Chapter 74: You Lack Momentum
Yeop Hyeon couldn't believe the scene unfolding before his eyes. How arduously had he trained just to crumble that mountain?
Yet Ji Yuan Zhang had pulverized it with a single, effortless fist.
Of course, he knew the dean was powerful. But feeling that strength firsthand made Yeop Hyeon's heart surge once more.
It was truly an invincible strike.
"Do you know your greatest weakness?"
Yeop Hyeon shook his head.
"When you rage, your killing intent is ample, but your momentum falls short. Your destructive power isn't lacking, of course. If you could infuse that killing intent with momentum, you'd grow even stronger. That alone would bring you one step closer to becoming a martial grandmaster."
Ji Yuan Zhang gazed at the ruined little hill as he spoke.
"Momentum is about mastering your mind. In the past, you saw that as an unbreakable mountain. The moment that thought takes hold, you've already lost to your opponent. But if you view what's before you as mere trash, it becomes trash—easily shattered."
"But that's no trash. Your words sound a bit like deception."
"Well said!"
Ji Yuan Zhang turned back toward Yeop Hyeon.
"It's impressive that you can think that way. But momentum is, above all, confidence. The self-assurance of being invincible. You must see anyone blocking your path as trash. Of course, you need to distinguish confidence from arrogance. Strategically despise your foes, but tactically, never grow complacent. That's the key."
The dean pointed to the collapsed hill.
"Before I struck it, I saw it as nothing but trash. But in the instant I moved, I cast that thought aside and unleashed my full power. Keep your mind light, but your strike heavy."
Yeop Hyeon stared at the hill, lost in thought for a moment.
Soon after, Ji Yuan Zhang continued.
"Do you know why An Ranxiu is so strong?"
Yeop Hyeon had no answer.
"Her strength lies in her momentum. No matter how much stronger her opponent, she never shows fear. Even facing me, she never yielded in presence. She's not stronger than me, but she never feared me. For a young warrior to possess such momentum is exceedingly rare."
Ji Yuan Zhang took a swig from his flask, as if his throat burned.
"Ahem... You lack her kind of momentum, but you have something others don't."
"What is it?"
"Guts!"
"Guts?"
Yeop Hyeon didn't quite grasp it.
"You lack An Ranxiu's momentum, but you have a heart that fears no one. At Canglan Academy, even knowing you couldn't win, you faced them without fear. And against An Ranxiu, I saw no terror in you. That's probably why she treats you with such care."
Ji Yuan Zhang met Yeop Hyeon's eyes.
"You may be weak, but you've got unyielding guts."
"......"
"Follow me!"
The dean led Yeop Hyeon to another mountain. This one was several times larger than the last.
The hill Ji Yuan Zhang had just demolished had been almost too small to call a mountain. The one before them now truly embodied a mountain's majesty—immense and towering!
"What do you think of this mountain?"
Yeop Hyeon eyed it for a moment.
"If you told me to shatter it with my fist, I'd think you'd lost your mind, Dean..."
Ji Yuan Zhang swigged his flask and replied.
"That's your weakness. It's praiseworthy that you feel no fear. But you don't realize your own strength. I want to teach you the momentum of the Overlord Path. No—you already possess it. It only emerges when your sister's in danger."
The dean looked at Yeop Hyeon.
"Stand here and reflect on my words. Return once you've grasped it."
With that, Ji Yuan Zhang staggered to a broad rock and flopped down. Soon, his snores echoed through the silent mountains. Truly remarkable—he could fall asleep anywhere the moment he lay down.
Yeop Hyeon contemplated the mountain before him.
"Momentum?"
He had sensed that 'momentum' from An Ranxiu before.
She exuded an aura that seemed unbeatable by anyone.
Of course, he'd felt even greater momentum from another. The Heavenly Maiden.
That day, atop the cloud ship, as she brought down her Water Sword...
It had shaken him to his core.
"My one sword stands here. If I will you to live, you live; if I will you to die, you die..."
One Sword Determines Life and Death!
Reciting the sword art, Yeop Hyeon seemed to grasp something. He hurriedly drew the Spirit Water Sword.
Gripping it, he stared endlessly at the mountain. Images of the Heavenly Maiden atop the cloud ship flooded his mind.
With her Water Sword in hand, she seemed to declare that no one in this world could kill her.
Is this the momentum the Dean means?
She used the same One Sword Determines Life and Death. Why does mine feel so different?
Beyond realms, perhaps I was already defeated in mindset?
One Sword Determines Life and Death.
When unleashing such a technique, it wasn't about realm superiority—it was momentum.
The resolve: if I will my foe to live, they live; if to die, they die without fail!
A faint smile crossed Yeop Hyeon's lips.
"I've misunderstood it from the start."
He slowly raised his head, locking eyes on the mountain ahead.
Whiiiing—!
A low sword cry resonated through the air.
And in that instant!
Boom—!
A fierce energy erupted from Yeop Hyeon's body, cracking the ground beneath his feet.
Ji Yuan Zhang, now awake, stared dumbfounded and muttered.
"That rascal! I taught him fist momentum, and he awakens sword momentum? Is that even possible?"
Sword Momentum!
From Yeop Hyeon, holding the Spirit Water Sword, overflowed an overbearing aura.
Channelled through the sword, it was sword momentum.
Yeop Hyeon advanced slowly toward the mountain. With each step, the ground cracked several zhang ahead without fail.
Craaaack!
When he halted, the earth around him split open over a dozen zhang, like parched land in drought.
Ji Yuan Zhang's eyes, watching him, held no trace of drunkenness—only solemn intensity.
Even without swinging, Yeop Hyeon's aura pierced the skin palpably.
This was no mere sword technique's power.
The dean's curiosity shifted. No longer about what momentum Yeop Hyeon would unleash, but how he wielded such terrifying swordsmanship.
Suddenly, Yeop Hyeon's movements ceased. His enveloping sword momentum vanished.
He lowered his gaze to the faintly vibrating Spirit Water Sword.
"I won't disgrace your name!"
Whiiiing—!
As if in response, the sword cried out.
Yeop Hyeon smiled faintly, releasing his grip. The Spirit Water Sword shot forth like a streak of light.
Sword light flashed wildly around him.
Control Sword with Qi!
Through training, his bond with the Spirit Water Sword had reached its peak. His sword control was far smoother than before.
"Why not swing it?"
Yeop Hyeon turned to Ji Yuan Zhang. With a gesture, the Spirit Water Sword settled at his right side. He grinned and replied.
"No need to try. I've already grasped the momentum."
His One Sword Determines Life and Death, if ranked, surpassed Earth-grade. Infused with earth's power, it rivalled Heaven-grade techniques.
To him, it was more than a technique—it embodied sword principles and his very mindset.
Ji Yuan Zhang studied him, then burst into laughter.
Changmok Academy had discarded this gem themselves! It was, without doubt, their greatest blunder in a century.
Conversely, bringing Yeop Hyeon here would be etched as his finest act in old age.
The dean clapped Yeop Hyeon's shoulder.
"Truly impressive!"
With a satisfied expression, he departed.
Yeop Hyeon didn't follow. He sheathed his sword and clenched his fist toward the mountain.
Whoosh—!
Intangible energy burst from his fist.
He walked slowly toward the mountain. At its cliff face, cracks suddenly spiderwebbed across the rock.
Yeop Hyeon closed his eyes slowly.
He gripped his fist tighter.
Crunch!
The cliff fractured endlessly, accelerating.
Overwhelm foes with momentum!
Fist path? Sword path?
They differed in execution, but their essence was one.
Yeop Hyeon's eyes snapped open. He unleashed a single fist toward the cliff.
Boom—!
His fist pierced straight through. A massive, unfathomable cave yawned in the cliff!
This strike fused Fist Collapse with One Sword Determines Life and Death's sword intent. A mere whim of a punch, yet it unleashed unexpected might.
It fell short of One Sword's dominance, but dwarfed his prior Fist Collapse several times over!
Potent enough to obliterate even a Soaring Realm expert!
Yeop Hyeon smiled at his fist.
"Let's call this stance 'One Fist Head-Burst'—one punch to shatter your skull! My own creation, designed to blow heads clean off! Heh heh heh!"
With that, Yeop Hyeon descended the mountain.
Moments after he turned away, the colossal peak let out a thunderous roar and collapsed.