WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 191: Spring Silkworms Spin Silk Until Death (15)
──────
Dawn.
Winter was nearing its end.
There were times when, amid the biting wind, one could feel a faint yet stirring warmth.
“Hmm. Is this it?”
Hyeonjung, disciple of Wudang’s Sect Leader Hwagokja, had entered Beneath the Dark Heavens under Hwagokja’s orders.
He replaced the incense atop the altar, then looked over the fragments of glass scattered across the floor.
As he carefully gathered the pieces and wrapped them in silk, Hyeonjung’s narrow eyes narrowed further.
“Grand Martial Uncle Yeon Sowol shattered a demon.”
Not just any demon, but one that had formed a domain.
Hyeonjung considered it.
Could he have done something similar?
“Not a chance.”
No matter how he thought about it, he could find no answer.
Escaping alone would have been an incredible accomplishment.
Still.
After gathering every fragment, Hyeonjung murmured as he descended the mountain.
“Even so, I’ll do it someday. I’ll shatter a demon and save the spirits within.”
It was simply too cool.
* * *
Early that morning, Wudang’s disciples gathered in one place.
They burned incense.
They recited the prayer text and mantras together.
Upon the altar lay fragments of the wish-granting pearl Hyeonjung had collected at dawn.
It was a rite to console the spirits that had been trapped within it.
A Wudang elder’s prayer continued at length.
「The scaled creature of Dongting Lake envied humankind, and countless living beings suffered. For this, we condemn it.」
「Though severed from it, they could not escape their suffering. For this, we mourn them.」
「By acting upon what he had learned, he shattered the deep demon. Together, we honor the merits of his master and the Heavenly Venerable.」
Yeon Sowol’s deeds emerged through the prayer.
As Jin So and the other third-generation disciples listened, goosebumps rose all over them, and their toes curled for some reason.
Whenever their eyes happened to meet, they shared the same thought with a glance.
‘I’ve got goosebumps.’
‘You too?’
‘Me too...’
The hastily arranged morning rite ended.
After sharing a more lavish offering meal than usual, the third-generation disciples massaged arms and legs worn out from all the errands they had run since dawn, chatting noisily.
They had only been given about fifteen minutes to rest, but even that was precious and sweet to them.
“Seriously. Remember when we first heard the rumor that a Flood Dragon had appeared in Yuezhou?”
“Right? Back then, they nearly snuck off to Yuezhou.”
“Senior Brother, I had no choice. It was a Flood Dragon from the legends. Even our Martial Uncles had never seen one. I might never get another chance in my life. How was I supposed to resist?”
“But even then, I kept thinking about that wish-granting pearl made from a person. It was sad. Pitiful.”
“Ah, right. Still, I never thought we would see it ourselves.”
“Exactly. Our new Great-Grand Martial Uncle was the central figure in it all, and he ultimately freed the spirits trapped in the wish-granting pearl... It feels so strange.”
The third-generation disciples nodded as each added a word.
Jin So, who had quietly listened among them, spoke as well.
“It’s not for nothing that the Sixty-Eighth Patriarch accepted him as a disciple. Even though he is a lay disciple, the Patriarch acknowledged his generational standing.”
“You’re right, Senior Brother. That must be it.”
Everyone eagerly agreed.
“From what I saw today, I think even the elders were very proud.”
“They all said so. Our masters and grandmasters too.”
“In the end, the patriarch must have accepted him because he possesses Wudang’s spirit.”
“That’s right. ...But listen.”
Jin So’s eyes suddenly gleamed as he changed the subject.
“What martial arts do you think Great-Grand Martial Uncle Yeon Sowol will inherit? From the looks of things, he may even receive Wudang’s supreme secret arts.”
“Most likely, right?”
“I’ve been curious about that. He learned martial arts in the secular world first, after all. I wonder how he will train.”
“Ah.”
“He won’t get beaten up and thrown around like us, right? He already has his own style.”
“Of course not. His generational standing is equal to the Sect Leader and elders. He can’t exactly roll around and get beaten like we do. He has dignity to maintain.”
“Ha. I’m jealous... He’s about our age, but our circumstances are completely different.”
“That’s true.”
Grumbling, the third-generation disciples rose.
Their break was over.
It was time for morning training.
“Ugh. Ugh.”
Groaning all the while, they headed for the training grounds.
* * *
After leaving Beneath the Dark Heavens, Yeon Sowol began formally learning the Yin-Yang Divine Art.
“Originally, I intended to let you go back and forth through Beneath the Dark Heavens for a while, so you could experience various demons. But that must be postponed. You grasped its essentials far earlier than expected, so it would be best for you to first gain a certain degree of mastery.”
Seven days and nights passed like that.
By the time Yeon Sowol had learned every formula of the Yin-Yang Divine Art and acquired various methods for bringing it to maturity, Chungdam True Man summoned him.
“Stand over there.”
It was the season when the cold air began to mingle with the rich scent of spring soil.
In the yard before a shabby thatched cottage, Yeon Sowol and Chungdam True Man faced one another.
“You can now be said to have attained first-stage mastery of the Yin-Yang Divine Art. It is an absurdly fast pace.”
First-stage mastery might seem insignificant, since it was merely the first step.
But that was not the truth.
Even in a path of mastery that continued to the tenth or twelfth stage, achievement was still achievement.
To attain something, however small.
‘If I compare it to preparing for an exam, it’s like reading through all the textbooks within the test range once.’
It was only one reading, but that was not easy.
Moreover, the Yin-Yang Divine Art was infamous for how difficult it was to learn.
First-stage mastery meant grasping its overall outline and becoming able to use it at the most basic level.
How could that be easy?
For others, it would take two months at the fastest, or even a year at the slowest.
Yet he had comprehended it in just seven days and nights. That was why Chungdam True Man spoke as he did.
“Your insight is remarkable. You possess a mind that moves between Loss of Self and Clear Knowing. Add your extraordinary insight into the cosmos and your innate talent, and you learn exceedingly quickly. Thus, I intend to change your training method from now on.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You will bring your mastery to maturity through actual sparring. In that process, I can teach you Grafting Flowers onto a Tree as well.”
“...I will spar with you, Master?”
“Yes. Grafting Flowers onto a Tree is still incomplete, and I am the only one who understands it.”
“...Yes.”
Spar?
With one of the greatest masters under heaven?
It would certainly be an extraordinary experience and a great lesson.
Still, Yeon Sowol felt an odd sense of foreboding.
“Now, draw your sword.”
“My sword?”
“Yes.”
“Uh... It is a real sword.”
“Do you think you could do anything to me even if you held a real sword?”
“Still. How can I point a real sword at my master...?”
“Stop talking nonsense and draw it already.”
Yeon Sowol hesitantly drew Clear Mirror.
He knew it was for training. He knew that in terms of martial arts, he was no match for Chungdam True Man.
Still, it felt strange.
Facing his master with a real sword in hand.
...It was a little frightening too.
“Now. Attack.”
Chungdam True Man stood at ease.
There was no sense of presence coming from Chungdam True Man. At a glance, Chungdam True Man truly looked like an ordinary elderly person, as though a light shove would reduce their bones to splinters.
“Um...”
But Yeon Sowol broke into a cold sweat.
This was not from awkwardness.
He simply knew what an absolute being the frail-looking elder before him was, how immense that person’s martial power truly was.
Of course, he only knew that. He had never actually crossed hands with Chungdam True Man.
That made him even more tense.
Because he did not know.
When he thrust his sword forward, he could not imagine in the slightest how Chungdam True Man would respond.
‘And he is going to use Grafting Flowers onto a Tree. What exactly is he planning? It’s not as if I have rules like some demon...’
Could it be used on people too?
The less he could guess, the more nervous he became.
“Are you not coming?”
Only after Chungdam True Man urged him again did Yeon Sowol steady his breathing.
Then.
“Hmm...”
When he looked again, Chungdam True Man was different from before.
He did not merely appear ordinary.
He seemed almost nonexistent.
He was plainly before Yeon Sowol’s eyes, yet somehow looked transparent.
Yeon Sowol felt as though he might forget Chungdam True Man’s very presence.
He did not know where to aim his sword.
“What are you doing?”
“...I’m coming now.”
Whoosh!
Yeon Sowol stomped the ground and rushed forward.
‘Rather than attempt something grand before Master...’
A simple thrust.
The fastest.
The most stable.
And therefore, the easiest to adapt with even in unforeseen situations.
Yet its momentum was sharp.
Martial force, now wielded as naturally as breathing, surged through Clear Mirror.
Silver light flashed.
Clang!
Chungdam True Man’s Sword Fingers, formed by joining his index and middle fingers, struck the very tip of Clear Mirror.
At a completely unexpected moment.
At an unexpected timing.
Crack!
“Ghk?”
Yeon Sowol heard a sound as though his entire body were breaking apart.
Stagger.
A peak realm master lost his balance and missed his footing.
“Urgh...!”
Unable to endure the searing pain, he collapsed to the ground.
Yeon Sowol reflexively examined his right arm.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead.
Heat surged up his spine, battering at his mind.
Something had gone wrong.
Terribly wrong.
His arm was broken.
No, crushed.
His wrist, fingers, shoulder, and elbow had all been destroyed just now.
Would he ever be able to use his arm again?
“Uh...?”
But that was not the case.
Looking carefully, his fingers, wrist, shoulder, and elbow were all perfectly fine.
“What is this...?”
Yeon Sowol repeatedly clenched and opened his right hand, then rotated his wrist and arm.
The terrible pain from moments ago had vanished as though it had been a lie.
“What are you doing? Get up.”
“Ah. Yes.”
When Yeon Sowol hastily stood, Chungdam True Man spoke again.
“Attack.”
Gritting his teeth, Yeon Sowol took his stance again.
Clang!
Crack!
“Argh!”
“Get up. Attack again.”
Clang!
Crunch!
“Ghk!”
“Get up.”
The same situation repeated itself.
Chungdam True Man demanded an attack.
Yeon Sowol attacked.
Something tore throughout his body with horrible sounds, and he was thrown away.
Then he got back up.
“Pant. Pant. Haa...”
Yeon Sowol thought.
‘This feels strangely familiar...’
It somewhat reminded him of when he had first learned from Yi Yubaek.
“Attack again.”
Chungdam True Man’s voice simply repeated the command.
Yeon Sowol gripped Clear Mirror again with trembling hands and considered it.
He ran through the situation again and again, analyzing it.
‘So this is not simply him knocking Clear Mirror aside with Sword Fingers.’
That was how it had looked.
Yeon Sowol himself had thought so too.
But if that were all, he would not have felt such terrible pain.
He would merely have been deflected.
No, if Chungdam True Man had simply batted the sword aside, Yeon Sowol himself would not have been flung away at all.
After suffering through it several times, he realized that Chungdam True Man was only using true qi at the first-rate level.
In terms of internal power, Yeon Sowol was far superior.
Yet he had been left this battered.
‘He twisted the point where my force converged. Exquisitely.’
Only after reaching that thought did Yeon Sowol suddenly understand.
‘Ah. So that is why it is Grafting Flowers onto a Tree.’
That move of Chungdam True Man’s was an application of Grafting Flowers onto a Tree.
‘The power carried in a peak master’s martial force... If I compare it to the twenty-first century, it would be the force of a speeding freight truck.’
Perhaps even a train.
Such transcendent force was launched with the intent to pierce, shatter, and tear the opponent apart.
‘But put another way, that means it places an enormous burden on the body.’
That was why one needed to know how to properly align internal power before learning martial force.
If that alignment twisted even slightly, not only would one fail to exert sufficient power, one could injure one’s own body.
One aspect of martial force was a violent power that brutally crushed the opponent.
But its other aspect was a dizzying threat that could crush oneself.
‘That is why it is Grafting Flowers onto a Tree. Master used the smallest possible intervention to magnify that threat to its limit. The sword force I released was made to collapse on itself.’
Force had to be aligned in a straight line.
A slight shake at its very end.
It was like slightly derailing the front of a moving train.
Then every force behind it would cross, collide, and destroy itself.
That was it.
The reason Chungdam True Man could render Yeon Sowol helpless with a single tap of his Sword Fingers.
‘...I can hardly believe someone can do that deliberately.’
Power. Timing. Speed. Point of impact.
It was a strike that could not be used if even one of those was off by the slightest degree, a move that truly pierced a single instant.
‘It does not feel as though the strike was adjusted to hit me. It feels as though Chungdam True Man climbed onto my qi itself...’
Regardless, its power when successful was tremendous.
‘...The strength was moderated, and it was still this bad.’
If Chungdam True Man’s Sword Fingers had struck Clear Mirror even slightly harder, Yeon Sowol’s fingers, wrist, elbow, and shoulder would already have been crushed beyond recovery.
‘...That is why it hurt so much.’
They said that the pain people found hardest to endure was pain that lingered in between.
When a bone broke outright and pain became extreme, the body released natural painkillers such as endorphins.
But when it hurt in an ambiguous way?
There was none of that. One simply had to feel the full pain.
Still.
Once he understood that, Yeon Sowol felt a little more at ease.
Clang!
Crack!
Once again, the Sword Fingers struck him, sending his body spinning.
Pain flared through every joint alongside terrible sounds.
Even so, Yeon Sowol silently gathered himself and rose again.
Nothing would break or become unusable. He knew Chungdam True Man was controlling his strength.
“Whew. I’ll come again.”
Though his hands and knees trembled, Yeon Sowol settled his qi once more.
The training that had begun in the morning had already continued for an entire day.
The evening glow had faded, and darkness had long fallen over the surroundings.
Yet Yeon Sowol’s eyes glittered.
A glint passed through Chungdam True Man’s eyes.
“Isn’t it painful? Even your stance does not shrink. Even the elders suffered greatly when they underwent this sort of training.”
At those words, Yeon Sowol gave a bitter smile.
“I can’t say that it’s hard.”
“Why not?”
“It is something to be grateful for.”
Yeon Sowol shrugged.
“Am I not learning from the Sword Immortal, one of the greatest masters under heaven? How many martial artists in Jianghu would lay down their lives for a single day of teaching like this?”
“...”
“The Sword Immortal taught me Wudang’s divine art, and is also passing down Grafting Flowers onto a Tree, a completely new martial vista never before seen in ancient or modern times. If I said it was hard, what would people in Jianghu think of me?”
“...”
“My body and mind are weary, but I must learn like this if I am to survive. And if I am to save those around me from demons. So.”
Yeon Sowol straightened his back and raised his sword.
“I should welcome it. With an open heart.”
His presence suddenly became a little transparent.
A wind from the end of autumn blew, and it seemed as though the wind simply passed through Yeon Sowol.
Chungdam True Man smiled and raised one hand.
“Very well.”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
