Episode 379
Stagnant water is bound to rot (4)
“Huh! “Huh!”
The appearance of Yeonjipyeong was so devastated that it could not even be compared to what it was a dozen days ago.
I didn’t know when I had washed it, but hot water flowed all over my body, and my loose hair covered my entire face. Blood hardened at the corner of his mouth, visible through his hair, as if he had been training too hard.
Even the military uniform he was wearing was torn and bloody in several places, making him look miserable.
Pop. Pop.
Blood flowed from the palm holding the sword. He swung his sword without caring even if his protective gear was torn.
“Whew. Phew.”
My breathing gradually calmed down.
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes were red as she bent her back slightly and let her arms hang naturally.
“….”
Eventually, my breathing became quiet.
‘Where am I?’
Yeon Ji-pyeong, who was staring blankly at the broken rock, suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lip.
Grumbling.
The dried lips cracked and blood flowed again over the hardened spot.
Yeon Ji-pyeong thought.
‘When did you eat?’
No, I don’t even remember when I drank water before eating. It seems like it’s been more than three days, but it’s surprising that it’s still standing unharmed.
Of course, I wasn’t particularly impressed that I was fine.
‘Since when did you start swinging a sword?’
I don’t know. I couldn’t remember.
He couldn’t even remember how he swung the sword. I think I spent the first day practicing my family’s secret sword techniques, but I couldn’t remember what I practiced after that.
‘Is this okay?’
It was a training that bordered on abuse.
The methods of effort and training vary depending on where you are looking. If you swing your sword recklessly like this, you will only hurt yourself.
Yeon Ji-pyeong knew that better than anyone else. His senses were better than anyone else’s, and he was able to instinctively grasp the direction of his efforts.
But now?
‘I don’t know. I don’t know.’
Phew.
The blowing wind made my skin tingle.
My five senses became extremely sensitive. My dazed eyes looked into the minute holes in the cut surface of the rock, my nose smelled all the smells of Mother Nature, I heard the sound of ants crawling in the distant forest in my ears, and my mouth was filled with the taste of salty blood and the sweetness of the air. lost.
‘it hurts.’
My senses were more active than ever, so I flinched at the slightest stimulus.
It was then.
‘…?’
Someone is coming. Secretly and carefully.
His blank expression remained the same, but his senses were picking up on someone approaching secretly.
‘There is no hostility. And…’
A subtle glow appeared in the two transparent eyes.
‘Not just one person. There are two people.’
Moment.
Paaaaaa!
Someone who was getting closer rushed towards him.
The air flow has changed. Even before I heard a sound, I could tell by the change in the air on my skin.
‘Quick.’
That’s incredible speed. Even if he exerted all his might to achieve explosive acceleration, he wondered whether he would be able to keep up with even half of this speed.
Surprisingly, a strong fighting spirit was radiating from the person charging towards him. And the target of that speculation was myself.
‘Who is it? Why all of a sudden? But can I react?’
At that moment, Yeon Ji-pyeong felt something strange inside.
‘But why am I so relaxed?’
It was not the time to relax. Although it was not life-threatening, it was a threatening charge just because of its speed. In my current state, even one wrong punch could put my life in danger.
And one more thing.
‘It’s fast… but it doesn’t feel that fast.’
Considering the incredible speed and acceleration point, it would have been normal to have suffered this before even worrying about it.
But he was thinking and thinking. They are looking for a way to respond to the movements of that unknown power that rushes at them as fast as lightning.
How is this possible?
hook!
For a moment, a scary glow appeared in Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes.
It felt like I was walking through a hazy dream and suddenly fell into the real world. The sharp sensation of my skin being cut has gradually become dull.
‘no!’
Yeon Ji-pyeong swung his sword instinctively.
Hahaha!
It was a very clean sound. The sharp metal was breaking, creating a harsh resonant sound.
Yeon Ji-pyeong looked down at his sword with blank eyes.
The blade of the Samcheok long sword was cut straight in half, making the sword a little over two inches long.
‘I can’t believe the sword got cut off.’
It wasn’t broken, but was cut straight.
What was even more surprising was that the opponent did not hit him with a sharp blow at all. Of course, the sharpness was great, but the reason why a normal long sword turned into a half-sword was because of the slash made with explosive speed and power.
Yeon Ji-pyeong raised his head.
In front of him was Yeon Ho-jeong, who stopped in the same motion as he struck diagonally while holding the Black Dragon.
“That’s amazing.”
Yeon Ho-jeong relaxed his posture and smiled with satisfaction.
“I felt that your energy was at a frighteningly sharp level. It was an extreme increase in senses that I had never seen from you before. “I poured a lot of effort into it just in case, but it responded properly to this blow.”
“…older brother?”
“It’s great. “To be able to condense the true energy to that level, even though the time was short, it must have been a very harsh asceticism.”
“yes?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong could not understand at all what his older brother was saying.
At that time, Kang Ryang, who was standing behind Yeonhojeong, spoke with his arms crossed.
“This is truly shocking. “Should we view this as a difference in talent or a difference in concentration?”
Yeon Ho-jeong received Kang Ryang’s words.
“It’s not talent. It’s concentration. However, it was a very dangerous attempt. “If I had come to Ban Si-jin even late, Ji-pyeong’s life would have been in danger.”
“You are really cruel to throw such a brutal ax at your younger brother.”
“Reading. “He’s someone’s younger brother, so he has that level of trust.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and touched Yeon Ji-pyeong’s shoulder.
“No matter what, don’t do such dangerous training from now on.”
“yes? “A dangerous practice?”
Kang-ryang clicked his tongue.
“You don’t even know what kind of training you did.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong looked at Kang Ryang with a puzzled expression.
Kang-ryang shook his head and said.
“I don’t know how shocked you were, but you forgot time and swung your sword with all your heart, body and energy until you couldn’t move.”
“…?!”
“In other words, it is called trance, but the penance you went through is difficult to express simply with the word trance. “I don’t know if you hypnotized yourself or what, but beyond becoming one with the sword, you have completely bound yourself to the sword.”
“…!!”
“The sword is one body.” As you imbued yourself with the sword, your true energy naturally changed and became as regal and sharp as your swordsmanship. That’s why I was able to respond immediately to my brother’s attack.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with trembling eyes.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“Having an experience like this doesn’t mean your martial arts skills will immediately improve. However, the difference between those who have walked that path once and those who have not walked it is enormous. “It will definitely be of great help to your future growth.”
“ah!”
“It was a lot of hardship. However, it would be better to refrain from practicing this way in the future. I can’t help but admire your efforts to focus so much in such a short period of time, but the minimum level of safety is guaranteed only when you can freely control your immersion. “Immersion in forgetting oneself can give a great gift, but it also carries a lot of risk.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong was embarrassed. Because it was something I had never heard of before.
Yeon Ho-jeong said.
“Did I tell you before? If not, I’ll take this opportunity to tell you. A martial artist who has mastered internal qigong means a person who knows how to manipulate energy. “Qi (氣) is based on the mind. If your mind is unstable, your prayer will be unstable, and if your mind is stable, your prayer will be stable.”
“I know that.”
“The problem is that the opposite is also possible. “Qi freely changes its form and character depending on one’s intention, but if you are negligent in controlling it, your mind will eventually be dragged around by the energy that bounces around as it pleases.”
“…!!”
“The magic arts commonly spoken of in the world are exactly that type of martial arts. They say that if you learn magic, your mind and body will lose harmony, and you will fall into madness or commit murder like a meal, right? It is said that there are not many martial arts techniques that exhibit such instability these days, but in reality, such a phenomenon does occur.”
Yeon Ho-jeong pointed to Yeon Ji-pyeong’s chest with his index finger.
“The root is nothing more than a warhorse that you control. The energy you cannot control is not yours. If you make a mistake, you can become a slave to true energy and lose yourself, even though you have learned the correct techniques.”
“…!”
“And that is the initial symptom of a fire-entry demon. When uncontrolled energy runs wild and displeases its owner. “If I hadn’t stopped your training a little while ago, your life would have been in danger due to the coin attack.”
While teaching his younger brother, Yeon Ho-jeong also realized something.
Why did his martial arts skills not grow as quickly as before? Why could he not advance to the next level despite clear goals and efforts?
‘I almost fell in love with it too.’
His efforts were evident. However, he was obsessed with the level he had achieved as the Emperor of Darkness.
It had to be that way. It was a path that was clearly visible and had already been experienced, so if you follow it properly, you will be able to achieve the state of darkness for many years. He was so confident.
‘Wrong.’
Yes. Wrong.
Yeonhojeong was no longer the Emperor of Darkness. He was the eldest son of the Yeonga family and the commander of Byeoksanho, the world’s greatest late leader. He was also the commander of the Uijeonggun, the strongest military unit of the Murim Alliance, and the commander of the Mortal Army.
There was no longer any place for the Emperor of Darkness.
Although it is possible to utilize the experience of the Emperor of Darkness, the path to progress as Emperor of Darkness is closed. He is navigating a new path, and that path is completely different from the previous path he grew up on.
If the mind leads the energy, what leads the mind is clear reason and self-reflection. And what makes reason and self-reflection bloom is also energy, and energy is based on the mind.
A revolving realization. Before we knew it, Yeonhojeong had strayed from the infinite staircase.
‘I won’t wander around any longer.’
Unlike during the time of Emperor Heukam, when he grew based on Hong Cheon-gi, he is now growing by forming a Yeonga Shindan.
I knew the difference in my head, but I couldn’t feel it in my heart.
I will no longer show my ugly side like that.
Clap.
Yeon Ho-jeong, holding the black and white twin dragons on his waist and putting them on one side, turned around.
“I stopped by to check on your condition before leaving on a mission. “If it’s okay with you, I was wondering if you could join us this time.”
Yeon Ho-jeong no longer looked at Yeon Ji-pyeong. I just walked steadily towards the entrance of this forest.
Yeon Ho-jeong asked. Without stopping walking.
“Would you like to join us?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes lit up.
Purr, purr!
Far away at the entrance to the forest, countless war horses and veterans riding on them were looking at this place with cold eyes.
‘That’s the place.’
My brother lives right there in the world where those people live. And on the way to that world, Kang Ryang was chosen.
What about yourself?
“I will go.”
Slurp!
Yeon Ji-pyeong, holding a sharp sword, staggered and followed Yeon Ho-jeong.
“I will no longer wait and worry.”
I was already mentally prepared before I was selected.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“Take care of your life.”
