The Lightning I Harbor Is Too Strong - Chapter 64

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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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Episode 64
‘I need to acquire more Buyong-hyang.’
The thought had seized him the moment he stepped out of Manmugak.
He’d found a way to resolve his immediate problem.
He’d entertained the possibility before, but now he’d confirmed it with his own eyes.
‘The answer lies on the fifth floor of Manmugak.’
Information about the four masters—stories that weren’t supposed to exist on the upper levels—had been there. He had to discover what it contained.
The trouble was that even Jung I-sin himself couldn’t fathom how he’d reached that place.
He’d somehow skipped from the third floor to the fifth……
He couldn’t deny that this entire matter had been pure chance.
‘Obtaining the Buyong-hyang was happenstance, and Yeon’s Shattering Formation working was also…… well, that part I did well.’
The Cheon-roe-gi had always been useful for breaking through formations, but Jung I-sin’s variant was on an entirely different tier.
Yeon Baek-ha had been taken aback by it—surely, with Buyong-hyang in hand, it would be worth attempting again.
“I’ll make acquiring the incense my primary objective.”
“…….”
And through it all, Eon So-ran watched him with an inscrutable gaze.
“We’ve arrived at Cheongryong Pavilion. Are you finished organizing your thoughts?”
Her curt tone startled Jung I-sin. He’d completely forgotten her presence.
‘She’ll have to play the most crucial role.’
She was the starting point for obtaining the Buyong-hyang.
Jung I-sin had decided to recommend Eon So-ran as a disciple to Dan No-baek.
Dan No-baek was searching for someone to inherit his martial arts, and hadn’t Eon So-ran spoken of her desperate need for a fateful opportunity?
‘If either of them refuses, it’ll all come to nothing…….’
But if things went well, both of them—no, all three of them including himself—could find happiness.
Jung I-sin quickly approached Eon So-ran’s side and spoke.
“You were startled, weren’t you? I’m sorry—I was far too abrupt.”
“……If it’s you, there must surely have been purpose behind it. I was simply taken aback, that’s all.”
Here was Eon So-ran, failing to honor her promise. Given her nature, she likely carried a spiritual debt.
More than that, she stood in a position where she could only say she’d received his favor unilaterally, so her response could only be gentle.
“So he was the founder of Manmugak. I think I’ve heard the same from Yeong. They say he’s held the position for a very long time.”
“Hmm…… he’s quite remarkable. But tell me, how much would you say the martial prowess of an Incomparable Master is worth?”
“…….”
It was an abrupt question, almost childlike in its simplicity, yet Eon So-ran stopped walking entirely, lost in thought.
After a long moment, she opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“Five years ago, when the master of the Eunha Kaebyek Sword appeared in Seomseо, Huashan sent fifteen plum-blossom sword masters, and Jongnam dispatched three of the five Jongnam swords.”
“Ah…….”
“The martial prowess of an Incomparable Master is such that even great schools and major sects mobilize their full strength in response.”
Jung I-sin couldn’t quite visualize what that full strength entailed, but from Eon So-ran’s face alone, he could see how formidable it truly was.
“That would indeed qualify as a fateful opportunity.”
“Exactly. Why even speak of it? Ask any passing Martial Adept, and you’d receive the same answer.”
Only then did Jung I-sin allow a satisfied smile to bloom on his lips. It seemed Eon So-ran would have no reason to refuse.
Surely the martial arts of Mu-jin—whether heavenly revolution or cosmic upheaval—would be no less remarkable.
He had been so confident of it, had even called him the greatest under heaven!
* * *
Jung I-sin had not unfolded the secret manual he’d received from Dan No-baek, even after learning his identity.
The true Tae-heo Ganggang-gong.
Knowing his identity made him even more reluctant to unfold it. Jung I-sin had no intention of inheriting Dan No-baek’s teachings.
But after much deliberation, he’d arrived at a single solution.
If things unfolded as he’d envisioned, wouldn’t the position of true successor to the Tae-heo Ganggang-gong naturally fall to Eon So-ran?
There were several reasons why Jung I-sin intended to recommend Eon So-ran as Dan No-baek’s disciple.
First, he’d given careful thought to those in his immediate circle.
In the current Jianghu, Jung I-sin’s pool of trustworthy people was limited.
This aligned with his reasons for seeking contact with Namgung and the Dang Clan.
‘Eon So-ran…… is a person of integrity.’
That connection might end at Cheonmu Academy, but even if she graduated safely, at least four more years remained ahead.
He would need to cultivate his own people within Cheonmu Academy as well.
Eon So-ran was the person Jung I-sin trusted second only to Mu-jin.
Though he shared considerable rapport with Bang Si-jeong, there was also a clear, distinct boundary between them—something they both clearly maintained.
Of course he trusted him, but Jung I-sin needed something deeper than that from Eon So-ran. Something beyond mere confidence.
Jung I-sin sensed that Eon So-ran stood at the threshold of crossing that boundary.
Second.
‘From the start, only she—Eon So-ran—could learn the Tae-heo Ganggang-gong.’
That strange True Qi he’d felt since their first meeting in Mugang County—the kind that seemed to possess no defining character.
The strangeness of it had grown more pronounced after he learned the Byeokcheon-ryu.
When he deployed his martial arts while riding the Flow, his True Qi occasionally demonstrated the ability to swallow other qi.
He’d always found it curious, but to think there existed a martial art that cultivated the very same qi…
‘I don’t know what the connection is, but if I refine it properly and bring it before No-baek, there’s surely bound to be a reaction.’
That was the purpose for which he’d followed her here to class.
“…… Did I do something wrong? I’ve been working hard on my cultivation with the substitute instructor, so please give me just a little more time…….”
Eon So-ran, who had been walking ahead, wore a pained expression.
Realizing he’d misunderstood, he shook his head hastily.
“I only need you to arrange meetings with the substitute instructor until I graduate.”
“Then why are you following me like this!”
“Didn’t we agree to take the Byeokcheon-ryu class together?”
“…… You’re really going to attend?”
Her pained expression crumpled in an instant.
The Byeokcheon-ryu class had been held once before, and at that time Eon So-ran had complained to Jung I-sin that the lesson content was a disaster.
She’d suggested in jest that it would be better to simply spar with her instead, but it seemed she’d been serious.
“It’s filled only with Martial Adepts in circumstances similar to mine.”
“What kind of…… ?”
“Ones whose masters are worthless people.”
“Ah.”
“The assigned instructor’s reputation isn’t good at all. For you it would be a waste of time.”
“It doesn’t matter. My purpose from the outset is you, anyway.”
……
He met her eyes, speaking with the hope that his sincerity would reach her.
Eon So-ran flinched for a moment, then whipped her head away.
“W—well, that works out! Since no one in the class understands the Flow, I’ve been bored too! Today I’ll definitely show you something special. Come on!”
He had no idea how the intention to make him a disciple of an Incomparable Master had somehow become showing him a chin thrust, but Jung I-sin hurried after Eon So-ran nonetheless.
“I’m Mo Yun-chung, substitute for Professor O-seok.”
Indeed, the first impression of the substitute for the Byeokcheon-ryu instructor was the worst possible.
O-seok was nowhere to be seen.
“…… I am Jung I-sin.”
To begin with, the Byeokcheon-ryu had felt like a special elective. Given the distinctive nature of the martial art itself, those who wanted to learn it studied, and those who didn’t, didn’t have to.
“Ha! Now that your worthlessness is exposed, I suppose you wanted to grab any rope in sight, no matter how rotten.”
There was no reason to hear such talk from a substitute instructor just for missing one class.
It would have been strange even if the professor himself had said it, but to receive such an outburst from a mere substitute…
Mo Yun-chung was a man of short stature with remarkably thick, muscular arms.
And…… the hostility in his eyes was far too vivid. Despite being someone Jung I-sin was meeting for the first time.
Before an inexplicable hostility, and with the urge to create a reason for that hostility, a different thought rose up instead.
“My apologies.”
Jung I-sin, who had been looking down at Mo Yun-chung, bowed his head.
There was something more important than flattering him with honeyed words or continuing the argument with excuses.
“Where do you sit, Eon So-ran?”
“Over…… that way.”
He heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue behind him, saying he was being presumptuous, but he didn’t turn around.
‘Unless I gave him a Buyong-hyang or something.’
Even among his peers, more and more had begun to eye Jung I-sin with suspicion, so it wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar situation. Though it was somewhat unexpected that a substitute instructor would do so as well.
“Professor O-seok isn’t a formal professor yet. He’s failed the professor examination three years running, they say.”
“Professors must take examinations? I can certainly understand why he failed, though.”
“Of course. Given the standing of Cheonmu Academy, we can’t just hire anyone. There’s heaven and earth between a temporary instructor and a formal professor. Whether it’s martial skill or the quality of one’s judgment…… or anything really.”
This was meant to tell Jung I-sin to pay no attention to Mo Yun-chung’s words.
Jung I-sin let out a small laugh and nodded.
“So it appears. Though I wonder why the very Byeokcheon-ryu he’s supposed to teach remains untaught, while he crawls about on the ground instead.”
Mo Yun-chung, who had gathered roughly sixteen Martial Adepts, began the class.
He shouted something unintelligible, then without warning began rolling across the ground and repeating quadrupedal sprints.
At Jung I-sin’s question, Eon So-ran pursed her lips awkwardly.
“Look! Now he’s even climbing trees.”
“Um…… Jung I-sin.”
“Yes, go ahead. Wow, he really does move like a beast…….”
“That’s the Byeokcheon-ryu.”
“……What?”
* * *
Byeokcheon-ryu.
The martial art that Eon So-ran had asked Jung I-sin to teach her alongside his own training.
Shockingly, that wasn’t its original name at all.
Eon So-ran elaborated further, watching Mu-jin continuously roll across the ground.
“When the instructor first discovered this secret manual, he praised it as a study without equal in the world.”
This secret manual, which had been wedged in the first floor of Manmugak, apparently had nothing written on its cover originally.
But rumors circulated that only the master of Byeokcheon-gak could have left behind martial knowledge of this caliber for Cheonmu Academy, and it eventually came to be called Byeokcheon-ryu.
Of course, many people didn’t believe that story.
“In truth, no one knows who the founder actually was.”
“I see.”
Only then did Jung I-sin understand the flaws in Byeokcheon-ryu.
He had assumed the master of Byeokcheon-ryu was indeed the master of Byeokcheon-gak.
The problem wasn’t the level of the martial art. Byeokcheon-ryu showed no consideration for its practitioners whatsoever.
It was nothing but ‘move your body’ and ‘feel the flow and ride it’—that was all.
Jung I-sin himself was at a loss as to how he’d ever grasped it.
“So everyone who learns it, and everyone who teaches it, interprets it differently.”
O-seok, it seemed, had explained Byeokcheon-ryu as a martial art that cultivated Beast Nature.
He had framed the answers to how to evade and how to strike as coming from Beast Nature and instinct.
Jung I-sin grasped a fresh truth.
‘Without clear formulas, these kinds of problems arise.’
It struck him as realistic but terribly harsh—that even the standard for entry was measured by talent alone.
A free martial art, in other words, was something that remained unestablished.
Yet it was strange that each person’s interpretation still produced its own valid effect. He wondered if this truly was the martial knowledge of the master of Byeokcheon-gak.
“The demonstration from last class was also done by Deputy Mu-jin, and now they’ve even let him conduct the class itself. It’s absurd.”
Mu-jin’s movements across the practice ground grew increasingly sharp.
It was a moment where one could glimpse the potential of Byeokcheon-ryu, but at the same time, one could feel why Byeokcheon-ryu was undervalued.
“Didn’t I tell you? That Jung I-sin teaches it better.”
Eon So-ran’s whisper from beside him was the very reason itself.
Depending on how much room for interpretation there was, the splendor of that particular Byeokcheon-ryu was determined.
“In other words, if the interpretation is poor…… it’s weak.”
“You!!”
Indeed, his senses sharpened like a beast’s, and Mu-jin, who had just descended from the tree, stomped the ground.
He narrowed the distance, bellowing at the top of his lungs that he’d teach me some manners.
I knew well that causing trouble with academy figures—whether instructor or deputy instructor—would do me no good.
But since everyone had witnessed Mu-jin insult me first, I’d have grounds to say something later.
The deputy instructor taking over the class was another matter.
Since it seemed unlikely I’d ever attend this class again anyway…… on the other hand, my heart felt lighter.
“Byeokcheon-ryu…… or rather, my Byeokcheon-ryu is important to you, Miss Eon.”
“Watch where you’re going!”
“I don’t know the reason, but since you learned this, Miss Eon’s True Qi has been gradually growing stronger. Were you aware of that?”
“Look ahead, will you!”
In time with Eon So-ran’s cry, I spun my body. Mu-jin brushed past me.
“Your Byeokcheon-ryu training is lacking. I told you to feel the flow.”
“…… I can’t feel it that quickly!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll carve it into your body thoroughly, piece by piece.”
Whether Byeokcheon-ryu strengthened the properties of True Qi, or whether Eon So-ran simply happened to align well with Byeokcheon-ryu and something different was happening as a result, I couldn’t say.
And it didn’t much matter.
“If you realize it yourself, that’s even better…… and if not, your body remembers it all in the end.”
“Pa-ung Gyeok-so!”
The muttered words, called to mind from the abyss, were scattered and buried beneath Mu-jin’s battle cry.
“Pardon? What did you just say?”
“I said there’s nothing to worry about.”
“……What?”
What mattered now was showing Dan No-baek a proper move.
Leaving the bewildered Eon So-ran behind, Jung I-sin slipped away from the blatantly aimed current targeting his throat.
Immediately after, Mu-jin’s thick arm swept through empty space. Simultaneously, his undefended back was laid bare.
Riddled with openings. Every spot invited a strike. There was nothing to shatter.
Jung I-sin gave his shoulder a light push and swept his legs out from under him.
“Ugh…!”
Mo Yun-chung lost his balance and collapsed on the spot.
For all his ferocious prowess as a beast, he was subdued far too easily.
He tried to spring back up at once, but the dead weight pressing down on his ankle forced him to go rigid.
Jung I-sin stood over him, one foot planted on his ankle bone, his gaze utterly unmoved.
Mo Yun-chung’s expression shifted moment by moment.
Pride as a substitute instructor warred with the raw instinct born of his Beast Nature, and Jung I-sin decided to tip the scales.
Crunch—!
The moment he added a fraction more pressure with his sole, Mo Yun-chung leapt.
“Aahhh! Get out! Get out of my class this instant!”
“Well, substitute instructor, since you put it that way, an unremarkable Martial Adept can only withdraw.”
Having confirmed the bottom line of the Byeokcheon-ryu in the very same instant, his exit had turned out better than originally planned.
The Thunder I Held Was Too Strong
Author |
Woo San-yu
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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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