Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 473

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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 473
A deep resonance echoed through the training hall.
Pure, refined qi rippled from Dokgo Wi-hak’s body as he stood in the center of the training ground.
With his long hair neatly arranged, a white martial robe flowing gently about him, and a rare blade in hand, he emanated the very aura of a master from a prestigious school of the Hundred Swords.
As Dokgo Myeong gazed at this figure with admiration, Dokgo Wi-hak’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Now I find myself dreading what words might spill from your mouth next.”
“Father, you truly become a living painting no matter when I see you.”
“….”
“You look easily twenty years younger than your actual age. If you were to venture into Gangho right now, you’d surely shake the composure of countless female martial artists….”
“….”
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Dokgo Wi-hak merely exhaled a deep sigh without speaking.
Dokgo Myeong, unable to discern the meaning behind that sigh, simply tilted his head in confusion.
“Enough idle chatter. Let us begin.”
“Yes, understood. Then….”
Dokgo Myeong raised his wooden sword.
“I’ll concede the first strike to you, Father. Please come at me first?”
“…What?”
“I’ve grown considerably now, so shouldn’t I offer you a lesson or two? Behold my filial devotion.”
The corners of Dokgo Wi-hak’s eyes twitched.
“Impudent.”
Yet despite his words, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile.
Then, observing his son assume his stance, Dokgo Wi-hak’s eyes brightened.
‘The fundamental stance.’
Both hands gripping the sword were positioned near the dantian, the blade angled diagonally toward the opponent’s centerline.
His upper body faced forward, his lower body spread at a moderate width with knees slightly bent.
It was a flawless fundamental stance—one he had never witnessed his son display before.
‘This isn’t a real combat match; we agreed merely to exchange techniques and methods lightly. He wouldn’t be deceiving me then. So….’
A stance reveals intent.
If the upper body leans forward, it suggests attack; if backward, evasion.
Lower body spread wide indicates footwork application, while a low stance suggests emphasis on defense.
Yet Dokgo Myeong’s stance now was utterly neutral and fundamental. Not merely in appearance, but in the qi it emanated.
What, then, is a fundamental stance?
It is the midpoint between all possible stances.
When assumed by a novice, the balance is good, but it lacks character and appears ordinary.
When assumed by a master, it means a stance capable of transforming infinitely as circumstances demand.
“Is that the fundamental stance of the Nine Swords Style?”
“The Nine Paths Nine Swords Style has no prescribed fundamental stance.”
“Is that so?”
“We are not bound by form. Instead, we adopt whatever optimal sword path best counters our opponent in each moment. The masters say that upon reaching the pinnacle, even this must be abandoned for the natural state. I am only beginning to awaken to this understanding….”
“Are you speaking of the Return of All Things to Their Source?”
“It’s somewhat different. Grandfather called it the Subtlety of No Technique.”
Dokgo Wi-hak pondered those words for a moment.
It made sense in theory, but was such a thing truly possible?
“Very well. Let us see it then.”
Both father and son were masters of considerable renown.
Since a real combat would leave the training grounds in ruins, they decided instead on a theoretical duel—testing only comprehension and technique without actual strikes.
“I shall begin.”
“Understood.”
Whoosh!
Dokgo Wi-hak closed the distance in an instant, bringing his sword down with the momentum to cleave all in two.
Swish!
Dokgo Myeong twisted his body diagonally to evade, then immediately thrust his sword toward his opponent’s throat.
Dokgo Wi-hak unleashed a horizontal strike to deflect the blade.
Clang! Ting-ting-ting!
After that first exchange, the two moved with brilliant fluidity, their forms intertwining.
Though they wielded wooden swords, the light seemed to shimmer across them. As if they had rehearsed every movement beforehand, their actions meshed perfectly, creating countless sounds that shattered the silence.
Suddenly, Dokgo Myeong surged forward like a gale.
Shhhhwish!
Against that piercing strike, Dokgo Wi-hak’s sword traced a great arc.
In a heartbeat, he deflected his son’s attack and flowed seamlessly into a counteroffensive.
Clang!
It was the very essence of flawless offense and defense unified as one.
Had the changes in life influenced his swordsmanship as well? Dokgo Wi-hak’s sword path had lost some of its former sharpness, yet seemed to have entered some new realm entirely.
But gradually, bewilderment began to cloud his previously composed expression.
‘What is this?’
Boom!
Just as he blocked and prepared to shift to offense, a chilling presence suddenly surged from below.
A leg technique. Had he driven his thrust so deep as a setup for this? The timing was too exquisite to be coincidence.
In the end, Dokgo Wi-hak had no choice but to abandon his offense and retreat.
Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt!
Dokgo Myeong pursued relentlessly, clinging to his retreating opponent.
Dokgo Wi-hak narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss.
‘Something is not right about this…’
Taking another step back, Dokgo Wi-hak drew his sword and slashed diagonally downward in defense.
Pang-pang-pang-bang!
His defense was like an iron wall.
Though Dokgo Myeong pierced through the tiniest gaps and pressed his assault relentlessly, Dokgo Wi-hak parried every single strike.
‘But when did I shift from offense to defense?’
The moment Dokgo Wi-hak tensed his grip to seize the initiative once more.
Boom!
Dokgo Myeong pressed forward with another strike.
‘What is this?’
It was an attack of tremendous speed.
For a moment he wondered if it was a technique from beyond the heavens, but he soon recognized it as a move he knew well.
‘The Eight Divine Powers? An evolution of the Solitary Yang Divine Sword!’
By coincidence, this technique perfectly countered the defensive move of the Heavenly Stream Divine Sword that Dokgo Wi-hak had just been employing.
Boom!
Dokgo Wi-hak lost his balance and stumbled backward, driven back.
‘My defense….’
Crack!
In that instant, Dokgo Myeong planted his feet and thrust his sword forward again.
Overwhelmed by the relentless barrage of attacks, he found himself pushed back, and he could feel his son’s sword force growing stronger with each exchange.
It was the Limitless Heaven Breaking Scripture, a footwork technique that Dokgo Wi-hak had also helped perfect.
Boom!
Having retreated three full steps backward, Dokgo Wi-hak exclaimed in admiration.
“Remarkable!”
Admiration flowed naturally from witnessing his son’s achievement.
It wasn’t that his son was lacking in inner energy or clever stratagems. He was pushing forward purely through superior swordsmanship.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The wooden swords collided repeatedly, producing thunderous explosions.
Dokgo Myeong let out a hollow laugh as he regarded Dokgo Wi-hak.
‘I’m clearly executing my second technique, the Sword Breaking Form, properly. Yet… I haven’t landed a single clean hit.’
He simply hadn’t yet caught up to Dokgo Wi-hak’s tremendous understanding and depth regarding the sword.
Then, Dokgo Wi-hak’s voice reached him.
“Focus.”
“Gasp!”
Whoosh! Boom!
A lightning-swift strike that exploited the gap created by a momentary lapse in concentration.
Dokgo Myeong barely managed to block and evade. In that instant, the rhythm between the Limitless Heaven Breaking Scripture and the Nine Defeat Sword shattered.
‘Damn!’
The moment Dokgo Myeong’s eyes widened in dismay, Dokgo Wi-hak pressed deeper.
“Once you retreat, your momentum breaks. It’s not a flaw in the technique itself, but rather a deficiency in your understanding.”
“…!”
“Block this. Upper left.”
Screech!
Dokgo Myeong’s feet scraped across the ground as he slid backward.
Sizzle!
Though it was clearly a wooden sword, his sleeve was cut clean as if severed by lightning.
“You seemed confident. Surely this isn’t the end?”
“Not yet!”
Dokgo Myeong charged forward with spirited determination.
A faint smile crossed Dokgo Wi-hak’s face.
‘The Nine Defeats Sword Technique. So this is what it truly is?’
Crash! Screech!
Now he was beginning to understand what kind of martial art the Nine Defeats Sword Technique truly was.
In martial arts, techniques were systems and methods designed for victory. Upon reaching higher realms, one would naturally break free from such frameworks, but broadly speaking, they never escaped the domain of interpretation, application, and variation.
‘But the Nine Defeats Sword is different. It doesn’t unfold techniques within a framework.’
It wasn’t truly without techniques because it lacked them.
Rather, it was the wonder of having no set techniques precisely because it adapted to the opponent without any system, deploying techniques freely and without constraint.
‘Reading the move and countering it… no, being able to counter even before the move is made. It destroys the person themselves.’
It was impossible. It lay beyond the bounds of martial knowledge.
Unless one was several moves ahead of their opponent, or knew the counters to their opponent’s techniques in advance, or had mastered mind-reading arts.
‘One would need to create entirely new techniques and fresh applications of vital energy with each moment. Without enlightenment that pierces through all martial knowledge and an enormous level of practical experience, it would be impossible for the human mind and experience to achieve. But…’
Dokgo Myeong possessed Sensory Knot.
A mysterious supreme technique that read everything transcending human perception.
‘Because of Sensory Knot, the Nine Defeats Sword can be perfected.’
The path that Sensory Knot revealed was the path forward with the Nine Defeats Sword. As if it had been destiny from the very beginning.
In that instant, Dokgo Wi-hak’s eyes gleamed.
“But you still have far to go. Even a divine technique of unprecedented brilliance, if incomplete, is inferior to third-rate martial arts!”
“Then allow me to show you the power of that third-rate martial art!”
Crash!
The father and son, who bore a striking resemblance, were sent flying to opposite ends of the training ground with a thunderous explosion.
Having long since forgotten they were supposed to be conducting a friendly sparring match, both now wrapped sinister vital energy around their wooden swords.
Boom!
Both men struck the ground simultaneously.
Two sword lights crossed at the exact midpoint between them.
Crash!
Splinter!
Something flew into the air with a thunderous sound.
What came flying up and then plunged into the ground was none other than the broken end of a wooden sword.
The father and son stared at each other for a moment, then slowly lowered their stances.
“It was a draw.”
Dokgo Myeong closed his mouth.
“That was my defeat.”
“No.”
“How can you say that? Just look at my condition.”
Dokgo Myeong slightly raised both arms to show.
His hair was disheveled and tangled, and his martial robes were torn to shreds.
In contrast, Dokgo Wi-hak’s clothing was merely slightly disheveled.
Moreover, Dokgo Myeong’s wooden sword had a clean cut surface, while Dokgo Wi-hak’s wooden sword had a rough one.
“Whew, I was wondering if I’d finally get to land a blow on Father.”
“You speak without restraint to your aging father.”
“Aging? Even with a bit of exaggeration, wouldn’t you say I could pass you off as my older brother or uncle rather than my father?”
“Always flattering with that mouth of yours.”
Dokgo Wi-hak let out a small chuckle and asked.
“You said you were still at the entry stage?”
“Yes.”
“It seems like a martial art that grows stronger the deeper the enlightenment becomes, the more concrete the experience. At just the entry stage, this level….”
It would still be difficult to use in actual combat, but once the level improved, it would truly be shocking.
Perhaps I could even defeat opponents several levels above me through sheer martial art superiority alone.
Dokgo Wi-hak smiled wryly.
“I failed as a parent, yet you’ve climbed this far on your own. I have no face to show you, your father.”
Dokgo Myeong straightened the front of his martial robe and blurted out a remark.
“If that troubles you, why not seize this opportunity and leap forward yourself?”
“Hmm?”
“There’s no need for you to remain in place anymore, is there?”
It wasn’t a casual remark—it had substance to it.
Dokgo Wi-hak’s eyes widened.
“Are you telling me to challenge myself at this age?”
“What does your age matter? The Sect Leader of the main family challenged himself at an even more advanced age and created such a remarkable divine technique.”
“….”
“And there are many other paths besides martial arts, are there not?”
Dokgo Wi-hak let out a hollow laugh watching his son laugh so refreshingly.
“So that’s what all this talk about age was leading to?”
“Well, not exactly….”
“Hehe.”
My son was doing the role I should have played. I felt ashamed at being such an inadequate father, yet my chest swelled with pride in him.
“Very well, I’ll think about it.”
Dokgo Myeong turned his head sharply.
“You promise?”
“Didn’t I just say I would?”
“Hehehehe.”
Dokgo Wi-hak, laughing along as if to say he couldn’t stop his son, changed the subject.
“Didn’t you say you were going to visit the Dharma Protector Division today?”
“Yes, I was planning to go after wiping off some sweat.”
“Mm.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Haven’t you sensed anything from the family’s atmosphere?”
The family’s atmosphere?
Wasn’t it always the case that this family’s atmosphere was suffocating from the start?
“Has something happened?”
“Well, recently the Elder Council Leader….”
At those words, Dokgo Myeong’s expression hardened.
Dokgo Myeong immediately headed toward the Enforcement Division.
Though he held the title of Chong-sa, Dokgo Jo-hak was conducting business in the office of the Enforcement Division Leader, and he greeted him.
“You certainly arrive early. So this is the Enforcement Division Leader.”
“No, isn’t this the Division Leader’s office? Why are you here, Uncle?”
“I’m practically the Division Leader myself, so if you don’t like it, feel free to drive me out.”
Why was his killing intent rising so sharply?
“By the way, what happened to the Elder Council Leader?”
Dokgo Jo-hak set down his brush with a sharp tap and spoke with a somewhat hardened face.
“Well, you’re asking about the Alliance Leader. Yes. You might not know about this.”
“What happened?”
“About five days ago, he suddenly collapsed.”

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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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