SGBT Chapter 3: Jeong Yeonsin (3)
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TL: FoodieMonster007 If you see this, you are at the wrong site!
For once, Jeong Yeonsin didn't go to the training grounds and instead retreated to his own room, where no one would disturb him. Unlike physical conditioning, inner arts training required a quiet environment free from external disturbances.
If someone disturbs me and disrupts my concentration, I could die from Qi Deviation.
He thought of his family members who refused to learn his physical conditioning method, citing their fear of Qi Deviation. It was a valid concern. He too didn't want his qi to flow improperly through his meridians, potentially causing an early demise.
Jeong Yeonsin took a deep breath to clear away the unpleasant thoughts, then slowly emptied his mind and entered a trance. He already understood the principles of circulating qi within the body using the microcosmic and macrocosmic orbit technique,1 so technically all he had to do was apply it.
First, I need to activate the Jeong Family Physical Conditioning Method in conjunction with inner qi.
In most martial arts sects, including the Jeong Family and the Zhongnan Sect, inner arts training involved using breathing techniques to absorb and refine nature's energy, guide its circulation through the meridian system, and finally store it within the practitioner's body. Once fully assimilated and stabilized, this power was known as inner energy or Qi.
For starters, I should try adapting the principle of muscle training to inner arts and focus on strengthening my qi through repeated use.
Having made his decision, he started his training and continued relentlessly from dawn till dusk.
"…Huh? Something's odd," Jeong Yeonsin suddenly said, effortlessly stretching his legs out from the lotus position without any signs of muscle cramps, despite having sat for hours.
My qi not increasing is one thing, but why is my Baihui Acupoint so wide open?
For some reason, even after absorbing and refining it, he simply couldn't store any qi in his body. His dantian2 was already full, and the qi within could not be compressed further. He wondered if his approach was incorrect, but if that were the case, how had Elder Yeo Ilsin accumulated so much qi?
Nonetheless, the unsuccessful inner arts training was a secondary issue. There was a bigger problem at hand.
I spent a year training my body with only the Jeong Family Physical Conditioning Method, and I got so immersed in it that I haven't been monitoring the qi changes in my body. Thanks to that, I failed to notice how much energy I was absorbing through the Baihui Acupoint in my head. Well, I did know that I was growing up faster than anyone else, but…
"At this rate, I'm going to die, aren't I?" Jeong Yeonsin muttered to himself, looking lost.
The Baihui Acupoint at the top of the head was directly connected to the Upper Dantian,3 so most of the qi that he absorbed and stored through the acupoint was concentrated there. However, if too much qi accumulated in the Upper Dantian, it would adversely affect his brain, potentially killing him or turning him into a fool.
Making a mental projection of the rate at which qi was accumulating, he estimated that he had less than five years left.
I'm going to die? Me?
The sudden awareness of his impending mortality felt incredibly surreal.
Jeong Yeonsin stood up and grabbed the doorknob with trembling hands. His heart was racing. He needed fresh air. Perhaps clearing his mind would help him find a solution to his predicament.
However, as soon as he opened the door, he froze. Instead of the fresh air he anticipated, he was greeted by the metallic stench of fresh blood.
He immediately grabbed his sword. He had watched hunters slaughter and butcher animals before. The smell was similar, but no bodies were visible even as he walked out and passed through the training grounds.
That could only mean one thing—the Blood Arts of the unorthodox sects.
"……"
Silence enveloped the night sky. The mansion was eerily quiet.
Jeong Yeonsin tread slowly and carefully through the manor, feeling like he was walking into a pitch-black swamp. His instincts screamed that something terrible had happened.
Ah.
When he reached the main house's garden, he saw the carnage.
People often claimed that the phrase "rivers of blood" was an exaggeration. Well, they were right. There were no rivers of blood at all, just blood that dripped off the edges of the stone pavements and seeped into the soil.
All around him, his family members lay scattered like discarded trash, each with an identical sword wound in their chest, as if they had been used for swordsmanship practice. None of them moved, no, it was the stillness of the dead.
Whether they were too absorbed in their training to notice the commotion, or simply overwhelmed by the assailants' skill, he couldn't tell.
BOOM! CRASH!
Sounds of a fierce battle echoed from outside the estate, indicating that formidable masters were clashing there. Amidst the cacophony of clashing swords and loud impacts, Jeong Yeonsin walked towards the main house.
Ten individuals, who appeared to be the culprits, sat there haphazardly. Only when he approached within three paces did one of them turn his head. "Who are you?" a man with two swords crossed behind his back asked.
"The third son of this family," Jeong Yeonsin replied.
The man stood up, walked over to Jeong Yeonsin, and raised his hand. Confident that a single blow from his palm would suffice, he showed no intention of drawing his swords.
A sky-blue light flashed in Jeong Yeonsin's eyes as he read his adversary's energy flow. He grabbed the swordsman's wrist, redirected the attack downwards, and twisted his arm, all in one fluid motion.
It was a run-of-the mill technique known as the Seizing Grasp (擒拏手).
The power of the Jeong Family Physical Conditioning Method filled Jeong Yeonsin's entire being, bolstering his strength. No matter how hard the enemy swordsman tried, he couldn't escape the boy's grasp.
Jeong Yeonsin tightened his grip.
CRUNCH!
A loud bone-cracking sound and a scream ensued. The swordsman's companions, previously inattentive, all turned their heads simultaneously. Upon seeing the grisly scene, their eyes widened in shock, and several rose to their feet and drew their weapons.
"Let go of him!"
"You bastard!"
As expected of the unorthodox sects, they have no honor, Jeong Yeonsin thought, releasing his grip on the swordsman.
The swordsman glared at him and clenched his one uninjured fist, his face a blend of pain and humiliation from being subdued by a boy half his size. With a roar, he swung his fist at Jeong Yeonsin. Though he still hadn't drawn his swords, his momentum was terrifying, making his fist momentarily appear as large as a pot lid.
Once again, a sky-blue light flashed in Jeong Yeonsin's eyes. Head. The trajectory was clear. Gathering his strength, he moved into the preparatory stance for the Siezing Grasp.
Just then, a revelation came to him.
Intent. My qi moves according to my will, I am its master. Then, as long as my intention is strong enough, I can achieve anything!
WHIRR!
Jeong Yeonsin's intent took shape, forming a mental image of an unknown language that resonated deeply within him. The essence of a new martial art, also known as its formula, burned like the sun across his entire being.
The Fatebreaker's Codex (始克經).4
The name, which came to him naturally, defined the essence of his martial arts—using qi to break through his limits.
My energy is evenly spread throughout my body. I should concentrate it instead!
At a single thought, the energy that had filled his left hand and right foot surged to his right hand and left foot. He promptly stomped the ground with his left foot, shattering it and throwing his opponent off balance, then swiftly drew his sword with his right hand and swung it.
SHING!
The blade flickered in the moonlight as it sliced through the necks of three foes—not only the swordsman he faced but also two others who were charging at him.
Seeing his enemies' astonished expressions, suggesting that their eyes couldn't follow his movements, Jeong Yeonsin felt like his body wasn't his own. Perhaps the shock of his first kill had caused him to feel detached from the world, but what did their gazes matter? So what if the severed heads were still staring at him in midair?
He twisted his upper body and spun around gracefully, like a snowflake in the wind. A red-haired woman approaching from behind the headless corpses gasped as his sword pierced her throat, then fell forward as he withdrew his sword without hesitation.
Even in this extreme situation, his breathing remained steady, and his body, tempered by physical conditioning, felt stronger and more stable than ever.
"What the…" A thin warrior scowled.
A tall man with sharp fox eyes put a hand on the thin man's shoulder and stood up. "He's just a boy who's dedicated his life to the swift sword, nothing more. Those fools were caught off guard. I doubt he has any more tricks up his sleeve. Right, boy?"
Not everything he said was correct, but he was right about one thing. Jeong Yeonsin had played all his cards.
"Even so, it's surprising. Truly amazing. How could someone your age be so skilled?"
Jeong Yeonsin turned his attention to the fox-eyed man. "Are you from the Blood Cult?" he asked, thinking of the red-haired woman at his feet.
"No, I'm from the Tyrant Sword Sect."
"The Tyrant Sword Sect? Isn't this woman from the Blood Cult, though?"
"Yes."
"What are two of the Thirteen Heavens doing in a place like Xinye County?"
"That's none of your business."
"Why are you answering me then?"
"Because it's a waste. You're quite strong for someone your age, and it's amusing to hear a country boy talk like a seasoned murim warrior," the man laughed heartily.
"A waste, huh? Oh, I know. You're afraid of the people behind me, aren't you? Because you're just another unorthodox sect mongrel." Jeong Yeonsin smirked arrogantly. Deep down, however, his heart was pounding with nervousness.
Still, he decided to take his chances. If the man got careless because of his arrogance, he would surely win, just as he had defeated the first swordsman who had refused to draw his blades.
"You mad brat," the man growled, his voice deep and rumbling like a beast's.
Intimidated by the man's ferocious aura, shivers immediately ran down Jeong Yeonsin's spine, but he maintained a calm facade. Whoever retreated first would be devoured.
"No matter how hard you try, you mongrels can't kill me," he snapped back.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the main gate of the Jeong Family Manor exploded into splinters, scattering in all directions.
Among the flying debris, Jeong Yeonsin recognized the man tumbling with the door fragments as one of the masters from the Zhongnan Sect who had come with Yeo Ilsin. His previously pristine martial arts uniform was torn in several places, and blood trickled from his mouth.
If I remember right, his epithet was the Cliff Shearing Sword. How did such a master end up like this…?
CLANG! BANG! CRASH!
After the main gates, a wall was smashed. Jeong Yeonsin turned his head in a daze only to see Yeo Ilsin and the other master from the Zhongnan Sect retreating into the compound, looking far worse than he could have ever imagined.
I thought Yeo Ilsin was a sword goddess, but part of her left ear has been cut off…
He looked back at the collapsed wall. A colossal figure, seemingly too large to be human, marched through the debris with broad strides, exuding a powerful aura as if declaring itself the center of the world. An oversized sword dangled at its side, emitting a deathly energy.
A shiver ran down Jeong Yeonsin's spine. It wasn't the figure's martial arts or aura that unsettled him, but rather something beyond his understanding. If he had to describe it, though, he would call it an unstoppable landslide.
Who is that?
As the giant approached, he realized that it was a middle-aged man cloaked in an armor of sword qi. The man took a quick glance at Jeong Yeonsin's opponent, then suddenly, he turned his attention to the boy.
He's an absolute master. Under the man's intense scrutiny, Jeong Yeonsin felt like he was being devoured.
Prostrating himself, Jeong Yeonsin's opponent loudly greeted, "Sect Leader!"
Sect Leader? He's the Sect Leader of the Tyrant Sword Sect? What is such a person doing here, in the middle of the countryside?
The Tyrant Sword Sect was one of the Thirteen Heavens, the unorthodox sects' equivalent of the orthodox's Nine Sects. If this man was the sect leader of such a powerful faction, then that explained his overwhelming presence and his ability to overwhelm an elder and two masters of the Zhongnan Sect despite being outnumbered.
For a while, no one moved, as if time had come to a standstill.
Then, in an unexpected burst of speed, Jeong Yeonsin sprinted toward the prostrate man, pushing the limits of the Jeong Family Physical Conditioning Method with every step.
"Y-You…" the man stuttered, as every eye in the compound turned toward Jeong Yeonsin.
The Tyrant Sword Sect leader did not move.
Was he curious to see what would happen? Well, whatever the reason, Jeong Yeonsin didn't care. He threw himself forward with all his might, relishing the air that rushed past his ears like a waterfall as he brought his blade down vertically on his enemy from above.
His target immediately started to rise, but it was too late. Jeong Yeonsin's sword pierced through his body, impaling him from his back to his stomach.
The boy then placed one foot on the man's back and slowly stood up. With pale blue lightning flickering in his eyes, he confronted the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader and taunted, "So, do you think you can kill me?"
Footnotes:
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Microcosmic and macrocosmic orbit technique: A Taoist qigong energy cultivation technique derived from the classic I-Ching that involves deep breathing exercises in conjunction with meditation and concentration techniques which aim to develop the flow of qi along certain pathways of energy in the human body. It's not a secret technique and anyone can learn it at a taichi school, even you! ↩
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Dantian: The term for the Qi Centers where Qi is stored within the body. Usually refers to the Lower Dantian. ↩
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Upper Dantian: The Dantian at the forehead between the eyebrows. The Lower Dantian is found below the belly button, and the Middle Dantian is located at the heart. ↩
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The Fatebreaker's Codex (始克經): The literal translation is "Manual of Overcoming the Beginning", or "Manual of Overcoming Destiny". ↩
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