Chapter 187: Teachings of Qingcheng (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 187: Teachings of Qingcheng (3)
There were no visible traces of flowing qi at the tip of Seok Myeong’s sword. Yet, the energy it generated was already surging toward him.
‘I can’t avoid it.’
Song Jeong had to admit it. He could no longer neutralize or eliminate this attack.
Craaaack!
The moment the violet energy engulfed him, Song Jeong’s body blurred. His form, transformed into an illusion, scattered into dozens of fragments.
Rumble!
The energy, suddenly plummeting downward, let out a tremendous roar as it struck the ground.
Boom!
Simultaneously, a powerful wave of qi erupted, sending stones and soil soaring three zhang into the air.
Shhhhhhh!
‘Forty-eight… Twelve Stars? That’s impossible!’
Seok Myeong’s body froze as he searched for the vanished Song Jeong. Dozens of illusions had covered his vision in an instant. Unlike the illusions he had seen at Diancang, which were closer to mere pressure, these were all nearly indistinguishable from a true body.
This was the ultimate technique of the Illusory Lost Track Step, a lightness skill that could only be performed once one reached the level of Twelve Stars.
Swoosh.
The illusions vanished one by one, and Song Jeong appeared before Seok Myeong.
Brush, brush.
The Sect Leader of Qingcheng smiled as he dusted off his slightly singed robes.
“You rascal. It seems you didn’t show your full strength even to the Diancang elders. To think you’ve mastered the Azure Cloud Red Mist Sword, the Azure Wind Sword, and the Heaven and Earth Sword to this extent.”
His face was full of pride and admiration, as if the demonic intensity he had shown just moments ago had been a lie.
“Sect Leader…”
Seok Myeong lowered his head. Then, he dropped to his knees.
Thud.
“Myeong?”
As Song Jeong looked on in confusion, Seok Myeong spoke in a low voice.
“I am sorry. I was so bold as to… not only point my sword at the Sect Leader of our sect, but I even unleashed a lethal strike!”
“…”
“I was arrogant. I was conceited. Even though I already knew my faults, I allowed my temper to flare just because the Sect Leader pointed them out. I crossed a line that should never be crossed. I…”
“…What a stiff-necked fellow.”
“Pardon?”
Chuckling.
Whether he understood Seok Myeong’s feelings or not, Song Jeong clicked his tongue and gestured with his hand.
“Get up. If you make such a fuss, what does that make me for pushing you that hard?”
“But…”
“Now, I said get up. Are you going to disobey the Sect Leader’s order?”
Whir.
In an instant, Seok Myeong’s body was forced upright, regardless of his will. The Sect Leader had used External Qi to pull him to his feet.
‘He knows how to do this too…’
The manipulation of External Qi. It seemed Seok Myeong wasn’t the only one capable of it. Then again, it was only natural. The man before him was the Sect Leader. It stood to reason that he could do almost everything Seok Myeong could. After all, hadn’t Seok Myeong originally learned the use of External Qi from Song Yeo-guk, a secular disciple of Qingcheng?
Pat, pat.
Song Jeong, having sheathed his sword at some point, patted Seok Myeong on the shoulder.
“The sun is rising. Let’s walk for a bit.”
Step.
Song Jeong turned around with a casual smile.
Scuttle.
Seok Myeong scrambled to his feet and followed in his footsteps. Just like when he was a child. Just like when he had first set foot on Mount Qingcheng.
*
Whoosh.
Crunch, crunch.
The mountain ridges were beginning to brighten with a pale light. It felt as though they had only just arrived, but quite a bit of time had passed while they were lost in the exchange of swords.
Crunch, crunch.
“…”
Following behind the Sect Leader, Seok Myeong glanced back at the path they had taken. He thought they would be heading back, but instead, they were venturing deeper into a dense canyon. There were no signs of human passage in the thick undergrowth. This meant that this path was not one well-known to the disciples of Qingcheng.
‘Come to think of it.’
He was struck once again by how vast Mount Qingcheng was. After entering the Azure Cloud Pavilion, he hadn’t ventured out much on his own, but it had been the same during his days as a novice disciple. Distances he could now cover in a single leap had felt like entirely different worlds when he was a child, with pavilions and valleys that seemed impossibly high and deep.
‘One sees as much as one knows, and through what one sees, one realizes how little one truly knows.’
Crunch. Crunch.
Lost in thought, Seok Myeong walked for a long time behind the Sect Leader and the Silent and Heartless Taoists. After passing over a low hill and through a narrow pass barely wide enough for two people, they reached a clearing overlooking a massive lake.
‘…Azure Porcelain Hermitage?’
The name suddenly came to Seok Myeong’s mind as he saw the lake. At a glance, it looked like a small hermitage next to Wolseong Lake. However, in this moment as the dawn light poured down, he saw a faint azure mist rising between Wolseong Lake and the hermitage.
Unable to contain himself, Seok Myeong asked in a low voice.
“Sect Leader. Could this be…?”
“Did you notice? Yes. This is the Azure Porcelain Hermitage.”
Sect Leader Song Jeong gave a thin smile.
The Azure Porcelain Hermitage was designated as a forbidden area for the first-generation disciples. He had heard as a child that it was because the retired elders of Qingcheng had settled here.
The Azure Sky Pavilion.
A secret group that only appeared during crises that threatened the very existence of the Qingcheng Sect. He had been brought, quite unexpectedly, to a place where no one but the Sect Leader and a very few elders could set foot.
“Seok Myeong.”
While Seok Myeong was fluttering with emotion and awe, Song Jeong called his name. His voice was soft and warm, unlike during their earlier guided duel.
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Aren’t you curious why that power you emit didn’t have much of an effect on me?”
“…Isn’t that because the Sect Leader’s Sword Force is far superior?”
Though it was a sudden question, Seok Myeong answered immediately. It was something he had been pondering the entire way here while looking at the unfamiliar scenery.
“I wonder. In terms of sheer magnitude, your energy was stronger.”
“Pardon…?”
Seok Myeong tilted his head in confusion. To him, the Sect Leader gave a simple declaration.
“I am saying that your Five Colored Energy is not much different from Sword Force. And since your internal energy is actually greater than mine, the sheer might of your energy surpasses my own.”
“...!”
Seok Myeong’s mouth hung open for a moment. Sword Force was, quite literally, the pinnacle of martial arts. It was a supreme power that could crush and cut through anything. He had thought the five-colored light he used was a power superior to Sword Aura. But the Sect Leader of Qingcheng had just confirmed that it was essentially the same as Sword Force.
“Then… why?”
If that were the case, why had he been so helplessly pushed back by Song Jeong? To Seok Myeong, who asked cautiously without being able to finish his sentence, Song Jeong replied simply.
“It is simply proficiency. And experience.”
“…”
It was a very simple logic when he heard it. Come to think of it, it hadn’t even been a month since Seok Myeong had started using that Five Colored Energy. On the other hand, the Sect Leader had likely been using Sword Force for at least ten years.
“…I still have a long way to go.”
Seok Myeong felt a mix of pride and daunting uncertainty; his heart became complicated.
“It is only natural that you have a long way to go. Strictly speaking, your martial arts are a mixture of Demonic Qi, the Azure Wind Origin Heart Method, and Taiji energy.”
Song Jeong nodded.
“Right now, those three powers have transformed into a single, different force flowing through your body. But while they have merged into one, it is difficult to say it is perfect. It is an orthodox energy, but it is not pure.”
“Then… what must I do to use a perfect energy?”
When Seok Myeong asked, Song Jeong clicked his tongue.
“The question is wrong. Myeong, no energy in this world can be perfect.”
“Ah…”
Seok Myeong’s face flushed. Water overcomes fire; water is the natural enemy of fire. And earth overcomes water; even that water cannot defeat the earth. In this way, all energies exist in a state of mutual conquest and generation; no single energy can exist in perfection on its own. Seok Myeong knew at least that much.
The problem was the direction his martial arts were heading. The Orthodox Faction extracts and uses only the pure power of the qi that flows through heaven and earth. In contrast, Demonic Qi draws in and mixes all sorts of miscellaneous energies from the world. Far from being pure, it is intentionally corrupted and accepted for the sake of destructive power.
Even though the two martial arts have clear and opposite goals, he was trying to perfectly unify these two energies. It was like putting water and oil in a bottle and shaking it violently. They might stay mixed and cloudy for a moment, but they would eventually separate again over time.
‘Then… was it impossible from the start? If so, what is my current achievement?’
As if reading Seok Myeong’s troubled mind, Song Jeong added another comment.
“What I mean is that it is so in principle. But does the world ever operate on a single principle? The five elements are certainly in conflict. However, if you change their positions, there is also mutual generation. In terms of Yin and Yang, one might call it harmony.”
“Mutual generation… harmony…”
“To be honest, Myeong, I am in no position to give you advice. The path you are walking now is one that no one has ever trodden. Even I can only make vague predictions; I do not know it precisely.”
“Yes…”
“But just because I don’t know the path you should take doesn’t mean I can’t guess the paths you shouldn’t. As I see it, rather than trying to solve the problem by finding the source of your power, it is more important for you to bring all of it into harmony. To do that, you must have the enlightenment to embrace and understand everything.”
Song Jeong’s voice was low and solemn.
“Whew.”
Seok Myeong let out a soft sigh. Enlightenment. It referred to the state of sudden realization that is said to come only to the geniuses of the martial world, the legendary founders of sects. It was a vague and ethereal concept, like finding the essence of Heaven, Earth, and Man within the simple Three Disaster Sword. Could he really achieve such a thing?
“It’s a thought I’ve had recently.”
Step. Crunch.
Song Jeong took a step toward the edge of Wolseong Lake and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Perhaps the Demonic Cult is not the group of evil, inhuman heretics we believe them to be.”
“…Pardon?”
Seok Myeong was struck with consternation. To defend the Demonic Cult—Sect Leader Song Jeong had just uttered words that could cause a catastrophe if they reached the wrong ears.
“The root of your Qingcheng Heart Method is the Heavenly Scripture Energy Absorption Art. Countless generations of the Azure Cloud lineage risked their lives to obtain the method of refining it. But its origin came from the Demonic Energy Absorption Art. Strictly speaking, it is a secret art of the Demonic Cult. I have pondered much while watching your Qingcheng Heart Method. And I have concluded that this martial art was not originally without logic.”
“What… do you mean, Sect Leader?”
To the bewildered Seok Myeong, Song Jeong spoke with a somber face.
“What has Qingcheng experienced at the hands of the Martial Alliance recently? It was merely that a single first-generation disciple named Seok Myeong obtained extraordinary martial arts.”
“…”
“And though it happened due to the Alliance’s instigation and the ill-fated connection with Diancang… simply because it did not fit their standards, did not our sect, one of the Nine Sects One Gang, almost face closure or destruction overnight?”
Gulp.
Seok Myeong swallowed hard. Come to think of it, the situation for Qingcheng at that time had been precarious. If not for the tight-knit bond between the Sect Leader and the entire Qingcheng Sect. If not for Shaolin’s friendly intervention. And above all, if not for the powerful martial arts Seok Myeong himself had realized and unleashed at the last moment. Qingcheng might have very well fallen into ruin in a single day.
“If this is what we experienced just now, can we be certain that the Demonic Cult, which has been erased from history, didn’t have similar circumstances? Myeong. What do you think? Do you think my thoughts are excessive?”
“I… do not know.”
Seok Myeong shook his head. It was a story that went too far ahead. However, there was certainly logic in Sect Leader Song Jeong’s words. So, there was at least one thing he could say.
“However, what I do know is that the Martial Alliance is not the purely good and righteous organization I heard about when I was a child.”
His actual experiences had proven that. Even in Diancang, which claimed to be a prestigious orthodox sect, they had committed acts shameful for a member of the Nine Sects One Gang. On the other hand, there were places like the Golden Martial Association, which, despite being strictly unorthodox, maintained a middle path and did not kill more than necessary.
Because of this, Seok Myeong himself was sometimes confused. He wondered if his perspective on the world had broadened, or if he had been tainted by the secular world and his standards had wavered.
“Yes. For now, that is enough.”
Fortunately, the Sect Leader did not scold him. Instead, he simply nodded with a warm gaze.
“Beware of prejudice. Unlike before, you are not simply a first-generation disciple, but the Hall Master of the Azure Martial Hall, who must lead this sect.”
Perhaps due to the gravity of the matter, Seok Myeong sighed again. Seeing him, Song Jeong burst into a hearty laugh.
“Come to think of it, time really does fly. To think that little novice disciple has grown enough to discuss such things with me.”
“…Pardon?”
“A long time ago. Didn’t you once say that the reason softness cannot overcome strength is because the strength wasn't strong enough to overcome the softness?”
Song Jeong spoke with eyes that seemed to be looking at something far away. The Sect Leader of Qingcheng, sitting at the Azure Porcelain Hermitage, was no longer looking at Wolseong Lake, but at a time much further back.
“Seok Myeong. The Hall Master of the Azure Martial Hall, who was once a mere novice disciple. You said that.”
“It was merely the words of a foolish child.”
Seok Myeong instinctively lowered his head. It was an old story from his childhood when he knew nothing of the world. An old memory he wouldn't even have remembered if his master hadn't told him before.
“No, it is not. Rather, because you were a child, you were able to speak the truth without any prejudice, untainted by the pollution that knowledge brings.”
Seok Myeong shook his head in embarrassment, but Song Jeong waved his hand dismissively.
“It is a remarkable thing. In a way, it is a shameful thing for us. That a young disciple who had just begun to learn martial arts had such thoughts, while those who call themselves martial artists cannot grasp such an obvious truth.”
“Sect Leader…”
“The ‘Strength’ (Gang) that Taoist Jahun, the founder of the Qingcheng Sect, spoke of was not the strength known to the Jianghu.”
Suddenly, with a sigh, Song Jeong raised his index finger.
Thump.
He pointed to his own chest and said.
“If there is no sword, there is no person. That does not refer to the sword as a weapon, but means that one should always refine and strive for a mindset like a sword.”
“...!”
Seok Myeong’s eyes flashed. No Sword No Person. A phrase everyone in Qingcheng knew. Hearing the Sect Leader speak it directly made everything feel vividly clear.
“Seok Myeong.”
Song Jeong called Seok Myeong’s name again in a warm voice.
“They say that if something is too strong, it breaks. While the grass in the fields sways with the wind to escape danger, a deep-rooted tree cannot endure and falls. However, remember this as well. What is it that blows? If you compare a typhoon to softness and strength, which side does it belong to?”
It was strength. A strong wind had broken a massive pine tree, which also belonged to strength.
“In this way, strength is relative. Strength breaks when it meets strength, but when strength is not strength, it cannot move forward. Such is the logic of the world. We compare ourselves to one another and try to find truth there. Softness overcomes strength? This, too, is relative.”
“…”
“True strength means an unyielding spirit, faith, and uprightness. These are the things that stand straight and move forward. Just like you did in the past, Seok Myeong.”
Seok Myeong felt that this was likely true. No, he felt it was right. Because it resonated with his heart several times more than any words he had pondered or heard before.
“Then why haven’t you told us until now? That our strength is not what the Wudang Sect thinks it is.”
That was why Seok Myeong was even more curious. Even now, whenever they accept disciples into the True Martial Hall, they always ask what strength is. The young disciples give all sorts of answers, but a clear one has never emerged. But if it were the answer the Sect Leader just gave, wouldn't it be enough to convince everyone?
“Why, indeed? If I were to find an answer…”
Song Jeong shook his head and continued with a bitter tone.
“Perhaps it is because we have never once properly shown it.”
“…Are you speaking of results?”
“Yes. Or perhaps it is an inferiority complex. Strength overcomes softness. It sounds good, but we have never once shown such a sight—a version of Qingcheng that surpasses Wudang.”
Seok Myeong listened to the faint trembling in the Sect Leader's voice. It was not out of shame, but because it contained emotions that had been layered and accumulated over a long period of time.
“Currently, people of the Jianghu know Qingcheng as a high-handed and prideful sect. And with good reason. Our sect is merely one of the Nine Sects One Gang; we are not Shaolin, the beginning of all martial arts under heaven, nor are we Wudang, which has achieved the harmony of softness and strength. We are not even Mount Hua, whose sharpness and brilliance have reached the pinnacle.”
Song Jeong stood looking at the lake as a chilly wind blew. Before long, a powerful light filled his eyes.
“That is the reality and the position of Qingcheng today. However, it will be different from now on. We will now make the voice of Qingcheng heard in the Central Plains and show everyone what kind of place Qingcheng is. Someday… surely someday, we will stand at the summit and say this to them.”
His voice thundered as his eyes met Seok Myeong’s.
“That strength will overcome softness! That Qingcheng, settled more firmly than a great mountain, will take the lead in opposing the forbidden unorthodox factions and realize justice!”
Hearing Song Jeong’s cry, tears welled up in Seok Myeong’s eyes before he knew it. An inexplicable heat. The sorrow of Qingcheng. It boiled up from deep within his chest, and he could not contain it.
‘The path I must walk is truly not an easy one.’
And he felt he knew at least one thing. On the day his martial arts reached completion, the world would come to know what the ‘Strength’ (Gang) spoken of by Qingcheng truly was.
For true strength would reveal itself even without words.