I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Obtained Guan Yu’s Martial Arts – Episode 45
Heavenly Qi Depletion (5)
Ju Ho’s question was immediately directed at Jang Cho San.
“Those bastards… they stole the secret techniques of the Taiping Dao and fled.”
In the distant past, there existed a religion called the Taiping Dao.
An emergent faith born from blending Yin-Yang Disaster Theory with Taoist philosophy.
“Aren’t you talking about the Yellow Turbans?”
At Ju Ho’s words, Jang Cho San’s brow furrowed.
“How ignorant! The Taiping Dao and the Yellow Turbans are different. Because two trees share roots, does that make them the same?”
Originally, the Taiping Dao adhered more closely to Taoist teachings, holding that humanity must follow the principles of the Five Elements, and that those who defy the will of Heaven receive punishment.
Later, radicals rose up and formed the Yellow Turbans, and from that point forward, the moderates separated completely under the banner of the Taiping Dao.
“But the Sect Leader Zhang Jue was also the commander of the Yellow Turbans, wasn’t he?”
“Ahem. At that time, he could not abandon his followers. Knowing the path had gone astray, he walked it alongside them nonetheless. One does not disown children simply because they have grown misguided.”
“I see.”
Though it differed considerably from the history Ju Ho knew, he nodded in acceptance.
History, after all, is written by the victors.
Besides, the truth hardly mattered.
It was ancient history, long past.
“In any case, the Hwang Cheon sect is a heretical offshoot created by three brothers who stole the Taiping Dao’s secret techniques and fled.”
As an inheritor of the Taiping Dao’s legacy, Jang Cho San had accepted the three brothers as disciples.
Though they walked the Dark Path, their remorse for their past and their show of reflection had pleased him.
“But those bastards poisoned me and stole my secret techniques, then fled. And now they torment the common folk, spawning chaos and disorder.”
As the current Sect Leader of the Taiping Dao and their former master, Jang Cho San bore the duty to stop them.
“But why do you need our help?”
Jang Seong tilted his head, as if failing to grasp the reasoning.
“From what we saw, you already seemed far stronger than us.”
Having crossed blades with Jang Cho San once, Jang Seong sensed that his martial prowess was at least at the Peak Realm—and among the finest at that.
Considering that fewer than two hundred Peak-Realm masters were known throughout all of Zhongyuan, it was truly a formidable level.
At such a level, he should have been more than capable of dismantling an upstart heretical sect alone.
“I am not a martial artist, but a Taoist.”
“What difference does that make?”
“A martial artist and a Taoist are not the same. A martial artist grows strong through cultivation of the self.”
“A Taoist is different?”
As Jang Seong posed his question, four pairs of eyes turned toward Jang Cho San.
Guan Hui and the others were equally curious.
Encounters with Taoist practitioners were exceedingly rare, after all.
“A Taoist borrows the forces of nature. When Heavenly Qi aligns favorably, we can wield tremendous power—yet we cannot sustain it at all times.”
Should Heavenly Qi falter even slightly, or the flow of the Five Elements go awry, a Taoist can only manage second-rate magic.
Martial artists, having built their strength from within, can draw upon it whenever they wish—we are fundamentally different.
In other words, we can only exert the appropriate force at the appropriate moment.
“Thus I require your aid. Particularly, I have urgent need of your assistance, White Radiant Star.”
Jang Cho San’s gaze turned toward Guan Hui.
The one granted the meaning of the brightest star among all celestial bodies.
He absolutely required Guan Hui’s presence.
“Well, I’ll lend my hand.”
Guan Hui nodded readily.
It wasn’t for nothing, and they were offering Mystical Iron no less—there was no reason to refuse.
Moreover, his master Guan Yu seemed to want this, though he spoke of it only obliquely.
‘Had he wished to avoid entanglement, he would have said so.’
“I am grateful. However, at your current level, you will be of little use to me.”
“……?”
All of them regarded Jang Cho San with eyes that asked, ‘What is this man talking about?’
“You are too weak to stand against the three brothers who lead the sect. So I shall guide your training directly.”
“Hah!”
Jang Seong, his expression haughty, let out a scoff.
“A mere Taoist charlatan offering to teach us? Have you ever even wielded a sword?”
“Put your mind at ease.”
Jang Cho San replied calmly, reaching down to seize the wooden sword upon the Training Ground.
“Before I walked the path of the Taiping Dao, I was called one of the Celestial Hundred Masters.”

* * *
Boom!—
With the deafening crack of an explosion, Jang Seong went flying through the air.
“Damn it!”
Jang Seong, flailing mid-air, kicked off a pillar of the pavilion and executed a backward somersault.
“What kind of power is this…!”
The wrist gripping his Long Sword screamed in pain.
Just one exchange—one clash—and his body had been hurled skyward, his wrist torn as if it might split open.
They said he’d walked the path of Taoist Magic and ravaged his Dantian.
Yet an impossible, devastating technique was unfolding before him.
It was only a Wooden Sword that had saved him; otherwise, Jang Seong would have been cleaved in two long ago.
“My, you do flutter about like a fly, Master Jang.”
…
Jang Seong’s eyes, narrow and fierce, fixed themselves on Ju Ho.
That wretched Ju Ho was sitting in a chair at the edge of the Training Ground, watching the match like it was sport, and every word that came from his mouth scraped at Jang Seong’s nerves raw.
‘Damn him. How in the world is he expecting me to beat this?’
Jang Cho San, living proof that the title of Celestial Hundred Master was no exaggeration, was dominating three Late-Stage Masters with nothing but a Wooden Sword.
Archer Hwang So So’s arrows fell harmlessly to the ground, and Jang Seong’s Taoist techniques were systematically dismantled.
As if seeing through everything, Jang Cho San advanced one step ahead, his assault so overwhelming that the two warriors looked like fools.
“Curse it… he’s always one move ahead.”
Anxiety flickered across Jang Seong’s gaze as he watched Guan Hui.
While both other Late-Stage Masters lay sprawling on the ground, Guan Hui alone stood firm, both feet planted on the earth.
Clang!—
The silvery Crescent Moon Blade met Jang Cho San’s Stone Staff.
Guan Hui was pushed back one step; Jang Cho San, two.
Jang Cho San regarded him with eyes that flickered with surprise.
“Truly formidable strength. In pure power alone, no one in Zhongyuan could match you.”
“Thank you for the praise.”
Guan Hui, having shifted to a respectful tone, twisted at the waist and swept his Crescent Moon Blade in a wide, horizontal arc.
“But your strikes are wide. Wide strikes are slow by nature.”
Hmm.
The greater the force behind a blow, the slower its speed. But proportionally, the power increases as well.
Thus most martial arts in Zhongyuan fall into two categories: those emphasizing speed or those emphasizing power.
The Guan House martial art belonged firmly to the latter camp.
It sacrificed speed, but compensated through sheer strength and impact, offsetting that weakness entirely.
“Since powerful strikes are slow, what do you think would be necessary to guarantee striking your opponent?”
“… An ambush?”
Jang Cho San blinked, caught off guard.
The answer seemed wholly out of place for the Master of the Guan House.
“Incorrect. The answer is Drawing Force.”
“Ah, what you demonstrated before.”
“Precisely. Ordinarily, only a warrior who can suppress their vital energy within their Dantian would be allowed such a technique. But you—I suspect you might manage it.”
To make the impossible possible.
That was the hallmark of Baekgwang Seong.
Jang Cho San had a premonition that this later generation could do it.
“Watch once more.”
Jang Cho San thrust his Stone Staff into the ground.
Thud!—
A Qi Blast erupted, and the surrounding energy began to coalesce at the base of the staff.
Like a tiny vortex that swallowed all things, the distortion pulled at Guan Hui.
It felt as if invisible hands were grasping at his body—a sensation both strange and overwhelming.
…!
Guan Hui resisted, bracing himself, but the Drawing Force born of Qi dragged his body forward relentlessly.
One step. Two steps.
Being forced to advance, Guan Hui lifted his right foot above his hip and drove it downward with full force.
Boom!—
Cracks spiderwebbed across the Training Ground, and the Drawing Force vanished.
Having felt that all things began as Qi, Guan Hui had simply erased it with a Qi Blast of his own.
“…! Superb.”
A gleam of genuine astonishment crossed Jang Cho San’s eyes.
To think of a countermeasure in an instant and put it into practice at once.
Truly exceptional talent.
Responding with wit in actual combat lies in the realm of instinct—without innate talent, it cannot be done easily.
Once again, Guan Hui possessed the Heavenly Martial Body.
“Now then, unfold the Drawing Force. You’ve just seen it, so you understand, yes?”
“……?”
Jang Seong, who had been watching from beside him, wore an expression of utter bewilderment.
“No. You’re not explaining the theory at all, just telling him to replicate it?”
Normally one would first teach the secret incantations written in a secret manual, or share the understanding itself.
But Jang Cho San did none of that—he simply commanded the boy to mimic what he’d shown.
It was akin to showing someone a dish and then telling them to recreate it, pure madness—
“Like this?”
Thud!
Guan Hui drove the Crescent Moon Blade down against the ground.
Then the Qi Blast spiraled and merged, manifesting a dense Drawing Force.
“……!?”
Jang Seong’s jaw fell open as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Surely there wasn’t a madman in the world who could actually replicate something after seeing it just once!?
Both the one giving the command and the one executing it were clearly out of their minds.
“Just as I expected. Splendid.”
The one who’d given the command offered his praise.
“Hmm. It was easier than I thought.”
The one who’d accomplished it shrugged as if it were nothing.
“…….”
For Jang Seong, it felt as if his world was collapsing.
“Now you simply channel it into the Crescent Moon Blade.”
“No, it’s not as simple as you make it sound—”
“Ah.”
Before Jang Seong could finish, Guan Hui had already channeled the Drawing Force into the blade.
“…….”
Jang Seong was genuinely at a loss for words.
At this point, he began to wonder if perhaps he himself was the dull one.
‘I was raised hearing I had talent too.’
At twenty-five, achieving First-rate mastery put him in the upper ranks even among Late-Stage Masters.
Yet here, he felt like nothing more than an ordinary dullard.
“Is the Repelling Force done like this, then?”
“Precisely.”
“Hmm. It’s not terribly difficult.”
“For a martial artist, it’s a subtle principle grasped at the Peak Realm, but once you understand the underlying principle, anyone can do it.”
Jang Seong, listening to this, tilted his head back toward the sky.
How had Heaven birthed Jang Seong, only to birth Guan Hui as well?
Today, it seemed rather unfair.
“Your martial path lies in that absurdly powerful Overwhelming Blade Way. One hit lands, and it’s over.”
“Understood.”
Guan Hui nodded calmly.
By now he was beginning to sense, to some degree, that the power he possessed operated on a different plane than that of others.
“So then, unfold the Drawing Force and Repelling Force appropriately. That way, no one will be able to evade your strikes.”
Channel Drawing Force into a technique, and the opponent cannot evade even if they wish to.
Even a slow attack becomes a Guaranteed Hit when you imbue it with this principle—speed becomes meaningless.
“I will remember.”
“That will do. You have nothing left to learn from me.”
Jang Cho San nodded with a satisfied smile.
He would have liked to teach Intent as well, but that was impossible at present.
He’d learned in conversation that, remarkably, the boy had not yet crossed the threshold into the Peak Realm.
A mere First-rate warrior wielding Intent, if only for a moment—that was what he was.
‘What sort of monster will he become once he grows further.’
Such talent defied description in words.
The very thought of what he might become sent a chill down the spine.
Jang Cho San found himself eagerly anticipating Guan Hui’s future.
“Now then, it’s your turn, you two. Unfold the Drawing Force again.”
“……Look, this is hardly fair.”
Jang Seong wore an aggrieved expression.
“Shouldn’t you be giving us more detailed instructions?”
Jang Cho San tilted his head thoughtfully.
“That fellow over there seems to be managing just fine.”
If no one could pull it off, he’d offer a more thorough explanation then.
But hadn’t someone already succeeded?
Once one person manages it, everyone else ought to be capable of the same.
“……That’s only because he’s abnormal.”
Jang Seong shot a sideways glare at Guan Hui.
Why did that fellow have to succeed without even trying, putting everyone else in such an awkward position?
‘A monster of a man.’
Jang Seong pushed out his lower lip in frustration.
Hwang So So beside him nodded vigorously in agreement.
“There’s nothing more to teach here. You simply do it.”
“…….”
At such an unreasonable proclamation, both of them fixed Jang Cho San with a long, hard stare.
Yet just as staring at a boulder won’t make mung bean powder fall from it, Jang Cho San merely met their gaze with unwavering calm.
“Head of the Guan House. You help them.”
“That’s right. Master Guan. Won’t you help us?”
The two turned hopeful eyes toward Guan Hui.
Seeing the earnest plea in both their gazes, Guan Hui nodded readily and spoke.
“You simply do it.”
Jang Seong and Hwang So So stared at Guan Hui in silence.
This is what geniuses are like.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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