The Value of Martial Arts
I say it again and again, but in the rivers and lakes of the martial world, the value of martial arts is beyond compare—utterly sacred. Fortunes are traded for martial arts. Lives are thrown away for martial arts. Whenever a secret manual once practiced by an ancient master appears, or a treasure map revealing the location of such a master’s hidden vault surfaces, a bloody storm sweeps through the martial world. All of it happens because martial arts hold that much priceless worth.
Even ownerless martial arts are treated this way. So what of martial arts that still have an owner? Assuming the quality is the same, they are worth even more, never less. Practitioners would rather take their own lives than let their arts be stolen. They swear eternal enmity against anyone who dares pilfer their techniques and sharpen their blades for certain revenge.
This is not limited to the secular world. Surprisingly, the Daoist sects—who claim to have cast off desire in pursuit of immortality—and the Buddhist temples—who seek nirvana—are even more extreme. When a disciple who learned the sect’s core arts breaks the rules or tries to flee, the standard punishment is to destroy their dantian and sever the meridians in all four limbs. It is no coincidence that those who learn martial arts, fail to pay the proper price, and then leave are branded as public enemies of the entire Murim.
In this way, supreme martial arts were valued more highly than human life.
The same was true for the Paeng family. To maintain the closed nature of their arts—shared only among the Paeng clan—they strictly forbade any leakage or unauthorized transmission of Paeng family techniques. Wasn’t that why they had an Enforcement Court dedicated to punishing those who broke the taboo?
And yet.
“You… you intend to teach Lady Ye-ryeong your martial arts?”
Moyong Hye asked again, unable to believe her ears. No one in this room understood the gravity of leaking martial arts better than she did. She had originally been a daughter of the Moyong family. When her political marriage to the Hebei Paeng family was arranged, the Moyong clan had placed a seal on her. They could not bring themselves to destroy the dantian of a blood relative who was leaving for a strategic marriage, so they had resorted to the power of sorcery.
Even to a member of their own family.
Yet what was Paeng Ye-ryeong to Namgung Woo? Nothing more than a stranger.
If Namgung Woo had been an ordinary young master of the later generation, Moyong Hye might have understood and accepted it. Ah, this young man wishes to become part of our Paeng family, she would have thought. Offering one’s martial arts to enter a prestigious clan through marriage was a story common enough.
But did someone like Namgung Woo truly need to do that?
He was only twenty-six—at least, that was the rumor. He had certainly not passed thirty. At that age, he was already a fully mature Transcendent Realm expert, perhaps even beyond it. Just how much value could the Hebei Paeng family possibly hold for such a man?
Probably not enough to warrant offering his own martial arts just to join them.
‘The greatest genius of the Orthodox path… at what age did Ha-gyeong Jin-in reach the Transcendent Realm?’
The great pillar supporting the Qingcheng Sect, one of the Nine Great Schools. The brightest prodigy of the Orthodox path who had single-handedly restored the half-collapsed Qingcheng Sect to its position as the greatest power in Sichuan. Moyong Hye thought that only someone like Ha-gyeong Jin-in, who had reached the Transformation Realm at the age of thirty, could possibly be compared to this young man.
‘Therefore, what this young man desires is certainly not something as trivial as becoming a member of the Hebei Paeng family. He is someone who could become a royal son-in-law if he wished.’
Pure altruism. A true hero, the likes of which could hardly be found even in the Orthodox Murim anymore.
While Moyong Hye was struck speechless by the shock, the man who rarely inspired trust in others sought a reason.
“Why?”
Paeng Ja-ryeong could not believe it. He wanted to believe it, but it was difficult. Because he himself could not have done the same. If someone told him to teach the Paeng family’s martial arts to save another, he would have chosen the martial arts nine times out of ten.
“Your Grace’s martial arts are undoubtedly a divine supreme art. You would share such a technique… simply to save a complete stranger?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Because he was not truly a man of the Murim, and although he reflected on himself and came to understand this world, Namgung Woo’s essence remained that of a modern man. In his value system, martial arts were nothing more than tools. If that were not the case, he would never have taught the Thirteen Lightning Sword Forms to the Yang twins in the first place.
Nor was Namgung Woo some naive fool who did not understand the value of martial arts. He had absolutely no intention of scattering his techniques carelessly to just anyone. However—
“Is it precious?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Is martial arts so precious? More precious than the life right before your eyes that you could save?”
“Of course……”
Paeng Ja-ryeong had been about to say it was only natural, but he realized what those words truly meant and stopped, mouth agape. This was the bearing of a great hero. It was the very heart of the Four Beginnings that Paeng Ja-ryeong himself had set aside in the name of saving his family. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom.
The answer made him think that the title of “Lord” belonged not to himself—who merely imitated it—but to this young hero before him.
“I also have no intention of teaching my arts to just anyone. I was fortunate. Among the arts I primarily practice, the only one I could offer to the Paeng family was this single technique.”
The only martial art he could give to the Paeng family was this one.
Only the Yang twins truly understood the exact meaning behind those words. The brothers realized it was not a hereditary art of the Namgung family, but a separate technique that Namgung Woo had learned on his own. The people of the Paeng family could not know the full truth, but they had caught enough hints to realize that Namgung Woo had once belonged to another faction.
But what did that matter? In the end, he was still bestowing his own divine supreme art upon them.
“Mother!”
“Matriarch!”
Shocked gasps erupted from all around at once. Moyong Hye had bent forward while still seated in proper posture, pressing both hands and her forehead to the floor. Faced with someone who was willingly offering something so precious to save her child, she could not possibly keep her head raised.
“…Please, do as Your Grace wishes.”
“Please rise. I cannot accept this.”
“Though it shames me to say so, the master of our house is currently away. Therefore, we cannot promise any specific reward. However, while I cannot make this vow in the name of the Hebei Paeng family, I will make it in the name of Moyong Hye. I swear that I will never forget this immense grace Your Grace has bestowed upon us.”
Namgung Woo gave up on trying to forcibly lift Moyong Hye and instead decided it would be better to end the situation quickly. He spoke.
“That is enough.”
Moyong Hye, who willingly prostrated herself for her child despite her noble position as the matriarch of the Hebei Paeng family, and Namgung Woo, who displayed the true bearing of a great hero and did not even speak of repayment. Moved by the sight of the two, people throughout the room began wiping away tears or clenching their fists to hold back their emotions.
Paeng Ha-ryeong stared at Namgung Woo with tears welling in her eyes, and even Paeng Ja-ryeong lowered his head in admiration. As usual, the one who shattered the solemn atmosphere appeared right on cue.
“So am I becoming his disciple now?”
At Paeng Ye-ryeong’s question—which sounded almost like she was talking to herself—Namgung Woo let out a small chuckle and slowly removed her hand from his head.
“What disciple? Being fellow students is enough.”
With other martial arts it might have been different, but in this particular technique, even Namgung Woo himself had no master. When the people were once again astonished by his declaration that he would share the art without even establishing a formal master-disciple relationship, Paeng Ye-ryeong seemed more curious about something else.
“Um… can you tell me in advance? Can you?”
“You can speak comfortably.”
“Ah. Tell me the name.”
There was no need to hide the name. Although many ears were listening, Namgung Woo readily revealed the technique’s name without hesitation.
§
The very next day after emerging from seclusion, Namgung Woo entered the training cave once again. This time, however, he was not alone. Sitting across from him was Paeng Ye-ryeong.
It was her first time coming to the training cave. Even though it was part of her own home, she looked around with wide-eyed curiosity, busy taking in every detail of the interior. She did not seem the least bit nervous that the transmission of a martial art that would decide her very fate was about to begin.
“Let’s begin now. Focus.”
“Okay.”
Though he had said they would start, Namgung Woo hesitated to reach out, unsure where to place his hands. Since it was an upper dantian technique, it would be best to make contact near that area…
“Should I hold your head with my hand?”
It might look a bit strange, but there was no one watching anyway. He reached out to press on the Baihui point at the crown of her head when Paeng Ye-ryeong suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“You said it’s better the closer you are to the upper dantian’s Yintang point, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then wouldn’t pressing our foreheads together be better?”
“Our foreheads?”
It was not a bad suggestion. If they pressed their foreheads together like when checking someone’s temperature, the distance to the upper dantian’s Yintang point would be extremely short. It would also be much easier to perform energy guidance than covering the Baihui point with his palm.
‘But no matter how you look at it, isn’t this a bit much?’
It was ridiculous to worry about such things when a life was at stake, but there was still a line between men and women. Compared to the twenty-six-year-old Namgung Woo, she was far younger—practically from a different generation. Even though she was a fourteen-year-old girl, the feeling was subtly uncomfortable. It was not so much that he felt it as a woman, but rather the very act of pressing foreheads with someone of the opposite sex he was not close to.
Perhaps growing impatient with his hesitation, Paeng Ye-ryeong pushed his limp hand aside, grabbed his head, and pulled him toward her, pressing their foreheads together first.
“Focus.”
Having his own words returned to him verbatim, Namgung Woo stared blankly into Paeng Ye-ryeong’s eyes for a moment. Her clear, luminous eyes were filled with determination, completely devoid of any shame. In those pitch-black pupils, his own face was reflected.
The distance was incredibly close. Her skin was so smooth and flawless like porcelain that pores were not visible, but it was close enough that they normally would have been.
‘Come to think of it, I should be looking through Changnyeongmanan… but since it’s still within my field of vision, it should be fine.’
Even with the Blue Serene All-Seeing Eyes, seeing a full 360 degrees was impossible, but the field of view was still wider than that of an ordinary person. In this position, he could clearly see all the acupoints and energy channels in the upper part of Paeng Ye-ryeong’s head.
“Then I will begin. I will recite the mnemonic first. Listen carefully and accept the energy entering your upper dantian exactly as it is.”
“Okay.”
Namgung Woo infused his will into the Empty Spiritual Energy of the upper dantian. Because this internal energy possessed a nature so different from ordinary inner power that it felt almost alien, it demanded an enormous amount of mental strength. Controlling such energy while speaking was quite a difficult task even for him.
“Gongryeong means to empty the spirit. However, this does not mean the loss of intellect. When full, it empties. When empty, it fills. The tides of the sea are like this. The phases of the moon are like this. The cycle of the seasons is like this. Thus, the world repeats between fullness and emptiness, and being empty while not being empty. Know that void and energy are one and the same.”
Gongryeong. Emptying the spirit. By doing so, a new spirit descends upon the empty throne of the Heavenly Emperor.
“Be tranquil and formless, and this is the Pre-Heaven. Gather your will and condense it into One Qi. From this, the Post-Heaven shall be born. The Post-Heaven is deep, unified, clear, and empty.”
Tranquil and formless. Without greed, pure and clean, its form is free. Deep, unified, clear, and empty. Clear and deep like a tranquil well, the energy that achieves primal unity is ultimately empty yet forms the root.
“Energy is void, and within the void exists truth. Therefore, deep, unified, clear, and empty must possess existence and is never non-existence. Existence is void, and void is existence.”
The Empty Spiritual Energy connected the two upper dantians through their pressed foreheads. Thoughts flowed along the bridge made of energy.
“The egg of primal energy is tranquil, empty, and pure. Energy is originally still, therefore it is yin.”
Paeng Ye-ryeong had intentionally kept her upper dantian empty. If energy accumulated, her Heavenly Gate would open even faster. That was why she already understood emptiness. Into the space left by the departing Pre-Heaven, the Post-Heaven that Namgung Woo offered began to fill.
“Therefore, this art is the study of Gongryeong and the study of Taeheo.”
The Empty Spiritual Energy circulated through both their heads along identical pathways. And the moment the energy reached the Baihui point—
The consciousness of the two soared into a higher realm. There, they saw it.
The sight of Beijing burning.