Chapter v17c10

“I have lived a life without regrets. So I hope you will do the same. If you want to do something, if you want to achieve something, never… never give up.”

Then, their eyes flew open. Sensation returned to their limbs. They had one advantage.

This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar.

The overwhelming presence that made their minds go blank, and the chilling killing intent emanating from within that presence! It was the same feeling they had experienced dozens, hundreds of times before. Although their vision had been limited back then, preventing them from seeing the whole picture, it was enough to make them realize its overwhelming vastness.

Yes, they had immunity. The resistance they had gained from past trials was etched into their minds and bodies. They would have no face to meet their master if they couldn’t take even a single step forward here.

“Haaaa!”

A shout like a lion’s roar erupted. In that thunderous cry, they declared their freedom from oppression.

Finally, they broke free from the spiderweb-like shackles that had bound them.

Click!

Their hands moved.

Twitch!

The subtle movement that began at their fingertips traveled up their wrists, past their elbows, shaking the muscles in their shoulders, down through their chests, past their waists, tapping their thighs, hitting their knees, traveling down their shins, past their ankles, and finally escaping through the Yongcheon acupoints on the soles of their feet.

It’s difficult to turn stillness into motion, but once it starts, it’s unstoppable. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

“Oh, indeed! It wouldn’t be fun if it ended here. You haven’t shown me anything yet. Have you?”

***

Yoon Jun-Ho could clearly feel that the world around him had completely changed at some point. The looks of contempt, the mocking words, the petty provocations that had always followed him were nowhere to be found. It all happened after he returned from the Hwasan Convention. Although the convention had ended in tragedy, his personality had become much brighter after going through that ordeal. It was probably because confidence and pride had sprouted within him. His back straightened like a pine tree, his chest broadened as if to embrace the earth, the cloudiness in his eyes cleared, and his gait became confident. As his impatience faded and he gained composure, he could think positively about everything.

Had he changed, or had the world changed? Perhaps the world had changed in response to his own transformation.

He was quite busy these days. He had been tasked with serving an old man. The old man was named Elder Hyeok, and he was in charge of the Hwasan Convention examiners. Even the fearsome Yeomdo and Bing Geom were cautious in their words and actions around him, so he was clearly a prominent figure. He was now hurrying to the old man’s quarters for an errand.

Knock, knock.

“I’m here, Master!”

He knocked a few more times, but there was no response. He knocked again cautiously, thinking the old man might be enjoying an afternoon nap.

Knock, knock.

“……”

Still no response.

“I’m coming in.”

Yoon Jun-Ho tilted his head and carefully opened the door, saying, “I’m coming in.” At that moment, something strange happened. Goosebumps erupted all over his body.

‘What’s this?’

He was momentarily puzzled by his body’s strange reaction, but his senses didn’t pick up anything unusual. He simply pushed the door open.

The old man was inside. He wasn’t sleeping. Moreover, Yeomdo and Bing Geom were also there.

‘They’re all here? Even Yeomdo and Bing Geom. But why didn’t they respond?’

That wasn’t the only strange thing. Despite his entrance, no one even glanced at him.

All three were standing silently in a heavy atmosphere, not exchanging a word. No one attempted to sit down. He felt the air grow heavy, but that was all. He didn’t sense any immediate danger, so Yoon Jun-Ho unknowingly crossed a line he shouldn’t have. The next moment, his foot crossed the threshold.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, he couldn’t understand what was happening to him. The situation had gone far beyond his comprehension. All his senses vanished abruptly.

He couldn’t even tell where he was standing. It was as if his sense of space had been completely robbed by an invisible force. He couldn’t even be sure if his sense of time was functioning properly. All his senses were jumbled together like batter.

Where am I standing? What’s happening to me?

He had no answers. He was facing a situation he had never experienced before.

Suddenly, he felt a chill on the back of his neck. It was a familiar sensation. The touch of a sharp blade, the aura of death, something he had only felt on bloody battlefields. But all he could do was stand there blankly.

“You stupid fool!”

With a fierce shout, a hand grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him back forcefully. He couldn’t resist the rough action that almost made him choke.

Whoosh! It felt like he had been forcibly pulled out of some barrier. Suddenly, all his senses returned. As his hearing recovered, he heard a roar.

“You idiot! Are you crazy? Crazy?”

He recognized the voice. Or rather, it was a voice he had heard countless times. That ill-tempered voice. There couldn’t be many people with such a rude voice. It wouldn’t be good for society. He called out the owner of the voice with a shaky voice.

“Ryu, Ryu-Yeon…”

Another change in him was that he was now calling his peers by their names instead of using honorifics. But why was his friend so angry?

“You idiot! You were caught in the clash of those who have reached the level of killing with their will alone, the realm of the Heart Sword, the realm of those who have mastered the Heart Sword, and you thought you were safe because you were just standing there doing nothing? Oh, my head! Do you still think what you see is all there is? Quiet? Still? Where? To me, it looks like a powder keg about to explode, or a cracked dam during the monsoon season! That’s stillness in motion! It may seem quiet and peaceful on the surface, but countless clashes are happening beneath the surface! They might be at a standstill now, with veins bulging on their foreheads, but that’s only temporary. It’s going to explode soon! Do you know what will happen if you’re standing in the middle of that?”

Before Bi Ryu-Yeon could finish speaking, the tense standoff collapsed. Like a dam bursting during the monsoon season, the flood of suppressed energy erupted explosively.

Whoosh!

Invisible sword aura shredded the furniture where Yoon Jun-Ho had been standing. The word “shredded” was an understatement. It was more accurate to say it was pulverized.

It wasn’t just where he had been standing. All the furniture in the room was being mercilessly slashed by an invisible whirlwind of blades.

If he had been standing there, lost in thought, he would have met the same fate, divided into thousands of pieces, even finer than stir-fry pork. Yoon Jun-Ho, feeling a chill run down his spine, realized how foolish he had been. Cold blood, pumped from his frozen heart, spread throughout his body. It was so surreal that it took him a while to grasp the reality of the situation.

Thud!

His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. He had thought he had changed from his old self, but it seemed his training was still far from complete.

Before his eyes, a clash of skills was unfolding, something he had never seen or even imagined before.

Under the immense pressure, as if being crushed by a mountain, Yeomdo swallowed a groan.

“This… this can’t be? All our moves are being read.”

The small old man, standing before them like an insurmountable mountain, was reading every intention behind their energy flow. It was clear that any technique they used would be countered. They would be lucky if they didn’t get hit by a counterattack. They might have a chance if it were an even fight, but the difference in skill between them and the old man was immeasurable. It was foolish to rely on luck in such a situation. Bing Geom, also realizing this, remained silent.

“Why are you both just standing there? And what’s with those pathetic expressions?”

Elder Hyeok said, pointing at their sweat-drenched figures. The old man’s expression remained calm despite the immense pressure.

“Tsk, tsk, yin and yang should harmonize, not clash… What’s with this unsightly display? Aren’t you ashamed in front of your friend? Yin and yang, water and fire, fighting to take the lead? Don’t you even know what harmony is?”

Elder Hyeok clicked his tongue and continued.

“Can a change that disrupts harmony be called a change? How can you talk about change when you reject mutual benefit and embrace conflict? You should be each other’s roots, but the way your yin and yang energies clash and act independently is just repulsive. It’s ugliness itself.”

His words pierced their hearts like daggers.

“My friend who passed away would be so happy to see you like this, so happy. Unable to even handle an old man’s single finger. He’d be so happy he’d cry. Wouldn’t he? It seems pointless to continue. It’s best to end it here.”

Elder Hyeok sighed softly.

“Not yet!”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom shouted simultaneously. Their voices, usually at odds, now harmonized perfectly.

“It’s not over yet. This is not our limit.”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom decided to forget themselves for a moment and surrender to the flow of energy.

“You say it’s not over yet?”

“It’s just beginning.”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom replied in unison.

“Ryu-Yeon, what should we do now?”

Yoon Jun-Ho, who was watching the three-way confrontation from a distance with Bi Ryu-Yeon, asked anxiously. He couldn’t handle the overwhelming situation and sought advice, but he had chosen the wrong person to ask.

“What do you mean what should we do? We wait until the old men get tired. It’ll be over soon. I don’t think that old man is incompetent.”

Bi Ryu-Yeon replied curtly, as if it were nothing special.

“Can’t we stop them?”

Bi Ryu-Yeon scoffed, looking at him as if he were ridiculous.

“Stop them? How? By going in there? Look, Yoon Jun-Ho. That’s called ‘voluntary death by tax payment’ in fancy words. In your words, it’s suicide. What do you think it is in two words?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“What else could it be? ‘Meaningless death’!”

It was a firm answer, without a shred of doubt.

“Then what should we do?”

“What else can we do? Sit back and watch. It’s arrogance to try to help when they haven’t even asked for it.”

Bi Ryu-Yeon plopped down on the ground and began to watch the confrontation leisurely.

“What are you doing? Sit down!”

Yoon Jun-Ho, flustered by Bi Ryu-Yeon’s casual pat on the ground beside him, replied, “O-okay,” and sat down.

“Is it really okay for us to be doing this?”

He had sat down, but he still felt uneasy, like wearing half-dried underwear.

“Of course it’s okay! Besides, I have a role to play.”

“A role?”

Yoon Jun-Ho asked.

“A master has a duty to watch over his disciples’ fights with a keen eye.”

Bi Ryu-Yeon replied, puffing out his chest.

“Huh? You seem to have reversed the roles of master and disciple.”

Yoon Jun-Ho trailed off.

“Well? What do you think?”

Bi Ryu-Yeon only smiled enigmatically, offering no further explanation.

“Keep your eyes peeled!”

Bi Ryu-Yeon said.

“This is a spectacle you can’t even buy with money. It doesn’t happen every day. And the best part is that this rare sight is free. We can watch this grand entertainment from the best seats without paying a penny. You can’t miss this golden opportunity, can you? Watch carefully, it’ll be helpful.”

“Uh… okay.”

Yoon Jun-Ho replied in a barely audible voice.

“Tsk, tsk, straighten your back, open your chest, and widen your eyes. Don’t confine your mind, expand it. Don’t you need that kind of attitude when watching such a spectacle? No matter how amazing the masters or how high the level of their confrontation, you can’t learn anything if you’re not prepared. So get yourself ready mentally. It’ll be worth it. It’s a confrontation between those who are considered among the top ten strongest in the world. It’s not a fortune that comes to just anyone.”

Bi Ryu-Yeon said, looking at Yoon Jun-Ho.

“In short, you’ve witnessed the ‘essence.'”

* * *

Bi Ryu-Yeon opened the door to the infirmary of the Medical Hall, the place responsible for the health and treatment of Cheonmu Academy, where he had once been hospitalized. He had been a self-proclaimed patient back then, but now he was a visitor. Two of his older disciples were hospitalized here. Heo Ju-Un, the head of the Medical Hall, known for his peculiar hobby and specialty of human experimentation, was nowhere to be seen. He was probably somewhere, fiddling with a patient with unusual symptoms. A physician he had become acquainted with during his previous hospitalization told him that Yeomdo and Bing Geom, both high-ranking figures in Cheonmu Academy, were in a double room in the back. He thanked the physician and headed towards the double room. He noticed a “No Visitors” sign hanging on the door. The other side of the door was shrouded in silence, as if death had settled in. Bi Ryu-Yeon opened the door without knocking. The white sign with “No Visitors” written on it swayed weakly.

“How are you feeling?”

“……”

There was no answer. Yeomdo and Bing Geom were wrapped in bandages, but it wasn’t as if their mouths were covered with blood-soaked bandages. They weren’t gritting their teeth in pain from broken limbs with splints either. They were simply lying in their beds, facing away from each other, covered with white blankets. Not a word was exchanged. A heavy silence weighed down on them.

Bi Ryu-Yeon pulled up a chair and sat down, saying,

“The assistant leader just told me it’s a minor internal injury. External injuries are just scratches. He said it’s a kind of energy depletion due to a sudden and rapid consumption of internal energy. It’s just a state of exhaustion, similar to fainting from anemia. He said they’ll be fine after two days of rest.”

“What about him?”

Yeomdo was the first to speak. Bing Geom’s mouth remained firmly shut.

“Oh, that old man? Oh right, you two were unconscious, so you wouldn’t know what happened after. You must have woken up in bed.”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom’s faces flushed with shame.

“So what happened?”

Bing Geom finally managed to speak.

“He was fine.”

There was no other way to put it, and there was no need to hide it.

“That old man must be really strong. I knew he wasn’t ordinary, but I didn’t expect him to leave my two elite disciples in this state. Honestly, I was surprised. What is that old man’s identity?”

“……”

Double silence returned.

“You don’t want to tell me… is that it?”

“……”

It was difficult for them to speak freely about the old man’s identity, even to Bi Ryu-Yeon, their nominal master.

“Well, fine. I won’t force you to talk. We’ll find out eventually. For now, let’s just call him an unidentified old man. Anyway, why are you both so sullen?”

“……”

“Did you both eat a beehive or something… Why the silent treatment? It seems like I came for nothing. I was worried about my disciples, so I stopped by…”

“Thank you for that.”

Yeomdo replied curtly. He clearly wanted Bi Ryu-Yeon to leave.

“Alright, alright. I’ll go, I’ll go. I don’t know what fun you two will have after I leave, but you can lie down comfortably and catch up. When else will you have a chance to talk so calmly?”

Bi Ryu-Yeon said as he got up from his chair.

“Who would want to be with that guy!”

“Who would want to be with that jerk!”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom shouted, turning sharply towards each other.

“Don’t copy me!”

“Don’t copy me!”

They both snapped at the same time.

“You’re the one!”

“You’re the one!”

Bi Ryu-Yeon pushed his way between the two, who were growling at each other as if they were about to fight.

“Stop it!”

He had to intervene before it went on forever or ended badly for both of them.

“Oh my, oh my!”

Bi Ryu-Yeon shook his head and couldn’t help but say,

“You’re not children. Why are you always fighting like oil and water? Or is it ice and fire?”

Then again, it made sense that they were always bickering.

“But that was impressive. That last technique? What was it called?”

Bi Ryu-Yeon asked, recalling the tense moment when Yeomdo’s red saber and Bing Geom’s blue sword, harmonizing like yin and yang, pierced through Elder Hyeok’s energy barrier and charged towards him. At that moment, their saber and sword had moved as one. Although they collapsed afterward. Bi Ryu-Yeon was asking about the name of that combined technique.

“Ice and Flame Dual Origin Convergence Strike!”

“Flame and Ice Dual Origin Convergence Strike!”

A single name, spoken in two different ways, came out of Bing Geom and Yeomdo’s mouths simultaneously. Their eyes clashed, invisible sparks flying between them.

“Hmph!”

“Humph!”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom turned their heads away simultaneously, seeking refuge where they couldn’t see each other’s faces. Once again, they ended up with their backs to each other.

“Oh my, oh my!”

Bi Ryu-Yeon shrugged, as if admitting defeat, and shook his head at their childish behavior.

“They’re really just children.”