Chapter 136
Chapter 136
The Five Elements were an incomplete concept.
Introduced in the I Ching, the Eight Trigrams (????) gave birth to the Yin-Yang Five Elements (????).
Because no single element can be complete on its own, Yin and Yang must be divided,
and the Five Elements must be split to support each other.
Water nurtures wood, so Water nurtures Wood (???).
Wood ignites fire, so Wood creates Fire (???).
When fire extinguishes, it becomes earth, so Fire creates Earth (???).
Earth gives rise to metal, so Earth creates Metal (???).
And metal produces water, so Metal creates Water (???).
The Five Elements help each other, and thus the concept of Five Elements Mutual Promotion (????) was born.
Zhuge Se-gang used this to naturally connect consecutive strikes in his martial technique.
This is the origin of the Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist (?????).
“The theory of breaking the Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist relies on knowing the opposing theory of Five Elements Mutual Destruction (????), and understanding the principles opposing each of the Five Elements.”
Baek So-cheon was confident.
A scholar with the ability to break down such a theory would never be one to learn martial arts.
Those who possess the martial arts to oppose the Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist would not be too intelligent either.
“Zhuge Liang’s Confucianism, passed down over 2600 years, is embodied in the martial arts that blend both literature and martial prowess. Can such a tradition be defeated by some low-tier art!?”
Baek So-cheon had never even been touched by the hands of the five great families.
He had never been reinterpreted by Baek So-cheon himself.
He would never be defeated by such a low-tier martial art.
With that unshakable belief, the series of strikes,
after over twenty exchanges,
were blocked by Hae Eung-eung’s hands and feet,
and not a single one of his movements caused any significant damage.
“Did you even know the Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist?”
Pa-bat
With a strong push of her fingers, Hae Eung-eung created distance,
and reached out toward the notebook.
It was a futile move.
“The Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist doesn’t just consist of one strike!”
She would not let him act as though he was teaching her, pretending to be superior.
Her martial spirit came from a stubbornness that no one could be above her.
This was a martial art born from the same stubbornness that mirrored Baek So-cheon’s entire life.
“Commoners looked down on scholars.”
“The Five Great Families looked down on outside disciples.”
“The Martial Arts Alliance looked down on the Five Great Families.”
“The imperial family looked down on the Martial Arts Alliance.”
The emperor gazing down upon the world,
In the worlds beneath him,
Each one carving out their own domain,
Looking down upon those lesser than them,
The worlds of countless commoners,
Living under the yoke of the powerless,
Baek So-cheon realized.
The Zhuge Liang he had revered,
the Zhuge Se-gang who inherited his name,
did not exist in this world.
Each person for themselves
Scattering and gathering for survival
Each scattered to find their own way of living,
gathered for their benefit, and then scattered again,
this was the face of the central martial arts world and the wilderness.
The Five Great Families, the Martial Arts Alliance, and the Imperial Family were all rotting.
The young man who dreamed of Zhuge Liang had to fight to avoid being trampled.
Low-born.
Low status.
Low martial arts.
Baek So-cheon’s history was a fight against the lowly,
and his Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist was the first step in that long battle.
However, it didn’t work.
Hae Eung-eung’s interest quickly waned as she watched.
With just one high-tier martial art, this was proving to be disappointing rather than testing.
“This is not all. There’s still so much I can show you.”
Every time Baek So-cheon’s strikes filled the arena,
the air reverberated with the explosive sounds of his energy.
The movements, imbued with internal force, became sharper.
The amount and depth of the internal energy,
as well as the power, effectiveness, and weakness of each move,
varied drastically, even for the same martial art and the same techniques.
“Can you handle the true Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist,
which surpasses the Five Elements Link and integrates five internal energy techniques?”
Hae Eung-eung’s delicate body could have been knocked down at any moment with a combination of upper and lower strikes.
She wanted to show that she could inflict pain on the arrogant face tainted with boredom.
She would not tolerate being looked at with those eyes.
No one, not even the head of the Martial Arts Alliance and the Planning Director of the Association,
should dare to look at her in that way. If they did, she would make sure they never could!
Kugukung
In her left hand, she gathered Yeoryang Ji-gi (????),
and in her right hand, Bingum Ji-gi (????).
The energy from both hands gathered, forming contrasting energies as the air heated up,
and the flow of air made the frozen air swirl toward the hot one.
Adding Yin-Yang to the Five Elements and Internal Energy,
the true power of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist began to show itself.
This martial art, already leagues above the trivial martial techniques,
was on a different level.
It was as if it was showing the true world under heaven against the many false ones scattered across the central martial arts world.
The white light representing the difference in power rose against the wind,
from her right hand to her left hand,
demonstrating the different levels of her martial arts.
Extreme Fist Techniques
Yin-Yang Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist
Zhen Wu’s - Rulai Yi-Shan (????)
Sharp fist techniques targeting vital points.
Surpassing the natural limits of martial arts,
it holds the Yin-Yang extremes in both hands.
With the world placed between her hands,
the Five Elements’ five pillars stand tall,
and from the initial rise of her martial spirit, she unleashed Zhen Wu’s ultimate technique.
Paa!!
With a burst of scattered rays,
the five-colored, radiant internal energy exploded in all directions.
It was a pinnacle technique,
what martial artists call Strong Qi Acupoint Attack (????).
In an instant, the mighty attack covered Hae Eung-eung.
“Wahhh!”
“Grab on!”
The other VIP disciples, casually watching nearby, were swept by the energy,
rolling on the floor or clutching the nearby columns.
The shockwave was too much to bear,
and the surrounding air was torn apart by the explosive force.
“Oh dear. Did I push it too far?”
When she was about to be overwhelmed by the force, her personality flared up again.
Despite knowing that the inferiority complex from her time in the martial arts world could become poisonous,
she would occasionally act rashly, creating such chaos.
Yet, just like a deer frozen in front of headlights, she had no proper response, standing blankly as the scene unfolded.
Her satisfaction came from seeing that she had made sure Baek So-cheon would never look at her with those arrogant eyes again.
As the sandstorm cleared, the sand falling like rain,
Hae Eung-eung’s figure appeared through the dust.
“!!”
She gently swept the ground with her foot,
and the Taiji Yin-Yang symbol was split in two beneath her feet.
With both palms facing heaven and earth,
she released the aftershock of Rulai Yi-Shan,
and a massive Taiji Yin-Yang symbol engraved itself on the training ground.
With her hands and feet,
and from both inside and out,
the two symbols of Taiji Yin-Yang appeared,
causing Baek So-cheon’s eyes to fill with great agitation.
Wu Wei Er Hua
No effort is required for natural change
Through the extremes of Yin and Yang,
the Taiji principle of balance allows them to coexist.
Baek So-cheon’s intellect displayed his analysis,
but the Yin-Yang Five Elements Martial Art was absorbed into Hae Eung-eung’s own Taiji,
as if the very foundation of martial arts had been reshaped.
The small movements of Baek So-cheon’s Five Elements Countering Dragon Fist seemed no different from the mediocre techniques he had seen,
yet the Taiji principle, representing the very origin of the Five Elements,
revealed its unprecedented depth.
This was no longer something to be discussed with knowledge alone.
The skill of martial genius, only permitted to those with overwhelming talent and instinct,
had now been fully displayed.
“How could you embed Taiji into such a small flaw in the Countering Dragon Fist?”
[“Just because the vessel is small doesn’t mean there’s a lack of water.”]
The small versus the large,
the interaction between the Five Elements,
the harmony of Yin and Yang,
far surpassed his previous understanding, opening new pathways for martial energy.
Hae Eung-eung handed Baek So-cheon the notebook as he raised his voice in frustration.
[“Don’t rush.”]
[“Today’s sparring was only a test to see what you still lack and what martial arts you can learn at Haenampa.”]
The lesson had only just begun.
Baek So-cheon lowered his head in embarrassment and gave a formal bow of respect.
Hae Eung-eung responded with a similar bow, both arms raised high.
The bandages wrapped around her hands revealed a glimpse of beauty,
a beauty that seemed unreal in light of the powerful martial arts she had just unleashed.
As the realization slowly sank in, Baek So-cheon found himself lost in thought.
‘My domain is this small?’
The martial arts he had once thought had no room for growth,
he realized now that the limits were not yet reached.
Even the young, talented Baek So-cheon, whom he had worked so hard to suppress,
had his own limitations, which had only just been shown.
With the sands of time now behind him,
Baek So-cheon understood his defeat,
and wrote a letter of resignation.
[Resignation Letter]
The Planning and Coordination Director of the Awakened Association.
Baek So-cheon, one of the three great leaders of the association.
The ambitious man who sought his own domain above all,
would step down and accept the martial world under Hae Eung-eung’s reign.