Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: A Win-Win Situation (2)
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An hour later.
After most of the cultivators had dispersed, Liu Zhangming approached Ouyang Jue and asked.
“Jue, what in the world happened?”
At his question, Ouyang Jue briefly explained the events.
The fact that he had been granted a Small Purple Spirit Elixir would be revealed soon enough anyway.
Something else was far more important.
A look of pride mixed with mischief appeared on Ouyang Jue’s face.
“Senior Brother, how did you reach the peak so quickly? It’s not like it’s some local tavern you can just walk into.”
“It was just a chance occurrence.”
Was there anyone else who could accept reaching the peak so calmly?
Watching Liu Zhangming take his first step into the boundless realm of martial arts, Ouyang Jue smiled with satisfaction.
But he still had another question.
“So, what was this ‘enlightenment’ you had?”
Ouyang Jue’s expression turned utterly serious.
There were two main ways to reach the peak.
One was to circulate immense internal energy through the Lesser Heavenly Cycle, expanding the flow from the dantian to the Governing and Conception Vessels.
The other was to broaden the boundaries of one’s techniques through pure enlightenment.
Most chose the former method.
Enlightenment, as Liu Zhangming had said, came either by chance or through countless hours of accumulated training.
The martial world was too harsh a place to rely on chance and experience to reach the peak.
‘But… the masters who left their names in the history of the martial world were always said to have reached the peak through enlightenment.’
It was nothing to brag about, but the Ouyang Jue of his past life had also been the type to reach the peak through enlightenment.
Swiftness and heaviness.
By mastering these two concepts, Ouyang Jue had broken through to the peak.
Of course, in this life, he didn’t need to go through such a process, so he had taken the former path.
That meant Liu Zhangming must have experienced a flash of enlightenment, a serendipitous insight.
As Ouyang Jue stared at him intently, Liu Zhangming felt a growing sense of frustration.
“I forgot.”
“You forgot?”
A look of surprise flashed across Ouyang Jue’s face.
That was practically impossible.
‘Is he joking…?’
In the five years since he had been called the Purple Mist Sword God, Ouyang Jue had fought and debated the sword with numerous reclusive masters.
Among them were those who, like him, had reached the peak through enlightenment.
They all said the same thing.
“I have grasped the peak, but I have seen a path that feels as though I could not reach its end even if I poured my entire life into it, no, all my lifetimes.”
It was unforgettable.
How could one forget a glimpse of the clue that would allow them to take one more step beyond the peak?
It was the same for Ouyang Jue.
Swiftness and heaviness were the foundation and the ultimate goal of martial arts.
No matter what realm one reached, one could never claim to have reached their absolute extremity.
That was why martial artists at or above the peak clung tightly to any enlightenment that came, whether it was innate or acquired.
And yet, he had forgotten?
As Ouyang Jue stared in disbelief, Liu Zhangming asked with an awkward expression.
“Is that strange?”
“…Uh, um.”
He considered lying, but Liu Zhangming would find out eventually, so Ouyang Jue answered honestly.
“Very.”
“Seeing you so certain, you must have gone through a similar process yourself.”
Startled by the remark, Ouyang Jue didn’t answer.
He had momentarily forgotten that although his senior brother seemed foolishly kind, his natural intuition was well above average.
But Ouyang Jue quickly offered an excuse he had already prepared.
“After receiving Senior-most Brother’s internal energy, I was given a Small Purple Spirit Elixir to help me control it…”
In short, he was saying that while properly absorbing the spiritual medicine, an enlightenment had flashed through his mind.
‘It’s best to tie up all the loose ends now to avoid trouble later.’
At the same time, Ouyang Jue secretly worried that Liu Zhangming might feel jealous.
Just yesterday, he had refused to even entertain a conversation with Liu Zhangming.
On top of that, he had reached the peak—a feat that perhaps one in a hundred martial artists could achieve—in a single go, thanks to the Small Purple Spirit Elixir, a treasure of the Mount Hua Sect.
Even the most generous person would surely feel a pang of envy.
But Liu Zhangming was different.
“That is truly wonderful news.”
“…You’re certainly taking this well.”
Ouyang Jue let out a hollow laugh.
Right, this was the kind of person his senior brother was.
Wasn’t that why he had decided to remain with the Mount Hua Sect until the very end in this life?
Ouyang Jue silently reaffirmed his goal.
‘It’s not enough for me to just be strong. It’s also important that no one dies.’
Ouyang Jue closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky.
“Since you’ve reached the peak, why don’t we have some fun together?”
At his words, Liu Zhangming’s hand went to the sword at his waist.
At times, Ouyang Jue’s impertinent words made him want to snap, but right now, his intention was crystal clear.
He wanted to cross swords, to gauge how much he had grown, to be measured with a cool head.
Liu Zhangming smiled warmly, thinking how much his junior brother had matured.
“Shall we?”
And so, the two brothers walked toward the training ground located in the very center of the Mount Hua Sect.
* * *
*Step, step.*
As the two sets of footsteps drew closer to the training ground, the attention of the lay disciples began to focus on them.
Even Ouyang Jue, who usually paid no mind to what others said, frowned at their thick whispers.
He was particularly annoyed by the comparisons to Peng Yuzong, who was famed as an unprecedented martial artist in the history of the Hebei Peng Clan.
‘Whenever a young person reaches the peak, they always, *always* bring up Peng Yuzong.’
From the selfless training Ouyang Jue had undergone during his half-year retreat in the hermitage, it was clear that the man named Peng Yuzong was indeed an innovative martial artist.
Having reached the peak at the tender age of fifteen, he must have been a formidable figure.
But wasn’t he a man who had died more than twenty years ago?
As Ouyang Jue’s face remained scrunched in a frown, Liu Zhangming, who had been watching him from the side, smiled faintly.
“What are you getting so worked up about? Whether they are lay disciples or registered disciples, are they not all part of our Mount Hua family?”
“Isn’t it a nuisance to go around chattering, using the name of a dead man?”
As Ouyang Jue’s voice rose, the murmurs comparing him to Peng Yuzong and other masters died down.
“You are still as unique as ever, Junior Brother.”
Liu Zhangming subtly chided Ouyang Jue’s character as he drew a wooden sword.
Watching him, Ouyang Jue also lightly gripped a wooden sword.
Perhaps because the day was bright, the shadow that had been cast over a corner of his heart seemed to lift.
It was a welcome change of mood.
Or perhaps, from the perspective of discovering the truth behind Liu Zhangming’s supposed enlightenment, this duel would be a great source of nourishment.
A win-win situation, so to speak.
The veins on the back of Ouyang Jue’s hand pulsed with strength.
“Are you ready?”
“Come at me whenever you’re ready.”
At his words, Ouyang Jue’s knees bent slightly, and then—
*Whoosh-!*
He shot forward, pushing off the ground in a single burst.
Only a cloud of dust remained where Ouyang Jue had been standing.
‘Where is he?’
Liu Zhangming’s gaze wavered uncertainly.
He should be getting used to it by now, but the footwork Ouyang Jue displayed reeked more of wild instinct than the orthodox techniques of the Mount Hua Sect.
Just then, a gust of wind brushed past his ear.
‘Here.’
With an unwavering stance, Liu Zhangming casually extended his sword.
It was only for an instant, but he was certain.
Ouyang Jue was charging toward this very spot.
*Clang!*
Hot sparks flew up, lifting into the cold air.
Hot.
The moment he felt it, a look of deep dismay spread across Ouyang Jue’s face.
As if he hadn’t expected this at all.
It was a look Liu Zhangming hadn’t seen recently, if ever, and his head tilted slightly.
*Pow!*
A kick from Ouyang Jue swept through the space between them.
Ouyang Jue’s eyes seemed to ask if he had done it intentionally.
And Liu Zhangming’s gaze replied.
Of course I knew, why else would I have done it?
“Plum Blossom Sword.”
Liu Zhangming lightly announced the name of the sword art he would perform and swung his hand with gravitas.
At once, Purple Mist True Energy gathered like dewdrops on the tip of his blade.
“Plum Blossom’s Splendor.”
The plum blossom releases the beauty it holds within.
It was one of the few illusory sword techniques in the Mount Hua Sword Arts, a blend of feint and reality whose effectiveness varied greatly depending on the swordsman’s skill.
However, Liu Zhangming was one of the few masters of the Plum Blossom Sword Arts within the Mount Hua Sect.
This would not be easy.
Ouyang Jue felt a fragment of his past life in that technique.
‘He doesn’t realize it himself, but this is…’
Ouyang Jue frowned as he caught the faint scent of plum blossoms beginning to drift through the air.
This was not a level of mastery that a mere twenty-one-year-old Liu Zhangming should be able to digest.
What he was displaying now was a sword art that could only be used freely after accumulating experience, internal energy, and physical conditioning.
The one who had perfected it and taken it a step further was the Plum Blossom Sword God of his past life, the Liu Zhangming of his past life.
And yet, right now, Liu Zhangming had achieved the accomplishments of his past life at a much younger age.
The bewilderment vanished from Ouyang Jue’s face, gradually replaced by intrigue.
‘It was worth dealing with the Golden Ring Merchant Guild early.’
Ouyang Jue’s competitive spirit toward Liu Zhangming grew stronger.
He also hoped that his senior brother would gain much more from this duel with him.
‘Still, I can’t let you win just yet, Senior Brother.’
Ouyang Jue’s eyes momentarily sank. Beyond calm, they became utterly still.
Five years of his own internal energy, thirty-five years from Ha Jin-ak, and ten years from the Small Purple Spirit Elixir.
An amount nearing a full sixty years would be more of a poison than a blessing to an ordinary rising talent, but for Ouyang Jue, it was different.
Eye of Prescience.
A monstrous art that exerted immense pressure on those far beneath him and granted him the right to see any attack that distorted the air before it happened.
Previously, he had been overwhelmingly blocked by Song Muk, but this time, his opponent was Liu Zhangming.
‘I will not lose.’
Ouyang Jue’s techniques instantly switched to the offensive, beginning to pressure Liu Zhangming with brute force.
His assault was so thorough and swift that even the registered disciples who had been engrossed in their own training were clicking their tongues in amazement, analyzing Ouyang Jue’s swordplay.
“Heo…”
“What kind of sword art is he even using?”
“It looks like he’s only using the basic sword arts of the Mount Hua Sect… he keeps switching between the Six Harmonies Sword and the Three Peaks Sword.”
Someone almost asked if that was even possible, but at the continuous exchange, the disciples clamped their mouths shut.
Even in the heat of the moment, Ouyang Jue was changing his sword arts, skillfully driving Liu Zhangming into a corner.
He gave him no time to breathe.
He would control even the space for retreat.
“It’s frightening.”
At the words of the second-generation disciple, Ik Hyeon, the other cultivators nodded in agreement. Some among them even tried to imitate Ouyang Jue’s swordplay.
It was no exaggeration; the sword art Ouyang Jue wielded was the path of supremacy itself.
Pure power, with no doubt or uncertainty.
A storm that destroyed everything in its path.
Liu Zhangming, who faced him, was different from such power.
When Ouyang Jue drew back his arm to prepare a powerful strike, Liu Zhangming would lighten his body to be ready to deflect it fluidly.
He met the ensuing chain of attacks with an indifferent gaze.
Even against a flurry of attacks so fast one couldn’t blink, Liu Zhangming showed no sign of discomfort.
This duel was that kind of fight.
A duel to see each other’s limits.
That was why Liu Zhangming’s expression was filled with a hint of disappointment.
‘To think Junior Brother’s martial arts have become this strong already.’
No matter how he parried, he couldn’t seem to push back this onslaught. How was he supposed to break through it?
Unlike Ouyang Jue, who was surprised by Liu Zhangming’s progress, Liu Zhangming was realizing his own shortcomings.
If Ouyang Jue knew this, he would surely have said something like this:
—Some of us are struggling, borrowing even a past life to get stronger, and here you are, Senior Brother, trying to get everything done with a single flash of enlightenment?
Most martial artists would have agreed with that sentiment.
And so, until the sun began to set, Ouyang Jue and Liu Zhangming dueled endlessly, taking only the briefest of rests.
* * *
“…Hoo.”
Ouyang Jue fanned his Taoist robes, which were soaked with sweat.
He had intended to gauge Liu Zhangming’s limits and loosen up his own body, but he had gotten carried away by the excitement.
“Senior Brother has gotten absurdly strong, too. My goodness.”
Though his words sounded like a complaint, Ouyang Jue felt incredibly refreshed.
Liu Zhangming’s growth meant the revival of the Mount Hua Sect.
It was an opportunity to encourage Jo Hun and the other disciples of Mount Hua at his side.
‘My personality is just not suited for receiving praise from others.’
He could leave that sort of thing to Liu Zhangming.
Just as Ouyang Jue was about to wipe the sweat from his face with his sleeve—
*Rustle.*
He heard a presence on the path leading to the Plum Blossom Dispensary.