Chapter 29: Learning Lightness Arts (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Learning Lightness Arts (2)
"To use Sound Transmission, the Upper Dantian among the three dantians must be open, and one must possess at least sixty years of internal energy. As for Lightness Arts, the specific type varies depending on the depth of one's internal power."
I was currently reading the martial arts manual given to me by the Phoenix King.
Since what I needed most were the sections on Lightness Arts and internal energy cultivation, I focused my reading entirely on those parts.
I never imagined I’d spend my life reading such a legitimate-looking manual. However, the more I read, the more my disappointment grew.
"What is this? I thought it was some legendary secret manual, but this is the kind of stuff you can find at any local bookstore."
I had expected some profound, hidden secrets of martial arts, so I was incredibly let down to find it merely explaining the basics of internal energy and various fundamental techniques.
Still, since it was a gift from the Phoenix King, I figured there had to be something special about it, so I searched for the specific parts I needed.
"Lightness Arts are fundamentally divided into Lightness Skill and Lightness Technique. Lightness Skill refers to movement based purely on internal energy, while Lightness Technique refers to the principles behind the movement, implying a more detailed and profound application."
As I read on, I began to understand to some extent.
In the end, 'Lightness Technique' referred to the signature arts of various sects, while running as fast as one could using raw internal energy was simply 'Lightness Skill.'
The famous Lightness Arts of the Nine Great Sects—the Kunlun Sect’s Cloud Dragon Eight Forms, the Wudang Sect’s Cloud Ladder, or the Mount Hua Sect’s Dark Fragrance Step—were so renowned that everyone knew of them.
However, those were all advanced martial arts that only first or second-generation direct disciples could learn; they were beyond the reach of a small fry even to witness, let alone study.
As I skimmed through the manual, a section titled 'The Secret to Advanced Martial Arts' caught my eye.
"This is it! This is exactly what I was looking for!"
Excited, I shouted to myself and pumped my fists in the air.
It would have been strange if a manual from the Phoenix King wasn't a secret manual after all. I took a moment to calm my excitement, licked my finger, and carefully turned the page as if it might crumble at the slightest touch.
Gulp.
I anticipated that the secret to advanced martial arts was about to unfold before my eyes.
Oh! As expected!
It was brief. There were only five lines of text.
Since it was a secret of the highest order and not some random scribble, there was no reason for it to be long-winded. I widened my eyes and read the words.
"The secret to advanced martial arts does not exist."
What!
This is a total scam!
I was about to get angry, but just in case, I forced myself to read every single character.
"Advanced martial arts begin with the basics; they are simply the basics taken to an extreme. If one is faithful to the basics, that itself becomes an advanced martial art. An advanced martial art without a foundation will lose even to the Three Calamities Sword. However, a perfect Three Calamities Sword will never lose, even to the most advanced martial arts."
Be faithful to the basics?
Dammit, even I could say something like that.
And yet, I didn't feel angry. Those words stuck in my mind and wouldn't leave. The more I chewed on them, the more I realized they were right.
In the history of the Murim, there were indeed those who reached the ranks of top-tier masters using nothing but the Three Calamities Sword.
From that perspective, it was a valid point. But how could a dullard ever realize advanced martial arts through the basics?
That was only possible for geniuses.
However, reading this book allowed me to realize one thing: the person who wrote this manual was a martial arts genius.
I could tell that these seemingly ordinary words could only be uttered by someone who had either mastered advanced martial arts or had realized them through the basics.
"Ha! Truly, this is the secret to advanced martial arts!"
Eventually, an exclamation escaped my lips.
If a martial artist had realized such a thing, this wouldn't be a mere collection of basic techniques. No, those very basics might actually be the secret to advanced martial arts.
With that thought in mind, I continued reading, and indeed, I found content that was quite different from what circulated in the common market.
"The Lower and Middle Dantians must be formed into a Foundation Building Pill, while the Upper Dantian must be made into a Circulating Dantian for internal energy to flow continuously without interruption. Using the Lower and Middle Dantians in Lightness Arts provides explosive power for short bursts of speed, but it cannot provide the effortless endurance gained by using the Upper Dantian. Most advanced Lightness Arts of the great prestigious sects utilize the Upper Dantian."
When I first created the Ten Severing Soul Sword and was looking for an internal energy cultivation method, I had read every cheap manual I could get my hands on.
This was a phrase I had never seen in any of those books.
I understood the literal meaning of the Upper Dantian being a 'Circulating Dantian,' but I hadn't fully grasped the weight of its significance.
Furthermore, I had thought until now that energy was stored in the Upper Dantian, but I had been mistaken. The dantians where energy was actually stored were the Lower and Middle ones.
After reading this, I found my own condition even harder to understand.
If that was the case, then where did the internal power for the Lightness Arts I used yesterday come from?
Was it really the power of the elixir?
Since it was a realm beyond my understanding, I had no choice but to settle for that simple explanation.
If I were to fully digest this manual, the reason why the Upper Dantian becomes a Circulating Dantian would surely be revealed, but deciphering the text took me far too long.
Even this small amount had taken nearly six hours to decode, leaving my eyes and neck stiff. I stood up, thinking a bit of movement would help.
"I'll go practice my Lightness Arts and then come back to read more."
First and foremost, I needed to get my body accustomed to the movement, so I took action.
Through practice, I was gradually able to move my body faster.
However, there was a slight problem.
Because a powerful propulsive force was generated only in my right foot, my left foot couldn't support it properly. This created a flaw where I would lean to the left whenever I performed the Lightness Art.
To put it simply, I couldn't move in a straight line; I had to move in an arc to the right to reach my intended target.
It was a drawback caused by the Yongcheon acupoint in my right foot emitting a stronger internal energy compared to the one in my left.
"Well, it's better than nothing. As long as it's fast."
I was satisfied enough that my body could move quickly.
Since I intended to use Lightness Arts for escaping rather than attacking, speed was all that mattered.
After practicing for about two hours, I returned to my guest room.
All the way back, a nagging question that had been trailing me continued to bother me.
'It seems my Upper Dantian opened without me realizing it, but I have no idea why. I haven't undergone a Marrow Cleansing or a Rebirth, so how is it that only my Upper Dantian is open while the Lower and Middle ones remain closed?'
Even for a small fry, the dantians were extremely important, so I had paid them much attention.
'If only the Upper Dantian opens, most people are likely to go insane.'
The manual I had briefly read definitely mentioned that.
'Is the reason my memory and silver tongue are so good because my Upper Dantian is open? It said that when the Upper Dantian opens, intuition improves, leading to excellent eloquence and perception. In the end, that just means you get better at reading the room.'
Still, because I had spent every spare moment devouring martial arts manuals, I was able to make such a guess.
'I'll only know for sure once I've completely finished the Phoenix King's manual.'
Strangely, the manual given by the Phoenix King contained many details that seemed to explain my current state, which made me read it even more diligently.
Well, that must be why the Phoenix King gave it to me, saying I was in a similar situation to him and might need it.
With that comforting thought, I lay down.
I was exhausted from several days of practicing Lightness Arts from late night until dawn, trying to find my sense of balance.
"Young Hero Eo, are you inside?"
It was the voice of the maid who attended to my guest room.
"What is it?"
I couldn't bring myself to speak down to the maid.
If I couldn't even speak informally to a waiter at a tavern, how could I possibly do so to a maid of a great sect?
As they say, you have to have eaten the meat to know the taste; speaking down to others comes naturally to those who have always done it. For someone who had only ever been on the receiving end of such speech, it didn't come easily.
Because of this, rumors were actually spreading that I was exceptionally humble.
"The Fortress Lord has sent word for you to come to the main hall."
Fortress Lord Mok Yi-gun?
It had been a while since he'd summoned me after the Demon Subjugation Order, so I felt a surge of tension.
Thinking this must surely be related to the order, I stood up.
Since I was meeting the Fortress Lord, I dressed myself respectably. I set aside the old blue martial robes I had been fond of and donned the vibrant blue martial robes prepared by Ten Thousand Dragons Fortress.
"As expected, clothes make the man."
Looking in the mirror after dressing, I saw a clean-cut young man standing there.
My eyes were quite clear, my lips were appropriately red, and my nose, neither too large nor too small, gave my overall impression a soft quality. On top of that, my somewhat fair skin made me look like the son of a high-ranking official.
"The beauty that Chun Mi and Wol Hwa were so crazy about is still there."
My eyes fell on a Hero’s Headband embedded with blue jade next to the mirror, but I shook my head.
If I wore the headband as well, I would be no different from the sons of prestigious families or warriors I used to mock internally for caring more about style than skill.
'After all, I'm still just a small fry.'
When I stepped outside, the maid stared at me blankly.
Having always seen me in my shabby blue robes, she seemed taken aback by my new appearance.
"It's quite awkward, isn't it? I put some effort into my appearance since I'm meeting the Fortress Lord, but even I feel uncomfortable."
Seeing the maid's expression, I thought I had made a mistake and turned to go back into the room.
"O-oh, no! Young Hero Eo. You look so dashing that I simply lost my train of thought for a moment."
The maid's face turned red belatedly.
If an older maid reacted like that, did it mean I had finally shed some of my provincial look? The sight made me feel quite pleased.
"But why didn't you wear the Hero’s Headband?"
In Ten Thousand Dragons Fortress, all the high-ranking sons and warriors wore them.
"It doesn't suit me."
The maid nodded.
"I think you're right. Having your hair neatly combed back and tied like that feels somehow more... mysterious."
As I started walking, the maid quickly stepped ahead of me.
"I will escort you."
"There's no need. I know the way to the Fortress Lord's quarters."
The maid said as she led the way.
"This is my job. Please don't mind it. Besides, this is a sort of demonstration that I am attending to Young Hero Eo, so please don't take away my little pleasure."
I understood her meaning immediately.
On our way, many servants and maids whispered and talked as they watched us pass.
Seeing the maid puff out her chest with pride made me feel heavy-hearted on one hand and empty on the other, as if I were looking at my own self from long ago.
'I used to feel that way too, back when I served a somewhat famous warrior.'
I was about to enter the Fortress Lord's quarters when I stopped, seeing someone bowing deeply toward me.
It was the youngest of the Seven Cats.
I didn't even know the name of the eldest cat, so why would I have any interest in the youngest one's name? I gestured for him to come over.
The fellow came scurrying over.
"Lord, did you call for me?"
The unfamiliar title of 'Lord' made my skin crawl, but I endured it and spoke.
"What are you doing here?"
He wasn't a fellow I particularly liked, but since all his brothers were under my command, I felt I should at least show some interest.
"Is your body feeling better? You were quite badly injured back at the inn, weren't you?"
I casually tested him, curious to see his reaction.
The fellow immediately clasped his hands in a respectful salute.
"Thanks to you, Lord, I have realized so much. I am grateful. Furthermore, I will repay with my life the help you gave my brothers in increasing their internal energy through Acupoint Pressure Treatment."
Hmm, a good mindset. That's how it should be. Indeed.
I brushed it off as nothing and turned away.
As I moved further off, the other small fries nearby swarmed around him.
"Wow, Yi-deuk, you were telling the truth! That Young Hero Eo is your lord. To think he'd even stop to talk to you on his way."
"Of course! Young Hero Eo is our lord, but we're also comrades who fought together against the Red Robed White-Eyed Demon. I played a part in helping the Lord kill that bastard back then. Ah, just thinking about it still makes my skin crawl."
"I didn't believe you before, but now I believe that the reason you left the day Young Hero Eo did was to secretly help him."
The fellow then began to boast about the fierce battle with the Red Robed White-Eyed Demon that day, and it was quite a spectacle.
Slowing my pace to listen to him, I was portrayed as an absolute master who could fly through the sky and fire palm blasts from my hands.
Looking at him, it was clear he had become a total devotee of mine.
"That's just how small fries survive."
They were small fries because they were ordinary and naive.
That was a small fry, and that was exactly what I was.
Looking at the Seven Cats, the difference between a small fry and a master suddenly occurred to me.
If I had died fighting the Red Robed White-Eyed Demon, my name wouldn't even have been mentioned. But because I killed him, I was transformed into a master from that moment on.
In a way, the difference between a small fry and a master is simply whether you are the one who dies, or the one who kills.