Black and White Martial Emperor

“Hm. So that happened.”

“Yes.”

Yeon Wi smacked his lips.

“No wonder his expression seemed so different. He did not tell me separately, so he had that sort of conversation with you.”

Gangryang took a sip of tea and spoke with an awkward look.

“I’m worried I may have said something unnecessary.”

“Do not say that. You said something you had every right to say. If anything, it was my fault for failing to give him advice at the proper time.”

“Ah, you need not go that far......”

“No. Lately, I have been paying attention only to external matters and failed to strengthen what lies within. I will have to be more mindful from now on.”

After letting out a low sigh, Yeon Wi soon smiled and looked Gangryang over.

“By the way, it seems you have been advancing diligently. The presence flowing from you no longer scatters like before. It has been refined well.”

He had not seen Gangryang’s actual sword force, but one could judge an opponent’s skill by the presence they revealed alone. Since they were both swordsmen, Gangryang could not escape Yeon Wi’s eyes.

Gangryang shook his head.

“I still lack much. I am far, far too lacking.”

“Is that what you think?”

“When I was even more immature than I am now, I did not know what the problem was or which parts I lacked. At least now, it is different. The lacking parts of the power I obtained keep catching my eye, so I am struggling between the points I must supplement and the path I must take.”

His manner of speaking had grown more mature. The voice itself, far more serious and deep-hearted than before, left a strong impression.

He is chasing it.

The gaze Yeon Wi directed at Gangryang held both affection and concern.

He is seriously pursuing the way of the sword. Unconcerned with the gazes around him, he is living the life of a seeker devoted solely to completing himself.

It was remarkable.

The changed presence, the anguish felt in his voice, and the eyes that did not waver despite all of it were like those of an ascetic trying to complete one single path.

It was a face difficult to find on a young man who had only just passed twenty. Leaving aside the skill he possessed, there would not be many martial artists this deep-hearted even if one searched the entire Central Plains.

Yeon Wi opened his mouth.

“The martial art you learned. It was called Ghost Sword, was it not?”

A sword possessed by ghosts. It was quite a fierce name.

Gangryang nodded.

“Precisely speaking, it is called the Ghost King Martial Art. It is a martial art that encompasses a divine art, sword, and footwork, and once the lower stage is perfectly refined, one can climb to the higher stage.”

The Ghost King True Qi had once been evaluated as a supreme divine art that ranked within the top ten in the history of the Dark Path.

But just as people changed when the times changed, Ghost King True Qi had also had its weaknesses supplemented and its strengths brought further to life with the passage of time.

As a result, it would not be an exaggeration to call the current Ghost King True Qi the greatest masterpiece in Ghost-Iron Sword Gate history. In terms of the Orthodox martial world, it could be compared to the greatest peerless arts of the Nine Sects and One Union.

“The Ghost Sword you showed me before looked exceedingly sharp and dense with Killing Intent, but it was a sword art that crushed the enemy by centering itself on an incomparable powerful strike hidden within.”

“That is correct.”

“But the presence you show now is somewhat different. Have you set aside its root, the path of domination, for the moment and focused more on its sharpness?”

Gangryang smiled.

“You truly are remarkable. You have seen through it exactly.”

“It is extremely important to know what one’s sword, the martial art one has learned, pursues. That is why most martial artists take the path pursued by their martial art as identical to their own path and walk it.”

“I do not think that is bad. To understand a martial art, one must be able to face the end that martial art has defined.”

“That is also true. But you have already gone beyond it. While seeing the end the Ghost King Martial Art pursues, you yourself have stepped away from that path.”

Yeon Wi nodded.

“It will be rather difficult, but if your efforts remain as they are now, I am certain you will obtain an unexpected result. That is what I believe.”

“Thank you.”

“Hm.”

Yeon Wi, who had been stroking his chin, smiled and rose from his seat.

“There is a sword strike I used against the enemy during this operation. It is a martial art I created as a hidden art in my own way, but in truth, what I conceived was three swords.”

“......?”

“I created one sword among them, but it is not complete yet. Its power has been completed, but the time consumed until execution is long, and the True Qi consumption is also far too great. That is the problem.”

“Pardon?”

“Would you like to see it? The sword I created.”

“M-may I?”

“What is there that I cannot show you? The reason I have not yet shown this sword to Jipyeong is that Jipyeong has not yet found his own way of the sword. I thought that, if things went wrong, he might be seized by this sword force and it could adversely affect his growth.”

Yeon Wi pointed toward the door with his hand.

“Watch it once. After seeing this sword, if there is anything you can learn, take it as much as you like. Furthermore, if you see anything lacking in me, I hope you will tell me without hesitation.”

*****

“Cough!”

Yeon Hojeong, his entire body covered in blood, vomited a handful of blood. There was truly no part of him that was unharmed.

Although Tang Gwan had reduced the power as much as possible, weakened the poison qi, and slowed the speed, a hidden art was still a hidden art. Yeon Hojeong had knocked away most of the hidden weapons, but the impact continued to accumulate, and as it did, the wounds from the hidden weapons only increased.

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that Tang Gwan had not drawn out the final chapter, the last hidden art among his hidden arts. Since it had not even been half completed to begin with, it had not been in a state where he could draw it out anyway.

But even taking that into account, it was extraordinary that it had ended at only this much.

Tang Gwan was dumbfounded.

What kind of man is this?

Full Sky Art and Flower Rain Art were each composed of three chapters of hidden arts, and at present, he could only manifest up to the middle chapter of both martial arts. He had not even caught a sense of the final chapter.

Tang Gwan’s ultimate goal was to someday merge Full Sky and Flower Rain into one and wield hidden-weapon techniques freely at will. Of course, that did not mean the power of the two martial arts he had refined up to their current middle chapters was weak.

He received Flower Rain’s opening and middle chapters, and even Full Sky’s middle chapter? And after all that, it ended with only this much?

Yeon Hojeong’s blood-soaked appearance was gruesome enough to make anyone who saw him shudder.

But Tang Gwan could tell. Compared to how he looked, Yeon Hojeong was not that badly injured. Because of the poison qi and penetrating force, his internal injuries were fairly significant and his external injuries were considerable, but as long as he received treatment, he would be able to move without difficulty as soon as two days later.

It was an absurd result. Whether opening chapter or middle chapter, this hidden art was a mighty martial art capable of sweeping away a unit-level force the instant it was manifested.

Yet he had received it alone, even though Tang Gwan had reduced its power, poison strength, and speed. Moreover, while holding twin axes he was not even accustomed to!

“Cough! Kaaak, ptoo! Oof, I really came back from the brink there.”

Yeon Hojeong plopped down where he stood.

His internal and external injuries were not severe, but his energy had been completely drained. His mental energy had been consumed to an extreme degree because he had swung the axes while grasping the movements of the hidden weapons and the flow of True Qi.

Clank.

Yeon Hojeong set down the Black-White Twin Dragons and spoke as if grumbling.

“That truly is one outrageous martial art. There can’t be many people in the current martial world who could receive it.”

“......”

“You adjusted the power as much as possible, correct?”

“......I did.”

Chiiiiik!

The Yeon Clan Divine Core spun at high speed and swelled the Vermilion Bird Fire Qi.

The poison qi that had seeped into his entire body evaporated rapidly. Tang Gwan had told him to sit cross-legged and repel the poison qi, but since Tang Gwan had still suppressed the poison qi as much as possible, there was no need to concentrate and draw it out.

Even so, it was remarkable that he could move his mouth so calmly. Tang Gwan spoke in admiration.

“You are practically made of iron. Honestly, when you received the final Flower Rain middle chapter, I thought you would have to be carried out.”

“That is because you held back.”

“This is not such a trifling martial art that anyone could block it merely because I held back. This is certainly because you are extraordinary.”

It was rare praise. Such praise would not have come out if Tang Gwan did not possess absolute confidence in his hidden art.

“Then let us say that is so. In any case......”

Yeon Hojeong stroked his chin.

Tang Gwan’s eyes glittered.

“How is it? Did you see anything to supplement?”

“Yes, I saw it. I did see it, but I am not sure if I should say this.”

“Ridiculous. No matter what you say, if I decide there is no need for me to digest it, I can simply cast it aside. Speak without reservation.”

There was a reason Yeon Hojeong hesitated.

Could I ruin it?

Full Sky Flower Rain, the invincible hidden art of Tang Gwan, the Emperor of Ten Thousand Poisons, the legendary secret art that would come to be called the strongest martial art in Tang Clan history, was a martial art whose framework had been set by the previous generation and which Tang Gwan completed by grinding his bones into it.

Even without Yeon Hojeong’s advice, Tang Gwan would someday be able to complete Full Sky Flower Rain.

The problem was the present. He was worried that his hasty advice might harm the invincible supreme technique that would blossom in the future.

History can change with a single trivial word. Because of my advice, his martial-art refinement might take longer, or in the worst case, he may be unable to complete it at all.

Yeon Hojeong’s face darkened.

I should have thought of this before receiving it. I’ve been given a truly burdensome request.

After being lost in thought for a moment, Yeon Hojeong soon shook his head.

No. History already changed from the moment I died and returned. The Ming Clan collapsed by my hand, and the Martial Alliance was established earlier than in the original history. Since the flow under heaven has already changed from the past, there is no need to worry even about this part.

The water had already been spilled. If so, the answer was still to live faithfully in the present.

Yeon Hojeong hardened his resolve.

“Then I will begin with Flower Rain Art. In Flower Rain’s opening chapter......”

He told Tang Gwan, without addition or omission, the weaknesses of Full Sky Flower Rain that he had seen through.

As Tang Gwan listened, he was greatly shocked at every moment.

Even if one was relatively stronger, once one reached this level, each person’s realizations were bound to differ. That meant that even a relatively stronger person might show poor knowledge in a weaker person’s specialized field.

The opposite was also true.

The flaws Yeon Hojeong pointed out in Full Sky Art and Flower Rain Art were areas Tang Gwan had never anticipated until now. Furthermore, while pointing out the parts, he did not lose sight of the greater flow, making it clear how focused Yeon Hojeong had been on this martial art.

That was only natural. Yeon Hojeong’s enlightenment was that of the Dark Emperor, so he could catch with astonishing insight the parts Tang Gwan had missed or lacked in creativity.

“In other words, if you properly secure the linked techniques between the opening and middle chapters I mentioned, the flow toward the final chapter should open on its own. Of course, you will have to personally create the formulas and methods that control that flow, Clan Lord.”

Tang Gwan muttered with a serious face.

“Reducing the True Qi consumed by controlling objects through empty air...... inducing diffuse reflection...... diversity of flow caused by the impact between shards......”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

The sight of Tang Gwan standing still and muttering was quite fresh. He seemed to have completely fallen into concentration.

Yeon Hojeong carefully picked up the Black-White Twin Dragons and stood. He did not want to disturb Tang Gwan for nothing.

Just as he turned to leave the training ground.

“Wait!”

“Hm?”

Yeon Hojeong looked back.

Tang Gwan came running in a fluster.

“Do you have time? If so, have a cup of tea with me before you go.”

“......I need to treat my injuries.”

“I will treat them myself, so stop talking back and follow me!”

In the end, Tang Gwan was a martial artist too.

Ultimately, Yeon Hojeong was caught by Tang Gwan until dawn the next day, improving Full Sky Flower Rain with him, and then fainted again. It was because he had shed too much blood.

Only then did Tang Gwan click his tongue, hoist Yeon Hojeong onto his back, and head for Gi Uhui.

“For a young man to be this feeble, honestly. Back in my day, even after spilling three basins of blood, I spent three days sunk in a liquor jar......”