Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 212

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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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Chapter 212
“Gasp, gasp….”
Dokgo Cheon looked down at his grandson with an expression of utter disbelief.
Seeing the pallor on his face and his ragged breathing, he felt exasperated.
“Don’t resist. Even if you tried, it would be meaningless, but at least it would be faster.”
“Gasp, cough… What?”
Dokgo Cheon raised his hand and waved it lightly with a flourish.
In that instant, the air of the training ground rippled, and something ensnared Dokgo Myeong.
“Whoosh!”
Dokgo Myeong felt a tremendous wave of vital energy surging through all three meridians of his body.
Immediately after, Dokgo Myeong jolted upright and opened his mouth wide.
“Retch!”
*Splatter!*
Something spilled onto the ground.
He thought it was blood, but it was a murky, dark liquid of unknown origin.
“Huh?”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“What did you do? And moreover, my inner energy….”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes widened in shock.
Not only had his breathing, which had not returned until moments ago, finally stabilized, but his inner power was now replenishing on its own.
It was recovering naturally to counter the vital energy of Dokgo Cheon, whose qi had penetrated his body with the aura of the Heavenly Ascension Realm.
“Don’t go around boasting about reaching the Ascending Realm elsewhere. You couldn’t even control your breathing properly, and you were squeezing out your vital energy while fighting. Tsk tsk, you lack even the fundamentals.”
Dokgo Myeong closed his mouth.
How many in this world had better fundamentals when compared to Geom-jon?
“So how did you accomplish this?”
“Begin with breathing exercises first. We can talk after that.”
“Yes, understood.”
Dokgo Myeong crossed his legs and immediately began circulating his inner power.
Only then did Dokgo Cheon examine the sleeve of his right arm that he had just raised.
‘A curious one.’
His sleeve had been torn away without him even noticing.
This boy’s limitations in skill were glaringly obvious, yet he always displayed something beyond that.
‘…It’s his instinct.’
Throughout his life, he had sparred with many and taught countless people, but never had he witnessed martial arts cultivated in such a manner.
To Dokgo Cheon, who had refined orthodox martial arts and reached its pinnacle, the ragged and chaotic approach of Dokgo Myeong was a shocking revelation.
It was then.
“Exhale.”
Dokgo Myeong released a short breath and completed his breathing exercise.
With eyes wide open, Dokgo Myeong immediately pressed Dokgo Cheon for answers.
“Now please explain. I was nearly consumed by demonic obsession from curiosity.”
Dokgo Cheon shook his head slowly.
“Stop sitting on the ground and get up.”
Dokgo Cheon and Dokgo Myeong sat facing each other at a low table set to one side of the training grounds.
Dokgo Cheon, who had been silent as if thinking for a moment, continued slowly.
“Fundamentally, when one’s inner energy becomes abundant and profound….”
“Yes.”
“From a certain point onward, one can infuse intention into external energy as well.”
Dokgo Cheon waved his hand.
Though he hadn’t seemed to channel any inner force, the air itself rippled as if disturbed.
“From that point, no matter how much vital energy you draw upon, it becomes inexhaustible. Your recovery rate exceeds your consumption rate. Once that happens, the nature of your vital energy falls under your will alone, allowing you to channel energy into an opponent’s body to induce healing, or conversely, to harm them with nothing but your intention.”
“You mean one could harm an opponent through will and energy alone?”
“One must at least transcend the realm of perfect mastery. This is merely the minimum condition.”
Injury through intention and energy.
Perhaps Dokgo Myeong had once touched that realm himself.
‘No, it was when I was Dokgo Hyeon that I experienced it.’
There was one battle that felt distant when I tried to recall it.
A battle with the Divine Blood Sect Leader, Hyeokwisang the Blood Demon.
“Could that perhaps be the Heavenly Realm?”
Dokgo Cheon’s brow furrowed.
“This world has so many varied and complex realms, yet you speak as if they can be divided so simply?”
“Ah, yes. It wasn’t that I didn’t know, I was merely asking….”
Dokgo Cheon, who had been glaring at Dokgo Myeong with displeasure, shook his head and spoke.
“The Heavenly Realm, you say. If I must explain it… once you ascend beyond that, such distinctions become meaningless.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s a place you cannot understand unless you reach it, and one need not necessarily strive to reach it. Do not seek to know it yet.”
It was a cryptic statement.
Dokgo Myeong did not press further. If it became necessary, he could extract the answer, and if there was truly no need to ascend, he could simply leave it as is.
“In any case, you’re saying it becomes possible once one’s inner energy cultivation deepens?”
“That’s not quite right either. It depends on what path you choose to walk.”
“A path?”
“Originally, this direction differs somewhat from the path this old man walks. The other two were skilled in such matters. This is merely imitation on my part.”
Merely imitation at this level.
The other two must surely refer to the other two of the Three Sovereigns, so it was perhaps fitting to speak thus.
“Of course, if I set my mind to it, it’s a path I could walk in half a day.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
Without such pride, one couldn’t be called the Family Lord.
“Regardless, what was the name of that final linked strike technique?”
At Dokgo Cheon’s question, Dokgo Myeong scratched his head.
“I haven’t given it a name yet. Would you bestow one upon it, Family Lord?”
“How about Heavenly Wave Scripture?”
“Waves of Heaven… quite grand and pleasing to the ear.”
“Even if you attached names like ‘Flawless’ or ‘Limitless,’ it would suit well. If you properly complete that technique, it will earn the title of Divine Art.”
“…!”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes widened in shock.
He had merely researched and created it himself to fill the gaps in the Heavenly Realm technique.
He never expected to receive such praise.
At that moment, Dokgo Cheon suddenly asked.
“Is that your martial path?”
Dokgo Myeong hesitated briefly before nodding.
“Yes, it is.”
“Sensation, then.”
Dokgo Cheon moistened his throat with tea and his eyes gleamed.
“Do you precisely understand the origins of what you’ve learned?”
“That is….”
“From the look of it, you’ve only recently become interested?”
When Dokgo Myeong gave an awkward laugh, Dokgo Cheon snorted and opened his mouth.
“Then listen carefully.”
Because his tone had shifted slightly, Dokgo Myeong quickly straightened his posture.
“Long ago… even before my generation, there appeared a martial school with a perspective unlike any other. In truth, it was a pseudo-movement too ambiguous to even call a school.”
“Pardon?”
“Just listen.”
“Ah, yes.”
Though it was an unexpected and strange story, Dokgo Myeong focused nonetheless.
“In this world, there are those who comprehend martial arts without being martial artists. Soldiers, ronin, black blades… those who accumulated countless real battles and dirty experiences without proper martial techniques. Some of these people gathered and expounded a singular martial philosophy.”
Dokgo Cheon’s voice was calm.
“The essence was this: martial arts are products of efficiency and rationality, but the humans who employ them are not. Therefore, wouldn’t the realm of instinct and sensation take precedence?”
“….”
“Those who frequently engage in real combat learn to fight instinctively despite knowing no martial arts. Naturally, they often face moments of life and death, and each time….”
Dokgo Myeong’s face hardened.
Regardless, Dokgo Cheon’s voice continued.
“They concentrate with unprecedented depth, manipulate the upper dantian, and exert strength beyond their level.”
“….”
“They possessed such experiences. A movement arose to systematize them. It was the beginning of the martial philosophy called the Sensation Path, created by a group known as the Life-and-Death Sect.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes wavered.
He knew nothing of the Life-and-Death Sect or the Sensation Path.
‘But it’s definitely the Sensation Result. The name is similar too.’
The essence of the Sensation Result had just come from Dokgo Cheon’s mouth.
“What happened in the end, then?”
“Naturally….”
Dokgo Cheon spoke in a plain voice.
“I have failed.”
“…!”
“On the surface, it touched upon the principles of Daoism. Acting solely as one’s instincts and senses guide within non-action—the words sound elegant, but it was nothing more than an illusion.”
“Why do you say that? It could be real simply because no one has achieved it yet, not because it’s an illusion.”
Dokgo Myeong offered a plausible counterargument, but Dokgo Cheon shook his head firmly.
“It’s difficult.”
“Why is that?”
“Even if it weren’t an illusion, one would be dead long before mastering it to any useful degree.”
“…!”
“In the end, the sensation they speak of is the product of experience. It would require countless experiences and rigorous training of the senses to the point where instinct responds first. Moreover, it would need to be experiences that brush against the line between life and death… They would all perish in the attempt.”
“What if someone survived and achieved it?”
Dokgo Cheon and Dokgo Myeong’s gazes met.
“They would become a monster.”
A monster.
One of the three absolute beings in the martial realm had called it a monster.
“The more experience they accumulate, the stronger they become. Eventually, they could wield that sensation as a weapon itself, and if they also mastered martial arts, they would grasp both human artifice and non-action simultaneously—truly a being of supernatural power. And that….”
Dokgo Cheon pointed directly at Dokgo Myeong.
“Is that not you?”
The words struck Dokgo Myeong, and he faltered.
Soon after, he nodded calmly.
“I didn’t know, but hearing it now, it does seem that way.”
“It does seem that way, does it.”
“Rather than the essence of what they call a sensation master from that Life-Death Sect….”
“It is more systematic and concrete?”
“…!”
“You cannot be a perfect successor of the Life-Death Sect that vanished in an instant. Rather, it would be more accurate to say your martial arts were influenced by that school of thought.”
Dokgo Cheon spoke casually.
Dokgo Myeong swallowed dryly and asked.
“But why are you telling me this?”
“Because the Life-Death Sect doesn’t seem to be all there is. I see something different in your martial arts.”
“Pardon?”
Dokgo Cheon gestured with his chin.
“There were three martial arts. Display each one.”
“Pardon?”
“Go on.”
Dokgo Myeong rose slowly and assumed his stance hesitantly.
*Whoosh! Crack! Thud!*
Geom-jon, Jahagyeol, and Budong Gyeol.
He executed the three martial arts techniques simply.
Dokgo Cheon nodded and spoke.
“You certainly resemble him.”
“…Pardon?”
“Your sword technique and inner energy cultivation differ, certainly. But that striking method… it unmistakably bears the mark of the main family’s sword art and footwork.”
What could he possibly mean?
Even Dokgo Myeong had never sensed such a thing, yet Dokgo Cheon continued his explanation.
“I speak not of the shell, but the essence that martial arts contain. To elaborate somewhat, there is the influence of Zhongnan, and also that of the Western Regions and the island warriors….”
Dokgo Cheon’s eyes narrowed.
“Furthermore, that restraint-focused Golden Soft Hand technique. It resembles the martial lineage that the Taoist Monk of Namtap sought to achieve.”
“…!”
“You recognized that one immediately. Standing upright and holding firm—that is the martial art of the Vajra Patriarch, the very source of Zhongyuan’s martial traditions.”
Dokgo Myeong’s expression became clouded with confusion.
“That, that cannot be possible, can it? Everything is different.”
“The form is certainly different. That is precisely why I say it resembles them.”
“But how….”
“One person creates a sword by observing the wind, another by chasing the sun. Following the Vajra Patriarch, imitating the Tai Chi, or gazing upon plum blossoms… that is how martial arts are born.”
It was something he had once told Namgung Sohwa as well.
The essence of martial arts.
The foundation beneath the shell.
He was saying that traces of Zhongyuan’s martial arts existed within the Heavenly Realm Beyond, which seemed to stand in opposition to Zhongyuan’s teachings.
“Then are you saying my martial arts have copied the main family, the Taoists, and the Shaolin monks?”
“I cannot say that. You merely adopted the form and techniques without the substance. It would be more accurate to say you were influenced by them.”
To be influenced.
Was such a thing truly so simple?
“It is not finished. The traces of countless martial arts from Zhongyuan, military schools, the principles of the Western Regions and beyond… it feels as though this martial art was created with deliberate intention.”
“Intention… you say?”
“Yes.”
Dokgo Myeong’s gaze deepened.
‘Master, my teacher.’
A hazy face surfaced in my mind.
‘What exactly did you transmit to me? What manner of martial art is the Heavenly Realm Beyond, after all?’
Questions abounded, but Dokgo Myeong soon exhaled deeply and set his thoughts aside.
It did not matter.
In the end, martial arts were martial arts.
My teacher once said not to be swayed by martial arts, but to wield them.
I chose to trust myself, who wielded them.
Dokgo Myeong asked.
“Why do you speak to me of such things?”
“Did I not say so? That I would provide guidance.”
“Pardon?”
“That martial art is already inscribed upon your mind and bones. To develop it further, you will need to embrace something new.”
“If it’s something new….”
“The Eight Divine Arts should be more than sufficient.”
“…!”
“Did you think it would be enough to have only your subordinates learn something new? You need fresh stimulation as well. It worked out perfectly, as if pieces were meant to fit together. Seonmyo will be sufficient for learning the Eight Divine Arts.”
The Dokgo Family’s Eight Divine Arts.
The names of those martial techniques that Dokgo Myeong had never even touched until now suddenly emerged.
“Learn the Eight Divine Arts? Are those really something that can be learned so easily?”
“I’m not asking you to master them. I’m asking you to observe and supplement your own martial arts with what you see. But before that.”
Dokgo Cheon’s eyes gleamed.
“From now on, I will show you what the Eight Divine Arts were born from.”
“Pardon?”
*Whoosh!*
Dokgo Cheon rose from his seat.
As he slowly stood, his beloved blade, Yeokrin, was already in his hand.
“I will now demonstrate a sword technique. It is not in the form of a sparring match like before.”
“…!”
“This old man’s sword art, which I have devoted my entire life to creating, and a martial technique that branches forth from the Eight Divine Arts. Watch it once and feel it.”

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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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