The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 3

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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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3
Woo Geom-san Contends for Hegemony
The boy’s eyelids trembled weakly.
A moment later, he managed to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the ceiling of a thatched cottage riddled with gaping holes.
Though he had opened his eyes, the boy remained utterly motionless.
Like a broken doll, he simply stared blankly up at the ceiling.
Light only began to return to the boy’s pupils when a large moon came into view through the holes in the thatched roof.
Bathed in the moonlight, his pupils constricted and gleamed with a faint, soft radiance.
After a brief silence, the boy parted his lips.
“Am I… alive?”
His throat was completely parched, making his voice sound incredibly hoarse and raspy.
He had merely muttered a few words, yet his throat throbbed with a tearing pain. Even so, the boy did not care about the discomfort.
The only thing that mattered was that he was still breathing.
The excruciating agony racking his entire body served as a stark reminder that he was, indeed, alive.
The boy slowly retraced his memories.
Like a hopelessly tangled ball of yarn, his mind was a jumbled mess.
It felt as though someone had violently stirred his brain with a massive ladle.
Just the sheer effort of trying to remember made his head feel like it was about to split open. Nevertheless, the boy did not give up and forced himself to focus.
His efforts were not in vain; after a short while, his intact memories came flooding back.
‘I was definitely traveling on the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel when we ran into water bandits. They slaughtered the passengers, and I stepped forward to stop them, but then…’
He had trained in martial arts since early childhood.
He possessed a particular fondness for fist techniques and had never been lazy in his daily practice. But even so, he was merely a fifteen-year-old child.
Furthermore, he had been forced to leave his clan at the time due to unavoidable circumstances, leaving his mind in utter turmoil.
Even in peak physical condition, victory would have been uncertain; throwing himself into battle with a scattered mind meant the outcome was painfully obvious.
The price for his reckless intervention had been severe.
His right fist, the absolute lifeblood of a striker, had been utterly crushed, and he had sustained grievous wounds to both his dantian and his chest.
They were fatal injuries; it wouldn’t have been strange if he had died on the spot.
‘But how on earth am I still alive?’
He had been thrown into the river after suffering those mortal wounds.
It was a situation where survival should have been absolutely impossible, no matter what. Yet here he was, breathing.
The boy raised his head slightly.
Perhaps because he had been lying unconscious for so long, even that tiny movement brought a wave of intense agony.
Tilting his chin up, he looked down at his own right hand.
The right hand that had undoubtedly been gruesomely crushed had regained its original shape, albeit looking rough and misshapen.
Though it was severely swollen, the fingers twitched slightly when he tried to channel his strength.
The attempt cost him a sharp, stinging pain, but the mere fact that his hand could move at all made the torment entirely bearable.
After confirming his hand had been mended, the boy shifted his gaze toward his chest and lower abdomen.
Thick, heavy scabs had formed over the neatly cleansed wounds.
It was clear that someone had rescued him and tended to his injuries.
‘Who could it be?’
The boy rolled his eyes to scan his left and right surroundings.
Not far off to his left, he spotted an elderly Taoist sitting cross-legged.
Since the boy was also trained in martial arts, he instantly recognized that the old Taoist was in the middle of circulating his energy.
Naturally, speaking to or disturbing someone during energy circulation was a cardinal taboo in the Jianghu.
Therefore, the boy clamped his mouth firmly shut.
Though he was burning with questions, now was not the time to speak.
Exercising great patience, the boy waited for the old Taoist to finish his meditation. However, the old man’s energy circulation showed no signs of ending.
With his lips sealed tight, the boy carefully examined the old man’s entire body.
The Taoist robe, which must have originally been blue, was torn to shreds in various places and discolored into a dark, brownish red.
Through the tears in the fabric, he could glimpse wounds that looked incredibly severe.
The flesh around the lacerations had turned necrotic, as if the old man had completely missed the window for proper treatment.
‘Did he miss the chance to treat his own wounds because he was too busy healing mine?’
The boy had no way of knowing how the old Taoist had sustained such terrible injuries. Yet, one thing was perfectly clear.
Given the phenomenal skill required to save his life, the old man could have easily treated his own wounds without much trouble.
And yet, the fact that his injuries had been neglected to the point of necrosis made it easy to deduce that it was all because of him.
The boy was profoundly moved by the old Taoist’s actions, risking his own life to save a complete stranger.
The mere realization that someone had reached out a saving hand to him, who had been helplessly cast out alone into the world, seemed to melt his frozen heart.
He felt he had to stand up, if only for the sake of the old Taoist who had risked his own life to heal him. He believed that was the only way to repay the monumental grace of saving his life.
With that thought, the boy forced himself to try and sit up.
However, because he had been bedridden for too long, his body was stiff and his muscles had completely withered away, leaving him without an ounce of strength.
On top of that, his wounds were far from fully healed, and the slightest movement triggered a torrential wave of pain. Even so, the boy did not let out a single groan.
He was terrified that he might inadvertently disturb the old Taoist’s energy circulation.
He had barely managed to lift his upper body a fraction, yet bead-like drops of sweat were already pouring down his entire frame.
‘Urgh!’
The boy desperately suppressed a groan as he forced his torso upward.
His entire body screamed out in agony.
It was painful enough to make him think it would have been easier if he had just died.
He wanted to give up, but the boy clenched his teeth tightly and forced his upper body completely upright.
‘Haa… Haa…’
He had merely sat up, yet his breath hitched violently at the back of his throat. Still, he bit his lip to prevent any loud noise from escaping.
As his body moved, the scabs pulled taut, and a small amount of blood began to seep through. Fortunately, the bleeding wasn’t severe.
It was proof that fresh flesh was knitting together beneath the crust.
The boy bowed his head deeply toward the old Taoist.
‘Thank you… for saving my life.’
***
‘Fortunately, he is not a boy of wicked nature.’
Normally, when one sinks into a deep trance of energy circulation, they become entirely oblivious to the external world.
This is because all five senses are focused entirely inward, tracking the flow of qi within the body. Thus, a martial artist is at their most vulnerable during Qi Meditation and Breathing.
However, that rule only applied to ordinary martial artists.
A martial artist who had reached Baek Ho-yang’s profound realm could perceive and react to every single external movement even while immersed deep within a trance of energy circulation.
Baek Ho-yang had been observing every single one of the boy’s movements without missing a beat from the exact moment he regained consciousness.
Despite having a mountain of questions, the boy had remained remarkably composed.
Even after calmly turning his head to confirm his presence, he did not move rashly.
Fearing that he might disrupt the Qi Meditation and Breathing, the boy had held his breath and moved with the utmost care.
Even after hoisting his upper body up, he refrained from any reckless actions and quietly waited for him to wake up.
It was a manner of conduct possible only for someone whose consideration for others was deeply ingrained in their very being. His cautious yet profoundly grateful mindset was also highly agreeable.
Although his internal energy had not yet fully recovered, Baek Ho-yang decided to conclude his Qi Meditation and Breathing at this point.
“Fuuu.”
As Baek Ho-yang exhaled a shallow sigh and opened his eyes, the boy flinched in startle.
The boy hastily bowed his head and spoke.
“I thank you deeply for the grace of saving my life. Thanks to you, Benefactor, I was able to preserve my breath. I will repay this monumental debt even if I must dedicate this entire life to it.”
“If you do that, would it not make the immense effort I spent saving you completely meaningless? I went through all that trouble to keep you alive; if you go off and die again, imagine how empty I would feel. Speak no more of such things.”
“Ah!”
“How is your body feeling?”
“I am perfectly fine.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, that is…”
“There is no way you could be fine.”
“……”
The boy’s words caught in his throat.
Facing those deep, profound black eyes that seemed to see through absolutely everything, he realized it was entirely impossible to hide the truth. Thus, he decided to speak honestly.
“It hurts a great deal. And it is quite uncomfortable…”
“Have you tried circulating your energy?”
“I… I did attempt it.”
“Then you must already know that your dantian has been severely damaged.”
“Yes.”
“I am sorry. My abilities were lacking, so I could not perfectly heal your dantian and right hand. You will likely never be able to practice intense martial arts as you did before.”
“It is… fine.”
“It is fine?”
“Am I not still alive, regardless?”
“So, it is enough that you survived?”
As Baek Ho-yang wore an intrigued expression, the boy calmly explained his thoughts.
“When I plunged into the water, I thought I was a dead man for sure. But as I realized the final sight of my life would be nothing but murky, muddy water, a profound sense of unfairness washed over me. I lost consciousness regretting that I hadn’t seen more of the world’s beautiful scenery. Yet, when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was moonlight. I have never seen such a beautiful moon before. It was the most magnificent sight I have ever witnessed in my entire life. Since I am now granted the chance to see more of such landscapes, what does it matter if my body is a little broken?”
“You possess a Taoist vessel.”
“Pardon?”
“It is exactly as I said. You have a vessel perfectly suited for the Taoist Sect. If you meet a good master and devote yourself properly, you will surely achieve immense progress.”
“Me, a Taoist vessel? I have never once thought of myself in that way.”
“It is not just you; everyone is like that. How could a young child who has yet to experience the ways of the world possibly know where his true purpose and talents lie?”
“Then… must I enter the Taoist Sect?”
“How ironical fate is.”
“Pardon?”
“It would not appear no matter how desperately I searched for it, yet it reveals itself only after I have abandoned Quanzhen. The will of heaven is truly incomprehensible. I wonder what it truly desires from this old man.”
Baek Ho-yang looked up at the sky.
The decline of the Quanzhen Sect was not due to any other reason.
It was simply because they could not find a successor worthy of inheriting their vast knowledge and martial arts.
No matter how exceptionally talented an individual was, it was an absolute ironclad rule of the Quanzhen Sect never to pass down the heritage if they did not possess a Taoist vessel.
There were only a handful of such vessels in the entire world.
And those rare talents were always snatched up first by grand sects like Wudang or the Mount Hua Sect. Furthermore, the youths themselves naturally preferred those prestigious factions.
For that reason, Baek Ho-yang had spent decades wandering the lands in search of a disciple to inherit the secret heritage of Quanzhen, but had ultimately failed to find one.
Just when his worries were piling up like a mountain, fearing that the lineage of Quanzhen would be completely severed in his generation, the war between the Cheonmyeong Association and the Nine Great Sects erupted.
Having joined the war due to his ties with Hui Kong of Shaolin, Baek Ho-yang bore witness to the absolute rock bottom of human nature.
He learned that there was no absolute good, nor was there any absolute evil.
Those he had viewed favorably were not saints, and even those he considered wicked had their own tragic circumstances.
Baek Ho-yang’s own hands had also been stained with the blood of countless lives.
Because he had lived a life purer than anyone else, Baek Ho-yang had possessed immense pride in himself. However, that pride had been utterly shattered, and he could no longer view himself as a righteous man.
He believed he had lost the right to remain within the Taoist fold.
Therefore, he cast aside his Taoist name.
He felt too deeply ashamed to use the Taoist name ‘Cheongjeong,’ which had been bestowed upon him by his master.
Deep within his heart, Baek Ho-yang had let go of the Quanzhen Sect.
‘To think a Taoist vessel would appear right after I abandoned all lingering attachments. The will of heaven is truly mischievous.’
Baek Ho-yang let out a heavy sigh.
Spilled water can never be gathered back into the cup.
He had firmly declared that he was no longer a Taoist priest; he could not shamelessly claim to be one again at this point.
‘Does this mean I must raise this Taoist vessel not as a priest of Quanzhen, but merely as an old village man?’
To make matters worse, the boy who appeared to be a Taoist vessel was far from a whole state.
He had no idea how to train a boy whose body was so fragile it could shatter at any moment, like cracked glass.
Baek Ho-yang gazed deep into the boy’s eyes.
Despite his tender age, a strange, profoundly deep profound aura emanated from them. Looking into those eyes, all his prior anxieties suddenly felt entirely meaningless.
‘Yes! Let us give it a try. If his vessel is truly grand, it will contain everything, and if not, we can simply spend the rest of our days together, can we not?’
Baek Ho-yang spoke to the boy.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes!”
The boy answered without even a single moment of hesitation.
Just like Baek Ho-yang, the boy had also felt a powerful sense of destiny calling to him from the old man.
The old man who had abandoned his master’s sect and the boy who had nowhere else to go thus became companions on the road.

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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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