The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 35

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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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35
Woo Geom-san Competes for Supremacy
The winter snow melted under the warm sunshine and flowed down.
The water flowing from all over Cheonbaeksan gathered in a massive valley, forming a giant pond.
It was a pond called Heokryongso.
As it was the place where all the water running down from Cheonbaeksan passed through, the depth of the pond was unbelievably deep and wide.
The atmosphere truly made it feel as though a black dragon were lurking deep within its depths.
In the early morning, Heokryongso was shrouded in a thick fog, and nameless flowers were scattered everywhere in abundance.
Flowers inevitably called to bees and butterflies.
Countless bees and butterflies were flying around Heokryongso as well.
Right then, a man appeared at Heokryongso without a sound.
He was a man with striking black hair that reached down to his waist and skin so stark white it looked as though it had never touched a single ray of sunlight.
His features were as sharp as if drawn with a brush, and he stood tall and slender.
An unexplainable, mysterious aura exuded intensely from the man.
The moment the man appeared at Heokryongso, the butterflies perched on the flowers took flight all at once.
The butterflies fluttered around him as if completely enchanted.
When the man reached his hand into the air, a few butterflies lightly landed on it as if they had been waiting.
The man smiled with his eyes, watching the butterflies perched on his fingers shaking their wings.
A swallowtail butterfly with a beautiful pattern, a bright yellow butterfly, and a blue butterfly with a mysterious aura moved their wings as if they were shy.
The man gazed at the butterflies for a long time before waving his hand to let them fly away.
He took off his shoes and walked toward Heokryongso.
Stepping into water should naturally cause one to sink, but amazingly, the man stood on the water’s surface as if it were flat ground.
After savoring the texture of the water with his bare feet for a moment, he began to move in earnest.
Swoosh!
As he moved, the waters of Heokryongso rippled.
The man moved across Heokryongso as if he were dancing.
Ripples formed, but the man’s movements were so gentle that not a single drop of water splashed.
His feet were not kicking off the water to move forward; rather, it was the Suryu Haengbo, which utilized the flow of the water itself to move.
As he warmed up while moving across the water, the man’s hands began to move in earnest.
Swish, swish, swish!
His hands, which had been moving as softly as if plucking flower petals, at some point began to move forcefully as if snatching the moon, creating countless variations.
At his hand movements, numerous leaves that had fallen around Heokryongso soared into the air all at once.
Right then, the man drew the sword he carried at his waist.
The Refined Steel Sword, weaving smoothly between the countless leaves, surged like a salmon.
Following the sword’s movements, the leaves repeatedly scattered and gathered.
Holes were punched through the gathered leaves, or they were chopped into dozens of pieces.
The man looked as though he were playing on top of the water while riding the wind.
The sight of the man was incredibly mysterious.
The movements of the man, who had been playing with the leaves for a long time, suddenly stopped at one point. Then, the leaves that had been fluttering wildly in the air fell onto the water as if they had fulfilled their purpose.
The man stood on the water and took the falling leaves pouring down like rain with his whole body.
He looked down at the fallen leaves floating on the surface and opened his mouth.
“I’m getting stuck at the Huifengjue.”
The man slightly furrowing his brows was none other than Woo Geom-san.
It had already been over five years since he entered Cheonbaeksan.
The five years of time had turned him from a boy into a young man.
What changed was not merely his appearance.
His martial arts skills had also improved by leaps and bounds; he had already mastered the Heart-Shattering Resolution, the fourth form of the Choyen Sword Technique, and had begun to learn the fifth form, Huifengjue.
However, unlike the Cheongryugyeol, Heosilgyeol, Flowing Cloud Form, and Heart-Shattering Resolution, which he had learned quickly, the speed of learning the fifth form, Huifengjue, was sluggish.
The Choyen Sword Technique consisted of nine forms in total, and unlike the first four forms, the latter five forms all required great enlightenment.
It was not something achieved simply by learning the intent; it could only be perfectly mastered when accompanied by enlightenment.
Because of that, Woo Geom-san’s Choyen Sword Technique could no longer move forward from the Huifengjue. Even so, Woo Geom-san was not disappointed.
Woo Geom-san’s age was now barely twenty years old.
He was also the first person to learn the first four forms of the Choyen Sword Technique at the age of twenty.
It was an unprecedentedly rapid pace.
Since he was still young, if he continued to develop like this, he would eventually be able to master the entire Choyen Sword Technique.
Although the Choyen Sword Technique was stuck at the fifth form, a few of his martial arts, including Chaeuolsu, had reached grand completion instead. And as for the Choyeon Simgyeol, he was able to perfectly master the third stage, Muwi Eonggi.
He had reached a realm where he could understand the great flow of nature and Qi, and move them according to his own will.
For the Flowing Void Steps, he had moved past the first stage, Gongyeong Heobo, and perfectly mastered the second stage, Suryu Haengbo.
Only the final stage, Pungrim Yuyeong—that is, the stage of treading and flowing through the windy forest like a shadow—was left.
The reason Woo Geom-san could execute the Flowing Void Steps to his heart’s content without sinking into the water was precisely because he had mastered the Suryu Haengbo.
Suryu Haengbo was a lightness skill that was on a completely different dimension from the Water-Gliding Technique commonly learned by martial artists.
Executing the Water-Gliding Technique consumes an enormous amount of martial cultivation force. Therefore, unless one was a Transcendent Master, it could not be maintained for long.
On the other hand, the Suryu Haengbo, executed by perfectly understanding the nature and flow of water, did not require that much martial cultivation force.
Furthermore, since Woo Geom-san could draw in external energy and use it at any time, he could stay afloat on the water for a long period.
After finishing his dawn cultivation training at Heokryongso, Woo Geom-san stepped onto the land. Then, the butterflies welcomed him with a group dance.
Countless butterflies were flying around, but not a single one possessed the exact same color and pattern.
Every single one had a different appearance and color.
“There truly is not a single thing that is identical between heaven and earth.”
Woo Geom-san watched the group dance of the butterflies with a pleasant mind.
The brilliant group dance of the butterflies continued for nearly one sikgyeong.
As the sun rose, looking at the butterflies returning to the flowers, Woo Geom-san moved his steps.
The place he headed toward was precisely the house where Baek Ho-yang was waiting.
“Are you back?”
Baek Ho-yang welcomed Woo Geom-san with a calm voice.
The five years of time had arrived fairly not just for Woo Geom-san but also for Baek Ho-yang.
His hair and beard, which were already white, had now turned completely silver, and his wrinkles had grown even more numerous.
His shoulders had narrowed, and his back was slightly bent.
No matter how much he had mastered martial arts that could shake the world, Baek Ho-yang was also human.
As long as he was a human, there was no way to avoid aging.
To other people’s eyes, there would seem to be almost no change, but to the eyes of Woo Geom-san, who had stayed together with him for a long time, Baek Ho-yang’s aging was visible.
“Aren’t you going to undergo Bannohwandong?”
“What for?”
“Are you even capable of doing it?”
“It’s only natural for a person to grow old and die once born, so why go against the providence of nature? When you grow old too, don’t think foolish thoughts; it will be better to age gracefully and die.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Tsk! Do you want to live long even by going that far?”
“Aren’t I still young?”
“It seems your martial arts aren’t increasing, but somehow only your speech is becoming flashier.”
“Haha! Is that so?”
Woo Geom-san smiled, approached Baek Ho-yang, and massaged his shoulders and neck.
Baek Ho-yang surrendered his body to Woo Geom-san’s hands and closed his eyes.
“That’s refreshing.”
“I’m quite good at massage. Hehe!”
“Don’t smile, it makes me grow attached.”
“Aren’t we already as attached as we can be?”
“That’s why it’s a problem. We’ve grown too attached.”
“Me too.”
“Tsk!”
Baek Ho-yang smacked his tongue as if he didn’t like it, but he couldn’t hide the smile lingering around his mouth.
A smile resembling his was also lingering on Woo Geom-san’s face.
The five years of time did not merely change the appearance of the two men.
It tightly bound the two together with an affection and bond as deep as real blood relatives.
Thanks to that, they could exchange various jokes without any reservations.
Baek Ho-yang, who had been enjoying Woo Geom-san’s touch for a long time, opened his eyes and spoke.
“It’s today, right?”
“Yes! It’s today.”
“It’s been a while since you’ve gone out into the world, so you must be nervous.”
“Nervous? Not at all. It’s just troublesome.”
“You rascal! You’re speaking words you don’t even mean.”
“It’s true.”
“Alright, that’s enough, so don’t cause any trouble and go safely.”
“Am I a kid? To cause trouble? I’ll go and return quietly as if I’m not even there.”
“Right!”
Baek Ho-yang nodded his head.
It wasn’t that he said this because he didn’t trust Woo Geom-san.
With Woo Geom-san’s current achievements, there was no way he would suffer harm in the outside world.
Rather, it would be the opposite case.
There was only one thing Baek Ho-yang worried about.
‘An unripened blade ends up harming not just others but oneself as well.’
To his eyes, Woo Geom-san was not yet a completed martial artist.
A lot of time was still required to be completed.
Baek Ho-yang feared that Woo Geom-san would recklessly become drunk on power before he was completed.
Although his mental cultivation was outstanding compared to his peers, one could never know what lies ahead for a person.
However, he couldn’t just keep him nestled in his embrace forever.
He had to broaden his horizons by letting him see the world whenever an opportunity came.
Baek Ho-yang tapped Woo Geom-san’s hand, which was still placed on his shoulder, and spoke.
“Everyone will be waiting. Hurry up and go.”
“Yes! I’ll be back. Take care of your health.”
“There’s no need to worry about me.”
“I won’t worry.”
Woo Geom-san gently patted Baek Ho-yang’s hand and then walked outside.
Baek Ho-yang watched until Woo Geom-san was no longer in sight.
***
Leaving the house, the place Woo Geom-san headed toward was the empty lot in the middle of the village.
All the young men of the village were gathered in the empty lot.
Behind them, over twenty donkeys could be seen standing in a line.
An immense amount of cargo was loaded on the backs of the donkeys.
Today was the day to go sell tea in Guangu County, the village below Cheonbaeksan.
Because of that, the village people had been fully mobilized since a few days ago to harvest and roast the tea.
It was the Mingqian, harvested before the Qingming Festival.
Mingqian was made from new shoots that bloomed upon welcoming spring after enduring the harsh winter, so its fragrance was subtle and luxurious.
As they were going to sell the tea harvested for the first time this year, the faces of the village youth were full of excited expressions.
They had no complaints about life in Cheonbaeksan, but they were at an age where they still wanted to go down the mountain occasionally and experience the city.
Going to Guangu County, the village below the mountain, three or four times a year like this was the only entertainment for the youth.
The person who would lead the youth to Guangu County this year as well was Baek Wol-sang.
Baek Wol-sang looked at Woo Geom-san with a welcoming expression.
“Welcome.”
“I’m late.”
“No, you arrived just on time.”
Baek Wol-sang looked at Woo Geom-san with a warm expression.
During the five years, he had also grown very attached to Woo Geom-san and cherished him like a real younger brother.
Woo Geom-san asked Baek Wol-sang.
“So, you’re worried about bandits, right?”
“Yeah!”
The origin of the problem was last autumn.
On their way back after selling the tea, they had seen suspicious people below Cheonbaeksan.
If there had been only one or two suspicious people, the village youth wouldn’t have cared much.
Cheonbaeksan was wide and lush, so there were many precious medicinal herbs and animals. Therefore, herbalists and hunters drifted in and out quite often.
However, the people the youth saw had a different atmosphere from herbalists or hunters.
That gaze that obsessively stared at the youth was still unforgettable.
Fortunately, the number of youth was much greater back then, so they didn’t dare to approach, but the atmosphere made it seem like they would have attacked if they had judged it to be in their favor.
“It might be a needless anxiety, but since one never knows what will happen, I asked you for help.”
Just having Woo Geom-san, who had learned martial arts, accompany them couldn’t help but put his mind at ease.
“You did well. Thanks to that, I’ll get to breathe some outside air after a long time too.”
Woo Geom-san joked to the apologetic Baek Wol-sang.
“We will take care of checking the condition of the tea and selling it, so you just focus on the bandits.”
“I will.”
Nodding his head, Woo Geom-san’s heart was beating slightly faster than usual.

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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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