Chapter 259: The Discovery of Fire (3)
Read more at Nineheavens.org
The next day.
“It’s been a while since I stood in this spot.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who stepped onto the podium, looked down at the training ground.
The Evil-Annihilating Army was lined up there. In private settings, they were close enough to exchange vicious jokes, but right now, no one was even making a sound of breathing.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Zhuge Ah-yeon next to him.
“Did you rest well?”
Zhuge Ah-yeon spoke quietly with a face where fatigue had not vanished.
“I slept straight for two days.”
“Are you a bit okay now?”
“Do I look okay?”
“No.”
“Why do you ask when you know?”
“I know, but snap out of it. It looks like hidden weapons are going to pour out of your eyes.”
“Hmph.”
Indeed, it was a setting where all the personnel belonging to the Evil-Annihilating Army had gathered after a long time. It was not a place to show off that one was tired.
Yeon Ho-jeong spoke to the lined-up soldiers.
“Did you all eat your meals?”
“Yes!”
Their thunderously ringing voices spread out in all directions beyond the training ground. That sound was so loud that even Yeon Ho-jeong shrank his neck without realizing it.
‘What’s up with these guys?’
All sorts of emotions could be felt in their voices.
Among those emotions, the one most directly felt was precisely expectation.
While Yeon Ho-jeong was away, they had continued their thrilling training with Muk Bi. Rather than simply training in the training ground, they also rode horses, dashed through mountain paths, and split into sides to engage in mountain warfare.
It was a continuous series of fierce training to the extent that there were people who suffered heavy injuries. Even after receiving such wounds, when night came, they debated each other’s good points and bad points, and they thoroughly ingrained them into their bodies so they wouldn’t make mistakes in the next training.
Muk Bi’s choice was excellent.
She was a strong person, but her understanding of the Central Plains’ martial arts was not that deep. Ten Thousand Streams Returning to the Source; her discernment that she occasionally showed was outstanding, but she couldn’t look after the martial arts of this many soldiers one by one.
In other words, there was only one method for her to properly train the Evil-Annihilating Army. That was precisely actual combat and solidarity.
‘They have been well-forged.’
If Yeon Ho-jeong himself had suffered from a thrilling mission, the Evil-Annihilating Army had also trained risking their lives.
‘Only now do they truly look like a single body.’
Perhaps it was because they had coordinated their hands and feet so much, but now they knew what each other had to do without even needing to speak.
However, before leaving for the mission, they didn’t have this level of military discipline.
“Vice-Commander Muk.”
Muk Bi, who was standing at the very front of the soldiers, raised her head.
“Yes.”
“Once again, you worked hard.”
“Yes.”
Their military discipline was thorough, but still, Muk Bi was Muk Bi. Even in front of everyone watching, she did not give Yeon Ho-jeong special treatment.
That was exactly the Evil-Annihilating Army. It wasn’t half-baked, but could be called the unique characteristic of the Evil-Annihilating Army alone.
“Now, we’ve gathered after a long time, but the sunlight is too good to just have a drink with good snacks, right? Let’s check how much your individual martial arts have improved during this time today.”
A bright look circulated on the faces of the soldiers.
The group’s skill had increased due to training reminiscent of actual combat, but even they themselves didn’t know how much their individual skills had increased.
Now that the Evil-Annihilating Army Commander, a peak master who had already far transcended the level of a rising star, was going to watch their martial arts, it was truly something they desired.
“Starting with Peng Man-ho, step forward!”
***
“Hmm. The heat is considerable.”
As he got closer to the exclusive training ground of the Evil-Annihilating Army, it felt as if the cold winter air had heated up.
Zhuge Wen-hu smiled.
“Perhaps because their commander is here, the vitality is different. Indeed, not just anyone can be a commander.”
Zhuge Wen-hu, who had been striding away with his hands behind his back.
Soon after, he realized that the air in the area was somewhat strange.
‘Hmm?’
Hwooooong.
A fierce killing intent was loaded on the blowing wind.
Zhuge Wen-hu’s face stiffened.
Killing intent? In the Murim Alliance of all places?
Paaak!
Zhuge Wen-hu unfolded his movement technique toward the training ground in a single breath.
It was then.
Kwang!
“Keuaaak!”
Along with a tremendous explosion, a swordsman flew through the sky and slammed into the wall of the training ground.
Ku-ung!
There wasn’t even time to use falling techniques. The swordsman who crashed to the floor just like that squirmed without even being able to get up.
“What is this.”
Zhuge Wen-hu, who had been looking at the swordsman with his mouth wide open, looked at the training ground.
Standing there was a young man with a massive axe resting on his shoulder.
“Your sword technique has become incredibly sharp, but why have the loopholes that weren’t visible before increased so much?”
“Kkeu-eung!”
Yun-ho, who had been squirming, eventually raised his body and sat leaning against the wall. His complexion was pale, and his breathing was incredibly steep. It seemed he was in a state where it was difficult to stand up.
“Now for the last one.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Ok-cheong, who was sitting off to the side.
Ok-cheong stood up with a tense face.
“I look forward to your guidance.”
“Good.”
Seureureung.
Ok-cheong, who softly drew his sword, raised his true qi.
Wuuuuuuung.
A blue light lingered on the Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword, the sword that represented Wudang.
A strange light flashed in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes.
‘Oho?’
Ok-cheong was looking at him with a tense face, but the look in his eyes had become much clearer and deeper than before.
He was tense, but his body was not excessively loaded with strength. Nor was he completely relaxed, so it was truly an ideal state of tension.
‘Look at this guy?’
The Primordial Qi blooming from the Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword gave off a grand and deep feeling like a calm sea. It was a true qi that seemed similar to the past, yet fundamentally something had changed.
Qi moves according to one’s will, and even its properties tend to change depending on concentration.
Ok-cheong’s Primordial Qi was like that. If his Primordial Qi in the past had been entirely directed toward seeking the path with infinitely deep logic, his current Primordial Qi was murderously sharpening its edge for the sake of the complete martial path.
The corners of Yeon Ho-jeong’s mouth rose.
‘I didn’t expect this.’
In truth, if one were to pick one person among the soldiers of the Evil-Annihilating Army whose skills couldn’t keep up with their fame, Ok-cheong would be the representative example.
As the disciple of the Sword Immortal Tak Mu-ja, one of the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats, he had a generation rank worthy of being treated as an elder anywhere in the Jianghu. Yet with such a generation rank and martial arts, he hadn’t been able to take a single move from Yeon Ho-jeong, so he was truly nothing but flashy on the outside but empty on the inside.
The current Ok-cheong was no longer the Ok-cheong of that time.
‘Just by changing his purpose, he has completely changed the properties of his true qi. If so…’
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“Come at me.”
Hook!
Ok-cheong approached as soon as he finished speaking.
The movement of his tiptoes kicking off the ground was surprisingly light. At the same time, the flexibility of his joints was incredibly outstanding.
‘Relaxation of power!’
Ok-cheong swung his sword.
Flash!
The moment it seemed to draw a smooth circle, it cleaved the front in a straight line before he knew it.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
Jjeo-eo-eong!
The vibration flowing along the shaft of the Crazy Dragon Axe was tremendous.
Ok-cheong was not disappointed. From the beginning, Yeon Ho-jeong’s martial arts were outside the standard. He was not someone who would be done in from the start.
Tung! Tutung!
Ok-cheong’s body left afterimages and appeared at Yeon Ho-jeong’s rear flank.
It was a movement that disrupted the line of sight, an incredibly outstanding footwork. He couldn’t help but newly admire the elastic movement he hadn’t seen a couple of months ago.
‘This kind of movement isn’t possible just because the properties of true qi have changed. He has trained his lower body and abdomen tremendously.’
Yeon Ho-jeong swung his Crazy Dragon Axe without even looking back.
Jjiiiiiing!
It was an amazing move.
The Crazy Dragon Axe, an incomparable heavy weapon, was naturally bouncing off to the side, following the Taiji pattern drawn by the Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword.
It was an astonishing move of Grafting One Twig on Another. It was on a different level from his past sword strikes that were bound by formalities and only looked plausible in movement.
Ok-cheong had finally begun to use a sword art worthy of being called a sword art, moving beyond mere sword techniques. This was exactly the Wudang Sect’s representative absolute art, the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
Hwoooong!
Just because he had parried the Crazy Dragon Axe, he didn’t use his sword again.
In order to swing the sword again, an opening would inevitably be revealed in his movements. A blue radiance burst from Ok-cheong’s left hand.
Kwaang!
An intense explosion rang out.
It was the Wudang Sect’s palm technique, the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm. A palm technique that aimed for a one-hit kill with a mighty firepower unbefitting of Wudang’s martial arts was unleashed in an instant.
“Good.”
Of course, Yeon Ho-jeong was not done in by the Wind Thunder Palm.
He snatched the bouncing Crazy Dragon Axe with his left hand, and simultaneously blocked the Wind Thunder Palm with his right hand and tightly gripped Ok-cheong’s hand.
“You’ve truly improved a lot.”
Yeon Ho-jeong swung his head just like that.
Peo-eok!
“Keuk!”
Blood burst from Ok-cheong’s forehead.
He used a headbutt at a close range where their hands were grabbed. In recent times, it was a rough move that even street thugs didn’t use well.
No one would have expected the Tiger General of Green Mountain of the world to use such a barbaric method. However, Ok-cheong did not panic.
Swaaaaak!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was trying to aim for his forehead again, quickly let go of his hand and retreated backwards. Before he knew it, Ok-cheong’s sword was coming up aiming for his groin.
Seogeok!
The bottom hem of his long robe was cut off by the sharp ancient sword.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes spewed fire.
Teo-eong!
At the same time as retreating, it was an explosive sprint. Yeon Ho-jeong, who charged at a fearsome speed, rammed into Ok-cheong with his whole body.
Kwaang!
“Keu-euk!”
It was a tremendous blow.
It felt like colliding head-on with a rolling boulder. Ok-cheong, who flew a full three jang, quickly unfolded the Cloud-Scaling Step and caught his posture.
Hu-uk!
Before he knew it, Yeon Ho-jeong, who had soared up gripping the Crazy Dragon Axe with both hands, forcefully chopped down at the spot Ok-cheong stood.
Ok-cheong’s eyes were dyed blue.
Kwaaaang!
The floor of the training ground cracked under the mighty blow.
Puseuseuseuseu.
The dust cloud that was spreading thickly slowly settled.
Jureureureuk.
The Pine-Patterned Ancient Sword that was raised high up slowly sank down diagonally. Perhaps due to the aftermath of the force of the axe blade and the Crazy Dragon Axe, Ok-cheong’s left shoulder was dyed with blood.
But his life was saved. He had deflected the Crazy Dragon Axe, which had chopped down with the intention of splitting him in half, using the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
Jjeo-eok!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who pulled out the Crazy Dragon Axe embedded in the ground, said.
“Until here.”
“Hu-uk!”
Ok-cheong gasped for breath.
“Thank you for the spar.”
His injury was quite severe, but there was no trembling in Ok-cheong’s voice. Even the blood flowing from his shoulder was slowly stopping. He had begun to stop the bleeding with his surging Primordial Qi.
From the beginning to the end of the spar, he had shown his stance as a martial artist as naturally as flowing water.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked around and spoke.
“Did you all watch well?”
The soldiers stared blankly at Ok-cheong. Even they, who had trained together with him all this time, didn’t know Ok-cheong’s skills had improved this much.
Yeon Ho-jeong clicked his tongue.
“It’s said that in order to gain one thing, you must throw away another. However, to forget the essence of the martial arts you learned while trying to gain the profound principles of actual combat can only be called putting the cart before the horse.”
“…”
“All of you employed extremely practical martial arts. However, there were just as many mistakes. But not Ok-cheong. Ok-cheong overlaid the sense of actual combat on top of the foundation of Wudang martial arts to achieve his own martial path.”
“…”
“This is precisely the unity of training martial arts and actual combat. I know well that you all worked hard, but forgetting your essence is truly something to be ashamed of.”
The soldiers deeply bowed their heads. They had nothing to say.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Ok-cheong.
“Ok-cheong.”
“Yes, Army Commander.”
“You worked hard. It was truly impressive. If you continue to do it that way, I have no doubt that a moment of explosive growth will come sooner or later.”
Ok-cheong smiled.
“It is thanks to you, Army Commander.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“Why is your hard work thanks to me?”
He spoke to Muk Bi.
“Let the guys rest for a bit.”
“Yes. Huh? But where are you going?”
“Yeah.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at the main gate beyond the training ground.
Zhuge Wen-hu was looking at this place with an admiring face.
“It seems he came because of the crazy ruffian matter. I thought it was about time, but I didn’t expect him to be this fast.”