I Don’t Understand Any Of This. (5)

‘What was that just now?’

Baek Cheon stared at the tip of Jwa Go-Hak’s sword, cautious.

‘He stopped them all. He deployed the same number of unfolding moves as the swords I unleashed.’

And he did it without feints—pure, real strikes.

Even if Baek Cheon admitted his sword wasn’t at full power, was that possible? From a mere student scholar, not a professional sword master?

There must be some trick….

“Do you think it was sorcery?”

Startled, Baek Cheon looked at Jwa Go-Hak, flustered.

“What…”

“That’s usually what people say. Sorcery, demonic arts, trickery—some unfair method was used.”

Jwa Go-Hak shrugged as if it were nothing.

“I understand. People tend to deny anything that falls outside their common sense.”

Baek Cheon’s face flushed.

Come to think of it, this was what Mount Hua’s disciples always heard. Those who couldn’t understand Mount Hua’s sword often dismissed it as akin to the perverse schools.

And yet, for a moment he found himself thinking the same as those critics.

“…I was just taken aback. Sorry.”

“Hmm?”

Jwa Go-Hak studied Baek Cheon with a curious expression.

“Are you admitting it?”

“Because it’s the truth.”

“Well then.”

Jwa Go-Hak laughed shortly and shook his head as if he couldn’t understand.

“Truly puzzling people. So stubborn in their ways, yet needlessly open-minded in perspective.”

“I don’t care what you think, but….”

Baek Cheon glared at Jwa Go-Hak and tilted his sword tip threateningly.

“It’s better to be moderate when judging others on a whim. I’ve never seen someone like that last long.”

“Oh my, excuse me. It’s a bit of an occupational hazard.”

Baek Cheon fixed Jwa Go-Hak with a serious gaze.

‘Right. Whether it’s trickery or nonsense, that’s not the important thing.’

What mattered was that the man matched Baek Cheon’s sword. That was what counted now.

Baek Cheon drew a slow breath. The tip of his sword trembled.

‘Let’s check.’

To see whether that sword was genuine or a momentary fluke.

‘Let’s see.’

Baek Cheon’s expression changed. As the tremor in his blade deepened, nearly a hundred blades of sword energy scattered like a swarm of bees beating their wings.

“Oh!”

“A sword like that exists!”

The students gaped at the intense display.

Phantasmal, feather-light sword auras—beyond their understanding—fluttered toward Jwa Go-Hak like butterflies on the wind.

Jwa Go-Hak, without surprise, calmly took the middle stance: the fundamental posture of all sword techniques.

The moment Baek Cheon saw that stance, a chill ran down his spine.

‘What is this?’

There was none of Mount Hua’s flamboyance, Southern Edge’s solidity, or Wudang’s softness.

Nothing stood out, yet nothing was lacking. The middle stance achieved perfect balance, like an illustration in a sword manual.

From that meticulous foundation the sword moved.

Taang.

The first swiftly flying blade of energy was pierced by Jwa Go-Hak’s tip.

Kaang.

A blade sweeping like a viper struck Jwa Go-Hak’s sword face and ricocheted.

Taang! Taang! Kaaang!

With each motion, Jwa Go-Hak shattered a sword qi. One after another they came, and soon dozens filled the space before him.

‘Sword barrier? No, it’s not a sword barrier!’

Kagagagakang!

At last, Jwa Go-Hak’s sword shot down all the sword auras Baek Cheon had released.

Baek Cheon bit his lip without realizing it.

A sword barrier is basically a wall built of sword energy; it blocks attacks by creating a shield of blades.

But this was the opposite. By striking every blade away, the afterimages only looked like a wall — it wasn’t a sword barrier.

It’s pointless to compare completion across differing sword styles, but this was a technique on a caliber far beyond most sword barriers.

“Phew.”

Lowering his sword, Jwa Go-Hak shook his head as if he’d exerted himself.

“Indeed… now I see why Mount Hua’s sword is famed across the land. I almost lost the moment.”

“…So the one who stopped that is even more remarkable?”

“Don’t be so cynical. It’s pure admiration.”

Jwa Go-Hak smiled calmly, composed.

“But I still don’t really understand.”

“…Understand?”

“Rather than clumsily tricking and wasting time twisting the sword, wouldn’t it be better to steadily pile up one’s technique instead…?”

“…”

“Isn’t that closer to a direct, proper approach?”

Jwa Go-Hak’s gaze dimmed slightly.

“Yet to use a sword like this… bluntly put, isn’t it a lack of effort?”

Grit.

At that remark, Baek Cheon ground his teeth and scowled.

“Effort… lacking?”

“Huh?”

“Effort?”

A flood of countless past moments crashed through Baek Cheon’s mind.

“You… what do you know?”

Clear dew gathered in Baek Cheon’s eyes.

“Being beaten by sajil, rolling on the ground, the times I wailed begging not to be left on a cliff… and what? Lacking effort? What do you know!”

By the end it was almost a choked, bitter cry, and the Mount Hua disciples began to whisper.

“Did sasuk ever hang from a cliff and cry?”

“I haven’t seen that.”

“He’s had a lot to cry about. Maybe he cried when we weren’t around.”

“A sad self-confession. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear it.”

“That sounds wise.”

Whether they whispered or not, Baek Cheon—half out of his mind—poured his anger at Jwa Go-Hak.

“How dare you talk about effort to me?”

“Er—first, calm down.”

Frightened by Baek Cheon’s furious momentum, Jwa Go-Hak staggered back.

“Of course individuals differ. But what’s important is the flow.”

Baek Cheon glared at Jwa Go-Hak as if daring him to continue.

“Your sword learning is nothing but slavish imitation of the old.”

“…Imitation?”

“Yes. You devote your life to thinking how to perfectly reproduce the old ways. You never doubt that path and do not tolerate dissent.”

Baek Cheon fell silent. He felt he knew what Jwa Go-Hak was getting at; the man had said something similar when they first met.

“That only leads to stagnation and rot. But we are different. We move toward the future. We debate, study, and ponder how to surpass the past and produce something better.”

Jwa Go-Hak glanced briefly at the sword in his hand and back at Baek Cheon.

“In that field of study, everyone is simply an equal individual. No one asserts authority. That’s how we’ve advanced: how to wield the sword, how to cultivate inner energy, how to reach the next realm. Yes, so….”

Jwa Go-Hak smiled and added, “Even this sword is a subject of study for us.”

“…”

Baek Cheon narrowed his brow. It almost made sense, yet not.

“So our sword learning, developed as a discipline….”

Woong.

Jwa Go-Hak thrust his sword, saturated with blue sword energy, and pointed it square at Baek Cheon.

“I’m saying there’s no reason for us to be inferior to your sword learning that merely repeats past insights forever.”

It was a statement full of conviction and blunt hostility.

Baek Cheon stared at the sword tip aimed at him, then let out a short laugh.

“Then what are you hesitating for? Come and prove it.”

“…”

“Do you know what’s common among scholars and the like?”

“…I don’t know?”

“They make a lot of noise with their words, but there’s no substance.”

“Ha ha.”

Jwa Go-Hak gave a hollow laugh. Baek Cheon noticed a slight tremor above his brows.

“So stop talking.”

Baek Cheon dropped his sword and thrust off the ground with all his might, rushing at Jwa Go-Hak.

“Prove it with your sword!”

Paaaah!

A dazzling, swift blade sliced the air. The straight thrust flexed, grazed Jwa Go-Hak’s sword, and drove for his neck.

Taang!

Calmly, Jwa Go-Hak swung his sword to meet Baek Cheon’s incoming thrust. Baek Cheon, as if expecting it, used the rebound to spin and slice across.

Kaang!

Again Jwa Go-Hak’s suddenly formed blades blocked Baek Cheon’s sword.

But it mattered little. This, too, had been within his expectations.

At the instant the swords met, Baek Cheon’s blade bounced and exploded into a dozen fragments.

Countless sword strikes poured out at close range, audible even in their breathing.

“It’s useless!”

Jwa Go-Hak did not flinch. He moved his sword with eerie precision, blocking each of Baek Cheon’s raining blades one by one with subtle variations.

Kakakakakang!

Several clanging notes rang between them. Finally, Baek Cheon’s last sword image was stopped by Jwa Go-Hak’s blade.

“You seem to lack learning ability.”

“Oh, really? I think I’m a bit exceptional.”

“Huh?”

In that moment, Baek Cheon, wearing a triumphant smile, pushed down on Jwa Go-Hak’s sword.

Wuuung!

Studying the sword like an academic subject? Fine. Then the sword’s refinement would be excellent. But you can’t bridge the gap in inner energy by that method…

Kagagak.

“Huh?”

A sound of confusion escaped Baek Cheon.

He pressed with all his internal qi, but Jwa Go-Hak’s sword didn’t budge. Baek Cheon’s wavering gaze slid to Jwa Go-Hak’s face. Behind the crossed blades, Jwa Go-Hak’s eyes curved wide like crescent moons.

“What did you say?”

“…”

“Did you think you could just push through with internal qi?”

Kuuuuk.

At that moment, Jwa Go-Hak’s sword began to push Baek Cheon’s blade back.

“Scholarship is not about finding the right path. Precisely, it’s about finding the wrong paths. We who examine every possible problem—would we have overlooked such a simple matter?”

Kagak! Kagagagak!

A heavy, unbearably dense pressure pressed down on Baek Cheon’s sword. The vast internal qi carried in that blade twisted his face. He was being overwhelmed.

‘Th-this is…?’

This made no sense. After taking the Heavenly Violet Pill, Baek Cheon’s internal qi reached a level few his age could match. And yet he was being outmatched in inner energy by Jwa Go-Hak, a student scholar?

“Didn’t I tell you? You haven’t progressed. You don’t study how to accumulate internal qi faster, nor how to extract greater power from the same qi. You just try to solve it with time and miraculous elixirs, as in ancient times.”

Uddeudeuk.

Baek Cheon’s arm, unable to hold, cried out in pain.

“And I surely told you this.”

Twouuung!

Jwa Go-Hak flicked Baek Cheon’s sword away. Unable to handle the force transmitted through the blade, Baek Cheon staggered back, only regaining balance after planting his sword into the ground.

“I’m saying there’s no way our sword learning could be inferior.”

The hand that gripped the sword trembled.

‘This bastard….’

For the first time, a serious sense of crisis washed over him.

‘He’s really strong.’

Jwa Go-Hak casually drew his sword across the air, then smiled faintly at Baek Cheon.

“I think the proof is nearly complete; now it’s time to show you the gap. Come see—I’ll show you how sharp a student scholar’s sword can be.”

Baek Cheon bit his lip until it bled.