The Two Poles Divine Art
The Two Poles Divine Art is a legendary ultimate technique passed down only in the tales of the Wudang Sect. It refers to a martial art that allows one to wield both yin and yang energies at the same time. However, the human body is fundamentally capable of accepting only one of the two—either yang or yin energy. To break that common belief is to defy the providence of heaven itself.
Things like the Heavenly Martial Body that heaven bestows for the sake of martial arts, or the Infinite Body where one’s balance is utterly perfect with nothing out of alignment. Only monsters possessing such fabled physiques could dare to dream of it, which is why the Two Poles Divine Art is called a divine art.
But even the Two Poles Divine Art was not perfect. Even if a person’s body could contain both yin and yang energies, using them together was an entirely separate problem. It was the same concept as ordering a hot iced Americano. If I ordered a hot iced Americano, the barista would surely bring me either hot coffee or cold coffee. Even if they poured ice into hot coffee, the ice would eventually melt and leave a lukewarm, half-hearted drink that was neither here nor there.
But the sight I had shown moments ago was a true hot iced Americano.
“The winner of the first match is Kim Siin!”
Whoaaa!
“The winner of the second match is Kim Siin!”
A relentless streak of consecutive victories. After my spar with Jongak, I completed several additional matches, defeated my semifinal opponent just now, and was stepping down from the stage.
It’s easier than I expected.
That was what I thought. In hindsight, I had grown so absurdly strong that the second floor felt trivial, but back then—when I had no frame of reference for power—I couldn’t recognize my own condition. After suffering through every kind of hardship in the tutorial and on the first floor of the tower, suddenly everything felt easy… It was only natural to suspect something was off.
The opponents left are…
I checked the bracket posted at the edge of the stage and confirmed the name of the person who had fought their way up from the opposite side all the way to the finals.
【Hwayeong - Cheonwol-mun】
The people I had faced so far were all formidable talents from reputable sects. From Jongak, the head disciple of the Hainan Sect, to the Plum Blossom Swordswoman of the Huashan Sect and even the second son of the Namgung Clan. But they had exhausted themselves pouring out their strength in previous matches. On top of that, I was a monster with recovery abilities that had long surpassed the human realm. By the time I faced them I was nearly at full strength, which made the spars even easier.
People around me gradually began attaching all sorts of titles to me, the one who hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat.
Faction Destruction Emperor Kim Siin.
Consecutive Victory Swordmaster Kim Siin.
Jeongmu Academy Jiangshi Kim Siin.
At this point it felt less like real nicknames and more like people just throwing fun labels at me because it amused them. And the more those nicknames piled up, the more uncomfortable I felt. It might not have been my imagination.
“The final championship match will begin after a half-hour rest!”
At the referee’s shout, the spectators poured out of the arena. But even then, several people approached me.
“It was a good match.”
The swordsmen I had crossed blades with during the tournament. A Huashan Sect disciple dressed in robes blooming with plum blossoms approached me alongside a man whose sleeve bore the character “Namgung.”
“I learned a great deal as well.”
When they offered polite fist salutes, I respectfully clasped my hands in return. Unlike Jongak of the Hainan Sect, they displayed truly humble attitudes. Their courteous behavior put me at ease, and I found myself smiling.
“By the way, where have you been hiding yourself? This is my third time participating in the Jeongmu Academy tournament, yet I have no memory of seeing young hero Siin…”
At the Huashan disciple’s question, the second son of the Namgung Clan nodded with a curious expression. They seemed to assume I had deliberately hidden my strength and avoided the tournament until now, only entering once I was older for a bit of fun.
But I answered their question with complete honesty.
“This must be my first time. I’m a first-year student right now.”
“……? What did you just say? First-year?”
My answer made the Huashan disciple’s nostrils flare dramatically. An expression of pure disbelief. But what could he do? I wasn’t lying.
“Haha! That’s a heavy joke. How could a novice who just stepped into the murim display such martial prowess…”
“Exactly. Even my older brother—who is called the next head of the Namgung Clan—was called a genius, but even he wasn’t at that level.”
They burst into loud laughter and clapped my back and shoulders hard enough to make loud thumping sounds. There was no hostility, but their hands carried the solid weight of men who trained in martial arts.
“Haha… ha…… No way, is it actually true?”
When I simply looked at them without answering, the Huashan disciple’s face froze over and his pupils dilated.
“No, are you insane? It’s true? You’re telling me I have to believe the Plum Blossom Swordswoman lost to a first-year student of Jeongmu Academy?”
“Young hero. No matter how shocked you are, saying ‘insane’? As a disciple of the Taoist sect, you should choose your words more gracefully…”
“Aren’t you surprised, young hero Namgung? Even I, who thought I possessed some talent, only barely reached the main bracket in my third year! And didn’t you get eliminated in the preliminaries during your third year, young hero Namgung?”
“Come now, that’s all in the past…”
As they spoke among themselves, they seemed to be experiencing a complete gestalt collapse about me and gradually devolved into pure nonsense. Still, their babbling contained some useful new information—particularly regarding the schedule after winning the tournament.
“If it’s young hero Siin, you should definitely try the Surpassing the Master event after winning, right?”
“……Surpassing the Master?”
“Huh? You don’t know about it?”
The four-character idiom “Surpassing the Master” that had lodged itself in my mind.
“Could you explain this ‘Surpassing the Master’ thing in a bit more detail?”
The title of the very first mission I received upon entering the second floor of the tower had been exactly “Surpassing the Master.” It meant the blue extracted from indigo is bluer than the indigo itself—a phrase signifying a disciple who surpasses their master. It was also used to describe the relationship between seniors and juniors rather than strictly master and disciple.
“Surpassing the Master is a special privilege granted to the winner of the tournament. Are there not a great variety of experts within the Jeongmu Academy?”
“That’s true.”
Besides the C-rank masters I had sought out, the Jeongmu Academy was filled with high-level experts from various sects who did not teach regular students. If I had to name one representative, it would be the Poison Pill Ghost of the Sichuan Tang Family who resided in the Medical Herb Hall.
“Not every student can ask those people for guidance. But the tournament winner is different. You may request a spar with any expert in the academy.”
“……Isn’t that rather dangerous?”
“Normally it would be suicidal. Requesting a spar is no different from declaring, ‘I will defeat you, so let’s fight.’”
I tilted my head at his words. Understanding the meaning behind my expression, the second son of the Namgung Clan added an explanation.
“That’s why it’s called a privilege. This can be interpreted not as a simple sparring challenge but as a request for ‘guidance.’ A safe one-on-one spar against an expert you would never dare approach is an unbelievable opportunity.”
I nodded at the Namgung second son’s words. After several spars, I had realized one thing: the most efficient way to learn the sword was to clash with it directly. Even Jongak of the Hainan Sect had rolled his eyes back and awakened the moment he was about to be defeated by me.
Of course, receiving proper instruction was good, but if an overwhelmingly superior expert personally received every one of my strikes, the resulting growth would be beyond imagination.
But……
The uneasy feeling refused to disappear. The fact that my mission title was “Surpassing the Master,” and that an event with the exact same name was about to take place at this precise timing. That worry only grew clearer once my match against Hwayeong began.
Ding!
You have passed the tournament semifinals.
The mission ‘Master and Disciple - Tournament’ has been completed.
The B-rank mission that I thought would end naturally had, by a hair’s breadth, failed to reach its conclusion.
‘Master and Disciple’ is a linked mission.
The final mission has arrived.
Master and Disciple - Surpassing the Master (Hwayeong)
Category: Linked
Difficulty: B
Description: You have shown the power of Cheonwol-mun to the many people who watched and participated in the tournament. However, that is not enough. Defeat Hwayeong and make her acknowledge you. If you win your spar against her, she will recognize you as a successor of Cheonwol-mun and present you with the secret manual of the Cheonwol Divine Art.
Objective: Achieve victory over Hwayeong
Restriction: One who has learned the Cheonwol Divine Art / One who has reached the tournament finals
Reward: Tournament prize / Secret manual of the Cheonwol Divine Art
Failure Penalty: Hwayeong will be disappointed.
※ This mission is the final chapter of the linked mission chain. It cannot be refused.
“Hahaha…”
A hollow laugh escaped me at the ironic situation of having to face Hwayeong—the successor of Cheonwol-mun—using the Cheonwol Divine Art. It wasn’t my first time sparring with her. Of course, those had been training sessions, but I had received her Moonlight Sword Art several times while learning it from her. Yet I had almost never properly blocked her sword.
Damn it.
It couldn’t be helped. We were using the same martial art and the same sword technique; it was only natural that the one with deeper understanding and more experience would be stronger. The only way I could compete with her now was…
By using the physical stats I had built up until now. If my skill fell short, the best strategy was to crush her with pure stats.