Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Wudang's Legacy
Taiji.
A concept symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang, and the foundation of Wudang martial arts.
Hearing that word from Daoist Muyeop's mouth, I turned my gaze anew to the sword scars etched into the cave wall.
Smooth, yet intense.
Two distinct qualities emanated from the sword scars.
They coexisted in perfect harmony.
Truly, a sword embodying the harmony of yin and yang, Taiji.
Yes.
The supreme sword art of Wudang, containing the mysteries of Taiji.
Taiji Insight Sword.
Just thinking of those four characters made my heart race with excitement, and I couldn't contain my inner.
Truth be told, after hearing about the Wudang Sect from Hwaryeon, I'd half-given up inside.
And why not? Where had the Taiji Fist and Taiji Insight Sword gone, with some Five Elements Sword hogging the spotlight as their signature technique?
I'd concluded that the Wudang Sect had completely lost their ancestral arts.
But look at this.
This sight that so delightfully betrayed my expectations.
As I etched each sword scar into my mind once more, Daoist Muyeop's words continued in my ears.
"The day I first came here with Sect Leader Senior Brother and saw those sword scars, I realized it. Our Wudang ancestors left us an immense legacy."
Legacy.
As he said, the Wudang ancestors had left their most precious treasure here.
Their martial arts.
Not in writing, but in sword strokes.
It was a desperate measure to evade the Yuan Dynasty's purge of the martial world, and a wish that Wudang's foundation would not vanish.
"From that day, I resolved myself. I would definitely restore this legacy, no matter what it took."
Daoist Muyeop spoke with a face full of steely determination.
Caught up in his solemn air, I unwittingly let out an impressed "ooh," when a tongue-clicking sound came.
"A fine thing you're doing. As long as you succeed in restoring the arts, who cares if the sect falls?"
"Ah, Senior Brother..."
...Wow, Daoist Muyeop, who looked so cool just a moment ago, suddenly seemed like a pathetic layabout.
I marveled at Daoist Mujin, who gazed at him with utter disdain.
He looks like a hearty warrior on the outside, but he's got a sharp-tongued side.
"Ah, anyway! You there! Won't you help me out?"
"You bastard, what nonsense is this!"
Ignoring his senior brother's words entirely, Daoist Muyeop abruptly asked me for help.
My eyes widened at the unexpected request, and Daoist Mujin's roar exploded.
A perfectly natural reaction, really.
Suggesting to divulge the sect's legacy to an outsider all of a sudden—who would stand for that...?
"We've already received such immense grace from this young hero. Yet instead of repaying it, you're trying to drag him into your vain ambitions!?"
"...Huh?"
What? It's a bit different from the reaction I expected.
Tilting my head in confusion, the two senior brothers resumed their argument.
"Senior Brother, you saw it just now! If this young Dou helps, we might truly, truly restore this sword art!"
"You still haven't come to your senses...! Do you not even look to the heavens? The skies are dyed in blood, and vile demonic beasts invade our sect. And you, guardian of Wudang...!"
"Wait a moment. Both of you, please calm down..."
Their voices rose higher and higher.
I tried to intervene in their quarrel, but it fell on deaf ears.
"That's why we must restore this sword art! To overcome this crisis, Wudang needs new strength!"
"By what time will you restore it, and by what time will you master it?!"
"...Sigh."
Their voices echoed thunderously through the cave, giving me a headache.
The heated atmosphere showed no sign of cooling.
Realizing this wouldn't do, I searched for a way to calm them, then turned my gaze back to the sword scars on the cave wall.
The root of their fight was that— the sword scars of the Taiji Insight Sword.
So then...?
I slowly drew my sword from my waist and stepped to the center of the cavern.
"Hoo..."
Taking a deep breath, I focused my mind and spread my qi-sensing net denser than usual.
The intricate qi web read the wall's sword scars in even finer detail.
Then, I connected the read scars one by one.
From the shallowest parts to the deepest.
Slowly, like carefully piecing together shattered fragments.
Thus, all the sword scars linked, forming a seamless helix.
-Swoooosh
I moved my sword along the completed helix.
Infinitely soft and slow, yet unbroken, tracing circles.
One loop, two loops.
Before long, past ten loops, an intensity gradually joined the sword's trajectory.
Intensity pursuing softness.
Softness pursuing intensity.
The opposing qualities bit each other's tails, spinning infinitely.
But not merely spinning—they grew grander with each rotation.
That was why it was a helix.
Amid the rotations filling with ever fiercer momentum, I strained to maintain softness and harmony between the two qualities.
Softness and intensity.
The harmony of these opposing yin-yang qualities—that was Taiji.
I poured all my concentration into drawing the helix continuously.
But the collapse of harmony came all too easily, all too swiftly.
Repeating the rotations to form the helix, intensity naturally grew stronger while softness weakened.
Feeling it, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
I'd expected difficulty, but to fail so anticlimactically?
I kept drawing the helix, focusing every fiber to balance the qualities.
But as the helix continued and the sword's momentum surged exponentially, maintaining balance grew proportionally harder.
Soon, the helix I drew lost its softness, whipping the surroundings with raw ferocity.
No way could this be called the Taiji Insight Sword.
With a sigh, I lowered my sword.
Feeling anew how profoundly intricate the Taiji Insight Sword was beyond expectations, I turned my head, and
"......"
"......"
My eyes met those of the two Daoists, their faces filled with shock.
"...Ah."
Come to think of it, I'd meant to draw their attention to stop the argument... but got too focused?
*
By now, the blood-red sun had slipped behind the mountain peaks.
I was heading back to the guest hall with Daoist Mujin.
He insisted on seeing me off, but I'm no child.
He probably wanted to talk alone.
"Young hero, I don't know how many times I've said the same thing already, but I'll say it again. Thank you. Thanks to you, I could drag that foolish junior out of the cave."
The two Daoists had been stunned speechless by my clumsy imitation of the Taiji Insight Sword.
Daoist Muyeop, recovering first, burst into laughter and grabbed my hands.
"You saw that, Senior Brother? This young Dou is truly remarkable!
"Uh, um..."
Daoist Mujin let out a reluctant grunt, his face uneasy amid his junior's joyful laughter.
Undeterred by his senior brother's mood, Daoist Muyeop shook my hands like an excited child, eyes sparkling.
"The momentum in that sword was truly extraordinary. And how it grew fiercer with each rotation...! I saw it with my own eyes, but it was spine-chilling."
"...Ah, yes."
It was just a crude imitation I couldn't dare call Taiji Insight Sword anywhere else, but Daoist Muyeop, ignorant of its true form, was overjoyed.
In contrast, Daoist Mujin rubbed his forehead like it was a headache.
Alternating glances between their opposing expressions, Daoist Muyeop—still gripping my hand—continued in an elated voice.
"Well then, demonstrating the sword art yourself means you're willing to help, right?"
"...Yes, well, something like that..."
Like it or not, I shared his wish to restore the Taiji Insight Sword.
No reason to refuse his plea for aid.
At my answer, Daoist Mujin's face twisted miserably.
Glancing at it, I presented a condition a beat late.
"But there's one condition."
"A condition? What is it? I'll do anything within my power."
Awkwardly lifting the corner of my mouth at his answer tinged with strange fervor, I straightened my expression and stated my demand.
"Don't ignore your sect on my account—help prepare for the assaults."
"I never expected you'd say that. Seeing that fool Muyeop's twisted face made ten years of pent-up frustration melt away."
"I can't pass up the chance to borrow the might of the Wudang's Greatest Swordsman."
"Exactly. Now that we've argued this much, time to put him to good use."
Seeing Daoist Mujin's eyes crinkle pleasantly, I subtly tossed out the question nagging me since earlier.
"But is it really alright? Me helping restore the sword art means divulging your sect's legacy."
Even if lost to practice, the Taiji Insight Sword was a pinnacle secret of Wudang.
I'd demonstrated partly because his reaction seemed amenable, but his total lack of resistance felt odd to me.
To my question, Daoist Mujin responded nonchalantly.
"A legacy? It was something long forgotten, impossible to properly restore. That stubborn fool Muyeop was just obstinately at it, but nothing ever progressed."
"Ah, is that so...?"
"Yes. So we should be grateful to you for helping with the restoration. Don't worry needlessly. Sect Leader Senior Brother will thank you too."
Relieved inwardly at his words, a sigh laced with lament reached my ears.
"In any case, no assault news so far is fortunate—no more today, it seems... But tomorrow worries me."
At that, I hardened my face too.
"Yes. Failing and retreating today, they'll likely come in greater numbers tomorrow."
Both he and I tacitly agreed the monster assaults weren't over.
We'd repelled today's somehow without major losses, but no guarantee for tomorrow.
Since the topic arose, I shared my conclusions from scouting around Wudang earlier.
He nodded vigorously at my point that they wouldn't always come through the mountain gate.
"I agree. Though grotesquely altered, their essence is beastly. The whole mountain is their front yard. The disciples will tire, but we must heighten vigilance."
Thus, through the night, Wudang disciples and our group took turns patrolling the sect's perimeter.
Yet despite our vigilance, the monster horde invaded Wudang again through the mountain gate.
In nearly the same scale as yesterday.