Chapter 67: Like Clouds (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67: Like Clouds (1)
Crowds gathered around the sparring stage on Junji Peak.
They were the leaders and rising stars who had participated in the Mount Song Gathering, yet not a single one of them was permitted to step onto the stage itself.
As everyone looked on, a lone boy stood in the center.
“That must be the Azure Star Sword.”
“His aura is certainly sharp and refined.”
“And yet, he doesn’t seem to possess enough power to overwhelm the disciples of Mount Hua or Wudang. I wonder what he’s hiding.”
The leaders of the great sects couldn’t take their eyes off Namgung Jun. The rising stars standing behind them were no different.
More than a few of our own have been defeated by that boy.
To think the Azure Heaven Association had such a young master.
No one had expected Namgung Jun to acquire the most Iron Tokens. They had all assumed the protagonists of this gathering would be from the Three Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects. The Azure Heaven Association had been implicitly dismissed as mere seat-fillers, never considered to be main players.
Yet, Namgung Jun had utterly dominated the other rising stars in the battle for the Iron Tokens. In the process, he had successively defeated Sam-gyeong and Yeong-il—the very prospects representing the Three Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects.
As they stared at Namgung Jun, every martial artist present thought of the same title.
The Righteous Path's Number One Rising Star.
There was no room for denial. No one could doubt that Namgung Jun stood at the pinnacle of the Righteous Faction’s younger generation.
Just as all eyes were fixed on him, an old man suddenly appeared.
He materialized in the center of the stage as naturally as a cloud settling, as if he had been standing there all along.
“I heard you were looking for this old Taoist.”
Only after the old man spoke did the rising stars flinch, their gazes snapping toward him. Until that moment, they hadn’t even perceived his existence.
“Ah!”
“When did he…?”
“Wudang’s Cloud-Ladder Steps!”
Even as the old man appeared as if he’d sprouted from the very ground, Namgung Jun showed no surprise. He simply clasped his hands in a neat, respectful salute. Despite his youth, he projected a presence heavier than that of most seasoned masters.
The rising stars fell silent, acutely feeling how they paled in comparison.
“I pay my respects to the Wudang Sect Master.”
“It is good to meet you.”
The Wudang Sect Master, Jeong Hong. He was known as the First Sword of the South-Honored Wudang, the Sword Truth among the Five Great Masters under Heaven. He was a peerless swordsman who ranked among the top five in all of Jianghu.
He might very well be the strongest of all the peerless experts gathered here.
Namgung Jun stared at the Wudang Sect Master. He had no concrete proof, as he couldn’t read the auras of such experts, but his intuition, honed by the experiences of his past life, pointed to Jeong Hong.
What a pity.
Namgung Jun’s fists tightened slightly. This was a golden opportunity to clash swords with a peerless master, yet he knew he hadn’t refined himself enough to draw out Jeong Hong’s full strength. Fueled by his fighting spirit, his clear, intuitive blue eyes seemed to burn even brighter.
Observing Namgung Jun’s intense gaze, the corners of Jeong Hong’s mouth crinkled.
“I heard you wished to spar with this old Taoist. I am curious as to why.”
“As a swordsman, I wish to experience the sword of the South-Honored Wudang.”
Wudang Judges All Truths with the Sword.
The sword that brings realization to all creation is established in Wudang.
This was the Jianghu adage praising the Wudang Sect’s swordsmanship. As a swordsman, he had always wanted to experience it, but the opportunity had eluded him in his past life. He intended to seize this gathering as his chance. To him, experiencing the sword of the South-Honored Wudang was far more valuable than any spirit elixir or reward.
“I am simply grateful that you hold our sect’s sword in such high regard.”
With his hands behind his back, Jeong Hong brought his Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword into a middle guard. It was the Wudang Sect’s famous blade.
“Come, whenever you are ready.”
Namgung Jun’s brow furrowed. He had kept his eyes locked on Jeong Hong, yet he hadn’t seen the man draw his sword.
It’s as if he was holding it from the very beginning.
His mind wavered for an instant, but he regained his composure with a single exhale. His right hand calmly closed around his hilt, the cold steel a vivid sensation against his palm.
“Here I come.”
Namgung Jun boldly initiated the first strike, stepping forward with the Infinite Steps. As he closed the distance, his sword traced a gentle curve through the air, drawing a continuous succession of arcs. As his blade moved with agonizing slowness, cloud-like waves of qi layered one upon another.
The Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance. It was a soft-sword principle, dominated by the concepts of overcoming hardness with softness and neutralizing force with yielding.
“Ho.”
Interest flickered in Jeong Hong’s eyes as Namgung Jun executed the soft-sword principle. The martial arts of the Wudang Sect also embodied the intent of Taiji, of conquering hardness with softness.
Jeong Hong’s Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword stirred, its path flowing so naturally it seemed to dissolve into the atmosphere.
At that moment, an anomaly occurred.
The two swords never made contact; in fact, a considerable distance remained between them. Yet, Namgung Jun’s blade, which had been drawing a gentle arc, suddenly twisted. It was an awkward, jarring movement, as if his sword had been seized by an invisible hand.
His eyes widened. This is…!
Twisting his wrist, Namgung Jun immediately retrieved his sword, bringing it back toward his chest. He instantly understood what had happened. The sword path emanating from the tip of the Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword was hijacking his own. If he hadn’t followed the flow Jeong Hong dictated, he would have lost his grip on his weapon.
But he couldn’t simply allow himself to be dragged along. He had to find a way.
Raising my Sword Force is useless.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved with raw power.
So that’s all it is?
Watching the opposing sword strikes creep toward him, Namgung Jun had an intuitive realization. To extend his sword as he wished, he had to fully bring out the subtle principles of the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance.
My current mastery of the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance is at seventy percent.
Jeong Hong’s leisurely, profound sword momentum wasn’t overtly threatening. It felt as casual as an old man weakly moving his walking cane. Yet, Namgung Jun dared not trespass into that domain—a domain that was gradually expanding. If Jeong Hong willed it, it could instantly fill not only the sparring stage but the entire summit of Junji Peak.
Swoosh!
The air, the trees, the grass—though no wind blew, all of creation vibrated faintly, aligning with a certain flow. Every current in the world seemed to move with Jeong Hong at its center, and Namgung Jun was caught in this vast, empty stream. Depending on his next choice, he might be able to thrust his sword, or he might lose it entirely.
What will you do?
It was a test posed by Jeong Hong. If he overcame it, he would gain a corresponding enlightenment.
Thud!
Stamping his foot in an Earth-Trembling Stomp, Namgung Jun pushed his Heaven-Pillar Resolute Advance Movement Art to its absolute limit, striving to withstand the flow emanating from the Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword.
But this wasn't the solution. It was merely buying time.
I must make my sword path longer, freer.
Namgung Jun’s sword, which had been angled downward, soared high into the air. He employed no other technique, responding solely with the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance. He refined it again and again, pushing past the seventy-percent mastery that had stalled his progress. He re-examined the technique through the lens of every insight he had ever accumulated.
Whoosh!
He thrust his sword once more, but again, the two blades never clashed. They would seem on the verge of contact, only to miss at the last moment, sweeping past each other time and again. Each time, a violent aftershock like a rainstorm tore across the stage.
Because not a single strike landed, it looked as though the old man and the youth were merely performing a sword dance. The rising stars watched, their expressions blank. Though they couldn’t grasp the exact situation, they could roughly understand what was happening, and they could only look on in sheer astonishment.
The eyelids of the Wudang Sect disciple, Sam-gyeong, trembled.
To think he can hold out like that!
Sam-gyeong had sparred with the Sect Master several times for instruction, so this style of sparring was not unfamiliar. The longest he had ever lasted was fourteen exchanges. Beyond that, his sword would no longer obey him. The Sect Master’s test grew more profound with each exchange, and the slightest mistake would see one swept away like a single petal on a raging torrent.
That last exchange was the twentieth.
Yet, Namgung Jun was holding on, despite never having learned the martial arts of the Wudang Sect. Before he knew it, Sam-gyeong found himself focusing not on his Sect Master’s sword, but on Namgung Jun’s.
What is so different? How can Young Hero Namgung, who hasn’t even learned Wudang’s sword, last this long?
Though he wasn’t in the duel, Sam-gyeong became captivated by Namgung Jun’s swordsmanship.
“Truly magnificent.”
“To employ a soft-sword principle against the Wudang Sect Master…”
“I heard that boy’s specialties were the swift sword and the heavy sword.”
The leaders of the sects could not hide their admiration. Even in an instructional spar, who would dare use a soft-sword technique against the Wudang Sect Master? It was a choice that could easily end in utter humiliation.
Yet, the boy didn’t seem to care. He seemed to be pouring his entire being into the duel, focused solely on his own growth.
Jeong Hong saw it clearly.
His competitive spirit and desire for self-improvement are remarkably high.
In a helpless situation where he couldn’t even properly clash swords, it would have been no surprise if his spirit had broken. Instead, Namgung Jun’s clear eyes were now blazing with an even more intense blue light.
Whoosh!
Once again, the two swords crossed without touching.
This time, however, it was different. Until now, even without a clash, a substantial shockwave had erupted across the stage. But now? Only a gentle breeze, like a spring wind, puffed out to tickle the skin. The space between the two swords, which had seemed impossible to close, narrowed ever so slightly.
This child… he’s keeping up.
Jeong Hong could tell instantly. The subtle principles of the soft-sword technique imbued in Namgung Jun’s blade were deepening. With every exchange, his mastery grew. It was a rare sight, even in a place where the most talented martial artists under heaven were gathered.
Step!
Namgung Jun’s steps, which had been continuously stamping the ground with Earth-Trembling Stomps, now flowed forward as smoothly as water. As his toes pivoted and his body spun, his rotating sword strike drew a massive circle.
As his sword-light spread out like a dawn mist, Namgung Jun realized.
I have reached ninety percent.
In a short span of time, his mastery of the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance had leaped forward.
Yet, he was not satisfied. An itch in his mind told him that if he could just take one more step, he would see something beyond the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance.
The enlightenment he gained from his sword technique spread to his Infinite Steps. His footwork became softer, freer. Fitting its name, which meant no limits or boundaries, there was now nowhere his steps could not reach.
[Breaking the distinction of direction and speed, walking along the flow.]
A new martial insight infused his footwork, and the corresponding high-level mnemonics and subtle principles settled into his very being.
[Even in the infinite heavens, there shall be nowhere unreachable.]
Namgung Jun realized that the Infinite Steps had finally transformed to truly suit its name. Though it bore the same name, it was now a completely different footwork technique.
Step!
He took the first step of the new Infinite Steps.
With that single movement, Namgung Jun’s eyes turned a deep blue, and his focus seemed to haze over.
Could it be? Jeong Hong did not miss the change. The Selfless State!
Selflessness. The state of forgetting oneself. It was a phenomenon that occurred when a momentary enlightenment drenched the body, allowing one to break all shackles and forget the self. It was something any martial artist pursuing the highest paths would experience at least once.
At such a young age!
Jeong Hong looked at Namgung Jun with quiet astonishment.
Treading the utterly free Infinite Steps, Namgung Jun’s sword thrust straight toward him.
It was the moment the two swords drew incredibly close.