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Master Baek Wei’s expression gradually changes.
“Zaha Divine Arts… it is a martial arts which doesn’t exist in this world.”
Waiting for an order, Oh Geom asks,
“What do we do?”
To which he answers,
“It is a martial arts we need to make our own. It is definitely an arts stronger than what we gave him. And it is certain that Sect Leader made it. I’ve never seen it before. You know what I mean?”
I knew what he meant.
Oh Geom and Yuk Do are skilled, but I can’t help but feel sympathy for the two. If this were a normal situation, I would have struggled since they seem to have the skill levels equivalent to the Butcher. However, in my current state, I can’t help but think that handling them wouldn’t be so difficult.
Zaha Divine Arts is based on emotion.
And how I feel now…
I’m in a very bad mood. Whether or not an emotion-based martial arts existed in the past is none of my business.
When Oh Geom and Yuk Do pull out their weapons, I aim for the two. The speed at which the three of us pull out our weapons is so similar that it is difficult to gauge who has the upper hand. However, I release Zaha Sword Qi which moves from the wooden sword quickly reaching the two.
When Oh Geom and Yuk Go take a defensive stance as they wrap their swords with qi- in an instant, Yuk Do’s sword and armor gets sliced as well as Oh Geom’s upper body. This instantaneous cut causes blood to splatter in all directions as their broken blades fall to the ground. An instant death- one in which their voices didn’t get a chance to be heard.
“NO!”
Master Baek Wei moves like lightning and crosses over the two corpses and fumbles around the study. Suddenly, he grabs a book and checks whether or not it was alright. He then stops to sigh a breath of relief.
“…”
I sit back and observe his actions. This crazy bastard was making sure his books were fine and not his disciples? I wasn’t sure if it was instinctual or just my keen senses, but I cut down both of them while holding myself back to a certain extent. If my sword qi had reached the study, then hundreds of books would have been lost.
Master Baek Wei turns with a pale face.
This guy made a huge mistake. First, he boasts that it doesn’t matter if this place is set on fire, but when the circumstance built up to the possibility of this place actually being destroyed, he freaked out.
Now how do I interpret this?
I walk with my sword in my right hand and touch the books with my left hand.
“Master…did you not speak of the many copies? Why are you so surprised?”
After releasing my heightened state of Zaha Divine Arts, I look at him with a skeptical expression and he looks surprised. Even if there were copies, there is a reason why these specific books should not disappear.
I look at the guy’s pale face and I calm down before I speak.
“Master, go and sit at the table over there. Let us talk business now.”
The word business seemed to really shock the guy. I could hear his teeth chatter.
“Sect Leader, are you putting me down just because you learned a new skill?”
“No. What do you suppose I do with my new skills? It will be a mess. Look at the bodies of the disciples, and this is the result of me controlling my power. But if I want to deal with you, I won’t be able to hold myself back. So, sit down. While I’m still asking nicely.”
I’m not shocked about the death of his disciples, rather I can’t help but sigh looking at the shocked man more worried about his books than the lives of these two people.
Seeing him sit across the table, I push the sword into its sheath and say,
“Close that door. Let’s talk. Well, if your subordinates come and fight again, I cannot guarantee the same outcome for your books. In any case, they will be stronger than Oh Geom and Yuk Do. Right?”
When master presses the table, the wall where the subordinates are laying, turn over and he says,
“Is there business to talk about?”
I go to the area classified as completed and pull out a book as I look at the text.
“… there is. You don’t know three things about me. Strolling Golden Turtle technique, Crazy troops, Zaha Divine Arts. I don’t know anything about your group either. How many more places like this are out there? I don’t know if you are the commander, chief or not. It is hard to take each other apart using martial arts. You are truly a formidable group.”
“But.”
In the middle of our conversation, I check the end of the book. Since the contents were the same as the book I’ve read in the past, I confirm that it was given by this man to me in the previous life. After putting the book back in its place, I look at him.
“Master, you did something rude to some of the books.”
“…!”
His eyes widened.
Even at this very moment, I’m constantly minding my words. Since my assumptions can be wrong, I’m leading the conversation in a way where I can check his reactions before proceeding.
“I understand you. I will probably continue to be the only person who understands you in Kangho.”
“What are you talking about? What do you even understand?”
I sit down with my back to the room and look at him.
“Do not over-excite yourself and listen to me. Sometimes there are more important things than just life and death. You and I are bound to kill and be killed? It can happen at any time. But for now, let us talk about something more important than that.”
He laughs like this is ridiculous.
“Sect Leader, if we fight, you will die. Are you that oblivious?”
“Shut up. I am talking here. There are more important things than life and death.”
“What is that?”
“Even though there are copies, you don’t want the books here destroyed. Actually, you probably didn’t even know that you had such thoughts.”
He just looks at me with a blank expression.
I come to the conclusion as such and speak my thoughts.
“… who told you to edit the old martial arts without permission?”
His expression hasn’t changed but the moment he hears these words, he gulps. So, I point my finger around the room.
“The books you made here are different in content from the original copies. Your thoughts, your martial arts and your opinions are included. Originally you were supposed to transfer just the sheets to books, but you became a full-time writer.”
“What do you mean? I am asking not because I don’t know.”
“The person who creates the work has to be the writer. What else would they be called? The books here are your works. It is a work of art you made. It isn’t just about copying. Your thoughts deleted some sentences, and you cleverly added your own comments. The copies here are different from the copies elsewhere. These are your creations.”
Master Baek Wei seems to be flustered and keeps quiet.
“Do you know what happens when a person does something with all their might or produces a valuable result?”
“…”
“The same thing cannot be done again. Difficult. It is impossible. It means that even if you take the original sheets and move them, the contents corrected are bound to become different.”
I point to the study.
“Being here means that neither party can recreate it. The bamboo sheets are useless, and the copies stored elsewhere aren’t helpful. Moreover, it is impossible to produce such a vast book as is recorded now. This is why you cherish them from the bottom of your heart.”
“Hmm.”
“Master, who will know how you feel?”
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“Sect Leader what’s your point?”
“I am getting to it. You brat… see my sincerity. I am the only person who respects and understands your will. Who knows what you mean? Even your stupid disciples and the smart ones in your group wouldn’t understand your true feelings. They will not respect your work either.”
“And what is the catch?”
“Master, let us be honest. I don’t know if you and I will be enemies or allies. That isn’t the point. Whether we have become enemies or not, let’s treat the books as a separate thing. This is my final request. If we fight here, I swear I will risk my life to burn the place down. All your writing will be gone with dust….”
“If I chose to not fight then what?”
I sigh.
“What are you trying to prove with this? At the very least, in the event the books become lost in history, you made copies right?”
“Right.”
“Do you want to influence Kangho? Or is it just for research purposes? Or do you want to mock the strong?”
I have no choice but to come to the conclusion that I could feel him listening to me.
“Listen here Master. Among the books you have, select the best books for sword, blade, internal qi, body qi and give them to me.”
“What nonsense? Why should I?”
“If you hand them to me, I will use them for the sake of the future. They will learn the martial arts of the books you wrote.”
“What?”
He looks at me as if this was an absurd request and I speak in a calm tone.
“If I had to classify you, you have a strength fueled by the same reasonings as the Demonic Sect.”
“No.”
“Yes. It is because you aren’t doing this to help the world, but because you inherited this hatred against those who tried to take down martial arts in the past. Look at what you did to your disciples. You are a demon. Whether you admit it or not, I will define it that way. Same goes for the other guys who have copies. There is a high chance that you are doing this to fuel your hatred.”
“We’ve moved past those thoughts.”
“What you did outside of those thoughts ended up being demonic in the end. But I will give you a chance. I will give you the chance to teach swordsmen with your works, writings, paintings, and martial arts books. Those warriors will set up a sect, become great warriors, accept disciples, beat people to death if they cross the line and eventually destroy the group you belong to. Your group is mighty and hidden. It is difficult for me to handle them alone.”
I mumble while picturing the future which has yet to unfold.
“Instead, those who will inherit my will, will fight for a thousand years. Maybe those righteous swordsmen can be your disciples, Master Baek Wei, actually, the disciples of the two of us…”
I look at him.
“Isn’t known to the people of the world.”
Master Baek Wei is watching me with clear eyes. I can’t let my guard down, so I say,
“I will give you time to think. But remember, with the Zaha Divine Arts, I can become the Light Sky of Sun and Moon myself. You must have seen how I made the Four Heavenly Kings retreat at that time. Whether you are stronger than me or not, I swear I will die so that the end result will be you and this place turning to dust. In an instant, everyone will vanish.”
“…”
“You know best how crazy I am.”
Suddenly, I notice him taking a deep breath. I close my eyes and force intimidation. I lower my tone and speak.
“You live with so much hatred from the emperor, but I am thinking about those who tried to kill the others and failed. If there were more righteous swordsmen around, this hatred wouldn’t have started. Who can be sure though? There is no way that a guy like the emperor wouldn’t appear again.”
“…”
“There should be more righteous swordsmen in the world than there are now. You get the hatred, but I want to inherit their kindness. Hyung Ga couldn’t succeed in the assassination attempt and bring peace to the raging world of the past, and there isn’t much I can do alone. I can only hope that the countless people will defeat the second and third emperor.”
I summarize what I imagine to master.
“When that happens, it becomes a revolution that all started here.”
With my eyes closed I say,
“Choose. Either die with me or pass these books to the righteous swordsman.”
I wait with my eyes closed.
The sound of wind blowing from beyond the cave mixed with the sighs of the two men can be heard from time to time.