Ultimate Martial Venerable - Chapter 50

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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 50. Body Fusing with Heaven and Earth
A mountain emerged from between the clouds.
Yuk Beom hesitated for a moment before deciding whether to call it a mountain at all. Halfway up a peak three thousand zhang high, buildings and pavilions, towers and shops stretched endlessly, while a grand staircase of blue stone cascaded like a waterfall toward the summit. The very top had been sheared flat, as if sliced cleanly by an enormous blade. Before that severing, the mountain must have towered twice as high.
It looked less like a mountain than a vast fortress carved into the heart of a range.

“Everyone gapes when they see it for the first time.”

Han Pung clapped him on the shoulder, laughing.

“I stood there dazed myself when I first came. You can find pretty much anything you need down there. This is Gambo Mountain

.”

The four of them crested the final ridge and stood before the Mountain Gate. The name inscribed in gold shone clearly even through the haze, and the steps on either side—spotless—were lined with flowers and fragrant timber. Dozens of towering pavilions spiraled up the mountainside.
Buildings rare enough to see in Ganglim Castle appeared here at every few paces. Distant towers pierced the clouds, and the most striking of them all—a white pagoda—was hung with countless golden bells that rang out in a clear cascade each time the wind stirred.
Yuk Beom stared at the white pagoda for a long time. A faint luminescence wrapped around it.
No ordinary structure, that.

“Han Pung, mentor.”

Cho Cheon slowed his pace as he spoke.

“Gambo Mountain is a neutral zone established by the instructors and the Sageun. If you want to fight, go to the martial arena at the mountain’s peak. If a patrol instructor catches you, there’s nothing we can do.”
“I understand, I understand. You say the same thing every time I come.”
“That’s because you cause trouble every time you come.”

Cho Cheon’s reply carried not a hint of hesitation.
Yuk Beom looked around. Disciples from other academy branches moved constantly to and fro. Even here, still at the foot of the mountain, there were more people than in the busiest districts of Ganglim Castle.

“So the Martial Arts Academy has a place like this.”

Cho Cheon and Cho Haeng exchanged odd glances simultaneously.
Han Pung nodded as if he understood everything.

“Youngest, you’ve lived in Ilwon Academy for far too long.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means you’ve come to think of where we live as the standard for the entire Martial Arts Academy.”

Han Pung finished speaking and spread both arms wide.

“The Myungsim Academy provides each disciple with a mansion nearly a hundred mu. If you advance in realm quickly, they assign you servants and stewards too. The Eumyang Academy distributes gold coins, medicinal herbs, and martial arts manuals monthly, and if you achieve merit, you can enter the Star-Concealing Pagoda

and hand-pick weapons and secret techniques.”

Cho Haeng added quietly.

“I’ve heard they even permit transcription into family records. People are willing to buy positions as servants just to enter the Eumyang Academy.”
“That’s what the branches are like, and where we live is…….”

Han Pung fell silent.
The image of a dilapidated house exposed to wind and rain, of the daily scrambles over meals, rose unbidden in all four minds.
Cho Cheon sighed first. Cho Haeng quietly averted his gaze. Without realizing it, Yuk Beom exhaled in turn.
He was beginning to understand why the disciples of the Pyomyo Academy called Ilwon Academy a pigpen. When compared to a place like this, it wasn’t entirely off the mark.

“Suddenly, I don’t feel like going back.”

As Yuk Beom muttered this, Han Pung nodded emphatically.

“Isn’t that right? Once you’ve seen something good, you ought to know how to enjoy it.”
“Still, I’m heading back tomorrow.”

Cho Cheon cut the conversation short.
As they reached the mountain’s summit, the vista opened entirely. Taverns and teahouses, weapon shops and herbal medicine stalls lined the wide streets. Cho Cheon and Cho Haeng split off from them, saying they wanted to examine new weapons.

“We’ll meet at the base of the mountain tomorrow. And Han Pung.”
“I won’t cause any trouble.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“That’s the only thing you ever say.”

Cho Cheon left with a dubious look and turned to go.
Once the two seniors had vanished, Han Pung immediately seized Yuk Beom by the arm.

“Youngest, let me show you the best places first.”
“The weapon shops and herbal stalls?”
“Those can wait. There’s a place where the beautiful junior sisters of Myungsim Academy perform music themselves.”

Yuk Beom tried to pull his arm free.

“I’d like to explore Gambo Mountain.”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing—taking you to the most worthwhile sight on Gambo Mountain.”

Han Pung’s eyes already gleamed like those of a famished wolf. There was no reasoning with him now.
The two of them wound through the broad thoroughfare several times before arriving at an ornate pavilion. A pair of white jade phoenixes, each the height of a man, stood guard at the entrance, and above them hung a plaque inscribed with three characters.
The Phoenix Seeks Her Mate.

A woman at the entrance extended her hand.

“Admission is three gold coins per person.”
“It was only one last time!”

Han Pung cried out as if deeply wronged.

“This time, the junior sister Young Yo is performing the piece herself. Three coins is a bargain. Keep complaining and I’ll just turn you away.”
“Young Yo?”

Yuk Beom had heard that name before. After a moment of searching his memory, he recalled a woman who had placed in the top ten at the New Disciple Martial Competition.

“She’s in my cohort. She chose to join Myungsim Academy.”

The woman studied Yuk Beom afresh.

“Are you one of the top ten from the New Disciple Martial Competition as well?”
“I am.”
“In that case, I’ll charge you two coins each.”

Han Pung immediately tugged at Yuk Beom’s collar.

“This Young Yo sister—is she pretty?”
“I remember her being quite lovely.”

Before Yuk Beom had even finished speaking, Han Pung pulled four gold coins from deep within his trouser pocket.

“If she’s pretty, that’s all that matters. Here you are.”

The gatekeeper’s face flushed crimson.

“Why did you pull that out from there!”

The moment Yuk Beom forced the gold coin into the woman’s unwilling hand, a surge of Strong Energy erupted from her body. He seized Han Pung by the collar and hauled him through the pavilion’s entrance.
Behind them came curses and the clatter of the coin hitting the floor.

“Why are we running? I already paid,” Han Pung protested.
“I’m saving your life, senior.”
“You think I’d lose to someone like that?”
“If we fight, we’ll be expelled from Gambo Mountain.”

Han Pung fell silent at last.
As they neared the Third Floor, the clear resonance of strings descended the stairwell. Even Han Pung’s chatter stilled, his footsteps slowing of their own accord.
The wide hall was already nearly full. Disciples with tea before them held their breath, eyes fixed only on the raised platform.
Young Yo sat there.
Each time her slender fingers brushed the strings, melody bloomed like mist. The Mountains in a Dream from Myungsim Academy

wove through the scale, and the tower’s walls and everyone’s presence began to fade, one by one.
Yuk Beom forgot to find a seat and simply stood where he was.
An autumn night with rain falling. Someone waiting before a door. Longing and hesitation were woven together in that quiet voice. He could not claim to understand the piece, but neither did he need to force meaning upon it.
Closing his eyes, the noise in his heart subsided, layer by layer.
Thoughts of training and combat faded. The awareness of power flowing through his body stilled. The Five Elements Formation in his dantian

and the Yin-Yang Array in his mind

still moved, yet neither seized hold of force.
The Heaven-Earth Energy all around

flowed in silence.
That flow did not part before his body. It passed through skin and cloth, bone and meridians without resistance, then rejoined the world beyond.
In that instant, he felt his presence vanish.
Though he breathed and stood on two feet, it was as if Yuk Beom alone had been cut free from this space. His body remained here, yet melted into the wind and air, into the Heaven-Earth Energy that filled the tower.
Body Fusing with Heaven and Earth.

Until now, he had known the method but could not grasp the sensation. The harder he tried to conceal his presence, the more his body and the world pulled apart; when he released his grip, he lost the flow entirely.
This time was different.
Yuk Beom seized nothing. He simply followed the song and emptied his mind, and the world itself received him first.
The final note of the piece rang out long and trembling.
The held silence rushed back all at once. Exclamations and applause burst forth from every direction, yet Yuk Beom did not open his eyes at once.
He traced the power flowing through his body, slowly. Body Fusing with Heaven and Earth

was not complete. Yet now he knew where to begin.
The first step.
From a single song, he had crossed a threshold he could not before.
Yuk Beom opened his eyes, a small smile on his lips.

“You were right to follow me here.”

Beside him, Han Pung was wiping spittle from the corner of his mouth.

“Of course. You said it was a fine place. A fine song, a fine person, a beautiful face. Nothing lacking.”

Han Pung straightened his collar and combed his hair back with his fingers.

“Come with me, will you?”
“Where to?”
“To pay respects to Young Yo. If a man who understands elegance like I do doesn’t convey his appreciation, it would be discourteous.”
“Go alone.”
“Brothers advance into battle together.”
“This is not battle.”

Han Pung took a step forward, then retreated back to where he’d been.
Yuk Beom, watching this, asked him a question.

“Don’t tell me you can’t bring yourself to speak to her alone?”
“It’s not that I can’t—I’m being thoughtful about it. Do you think the bond between man and woman is some trifle? The first words one speaks can determine a lifetime, so I must give this matter proper consideration.”

Under ordinary circumstances, this senior would challenge a stranger without hesitation. Yet standing before Young Yo, he couldn’t seem to take even a single confident step.

“It seems the senior has no experience in this matter.”
“‘No experience’? You speak as though you have some?”

Yuk Beom did not answer.
The face of Jang Wol Ham flickered across his mind. Those moments they’d shared, when they laughed together—surely not all of it had been false. But people changed, and clinging to memories from those days brought nothing back.
Han Pung interpreted that brief silence in an entirely different way.

“Is it true? You’ve already…before me?”
“Please be quiet.”

Young Yo rose from her seat as the piece came to an end. Yeon Yeon, standing beside her, grasped her hand warmly.

“Young Yo, that was truly remarkable. To have mastered the Mountains in a Dream

to such a degree already—no wonder the Sageun praised you as a genius.”
“The Sageun is far too kind in his assessment.”

Young Yo lowered her head bashfully.

“It’s no exaggeration. Before much longer, I won’t even be able to match you.”

For all the brightness in Yeon Yeon’s smile, a strange light flickered across her eyes for an instant. Young Yo, her head still bowed, didn’t see it—but Yuk Beom did not miss it.
Before he could judge the reason, young disciples swarmed around the two women.

“Miss Young Yo, would you join us for a meal?”
“Allow me to show you the beauty of Gambo Mountain.”
“I represent the Hengsan Academy…”

Their voices tangled together as each tried to introduce himself.
Yeon Yeon’s eyes flashed wide.

“All of you—step back. This is no place for such noise. If you continue to pester Young Yo, I will deal with each of you myself.”

The gathered disciples fell silent in an instant.
Han Pung whispered into Yuk Beom’s ear.

“Loud voice and fierce temper. Any man who marries a woman like that will suffer for a lifetime.”
“The senior need not concern himself—she will show you no interest.”
“You’ve become sharp-tongued lately, haven’t you?”

As Yeon Yeon took Young Yo’s hand to leave the hall, a leisurely voice drifted from the doorway.

“Miss Young Yo. Might you permit me to treat you to a meal?”

One of the men who had been calling out his name only moments before turned sharply around.

“And who are you…?”

His words trailed off abruptly.

“Senior Nyeong Han.”

A man in silver martial robes rose from his seat. A slender Long Sword without a scabbard hung at his waist, and an easy smile played across his handsome face.
As he walked forward, the people blocking his path stepped aside of their own accord.
Yuk Beom asked quietly.

“Do you know him?”

The amusement drained from Han Pung’s expression.

“Nyeong Han, from the Yin-Yang Academy. Remember that name. Pretty-faced bastards like him from the Yin-Yang Academy are all rotten to the core.”

Nyeong Han stopped before Young Yo and extended his hand gently.

“As for music theory, I’ve studied it a bit myself. It would be an honor to discuss today’s composition with you over dinner.”

In that moment, Nyeong Han’s gaze brushed past Yeon Yeon.
Just for an instant.
But Yeon Yeon’s shoulders stiffened, and her fingertips trembled faintly. The commanding presence with which she’d rebuked Young Yo’s disciples moments before vanished without a trace.
Yuk Beom’s eyes narrowed.
There was something unspoken between the two of them.
Yeon Yeon quickly forced a smile back onto her face.

“Young Yo, Nyeong Han is an outstanding talent from the Yin-Yang Academy. It’s just a meal—why refuse?”

Young Yo looked between Yeon Yeon and Nyeong Han in turn. Her fingers gripped the hem of her robe carefully.

“Then… very well.”

Nyeong Han’s smile deepened.

“A wise choice. This way, please.”

The moment Young Yo reluctantly moved to follow, a grinding sound came from beside her.
Han Pung could hold back no longer.

“Nyeong Han!”

Every eye on the Third Floor turned toward him at once.
Han Pung pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.

“Are you trying to ruin another innocent woman?”

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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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