Chapter 88
Chapter 88
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Rest (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The next day.
Ouyang Jue rose from his bed at dawn. It was the first time in a long while he’d had more than six hours of uninterrupted sleep.
He’d had many sleepless nights, always having to think and worry about the future.
Even without such worries, he often cut his sleep short to train, making one day much like the next.
At least, until yesterday.
“Haaaah…”
Ouyang Jue let out a long yawn and stretched his arms behind him.
Perhaps because it was his first good rest in a while, his body felt stiff.
Had he ever rested this deeply before?
Ouyang Jue shook his head lightly and opened the door.
*Creeak, whoooosh.*
“Ah.”
Ouyang Jue shivered slightly in the crisp dawn air.
It was a sensation he felt because he had not yet reached the state of being impervious to heat and cold.
Ouyang Jue’s breath plumed white in the air.
*‘If I simply focus on training, it should take about six or seven years.’*
Imperviousness to heat and cold.
It was a state one could reach by diligently cultivating the spiritual energy of the Small Purple Spirit Elixir spread throughout his thousand meridians and training his external arts.
To achieve it at the age of twenty-five was an unprecedented feat in the history of the martial world, save for one or two exceptions.
But Ouyang Jue had walked this path before and had reflected upon it time and again to aim even higher.
In fact, even twenty-five felt too old. Only by reaching it at a younger age could he say he had improved upon his past life.
Though, in his past life, he had achieved it at thirty—a remarkably early age in itself.
*‘Once you’re riding a tiger, you can’t afford to be indecisive.’*
He had killed Bai Cheong-il and destroyed the Black Dragon Gang, which was originally fated to conquer the Huguang underworld. The main branch of fate had already been overturned.
Moreover, hadn’t the Zhenzhou Yan Clan also been brought to the brink of annihilation?
He didn’t know who would attack or when. For that reason, Ouyang Jue steeled his resolve.
Just then, a heavy sound came from the direction of the training grounds.
*Whoosh!*
The first strike was swung with discipline, while the second traced a fluid path, as if teasing an opponent’s eyes.
From the sound alone, he could tell the swordsman was quite skilled. Moreover, the footsteps upon the earth were light.
Unless it was a woman, it had to be a boy. Not even twelve years old.
“Hmm.”
Ouyang Jue’s interest was piqued, and he began to walk.
As he strolled through Mount Hua at dawn, the dew dampened the cuffs of his pants with a soft rustle.
A clear, small energy. Ouyang Jue felt that this dew was similar to the boy over there.
It was pure Purple Mist True Qi and Plum Blossom Sword Arts, untainted by any impurities.
*Step, step.*
By the time he was a hundred paces from the training grounds, Ouyang Jue could see who the boy was.
“Hun.”
“Ah, Senior Brother!”
Jo Hun beamed upon seeing Ouyang Jue and ran toward him.
The sight was like a grandchild meeting a grandparent after years apart, and a faint smile settled on Ouyang Jue’s face.
“Why are you running over in such a hurry? You should have finished your training.”
“It’s alright!”
“You weren’t just trying to get out of training, were you?”
Jo Hun giggled at his words, shaking his head firmly.
“Of course not. It’s always new and exciting.”
“New?”
Ouyang Jue narrowed his eyes, and Jo Hun, perhaps worried he’d said something wrong, began to stammer.
“Ah, no. It’s just that sometimes in my dreams, I think about things. Like, what if I swung the sword this way, or what if I swung it that way.”
*Whoosh, swish!*
As he spoke, Jo Hun swung his wooden sword this way and that. A curious smile touched Ouyang Jue’s lips as he watched.
It maintained the original form, yet something was different.
It felt like the characteristic rigidity of the Mount Hua Sect had been blended with a child’s ingenuity. And the interesting part was that it wasn’t awkward at all; the two elements complemented each other perfectly.
To think such a variation was possible from a simple idea.
Ouyang Jue was newly impressed, recalling the Path of Zen Scripture that Jo Hun had mastered in his past life.
*‘Perhaps even the Path of Zen Scripture was a form that didn’t allow Hun’s talent to truly blossom.’*
For now, it was just an interesting hypothesis, but he felt there was a real possibility.
The Path of Zen Scripture was, after all, a new martial theory and principle created by a Jo Hun who had been more interested in meditation than martial arts.
It lacked the edge needed for a martial art meant to harm others. In fact, it could be considered a kind of theory.
*‘Then, if Jo Hun takes an interest in martial arts and endlessly devotes himself to it…?’*
Ouyang Jue looked at Jo Hun, his eyes filled with anticipation.
“Have you ever shown this to your other senior brothers or the sect uncles?”
“No. I thought it was still too lacking to show anyone. I’ve been practicing it outside of my regular training hours.”
Ouyang Jue laughed heartily at that. *That’s Jo Hun, all right,* he thought.
It was truly admirable how the boy trained so diligently at such a young age, never once slacking off.
“Good, good. One must never neglect the sect’s martial arts while indulging in other principles.”
“Hehe, right!”
Then, Jo Hun began to fidget with his fingers. It was a habit he had before saying something difficult.
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue smiled gently.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“Um, what did you think of it?”
As he spoke, Jo Hun’s gaze darted about nervously.
It seemed he was worried about having altered the Mount Hua Sect’s sword forms to his own liking instead of practicing them exactly as taught.
*Tap.*
Ouyang Jue placed a hand on the center of Jo Hun’s back.
In the chill of the pre-dawn hour, Ouyang Jue’s warmth flowed into Jo Hun.
With nearly a full cycle of Purple Mist True Qi, something like this was also possible.
“...Ah!”
Jo Hun let out a surprised gasp as a warm energy seeped into his lower dantian.
Though the energy came from an external source, Ouyang Jue’s Purple Mist True Qi spread effortlessly from his lower dantian throughout his entire body.
*Pop, crack.*
It felt as if every joint, stiff from hours of training and contracted by the cold, was loosening.
Jo Hun, unable to fathom the level of skill involved, simply found it amazing.
“Wow! This feels so comfortable!”
“...”
Ouyang Jue could only offer a gentle smile. In truth, he didn’t have the leisure to respond.
He was using his immense internal energy to burn away the impurities that had accumulated during the long hours of training.
This was only possible because they were fellow disciples who had learned the same internal arts; otherwise, the recipient would have died or suffered a reverse flow from their Sea of Qi meridian point the moment they spoke.
Of course, this one act wouldn't raise Jo Hun’s cultivation level, but it would at least help him sleep soundly.
Removing his hand from Jo Hun’s back, Ouyang Jue wiped his drenched forehead.
“Now, go and get some sleep.”
“Aww, but I want to talk more with you, Senior Brother.”
“Nonsense. This is how you grow tall and strong.”
“...It’s not often I get to see you, Senior Brother.”
At those words, Ouyang Jue was momentarily speechless, blinking his eyes.
He had been so focused on external affairs that he had neglected his sect brothers.
But speaking rationally, he’d had good reason. The Martial Alliance and the Zhenzhou Yan Clan were pressing matters that needed immediate attention.
However...
*‘Hun is still only ten years old.’*
It was an age to crave affection, not to be expected to stand on one's own.
No matter how mature Jo Hun was for his age, he was still a child at heart.
“Up we go.”
Ouyang Jue lifted Jo Hun with both hands and spun him around once.
Seeing Jo Hun’s expression brighten slightly, Ouyang Jue set him down and ruffled his hair.
“I’m sorry.”
“...It’s okay. I was probably just being childish.”
“Childish? That’s not something a ten-year-old should say. Maybe a twelve-year-old, but not you.”
Ouyang Jue gently brushed the dirt from Jo Hun’s robes.
“Now, off you go. Training is good, but you must rest enough for proper cultivation.”
“Yes, Senior Brother!”
With that, Jo Hun ran off energetically.
He was young and had his sensitive moments, but he wasn’t the rebellious type.
Only after watching Jo Hun’s figure disappear toward the Plum Blossom Pavilion did Ouyang Jue turn and head elsewhere.
***
*Step, step.*
Ouyang Jue followed a small path he had made in his younger, more reckless days, heading down the slopes of Mount Hua.
Seeing a few discarded wine gourds, it seemed someone else also favored this path.
Whoever the drunkard was, they were surely no ordinary Taoist.
Ouyang Jue let out a small chuckle.
This time, his destination was no simple stroll. If anything, it was dangerous.
Ouyang Jue tightly gripped the hilt of Severing Manifestation, hidden beneath his robes.
Then, realizing that dawn was gradually breaking, he lifted his head.
In the distance, the path forked in two.
One was the path down the mountain toward Huayin, and the other was a narrow trail leading to the Plum Blossom Cave, a place that could be called the mountain’s heart.
Bai Duanxian’s stern warning not to go to the Plum Blossom Cave alone still seemed to echo in his ears.
But he had no choice.
*‘At a glance, Jin Mu-wol seems to be of a much higher rank than Bai Duanxian, yet even he is mindful of the Sect Leader and chooses his words carefully.’*
What was the connection between the Plum Blossom Cave and the Mount Hua Sect? Why had it never been revealed in his past life?
Even Ouyang Jue, who prided himself on knowing everything related to the martial world’s history for the past decade, did not know.
It had been less than a year since he’d learned that a master as powerful as Jin Mu-wol resided in the Plum Blossom Cave.
Ouyang Jue suspected that the secrets hidden within the cave were just as deep, dark, and ancient.
*Crunch, crunch.*
At some point.
Ouyang Jue’s steps had led him to a place devoid of any human trace.
The ground, rarely trodden, was uneven with dips and rises, and the melting and refreezing snow made it extremely slippery.
The occasional half-rotten leaf underfoot made an unpleasant sound.
Before long, the snow seeping into his shoes had soaked the soles of his feet.
“...”
After walking for some time.
Ouyang Jue stopped when he saw a footprint pressed into the ground before him.
“Is this a warning to turn back?”
Judging by how it could make one wander aimlessly according to the caster’s will, it was a formation based on the Five Elements.
He had already noticed the plum blossom trees, which seemed to have been planted artificially.
Ouyang Jue stiffened his neck and stared into the darkness beyond the path.
“If you’re going to do this, would you mind just telling me in person?”
“...”
“It seems you’re showing me this to make me turn back on my own, but as you know, Grandmaster, I’m not exactly a well-mannered disciple.”
*Thunk!*
After thrusting Severing Manifestation into a relatively sunny patch of ground, Ouyang Jue spoke again toward Jin Mu-wol.
“Since it seems you do not welcome my visit, Grandmaster, I will leave my sword behind. But…”
Ouyang Jue murmured in a solemn voice.
“I have traveled to and from the Martial Alliance on your orders. Don’t you think you should at least grant me an audience?”
*Step.*
Ouyang Jue stepped onto the formation’s first Gate of Life.
As if he already knew the path of life through the formation.