WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Former Supreme ◈
Chapter 106: Time to Grow (2)
──────
Cheon Geuk opened her eyes the next morning.
After practicing energy circulation until dawn, she had only rested her eyes for a moment, yet it was already morning. When she sat up, Baek Socheon's outer robe slipped from her shoulders.
"You're awake?"
A short distance from where she had slept, Baek Socheon had hung a pot over a fire and was boiling something. A fragrant scent that whetted the appetite filled the air.
"What is it?"
"A stew with a few things thrown in. The inn wasn't open, so I bought some ingredients and put this together. You need a hearty breakfast if you're going to train again today."
"It smells wonderful. Have you cooked before?"
"Not properly. I just throw things in and boil them."
On the battlefield, martial artists assigned to cooking sometimes prepared meals, but most of the time, they made do with simple food like jerky or caught deer and rabbits to roast.
"Come eat."
"All right."
Baek Socheon ladled soup into a bowl for her. He had bought bowls when he went out for ingredients. Cheon Geuk took a sip and exclaimed.
"Wow! It's delicious!"
"Really?"
"You could be a cook."
"I'm glad you like it."
"I'll make breakfast tomorrow."
"It'll be even harder for you to get up tomorrow."
"Ah."
At the thought of repeating yesterday's training, she put on a deliberately mournful expression.
"They say you live longer if you chew thoroughly and eat slowly."
After breakfast, they loosened up for a while before beginning their real training.
Today was another session of live-combat duel training. It was called a duel, but their fight was closer to a life-or-death battle. The difference was that they now controlled it carefully.
Still, Baek Socheon was the one controlling the battle.
Their pace looked the same as yesterday's, but it was not. He had raised the speed and intensity by the slightest amount.
The difference was too subtle for Cheon Geuk to notice, but that did not make it insignificant. That tiny difference was maintained throughout the entire day.
By the end of their second day of training, Cheon Geuk had completely collapsed.
If Baek Socheon had not forced her up and made her practice energy circulation, she likely would not have woken for the entire next day.
When she barely managed to rise, Baek Socheon had breakfast ready again. He had warmed dishes he had bought from the inn the night before and prepared a fairly decent breakfast.
"I was supposed to make breakfast today. I'm sorry."
Yet Baek Socheon was the one who should have been sorry. He was raising the difficulty of their training and driving her relentlessly.
On the third day, he increased both their overall speed and the intensity of his attacks again.
Cheon Geuk should have been adapting more and more, yet each day made the live-combat duel training against Baek Socheon feel harder. She assumed it was because fatigue was accumulating.
But it was all part of Baek Socheon's meticulous plan.
Was he doing this for her sake?
No. This was training entirely for Baek Socheon himself.
Controlling a duel like this against a master such as Cheon Geuk was incredibly difficult. By the end of each session, Baek Socheon had no strength left either. He, too, had poured every ounce of mental focus and internal energy into the training.
This was what truly showed Baek Socheon's ability.
On the fourth day, Cheon Geuk nearly made a mistake. She had almost been stabbed by Baek Socheon's sword again.
"Stay focused!"
Baek Socheon shouted.
"I'm sorry!"
It was not because her concentration had weakened. Her mental strength was operating at nearly its limit. The difficulty of the training had risen to the point where a momentary mistake could decide life or death.
By the end of the session, Cheon Geuk was swinging her sword while half out of her mind. She could barely hold it, yet she was still executing forms.
Once again, she experienced just how remarkable the human body could be.
On the fifth day, the live-combat duel training grew even harder.
If they had gone from the first day's duel straight to today's, Cheon Geuk would have noticed at once. But the difficulty had risen like clothes slowly dampened by a fine drizzle, so she did not realize it. She still believed it only felt harder because fatigue had built up.
She truly had to fight with every last bit of her strength. It was unbearably difficult, but she endured for Baek Socheon's sake. She was afraid that someday she might regret it.
'I should have trained harder as his sparring partner then.'
That was how they completed the final day's training. Now Cheon Geuk understood why Baek Socheon had said seven days. She was utterly exhausted and could not continue training any longer.
"That's enough!"
They were the sweetest words she had ever heard.
"Ah! It's finally over."
Cheon Geuk flopped onto her back.
Baek Socheon lay down beside her.
"My back hurts. Lift me off the ground."
"I'm too exhausted to lift you off the ground."
"Why is this so hard?"
"Because the fatigue has piled up."
He intended to keep increasing the difficulty and had no intention of telling her until she figured it out herself.
"At this rate, I might improve in martial arts again."
She said it like a joke instead of admitting how hard it was, but Baek Socheon gave an unexpected answer.
"You aren't far off."
"From what?"
"Your next stage."
"What did you say?"
Cheon Geuk shot upright in surprise.
"Say that again. My martial arts can improve again already?"
"If you keep this up. It isn't very far away."
It showed just how difficult and dangerous this training was, as well as how powerfully it stimulated a martial artist's growth.
"It hasn't even been that long since my martial arts improved."
"So how long should it take? Three years? Ten years? Is there some set rule? You could advance again the very next day, or you could remain stuck for the rest of your life. That's what your realm is like."
"Still, this feels too fast."
"It differs from person to person. It also depends on talent and the circumstances you're in."
"It probably depends on who teaches you, too."
Baek Socheon gave a small laugh.
"Don't get arrogant. I said you can see it ahead of you, not that you'll advance right away."
"Yes!"
It was wonderful news, but Cheon Geuk hoped that this training would not become training only for her sake.
"What about you? Can you see your next stage?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know whether my method is wrong or whether I simply haven't tried hard enough. It feels like filling a huge jar one small drinking cup at a time."
"Keep at it. One day, it'll overflow."
Baek Socheon hoped so too. He hoped that someday, enlightenment would suddenly come to him and he would think, Why didn't I consider something this simple?
"Shall we go?"
"Yes."
The two left the secret training ground.
They were too exhausted to even think about making love. Still, the joy of returning after training to the point of death gave them satisfaction as great as making love did.
They parted ways in the market street.
"Let's meet at the training ground again in seven days."
* * *
After parting with Cheon Geuk, Baek Socheon immediately began training on his own.
He did not know when something might interfere with his training. He had to make the most of every moment while he could.
The first thing he did was enter the Hidden Land of the Heavenly Dragon and soak in the Dragon Spring.
He remained there all day, recovering from the fatigue that had accumulated.
Once he had fully recovered, Baek Socheon left the Hidden Land of the Heavenly Dragon.
Then he began to run. He had started training Wind God Traverses the Sky in earnest.
Recently, he had poured everything into the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword, so he wanted to clear his mind with a completely different lightness art.
Baek Socheon ran and ran.
He chose secluded places where few people traveled, but he still wore a mask. It would be troublesome if anyone saw him.
This was the first time Baek Socheon had properly trained Wind God Traverses the Sky since his martial arts had reached a higher level. Certain he would see results, he focused completely on his training.
After finishing his training in Wind God Traverses the Sky, he went to see the Secret Pavilion martial artists. Under Wang Ho's command, they had begun serious training.
As he had done with the Sage Heaven Corps, Baek Socheon observed their stances. He corrected their bad habits and taught each of them what training to focus on according to their martial arts.
There had been no time for this during the war, and afterward he had been wandering. This was the first time he had seriously taught them martial arts.
The Secret Pavilion martial artists were truly delighted by Baek Socheon's sincere instruction.
Baek Socheon disliked demanding unconditional loyalty. Though he himself had lived such a life, he did not want his subordinates to do the same. He wanted them to receive fair compensation for their loyalty.
After instructing them, he trained his heart method at the Dragon Spring again, then finished the day by training the Heaven-Turning Nine Fists.
Wind God Traverses the Sky, instructing the Secret Pavilion martial artists, heart method cultivation, and training in the Heaven-Turning Nine Fists.
He repeated this cycle.
On the final, seventh day, he achieved solid results.
The Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method reached seven stars, while Wind God Traverses the Sky, which had been at four stars, passed through five and reached six stars. These fundamental martial arts of breathing and running advanced quickly whenever he trained them.
This was less the result of training than the martial arts adjusting themselves to Baek Socheon's realm of martial learning.
Baek Socheon had been able to freely use the Heaven-Turning Nine Fists through the Fifth Fist, Ten Thousand Li Under Vast Skies.
Now, he could use the Sixth Fist, Clear Moon and Pure Wind.
The power of the Sixth Fist was different. Though it was a fist technique, it unleashed a form that could sweep away many enemies at once.
When Baek Socheon pushed his internal energy to its limit, the force of his fists swept through the surroundings. Even large boulders shattered and scattered. It was power that flesh and bone could not endure, not only for ordinary martial artists but for anyone unable to manifest body-protecting qi.
Seven days later, Baek Socheon began his second training session with Cheon Geuk.
Once again, he increased the difficulty each day. Since he raised it from the level of their final day in the previous session, this training was far harder than the last.
Although Cheon Geuk had fully recovered from her fatigue, she could feel that the training had grown much more difficult. But she assumed it was because Baek Socheon's martial arts had improved, not because he was deliberately raising the difficulty.
She believed his growth would be greater than her own, which was why the duel felt relatively harder for her.
As the difficulty kept increasing, the training became harder not only for Cheon Geuk but for Baek Socheon as well. He had to continue this insane training while protecting Cheon Geuk.
The sixth day ended, and on the morning of the seventh day, Baek Socheon was practicing energy circulation when he abruptly opened his eyes.
A thought had flashed through his mind.
Baek Socheon sprang up and began swinging his sword.
Startled, Cheon Geuk stopped circulating her energy. She realized Baek Socheon had gained an insight, so she watched him without making the slightest sound.
Baek Socheon executed the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword.
A sword line streaked through the air as he unfolded the First Form through the Fifth Form in an instant. Then, in the next moment, another line appeared.
The sword line from the previous form had already vanished, yet it was undeniably a new sword line.
It was the Sixth Form, Heaven-Extinguishing Form.
At last, he had succeeded in executing the Heaven-Extinguishing Form that had blocked his path for so long.
As he recalled the daytime training he had done with Cheon Geuk, a thought had suddenly come to him. The two things had seemed entirely unrelated, but they suddenly connected with the part of the Heaven-Extinguishing Form that had been holding him back.
'What if I do it this way?'
To his surprise, when he truly did it that way, he was able to execute the Sixth Form.
Baek Socheon laughed loudly, unable to hide his joy.
"Hahahaha!"
Cheon Geuk got up and asked him.
"Did you do it?"
"Yes. Now only the final sword form remains."
"Congratulations!"
Cheon Geuk ran over and embraced Baek Socheon.
"Thank you. It's thanks to you."
"Ah, this is wonderful."
She was happy as if it were her own achievement. No, she was happier than she had been when her own martial arts improved.
"Keep pushing forward and finish the last one too!"
If that happened, there would be nothing more to wish for.
But what remained was the final form of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword.
Would it truly yield so easily?
From the next day on, Baek Socheon changed his training method.
He put aside all other training, including his training with Cheon Geuk, and devoted himself to quickly executing the Sixth Form alone in the secret training ground.
He had to execute the First Form through the Sixth Form in one continuous flow.
Yet he could not even execute all twenty-three moves within the Sixth Form at once, much less execute all six forms continuously from the First Form onward.
Baek Socheon was not disappointed. When he thought of when he had first learned this sword art, what he was doing now was not simply rapid progress. He was accomplishing the impossible.
Someday, he would be able to do the same with the Sixth Form.
Baek Socheon kept striving.
Winter passed, and spring came.
On the day the first spring rain fell, he finally succeeded in executing the Sixth Form all at once.
The twenty-three moves contained within the Heaven-Extinguishing Form flashed and unfolded brilliantly in an instant. Before the first sword line vanished, the final sword line crossed through space.
Now, all that remained was to execute the First Form through the Sixth Form in one continuous flow.
He had taken another step forward.
Baek Socheon was in a better mood than ever as he entered his room, but he suddenly stopped in surprise.
Someone was in his room, watching the rain fall outside the window.
That broad back told him who it was.
"You're here?"
Yeom Hwasin turned around with a grin.
"You look to be in a good mood."
Baek Socheon let out a light sigh.
"I was, but you've ruined it all."
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
