The Great Disciple (3)
The starting point was simple enough.
The moment Cheonhwa told the Martial Pavilion he wished to refine his martial forms, the news raced out of the pavilion and through the entire Zhongnan Sect like wildfire.
Everyone already knew he used his own applied forms. And refining those forms so he could teach them to his martial brothers and sisters was hardly a secret that needed locking away.
"We can learn Cheonhwa's applied forms?"
None seized on the rumor more eagerly than the third-generation disciples.
The applied forms Cheonhwa performed had always struck a chord—shaping a blade of shockwaves along the edge of a wooden sword that had no edge at all, or wrapping a whirling vortex of force around the blade itself. The sheer spectacle drew plenty of eyes.
"So if we volunteer for the refinement work, we get to learn the applied forms before anyone else?"
They had been warned of the risks, yet the chance to grow stronger ahead of everyone else proved irresistible.
Of course not every third-generation disciple signed up.
"They said once the refinements are finished they'll teach the whole third generation. So why risk anything just to learn them first?"
"You idiot—look at it the other way. It means you get to show off to the rest of the brothers until the refinements are done!"
"Oh. You're right! We'll be able to tease them nonstop while the work's going on. Forget that—I'm volunteering too!"
That was the general flavor of the third-generation disciples' motives. Still short of twenty, most of them, they signed up for reasons that were frankly a little childish.
The second- and first-generation disciples, by contrast, focused on the practical value of the applied forms themselves.
"It's a simple method of grafting true-qi techniques together, but it trains the sense of using those techniques at the same time. Not bad."
"Exactly. The final three forms of the middle section hinge on catching that exact sense. Once you have it, you're set—but getting it is never easy."
"The forms themselves are solid, too. Clear Wind Rain Hand is handy whenever you suddenly need a cutting edge, and you can chain it into other sword-wind forms if things go sideways."
"Windflow Cloud Mountain is clearly superior to All-Under-Heaven Cloud Mountain when it comes to breaking defenses, and used right it can even shatter true-qi structures. That's the real draw."
The applied forms Cheonhwa had created were so straightforward that the principles themselves were not especially difficult. A seasoned martial artist of the second or first generation could already produce a passable imitation on the spot.
That did not erase the achievement of the one who had conceived them and tempered them in real combat.
"Truly the rightful heir of the Zhongnan martial line. To invent applied forms that actually help people master the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven…"
"Clear Wind Rain Hand may have been pure chance, but they say Windflow Cloud Mountain was built with a clear purpose from the start."
Applied forms tended to arise naturally once a swordsman had trained a single art deeply enough. Layer upon layer of such forms made a sword style ever harder to counter—and that was where the true strength of a great orthodox sect with a long history came from.
Having one's applied forms entered into the martial manuals was therefore an honor. Helping refine those forms so they could be recorded was an honor nearly as great. And because the structures were simple, the risks were comparatively low. There was little reason not to take part.
So the requests to join the refinement work poured in, and the Martial Pavilion found itself in an awkward spot.
"Isn't this getting a little too heated?"
"Taking volunteers for form refinement is common enough, but this looks like the highest number since the pavilion was founded."
"What if the ones who don't get chosen start complaining?"
"They're Taoists who cultivate orthodox arts. Surely they wouldn't."
"Even so, if the selection isn't fair, there's a real chance of pushback."
"Hmm. This may be more than we can handle ourselves."
In the end the Martial Pavilion asked the sect leadership to mediate. The scale of the affair had simply grown too large for them to sort out alone.
And then one man appeared and settled the matter in a single stroke.
"I shall take personal charge of this issue."
It was Okwon Jinin, Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect, who stepped in.
Using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken, some might have said—yet at the same time it was the cleanest possible solution. Short of the elders themselves, no one inside the sect could raise an objection.
When the greatest martial scholar of the Zhongnan Sect volunteered, who would dare argue?
And so Cheonhwa found himself face to face with the Sect Leader for the sake of refining his forms.
"Heh heh. You want to polish those applied forms of yours? This old man will lend a hand."
The Sect Leader spoke with a gentle smile.
Cheonhwa could not smile back. He had only wanted to improve a couple of forms—how had the whole affair ballooned like this?
But the current was already carrying him, so he chose to look on the bright side.
The Sect Leader himself is going to refine my forms. How often does a chance like that come around?
Cheonhwa recited the formulas of his applied forms. Okwon Jinin listened, then raised his index and middle fingers together into the classic sword-finger seal. In the next breath, Clear Wind Rain Hand unfolded on a surge of qi. Even without a blade, a Peerless Expert could execute the form bare-handed in a single motion.
"So that's how it works. It still needs a certain level of internal-energy circulation and Jin Release control, but even so the structure is quite simple."
Okwon Jinin gazed at the Clear Wind Rain Hand shimmering along his fingertips.
"Yet the killing intent woven into the intent is thicker than I expected."
"…"
Cheonhwa answered with silence. Clear Wind Rain Hand had been forged to cut down bandits' throats. Back then he had needed a way for a wooden sword to kill beasts wearing human skins, and wrapping a shockwave around the blade to form an edge had been the answer. Of course the formula carried murderous will.
"Those who have already reached a certain realm will be fine. But disciples who have never taken a life should not learn it as it stands. They could easily be stained by the killing intent inside the form."
With that, Okwon Jinin began revising the formula of Clear Wind Rain Hand.
"There. Done. Try it."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Cheonhwa executed Clear Wind Rain Hand according to the corrected formula. The edge formed by the shockwave was a shade less keen than before, yet its stability had risen dramatically and it was plainly easier to learn at a glance.
"Incredible. You rewrote the formula so easily."
"The purpose was clear and the true-qi structure simple—that is why it was possible. Ordinarily it would never be so quick."
Okwon Jinin next took the formula for Windflow Cloud Mountain. The moment he finished hearing it, his eyes widened.
"Did you truly create this alone? Unlike Clear Wind Rain Hand, I see traces of another hand."
"That is…"
Cheonhwa held nothing back. He had forged the form of Windflow Cloud Mountain with the aid of the founding patriarch's intent, encountered by chance inside a mindscape.
Hearing of such an unexpected marvel, Okwon Jinin gave a dry laugh and stroked his beard.
"No wonder the formula was so neatly ordered. The founding patriarch himself revised it."
"Is that a problem?"
"Not at all. The structure was already simple; now it will be even easier to refine. I suspect he foresaw something like this to some degree."
A fated encounter that had begun with the lingering spirit of sword scars carved into a cave wall—who could have guessed it would reach this far?
"Did the founding patriarch happen to drop any hints?"
"Ah—he did speak of the middle-section forms."
"Oh? I should like to hear, if you would."
"Yes. The founding patriarch said that among the twelve middle-section forms, only six truly matter."
All-Under-Heaven Superior Hand, which teaches sword projection through true qi.
All-Under-Heaven Clear Wind, which teaches the shockwave of Jin Release.
All-Under-Heaven Flowing Clouds, which teaches the art of soft, yielding defense.
All-Under-Heaven Lightning Flash, which weaves sword projection and Jin Release together.
All-Under-Heaven Thunderclap, which weaves Jin Release and soft defense together.
And All-Under-Heaven Thunderbolt, which employs all three techniques at once.
"The remaining six, he said, are simply tools for various situations—or else the separate techniques that make up Lightning Flash, Thunderclap, and Thunderbolt, broken out and arranged on their own."
"Just as I thought. In truth the middle section of the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven has those final three forms as its true core; everything else is only the path leading to them."
All-Under-Heaven Superior Hand, Clear Wind, and Flowing Clouds were the foundations and basics of each technique. Lightning Flash, Thunderclap, and Thunderbolt were the finished products one reached by polishing those basics. The road to those finished products simply felt impossibly long to ordinary people.
And the applied forms Cheonhwa created have become a shortcut that dramatically shortens that long road.
Had Okwon Jinin been the founding patriarch, he too would have been so pleased that he would have offered all manner of help. That was likely why the patriarch had aided the creation of Windflow Cloud Mountain.
"The applied forms themselves are so simple there is hardly any need for trial and error. All that remains is to record them in the martial manuals and teach them…"
Okwon Jinin fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.
"Not long ago the head of the Medicine Hall mentioned you. She said she needs you, Cheonhwa."
"The Medicine Hall head has business with me?"
Danwon, head of the Medicine Hall—one of the three most formidable figures inside the Zhongnan Sect. Why would such a person be looking for him?
"For what reason?"
"I am told she needs reliable hands before setting out on relief work. Of course she said she would ask your wishes first. You must be exhausted as well."
Cheonhwa considered. Since returning to the Zhongnan Sect he had spoken with countless martial brothers and uncles, and fretted over how to teach the forms; his mind had been a tangle.
I've been swarmed by people for days and I'm worn out. Clearing my head at the Medicine Hall might not be a bad choice.
A brief change of pace before he began teaching martial arts in earnest seemed fine.
"Then I will go with the Medicine Hall head for a while."
"Very well. I will send word to her. Take care of yourself."
Only after Cheonhwa had transferred to the Medicine Hall did he understand why the Sect Leader had told him to be careful.
He had fled the wolf only to walk straight into the tiger's den.
"We're going out. Get ready."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. Stop talking back and get ready this instant!"
"…"
At the long-unheard roar of Danwon, head of the Medicine Hall, Cheonhwa shut his mouth at once.
It seemed the day he could rest in peace would have to wait a little longer still.