Martial Artist Lee Gwak - Chapter 49: True Worth Revealed in the Face of Crisis (3)
Light Novel: Volume 2 Chapter 24
Manhwa: Chapter 49
The first thing Lee Gwak did upon returning home was to examine the martial arts manuals given to him by Ma Duwon.
The first one he opened was the Sun Splitting Sword Art.
This sword manual was a secret sword art belonging to the Zhuge family. About a hundred years ago, the Zhuge family was annihilated by the demon sect during the Great Heavenly Blood War, and during that time, their secret martial arts techniques had leaked into Jianghu and scattered.
The Sun Splitting Sword Art was one of these lost and leaked martial art books that had been scattered.
A subtle glint of fascination and excitement flashed in Lee Gwak’s eyes.
With half-closed eyes, he quietly flipped through the pages of the Sun Splitting Sword Art.
Rustle!
The sound of pages turning echoed in the quiet room. He read each word carefully, thoroughly absorbed.
Lee Gwak lost track of time as he delved into the Sun Splitting Sword Art.
It was almost three hours later when he finally closed the manual.
“Hoo!”
Lee Gwak let out a soft sigh and fully opened his eyes that had been half-closed. A clear light swirled in his eyes for a moment before disappearing.
“The Sun Splitting Sword Art is not right for me.”
This was the conclusion Lee Gwak reached after reading the entire manual.
Putting aside the difference between sword and blade techniques, the nature of the art itself was distinctly different.
The Eight Sects Sword Art was crude yet had a heavy impact. Naturally, as the Eight Sects Sword Art was his primary martial art, his martial arts style had evolved similarly.
On the other hand, the sword techniques in the Sun Splitting Sword Art focused on simple, swift, and agile movements. It seemed more suited for women or assassins.
Lee Gwak pushed aside the Sun Splitting Sword Art and opened the Lightning Blade Arts.
[Only a single streak of lightning pierces and connects the heavens and the earth.]
The introduction of the book contained only this one line.
At first glance, it appeared to be a rather ordinary statement. However, Lee Gwak couldn’t take his eyes off the introduction.
“Pierces and connects?”
He repeated the words several times before suddenly shuddering.
It was because a sudden epiphany and exhilaration hit him.
He had been searching for the essence and core of the Eight Sects Sword Art for a while yet he hadn’t grasped it even after a long and deep contemplation.
But that single line was the key.
To others, it might seem like just an ordinary phrase, but to Lee Gwak, it was the ladder that helped him climb over the wall blocking his path.
Just a single drop of ink was enough to turn a basin of water black, a single line of text was sufficient to organize the myriad of complex thoughts swirling in Lee Gwak’s mind.
Mountain Splitting Slash.
Raging Tidal Force.
Shadowless Strike.
Blood Dragon Roar.
Lone Scorch Demon.
Phantom Shadow Assassinate.
Heaven Shattering Iron Blood.
Eight Gateways of Destruction.
The eight forms of the Eight Sects Sword Art whirled chaotically in his mind.
Having practiced them thousands, tens of thousands of times, they were deeply ingrained in his body, yet until now, each form had acted independently.
But now, they intertwined, creating a torrent of movements, flowing like thick lines drawn across a canvas.
This was the Eight Sects Sword Art, yet at the same time, it was not.
Everything that Lee Gwak had accumulated up to this point exploded in unison.
The subtle intricacies of the Invisible Spider Puncture Art and the delicate complexities of trap mechanism studies were added to the brute force of the Eight Sects Sword Art.
Like a string of beads being strung together to form a jewel, all these elements merged into one new entity.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Lee Gwak rushed outside.
In his hand was the sword he had purchased from the Yin Family Weapon House.
Swish!
The sword cleaved through the air.
Starting with the Mountain Splitting Slash, each of the eight forms unraveled like threads from a spool.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Smoothly connected and merged into one, creating a flow like a raging tide.
Lee Gwak surrendered his body to the massive current. He did not even attempt to control the forms.
He let his consciousness flow and just let his body move as it will. Then, a strange phenomenon occurred.
His vision darkened momentarily, and then he saw himself performing the Eight Sects Sword Art.
‘What?’
He was stunned for a moment, but then he soon realized.
He was performing martial arts in a state of self-forgetfulness2 and observing the spectacle as a third party.
‘The sixth snake has awakened.’
In the brain, in the space that aligned with his eyes and the horizon, the sixth snake awoke, and his third eye opened. It wasn’t like his two eyes that saw with normal vision but of a spiritual kind— something like a mind’s eye.
The great snake that had been slumbering in his Huiyin acupoint had awakened.
The great snake let go of the tail it was biting and climbed up the spinal cord. In an instant, it passed through the fifth gate and bit the tail of the sixth snake.
Kwaah!
Suddenly, Lee Gwak felt a great power surge inside his body that was incomparable to anything he had ever felt before.
Lee Gwak then realized it.
That he had advanced to the next level.
He was no longer the same person he was a moment ago.
* * *
As the pitch-black darkness evaporated under the intense morning sunlight, Lee Gwak opened his eyes. The dazzling light painfully stimulated his retinas, but he did not blink even once.
“Hoo!”
A breath filled with a myriad of emotions escaped from deep within his chest.
Resting neatly on his lap where he sat in meditation was the sword he had been swinging all night.
Lee Gwak briefly caressed the smooth blade before sheathing it. The sword, having found its home, seemed to fall into a deep slumber, and Lee Gwak stood up.
He then walked towards the room.
Inside the room lay the Lightning Blade Arts, just as he had left it.
[Only a single streak of lightning pierces and connects the heavens and the earth.]
The introduction that had suddenly brought him enlightenment caught his eye.
It was an awakening brought about by a single line of text.
Others might think it was mere luck, but Lee Gwak did not see it that way.
For years, he had undergone rigorous training and delved endlessly into martial arts. Although he had faced great frustration against insurmountable walls, he never ceased trying to challenge them.
The time spent in rigorous training was not wasted; it accumulated layer by layer within Lee Gwak’s inner self. And with a single line of text as a catalyst, he broke through the great wall.
Lee Gwak could not precisely gauge the extent of his enlightenment, mainly because he had rarely sparred with others.
Still, he thought it didn’t matter. He did not cultivate martial arts for the sake of competing with others.
Lee Gwak sat down and calmly began to flip through the Lightning Blade Arts.
The Lightning Blade Arts contained the essence of ascension. It particularly utilized lightning qi to maximize the power of each move.
First move: Lightning Spirit Flash.3
Second move: Heavenly Lightning Storm.4
Third move: Leigong’s Execution.5
The Lightning Blade Arts consisted of these three moves.
Each move possessed tremendous power, but mastering them was extremely challenging due to the requirement of handling lightning qi.
To fully unleash the potential of Lightning Blade Arts, a deep understanding of controlling lightning qi was necessary. However, the manual lacked a proper method for this, effectively making it a half-complete martial art.
That’s why even the Creation Pavilion had given up on analyzing Lightning Blade Arts and left it untouched. However, even without a proper method, the Lightning Blade Arts boasted significant power, which was why Ma Duwon had willingly gifted it to Lee Gwak.
‘Lightning qi…’
Lee Gwak first skimmed through the key points of Lightning Blade Arts.
The first page of the manual began with a question.
[What is lightning qi?
It is the most intense energy contained between heaven and earth by the sky.
Does lightning qi only exist in the sky?
No.
Lightning qi exists not only in the sky but also within the human body.
The movement of arms and legs, the reaction to an enemy’s movements, and the blinking of eyes— all these harmonious actions are the workings of lightning qi.]
Lee Gwak was profoundly shocked.
The idea that lightning energy exists within the human body and that it plays a crucial role in determining human movements and reactions had completely shattered his common sense.
It was a fresh perspective and interpretation that was completely different from the martial arts concepts Lee Gwak had learned and believed in until now.
Such a novel viewpoint was exactly what Lee Gwak needed.
Having learned martial arts on his own without a formal master, Lee Gwak had lacked diversity in his training. This was why he became deeply engrossed in the Lightning Blade Arts.
He read the Lightning Blade Arts, forgetting the passage of time.
One day, two days, three days… Time flowed ceaselessly.
While this may have been a short period for someone else, for a martial artist like Lee Gwak, it was ample time for explosive growth.
Since the Lightning Blade Arts lacked a specific meditative technique for internal cultivation, it was impossible to learn it in its original form. Lee Gwak also didn’t think he could learn the Lightning Blade Arts purely.
Instead, Lee Gwak contemplated how to integrate the Lightning Blade Arts into the Eight Sects Sword Art.
Combining two distinct martial arts, especially one as unique as the Lightning Blade Arts, was nearly impossible. However, the Eight Sects Sword Art, unlike the Lightning Blade Arts, was not a particularly demanding martial art, nor a complex or unique martial art.
Since it was originally developed for military use, the Eight Sects Sword Art was very versatile. This meant that it was easily adaptable to the strengths of other martial arts.
Lee Gwak completely deconstructed the Eight Sects Sword Art.
He meticulously analyzed and dissected each move of the techniques, breaking them down into finer parts. Then, he explored where to fit the three techniques of the Lightning Blade Arts within them.
“The first technique of the Lightning Blade Arts, Lightning Spirit Flash, pairs well with the third technique of the Eight Sects Sword Art, Shadowless Strike. Heavenly Lightning Storm seems compatible with Heaven Shattering Iron Blood, and Leigong’s Execution could be interwoven with the final technique of the Eight Sects Sword Art, Eight Gateways of Destruction.”
Combining the strengths of both martial arts seemed feasible.
The real challenge was the cultivation of internal energy.
To integrate the techniques of the Lightning Blade Arts into the Eight Sects Sword Art, it was essential to understand and utilize lightning qi.
Lee Gwak found the answer in the Eight Snakes Art.
The Eight Snakes Art he practiced diverged from typical internal energy cultivation methods. While other martial arts in the Jianghu forcefully categorized and subdivided internal energy, his Eight Snakes Art was purer and closer to the source.
Lee Gwak believed that the Eight Snakes Art could serve as an excellent substitute for lightning qi. He decided to test this by practicing the Eight Snakes Art.
A large snake, coiled within him, stirred to life, swirling through his body. The energy, starting from the Huiyin acupoint or perineum, rapidly surged up along his spine.
At the same time, his mind’s eye opened.
Lee Gwak, from a third-person perspective, could calmly observe the snake writhing within his body. Seen through his spiritual eye, the snake appeared different from before.
The snake’s form was a result of his mental projection.
It had taken the shape of a snake because he believed it to be so, but in reality, it was a collection of pure energy without any form.
Lee Gwak used the snake to substitute the internal energy cultivation of the Lightning Blade Arts.
The snake seemed to hesitate at first, but it soon began to move smoothly along the flow of the Lightning Blade Arts.
Ssshhhhh!
A refreshing sensation then began spreading throughout his body.
The giant snake split into tens, hundreds of branches, traveling through Lee Gwak’s meridians.
Lee Gwak watched all of it unfold, and then he realized—
That his intellect had risen by leaps and bounds.
The usual him, even with a fortuitous opportunity leading to high achievements, would not have thought to fuse the Eight Sects Sword Art and the Lightning Blade Arts.
The reason he was able to think of fusing these two martial arts was because his mind’s eye had opened.
His mind’s eye explosively elevated his intellect, allowing him to observe from a unique perspective.
As a result, Lee Gwak could walk a path no one had ever traveled before.
The fusion of Lightning Spirit Flash and Shadowless Strike was reborn as the technique called, Lightning Shadow Strike6
Heavenly Lightning Storm and Heaven Shattering Iron Blood merged to form the technique Heavenly Lightning Shattering Heaven7 while Leigong’s Execution and Eight Gateways of Destruction combined to form Leigong’s Destruction.8
Seizing the opportunity, Lee Gwak grabbed his sword and stepped outside.
Swoosh!
The newly evolved Eight Sects Sword Art unfolded from his hands.
Starting with the first technique, Mountain Splitting Slash, the sequence continued, effortlessly flowing into the third technique, Lightning Shadow Strike, the seventh, Heavenly Lightning Shattering Heaven, and ending with the eighth, Leigong’s Destruction.
There was no obstruction in his qi and blood flow, nor any strain on his meridians.
The three techniques seamlessly integrated as if they had always been part of the Eight Sects Sword Art.
Chiiiik!
Scorched marks dotted the courtyard surrounded by high walls. From the blackened spots, thin white smoke rose. It looked as if dozens of small lightning bolts had struck simultaneously.
Ziiing!
His sword was resonating.
And so with this, Lee Gwak had begun his long journey— the arduous path of proving himself with just a single sword.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
I have changed Thunder Blade Arts to Lightning Blade Arts as I deem it more appropriate. The Chinese character 電 originally meant “lightning” or “thunder.” With the description of the martial art, I think the 電 refers to lightning (visible flash of spark) rather than thunder (sound).
I really like this chapter since it shows Lee Gwak’s (tremendous growth). It’s just unfortunate that this particular chapter is not that shown well in the manhwa. The manhwa lacked detail as it did not show what went through Lee Gwak’s mind as he learned the Lightning Blade Arts. It’s great that here in the novel it was explained how he utilized the books he got from Ma Duwon and upgraded his Eight Sects Sword Art.
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!
- Zhuge Family. Raws: 제갈세가(諸葛世家).
- 諸葛 Zhūgě – two-character surname Zhuge
- 世家 shìjiā – family influential for generations / aristocratic family
- State of self-forgetfulness. Raws: 몰아(沒我).
- 沒 méi – (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not
- 我 wǒ – I; me; my
- Lightning Spirit Flash. Raws: 뇌령섬(雷靈閃).
- 雷 léi – thunder
- 靈 líng – quick / alert / efficacious / effective / to come true / spirit / departed soul / coffin
- 閃 shǎn – to dodge / to duck out of the way / to beat it / shaken (by a fall) / to sprain / to pull a muscle / lightning / spark / a flash / to flash (across one’s mind) / to leave behind / (Internet slang) (of a display of affection) “dazzlingly” saccharine
- Heavenly Lightning Storm. Raws: 천뢰우(天雷雨).
- 天 tiān – day / sky / heaven
- 雷雨 léiyǔ – thunderstorm
- Leigong’s Execution. Raws: 뇌공참(雷公斬). Leigong or Leishen is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology, and Taoism.
- 雷公 Léigōng – Lei Gong or Duke of Thunder, the God of Thunder in Chinese mythology
- 斬 zhǎn – to behead (as form of capital punishment) / to chop
- Lightning Shadow Strike. Raws: 뇌영돌격(雷影突擊).
- 雷 léi – thunder
- 影 yǐng – picture / image / film / movie / photograph / reflection / shadow / trace
- 突擊 tūjī – sudden and violent attack / assault / fig. rushed job / concentrated effort to finish a job quickly
- Heavenly Lightning Shattering Heaven. Raws: 천뢰진천(天雷振天).
- 天 tiān – day / sky / heaven
- 雷 léi – thunder
- 振 zhèn – to shake / to flap / to vibrate / to resonate / to rise up with spirit / to rouse oneself
- 天 tiān – day / sky / heaven
- Leigong’s Destruction. Raws: 뇌공분쇄(雷公粉碎).
- 雷公 Léigōng – Lei Gong or Duke of Thunder, the God of Thunder in Chinese mythology
- 粉碎 fěnsuì – to crush; to smash; to shatter
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