Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Four Liang Deflecting a Thousand Catties
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"Thousand Catties Drop?"
The First Demon asked me indifferently. I nodded.
"Yes."
"Why that one?"
"Back when I was with the Murim Alliance, I heard about it a few times. Things like Four Liang Deflecting a Thousand Catties or Samadhi True Fire were said to be symbols of true masters..."
"Nonsense."
"Pardon?"
"Nonsense."
The First Demon lifted her sword, still in its scabbard.
"It's all bullshit. Thousand Catties Drop? Anyone who's handled a sword even a little can imitate it. Samadhi True Fire? Burning a scrap of paper with your inner energy is child's play. Split Mountain Palm, Penetrating Meridian... Guys who flaunt that stuff proudly are all show and no substance."
"..."
"Skin and bones, that's what they are. No real depth, just flashy martial arts for show. Take Four Liang Deflecting a Thousand Catties. What is it?"
"I know it as a key technique of the Wudang Sect's Taiji Sword. It uses minimal force to redirect a greater power, turning the enemy's attack against them..."
"Lay your sword on mine."
I did as she instructed.
"Move it."
I tried to move.
But the sword clung to the tip of hers and wouldn't budge.
"What...?"
"When you swing a sword enough, you naturally pick up a few of these subtleties. Simple principles. Four Liang Deflecting a Thousand Catties? Redirecting force with minimal effort can be mimicked with other techniques too. Of course, which sword you wield matters. Every martial art emphasizes different principles at its core, so a warrior and their sword can't be separated. But guys who just shelve their sword and yap about principles are empty shells."
The First Demon flicked her sword lightly.
In that instant, my body slammed into the ground.
"The subtlety of adhesion. The subtlety of repulsion. All those things are just natural steps you awaken to while learning the sword. That's why they're nonsense. What matters is the top of the stairs, not the stairs themselves."
"...I understand."
"Your expression says you're shocked. But listen. You could do what I just did right now. The sword you've learned, the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword, emphasizes the principle of 'heaviness.' But that doesn't mean your sword only has weight. To master that character, you need all the other elements supporting it."
"..."
"You've already learned it. You just haven't learned how to use it. Perfect timing since it came up. I was going to teach you later anyway, but now's as good a time as any."
"You mean...?"
"I'm the First Demon of our cult. I know more martial arts than I don't. There's no sword principle I can't handle. I can contain everything in a fluttering sword tip."
The First Demon twitched her scabbard.
"I'll teach you a few principles you can apply to the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword. More precisely, I'll awaken what you already know. Nothing will really change in practice. Except..."
"Except...?"
"These little tricks do come in handy quite often."
The First Demon patted my head.
"They'll say most of your martial arts are external style, so sprinkle them in here and there. These principles rely purely on the sword's movement, not inner energy flow."
...
Four Liang Deflecting a Thousand Catties.
A feat that uses the enemy's own force to strike them down.
The opponent's sword energy was sharp. But that was all.
Both the direction of the force and how it was applied were utterly straightforward.
With the insight I'd gained upon reaching the Flower Realm, I could predict most movements from those below me.
---Crunch.
I fed the enemy's resisting force into my own inherent power.
The guy who barely stood and swung his sword ended up smashed into the wall.
"Gaaahk!!!"
He spat blood. His sword clattered across the ground.
I sheathed my sword in front of him.
I hadn't intended to kill him from the start. Just subdue him.
I stood before him as blood dripped steadily.
"...You bastard... what... sorcery... cough...!"
"Anyone devoted to the sword would know this isn't sorcery."
"How dare you... insult... Kunlun..."
"Kunlun, huh."
The Baekdo Alliance member ground his teeth.
"The main sect... won't let this... slide...!"
"Probably not. That's why I'll go there myself."
"...What?"
"An innocent man shed blood. Shouldn't we be the ones demanding answers? Even if Kunlun's rotten, not everyone's corrupt."
I grabbed the Baekdo Alliance member's clothes and dragged him along.
"I'll ask every single one who calls themselves Kunlun."
"Walking into the tiger's den... you're... insane...!"
"I'm perfectly sane. More than ever."
I glanced at Na-rin and Gwang-yang. I confirmed the bandit they held too.
"Their ties are tangled, so I won't just leave it be. Follow me. Gwang-yang. Na-rin."
"Uh, yeah?!"
"S-Sir...! What are you planning...?!"
The Kunlun Sect wasn't far from Qinghai City.
So we walked. All the way there.
"Who are you... Elder Baek?! What's going on?!"
"You! Halt!"
Kunlun warriors blocked my path. Their hands drew swords without hesitation.
So I set the Baekdo Alliance member down and drew my scabbard again.
"You rude... guk!"
"H-He's no ordinary foe... ngh!"
I felled two.
I took down three more who rushed in.
Subduing Kunlun warriors without mercy, I pushed inward. Only then did I encounter a voice that shook the entire vast compound.
"You! How dare you cause havoc in Kunlun's domain!"
"Murim Alliance warrior, Red Cloud."
"Alliance warrior or not, explain yourself!"
I threw the dragged Baekdo Alliance member at his feet. At the same time, Na-rin hesitantly forced the bandit to his knees.
"Elder."
"M-Me?"
"Both of you."
Gwang-yang and Na-rin hurriedly sat beside them. The old master, clueless about the situation, rolled his eyes.
"Explain! Who are these people?!"
"Two framed innocents and two framers."
"What?"
I tossed him my plaque first. The old master's eyes narrowed at the Murim Alliance warrior insignia.
"State your name."
"Red Cloud."
"...Right. Red Cloud. Explain. What happened? Lie even once, and you won't leave here alive."
"Everything I said is true."
I pointed at the kneeling bandit.
"I subdued the man trying to kill me. A bandit. But he had over thirty underlings, yet wore commoner's clothes to frame me."
"What...?"
"These two took the blame in my place and got beaten by that Kunlun warrior over there. See the wounds? And he did it right in front of everyone, not behind closed doors. In the middle of Qinghai City, tied up and beaten in the marketplace where passersby could see."
"Hmph...!"
"My companions were the ones beaten. They wouldn't stop even when told to. All I could do was block him. I tried reasoning, but he drew first. Plenty of witnesses. Lots of eyes saw it, and they'll all back my word. That I didn't draw first."
The old master's eyes twitched.
"Even so, your atrocities here in Kunlun don't vanish. Why force your way in instead of waiting for a formal audience?"
"I'm on a tight schedule. Finishing the Demonic Cult search and heading back to the Murim Alliance, so I wanted to resolve it quickly. I tried talking to the gatekeepers, but they charged first."
"You! Spouting whatever while barging in like a thug! Insulting me?!"
"Insulting? I heard that earlier, but I don't see why I'd get that response. Seems that Baekdo Alliance guy and the bandit here were thick as thieves..."
I wanted the commotion to grow.
Not just stop here, but swell even larger.
Large enough for any shred of conscience left in Kunlun to hear.
"Does a sect that robs with thieves even deserve such honored prestige?"
"You've crossed the line!"
With the excited old master's foot stomp came a thunderous roar filling the compound. A force that made the village-sized estate rumble.
No ordinary old master. Visible qi afterimage lingered at his torn hem.
Sword aura.
Star-like sparkling energy.
But the form was incomplete. Peak realm entry... something like that.
"Pay for insulting this elder with your arms!"
As he poised to charge, people began gathering behind him. I gripped the bandit's shoulder harder.
A simple trick if you know the principles. That's how the First Demon put it.
She even showed me how to use what I already knew.
One of them was the infamous Dismember Tendons and Dislocate Bones.
I slowly applied pressure to the bandit's shoulder. I whispered into his ear as he began screaming silently.
"Know what Dismember Tendons and Dislocate Bones is?"
"...Hah... hah...!"
"I want one thing. You spit the truth here. That's all. But if you won't even do that..."
A twisting sound came from the gripped shoulder as muscle and bone separated.
The bandit's eyes rolled back, body shuddering violently.
"Even if you kill me, I'll rip your limbs off and send you to hell first."
This bastard tried to kill me twice.
No mercy in my hands, naturally.
"You! What are you doing! Come here right now or you won't wa-!"
"Gaaaaahk!!! Y-Yes! It's true! I-I'm in league with that Baekdo Alliance bastard over there!!!"
I released the hand on his shoulder. The gasping bandit looked at me and spilled words rapidly.
"P-Please spare me! Sir! I'll tell everything! That fucker! He said he'd cover for me! And I'm not the only one! I know other bandit dens tied to him too!"
"Sh-Shut your mouth, you...!"
"He threatened to kill me if I didn't bring the tribute! Sir! Spare me! All I did was follow orders! They told me to raid villages for shortfalls, grab people to sell, bring the money! I-I really just did as told...!"
"You'll learn when you taste blood!"
The old master charged like a wave, hand lashing out. But at the same instant, I extended my foot too.
The drawn Black Bead hummed low in its scabbard. I blocked the incoming hand with the flat of the scabbard.
---Kwang!
My body jolted back momentarily.
I hadn't infused inner energy, so it was expected. But I wasn't just pushed.
Four Liang Deflecting a Thousand Catties. The principle of using small force to redirect great power.
I rooted my lower body firmly to the earth. In one breath, I grasped the incoming force, guided it from fingertips through spine to legs.
Roots of an unyielding tree.
The coiled force in my body burst back through the scabbard.
"What?!"
---Kwaaaang!!!
With the explosion, the old master flew back, skidding across the ground.
"H-He's no ordinary man!"
Taking sword aura barehanded twisted my internals a bit. But Heavenly Tribulation healed it instantly.
Pain I was used to anyway. I spat the blood pooling in my mouth to clear the aftermath.
"If martial might crushes everything, what's the value of truth?"
"You bastard still!"
The bandit gnashed his teeth in desperation.
"Baekdo Alliance! That Baekdo Alliance fucker is in it with us! And he's not the end! All of Kunlun uses us to feed themselves! Fuck!!"
"Shut your mouth! How dare you insult me!"
"I-Insult my ass! Fuuuuck!! You hit me first! Me, who paid up regularly! You thought I'd just grin and bear it after your shitty deeds? Die this way or that, might as well go together! You fucking bastard! You're the same scum as me!"
"This mangy dog still...!"
The air froze solid.
"Enough."
Qi waves flowed from an unseen spot. A colossal pressure nailing everyone to the ground instantly.
Everyone but me, who could resist it, trembled like aspen leaves. I narrowed my eyes at the approaching master.
"What's all this racket?"
A middle-aged swordsman with bound hair.
His gaze was serene. Yet I felt invisible intimidation pressing me.
Trying to suppress with sheer presence.
I endured it silently, hand on my sword.
Strong. But not overwhelmingly so.
If anything... underwhelming.
By the qi I sensed, he was a notch below me.
"...Hoh?"
---Thud.
The man who stepped before me looked up.
"Who are you?"
"One here to clear a misunderstanding."
"Clear a misunderstanding. But you've piqued my interest more than that."
The warrior who scanned me nodded.
"First Elder of Kunlun, Hyun Do-gwang. State your name."
"Murim Alliance warrior. Red Cloud."
"Red Cloud. Explain. What's this commotion? If you can't convince me..."
Hyun Do-gwang.
The man who introduced himself whispered.
"You and your group will bear the weight of all Kunlun."
...Kunlun. Kunlun.
That damned Kunlun.
Just how heavy is the name Kunlun supposed to be?
The guilty are clear. Anyone with eyes can see.
Isn't the blood of the innocent vivid enough? Wasn't that testimony just now?
A master like him must have heard everything on the way in.
Yet he pulls the Kunlun card again...
"...Can Kunlun bear it?"
"What?"
"I've seen you oppress the innocent and try to bury even those who speak truth..."
It grated on me.
Everything before my eyes.
"I asked if you can bear my sword, which I won't hold back anymore."