CLS-Chapter 651

Chapter 651:

The Historian let out a deep breath.

Until Divine Beggar had stopped speaking, he truly couldn’t breathe properly.

An absolute clash.

There was no other way to describe this battle.

“…Incredible.”

“Yes. It was incredible.”

Divine Beggar’s eyes became somewhat distant.

“It was a fight that even those who witnessed it with their own eyes couldn’t believe. How does history record this battle?”

“In the historical records…”

The Historian made a slightly awkward face. Converting the literary language used in historical texts into spoken words was indeed somewhat uncomfortable.

“When Radiant Martial Sovereign drew one sword, a hundred swords bowed their heads, and when he unfolded this sword, the world paid homage to him. The divided world learned humility before Radiant Martial Sovereign’s sword and joined forces again—is this not truly great?”

“…Who wrote that?”

“I don’t really know that far…”

Divine Beggar made a very uncomfortable face.

“That seems like something Divine Record Scholar wrote, but that fellow has lost his mind too.”

“…I think it was faithful to the intention.”

“That intention is what’s lost its mind.”

“That’s true, but…”

Unlike Divine Beggar, the Historian couldn’t help but be passive in criticizing Divine Record Scholar.

Divine Beggar might feel differently about Divine Record Scholar, but from the Historian’s perspective, he was a hero who prevented a crisis in the martial world. Besides, he wasn’t an impossible person like Wei Yan-ho.

“Tsk tsk, he should have done it in moderation.”

Divine Beggar sighed and said:

“The reason dramatic negotiations could work at that time wasn’t because of Wei Yan-ho. It was because there was an implicit consensus that if they clashed like this and suffered massive casualties, they absolutely couldn’t stop the Demonic Cult. Even if Wei Yan-ho hadn’t been there, it wouldn’t have gone to the worst-case scenario.”

And if Wei Yan-ho hadn’t been there, such an all-out war wouldn’t have broken out in the first place.

Divine Beggar held back the words that would follow.

Actually, blaming Wei Yan-ho for why that battle occurred was excessive even by his own thinking. If it hadn’t been for Wei Yan-ho, the Righteous Martial Alliance wouldn’t have even gotten the chance to fight Hundred Sword Castle.

“Now that I think about it, it is strange. The Demonic Cult was invading, yet the people of the Central Plains were waging war among themselves.”

“Because Hundred Sword Castle joined hands with them.”

It was an obvious statement.

But what followed wasn’t obvious.

“At first, I thought they were blinded by revenge. And I thought they had sold their souls for profit. But that wasn’t it.”

“Pardon?”

“They had no choice. After learning all the circumstances, no one blamed them.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Divine Beggar chuckled.

“Haven’t you ever thought it was strange?”

“…I didn’t think it was strange. However…”

The Historian closed his mouth slightly. After organizing his thoughts, he opened his mouth with a voice full of doubt.

“I did think that what Hundred Sword Castle did was more excessive than what I saw in the historical records. In the historical records, it mainly described how they simply opposed the Righteous Martial Alliance. Then I heard they united around Radiant Martial Sovereign…”

“That’s not it?”

“Yes.”

The Historian nodded.

“Certainly, if they had caused this level of casualties, there should have been accountability even after the war ended. But… actually, that didn’t happen.”

“Right.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. Not all martial artists are good people, and those who were sacrificed because of Hundred Sword Castle would have had families and relatives, yet they understood and moved on…”

“That’s the key point.”

The Historian’s eyes filled with questions.

“Everyone had no choice but to be convinced. About why Hundred Sword Castle did such things.”

“Is such a thing possible?”

“You’ll be convinced soon enough.”

Divine Beggar chuckled.

“Actually, understanding someone is quite an emotional matter, isn’t it?”

It was difficult to readily agree with these words. But it was certain that they made sense.

Even in cases where one could perfectly understand the other party rationally, it was surprisingly common to antagonize them due to emotions like anger or resentment.

War was like that too.

Wars that occur for rational reasons are surprisingly not that many. Most wars are caused by rulers’ momentary emotions or greed.

Didn’t even Emperor Liu Bei, who had endured his entire life, impulsively start a war over his brothers’ deaths and abandon his life’s work?

“It also means that even if something doesn’t make sense rationally, if you can sympathize with it emotionally, it becomes understandable.”

“Theoretically, that’s correct. But in reality, such cases don’t actually occur…”

“There was such a case.”

Divine Beggar firmly cut off the Historian’s words.

Upon hearing those confident words, the Historian couldn’t help but narrow his brow.

From the Righteous Martial Alliance’s perspective, what Hundred Sword Castle did was nothing short of betrayal that brought about the death of family members. Yet they could understand them?

Considering how emotional humans are, it was absolutely impossible.

‘What on earth happened?’

Seeing the Historian’s face, Divine Beggar chuckled.

“Don’t be so impatient. It’s a story I’ll tell eventually. More importantly, this battle would be a more important story.”

“Yes.”

Divine Beggar gulped down his alcohol and set it down on the floor with a thud.

“Well, I don’t know how to describe that battle.”

“It must have been tremendous indeed. Difficult enough to describe.”

“No?”

“…Pardon?”

Divine Beggar made a mischievous expression.

“Sorry, but it’s not like that. That battle wasn’t something you could discuss as being tremendous or anything.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t understand it at all.”

“…”

Divine Beggar said matter-of-factly:

“I still don’t know what happened at that time. Something seemed to go whoosh whoosh and the match was decided in an instant, but I still don’t understand why it turned out that way.”

“Is such a thing possible?”

Doing something directly and watching it are different things.

This is usually said to scold those who give advice about things they can’t do themselves. But if you flip this saying around, it means you can give advice from the sidelines even for matters beyond your own skill level.

It’s like how you can give advice on a master’s Go game after learning Go for just one year.

But wasn’t Divine Beggar the Small Beggar of the Beggar’s Sect? He was only underestimated because all his companions were monsters. He himself was a pillar who carried the future of the martial world. Yet for such a Divine Beggar to not understand a battle even after watching it with his own eyes…

How could such a thing be possible?

“It’s not just me.”

Divine Beggar waved his hands.

“Now I’m strong enough to raise my voice somewhat in the martial world. Actually, among those currently active in the martial world, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no one except that monk or Sword Ghost could face me.”

This was a clear fact.

Unlike his undignified track record, Divine Beggar was one of the strongest in the martial world. Even though he had stepped down from the Beggar’s Sect leader position long ago, his influence hadn’t diminished at all.

Divine Beggar’s dignity was enough to awe all under heaven, beyond just the Beggar’s Sect.

“But back then, I was no different from just an ordinary martial artist rolling around.”

“Come now, that’s too harsh a judgment.”

“Well… I actually had some confidence in myself, but evaluation is relative, isn’t it? Wei Yan-ho was right next to me.”

“…I think I understand what you mean.”

“Anyway.”

Divine Beggar sighed deeply and continued:

“If I compare my current self with the absolute masters of that time, there wouldn’t be much difference. To put it plainly, I’m somewhat stronger now than those flourishing gentlemen back then.”

The Historian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Want me to gouge your eyes out before you lose your focus?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Facts are facts. Among those who were there at that time, the strongest would have been the Shaolin or Wudang sect leaders, and Heavenly Flow Swordsman. The current me could beat the Heavenly Flow Swordsman of that time within a thousand seconds. If it were Sword Ghost or that monk, it wouldn’t even take a thousand seconds.”

“Yes.”

“But I still don’t know what happened back then.”

“…”

Divine Beggar shook his head as if disgusted.

“I wondered if maybe I couldn’t understand because my memories were old, but thinking about it, that’s not it either. At the time, other sect leaders and Heavenly Flow Swordsman seemed unable to understand what on earth was happening either.”

“How could that be…”

“It’s a simple matter.”

Divine Beggar clicked his tongue and said:

“It means that among those who existed in the martial world at that time, only Wei Yan-ho and Baek Gong-do were in a different dimension. The gap between those two and the martial world’s peak masters was as large as the gap between third-rate martial artists and peak martial artists.”

Divine Beggar cleared his throat. Slightly excited words followed.

“For example, suppose the Shaolin sect leader uses Lion’s Roar while stepping on the Nine Grades of Lotus Platform, and the Wudang sect leader meets it with Supreme Wisdom Sword. If a third-rate martial artist watches this scene, would they know what’s happening?”

“…They wouldn’t know.”

“Right. They’re just fighting. Ah, they’re fighting well. Someone won. That’s all. No matter how many times they watch, they can’t understand what sword principles and martial principles are being exchanged. That’s exactly what it was. Even though everyone watched that scene, not a single person understood what it was. It was truly literal…”

Divine Beggar frowned. It was an expression he didn’t want to use, but had no choice but to employ.

“Like a fight between immortals. A fight happening in a world different from ours.”

The Historian’s body trembled.

This battle wasn’t passed down in history. It was only recorded that Wei Yan-ho scolded Hundred Sword Castle and even embraced them. But to think such a tremendous event had occurred.

“The result?”

“It’s obvious.”

Divine Beggar chuckled.

“But the important thing isn’t the result. That battle was one where it didn’t matter who won. Because… it was just like a preliminary skirmish.”

“Mm.”

“I still can’t forget it.”

“Pardon?”

Divine Beggar’s expression became slightly melancholy.

“The expression that person made after the match was decided. Even if I woke up and found another woman lying next to me instead of my wife, I wouldn’t have made such an expression. That was truly… truly an expression containing many things. Thinking about it now, what great anguish that person must have been carrying… Yes, it was truly a sad thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t rush me. I’ll tell you now. This story is ending too. And… the story about Wei Yan-ho will also come to an end now.”

Divine Beggar looked out the window.

The sun was faintly rising.

The story that had continued for two full days and nights was now coming to an end.

When this story was completely finished, what kind of expression would the Historian make?

“Now, listen carefully. What on earth had happened to this martial world.”