novelraw Chapter 68 : Chapter 68
Chapter 68 : Chapter 68
Chapter 68 - Because You Keep Getting in the Way
“This is deplorable.”
Biyoung sighed.
And Uma’s expression crumpled like a piece of tissue paper.
“Is it right to sigh like that while looking at someone’s face?”
“What can I do when a sigh just comes out? Usually, when one’s internal energy grows, their facial impression also improves, but why is there no change in you at all, Senior Brother!”
“Is that my fault, punk?”
Uma felt wronged.
It was good that he had increased his internal energy, but since early in the morning, Biyoung had been sighing deeply while looking at his face.
And for such a ridiculous reason at that.
“To think there’s an impression that doesn’t soften even with the Six-Flower Pill. That in itself is quite something, isn’t it? You’re a truly amazing person, Senior Brother!”
“Stop insulting me while pretending to praise me.”
Uma growled once and then prepared to leave.
Although Biyoung had been grating on his nerves since he woke up, he didn’t particularly dislike him.
No, far from disliking him, he was so grateful he could die.
Because he could clearly feel the changes that had occurred in his body at every moment.
‘Light.’
His body was light.
Inside, his internal energy was vigorously surging.
If there was a person with a sword on the street, he wanted to propose a match to anyone.
Had he read Uma’s thoughts?
Just as he was about to leave the room, someone suddenly came in.
“Hic!”
And then fell over in surprise.
Despite having encountered him a few times, it seemed that Uma’s face was still frightening to this young man with a weak disposition.
“I have told you clearly that such a reaction is rude. Young Master Yi.”
“S-sorry.”
In fact, since this was not the first or second time for such a reaction, Uma spoke bluntly and then averted his gaze.
After all, the reason this man had come was not for him.
From behind him, Biyoung’s welcoming voice was heard.
“Sedong! Are you all ready?”
“Yeah! All we have to do now is go!”
Sedong, Biyoung’s martial arts hall friend and the second son of the Yi family.
His two round eyes were shining as brightly as could be.
It was because of Biyoung’s suggestion to come and see the Diancang Sect.
From Sedong’s perspective, who had always admired the Murim, a tour of a sect was the most exciting thing of all.
He had been worried whether his family would give him permission, but for some reason, his father hadn’t particularly objected.
It was a permission filled with his father’s worried heart, telling him to at least go outside rather than being cooped up in his room practicing martial arts.
“………….”
Biyoung, who had been staring blankly at Sedong, gave a strange smile.
“It looks like you’re the one who ate the Six-Flower Pill.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Your impression has gotten better. Your body is also getting stronger.”
“Hehe. As I did what you told me to do, my body gradually gained strength.”
How could it not?
The Three-Eyed Snake Soup that Sedong ate every day was a restorative medicine in the guise of a soup.
The reason the Three-Eyed Snake Soup was unpopular among the public was because of its unscrupulously expensive price.
In order for the Three-Eyed Snake Soup to show its true value, it was essential to eat it consistently every day, but unless one was from a considerably wealthy family, it was impossible to obtain that much Three-Eyed Snake Soup.
But what kind of family was Sedong’s family?
For the Yi Family Clan, the most successful merchant guild in Yiliang County, the Three-Eyed Snake Soup was nothing more than a simple soup to soothe their son’s energy.
‘Golden spoon……!’
Uma’s expression, who had been listening to the conversation, strangely contorted.
Was it due to the side effects of having suffered a lot when he was young?
The man who had trembled with rage at the unfairness of the world unconsciously ground his teeth.
Grit.
At the sound from the side, Sedong was startled and asked.
“Brother Uma. Why are you grinding your teeth?”
“……It’s nothing. Is that all your luggage?”
“Yes. Brother.”
Looking at the grinning Sedong, Uma had to give a bitter smile.
It seemed that this fellow named Sedong had a slightly different disposition from the usual golden spoons.
Looking at the luggage he had brought, his spending habits seemed frugal, and he was friendly and approachable not only to Biyoung but also to himself.
It seemed that the saying that you can’t hate someone even if you want to existed for Sedong.
Just one thing.
It would be great if he didn’t get startled every time he saw him.
“Then let’s go.”
One dazzlingly handsome man and a cute boy with impressive round eyes.
And, a man with a grim appearance that felt as alien as a being from another world, set off for Diancang Mountain.
***
“Hmm. Should we start around here?”
Not long after leaving Yiliang County, a path leading into the forest appeared.
Biyoung turned his head and asked someone.
“I’m thinking of going to Diancang Mountain in a special way, you can do it, right?”
“?”
The man who was asked the question was engulfed in two doubts.
First, what on earth was this special way.
Second, why was the question directed at him.
“A special way?”
“It’s no fun just going normally. From now on, you’ll have to learn the Flying Eagle Steps again in the standard way.”
“The Flying Eagle Steps… so you’re saying you’re going to do some kind of special training?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Then you should ask Young Master Yi first, shouldn’t you?”
Uma’s question was, on the surface, a reasonable one.
The path to Diancang Mountain itself was not easy, and to add training on top of that would make for a rather difficult journey.
And besides, wasn’t Sedong not even an initiated member of the Diancang Sect?
It was strange to be training on a journey of three people, and with the Flying Eagle Steps at that.
But Biyoung’s reaction was as if it was a matter of course.
“Sedong will be fine.”
“He’ll be fine?”
“Yeah. Excluding me, Sedong is the best at the Flying Eagle Steps in this world.”
“???”
It was a series of unbelievable words.
Sedong, who was not even a descendant of the Diancang Sect, was better than them, who had learned the Diancang Sect’s martial arts for over ten years?
No.
Skills aside, there was something that needed to be confirmed first.
“How did Young Master Yi learn the Flying Eagle Steps?”
“I taught him.”
“Wh-what?”
Uma’s already fiercely raised eyelids shot up to the sky.
“You mean you taught our martial arts to someone who hasn’t even been initiated into the sect?”
“Senior Brother, you’re so old-fashioned.”
“O-old-fashioned?”
“The sect has to exist for there to be permission to give or not. Where is he supposed to go to have an initiation ceremony?”
“That’s……”
It was true.
With the Diancang Sect itself absent from Diancang Mountain, from whom could they seek permission?
“Martial arts should be provided to those who gratefully accept and use them beneficially. The more you keep granting qualifications to learn something, the more closed off the sect will become.”
When he spoke like this, he sounded just like a sect elder.
Uma was dissatisfied, but since Biyoung had gone this far, he had no intention of saying anything more.
“Still, when the sect elders come later, you must tell them. It’s unlikely that Young Master Yi would do such a thing, but we must prevent our sect’s martial arts from being spread to others without permission.”
“Does Sedong look like that kind of kid?”
The two men’s gazes turned to the small boy.
He looked just like a squirrel, cowering his neck and watching them.
“I…… didn’t know that what Biyoung taught me was such a great martial art.”
“No. It’s not for Young Master Yi to feel self-conscious. If there is a fault, it lies with the junior disciple.”
“I’m telling you it’s not my fault.”
Uma asked the grinning Biyoung.
“Teaching the martial art is one thing, but what do you mean Young Master Yi’s Flying Eagle Steps are better than ours?”
“It’s exactly as I said. No one on Diancang Mountain will be able to use the Flying Eagle Steps better than the current Sedong. Not even Senior Brother Solbo.”
“Heo……”
Solbo was a man with feet as fast as his cowardice.
The rising stars of the Diancang Sect each pursued a light and quick sword, but in this movement technique, they could not match Solbo at all.
And yet, he was saying that Sedong’s Flying Eagle Steps were superior to the great Solbo’s movement technique?
“If you think about it, it’s a matter of course. The Flying Eagle Steps that you senior brothers have learned so far are purely heretical.”
“Heretical?!”
“Yes. I’m sorry to the previous generation’s elders, but our sect’s martial arts were quite distorted while learning them in Simao. Not only the Flying Eagle Steps, but other sword arts as well. You can tell just by looking at the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords, can’t you?”
Although he didn’t like the word ‘heretical’, Uma also knew this fact well.
The doubts that had piled up the more he trained the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords in Simao.
If you thought about it, it was all because the martial art had been distorted.
Thanks to Biyoung showing the proper Eagle Talon Twelve Swords in the last battle, Uma was finally able to be free from those doubts.
“Until now, you must have thought there was no problem with the Flying Eagle Steps. Even if it was slightly distorted, the footwork of the Diancang Sect isn’t going anywhere. But now that I’m here, I can’t stand to see you using that distorted Flying Eagle Steps.”
Biyoung said so and then took a few steps forward.
“The Flying Eagle Steps always starts with centering your weight, no matter the situation. It may feel like a very easy concept, but it’s actually the most difficult. It’s not about just roughly centering it, but about maintaining a small and precise point, like the tip of a needle.”
Biyoung, with his hands behind his back, began to walk in a zigzag pattern.
Horizontally, then diagonally, then horizontally again.
Because he wasn’t going straight, it seemed like his forward speed would be slow, but his steps were so fast that there was little difference from walking normally.
“……!”
Uma’s pupils dilated greatly upon seeing Biyoung’s movement.
It was a simple basic movement, but just as Biyoung had said, his center of gravity did not waver an inch.
“What are you doing? Hurry up. It’s quite far to Diancang Mountain.”
“What? No, then. Are you saying we have to continue this training until we reach Diancang Mountain?”
“Of course. Why. Can’t you do it? Sedong, you hurry up too.”
“Heo……”
He had thought the training would not be easy.
But to have to maintain a zigzag walk all the way to Diancang Mountain.
That completely shattered Uma’s expectations.
Considering the distance moved horizontally, didn’t that mean the actual distance to Diancang Mountain had increased threefold!
“Tsk. Damn it.”
Uma spat on the ground and then tried to imitate Biyoung’s movement.
Hwiik!
“Wow. What is that. Even a reed in a storm would be calmer than that. Sway, sway, sway~.”
“Shut up!”
At Biyoung’s reprimand, Uma shouted back.
On the other hand, he shook his head in frustration.
‘It’s not as easy as I thought.’
Moving with his hands behind his back was no problem at all.
But it was no easy task to imitate the exemplary case that Biyoung had shown right in front of him.
And to do this all the way to Diancang Mountain?
It was a good thing his internal energy had improved after consuming the Six-Flower Pill; the Uma of yesterday wouldn’t have even dared.
“Hup!”
Pababat!
They hadn’t gone far, but beads of sweat formed on Uma’s temples.
He had heard about the center of gravity when he first learned the Flying Eagle Steps in Simao, but he had never done such repetitive training to the point of seeming foolish.
It felt like he had come quite a long way, but looking back, he had only taken a few steps, which was also subtly infuriating.
And,
Sasasat!
Every time he saw Biyoung charging up the mountain path like a mountain squirrel, he felt like he had become a lower animal.
But.
Uma came to know.
That in fact, all those situations were emotions that were bearable enough.
Seeing someone brush past him, Uma had to feel an unbearable sense of inferiority.
“Brother. You keep getting in the way in front…… I’ll go on ahead!”
“!!!”
Sedong, as if he could wait no longer, shot out in front of Uma.
Judging by his expression, he must have been quite frustrated.
Tatattat!
Uma watched Sedong’s movements with a half-dazed face.
‘H-he’s good?’
Not as good as Biyoung, but his center of gravity was much better maintained than his own.
The two mountain squirrels, as if to mock Uma, continued to increase the distance between them.
Bulge.
Uma’s heart began to be engulfed in a hot torch.
“Ooooooh, you bastards! I’ll show you exactly what life in Simao was like!”
It was the moment when the infuriated Uma resumed his zigzag walk with all his might.