WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 133: The Rear Waves of the Yangtze Push the Front Waves (7)
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Jin Hyeogo gave him room.
Rather than press Yeon Sowol while he rolled across the ground, he waited for him to get back up each time.
His attacks were simple as well.
The same form every time.
A straightforward thrust with no tricks behind it.
He looked like a master teaching a young disciple.
But it was not a kind lesson.
Whenever Yeon Sowol was even slightly slow to get up, Jin Hyeogo would ask,
“Is that all?”
If Yeon Sowol gritted his teeth and forced himself upright, trembling all over, the black spearhead would immediately rush before his eyes.
It was only a thrust, but its speed was terrifying.
Worse, the attack came while he was still getting back to his feet, before he could even catch his breath. Yeon Sowol could not dodge it.
All he could do was twist his whole body and swing Clear Mirror to knock it away.
Claaaaang!
Clear Mirror screamed.
His vision went black for a moment.
His throat tasted of iron.
Then his palms suddenly burned.
Whoooosh!
Though Yeon Sowol was late first-rate, he could not land on his feet. His back scraped across the ground as he slid over the martial arts platform.
“Cough!”
Still on the ground, Yeon Sowol coughed so hard he nearly choked, then staggered back to his feet.
This had already happened five times.
Jin Hyeogo looked down at him and grinned.
“Starting to understand?”
He was mocking him.
As if asking, Could you possibly understand?
Yeon Sowol answered,
“Yes.”
“What?”
Jin Hyeogo’s expression wavered.
“You understand?”
“Yes.”
“...Now I’m curious. Go on, tell me. What do you think it is? Why do you think your qi keeps breaking apart?”
Instead of answering, Yeon Sowol slowly extended his Sword Fingers and took his opening stance.
“I’ll show you.”
“Hah.”
Jin Hyeogo let out a dry laugh. His eyes held a trace of approval.
“Good. That’s what a martial artist should say. Let’s see it, then!”
Whoosh!
Jin Hyeogo’s black spear shot straight toward Yeon Sowol’s chest.
Once again, Yeon Sowol did not react in time.
All he could do was twist away at the last moment and swing Clear Mirror.
Clang!
Yet when sword and spear collided, something was different.
The violent martial force wave shook not only Yeon Sowol, but Jin Hyeogo as well.
Jin Hyeogo staggered.
His spear trembled and bent aside.
Whoooosh!
Yeon Sowol was thrown backward, but he landed on his feet. He did not slide nearly as far as before.
He was still driven back, but not as badly.
Clearly, Yeon Sowol’s sword qi had become stronger and tougher.
Jin Hyeogo’s eyes widened.
“For real?”
“Fuuuuh...”
Yeon Sowol steadied his breathing.
Hot haze rose in thick waves from his shoulders.
He considered the stinging pain lingering in his fingertips.
‘Simple Five Elements.’
He recalled what he had learned in Guangdong.
The Windflow School’s martial arts inherited the teachings of the Daoist tradition.
At the peak realm, those teachings guided one’s qi toward the Five Elements.
From the primordial One, Yin and Yang were divided. From Yin and Yang, the Five Elements were divided, giving birth to the world.
Reverse Cultivation, Return to Origin.
Daoist cultivation traced the principles of creation in reverse.
That was why pursuing the Five Elements was the natural conclusion, rather than pursuing other mixed and miscellaneous qi.
That was how Yeon Sowol had reached the Five Elements.
From the look of it, Jin Hyeogo had as well.
Like Yeon Sowol, he must have learned martial arts that applied Daoist teachings.
Then why was there such a difference between them?
Jin Hyeogo’s Five Elements easily shattered Yeon Sowol’s.
Even though Yeon Sowol had connected and circulated those Five Elements, creating qi that imitated the universe.
How could Jin Hyeogo’s simple Five Elements destroy something so profound?
Maybe they were not simple Five Elements.
‘Pure Five Elements.’
Suddenly, Noh Huideok’s voice seemed to ring in Yeon Sowol’s ears.
「The goal is to return the essence, qi, and spirit received from heaven and earth, in other words, innate true qi, to an ever purer state, until it returns to the sole qi of the primordial beginning.」
That was Reverse Cultivation, Return to Origin.
First, one returned to the Five Elements.
Then Yin and Yang.
Then Limitless Void.
‘I see.’
Yeon Sowol’s shoulders trembled.
A sharp realization ran through him.
‘All this time, I’ve only been looking in one direction.’
Trying to imitate the universe, Yeon Sowol had only considered the transformations born from the Five Elements.
He had only considered the principles of all creation and countless living beings, formed as the Five Elements intertwined and circulated.
It was certainly a great truth, but one that flowed downward.
From the Five Elements came the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches.
From those twenty-two Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches came the one hundred and eight Malefic Stars.
From the one hundred and eight Malefic Stars, all things were finally formed.
But truth had another direction.
Not downward, but upward.
The principle by which the Five Elements returned to Yin and Yang, formed the Supreme Ultimate, and ultimately returned to Limitless Void.
It was the truth that climbed upward, perhaps the very foundation of Daoist cultivation.
Yeon Sowol thought of Jin Hyeogo.
‘Until now, I kept trying to do things with Five Elements qi. Mixing it, connecting it, circulating it... like the universe that contains all things.’
Jin Hyeogo had taken the exact opposite path.
‘Senior Jin made his Five Elements qi purer and purer.’
It was not simple.
It was pure.
What happened when the Five Elements became infinitely pure?
They gave birth to the world.
Even if they did not give birth to a world, they trembled with the potential to create one at any moment.
‘Quantum... something like that?’
The smallest and simplest things in the world.
Like particles, the most basic units that made up all things, which actually trembled in the most complicated ways imaginable.
Could that be called simple?
Could that be called anything but the universe?
“Purer. Even purer.”
Yeon Sowol felt a tingling vibration in his lower abdomen.
It was joy.
The joy of finding a piece of realization he had not even known was missing, then fitting it into place.
Depth began to fill the universe within Yeon Sowol, which had already expanded so greatly.
“I didn’t think you’d actually realize it.”
Jin Hyeogo was rather taken aback.
He had shown Yeon Sowol that move so he could learn from today’s loss and strive harder. Yet Yeon Sowol had seized upon it, climbed upward, and truly gained realization.
A crooked smile formed on his lips.
This was interesting.
Jin Hyeogo thrust his spear again.
Just as before, steady and measured.
As though he were teaching him.
Clang!
Yeon Sowol knocked it aside.
‘A little more. More. I need to become stronger...!’
His body and mind were already close to their limits, but he squeezed out more.
With his trembling body, he gripped his sword and stepped forward.
Boom!
Yeon Sowol was sent flying back, then landed.
Clang!
He staggered back five or six steps.
Clang!
At last, he withstood it while being driven back only three or four steps.
He looked as though he would fall at any moment.
But he did not.
He braced his waist and back, enduring Jin Hyeogo’s spear.
Each collision made the realization he had just grasped more solid.
Jin Hyeogo watched Yeon Sowol with complicated eyes.
He was impressed by this junior who refused to yield and kept moving forward, but he was worried too.
He continued thrusting his spear at a steady pace, watching Yeon Sowol grow. Finally unable to hold back any longer, he sent a voice transmission.
「Sowol. You mean to avenge the Moyong Family’s daughter, don’t you?」
Yeon Sowol still did not know how to use voice transmission.
But he did not need it to answer.
Jin Hyeogo saw the look in Yeon Sowol’s eyes and clicked his tongue.
「Right. You have the eyes of someone who’ll do it even if it kills him.」
Clang!
Even while sending voice transmissions, Jin Hyeogo’s spear did not stop.
He thrust, Yeon Sowol blocked it, and the voice transmission flowed into Yeon Sowol.
「Still, why not think it over again? The Yuezhou provincial governor. Don’t you think he’s already shown you incredible patience?」
Jin Hyeogo turned his head slightly.
This martial arts tournament itself could be seen as the provincial governor’s consideration and patience.
But Yeon Sowol’s eyes did not change in the slightest.
Jin Hyeogo sighed.
「Yang Hoeam, the Yuezhou provincial governor. I knew him when he was young. To be honest, we have no small connection. He is from Hunan too. He has been allowed to spend the last years of his official career in his home province. Perhaps it was the Emperor’s consideration.」
Jin Hyeogo put sincerity into his words.
「Yang Hoeam. He is an official praised even now, and he was the same in the past. He is not someone who changes easily. I cannot forget the day I helped him wipe out three water-raider strongholds and save countless people. So I understand how you feel after losing a friend, but I want you to trust that man. Trust him. Yang Hoeam will surely uncover everything and clear away any injustice. Don’t step forward recklessly and bring disaster upon yourself.」
As he said that, he watched Yeon Sowol closely.
Of course, Yeon Sowol did not waver.
How could he?
If anything, he burned hotter.
‘Yang Hoeam...’
He thought of how well that cunning man had deceived people all this time.
“Hah.”
Jin Hyeogo noticed and let out a long sigh.
“Listen, Sowol.”
After sending voice transmissions all this time, he suddenly spoke aloud.
He also withdrew the spear he had been thrusting at regular intervals. His voice dropped, carrying a warning.
“Are you taking this lightly because I’ve been speaking nicely to you? This is no joke.”
“...I’m not taking it lightly.”
“Really? It doesn’t look that way. He is the Yuezhou provincial governor. If he turns against you, even I wouldn’t come through unscathed. Do you think you can endure it?”
“...If I have to, then I will.”
“Hah.”
Jin Hyeogo’s brows furrowed.
“Anyone can talk big.”
Whooong!
He swung his long black spear.
Stone chips and sand on the martial arts platform were swept up in the spear wind and rolled off the platform.
“Honestly, I truly didn’t want to show you this much, but I suppose I have no choice.”
He slowly extended his spear and took his stance.
It was completely different from the careless posture he had held while casually thrusting until now.
He said,
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. If you cannot withstand even the move I’m about to use, stop being so foolishly brave.”
Whoooong!
The wind blew.
It rose from beneath Jin Hyeogo’s feet.
Flap, flap, flap!
His black robe billowed in the rising wind, and haze rose thickly around him like a burning signal fire.
And Yeon Sowol...
‘...Heavy.’
An unknown pressure seized him.
It felt as though the ground had grabbed his feet and was pulling them down.
He felt as though he could not take even a single step.
Then,
‘The black spear.’
He could not take his eyes off Jin Hyeogo’s spearpoint.
No, it felt as though he was being sucked into the spear itself.
The entire world seemed flattened beneath pressure, while that black spearpoint alone pierced the center of his being.
Yeon Sowol understood instinctively.
‘Is this... what they call a pulse?’
It was not something he understood with his head.
Something had simply brushed across his senses.
His pulse had been seized.
No matter how he tried to move, no matter what he tried to do, that spear was aimed precisely at the center of every possibility.
It pierced every option Yeon Sowol could choose through a single point.
What did that even mean?
How was it possible?
What level of martial arts was this?
He had no idea.
Still, Yeon Sowol was certain of one thing.
‘It will pierce me.’
He simply knew he would not be able to block or evade that strike.
That was what would happen.
Yeon Sowol’s body trembled.
The certainty that he would be pierced.
Was that not a death sentence?
If Jin Hyeogo wanted to kill him, he would die.
That cold realization shook Yeon Sowol.
But...
‘...I’ll win.’
Yeon Sowol’s momentum settled.
Without blinking, his eyes traced Jin Hyeogo beyond the spear.
‘Senior Jin is right.’
If he could not overcome even this, it would be absurd to think he could stand against the Yuezhou provincial governor.
So...
He would win.
He might lose this martial arts match, but in a fight to the death, he would win.
The trembling left Yeon Sowol’s body.
“Good momentum. But there are things in this world that cannot be done through momentum alone, Sowol.”
Whoosh!
Jin Hyeogo stepped forward.
The black spear suddenly approached as if folding space and piercing through it.
Yeon Sowol swung his sword.
His sword qi glanced off the black spear and leaped upward like a salmon.
Screeeech!
The martial force wave pouring from the black spear was like a waterfall.
The blue-glowing sword qi slipped around it, swiftly brushing past the side of the spear shaft. Faster than the spear itself, it climbed toward Jin Hyeogo’s wrist.
Clang!
In the end, it could not overcome the terrifying martial force wave raging along the spear shaft and shattered.
And Yeon Sowol...
Crunch!
Jin Hyeogo’s spear pierced his shoulder, sending him rolling away.
“Guh! Cough! Keh...”
After rolling across the martial arts platform several times, Yeon Sowol collapsed. Unable to endure the martial force wave that had swept through his whole body, he vomited vivid red blood.
Looking down at him, Jin Hyeogo withdrew his spear.
At some point, he had reversed it. He had struck with the blunt butt of the spear rather than its head.
Thanks to that, Yeon Sowol avoided having a hole punched through his body.
“Ghk. Cough!”
That did not mean he looked well.
Jin Hyeogo spoke sternly to him.
“Look. You cannot handle it, can you? No matter how great a genius you are, there are limits. So do not take my advice so lightly.”
“Ghk... ngh...”
Yeon Sowol could not even answer. He only vomited blood.
“Hm.”
Jin Hyeogo spun his spear and rested it on his shoulder.
Prick!
At the pain in his wrist, he glanced down.
“Hah.”
A thin wound, like a crack, had been carved into his wrist.
Drops of blood welled up.
“...It reached me through even my protective qi art...?”
Jin Hyeogo shook his head.
Yeon Sowol must have known he would be pierced.
Yet in that situation, rather than running or defending himself, he had launched one final attack just to leave even a small wound...
“Stubborn bastard.”
Jin Hyeogo suddenly looked away.
The spectators surrounding the martial arts platform came into view.
Every one of them had their mouths shut tight.
Jin Hyeogo’s brows drew together.
Was that not strange?
‘No cheers?’
He had clearly won overwhelmingly, yet no one congratulated him.
‘What’s with their reaction? I ended up revealing even my life-saving ultimate technique.’
No one cared about him.
Instead, they were all staring in one direction, fists clenched tightly and slick with sweat.
Jin Hyeogo turned his gaze there too.
“Ghk...!”
Yeon Sowol was there.
Though he had vomited enough blood to form a pool, he forced himself back to his feet.
With bloodshot eyes, he cupped his fists with both hands.
“I... learned a lesson.”
Just as Yeon Sowol had sensed that he would be pierced, Jin Hyeogo became certain of one thing at that moment.
‘He won’t listen at all.’
Yeon Sowol would certainly clash with the Yuezhou provincial governor.
Jin Hyeogo did not know why, but it would happen no matter what.
A bitter sigh was about to escape him.
“Waaaaah!”
“Leader of the White-Robed League!”
“Great Hero Yeon!”
“Great Hero Yeon!”
Cheers poured from the crowd.
A martial artist who had defeated five peak-realm experts despite only being late first-rate.
A martial artist who, even in an overwhelmingly unfavorable situation, had grown until the very end and shown an unbreakable fighting spirit.
The person who had started all of this.
His first defeat.
Everyone present wanted to pay respect to that defeat.
“Great Hero Yeon!”
“Great Hero Yeon!”
“Leader Yeon!”
There were too many emotions for them to find the words.
They could only shout Great Hero Yeon, Great Hero Yeon at the top of their lungs.
Jin Hyeogo stared at those faces with a dumbfounded expression, then turned around with his long spear resting on his shoulder.
Whether anyone watched or not.
Clicking his tongue, he left the martial arts platform.
“Damn it.”
Footnotes:
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