Chapter 33
From the very beginning, the Clear Bright Platform was clearly a place to test those who had mastered movement techniques.
The many floating objects in the lake, the sheer cliff that appeared as soon as the path ended...
It must have been an artificial gate designed to test the movement technique realm of every Langya Pavilion disciple.
"Whatever it is, I have to climb."
Bu Eun-seol, steeling his eyes, began to slowly climb the cliff face.
The cliff at the start had many rough, uneven spots, so he could climb without hesitation.
But the higher he went, the more smooth, slippery surfaces appeared, making it impossible to climb easily.
Rat-a-tat.
For a moment his foot slipped, and pebbles tumbled down below.
When he looked down, the ground below was already dizzyingly far away. By rough estimate, the height appeared to be over forty jang.
Bu Eun-seol raised his head and bit his lip.
The height he still had to climb looked to be well over a thousand feet. If he were to fall from this cliff as he was, it was certain that every bone in his body would shatter and he would die.
Drip. Drip.
Before he knew it, blood had beaded at his fingertips and was dripping down.
But Bu Eun-seol, like a man made of steel, climbed and climbed again with an expressionless face.
What he feared was not falling from the cliff, but failing to properly learn martial arts.
"Hoo-hup."
As smooth stones grew more numerous, Bu Eun-seol unconsciously raised his Reverse Polarity Heart Method.
Hiss. Hiss.
Every time he lifted his fingers, a strange sound like wind could be heard.
He had never learned the Suction Principle. But as he climbed the perilous cliff with his bare body, he was instinctively generating suction force.
Tuk.
At that moment, the tip of the stone protrusion Bu Eun-seol was gripping split slightly.
At the same time, his body tilted and began to fall downward.
'No!'
If he fell from this height, it would be difficult to even recover the fragments of his bones.
As he fell below the cliff, Bu Eun-seol spotted a gap visible between the stones.
"Haap!"
And without a moment's thought, he raised the Reverse Polarity Heart Method with full force and jammed his left hand into that place.
CRUNCH.
Along with the sound of bones being wrenched out of place, Bu Eun-seol's plummeting body came to a stop.
Trickle.
As he forced his hand between the cliff rocks with all his might, the skin of his wrist and the back of his hand tore open in long strips, and bright red blood streamed out.
'Fortunately.'
Fortunately, the bones had not broken.
However, an excruciating pain so intense it made his consciousness go hazy wrapped around his entire body. His vision blurred and blood rose up his throat, but Bu Eun-seol climbed the cliff again with a calm expression.
Thud.
At last, Bu Eun-seol climbed over the summit of the cliff.
His entire body was covered in dust, and blood flowed ceaselessly from his fingertips and through his torn shoes.
"Hoo, hoo..."
Every time he exhaled, the skin of his whole body seemed to burn.
Pain, agony, torment.
While climbing the cliff, Bu Eun-seol had felt every agony and pain that a human body could endure.
But he straightened his shoulders even more and walked onward. No pain or trial could bend his body.
"..."
As he walked, Bu Eun-seol's eyes grew wide.
It was because, in a wide-open spot with a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, a small teahouse stood.
It had the shabby, ordinary appearance commonly seen in the alleys of the Bu Estate. But because it was nestled into the beautiful scenery, it seemed to hold something special within.
"Clear Bright Tea House..."
Beneath the eaves of the teahouse, the characters engraved as Clear Bright Tea House were visible.
"...?"
It was already remarkable that such a teahouse existed deep in the mountains, but as he drew closer, a rich tea fragrance reached him.
Bu Eun-seol felt a fierce thirst unlike any he had ever known.
Creeeak.
Like a drunkard stumbling into a tavern, he hurriedly pushed open the door and entered, and a neatly arranged interior came into view.
But the inside was completely empty, and from the kitchen in the back, only the sound of tea water boiling could be heard.
'Is no one here?'
After glancing around the interior of the teahouse, Bu Eun-seol had no choice but to turn his body.
But at that moment,
"Welcome."
An aged voice rang out from behind him.
When he turned around, an old man with his white hair combed back was blinking his eyes in front of the kitchen.
'There was certainly no presence at all...'
Bu Eun-seol could not hide his surprised expression.
He had mastered the Way of the Beast and could even sense the flow of the air, yet he had felt no presence at all until the old man walked out from the kitchen?
"Come, sit over here."
The old man's eyes were closed, so they could not be seen properly, his back was stooped, and his gait was slightly unsteady.
Nevertheless, he approached Bu Eun-seol very naturally and pointed to a nearby table.
Bu Eun-seol, as if entranced, followed the old man's guidance and sat at the table.
"Heo-eo."
Only then did the old man, having discovered Bu Eun-seol's wretched state, click his tongue.
"What in the world did you do to end up in such a state?"
"I swam and climbed a cliff."
"What did you say?"
At Bu Eun-seol's calm reply, the old man's narrowed eyes widened.
"You mean to say you swam across Spirit Dragon Lake and climbed Lion Crag with your bare hands?"
The old man could not hide his bewildered expression.
"Well, I suppose once you enter Langya Pavilion, every disciple ends up with one strange hobby or another."
"I..."
Bu Eun-seol was about to say that he had come to learn movement techniques. But the old man waved his hand.
"First, sit down. Let me bring out some tea."
And he returned to the kitchen.
Watching that figure, Bu Eun-seol could not help but be greatly surprised once again.
Even though he could sense the sound of a leaf falling from ten jang away, he could not hear the footsteps of the old man walking feebly right before his eyes.
"Drink up."
In that brief moment, the old man who had gone into the kitchen had already placed a cup of steaming tea on the table.
"Elder."
Without even glancing at the teacup, Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat and carefully clasped his hands together.
"My name is Bu Eun-seol. I entered Langya Pavilion not long ago."
"No wonder I thought I'd never seen your face before."
As if his curiosity had been resolved, the old man nodded and turned to shuffle back toward the kitchen.
"Then take your time drinking."
"Elder."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together once more.
"Please teach me movement techniques."
"I cannot teach you."
"Why is that?"
"Why, you say. Do you not know the rules of the Main Pavilion?"
The old man explained calmly.
"Since you have become a disciple of the Main Pavilion, you may learn martial arts from any master of the Main Pavilion, from anyone at all."
But the old man smiled faintly.
"However, if they will not teach you, you cannot force them to. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand that very well."
"Then that is enough."
As the old man turned away without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
He had a strong intuition that this time, he would have to borrow someone else's name rather than rely on his own effort.
"Blood Vajra sent me."
Bu Eun-seol gathered strength in his lower abdomen and spoke loudly.
"Blood Vajra told me to come to this teahouse and learn movement techniques and footwork techniques."
"Blood Vajra?"
"That is correct."
The old man, who had stopped walking, turned around with a startled expression.
"He sent you here?"
"That is correct."
Then a look of puzzlement flowed from the old man's eyes.
"Why would he..."
The emotion contained in his voice seemed very complicated.
It appeared the old man had a deep history with Blood Vajra.
A long silence passed, and after letting out a deep sigh, the old man spoke again.
"Are you also learning internal energy methods from him?"
At the word "also," Bu Eun-seol's eyes wavered slightly.
'So there was someone in the past who learned the Reverse Polarity Heart Method from Blood Vajra as well.'
"That is correct."
"Hmm."
The old man let out a deep sigh.
Then, gazing at the distant sky spread beyond the window, he spoke in a low voice.
"I will speak honestly. This old man has decided never to pass on movement techniques to anyone again."
"Why is that?"
"Did you truly not hear the reason?"
The old man's eyes, fixed on the distant sky, narrowed.
"This old man, like Blood Vajra... drove many disciples of Langya Pavilion to their deaths."
"To their deaths..."
Watching the old man's eyes darken, Bu Eun-seol suddenly understood the meaning of those words.
—From the very beginning, Dan Cheong told me he would send a prodigy capable of learning the Reverse Polarity Heart Method. Before I knew it, ten years had passed.
Recalling Blood Vajra's words, Bu Eun-seol soon guessed the complicated circumstances.
'Blood Vajra was not waiting for ten years; he had been teaching Langya Pavilion's disciples all that time.'
Blood Vajra, who had taught many disciples of Langya Pavilion for ten years.
But none of them would have been able to learn the Reverse Polarity Heart Method. Because it inflicted pain comparable to death itself...
"The fact that he sent you... means you have learned the Reverse Polarity Heart Method."
"That is correct."
"Astonishing. It has only been about two months since you entered, has it not?"
The old man swept his gaze over Bu Eun-seol from head to toe, as if newly amazed.
"Yet you have already reached the first layer of the Reverse Polarity Heart Method?"
"I have reached the second layer."
"What did you say?"
When the old man asked again, Bu Eun-seol lowered his head with an apologetic face.
"Due to my lack of talent, I have only managed to cultivate up to the second layer."
The old man swallowed his bewilderment and could not open his mouth.
He had witnessed countless disciples take their own lives or become hemiplegic while trying to learn the Reverse Polarity Heart Method.
The Reverse Polarity Heart Method, which required even heaven-sent prodigies to train for over a year just to reach the first layer.
To reach the Second Layer in just two months?
"You reached the Second Layer?"
"That is correct."
"I see."
Only then did the old man understand Blood Vajra's intent.
'No wonder he boasted so much.'
The old man nodded, recalling Dan Cheong, the Deputy Pavilion Master who had visited the Clear Bright Tea House not long ago.
The young man before him was not only exceptionally gifted, but a once-in-a-generation prodigy possessing a martial soul capable of overcoming any trial.
"Very well. I shall teach you the movement art."
At the old man's words, Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together and bowed deeply.
"Thank you."
"There is no need for thanks. Once you hear what this old man has to say from here on, your thoughts will likely change."
"I will listen with cleansed ears."
"This old man is called Go Wol."
An imposing aura, as immense as a great mountain, flowed through the old man who had introduced himself as Go Wol.
"In the past, I was called the Swift Shadowless."
As if reminiscing about the past, a deep film of memory surfaced in the old man's eyes.
"This old man was originally a great thief. Because of that, I not only had to be faster than anyone, but I also had to execute my movement art while evading attacks."
The old man, Go Wol, spoke with eyes full of pride.
"The movement art I will teach you is a body-locomotion martial art that dissolves the boundary between movement technique and footwork technique. I named it after my own epithet, the Swift Shadowless."
As he continued speaking, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
"For a long time, this old man tried to pass down the Swift Shadowless to the disciples of Langya Pavilion. But they all failed and... became crippled."
Bu Eun-seol could not understand.
An internal energy method was a meticulous and perilously dangerous martial study that controlled the energy contained within the body.
But to become crippled while learning a movement art that merely lightens the body?
"Why did they fail?"
"There are two reasons. First, this Swift Shadowless is a movement art that continuously consumes internal energy. If it is not supported by solid internal energy, it can instead inflict internal injury."
Go Wol continued speaking.
"But what is more serious than that is the fact that, if the Swift Shadowless is executed incorrectly, both of your legs could be severed."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
"You mean one's legs can be severed while executing a movement art?"
It was utterly incomprehensible.
To lose the use of one's legs merely from executing a movement art or footwork technique incorrectly.
Where in the world did such a movement art exist?
"Watch closely."
A single demonstration is better than a hundred explanations.
Go Wol briefly lifted his body into the air, then landed back in the same spot.
Watching that sight, Bu Eun-seol had no choice but to doubt his own eyes.
'So that is the Swift Shadowless...'
Had he not learned the Beast Path, he would not have even detected that subtle footwork.
Go Wol had certainly only lightly lifted his body in place, yet during that time, he had changed direction forty-four times.
A brief silence flowed through the interior of the teahouse.
Around the time the heavy air began to escape through the window,
"You saw it, I take it."
Go Wol, who had been intently observing Bu Eun-seol's expression, spoke in a voice full of pride.
"The Immovable Diamond Movement Art, said to be the finest movement technique of the Righteous Faction, can change direction sixty-four times in place."
Go Wol's eyes flashed as he continued.
"But this old man's Swift Shadowless can change direction up to ninety-nine times in place. That is because it is a body-locomotion martial art combining movement technique and footwork technique."
If Bu Eun-seol had been knowledgeable in movement techniques and footwork techniques, he would not have believed those words.
A movement technique is, at its core, a lightness study that can be considered an extension of internal energy methods. Footwork technique, on the other hand, is a martial art founded upon formation study.
"Do you understand why executing this Swift Shadowless results in becoming crippled?"
"Earlier, you continuously changed direction in place, sir."
"And so."
"Since you move at high speed in the air for a short period of time, if you misstep a direction even slightly, would not both legs collide with each other?"
As Bu Eun-seol explained it precisely, Go Wol clicked his tongue and nodded.
"There are many stable movement arts in the murim. To be honest, unless one intends to become a thief, there is no real need to learn such a dangerous movement art."
Bu Eun-seol could accept Go Wol's explanation.
No one would risk losing both legs just to learn a single movement art.
"Do you intend to become a great thief?"
"No."
"Then I would advise you to learn a different movement art. There are many masters in this pavilion who have learned excellent movement arts."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been staring at Go Wol, spoke in a resolute voice.
Shaking his head, Bu Eun-seol spoke with force.
"I will learn your movement art, sir."
Go Wol wore an expression of utter incomprehension.
"Is it because of what Blood Vajra said?"
Bu Eun-seol spoke with unwavering eyes.
"I trust my senses."
"Senses?"
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol had an intuition.
That Go Wol's movement art, whose footsteps could not even be detected before his eyes, would be the finest in Langya Pavilion.
"Hmm."
Go Wol stared at Bu Eun-seol's eyes, filled with conviction.
He, too, could sense it.
That the prodigy he had waited so long for, the one capable of learning the Swift Shadowless, was standing right before his eyes.