A New Fist Style
“Before I explain the subtle principle behind it, I should tell you how this fist art came to be. Back then, I was still about your age.”
Kwon Taesan suddenly launched into an old story.
“I was a very hot-blooded man. I wanted to become the strongest with my fist art, so I went around challenging all the famous fist masters in the world to spar. That was when I heard a rumor that there was a fist expert in that era known as the Fist Demon of the Heavenly Sect, the strongest among all fist users. So I came straight here to the Ten Million Great Mountains and challenged the Fist Demon.”
Han Yubyeok listened intently, wondering whether some hidden secret or profound insight was buried in the story.
“My master was quite formidable then. Ah, the previous generation’s Fist Demon was my master. In any case, even if I lost several times, I kept challenging him until I won. Was it after my twentieth defeat? Perhaps because my courage was admirable, my master finally began to personally guide my fist art.”
Cheon Yura, who had been swinging her sword in the distance, had somehow come to sit beside Han Yubyeok and was now listening to the story with him.
“I gradually came to accept the gap between my master and myself, stopped challenging him, and kept learning instead. Then what caught my eye was this very Ten Million Great Mountains. When I looked at these steep, towering peaks, I realized something. I decided to place that realization into my fist art. A heavy strike. It was the principle of Taesan, of Mount Tai. That is why I named this fist art Mount Tai Fist Art.”
“Ooooh.”
Han Yubyeok and Cheon Yura even applauded, completely drawn into the story.
“From here on, I’ll teach you the essence of Mount Tai Fist Art.”
“The essence? But I’m not even your formal disciple yet...”
“If I want to teach you, I’ll teach you. Or do you not want to learn?”
“No, I’ll learn.”
“Good. Take your stance. Then show me that strike you used before.”
Han Yubyeok steadied his breathing and took his stance.
Then he threw a punch.
[Glacier Fist Art First Form: Ice Essence Strike]
As Han Yubyeok’s fist shot out, a cold mist burst forth from its center.
“A very good punch. It carries the principle of weight, much like mine. It should be easy to learn.”
Kwon Taesan touched Han Yubyeok’s fist and then the rest of his body, checking the condition of his muscles and the depth of his inner force.
“Your strike now gathers the inner force of the lower dantian into one arm and delivers it in a single blow. The cold energy that bursts from your fist comes from the nature of your inner force.”
Han Yubyeok was rather surprised that, after seeing only one punch and giving his body a single look, Kwon Taesan had already grasped the principle behind the form.
As expected, even if he seemed simple-minded and rough in the way he carried himself, he was clearly a master of fist arts worthy of the world’s respect.
“But a fist like this lacks the firmness needed to carry the principle of Mount Tai. The true power of a fist comes from a solid lower body. From now on, you’ll need to focus on training your physique, especially your legs and core. If before you threw your punches with the strength of your waist or your arms, then from now on you must strike with a body rooted firmly to the ground.”
And so Han Yubyeok found himself undergoing hellish lower-body training with the Fist Demon.
Of course, it wasn’t only lower-body training. He also learned Mount Tai Fist Art, and every so often he could build real combat experience through sparring with Cheon Yura.
Mount Tai Fist Art was strikingly similar to the Glacier Fist Art he already knew.
Since both sought a single, weighty blow, he was able to understand it quickly enough.
But because the method of circulating and using inner force was very different, fully mastering it was quite difficult.
Meanwhile, Han Yugang’s case was different.
He kept staring at the Ten Million Great Mountains, lost in thought.
Since I’ve already drawn my blade...
For days he mulled it over, but nothing truly good came to mind.
Then, suddenly, he remembered the fierce strike Cheon Yura had shown him.
A terrifying slash that blackened the blade and seemed to cut even shadows apart in an instant.
What if I did a vertical cut like that?
I stood up and vaguely mimicked the stance Cheon Yura had used.
But since I was already in the middle of drawing my sword, copying her vertical slash did not seem likely to produce the same destructive force.
Probably because I didn’t know how to use inner force to blacken the blade.
Still, I thought the idea of a vertical slash itself wasn’t bad, so I kept thinking about how to make a stronger strike. At last, a good idea came to me.
The sect leader said my draw cut grew stronger because the curved blade was supported by the rebound of the scabbard right up until it was drawn. A draw cut that seems to spring free from the scabbard... spring free? That’s it!
In that instant, a method sprang to mind.
I went straight to find Cheon Muhyeok.
When I arrived at the training yard where my second brother and Cheon Yura had once sparred, I saw my second brother holding a bucket on his shoulders, thighs, and head while maintaining a horse stance.
“Oh! Little brother, long time no see!”
Even looking at it made me tired, but my brother grinned as if he were used to it and greeted me.
I looked around and saw the Fist Demon lying down and watching Han Yubyeok, while Cheon Muhyeok was guiding Cheon Yura through her swordsmanship.
I walked over to Cheon Muhyeok.
“I’ve made it.”
Seeing me appear with such confidence, Cheon Muhyeok smiled and replied, “Then let’s see the results.”
He sent everyone else away and stood alone before me, just as he had that day.
“Once you’re ready, begin whenever you like.”
“Then here I go?”
I took my usual draw-cut stance.
Then, just as that day, I rushed at Cheon Muhyeok again.
[Draw Cut]
Once again, Cheon Muhyeok held out his palm and blocked my sword.
But I did not stop there. I stepped in one pace closer, bringing my body and blade right against him.
From that position, I used Cheon Muhyeok’s palm as a support and rotated my body in place.
Then, using that force, I spun once and whirled around, swinging my sword back at him again.
This time, it was not a horizontal strike but something that felt like an upward slash, vertical and cutting up through the air.
[Spinning Slash]
The next form linked together in an instant.
It was a combination technique that turned the force of the opponent’s block back into the next attack, creating a second form.
Cheon Muhyeok twisted his body to evade the sword strike that came back at him in the very motion after the draw cut.
But he did not avoid it completely, and the hem of his robe fluttered in the wind.
“That’s rather dangerous, isn’t it? To turn your second form into a continuous combo like that is very creative.”
“I made it for when the draw cut gets blocked. Is that enough to pass?”
“That’s enough to deserve a passing mark.”
Cheon Muhyeok smiled as though amused and gave me a thumbs-up.
“But it’s still lacking if you want to call it a form.”
“What’s lacking?”
“The most important thing in your sword art is missing.”
“What is it?”
“Inner force.”
Cheon Muhyeok pointed to my lower abdomen.
“A true form must contain one’s inner force. Take Cheon Yura’s Heavenly Demon Sword Art, for example. She uses her secret inner method to draw out a dark aura and pour it into the sword, wielding a black, wavering sword art. And your brother Yubyeok, too, channels the cold of the Ice Palace into his fists when he strikes. But your sword art is still closer to a mere swing that pushes the body’s strength to its limit. So now you need to infuse that swing with your inner force and develop it into a true martial art.”
“Then what sort of training should I do this time?”
“Methods of infusing inner force differ from person to person, and once you gain insight, you’ll be able to do it naturally.”
Then Cheon Muhyeok looked at me and Han Yubyeok and said, “It’s already been several months since you came here. We received word from the Ice Palace. It’s time for you to return.”
The news that we had to leave so suddenly caught me off guard.
“Did something happen at the Ice Palace?”
“Something did happen.”
At the serious expressions on my face and my second brother’s, Cheon Muhyeok laughed as if he found it amusing and said, “The young palace lord is getting married. I still have things to sort out here in the Heavenly Sect, so I’ll be leaving later. You two should go ahead first.”
My oldest brother is getting married already.
It wasn’t especially early by age, but hearing that my brother was having a wedding felt strangely unreal.
When I looked at my second brother, he seemed to be thinking the same thing, lost in thought about something.
“What a joyous occasion! Let’s hurry back and celebrate.”
We left behind the Heavenly Sect and the Ten Million Great Mountains, where we had grown attached over the past few months, and headed for the Ice Palace.
Cheon Yura spoke with the sect leader for a while, then chose to depart before us.
Before we left, my second brother looked busy.
He talked with the sect leader for a long while, and as soon as that ended, he spent ages speaking with the Fist Demon as well.
It seemed likely that this had to do with becoming the Fist Demon’s disciple.
At last, we left the Ten Million Great Mountains and set out for the Ice Palace again.
I had worried it might feel awkward, but Cheon Yura and my second brother seemed to have grown quite close while I was training.
As we traveled, my second brother’s store of stories opened up once again.
Since our destination was the Ice Palace, most of the conversation was about the Ice Palace, and because I already knew all of it, it was a little dull.
But Cheon Yura listened with interest, and I felt a little left out, as though a whole world for just the two of them had opened up beside me.
“Behind the Ice Palace there’s a very beautiful lake called the Ice Lake.”
“Wow. I’d like to go see it sometime.”
“I can guide you there. By the way, there’s a rumor that a dragon lives in the Ice Lake.”
“A dragon? I’ve never seen one. Does it really exist?”
At the mention of a dragon, I flinched.
Don’t tell me he’s going to bring that up?
Seeing my panicked expression, Han Yubyeok chuckled and kept going.
“Really? As far as I know, the young palace lord has seen a dragon before.”
“What? What are you talking about...”
“Right there.”
Han Yubyeok pointed at me.
I turned red and shook my head hard.
At that, Han Yubyeok bent over laughing.
“Back in the North Sea, that brat’s nickname was the North Sea Divine Dragon.”
“The North Sea Divine Dragon?”
“When we were in the North Sea, the little one would climb cliffs and swim across lakes every day as part of his training. Seeing that, someone teased him by saying a new dragon had appeared in the North Sea and gave him that ridiculously grand nickname.”
Cheon Yura burst out laughing as well at Han Yubyeok’s explanation.
I fled far away in embarrassment.
Then Han Yubyeok leaned toward Cheon Yura and said in a whisper, “Of course, people called him the North Sea Divine Dragon because, after seeing his talent, they really thought he had the makings of a true dragon. But since he thinks they’re just teasing him, please play along.”
The two of them kept snickering and laughing together, apparently finding the whole thing terribly amusing.