WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Satori
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈
Chapter 33
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Several days passed as I trained to adapt to the first-rate realm, aside from taking a few simple guard jobs.
No more impurities were leaving my body, and I was gradually growing used to the strength and speed of a first-rate martial artist.
That day, too, I was training with So-ok in the backyard.
“Whew...”
After a round of sparring, So-ok sat on a stone, exhausted.
“Are you all right?”
Naturally, So-ok was less skilled than I was. She always gave it her all, but she could not help losing every time.
Her abilities were steadily improving as she learned the simple tips I taught her, but she was still not as skilled as I had been in Yeongheung County.
“Hehe. I’m fine. I’m actually having fun.”
So-ok smiled brightly, dirtied from rolling across the ground several times.
The sight made me feel proud.
“Ah. There’s something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing much, but there are ranks even within the first-rate realm, right? How are they divided?”
“Hmm...”
So-ok did not have much experience.
She had only recently become a wandering martial artist, so she could not have had much knowledge about martial artists in general.
“You know they are generally divided into lower, middle, and upper ranks, correct?”
“Yes!”
That division into lower, middle, and upper ranks applied not only to the first-rate realm, but the Peak Realm as well.
It meant the road ahead was long and arduous enough to require divisions within a realm.
After all, it was said that advancing from lower first-rate to middle first-rate was harder than advancing from second-rate to first-rate.
“The reason is simple. To reach the Peak Realm, one must open the Ren and Du vessels. Thus, while in the first-rate realm, one must accumulate internal energy, widen the blood acupoints, and refine them. Naturally, those with more internal energy and wider, cleaner blood acupoints are stronger, so that is how the ranks are divided.”
“Is there a way to confirm that?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“It is only a rough measure. There are no known distinguishing traits. Though I have heard that there is a great difference in their movements.”
“Ah.”
Although there were ranks, they were ultimately in the same realm.
There was no way to divide those ranks perfectly.
Still, it was known that their capabilities differed greatly.
It would not be easy to defeat someone faster, stronger, and able to make time itself feel slower.
That was why the ranks were only rough divisions.
“Then strength is determined by internal energy and blood acupoints?”
“...There is one more thing, though it is not divided by rank.”
“Yes?”
“Your strength also differs depending on what martial arts you use.”
It was only natural.
There had to be a clear difference in power between basic martial arts and advanced martial arts.
And when I thought about it, it was only natural that basic martial arts made it easier to reach the first-rate realm.
They would require fewer blood acupoints to be opened than advanced martial arts.
That was why even disciples of prestigious great sects were known to break through into the first-rate realm using basic martial arts.
Any shortage of internal energy could be made up for with spiritual medicine, so it would not be a major problem.
Gwak Ha-jun, the young master of the Azure Balance Gate, had probably reached the first-rate realm in the same way.
Once they reached the first-rate realm, the training of wandering martial artists like me began to differ from that of disciples from prestigious great sects.
From then on, they began learning advanced martial arts compatible with their basic martial arts.
As the name implied, basic martial arts contained qi circulation methods for opening the blood acupoints that would form the foundation for the advanced martial arts they would learn later.
Thus, after becoming first-rate through basic martial arts, they trained by opening additional blood acupoints through the Minor Heavenly Cycle.
It could not help being more efficient than following the qi circulation method of advanced martial arts from the beginning.
A martial artist from a prestigious sect who trained that way could not help becoming stronger than one who trained with only basic martial arts.
That was why there were often rumors of younger disciples from prestigious great sects defeating masters ranked above them.
“I see...”
So-ok’s expression darkened slightly.
What she possessed was probably basic martial arts.
Even if she reached the first-rate realm, she would have no choice but to fall behind disciples of prestigious great sects.
But the true problem was whether she could reach the first-rate realm at all.
Without spiritual medicine, it would be difficult to gather enough internal energy to open every blood acupoint with a basic Qi Accumulation Method.
“There will be a way. Do not worry too much.”
“...All right.”
So-ok nodded with a dejected expression.
I was thinking of the Black Market.
If we saved money and bought spiritual medicine, she could reach the first-rate realm someday.
Of course, considering the price of spiritual medicine, it would never be easy.
At the same time, I thought about my own martial arts.
The martial arts I had thought were merely efficient.
As I sparred with So-ok these days, I had realized once again that the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber Method was absolutely not basic martial arts.
I had realized it after seeing the force behind So-ok’s sword.
The feeling I had when facing the Changbu while fleeing before seemed to have been correct.
Where had these martial arts come from?
For the first time in a while, thoughts of Seoryeong crossed my mind.
So-ok and I went inside, washed ourselves quickly, and prepared to go out.
In truth, I had not spent the last few days doing nothing but train.
Whenever I had spare time, I had been making secret manuals for the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber Method and the Turbulent Wind Saber Method.
Written in a mixture of Hangul and the script used here, they had become secret manuals only I could understand rather than ordinary martial arts manuals.
After organizing them and hiding them away, I straightened my clothes and headed outside.
I had tried to repair the mechanism in the short boot myself, but ultimately failed, so I was simply storing it separately.
Repairing it would require showing it to someone else, and there was a risk they would steal the technique. For now, I was only keeping it.
Since it was not a device made with a commonly available technique, I had to be careful about it being leaked.
Someone might end up smashing my knee with one someday.
“Let’s go!”
Having apparently sorted out her feelings, So-ok was cheerful again.
I left the house with her.
“Oh! You’re here!”
Ju Daegang’s home was just a short distance away, so we met up with him first.
We had to pass his house to reach the wandering martial artists’ inn anyway.
“Hyang-a! You should say hello.”
The little child standing beside Ju Daegang’s wife, Choi Ok-ran, dipped her head slightly.
It had been several days since I first saw her, but her shyness was still quite adorable.
I gave the child a small smile, then spoke to Ju Daegang.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah. All set. Let’s go.”
“Be careful.”
With Choi Ok-ran’s farewell, we headed to the wandering martial artists’ inn.
The inn looked as it always did.
Once inside, we approached the innkeeper.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Yes. Are there any jobs?”
We had come today to take our next job.
After all, we had to earn money to live.
And since I did not want to become a bandit, there was no other choice.
“Ahem... The thing is.”
The old man cleared his throat once before speaking.
“This time, a job came in for those of Second Grade or higher. So all the other jobs have been closed to anyone of Second Grade or above.”
“What? How can that be?”
Ju Daegang asked in surprise.
“The Namgung Clan commissioned the job.”
The Namgung Clan.
The foremost of the Five Great Families, a prestigious house known throughout the land.
If they commissioned wandering martial artists, even the martial sects here had no choice but to be mindful of them.
The same was true of the lay martial sects.
Even if the sects above them were prestigious enough not to be inferior to the Namgung Clan, they could not pick a fight over something as minor as gathering wandering martial artists.
Naturally, the wandering martial artists’ inn was no exception.
“Ugh... What kind of job is it? Let’s hear it.”
“There is a demon practitioner Namgung is pursuing. Apparently, they have gone into hiding in the Dabie Mountains.”
A demon practitioner.
My heart sank at that word.
The Peak Realm demon practitioners I had seen aboard the Yangtze merchant ship immediately came to mind, and tension rose within me.
If it was them, we had to avoid the job at all costs.
There were four Peak Realm martial artists among those I had seen.
“You know how vast the Dabie Mountains are, right? They say they need to lay out a dragnet to pursue one demon practitioner there.”
My tension eased slightly at the mention of only one demon practitioner.
Assuming they were Peak Realm, even one would be dangerous. Still, if Namgung’s martial artists joined us quickly, it seemed manageable.
“It probably will not be very dangerous. I heard they gathered people from all around here, not just this place. The other side of Anhui Province as well. How many people do you think that is?”
“It must be a great many.”
“Exactly. So there should not be much danger.”
“How much does it pay?”
“Twenty nyang.”
“What?”
“I said twenty nyang. It is Namgung’s operation, after all.”
It was nearly double the usual fee.
“And I heard that demon practitioner is first-rate. Would that not be no problem for you all?”
The innkeeper spoke while glancing at me.
“What about me?”
So-ok and I had not yet completed five jobs, so we had not been promoted to our proper grades.
Thus, So-ok was still registered as Third Grade.
“I will speak to them. In the end, asking for Second Grade means they want second-rate martial artists. The same goes for you. It is Namgung, after all. They will not be stingy over paying a little extra.”
The old man looked at me as he spoke.
There was naturally a large difference between the fees for first-grade and second-grade jobs, so this was good news for me.
“So, will you take it?”
We looked into each other’s eyes and discussed it without words.
“We will.”
And so, we accepted the job.
“Come here by the end of the Hour of the Rabbit tomorrow, at seven in the morning. Ah! And I hear the demon practitioner they are pursuing is quite beautiful.”
“Is she a woman?”
“Yes.”
It was a night with a bright moon.
I sat alone on the porch, looking up at it.
The old man’s final words.
A woman, and beautiful.
There had certainly been a woman among the demon practitioners I saw aboard the merchant ship.
But she had been Peak Realm.
A house like Namgung would not mistake that demon practitioner’s realm.
Nor was there any particular reason to deceive us about it.
Then it was likely not the female demon practitioner I had seen then.
I should have been relieved, but I was not.
Because one possibility had taken root in my mind.
Seoryeong.
The woman Namgung had taken away. And a beauty.
As far as I knew, she had never learned martial arts.
But if someone asked whether I was certain, I could not say that I was.
She might have trained in an inner-energy method.
What if she had become a demon practitioner?
The thought made my chest feel tight.
It could not be. It would not be.
Even as I thought so, the thought would not leave me.
“Whew...”
If she was a demon practitioner, and I encountered her, what would I do?
We had known each other for a long time, and near the end, we had even come to feel affection for each other.
At least, I believed we had.
And she had given me martial arts.
In a way, we were not merely lovers. We were each other’s benefactors.
If we met, could I stand against her?
Could I hand her head over to Namgung’s martial artists when they arrived soon after?
If I chose to save her, could I?
Shaking my head at thoughts with no answer, I went into my room.
I would only know once tomorrow came.
I prepared early in the morning and left home with So-ok.
After meeting Ju Daegang along the way, we arrived at the wandering martial artists’ inn. Unlike usual, no one was in the clearing before it.
“It seems they cleared everyone out for Namgung’s operation.”
It appeared Ju Daegang was right.
Still, without the Unranked wandering martial artists usually sprawled around outside, it even felt somewhat empty.
When we went inside, more than twenty second-grade wandering martial artists appeared to be seated there.
A few wandering martial artists I had seen several times greeted me with a nod. I nodded back and went before the innkeeper.
“Sit and wait for now. Ah. And they have agreed to count you as First Grade. The fee is fifty nyang. Heh heh.”
“Thank you.”
“It is only natural. This is what I do. Ah, and look at this. It is a portrait of that demon practitioner.”
With trembling hands, I accepted the paper the old man handed over.
Was it Seoryeong?
Praying that it was not, I looked at the portrait.
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