NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Heavenly Body
Seomun Hyeon-cheon’s brows furrowed.
He spotted the figure of Yujinhwi.
The favored disciple of the Gongdong Sect.
Up until the moment he personally stepped in to block the path between her and Lee Cheol-soo, Seomun Hyeon-cheon had given it little thought.
Of course, he wasn’t completely in the dark about them.
He knew that there were rumors about Yujinhwi being an incredible talent, but that was just unverified hearsay.
He had no idea whether her skills were actually up to par with what was deemed talent in the martial world.
“Did she just deflect my energy?”
But now.
Seomun Hyeon-cheon realized that rumors could not encapsulate reality.
Yujinhwi.
The prestigious disciple of the Gongdong Sect.
She had thwarted the energy he shot at her head-on.
“No matter how talented she is, being the best from Gongdong Sect… ”
Seomun Hyeon-cheon narrowed his eyes.
Given that there were only three members in the Gongdong Sect, he assumed their talent level wouldn’t be extraordinary.
That was his assumption anyway.
It was merely a test, so the energy shouldn’t have been something a beginner could easily deflect.
Yet, she had done it. She had withstood it.
It intrigued him.
Naturally, curiosity arose within him. The energy from the Great Desolate Domination Technique surged up from his danjeon.
A peculiar gleam glimmered in Seomun Hyeon-cheon’s eyes.
The martial arts of the Seomun Family favored the heavy sword. By augmenting their internal energy into their sword, they controlled space with overwhelming and heavy momentum, subduing their opponents with a mighty blow.
Jincheongyeomwang was a master of the Great Desolate Domination Technique, a secret passed down only to the sect’s leaders, having achieved mastery of it.
Seomun Hyeon-cheon, at the pinnacle of heavy sword-based martial arts, had a presence heavier than Sumeru Mountain, echoing through the heavens with overwhelming might.
A truly kingly force of swords poured forth towards Yujinhwi.
“Let’s see how much you can endure, Gongdong’s prodigy.”
Initially, he was angry, but now it was different.
Curiosity meeting talent. The probing energy intended to gauge Yujinhwi’s power concentrated itself on her.
“…”
Facing the immense power reminiscent of Mount Tai, Yujinhwi’s expression didn’t waver an inch.
She remained calm.
“I must protect my disciple.”
No longer would she leave her disciple behind.
She was the one who would guard him.
Thump.
Yujinhwi’s heartbeat slowed.
“Focus.”
In the blink of an eye.
Yet, Yujinhwi was a genius born from the heavens, possessing talents befitting the Heavenly Body and the Grandmaster’s attributes.
Her perception of time differed drastically from that of a normal person.
Thought raced endlessly.
In an instant, a moment turned into a mere strand, and within that strand, the cycles of comprehension unfolded endlessly.
Like strands of taffy stretching out. It seemed as though time flowed slowly as Yujinhwi pondered endlessly.
The principles of the Gongdong Sect’s martial arts, which she had mastered, played out in front of her.
The foundational skill, Minor Yang Heart Method, the Three Yin True Formula, the Reverse Blood Great Method, and even the supreme technique of the Gongdong Sect, Joining and Parting Divine Skill, which she memorized after reading once as a disciple.
“This won’t do.”
This was not enough to block the energy of Jincheongyeomwang.
The core of Gongdong Sect martial arts lay in Yin-Yang Reversal.
It derived explosive power through transformation of the Yin-Yang energy.
Thus, Gongdong’s sword technique was a fierce one.
Relying on brute strength to clash with force, the nature of Gongdong’s martial arts endured harsh trials without breaking.
“Is that really the case?”
Wandering through the maze of thought that endlessly split time, Yujinhwi posed a question.
Did the Gongdong Sect’s martial arts solely focus on strength?
The ultimate technique created by the Honwon Geomje wasn’t merely about overwhelming power. It was about freely adjusting the direction of strength to utilize the opponent’s energy to increase her own might while being able to turn around and counterattack with their force as well.
Much like the martial arts of the Wudang, grounded in the principle of the Taiji.
“Must the Reverse Taiji and Taiji be strictly opposites?”
The Wudang’s Taiji and Gongdong’s Reverse Taiji.
Were they truly different?
“No.”
No, that couldn’t be right.
If they were indeed different, the explanation for Honwon Geomje’s Joining and Parting Divine Skill would make no sense.
They were neither the same nor different.
Honwon Geomje.
They were brothers, diverging from the fundamental nature.
As Yujinhwi approached this realization, a peculiar glimmer appeared in her eyes.
“So the Primordial Unity Energy Technique was like that.”
The Yang Power Technique and the Yin Cold Energy Circulation Method achieved Yin-Yang Reversal through my energy’s process.
Now, it stood as the most advanced self-cultivation technique of the Gongdong Sect, the Primordial Unity Energy Technique likely was the foundation for the Joining and Parting Divine Skill.
She easily deduced that the Joining and Parting Divine Skill was created based on the Primordial Unity Energy Technique.
However, the Gongdong Sect currently lacked the Primordial Unity Energy Technique. Yet, Yujinhwi did not hesitate.
Her exceptional insight, the Grandmaster’s attributes presented the solution.
Her hand began to move slowly.
“Just like when I restored the Demon Sword Technique from the drawings left by the Honwon Geomje ancestor.”
Memories of the day spent with her disciple in the Secret Cave surfaced in Yujinhwi’s mind.
The ancient drawings of the Demon Sword Technique inscribed upon the stone wall were far from user-friendly.
It had taken her over two full days to decipher the drawing.
“If it weren’t for my disciple…”
If it weren’t for the timely advice from her disciple during her moments of doubt, it could have taken her even longer.
“Now that I think of it, it might not have been a drawing at all.”
Yujinhwi’s eyes deepened.
She had just realized.
The sword patterns carved into the wall.
They might not have been a mere drawing.
Perhaps they were a sort of trap designed to hide the Joining and Parting Divine Skill beyond the stone wall.
Nonetheless, she had restored the Demon Sword Technique from those sword patterns.
Then.
Going a step further from restoration shouldn’t be impossible.
“I’m a prodigy.”
She was the favored disciple of the Gongdong Sect.
The next leader, responsible for rejuvenating the Gongdong Sect.
“If I possess the Heavenly Body, I can do this.”
No, it was something she must take upon herself.
To restore the sect and protect her precious disciple.
Otherwise, this divine punishment she bore would hold no significance.
A gleam flickered in Yujinhwi’s eyes.
The attributes of a Grandmaster she possessed began to shine.
The first martial art that heaven’s bestowed her intellect discovered was this.
“Reverse Flow Blood Technique.”
The Reverse Blood of the Gongdong Sect was not solely a means to achieve Yin-Yang Reversal like the Demon Sect.
And Yin-Yang Reversal was grounded in the principles of the Primordial.
The Reverse Flow Blood Technique was the foundation of the Primordial Unity Energy Technique.
While there were elements of the Primordial’s techniques infused within it, it was only partial.
Then, if she could combine the principles of Joining and Parting Divine Skill centered on the Primordial with the principles of the Reverse Flow Blood Technique…
Perhaps…
Yujinhwi’s mind began to recombine the principles.
Reverse the Reverse Taiji through the principles of the Primordial and bring it back to the original Taiji.
Her gaze fixed firmly on Jincheongyeomwang.
Internally reciting the principles of a new martial art, her danjeon responded, rushing her internal energy along its channels. The moment Yujinhwi depicted the Reverse Taiji and flipped it.
Unlike before, the direction of her energy twisted, bypassing her and Lee Cheol-soo, scattering in every direction.
In this process, the rough energy of Seomun Hyeon-cheon transformed into a gentle spring breeze swirling within the main hall.
Whizz.
A gentle breeze grazed Seomun Hyeon-cheon’s beard.
“…Seomun Dae-hyup, I must ask you, do you still believe this sect is playing recklessly?”
Seomun Hyeon-cheon fell silent at Yujinhwi’s query.
Being the Supreme Master of Hwakyung, he grasped it keenly.
He could sense what Yujinhwi had just accomplished.
Seomun Hyeon-cheon’s eyes sank.
“To deflect energy; this isn’t something that can be done with just the Gongdong Sect’s martial arts. Only the fully mastered Primordial Unity Energy Technique of Gongdong Sect could achieve this. But there currently is no Primordial Unity Energy Technique in the Gongdong Sect. That means…”
There were two possibilities.
Either the Gongdong Sect had reclaimed the Primordial Unity Energy Technique, or alternatively…
Yujinhwi before him had spontaneously developed a new martial art.
It wasn’t the former.
If they had reclaimed the Primordial Unity Energy Technique, then Yujinhwi’s initial turmoil upon confronting the energy could not be explained. She would likely have remained calm, countering with the Primordial Unity Energy Technique.
So it wasn’t true.
Had she spontaneously created a new martial art?
That wasn’t such an absurd conclusion.
Just one condition applied.
If the Yujinhwi before him possessed that innate ability.
“Heavenly Body.”
Heavenly Body.
A talent where one awakens sensitivity from birth, possessing a physique and energy nature different from the masses, living through accelerated thoughts in a world untrammeled by fate—a genius born only through heavens.
Those possessing Heavenly Body appeared extraordinarily rarely in martial history, yet each one combined the talents of a Grandmaster, earnestly regarded as the greatest in their era.
And now, before him stood the greatest of all, the Heavenly Body of the age.
The anticipated greatest talent of the future.
Realizing the truth, Seomun Hyeon-cheon burst into laughter.
“Ha, ha ha, a Heavenly Body, huh? So the Gongdong Sect’s leader has been raising a cub of a tiger!”
An empty laugh escaped from his lips.
Seomun Hyeon-cheon relaxed his energy.
Further testing bore no meaning.
She was a Heavenly Body.
An unparalleled genius who would comprehend everything from learning just one principle.
Even the Sword Dragon of the Mount Hua Sect renowned as the best of the orthodox factions, or the Black Dragon of the Heukryongbang, his opponent in this martial arts contest, could not defeat Yujinhwi.
In the middle of the competition, there was no one in the entire martial world who could guarantee victory against a slumbering dragon, who could grow stronger by splitting time and gaining insights.
This contest would conclude with a victory for the Gongdong Sect.
“…And so would the future Seomun Family.”
The Gongdong Sect would be reborn.
A sect that possessed the future’s greatest talent—a phenomenon attracting all the talents in the world seemed only natural.
However, the problem lay with the Seomun Family.
Though not as previously, the Seomun Family would be crushed under the Gongdong Sect’s might.
Time was on the Gongdong Sect’s side.
It was possible that such a result could materialize during this generation.
The Seomun Family itself, raised by the hands of Jincheongyeomwang, although mocked for its short lineage, had, over the years, been nurtured to join the ranks of the six great families.
They could not endure another fall now.
“The main branch will not yield easily.”
In this moment, Seomun Hyeon-cheon realized that the sunset of the Seomun family would be upon them.
The future was unchangeable.
Yet he had no intention of giving everything he had achieved thus far to the rising sun, the future’s greatest talent.
Such a thought couldn’t be allowed, not with Seomun Hyeon-cheon’s lofty pride and sense of integrity.
Thus, he vowed to resist as much as he could. To hold them back.
Not yet.
Yes, not yet, as the Seomun Family still stood as the strongest faction of Gansu.
But that was a matter for later. Coiled in a situation where every exit was blocked, he had nothing to act upon.
Collaborating with the Heukryongbang was not even worth contemplating. The Seomun family was a clearly defined faction. They would not compromise with the unruly sect of the Demon Sect.
There was no longer a way to disrupt the competition or avoid the presence of witnesses.
Ultimately, he had to handle this troublesome aftermath himself.
Anger wouldn’t help. The boiling emotions of Jincheongyeomwang cooled as he reached his conclusion.
“It seems I’ll have to accept the participation of witnesses.”
For now, he would accommodate their demands.
However, expecting such a stroke of fortune again was unlikely to happen.
With that, Jincheongyeomwang, oblivious to the promise his beloved youngest daughter Seomun Cheong-ha made with Lee Cheol-soo, and what scheme Lee Cheol-soo was plotting through their martial contest, spoke.