Chapter 34

At the western end of Nangyagak was Yeonggyoho, a lake created by artificially trapping water.
Papa Papa.
Buunseol was spurring on the wide surface of Yeonggyoho.
It looks like she’s running across the water, but she’s actually stepping on pieces of wood floating on the surface.
Tap.
Buunseol’s swift crossing of the lake using branches was interrupted by a rock wall that soared into the sky, the Lion Rock.
Whistle. Thud.
Buunseol’s body was rising and falling through the air.
With each inhale, she leaps, and when she lands, her toes grip the rock’s tiny bumps with precision.
It’s not as high as the Aegichungso, but it’s just as agile, and it can move from side to side, even though it seems to be running on air.
It’s as if Buunsul’s body is a freely moving water railroad, climbing the rock face.
Whirr.
When it finally reached the edge of the rock face, four swords pierced through its body with a cracking sound.
Papat.
But Feng Shui’s body was no longer there, and the halberd was impaled on a wooden lamp post.
Whirliric.
This time, eight more holy daggers rained down in all directions, blocking her escape route.
With no room to dodge, Bu Eunseol leaped into the air.
Papapat.
His body blurred, and then the eight holy swords sliced through the air again.
It seemed as if they had changed direction dozens of times in midair.
Tat.
Bu Eunseol landed with a light movement,
“Not bad.”
A small shadow emerged from behind the rocks, clutching the sword in her fingers. It was Gao Yue.
“At this rate, it’s safe to say you’re in the early stages of the Extreme Speed Martial Arts.”
There was a sharp tear near her bottom.
The wounds had been caused by the extreme speed martial arts she had practiced earlier.
“The Extreme Speed Martial Art involves simultaneously unleashing both Divine and Martial Arts, and changing directions at lightning speed, so even the slightest mistake can shatter a leg bone.”
Gao Yue looked at Bu Eunseol with great admiration.
“That’s great, just one month after learning the Divine Laws, you can change thirty-six directions.”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
Bu Eunseol lowered her head.
In truth, the Divine Martial Art was more complicated and esoteric than counting constellations.
Furthermore, it was virtually impossible to practice both divine and treasured arts at the same time.
However, Bu Eun-sul persevered in practicing the Divine Law and finally achieved a near-mastery.
“I shouldn’t be complacent yet.”
Gao Yue’s hair had turned gray after a month of intense training. But her eyes sparkled intensely.
“Learning is different from practicing. You’ll have to practice your moves on this lake and on the cliffs until you can perform them perfectly in any moment.”
“I understand.”
“Then that’s it.”
Gao Yue turned away, an invisible smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“May your future be full of good fortune.”
Bu Eun-sul looked puzzled.
Gao Yue’s words sounded like a farewell, hinting at a long time to come.
“Old man. I can barely extend my polearms anymore.”
“If you can do it, that’s it. There is nothing more for you to learn.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Turning his head, Gao Yue spoke in a calm voice.
“The reason it’s so difficult to master the Extreme Speed Martial Art is because it’s so difficult to practice the ‘no-footing’ method, which involves simultaneously unfolding the Divine Law and the Bodhisattva Law.”
Footlessness.
The term means having no place to stand, but in the context of the Kuk Sok Mu-ying’s teachings, it refers to the secret of being able to float in the air while practicing both the Divine Law and the Bodhisattva Law.
“There are four conditions that must be met in order to perfect the secret of this footlessness.”
Gao Yue looked at Bu Eunsun with pride.
“First, persistence and patience as tenacious as a camel’s. Second, a magnificent internal organs that can hold up half a world in a single breath. And third, the wisdom to comprehend the intricacies of the art.”
He paused for a moment, then turned to Bu Eunseul.
“Do you know what the last condition is?”
Pondering, Bu Eun-sul shook her head.
“I’m not sure.”
“Huh huh huh. It’s the courage to overcome the fear and terror of having your legs cut off, and to be able to unfold the Divine Laws and the Bo Laws at high speed.”
Gao Yue looked at Bu Eunsun with a mixture of emotions in his eyes.
“This is why so many of Nangya Palace’s disciples have failed to cultivate the Extreme Speed Martial Art. No one is willing to risk being crippled just to learn the divine Laws and the Martial Arts.”
Gao Yue was impressed.
“To be honest, Nobu hasn’t seen anyone as gutsy as you at your age.”
“You mean me……?”
“That’s right. Old people who have seen bitterness and sweetness have no great regrets in life, but at your age, it’s hard to treat life as a beginning.”
Bu Eun-sul had a strange look on his face.
He wasn’t fearless or naturally gutsy.
He just wanted to acquire a martial arts skill that was good enough to deal with the beast that killed his grandfather.
“I’d like to ask you, at your age, what’s the secret to gaining superhuman guts and confidence?”
At Gao Yue’s question, Bu Eunsul lowered her head.
“I don’t have superhuman guts.”
After a long moment, he looked up again, his eyes sparking.
“I just didn’t have a choice.”
-I just didn’t have a choice.
A strong current of air seemed to rush down Buunseol’s back.
At the same time, she felt as if the entire vast expanse of Qingming University was being filled with a huge and terrifying creature.
‘What is this guy…….’
Only then did Gao Yue realize.
He realized that within Bu Eunsun’s chest was the flesh of a heaven-tearing, earth-shattering, Thunderbolt Bacterium.
“I see.”
Gao Yue, realizing what Bu Eunsul had said, took a deep breath.
“The Extreme Speed Martial Art is not just a divine law. It will evolve infinitely according to the realizations you gain through countless practice sessions.”
Gazing into Bu Eunsul’s light-filled eyes, Gao Yue spoke in a low voice.
“For a long time, the old man has been waiting for a technique that would allow him to open a daru here, to master the Extreme Speed Martial Art. And now that his wish has finally been fulfilled…….”
With an odd smile, he spoke again.
“And now I will close the handle.”
“Thank you, old man.”
Bu Eun-sul bowed, and Gao Yue nodded lightly and stepped inside the daru.
Kuung.
The door of the Qingming Daru was indeed closed.
He had opened the door because he had been waiting for Qi Jie to teach him the Extreme Speed Martial Arts.
Now that he had finally fulfilled his longing, it was a fitting end to his Qing Ming Daru.
* * *
Green. Percussion.
There were ten shadows coming to Nangyagak.
The shadows formed a triangle, cutting through the air as they ran down the steep mountain path.
The ten shadows, running at lightning speed, suddenly soared into the air when they saw the main gate of Nangya Pavilion.
Paat.
The ten shadows soared into the air and shot out in all directions like firecrackers exploding.
“It’s the Fengyuns.”
The Nangyagak figures clicked their tongues as they looked up at the stealthy shadows spreading across the night sky.
“They’ll just come through the entrance. Just in case anyone recognizes them………….”
Feng Yundai.
Nangyagak’s spy squadron that travels around the Murim gathering information.
They periodically leave Nangyagak to wander the Great Lake and return, and it’s rumored that every time they return, the Murin undergoes a tectonic shift.
Swoosh.
One of the shadows that had been shooting out with the stealthy Divine Law stopped on the roof of the pavilion overlooking Nangya Pavilion.
Sigh.
The shadow, illuminated by the moonlight, removed the cloak that covered its face.
It slowly revealed a middle-aged man with dark hair and an imposing nose.
“If you came back, you would have come straight to the Jiangondang Hall, so why are you here in this place on the day of the monks? Bai Yan.”
At that moment, a white-robed Inyoung descended like a cloud from the roof of the pavilion with a merry voice.
He was a man of modest stature with a handsome but somewhat languid gaze.
He was Dan Cheng, the ringleader of the Nanya Pavilion.
“Or maybe you’re just trying to have a drink on the roof, just like back then.”
Dan Qing smirked as he approached the man.
“If it turns out that the Lord of Fengyun, who is supposed to be in charge of the information of the heavens, is such a handsome man, there will be an uproar in the Martial Forest.”
The cloaked middle-aged man was Bai Yan, the Fengyun Grandmaster in charge of Nangya Palace’s information.
“Mr. Zhu.”
The Fengyun Grandmaster clasped his hands together and fixed his starry eyes on the ground.
Then Dan Qing spoke with a hint of regret.
“I thought you said it was okay to speak freely when you two were alone.”
“It’s the rules of the main hall that have been loosened, and if we were to make exceptions one by one, it would disrupt the discipline of the main hall.”
Bai Yan’s stiff answer made Dan Qing curl his lip.
The two had been friends since childhood and shared a deep friendship.
However, Bai Yan was always polite and solemn, whether in private or in public.
“I was going to come to see you anyway, so it’s a good thing.”
“You mean me, why?”
Dan Qing narrowed his eyes, and a cold resentment flashed in Bai Yan’s eyes.
“Because I’m a ten-mage…….”
“Hm?”
“I heard that the High Lord has brought the Ten Demon Warriors, who have the best qualities in the Infernal City.”
Dancheng, who had been standing in a daze, let out a haunting laugh.
“I’m surprised that you already know something that only the head of the Ten Demon Doors and the Demon Warriors know.”
“Didn’t the High Lord oppose the Ten Demon Warriors’ plan in the first place?”
Bai Yan stared at Dan Qing with deep eyes.
“Then why did you bring a knight to the main palace to go to the Hua Wu inspection?”
“That’s the story.”
After flicking his ears, Dan Qing cleared his throat.
“I didn’t bring him here.”
“If you didn’t bring him here…….”
“He chose his own path, rejecting the offer to take him at the Hua Wu Gate with a single blow.”
“You mean that the fellow called Chen Haijie…… chose the main palace?”
“That’s right.”
Dan Qing rubbed the back of his neck as if remembering those days.
“Thanks to him, I almost got into a fight with that damned swordsman.”
Bai Yan couldn’t hide her frustration.
“Why did you accept such an exceptional circumstance, when you could have brought anyone and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway?”
“Well, you’re being extraordinary. You’re going to walk into the main hall on your own.”
Dan Qing shrugged, and Bai Yan raised an eyebrow.
“Because of that, Hua Wu Sword Gate didn’t choose the Ten Demon Warriors in the end, and the Hua Wu Sword Gate Lord also expressed his regret.”
“So that’s what happened.”
Bai Yan let out a deep sigh as Dan Qing replied dryly.
“The Martial Kings refer to the main palace as a gate, but you forget that it’s actually because it’s been under the control of the Demon King for a long time.”
“Bai Yan.”
After spitting out a sigh, Dan Qing shook his head.
“You…… have been leading the Fengyun Clan for too long.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that you’ve been drinking too much of the mighty river’s water.”
Dancheng’s eyes deepened as he looked down at Nangya Pavilion from the roof.
“This is just this. What we, the Nangya Pavilion, are aiming for is to reach the peak of nothingness. Not the supremacy of a great power.”
“Emphasis. That’s just an ideal. You think you can lead the Nangyagak with wishful thinking.”
“You talked about discipline earlier,…… but you’re still a master of color.”
When Dan Qing threw a joke at her, Bai Yan clenched her fists as if to suppress her emotions.
“The Tang Clan is like a time bomb that could explode at any moment. If you have such a complacent attitude, even the…… main palace could be in danger.”
“I see. I see.”
Dan Qing threw up his hands as if he had no choice.
He knew that he was only saying this because he was thinking of Nangyagak with a deeper loyalty than anyone else.
“Now that you’re back, let’s settle the score.”
Dan Qing waved his hand as if to sweep away the heavy air.
“I’ve prepared a banquet at the Qingyun Pavilion. Let’s have a drink and get our noses out of joint.”
“I’ll save the drinking for another time.”
“Why?”
“There’s something urgent I need to do.”
“What is it?”
Bai Yan looked at Dan Qing with a serious face.
“Where is the man who was said to have become a full member of the main hall?”