Five days later.
“......I see.”
Je Gal Munho sighed.
“It is truly regrettable that we lost the enemy’s leader, but it is fortunate that everyone returned alive.”
“.......”
“In truth, eliminating the majority of the enemy vanguard alone makes this battle a victory.”
“We failed to capture the most important one.”
“In ordinary wartime, once a force loses thirty percent of its troops, it is judged annihilated and ordered to retreat. We eliminated more than ninety percent of the Divine Flame Cult masters lurking in Henan.”
“.......”
“It is a great victory beyond question. You worked hard.”
Mo Yonggun silently sipped his tea.
His aura was quite unstable, as if he had suffered fairly serious internal injuries. Perhaps that was why the Thunderclap energy he normally kept under perfect control was leaking out faintly, creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.
Je Gal Munho asked, “Was the enemy leader, the one called the First Warrior-General, truly that strong?”
“I do not know how to describe it.”
Mo Yonggun set down his teacup and continued in a calm voice.
“People say the masters of the Supreme Heavens have reached Limitlessness. But that is a statement made by those who know one thing and not the next.”
“That is true.”
“The Limitless Realm is different again from the Wall of Martial Arts. If the Wall of Martial Arts is climbing Mount Tai, the Limitless Realm is the state of flying through the sky. But even the sky has ranks. The masters of the Supreme Heavens have already risen high into the firmament, taking the sun and moonlight as companions as they look down upon the world.”
“And those who fall somewhat short of them are the Three Lords. Of course, the Three Lords are also absolute masters belonging to the Thirteen Seats of the Supreme Heavens, but the sky they walk and the sky walked by the ten immortal sovereigns must be different again.”
“That is right. Well, from our perspective, all thirteen are heavens beyond heaven, so this comparison itself may be meaningless.”
“Indeed.”
Mo Yonggun’s eyes deepened.
“That man called the First Warrior-General had not reached the Limitless Realm. Of that, I am certain.”
He had seen Yangcheon’s power clearly with his own two eyes.
Even though Yangcheon had not brought out even half of his true strength, his qi wave had been on a level that far surpassed imagination. The shockwave from his charge alone had pushed back Transcendent Peak masters, so if he had set his mind to using his martial arts properly, it was doubtful whether they could have received even three exchanges.
No matter how Mo Yonggun thought about it, the martial might of Beonjak, the First Warrior-General, did not even reach Yangcheon’s feet. Not Yangcheon’s level—if Beonjak had merely just stepped into the Limitless Realm, not a single master present there would have survived.
That realm was that supreme. The claim that a master of the Supreme Heavens could sweep away a great sect alone was by no means an exaggeration.
“However, that man possessed martial might closest to the summit even on Mount Tai, which we are still climbing. To be frank, two Clan Lords of the Six Families would have to join hands merely to make a contest possible, and three would need to gather to aim for a victory rate exceeding fifty percent.”
Je Gal Munho’s face hardened.
“To that extent?”
“Of course, compatibility cannot be ignored either. If there were a master whose martial arts were opposed to his, two Clan Lord–level masters might be able to settle the match.”
“In other words, he is a master who would require at least two of us to move together.”
“That is right. Though even that would require luck.”
Mo Yonggun readily acknowledged Beonjak’s martial arts. He had looked down on him as a crude outsider, but he could not deny the strength he had witnessed with his own eyes.
Rather, seeing Beonjak’s martial arts had made Mo Yonggun feel his fighting spirit boil.
It was a moment when he desired the growth of his martial arts more than his desire for power. For the first time in a truly long while, pure martial heat burned within him.
“There are many other matters to discuss, and there is no need to spend more time on this. So what I am asking now is purely out of my personal curiosity. Please keep that in mind.”
“Go ahead.”
Je Gal Munho asked carefully, “Clan Lord Mo Yong, do you know Venerable Gonggong and Daoist Seunghyeon’s true strength?”
“......I do not.”
“Even so, you must have at least a vague estimate, yes? Of what level their martial arts have reached.”
“Of course.”
“Then I would like to ask. When you consider the martial arts of the heads of Shaolin and Wudang, the two groups called the Mount Tai and North Star of the martial world, do you think they could face the First Warrior-General?”
It was a difficult question. And a dangerous one as well.
Unlike himself, Mo Yonggun pondered for quite some time.
In truth, although Je Gal Munho had called it personal curiosity, this kind of comparison of forces was absolutely necessary.
The First Warrior-General was said to be the head of the Eighteen Warrior-Generals and the strongest vanguard commander the Divine Flame Cult could send outward. If that was true of the Divine Flame Cult, then it was reasonable to assume that the vanguard commanders of the other two heretical cults also boasted similar martial might.
What if the heads of Shaolin and Wudang were weaker than the First Warrior-General?
In that case, rather than reorganizing its current system, the Martial Alliance needed to drastically raise the martial arts of its individuals. That was why Je Gal Munho’s question was important, and why Mo Yonggun became cautious as well.
After a while, Mo Yonggun opened his mouth.
“In Venerable Gonggong’s case...... I am not certain.”
“What do you mean?”
“I do have my own estimate of Venerable Gonggong’s martial power. But I cannot have confidence in that estimate.”
“.......”
“In any case, judging only by the martial power I have guessed, I think even Venerable Gonggong would be one step below the First Warrior-General. However.......”
“However?”
Mo Yonggun’s eyes deepened.
“Venerable Gonggong is definitely hiding his strength. More precisely, it would be more accurate to say he has no need to reveal it, rather than that he is hiding it.”
“Hmm.”
“If Venerable Gonggong is hiding power, I believe he could fully contend with the First Warrior-General. At the very least, a razor-thin contest would be possible.”
Venerable Gonggong was one of the Thirteen Seats of the Supreme Heavens, Shaolin’s foremost master who had held the realm of the Fist God, and a true master acknowledged by Venerable Muheo.
And Venerable Muheo was an absolute master evaluated as one of the closest to the greatest under heaven, together with Sword Immortal Takmuja. If a master like that had acknowledged his talent, then even if he had not yet reached the Limitless Realm, it was right to see him as having entered the ultimate stage of this domain.
“Then what about Daoist Seunghyeon?”
“I do not know. However, Venerable Gonggong once said that Daoist Seunghyeon’s enlightenment could encompass the world. The meaning of enlightenment from a monk’s mouth does not necessarily refer to martial arts, but what matters is the fact that Venerable Gonggong acknowledges Daoist Seunghyeon more than anyone else.”
“That is true.”
“Furthermore, the martial arts of the Wudang Sect are the pinnacle of immortal martial arts that maximize seizing the initiative after moving later and softness overcoming hardness. Leaving aside raw ability, when looking only at compatibility of martial arts, I believe Daoist Seunghyeon might be able to take him down more easily than Venerable Gonggong.”
“Hmm.”
Je Gal Munho nodded.
“I have heard that the Divine Flame Cult’s heat-yang arts are especially skilled at releasing True Qi. Pouring pillars of fire from a person’s hands—there are not many martial arts under heaven capable of releasing internal force to that degree.”
“That is right. At the same time, the very attribute their martial arts possess is strength. If Daoist Seunghyeon’s ability is a close match for the First Warrior-General’s, I can guarantee he could suppress him °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° within thirty exchanges.”
Martial arts were not decided simply because one had reached a higher realm.
As Mo Yonggun said, compatibility was important, variables were important, and more than anything, one’s attitude toward the match—such as the refusal to be careless and absolute concentration—was also important.
That was why the world of contests was interesting. That was why predicting a contest was never easy.
And so Mo Yonggun thought Yeon Wi was remarkable.
I did not know he was that strong.
Mo Yonggun recalled Yeon Wi’s sword art.
Yeon Wi’s sword art, which had charged forward while exquisitely blocking or deflecting Beonjak’s merciless martial arts, had truly been perfect.
When defending, he wielded an iron-wall sword. When redirecting, he was as soft as the Wudang Sect’s martial arts. And when cutting in, he was so powerful and fast that it reminded Mo Yonggun of his own Merciless Heavenly Thunder Form.
In a word, it was as though he had placed the attributes of every sword art scattered under heaven into a single sword. A sword art of the middle path, leaning toward no one side. There might be many stronger than Yeon Wi, but there would not be a single person whose martial arts directly countered his.
So he was hiding the martial arts of a beast behind the face of a gentleman.
Mo Yonggun’s eyes deepened.
Is this what it means to be Yeon Hojeong’s father? In one sense, he may be even more remarkable than Yeon Hojeong.
Yeon Hojeong was a genius difficult to see born again. Martial arts, strategy, judgment—he possessed first-rate talent in every area. At least, that was how Mo Yonggun saw him.
But Yeon Wi’s sword was not something one could cultivate simply because one had talent.
It absolutely required an unending inquiry into martial arts and self-reflection, and further, a process of taking apart and assembling an unfathomable number of sword arts until making them one’s own.
Of course, his talent for the sword was surely outstanding, but he had overwhelmed that talent through effort and enlightenment. Even if Yeon Hojeong were told to walk the same path as Yeon Wi, he would never reach the same realm.
“I have heard your valuable insight, Clan Lord Mo Yong. You must be tired, yet I apologize for keeping you so long.”
“No. I am the one in the best condition anyway.”
“Haha, Clan Lord Tang was in better shape than expected too.”
“That man’s mind is not in good condition, is it?”
Je Gal Munho laughed despite himself.
Mo Yonggun rose from his seat.
“Contact the Lord Provincial Defense Commissioner. There may still be remnants of them left in Henan.”
“Do not worry. Hu Gae is already investigating.”
“As expected, he is fast.”
“After all the suffering everyone endured, we should at least handle the aftermath properly.”
Mo Yonggun nodded.
“Work hard.”
“You worked hard.”
*****
“Phew.”
Beads of sweat formed on Gi Uhui’s forehead.
Yeon Wi asked in a worried tone, “How is he?”
Gi Uhui answered in as bright a voice as she could.
“He was hurt quite severely. But he will be all right. He is so sturdy that there should be no particular problem with recovery.”
“That is a relief.”
“But he will need to be more careful going forward. Of course, in a life-and-death battle where you cannot see even an inch ahead, there is no room for leisure, but this time as well, Commander Yeon seems to have drawn out power beyond his own ability and fought with it.”
“.......”
“That may help his martial arts growth, but it is also a double-edged sword. If one misstep is made, he could suffer internal injuries that are difficult to recover from. The fact that Commander Yeon has lost consciousness like this now can be seen as the accumulated fatigue from breaking through his limits until now erupting at this point.”
“It was to that extent?”
“He probably could have resolved it somehow on his own. If he had enough time, that is. But Commander Yeon is someone who runs without rest, isn’t he? Sometimes, resting deeply without thinking about anything is important too.”
“I will be sure to tell Hojeong that.”
Gi Uhui smiled.
“Still, it is astonishing. I have seen thousands of patients until now, but this is the first time I have seen someone recover as quickly as Young Master Yeon. His Inner Qi is one thing, but he truly has incredible stamina.”
Yeon Wi looked down at Yeon Hojeong with a bitter smile.
His complexion was pale, but his expression looked comfortable enough. Though they had lost the enemy leader, the battle had still been a great victory, so perhaps his tension had finally loosened.
Yeon Wi placed a hand on Yeon Hojeong’s forehead.
“Rest well.”
