Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 54 - A Moonlit Sparring Match

Chapter 54 – A Moonlit Sparring Match

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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In the end, harmonizing and stabilizing these three energies was Ju-seong’s responsibility.

‘The Flame Crow Six Stage Art has unexpectedly excellent resistance to poison.’

Just looking at Yeo Hong-pa and the Valley Master’s reactions showed that. They had expressed considerable surprise at the fact that he had withstood the Heavenly Silkworm Moth’s poison.

Of course, this was possible because of his own comprehension and the enlightenment from the Karmic Fire Demonic Art he found at the shrine, but the foundation being the Flame Crow Six Stage Art remained unchanged.

So this work too had to be centered on the Flame Crow Six Stage Art.

Ju-seong was just about to begin circulating his energy.

‘Again, on their own…’

Without him even touching them, the three energies began meshing together on their own.

The metal energy-laden centipede suppressed the moth until it couldn’t move at all.

The red crow pecked at the suppressed moth.

Then the crow, having grown stronger from eating the moth, suppressed the centipede.

Fire overcomes metal, because fire conquers metal. Thus the final winner of the tournament held over Ju-seong’s dantian was the burning crow, and the other two were subordinated beneath its talons.

-Caw!

The crow, its voice cracking as if going through puberty, cried out proudly in a rough voice.

Of course, the joy felt in its movements also came from Ju-seong’s emotions. Because the Flame Crow Six Stage Art’s energy, which he could control, had become the winner.

‘Well… Imperfect as it is, I’ve achieved a balance of mutual generation and conquest.’

True perfect balance naturally required all five elements. That was also the principle of the Three Talents Five Elements Pill.

Right now, three elements were in a clumsy balance, and there was no element to control the fire energy.

Of course, fire energy was internal power that followed Ju-seong’s commands, but there was still a possibility it could go berserk after devouring the wood energy, so he had to be careful.

Anyway, having safely passed the crisis of qi deviation, the danger of bursting to death, and the crisis of running around the streets with disheveled hair doing a sword dance while consumed by killing intent, he had every reason to be happy.

Soon, internal energy began the Great Heavenly Circuit at Ju-seong’s will.

It was only now, finally paying attention to his inner self while circulating energy, that reaching peak level truly sank in.

When Ju-seong slightly opened his eyes, the light filtering through the ceiling had already grown dark.

The Valley Master was nowhere to be seen, and only two presences standing guard at the training room entrance could be felt.

‘Being elderly, he couldn’t stay long.’

Probably the Valley Master had returned to his quarters, and Yeo Hong-pa and Red Beggar were standing guard instead.

“Martial Artist Yeo, Red Beggar.”

“Ah, are you finished, Brother? The swelling has all gone down. Thank goodness.”

Ju-seong nodded at Red Beggar, then was startled to see the person beside him.

Having heard only two presences, he had assumed it was Yeo Hong-pa, but unexpectedly, a woman was standing there.

“…Lady, it’s been a while. Though you probably don’t remember me.”

A woman with dusky skin and neat features giving a lively impression.

The woman Ju-seong had personally rescued from the Flower-Snapping Laughing Killer’s hideout, Yeo Hong-yeon.

Of course, she had been unconscious at the time, so for Hong-yeon, this was the first time seeing Ju-seong’s face.

She studied Ju-seong’s face and playfully broke the silence.

“Benefactor… So this is what you look like. When I first saw you doing energy circulation, you were so swollen I was quite startled.”

“I’m slim now.”

“Congratulations on your achievement. And I deeply thank you for saving my life.”

“Your grandfather has more than repaid that, so don’t worry about it.”

Thinking about it, even without the connection to his master, the Valley Master probably would have helped Ju-seong overcome the poison energy.

After all, it was true that he had saved the Valley Master’s granddaughter.

But giving up that precious Purple Gold Centipede poison sac, and on top of that, risking the leak of secret techniques to guide the poison energy to his dantian, that was due to the old friendship between the Divine Physician and the Valley Master.

Hong-yeon shook her head and said.

“That was my grandfather repaying the favor, not me. Grandfather gave his gratitude for saving his granddaughter’s life, but… I too must express my own thanks to those who subdued the sexual predator who nearly violated me.”

It seemed Red Beggar had told her about killing the Flower-Snapping Laughing Killer while they were standing guard together.

Of course, the sight of tumors sprouting wildly at the end was quite disturbing, but it was hard to imagine him getting up and walking around in that state.

“Ah, so Red Beggar told you… Even so, I’ve already received more than enough grace, so there’s really no need. However, well, if I could ask one favor…”

Ju-seong lifted his head slightly and gazed at the crescent moon smiling crookedly.

He thought its shape of just beginning to wax resembled himself.

Though he had reached a level that was a lifetime goal for many martial artists, to Ju-seong this felt like just the beginning.

That was because of the large vessel he held in his heart.

Ju-seong lowered his gaze and observed Red Beggar and Yeo Hong-yeon. From the subtle energy waves, their breathing, muscle movements, heartbeats, and the proud flow of blood, he could vividly sense the bearing of masters.

Ju-seong suddenly felt that the very detail of the world he perceived had increased.

The flow of natural energy felt almost within grasp, and the level of the martial artists before him registered more intuitively.

Yeo Hong-yeon was a peak-level martial artist like her older brother.

In Yunnan Province, where peak-level masters were strangely fewer than in other provinces, she could be counted among the very best.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties.

As the daughter of a traditional faction, she must have trained in martial arts since she learned to walk. Even considering that, it was quite an achievement.

Ju-seong looked straight at Yeo Hong-yeon and spoke.

“Would you like to have a sparring match?”

Beside him, Red Beggar remarked with interest.

“My, now I see Brother is a martial artist after all. So you do have competitive spirit.”

Until now, Ju-seong had never shown any pure competitive spirit as a martial artist against another martial artist.

Having spent most of his life not as a martial artist but as a mere street performer, Ju-seong considered that.

For him, a contest purely to determine superiority in martial arts was the most useless thing of all.

If he sprained his leg or broke his arm while doing it, there was nowhere to complain.

But having reached the peak level, seeing the world differently, Ju-seong too began to feel such desires raising their heads.

The stars twinkled, the night air was cool, and the fullness of having crossed a wall made his chest feel tight.

Yeo Hong-yeon also seemed to understand Ju-seong’s mood, curving her lips upward and nodding.

“Sure! Let’s have a go.”

The three moved out of the Valley Master’s residence, called the Inner Valley within the Five Poisons Valley, to the Outer Valley.

Having passed through the rock crevice they had come through before, the Five Poisons Valley at night was truly a magnificent sight.

The pale light of the moon and stars made the rocks glow subtly.

The crops planted in the fields included ordinary vegetables and rice, but there were also quite a few unusual poisonous and medicinal herbs.

Peculiarly, those plants were emitting a mysterious luminescence like jewels adorning night’s black robe.

“My, how amazing. There are such plants?”

Ju-seong carefully examined the plants and said.

“The ones with deadly poison, or the rare ones, glow with night luminescence. Aside from having luminescence, they’re all plants I know.”

Hong-yeon responded to Ju-seong’s words.

“Oh! Young Hero, are you also versed in herbalism?”

“I was the one who applied acupuncture to save the Lady.”

“What? Acupuncture…? I thought you just infused some true energy to save me.”

“At that time I hadn’t even reached peak level, so how could I handle true energy so skillfully?”

For a martial artist, true energy was energy accumulated in the middle dantian. It could also be called life force.

True energy was divided into innate true energy one was born with, and acquired true energy accumulated through internal energy cultivation.

Since acquired true energy also had the function of preserving life force, martial artists who had crossed walls rarely got minor ailments and lived longer than ordinary people.

As energy accumulated in the middle dantian, one needed to be at least a peak-level martial artist to skillfully wield this true energy according to will rather than unconscious instinct.

Hong-yeon’s eyes wavered for a moment, then she asked again.

“…No, but to apply acupuncture you certainly had to remove my clothes… Um…”

The previously spirited and lively voice of the vigorous woman began to subside and tremble.

Realizing she was thinking improper thoughts, Ju-seong immediately scolded her.

“Ahem! How can a maiden of marriageable age harbor such wicked thoughts and feel ashamed? When a physician applies acupuncture, naturally it must be done on bare skin as a matter of course!”

“…That’s true, but…”

“I don’t want to hear it! I worked with all my heart to save you without a single selfish thought!”

From beside them, Red Beggar backed up Ju-seong.

“Who do you think Brother Ju-seong is! When I was standing guard at that time, I could see he had absolutely no such intentions while applying acupuncture.”

“Indeed! Who am I. How could I display vulgar desire like a pathetic man in such a situation.”

“However, after the acupuncture was finished and your breathing stabilized, when Brother was putting your clothes back on, his eyes were swaying like riverside willows…”

“Red Beggar, Red Beggar.”

Ju-seong grabbed Red Beggar’s scruff and tried to stop him, but words once spoken couldn’t be taken back.

Yeo Hong-yeon was already looking at Ju-seong with one corner of her mouth twisted up.

“Young Hero, I’m not such an unreasonable person that I would reproach someone who saved my life for seeing my bare skin, am I? How could such a woman exist in the world? I would be an ingrate no better than a beast.”

“Ah, of course…”

“But Young Hero, I hear you’ve barely passed twenty, so why do you keep speaking casually to me…?”

A dangerous glint had crept into Hong-yeon’s eyes before he knew it.

“I made a mistake, Lady. From now on I shall speak respectfully.”

“Here should be good enough, right? For a sparring location.”

The place where the two stood was an open area with a pond.

Red Beggar had already set up a seat across the pond and was raising a wine cup toward the crescent moon reflected on the water.

“Ah, the darkness is soft, the moonlight gentle. A handsome man and beautiful woman crossing swords, how can this not be a magnificent sight? Though neither of them has a sword.”

Ju-seong slowly assumed his opening stance and spoke.

“Lady, no, Elder Sister. Surely you won’t put personal feelings into this sparring match.”

“Oh no, of course not.”

Hong-yeon floated a murderous smile as she assumed her stance. Lowering her posture and extending her curved fingers forward, she resembled a leopard from Yunnan Province.

This was the Beast Form Fist… martial arts that mimicked the forms of animals. While many cultivation methods originated from ceremonial dances meant to imitate natural things, martial techniques themselves… the art of harming opponents… largely began from imitating animal movements.

Before proper bladed weapons were born, humans couldn’t defeat beasts one-on-one. So they began imitating strong animals even without weapons.

Factions inheriting this lineage of beast form fists had mostly disappeared from the martial world now, but some like this still survived.

And the fact that they had maintained their lineage for so long naturally meant they had something special.

Yeo Hong-yeon’s gaze deepened as she said.

“To repay your grace, I think I should treat you seriously, so I’m doing my best. You know there are no personal feelings, right?”

It was an unconvincing excuse, but at least she was sincere. Just feeling the force emanating from her whole body showed it was no ordinary situation.

“You’re not using poisonous creatures?”

“No matter what, it’s just sparring. If you’re that worried… Stay, you guys.”

As she said this and placed her right hand on the ground, black centipedes and thin venomous snakes slithered off her and disappeared somewhere.

Ju-seong charged at her the moment she bent at the waist.

“Now’s my chance!”

Though he had developed competitive spirit as a martial artist, he still hadn’t taken to heart that sense of fair play.

Ju-seong still retained the vulgarity of the streets.