Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
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Another kind of hellish training began the very next day.
"Exhausting..."
I let out a groan while holding the horse stance atop Manjang Cliff. Of course, the horse stance was physically annoying and taxing, but for someone like me who had undergone countless physical trainings and practices, it was as natural as breathing. If I assumed my ki could supplement my stamina, I could probably maintain the horse stance for a full seven days straight.
The problem wasn't the physical strain—it was the mental one. Dugu Cheng watched me intently from the side with a stern gaze as I held the stance.
"You once said you broke through your limits with extreme physical training to achieve Sword Gang Qi."
"Yes."
"That Myeongnyongja fellow's training method is excellent, but what you need now isn't that kind of physical cultivation. You need to maintain an utmost state of stillness, clearly forge your will, and go through the process of controlling yourself."
Dugu Cheng continued.
"What's so hard about moving the body? No matter how grueling the physical training, after about thirty years, you'll have mastered everything worth doing. At your level, what you need is disciplined mental strength and control."
"But..."
"But what?"
I protested with difficulty.
"Breaking 'habits' is too hard."
That was right.
Right now, I was holding the horse stance with my mind unified, going through the process of forgetting all the habits I'd accumulated so far. But even though it wasn't physically demanding, it constantly drained my mental energy, making my head feel like it was rotting nonstop.
Dugu Cheng said.
"What do you think a habit is?"
"A bad habit you've grown accustomed to... right?"
"Listen well. In martial arts, a habit is the absolute best form that person has unconsciously chosen. Even a master can't predict what habits their disciple will develop. Unless the school deliberately trains them in, habits arise completely at random."
Dugu Cheng spoke vehemently before continuing.
"That's why physical training is actually poison right now. You'll just fall back into those forms again. And since you can't control the unconscious, you shouldn't do physical training."
"......"
"The horse stance is just the bare minimum to keep you from slacking off. Focus solely on observing yourself."
Observe yourself.
What did that even mean?
"I'm forbidding martial arts training."
I furrowed my brow, and Dugu Cheng said.
"No physical training, and don't think about martial arts mentally either. Make your void into your martial way. That's the training method suited for you."
Forbidding martial arts training sounded easy at first glance, but it wasn't. I'd only been in the horse stance for about an hour, yet martial arts kept popping into my head. Even when I tried to empty my mind, sword forms or martial arts essentials would suddenly spring up from my unconscious.
I'd been struggling like that for about three hours.
Out of nowhere, Dugu Cheng shot sword energy at me.
*Shik*
The sword energy he unleashed grazed past my throat by a hair's breadth. A little more inward, and half my neck would've been severed. As I opened my eyes slightly, Dugu Cheng bellowed.
"You just reacted!"
"If you attack, I can't help but react unconsciously."
"Kill that reaction and forget it! Suppress the very notion of using martial arts to counter."
"......!!"
"Stay tense. If you don't listen, I'll do my best to heighten the tension too."
Heighten the tension with his best effort.
I instinctively understood what that meant, and my throat started to itch. If I kept failing the training, he was saying he'd actually wound me or injure me for real.
"Dangerous!"
If it were a normal martial arts master, I wouldn't worry. But the man before me was a former elder-level expert in the Thunder God Style, naturally inheriting its extremely fierce temperament to the extreme. If he got serious, there was a high chance I'd die from excessive bleeding during training.
I gritted my teeth. Blood trickled from the corner of my lips, and my mind sharpened. I focused my spirit and began thinking about thinking nothing.
'True no-mind doesn't exist. I have no choice but to consciously reach maximum tension and then release it all at once.'
Even meditation masters might consciously achieve no-mind. But despite my long experience with meditation, it was hard to kill my body's instincts that thoroughly. So I had to use a workaround to reach no-mind.
*Chwaak*
*Chwaaak*
Sword winds sliced through the air, grazing my skin. Each time, I twitched faintly, and veins bulged fiercely on Dugu Cheng's forehead. In a deeply sinister voice, he pointed his sword at me and said.
"...Right. A finger or so..."
Dangerous.
He was serious.
I hurriedly opened my eyes and said.
"Wait a moment! This training method is too reckless."
"Shut up. You think you can question my training?"
I cried out like a scream.
"If I had high dormant insight, I could succeed easily. But I'm not talented at all."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Dugu Cheng blinked as if he'd heard something bizarre. He didn't flare up immediately, so he seemed flustered too. I gritted my teeth and told him.
"I raised my martial realm quickly using special tricks, but in reality, I'm below average. I can't respond even if you force insight on me. I think this training method isn't good."
"No way."
Dugu Cheng shook his head in disbelief.
"I've rarely seen anyone your age reach that level in the world. If you're not a martial arts genius, then who is?"
"That's what I'm saying—I'm not a genius."
"You little bastard... are you mocking me?"
*Kikikiging*
Dugu Cheng's eyes glimmered faintly, and suddenly lightning sparked from his sword. I knew that lightning wasn't just Thunder Spirit Qi—it was a special realm called Sword Thunder.
'The Sword Demon said never to face Sword Thunder head-on.'
The Sword Demon hadn't explained in detail, but even for him, who had sublimated Zhang Sanfeng's insights, Sword Thunder must possess overwhelming attack power. If I faced it, I'd die or suffer severe injury without fail.
I answered calmly.
"I'm not mocking you at all. I can explain, so please calm your anger for a moment."
"Fine. You better explain properly."
Dugu Cheng didn't finish his threat, but it was obvious what would happen otherwise—he'd kill me or cripple me. He seemed milder-tempered than Lee Gwang, but he was still Thunder God Style through and through. I swallowed hard and said.
"For nearly a decade, I've received the Sword Demon Sect Leader's full support. More than I deserved. He abandoned his own cultivation time to focus on teaching me, so my originally stagnant realm kept expanding."
"That alone doesn't explain it. You know countless other martial arts too."
"The Sword Demon Sect Leader melted them down, interpreted them, and taught them to me one by one. I've just been receiving it all this time."
"......"
Dugu Cheng's jaw dropped. He didn't look convinced; instead, he spat out in disbelief.
"He was that devoted to raising you? If he obtained Zhang Sanfeng's peerless martial arts, he'd be in secluded training day and night—yet he spent that much time? That's impossible for any martial artist."
I stared straight at Dugu Cheng and argued strongly.
"But it's the truth. Because he gave up his personal training time to help me, I reached a realm beyond my station."
"Hah... so you're saying... I matched that Sword Demon?"
As I fell silent, Dugu Cheng stood in place, lost in thought for a long while. Then he said.
"Your words aren't very credible. But if you're that averse to insight training, let's find another way."
"Thank you."
"You'll be held accountable for what you said today."
Murmuring that, Dugu Cheng said.
"That's enough for today. Go rest. We'll plan again tomorrow."
I released the horse stance and descended to the clearing near the cliff. I roughly wove branches into a roof to shelter from the dew. After starting a fire for warmth, I fell asleep by the bonfire.
The next day, when I arrived at the training spot, Dugu Cheng was already waiting. Sitting on a rock, he stared piercingly at me and said.
"This won't do. I can't proceed with training like this."
"What do you mean...?"
"To control the myriad martial styles mixed in you and teach you the Thunder God Style's supreme swordsmanship, superficial probing from me won't cut it. I need advice from someone who's been watching you closely all this time."
With that, Dugu Cheng said.
"I need to meet the Sword Demon."
It was unexpected.
Dugu Cheng, who had secluded himself for over half a century cultivating martial arts to perfect the Thunder God Style's swordsmanship, was coming out into the world? That alone signified a readjustment of the world's martial power balance. I looked at him in surprise and said.
"Are you sure that's okay? You said you wouldn't emerge until perfecting the Thunder God Style's swordsmanship, and you promised the Thunder God Style's guardian warriors too..."
"The Thunder God Style's swordsmanship is already at completion. Truly sublimating it isn't done through simple training. And the promise with them was just not to return to headquarters or push for Thunder God Style revival, so it's fine."
"Hmm."
"Besides, I want to discuss martial theory with a master on the Sword Demon's level."
I could guess Dugu Cheng's mindset. He had already established the Thunder God Style's swordsmanship in his own way and reached a realm where he saw no further progress. Now he needed external help. And it seemed he planned to make debating with the Sword Demon and teaching me into his own cultivation. I couldn't help but admire his diligent passion.
'Dugu Cheng abandoned his blood kin to join the Thunder God Style and lived solely for martial arts his whole life. And even then, he could forsake all life's pleasures to immerse himself solely in it...'
My fondness for Dugu Cheng rose inwardly. I nodded and replied.
"Then please come with me. The Sword Demon Sect Leader will be thrilled."
"Good."
At that moment, the Sword Demon's secret message flashed in my mind.
[Come in a month.]
The Sword Demon had deliberately sent me out to expose a vulnerability while monitoring the Zhuge clan's movements. Rushing back now via teleportation jades wouldn't help at all. Since training had just started, I needed to kill at least ten days to half a month elsewhere.
'Hmm... where to spend the time?'
Fortunately, Dugu Cheng didn't know much about the Shadowless Gate being in Goryeo. He just thought we were from somewhere in the Central Plains.
'Even in Sichuan, if Dugu Cheng uses lightness skill with intent, ten days to Goryeo is plenty. I need to steer the conversation differently.'
Soon, a good idea struck me, and I said to Dugu Cheng.
"I have a favor to ask."
"What?"
"I've received a secret mission from the Sword Demon Sect Leader, so I need to stop by Dongyeong. If it's okay, could you help me with it a bit?"
"Hmm, Dongyeong?"
"Yes."
Dugu Cheng said with evident displeasure.
"Why go to that land of those Yi barbarians? State your business clearly."
"It's none other than this: I've obtained information that Azure Moon, one of the Thunderclap Three Venerables, is in seclusion in some forest in Dongyeong. I need to verify if it's true."
Dugu Cheng's expression turned shocked.
"Azure Moon! That guy's in Dongyeong? Why?"
"I understand it's to obtain a special martial art called the Round Moon Heavenly Killing Method."
"What...?"
His face grew deadly serious. He pondered deeply before saying.
"How do you know?"
"The Shadowless Gate is currently under the Thirteen Laws, so we heard the news from nearby Dongyeong."
"If that's certain... we must go to Dongyeong. Do you know the exact location?"
"I heard it's a place called Aokigahara Marsh."
"Let's go."
Dugu Cheng clenched his fist.
"Azure Moon was the most diligent and hardworking in the Thunder God Style. If that guy went to barbarian lands for that cursed killing art, I can't just leave him be."