Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 12: Black Tiger Sect (3)

The golden sword qi flickering from Seojun’s blade made the Black Tiger Sect leader grit his teeth.

I thought it was a mistake, but he really is at the Peak Realm?

After a moment of panic, he tried to think as quickly as possible. Typically, sword qi consumed a lot of inner qi. So in this situation, the best strategy would be to use their numerical advantage for a war of attrition.

“Don’t confront him directly! Conserve your strength as much as possible!”

As soon as the sect leader finished speaking, Seojun kicked the ground.

The flowing golden sword qi traced an arc through the air. His eyes locked onto one of the sect members retreating, and he rushed forward, swinging his sword.

Slice—

Along the smoothly drawn arc, both blade and body were cleaved in two.

“You bastard...!”

The enraged sect leader charged fiercely. The murky sword qi on his pudao suddenly shone brightly.

Unity of body and sword.

The realm where I become the sword and the sword becomes me. Normally, one would grasp sword qi after gaining insight into this concept, but for Seojun it was the opposite.

So this is how it feels.

He retraced the previous steps through the sword qi he created with his insight into qi.

Seojun’s heart pounded as he watched the sect leader swing his pudao.

A technique he couldn’t use until now. But his current self, with a fragment of unity of body and sword in his grasp—

I can do it.

Yellow Cloud Divine Sword. The first movement he learned.

Flowing Clouds Over The Clear River.

Like clouds flowing over a clear river, they descended upon his sword. As the tip of the incoming pudao touched his blade, it flowed away as intangibly as a cloud, slicing through.

Splatter!

Blood sprayed. The sect leader’s eyes turned bloodshot as he was cut on the side.

“Kugh...!”

“Sect Leader!”

The Black Path men rushed in, showing some semblance of loyalty. Seojun inhaled as he watched the sword qi flowing majestically over his blade.

More efficiently.

There was no need to envelop the entire sword. A thin layer of qi over the edge was enough.

Swish!

As sect members charged from all directions, Seojun gripped his sword tightly and suddenly felt a sense of unity.

“The sword is me, I am the sword...”

The sword was his hand. Where his will went, the sword followed.

A breathtakingly beautiful arc flowed smoothly.

“Guh...!”

“Aaaagh...!”

Everything caught in the sword’s path was sliced through without the slightest resistance.

The heat of the spilled blood made his body burn hot. As Seojun turned his head, his eyes met the sect leader’s, who bit his lip.

“Damn it all...!”

He leapt—not towards Seojun, but towards a high wall.

“S-Sect Leader...!”

“That shitty son of a bitch!”

Leaving behind the demoralized sect members, Seojun chased after him. Just as the sect leader jumped onto the wall, Seojun followed right behind.

“Out of my way!”

Upon landing, the sect leader swung his blade at a young child blocking his path.

Wait. A young child? At this hour?

Just as the sect leader felt something was off, the child nimbly dodged the blade and tripped him.

“Ugh...!”

The wound in his side, the unexpected situation, and the psychological pressure of being pursued caused even a First-Rate Expert to stumble over a child’s foot.

Crash!

The fallen sect leader hurriedly raised his head. A sword shimmering with golden light was aimed between his eyes.

“W-Wait a moment! You said you wanted spirit pills, right? I’ll give you everything, so please spare me!”

But Seojun, who had his foot on the sect leader’s chest, wasn’t looking at him.

“Chunbong, why are you here?”

“...What, should I have been praying at home or something?”

“What if you got hurt?”

“Look who’s talking.”

Chunbong pouted.

“I’m still stronger than you, you know?”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Use your strength like that and you’ll be on your way to the afterlife in no time.”

“Mind your own business.”

Seojun sighed and stabbed his sword between the sect leader’s eyes. Squelch. The sect leader died.

What should I do with this brat?

After wiping the blood off his sword and sheathing it, he picked up Chunbong and leapt back over the wall. By then, all the sect members had fled.

“I’m gonna start running, so hold on tight, okay?”

Instead of answering, Chunbong gripped his shoulders tightly.

Worried those guys might have stolen the spirit pills while fleeing, Seojun hurried back to the sect leader’s room and looked around.

“I’ve got a feeling...”

From what the sect leader said, it seemed there were spirit pills. Moreover, he felt a faint sensation tickling his senses from somewhere in the room.

“Is it here?”

Seojun stood in front of a bookshelf and kicked it hard.

Crash!

As the bookshelf was smashed to pieces, a safe hidden behind it was revealed.

“Steel?”

“Looks like it.”

Chunbong had gotten down from his back and tapped the safe. Thunk thunk. It was so thick that it barely made a sound.

“Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have killed him?”

Seojun scratched his head and drew his sword. Seeing this, Chunbong tried to stop him.

“Hey hey! You’ll break your sword!”

“I can always buy another sword.”

“Ugh...”

Chunbong fidgeted nervously and stepped back. She seemed embarrassed that this was all happening because of her.

“Chunbong.”

“What?”

“Call me big brother just once.”

“...All of a sudden? W-Why should I?”

“Cause if you do, I think I’ll be able to break it.”

“...Really now... Stop being so ridiculous...”

...Big brother.

The words she quietly added at the end made him smile involuntarily.

“Alright. It’s just a safe, I should be able to cut it.”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

He raised his sword high.

Bring the sky at the sword’s tip down to earth.

Though often dismissed as a mere third-rate martial art, personally, I believe the Three Principles Sword Technique deserves far more credit than it’s given.

The movements of the Three Principles Sword Technique are fundamentally basic. Yet, the imagery within the cultivation technique’s sutra stirs the heart with its grandeur, igniting a fire within.

For this moment alone, I will erase both the unity of body and sword and the form of the movement from my mind.

Where my talent, and my will, ultimately lead to is qi. Instead of setting limits on myself, I will imbue my will into a single drop of qi.

Swoosh!

The sword swung straight down, lightly tapping the ground. As he exhaled softly and sheathed his sword, Chunbong blinked.

“You... how? You definitely weren’t this good before...”

He gently pushed the safe door that seemed unscathed, and the door, cut in half, fell inward.

Reaching inside to unlock the safe, he removed the remaining half of the door and fully revealed what was inside.

“You said my talent for manipulating qi was the greatest in history. That’s how.”

Seojun grinned as he took out a wooden box from inside. He ignored the pile of silver coins beside it and cracked the lid open slightly. A pure, refreshing incense wafted out, instantly clearing his senses.

“They’re black wood pills.”

When Chunbong said that, Seojun looked up.

“Black wood pills?”

“Yeah. They’re pretty good spirit pills, you should take them.”

“Why should I take these? You’re the one who needs to eat them.”

“It’s fine.”

Chunbong smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“You know what I need is yang qi. Black wood pills are strong in wood qi, but they focus on harmony, so they’re pointless for me.”

Seojun closed his mouth. He closed the lid of the box and tucked it into his chest, then swept the silver coins into a suitable bundle and slung it over his shoulder.

“Let’s go home for now”

*Back home, Seojun carelessly tossed the bundle of silver coins somewhere and immediately went out to the yard.

“Yang qi... she said yang qi...”

He wrapped his right hand in hand qi and raised it up. The faintly glowing golden qi resembled the moon in the night sky.

“Yellow Cloud Divine Art... Hmm...”

Chunbong sighed as she watched him muttering to himself.

“I said it’s fine, just eat them yourself. It’s not like I’m going to die tomorrow or something. If we find something else later, I can eat that instead.”

“Chunbong.”

“What?”

“Just shut up.”

The short-tempered Chunbong flared up and charged at him.

“You bastard!”

But Chunbong was a small, weak child. There was no way for her to overcome a First-Rate Expert.

“Now now, behave yourself.”

Seojun overpowered her and gently pinned her down, staring intently at the qi at his fingertips.

“This is ultimately yang qi too, isn’t it?”

The Yellow Cloud Divine Art aims to achieve non-polarity at its peak. It’s said that once you reach that point, yin and yang achieve harmony... but that’s far beyond reach right now.

So in the end, the qi of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art is close to yang qi. Isn’t that why Chunbong learned the Blue Cloud Divine Art in the first place? Because women naturally have stronger yin qi than yang qi.

“Let’s see...”

Seojun placed his left hand on Chunbong’s back and closed his eyes. A cool energy traveled up through his palm.

So this is yin qi. And among that, the cold yin qi known for its intense icy energy?

With his left hand on Chunbong’s back and his right hand wrapped in the qi of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art, he pondered for several minutes.

“...Hey, you’re getting heavy, can you get off?”

When Chunbong started grumbling, Seojun opened his eyes and nodded.

“I think I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“You don’t need to know.”

He slipped his hands under Chunbong’s armpits and lifted her up, then he carried her inside and sat her down in the middle of the room. Chunbong narrowed her eyes.

“Am I some kind of object?”

“Shh.”

He placed his index finger on Chunbong’s lips. Even her lips were cold. Her condition was serious.

Seojun then took out the wooden box from his chest and opened it. That clear fragrance filled the entire house.

While Chunbong watched confused, Seojun carefully picked up a black wood pill with his fingers.

A glossy dark brown medicinal pill.

He stared at it intently... then suddenly shoved it into Chunbong’s mouth.

“Mmph...!?”

“Shh! Swallow it!”

“Mmmph...!”

“It’s already in your mouth, just swallow it! Hey?! If you keep doing that, the medicinal effects will disappear!”

Alright, here we go.

I’ll show you that all this talk of yin qi and yang qi means nothing in the face of unparalleled talent.