WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 197: Spring Silkworms Spin Silk Until Death (21)
──────
‘Great-Grand Martial Uncle Yeon Sowol is strong.’
‘Far stronger than the rumors suggest.’
‘The Grandmaster would not have acknowledged his generational standing for no reason. He must have had his reasons.’
‘But.’
‘But.’
Regarding Yeon Sowol, there was one thought they all harbored, though none dared voice it.
‘He still cannot know much about Wudang’s martial arts.’
‘He has not even been here for half a year, has he?’
‘It cannot be helped. He did not build his martial foundations in the Wudang style.’
It was neither contempt nor anything of the sort.
It was simply a reasonable judgment.
Yeon Sowol would be ignorant of Wudang’s martial principles.
How could he not be?
Yet there had been an incident that greatly shook that judgment.
Just a few days ago, Yeon Sowol had gone all over Wudang Mountain, watching over the disciples’ martial arts.
After that, the Wudang disciples’ view of him changed once more.
‘How can someone who trained in the secular world his entire life teach Supreme Ultimate Fist like this?’
‘Even Cloud Ladder?’
‘It is certain he did not know the forms. But he had completely grasped their principles.’
‘Come to think of it, they said Great-Grand Martial Uncle Yeon Sowol’s unique martial art belongs to the Daoist tradition. Perhaps they share something on a fundamental level, since they are both Daoist martial arts.’
He might not know every detail of Wudang’s martial arts, but he seemed to have penetrated their fundamental principles. No wonder the Grandmaster had taken him in.
That was how their perception had changed.
Because of it, their treatment of Yeon Sowol carried a deeper respect.
Yes.
But that was all.
That was the extent of the Wudang disciples’ understanding of Yeon Sowol.
Even that only applied to the third-generation disciples and some second-generation disciples.
The first-generation disciples, who formed the backbone of present-day Wudang, had fewer dealings with Yeon Sowol and knew even less about him.
Only Hyeonjung, Wudang’s Sect Leader's designated successor, who had been involved with Yeon Sowol in one way or another, knew what he was truly capable of. The other first-generation disciples had not given him much thought.
‘He must have something remarkable about him.’
‘That is why the Grandmaster accepted him.’
That vague notion was all they had.
It had been.
It had been, but...
“That is...”
“Supreme Ultimate Fist? No. Lesser Clarity Sword Art? Supreme Clarity? No...”
Within the darkness where the demon called Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes was sealed,
every Wudang disciple stared wide-eyed at the martial vista Yeon Sowol displayed.
That was especially true of the first-generation disciples.
The more they knew, the more they could see.
Yeon Sowol walked.
He received, redirected, and deflected the countless hands blooming from empty air.
No matter how they poured down from front, back, left, or right, he never faltered.
He responded to every change.
When he moved, he stopped. When he stopped, he moved. He never ceased.
Just as the Supreme Ultimate did.
The way he turned aside and broke every attack also seemed incomparably clear and steadfast.
Just as Supreme Clarity was.
Everyone watched Yeon Sowol.
No one even blinked.
They forgot the perilous situation of facing a demon.
Silence fell.
Not even a breath could be heard.
Grafting Flowers onto a Tree.
The martial vista Chungdam True Man had newly devised.
Within it, the Wudang disciples saw the essence of Wudang martial arts.
Crackkk!
Crack!
Only the sounds of countless fingers and forearms breaking rang loudly.
But,
“Ghk!”
“Urgh!”
The silence did not last long.
Yeon Sowol had only shattered the hands attacking him.
At first, Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes seemed startled, and its hands slowed. But apparently regaining its senses, it responded by producing even more hands.
Yeon Sowol dealt with them easily enough, but the problem was the third-generation disciples.
And the second-generation disciples who had yet to reach the peak realm.
The fiercer assault suddenly resumed.
Crunch!
Someone was being strangled.
Smack! Crack!
Someone else was struck in the face.
They collapsed.
“Ghk!”
“Urgh!”
Some tried to endure by imitating Yeon Sowol’s movements, but even that did not last.
The Wudang disciples crumpled.
Several glanced back again.
They looked to the elders, then to the Sect Leader.
‘Is that really all right?’
Yeon Sowol could defend himself, but could not protect the other disciples, could he?
That was their question.
Yet the elders and Sect Leader did not move.
Only Sect Leader Hwagokja slightly tilted his head toward Chungdam True Man, his lips moving.
“Martial Uncle. So this is Grafting Flowers onto a Tree. It is truly astonishing. Though he seems to have only taken a single step into it, he is defending against a demon this effectively.”
“It is still incomplete.”
“Even so, it is astonishing. It is not wholly something new, but something that fully carries on the teachings of our mountain... No, it merely reveals those teachings’ true nature. It is astonishing enough to make me feel blind for failing to understand it before Martial Uncle enlightened us.”
“I am the same. Even when the Dao is before our eyes, there are many times we fail to see it.”
“Is that so... Thanks to you, I understand a little. The entry stage of Grafting Flowers onto a Tree must lie in blending with it, then using it as one’s footing.”
“Yes. Sowol will show you that as well.”
“Indeed...”
Hwagokja was filled with admiration.
There was not a trace of doubt on his face.
He believed Yeon Sowol would overcome this crisis with room to spare.
Yet admiration was not the only thing on his face.
An inescapable shadow also lay over it.
“Martial Uncle. There is still one thing this martial nephew does not understand.”
“What is it?”
Hwagokja’s gaze turned toward the second-generation and third-generation disciples.
They were being seized and overwhelmed by countless hands.
“...I think facing a demon directly and seeing how Grafting Flowers onto a Tree works against it is an immensely meaningful experience. They will gain much insight regarding both demons and the Dao, and their progress will be faster.”
“They will.”
“But... Even so, this martial nephew does not understand why you are in such a hurry. I understand that this method can lead to rapid progress. But demons linger in the heart, do they not? For immature disciples, could today’s experience not return as a heart demon in the future?”
Hwagokja’s concern.
Chungdam True Man nodded in agreement.
“Hwagok. Your words are entirely correct.”
“Then why did you gather even the second-generation and third-generation disciples? Training like this could have been done with the first-generation disciples alone...”
“Because demons will come.”
“Pardon?”
Chungdam True Man suddenly turned to look at Yeon Sowol.
As he broke apart the countless hands pouring down on him, his eyes were closed.
There was something almost transparent about his bearing.
Thrum...
Thruuum...
Once more, energy spread outward in concentric circles.
Yeon Sowol’s energy melted into the darkness of Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes.
Just as Chungdam True Man’s energy had once permeated the empty air and Yeon Sowol’s body.
Watching that sight, Chungdam True Man spoke.
His tone was resolute.
“The Demonic Cult will come for Sowol. I do not know exactly when, but it will not be far off.”
“What...?”
“So should we not prepare? From top to bottom. Immediately. Should we not learn how to fight demons?”
Hwagokja tried to ask something more, but swallowed his words.
The elders around them had all turned to Chungdam True Man with widened eyes.
‘What could he possibly mean by that...?’
Hwagokja squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
It seemed he would have much to ask in private later.
* * *
Hands poured in from all directions.
With his eyes half-open, Yeon Sowol responded to them.
‘The first step of Grafting Flowers onto a Tree is to twist away the opponent’s strength.’
Crackkk!
Crack!
Just as Clear Mirror’s thrust toward Chungdam True Man had been twisted aside by a lightly swung pair of Sword Fingers, every movement of Yeon Sowol’s feet and shoulders broke the hands apart.
It had felt awkward at first, but the more he exchanged moves, the more accustomed he became.
‘Good. I’m used to it now. Time for the next step.’
The first step alone was enough to protect himself.
But it could not protect the other disciples.
That was why he needed the next step.
“Hoooo...”
He drew a deep breath.
True Flame blazed through the meridians of his entire body, and the sixth-stage mastery of Yin-Yang Divine Art made the qi within and outside his body resonate with each other.
Yeon Sowol’s Cosmic Qi mixed into the air, then mixed with the demon Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes.
At that moment,
Yeon Sowol stretched out his hand.
An arm that had suddenly risen from the air was caught in his grasp.
Thruuum...
With a massive resonance, Yeon Sowol pulled.
He hauled on the arm in his grip with all his strength, as if throwing it over his shoulder.
Crunchkkk!
Countless arms were pulled out.
Like sweet potato vines being pulled out in thick, trailing clusters.
Crackkkk!
The hands crushing the second-generation and third-generation disciples suddenly converged on Yeon Sowol.
They were pulled away wherever Yeon Sowol drew them.
They broke in the air, spraying red blood.
Screeeech!
The darkness screamed.
Countless arms flailed.
As though connected to invisible darkness, they were dragged along wherever Yeon Sowol pulled and broke apart again.
Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes struggled to sever that connection, but it would not break.
Yeon Sowol’s qi, which had already seeped in, tightly bound arm to arm.
Crackkk!
Yeon Sowol did not stop.
He spun his body, pulling harder on the hand he held as though he meant to rip the roots out completely, tearing Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes’ hands from the air.
Screeeech!
The darkness churned.
Crunchkk!
More arms than he could count rose from the air and reached for Yeon Sowol.
He was swallowed amid waves of enormous hands.
Yeon Sowol broke and shattered them all, but each broken arm was replaced by a new one that assaulted him again.
A tide of pale arms surged in, shattered, then surged in again.
A deadlock.
Like someone drowning, he was swept beneath the waves of arms, then emerged again covered in blood. He was swept under again, then surfaced again.
After repeating that several times, Yeon Sowol coughed and shouted.
“Hey! Aren’t you going to help?”
Ah.
Only then did the Wudang disciples, who had been watching blankly, regain their senses.
Third-generation, second-generation, and first-generation disciples alike looked around as though waking from a dream.
There were none.
Not a single arm remained in the darkness that had tormented them only moments ago.
Every last one was caught up with Yeon Sowol.
Which meant,
this was their chance to counterattack.
The first to step forward was Jin So, a third-generation disciple.
“Come on! Let’s help Great-Grand Martial Uncle!”
The next to move was Hyeonjung, Wudang’s Sect Leader's designated successor.
“Senior Brothers! Let’s help Martial Uncle! We may be able to destroy a demon!”
At his lead, the first-generation and second-generation disciples surged after him.
“Cut!”
“Carve it apart!”
Slice!
Crack!
With no need to worry about incoming attacks, there was nothing holding them back.
Countless blades tore apart the demon called Thousand Hands, Thousand Eyes.
That day, one demon suppressed Beneath the Dark Heavens vanished.
It was something that had not happened in nearly a hundred years.
* * *
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The stone chamber where the demon had vanished.
Once the torches were lit, it quickly became bright.
The damp, chilly air warmed as well.
Strangely, all the pieces of flesh from the countless arms and hands that had been underfoot moments ago, along with the pools of blood sloshing around their feet, had vanished without a trace.
As if it had all been a dream, nothing remained in the stone chamber.
“Haa... Haa...”
Yeon Sowol sat in the now-clean stone chamber, catching his breath.
His whole body was drenched in sweat.
“How was it?”
It was Chungdam True Man.
Yeon Sowol gripped his trembling knees and rose.
“It was... difficult.”
“Why do you think it was difficult?”
“I could catch and break them... but it was hard to inflict proper damage.”
“Then what do you think would help?”
Yeon Sowol sank into thought before answering.
“Cotton Palm. I think it would help if I learned the Cotton Palm Art I brought.”
“Why?”
“Because it is a technique that shakes the opponent’s qi from within. I think it would work well with Grafting Flowers onto a Tree.”
Chungdam True Man smiled.
“Correct. Now that you have completed the entry stage, it is time to move to the next step.”
“Then will you teach me Cotton Palm Art?”
“You will learn it quickly.”
Chungdam True Man clasped his hands behind his back and turned around.
He walked through the Wudang disciples scattered about, catching their breath.
“Cotton Palm. Cloud Ladder. Even Supreme Clarity Sword Art and Supreme Ultimate Wisdom Sword. You will learn them quickly. You have already obtained the essence of Wudang martial arts.”
Yeon Sowol dragged his shaking legs as he followed Chungdam True Man.
Then,
Rustle...
The Wudang disciples sprawled on the ground, panting, rose one after another, offered their respects, and began following behind them.
“Celestial Worthy, Incarnation of the Golden Palace Who Subdues Demons...”
“Celestial Worthy, Incarnation of the Golden Palace Who Subdues Demons...”
Not only the third-generation and second-generation disciples, but even the first-generation disciples recited Daoist invocations from the depths of their dantians.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
