WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Martial Arts Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 7: May I Beat Them Up?
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“...Martial God Demon. Do you even know what an immortal peach is?”
“A peach that grows on a peach tree in the Peach Blossom Realm.”
“You know it isn't just any ordinary peach.”
“Of course. Eating one gives you a hundred years' worth of internal energy, doesn't it?”
Baek Hyun's jaw dropped as he listened. But neither Yeo-hwi nor Ju Han-o paid him any attention.
“Martial God Demon. You are not permitted to have an immortal peach.”
“Then I'll ask for permission.”
“...Hah. Why are you in such a hurry? There's no time limit. Isn't the agreement for your disciple to reach the fifth stage of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art? His internal energy will grow with time...”
“Do you think I'm rushing out of impatience?”
“Aren't you?”
“Not at all. My disciple works hard every day. As his master, I'm ashamed to do nothing for him.”
Ju Han-o answered with a faint smile.
“What must I do to obtain permission?”
“...”
Even Yeo-hwi hadn't expected that answer. The Ju Han-o Yeo-hwi knew was arrogant and cared for no one but himself. After a brief silence, Yeo-hwi sighed.
“...Your timing is good, then. Evil spirits are stirring beyond the River of Three Crossings. If you promise to deal with them, I'll give you an immortal peach.”
“I promise.”
Ju Han-o answered without a moment's hesitation. His ready agreement surprised both Yeo-hwi and Baek Hyun.
“...Aren't you going to ask for details?”
“Is there any need?”
“The evil spirits are persistent and powerful. They were all strong in life, and after death, they became evil spirits and gained even greater power...”
“Are they stronger than the evil dragon?”
Ju Han-o's reply left Yeo-hwi speechless. The evil spirits were certainly powerful, but they were not stronger than the evil dragon. Only then did Yeo-hwi realize the worry had been needless and let out a quiet chuckle.
“I'll come for you soon.”
“We may go now, I take it?”
“Yes.”
With that answer, Yeo-hwi vanished. Ju Han-o put his hands behind his back again and started walking. Baek Hyun stood staring at his master's back, then hurried after him.
“W-wait, Master!”
“What is it?”
“Why did you suddenly agree to do that without even discussing it with me?”
“Must I consult you first, Hyun?”
Ju Han-o cast him a sideways glance. Put that way, Baek Hyun had little to say. Still, he refused to back down.
“What that kid, Yeo-hwi, just said was right. What's the rush? Your internal energy builds up over time anyway...!”
“It does. But why spend all that time when there's a way to build it up quickly right nearby?”
“But...”
“No matter how excellent the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art may be, you can't use it properly without enough internal energy. Eat an immortal peach, and you'll gain a hundred years' worth at once. You'll be able to progress quickly in the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art as well.”
“But... you know, isn't there something to be said for slowly building up internal energy and experience...?”
“You've already gained enough experience for now.”
Ju Han-o shook his head.
“From this point on, you need internal energy. With what you have now, you can't gain the experience you need next. That's why you need the immortal peach.”
“...Ngh...”
After all that, Baek Hyun could find nothing more to say. He had felt his lack of internal energy himself. Even against the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o, he could have won a much quicker, more overwhelming victory if he'd had enough. Without it, he couldn't even form force aura. He had no choice but to fight by gathering what little qi he could project outside his body into a single point and striking with it.
“...And what's this River of Three Crossings?”
“A river the dead cross.”
“Why do they cross it?”
“Because the Underworld lies beyond it. After death, all beings first enter the Spirit Realm, then make their way to the River of Three Crossings. But sometimes, those who cannot accept their deaths become corrupted and turn into evil spirits. Dealing with them is the work of the reapers. It seems Yeo-hwi wants to earn merit by doing their work for them.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeo-hwi is an imugi. An imugi must do many things to become a dragon. The evil dragon I defeated must have counted toward Yeo-hwi's merit as well. This task will be no different. Well, that's none of my concern. Just as Yeo-hwi gets what she wants through me, I've gotten what I want through Yeo-hwi.”
There wasn't much to see in the Peach Blossom Realm. The surroundings were as bleak as the dull gray sky. Flowers appeared here and there, but they were only plain wildflowers. Baek Hyun had secretly looked forward to leaving the mansion for the first time in three years. He smacked his lips at the unexpectedly dull scenery.
“We're here.”
Ju Han-o stopped walking. They had arrived at a small hill. A single bare tree stood there, without so much as a leaf.
“There aren't any peaches.”
“Because not just anyone is allowed to pick them.”
Ju Han-o approached the tree as he spoke. The tree trembled. One of its long, thin, thornlike branches stretched toward him. A pale pink peach sprouted from its tip.
“Wow.”
Baek Hyun exclaimed in surprise. Unlike him, Ju Han-o calmly picked the peach.
“You can only eat one immortal peach.”
“I can't eat two?”
“If a human eats two immortal peaches, they die.”
With that, Ju Han-o tossed the peach to Baek Hyun. Baek Hyun swallowed hard at those chilling words and caught it. A peach from the Immortal Realm that granted a hundred years' worth of internal energy. But eating two would kill him.
“Why the hell does it come with a rule like that?”
“Because immortal peaches were meant for immortals in the first place, not humans.”
“What are you waiting for? Eat it,” Ju Han-o urged.
Baek Hyun hesitated briefly, then opened his mouth wide and took a bite. A refreshing sweetness filled his mouth. His eyes widened at his first meal in three years. He hurriedly chewed and swallowed the flesh in his mouth, then wolfed down the rest of the peach.
“It's... delicious.”
“Now circulate your energy.”
He wanted another one, but if eating it would kill him, wanting it wouldn't help. Setting aside his disappointment, Baek Hyun sat down and began practicing the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art. All he'd done was eat a single peach, yet he could feel an enormous amount of internal energy in his dantian. Normally, after taking an elixir, he would have to circulate its energy and guide it into his dantian. But the energy from the immortal peach was already there.
“...I don't think I need to circulate it.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you tell me to?”
“So you could check.”
Baek Hyun chuckled at Ju Han-o's answer.
“Thank you.”
Ju Han-o gave a pleased smile.
Yeo-hwi came to the mansion that same day. Ju Han-o greeted Yeo-hwi as though he'd been waiting, then left with the imugi after telling Baek Hyun to keep training.
“Well, this is a new experience.”
The Peach Blossom Realm. In all three years he'd lived in this mansion, this was his first time alone. He wasn't feeling lonely yet, but it did feel a little empty without Ju Han-o, who had always been nearby.
'Surely nothing dangerous will happen. Of course not. This is Master we're talking about.'
The Ju Han-o Baek Hyun knew was invincible. No matter how powerful the evil spirits beyond the River of Three Crossings were, they wouldn't be able to do anything to his master.
Standing in the center of the garden, Baek Hyun began practicing the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art. A pitch-black light covered his body. The force aura he had once lacked the internal energy to form now surrounded him as though it were only natural. Enjoying its pleasant comfort, Baek Hyun raised his right hand. The force aura covering his body condensed around it.
Then...
He felt someone watching.
Startled, Baek Hyun turned his head.
Two women stood on top of the wall. Neither was Yeo-hwi or Ju Han-o. The taller of the two made Baek Hyun tense. Her white hair reached all the way down to her calves, and her skin was so pale that she looked ill. Yet her eyes were a vivid, blood-red.
“Is the Martial God Demon not here?”
The woman parted her thin lips to ask. Baek Hyun couldn't answer right away. Her piercing gaze overwhelmed him, leaving him like a frog facing a snake. Though she had asked the question, she seemed to take his silence for granted. Looking at the mansion behind him, she murmured,
“It seems he isn't.”
Snowfire Phoenix Yu Un-ryeo.
Baek Hyun guessed who she was. Apart from Ju Han-o, the only person living in the Peach Blossom Realm was Snowfire Phoenix Yu Un-ryeo. Then was the person beside her the disciple she had taken in a year ago?
Baek Hyun barely managed to turn his eyes toward Yu Un-ryeo's disciple. She was shorter than Yu Un-ryeo, but still tall for a woman. Like her master, she had white hair, pale skin, and red eyes.
'Is that a feature of the Yin-Yang Incarnation? Or of the White Snow, Blazing Fire Heavenly Martial Art?'
“What are you studying so closely?”
Yu Un-ryeo tilted her head. She leaped down from the wall and landed in front of Baek Hyun. Startled, he tried to step back, but before he could move, she reached out and caught his wrist.
“Excuse me.”
Yu Un-ryeo narrowed her eyes.
Zap!
A sharp pain shot through his wrist. Her internal energy entered his body through his qi and blood pathways, sweeping through him.
“I was told the Martial God Demon took a disciple three years ago. He's taught you quite well. Your internal energy... Hmm. I see. He must have fed you an immortal peach.”
“W-wait, why are you suddenly...?”
“Oh, how rude of me.”
Yu Un-ryeo released his wrist. Baek Hyun stepped back several paces with a frown. She bowed her head slightly to him.
“I'm sorry. My curiosity got the better of me...”
“...No, it's all right. Though it did hurt a little.”
“Where has the Martial God Demon gone?”
As Yu Un-ryeo asked, her disciple jumped down from the wall and landed beside her.
“Master has gone out.”
“Ah... I see.”
Yu Un-ryeo sounded disappointed. Then her disciple suddenly spoke up.
“Master. It doesn't matter whether the Martial God Demon is here or not.”
“But... Sara. Wouldn't it be better to come back another time and ask for his permission...?”
“He's not the one who's going to fight.”
Sara Frost, disciple of Snowfire Phoenix Yu Un-ryeo, glanced at Baek Hyun.
“Hey.”
“...Hey?”
According to Yeo-hwi, Snowfire Phoenix Yu Un-ryeo's disciple was seventeen now.
“Fight me.”
Baek Hyun gave a disbelieving chuckle at Sara's words.
“You show up out of nowhere, and that's what you have to say?”
“I said, fight me.”
Baek Hyun made no effort to hide his annoyance, but Sara refused to back down. Watching her disciple, Yu Un-ryeo let out a deep sigh and shook her head. Her disciple's rudeness bothered her, but she wasn't firm enough to overcome Sara's stubbornness.
“Why do you want to fight me?”
“Master told me that if I mastered the White Snow, Blazing Fire Heavenly Martial Art to its peak, I could become invincible. But she also said the Martial God Demon's Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art was an invincible martial art on par with it.”
Sara raised a hand and pointed at Baek Hyun.
“You and I have both inherited invincible martial arts. Let's see which of us is more worthy of being called invincible!”
“...Oh, for crying out loud.”
Her reckless words and attitude left him dumbfounded, but he couldn't deny that what she said interested him. Until now, Baek Hyun had only fought younger versions of Ju Han-o. He had no experience fighting anyone else. Besides, he'd just eaten an immortal peach and gained a hundred years' worth of internal energy. He was itching to test how strong he had become.
“May I beat her up?”
Baek Hyun glanced at Yu Un-ryeo as he asked.
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