Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: What is a Genius?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What I was really worried about was the entrance exam. The infamous Mount Hua Core Disciple entrance exam that Uiseong had told me about nonstop—the one with the brutally difficult pass rate narrower than the eye of a needle.
If I really was a genius like everyone kept saying, the exam wouldn't scare me at all.
Even if I was the youngest, I'd pass it no problem.
But if my skills were on the same level as the other kids, that was a different story.
They only picked thirty out of five hundred. If I had just average talent, the odds of failing were way higher. And they weren't even giving me a free pass.
After watching all those novel protagonists who shone from the moment they first picked up a sword as kids, seeing myself barely manage one form felt so pathetic.
I wasn't chubby enough to be a baby-rearing story protagonist, and I didn't have the talent for a wuxia novel lead.
'So what am I supposed to be? Am I just some third-rate Nine Great Sects extra who mouths off to the protagonist later and gets wrecked?'
This nightmare might actually come true. What kind of sect doesn't even have entrance exam corruption?
I let out a long sigh, and the same kindly voice filled the room as always.
"Even if you don't become a Core Disciple, your name is Biyeon. You're a tiny, precious connection that came to Mount Hua."
My restless tossing stopped dead.
Deep down, that was what I'd wanted to hear. For some reason, tears welled up, and I wiped them away pretending I wasn't crying.
"So don't fear failure—gain as much experience as you can. Don't get arrogant in success, and don't despair in failure. Find meaning in success and answers in failure."
"What if I keep failing?"
"Ask for help. What else are masters for?"
The Sect Leader stroked his beard with a hearty chuckle and offered one more piece of advice.
"If you're really hung up on failing that form, why not go talk to those who've learned the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship? Hearing their experiences is a form of training too."
Whoa, why didn't I think of that?
I immediately pictured the two geniuses I knew from Mount Hua.
I shot up and marched toward the door with determination. Right—this was reality. I shouldn't compare myself to novel protagonists getting massive buffs from the author.
"I'll go ask around and come back!"
"Alright. Just avoid any really dangerous terrain."
Come to think of it, the only time anyone told me not to run on Mount Hua was on those death-trap stairs where you'd die if you fell.
Did that mean to learn martial arts, I had to trip while running sometimes?
Leaving the Sect Leader's office, I headed straight out the sect gates toward the peak where Elder Muyeong—the Mount Hua's greatest swordswoman—usually trained.
I spotted her sitting in meditation, taking the full brunt of the cascading waterfall from above, and stepped onto the stepping stones leading to the rock.
Unlike before, small footholds had been added between the widely spaced stones—thanks to my occasional visits for waterfall training.
Without falling in like last time, I safely crossed the stones and climbed onto the wide, flat rock. Elder Muyeong, eyes still closed, beckoned me with a hand.
"Come behind me. You might get swept into the stream otherwise."
"Yes, ma'am."
The cool roar of the water echoed through the serene space.
Droplets escaping the fierce waterfall splashed wildly across my face and body.
"Elder, how long after learning Plum Blossoms by the Roadside didja make the plum blossom?"
"A day."
Not just novel protagonists—even real-life geniuses succeeded in a day. I wasn't a genius; I was just trash.
My shoulders slumped, and Elder Muyeong cracked her eyes open, turning to look at me.
"Did you at least master the first form?"
"Yes. But I couldn't do it. You really succeeded in just one day?"
"Of course. But..."
She let out a chuckle at my question, trailing off as she rose.
Stepping out from under the waterfall, she met my gaze at eye level.
"Before that, I trained the Plum Blossom Mind Method and Greatest Principle Obscuring Qi, repeating the forms of Falling Petals Sword and Seven Plums Sword thousands of times. Until I built the foundation of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship and comprehended the essence of blooming on my own."
"Uh... um..."
As I stared blankly, she picked up the sword behind her, drew it from its sheath, and swung it horizontally. Slash—! The blade cleaved through the pouring water.
Metal slicing water. The impossible happened right before my eyes.
"And before that, I repeated the Six Harmonies Sword until I achieved mastery."
Sheathing the sword, Elder Muyeong then demonstrated the first form of the 24 Plum Blossom Sword Techniques that I'd barely managed—Plum Blossoms by the Roadside.
It was the exact same form, but fundamentally different from what I'd scraped by with. Even different from Uiseong's.
What I was seeing was the Mount Hua's greatest swordswoman's plum blossom.
Gorgeous petals fluttered ethereally. In a place barren of plum trees, their fragrance brushed my nose.
The sword fragrance said to appear at the pinnacle of the 24 Plum Blossom Sword Techniques.
"The plum blossoms of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship aren't magic or sorcery—they're sword qi. You can't run before you can walk. Our Righteous Faction arts, walking the righteous path, start weak but reach greatness over time. All we need is effort and time."
The sheathed sword tapped my head lightly.
"You're still young. Being young means you can experience more of the world and have more possibilities ahead. Why rush when you're just a four-year-old kid?"
"Things come in order, but they don't always leave that way."
"You cheeky little brat—nothing you can't say, huh?"
The sheath came down a bit harder on my head this time.
As I rubbed my smarting scalp, a booming call pierced the water's roar.
"Master! Elder Mujin is looking for you!"
It was Jinyul's voice.
Elder Muyeong scooped me up easily and, unlike my clumsy crossing, lightly leaped across the stones with qinggong, setting me down by the water's edge.
"I'll head out first. Jinyul, keep the kid company."
With that, she vanished, leaving just me and Jinyul.
I fiddled with my damp hair, soaked from the splashing droplets.
Jinyul ruffled it with her callused palm, shaking out the water, then spoke up.
"You lifted a training wooden sword, huh?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"The elders were making such a fuss about whether it was time to let you train with a wooden sword."
"It's too heavy. I can't even swing it—how'm I supposed to train with that?"
"You managed to lift that monster. Definitely got the bones for it."
I wasn't falling for that anymore. I wasn't a genius; I was average. But I couldn't hide my creeping grin.
"Jinyul, how long did it take you to bloom a plum blossom?"
"Hmm... about a week?"
Longer than I'd expected. I looked up at her, and her gaze grew distant, lost in memory.
"I was impatient. As the direct disciple right before the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal, I was terrified of being called out for not blooming a single plum blossom. I didn't realize that impatience was poison."
"Why? Doesn't rushing make you better, like how things get done right before a deadline?"
She chuckled lightly at my words and shook her head.
"Isn't the basis of the Dao to clear the mind of stray thoughts? Our swordsmanship is tied to the Dao itself."
Damn, I should've paid more attention when the Sect Leader recited Daoist scriptures instead of letting it go in one ear and out the other.
Tongue clicking, we carefully descended the steep stairs.
"It's still tough, honestly. The 24 Plum Blossom Sword Techniques aren't superior martial arts for nothing."
Superior martial arts—as the characters implied "the highest teachings"—were, in a word, badass skills.
Like Brazilian kicks in a fighting game?
Her unexpected words made me blink.
"You're a genius and it's still hard?"
"Very. It's complicated. So you, Biyeon—build your foundations solid, step by step. Don't skip basics like I did and regret it later."
"Huh? Don't geniuses skip the basics and handle the complex stuff from the start?"
She laced her fingers behind her head, gazing at the sky, and muttered in response.
"Who's a genius anyway? The ones who build from the basics and achieve greatness later—they're the real geniuses."
Whether grinding textbooks and references in my past life's exam wars or repeating basic arts endlessly in this wuxia life, it was all the same.
Well, at least knowing failure was normal for me now eased my mind a bit.
"Jinyul, so how many days for the Six Harmonies Art?"
"Six Harmonies Art? Probably a week, then I skimmed ahead to the next one, Lesser Clear Stream Art?"
"......"
...I'd taken two weeks, I think.
No, better not relax. The world is vast, and there are so many geniuses—immeasurable as the Buddha's.
* * *
"You taught Biyeon the incantation for Plum Blossoms by the Roadside?"
Uiseong, summoned to the office and kneeling, scratched the back of his head sheepishly at Mugyeong Jin-in, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.
Had it been a bad idea teaching a pre-entrance kid an exclusive sect art only formal disciples could learn...?
"The kid... Biyeon kept begging me to teach him. He'll be joining Mount Hua soon anyway. A Core Disciple spot should be well within his reach—"
"I'm not blaming you for teaching an uninitiated child an exclusive Mount Hua art."
Bracing for a scolding, Uiseong let out a secret sigh of relief.
But the next words left him blinking in confusion.
"But Uiseong, teaching isn't just reciting incantations and demonstrating forms."
Wait, I even explained the incantation—what more was there?
The Sect Leader smiled kindly at Uiseong's bewildered gaze and continued.
"The child said he doesn't think he's a genius."
"Oh, he told me that too, but..."
He'd dismissed it as a naive kid's whining and brushed it off.
"Do you know why a boy that age is lamenting not blooming a plum blossom?"
"......?"
"He's worried he won't pass the entrance exam."
Uiseong's eyes shook with shock at the Sect Leader's words.
What was that supposed to mean?