Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 373

Chapter 373: The Loafer Realizes (3)

A force impossible to confront doesn’t mean it’s “absolute.”

If you can’t confront it, you can avoid it or deflect it. Because true combat isn’t just about brute strength.

But the energy fist before his eyes transcended that level. Its mere presence was so overwhelming that Wei Yanho’s muscles tensed just from feeling its approach.

Even for him, his body had momentarily paralyzed.

Wei Yanho knew intuitively that he was stepping into unknown territory.

Had he experienced a level higher than this?

Of course.

But he had never before faced an attack with such intense internal energy.

Baek Muhan’s martial arts didn’t require great internal energy. Because he didn’t need it.

He didn’t know if it was because he didn’t feel the need or because he feared that, if he used too much, the cave might collapse. But Baek Muhan had never pressured Wei Yanho with his internal energy.

And that fact now haunted him.

*”What should I do?”*

At that moment, like a flash of light, a memory crossed his mind.

—

**”Internal energy?”**

**”Yes.”**

**”What for?”**

**”I need it.”**

**”What an obvious statement. Disciple, I sometimes doubt your intelligence. How will you survive in this cruel martial world being so foolish?”**

**”Don’t worry. Anyway, I won’t even leave this cave. What does it matter how cruel the world is?”**

*Paf!*

**”Aaah!”**

**”This brat has no filter!”**

**”Is there anyone *young* before your eyes? The problem isn’t that I’m young, it’s that you’re too old!”**

**”You’re right. At least you’re quick with these things. What a shame you only use that mind for nonsense.”**

Wei Yanho puffed out his cheeks.

Although he had always been scolded, Baek Muhan’s reproaches were different. They had a subtle way of irritating him.

**”Yes, internal energy… is important.”**

**”Then, instead of this, why don’t you give me some miraculous potion you have hidden?”**

**”…Potion?”**

**”Yes. You must have some. Weren’t you the most powerful in the world? Besides, you belong to the Great Family of the Infinity Sword.”**

**”That’s right.”**

**”And you’re telling me you didn’t save even one potion for your disciple? I know you have them hidden. Give me one. That way I’ll get stronger and be able to train better.”**

**”Mmm…”**

**”I won’t run away. Do you think a potion will make me stronger than you?”**

**”Of course not. But, unfortunately for you, I don’t have any potions hidden.”**

**”Come on, don’t joke.”**

**”It’s the truth.”**

**”…Seriously?”**

**”Yes.”**

Wei Yanho’s face turned red.

**”What?! Haven’t you ever read hero novels? They always fall into caves, find potions, and become invincible! You should have prepared! What did you spend your life doing? Not even that… AAH!!”**

Baek Muhan’s stone fist sent him rolling across the ground.

**”Where did you learn to shout at your master like that?”**

**”Gluup.”**

**”Hey, brat! Is there anyone stronger than me in those novels?”**

**”…No.”**

**”Then why should I follow *their* methods?! I have my own!”**

*Sure you do.*

Wei Yanho swallowed tears.

It wasn’t his fault. The mistake was that someone more absurd than in the novels actually existed in reality.

**”Do you think more internal energy will make you stronger? Then what’s the point of training? Go climb mountains. If potions were enough, herb collectors would be the most powerful.”**

**”…It’s just that normal collectors don’t find potions.”**

**”Do potions have legs? Why don’t they find them? Do you think they sell them in the market? Herbalists find them!”**

**”…”**

**”More internal energy is good. But it’s not everything. If you don’t master it, it will always leave gaps.”**

**”Gaps?”**

**”Yes. Imagine… a great wave.”**

**”Why a wave?”**

**”Because someday you’ll feel it. There’s no use explaining it to you now. Just imagine it.”**

**”Yes.”**

**”What if the wave is more violent?”**

**”It’s stronger.”**

**”Idiot! More gaps open up!”**

**”Master…”**

**”Mm?”**

**”I know this is unlikely, and I know you’re a monster, but…”**

**”What, brat? Speak.”**

**”…Are you losing your mind?”**

Wei Yanho dodged the flying fist.

**”No! At least say something coherent! How does a violent wave open up gaps?”**

**”Tch, look at this fool. The water that forms the wave takes up more space than it would normally fill. Isn’t it obvious there will be gaps?”**

**”Huh?”**

**”If the same thing takes up more space, it becomes uneven. Don’t you know that?”**

**”Well… that sounds more like a problem for the Crouching Dragon Academy than for me.”**

**”Useless.”**

Baek Muhan clicked his tongue.

**”If you don’t understand it, memorize it. What is violent has more gaps. What seems strong isn’t always so. If you’re ever attacked with excessive energy, don’t be intimidated. Look for the gaps.”**

**”…”**

**”There are no perfect martial arts. That’s why everyone develops their own characteristics. But that also means they will always have weaknesses. If a style with gaps fights one without them, the result is obvious.”**

**”Ah, I understand that. It’s like… Buddhist kōans?”**

**”Kōans?”**

**”Meaningless nonsense.”**

*Crack.*

His knuckles cracked.

**”Well, maybe it’s difficult for you. You’re slow. So…”**

**”…Could you say it without getting close? You’re scaring me.”**

**”I almost forgot. You learn better with the body. I’ll show you what I meant. Get ready! I’m going to hit you *very* hard! Find the gaps between my attacks!”**

**”…What?”**

**”Learn with the body!”**

Wei Yanho forced a smile at Baek Muhan’s shining eyes.

**”And… what happens if I don’t find them?”**

**”You’ll die.”**

**”That’s just an excuse to hit me!”**

**”Enough! Come here, brat!”**

—

Wei Yanho couldn’t smile at that memory.

The situation was too serious to joke about. With a cold gaze, he watched the demonic fist approaching.

*”What is strong, has gaps.”*

His master was never wrong. If he said it, it was true. But finding those gaps depended entirely on Wei Yanho.

The Demon Face roared.

Its expression, full of pain and fury, chilled his heart. That demonic energy certainly had something terrifying about it.

That’s why he had to stay calm.

Entering a state of *unmoving heart*, Wei Yanho watched the approaching fist. His clothes tore, his loose hair fluttered violently. But his sword and his gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.

Perhaps Baek Muhan’s greatest legacy was making him face countless times an abyss so deep that he couldn’t see its end.

Compared to that, this was nothing.

Wei Yanho extended his sword slowly.

Before the giant fist capable of toppling mountains, his gesture seemed insignificant.

With a slowness that wouldn’t even catch a fly, his sword pointed towards the Demon Face.

**”Yanho!”**

A desperate voice echoed.

But he didn’t hesitate. Hesitating was creating a gap.

His master said: *”If a style with gaps fights one without them, the result is obvious.”* That meant that his own style should have none.

The demonic fist enveloped him. In that instant, Wei Yanho thrust his sword.

A faint white glow.

The light at the tip of his sword penetrated the Demon Face.

*What?*

The Demon Face, which seemed about to tear him apart, stopped. Its ferocity vanished as if it were an illusion.

*Buzz.*

Then, the light expanded.

A pale glow sprouted from the black fist.

A crackling sound.

Cracks appeared all over the face, and a blinding light emanated from them.

It was a scene that defied common sense.

*”Amazing.”*

KABOOOM!

Like a waterfall, a deafening roar accompanied the explosion of light that destroyed the Demon Face.

Jangil opened his eyes wide.

It was incredible, even witnessing it.

But the eyes of Wei Yanho, creator of that scene, remained cold.

Until the last moment, he had to maintain his *unmoving heart*.

BOOOOM!

Finally, the fist that threatened him vanished in a burst of light.

Just as a sigh of relief was about to escape…

**”Well done, boy.”**

A chilling voice froze his blood.

**”But this isn’t over!”**

Wei Yanho saw it.

Behind the light, *hundreds* of Demon Faces.

**Insane Demon Manifestation.**

The black energy, like flames, took the form of beasts and pounced on him.

*”Calm…”*

His sword pierced a beast. And another. And another.

But the demonic fists outnumbered his thrusts.

**”GRAAAH!”**

As he screamed and brandished his sword, the fists fell on him like rain.

KABOOM! KABOOOM!

A roar, as if the sky were collapsing, swept away everything around him.

RUUUUMB!

As if frightened by the shockwave, the black clouds began to pour torrential rain.

The world was plunged into darkness.