When it gets dark, I decide to stand guard. It is because everyone besides me already took turns standing guard while the others cultivated.
The Evil ones protected me before so it is my turn to do it now.
When standing guard it is right to set a patrol route and walk around. But now there was no need to patrol because the guest house was isolated and the surrounding areas were deserted.
In the first place we aren’t ones to hold back so being in an isolated area was better for us.
As soon as the evil ones go in I jump onto the roof of the guest house and sit cross legged.
I look up at the darkening sky.
In the guest house everyone except me would probably rest. Maybe it is because of the quiet night a holy night where nothing stands out I hum a song like an old man with the moon as my friend.
There aren’t many songs I can sing. It’s because I struggle to memorize the lyrics of songs and even if I try to listen the songs I retain are limited.
Maybe that is why I tend to repeat just the songs I liked. Among them several choruses of rhythmless songs come to mind but today I remember the song ‘View the Sea’ by Jojo.
Jojo built the View the Sea tower after defeating the five major ones who opposed him. This is the song that was recited when looking at the wide sea.
I sit on the roof of the guest house and continue to look into the darkness spreading around me.
The song had a part that made me think of the following-
I climbed the mountain and looked at the wide sea.
The sun and moon seem to rise from the center of the sea. Brilliant stars and galaxies that spread out in the sky.
Of course I don’t know if this is even the right interpretation.
It’s not like I can ask the poet. Regardless these are my thoughts while interpreting the text so I just think what I want.
And like that I watch the darkness move from on top of the roof.
I feel like I can somehow understand why Jojo was into killing so many. I am not excusing him or his actions but I still understand.
Because neither of us are good people. It is said that the guy was not right in the head. In terms of a person of Kangho he is equivalent to a skilled warrior.
In any case I think that all the events of the days and nights and the universe originates from the sea.
And if I had to apply this logic to me it is as if all the qi of the sun and moon came from my dantian.
Originally the sun and moon and the qi appear as if they are shifting the work peacefully. This is what martial arts also shows.
Therefore I can’t help but worry about my situation. This is because everything starts at the sea but I had dantian which fluctuates like the sea.
And since it is night…
I lay back on the roof and watch the stars in the night sky to my heart’s content. A star exists alone and the universe is a group of stars. Brilliant means of shining light.
That is the night view I am looking at right now.
Jojo probably didn’t write the poem for his descendants to gain enlightenment about martial arts but I couldn’t help but think about martial arts when reading his poem.
If I look up at this dazzling night sky and close my eyes the vast black sea will spread out before me. When I open my eyes again it feels like the stars are falling onto me and I feel dizzy.
I somehow manage to correlate the concept of martial arts which stems from the brightness of the stars and the universe to killing a specific person without having to kill many.
If the Light Sky of the Sun and Moon is to sweep the majority of people as if changing the flow of the sea I wanted the Heavenly Shining Light to be a beam of light.
The point is this.
A martial arts which is dazzlingly bright is difficult to block. Suddenly I remembered the words of Alliance Leader.
The reason why the sword technique of his is wonderful is because it looks ordinary on the surface. With a seemingly normal hit the wooden sword wielded by the Sword Demon also broke in an instant.
I can never think of that as ordinary. It is because it is a sword technique which holds the qi of Im So-baek.
All of a sudden I have a paradoxical thought.
To hide one’s killing intent behind the brightness of one’s technique.
Zaha Divine Arts is a martial art that needs to be defended against.
That is because the realm of mine isn’t yet suitable to unfold such an unstable martial arts. The reason being due to the fact that my martial arts fluctuates like the sea. That one time I unleashed it after peeing it nearly turned my insides upside down. Therefore it’s reasonable to conclude that Zaha Divine Arts only comes out stronger as I get stronger.
I wonder if any martial arts gets stronger the angrier I get but this was all I knew. Perhaps the martial arts is one based on anger.
When an ordinary person gets angry the aftermath of that anger remains embedded in the body and mind.
Of course Zaha Divine Martial Arts which shakes my dantian and uses my qi leaves an aftereffect on my body and mind so I try to refrain from unleashing it.
Therefore during my battles so far I just stuck with alternating between embedding qi energy into the wooden sword and utilizing the Light Sky of Sun and Moon.
The trick was simple.
Freely switch between my Yin and Yang qi.
The trick is simple but there are only a few people in Kangho who can use this technique. This is because it is rare for people to possess both positive and negative qi’s in the first place.
I look up at the night sky calmly organizing and establishing my martial arts.
Zaha Divine Arts is at the top and Sun and Moon Divine Arts is at the bottom. The two martial arts are derived from Light Sky and Sun and Moon and the Zaha Sword Energy.
In addition there was the new addition of the technique I wanted to master- Meteor Falling from Galaxy.
After making the decision I jump down from the guesthouse and train the arts holding onto my sword.
It is always lame when trying to attempt something for the first time.
One has to be swift in the moment to be able to cut anything down. I swing my sword into the night towards the pool statue ahead.
I embrace the darkness of the night and try to imitate the motion of a meteor falling from the sky with the swift movement of my sword. To imitate a meteor I have to be as fast as a beam of light so I continued to increase the speed of my movements to match the speed of light.
Suddenly while holding the sword and unleashing my technique the movements of the Blood Palace Lord comes to mind.
And I decided to implement it.
By the time my intentions begin to manifest and take shape…
I wander around the area with the Light Sky of Sun and Moon wrapped around my blade. The glow of the white light resembling flowers against the darkness of the night shines like the stars in the night sky.
After pouring out the meaningless stars all night at some point I establish an imaginary goal. I push the qi of my Yin and Yang energy and focus it all towards the tip of the blade.
Ice qi wraps around the blade and from the tip of the sword I’m able to see the red glow of my sword qi.
The black night with white flowers and red lines. This feels like a painting.
“…!”
I got this far without a clear image of what I wanted to accomplish. It feels too advanced for a martial arts so I feel like I’m unable to make this complicated technique fully my own.
Well I temporarily named this the Meteor Falling from the Galaxy. I know it’s unrealistic to think that I would get it down immediately when I only just started training so I decide to put away my sword and light the guest house that had been covered in darkness.
In the meantime I reinforce my technique by introducing a bit of killing intent… this is to make sure the martial arts holds conviction and meaning.
A single thrust of the sword to block the vision of the enemy and melt them down.
A lethal sword technique.
The martial arts was strangely difficult to accomplish and the meaning behind it is ambiguous too so I decided to go with a simpler name.
Meteor Sword.
A man who makes up his own special move. That is me.
After creating the martial arts I feel dizzy so I head to the roof of the guesthouse.
Ah is this why cats climb up?
I slap myself on the cheek thinking that I was trying to relate to the heart of a cat.
‘Let us act in limits.’
As I am checking out the sun rising from the guesthouse Sam Bok gets up and comes to the front of the guesthouse and begins to sweep the place.
As Sam Bok begins to sweep Chil Geom comes out from the enemy camp on the left and sweeps the barracks there.
The two who are holding brooms glare at each other and Sam Bok says
“What are you looking at? Lower those eyes.”
Chil Geom snorts and continues to sweep. I say to Sam Book from the roof
“Sam Bok.”
“Ah fuck! That shocked me!’
When he spots me he asks
“What are you doing on the roof?”
“Watching the world. The moon setting and the sun rising. The stars are gone and I don’t know where they went.”
“You worked so hard.”
Sam Bok resumes sweeping and says
“Go in and sleep sir.”
“Sam Bok you are a server.”
“It isn’t like that.”
“Are you belittling servers now?”
“If you are a man shouldn’t you start up as a server like Sect Leader did run a guesthouse earn money and then be a service escort for things charge high prices marry a pretty woman and dream big?”
“You have a plan. Ambitious I see.”
“Do you have any plans Sect Leader?”
“I do.”
“It is my plan to make sure people like you live as planned.”
“That is good.”
Sam Bok lowers the broom and looks up at me.
“I respect you Sect Leader.”
“Why do I feel like slapping those who flatter me like this?”
“It is not flattery. Flattery is what those people there in the barracks do. Look at the mess.”
I say to Chil Geom
“Chil Geom good morning.”
To which he replies.
“Yes Sect Leader.”
I say to Chil Geom without much thought
“Want to have breakfast together?”
To which he says
“I am fine.”
“Are you ignoring my kindness?”
“I apologize.”
I deliberately ask Sam Bok to prepare breakfast. After that the food was placed on the table outside the guesthouse and then we proceeded to grill yesterday’s meat on the coal.
Occasionally I would look over towards the barracks. Chil Geom was sitting at the table and would look over at us while chewing on beef jerky.
I grab the greasy meat with my chopsticks and wave it at Chil Geom.
“Chil Geom…”
“Yes Sect Leader.”
“I simply called you.”
I put the meat into my mouth and looked at him. I hear the sound of something sizzling and turn to the side where the meat is being grilled and it seems like a whole pork leg was placed.
“Yah do it right.”
Sam Bok waves the leg he was grilling to Chil Geom. Since we were all warriors who were learning martial arts it is only right that we eat breakfast in huge quantities. According to Sword Demon there is a high chance that the enemies will arrive in 10 days so various people of Demon Cult will come today or tomorrow.
So I overindulge myself with the food.
It looks like these people slept soundly because of me and the evil ones and the third young lord who is still recovering are eating well.
Well I don’t want anything in particular. Just to share a meal with these people.
Sword Demon is eating so well that I wondered if this one was the same man who lived on porridge. It was my understanding that people get more depressed when they eat porridge.
If a person drinks more alcohol than rice there is a high chance they go off the rails.
If one person eats alone for ten years there is a high chance they will turn out like this.
In that sense we all looked at Chil Geom from time to time. After eating without a word we sit in silence and Sword Demon almost seems bored. Holding onto the thick piece of meat with his chopsticks he looks at Chil Geom.
“…”
Sword Demon shakes the meat and says to Chil Geom
“Come eat with us.”
Chil Geom glares at him.
“It is alright.”
I glare at the meat Sword Demon is holding and then hold out my chopsticks for a surprise attack. But Sword Demon turns his wrist as if using a technique and dodges my attack. As he shoves it into his mouth he says
“Cannot do that.”
I sneer at Pervert Demon and the moment our eyes meet; he begins to laugh like a madman. While we eat we look at this guy who is laughing alone and Sword Demon says
“Let’s eat.”
“Yes.”
Pervert Demon stops laughing and begins to eat again. Come to think of it Pervert Demon laughed because of Sword Demon.
Their relationship is that of a teacher and disciple. I decided to drop it because I didn’t want to see someone get beaten up at this peaceful table.
That is how nice I am.
