Flash!

Simultaneously, Jin Cheonhee’s two eyes began to emit light, like luminous pearls. The light grew stronger until it looked as if it were pouring out from his eyes.

A Jade Light[1]. A phenomenon that appeared as the Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique began to operate at its peak! Furthermore, Jin Cheonhee drew upon the supreme martial art he had built up.

Realm of Martial Mind – Human Righteousness Transcendence Arts.

His five senses, honed to their absolute limit, began to record Tang Ah’s muscle shapes, the twisting of her bones, and the position of her gaze. It was not the martial art of the martial world, nor its way of thinking. The foreign, rational thought process of a modern man thus devoured and comprehended Tang Ah’s intentions.

‘Am I starting to see it?’

Tang Ah was certainly one who had attained enlightenment and entered the Transformation Realm. However, that did not mean she had cast off the species known as human. As long as she was made of bone, flesh, and blood, all her actions were bound to be laid bare before Jin Cheonhee. And so, he began to slowly predict even the infinitely varied movements of the whip.

The result.

Kwakwang!

The whip writhed like a dragon and struck the ground. The bluestone of the training ground turned to powder, and the fragments scattered like smoke. But the black dragon did not stop and continued to dance.

Amidst it, Jin Cheonhee swayed elegantly like a butterfly with fluttering sleeves. The sense of urgency from before vanished, replaced by a leisurely calm as he dodged the whip that was rampaging like a dragon and destroying the surroundings. He had begun to advance, dodging the whip with the absolute minimum of movement.

Seeing this, Tang Ah’s eyes widened. She saw him moving before her whip did. His movements, which were closer to taking a position than walking, could not be explained merely by saying his lightness skill had reached its peak.

“Hah! Truly, you are my fated adversary! A being worthy of being chosen by destiny! To dodge my Poison Dragon Wave Dance with such ease! If so, then receive this as well! Poison Dragon Ascension!”

‘Poison Dragon Ascension. Is this Phase 2 of the boss fight?’

The modern man, whose five senses had reached their peak, calmly thought such insane things even in this urgent situation. It was so dryly analytical it was absurd.

Simultaneously with Jin Cheonhee’s thought of gaming terms, the whip that had been lashing out chaotically returned to Tang Ah. Then, it began to rotate at high speed in a spiral around her body, letting out a formidable tearing sound. It was a single vortex. A sight truly worthy of being called a waterspout!

“Here I come!”

As Tang Ah charged forward in that state, her form was similar to that of a dragon rushing forward with its maw wide open. What’s more.

‘She hasn’t even shrouded it in Sword Aura, but the power is immense.’

The tremendous power of the technique called Poison Dragon Ascension was obvious just from looking at it. It was already a divine weapon, the Dragon Scale Whip, and to that was added the explosive power gained by converting poison power into internal energy. On top of that, she poured a massive amount of internal energy into it, and everything caught in the whip’s path was being shattered to pieces. This was not destruction from the concentration of pure energy like Sword Aura, but violence from pure physical force!

“Good! Come!”

Jin Cheonhee shouted the line promised by all martial arts novels and drew his Ice Clarity Sword. He looked directly into Tang Ah’s eyes and shot forward in a straight line. It was not a mystical or bizarre footwork. Jin Cheonhee simply ran forward honestly and thrust his sword.

And that sword dug into the space between the spiraling whip.

Hwiririririk!

Simultaneously, Jin Cheonhee’s body rose into the air and began to rotate in a spiral. A look of bewilderment crossed Tang Ah’s face. “Hah! To think my storming vortex would be scattered!”

‘I wouldn’t be able to mock you by calling it chuunibyou, Tang Ah. This power… if you had used this at the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering, you would have killed several people.’

She wasn’t called the Blood Whip Queen for nothing. You could only make fun of someone for being consumed by a darkness created by hormones if they didn’t have the skills to back it up. This power was enough to send a chill down even Jin Cheonhee’s spine.

Peeong!

A sudden explosion. Simultaneously, the whip’s movement stopped, and it scattered defenselessly in all directions. And Jin Cheonhee landed with the blade of his sword pressed against Tang Ah’s throat.

“Well, shall we stop here?”

“Hah…?! H-how did you break my technique?”

“Miss Tang’s Poison Dragon Ascension was certainly a fearsome technique… but.” Jin Cheonhee paused for a moment. “The spiral’s rotation was too simple, and for one with the ability to counter its speed, it is possible to strike the gap without going against the flow. After that, it is merely a matter of putting a brake on the flow to make the rotation unravel.”

It was a practical, dry explanation, as easy as possible, with no symbols or metaphors whatsoever. He had been worried if Tang Ah would understand the explanation right away, but it was a needless concern.

“Keuk… Is that so. Was that my immaturity!” Tang Ah lowered her head and clenched her fists tightly. “I… have lost!”

And so, the duel ended.

“Kekeke! Just you wait! Blue-Eyed Mad Doctor!”

If not for the fact that the observers from the Sichuan Tang Clan, upon hearing Tang Ah’s final words, collectively curled up like bears and had a reunion with their past selves… it was, in its own way, a splendid duel.

***

“Wow~ The gossipmongers are going to love this~”

“Aigoo, my whole body aches.”

Contrary to his confident expression, as soon as he arrived at the annex, Jin Cheonhee began to thump his back against a wooden pillar.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

“Back-hitting.”

“What’s that?”

Ah, kids these days… no, wait. Do they not do back-hitting in the martial world? In his past life, he used to wonder why people did back-hitting when they could just use a foam roller to properly stretch their spine. But at some point, Jin Cheonhee… no, Professor Jin found himself unconsciously hitting his back against a tree at the mineral spring after a hike. It was strange, as he didn’t even hike that often. Of course, doing it too hard could actually cause a disc problem, so it was more of a slow, pushing thump, but for some reason, it felt refreshing afterward. It was the kind of refreshment that couldn’t be explained by science.

He was now doing that very thing with a young body after his rejuvenation.

“Was Tang Ah that tough?”

“Don’t even ask. The current Tang Ah is probably twice as strong as Namgoong Woon.”

“Namgoong Woon isn’t in the Transformation Realm yet, right?”

“Yeah. From my pulse diagnosis, it seems his Body and Qi are already there, but. Well, things can be like that.”

Compared to Tang Ah, who had shot ahead, he had not yet overcome the wall. Or rather than couldn’t, it felt more like he wouldn’t. He still hadn’t decided what his sword was truly for. He didn’t need to live fiercely for his family, nor did he have the ambition to be number one. He didn’t even have the inferiority complex of comparing himself to others and finding something lacking. Since he hadn’t decided where his sword should be aimed, it was naturally impossible to overcome the wall.

‘In the original story’s bloodbath situation, he would have been rushed.’

As the people of the Namgoong Clan died one by one, Namgoong Woon had been forced to grip his sword, even if against his will. But now, he had the time to leisurely refine himself. Even so, objectively speaking, Tang Ah was the strange one; Namgoong Woon was still one of the strongest of his generation, without a doubt.

‘Even when the family elders scolded Namgoong Woon, comparing him to Tang Ah, he was just nonchalant.’

Though he should probably cut back on enjoying the arts and leisure. Well, that too was a part of his character.

“The martial world is going to be in an uproar now. A real uproar.”

“Is it that big of a deal?”

“Mmm. It is. The Blood Whip Queen is known as someone who is difficult to withstand for even a single exchange. No one will say you’re lacking for one of the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven now.”

‘As for me, I’m just getting by with cheat codes.’

Thinking this, Jin Cheonhee leisurely continued his back-hitting. Thump, thump! The sight of a fresh-faced, handsome young man doing the back-hitting of a post-hike middle-aged man was quite a spectacle.

Sama Hyeon recorded his brother’s actions with his eyes and asked, “You’re hitting the sides, not the center of your back.”

“Yeah, hitting the spine directly is actually bad for you. It’s better to feel like you’re loosening the muscles on either side.”

“The duel with Tang Ah must have been really tough.”

“…Yeah. If I had made even a slight misjudgment, I would have died.”

Died. Not just seriously injured, but died. Sama Hyeon hadn’t expected his brother, in his current state, to use that word. He looked surprised. “To that extent…”

“Yes. She’s that strong. So strong that she could even attain a new martial enlightenment during our fight. So strong that a single pointer from me could lead to some kind of realization.”

“I didn’t see any sign of that?”

“Well… is attaining enlightenment only about achieving a complete transformation and entering a state of samadhi? Even if it’s not grand, small realizations gather to lead one there. That flow…” Jin Cheonhee trailed off, swallowing the rest of his words. He couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘She has a part that’s similar to my master.’

The Divine Doctor White Dragon was the same. The Divine Doctor White Dragon of now was a completely different martial artist from when Jin Cheonhee had first met him. His enlightenment had deepened that much, but it wasn’t as if there had been some grand molting.

*Renewing oneself day by day, and again day by day[2].*

It was just getting a little better each day. The only problem was that while for an ordinary talent, that was a crawling pace, for a genius, it was a running pace.

‘Tomorrow’s Tang Ah will be much stronger than today’s Tang Ah. Just like my master.’

It was a great relief that such a Tang Ah liked him as a friend.

“Tang Ah has been picking a lot of fights here and there.”

“That’s usually how the rankings of the strong are decided in the martial world.”

It wasn’t as if there was a level or a power-level scouter. In the end, in the Murim, the gossipmongers decide the power rankings based on who fought whom and who won.

“Come to think of it, I know the Namgoong Clan Head and the Abbess of Putuo Temple exchanged written challenges. Why haven’t I heard any news about it?”

Sama Hyeon replied, “I know they crossed swords. A life-and-death duel, at that.”

“What?” And yet, neither of them had died or been injured.

When he asked who won, Sama Hyeon let out a smirk. “Don’t know. Both sides kept it under wraps. When this happens, it’s difficult for even the gossipmongers to determine who won.”

“I wonder if today’s battle will be known everywhere.”

“There was more than one or two people watching, so of course it will be known~ brother. Besides, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know that the Blood Whip Queen is so belligerent that she tries to fight everyone who is said to be strong. She has many enemies.”

“Tang Ah is a good kid, Hyeon-ah.”

“I know, but she has many grudges. Since that is the path the Blood Whip Queen herself has pursued, this news will spread even wider.”

At those words, Jin Cheonhee nodded. “Aren’t you worried? Hearing that the Blood Whip Queen has been defeated, martial artists with a grudge might challenge her one after another.”

“What’s there to worry about…? Tomorrow’s Tang Ah will be much stronger than today’s. Aigoo, I’m most worried about myself.” Where would he find the energy to worry about others?

‘And I, too, have gained my own enlightenment, in a way.’

It was a different method from the enlightenment of Tang Ah or his master, but he had still gained something from this duel. And so, Jin Cheonhee replayed the recent life-and-death duel in his mind while doing his back-hitting.

Thump, thump, thump.

It was quite a mad sight.