I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 115

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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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Wandering into the Murim Alliance for no good reason — Chapter 115
And so Cheong So-un’s mind simply could not fathom it. That’s why he asked again.
“……So trusting my Five Senses was wrong?”
Sa U-rin looked at Cheong So-un with an expression of pity.
“……Why? What now?”
“You don’t understand?”
Seeing him repeat the same question a second time, it seemed to be the case.
“……Right, I—I do. How important the Five Senses are to a Martial Artist…….”
In moments where life and death hang in the balance, the Five Senses determine the outcome more often than not. Some call them animal instinct, others call them human nature.
In the end, they’re the same thing.
“Of course it’s important.”
“……Then what? What on earth are you trying to say?”
“It’s hard to explain something obvious.”
He was wondering how to make an idiot understand.
“This is…… obvious?”
Sa U-rin just seemed like a monster, frankly.
“Yeah.”
“No…….”
Unless Cheong So-un was a fool, there was no way he couldn’t understand what Sa U-rin was saying.
Wasn’t this essentially the same as calling himself an idiot?
And so his pride stung. It stung, yet he wanted to know. Wanted to know why he’d suffered this. So he gritted his teeth and asked again.
“……So what? What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Fine. Let’s go through this step by step. Where does the Martial Arts we practitioners study begin?”
“……Begin from where? What do you mean by that?”
It sounded like nonsense.
This was the first time Cheong So-un had heard such nonsense in his life.
Perhaps because of that, a sigh escaped Sa U-rin’s lips.
“Ugh. My head’s about to split.”
“……I’m sorry. But please, try to explain it…….”
“How can I make you understand when you don’t understand? Huh?”
“……But still, try to——”
Cheong So-un was desperate.
He could have simply written off yesterday’s defeat as bad luck and moved on, but that wasn’t how Cheong So-un saw it.
He was certain the Witch’s son had foreseen and orchestrated everything. And if he could only discover how he’d managed such foresight, Cheong So-un believed he could achieve greater progress, faster progress.
And so he desperately wanted to know.
And so he had come here, swallowing his pride.
And so……and so.
Cheong So-un suddenly dropped to his knees before Sa U-rin.
“I’ll go this far. Please, won’t you teach me? Huh?”
“No……. Get up.”
“No. I’ll stay like this. Please, help me understand. Then I’ll repay this debt. If you teach me, I’ll serve you as my elder brother. I swear it.”
“……How can I become your elder brother? Well……I suppose that works better than being your great-elder.”
“Yes, then I’ll serve you as my elder brother. Brother. Please teach me. Brother!”
Honestly, Sa U-rin didn’t understand why Cheong So-un would go this far.
Beyond his desperation, there was nothing else.
“……Fine, so get up. Once you’re up, I’ll explain until you understand.”
“Really, Brother?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Thank you, Brother.”
Somehow, Sa U-rin had gained a younger brother. Of course, not a blood brother born from the same womb, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
“I’ll explain slowly from now on, so ask if you don’t understand.”
“Yes, Brother!”
How readily he calls him brother. Sa U-rin wondered if it was really this easy. To him, it felt harder than dying.
Anyway.
“I don’t know exactly, but Martial Arts began thousands of years ago—perhaps tens of thousands. Do you know exactly?”
“……I don’t know exactly either.”
There are no precise records, so no one in Gangho knows the exact history of Martial Arts’ origins.
So not knowing was natural.
“Then let’s skip that. In any case, Martial Arts must have started with knowledge. What is knowledge? Knowledge is experience and theory from people, organized and stored in the human mind. Right?”
“That’s right. But why go into……”
“Just listen. I don’t even know how to explain it easily, so that’s why I’m going about it this way.”
“…I understand.”
“Then, let’s talk about the fundamentals of martial arts—the Samjae Swordsmanship, for example. You know that all sword techniques in Kangho are derived from Samjae Swordsmanship, don’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
This felt oddly like one of those charlatans hawking fake medicine on Market Street.
You know the type, don’t you?
The ones who gather common folk on Market Street and peddle counterfeit remedies, claiming they’ll cure whatever ails you.
It was starting to feel like the Witch’s son was peddling some false theory to him in exactly that manner.
Then, abruptly, the Witch’s son stopped mid-sentence and stared at Cheong So-un in silence.
“…What is it, sir?”
“You don’t want to hear this?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then focus. Why are you thinking about something else?”
“…Yes, of course.”
The man was genuinely uncanny. How could he have known?
That Cheong So-un had let his mind wander, even for a moment.
He wanted to ask about that too, but now wasn’t the time, so he held his tongue.
“Now, listen here. If Kunlun Sword Technique also began from Samjae Swordsmanship, that wouldn’t be an overstatement, would it?”
“…That’s true.”
“So then, after Kunlun learned Samjae Swordsmanship, was the Kunlun Sword Technique created right then and there in one go?”
“…No, it wasn’t.”
“Exactly. Through long years of practice, constant refinement, countless experiences layered upon one another—that’s what shaped the Kunlun Sword Technique as it stands now, isn’t it?”
“…Yes, that must be so.”
“Then where do you think your Five Senses came from?”
“That is…”
Wasn’t this just going in circles back to the beginning?
He was beginning to wonder if he should keep listening to this. And he was starting to regret calling him brother in the first place.
“…I’m still not quite sure.”
“You still don’t understand?”
“…No.”
“What have you been hearing all this time?”
“The beginning of martial arts.”
“And what was the beginning of martial arts?”
“…Theory and knowledge.”
Suddenly, Cheong So-un’s eyes widened like saucers.
“…Wait? Could it be? So the Five Senses come from knowledge and theory?”
“There we go. Now you’re starting to understand, aren’t you?”
“A little. So what? What was the problem then?”
Sa U-rin’s head tilted in confusion.
Now it was Sa U-rin who didn’t understand.
“…What? What do you mean?”
“I thought by now you’d have grasped it all…but you’re still asking the same question, so apparently not.”
“…Is that all the explanation I’m getting?”
“Yes.”
Now it was Cheong So-un’s head that tilted in confusion.
“…Is that really all the explanation I’m getting?”
“…Yes.”
How many times would he have to repeat himself?
Good grief.
“…I apologize. Could you explain a bit more? I still don’t see the connection between what happened yesterday and what you’ve explained just now.”
“…Well, can’t be helped. Fine. To put it simply: your Five Senses stem from the knowledge and theory you possess. The question is whether your knowledge and theory encompass everything that happens in Kangho.”
“…No. My knowledge and theory, compared to my Sect Leader’s, are nothing but a drop in the ocean.”
“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. You rely too much on your Five Senses alone.”
“…Then isn’t that the same thing you just said?”
“No. You’ll either trust your Five Senses or act contrary to them—that’s all you’ll do. Isn’t that right?”
“…Yes.”
“Yesterday too. In the end, you went against your Five Senses.”
“…Yes.”
At this point, he couldn’t tell if the man was actually a ghost.
“New situations require new knowledge, new experience, and new theory suited to those circumstances. Don’t they?”
“……Yes, that’s right.”
“The conclusion is this: you fixated too much on that one scenario and neglected your other senses. Your mind never entertained the thought of falling from the Combat Platform. I simply exploited that.”
Cheong So-un’s jaw fell open.
“……Ah.”
“Satisfied? Then go on now. I need to train.”
“……Wait, just one more question, if I may?”
“Fine. One.”
“Thank you. But how on earth did you discover that I possess exceptional Five Senses?”
This was the part that truly made no sense to him.
“……Did you perhaps investigate me?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized the question itself was flawed.
“Ah, I’ll withdraw that question.”
Even if someone had investigated him, they couldn’t have uncovered his gift for the Five Senses.
Only the Sect Leader knew that.
There was no way the Sect Leader would have divulged such information about him to the Witch’s son.
“Just answer the previous question, please.”
“I knew the moment you halted your opening strike.”
“……You knew at that moment?”
“That’s right.”
“……You truly discerned my exceptional Five Senses from nothing but that?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
Cheong So-un’s mouth fell open again.
“……Ah.”
Now he understood.
The Witch’s son was not human.
The Witch’s son was a ghost.
There was no other explanation.
How else could anyone read a single halted movement and divine such a thing?
It made no sense.
And so the Witch’s son standing before him was undoubtedly a ghost. Ghosts didn’t exist in the world, but from this moment forward, Cheong So-un would believe they did.
And he comforted himself with the thought.
He had simply faced an opponent he could never defeat and lost.
After all, no martial artist in all of Kangho could defeat a ghost.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
“Just so you know, don’t go thinking I don’t look human or anything like that.”
Cheong So-un’s eyes grew wide as lanterns again.
“……I beg your pardon?!”
“My comrades don’t see me as human either, so I’m saying that preemptively.”
“……Ah, yes.”
So that was it…….
Now it was absolutely, unmistakably certain that he was no human at all.
There could be no doubt whatsoever.
If even his own comrades didn’t regard him as a person, there was nothing left to say about it.
Though he shouldn’t have felt this way, Cheong So-un was delighted.
Because at this moment, he had become unique in all the world.
The sole person in all of Kangho who called a ghost his brother.
“What? Why are you smiling?”
“……Was I smiling?”
“Yes. You still are.”
Like a madman.
“……Because I’m happy. Truly happy.”
To have such a ghostly brother…… No, to call a ghost my brother.
“……Now go.”
An irritating feeling was beginning to creep in, strong and unwelcome.
“Very well, brother.”
“Ah, and don’t call me brother.”
An ominous sensation stirred within him.
“No. I will continue to call you brother. Isn’t that how Kangho works? The strongest becomes your brother.”
“……”
He had nothing to say, since the words weren’t wrong.
“……Go.”
He was already annoyed.
“Understood. Train hard, brother. I’ll take my leave now. Oh, and I’ll visit you often.”
“No, there’s no need…….”
He should have said it wasn’t necessary.
But Cheong So-un vanished in the blink of an eye, as though he’d known it all along.
“As expected…….”
Cheong So-un’s Five Senses were exceptional.
Troublingly so.

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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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