Why are you so surprised? (1)
He could not deny it.
The Confucian scholar bastard before him was strong. Far stronger than he had imagined.
What swept over Baek Cheon was not the exhilaration of climbing a towering mountain, but something closer to the despair of standing before a sheer, precipitous cliff.
‘What should I do?’
No matter how much he thought about it, no clever solution came to mind. If he could not arrive at an answer in his head, then there was only one thing left to do.
“Haaaap!”
Without another word, Baek Cheon charged in and thrust out his sword. A dazzling strike on an entirely different level from the sword techniques he had shown so far. Dozens of small plum blossoms bloomed in a tangled profusion and surged towards Jwa Gohak.
Even if it was crude, it was the best move Baek Cheon could make at this moment.
“Hm, this is….”
Yet even as he watched the storm of plum blossoms sweeping over him, Jwa Gohak merely smiled calmly.
“Hwasan’s Plum Blossom Sword Technique.”
Brrr.
Jwa Gohak’s sword split into something that looked like dozens of branches. These were not variations meant to confuse his opponent. They were merely afterimages created because he was executing the necessary movements with such incredible speed. Those afterimages shot towards the flying plum blossom petals like a rain of thousands of arrows.
Crunch! Crunch!
The scattered plum blossom petals were pierced through completely by Jwa Gohak’s sword energy. At that unbelievable sight, Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and leaped straight into the chaotic mass of sword energy.
“Well, well.”
Claaang!
The sword Baek Cheon swung down vertically was blocked by Jwa Gohak’s blade. In that instant, Baek Cheon twisted his body and turned his sword, but as though he had known already, Jwa Gohak blocked his sword path once more.
“Did I not tell you that I know?”
“You…… how?”
“Ah, do not misunderstand. Of course, there is no way I could know the individual forms of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique. Nor is there any way for me to learn them.”
Jwa Gohak smiled faintly from beyond their crossed swords.
“But is there really any need to know them? As long as one understands all the countless variations that can follow a single sword strike, that is enough.”
“…What?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes widened. What kind of absurd nonsense was that?
“In the end, sword forms are simply repetitions of set movements. They are nothing more than combinations of cutting, thrusting, pushing, and pulling.”
“That’s bullshit!”
Baek Cheon shoved his sword forward with all his strength. At the same time, the force of the sword pressing against his own vanished in an instant.
But that was all.
Though Baek Cheon had moved forward by a full cheok [korean foot 尺 30,3cm], he was left speechless at the sight of Jwa Gohak’s sword, which was still pressed against his own.
The very moment he tried to force his sword aside, Jwa Gohak had accurately read his intention and retreated by exactly as much as Baek Cheon pushed forward.
Their blades, locked together without separating by even a chi, proved it.
“You are quite skeptical.”
“…..How is this possible?”
“Impossible? Well, had you devoted yourself to proper study instead of blindly following crude sword theory, it would not have been so difficult for you either.”
“Shut up!”
As though enraged, Baek Cheon raised his sword high, then brought it down in a single stroke.
“It appears you’re aiming for the crown of my head.”
At that moment, Baek Cheon’s sword twisted strangely through the air and changed direction.
“But in truth, you are aiming for the wrist.”
Clang!
Yet that strike too was blocked without fail by Jwa Gohak’s sword. Thinking quickly, Baek Cheon drove his shoulder into Jwa Gohak’s completely exposed chest.
Thud!
But that, too, merely collided with Jwa Gohak’s left hand, which had swiftly taken control of the space.
“Do you understand now?”
“Th-This…”
“It is not as difficult as you might think. Of course, there are countless movements that can follow a single action, but people have tendencies. That makes them much easier to predict. No, there is not even any need to predict them.”
A chilling light settled in Jwa Gohak’s eyes.
“As long as you can secure enough speed to catch up even while moving one step slower than your opponent, then there is no attack in this world that you cannot block.”
“That is the problem! It makes no sense, damn it!”
Thud!
Baek Cheon struck away Jwa Gohak’s left hand, which had seized his shoulder, and pulled himself back.
But at that moment.
Slash!
Having read even that movement, Jwa Gohak immediately followed and cleanly stabbed Baek Cheon in the left side of his chest. It was a shallow wound, not even half a chi deep. Yet the significance of that wound was immense.
“Did I not tell you?”
Retracting his sword, Jwa Gohak clicked his tongue as he looked at Baek Cheon’s blood staining its tip.
“We are stronger than you think. No… it is you, who are weaker than you think”
“…”
“You may call this sword the Confucian Sword [유검(儒劍)], but we call it this…”
Jwa Gohak smiled brightly, his smile brighter than ever.
“Ten Thousand Swords [만검(萬劍)]. An infinite sword.”
“Huff……”
“Now then, it is not the way of a gentleman to bully the weak, so let’s bring this match to a close.”
Baek Cheon furrowed his brow and bit down hard on his lip.
‘Damn it.’
No matter where he swung his sword, his opponent read every move and responded first with astonishing speed. Since all of his intentions were being seen through, he simply could not break through the defense and launch a successful attack. It was as though his entire body were hanging from the strings that bastard had stretched out.
‘Then what the hell am I supposed to do?’
A faint shadow of despair fell across Baek Cheon’s face.
⠀
“Sasuk is being pushed back far too much.”
The expression on the faces of Hwasan’s disciples watching stiffened.
Anyone watching that exchange would have been able to tell. The momentum of the battle had tilted sharply in Jwa Gohak’s favor.
Yet none of them dared offer Baek Cheon any advice. They understood that the gap between the two was not merely a matter of swordsmanship, comprehension, or compatibility.
‘He is strong.’
Jwa Gohak was strong to an abnormal degree. Strong enough to make them wonder whether they had ever seen anyone of their generation who was that powerful.
Perhaps…
“Monk.”
“Yes.”
“Could you face him?”
“Amitaba, well…”
Hye Yeon turned his gaze back towards Baek Cheon. After pondering with a serious expression, he finally spoke.
“If you are asking whether I could face him, then the answer is ‘yes.’ That is because my fists [권(拳) – as fist power he wields] are not particularly bound by the forms of set techniques to begin with.”
“That is true…….”
Hye Yeon’s Fist Power [권력(拳力)] was formidable in and of itself, regardless of set techniques or form [형(形)]. If their levels were similar, it would probably be nearly impossible to block Hye Yeon’s destructive fists with a sword.
“But… even so, I do not think it would be easy. Would someone who has trained his techniques to that extent not have learned footwork as well? No matter how powerfully I unleash my fists, it would be meaningless if I could not hit him.”
With a low murmur, Hye Yeon shook his head.
“I think we would have to test ourselves against one another to know. No… looking at it objectively, I might even be at a slight disadvantage.”
“Even Monk…….”
At Hye Yeon’s words, the disciples of Hwasan let out groans. But Jwa Gohak’s Sword Principles [검리(劍理)] contained no flaw obvious enough for them to refute him.
“Then does that mean Sasuk will really lose?”
“…”
No one could bring themselves to answer carelessly. Jo Geol looked anxiously at Baek Cheon’s back.
No matter how much they usually teased him as though it were part of their daily routine, Baek Cheon was practically a symbol of Hwasan. For such a person’s sword to be broken – not by just anyone, but by a Confucian scholar – was not something they could simply dismiss as a matter of bad luck.
“Ch-Chung Myung-ah.”
“Huh?”
Pale as a sheet of paper, Jo Geol hurriedly called out to Chung Myung, who was standing behind him.
“What about you? If you fought that Confucian scholar, what would your chances be?”
“My chances?”
“Yeah! You could beat him, right? Right?”
Chung Myung furrowed his brow deeply with an unreadable expression, then looked at Jwa Gohak.
“Hmm. If my opponent is that bastard…”
“If he is?”
“Three…..”
“Th-Three out of ten? Your odds of winning are only thirty percent? He is that strong?”
The color drained from Jo Geol’s face as a chill ran down his spine.
“Moves?”
“Hm?”
Still looking towards Baek Cheon, Chung Myung casually clasped his hands together and rested them on the back of his head.
“Three moves? No. Two moves? One move might be a little difficult, but three moves would be far too generous.”
“…Three moves?”
An Opponent of Three Moves [삼초지적(三招之敵)]?
“Then he’s basically a complete nobody…”
“Hey! What are you trying to say, in enemy territory no less!”
Yoon Jong hurriedly clamped a hand over Jo Geol’s mouth, then asked, unable to hide his bewilderment.
“You can beat him in three moves?”
“That’s being generous?”
“…Does that make any sense? That man looks incredibly strong.”
How was he supposed to take down someone whom even Hye Yeon could not be certain of defeating within three moves? No matter how much of a monster Chung Myung was.
“Strong? Him?”
Chung Myung let out a snort and shook his head.
“What kind of nonsense is that? In my entire life, I’ve never seen a bookworm who was actually good with a sword…”
– What?
“Oh, wait. There was one. But should I really call that bastard strong…? Pale as a ghost and weak as a twig.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. It is nothing.”
Thinking of Chung Jin, Chung Myung quickly shook his head.
“Strong, my foot. That guy is just flashy on the surface.”
“…Huh?”
Yoon Jong stared at Chung Myung with an utterly baffled expression before speaking urgently.
“Then hurry up and give Sasuk some advice, at least. He looks like he is about to lose.”
“Lose? Who, Dongryong?”
Chung Myung let out a derisive snort.
“Sahyeong. No matter how insignificant, immature for his age, petty and unworthy of being called Sasuk, pathetic, and foolish Dongryong is – that is still disregarding him too much, huh?”
“….At that point, I think it would be better to just ignore him.”
Would Sasuk not choose to be just ignored instead?
“Just keep watching. That guy has fought his way through plenty of hellish battles.”
With rare… Very rare, faint trust, Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon’s back.
“He will figure it out soon enough. He is not an idiot, after all.”
⠀
‘Ah, I have no idea. Damn it.’
How in the world was he supposed to deal with that insane sword? Even if Chung Myung were here, it probably wouldn’t work.
Unease creeping into him, Baek Cheon kept fidgeting with the hand gripping his sword.
‘Not with strength, not with techniques*. If even improvisation will not work, then what the hell am I supposed to do?’
But Baek Cheon had no need to find an answer to that question.
“I am coming.”
For Jwa Gohak attacked him without giving him a moment to continue his thoughts.
Shraaaak!
As Jwa Gohak’s sword sliced through the air with a sound akin to tearing silk, dozens of afterimages shot forward. Baek Cheon, who had been preparing to evade the moment the sword came at him, involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath. The sword shadows Jwa Gohak had unleashed were flying towards him, cutting off every direction in which he could possibly evade.
“Damn it!”
Baek Cheon struck at the incoming sword shadows with all his strength.
But the moment his sword met the sword shadows, they vanished with dull sound, as though a flame had suddenly gone out.
“My, my. You place too much trust in people.”
And in their place appeared none other than Jwa Gohak himself, rushing straight at him.
Claaang!
Jwa Gohak knocked Baek Cheon’s sword away in a single blow.
Unable to withstand the sudden force, Baek Cheon’s sword was flung high into the air. Seizing the opening without hesitation, Jwa Gohak thrust his sword forward like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight for Baek Cheon’s throat.
“Ghk!”
Baek Cheon twisted his neck with all his strength. The thrusting sword grazed past his neck, leaving a long bloody line across it. Had his reaction been even a single breath slower, his throat would have been pierced through.
But evading it did nothing to improve the situation.
Fwaaaash!
The sword, withdrawn in a short, efficient motion, now slashed towards Baek Cheon’s chest. Throwing his body as far back as he could, Baek Cheon kicked off the ground to escape the sword’s reach.
But as though he had known Baek Cheon would try to evade, Jwa Gohak abruptly dropped his sword and cut a long horizontal gash across Baek Cheon’s thigh as he retreated.
Shk!
“Kgghhh!”
Unable to endure the pain, a scream burst from Baek Cheon’s lips. As he staggered from losing his balance for a moment, Jwa Gohak’s sword came down upon him like lightning.
“It is over.”
“Aah! Damn it!”
With a desperate roar, Baek Cheon wildly swung the sword in his hand. It was nothing more than a last, frantic struggle – if he was going to lose anyway, he might as well thrash about before going down.
But then.
Shk!
“Kh.”
That swing, little better than blind flailing, lightly cut across the wrist of Jwa Gohak’s descending hand. It was little more than a scratch, but surprise flickered across Jwa Gohak’s face as he leapt backward.
Landing on the ground, Jwa Gohak clicked his tongue and glanced at his sleeve, part of which had been sliced away.
“Well now…. I let my guard down.”
Jwa Gohak shook his head as if it were nothing, but Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes as he watched him.
As he fixed his gaze on Jwa Gohak’s torn sleeve and the wound on his wrist, Baek Cheon slowly clenched his teeth.
‘Let his guard down?’
Let his guard down… It was possible. But was there not something a little strange about it? A man who had claimed with his own mouth that he could know every sword path – could he really be cut by a sword Baek Cheon had swung wildly, simply because he had let his guard down for a moment?
‘Could it be?’
Baek Cheon reflexively turned his head and looked in a certain direction.
After spotting Chung Myung smiling with a peculiar expression, Baek Cheon straightened his posture once again.
“Hmm? You intend to continue?”
“Of course.”
Baek Cheon smiled faintly, his face drenched in sweat.
“There is something I want to confirm.”
Perhaps… he might have found a way to win more easily than he had expected.
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*초식(招式) – in wuxia fiction, a zhaoshi is a sequence of movements formed by linking together basic offensive and defensive techniques. The concept is also used in the taolu (forms/routines) of Chinese martial arts. The direct translation is ‘movement.’
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