Chapter 376
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 376
Chapter Title: A Surprising Proposal
The day was drawing to a close.
The carriage came to a stop.
The horses were tied up in a suitable spot where they could graze on the grass.
Water was fetched from a nearby small spring.
Opening one of the coffins that filled the carriage compartment revealed it packed full of camping supplies.
Pyeong Deokjo eyed the items with a queasy expression.
No matter that they were newly made and nothing had been put inside yet.
The thought of them having been stored in a coffin stirred an instinctive revulsion.
"How about this tent here or right by the carriage compartment? Which do you prefer?"
Ha Mu-baek asked as he unpacked the supplies and set up a simple tent large enough for one person to lie down comfortably.
Sleeping inside something that had been in a coffin, or sleeping next to the coffin.
Neither option appealed much.
"I'll take the tent."
Still, the tent seemed better than beside the coffin.
"Get moving, then."
Pyeong Deokjo set about preparing for the night as well.
Thanks to his long years wandering the jianghu, his movements were natural and practiced.
Preparations were soon complete.
A fire was lit, and a small pot used to cook up some simple fare.
Countless stars twinkled in the night sky.
"Well, I'm heading in."
Ha Mu-baek climbed into the carriage compartment.
The space fell silent.
The horses, exhausted, had drifted off to sleep—no snorting sounds could be heard.
"Hoo."
Pyeong Deokjo let out a deep breath and assumed a cross-legged position.
He planned to circulate his qi until the food in his belly had digested properly.
After that, physical training.
Half a shichen later, Pyeong Deokjo opened his eyes, immersed as he had been in his meditation.
There was much to do.
He'd been dragged along by Ha Mu-baek and hadn't done any training since his predawn session.
He first practiced the Initial Family Secret Art, then the Myeong-sik forms.
Sweat beaded on his skin, then soon poured down in streams.
Pyeong Deokjo focused intently, swinging his sword and moving his body with all his might.
'Not bad at all. I like it. Definitely.'
Inside the compartment, Ha Mu-baek could sense every one of Pyeong Deokjo's movements outside.
This training wasn't for Ha Mu-baek's benefit.
It was for himself.
For becoming stronger.
Choosing Pyeong Deokjo had truly been the right call, he thought.
Ha Mu-baek sat cross-legged.
If Pyeong Deokjo was training, then he needed to train as well.
Ha Mu-baek delved deep into his inner self.
He had gained much, but sorting through it all had been delayed.
Because he'd acquired even more before finishing the organization.
Flame and frost qi.
And on top of that, the seed of Myriad Desolation.
These formed something akin to an inner core, balanced in exquisite harmony.
Half from Ha Mu-baek and the Infinite Formless Heart Method's intent, half from the energies moving on their own.
'What should I call this?'
Ha Mu-baek pondered as he examined it.
It was definitely not in his dantian.
It resided there, yet was entirely different.
Truly like the inner cores possessed by spirit beasts.
'Three energies intertwined in harmony. However...'
What would happen to this inner core going forward? Even Ha Mu-baek couldn't say.
In truth, hadn't poison qi intruded where flame and frost swirled in balance, only to become the Myriad Desolation seed?
'For now, shall we call it the Harmony Elixir?'
Ha Mu-baek's internal energy gently probed the Harmony Elixir.
It wasn't merely occupying space in his dantian.
A thin thread of energy connected it to his dantian, allowing Ha Mu-baek to channel his internal energy through it.
In this way,
he examined the Harmony Elixir.
With particular focus on the Myriad Desolation seed.
'It split into eight pieces, right?'
Then Go Hu-rak's Myriad Desolation power must be one of those eight fragments.
He needed to grasp what kind of power it was.
If the martial art born from the Myriad Desolation power he leaked was Heavenly Poison Valley's Myriad Desolation Escape Renowned Poison Art, then there would be commonalities between them.
Ha Mu-baek's internal energy persistently prodded the Myriad Desolation seed.
A faint crack appeared in the seed's tough shell.
Ha Mu-baek didn't miss it.
His internal energy slipped in, probing the fragment's energy.
Ha Mu-baek's internal energy was itself the energy of Infinite Formless.
Opposing energies, no less.
Perhaps that's precisely why.
He could sense the Myriad Desolation energy's nature all the more clearly.
'This is...'
The more he grasped its nature,
the more something came to mind.
Why Go Hu-rak's leaked Myriad Desolation energy had merged with poison arts.
Where that insidiousness originated.
'A swamp.'
That was the energy's nature.
A swamp that welcomed incoming energies and hoarded them away.
Accepting and accumulating everything, regardless of type.
Which was why it meshed so perfectly with poison.
Infiltrating, mingling, absorbing, devouring.
That's why it seeped into the Poison Lord's depleted energy, manifesting as that jade-green glow.
An energy with the properties of a swamp.
The world's martial arts draw on the energies pervading the world.
One origin.
Yin and yang.
Three talents.
Four images.
Five elements.
Six harmonies.
Seven stars.
Eight trigrams.
Nine palaces.
Myriad internal arts harnessing these energies.
The swamp-like nature Ha Mu-baek sensed.
It was among them.
'Dui of the Eight Trigrams.'
Indeed.
The energy of Dui.
One of Myriad Desolation's eight fragments—the essence of the world itself—was the energy of Dui.
Meaning the fragments of Myriad Desolation were ultimately the roots of the Eight Trigrams.
Of course, it could be Ha Mu-baek jumping to conclusions.
Myriad Desolation fragment.
Encountering another one would let him confirm if this hypothesis held.
'Interesting.'
Ha Mu-baek smiled faintly.
Primordial energies were different.
Six shards, it was said.
But his own Infinite, Formless, Radiance.
These three bore their own unique properties, unrelated to the Six Harmonies.
Ha Mu-baek speculated that since Myriad Desolation was the world itself, shattering into eight pieces had birthed the Eight Trigrams, each an aspect of the world's energy.
Once he understood its nature and properties, moving his internal energy elicited a clear response.
Having thus grasped the Myriad Desolation seed's energy,
another question arose.
'What is the primordial, exactly?'
A question about the energy of the martial art he cultivated.
He had simply thought of it as internal energy, treated it as a martial art, trained diligently, and grown stronger.
But recent events had revealed its origins.
Infinite Formless Heart Method.
Ha Mu-baek tried to delve deeply into it this time, but
"Tahat!"
Pyeong Deokjo's training shout snapped him back to awareness.
Different from the sounds he'd heard before immersing himself inward.
"Has time passed this quickly already?"
Ha Mu-baek murmured as he opened his eyes.
Dawn was breaking before he knew it.
It was the sound of Pyeong Deokjo's predawn training.
"He's diligent."
Ha Mu-baek murmured, peering out through the small window in the compartment.
"Well, today's not the only day."
He rose and stepped out of the compartment.
Pyeong Deokjo caught the movement out of the corner of his eye but didn't halt his training.
He continued swinging his sword.
Only after completing the full regimen did he greet Ha Mu-baek.
"Instructor Ha. Did you rest well?"
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
Then he stared steadily at Pyeong Deokjo.
"Why do you ask?"
"That martial art. Where did you learn it?"
Pyeong Deokjo paused briefly before speaking.
Any other warrior might have taken offense.
For asking about their sect so rudely.
But
Pyeong Deokjo was different.
He had no sect to speak of.
His sworn brother,
worried about the family arts dying out, had passed them on out of concern for Pyeong Deokjo.
"From my sworn brother."
"Sworn brother?"
Pyeong Deokjo nodded at the returned question.
Suddenly, Ha Mu-baek recalled that Pyeong Deokjo had mentioned an "Initial Big Brother" in yesterday's conversation.
"I..."
Pyeong Deokjo began.
The tale of his life's journey.
Ha Mu-baek listened quietly. He wasn't particularly curious.
But since his own question had prompted the story.
"A martial art that, if mastered, could reach the pinnacle of first-rate..."
Ha Mu-baek murmured.
"Is there a problem?"
Ha Mu-baek shook his head.
"No. Or is there?"
Anxiety flickered across Pyeong Deokjo's face at the murmur.
"You said it's your sworn brother's family art, but it's far superior to expected. Likely, no one reached high realms, so they limited themselves to first-rate and passed it down that way..."
Pyeong Deokjo focused on Ha Mu-baek's words.
A master like Ha Mu-baek was advising on his martial art.
This was a stroke of fortune; he had no choice but to concentrate.
"If you set limits on yourself, your martial art's realm stops there. No need to preset limits. That turns the exceptional mundane."
"What do you mean?"
"You're blocking your own martial art's progress. First-rate as the limit. First-rate movements like this. Train toward that goal, and you cap at exactly there. Plus, learning late with the subconscious that second-rate is your ceiling given the delay. Your achievements can't help but lag behind your effort."
A sharp critique.
Pyeong Deokjo chewed over every word.
"Once you grip the sword, swing it aiming for the world's best. Don't prejudge your limits."
"Think someone like me can do that?"
Pyeong Deokjo asked with a bitter smile.
"You can."
Ha Mu-baek gave the curt reply, then headed to the spring.
So Hwi-woong regarded Yeon Ja-gyeong, who had come seeking him.
The two sat facing each other across a fairly large table.
The tea was growing cold, yet neither spoke.
'Old Monster Yeon. What scheme brings you here?'
Their gazes were far from friendly.
Regret dwelled in Yeon Ja-gyeong's eyes as he looked at So Hwi-woong.
'Should have pushed someone else for Alliance Leader.'
So Hwi-woong, whom Yeon Ja-gyeong had strongly advocated for as leader.
Who would have thought he'd hold the position this long?
He'd seen him as mere arrow fodder for the Martial World Great War.
"Alliance Leader."
Since Yeon Ja-gyeong had come calling, So Hwi-woong had to speak first.
"Speak, Elder Yeon."
"What are your thoughts on the Dragon Training Pavilion's current training methods?"
So Hwi-woong frowned.
The Dragon Training Pavilion had emerged from Yeon Ja-gyeong's mouth, no less.
The institution sheltering Ha Mu-baek, of all people.
If Yeon Ja-gyeong brought it up, it surely harbored ill intent.
Hadn't sending Ha Mu-baek there been at the behest of the White Path Society, led by Yeon Ja-gyeong?
"What do you mean?"
So Hwi-woong asked again.
The old monster who would twist any answer to achieve his aims sat right before him—Yeon Ja-gyeong himself.
"Have you heard that graduates of the Dragon Training Pavilion struggle to adapt once deployed to the field?"
Yeon Ja-gyeong's point.
It was valid.
Hard to believe it came from him first.
So Hwi-woong had been pondering that very issue with Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong.
Even exchanging views with Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul occasionally.
"I'm aware."
"Then we'll make quick progress. Last year, Instructor Ha Mu-baek pulled off something intriguing."
Ha Mu-baek's name from Yeon Ja-gyeong's lips. So Hwi-woong shot him an irritated look.
"He took the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest."
So Hwi-woong had received reports on that incident too.
'When Yeon Baekryang died.'
So Hwi-woong's eyes gleamed.
For Yeon Ja-gyeong, it was when he'd lost his son. What intent lay in dredging up that event specifically?
"The stated purpose was field training."
He'd even checked the Dragon Training Pavilion's documents, it seemed.
"Upon confirming it, I slapped my knee. 'There's the method!' This old fool's mind has grown rigid with age, I berated myself. If adaptation post-deployment is the issue, prior field training there seems an excellent solution."
"What are you saying?"
So Hwi-woong asked.
"How about using the Dragon Training Pavilion's recess to send Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps cadets on field training? To the sites where they're expected to be deployed later. Expose them to multiple locations, then survey their preferred assignments."
So Hwi-woong eyed Yeon Ja-gyeong with a peculiar expression.
Hard to credit such words from that mouth.
It aligned perfectly with discussions he'd had with Gong Son Dan-gyeong and Pang Do-yul.
However,
Altering the Dragon Training Pavilion's operations required
the White Path Society's cooperation. Elders' approval too.
Changing how each sect's later-generation disciples were trained demanded as much.
He'd been agonizing over handling their opposition.
And now Yeon Ja-gyeong broached it first.
'Why on earth?'
So Hwi-woong couldn't fathom Yeon Ja-gyeong's intentions.
"What do you think?"
Yeon Ja-gyeong gazed steadily at So Hwi-woong, a pleased smile playing on his lips.