58. Hoping to Get Good Results with the Sword of Truth
Thinking about how Jong Bi had thoroughly cleaned him out made Won Seung lose confidence.
A first-rate expert getting taken down by something as trivial as hidden weapons just didn't add up.
Won Seung furrowed his brow.
What the hell? Everyone thinks they're hot shit and acts like it?
"You know anyone among Sangyang's experts who looks like this?"
Won Seung sketched the middle-aged man's face and showed it to Ogu.
"First time seeing this face."
"He was a Peak Expert. Among Sangyang's Peak Experts, is there anyone you didn't tell me about?"
He'd gotten the full rundown on Sangyang before, including the rankings of the experts.
"As I told you, Sangyang's Peak Experts are the Hwa brothers trio and the Gwancheonbang leader. Ah, I've heard the black society boss has impressive martial arts too, but…."
"Maybe this guy's the black society boss?"
"I don't know his identity, but the black society boss is supposed to be an old geezer."
"Hmm."
You're no help either, huh.
"Find out who this bastard is."
Ogu took the sketch of the middle-aged man's appearance and vanished.
Won Seung then went to find Yong Jo-un.
"Young Daehyeop, where does Young Daehyeop's martial prowess rank in the murim world?"
Yong Jo-un eyed him suspiciously, wondering why he was asking such a thing.
"They say Cheon Il-hae and Hwa Cheon-gang are among the top hundred experts in the murim. Does that make Young Daehyeop top hundred material too?"
When Won Seung had brought back the agreement for the duel with Hwa Cheon-gang, Yong Jo-un had acknowledged his resourcefulness.
Normally, revealing one's own martial level was taboo. But since Won Seung was a literary scholar ignorant of the murim, he answered earnestly, figuring it was fine.
"When I came down from the mountains… my master said to just watch out for the Ten Great Experts."
"Oh!"
So there is some kind of standard.
"What criteria did Young Daehyeop's master use to rank martial levels?"
"……?"
Yong Jo-un's eyes went distant.
It was the look of someone who had never really thought about it.
"This is an important question. Knowing your own level lets you tell who to avoid and who you can fight."
"What does a scholar need with that knowledge?"
"The lives of my retainers matter too."
Mentioning Jong Bi and Ogu made Yong Jo-un nod in understanding, then he tossed out a disappointingly vague answer.
"It doesn't mean anything."
Yong Jo-un smiled as if Won Seung should already know what he meant.
"Martial levels don't decide life or death."
"Still, if someone's an Ultimate Peak expert, you'd steer clear, right? No need to tangle with someone a whole stage above you."
"Ultimate Peak? Meaning beyond Peak? Haha. Why force divisions like that?"
Ah, the fool who only trained in the mountains.
Or maybe at that level, they don't care about stages anymore?
As if reading Won Seung's thoughts, Yong Jo-un smiled and said,
"When I trained, there was a massive waterfall. My master said if I could cleave it in one stroke and climb up, I'd reach the Peak realm. After countless failures, I finally cleaved it with a single strike and ascended."
"Whoa! Impressive."
"But when I reached the top, there was another waterfall above it."
"It was a double waterfall? Your master tricked you?"
Yong Jo-un briefly frowned at Won Seung's crude phrasing before replying.
"No. It was a seven-tier waterfall."
Won Seung's jaw dropped.
"Whoa, a seven-tier waterfall! A place like that exists? Must be a total scenic wonder."
Yong Jo-un laughed with an expression that said it was nothing special.
"That waterfall is in such a deep gorge with sheer cliffs that it's hard to see the whole seven tiers from the bottom."
"I see. Still, there must be some spot to admire it from. I wanna go see it sometime."
"Hmm…."
Yong Jo-un let out a groan, thinking the conversation had veered off track. He tried to recall his original point.
"Ahem. Anyway… after a year or so of training, I cleaved and climbed the first and second tiers. Then I faced the majestic third tier and realized: stages are just the endless path ahead. My master had me cleave waterfalls to grasp that truth."
"Not sure I follow."
Won Seung tilted his head, and Yong Jo-un sighed.
This guy's sharp as hell, so why can't he get this?
Yong Jo-un didn't realize Won Seung was too pragmatic for Zen-like riddles.
After a moment's thought, Yong Jo-un said,
"To put it simply, debating martial stages is meaningless. If the opponent is superior, you die. Otherwise, he does."
"Sure, but that's not the answer I'm looking for…."
Is it the mountain training? Young Daehyeop's not great with words.
Yong Jo-un pondered briefly before saying,
"Since you're a scholar, let me compare it to the civil service exams. Suppose two people study at the same academy with similar skills. They both take the great exam, and one gets a question he's seen before."
Hmm, that's his analogy?
"The lucky guy who knew the question passes and becomes a top scholar, while the other fails and becomes a flop. But can you really divide their true scholarship into 'top scholar' and 'flop' stages?"
"Nah. The exams aren't about skill—they're about connections and bribes. How else would that guy know the question in advance? He leaked it."
Won Seung immediately recalled Gong Sabu, the failed scholar who'd taught him at the Won Mansion long ago, always grumbling about how unfair the exams were.
Yong Jo-un frowned at Won Seung's words.
"I'm not talking corruption. The point is whether one question at that moment can truly measure scholarly superiority."
"Aha!"
Won Seung nodded. Luck definitely played a role in the exams. If you knew the text, you'd nail it; otherwise, you'd flounder and fail.
A sudden thought struck Won Seung.
"Luck is part of skill. And differences somewhere create the divide."
"Could be… but consider: one man excels with the sword, another with the spear. By swordsmanship alone, the first is the master; by spearmanship, the second. Their fight's outcome is unpredictable. Now imagine they clash in a narrow cave. The swordsman has a huge edge, right? He wins, but you can't say he's overall superior to the spearman."
"Then there's no standard."
"Exactly. Don't trust the world's standards. Everything's relative."
"Not the kind of thing I'd expect from someone pursuing the one true Way. If it's all relative like you say, even if you grasp the one true Way, can you call it truly the one?"
Yong Jo-un nodded.
"That's why so few attain it. But that's what makes it worth pursuing."
"Isn't that… just chasing an illusion?"
It was a unique take, but Won Seung saw it as a pipe dream.
Yong Jo-un looked up at the night sky and said,
"It's no illusion. If I grasp the one true Blade Intent of the world, I could even face a Ten Great Expert."
"Whoa… the Ten Great are Transformation Realm masters, right? So you're saying you're almost at Transformation Realm now?"
Yong Jo-un shook his head.
"True Realm just means completing the lower dantian foundation; Transformation Realm means completing the heart dantian. I accept stages in that sense. But they don't decide life and death."
"Ahh… so martial levels and actual combat are different beasts?"
Won Seung himself had escaped that terrifying middle-aged man's grasp with a wasp sting and some trickery, after all.
"Precisely."
"Still, people fear those labeled Peak Experts."
"That's the real illusion."
Yong Jo-un stated it flatly and held up his sword.
"Truth is decided by the blade. I trust the one in my hand."
Whoa… Young Daehyeop! A bit rough around the edges, but you've got that hero vibe!
Won Seung was impressed inwardly.
Truth is decided by the blade… sounded damn cool.
Won Seung pulled a jade bottle from his bosom and handed it over.
"What's this?"
"Elixir. It'll boost your internal energy."
Yong Jo-un gave him a wary look. Won Seung cut him off before he could refuse such unearned kindness.
"Everyone knows you're staying here. If you lose the duel and die, it could come back on me. So take this and power up. Cheon Il-hae and Hwa Cheon-gang are probably stuffing themselves with elixirs right now. This isn't cheating."
Yong Jo-un nodded readily and accepted the bottle.
He felt the pressure of facing two top hundred experts back-to-back, after all.
"Ten pills. Circulate your energy after each one."
"Got it. Thanks."
Won Seung patted Yong Jo-un's shoulders.
"Hope you get good results with the sword of truth."
Won Seung considered telling Yong Jo-un what had happened to him but held back. Yong Jo-un saw him as a mere literary scholar; he'd question how he'd escaped the middle-aged man's clutches.
So he left Yong Jo-un and went to find Hyeol Hwa.
Haeyeonmun's special assassin Hyeol Hwa was staying in Won Seung's study.
She's killed countless people, right? So her judgment on martial levels should be spot-on.
Hyeol Hwa was circulating her energy. Her external wounds hadn't fully healed, so she was focusing on internal recovery.
As Won Seung entered, Hyeol Hwa, seated in meditation, opened her eyes.
"What is it?"
"How's the injury?"
Won Seung spoke in an exceedingly gentle tone.
Haeyeonmun's special assassin Hyeol Hwa was a very useful person.
Being active in the field, unlike Yong Jo-un, she likely held all sorts of info on the murim's underbelly.
Plus, Haeyeonmun and Jeokhyeolsan were mortal enemies, so she might prove helpful someday.
Thus, Won Seung's voice was endlessly soft.
Hyeol Hwa's wariness had eased since he'd treated her without ulterior motives.
Won Seung glanced over her condition and said,
"Much better now. But traces of the Musanggyeol energy linger, so keep regulating carefully."
"……."
"By the way… as a Haeyeonmun special assassin, your martial arts at least first-rate, right?"
Hyeol Hwa's gaze turned icy.
"Why the cold stare?"
Hyeol Hwa stared silently at Won Seung before speaking.
"You're hiding your martial arts while probing mine—what's your angle?"
Gasp!
Won Seung had kept his cultivation a tight secret. Even Peak Expert Yong Jo-un didn't know.
How had Hyeol Hwa figured it out?
"You think I wouldn't notice? You're a cut above that Song family guy or Ogu. Aren't you?"
He'd come to shake her down, only to get shaken himself.
As expected of a special assassin—her instincts were razor-sharp.
"Why do you think that?"
"……."
Hyeol Hwa clammed up.
Jong Bi, did that fool blab while bragging?
Jong Bi sprang to mind, but he dismissed it. She was acting odd lately, but not that odd.
Won Seung looked at Hyeol Hwa and suddenly realized.
Well…