Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 28
>Chapter Title: Treasure Trove (2)
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“Isn’t this the original?”
-That’s right. At least this one isn’t.
Cheongryeong spoke as if surprised by Mok Kyung-un’s question.
And well she might be, since even copies would naturally wear out over time.
But there was no way a freshly transcribed book that hadn’t even been used much would have what looked like bloodstains.
“Well, that makes sense. There must be various reasons. Maybe they accidentally left the original here by mistake. Or perhaps they kept the clean copy in the main stronghold...”
-There’s no way it would be swapped for something like that.
Cheongryeong firmly denied Mok Kyung-un’s speculation.
“Huh?”
-You wouldn’t understand yet, mortal, but originals carry a special meaning.
“A meaning? What kind?”
-Most original martial arts manuals are written by the very person who created the technique.
“Then it would have value as the creator’s own work.”
He seemed to recall hearing something like that from Grandfather.
She’d said the value of a poem copied from Confucius differed from one penned by Confucius himself.
It was probably something along those lines.
But Cheongryeong continued.
-The creator’s value might play a part, but more importantly, it’s the writing itself.
“The writing?”
-Strokes are traces. What did this seat tell you when teaching you martial arts?
“Traces are...”
-The martial arts itself.
Would Mok Kyung-un truly grasp why she’d said that?
Comprehension varied by enlightenment.
Even someone whose internal energy had reached the peak of the pinnacle might fail to understand if their enlightenment was lacking.
Yet,
“No stroke contains as much as that. Each trace embedded there could hold the creator’s habits. And those habits might encode the essence of the forms.”
‘!?’
Cheongryeong couldn’t hide her astonishment at Mok Kyung-un’s words.
She hadn’t expected much.
But Mok Kyung-un had given exactly the answer she’d hoped to hear.
‘This guy...’
It wasn’t just his superhuman memory.
His comprehension was extraordinary too.
A novice who’d barely begun learning martial arts was casually discussing concepts that even super-elites would only half-grasp.
Of course, it wasn’t true enlightenment, but it was still shocking.
‘...I wonder what he’d have become if he’d started training from a younger age.’
He might have reached the super-elite realm before even turning twenty.
Regardless of whether she liked him or not, Mok Kyung-un’s talent was frightening.
As she marveled, Mok Kyung-un spoke to her.
“Was I wrong?”
“...You’ve got the gist of it.”
She avoided outright praise to prevent arrogance.
But at her response, Mok Kyung-un smirked.
She’d only answered after he prompted her, yet she claimed he’d grasped it “well enough.”
‘Looks like I nailed it.’
Still, he had no intention of gloating.
For him, mastering martial arts was just sharpening the blade for his revenge.
To such a Mok Kyung-un, Cheongryeong said,
-Ahem... In any case, as you said, originals infuse each stroke with the creator’s true intent, making them concentrations of enlightenment. That’s why even peak masters study various original manuals to broaden their insight.
“I see. Good to know.”
-In any event, this manual being here doesn’t seem like a mistake.
Since copies lacked the creator’s intent, she didn’t think it was an error or a swap due to dirtiness.
Mok Kyung-un nodded and replied,
“Got it. Time’s short, so I’ll keep memorizing.”
-Do so.
-Flip! Flip!
Mok Kyung-un turned the pages.
Just like before, he tried to imprint the forms with his eyes.
But,
‘Strokes...’
Human consciousness sometimes moved contrary to one’s intentions.
Having realized the meaning of strokes through Cheongryeong, Mok Kyung-un began memorizing not just the text, but consciously noting each stroke’s shape.
‘The lines of the strokes...’
Their thickness revealed wrist movements.
Then, at some point during the imprinting, a strange phenomenon occurred in Mok Kyung-un’s mind.
Even Cheongryeong hadn’t anticipated it.
‘Ah!’
In Mok Kyung-un’s mind appeared an old Taoist whose face was obscured, tracing palm form trajectories as if dancing softly.
They were the forms of the Great Ultimate Soft Palm.
It was astonishing.
How could reading text make each motion visible so precisely?
He could even see where the power gathered and released.
Truly bizarre.
Thanks to this, the most primal forms as intended by the creator imprinted directly into Mok Kyung-un’s mind.
At that moment, a verse flashed through Mok Kyung-un’s mind.
-Flip! Flip!
When he turned the final page, Mok Kyung-un’s expression was somewhat excited.
‘What is this?’
It was a feeling he’d never experienced before.
For an instant, it was as if he’d merged with the creator, tasting the true flow of the Great Ultimate Soft Palm’s forms.
It felt utterly different from merely imprinting and mimicking with the body.
‘Not bad.’
He wanted to feel it again.
Unfortunately, most other manuals besides this one were likely copies.
He might never experience it again.
Wearing a regretful expression, Mok Kyung-un asked,
“...What should I learn next?”
-Not here. Look at the sixth from the bottom on the next shelf.
“Sixth...”
This time, it was a sword manual called Immeasurable Fifteen Swords.
Mok Kyung-un opened it, assuming it was a copy, but his newfound habit forced him to imprint the strokes in detail.
Yet,
‘Huh?’
In Mok Kyung-un’s mind appeared a middle-aged master executing sword forms again.
The master’s sword forms used a heavy sword, and with each swing, the power at the tip surged dramatically, living up to the name “immeasurable.”
For Mok Kyung-un, who’d never trained with a weighty heavy sword, this was a novel experience.
-Twitch!
‘...This guy?’
Watching Mok Kyung-un turn pages, Cheongryeong couldn’t hide her puzzlement.
His paging speed had slowed slightly from before.
Now, it took about twenty-five to thirty counts to scan a single manual.
Of course, it was still incomparably faster than any normal person.
“Ah...”
-What is it?
“It took a bit longer, didn’t it?”
-...It slowed a little, but you think it took twenty-five to thirty counts?
“Only that much?”
-Yes.
Mok Kyung-un was inwardly surprised by Cheongryeong’s words.
Both the Great Ultimate Soft Palm and this Immeasurable Fifteen Swords had made him feel merged with the writer, executing the forms together, so time had seemed to crawl.
Yet it had only been that short?
“How strange. Only that much time passed.”
-...Wait. You felt time slowing down?
“Yes.”
-Hah.
She let out an exasperated sigh.
Puzzled, Mok Kyung-un asked,
“Why?”
-You entered a state of no-mind.
State of no-mind.
Literally a realm where the self vanished, meaning the mind became absorbed in one thing, forgetting oneself.
For Mok Kyung-un, still lacking enlightenment, to slip into no-mind while reading verses?
Such cases were exceedingly rare.
‘Should I be happy about this?’
She didn’t know what to say.
Whether genius or dullard, martial arts learners followed similar sequences and enlightenment paths.
But Mok Kyung-un’s were completely jumbled.
No-mind during memorization, not even meditation?
Had there ever been such a case?
‘But what exactly did he immerse in?’
Memorizing faster than speed-reading—what had he lost himself in during those fleeting moments?
Curious, but time was short, so,
-Don’t dwell on entering no-mind. It means you’re gaining something.
“Is that so?”
-More importantly, hurry and memorize the rest. We need to finish this floor quickly and head to the third.
The second floor was a taste of advanced martial arts.
The third held some super-advanced ones even she acknowledged.
Memorizing them all would elevate Mok Kyung-un’s martial insight beyond compare to when he’d entered.
‘A shame.’
Cheongryeong suddenly felt regret.
If this were the main stronghold’s treasury, she knew some hidden manuals.
But this was a copy repository—no way they’d transcribed those secrets.
And so, over this brief time, Mok Kyung-un memorized forty-five martial arts manuals from the second floor.
He could have done more, but the no-mind immersion lengthened with each one, taking this long.
It wasn’t truly long, but it had felt so to Mok Kyung-un.
-Now, to the third floor.
“Yes.”
Having memorized all worthwhile items from the second, they ascended.
Unlike the lower floor’s shelves, some spots on the third were empty.
Most here were advanced, with occasional super-advanced mixed in, so quantities were naturally limited.
‘...They replicated it almost exactly.’
Surveying the third-floor shelves, Cheongryeong inwardly clicked her tongue.
Some differences or additions aside, the arrangement closely matched her memory.
Even the copies were organized evocatively of the past.
If her memory held, in the original repository, on the third shelf from the right, top right end, would be that manual she’d hidden...
‘!?’
Suddenly, Cheongryeong doubted her eyes.
There, precisely, was the White Sheep Sword Method she’d slotted in.
‘They even copied that?’
Impossible.
Excluding the two damaged, torn pages she’d hidden inside, it was a sword manual suited only for second- or first-rate learners.
No way they’d copied it.
Even if they had, omitting the damaged parts, they’d have placed it on the first floor, not here.
“...Ryeong.”
-......
“Cheongryeong.”
-Ah!
“What manual next?”
At his question, Cheongryeong said hopefully,
-Pull out the one at the top right end of the third shelf from the right.
“White Sheep Sword Method?”
-Yes.
Mok Kyung-un went to the third shelf as instructed and pulled out the White Sheep Sword Method from the top right end.
The cover’s ink was smudged, and the first page slightly curled.
-Hah!
Seeing it, she let out an incredulous scoff.
Puzzled, Mok Kyung-un asked,
“What is it?”
-...This seat is such a fool for only realizing now.
“Realizing what?”
-They moved them here.
“Moved what?”
-The manuals here are originals.
“What? These are originals?”
-Yes. I thought it felt off. Seeing that one in your hands confirms it. Haah.
At her words, Mok Kyung-un’s eyes narrowed.
Truth be told, without telling her, he’d entered no-mind with every manual she’d selected.
He’d inwardly questioned if they were truly copies.
Her saying this made it clear: these were originals.
But without showing it, Mok Kyung-un opened the manual.
However,
“Hm?”
Tucked inside was a folded sheet of paper.
-Ah, it’s still here.
“You know what this is?”
-How could I not? This seat placed it here personally. To think it remained all this time.
“You seem quite pleased.”
-Ahem.
“That makes sense. But what is it?”
Mok Kyung-un pulled out the folded paper and said.
She spoke in a somewhat meaningful tone.
-This seat’s perfected Moonlit Sword Forms began with that—not an exaggeration.
“Oh?”
Curious, Mok Kyung-un unfolded the paper.
On the single sheet, front and back, were verses for sword forms.
The front began with this technique’s name and form:
“Moonless Empty Sword, Moon Facing Defeat Sword...”
-Consider it fortune. Those are the sole surviving forms of the Moonless Empty Sword, one of the Five Great Sword Arts that once symbolized the ancient martial world.
At her words, Mok Kyung-un imprinted the forms with his eyes.
Then, in his mind, someone pallid-faced like a scholar wielding a sword executed them.
-Shiver!
Instantly, goosebumps rose across Mok Kyung-un’s body.
These sword forms sent transcendent chills unlike any he’d seen before.