Chapter 100: Window of the Heart (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: Window of the Heart (1)
What did it mean to be a lay disciple of the Wudang Sect yet possess no internal energy?
The Wudang Sect was a titan of the martial world, a power that stood as an equal to Shaolin. Its internal arts were known to be profound and mysterious beyond measure.
“There are circumstances behind it. So, I am telling you: do not go showing off your strength against me for no reason. Doing as I say will actually be more helpful to you.”
“I… I understand.”
Seok Myeong bowed his head again.
Certainly, suppressing both his external and internal energy to face an opponent purely with forms and movement would be a difficult task, even for him.
However, the more difficult the challenge, the more there was to gain. He steeled his resolve.
“Let us begin.”
Hong Jun-gyeong beckoned toward Seok Myeong with a slight tilt of his head.
“…Yes.”
Yet, a sudden doubt flickered in Seok Myeong’s mind. No matter how much he tried to trust the man, there were too many things that were difficult to reconcile.
His eyes…
First, the higher a master’s level, the clearer the light emanating from their eyes. In the case of a transcendent absolute master, they could control and hide such things, but Seok Myeong didn’t feel that was the case here. He was someone who had felt an ominous sensation even from the woman who had just been unleashing Sword Force.
If Hong Jun-gyeong was a master several levels above that woman, the only conclusion was that he was the greatest master under heaven.
His posture, too…
Second, there were openings. Far too many. His head, shoulders, flanks, and even his lower body were exposed.
A trained martial artist naturally eliminates openings in every corner of their body before a fight. It was as natural as calluses forming on the palms after years of holding a sword. Yet, the man before him looked like nothing more than a commoner holding a stick. Seok Myeong worried that if he swung his branch, the old man would simply collapse with a groan.
“Are you not coming?”
“…Then, I shall take the lead.”
Seok Myeong steadied his reluctant heart. If the opponent was merely putting on a front, his true colors would be revealed in a single move. That would be a lesson in itself. It was also a good learning experience to see how a man with nothing could make a seasoned warrior hesitate so much.
Step.
As he took his stance, Seok Myeong habitually observed his opponent again. There was still nothing threatening about his appearance. His posture and the way he looked at Seok Myeong remained largely unchanged.
If he had to pick one thing… it was that there was no fear in the man’s eyes.
Clack.
“Wait…?”
Then, something strange happened. In the brief moment Seok Myeong hesitated, the old man’s branch moved toward him. Before he knew it, their branches were touching.
Seok Myeong looked at him with a bewildered expression—a silent question asking what this was supposed to mean.
“Try to move.”
At his words, Seok Myeong moved his branch to the side. He moved laterally rather than forward, intending to disengage easily.
…?
But that was a dangerous thought. The moment he tried to pull his branch away, he found himself completely defenseless. In other words, the more he tried to break away from the opponent’s branch, the more he exposed himself to danger.
What a mistake.
Seok Myeong realized his error. He knew exactly what the opponent’s action was.
Adhering Sword.
It was a technique he taught Hyeok-jin and his sparring partners whenever he had time—a method of maintaining balance while keeping one’s sword pressed against the opponent’s. However, because he had moved his branch hastily to end the match quickly, Hong Jun-gyeong’s branch had followed, remaining stuck to his own.
As a result, he had exposed a weakness. Seok Myeong decided that separating the two branches was the priority and focused his efforts.
The core of Adhering Sword is the balance of power. It isn’t the stronger person who wins, but the one who better utilizes the opponent’s strength to achieve their intent. This meant that one had to use less strength than the opponent to avoid being moved in the direction they desired.
In that case…
This time, Seok Myeong decided to lure him. He intended to move his branch sharply from right to left to draw the man’s attention, then immediately strike with a palm.
Swish, swish.
As Seok Myeong intended, the two branches twisted sharply to the left.
It was then.
Whoa!
Hong Jun-gyeong’s branch pushed his own away with powerful force. It wasn’t an attack infused with internal energy, yet he must have been manipulating his energy somehow. For instance, the branch had become as rigid as a steel sword.
Thud. Thud.
Seok Myeong took two steps back and raised his voice.
“Did we not agree not to use internal energy?”
“I didn’t use any.”
At Hong Jun-gyeong’s words, a look of displeasure crossed Seok Myeong’s face.
“I did not expect an elder to lie. You clearly pushed me back with internal energy…”
“I speak on the name of Wudang. I did not use internal energy. My dantian has been destroyed, so it would be more accurate to say I couldn’t use it even if I wanted to.”
Seok Myeong flinched. He was about to press further but stopped. Whatever the man’s circumstances, if he were lying, he would have no reason to deny it by swearing on the name of the sect he once belonged to.
Hong Jun-gyeong was not a warrior of the Jianghu, but a mere representative of the Cutting Sword Gate. And Seok Myeong was in a hurry to leave. In the first place, this duel had started because the man offered to teach him a lesson when he was about to go. Seok Myeong pushed his doubts aside and continued.
“Then why did the branch not break?”
“Well, I wonder why?”
“Elder Hong!”
Seok Myeong frowned, but the man didn’t explain. He simply gave a thin smile and continued.
“This is your problem.”
“Pardon?”
“You do not utilize Harmony. That is why you cannot grow further.”
“……?”
“You look like you don’t believe me. Are you the type who needs to be spoon-fed even after the feast is already laid out?”
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Hong Jun-gyeong clicked his tongue and walked toward a nearby wall. He snapped off a branch similar to the one he was holding. Then, he performed a simple motion toward the wall.
“Do you know why Taiji aims for softness?”
“Is it not because softness overcomes hardness?”
“Correct. It is because softness is considered the truth. But that is not all.”
He thrust the branch forward.
Snap.
Since it was a wall built of solid stone, it was only natural for the branch to break.
“Taiji is based on softness. Because it is Taiji, it can draw out all of a person’s strength.”
He tossed away the broken branch. Then, he slightly twisted a whole branch and thrust it forward.
Thwack!
In that moment, something incredible happened. The branch did not break; instead, it sank deep into the stone wall. It was a phenomenon that should have been impossible without internal energy.
“H-How did you…?”
As Seok Myeong stared with wide eyes, Hong Jun-gyeong chuckled.
“It was merely a change in posture.”
“Posture, you say…?”
“Indeed. It is merely posture, yet it is not light. If you thrust with your palm facing the ground, you only use the strength of your arm. But if you thrust with your palm facing the sky, you use the full strength of your body. The power of the lower body circulates, travels through the wrist, and unfolds—this is Taiji. To use all of one’s strength, and further, to use the opponent’s strength against them—that is all Taiji.”
At those words, Seok Myeong felt a jolt run through his body as if he had been struck by lightning. For a moment, he thought of Baek Yang-cheon’s final sword form.
The fusion of internal and external arts—it was about using the primordial force that acts upon a human being before any fusion occurs. That was what made superhuman strength possible.
“Then, is the Taiji you just displayed the ultimate truth?”
Looking into Seok Myeong’s trembling eyes, the old man continued.
“You foolish boy. Where in the world is there a single truth? If there are teachings in Wudang, you must remember there are also teachings in Qingcheng. The strength they speak of is not a fleeting strength. They must have their own strengths that differ from softness.”
“…….”
Seok Myeong could not answer. Watching him, Hong Jun-gyeong chuckled and said, “You must go further. If one day you can reach a realm where you are not bound by softness or hardness, you will be able to see a much wider world than you do now.”
“That realm is…”
“Yes, it could be Sword Force. Or it could be something even stronger.”
The old man grinned at Seok Myeong.
Seok Myeong was seized by a mysterious sensation. It felt as if the things he knew were slowly disappearing. At the same time, he felt as if he were witnessing an unknown power right before his eyes.
“Thank you.”
Seok Myeong bowed deeply. He offered a formal salutation toward Hong Jun-gyeong. The old man looked at him and waved his hand, appearing as if Seok Myeong’s gesture was a burden.
Step. Step.
As Seok Myeong walked out the gate with a dazed mind, half-intoxicated by the lingering images of the lesson, Hong Jun-gyeong clicked his tongue.
“I told you not to watch from afar.”
“My apologies. How could I not be curious when you were personally taking action, Elder?”
A man walked out slowly from the Triple Gate. It was Hu-gae, the beggar Seok Myeong had seen before arriving at the Cutting Sword Gate.
“What if that boy had caught you?”
“Well, I could have just said I was passing by while looking for a meal. Where can a beggar not go?”
“You rascal, you always have an answer.”
Hong Jun-gyeong smiled faintly. In that moment, his bone structure began to shift slightly. His facial bones also began to move independently, and after a short while, his original face was revealed.
His eyes became very small. His eyebrows were white and sparse. His lips narrowed, and wrinkles filled the corners of his eyes and forehead. However, he had a very pleasant impression. He was an old man who exuded benevolence from his small stature and face.
“Was it necessary to change your face with Disguise Art?”
“If I showed him my face, it would be a hassle if he started pestering me to teach him more.”
“Even so, isn’t it a bit much to impersonate Hong Jun-gyeong?”
“I think it’s fine. It makes it easy to fool people.”
The old man laughed heartily. Then, he turned to Hu-gae.
“What did you think of him?”
“Pardon?”
“That boy.”
“He seemed to possess considerable talent. His taking down the Black Snake Union and defeating the Giant Demon were no accidents.”
“I suppose so. Ho ho ho.”
The old man unclasped his hands from behind his back and laughed again. Then, feeling a chill, he pulled his open robe tight.
“But Elder Jin, why did you ask me to let you know when that boy arrived?”
What he had told Seok Myeong was only half true. He had been away, and a subordinate had accepted the martial challenge letter. However, Jin Hwi-su had traveled all the way from the main mountain to this place upon hearing the news of his arrival.
“I just wanted to see him once. To see what the man who took down the Black Snake Union looked like.”
“Just because you wanted to see him?”
“What is the state of the Orthodox Faction these days? Even though the Unorthodox Faction is running rampant everywhere, no one tries to stop them.”
The old man clicked his tongue and continued.
“Righteousness has become a thing of the past, and only profit is seen as truth. They hesitate and look every which way, afraid of suffering unnecessary losses. But that boy fought for the sake of the righteousness that everyone else has abandoned. Is that not the old spirit of the Orthodox Faction?”
The old man had heard many rumors about Seok Myeong. From his handling of the Black Snake Union to his significant role in defeating the Giant Demon afterward.
“Even so, teaching him the essence of Taiji… isn’t that a bit too much of a reward?”
“It was just the basics.”
“Pardon?”
“The basics of Taiji. That is all I taught him.”
“…….”
Hu-gae narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it. But the old man chuckled and went on.
“The basics—they are very important. One must look back at them from time to time and examine them once more. The faster one’s progress, the more one must return to the basics if one wishes to break through their own wall.”
“Ah.”
Hu-gae slapped his forehead. Come to think of it, there was a wall that many masters of the Jianghu encountered. They would shed a layer and become stronger than their previous level, but their movements would actually become worse than before, or new weaknesses they never had would appear.
So, they would spend endless time in meditation, wondering if what they had realized was wrong or what exactly they were lacking. Jin Hwi-su saw that as a lack of basics.
“That boy knew it too. He had simply forgotten it for a moment.”
At those words, Hu-gae paused for a moment before looking at Jin Hwi-su and continuing.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you speak at such length, Elder Jin. What exactly do you see in that Taoist from Qingcheng?”
“What do I mean, what do I see? Since that boy is at the center of this incident, is it not natural to keep an eye on him?”
He paced in a circle. Then, looking up at the sky, he smiled broadly and said, “Finally, a great talent who will lead the next generation has appeared. One who walks his own path without being bound by anything. Let us look forward to it.”
“…….”
“To see how that boy will lead the Martial World, and what decisions he will make when he stands against the Samu Alliance.”
There was a look of pride in Jin Hwi-su’s eyes. Seok Myeong had already disappeared, but the old man’s face was full of joy as he looked at the traces the boy had left behind.
It was the look of someone who had discovered a tree that stood firm against the cold winds of the Jianghu, its roots planted deep and strong.