"Wh-who are you?"
"You don't need to know who I am. Just say if the family head is inside or not."
Yang Do-gi bit his lip.
"I can't tell you until you reveal your identity."
In that instant, killing intent burst from the old man.
"Kuh!"
As Yang Do-gi recoiled in terror.
"Elder."
The woman exuding a bewitching aura blocked the old man's killing intent and stepped forward.
"I'll handle this."
"Hmph, what can a wench like you do?"
"It'd be a hassle if we cause a needless commotion and waste time, wouldn't it?"
The old man glared at the woman.
Seeing her smoothly deflect his sharp gaze, he withdrew his killing intent.
"Do as you please."
"Thank you."
The smiling woman approached Yang Do-gi.
She extended her pale white finger longingly, lightly brushing his chin.
"What......"
Yang Do-gi's terrified eyes glazed over.
He lost his mind to the piercing scent and her staring eyes.
"Have there been any recent guests to the Yang family?"
"......Yes."
The woman gazed at the half-dazed Yang Do-gi like a child for a moment.
She moved her red lips.
"Who?"
"Juniors who came with the young lady, and a mysterious youth of unknown identity......"
Yang Do-gi spilled the information fluently.
"Hmph, bewitching wench."
The old man, arms crossed, grumbled in displeasure, frowning.
"But isn't it convenient thanks to her?"
"......"
The woman smiled faintly at the old man's reaction, then spoke to Yang Do-gi once more.
"Tell me about him."
"He......"
Yang Do-gi's mouth opened again.
A moment later, having heard all the information from Yang Do-gi, the woman gently caressed his cheek.
"Good boy."
Yang Do-gi's mouth gaped in a silly grin.
"Now, go straight to the family head and relay this message."
The woman stroked his cheek once more, her voice bewitching.
"Qiongqi and Taowu have arrived."