Chapter 163: The Tomb of the Ming King (8)
Chapter 163: The Tomb of the Ming King (8)
Wherein lies the principle of humanity?
It is, in essence, a defiance of heaven. It is the act of leaving one's mark against the flow of years and time, and the act of subsequent generations reading those marks left by the sages of old to carry the torch forward.
One lays a foundation stone to raise a pillar; pillars gather to form a capital; the base and groundwork are established, and the cycle repeats.
The spire achieved through this vast history is the very principle of humanity. Thus, it is only natural for the logic of man to point toward the heavens. The collective sum of countless individuals reaching their hands toward the distant sky—that is the principle of humanity.
The same holds true for the martial artist.
The lower dantian—one revives the vestigial organ planted there, received from the heavens. The dantian is a gift of creation, molded by Nuwa and planted by the celestial vault. The process of reviving this and accumulating the energy of nature is the very initiation into the martial arts.
And so, man finally begins to crawl. Toward this long journey of martial arts, step by step—even if the strides are small—one step at a time.
The middle dantian—one opens the "Monarch’s Office," where the recruitment acupoint is located. At the intersection of the Conception Vessel and the blood vessels, a person's energy begins to take shape. This is called Astral Energy, and a martial artist who has achieved this is said to have reached the limit of what a human body can attain, a realm known as the Peak Realm.
And so, man finally begins to run. Toward that towering mountain of martial arts, without hesitation.
Countless people fall behind. Of those who survive, the vast majority fall away once more.
The shape of this path is a precipice. Therefore, martial artists describe this moment as having encountered "the wall."
All things in the world are destined to fall from the heavens to the earth.
Yet, only man seeks to stretch his hand toward the sky.
Though born to live bound to the soil, man has achieved the eyes to always look higher, the hunger to long for higher ground, and the will to reach for the heights.
This is called the Principle of Humanity.
Or, it is called Intent.
Ui (意) is the knowledge (Ji) of hearing the sound (Eum) of the heart (Sim).
Nyeom (念) is the constant thought (Nyeom) maintained by keeping the heart (Sim) in the present (Geum). (Shuowen Jiezi)
A realm where one can hear their own thoughts, harbor their own thoughts, and establish their own thoughts.
A realm where one realizes that the microcosm of the body originates from the "Self," and thus, is no different from one's own will.
That high peak of martial arts. A place one step beyond the Peak Realm.
This is called the Super Peak Realm.
It is the first step toward the harmony of heaven, earth, and the four seas.
And so, I grip my blade and raise it.
—Srrrng.
In this moment of gripping the hilt, I harbor no other thoughts, remaining in stillness.
I take a deep breath. This is a realm not yet permitted to me, a fragment of enlightenment I have not truly grasped.
And yet, clearly.
I have seen that point. I know the journey. I have learned the process.
True intent cannot be established by words. It is not something that can be unleashed simply by knowing.
But at the very least, I have recognized that the realm beyond exists.
I have understood the structure of the martial arts that lead to that realm.
And I have trained in a portion of those arts.
—Fwoosh.
My heart aches as if it were tearing apart. It is the sound of the lower dantian, which has used all its True Qi, and the middle dantian, which has exhausted its Astral Energy, both screaming in unison.
If I go further, I will surely fall into Qi Deviation. They are shouting a chilling warning.
But this, too, belongs to the "Self."
Knowing myself, establishing my will, I engrave this into the Heavenly Bow Diagram within me. This process requires neither True Qi nor Astral Energy. I know now that both are merely means of expressing internal intent to the outside world.
Even if only for a moment, I have become able to forge myself through will alone.
Can this realm be called the Super Peak? Well, I cannot be certain. I didn't feel the sensation of achieving something as I did when I first opened my middle dantian.
It is simply that, in my actions, there is nothing that goes against what I intend.
Yeoui—as I will it.
—Fwoosh.
A flame ignites in the center of my empty dantian. Once more, fwoosh, a spark flickers within the exhausted middle dantian. And again.
Fwoosh.
When a tiny spark crackles within the Baihui point, where the chains had been wrapped.
Finally, the last piece—which had only known form and formula—takes the shape of true martial arts.
The flames of the upper, middle, and lower dantians connect in a long line, drawing a flickering mural within my body. The name of that constellation is the true essence of the martial art.
What is the principle of the Hebei Peng Family, the logic contained within the Peng Family’s saber techniques? When we take up the saber, we do not receive lessons in profound mysteries or sophisticated forms.
The true essence of the saber is to swing faster, stronger, and more lethally. Unlike the sword, the saber is not suited for unfolding varied transformations. It is about pouring every ounce of strength into the fastest strike at the perfect moment.
That is the Soul-Stealing Blade.
When all the scattered pieces learned and practiced are gathered together.
Heaven and earth move as intended to reach their mark.
And upon the path reached, the soul is snatched away.
Its name is the Heaven and Earth Chain Soul-Stealing Blade.
*
"Who are you to be running in such haste? Your appearance is suspicious, so halt at once!"
"Ah, I know that young hero. He was the one riding the Namgung Family’s horse toward the Mount Mao Sect. Seeing as he’s coming out of a forbidden area strictly sealed by the Mount Mao Sect, he doesn't seem to be a member of the Namgung Family. Could he be a thief who stole the horse and fled?"
"If that's the case, as comrades of the Jiangnan White Forest Association, we cannot overlook this. Drop your weapons and come here at once to show us your belongings!"
A crowd gathered one by one. Some of them were familiar faces. They were part of the dragnet that had been tracking my path since the Namgung Family.
There were already dozens of them. It was certain that as the commotion continued, their numbers would only grow. After all, how many people would have rushed here after hearing the rumors about the Ming King’s tomb near Nanjing?
The man who had shouted the loudest stepped forward. He was a master who appeared to be at the late stage of the Peak Realm.
Even reaching the Peak Realm is enough to be called the top master of a small-to-medium sect. Since most martial artists hit their limit at the First-Rate level before reaching the Peak, it was a realm permitted only to the gifted.
Thus, the bearded middle-aged man gripped his sword quite gallantly and shouted as he stepped forward.
"Your behavior is most suspicious, young hero. What connection do you have with the Namgung Family that you travel with their horse? And where is that horse now?"
"We were investigating the rumors at the direct request of the Sword Empress! To think you’d dare make such a false accusation when we carry the Sect Leader’s Token of the Namgung Family!"
"If you’ve gone as far as to steal the Sect Leader’s Token, then we’ve caught a major thief today!"
At Zhuge Yeong’s shout, the man chuckled and stroked his beard with satisfaction.
His thoughts were transparent. If the Namgung Family had personally issued a Sect Leader’s Token, the chances that what was inside the Mount Mao Sect’s formation was Han Lin'er’s legacy became extremely high.
The man no longer seemed to have any intention of hiding his greed. If we possessed the Sect Leader’s Token, he couldn't let us leave alive. If he privately killed those personally requested by the Sword Empress, he wouldn't be able to survive in this land of Jiangnan.
Astral Energy bloomed from the nameless man's sword. Gripping it, he walked forward boldly, taking one more step.
And then.
—Thump.
He heard a sound like a drum beating. The moment just before his foot touched the ground. The martial arts he had built up while holding a blade throughout his life screamed a warning.
—Thump, thump.
It was just before he set down his lifted foot. In that split second, within the time perception of the Peak Realm where even the wind seemed to have stopped and flowed crookedly.
He saw a candle being lit. He saw a pale blue ghost-fire burning from the young man who stood with his back to the rising sun. The moment he met those two eyes.
‘I’m going to die...!’
There was no killing intent. No, there wasn't even a presence. Even though not a shred of killing intent could be felt from the young man standing as still as a statue, the man felt it.
Cold sweat poured, his heart raced wildly, and goosebumps erupted as the hair on his body stood on end. An intuition as if a cold blade were carving out his heart. A premonition that the martial prowess he had built for the sake of living was screaming in terror.
The trajectory of the young man's arm moving was caught slowly, very slowly, by his eyes.
Even as his gaze followed that sluggish direction, and his muscles froze solid, restricting his movement as if his life were flashing before his eyes.
—Whoosh.
Like prey facing a predator.
With his soul snatched away (Tal), frozen in place (Baek).
The saber flowed. Long and horizontal, cutting through the air. Elegant, like a rippling wave.
Like dipping a brush in ink and finishing a stroke in one flourish.
A groan that failed to become a scream flowed along that trajectory, sensing death.
—Slice.
Along with it, the sword he held was split in half and fell.
"What... in the...?"
Silence fell over the area. It happened after the blade was shattered and fell from the hand of the man who had stepped forward so confidently.
The man stared blankly at his halved sword. He traced the cut surface where the Astral Energy was slowly dissipating. It was cut cleanly, without a single jagged edge.
Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing hard was heard. It might have come from his own throat. If the strike had aimed for his neck instead of his sword, he would have fallen dead instantly.
‘What was I hit by...?’
Suddenly, the man's gaze slowly drifted to the ground. A thin, very thin line had been drawn. A single crack that had grazed the hard ground lay at his feet.
Drawing a circle like a concentric ring, a narrow circle centered around the young man. Thinking of it that way, he saw his severed sword again.
With that one move just now, everything that had crossed this line had been cut.
Looking around, it was the same for the others. The weapons of some of them, those holding long-range weapons, had also ended up like his sword.
In a single technique, he had cut everything that entered this domain in one strike. The only reason no one was dead was likely because no human body had been within that range.
He saw the young man wearing gauntlets, holding a single ink-black saber. Because his back was to the dawning light, only his pale blue eyes shimmered from his shadowed face.
"Hebei... Peng Family...?"
It was the most famous armament in the world. The Peng Family saber, said to be forged by melting the weapons of fallen martial artists, and the gauntlets resembling a tiger's paws were unmistakable.
And if one's thoughts reached that far, there was something else that came to mind.
The invisible single-strike technique. The name of the martial art that was widely renowned as the most murderous attack among the countless saber techniques in the world, the one that had taken the heads of numerous Orthodox martial artists during the previous generation's Righteous-Demonic War.
"The Soul-Stealing Blade..."
"If you know it."
The young man's saber spun again and rested on his shoulder. Standing in his original posture, he slightly revealed the saber on his shoulder and continued.
"Watch your words and actions."
The young man was clearly exhausted. His breathing was heavy, and his clothes bore many marks of a fierce battle. It was obvious that there had been a great commotion within the formation.
Therefore, this was a bluff. A bluff so obvious anyone could see it. Was he not in such a haggard state that it was uncertain if he could even follow up with another move?
However, the man did not dare to even think about stepping inside the line.
"How can the Hebei Peng Family be in this land of Jiangnan? And to appear alone, throwing around the Namgung Family's name and acting so insolently!"
Even as he said this, he backed away. Naturally, as if he were speaking to the surrounding members of the White Forest Association.
In the midst of that, his head cooled down.
‘The Soul-Stealing Blade is surely a technique of the Super Peak. Even if it were limited to a single strike, there’s no way someone of that age could have reached it. Who are the Peng Family martial artists who have achieved the realm of perfection?’
No matter how much he thought, he didn't know. Furthermore, wasn't that young man's aura only at the Peak Realm? There was no way he could have achieved perfection at that level—
"You're using shallow tricks."
"You devil of the Peng Family. No matter how high and mighty you act, you cannot dare to look down on the Jiangnan martial world. Do you think you can stop the entire Jiangnan martial world with your two hands?"
"Five."
"...What?"
The young man of the Peng Family continued. Toward the numerous martial artists surrounding him and glaring at him.
"If you step inside this circle, the first five will surely die."
"Are we going to keep listening to this brat? If you're all so afraid of that fledgling, I'll take the lead!"
One martial artist shouted gallantly and strode forward. A few martial artists with good eyes calmly backed away, clearing the path for him.
It wasn't because they expected him to win.
—Slice.
It was to learn the method of how he would die.
The head of the man who stepped over the line fell and rolled on the ground. The blade, without a single drop of blood on it, spun again and came to rest on the young man's shoulder.
"Now, four."
The young man still stood there, not hiding his fatigue, looking at the martial artists.
It wasn't just empty talk. It felt like I could maintain the Soul-Stealing Blade for up to five techniques. To begin with, it was a technique that was impossible to defend against at the Peak Realm level. Unless a master who had reached the Super Peak appeared, I was confident I could take them down one by one with each move.
Naturally, the realm of Super Peak was not common. Generally, if there were about three masters in the Harmony Realm in a single province, it was considered excessively many. The Super Peak was the same. In a single prefecture, there were fewer than ten people even by generous estimates.
Reaching the Super Peak alone earned one treatment equivalent to an elder of a great sect. It was such a rare and high realm, and reaching that level meant that even a single action would draw countless eyes.
There couldn't be a Super Peak master within the Jiangnan White Forest Association who would act ahead, knowing full well that the Namgung Family wouldn't be pleased. Their best course of action would be to quietly track and seize the person fleeing with the treasure after Han Lin'er's legacy was truly confirmed.
In other words, at this point, there couldn't be any masters of the Super Peak level among those present. I was acting on that judgment, but—
‘The escape route...’
There was none. What good does it do to kill five? There were at least thirty gathered, and the number was steadily increasing.
Jumping off the cliff... Well, as long as the river flowed toward Nanjing, that place was no different from a death trap. If I were swept down the Yangtze River, both Suzhou and Shanghai were territories of the Jiangnan White Forest Association.
Just as I was biting my lip while watching the White Forest Association martial artists creeping closer.
—Swoooooosh—!!
Something flew through the air and slammed into the ground in front of me. A flagpole fluttering in the east wind, casting a long shadow, swayed as it absorbed the impact of the throw.
—Jiangnan Heavenly Merchant Guild (江南天商幇)
Words written in a vigorous hand. It was a merchant flag made of luxurious silk.
Seeing this, I turned my gaze toward the distance.
I saw three merchant ships ascending along the Yangtze River basin, approaching.
Along with the figure of a woman glaring this way from the deck of the lead ship.
"Ha."
I'm indebted to both father and daughter.
Thinking that, a laugh escaped me.