Chapter 274: One Step, Taken Forward
Lee Jaseung was standing on the summit, looking down at his surroundings.
It had already been three months since he ca to this village with Yim Sayeon.
He still had not felt even the shadow of the Mind Sword Realm.
“Do you think it’s achievable just because you rush it? Let us take it easy.”
Yim Sayeon comforted Lee Jaseung in that way, but she was even more anxious than he was.
When she first set out on the road with Lee Jaseung, she had been confident.
— If it was her martial arts, and if it was Lee Jaseung.
But now she felt the ti had co to change those words.
— Even with her martial arts, and no matter how great Lee Jaseung was.
What cannot be done, cannot be done.
Now only about a hundred days remained. Could he truly reach the Mind Sword Realm by then?
It was sothing neither Lee Jaseung nor Yim Sayeon could know.
Lee Jaseung practiced hard without wavering, and in the anti, he also taught Cho Somi diligently.
After confessing the incident to him, Cho Somi devoted herself only to training.
Watching that young child endure training that even adults would find difficult for the sake of revenge made him think about many things.
Lee Jaseung was not just teaching Cho Somi; he was learning from that child.
Cho Somi was now performing the forms he taught her quite plausibly.
They were ordinary forms, but they contained Lee Jaseung's realizations. The ingredients were cheap and common, but it was like a dish that tasted fantastic because the right seasoning was added.
Since Lee Jaseung knew well where and how this martial art would be used, he trained her repeatedly on only the essential forms accordingly.
There was also a change in the duels with Yim Sayeon.
From the left hand to the right hand, then using only the left foot, then the right foot again, and now he was dueling while using both hands and both feet.
Still, not a handful of Inner Qi was loaded into his punches and kicks, but the speed and power were enough to make Yim Sayeon tense.
The thod of using the hands and feet separately and then using everything together again was excellent.
Lee Jaseung could tell what role the left hand, the right hand, or the left foot and the right foot were playing for him. He did not know at first, but he could tell while using both hands and both feet.
Now that he used both hands and both feet, he could hold out for about a hundred moves.
Of course, Yim Sayeon was handling Lee Jaseung while moving between constant levels.
She seed to have made a certain plan. Only she would know what kind of training would follow the duel using both hands and both feet.
Lee Jaseung intended to do any training she ordered.
However, the field where his skill developed noticeably was elsewhere.
“Did you really make this?”
Gao Ying asked while looking at a small chair placed on one side.
“I made it as you told to. Is sothing wrong with it?”
It was just an ordinary chair. To an uninford person, it was a chair with nothing strange about it at all.
But Gao Ying was neither an ordinary person nor an uninford one.
There was sothing felt from the chair.
He felt a rustic yet sophisticated artistic beauty. It looked like one could sit comfortably, yet it also looked like it would not be out of place displayed sowhere.
And finally, he could tell why he felt that way.
Traces of effort were visible.
He saw a will to truly make a proper, good chair.
Gao Ying said as if lanting.
“I knew too much…… and was instead failing to see what I should have seen.”
From Lee Jaseung's chair, he rembered the heart he had when he first started this work.
The heart of those days when he resolved to make even a single chair beautifully. The days when anything made with his own hands was precious.
Looking at Lee Jaseung's chair, he felt the fact that he had been soaked in inertia as much as his developed skill.
However, those words reached Lee Jaseung's heart with a completely different aning.
Lee Jaseung stood up abruptly from his seat.
“May I go a little early today?”
“Go ahead.”
Lee Jaseung hurried out of the woodworking shop.
He went straight back to his lodging.
As soon as he arrived, he sought out Yim Sayeon first.
“Elder.”
Yim Sayeon ca out of her room in surprise.
“What is it?”
It had been two months since they ca here, but it was the first ti Lee Jaseung had co to her at this hour.
“I want to try sparring again.”
Thinking there must be a reason, Yim Sayeon allowed it without a word.
“Let us do that.”
The duel between the two began.
Before even five moves had passed.
Thwack!
Lee Jaseung rolled on the floor. It was a duel using both hands and both feet, but he had allowed an attack helplessly. Normally, Lee Jaseung could have held out for a hundred moves.
Lee Jaseung pulled himself up.
But instead of attacking Yim Sayeon, he was lost in thought for a mont.
Yim Sayeon just watched what Lee Jaseung was doing.
Lee Jaseung, having finished his thoughts, stood up abruptly.
“I will go once more.”
Lee Jaseung lunged toward Yim Sayeon.
Thud!
This ti, he allowed a strike after holding out for about twelve or thirteen moves. With a burst lip, Lee Jaseung sat still again and was lost in thought.
Yim Sayeon realized that Lee Jaseung had t an important turning point and did not say a single word, following as he wished.
“I will go again.”
Lee Jaseung lunged again.
Thud!
This ti, he rolled on the floor in thirty moves. At least his skill was increasing little by little.
Lee Jaseung fell into deep thought again, then stood up and lunged.
This ti, he was struck by a blow and rolled on the floor in fifty moves. With dark bruises here and there on his face, Lee Jaseung sat still and was lost in thought.
He did this several tis.
Each ti it was added, the number of moves he held out was increasing.
Lee Jaseung, who had been fallen, stood up again. The look in his eyes was different from before.
“I ask of you one more ti. I think this will be the last.”
“Co!”
Indeed, his movents were as different as the look in his eyes. Lee Jaseung moved so nimbly that one would wonder if it was the sa person. The attacks beca faster, and the sa was true for his dodging.
It reached the point where one would suspect he was using Inner Qi, but Lee Jaseung was still not using even a handful of Inner Qi.
One hundred moves, two hundred moves, three hundred moves……
It well exceeded three hundred moves, but a winner was not decided.
Thus, Lee Jaseung held out for five hundred moves. The duel did not end by him being beaten either.
Yim Sayeon simply stopped the duel thinking that further dueling was aningless. Lee Jaseung's skill had risen by one level.
Yim Sayeon asked the question she had been holding back.
“Just what happened?”
Lee Jaseung answered honestly.
“I coincidentally heard these words. That he knew too much and was instead failing to see what he should have seen. The mont I heard those words, my heart welled up.”
They were common words.
Just as the Dao is not far away, realization also cos from common things. Just as the sa words yield results as different as heaven and earth depending on when and in what situation they are heard.
He had thought, shafully but clearly, that there was nothing more to know about martial arts.
It was not sothing like arrogance.
It was a thought soone of Lee Jaseung's realm could not help but harbor.
But the mont he heard those words.
“I felt as if I could perform forms again with a heart that knows nothing.”
That was why he was beaten so quickly at first.
The second, the third…… while continuing the duels, Lee Jaseung succeeded in unfolding martial arts with a new heart.
It was not sothing just anyone could do.
It was a result possible because he had reached the first stage of the Transcendent Peak Realm, and an accidental word flew like an arrow and lodged firmly in his chest, and his unconscious and conscious minds both beca one to activate, and there was a master like Yim Sayeon to receive that realization through practical combat, and on top of that, what he had unconsciously felt while teaching Cho Somi was combined.
This was the most incredible serendipity Lee Jaseung had experienced.
But unfortunately, it was not a large enough step to reach the Mind Sword Realm. It just allowed Lee Jaseung's skill to move forward by one step.
Lee Jaseung said to her.
“Now please raise the level.”
Then Yim Sayeon gave a surprising answer.
“There is no higher level.”
“Pardon?”
“The martial arts I just unfolded are the highest level I can perform.”
She had raised the level very slightly. She had increased the level little by little so that even Lee Jaseung could not feel it.
It was similar to the old days when soone would plant a sprout and practice Qinggong by jumping over it every day. As much as the plant grows little by little, one's Qinggong skill increases without them realizing it.
Yim Sayeon's dueling was the sa. She had been raising the level very slightly. Like clothes getting soaked in a drizzle.
In the midst of that, Lee Jaseung had been improving his skill little by little.
Realizing what Yim Sayeon had done, Lee Jaseung perford a deep bow.
It was by no ans sothing just anyone could do. It was possible because there was a great master nad Yim Sayeon. Moreover, that work was sothing that consud an enormous amount of spirit energy.
That he was able to improve his skill once like this was because of Yim Sayeon's dedicated effort.
After helping Lee Jaseung up, Yim Sayeon wore a bright smile.
“Perform the bow after you achieve your goal. I will accept it all then.”
Lee Jaseung resolved once again.
That he would definitely eliminate the Heavenly Demon Soul dwelling in Cheon Myeongin's body.
And that he would let her son face a dignified end.
That evening. The sky was full of dark clouds as if it were about to pour.
Today, without exception, Cho Somi was swinging her sword while drenched in sweat.
Watching her movents quietly, Lee Jaseung realized the ti had now co.
To Cho Somi, who looked at him with a slightly serious expression unlike usual, Lee Jaseung asked.
“Is sothing the matter?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Today is the day my little sister takes her revenge.”
Cho Somi, who looked at Lee Jaseung while blinking for a mont, was startled.
She realized he was saying they should go take revenge on that bastard today.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Really?”
Lee Jaseung nodded.
She is a young girl of only eleven years.
Soone would say. That it is right to guide her so that the desire for revenge disappears from her heart. To teach her how to just forget everything and live on.
Yes, perhaps that would be a better path for the child.
But it was not Lee Jaseung's way.
There is no need to live carrying a brand that will not be erased for a lifeti. If it can be erased with blood, he will let her erase it.
If eting him, who has such thoughts, is also the child's destiny, then it is destiny.
“You know you could die, right?”
“Yes.”
“Will you still do it?”
Instead of an answer, Cho Somi asked back.
“Do you think I’m capable?”
“If you are speaking of skill, the answer is ‘yes’.”
“Is it okay even without a blade?”
“Is the blade not in your hand?”
What was held in her hand was the wooden sword she had been training with continuously.
“Is it okay even with this?”
At her question, Lee Jaseung answered without looking back.
“That sword is enough. Instead, ask that question once more to your heart. If it is truly okay.”
Cho Somi was lost in thought for a mont, then opened her eyes and said vigorously.
“Yes, it is okay.”
“Then let us go.”
The two set out.
Lee Jaseung did not know what the result of this matter would be either.
Soon the two arrived at the martial arts hall.
As they opened the door and entered, the gazes of several hall mbers were focused on the two.
He could tell from those gazes.
That everyone knew what happened to the child.
Now, in front of everyone, he would show just how much of a worst-case scenario that incident was.
Yang Jong walked out of the building with a swagger.
The bastard smirked while looking at Cho Somi.
“Oho, and look who we have here?”
When her eyes t the bastard's, Cho Somi's small body trembled.
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