Chapter v17c9

The Standard of Equivalence

– Pointing with a Finger

‘Oops, did I go too far?’

elder Hyeok felt a bit uneasy. He had touched upon the deepest wounds in their hearts. Although it was intentional, he hadn’t planned on making them cry. If he left them like this, they might burst into tears simultaneously. Witnessing a waterfall of tears from grown men in their forties wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“Well, well, the atmosphere has become too gloomy. How about a little change of pace?”

“A change of pace, you say…?”

“First, let’s see what you’ve managed to extract from that fellow. It’s good to know beforehand. Huh? Why the long faces? You look like you’ve bitten into a bitter melon. Don’t tell me you’re refusing? Oh, you’re not? My apologies. I thought you were rebelling. No need to sweat so much. Is it hot? You’re fine? That’s good. Take care of your health, especially during the changing seasons. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom didn’t even have a chance to object. Although they were both renowned masters in the martial world, they were like toddlers taking their first steps in front of the old man elder Hyeok.

“Ahem, well, since you’ve both readily agreed, let’s conduct a simple test. Don’t be so nervous. It’s nothing serious. Am I going to fry you, steam you, or stir-fry you? At least if you want to teach someone, you should first understand yourself properly, right?”

“Teach someone? Who are you talking about…?”

“That child. You know, the one who seems to love cleanliness and hates even a speck of dust or a single strand of hair. The righteous, clean-freak kid. Wasn’t he Jeong-Cheon’s grandson?”

“How did you know…?”

Of course, they knew who he was talking about. Not only did they know him, but they had also been keeping an eye on him since witnessing the final secret technique of the Galaxy Flow Creation Sword, the Galaxy Star Beginning, unleashed against Cheong-Heun, the Three-Section Sword, during the semifinals of the Samsung Martial Arts Competition three years ago. Although he failed to reach the finals due to a mutual defeat with Bi Ryu-Yeon, there was no doubt about his exceptional ability to handle two different energies. The old man replied casually.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s nothing special.”

They wondered if their every move was within the old man’s grasp. Or rather, they even thought that perhaps the old man was intentionally manipulating their fate, and they were merely actors playing roles in his script.

elder Hyeok paused in thought before continuing.

“Hmm, we need to conduct a test… and for that, we need a standard.”

A standard refers to a tool for judgment. Needless to say, a large ruler is needed to measure a giant statue, and a weight of equivalent value is needed to weigh a heavy object.

A butcher’s knife is needed to slaughter a cow, a cleaver for a chicken, and a divine sword capable of piercing dragon scales to slay a dragon. Conversely, there’s no need to use a dragon-slaying divine sword to kill a chicken. That would be a terrible waste.

Gulp!

Yeomdo and Bing Geom stiffened with tension. They swallowed nervously. They prided themselves on their ability to maintain composure in any situation, but the equanimity they thought they had cultivated shattered like a glass tea set dropped from the second floor of a teahouse, scattering into pieces and disappearing without a trace.

A long-lost sensation began to take hold of their minds. A fragment of emotion they had buried deep within themselves, a feeling they thought would never resurface, something that stirred the clear waters of their inner minds and muddied the lake’s surface. Its name was “fear.”

“Then shall we try this?”

The old man, after a moment of serious contemplation, raised his index finger with a look that said he had been very considerate.

Ding!

“Huh? Just with that one finger?”

The two were bewildered, feeling as if a tightly drawn bowstring had suddenly snapped. The taut string went slack, and naturally, the arrow didn’t fly.

“Just one finger? I thought it might be a bit too much for you, but I can’t ignore an old friend’s request. I have to consider his face. Be grateful it’s not my pinky.”

‘Ugh…’

No matter who the opponent was, this was unacceptable. Although they had a bad relationship and were constantly at odds, there was one thing they both agreed on. It was an absolute shared belief that transcended all cause and effect, all emotions.

It was the pride they held deep in their hearts as the sole disciples of the Martial God. They had always lived with that pride. Even if they didn’t ask, the other party must have felt the same way. When had they ever been treated like this? They hadn’t even received such treatment from Bi Ryu-Yeon.

The old man asked softly,

“What, are you dissatisfied?”

“…Yes, we are.”

Yeomdo, after a moment of hesitation, finally spoke. No matter how close a friend of their deceased master he was, no matter how powerful he was, what was unacceptable was unacceptable. They weren’t so pathetic as to swallow their words just because of authority.

“With all due respect, sir, we cannot agree with that. If we are only worthy of being measured by that tiny index finger, we would have no face to meet our master in heaven.”

Bing Geom, who had been silent, spoke up in support.

“I’ve never agreed, affirmed, or supported this hothead’s words, and I have no intention of doing so in the future…”

“What! You damn ice block!”

Bing Geom raised his hand to stop Yeomdo’s outburst and continued.

His tone changed. His voice, which had been devoid of emotion like the cold gray north wind, began to heat up like a summer heatwave.

“However… it seems I have to break that expectation today. Because I find validity in his words. No matter how I think about it, this hothead friend, who is usually consumed by emotions, seems to be right. I’m surprised myself.”

“Who’s your friend!”

Yeomdo snapped at the cringeworthy expression that Bing Geom would never have used under normal circumstances. He must have thought it would help him hide his embarrassment.

It seemed he was wrong to think they would never fight side by side.

“Oh, it seems that fellow didn’t teach you for fun. He didn’t teach his disciples wrongly. Good, good! Even if it’s only half, it becomes one when combined, is that it? I’ll personally show you how wrong your simple addition is.”

The old man, with an arrogant expression, wagged his raised index finger. The meaning was clear.

“No one can prove your worth for you. If you want to be reevaluated, show me what you’ve got. Your true value.”

“That’s what we want!”

There were no formalities of refusal or humility. Neither side wanted to delay getting to the point. They were both surprisingly impatient. All they wanted was to get straight to the main issue.

What they needed was action, not words. As the world always taught them.

Yeomdo drew his Red Flame, and Bing Geom drew his Ice Tears. It was the first time in twenty years that the two had drawn their weapons together against a single opponent. In that sense, it was a monumental day, but there was no such sweet sentimentality in their minds. There was only a burning fighting spirit, like molten lava.

Who in the past hundred years had the honor of experiencing both of these legends, the two strongest figures in the martial world, hailed as the pinnacle of martial arts?

The answer was none.

Now, they would be the first and the last. Because one legend had already become a legend and was buried in the heavens.

“I was worried that you might be a bit lacking with just this…”

The old man said, holding up his index finger.

“Lacking… you say? Is that so?”

The old man, thinking it was faster to show than tell, pointed at the two with a casual, natural gesture. The next moment, before they could even react, a terrifying wave of energy, like a tsunami, engulfed their insignificant beings.

“Gasp!”

Yeomdo and Bing Geom were terrified. The finger pointing at them was no longer a finger. It had transformed into something beyond a finger. They couldn’t describe what it was, but they were certain that it was suppressing them with an overwhelming force.

‘This… this can’t be…?’

Their bodies trembled like aspen leaves. Even jumping into an icy river in the middle of winter wouldn’t be this cold. Their spines tingled. They couldn’t move a muscle.

Yeomdo’s eyes widened. He shuddered at the chilling sensation of a sharp, cold blade pointed at his forehead, as if it could cut through the air. His hair stood on end. Death was dancing with him, a hair’s breadth away.

Bing Geom was no exception. The tip of a sharp blade was aimed at him. It flickered menacingly above his Adam’s apple, emitting a terrifying killing intent.

Although there was only one index finger pointed at them, the two perceived it differently. They faced the same situation, but their interpretations and understandings differed. However, both interpretations were intertwined with their greatest fear. What was aiming at them, what was binding them, was the fear that had grown within their own hearts.

‘Oh my god!’

Only then did they realize the fatal flaw in their simple thinking, the gaping hole in their flawed logic.

They had momentarily forgotten who they were facing. They had made the mistake of trying to gauge the size of an iceberg by looking at the tip above the water, without even seeing its true form. To think they had been so naive and arrogant as to think they could gain an advantage over the being standing before them with such insignificant tools… They were ashamed to even look up.

How arrogant and ignorant they had been to try to overpower the being standing before them, like an immovable mountain, with such paltry tools. This was not someone they could trifle with by waving their swords and sabers. It wasn’t a physical weapon that was suppressing them. They instinctively knew that the pressure weighing down on their shoulders was the overwhelming presence of a superior being. They finally realized this at the threshold of death. How insignificant they were.

Everything was suppressed by a single finger. They had never seen such a large finger. Was this how Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, felt when trapped in Buddha’s palm? At least the monkey had peed on Buddha’s hand, making him better than these humans. They were so tightly bound that they couldn’t even move a finger, frozen like statues. It was a wonder their hearts were still beating. Or perhaps, their hearts had already stopped, along with their breath. Even the feeling of being alive might be an illusion.

They felt like flies, their wings clipped and legs torn off, placed on the old man’s finger. Pathetic, weak, insignificant insects, unable to even struggle for survival. It might be easier to just accept their fate.

But…

‘Is it really okay to give up like this? Are you sure you won’t regret it?’

Yeomdo and Bing Geom asked themselves inwardly. Then, the image of their master’s final moments vividly came to mind.