Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 19: Clear River Sect (2)

“Haha, fucking bitch. Let’s have a proper talk, you bastard.”

At those words, silence fell over the sect leader’s quarters as if hit by an area-of-effect silence spell.

After an intense staring contest with the sect leader’s bulging eyes, his face turned red and purple as he bellowed.

“Such insolence! How dare you run your mouth so impudently!”

“I swear to god, I’m gonna... Yeah! Let’s just beat the shit out of you!”

When Seojun raised up his fist, the sect leader seemed to get fired up too. He suddenly jumped up from his seat and adorably shook his tightly clenched fist.

“Hey, old man. Seems like you’ve got a lotta stress. Instead of being fucking gay, why don’t we just throw hands?”

Gay...? He saw Chunbong tilt her head in confusion, but the sect leader was in no state to register such things.

“Very well! So be it! If you choose punishment over a drink, I shall be happy to oblige!”

Until then frozen in place, Cheongwoon finally came to his senses and twisted his face like a demon.

“Sect Leader, there is no need for you to step in! I will personally punish this impertinent man!”

“Enough! As sect leader, I cannot maintain my dignity if I stay silent after hearing such words!”

“But Sect Leader!”

It was like watching a well-rehearsed play. Watching in admiration, Seojun poked Chunbong’s side.

“They’re really making a scene, aren’t they? Right? We could just fight but they’re putting on this whole show.”

“Um... Well, yeah.”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“It’s nothing. Uh-huh.”

Chunbong nodded dumbfoundedly and sighed.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

“Haah... Anyways, be careful. For a sect of this size, the sect leader must be at least Peak Realm.”

He couldn’t be Transcendent Realm. If there was a Transcendent Realm martial artist in this backwater area, word would have spread whether they wanted it to or not.

Even having a Peak Realm martial artist was surprising, but it was still within an acceptable range.

“Peak Realm? I’ll blow him out of the water.”

“...Suddenly, I’m getting real worried. Should I take your place?”

“Now now, little sister can just watch from here.”

Seojun chuckled as he stepped forward.

It seemed they had finally reached their conclusion, as the sect leader unsheathed the sword that had been hanging behind his chair.

“You! Follow me!”

“You! I don’t wanna!”

“...Indeed, you’ve lost your mind, have you!”

“Indeed, I’ve not...! Ow!”

“Please, let’s stop with the bullshit. Okay? Please. I’m dying of embarrassment here, big brother.”

Chunbong even went as far as to call me big brother? She must be desperate.

Sensing he wouldn’t see anything good if he continued, he obediently nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

*The place the sect leader led them to was the sect’s training ground.

Though it couldn’t be called massive, it seemed to have all the necessary facilities.

However, it was definitely large for a sect in the remote regions, and a large sect usually meant that the sect leader was likely to be strong.

Chunbong pressed her lips together, trying not to show her worry.

Even if he loses, it shouldn’t be too serious...

This wasn’t some Black Path hideout, so there shouldn’t be any risk of death.

If push came to shove, she could always reveal her identity to put a stop to things.

“He’s always finding ways to cause trouble.”

Chunbong sighed as she watched the two martial artists facing off.

The enraged sect leader and the grinning Seojun.

Seeing how happy he looked, a suspicion suddenly struck her.

Is he doing this on purpose?

Seojun was by no means stupid. He might seem a bit lacking, but he wasn’t stupid. If anything, he had quite a clever side.

To begin with, martial arts were difficult to master if you were stupid.

That bastard might just enjoy fighting.

Just as she was thinking this, Cheongwoon shouted loudly.

“Begin!”

The duel had started.

Chunbong’s eyes were wide open watching along with the rest of the Clear River Sect Disciples who had gathered around.

Pew pew pew!

Seojun took the initiative. He charged at the sect leader while firing his signature Finger Bullet Technique.

The sect leader seemed quite surprised by this attack.

“Finger bullets? How could such a person...!”

He was so good at manipulating qi that it was difficult to gauge his realm, and because of that, there was a high chance the sect leader didn’t realize Seojun was at the Peak Realm.

So while the sect leader was surprised, this was his chance.

Seojun seemed to know this too, as he wrapped his sword in murky golden sword qi and swung down.

Swoosh!

The sword advanced with the force of a raging river. The sect leader facing it was surprisingly calm.

Whooom!

The sword howled. With the sword resonance, the sect leader’s extended blade flowed smoothly.

Like two rivers converging into one, the sect leader’s sword gently curved around Seojun’s and deflected it downward.

“Hmm...”

This isn’t good.

Chunbong frowned.

After parrying the sword, it was as if the sect leader’s gentleness had proven to be a lie, switching gears and aggressively driving Seojun back.

Though Seojun swung his sword with one hand while firing finger bullets with the other, he was being pushed back slightly.

It was an unavoidable difference. The gap in their swordsmanship was too great.

If anything, it was strange that Seojun was putting up such a good fight.

But just because it was inevitable didn’t mean she would accept it as a matter-of-fact.

Chunbong gritted her teeth. Nothing serious will happen if he loses? Well, I can’t stand to see him lose.

“Big brother...! You can do it...!”

If you lose after I went this far, you’re really gonna get it, Lee Seojun.

*The swords clashed violently.

How would you describe the sect leader’s sword? It was just... natural.

Sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce.

Like how rain falls and wind blows, how a river changes moment by moment—such fluctuations dwelled within a mere blade.

“Where’s that spirit from earlier! Come on, run your mouth again!”

His sword came crashing down like a waterfall, aiming for the head.

Seojun fired finger bullets with his left hand while gently gripping his sword with his right.

Flowing Clouds over the Clear River.

He somehow managed to deflect using a movement from the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword.

Naturalness. So that’s it.

This was the true essence of the Clear Flowing Sword. Perhaps it wasn’t even just the Clear Flowing Sword, but an even higher level of swordsmanship.

As he continued observing, he began to gain insights.

The swordsmanship forms a world.

Rain falling and wind blowing in the sky. Rivers changing with the weather. Dew on blades of grass and thick fog.

Coincidentally, it felt similar to the Primordial Divine Art. And that probably wasn’t too different from the Yellow Cloud Divine Art either.

It forms a world.

All the martial arts he had seen so far were like this. Even the Three Principles Sword Technique was the same. It sought to form a world comprising heaven, earth, and man.

Perhaps this was one ultimate goal that all martial arts pursued.

What he had vaguely known transformed into true enlightenment.

His mental image of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art. A golden-tinged sunset with clouds flowing gently below. Wasn’t it up to each practitioner to paint the rest of the world’s myriad things?

“Big brother...! You can do it...!”

Chunbong’s cheer reached his ears. What a cute kid.

After getting cheered on like that, I can’t let myself get my ass kicked.

With a grin, Seojun parried the sword forcefully and stepped back. The sect leader, pushed back slightly, quietly observed his faintly crying sword before speaking.

“As I thought. It’s similar to the Clear Flowing Sword, but it’s not the same.”

“The hell are you on about?”

“That’s enough. This duel has served its purpose.”

The sect leader stared at Seojun.

“Your martial art is clearly from a renown orthodox sect, not the Black Path. Nor did you steal the Clear Flowing Sword. Is there any reason to continue fighting?”

“Aha, so you’re saying you were provoking me from the start to see if I was using the Clear Flowing Sword?”

“Why not drop the act now? There’s no need to keep pretending to be crude. Or is there some reason for why you pretend to be from the Black Path?”

The sect leader shook his head and sheathed his sword.

“Let us stop here. Now, reveal the name of your sect. It doesn’t seem like you’re from an unknown sect, so there’s no need to escalate this further.”

“Hey, old man.”

Seojun raised his sword, a clear golden light enveloped the blade and began flowing like a river.

Yellow Clouds Descending Through The Sky—originally a movement from the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword.

Seojun took this movement he had never used before and recklessly modified it, incorporating what he had seen of the sect leader’s sword.

Gentle. But fierce at the end.

“Who said you could end this fight!”

Seojun charged. The sect leader’s eyebrow twitched as he drew his sword to meet the attack.

BOOM────────!!

With a thunderous explosion, a cloud of dust exploded outward from their center.

The sect leader’s eyes widened as he stared at his trembling hands.

“What...”

“Now I’m starting to understand a bit.”

His understanding of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art had deepened slightly. The insight didn’t stop there but led to a deeper understanding of martial arts in general.

Primordial Divine Art.

The martial art he had created himself began to show signs of life.

A violently flowing river and a sky alternating between light and dark. I thought I had created a world, but it was merely a model.

It was nothing more than a lifeless picture.

But with his newly gained insight, a single gust of wind blew through Seojun’s mind.

Change with a single gust of wind.

When he moved, it was as if the earth followed. Seojun gently circled to the sect leader’s side.

The sect leader tried to lock swords, attempting to force close combat, but Seojun simply raised his sword upward, shaking off the attack.

Intensity in the wind and rain.

He caught the sky on his raised sword tip. The sky caught and pulled down began to rage like a storm.

With each clash of swords, Seojun’s blade changed erratically. The sect leader couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

“How...! You have perfectly captured my sword?”

Perfectly? Wrong. His sword had only colored a tiny portion of the mental image.

Seojun smiled brightly as he swung his sword like a madman.

Day and night. River and wind. Rain and clouds.

He breathed life into the pieces of his now-rich mental landscape.

It was still immature. But someday, when all these elements moved with life, the Primordial Divine Art would be complete.

“Hey old man, consider it an honor. You’ll be the first person to taste the first movement of the Primordial Divine Art.”

He gripped his sword tightly. He had finally found his direction. The Primordial Divine Art was a martial art he would create himself. There was no need to fixate on the sword.

So he decided. The Primordial Divine Art would be a qi art.

The sword was merely a brush to paint the Primordial Divine Art.

“Primordial Chaos.”

A murky, viscous sword qi enveloped the entire blade.