The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 27

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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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27
The Fight for the Sword
“Phew!”
Woo Geom-san, who had been pulling weeds, straightened his back for a moment and let out a sigh.
Although he had become much more used to it than before, working with his back bent for a long time still made his lower back ache.
Loosening up his stiff neck and waist for a moment, Woo Geom-san looked around.
Woo Geom-san was working completely alone in the massive rice paddy.
Baek Do-gyeong, who always worked with him, had gone up to the tea plantation today.
This was because the time to harvest the tea leaves was drawing near.
Once Baek Do-gyeong inspected the condition of the tea leaves and decided to harvest, all the village people would be mobilized to pluck them.
Neither the elderly over seventy nor the young children barely seven or eight years old could be exempted.
This was because they could only buy the goods necessary for the village by selling the tea they harvested together.
Therefore, when this period arrived, the attention of the village people was entirely focused on the tea plantation. Thus, Baek Do-gyeong, who usually only cared about rice farming, left the paddy work to Woo Geom-san and went to the tea plantation.
Though he suddenly ended up doing the paddy work alone, Woo Geom-san did not harbor the slightest complaint.
Rather, he liked that he could work quietly by himself.
Working together with Baek Do-gyeong and the other village people was good too, but working alone had different advantages that he enjoyed.
Namely, he could train in his Martial Arts.
Swish! Swish!
Woo Geom-san walked smoothly between the rice plants.
He was moving into the empty spaces between each stalk of rice.
Woo Geom-san believed that he did not necessarily need to train only in a forest dense with trees.
The rice stalks growing in the paddy were packed just as densely as the trees of a forest. If so, he figured he could also train in Dapgong here.
Closing his eyes as he moved, he pulled weeds with his hands.
His right hand, which he had rehabilitated using Steel Balls and a Needle, smoothly picked and pulled only the weeds.
Although he had not regained his former grip strength, the movement of his fingers had actually become much more delicate.
Even with his eyes closed, Woo Geom-san plucked out only the weeds cleanly without touching a single rice plant.
There was no need to deliberately separate training from daily life.
Daily life itself was training.
Woo Geom-san moved smoothly as if he were dancing.
“Whew!”
Only after a considerable amount of time had passed did Woo Geom-san stop, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Perhaps because he was not yet accustomed to the movements, he could not sustain it for long.
Only by taking a brief rest like this to relax his stiffened body and regulate his breathing could he apply the principles of Dapgong again.
After resting for a moment, Woo Geom-san deployed Dapgong once more and strolled between the rice plants. Butterflies nearby flew over and fluttered around, following Woo Geom-san.
“That rascal!”
Baek Ho-yang was watching that sight of Woo Geom-san from afar.
He was a praiseworthy grandson.
Applying Martial Arts to daily life was not something that could be done simply by having a strong obsession with Martial Arts.
It was something that could only be done if one truly enjoyed the very process of learning Martial Arts itself.
The law dictates that those who play cannot defeat those who effort, and those who effort cannot defeat those who enjoy.
In that regard, Woo Geom-san was born with the ultimate talent.
“There’s no need to worry about him adapting.”
Woo Geom-san was already melting in as a member of the village.
The people, who had sent suspicious glances at first, acknowledged him after seeing Woo Geom-san working alongside them every single day.
The elders treated him like their own biological grandson, and the young children followed him like an older brother.
In particular, the youngest twin siblings in the village liked Woo Geom-san.
Nam Mu-rin.
Nam I-yeon.
They were the children who had been playing in the brook on his very first day entering the village.
After Woo Geom-san settled in the village, the ones he liked most were indeed the twin siblings.
The twin siblings came to find him every day and pestered Woo Geom-san to play with them. Without making a single displeased expression, Woo Geom-san played with them for one Shijin every day.
After watching Woo Geom-san for a short while, Baek Ho-yang soon shifted his steps toward the mountain.
The place he headed to was a mountain peak located on the eastern side of the village.
The appearance of the towering mountain peak looked exactly like an archer drawing a bow. Therefore, it was named Houyi Peak after Hou Yi, the legendary master archer of myth.
Houyi Peak was just as rugged and precipitous as it looked.
If one were to take a wrong step by any chance, they would plunge into a bottomless abyss, and even their corpse would not be found.
The weather at the summit of Houyi Peak, enveloped in clouds, was fickle; lightning struck frequently, and heavy downpours occurred often. For that reason, even the people living in Yunjung Village did not dare entertain the thought of approaching it.
Yet Baek Ho-yang walked along that dangerous Houyi Peak as comfortably as if it were flat ground.
To him, who had mastered the Flowing Void Steps, a mountain path like this could not pose any danger whatsoever.
Even without him consciously thinking, his feet naturally moved toward the safest spots.
Once he ascended to a certain point, a cliff that was close to vertical appeared.
It was the final gateway heading to the summit of Houyi Peak.
Swish!
Baek Ho-yang kicked off the earth and soared high into the air.
When he had soared about a hundred feet, he kicked off the cliff face once more and leapt upward.
It was the movement art of Qi-Sustained Soaring.
The figure of Baek Ho-yang kicking off the wall and soaring up was just like a bird taking flight.
The closer he got to the summit of Houyi Peak, the harsher the wind became.
Even Baek Ho-yang was nearly swept away by the wild wind and blown far into the distance. However, Baek Ho-yang managed to break through all those obstacles and reach the summit of Houyi Peak.
Baek Ho-yang stood on the summit of Houyi Peak and surveyed his surroundings.
“So this is what it looks like.”
The summit of Houyi Peak was so cramped that it would be packed if three or four adults stood on it.
Right in the center of the summit sat a flat rock, which was of a size that would be quite good to use as an alternative for a chair.
This was the first time Baek Ho-yang had ever climbed to the summit of Houyi Peak.
When he lived in Yunjung Village during his childhood, he had not dared dream of climbing Houyi Peak.
This was because Houyi Peak, which consisted of cliffs that were nearly vertical on all four sides, did not readily permit the ascent of anyone whose Martial Arts were immature.
As if welcoming the human who had climbed to the summit of Houyi Peak for the first time, a gust of wind blew by and swept the densely gathered clouds far away.
Thanks to that, his field of vision completely opened up.
The scenery viewed from the summit of Houyi Peak was truly beautiful.
The mountain range extending north and south centered around Cheonbaeksan was just like the spine of a dragon.
Yunjung Village, situated right in the middle of the dragon’s spine, was also visible.
Yunjung Village, blocked by mountains on all sides, was a natural fortress in its own right.
It was so perfectly isolated that no enemy would ever dare think of invading.
And that was precisely the problem.
At the very least, the path that allowed easy travel to and from the village had been blocked by a landslide, and to go outside, one had to make a long detour around the dragon-spine-like mountain range.
While it would not be much of a problem for an expert of Baek Ho-yang’s caliber, it would likely take about ten to fifteen days for an ordinary person to make the detour.
And that was only if they managed to descend safely.
Because the detour route was so rough and rugged, it seemed impossible to guarantee that one could descend safely.
“Whew!”
Baek Ho-yang let out a sigh.
In a little while, they would harvest the tea.
Just because they harvested the tea did not mean they could sell it right away.
They had to roast the tender tea leaves in a large cauldron, rub the roasted leaves on a bamboo tray to stabilize their aroma and shape, and then dry them.
This series of operations was incredibly delicate, consuming a considerable amount of time and labor.
To harvest all the tea from the plantation covering the mountain ridge and process it into a sellable form, it would take more than a month even if every single person in the village joined in.
To go out and sell the tea made with such difficulty, they practically had to traverse the entire massive mountain range.
It was far too dangerous and inefficient.
Baek Ho-yang wanted to help the village people.
He wanted to make it possible for them to descend the mountain a little more easily and comfortably. To do that, he had to find a new path.
That was why he had climbed to the summit of Houyi Peak.
It was because he could overlook the entire mountain range from this summit.
After scrutinizing every nook and cranny of the mountains for a long time, Baek Ho-yang’s eyes gleamed.
“No matter how I look at it, there is no place but that one.”
The place he took note of was the canyon to the east of Yunjung Village.
The canyon, formed by a bottomless abyss, was so wild and perilous that even the village people did not dare dream of approaching it.
As for whether there truly was a path that a person could travel on, he would have to go and check for himself.
Having solidified his resolve, Baek Ho-yang lightly kicked off the cliff face like a mountain goat and descended the mountain.
***
“Big brother! Wait for us.”
“Oppa!”
Children with similar faces followed closely behind Woo Geom-san.
It was Nam Mu-rin and Nam I-yeon, the twin siblings.
The two children pestered him to play with them as soon as Woo Geom-san finished his paddy work and returned home.
The twin siblings particularly liked and followed Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san also did not find the children who tagged along persistently to be a nuisance, and he played with them.
The twin siblings reminded Woo Geom-san of his own younger siblings.
Woo Geom-san had two older brothers and as many as four younger biological siblings.
Among them, there were also twins just like Nam Mu-rin and his sister.
When Woo Geom-san left the Woo Family Manor, they were young children who could not even take proper steps yet.
The lateborns, whom his parents had had in their middle ages, received the love of the entire family.
Whenever he looked at Nam Mu-rin and his sister, he thought of those children.
‘They must have grown a lot by now.’
A bitter smile floated upon the corners of Woo Geom-san’s mouth.
The fact that he could not watch those children grow up weighed on his mind.
In his current state, there was no telling when he could promise to return to the Woo Family Manor.
Perhaps he might never be able to see them again like this for eternity.
Maybe that was why he felt more affection toward Nam Mu-rin and his sister.
Woo Geom-san hung out and played with the children for a long time before sending them back to their home.
Though he wished to play with them all day in his heart, it was because he too had work to do.
Namely, training in Martial Arts.
He entered the forest where trees grew densely.
This was to train in the Flowing Void Steps in earnest.
Woo Geom-san traveled through the forest, deploying the Flowing Void Steps.
He fell down countless times and collided with trees.
Even so, Woo Geom-san did not let out a single sound of crying; he simply dusted himself off, stood up, and trained in the Flowing Void Steps again.
By the time he dragged his exhausted body back home, it was after the sun had already set.
“Huh? Has he not returned yet?”
Woo Geom-san wore a puzzled expression as he looked around the house, where no sign of a human presence could be felt.
The figure of Baek Ho-yang, who ought to be home by this hour, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did he go?”
Though he felt a momentary curiosity, Woo Geom-san soon dismissed his concern and drew water from the well to wash his body.
Around the time he had thoroughly washed away the dust clinging to his body like that, Baek Ho-yang returned home.
“Grandfather?”
“Have you washed? I ought to wash up a bit too.”
Though he did not know what had transpired, Baek Ho-yang was covered in dust just like Woo Geom-san.
Baek Ho-yang drew water from the well and washed his body just as Woo Geom-san had done.
“How refreshing.”
“Where did you get so covered in dust like that?”
“It turned out that way after I went rummaging through the mountains for a spell.”
“Surely you didn’t look around the entirety of Cheonbaeksan, right?”
“Not the entirety, I only looked around a portion of it.”
“Why?”
“I shall tell you the reason later. Did you have any achievements today?”
“I am catching onto what kind of feeling Stepping on the Void is, but there is simply no progress.”
“Do not be impatient. Because you are doing well even now.”
Baek Ho-yang stroked Woo Geom-san’s head.
Woo Geom-san himself might not know it, but his achievement was fast to an abnormal degree.
Even Baek Ho-yang had failed to display an achievement as rapid as Woo Geom-san’s.
Fitting for a Taoist Vessel, Woo Geom-san was a genius optimized for the Martial Arts of the Quanzhen Sect.
Both the Choyeon Simgyeol and the Flowing Void Steps possessed a high initial wall.
Countless individuals had failed to overcome this wall and despaired.
The initial entry barrier was too high, which had also provided the trigger for the decline of the Quanzhen Sect.
On the other hand, Woo Geom-san overcame this wall more easily than anyone else.
Among all the successive Sect Leaders of the Quanzhen Sect, there was no one who had crossed the entry barrier at a speed as rapid as Woo Geom-san.
Not even Baek Ho-yang, for that matter.
“Do not despair because your achievement is slow, and do not be conceited because it is fast. If you train diligently every day, you will find yourself completed before you know it.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Woo Geom-san replied politely.
He liked this time when he could have quiet conversations back and forth with Baek Ho-yang.
Although not a single drop of blood was shared between them, he felt an affection greater than that from Baek Ho-yang.
Woo Geom-san pulled out a needle and thread.
As he always did, he threaded the eye of the needle, delicately sharpening the sensations of his right hand.
By the side of that Woo Geom-san, Baek Ho-yang’s discourse on Martial Arts began.
“Your mind is like water; it splits when it meets a rock, yet it gathers together when it meets a valley. Do not chase the waves of fame and wealth, but guard the source of empty tranquility. When you are tranquil, you become bright; when you are bright, you shall connect; and when you connect, heaven and earth and you shall become one.”

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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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