Chapter 93
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: I Can See It
Clang! Clang!
The swords clashed with a deafening ring.
The spar was tilting in Baek Ri-pyeong's favor, but Dan Mok Un-roe wasn't being overwhelmingly pushed back either.
Baek Ri-pyeong wasn't able to dominate him.
Thanks to the sword formation training they'd done together, they knew each other's moves inside and out.
On top of that, Dan Mok Un-roe's skills had advanced by leaps and bounds.
They both wielded the Three Talents Sword Method, probing for openings, but each attempt was blocked.
Still, Baek Ri-pyeong held the edge thanks to his greater proficiency and experience.
Ha Mu-baek watched the duel in silence for a moment before shouting,
"You may use the Celestial Star Sword Method!"
At his cry, the eyes of the three probationary disciples watching the match turned toward Ha Mu-baek.
Until now, he'd only allowed the Three Talents Sword Method.
No—four out of the five probationary disciples only knew that one sword art to begin with.
Dang Jin-san had learned a few tricks, but no proper sword techniques.
Only Baek Ri-pyeong had mastered another.
And now Ha Mu-baek had permitted its use.
Baek Ri-pyeong's eyes sparkled.
The Celestial Star Sword Method—his sect's sealed ultimate technique, which he'd set aside while training the Three Talents Sword Method.
He hadn't physically practiced it since the seal, but he'd kept up the mental imagery training in his mind.
His sword movements changed.
The patterns, which had stuck to four basic trajectories until now, grew more intricate.
Dan Mok Un-roe immediately faltered, his sword paths growing erratic.
The advantage was shifting into outright dominance.
As he wielded his blade, Baek Ri-pyeong was inwardly astonished.
It had been months since he'd last used the Celestial Star Sword Method.
He'd trained nothing but the Three Talents Sword Method in that time. Even with mental practice, he hadn't swung a real sword, so he'd braced for some regression.
But the results were completely different.
He'd improved.
Movements he couldn't execute smoothly before flowed naturally now.
As if he'd been using them all along.
Perhaps because of that.
Dan Mok Un-roe's movements grew increasingly frantic.
Ha Mu-baek frowned at the sight.
"Focus! Un-roe! What did I tell you?!"
Ha Mu-baek's shout pierced Dan Mok Un-roe's ears.
No matter how intricate the sword paths, they were all built from four fundamental movements—that was the lesson.
Words he'd heard just today.
Dan Mok Un-roe snapped to attention.
And he began scrutinizing Baek Ri-pyeong's swordwork intently.
He was still desperately backpedaling, but at least the light in Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes had changed.
From panicked confusion to determined analysis of his opponent's shifts.
Gradually, Dan Mok Un-roe's sword steadied.
Yet Baek Ri-pyeong still dominated.
'I can see it!'
Dan Mok Un-roe was startled.
The instructor was right.
With focused observation, amid the Celestial Star Sword Method's dazzling changes—like stars pouring from the night sky—the four basic sword movements began to emerge.
The instant Baek Ri-pyeong's sword shifted from a horizontal slash toward a thrust.
Dan Mok Un-roe's blade slipped through the gap with exquisite precision and stabbed.
An upward flick from below.
A motion absent from the Three Talents Sword Method.
Not one of the basic movements Ha Mu-baek had described either.
Yet Dan Mok Un-roe executed it effortlessly.
Clang!
The swords rang out sharply, Baek Ri-pyeong's blade bouncing upward, leaving his chest wide open.
A perfect defenseless state.
One strike from Dan Mok Un-roe here, and he could overturn the entire disadvantage and claim victory.
Baek Ri-pyeong's eyes widened in shock at the unforeseen opening.
But Dan Mok Un-roe was just as stunned.
Astounded by the result of his own action, he forgot to follow up, staring blankly at Baek Ri-pyeong.
"Enough!"
Ha Mu-baek's shout rang out then.
The two lowered their swords and stepped back.
"What just happened?"
Dang Jin-san muttered in bewilderment.
Yeon Ha-min and Nak Woo-jin reacted similarly.
To them, it was an incomprehensible scene.
They'd been admiring the variations of Baek Ri-pyeong's Celestial Star Sword Method.
Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue at the probationary disciples' reactions.
"Tch. You were just spectating like idiots."
Chastened, the three exchanged sheepish glances.
"Un-roe. What did you see?"
Ha Mu-baek asked Dan Mok Un-roe.
"W-Well... the sword's movement shifting from horizontal slash to thrust... that moment of change..."
As Dan Mok Un-roe hesitated, Baek Ri-pyeong's eyes bulged wide.
Dang Jin-san's jaw dropped.
She saw that?!
Their faces were filled with shock.
The fleeting gap between one sword transition and the next. To spot it so easily was unbelievable.
That was what marked a true master.
Dan Mok Un-roe had been training for less than a year. It was absolutely impossible at this stage.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled softly at his stunned disciples.
"You could do it too. No need to be so surprised."
"Huh? But I didn't see anything..."
As Dang Jin-san protested, Ha Mu-baek cut him off.
"That's because you were just watching idly. Not analyzing desperately like Un-roe."
It was a pointed jab.
"Don't just spectate others' spars. Watch intently, think how you'd respond, analyze it."
Now he was grinding their bones to dust.
"Baek Ri-pyeong."
"Yes."
Baek Ri-pyeong answered Ha Mu-baek's call in a subdued voice, gripped by self-doubt over his own level.
"How did the Celestial Star Sword Method feel?"
"Well..."
Baek Ri-pyeong hesitated, unable to voice the sense of achievement he'd felt.
How could he, after Dan Mok Un-roe dismantled it so easily?
"Well done. Excellent."
As Baek Ri-pyeong faltered, Ha Mu-baek spoke first.
It was praise.
Caught off guard, Baek Ri-pyeong's eyes rounded.
"The transitions and movements were much smoother, more natural. You felt it too, right?"
Baek Ri-pyeong nodded faintly.
"That's the result of your diligent training. The Three Talents Sword Method covers the sword's most basic motions. Solid basics improve all swordplay."
"Ah!"
The seven probationary disciples let out small exclamations.
"So? Still worried about facing Hidden Dragon Corps or Wa Dragon Corps disciples?"
"No, sir!!!"
The five answered Ha Mu-baek in unison.
Through the two's spar, Ha Mu-baek had shown the seven probationary disciples their progress and the path ahead.
Thunderclap gazed at Gong Son Mu-oe with a troubled expression.
"Sigh. I'd love to help, but this noble guest is no ordinary one. I'm hesitant lest they take offense."
Gong Son Mu-oe remained kneeling despite Thunderclap's words.
Thunderclap watched him quietly.
"Sigh."
He finally let out a deep sigh.
"Fine. She's your granddaughter, so Da-gwang's great-granddaughter—and mine too. I'll speak to the noble guest. Come with me."
"Thank you."
Gong Son Mu-oe bowed deeply.
"I've packed plenty of herbs. Uncle, please rest. Your health has suffered greatly."
"Yes, I must. If we're heading back to Wu-chang."
Thunderclap rose from his seat.
Gong Son Mu-oe guided him to his quarters.
After confirming Thunderclap settled onto the soft bed, Gong Son Mu-oe busied himself.
There was much to prepare.
The valley lord was leaving the valley, after all. Gong Son Mu-oe handled a mountain of tasks.
Two days passed like that.
Thunderclap had regained some vitality. A master of his caliber wouldn't normally need recovery time.
But the grief of losing a close friend had drained him in a way inner energy couldn't mend.
Only after sorting his heart did his strength return.
"Father... you're really going?"
Gong Son U-gyeong stared at the prepared Gong Son Mu-oe with disbelief.
"We have to check if there's a way."
"Seven Yin Blocked Meridians... It's unbelievable."
Gong Son Mu-oe shook his head slightly at his son's words.
"Uncle said it. It can't be a lie."
"But..."
Gong Son U-gyeong didn't yield despite his father's firm tone.
"Enough. This is about finding a cure for that child. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"
"Even so, Father leaving the valley..."
"You can fill my role without me. And her treatment too."
They'd had similar conversations for two straight days.
Gong Son Mu-oe intent on going, Gong Son U-gyeong trying to stop him.
To Gong Son U-gyeong, it was utterly unbelievable.
He couldn't argue strongly only because Thunderclap, a renowned elder of the martial world, had vouched for it.
In his mind, the one who claimed to cure Seven Yin Blocked Meridians was a fraud.
Facing his father's unyielding resolve, Gong Son U-gyeong admitted he couldn't stop him.
"Father. If you insist, take Yeon-a with you."
"Hm?"
"You'll need someone to attend you, right?"
No sooner had Gong Son U-gyeong spoken than a woman stepped forward from behind him.
Her beauty went beyond mere words.
Gong Son Bi-yeon.
Gong Son U-gyeong's eldest daughter, one of the Five Flowers of the Martial World.
Known to the world as the Immortal Chrysanthemum Flower, few had seen her beauty in person.
"So many others, and you pick Yeon-a?"
"As you said, Father, it's a grave matter. You can't take just anyone."
He'd prepared for this the night before.
And briefed his daughter fully.
Above all, her talents made her perfect to send under the guise of an attendant.
Fairy Brew Valley, masters of medicine and shamanic arts.
Gong Son Bi-yeon was a genius among geniuses in both.
She'd even mastered a shamanic art no one else could, known only to her and Gong Son U-gyeong.
Not even Gong Son Mu-oe knew yet.
Partly because she'd completed it just ten days ago.
With the valley's full efforts on curing the Nine Yin Blocked Meridians, plus Thunderclap's sudden visit, there'd been no chance to tell him.
When Gong Son U-gyeong heard from his father about this noble guest who cured Seven Yin Blocked Meridians, he'd decided to keep his daughter's new art secret for now.
To let her verify the guest herself.
"Then let's depart. The sooner, the better."
Horses whinnied as Thunderclap spoke.
The rugged mountain paths.
Too rough for a carriage, so they'd loaded five sturdy horses with herbs.
Beasts long accustomed to hauling loads up these treacherous trails—no issues there.
"Understood, Uncle. Let's head out. Bi-yeon, come on."
He noted she'd already dressed for travel.
Knowing his son was resolute, Gong Son Mu-oe stopped arguing and agreed to bring her.
"Yes, Grandfather."
Gong Son Bi-yeon replied demurely and followed Gong Son Mu-oe.