Please, Just Be Normal (5)
I-gwon thought regretfully that the end of the spar was finally drawing near. Namgung Daeso had grown far more than before. But it still wasn't enough to surpass him now. If they'd only had a couple more years, Namgung Daeso might have beaten him in a real match. But at this moment, the Namgung Daeso before him had no strength left to hold out—his arms finally dropped.
Dragging this out any longer would be disrespectful to him, to I-gwon himself, and to everyone who'd come to watch. Shatter it! I-gwon stepped forward with force. What was perfectly shattered would become even stronger afterward. He hoped they'd have a good fight next time. He intended to smash Namgung Daeso to pieces completely.
Boom! I-gwon unleashed his final strike without hesitation.
Wobble? Then a strange sensation struck I-gwon. That immense power he'd thought impossible to oppose. Even in raging storms and tempests, the Taeguk might sway wildly but held its ground. With mere rat-tail inner energy, it seemed utterly unable to stand against it—yet it stubbornly did. Even a split-second lapse would sweep it away forever, or so it appeared.
I-gwon's shining bald head filled his vision. For an instant, fear welled up. Crashing into that would shatter every bone in his body—not just break them, but grind him to dust.
I let my arms hang limp as I surrendered my body to the power surging from I-gwon. A colossal current swept over me. Any slip in focus, and I'd be swept away in a heartbeat, everything ending. The fear remained, but I slowly raised my arms again. I-gwon's massive force transmitted through them. It felt like a rock weighing at least a hundred thousand geun hurtling at full speed.
If my body was going to shatter anyway, it couldn't hurt to test the question now forming in my mind. Yield. I had no idea what would happen next. The old me, before breaking down that wall, wouldn't have even attempted this. The past me would've just thrown my body back and fled as far as possible. Damn it, tearing down that wall made me feel even dumber. Even knowing what lay ahead, I didn't back down. My hands moved softly. They were tracing the Taeguk.
Swish. Footprints began etching into the ground. Their shape was also the Taeguk.
“……”
Mujikja gaped, drool likely dribbling unnoticed, staring at Namgung Daeso. Everyone had pictured Namgung Daeso's brutal defeat in their minds. Just seeing the healers waiting with grave expressions, bustling about, told the outcome. But then change occurred. It began with the Taeguk.
“Four ryang deflect a thousand geun……”
But that alone wouldn't have shocked Mujikja so much. Words followed. “That's not all……” Something more was there.
With a mere four ryang of force suppressing a thousand geun—anyone from Wudang would've heard it on their first day. As they progressed in Wudang arts, they'd encounter it constantly, its importance growing toward supreme techniques.
I get it now. I'd had the order wrong. I'd learned Hyegeom before Taeguk. Motion before Budong. Only now could I truly face Hyegeom. The Taeguk had no end. It spun and returned to the start. The path might be smooth or as grueling as piercing a typhoon.
The stronger the force!Wobble, wobble! It birthed more Taeguk. Excess power fueled it, becoming nourishment for another. Slide. My right hand traced a Taeguk. One, two, three…… As the number grew, the force from I-gwon weakened. Naturally, it wasn't enough to fully neutralize him. I-gwon was the typhoon itself now. How could a mere human hand cover the sky?
So his idle left hand moved, tracing a Taeguk. Still insufficient. My right foot shifted. Then my left. Each foot traced a Taeguk too. If one failed, two; two, three; three, four. A mere four ryang toyed with a thousand geun—a miracle.
If that's where it ended, the people here wouldn't be so stunned. What Namgung Daeso displayed was achievable with average talent and hard effort.
“Wh-what the hell is that?” Jinheo's eyes bulged. When Namgung Daeso first traced the Taeguk, he'd thought, He's trying to counter that impossible force, even if just a little. He'd admired the courage. That's the spirit only young men that age can have. No reason to doubt Namgung Daeso's use of Taeguk either. He glanced at Mujikja. Just as his idiot master had taught Shaolin arts, the elder must've passed on Wudang ones.
But youthful spirit always breaks eventually. With time, or crushed by some colossal impossibility beyond ideals. Some call it frustration. Others, the limit. Many factors overcome it, but time is key. Regrettably, Namgung Daeso lacked it. Taeguk, four ryang deflect a thousand geun. Impressive for his age. But the limit comes soon! That's what he'd thought—what he had to think. Until he read the trajectory of Namgung Daeso's hands.
No, wait! That's! Familiar, yet unseen. Wudang and Shaolin had been rivals since ancient times. Naturally—one revered as North Shaolin, the other South Wudang. They'd split north-south like clockwork, dominating each martial world.
Top? Bullshit—cut the crap! The true top is Namgung Clan! Namgung Je-cheon’s eyes gleamed. And among them, obviously the youngest young master!
Something was happening. Namgung Je-cheon couldn't pinpoint it yet. But his instincts, honed moving the world, assured him. A reversal is coming.
I-gwon felt his power scattering bit by bit. His eyes followed Namgung Daeso's arms and legs. That must be the cause. Tiny Taeguk bloomed everywhere. But! Four small ones couldn't handle his accumulated might! Geumgang Bulgoe Singong 8th Star. Cough! Overforcing his energy brought searing blood up his throat. I-gwon swallowed it forcibly.
A mere one-star difference, but a vast leap in power erupted. I-gwon smashed the wall blocking him. Not fully—just halfway. His body, crashing into it, was covered in wounds. A total loss. But it opened a new path. Stronger power now. The Geumgang beyond the wall met the one before. Geumgang Budong Sinbeop and Geumgang Bulgoe Singong merged. Something new was birthing. I-gwon didn't know what. But it could shatter Namgung Daeso's Taeguk.
Jingak gasped in awe. “Th-that's!” Even mid-fight, they advanced. When Namgung Daeso first changed, how he'd glared at Mujikja sidelong. As if a Wudang successor had come, not Namgung's youngest. Still, he'd believed in I-gwon's win. The power I-gwon showed was enough. But I-gwon went further. I-gwon wins this. So he'd thought.
Amitabha. Ilseon Dosa murmured softly. A blessing on Shaolin. Such a child in Shaolin. It'd develop far beyond now. Grateful it progressed so well in his absence. If time continued thus, it might surpass eternal rival South Wudang. Amitabha. But the second chant brimmed with regret. If only they'd met later. After the flower fully bloomed. The child was blossoming. Transcending limits. But the opponent was wrong. Drawn by the flower, a butterfly…… A monster's eyes opened. I-gwon's power swelled again. No matter how many Taeguk I drew, it didn't weaken—increased. Ugh! Cracks sounded from I-gwon's body. Fissures appeared on that iron frame. And now, somehow, I could do it.
-Grandpa Malco, teach me!
-Hoho, how can I teach what I don't know?
-Then how'd you do it!
-It just appeared, so I did.
-Come on~ You're lying 'cause you don't wanna teach me?
-Hey! Ever seen a Daoist lie?
-Yeah! Yesterday. Day before too.
-……
Mujikja hadn't refused to teach. He couldn't. It was enlightenment, not technique. Namgung Daeso's Taeguk-tracing hands began drawing something new. Mujikja spoke. “Hyegeom.”
That was the start. I unfurled Hyegeom's sword path with my right hand. Then I-gwon changed. Crushing with greater force. Unexpected, but no matter. Just a bit more power than before. Calmly, I moved my left. Cloud Sword. Born from Hyegeom, named anew, cloud-like—from my hand. Hyegeom and Cloud Sword. Hyegeom from Taeguk. Cloud Sword from Hyegeom. Thus both held Taeguk. Hyegeom drew yang naturally. Cloud Sword drew yin. They met, birthing new Taeguk.
Genesis. Incompatible forces converged. Tremble. My arms shook like they'd rip off. I wanted to push further. A bit more, and the new wall ahead might fall. But I had no stamina left. Any longer, and this gathered power would…… overwhelm me. Reluctantly, I aimed for next time. I spread both hands wide forward.
I-gwon saw brilliant light rushing at him. Crack. Crackle. The light held a colossal, never-before-seen force. Where it swept, a massive crater yawned. I-gwon stood atop it.
“Cough! Cough!” Coughing dyed the ground red.
“Gwon-ah! You okay?!”
“Little bro!”
“Number 100!!!”
“Tukbaek(100)-ah!!!”
I-gwon felt his eyelids growing heavy. I…… lost. Long-tasted defeat. But not a bad feeling. He lost consciousness seeing Shaolin brethren rushing toward him.