The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 47

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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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47
Woo Geom-san Disputing Hegemony
When the young men safely returned, all the Village people came out to the Empty Lot.
Baek Wol-sang informed the elders that they had earned as much as two hundred taels of silver this time.
The Village people were all astonished by the amount, which was a whopping four times more than the money they usually earned.
Knowing that Woo Geom-san had made a tremendous contribution to earning this much money, everyone was grateful to him.
“Thank you, Geom-san!”
“You saved us.”
At the words of the Village elders, Woo Geom-san wore an awkward expression.
Even after that, the Village people expressed their gratitude to Woo Geom-san for quite a while.
As the welcoming time grew long, Baek Do-gyeong said.
“The children must be tired from traveling a long way, so let us stop the welcoming greetings here. Everyone go back home and rest, and let us hold a grand feast tomorrow.”
“That sounds good.”
“As expected, you are wise, Village Chief!”
The Village elders agreed with Baek Do-gyeong’s words.
With that, the Village people and the young men returned to their respective homes.
The footsteps of the young men heading home were incomparably light.
Unlike before, it was because they had bought plenty of things for their families. Anxious to show them quickly, their steps naturally quickened.
Woo Geom-san also returned home together with Baek Ho-yang.
Baek Ho-yang wore a puzzled expression as he looked at the luggage loaded on the donkey’s back.
“What else did you buy so much of? Did your material desires get triggered after going out into the world for the first time in a while?”
“Ayy! How can you look at a person like that?”
“Then what?”
“I bought all of this for you, Grandfather.”
“For me?”
“Yes! Let’s go home and I’ll show you.”
“I am worried you bought something absurd.”
“If you see it, you will probably be startled.”
“This rascal…”
Baek Ho-yang looked at Woo Geom-san with a pleased expression.
It was not because he bought something for him, but because thanks to Woo Geom-san, the Village people could spend this year in abundance.
Above all, the fact that the sweat shed by the Village people received a fair reward made him happy.
The gift he said he bought for him was not even in his consideration. However, that thought completely vanished the moment Geom-san arrived at the house and unpacked the tarp.
“This is…”
“Yes! They are all Books. The old bookshop was closing down, so I bought all the books inside.”
“Exactly how many volumes is this?”
“I haven’t counted exactly, but there must be hundreds of volumes. How do you like it?”
“How could I not? It is the best gift.”
Baek Ho-yang smiled broadly.
Although he liked living in the mountains, the only drawback was that there were no Books worth reading.
To such a Baek Ho-yang, the numerous Books Woo Geom-san brought were truly the best gift.
Baek Ho-yang carefully examined the books one by one.
Numerous Books, such as Huangting Jing, Daodejing, Shanhaijing, and Tianwen, were greeting his touch in pristine condition.
In this era, it was not easy to obtain Books so well-preserved to this extent.
“It seems the old bookshop owner cherished books immensely. The condition of all of them is great!”
“He was truly a person who loved books.”
Woo Geom-san conveyed to Baek Ho-yang the story of his meeting and conversation with the bookshop owner.
After hearing his entire story, Baek Ho-yang let out a faint sigh.
“So there was such a story.”
“Yes! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to obtain so many Books all at once.”
“This too is a precious affinity. I will also cherish, store, and read these Books.”
Baek Ho-yang gently caressed the Daodejing in his hand.
Among the Books Woo Geom-san obtained, there were a significant number of scriptures related to Taoism.
To Baek Ho-yang, whose roots were in Taoism, it was a precious item that could not be exchanged for anything.
Seeing Baek Ho-yang happy upon seeing the Books, Woo Geom-san’s mood also became good in turn.
“I should arrange a remaining spare room into a library. I’ll make a bookshelf to slot the books in.”
“Are you not tired?”
“I’m fine. I’ll rest after making the bookshelf.”
“Then I leave it to you.”
“Yep!”
Woo Geom-san left Baek Ho-yang and came outside.
Through the gap in the open door, the appearance of Baek Ho-yang devouring the Books could be seen.
‘How bored must he have been all this time? I’m glad.’
He felt good because it felt like he had repaid a little bit of his debt of gratitude to Baek Ho-yang.
He rummaged through the Storehouse and took out the pieces of wood that had been stored away.
They were pieces he had collected bit by bit while cultivating in the mountains, and because they were well-dried, their condition was great.
Woo Geom-san sawed the wood and planed it with utmost care.
If he used Martial Arts, he could easily make it, but he did not want to make an item for Baek Ho-yang so carelessly.
After meticulously measuring the dimensions, he cut the wood and crafted the bookshelves precisely.
As a result of sawing and hammering all day long, four large bookshelves were made.
While he was at it, Woo Geom-san also made a chair and a table so that Baek Ho-yang could sit comfortably and read the Books.
Woo Geom-san first carried the completed bookshelves into the empty room and installed them.
Baek Ho-yang was completely absorbed in reading Books in his own room.
‘Does he like it that much? If I knew he would like it this much, I would have brought Books earlier.’
Woo Geom-san blamed his past thoughtlessness as he installed the bookshelves. Then, he began to carefully slot the Books in so as not to disturb Baek Ho-yang.
After slotting all the Books onto the bookshelves and placing the table and chair, a plausible library was completed.
“Nice!”
From that day onward, Baek Ho-yang spent a lot of time in the library Woo Geom-san made.
The rumor that Woo Geom-san had brought many Books also became known to the Village people. Then, several Village people holding the hands of their children visited Baek Ho-yang in the library.
“Elder!”
“What brings you all here?”
Baek Ho-yang looked at the Village people with a puzzled expression. Then, one of them gathered courage and spoke.
“Could you please teach my child how to read and write?”
“Read and write?”
“As for me, I am an ignorant fool who cannot read a single character, but I do not want to pass down such ignorance to my child.”
“I beg of you as well, Elder!”
“Please teach my child to read and write too.”
The Village people knelt before Baek Ho-yang and pleaded.
Baek Ho-yang hurriedly raised them up.
“Do not do this.”
“We earnestly beg of you, Elder!”
“I will teach the children to read and write, so arise quickly.”
“Is that true?”
“Until now, I could not teach because there were no books worth reading, but since there are so many books like this, there is no reason I cannot teach.”
“Thank you, Elder! Thank you so very much.”
The Village people shed tears and bowed their heads.
Just like that, Baek Ho-yang suddenly became the literacy teacher of Yunjung Village.
***
Woo Geom-san woke up early at dawn.
Even though he had been away to Guangu County for quite a long time, his habit of waking up early to cultivate did not change.
Under a large dead tree in the front Courtyard of the house, he cultivated Choyeon Simgyeol.
Woo Geom-san breathed according to the core principles of Choyeon Simgyeol. Then, the surrounding energy reacted to it and moved.
As if it were the place it originally belonged to, the Qi gathered and filled his body to the brim.
If it were an ordinary Martial Artist, they would have tightly packed and stored this Qi received into the body within the Dantian.
However, Woo Geom-san did not deliberately try to contain it inside his body.
Because he knew that rather than trapping Qi inside an incomplete Dantian, it was better to just let it flow.
Woo Geom-san merely enjoyed the mood and sensation of this moment.
Since some point, he had come to understand Baek Ho-yang’s words a little.
‘The Dao of heaven does not fill the vessel, yet it is full amidst emptiness. Even if you do not deliberately try to fill it, if needed, it will lend it to you on its own. Since this is the way to borrow the power between heaven and earth, it is more flexible and stronger than any other power.’
It was the same when dealing with Black Snake Spear Go San-gyeong at the Zhuyang Inn.
Woo Geom-san did not deliberately try to use force.
He merely grasped the opponent’s flow and carried the chair leg along that flow. Then, the energy between heaven and earth rode his body and manifested on its own through the chair leg.
No matter how strong Internal Strength Go San-gyeong possessed, at best, it was nothing more than a tiny power tightly packed and filled within a tiny Dantian.
It was not to be compared with Woo Geom-san, who naturally drew and used the energy between heaven and earth.
‘If it is like this even now, I wonder what it will be like once I reach Grand Completion in Choyeon Simgyeol.’
Originally, when one possesses strong power, it is natural to want to show off and boast in front of others.
Woo Geom-san was also like that when he was young.
He enjoyed demonstrating Fist Techniques in front of others.
Thinking about it now, it was a foolish act to the point of making his face flush hot.
To think he showed off as if he had become the Number One Expert Under Heaven with just that level of achievement.
On the other hand, although he had become incomparably stronger now compared to back then, he did not feel the desire to deliberately boast.
Perhaps it was because while learning Choyeon Simgyeol, which could be called the pinnacle of Daoist Martial Arts, his disposition had also naturally been imbued with Taoist ideology.
It was enough to learn and master it; there was no reason to deliberately boast.
Woo Geom-san mastered Choyeon Simgyeol for nearly one Shijin and then climbed the mountain.
He had come to Heokryongso, which he used as a training ground.
Even though he had left it vacant for nearly a month, Heokryongso was still exactly the same as its past appearance.
Water was still overflowing in the deep pond where a black dragon seemed likely to live.
Without hesitation, Woo Geom-san walked onto Heokryongso.
With only the soles of his feet slightly wet, he walked on top of the water as if it were flat ground.
Ripples were created with every single step.
Numerous ripples overlapped and clashed, creating new ripples.
Woo Geom-san thought that appearance was incredibly mysterious.
If it were up to his heart, he wanted to watch the appearance of ripples spreading out all day long, but today he did not have the leisure for that.
Woo Geom-san deployed Flowing Void Steps on top of Heokryongso.
Following the flow of the water, Woo Geom-san’s body moved horizontally and vertically.
There was no need to use force excessively.
Because if the will arose, the body moved, and the flow of the water pushed his body on its own.
After checking Flowing Void Steps, he immediately entered into Chaeuolsu.
The hand technique of snatching the moon unfolded softly like the dance movements of a beautiful lady.
Since he understood the flow of water and understood the flow of Qi, there was no need to force strength unreasonably.
His movements were as gentle as water, as fleeting as the wind, and as lofty as moonlight.
Finishing Chaeuolsu, Woo Geom-san picked up a tree branch floating on the water without even a moment to rest.
Swish, swish, swish!
The slender tree branch extended out softly.
Contained within the fragile tree branch, which looked as though it would break with just a poke, was an immense, tremendous force.
Woo Geom-san exquisitely controlled the power that could potentially harm even himself if something went wrong.
Every time he swung the sword, a large flow was created on the water surface.
The flow created by the blue waves was as beautiful as a painting drawn with a master’s utmost devotion.
It was a phenomenon that occurred while deploying Cheongryugyeol, the first form of the Choyen Sword Technique.
Following Cheongryugyeol was Heosilgyeol.
Countless tree branches filled the empty air to the point where one could not know which was an illusion and which was the real body.
Woo Geom-san’s movements and atmosphere, which had been engrossed in Heosilgyeol for a while, changed.
A gentle wind wrapped around his body and flowed.
Woo Geom-san moved the wind, and the wind caused the clouds to move.
It was the third form, Flowing Cloud Form.
The clouds reflected on the water surface moved according to Woo Geom-san’s hand gestures.
After playing with the clouds for a while like that, Woo Geom-san’s sword form transformed.
Woo Geom-san’s sword leaving a single point in the empty air.
It was the fourth form, Heart-Shattering Resolution.
It was a sword technique that attacked the heart, not the physical body.
Like the martial artists who learned heterodox external arts, it was a form that could be fatal to those who possessed a wicked heart.
Woo Geom-san naturally transitioned into the next form, Huifengjue.
In the past, he had always been blocked at the beginning of Huifengjue.
However, for some reason today, he had a premonition that it would go well.
Although there wasn’t any basis, Woo Geom-san wielded the tree branch with confidence.
Swish, swish, swish!
The tree branch created countless afterimages.
Between the afterimages, wind began to blow.
Woo Geom-san did not try to control the wind, nor did he try to go against it.
He merely entrusted the tree branch to the wind.
In an instant, a faint energy lingered on top of the tree branch.
That energy, which is called Sword Qi when deployed with a sword and Saber Qi when deployed with a saber, lingered on top of the tree branch.
As the tree branch manifesting Sword Qi rode the wind and toyed with heaven and earth, Huifengjue was unfolding from Woo Geom-san’s hand.
Why he suddenly became able to cross the wall and deploy Huifengjue, even Woo Geom-san did not know.
However, conjecturing, he thought it might be because the experience in Guangu County had greatly grown his body and mind.
“Is it that the Dao is not in the mountains, the Dao is among humans?”
The Dao is not only inside the mountains; it is also within humans.
This was a small enlightenment Woo Geom-san gained at this moment.

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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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