“The domain of the Cheonma Yuseongkwon is broadly divided into six stages.”
Il-sok (One Speed)
I-sin (Two Rapidly)
Sam-kwae (Three Quick)
Sa-pung (Four Winds)
O-gwang (Five Lights)
Yuk-sin (Six Gods)
“Upon reaching I-sin, ordinary people can’t even follow the movements with their eyes, and once you hit Sam-kwae, most martial artists can’t see the punches. When you reach the stage of Sa-pung, only a very few warriors can keep up with the speed of Cheonma Yuseongkwon.”
“Ooh….”
It’s definitely something that can be said to belong to a martial arts technique created by the Cheonma.
Just hearing the explanation felt stylish and cool.
“But considering it’s called Cheonma Yuseongkwon, there’s no mention of stars in the stages.”
Isn’t it a national rule to fill martial art names with related Chinese characters?
Baek Yujin, hearing my question, shrugged her shoulders and replied.
“I suggested perhaps making the name more intuitive since I seemed a bit old-fashioned.”
Ah…
With a solemn moment of silence for the three great Cheonmas, who must have been hurt by such merciless facts, I watched as Baek Yujin demonstrated Cheonma Yuseongkwon right before my eyes.
“Cheonma Yuseongkwon is fundamentally a martial art without a form. It was created based on the three great Cheonma’s belief that when reaching the extreme of speed, there’s no need for extraneous techniques.”
As she said this, Baek Yujin swung her right fist.
Thud!
Her fist sliced through the air, lightly striking a training log.
“This simple punch…”
As if the previous one had been a joke, she swung her fist once more.
“When speed increases, its power changes completely.”
Boom!!
Seeing the log with a clean hole made by her fist, I gulped.
‘What was that?’
Unlike when she swung it the first time, there was no form at all when she punched the second time.
In the Cheonmuhakwon, where only the best have gathered, I had never lost sight of anyone’s fist, so this was the first time I felt my brain couldn’t keep up with the experience.
“Just as a reference, what stage are you at now?”
“Sam-kwae.”
In other words, I was in the realm of ordinary martial artists among the examples she mentioned earlier.
I felt a strange bitterness at that fact, but it only reaffirmed that Baek Yujin’s level was undeniably high.
Since I heard she taught martial arts to the Cheonma, a master of Hwagyeong, I had somewhat expected this, but perhaps she had even reached the legendary realm known only in tales.
“But is it really okay for you to show me such a precious martial art?”
Baek Yujin shrugged her shoulders.
“After all, you wouldn’t understand it anyway. If you could steal a martial art just by watching, I wouldn’t show it to you in the first place.”
“Ouch.”
It was truly an irrefutable argument, so as I quietly closed my mouth, Baek Yujin stood the fallen log back up and said.
“Anyway, what I’m going to teach you now is how to fight an opponent faster than you.”
“An opponent faster than me?”
“A martial artist will sometimes need to fight someone stronger than themselves throughout their life. And if they’re stronger, their movements tend to be faster. If you ever encounter such an opponent, how would you deal with them?”
At her sudden question, I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“…I would run away?”
“Of course, that’s the best approach. But what if you can’t run away?”
“Then…”
With one more condition added, my answer became a bit weak. In fact, I’d hardly ever fought anyone stronger than me, so this was even more difficult.
Seeing my hesitance, Baek Yujin continued.
“You said your enemy with Dokgorin is backed by the royal family. Even if you’re at the peak level, there are stronger masters in the royal family. If you fight against them, there’s a high probability you’d end up dead. So if you’re going to fight such people, shouldn’t you at least know how to handle yourself?”
“Right.”
Hearing her reasoning made sense, so I nodded.
Just the night before, when I sparred with Namgoong Ruby, I had been overwhelmingly beaten.
If the attack is strong but slow, at least I could dodge it; but if it’s so fast I couldn’t even see it, I was helpless.
“Then come stand over here.”
I stood straight in the middle of the training ground as per her instructions.
Baek Yujin, standing about ten steps away from me, took a deep breath and got into position.
Then, one punch (Il-gwon).
She lunged forward and threw a straight punch that stopped right in front of my nose.
“……”
*Gulp*—
Honestly, I couldn’t see her movement at all.
If this were a real fight, I would have been dead before I could even do anything.
“How is it? Can you dodge this attack?”
I shook my head in response to her question.
“I thought so. Then let me teach you how to dodge attacks you can’t see.”
Baek Yujin said this as she took her stance.
“First off, when the opponent’s movements are faster than yours, relying solely on visual reflexes to dodge won’t work. So to dodge beforehand, you need to observe their movements.”
“Observe their movements?”
“Breath, the direction of their eyes, shoulder movements—anything’s good. A person always has preparatory actions before attacking due to the structure of the human body. For instance, a person holds their breath to exert force on their muscles, and their gaze will be directed at the area they plan to attack, and their shoulders or torso will twist. If you can spot these clues well, you can predict the opponent’s movements, no matter how fast.”
I nodded along as she explained.
“I understand.”
“Only with words?”
“Of course, to actually be able to do it in practice requires intense training….”
As my voice dwindled with a lack of confidence, Baek Yujin chuckled softly.
“You seem to know quite a bit.”
“I’m aware of my place. Yes.”
“Then I’ll teach you something for that person.”
Baek Yujin said this and placed a hand on her waist.
“What do you think martial arts are?”
“Martial arts?”
It’s a topic I hadn’t really thought about before.
I learned martial arts to protect myself and Dokgorin.
“…Isn’t it for protecting people?”
As I answered tentatively, Baek Yujin nodded and said.
“Sure, that’s one of the goals of martial arts, but that’s not what I’m getting at.”
After saying this, Baek Yujin declared with a serious expression.
“Martial arts are techniques developed by the weak who possess nothing to confront the strong who are naturally gifted.”
Just as people wield fire against darkness and take up tools against beasts, the original martial arts were created to resist the strong.
“Currently, what you’re facing is a great power that an individual cannot resist. Generally, one would kneel before such overwhelming strength, but by sheer luck, you have gained the ability to stand against it.”
If you don’t give up and keep biting down, someday what you wish for will come true.
So hang in there.
“……”
Her encouragement filled me with warmth.
Despite her cold appearance, Baek Yujin seemed to have a warm heart within her.
“Thank you.”
As I said this, lowering my head, Baek Yujin shrugged her shoulders and left the training ground first.
*
Afterward, my training continued.
During the day, I trained my resilience with Tang Hochang’s whipping, and at night, I paired with Namgoong Ruby to improve my martial arts skills.
Baek Yujin’s advice proved helpful, and I was gradually winning more against Namgoong Ruby, with whom I had previously never won a round.
I almost suspected that she had secretly consumed an elixir to enhance her abilities.
Of course, the situation would change if she used a sword, but in engages using bare hands, I had improved our win rate to about 6:4, so from my perspective, I owed her a hundred bows.
In any case, as time passed in a whirlwind, the day of Namgoong Ruby’s last day in the capital approached.
Looking back, it seemed time had slipped by in the blink of an eye, but unlike me, who trained all day, Namgoong Ruby, who often went out with Sosora when she had the chance, must have had a fulfilling trip.
*Thud!*
Having been thrown down, I noticed the bright full moon above in the night sky, and instead of getting up, I took a rough breath and asked.
“How was the week in the capital?”
Perhaps it was an unexpected question, as Namgoong Ruby blinked her eyes and soon answered with a smile.
“It was fun. It was the first time I ever visited a friend’s house.”
“Then I’m glad to hear that.”
After saying that, I closed my eyes and felt the cool breeze blowing in from the garden.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
Out of the blue, Namgoong Ruby tossed me a question.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Since tomorrow is the last day, I thought we could all have a meal together.”
“If that’s the case, I could ask my master and try to find some time.”
“Awesome!”
After hearing my answer, Namgoong Ruby clenched her fists.
I wondered if that was something to be that excited about, but she looked down at me, illuminated by the moonlight.
“Then you have to come tomorrow, okay? It’s a promise!”
As she extended her pinky, her innocence and radiance were nothing short of dazzling.
