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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Beast's Path
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"Number One."
Sa-u asked, his eyes sharp.
"Do you know why our sect, which stood at the pinnacle of the Ten Demonic Sects for hundreds of years, lost its past glory and slipped to the bottom?"
Bu Eun-seol had already heard the whole story from Bu Jan-yang.
But he kept his mouth shut and shook his head.
"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the pinnacle of our martial arts lies in 'enlightenment.' Unlike other advanced martial arts, its power and level vary wildly depending on the practitioner's understanding."
Sa-u sighed and continued.
"To be frank, the martial arts of our sect are incredibly difficult, even just to master the basics."
"..."
"No matter what advanced martial art you learn, the difficulty increases as you progress. But with our art, the beginning is harder than achieving great mastery in any other."
Gazing at the distant sky, he shook his head.
"Even if a genius unparalleled in the world were to learn our art, it's uncertain if they could ever master it. And there was never a guarantee such a genius would choose to learn it... That was the beginning of our downfall."
Sa-u looked at Bu Eun-seol's slender frame and shook his head again.
"Honestly, with a physique and constitution like yours, you'll either be dead or run away in less than three days. It's basically a waste of time."
Bu Eun-seol smiled.
"I hear that a lot."
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol recalled a memory with Bu Jan-yang.
*You little brat! You think just anyone can prepare a corpse? You'll run away in less than three days!*
Bu Jan-yang had exclaimed, jumping in protest when Bu Eun-seol offered to help prepare the bodies.
*Touching the body of the deceased requires not only guts but also a thorough knowledge of the human body. One wrong move and you can cause irreversible damage.*
*Shouldn't the bodies of those who died horribly be made whole in the end? It's not just about stitching them up and making them look presentable.*
Bu Jan-yang always restored the bodies he prepared to a state as whole as when they were alive.
This was because his deep understanding of the human body allowed him to adjust the muscles so naturally that they looked no different from when the person was living.
*This kid. You're a heaven-sent mortician!*
But a month later, Bu Jan-yang could only shake his head in amazement.
Bu Eun-seol had become capable of preparing bodies at the same level as Bu Jan-yang himself.
But this wasn't because Bu Eun-seol was a heaven-sent mortician, nor because he had a natural talent for it.
It was thanks to Bu Eun-seol's back-breaking effort.
He had read and reread the books stored in the house all night long, and he never left Bu Jan-yang's side when he was preparing a body.
Tenacious perseverance and keen observation.
Those were Bu Eun-seol's weapons.
"Well, I suppose we'd better start wasting that time now."
"I'm sorry."
"I'll say it again: there's nothing to be sorry or grateful for. Our sect simply made a promise to the Demonic Lord's Palace."
In truth, Sa-u was quite fond of Bu Eun-seol.
Especially his eyes, which held a fiery, sun-like determination, even while seeming indifferent to everything else.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to share all these stories about Nang-ya-gak.
"I'll ask you one last time. Nine out of ten who try to learn our sect's martial arts die. Do you still wish to learn?"
"I do."
"Hmph."
Sa-u glanced at the small path leading to the thatched hut and nodded.
"It seems no more students will be coming to learn our sect's arts. Then, I will now impart to you the basic martial art of our sect."
*Fwip.*
Sa-u suddenly shot out a lightning-fast finger wind, striking the Seungeup acupoint just below Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"Ah!"
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol felt a burning pain in his eyes.
"Ugh."
He hurriedly rubbed his eyes, and the world went dark.
He had been blinded in an instant.
"Don't worry. I've only sealed your sight temporarily with a secret technique of our sect."
"Why my sight..."
"It is to learn the basic martial art of our sect, the Beast's Path."
"The Beast's Path."
"That's right. It not only maximizes all your senses but also grants you reflexes like an animal. In other words, you will gain the senses of a wild beast."
Sa-u said, smacking his lips.
"Though most die while learning this basic art."
Sa-u sighed and spoke again.
"You should get used to the blindness in about an hour. I'll be back then."
Bu Eun-seol stood there blankly.
He couldn't see anything, couldn't feel anything.
It was as if Sa-u's finger wind had stolen not only his sight but some other sense as well.
*Was sight this important?*
Just by blocking his vision, it felt as if all his other senses had been shut down too.
One would think that losing sight would make hearing and other senses more sensitive, but in reality, his other sensory organs had become dull.
"I have to adapt."
Sa-u had said it would 'normally' take about an hour to adapt.
But Bu Eun-seol couldn't afford to be 'normal.'
He had to adapt faster than that.
*I can't just stand still for an hour.*
Moving around, even a little, would help him adapt faster than just sitting still.
*The others are busy learning their own martial arts, so they probably won't try to ambush me.*
For now, the scenery of this hellscape was peaceful.
No one would attack him just because he was blind. Not that it would matter if they did.
Bu Eun-seol moved about like a madman, touching the ground, tasting the earth.
*What if I'm ambushed like this?*
As that thought crossed his mind, Bu Eun-seol began to study how he would detect an enemy's attack in this state, how he should move.
His only real fight had been with Neung Un-gang.
But because he had studied his saber techniques in detail at the training ground, he could remember every one of Neung Un-gang's movements.
*Stumble.*
But his body and mind were not in sync.
He thought he had dodged by lightly twisting his body, but he lost his balance.
*It was balance.*
The first thing to regain after losing one's sight was the sense of balance.
Having reached this realization, Bu Eun-seol began to move wildly, like a puppy.
It was to regain his sense of balance as quickly as possible.
"A madman, indeed."
Sa-u, who had once again concealed himself in the ground using the Art of Earth Concealment, wore a bewildered expression as he watched Bu Eun-seol.
Normally, when someone lost their sight, they would calmly sit or lie down and wait for their other senses to return.
But Bu Eun-seol was moving frantically, fighting imaginary foes as he tried to find his body's balance.
*I suppose he passes, for now.*
If he had just foolishly waited for his senses to return, Sa-u would have taught him the Beast's Path half-heartedly.
"We'll have to see if he becomes just another madman, or a madman worthy of Nang-ya-gak."
Sa-u closed his eyes again and began to circulate his energy.
***
"Try to dodge."
After an hour had passed, Sa-u began to attack Bu Eun-seol with his sword.
Of course, to prevent his limbs from being lopped off, he struck with the scabbard, but Bu Eun-seol's bones were on the verge of breaking, and his internal organs were constantly shaken.
"Blech."
Struck in the lower abdomen by the scabbard, Bu Eun-seol collapsed, vomiting blood.
It was a strike so cunning and swift that he wouldn't have been able to dodge it even with his eyes wide open.
And he was expected to dodge a strike from a master of the Ten Demonic Sects while blind?
*What a peculiar fellow.*
Meanwhile, a curious thought occurred to Sa-u.
By this point, most students learning martial arts would ask for the method to dodge, or at least how they could possibly avoid the attacks.
But Bu Eun-seol simply took Sa-u's attacks head-on and asked nothing.
In the end, unable to contain his curiosity, Sa-u was the one to ask Bu Eun-seol.
"Why don't you ask anything?"
"About... what, sir?"
"You're just getting beaten up. Aren't you curious about how to dodge, or the proper method?"
Spitting out a clot of blood, Bu Eun-seol used his iron sword as a cane to push himself up.
"Didn't you say at the beginning that the essence of Nang-ya-gak lies in 'enlightenment'?"
"Hm?"
"I figured there must be a reason why you are striking me without a word."
"W-Well, of course."
It felt like the roles were reversed.
The teaching master was the one full of questions, while the learning disciple had none.
*My dignity as an elder is in tatters.*
Smacking his lips, Sa-u raised his scabbard once more.
"I'll tell you one thing."
Holding his sword at the middle guard, he said calmly.
"Human senses were originally as sharp as those of wild animals. But we lost that keenness for two reasons. Do you know what they are?"
"Sight, I presume."
"Correct."
Bu Eun-seol couldn't understand.
"Many animals have better eyesight than humans. It's not as if humans are the only ones with sight, so why do you say we lost our senses because of it?"
"Because human intelligence is far too superior."
"Intelligence."
"We grew accustomed to gathering and analyzing information with what we can see, rather than relying on uncertain senses."
As Bu Eun-seol nodded, Sa-u spoke again.
"Then, do you know the second reason?"
No matter how much he thought, he couldn't guess.
When Bu Eun-seol shook his head, Sa-u explained.
"Wild animals never know when or where they might be attacked. They are always on guard, their senses perpetually heightened."
Understanding Sa-u's words, Bu Eun-seol nodded.
Unlike beasts, humans are not always on guard. Martial artists may develop superior hearing and senses through training, but they are not as perpetually keen as an animal's.
"If you understand with your head, it's time to accept it with your body."
Sa-u picked up his sheathed sword again.
"Now, here I come again!"
Before he knew it, it was the third day.
Bu Eun-seol had not had a single sip of water, let alone a meal, and continued to take Sa-u's attacks while blind.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack.*
He couldn't even feel the passage of time.
The only thing Bu Eun-seol could feel was the cunning swordplay flying at him from the darkness.
*Enlightenment, he said.*
Lying on the ground, Bu Eun-seol clenched his fists.
*Is this really all I'm capable of?*
Collapsed on the ground, Bu Eun-seol grabbed a handful of sand.
At this level, how could he possibly avenge his grandfather?
*Swoooosh.*
Just then, with the sound of wind sweeping across the sky, cold raindrops began to fall.
"Number One. Are you enjoying your nap?"
Sa-u's cold voice rang out.
"If you want to lie down, I can make sure you lie down forever."
*Tuk.*
Silently, Bu Eun-seol pushed himself up.
He gripped his iron sword with his left hand. His right palm had been completely torn open from being hit by Sa-u's scabbard, and his fingers were swollen.
*Krrrrrumble! Swish!*
At that moment, along with a clap of thunder, Bu Eun-seol felt something sharp shooting toward his forehead.
"Kugh."
He instinctively leaned back and twisted, feeling something cut through the air and graze his face.
It was Sa-u's sword strike.
"Hoh."
Hearing Sa-u's exclamation of surprise, Bu Eun-seol felt something click.
*When I heard the thunder, I saw the path of the sword.*
The sword techniques Sa-u unleashed were not only nearly silent but also incredibly cunning.
But when the thunder roared, he could feel the incoming sword forms on his skin. It was as if the sword forms were wrapped in the sound of the thunder.
*This is the true sense of my body.*
It was the first time he had heard the world-shaking sound of thunder while blind.
For the first time, he felt those intense sound waves and vibrations not with his sight or hearing, but with his 'senses.'
*Sssss.*
Just then, Bu Eun-seol felt a strange sensation behind his back.
He could feel a sword form moving freely through the air, whipping around like a lash.
*I can't dodge it.*
A sword form coming from an impossible angle.
If that hit him, he wouldn't have the strength to get up again. Without a moment's thought, Bu Eun-seol used the iron sword in his hand to cover his back.
*Clang!*
A clear sound rang out as the iron sword and the steel scabbard collided.
He had finally blocked one of Sa-u's strikes.