Chapter 4. Dream Awakening (4)
Woo-Moon's shout did not lose volume even at a distance. The qi of the Celestial Sect’s Forbidden Divine Art had never been activated and just lay dormant in his body, but it had actually come alive at this moment.
Thinking he had unexpectedly obtained a heavenly chance that could improve his martial arts, Jin Won-Myeong was smiling. However, the sudden shout from behind them surprised him.
‘Who is that?’
That person's cultivation was nothing compared to his own, but the voice carried a pure and vast qi.
Turning around, Won-Myeong saw Doa seemingly in pain.
Doa had turned pale. She had covered both her ears, greatly disturbed by this voice filled with powerful qi.
Won-Myeong grabbed her shoulder and redirected the invading qi out of her body before shouting, "Stop it, you bastard!"
This was the first time that Woo-Moon had roared like this, with all his might. It had triggered the explosive outburst of his ever-dormant qi, and he actually couldn’t stop his shout on his own.
Won-Myeong’s shout actually caused Woo-Moon’s breathing to stop. The old master used the Azure Dragon Cry, which caused a shock to Woo-Moon’s heart. Only then did Woo-Moon stop shouting.
For a moment, Woo-Moon felt a sense of loss and despondency. The explosive qi of the Celestial Sect’s Forbidden Divine Arts sank back into the depths of his body. Thankfully, he suffered no heavy internal injuries.
Woo-Moon ran ahead and stood in the way of Won-Myeong and Doa.
"Aren't you the innkeeper’s son?" Won-Myeong looked at Woo-Moon for a moment in surprise. He barely managed to stop himself from saying ‘the innkeeper’s foolish son.’
“Huh?” Doa was surprised as she opened her eyes and found out that it was Woo-Moon that had blasted her with that sudden burst of Lion's Roar. She had thought that he didn’t know about martial arts at all.
Won-Myeong’s eyes had become luminescent, shining with a conspicuous color as he looked at the young man in front of him. However, the next moment, surprise, curiosity, and a sense of regret threw his facial expression in disarray.
He had just remembered the landscape painting in his arms.
'Oh, heavens. The painting must have belonged to this young man. He was learning martial arts from this. I have committed a big mistake.’
He had thought that no one in the inn knew martial arts, which had led him to believe that the hidden great martial arts in the landscape painting were rotting away in that inn without seeing the light of day.
‘No, this was just an excuse. If they weren't aware of it, I should have let them know and paid a fair price for the landscape painting. This painting’s value is much greater than a mere five gold taels and the Divine Frost Sword.’
Upon coming to that realization, Won-Myeong became incredibly ashamed. Indeed, he had been greedy and defrauded a villager who was unaware that he held a treasure and was selling it for less than its fair value.
As Won-Myeong belatedly blamed himself for his mistake, Woo-Moon pointed at the landscape painting in the daoist's hands. "That landscape painting is mine. And..."
Woo-Moon took out the sword and gold he had brought and laid them down on the ground.
"That’s my treasure, and I don’t want to trade it. I don't know whether that landscape painting is more valuable than these things or not, but I know that it is more important to me than anything else."
What he said was true. Woo-Moon had no idea how great the value of the landscape painting was and what the value of the Divine Frost Sword was. All he knew was that the landscape painting was the most precious treasure to him aside from his family. If he could only choose between the world and this landscape painting, he would likely choose the latter.
Woo-Moon had wanted to shout, ‘hey, you damn daoist! Return them now!’ but he respected the senior’s age and didn’t wish to embarrass him in front of his granddaughter. He thought that Won-Myeong was Doa's grandfather.
Woo-Moon’s words were polite, yet solemn. However, Won-Myeong was still under the influence of his short-lived greed. At the same time, he was curious.
‘This young man has outstanding cultivation. Is it because he learned the martial arts within the landscape painting? I want to see how good he is. Besides, he needs to learn a little lesson after what he did to Doa with the Lion's Roar.’
Won-Myeong's cultivation level was the highest in his sect, but he was still somewhat lacking in terms of temperament due to his stubbornness and impatient heart.
As though the struggle inside him had never happened, Won-Myeong smiled. "Well, I've already bought this landscape painting from your father. What rights do you have to ask me to give it back?"
"The landscape painting... The painting is...” Woo-Moon was speechless and could only reiterate his words.
In fact, strictly speaking, the painting belonged to his father. The immortal had drawn the painting for the inn in exchange for a bowl of plain noodles when Woo-Moon was ten. Hence, his father had ownership over it, not him. Still, he wasn’t willing to give up the painting just like that.
"Doesn’t matter! I’m not giving that up. Leave the painting behind and go your way!"
"What an overbearing statement. But according to your father, it seems that your situation at home isn’t all that great right now. Are you aware of that?"
Woo-Moon was momentarily dazed. Since he had been living like a fool while in his dream-like state, he didn’t know how his family was faring in detail, but Won-Myeong’s words woke him up.
‘Financial trouble... Mom... Her medical bills...’
Thinking that he wouldn’t be able to afford his mother's medicine if he were to take the painting back, he suddenly felt breathless and shaken.
‘No matter how priceless the landscape painting is, it’s nothing compared to my beloved parents.’
"Then... I..."
Just as Woo-Moon closed his eyes and was about to say that he would give up the landscape painting, Won-Myeong let out a chuckle.
"Okay, let's do this instead. If you can land an attack on me even once, I'll return the landscape painting and I won’t take back the money I've already given you. What do you think?"
“But... Aren’t you losing out if you do that?"
"That's alright. I already acquired something good enough in exchange for the money, and considering your family’s situation, this is the least I can do,” Won-Myeong answered, feeling apologetic for his mistake.
‘You have a good heart.’ Won-Myeong thought to himself.
Woo-Moon had no reason to refuse, since the conditions were completely in his favor.
"Then I'll accept.“
"Come on, try and win this challenge with your skills.”
Won-Myeong was known as the First Sword of Kunlun. Even though he wasn’t able to become one of the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors, he was still considered a peak expert who was not that far behind them, and he was also aiming for the Absolute Realm.
* * *
The old daoist carried a sword, and because of that, Woo-Moon figured that he was a martial artist from the murim. He also vaguely knew that what he had learned through the landscape painting was some kind of martial art. However, he had no idea of his own personal strength, much less Won-Myeong's.
‘Even though he’s a martial artist, he’s old. I’m in my prime, so I should be stronger than him, right?” Woo-Moon thought.
"You won't regret it, will you?” Woo-Moon asked for confirmation once again.
Doa stepped back on her own in response to the rising tension. She wasn’t nervous or worried about Won-Myeong, though, since she believed in him wholeheartedly.
"Regret? Hahaha. If you think you can make me regret it, go ahead and try."
Won-Myeong waited for Woo-Moon to attack. It would have been unfair for him to make the first move on someone much younger and less experienced than him.
However, Woo-Moon couldn’t advance easily. He didn't even know what to do, because this was the first time in his life he was actually using the martial arts he had learned.
Walking forward calmly, Won-Myeong said, "If you're just going to stand there and not do anything, I will be leaving."
As Won-Myeong passed by, Woo-Moon hurriedly reached out to the landscape painting in Won-Myeong's hand but only managed to touch empty air. Won-Myeong avoided the attack like a ghost.
‘I can't give up just because I failed once.’
Woo-Moon kept trying to swipe the landscape painting with his left and right hands one after the other. His movements were disorderly and had no form or technique. In addition, there was no hint of martial cultivation in his movements, unlike when he had used the Lion’s Roar earlier.
‘What is this? Isn't this the movement of someone who hasn't learned any martial arts?’
Disappointment appeared on Won-Myeong's face.
Just then, Woo-Moon reached out once again. At that moment, Won-Myeong’s hands moved in a strange pattern around Woo-Moon’s hand.
Before he could understand what was happening, an unknown force hurled Woo-Moon into the air. He was forcefully spun around his own axis twice, then landed on the ground on his butt.
Thud!
There were only two things that Woo-Moon had been able to learn from the landscape painting: the Celestial Sect's Forbidden Divine Art and the Gentle Celestial Sword Technique. Unfortunately, the painting didn’t contain anything about hand-to-hand combat.
Won-Myeong's hands hadn’t even touched Woo-Moon's arm. He had just twisted and thrown the young man away using qi emitted from his palms.
Woo-Moon didn't even know how the old master had done it.
"Tsk!"
Won-Myeong had just used the Crane Chasing Dragon Palm—a high-level martial art that allowed him to interact with objects without actually touching them.
Unaware of that, Woo-Moon jumped up and rushed forward, this time without hesitation.
The old daoist frowned at the sight. ‘I can't believe he’s recklessly charging at me without knowing his limits.’
Won-Myeong felt nothing but disdain for his young and naive opponent's arrogance. He once more used the Crane Chasing Dragon Palm.
‘Considering how poor his cultivation level is, the same technique is enough for me to deal with him.’
As Woo-Moon was reaching for the painting, Won-Myeong’s hands approached him from both sides. As he reached about five inches from Woo-Moon’s sides, Won-Myeong moved his hands once more.
The qi generated a small vortex that spread widely, forcing Woo-Moon to the left.
In response, Woo-Moon instinctively put all his weight on his left foot. At that very moment, the vortex reversed and unleashed speed and power incomparable to its initial state.
THUD!
Woo-Moon fell on his back again, this time harder.
He clenched his teeth as his eyes captured the freezing blue sky.
'It doesn't matter how many times I fall. I don't care if I fall thousands of times! I must get that landscape painting back!'
Woo-Moon was very fond of that landscape painting. He enjoyed dreaming, and the painting had allowed him to stay in his dreamy state. In his heart, the old immortal that had made the landscape painting was his teacher and his hero.
‘I can’t lose such a gift in vain.’
Woo-Moon jumped up, with strong resolve and fire that he had never felt before surging from deep inside his heart.
"I won't give up!"
Woo-Moon leaped at Won-Myeong again.
Won-Myeong didn’t avoid his attack. Rather, he simply performed the Crane Chasing Dragon Palm again.
This time, however, in Woo-Moon’s eyes, Won-Myeong’s movements had slowed down immensely, as if time itself had turned viscous and sticky.
'I need to see through it!’
Following Won-Myeong's hand movement, something intangible covered Woo-Moon’s arms and body, sticking to him like glue. His arms spun to the left with strong force.
Woo-Moon put a bit of strength on his left side again, this time on purpose. As he pretended to struggle, Won-Myeong’s energy spun rapidly in the opposite direction.
‘This is it!’
Woo-Moon held out with all the strength he had saved. He regained his balance for a moment, but the next moment, the air stream surrounding him shifted directions once more.
“Ouch!” With a low groan, Woo-Moon fell forward this time. Maybe because he didn’t expect to fall over, he ate quite the strong impact.
"Did you think the Crane Chasing Dragon Palm was that simple?” questioned Won-Myeong.
Woo-Moon had thought that pretending to turn left, then swiftly turning the other way around was all he needed to do, which had ultimately prevented him from being able to adjust to the sudden change in directional force.
"Whew...."
Watching from afar, Doa felt sorry for Woo-Moon. She hoped for the battle to end quickly and without any further injury.
Having been thrown away, Woo-Moon grabbed onto the ground with immense force. So much force, in fact, that the small rocks among the fistful of earth and grass cut into his skin.
His inability to reach his opponent and retrieve the landscape painting made him furious. He was under so much frustration that he felt like he would burst because of it.
He saw a wooden stick lying beside him. Coincidentally, it was exactly the length and thickness of a sword.
As soon as he saw it, he felt his mind being pricked open, and he remembered the Gentle Celestial Sword Technique he had learned in his dream.
At this point, Won-Myeong had grown very perplexed.
‘Where is the cultivation he displayed when he used the Lion’s Roar? Did he really learn the martial arts within the landscape painting? If so, why does he act like he has never learned martial arts before?’
Won-Myeong turned away while shaking his head. As he walked away from Woo-Moon, he took out the landscape painting from his sleeves. He thought that it was best if he just returned the landscape painting and left.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Just then, Woo-Moon's shout came from behind.
"You're still trying to jump at me recklessly! You can’t even stay cool and realize what you lack in... Huh?" As Won-Myeong turned to look at Woo-Moon, his eyes widened.