Wedging Into the Gap Between Two Sovereigns
Martial arts are like that.
A technique built on nothing but relentless force can never truly be called a great one. Unless it is a single-strike kill, a mutual-destruction gambit, most arts demand the mastery of tempo — knowing when to surge and when to hold.
Between one forceful strike and the next there is always the seam of a linked technique, and the skill of a martial artist lies in how cunningly he weaves the mysteries of the false and the real, the swift and the slow, into that seam. A great martial art, then, is nothing less than flow and harmony.
The clash unfolding before me between the Sovereign of Destruction and the Overlord Martial Emperor was proof of exactly that.
Bang! Zeng! Chang! Bang! Zzeng!
Every sound rang heavy and ferocious, yet the collisions that carried different notes in between were the evidence. Of course, one had to admit that a duel between two men who had conquered all under heaven was a slightly different story.
The seam between their strikes was so brief it was like a single instant — a warrior of ordinary attainment could not even perceive it, let alone seize it. And the linked techniques they used as that seam carried a force that left the strikes of lesser hands far behind.
There was a reason I deliberately recalled these facts and pried at the gap between strike and strike: to wedge myself into that instant when the Sovereign of Destruction and the Overlord Martial Emperor collided. More precisely, the goal was to survive the attempt.
The fortunate part was that their duel showed no sign of ending quickly, which granted me ample opportunity to observe. The unfortunate part was that the longer I observed, the more clearly I understood that one single misstep would send me crossing the Samdo River on my own two feet.
'Hoo—'
I drew a deep breath and circulated my inner energy, and strength flooded through my whole body. The opportunity would be near to a single instant, so only thorough preparation made in advance gave me any chance at all.
The confidence I had once carried after reaching the Fourth Stage and stepping into the Realm of the Divine, certain that my inner energy would never run dry — that was already a thing of the past. I was witnessing the Beyond-Heaven realm with my own eyes now, and so I knew exactly how lacking I was.
I had long known that abundant inner power alone does not make a master, yet upon reaching the Fourth Stage I had briefly forgotten that truth. A martial artist needs constant stimulation in order to grow.
"What are you doing, friend?"
Whether he had sensed the gathering of my strength, the Reckless Blade Paeng Ga-heon addressed me.
"Gathering my strength."
There was no reason to lie to him, so I answered honestly.
"Stop it."
Paeng Ga-heon shook his head with a stern expression and continued.
"Trust the Alliance Leader."
His gaze as he said it was filled with faith in Yeom Gi-ha.
"……"
I saw through his thinking at once. Paeng Ga-heon was a warrior of the Paeng Clan, a clan that revered martial virtue and prized fair play, so it was easy to guess what troubled him.
He feared that I might aid the Sovereign of Destruction in a combined assault against the Overlord Martial Emperor. In the brutal Demonic Cult war to come, a combined attack would be efficiency and virtue alike — but in the romantic Jianghu of today, it was taboo. Especially for a warrior of the Sovereign of Destruction's caliber, who might well take offense at a man joining forces against his opponent on his behalf.
But the Reckless Blade's worry was groundless.
"You seem to have a misunderstanding."
It was right to correct him.
"I intend to block both of them."
"That's absu—"
Swish!
There was no time to hear the rest. I had just caught the most perfect opportunity; delay was impossible.
As I shot skyward on the Cloud-Treading Steps, the figures of the Sovereign of Destruction and the Overlord Martial Emperor filled my vision. The center point between the two men clashing against each other with the momentum of Mount Tai itself — that was where I was running.
It was a seam in their linked techniques that I had only managed to catch after watching an exchange of nearly three hundred exchanges from a third party's vantage — the single instant in which I could intervene and still keep my life. My Cloud-Treading Steps, having reached the Realm of Harmony, were truly swift as lightning.
And in the same breath as my will, my body came to rest between the Sovereign of Destruction and the Overlord Martial Emperor.
Zeng! Zzeng!
My right hand, laden with qi, met the Sovereign's iron fist, while my left arm, twisted to guard high, met the Overlord's footwork.
"……"
One breath of silence flowed like an eternity — for a moment.
"Kgh."
Despite my attempt at composure, my mouth betrayed the plan from the start, unable to hold back the groan welling up from my dantian. I had charged into the seam of their linked techniques, and yet an unbearable force had torn straight through my body. Monsters — that was the only fitting word for these two old monsters.
Ulp.
"Hrk."
My energy channels had been shaken; only after spitting up the surging blood from my dantian did my body begin to settle. To have my insides thrown into chaos after a single exchange aimed at the seam of their techniques — it made me realize all over again just how vast the gulf between us was.
"You brat, isn't your life precious to you?"
"What an amusing young one."
And even this, I knew, was the two of them holding back their strength for my sake.
'Hoo—'
I had overreached, yes, but it was right to judge that I had achieved my purpose. That purpose was none other than stopping this battle of giants and turning their eyes upon me. I doubted any better move existed.
Praising myself inwardly for having survived, I opened my mouth.
"Seniors, would you grant this junior a moment of your time?"
"Hm?"
"Ho?"
I had seized the initiative and drawn the interest of two absolute sovereigns. True success was now within reach.
Because of my sudden intrusion, the arena lapsed into a brief lull. In truth, this was only possible because neither the Sovereign of Destruction nor the Overlord Martial Emperor was fighting at full power out of genuine fury.
"Alliance Leader, will you grant me a chance?"
Both of them were alliance leaders, but the one I addressed was, naturally, Yeom Gi-ha, Supreme Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance — for I was a pillar of the righteous path.
"What chance?"
"A chance to stop the righteous-unorthodox war."
In truth, the present situation bore some responsibility on my shoulders as well. It was I, after all, whose actions had escalated a mere incident — the slaughter of the Ice Palace's delegation of unaffiliated warriors at the hands of the Sado League — into the crisis of a full war between the two great alliances.
But I knew I was not wrong. If the Ice Palace's warriors were saved and the war was averted, that would be the best of all outcomes. And the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng would come to me as a bonus.
"Go on, then."
I don't know what he saw in me, but Alliance Leader Yeom Gi-ha, his interest piqued, granted his consent readily. The headache-inducing process of persuasion had been skipped entirely — an excellent start.
"What is it?"
I faced the Sado League's leader, Wiji Han, his face set in a scowl. Perhaps because the Murim Alliance Leader stood at my back, the man who had once been a death-messenger of the underworld now looked like a gruff old codger one could almost feel fond of. I might have grown attached thanks to the Sovereign of Destruction's familiar epithet for him — Old Man Wiji.
"Take this."
I drew the treasure from my breast and tossed it to Wiji Han with a flick of the wrist.
Thock.
"What is this?"
Even as he asked, Wiji Han seemed to have already deduced the treasure's nature. A man like him could hardly miss the powerful Yin energy that no mere wrapping could conceal.
"The Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ling Ginseng."
Joy and confusion warred in the Overlord Martial Emperor's expression.
"I hand it over to you, Overlord."
After those words, the fitting description was sheer bewilderment — thanks to my tone, as casual as if I were passing a snack across a table. In contrast, a smile bloomed on my own face.
Averting a war and placing the Sado League in my debt — what greater gain could there be?
Severed Meridians is an ailment of long tradition in the Jianghu. It is usually divided into Yang Severed Meridians and Yin Severed Meridians, but though the nature of the energy differs, the mechanism is the same disease: a mighty energy blocks the channels, and in the end the channels rupture, bringing death.
Being human, a man dies when ten of his meridians are blocked; thus the gravest common state is nine blocked channels. That is precisely the Nine Yang Severed Meridians and Nine Yin Severed Meridians — known as the heavenly punishments of the Jianghu.
I knew that the son Wiji Han had obtained in his late years suffered from that rarest of conditions, the Nine Yang Severed Meridians. A severance that had reached nine rather than six or seven had no record of treatment whatsoever. In truth, it was right to call it a life with an expiration date.
Those afflicted with a ninth-stage severance rarely live past fifteen, yet Wiji Han's son was known to be nearing twenty — the fruit of the Sado League's power and a father's devotion.
But most elixirs breed tolerance. Having consumed every ordinary Yin elixir the Sado League's power could procure, the boy's lifespan had been stretched to nearly twenty — but by now he must be approaching the absolute limit. That, I knew, was the tangled road that had led Wiji Han to seek out the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. The supreme elixir of ultimate Yin could not be obtained by power or martial might alone.
"Why give this to me?"
Even as he voiced the question, I could see the grip of the hand clutching the treasure tighten. He was a parent who loved his son enough to brace for a continental war — the reaction was only natural. I thought that even if I had told him it was a flesh-melting poison, he would not have let go.
"Because I have long admired the Overlord Martial Emperor, senior."
"What a brat skilled at shameless lies."
As expected, the shallow gambit failed. Then I would execute what I had long been taught.
"It is to stop the righteous-unorthodox war."
A frontal charge, plain and simple.
"It is to save the Ice Palace's warriors."
That was what I had planned from the beginning.
"And it is for the sake of a devoted father."
That one had been born in this very moment.
"……"
The power of truth was truly mighty, for the Overlord Martial Emperor did not chide me as before. I saw the expressions of Bukgung Seol-ah and Han Baek-rim shift at the mention of the Ice Palace, but I paid it no mind. The negotiation with the Overlord came first.
"Ah — I said I would hand it over, not give it away. I will demand appropriate compensation from the Sado League in due course."
With those words, I flashed him a bright smile. After all, this was a body that had memorized the entire Thousand Roster of Jianghu Figures. Sado League Leader, Overlord Martial Emperor Wiji Han — I knew his temperament well enough, and that was why.
He was a man who, unlike most of the unorthodox path, prized honor; he would take the Snow Ling Ginseng with an easier heart accepting payment than receiving it as a gift. And had he not sought to slaughter the Ice Palace's warriors in the first place to repay a debt — to Bukgung Han-yu, who had leaked the Ice Palace's information to him?
The unorthodox path is the way of the present world; and I knew that no one settled debts of gratitude and grudge more cleanly than Wiji Han.
"You have not taken the Snow Ginseng, so there is no need to harm the Ice Palace's warriors. You have taken the Snow Ling Ginseng, so you may devote yourself to saving your son."
To help him organize his thoughts, I deliberately enumerated facts the Overlord already knew.
"And I will collect payment for the Snow Ling Ginseng myself, so call it no debt."
I said so, but the Overlord knew and I knew: this was a debt, plain and clear. It meant that no one could deny that I had bestowed upon Wiji Han a grace as vast as the sea. It fell short of the Snow Ginseng, yes — but the Snow Ling Ginseng was an elixir worthy of the word supreme in its own right.
Yet formality and pretext can, at times, veil the truth.
"……"
The Overlord Martial Emperor, his words swallowed, let his gaze pass between me and the treasure holding the ginseng. Even a veteran of the old Jianghu like the Overlord Martial Emperor knew that sometimes concealing truth and sparing one's words was the way to a smoother world. Thanks to his silence, my tongue could move all the more nimbly.
"In view of my sincerity, would you withdraw for today, senior?"
With my final words, the turbulent flow of true qi that had raged through the Overlord's body subsided. He had declared the battle's end.
"My junior pleads so earnestly — this once, I shall withdraw."
Since I had built the pretext for him, the Overlord's steps looked truly light. And as the Overlord made to leave, the Sovereign of Destruction quickly added his parting words.
"Old Man Wiji, until next time!"
"Hmph. There will be no next time for the likes of you."
"What, lost interest in the title of Tyrant Emperor?"
"Keep it yourself."
It seemed my guess had been right — that the Sovereign of Destruction's martial arts stood one step above the Overlord's. I couldn't say for certain, but I suspected the gap between them had widened since the day of their decisive clash ten years ago.
The Overlord's sharp eyes came to rest on my presentable features.
"You there — Dancheon Myeong of the Dancheon Clan, was it?"
"The same."
"I have remembered your name. Should you ever need help, seek me out at any time. The Sado League is always open to you."
I understood his goodwill.
"Old Man Wiji, there's nothing you won't say to a pillar of the righteous path, is there."
"Shut your trap, you windbag."
Having left his farewell, the Overlord Martial Emperor's body vanished from Sanmenxia like a flash of light.
'Hoo—'
At last, I could judge that every arrangement had succeeded.