Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Where do people find the meaning of life?

If you asked that question to a thousand people, a thousand answers would emerge, and if you asked ten thousand people, ten thousand answers would emerge. While some might answer that they live because they were born, others might say they live to eat or play, and there would be those who say they live to leave some footprint in the world.

Inevitably so. Not everyone’s lives can be the same. If lives are different, the meanings can’t be the same, can they?

The meaning of life is like that. No one but oneself can measure one’s own life.

-If you want to land a hit on him, discard the life you’ve lived until now.

Though you can borrow goals from others, you can’t completely receive them, just as the way of life is ultimately something that must be decided by the person living that life.

“Huu.“

Grand Competition. On the competition stage.

Watching Seonwoo Gang let out a sigh and make a show of wiping sweat before the match began, Baek Risan closed her mouth tightly and fidgeted with her sword hilt. And watching that appearance, Seonwoo Gang spoke to her.

“I heard you had stopped eating and drinking, but you seem fine now.”

“……There was a bit of an incident.”

“That’s a relief.”

“What……?”

“I’m saying it’s a relief that you seem better.”

Watching Seonwoo Gang let out a sigh of relief, Baek Risan twitched her eyebrows and quietly spoke.

“Are you overflowing with confidence in winning?”

“Hm?”

“If my condition isn’t good, it’s actually advantageous for you, isn’t it? If you just win this, it’s Muryeon Hall’s victory, so does it mean you have confidence you’ll definitely win even if we both fight in perfect condition?”

“If you take it that way, I have nothing to say.”

At Baek Risan’s thorny words, Seonwoo Gang awkwardly scratched the back of his head and answered.

“That wasn’t what I meant. You’re not easy enough that I can guarantee victory with absolute certainty.”

“Then.”

“Right now we’re fighting like this, but we’re peers, aren’t we? Isn’t it natural to worry about a peer?”

At Seonwoo Gang’s sincere words without a hint of playfulness, Baek Risan, at a loss for words, stared at Seonwoo Gang. Seonwoo Gang staring back at her as if wondering what strange thing he’d said.

At that appearance somehow giving her a sense of déjà vu, Baek Risan gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. Because fury surged up to the top of her head.

‘How naive.’

Two weeks ago.

When Baek Riyun said he would tell her the truth if she won the Grand Competition, Baek Risan had been confused, but at the same time felt a sliver of joy. Because she felt Baek Riyun was respecting her.

If she won, she could hear the truth. If she lost, she would spend three years with Baek Riyun.

Either way, it wouldn’t be too bad. Though it would be good to win and hear the truth, if she lost, she naturally had the mindset to accept defeat gracefully.

At this juncture, Muryeon Hall had intentionally decided to lose. Despite being able to win the bet for certain.

Where was the respect in that?

Did the bet with her even have any meaning to Baek Riyun in the first place?

“I’m going to win.”

She couldn’t stand it without landing a hit.

At Baek Risan’s sudden provocation as she bit her lip, Seonwoo Gang widened his eyes for a moment, thought briefly, then smiled faintly. And the answer that soon followed.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“……You seem confident.”

“Even if I’m not, it’s a situation where I have to create it. And though I can’t guarantee I’ll definitely win…….”

Having paused for a moment, Seonwoo Gang turned his gaze to look at Baek Riyun watching him from far behind, then gave a bitter smile.

“I think my chances of winning are sufficient. Because I’ve received a lot from Sect Master.”

“What is that even……!”

At Seonwoo Gang’s words, Baek Risan gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and took one step forward to spit out another word. However, at that moment, the referee restrained Baek Risan.

“Both parties, step back.”

“It’s right before the match begins. End your private talk here and secure distance.”

“Yes.”

“……Yes.”

Having answered briefly, Seonwoo Gang stepped back to secure distance, and Baek Risan, who had released the strength from her fist and also stepped back, placed her hand on her sword hilt. At the cool sensation rising along her fingertips, her emotions gradually subsided.

-Do you want to win?

In the brief silence before the match began, Baek Risan, recalling Cheongryoo’s words from several days ago, took a deep breath at the memories freshly blooming and shook her head.

‘Not yet…… not yet.’

That day when Baek Risan had stopped eating and drinking.

-If you enter the match like this, you will be defeated with a hundred percent certainty.

The Cheongryoo who had come said so. That Baek Riyun would surely see through Baek Risan’s weak point and bring an appropriate secret plan.

-You’ll be defeated pathetically and gain nothing. You’ll just be covered by obsession and phantoms of the past, unable to move forward. Then what will remain?

She couldn’t answer. Because she herself knew better than anyone that those words weren’t wrong.

Even knowing it wasn’t the right direction, human emotions don’t move as one wishes. The sense of betrayal toward blood relatives accumulated over more than ten years had already settled firmly as a rock inside Baek Risan.

-Can you not acknowledge it?

-……That’s.

-If you can’t acknowledge it, there’s only one method. To win. To settle it by winning.

I’ll tell you that method.

“Assume stance!”

Having recalled Cheongryoo’s coldly hardened voice, Baek Risan gritted her teeth and shook her head to shake off the thoughts.

‘Not yet.’

If she had to win, she just needed to win with her own power. If Baek Riyun had prepared something, she just needed to be one step ahead and smash it.

‘I just need to win with my own power.’

She didn’t need anyone else’s power. I am.

Not wrong.

Having wrapped white flames rising slowly from her dantian around her sword body, Baek Risan assumed her starting position.

“Begin!”

A moment later, the instant the referee’s signal announcing the beginning fell.

Jinyeombaekwhagyeol  Secret Technique

Yeomcheonha

The world was dyed in white flames.

From ancient times, traditional sects each have martial principles  suited to their sect.

For example, the martial principle penetrating Wudang’s martial arts is Taiji and circulation. Since they must depict the image of Taiji endlessly circulating, movements naturally become smooth, and because movements are smooth, they must devise methods to subdue opponents with smooth movements.

That’s also why Wudang’s martial arts are called Soft Arts . Overcoming hardness with softness. When speaking of Wudang’s martial arts, doesn’t that phrase come to mind first?

If Wudang advocates Soft Arts, conversely, Shaolin advocates Static Arts . Since the representative characteristics of Shaolin martial arts are ponderousness like Mount Tai and steadily pressing the opponent with compassion, there’s no need to say more.

Like this, just as the pillars of Kangho, Shaolin and Wudang, are such, most traditional sects have martial principles suited to their sect. Namgung’s Hegemon Sword . Paeng Family’s Fierce Blade . Huashan’s Illusory Sword, and so on.

Though occasionally one or two martial arts may deviate from those principles, they never completely deviate. Because everything extends from the basic art that is the beginning, or what picture is drawn at the very end.

In that sense, the martial arts of the Baek Ri Family could be said to be very, very unique.

Because unlike other sects that interpreted the world’s appearance in their own way and presented it.

What the Baek Ri Family’s martial arts advocated was the Three Powers  itself.

Hwareureureuk!

“Urk……!”

Hot.

At the surging white flames, Seonwoo Gang reflexively stepped back and gritted his teeth, swinging his sword to create a sword wind. However, the flames stuck tenaciously and wouldn’t fall away.

‘What should I do……!’

Front, back, left, right.

Wherever he looked, there was no breakthrough.

At the wall of flames gradually tightening around his neck, Seonwoo Gang gritted his teeth, gripped his sword hilt tightly, and infused it with internal energy. Simultaneously, sword energy surged up.

Seonpunghweryugeom  Seventh Form

Waryuseungpung

Kwaaaaa-!!!

The sword energy that advanced with momentum as fierce as wind shattered the wall of flames into pieces and scattered brilliantly. The appearance of Baek Risan momentarily revealed.

Break through.

Having split the wall of flames that had devoured the world with wind, Seonwoo Gang’s eyes gleamed as he took one step forward and gritted his teeth. And then.

“Taaaaat!”

Seonpunghweryugeom  Eighth Form

Seonryongdoha

As Seonwoo Gang swung his sword.

The flames that had devoured the world split in half.

Kwaaaaaaa-!!!

At the sight of her flames swept away in an instant, Baek Risan maintained silence, frowned, and loosely lowered her sword. A brief lull that had formed in the meantime.

‘Not easy.’

At the unexpected leisure, Seonwoo Gang, wiping the sweat flowing along his eyes, gritted his teeth. A fierce onslaught that continued as initially predicted.

‘They said I just needed to endure but…….’

Even enduring wasn’t easy.

Having let out a deep sigh, Seonwoo Gang wiped away the flowing sweat with minimal movement and sighed. Soon after, memories freshly emerged.

-The martial arts of the Baek Ri Family fundamentally advocate the triple system of the Three Powers.

Before climbing up to the match, Baek Riyun spoke to Seonwoo Gang.

-Jinyeombaekwhagyeol is a developed form of Yangwongong  derived from Heaven  of the Three Powers. Though its power is excellent, it places much burden on the body and is difficult to use for long. If I must say, it lacks sustainability.

The essence of Jinyeombaekwhagyeol was reducing sustainability for excellent power. Pointing that out, Seonwoo Gang spoke in rebuttal.

-Even if sustainability is reduced, she can fight for quite a long time, can’t she?

-That would be so. It’s not a demonic art fundamentally.

Baek Riyun, who had agreed, nodded. Because it was true.

No matter how much burden it placed on the body, Jinyeombaekwhagyeol was Orthodox Art . And Orthodox Arts inevitably develop in a direction that doesn’t excessively overwork the body.

No matter how much Jinyeombaekwhagyeol emphasized firepower, it was Orthodox Art. Even if used somewhat aggressively, there was no way she would run out of stamina and collapse within one or two moments.

Having spoken up to there, Baek Riyun paused briefly before adding an explanation.

-She’s not using Jinyeombaekwhagyeol as it is. She’s using it adjusted to her own style.

-Adjusted to her own style means…….

-It means she’s modified and used it to fit her body. It’s not strange, is it? Right now, even you are changing your martial arts.

-Yes.

Having agreed with Baek Riyun’s explanation, Seonwoo Gang nodded. Then Baek Riyun’s explanation continued.

-Normally, the process of fitting martial arts to oneself is closer to an act to reduce the burden placed on me. How can I wield great power without loss, how can I receive an opponent’s attack with less strength—it’s closer to that.

-Well, that’s…….

-But San-i’s Jinyeombaekwhagyeol is different. What she aims for isn’t how to digest this martial art easily. If I must say, it’s closer to how to completely use Jinyeombaekwhagyeol.

If male, it might be different, but for a female body lacking yang energy, raising the power of Jinyeombaekwhagyeol, a yang art, beyond a certain level has its limits. That’s a problem of limits determined by birth.

However, if one wants to break those limits, what must be done?

If one wants to raise the power, what must be discarded?

-Sharp blades also break easily.

Simple. Because from ancient times, the most commonly abandoned thing to raise power was one.

-Stability. Her Jinyeombaekwhagyeol lacks stability.

Endure. If you can just endure, seizing victory would be as easy as flipping your palm.

‘Easier said than done.’

Having inwardly repeated that to himself, Seonwoo Gang smiled bitterly at the heat he suddenly felt. The hellish heat gradually surging up.

“You’re enduring well.”

On the opposite side of Seonwoo Gang.

“Then…… shall I raise the intensity a bit?”

Before he knew it, Baek Risan’s sword body, covered in flames, was boiling.