Chapter 3
Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Let's Not Lose an Arm (3)
To cut to the chase, right up until just before the Dao Debate was set to begin, I still hadn't managed to reach the fourth layer of the Refining Qi Realm.
Or, to be more precise... I hadn't reached the fourth layer of the Refining Qi Realm at all. Instead, I'd built up the third layer with my Dragon Spiritual Root and the first layer with my Steel Spiritual Root.
"This is insane!"
Yeah.
These two spiritual roots required cultivating separate techniques and accumulating different strands of spiritual energy, which meant advancing their realms independently too!
"I'm losing my mind."
Even a proper fourth layer of the Refining Qi Realm would have been a stretch, but 3 + 1 layers? What kind of half-baked realm was this supposed to be?
I clawed at my hair for a while before finally dragging myself to my feet.
'At this rate... can I really avoid losing my arm?'
I racked my brain, recalling how Mun Yoo had fought Yong Yoo in the original story.
Yong Yoo had mindlessly swung at Mun Yoo like he always did... and Mun Yoo had instantly drawn his sword and lopped off Yong Yoo's arm.
After that, it was a one-sided beatdown.
'So, if I pull out some other move right from the first exchange, maybe I won't lose my arm. Mun Yoo sensed he'd grown stronger than Yong Yoo and decided to observe his opponent's moves first. But when Yong Yoo lunged thoughtlessly, just like always when bullying him, Mun Yoo took it as an insult—remembering all the beatings he'd endured—and flew into a rage, hacking off the arm. That's how it was described...'
Who knew a cultivator's mind would come in handy for this?
Even that single-line description from the novel's prologue flashed vividly in my memory.
I decided to base my actions on the scene playing out in my head.
"Problem is, I've never actually hit anyone before."
Should I mimic a boxing punch? Nah, he might just get mad at me for doing something weird. In that case...
'Among the technique manuals I borrowed, there were a few spellbooks too.'
I rummaged through the pile of books in the corner and hastily grabbed one of the spellbooks.
'The Refining Qi Realm can't refine spiritual energy into spiritual power, so spells only unleash about ten percent of their potential. Still, it'd be better than flailing my arm around like an idiot.'
I checked the time, snatched a bottle of liquor and the spellbook, and stood up. If I didn't head out now, I'd be late for the Dao Debate.
Mun Yoo waited for Yong Yoo at the Dao Debate site.
He wasn't alone. There was Je Sang-woo, the senior who'd arranged the debate, and Do Mun-hyang, the genius who'd entered the sect only ten years ago but had already reached the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Je Sang-woo was there just to enjoy watching a couple of weak juniors squabble. Do Mun-hyang had come out of worry for Mun Yoo.
"Yoo Senior Brother, are you really okay with this?"
"Senior Brother... Hyang-ah, you're already at a higher realm than me now."
Je Sang-woo eyed the two of them with a strange look—the ones he called Yoo Senior Brother and Hyang-ah, instead of Mun Senior Brother and Do Junior Sister.
When Do Mun-hyang had first shown up, he'd asked if she and Mun Yoo had something going on, and she'd denied it. But their behavior now suggested otherwise.
As the three waited in silence, a figure appeared in the distance.
Messy black hair grown out haphazardly. A thick beard swallowing his jawline from lack of care. A brown High Heaven Sect inner disciple robe draped carelessly over his body.
In one hand, he held what looked like a spellbook, reading it leisurely. In the other, he tilted a gourd bottle, chugging liquor nonstop, the intense scent of alcohol wafting from him as he approached the Dao Debate site.
Upon arriving, the man greeted Je Sang-woo, then went right back to reading his spellbook.
"......"
Mun Yoo was a bit surprised.
The Yong Yoo he knew was a sleazy, shallow guy.
A smooth-talker who dolled up his face and figure to strut around junior sisters, bowed and scraped before stronger seniors, and picked on those weaker than him—a textbook delinquent.
Once he'd run out of people to bully on Present Music Peak, he'd venture to other peaks, seeking out inferior disciples. He'd drop by Sea Severing Peak now and then to torment Mun Yoo.
Always reeking of booze, utterly serious only when harassing others and never about the path of cultivation—a prime specimen of sect trash.
But this Yong Yoo was different somehow.
The alcohol stench rolling off him was far more pungent than before, yet the usual frivolous air was gone. Beneath the unkempt hair and beard gleamed cold eyes.
"Yong Yoo. Enough prep. Let's get on with it."
Je Sang-woo hesitated, thrown by Yong Yoo's change, before speaking up. Yong Yoo finished reading his spellbook, then tossed it aside.
He stepped up to Mun Yoo and tilted back the liquor bottle in his hand, gulping it down.
Draining the last drop, Yong Yoo chucked the empty bottle away and fixed Mun Yoo with a stare, his face slightly flushed.
Mun Yoo's brow twitched at the sight.
'How much does this bastard underestimate me...'
Je Sang-woo glanced between the nonchalant Yong Yoo and the fuming Mun Yoo, then chuckled.
"Alright~ You both ready? Begin."
It wasn't a formal Dao Debate anyway. With a casual wave of his arm, Je Sang-woo signaled the start.
The instant it began, Yong Yoo moved exactly as planned.
He charged forward, swinging his arm. Unlike the original Yong Yoo, he didn't clench a fist—instead, he straightened his fingers and thrust out his palm.
But the motion was so clumsy it was laughable. Convinced Yong Yoo was underestimating him beyond belief, Mun Yoo drew his sword in fury and swung.
The blade caught the sunlight, scattering dazzling sword light as it arced toward Yong Yoo's arm.
'Alright. Now, draw up the spiritual energy... move like this...'
Yong Yoo watched it all unfold without flinching, carrying out his plan methodically.
There was no fear of his first real fight, no hesitation, no wavering.
Even after suddenly transmigrating into this xianxia world at the brink of death, facing amputation in just ten months, he'd grumbled inwardly but shown no great panic.
Instead, the moment he grasped the situation, he'd started plotting his next steps and put them into action.
Ten months.
A guy who'd lived ordinarily had spent all ten hunkered in a crude cave—eating, sleeping, fighting—handling farmwork he'd never done before based solely on Yong Yoo's lingering memories, brewing spirit liquor from scratch like a pro, and safely reaching the first layer of the Refining Qi Realm.
Even if his spiritual root was only Five Elements quality, Kang Young-jun's mental fortitude was peerlessly suited to a cultivator—flawless talent in that regard.
And now was no different.
To avoid losing his arm, he willingly repeated Yong Yoo's fateful action from the original.
One goal.
Blazing Palm Seal
Convert neutral spiritual energy from Dragon Spiritual Root to fire spiritual energy. Infuse with spiritual energy from Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art via Steel Spiritual Root.
His thrust palm instantly glowed cherry-red, wreathed in auspicious golden light.
And then.
KABOOM!!
Sword melted. All accumulated karmic force incinerated.
Yong Yoo's single palm strike melted Mun Yoo's sword in an instant and slammed into his solar plexus.
"Huh?"
Struck by the Blazing Palm Seal amplified by the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art, Mun Yoo thrashed in agony as his body ignited and all the karmic force from his past misdeeds burned away.
"Gaaahhh!!"
Yong Yoo stared in bewilderment at the Blazing Palm Seal's power, which had charred over ten paces in a heartbeat and set Mun Yoo ablaze. Je Sang-woo gaped, alternating looks between them at the sudden conclusion.
Only Do Mun-hyang poured out her spiritual power to aid Mun Yoo.
"Whoa... You might actually have a talent for Dao Combat? Oh, right."
Amazed by Yong Yoo's unexpected prowess, Je Sang-woo clapped a hand on his shoulder and declared,
"Winner! Yong Yoo!"
Having announced Yong Yoo's victory, Je Sang-woo kneaded his junior's shoulder, grinning at the discovery of such raw talent.
"Yoo Junior Brother, keep at it. Hit Foundation Establishment, and you'll really bloom."
After Je Sang-woo left, Do Mun-hyang extinguished the flames clinging to Mun Yoo's body, then carefully scooped him up and glared at Yong Yoo.
"Did you... did you really have to go this far? Yong Yoo!"
"Uh, no, that's not—"
"Just you wait. I won't stand by and let this slide!"
"Wait!"
Ignoring Yong Yoo's protests, Do Mun-hyang flew into the sky with Mun Yoo in her arms and vanished.
"......This is insane."
Left alone, Yong Yoo stood there dazed, his mind blank at the utterly unforeseen reality of having defeated Mun Yoo.