Chapter 19: I Dominated the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly (4)

Movement art and sword strikes were separate domains.

A person with fast movement art could have weak sword strikes, and a person with slow movement art could have strong sword strikes, so there was no significant correlation between the two.

However, in a broader sense, that was not entirely the case. This was because both were, in the end, martial arts polished by a single martial artist.

It meant that a strong person was generally excellent in both movement art and powerful in sword strikes.

After Namgung Tan, who was at the midpoint of the first test, the sword strikes of the up-and-coming prodigies began to gain a little more momentum.

Jjeong!

No one who broke their sword appeared anymore. It meant that everyone had struck the Hundred-Refined Steel using their own profound principles. It was a place to prove the reason why they had secured the top spots in movement arts.

Nevertheless, there was no one who dented the Hundred-Refined Steel as much as Peng Jin-hu, and there was no one who cut the Hundred-Refined Steel as much as Namgung Tan.

“Hak of the Dancheon Clan. Come out.”

“Yes.”

And as time passed, it finally became Dancheon Hak's turn.

Unlike Namgung Tan, who had been overly conscious of me, Dancheon Hak, who was focused on himself, faced the Hundred-Refined Steel.

Sreung.

Although it might not be as good as Namgung Tan's, which was said to be Heavenly Artisan's eighth sword, a famed sword that could only be obtained with hundreds of gold nyang and connections showed off its form.

“Hoo-”

Dancheon Hak's focused momentum was sharp.

At the age of twenty, he had the face of a full-fledged Peak master.

“Hap!”

Dancheon Hak's sword was unleashed.

His sword was different from the other up-and-coming prodigies. It was not a cut that utilized the profound principle of Four Taels deflect a Thousand Jin, but a thrust that added the profound principles of speed and sharpness.

Although a thrust was one of the ways to fully utilize a sword, no up-and-coming prodigy had done it so far.

This was because there was no up-and-coming prodigy who had the guts to perform a thrust against a cube-shaped Hundred-Refined Steel that was over a chi thick.

But Dancheon Hak had walked an untrodden path, so it was a moment where one could at least get a glimpse of his confidence in his own martial arts.

And.

Jjeo-eong!

His attempt yielded a great result.

Dancheon Hak's sword had pierced through the one-chi of Hundred-Refined Steel.

Although it couldn't be called perfect because the sword tip was slightly damaged, in terms of the test, it couldn't be denied that he had achieved the best result.

“Excellent.”

Taecheong Jin-in proved that fact by praising an up-and-coming prodigy who had faced the test for the first time.

Dancheon Hak's confident smile was directed at me.

Unlike his twisted smiles so far, it was an expression that somehow aroused a fighting spirit in me.

“That's my brother.”

For the first time, I said those words with sincerity, not sarcasm.

All the up-and-coming prodigies in the venue would think.

That in the second test, Dancheon Hak would finish the test with a unique prowess.

This was because, from the perspective of having struck the Hundred-Refined Steel themselves, they knew well how difficult it was to pierce it completely.

But that thought would be wrong.

This was because Lee Chun-baek, the successor of a mysterious sect who would later be called the King of Wanderers, remained, and I remained.

“Wanderer Lee Chun-baek, come out.”

Everyone's attention was focused.

This was because, unlike the other Dragons and Phoenixes who were introduced only by their clan name and name, he was introduced as a wanderer, and at the same time, he was the person who had taken second place in the first test.

Lee Chun-baek stood in front of the Hundred-Refined Steel.

Spat.

Without even a moment to catch his breath, his sword was unleashed.

Seogeok.

“……!”

A clean sound, as if a piece of wood was being cut.

Lee Chun-baek's sword had cut off a corner of the Hundred-Refined Steel, about the length of a finger joint.

“Hoo.”

Taecheong Jin-in was intrigued by that sight.

It was because it was a completely different method from the up-and-coming prodigies who had struck the center of the Hundred-Refined Steel.

The up-and-coming prodigies murmured.

Some admired it as a change in perspective, while some whispered under their breath whether it wasn't cheating.

But the judgment was made by the presiding official, Taecheong Jin-in.

Taecheong Jin-in did not say anything to Lee Chun-baek, who bowed his head and turned to leave.

“Lastly, Myeong of the Dancheon Clan. Come out.”

Finally, it was my turn.

***

I held the hilt of the sword, Dancheon, which I had acquired from Heavenly Artisan's cave. The cozy feel of the old hilt relieved my tension.

It was Heavenly Artisan's final sword and his last work, named Dancheon with the meaning that it could even cut all the swords he had made himself.

If Heavenly Artisan's ambition was true, it meant that it was a famed sword among famed swords that could even cut that Namgung Tan fellow's eighth sword of Heavenly Artisan.

Sreung.

As I drew the Dancheon Sword, a mysteriously reddish blade revealed itself.

“Is that a rusty sword? Just like a bastard.”

Namgung Tan sneered, but as Taecheong Jin-in's gaze turned towards him, he flinched and quickly sealed his lips.

“Hoo-”

The technique was the first half of the Dancheon Sword Art, Dancheon’s Falling Thunder. This technique, which strikes down from a high stance, was simple and thus the best for concentrating power.

In fact, it was also because I, who had only learned the first half of the Dancheon Sword Art, had few other options.

The profound principle was the oft-mentioned Four Taels deflect a Thousand Jin.

No matter how sharp a sword one used, it was impossible to cut through a one-chi thick Hundred-Refined Steel with pure physical strength.

And the finishing touch was the Dancheon Sword, the last work of Heavenly Artisan.

It could be called the king among swords that could even cut famed swords.

My concentration heightened.

Time slowed down, and in my surroundings, only I and the Hundred-Refined Steel remained.

I knew that in the end, an excellent sword strike lay in the harmony of technique, profound principle, and the sword.

“Heup!”

Seogeok.

A restrained sound, a clean feel.

My sword, as if cutting through tofu and not Hundred-Refined Steel, split the space without any resistance.

“……!”

A silent astonishment dominated the venue. Even that Taecheong Jin-in could not hide his expression.

In front of me were two pieces of Hundred-Refined Steel with perfectly smooth cut surfaces like a bronze mirror.

As I composed my breathing, Namgung Tan's face came into view. He couldn't close his mouth. To the point where I was worried his jaw would drop.

Sreung- chak-

The silence of the venue was broken by the soft sound of the Dancheon Sword being sheathed.

“That is all.”

On this day, I made a legend for the first time at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

During the short break after the second test, the air surrounding the area had changed.

Originally, no one had approached me and Lee Chun-baek, and it was the same now, but something was different.

I could feel all the surrounding up-and-coming prodigies being conscious of me and Lee Chun-baek.

The gazes of the Dragons, who were observing me with envy and vigilance, were like that, and the gazes of the numerous Phoenixes, who were blushing and glancing at my face, were also like that.

If I had to say, the gazes of the Phoenixes were more uncomfortable.

It was because that type of gaze was completely unfamiliar.

Of course, I pretended to be calm, trying my best not to pay attention to it.

Wouldn't it look too pathetic if I showed that I was bothered by such things?

“Myeong, you were strong. If I had known you were this strong, I wouldn't have had to help you back then.”

Lee Chun-baek, the only one in the venue who was looking at me without a hint of jealousy, threw a joke.

“If so, first place would be Brother Chun-baek right now.”

“Puhat.”

Perhaps not expecting me to respond with a joke, Lee Chun-baek laughed. Although he was manly and had bold features, his laughing face was like a child's.

“If we do well in the next test, both Brother Chun-baek and I will get the title of Dragon.”

Since we had both achieved good results in the previous two tests, it was by no means an arrogant statement.

However, Lee Chun-baek shook his head with a bitter smile.

“I think I have to stop here.”

“…….”

I couldn't rashly say anything at his seemingly bitter smile.

After choosing my words for a moment, I opened my mouth.

“Brother Chun-baek, won't you regret it?”

It was the honor of a Dragon and Phoenix. It was not small enough to let go of what was in my hand.

“I think I will regret it. But there is something I must protect.”

“……I see.”

Lee Chun-baek quietly nodded at my answer.

Now I knew the reason why a master of Lee Chun-baek's level had not obtained the title of Dragon and Phoenix.

Lee Chun-baek might think I didn't know, but I knew. It was probably related to the fact that he was the successor of a mysterious sect.

In fact, the reason he was an almost unknown figure until the Great War of Righteousness and Evil was probably because of this.

Before obtaining the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art, I was reminded of myself who had been searching for rumors everywhere to become the successor of a mysterious sect.

It was a time of many thoughts.

***

“Did everyone rest well?”

A new person appeared.

I recognized him at once. This was because he was also one of the people at the top of the Thousand Immortals of the Jianghu.

A person who stood shoulder to shoulder with Singija, who was called the number one strategist in the Jianghu Murim.

He was the eccentric called Manbakja, said to know everything about all things in the world.

“I will be in charge of the third test. I am called Manbakja.”

For reference, he was a person who ranked at the very top of the list of extraordinary and eccentric individuals. Not in a great way, but in a strange way.

If Heavenly Artisan was a master craftsman and a master of mechanisms and formations, he had defined himself quite differently.

“I will introduce my invention.”

He was an eccentric who called himself by the strange word ‘inventor’.

Clap, clap.

When Manbakja clapped his hands twice, two strong men came out, struggling to carry a sphere the size of a torso.

“It is called an Internal Energy Measuring Orb.”

At Manbakja's words, disbelief appeared on everyone's faces, but no one opened their mouths.

It was probably because his main inventions were thunderbolt bombs and hidden weapons, so there was nothing good to be gained from being at odds with him.

***

How was internal energy measured?

In order to measure, one needed to know the unit, and for that, a little background knowledge was necessary.

Martial artists usually referred to the unit of internal energy as a Gapja.

That name had an origin.

It was a story from the time when martial arts had not yet been fully systematized and were taking shape as the life-nourishing arts of the immortals.

When a person took the energy that was spread throughout heaven and earth, this was called the Three Talents, the foundation of martial arts.

An unknown great monk created mind cultivation arts, gait arts, sword arts, blade arts, and fist arts based on the Three Talents, and this was the prototype of martial arts.

It was the same Three Talents Martial Arts that we usually referred to as marketplace martial arts.

If one continuously circulated their energy for sixty years with the Three Talents Mind Art, an internal energy about the size of two finger joints would accumulate in the Qi center, and this was usually called one Gapja.

Since the energy of heaven and earth was evenly spread throughout the world, the Three Talents Mind Art, which was not mixed with any tricks, showed a similar amount of accumulated energy no matter who circulated it, so there was nothing better to use as a measure.

And among the martial artists who had reached one Gapja, those who had gained enlightenment manifested something called sword qi, and they were called Peak masters.

Of course, since this was a story like a legend that was well over a thousand years old, it was somewhat different from the current mind cultivation art system. Who in this day and age would only accumulate energy for sixty years with the Three Talents Mind Art?

Nevertheless, the unit of Gapja remained in the Murim as a uniform standard.

Anyway, there were several ways to measure the internal energy in units of Gapja.

One could know their own internal energy by observing themselves through energy circulation.

But this could not be a subject of comparison. How could one prove something that only they knew?

For reference, I, who had consistently circulated the Dancheon Mind Art, the secret mind cultivation art of a prestigious martial clan, had reached one Gapja at seventeen. It could be said that it was not called the secret of a prestigious clan for nothing.

There was also a way to objectively measure internal energy.

That was for a master of a higher level to inject their true qi into another person through the wrist's pulse point and observe the other person's body.

But this had the problem of simultaneously risking that the path of the other person's energy circulation or the key secrets of their mind cultivation art could be read.

Since a high-level martial art was truly not to be taught to the unworthy, there were not many martial artists who would risk their own martial arts being read, no matter how recognized the person performing it was by the Murim Alliance.

Therefore, in the past, the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly had used the last method for the internal energy test.

That was an internal energy duel.

This was because it was not difficult to know who was superior when two martial artists held hands and had an internal energy duel.

But this method also had its problems.

Even if a master of a higher level mediated, the problem of the loser's meridians being twisted or their insides being shaken due to the competition overheating had always existed.

It was because the subjects of the competition were hot-blooded up-and-coming prodigies.

Anyway, the internal energy measurement test had always been a problem for the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, so in the meantime, Manbakja had presented a new device called the Internal Energy Measuring Orb for the first time.

This was a new method that had never existed before.

I knew.

The fact that the Internal Energy Measuring Orb created by Manbakja would later be widely recognized by the famous masters of the Jianghu.

Anyway, Dancheon Hak approached me, leaving behind the several Dragons and Phoenixes who were murmuring at the unfamiliar device.

“This time, I will win.”

I didn't know what kind of change of heart he had, but it was no longer a contemptuous tone, but a feeling of treating a rival in good faith.

“Do your best.”

I answered him so.

As if he was sure of his victory this time, confidence was read on Dancheon Hak's face.

Brother. I am a body that has consumed the Immaculate Pomegranate and the Vermilion Fruit.

I couldn't bring myself to say it like this.