WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 121: When Young, I Knew Not Sorrow's Taste (26)
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Could someone at late first-rate truly defeat a peak-realm master?
Yeon Sowol had once been skeptical.
The peak realm was special.
To reach it, one had to complete a sword of one’s own, a qi of one’s own.
The gap between peak-realm masters could be as vast as heaven and earth, depending on the enlightenment they had attained. Even so, there was undeniably a divide between peak realm and late first-rate, one great enough for the weakest peak-realm master in the world to overwhelm the strongest late first-rate martial artist.
But Won Huiseung had changed Yeon Sowol’s mind.
‘Honestly, he’s improved to an absurd degree.’
To Yeon Sowol, the Won Huiseung he had first met and the Won Huiseung before him now were completely different people.
At least in terms of martial arts.
Calling it growth almost felt inaccurate.
‘It feels less like he improved and more like he found his true ability.’
After grasping the sword intent of the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven and properly bringing out its subtle wonders, Won Huiseung’s martial arts had reached an entirely new horizon.
Yeon Sowol had already been gradually sensing that, but the martial arts tournament left him wide-eyed with shock.
In Yeon Sowol’s eyes, Won Huiseung was still quite far from the enlightenment of the peak realm.
Yet the swordsmanship he displayed in that state was so profound and mysterious that it made Yeon Sowol shiver.
That was when Yeon Sowol truly understood.
‘...So this is why people keep talking about the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.’
The secret behind their incredible foundation lay in the supreme art known as the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven.
Honestly,
‘They’re simply on another level.’
He could feel the wall.
The profound meaning contained within the sword art itself.
Its limitless potential.
Watching Won Huiseung effortlessly suppress late first-rate masters renowned in their own right, Yeon Sowol understood it with certainty.
‘There’s no limit in sight.’
That was why his thoughts had changed.
If it was one of the absurd martial arts possessed by the Nine Great Sects and One Gang...
Perhaps.
If a true genius had learned such a supreme-grade martial art...
Could he overcome even the distant gap between first-rate and peak realm?
Then, apart from Won Huiseung...
What about Ha Jeop, whose depth Yeon Sowol had been unable to gauge from their very first meeting?
‘Ha Jeop is definitely a true genius.’
The Undeserving One of Guangdong, Noh Huideok, had attained enlightenment at the final moment. He had brought his qi completely under control, to the point where he could cut a rock as smoothly as a mirror.
When Yeon Sowol left Guangdong, Noh Huideok had entered closed-door seclusion to reach the peak realm, using that enlightenment as his foundation.
But when Yeon Sowol first saw Ha Jeop, he had known at a glance.
The qi Ha Jeop was keeping under control was even purer and quieter than Noh Huideok’s.
Yeon Sowol had understood then.
‘He’s deliberately delaying his peak-realm enlightenment too.’
Ha Jeop was like him.
Someone who could reach the peak realm whenever he wished, yet was delaying that enlightenment.
The thought sent a chill down Yeon Sowol’s spine.
‘If a genius like that has learned a supreme-grade art no less formidable than the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven...’
Bubulbu Wi Sihon.
Hubei’s genius.
In his youth, he had defeated Wudang’s rising young talents. After reaching the peak realm, he had even defeated several other peak-realm masters. He was a proven powerhouse.
Could Ha Jeop defeat even a master like that?
No matter how gifted Wi Sihon was, he did not belong to the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
He had not learned a supreme-grade art.
The Wudang masters he had defeated could not have been as gifted as Ha Jeop.
Thus, Yeon Sowol sincerely predicted Ha Jeop’s victory.
* * *
“Huashan, huh? This will be my first time facing Huashan’s sword. The Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art. Can you use it?”
It was the Huashan Sect’s most famous sword art.
It was not taught to just anyone, so disciples who had inherited the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art were sometimes specifically called Plum Blossom Sword Wielders.
Rustle.
The edge of Ha Jeop’s sleeve stirred in the wind, revealing the plum blossom pattern embroidered upon it.
He lightly raised his sword and pointed it at Wi Sihon.
“Yes.”
A brief, clear answer.
His presence was as still as ancient snow.
A strange light entered Wi Sihon’s eyes.
“You’re much better than you look. Good. This should be more interesting than I thought.”
Whiiirl-
Holding his sword in one hand, Wi Sihon spun it elegantly through the air.
Boom!
Then he stomped down and shot forward.
Compared with Ha Jeop, whose qi was perfectly controlled, Wi Sihon’s movements were incredibly rough.
The platform’s flagstones shattered, fragments flying high into the air.
Wi Sihon showed no concern for subtlety whatsoever.
Yet he accelerated sharply and thrust from an angle that was difficult to defend against. It was hard to evade such a crude, obvious attack.
Clang!
Ha Jeop hurriedly extended his Plum Blossom Sword and knocked aside Wi Sihon’s strike, but he could not withstand its sword force and was flung backward.
A martial force wave swept through the area.
Skrrrch!
Ha Jeop barely planted both feet on the ground. Even as he slid backward, he extended his sword and Sword Fingers to steady his stance.
“At this rate, it’ll be over quickly.”
Thud!
Wi Sihon had already crushed the ground beneath his feet and rushed right before him again.
His sword lashed out wildly.
Yet ominous sword qi gleamed along its blade.
Clang!
Ha Jeop failed to evade that attack as well and took it head-on.
If he was knocked back any farther, he would fall off the platform. He launched himself upward, dispersing the martial force pouring into him.
Flutter!
His robes billowed.
Pushed away by the martial force wave, Ha Jeop rose high into the air.
Disappointment filled Wi Sihon’s eyes.
“Is that all?”
Without ground to step on, one’s movement in midair was limited.
If their abilities had been similar, it might have been different.
Right now, Ha Jeop was no different from a target suspended in the air.
Wi Sihon predicted where Ha Jeop would fall and leaped after him.
Chilling metal qi flashed from the tip of his sword. Just as he was about to shred Ha Jeop apart...
Sway-
Ha Jeop’s body wavered.
Like smoke scattering through the air, it drifted lightly this way and that, leaving no trace to follow.
Swoooosh!
A chilling sound tore through the air.
For the first time, Wi Sihon’s sword cut through empty space.
“Hidden Fragrance Drift!”
The subtle scent of plum blossoms was called hidden fragrance.
A blade could not cut a scent. Ha Jeop lightly evaded the attack and landed on the platform.
It was the Huashan Sect’s supreme-grade lightness skill.
A supreme art whose name was never absent whenever people spoke of the greatest lightness skills under heaven.
Wi Sihon licked his lips.
“Huashan really is Huashan. This is fun for the first time in a while... What a strange movement. How do you move like that?”
Without answering, Ha Jeop once again extended his sword and Sword Fingers, taking his opening stance.
The Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art.
“Plum blossoms. Plum blossoms...”
Wi Sihon muttered.
“I’ve been curious for a while. What I grasped when I reached the peak realm was actually very simple.”
Wooooong-
Wi Sihon’s sword hummed.
Strange sword qi rose along the blade.
“Metal. Of the pure qi of the Five Elements, I focused on just one, metal qi. I don’t understand complicated concepts like plum blossoms, heaven, or the Supreme Ultimate the way you people do. But...”
Fwoooosh-
A haze rose thickly from Wi Sihon’s back and shoulders.
Like flames surging from a massive pile of firewood.
Flutter!
Though there was no wind, the hem of Wi Sihon’s robes danced of its own accord.
“Metal. There’s no end to what you can explore through that one thing alone. Metal sharpened into a blade is sharp.”
Pale metal qi overflowed from Wi Sihon’s entire body, carving long lines across the platform’s flagstones.
“Metal bent into a spring is elastic.”
Baaang!
Wi Sihon kicked off the ground and lunged at Ha Jeop at what seemed like twice his previous speed.
“Bent, rebounding, ringing, thin, heavy...”
A martial artist who had spent his entire life studying the properties of metal and making them his own unleashed that achievement in a single stroke.
His assault was clearly fiercer than before.
Ha Jeop stood before it.
Clang!
Clang!
Boom!
Swaying and swaying, he could only barely receive the savage onslaught.
Hidden Fragrance Drift, the Huashan Sect’s supreme-grade lightness skill, was the only reason he barely avoided being thrown off the platform.
He was swept across the platform like a fragile flower petal that could be torn apart at any moment.
Craaaack!
Ha Jeop’s arm and hand trembled.
Sword qi endlessly shattered from his Plum Blossom Sword.
Whenever he barely made it bloom, it broke. Whenever he made it bloom again, it broke once more.
Yet Ha Jeop’s eyes remained steady.
As though he were gazing into the distance.
That was when Wi Sihon, who had been raining down sword strikes with abandon, began to sense that something was wrong.
‘What is this?’
Clang!
His blade cut through the air, filled with metal qi.
Elastic, heavy sword force gathered at its tip.
Watching that attack be blocked once again...
Watching Ha Jeop stagger back, unable to withstand the martial force wave...
He thought,
‘Why can’t I break through?’
Ha Jeop’s face had turned pale.
His arm and hand were visibly trembling.
He should have collapsed long ago.
It made no sense for someone at late first-rate to have received so many strikes from a peak-realm sword.
If Ha Jeop had evaded them, that would have been one thing. But after taking them head-on, he should have been crushed and defeated long ago.
‘How is he still holding on?’
A chill ran through Wi Sihon.
He was clearly the one driving Ha Jeop back.
Even if it was only a matter of time, even if continuing this exchange would surely allow him to crush Ha Jeop...
He felt uneasy.
As though he did not have many chances left.
Come to think of it...
“What is this? Is that all you have? Does that famed Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art only have defensive forms?”
Wi Sihon frowned deeply as he asked.
Was Ha Jeop really using the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art right now?
Then, for the first time in this match, Ha Jeop answered.
“No, Senior. The Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art does not distinguish between offense and defense.”
“What kind of nonsense is that...”
Clang!
Boom!
Barely receiving Wi Sihon’s sword strike, Ha Jeop replied in a voice so steady that it felt strange.
“Plum blossoms bloom even in snow.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“Even in the cold of winter, one can smell the subtle fragrance of plum blossoms.”
“So what are you...”
“Senior.”
Ha Jeop’s gaze slowly lowered and met Wi Sihon’s directly.
“Can you smell a fragrance coming from somewhere?”
“What nonsense are you talking about... Hm?”
Wi Sihon stopped in the middle of his reply.
His eyes widened.
His gaze wavered.
Clang!
Boom!
At some point, Ha Jeop’s sword had changed slightly.
Rather than simply receiving Wi Sihon’s attacks, it now felt as though it was striking back against Wi Sihon’s sword and knocking it away.
Each time, shattered sword qi spread thickly through the air.
Like a dense fragrance.
“...!”
Yeon Sowol, who had been watching with a grave expression, abruptly rose from his seat.
“That...”
His qi sense was sharper than anyone else present, allowing him to feel it clearly.
Since when had it been there?
Ha Jeop’s sword qi had filled the entire platform.
No, it had extended beyond the platform, blanketing the whole basin around it.
It had looked as though his sword qi shattered and scattered whenever it collided with Wi Sihon’s sword qi.
But that was not true.
It had broken.
Yet it had not scattered.
It still moved with Ha Jeop’s sword, swaying like waves and drifting through the air...
‘How is this possible?’
Yeon Sowol narrowed his eyes, then realized.
Ha Jeop’s sword had appeared to waver wildly, yet it had actually been perfect all along.
He had not lost hold of a single fragment of shattered sword qi.
To do that, he had been drawing only perfect trajectories from the beginning.
Ha Jeop had held this dense sword in his grasp the entire time.
“Ah...”
An exclamation tore from between Yeon Sowol’s lips.
“Fragrant...”
Even before Wi Sihon’s sword, which swept in like the biting winds of winter, Ha Jeop’s sword never wavered as it traced its own path.
Ha Jeop’s sword qi filled the air around them.
It was fragrant.
Like the subtle scent of plum blossoms.
Sword Fragrance.
A fragrance made to bloom through the sword.
Then, the moment Ha Jeop moved beyond deflecting attacks and turned to the offensive...
Wooooooong!
It rang out.
Sword qi spread thickly throughout the entire space, like waves, like fragrance. All of it resonated at once and formed a harmony.
“Huh?”
“The fragrance...”
Even spectators who knew nothing of martial arts caught that scent.
Clang!
The moment Ha Jeop’s thrust was blocked by Wi Sihon’s sword...
Crackcrackcrackcrack!
They bloomed.
Countless streams of sword qi.
In the empty air.
All around Wi Sihon.
“What is this?!”
Wi Sihon cried out in shock.
Yeon Sowol clenched his fists tightly.
Dense sword qi flowed with the martial force waves, creating endless blades in the empty air.
It was as if thousands, tens of thousands of tiny blades were grinding over Wi Sihon’s body.
All the sword qi that had shattered until now.
All the sword qi that had filled the space around them.
Became blades.
There was no escape.
He had already been surrounded by a subtle fragrance.
The Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art.
Like a subtle fragrance floating and moving. (Dark Fragrance Floats)
The protective qi art surrounding Wi Sihon was ground away by the barrage of blades.
In the instant he lost his breath from the impact and staggered...
Riiiiing-
With a strange sword chime, Ha Jeop’s sword tip touched Wi Sihon’s Adam’s apple.
“...”
Wi Sihon stared blankly at Ha Jeop.
Then he bit his lip and admitted it.
“...I lost.”
Silence fell.
The victor had been decided, yet no one made a sound.
Yeon Sowol clasped his trembling hands together and steadied his breathing.
Did that make any sense?
Could something like this really happen?
‘This... is the martial arts of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang...’
A certain longing flickered in his eyes.
Footnotes:
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