WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 72: Pretty talk
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Yuri could not say no.
The Fist King’s bright eyes carried a clear intent. If Yuri did not give the answer he wanted, he would not hesitate to throw the first punch.
Besides, Yuri did not truly want to refuse. If anything, the Fist King’s proposal was something Yuri had quietly hoped for.
Dokgo Gwi-jin, the Fist King.
He was not the strongest martial artist in the world. The Heavenly Demon and the Fell Star had also begun as martial fighters, and among the Four Perils, many of those suspected of being possessed did not use weapons.
Still, Dokgo Gwi-jin’s title was Fist King.
Titles were bestowed according to a martial artist’s defining traits. The reason the Fist King was called the Fist King was because, among all his martial arts, his fists stood out the most.
It was no ordinary opportunity to experience the Fist King’s fists in a situation that was not a fight to the death.
“Thank you.”
Yuri bowed deeply to the Fist King.
The Fist King was taking off his robe, but he grinned at Yuri’s greeting.
“There is no need to thank me. I wanted to see your skill for myself as well.”
They were both martial fighters. Yuri was the one who needed to close in, so he did not keep his distance. The Fist King had even said he would not counterattack.
From the start, the distance between them was within Yuri’s range.
A distance where he could strike with an outstretched fist.
Yuri took the opening stance of the Fist of the Rending Cloud and watched the Fist King.
Unexpectedly, the Fist King was not standing still.
A Martial Pinnacle Revered with such a vast difference in both age and cultivation realm could have let both arms hang loosely and assumed a posture that said, Do whatever you like.
Instead, the Fist King clenched both fists and held them up, his expression serious.
‘Not every powerful figure of this era was in the game.’
Thirty years had passed, enough time for a generation to change. Numerous bosses from the game had died, gone into seclusion, or otherwise vanished from sight.
The Fist King was a Martial Pinnacle Revered who had made his name during that generational change. He had existed in the game, but he had not been an NPC that drew attention for his level or difficulty.
‘Was he around level fifty?’
There were no conditions for his appearance. Dokgo Gwi-jin was simply a field boss one could encounter while levelling in Yujeong Mountain, a common hunting ground. His game title had been Fist Maniac.
There were no related events, and even his dialogue consisted of only a single line upon death.
[A little more...]
What exactly he wanted a little more of, Yuri did not know, but that was all the Fist Maniac ever said in Yujeong Mountain.
His level was not high, his difficulty was not high, and he had no mechanics or events. As a result, the Fist Maniac had been a boss who never even received a single piece of fan art.
‘The martial art he dropped was the Ten Thousand Waves Severing Fist.’
Yuri had tried incorporating it into several builds, but its ceiling was far too low for him to choose it.
That was how it had been in the game. On top of that, thirty years had passed, and the Fist Maniac had become a Martial Pinnacle Revered and earned the title of Fist King.
“It would be best if neither of us uses qi force. I hear you will spar with that Sword Dragon brat in two days. If you end up with an internal injury, the Sword Emperor, my older brother, will give me hell.”
“Yes.”
About ten seconds passed as they faced one another.
Naturally, Yuri could find no opening. To be honest, he did not want to make the first move at all. But the Fist King had said he would not attack, so Yuri had no choice but to move first.
He moved the left hand he had held slightly farther forward.
The first move of the Fist of the Rending Cloud, Drifting Clouds Wander.
The slowly extending left hand suddenly tensed at the wrist. Its speed changed in an instant, surging toward the Fist King.
The core of the Fist of the Rending Cloud was the connection between both fists. If the left fist was blocked, use the right. If the right fist was blocked, use the left.
The flow of attacks could not be broken. He had to fluidly deflect the opponent’s counterattacks, open an opportunity, and drive in his own strike.
Every verse of the Fist of the Rending Cloud emphasized freedom. To be unbound by anything, free like clouds drifting through the vast sky. At times, dancing with the wind, swallowing the moon, and striking like lightning when...
Tap.
The fist could not advance properly.
It had been blocked.
Before Yuri’s fist could reach where he intended, the Fist King’s fist blocked it.
The flow Yuri had intended did not even have the chance to begin. It was as though a huge boulder had fallen into a stream and changed its course.
Yuri immediately withdrew his fist without panicking. When one was blocked, one simply flowed again. That was the Fist of the Rending Cloud.
It was blocked again.
His left fist was blocked when he extended it. His right fist was blocked as well.
He pulled back and tried again. He extended his fists in simple straight lines, then bent them into curves.
But everything was blocked. Even confusing variations were useless. The Fist King’s eyes saw through every change Yuri intended and blocked it.
‘The eyes of a seventh tier?’
Was that why he could see it?
Yuri’s expression hardened as he restrained his variations. Instead, he put strength into something else.
Faster. Heavier.
‘I can’t break through.’
He could not force his way in at all. He could not even fully extend both arms.
It gave Yuri a strange sense of helplessness, different from what he had felt when learning the Fist of the Rending Cloud from Fist Wolf Bakerd.
Back then, he had felt helpless because he could not flow as he wished. Put simply, the flow Yuri created had been weaker than Fist Wolf Bakerd’s.
The Fist King was different.
His fists prevented Yuri from creating any flow at all. They made it impossible for Yuri to even extend a fist properly. Everything Yuri attempted was cut off before it could progress.
‘It is like striking at a huge wall right in front of me without even being able to fully extend my fist...’
No, it was different.
Not a wall, but blades.
The Fist King was not holding a single weapon, but Yuri felt countless blades from him. Those blades were slicing Yuri’s intent apart.
“Kid, you can use your feet too.”
As the Fist King spoke, Yuri’s body tilted slightly backward.
Crimson Stream Kick.
The result was the same. Before he could properly kick, the instant his leg moved forward, its momentum was cut off. Yuri controlled his body as it began to falter, shifted his stance with the interrupted leg, and immediately used footwork.
Haryeong watched their spar without even breathing.
In her assessment, Yuri was more than qualified to be called at the very top of the fifth tier. He had also entered the path of intent early, so he might be able to face an unpolished sixth-tier martial artist alone.
But his opponent was not at the level of the sixth tier.
Dokgo Gwi-jin, the Fist King, was a Martial Pinnacle Revered of at least the seventh tier. It was only natural for there to be such an overwhelming difference between them.
Still, was the difference supposed to be this great?
The Fist King had not moved from his spot even once. Yuri, meanwhile, used footwork to take up positions all around him and poured out attacks.
‘Attacks?’
Even to Haryeong, those were not attacks.
Neither Yuri’s fists nor his feet could swing or extend properly. Each movement was cut off midway, like a puppet with its strings severed. Yuri would reconnect the strings and try to move again before falling, only for the strings to be cut every time.
‘He is cutting off the momentum of every attack.’
Having one’s momentum cut off was fatal.
It was remarkable that Yuri could immediately connect one attack to the next without hesitation despite such a gap between them. But the Fist King, who cut off every attack without moving even a single step, was terrifying.
“He has become sharper.”
The Sword Emperor had arrived at some point and muttered in admiration.
Sword Dragon, who had been learning the sword until just moments ago, was drenched in sweat. Still, he watched the spar between Yuri and the Fist King with enough intensity to make his eyes bloodshot.
‘How many times have I died?’
Yuri did not care that more people had begun watching.
Right now, he was focused solely on breaking through the Fist King.
‘What if I mix in the Art of the Violet Lightning Flash?’
Neither of them was using qi force. They were only activating their bodies with internal energy and competing through physical techniques.
But adding qigong would not give Yuri an advantage.
“I have lost.”
In the end, Yuri withdrew his fists while panting.
Continuing would not help him break through the Fist King. The gap between Yuri and the Fist King was not something that could be narrowed overnight.
“Hmm.”
Only after hearing Yuri concede did the Fist King take several steps back.
He lightly shook out his skinny arms, then accepted the robe held by a nearby knight and put it on.
“You are better than the Hegemon Dragon. Your skill is good.”
The Hegemon Dragon was Hwangbo Jin-cheol, the young master of the Hwangbo Family. He was twenty-six years old, four years Yuri’s senior.
“Just as you said, hyungnim. The kid has real spirit. I like that he kept trying even after he knew it would not work.”
“Even so, you bastard, how can you come here and do this out of nowhere?”
The Sword Emperor clicked his tongue and glared at the Fist King.
But instead of backing down, the Fist King proudly squared his shoulders.
“My heart was in a hurry. I had no choice.”
“So, what did you think?”
“If I die someday, and that brat is still alive then, the title of Fist King for that generation will belong to him.”
The Fist King cackled and patted Yuri’s shoulder.
The Sword Emperor asked in a subtle tone.
“If you like him that much, why not take him as a disciple? At your age, it would not be strange for you to have a few disciples.”
“I do not want that.”
The Fist King, who had been laughing until just then, firmly refused.
“If I take disciples, I will have to raise them and worry about them, and then I will not be able to focus on my martial arts. Ah, I hate that. Later, later, when I cannot even clench a fist anymore, perhaps then I will consider taking a disciple.”
“You bastard, how will you teach a disciple if you cannot even clench a fist?”
“I can teach with words! If someone is to become the Fist King’s disciple, they should be a genius capable of understanding ten things when taught one.”
After saying that, the Fist King walked away with an easy stride. Then he turned back around and pointed at Yuri.
“Besides, did that brat not learn martial arts from Fist Wolf Bakerd? They have not formally formed a master-disciple bond, but Fist Wolf Bakerd and I are not strangers. I cannot just snatch up someone who learned martial arts from him as my disciple.”
“You know Fist Wolf Bakerd?”
Yuri turned to the Fist King in surprise.
As far as Yuri knew, the Fist King and Fist Wolf Bakerd had not known each other.
Before Fist Wolf Bakerd left Rutlan, he had said:
“I challenged the Moonlit Reveller, so challenging the Fist King next might not be a bad idea.”
But now the Fist King was saying this. Yuri could not help being surprised.
“I saw him once, perhaps half a year ago.”
The Fist King looked at Yuri with an expression of surprise instead.
“Did you not hear anything about Fist Wolf Bakerd?”
“I wandered for a time, so I was unable to keep in contact with Fist Wolf-nim. All I know is that Fist Wolf-nim went into seclusion to break through the wall to the seventh tier.”
“Heh heh heh.”
At Yuri’s answer, the Fist King laughed, his shoulders shaking.
“If someone who went into seclusion to break through a wall comes back out, it is obvious what happened. When you meet him later, prepare your congratulations. Fist Wolf Bakerd broke through the wall and reached the seventh tier.”
Seventh tier!
Yuri’s eyes widened.
Yuri knew that Fist Wolf Bakerd had gained the beginning of an insight through his spar with the Moonlit Reveller. Yuri had thought he would one day reach the seventh tier, but it was still astonishing to hear that he had crossed the wall that even the heads of prestigious families could not overcome.
“Then... where is Fist Wolf-nim now?”
“How would I know? Fist Wolf Bakerd came to my residence half a year ago and asked me for a spar. We drank a few cups together, then he left. I do not know where he went either.”
“What was the result of the spar?”
“Of course I won!”
The Fist King answered, his bright gaze flashing.
“He was not an easy opponent, but I won.”
Would the result have been different if it had been a fight to the death?
The Fist King thought about it for a moment.
No, the result would not have changed.
‘Though I would have needed resolve.’
He would not have been able to win unscathed, so he would have needed to be prepared to accept some losses himself.
“Speaking of Fist Wolf Bakerd, Yuri, your fist technique is not exactly the same as his.”
“I have not learned all of Fist Wolf-nim’s martial arts.”
“Fist Wolf Bakerd’s fists had a weight that yours lack. That made them difficult for me to cut off. Yuri, your fists are fast, flexible, and full of variation. But against someone who can see them, that alone will not be enough.”
“Then what should I do?”
“It is difficult to add weight at this point. The best way is to make it impossible for them to answer even when they see it. Or you can shake them up further, or swallow them whole. Those are also good methods.”
“Your words are difficult.”
“I mean to increase your variations. Even if they cut something off, make it so that it does not feel like anything was cut. Or swallow even their attempt to cut you within your own design. Heh heh. I can give advice like that, but it is impossible against me. In truth, the best answer is not to fight martial artists above your tier before reaching the seventh tier.”
The Fist King withdrew the hand that had been pointing at Yuri.
“Anyway, Yuri, you did very well for someone who is hard to believe is only at the fifth tier. I have no intention of taking a disciple right now, and even if I did, I could not take you as one because of my connection to Fist Wolf Bakerd.”
The Fist King bared his gums in a grin.
“Still, I will make you a candidate for a future disciple. Later, when I have become pathetic and cannot even clench a fist, come ask me for martial arts. I had been considering the Hegemon Dragon of the Hwangbo Family, but now that I have seen you, you are better than the Hegemon Dragon.”
After saying that, the Fist King cackled loudly at his own words.
The Sword Emperor watched the back of the Fist King as he crossed the training ground as though it were his own home, then shook his head.
“Where are you going by yourself?”
“Moving around made me sweat, so I need to wash. Surely you are not too stingy to give this younger brother some hot water?”
“Do whatever you want. Whatever you want.”
The Sword Emperor could only click his tongue and did not stop the Fist King from entering the residence as he pleased.
“Hmm, I did not expect things to turn out this way. My apologies.”
The Sword Emperor cleared his throat and turned to Yuri.
“As soon as we released the declaration, that fellow Dokgo Gwi-jin contacted me. He kept asking how long Thunder Cloud would stay at this estate and what sort of prospect I thought you were.”
“I am fine.”
Yuri answered with an awkward smile.
“I should be grateful that the Fist King thinks so highly of me. Opportunities to receive guidance from a senior martial artist as powerful as the Fist King are rare. I should be the one thanking you.”
“Thunder Cloud, you speak very prettily. You are quite a contrast to my only grandson.”
Someone said Yuri spoke prettily...
It was the first time Yuri had ever received that kind of praise.
‘Online, I often heard that I talked like shit...’
In real life, he had often been told to speak more.
“What did I do wrong now that you are criticizing me again?”
Sword Dragon pouted and grumbled.
The Sword Emperor ignored the grandson’s complaints and spoke to Yuri.
“The Fist King is somewhat eccentric, but his passion for martial arts is genuine. He is especially interested in talented young martial artists.”
“Is that so?”
“I told you earlier. Not long after the Hegemon Dragon of the Hwangbo Family earned the Dragon title, the Fist King hurried over and barged into the Hwangbo Family. As you know from your own experience, raising one’s tier is arduous for martial fighters.”
If they endured somehow and reached a high tier, martial fighters had a clear advantage over martial artists of the same tier. But raising one’s tier in the first place was not easy.
If someone of merely decent talent chose the path of a martial fighter, it was common for them to lose an arm before even reaching the third tier.
“It seems the Fist King suffered quite a bit in the past as well. That is why he takes such an interest in martial fighters who make a name for themselves while young. Since you walk the same path, he is someone worth knowing. Perhaps he only says such things, but if you cling to him right now, he might take you as a disciple.”
A disciple of the Fist King.
It was not a position Yuri could fail to desire. But if he became the Fist King’s disciple, Yuri would be dragged around by that eccentric martial artist who could go off in any direction.
“I have a connection to Fist Wolf-nim.”
They had not formed a master-disciple bond, but Yuri considered Fist Wolf Bakerd his master. For now, refusing was the proper thing to do.
First, Yuri wanted to visit Salhomun with Haryeong as planned and search for traces of Fist Wolf Bakerd’s whereabouts.
‘And I need to congratulate Fist Wolf-nim on reaching the seventh tier.’
Knowing how desperately Fist Wolf Bakerd had wanted to reach the seventh tier, Yuri smiled without realizing it.
Footnotes:
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