WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
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◈ I Became the Mad Demon in a Novel ◈
Chapter 31: Dragon-Phoenix Sword Debate
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Drawing the martial arts out of one’s head and turning them back into a complete manual was a long, difficult task.
As soon as the Pale Enchantress Fairy reached the safe house Yeowol had arranged, she asked for fifteen days.
The problem was that the fairy shut the door and stayed inside all day, leaving me with nothing to do.
Since I had plenty of money, I wandered around the market like an idle rich man, trying snacks and watching people.
Then I spotted something unusual.
Dragon-Phoenix Sword Debate Branch.
A grand flag fluttered in the distance.
Looking at it felt rather strange.
One of the unique features of Mad Heaven Records that fans had loved most was right before my eyes.
‘So I get to see it in person.’
The River North Alliance’s bizarre recruitment system.
Verbal sword sparring was basically a battle of words, but they had even divided its difficulty into a formal system of rank advancement.
Since they couldn’t have people fighting bloody battles, they would judge the skills of promising young martial artists through sword debates.
In a way, it was a system very much in the orthodox faction’s style.
‘Han Yubaek probably...’
The Dragon-Phoenix Sword Debate consisted of three stages.
Although the difficulty rose to absurd levels with each stage, the protagonist of Mad Heaven Records had cleared all three in just half a day.
That feat had made Han Yubaek the most famous rising talent in River North.
At that point, how could I not be curious?
‘Should I give it a try?’
A once-in-a-generation genius of demonic martial arts who rivaled Han Yubaek.
Yet also the lunatic of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the worst villain the Demonic Cult had ever produced.
What if that terrible demon tried the River North Alliance’s sword debate ranking system?
How could a fan of the original novel possibly resist?
The gatekeeper, holding a Tiger-Felling Spear at the ready, looked me up and down and spoke without a trace of courtesy.
“Here to challenge for a rank?”
His eyes held a mixture of boredom and contempt.
They seemed to sneer, “What kind of nuisance is it this time?”
Well, they probably had well over a hundred people turning up every day, full of confidence and wondering what rank they could reach.
People tended to be generous when judging themselves. The younger they were, the more likely they were to mistake themselves for geniuses.
“Yes. This is my first attempt.”
At my answer, the gatekeeper gestured to the left with his eyes.
“If you want to start at the first rank, go to the Fledgling Dragon Gate over there. If you’re confident in your skills, you can challenge the Fierce Dragon Gate right away.”
I looked toward the Fierce Dragon Gate on the opposite side.
“I’ll challenge the Fierce Dragon Gate.”
“You’ve got some spirit. If you pass, you’ll see me again.”
When I entered the Fierce Dragon Gate, several people were already sitting before the rank examiners, sweat running down their foreheads.
I looked at the small wooden tags hanging from a long board beside them.
Three Powers Sword
Six Harmonies Sword
Arhat Fist
Floating Cloud Palm
Swift Parting Steps
.
.
It was just as I had read in the novel.
Third-rate martial arts that a local Martial Arts School might teach.
Challengers could choose three of those twenty third-rate arts.
In a way, that was only natural. No matter how skilled the examiners were, they couldn’t know the martial arts of every sect.
True to the sword-crazed Mad Demon, I chose Three Powers Sword and Six Harmonies Sword. For footwork, I picked Hidden Shadow Steps.
After I had sat with my chosen wooden tags in hand for about an hour, my turn came.
There were three examiners before me.
The narrow-eyed old man in the middle spoke in an indifferent voice.
“Do you know the rules?”
“No internal energy. I take part in the sword debate using only the opening moves of my chosen martial arts. Is there anything else?”
“No. Let us begin.”
The examiner on the far left spoke bluntly.
“I’ll take position on your right with the Snake formula of Drunken Immortal Steps, then immediately target your Utmost Yang Point and Naohu Point together with Fierce Tiger Splitting Strike.”
Then, right away:
“I’ll move behind you with the Exit formula of Swift Parting Steps. Using Five Energies Severing Stance, I’ll combine it with Fierce Tiger Splitting Strike to bring out the subtleties of Linked Combined Strikes.”
Wow. These bastards were starting like this?
As if attacking first wasn’t enough, these old men were shamelessly ganging up on me right from the start?
“I throw myself backward and use Lazy Donkey Roll.”
“Hm?”
The old men gave me strange looks.
Their eyes seemed to ask, “What’s wrong with this idiot?”
Honestly, it barely counted as a martial arts move.
I had just rolled across the ground like a dog to get out of the way.
After counting about two seconds in my head, I continued.
“I’m back on my feet. I advance with Hidden Cloud Ghost Flow, then cut off Elder Swift Parting Steps’ head with Path of a Single Slash. If you duck, I bite your ear. If you dodge sideways, I kick you in the balls.”
The old man who had shamelessly joined the attack with Swift Parting Steps tilted his head.
“Isn’t that against the rules?”
“Why? I haven’t used internal energy or any martial arts outside my choices.”
“I mean the biting and the groin.”
“What? Are those martial arts? My mouth and feet aren’t doing anything. You’re saying I can’t use them?”
The Swift Parting Steps elder clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Tsk, tsk. A sword debate is still a proper sparring match. How can a young man who calls himself a martial artist treat proper conduct so lightly? If we allow such crude means, every sword debate becomes meaningless.”
The strange logic of the old man from the orthodox faction was so ridiculous that I laughed.
“Ha! Two people are coming at my waist and heart to kill me, but I can’t even use my mouth? Isn’t kicking someone in the balls more merciful than going for the heart?”
“Now, now. Before we are martial artists, this is a fight between men. How can you carelessly attack the groin...”
“Enough. That’s enough. It isn’t a martial art, so let it pass. There is no rule forbidding such a move.”
The old man in the middle gave a quiet reprimand, and the argument quickly died down.
Hmm. So that old man was the one in charge.
“I’ve restored the offensive stance of Five Energies Severing Stance. I’ll hurry to support the defense with Fierce Surge of Rising Valor.”
“Oh, for fuck’s...”
As I recalled the moves of Fierce Surge of Rising Valor, irritation surged through me.
These crafty old hands were full of dirty tricks, whether attacking or defending.
Wow. I’d thought a battle of words wouldn’t be much, but this was really bringing out my competitive streak.
What sort of person was the Mad Demon?
A genius at using martial arts moves, a rising talent famed as the greatest sword prodigy in the history of the Mad Blood Sword Clan.
On top of that, he was a lunatic who had fought deadly battles with the demons of the Dread Demon Division at every opportunity, even before he had grown his first pubic hair.
He was a madman whose skill alone would have been enough to earn him a place among the Seven Seats.
“I’ve evaded enough, so I’ll switch to offense. I’ll drive into your escape route with Dragon’s Soaring Breakthrough and target your Naohu point along the sword path of Interweaving Flowing Clouds. I’ll even mix in High Mountain Clap as a variation, so don’t blame me for being too heavy-handed.”
“I’ll follow that exchange with Unchanging Rock Severance at full strength, blocking all six directions around you.”
Ha. These vicious old bastards.
Now they were making sure I couldn’t even roll out of the way.
Without internal energy, was this even an attack I could realistically counter?
Every direction was blocked, and a sharp sword tip was shooting toward my head like lightning.
‘Ah!’
Demonic Dual Thought Art.
An advanced demonic mental art flashed through my mind.
A theoretical mental art that divided thought into two streams, something only a chosen few demonic martial artists could learn.
Think of it as being along similar lines to the Wudang Sect’s Dual Principles Sword Art.
“I’ll form a fist path with my left hand and use Striking the Ox Through the Mountain. With my right, I’ll follow a sword path and use Immortal Points the Way to break out of this defensive position.”
“What?”
“Hm?”
All three rank examiners grimaced at once.
“Ho, ho. That isn’t a possible attack.”
“You dare claim you can perform two different moves in a single exchange?”
I was saying it because I could. Were they accusing me of lying?
“But I can.”
“How dare you!”
The old man in the middle waved away the commotion around him, then drew his brows together with a weary look.
“Though a sword debate is an imaginary sparring match, you must not carelessly boast of abilities beyond your actual skill. Breaking this rule would greatly damage both your reputation and your school’s. Will you still refuse to withdraw your claim?”
“I’m saying I can do something because I can. I don’t see what the problem is.”
The old man in the middle suddenly twisted his face into a cruel expression.
“Then demonstrate it.”
Clack.
A wooden sword landed at my feet.
The rank examiner on the left had thrown it down without warning.
I picked it up from the floor.
“Ha. Seriously.”
There was no need to take a formal opening stance.
I stepped half a pace forward with my left foot and let the wooden sword hang loosely in my right hand.
Demonic Dual Thought Art.
A single intent in my mind split into two.
Left hand, fist.
Right hand, sword.
As my left hand drew back to my waist and traced the fist path of Striking the Ox Through the Mountain, the wooden sword in my right cut through the air at a completely different rhythm.
Whoosh!
Striking the Ox Through the Mountain was solid and direct.
Its straight punch gathered force into a single point and drove the impact through an obstacle.
Immortal Points the Way, on the other hand, was fluid.
It rose diagonally from below.
In an instant, it thrust precisely toward a point in the air.
Different breathing.
Different rhythms.
Even the moments when I applied force were different.
One pressed down heavily.
The other flowed lightly onward.
Yet the two moves didn’t interfere with each other at all.
Thump!
A deep crack of air rang out as my left fist struck empty space.
Crack!
Exactly half a beat later, the wooden sword’s tip thrust low to the left.
I relaxed my stance.
It wasn’t even difficult.
“Will that do?”
The Swift Parting Steps elder’s mouth hung half open.
The old man who had been going on about groins and proper conduct just moments ago now struggled to say anything.
The other rank examiners were no different.
Only the old man in the middle narrowed his eyes, carefully considering my attack.
“Hmm. Are you a disciple of Wudang?”
What? Were these old men ignoring their own rules now?
“Have you gone back to judging challengers by their backgrounds?”
In its early days, the Dragon-Phoenix Sword Debate hadn’t been free of the major sects’ influence.
To give their disciples an advantage, they had frequently pulled all kinds of bullshit, slipping people bribes or quietly using their power to pressure them.
In the end, the River North Alliance had changed the rules so that challengers would not be asked about their backgrounds or schools at all.
The same went for martial arts.
To judge everyone’s skills under the same conditions, regardless of their sect, the debates used only twenty third-rate martial arts that anyone could learn.
That question was therefore a clear violation of the rules.
“I misspoke.”
The old man in the middle readily bowed his head.
“Forget I asked.”
Oh, I rather liked that.
At least these old men weren’t willing to throw away the very principles they had set.
“The Fierce Dragon Gate approves your advancement.”
A young man standing at the back hurried over and handed me a rank advancement token.
“Will you challenge the True Dragon Gate right away?”
The True Dragon Gate.
The final hurdle that had made even the protagonist, Han Yubaek, struggle and rack his brains.
Of course, he had passed in the end.
He had even offered an answer so perfect that it left everyone else stunned.
Still, this was the first place where even Han Yubaek had needed a long time to think.
Wasn’t I going a little faster than him?
“I’ll challenge it right now.”
The old man in the middle’s eyes immediately shone with curiosity.
Yet the words that left his mouth struck a completely different note.
“You only have one chance, so consider it carefully. Taking the challenge after spending so much mental effort can place a great strain on you.”
“Oh, this was nothing. My mind’s perfectly clear, so I’ll try it right away.”
The old man in the middle smiled in satisfaction, as if pleased to see such an interesting fellow after so long.
“Guide the challenger to the True Dragon Gate.”
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