CLS-Chapter 649

Chapter 649:

There was no particular change in his outward appearance.

Both his arms and legs were properly attached. For Wei Jeong-han, that fact was the most important thing for now.

The two men faced each other.

Wei Yan-ho’s face was endlessly complex, but Baek Gong-do’s remained relatively gentle.

However, someone with good perception would be able to notice that undeniable surprise had risen to his face as well.

“……I have something I’m curious about.”

Baek Gong-do quietly nodded his head. It meant he would listen to anything.

“Can a person reach this level just by working hard?”

“Probably not.”

Baek Gong-do firmly shook his head.

“Natural talent differs for everyone. If my children had the possibility of becoming stronger than me, I would have focused on raising those fellows instead of myself.”

“As expected.”

Baek Gong-do’s ability exceeded even Wei Yan-ho’s expectations.

Strong.

Overwhelmingly strong.

“May I ask one more thing?”

“As much as you want.”

“I’ve heard that the Great Demon Emperor was the strongest person in history.”

“That’s right.”

“Have you seen him?”

“I haven’t. I didn’t participate in that war.”

“I think that no matter how strong the Great Demon Emperor was, if you had made up your mind, you could have killed him. Am I wrong?”

“Probably so.”

“Then why did you leave him alone?”

“Because there was no reason to do so.”

Baek Gong-do answered calmly.

“We are people who have debts to collect from the Central Plains. So why should I defeat their enemy for the Central Plains?”

“Innocent people died too.”

“We were innocent as well.”

“……”

Baek Gong-do shook his head.

“I don’t know. If it were now, I might have made a different choice. But back then I was young and full of hot blood. I thought there was no need to help my enemies. Defeating the Demonic Cult could wait until after they and the Central Plains had settled their score.”

“So the Demonic Cult ended up taking revenge on your behalf?”

“What’s so important about that? In the end, what matters is getting revenge. There was no need for me to be the main actor. Yes, I thought that way. Like that……”

Baek Gong-do raised his head to look at the sky.

A hint of regret was embedded in that motion.

“Yes, I soon came to know. That all of it was meaningless.”

Baek Gong-do lowered his head and his gaze fixed on Wei Yan-ho.

“I also know my own contradictions. No, I was forced to know them. So there’s no need for you to tell me such things. Someone caught in contradictions doesn’t necessarily try to break free from those contradictions.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just curious.”

“……Is that so.”

Baek Gong-do looked at Wei Yan-ho with a smile.

Certainly, such talk might have no particular meaning for the still-young Wei Yan-ho. Self-contradiction is the exclusive domain of those who have aged.

Contradictions are built up from the life one has lived. Wei Yan-ho still lacked that time. Even if he had built up contradictions, considering his age, it wouldn’t take much effort to dismantle them and build something new.

Unlike Baek Gong-do.

“……I thought the ultimate limit of Ten Thousand Swords would be somewhat different.”

“Your thoughts are also correct.”

Baek Gong-do had a somewhat benevolent face.

“Ten Thousand Swords refers to all swords. That means it’s a sword that can extend in all directions. Just because your idea of Ten Thousand Swords’ completion differs from the realm of Ten Thousand Swords I’ve achieved doesn’t make it wrong. It’s just different.”

“My goodness.”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head vigorously.

He had heard these words many times before. From Baek Mu-han.

The more he looked, the more similarities Baek Gong-do had with Baek Mu-han. He didn’t think it was simply because their blood was connected. Even if they were blood relatives, cases where father and son had completely opposite personalities were more common than one might think.

Finding similarities based on being descendants several generations later wasn’t rational.

It was just, how should he put it……

They were just similar.

“I’ve talked too much.”

Baek Gong-do let his sword hang down.

“Now you understand. That I have no intention of going easy.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

He could tell after crossing swords. Baek Gong-do had no intention of letting Wei Yan-ho live. He wasn’t pushing Wei Yan-ho hoping he would become stronger. Wei Yan-ho had already experienced such swordsmanship.

From Baek Mu-han.

Baek Mu-han’s sword was several times more destructive and sharp than Baek Gong-do’s. To Wei Yan-ho at the time, it was despair itself with no apparent way to survive.

But now, having experienced Baek Gong-do’s sword, he realized how much that sword had been for Wei Yan-ho’s sake. A sword that stimulated Wei Yan-ho to the extreme but never intended to harm him.

That was his master’s sword.

But Baek Gong-do’s sword was different. This sword truly contained killing intent. If Wei Yan-ho couldn’t surpass Baek Gong-do’s sword, Wei Yan-ho would truly die.

“The next single strike.”

Baek Gong-do spoke quietly.

“I will put the essence of all my swordsmanship into the next single strike. If you cannot overcome this, you will die.”

Wei Yan-ho let out a deep sigh.

“The people of the Baek Family really…… They’re terribly stubborn about saying only what they want to say.”

Both Baek Mu-han and Baek Gong-do.

“People of the Baek Family?”

“Tsk.“

When Wei Yan-ho shook his head, Baek Gong-do didn’t ask any further.

‘Strange.’

He could tell after crossing swords.

Ten Thousand Swords had definitely been passed down to Wei Yan-ho. Although it was clearly different from the form of Ten Thousand Swords currently taught to disciples at Baek Sword Castle, it couldn’t be denied that the foundation of the sword was Ten Thousand Swords.

Then Wei Yan-ho’s master was also likely from the Baek Family.

But if so, why would he hide it?

“You said your master had already passed away?”

“Yes. A very long time ago.”

“That’s regrettable. I would have liked to meet him once. If he raised someone like you, he must not have been an ordinary person.”

“It would be fortunate, wouldn’t it?”

“……Hm?”

“If you had met my master now, you probably couldn’t have spoken properly. You might have been contemplating how to escape.”

“Hehehe.“

Baek Gong-do laughed as if it were absurd.

“He must have been incredibly strong. But I wouldn’t fall too far behind, would I?”

“It’s not that……”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head vigorously.

It was really difficult to explain.

Of course, even in terms of strength, Baek Gong-do couldn’t match Baek Mu-han. Baek Gong-do was truly the number one swordsman and number one person under heaven, but objectively evaluated, even if there were ten Baek Gong-dos, facing Baek Mu-han would be impossible.

The more he faced strong opponents, the more he realized.

The more great masters he met, the more he was forced to realize how strong Baek Mu-han had been. Baek Gong-do also possessed strength that no existing master could approach, but even that strength was merely shabby before Baek Mu-han.

Just how strong was his master?

Whenever he thought he had grasped the end, it moved away again. While everyone in the world marveled at Wei Yan-ho’s strength, Wei Yan-ho felt overwhelmed by his master’s existence, which grew more distant the stronger he became.

If Baek Gong-do were to meet Baek Mu-han now, he would feel tremendous despair at that unknowable strength.

But this was a separate issue from that.

If an ancestor you thought was dead came back to life and stood before your eyes, wouldn’t anyone feel bewildered?

But since there was no way to explain that, he could only feel frustrated.

Moreover, considering Baek Mu-han’s personality, not meeting would be a hundred times better. Though he would never understand.

“In any case.”

Wei Yan-ho raised his sword.

“You’re saying we should end this?”

“Oho?“

Seeing Wei Yan-ho attack first, Baek Gong-do’s eyes widened slightly.

“You found a method?”

“No.”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head.

“I realized one thing though.”

“What?”

“What Ten Thousand Swords rejects.”

“……”

“All the swords in the world. That’s what Ten Thousand Swords is called. But whenever I heard those words, I had a fundamental question. Why must I learn all the swords in the world? Even learning one thing I’m good at doesn’t leave enough time, so how could I possibly master all that vast sword theory?”

Baek Gong-do became interested.

Right now, Wei Yan-ho was accurately pointing out Ten Thousand Swords.

“In the end, all swords must have weaknesses. Quick swords inevitably leave openings behind and must be light. Heavy swords and great swords must be slow, and illusory swords create gaps themselves. Transforming swords must be weak in individual strikes. Right?”

“That’s right.”

“This is a fundamental problem. No matter how strong a quick sword user becomes, they can’t eliminate the fundamental weakness that quick swords possess. What they can do is become strong enough to win even while having that weakness. But Ten Thousand Swords is different. Ten Thousand Swords blends different swords to eliminate weaknesses. What’s the end result?”

Wei Yan-ho declared as if making a proclamation.

“A perfect sword.”

“Ooh.“

Baek Gong-do gripped his sword tightly.

The sword theory of Ten Thousand Swords was revealing itself to the world through Wei Yan-ho’s mouth.

Anyone could say such obvious words.

But knowing it with one’s head and realizing it with one’s own body were completely different matters. Right now, Wei Yan-ho was realizing it. Through countless experiences with Ten Thousand Swords and training, he had finally reached this place.

“But.”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head.

“This is a failed sword.”

“Hm?”

“Because perfection cannot exist. Nothing can be perfect.”

“……What do you mean?”

“It’s simple. Because perfection is a concept created in reverse through imperfection. The moment you think everything is perfect, problems arise again.”

“……”

“This sword is like that.”

“Sword?”

Wei Yan-ho held out his sword.

“Master said this was a perfect sword. He said it was the most perfect sword. But it seems the craftsman grandfather of the Dang Family didn’t think so. So he reforged the sword. When I received that sword again, I really thought it was perfect. I felt like I had become twice as strong with just this one sword. But do you know how it is now?”

“How is it?”

“This is too light.”

“……”

Wei Yan-ho pursed his lips.

“I think it would be perfect if it were just five pun heavier, but that’s not possible. But there’s no need to do that either. If it became five pun heavier, then something else would bother me. In the end, perfection is……”

“……Different depending on who sees it. Who feels it.”

“Yes. That’s right. Becoming perfect is impossible. Becoming flawless is also impossible. So in the end, Ten Thousand Swords is like a horse chasing a rainbow. No matter how much you run and run, you can’t reach it. Even if you change the horse to a Thousand-Li Horse, to a Sweat-Blood Horse, to a Red Hare, you can never reach that place. Because I’m the one pushing that rainbow away!”

Wei Yan-ho raised his sword and pointed it at Baek Gong-do.

“So now I won’t lose. There’s no reason to lose to a sword that was doomed to fail from the start.”

At Wei Yan-ho’s declaration, Baek Gong-do’s face contorted.