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Chapter 23: Just Emphasizing Because It’s Important
The Roaring Wind Swordsman, Sang Mucheon, spoke with an embarrassed expression.
“Master, I apologize for my lack of skill causing you inconvenience. But tomorrow we will reach Suju. You can rest for a few days and recover from the journey.”
For Sang Mucheon, who was accompanying his master, the eradication of the base at Five Peaks Mountain was not a cause for concern. His mind was occupied with how to care for his master after the mission.
“Haha, inconvenience you say. Compared to the times when we used the sky as our roof and the ground as our bed, this is a luxury.”
The Sage of Heaven and Earth smiled warmly at Sang Mucheon.
Instead of complaining, he should be grateful for being taken out of the daily routine. The atmosphere between the master and disciple was one of camaraderie as they waited for their meal.
However, it wasn’t long before Sang Mucheon’s face furrowed.
The voices of three men at the neighboring table were too annoying.
“They say Mansu is determined this time, right?”
“I see it as difficult. Both Namyang and Mansu are the same. If Namyang couldn’t, Mansu won’t be able to either, don’t you think?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Oh! Seems like you haven’t heard. Didn’t you know that Mansu Chambers ran to the Wudang Sect? With Wudang involved, what problem could a bandit base be?”
“Really? But will Wudang help them?”
“Of course. They say the Great Daeju of Mansu is from Wudang.”
“But after all, he’s a secular disciple. There are many of those.”
“Come on, they must have a plan. Do you think the merchants of Mansu are fools?”
“I suppose.”
“The good times are over. If Wudang gets involved, Five Peaks Mountain will be uprooted.”
“I want to know something. If Mansu needs Wudang’s help to eradicate a bandit base, does that mean Mansu is weak? Or that Five Peaks Mountain is strong?”
“It’s strange. Mansu has always boasted of being the best in Henan. Their warriors walked with such pride. But now they fear a bandit base that appeared recently.”
“It was just a facade.”
The word “facade” hurt Sang Mucheon’s pride, and he gritted his teeth.
The Sage of Heaven and Earth clicked his tongue lightly.
“Clicking your tongue. Letting a simple conversation affect you so much shows how far you are in your study of the mind. After resolving this matter, you should consider a meditation retreat.”
“My apologies.”
“By the way, is it true that among the bandits, there’s someone with remarkable martial arts skills?”
“The Great Daeju of Namyang, Lee Muryang, is a secular disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. If he failed the mission, it indicates…”
“Hmm, do you know anything about this mysterious expert?”
“Not much. They say he’s a teenager, but no one has verified his age.”
“And who is his master?”
“Mansu suspects he might be a disciple of the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord.”
The Sage of Heaven and Earth fell silent for a moment upon hearing the nickname Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord. What had begun as a simple mission seemed to become more complicated.
“I don’t think so. If the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord had a disciple like that, word would have already spread.”
Knowing the nature of the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord, the Sage of Heaven and Earth shook his head. Someone who enjoys boasting wouldn’t hide an outstanding disciple.
“But there aren’t many who can train an expert of that caliber in Nokrim (Green Forest).”
“Well, the world is wide and full of peculiar people…”
“If that bandit turns out to be a disciple of the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord, should we avoid killing him?”
“Are you saying that for the sake of the Chambers? Or for…?”
The Sage of Heaven and Earth stared intently at Sang Mucheon.
The intense gaze of his master made Sang Mucheon feel uneasy. He thought mentioning the Wudang Sect might provoke a reprimand.
“I just said it because facing Nokrim could complicate our trade routes.”
“Really? I’ll consider it. I don’t want to cause trouble for the Chambers.”
Sang Mucheon let out a sigh of relief.
Unlike the Head of the Chambers, his master belonged to a completely different world. Sometimes he forgot this during relaxed conversations and made mistakes.
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Henan Province
Haga Village
The village chief gladly accepted the request of the Boss, Pung Yeoncho, to find a cook. Although they didn’t express it openly, it was something the village appreciated. The elders of the village said it was good that Five Peaks Mountain took care of feeding those in need.
Contrary to the concerns of the Sub-Boss, Tak Gomyung, about the difficulty of finding a cook, one was found quickly. There were many widows in the village barely surviving on occasional jobs.
The recent generous spending of the heroes of Five Peaks Mountain in Haga also influenced. If this request had been made last year, they would have taken it as a joke.
But now, the people of Haga didn’t doubt the words of Five Peaks Mountain. Many already worked at the base and received their pay.
The village chief selected five widows with many children and sent them to the base. His intention was to reduce the number of mouths to feed in the village.
Although this meant building three more houses, Pung Yeoncho was delighted. The base, which used to be desolate, now seemed like a livable place.
The widows brought twelve children with them.
The next day, the children ran and played in groups, filling the base with laughter.
Yeon Jeokha, who was teaching martial arts to Han Chaeyeon and Ha Sobaek, shouted at the children sneaking close.
“Get away! Brats!”
The children, scared by Yeon Jeokha’s fierce gaze, fled in the opposite direction.
Han Chaeyeon, who was sweating while handling her sword, asked intrigued.
“Brother, don’t you like children?”
“No.”
“Why? Aren’t they adorable?”
“Not at all.”
Yeon Jeokha looked at Han Chaeyeon with disapproval.
“Bah!”
He even spat on the spot where the children had been playing.
Han Chaeyeon couldn’t help but be surprised by Yeon Jeokha’s rude attitude. She never would have imagined that the peaceful Yeon Jeokha could behave this way unless provoked.
Ha Sobaek, who felt compassion for the children because they were from the same village, intervened cautiously.
“Do you really hate children that much? What bothers you so much about them?”
At that moment, Yeon Jeokha’s eyebrows twitched. He remembered the days when he begged and the village children threw stones at him, injuring him. Even last summer, passing through Haga Village, those same children had thrown stones at him. Thinking about those moments enraged him, but he didn’t want to explain details of his past.
“Let’s stop talking about it. Today we will learn breathing techniques. But first, you must memorize three hundred characters of a text.”
Yeon Jeokha began reciting the first three hundred characters of the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One.
“Those who wish to obtain the Nine Heavens Energy must first control their heart [九天氣得者 應如是降伏其心]. The Nine Heavens Energy is neither real nor illusory [九天氣 無實無虛]…”
Han Chaeyeon and Ha Sobaek focused, but by midday, they had only memorized a hundred characters.
Yeon Jeokha, with no prior teaching experience, decided not to insist too much on memorizing the text.
Then he guided them to the next stage: the breathing techniques.
Thanks to the hundred memorized characters, both quickly immersed themselves in deep breathing during their first training.
Seeing someone reach a deep meditative state stirred a special feeling in Yeon Jeokha. Although he had grown up in a martial family, he had never witnessed the process of internal technique training up close. The sight of the women in meditation was a shock and an inspiration to him.
Sitting in a lotus position next to them, Yeon Jeokha began reciting the verses of the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One.
Time passed in absolute silence.
The first to open her eyes was Ha Sobaek, who had no martial arts background.
Then, Han Chaeyeon also awoke from her meditation.
Ha Sobaek was about to shout for joy, but Han Chaeyeon made a gesture of silence.
It was then that she noticed Yeon Jeokha was still in meditation and closed her mouth.
A sudden vibration shook the air around Yeon Jeokha.
Suddenly, his body lifted a few inches off the ground.
Above his head appeared flowers of five colors: blue, red, white, black, and yellow, which soon disappeared, giving way to three golden flowers.
Then, all the manifestations of energy dispersed in the form of mist, and Yeon Jeokha’s body began to fade, becoming almost ethereal.
The two women were astonished to witness this unprecedented phenomenon.
The wind blew strongly around Yeon Jeokha, and his body began to descend slowly.
With a flash, Yeon Jeokha opened his eyes, emitting an intense glow that quickly faded when he blinked.
The two women, surprised, couldn’t utter a word at what they had just witnessed. What had happened to Yeon Jeokha’s body was something never heard of before.
When Yeon Jeokha met their gazes, he stood up with an embarrassed expression.
“From now on, you must recite the text and practice breathing both in the morning and at night. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Yes, brother!”
Both responded with determination, convinced that with effort they could become heroines of Murim.
Encouraged, Yeon Jeokha decided to teach them the first move of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, Flying Dragon Ascension.
“I’m going to teach you something else. Pay attention. This is more complex than the technique you learned from the Sub-Boss. It’s called Flying Dragon Ascension, the first move of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship. First, focus your energy and direct it to the fingertips. Then, point the tip of the sword to the ground. When you feel the energy flowing to the sword, cut diagonally from left to right and then from right to left. Like this, watch.”
With those words, Yeon Jeokha executed the move, tracing a zigzag with his sword.
The sword traced a smooth arc before descending to the ground, and a gust of wind surged from the blade, sweeping the front.
The two women watched with wide eyes, fascinated by the spectacle that a single sword could create.
At that moment, Yeon Jeokha forgot that the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship was a secret technique of the Waryong Mansion.
“In the sword instructions, it mentions the alternation of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang. But don’t worry about that. Just think about gathering energy and releasing it. I didn’t understand it at first either, but one day…”
Yeon Jeokha generously shared his knowledge.
However, this process revealed an unexpected side effect.
Yeon Jeokha had spent ten years in isolation, without talking to anyone. Now, the opportunity to teach unleashed a torrent of words he had repressed for a decade. Words flowed incessantly from him.
At first, the two women were impressed by Yeon Jeokha’s hidden skills and paid attention to every word. But concentration has its limits.
After thirty minutes of uninterrupted explanation, the first words began to fade from their minds.
Han Chaeyeon, unable to hold back any longer, intervened.
“Brother, enough explanations. Show us the move again. We’ve heard so much that we’ve forgotten everything.”
Finally, the torrent of words ceased.
“Oh, right. I got too excited. Those who learn the Nine Heavens Energy must control their heart. Do you remember the text we memorized? The Nine Heavens Energy is neither real nor illusory…”
“Yes, yes, we remember. Please, just show us the Flying Dragon Ascension again. It’s too confusing.”
“Yes, brother. My head is about to explode.”
Even Ha Sobaek, normally calm, showed a look of distress, causing Yeon Jeokha to quickly stand up.
“Alright. I was just emphasizing because it’s important. Now, I’ll show you slowly again.”
Yeon Jeokha performed the move, explaining every detail and the hidden meaning in the verses. The two women furrowed their brows in concentration, convinced that the difficulty lay in the complexity of the technique.