Book 14 Chapter 2

Field of view (視野)

- Daogong Gongbi vs. Bi Ryuyeon

"The bird that flies high sees far. Do you know what this means?"

Master said.

"The beginning of everything is to see! What does your vision see, what does it hold, what does it do?

Which one can you recognize?"

At the time, I couldn't think of anything to say in response to my teacher's question.

"Have the eyes of the Great Beast!"

I still remember clearly that he said that.

"Can I make a substitution?"

With these very polite words, she walked toward Mo Yonghui with light steps, as if she were taking a stroll. While it was good to ask, it was a bit impolite to move before hearing the answer. But there was no one to make an issue of it now.

"Ryuyeon…, you……."

Mo Yonghui stared blankly at his dormmate, unperturbed by the drops of blood running down his wrist. Unlike herself, whose heart was twisting with desperation and anxiety, Bi Ryuyeon was smiling in a calm manner. As if nothing was wrong.

For a moment, Mo Yonghui breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, he didn't think that Bi Ryuyeon would be able to defeat that dark monster. Although she didn't have a habit of overestimating herself, she hadn't thought that 'he' could handle the mysterious beast with the overwhelming power to push her to this point.

"You're in over your head!"

Mo Yonghui exclaimed in an urgent voice.

"That's your call!"

His answer was simple.

Of course, both Mo Yonghui and Bi Ryuyeon were familiar with the fact that she hadn't gotten this far by sheer luck, as some of her peers would say. Anyone with eyes and ears would never be able to make such a simple and straightforward judgment. Of course, being passed over in favor of a lowly (they claimed) person of unknown origin would have been unbearable without the demeaning, disparaging, and sarcastic comments, but covering your eyes, plugging your ears, and shutting your mouth doesn't make what happened go away.

But he realized that even this friend of unknown potential would be too much for him to handle this time, because he was willing to die to stop the monster. But even then, he wasn't sure how much time he could buy.

A wave of regret washed over me as I realized that all of my hard work and bone-crushing training had only resulted in this.

"Mo Yonghui, Mo Yonghui, you've been too proud!

What is a once-in-a-hundred-years martial artist, a successor to the Sword Saint? The Seven Deadly Divine Swords had become an embarrassment. There was no guarantee that he would still be alive before the sun rose today.

"One more life to die!"

An unrelenting chill that could freeze the stars from the night. The crystalline shadows in the cold darkness seemed unmoved, like a being that had shaped the language of 'cool composure'.

"You don't look like a man!"

Bi Ryuyeon frowned.

"Hmmm…, hmmm…, hmmm…, heh……."

What was he seeing now? Mo Yonghui looked at his housemate in bewilderment. Standing in front of him, Bi Ryuyeon stared at him, her eyes darting from one side to the other as she tried to figure out where the creature in question was. Then she blurted out a question.

"Hey! Whew! Do you know what you need to do to influence someone?"

The out-of-the-blue question stunned him. It was not a question that would be asked in the middle of a battlefield where blood and flesh would be spilled at any moment. But Bi Ryuyeon was nonchalant.

"I don't know."

Unable to help himself, Mo Yonghui replies, "This is not the time for such small talk.

"First, you must see your opponent. You must capture him in your field of vision. Only when you can recognize your opponent can you exert power over him!"

Her voice was so light and cheerful, even when it wasn't.

"That…, that's……."

"Are you trying to say it's a no-brainer?"

In response to Mo Yonghui's retort, Bi Ryuyeon hit the player. Suddenly cut off, he was speechless and nodded with a disgruntled expression.

"But people usually act like they don't even know these simple facts. Maybe they really don't know, even the simplest of the basics."

"……."

What does he want to talk about, and is it okay to continue this tension-free conversation? Luckily, there's no response from the other side of the darkness.

"So, do you know how to do the opposite and get out of their way?"

Mo Yonghui thought for a moment and came up with an answer.

"I'll just have to get out of my opponent's line of sight."

At that moment, Bi Ryuyeon suddenly clapped her hands.

"Exactly. That's my housemate, the top-performing second-year kendo student. I call it 'out of sight, out of mind' or 'cognitive evasion'. I'm sorry, but this answer doesn't count toward your score. Don't blame me for that!"

"It doesn't matter."

She couldn't afford to be bothered with such trivialities right now, but whether she didn't realize it or was doing it on purpose, Bi Ryuyeon continued.

"According to your answer, removing yourself from your opponent's awareness and perception is the way to protect yourself and avoid his skill. What, then, must I do to defeat my opponent?"

Ryu-yeon Bi found the question very funny.

"Then……."

Before Mo Yonghui knew it, he was back in the mind of a novice listening to a lecture on fighting for the first time.

"The conclusion is already there! Yes, to defeat an opponent, you have to remove yourself from their cognitive field and put them in yours. It's called the 'cognitive gap' and it's the first step to defeating your enemy!"

Mo Yonghui shuddered as if he had been struck by lightning. This was a story that changed the concept of distance as he knew it. He couldn't believe that his friend, who was just playing with threads every day, had such insight. The mysteries of the universe are no more marvelous than this.

But there was no time to listen anymore. The waiting had grown tiresome, and the life from beyond the darkness was amplified.

"I'll be in charge of this place! Ryuyeon, you quickly bring Silver Sojae and leave this place!"

Mo Yonghui shouted as he pointed his dagger at the darkness. It was a scene that should have been reserved and long (?), but the corners of Bi Ryuyeon's mouth burst out in a bloody laugh. I can't believe I didn't recognize it even after explaining it in such detail…….

"Now is not the time to show off your big ego, upstanding young man?"

"What, what!"

He stared at Bi Ryuyeon with fierce eyes that burned with anger. Under this ferocious gaze, the long-haired young man didn't even flinch.

"Why are you still standing here?"

Suddenly, Bi Ryuyeon asked in a tone of incredulity.

"What do you mean, haphazardly?"

Bi Ryuyeon mimed punching her chest with her fist.

"What a frustrating friend. I've explained it to you in such detail and kindness, and you still don't get it?"

"I understood everything you said!"

Then she said, "It's too bad.

"Tsk, tsk, you really don't understand, I didn't think you were that dumb."

I'm not bragging, but I don't have a history of being told I'm not smart enough or comprehensible enough. On the other hand, there have been many times when he has been criticized for being overly intelligent and understanding. But for Bi Ryuyeon, none of that mattered. As Mo Yonghui stood there with a slightly angry expression on his face, Bi Ryuyeon clicked her tongue in pity.

"Now, can you see your opponent over there in the darkness?"

Mo Yonghui now understood that when she said "see," she didn't just mean to look at things.

"No…yes!"

Honestly, Mo Yonghui shook his head.

"So are you out of the author's field of vision, too?"

Immediately, Mo Yonghui's expression quickly stiffened and his complexion turned gray.

"See, you didn't understand at all! I meant why you're still standing here, unable to secure your opponent in your own cognitive space, while you're completely engulfed in his cognitive space!"

My heart felt like it was being sliced open with a fine sharp knife. The back of my head throbbed like I'd been hit with a blunt object.

"Tsk, tsk, look at you right now, you're barely standing up at best, and at worst, you're a shambling mess of speed!"

A harsh criticism that was hardly thoughtful. But it carried enough power to shut him up. The insults he received that day and the shame he felt that day were engraved in an invisible language deep in his heart. He never forgot the sensation, even afterward.

"……."

Bi Ryuyeon's point was so accurate, albeit verbally abusive, that the upstanding young man didn't dare refute it, even as he blushed with shame.

"You're a cute kid, but you're going to risk your friend's life in a place like this, and you're not going to come out of it with anything but a messed up dream."

It was a strong, unyielding, and uncompromising conviction that was etched in the heart of Bi Ryuyeon.

"Go!"

Looking at Mo Yonghui, who stood there with blood dripping from his slashes, staining his white robes red, Bi Ryuyeon said. Her tone was calm. But within it, there was a hint of strength.

"But……."

He still didn't like the idea of letting someone else fight his battles.

"Don't worry, I'll get this debt back with interest later, so don't come back to me later!"

A generous smile.

For a moment, Mo Yonghui was torn between his will and the fallen Eunseulan, but finally he nodded. He then carefully picked up the unconscious woman and carried her on his back, as if she were fragile.

Bi Ryuyeon's gaze was on Mo Yonghui and Eun Seolan, but she hadn't relaxed her vigilance against the shadowy figures.

"I'm sorry!"

Immediately after picking up Silver Snow Lan, Mo Yonghui paused for a moment before bowing his head slightly and apologizing. It could be said that very few people had ever received such a heartfelt apology from this young man, who was unashamedly driven by his own blood to achieve perfection in everything he did.

At this moment, the young man is rebuking himself, as if he were beating himself with a thorny whip, more bitterly and fiercely than ever before.

"It's money, not apologies, and don't run away when you pay me later!"

I say in my usual nonchalant voice.

"Keep your worries to yourself, for I harbor no fanciful ideas to counter your obsession with money, and I would never take such a reckless course of action, even if I were you. Because I know that life is not worth living!"

It was a joke that didn't suit Mo Yong-hui, but it was his own way of thinking.

"Smile more when you tell jokes!"

Bi Ryuyeon smirked at the immature expression.

But Mo Yonghui also knew how thorough he was when it came to practical and financial matters.

"Then go!"

At the same time as Bi Ryuyeon's shout, the man with the silver snowflake on his back launched Xin Xing to the other side. Even though he was injured and carrying the weight of an extra person, his movements were as swift as a leopard.

"It's not polite to go back without your master's permission."

Before the bassy words from the darkness were finished, sharp flesh stretched out.

But…, the behavior didn't continue.

Mo Yonghui ran, carrying a silver snowflake on his back.

The soft feel of her breasts pressed against his back, but he didn't have time to savor the sensation. He ran, leaping over wall after wall, slashing at those who stood in his way. Toward his friends…….

Luckily, it wasn't hard to find, because it was a lot of color, noise, and fuss.

Quack! Quack!

Chug-chug-chug!

Arrrrrgh! Arrrrgh! Arrrrgh! Arrrrgh! Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!

From one side of the manor came a scream and a burst of flame that shook the night sky.

"You really make it easy to find your way around!

His body was being guided by a sure guide so that no one with eyes and ears could ever get lost.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

But the certainty of his direction didn't seem to make the journey any easier. Out of nowhere, twelve black-clad men blocked his path.

Twelve Suras (十二修羅碎星陣)

In an instant, the twelve suras, with the grandiose name of Breaking the Stars, were before Mo Yonghui. Their mission was simple. To bring her back alive by any means necessary.

A tremendous force surged out from the activated Qin Lie, pressuring Mo Yonghui's entire body.

"Give me the girl!"

The black-clad man in the lead shouted, his weapon a katana so vibrant with the blood of hundreds.

Boom!

Mo Yonghui didn't stop running and wordlessly drew out a dagger named Shenghui (Starry).

'A sword shines brighter and brighter when there is something precious to protect. I hope you will find something precious of your own someday, so that your sword can shine even brighter!

A story I heard as a child on my grandfather's lap suddenly pops into my head.

'The shadow in her mind doesn't have to be me; her eyes don't have to be looking at me. Still…, still…, I protect her!'

In an instant, all hesitations and troubles were washed away from his mind. And at last, a supreme tranquility came over him.

"Get out of the way! All who stand in my way die!"

Question and answer dance!

A starlight sword qi shot out from the tip of Mo Yonghui's white transparent sword like rain.

Galactic Meteor Sword (銀河流星劍法)

Sword Technique Righteousness

Shengguang Manli (星光萬里)

Pah-bah-bah-bah!

A shower of meteors swept past his enemies, clearing the way for a sword light that was brighter and stronger than any he had ever displayed before.

Shae Sungjin shattered into dust and scattered into the darkness of the night, unworthy of his name.

"Is that okay?"

The dark figure stopped its hand. Instead of the flesh that had been directed at Mo Yonghui, Bi Ryuyeon felt another bundle of flesh turn toward her with an icy gaze.

"…Is it you, the one who cut off my movement?"

It's not that he didn't attack his fleeing prey, it's that he couldn't. His hunt was thwarted. By the hand of a nameless brat.

The Shadow had no intention of letting them escape. Mo Yonghui couldn't let go of Eunseulan no matter what. He hadn't even checked to see if he had killed her yet. But even so, he didn't. No, he couldn't.

'No way…….'

The monster in the shadows, the Grand Duke, was unbelievable.

"How?

His instincts, tempered by tens of thousands of quenchings in the fires of hell, refused to let him attack the two of them.

The warning rang loud and clear, and it took me a moment to realize what it was about. A pair of ice-cold Han Guang young eyes turned toward Bi Ryuyeon.

I hadn't heard of him until recently, certainly not in a report. I briefly thought he was unusual, but never thought of him as a person of note. He might be interesting and unique, but he was just one of those ubiquitous oddballs, and I hadn't realized that he'd become an obstacle in my path.

"Am I wary of the loopholes in their attack, and if so, is he skilled enough to get past them in the heat of the moment?

He doesn't want to admit it, but that's what his instincts tell him. Instincts are honest. Sometimes instincts triggered by the six senses are far more accurate than fragments of our imagination, which can be laced with our own subjective and distorted judgment.

"That guy?

On the other side of the darkness and night, a man stood leisurely, his smile still intact. But his face is obscured by his long bangs.

"Then let's test it!

Find out if you deserve to surprise yourself or not!

As a testament to his determination, the light glowed in the dark.

To get there, Mo had to pass through three charred gates and two collapsed fences that looked like they had been blown apart by a mortar round, and when he arrived, dozens of black men lay charred and scattered in all directions after what must have been a very hot moment.

"Sister Seolan!"

The first person to spot him and her was Shi Liuha (石榴霞), who was momentarily dazed by the din and drama. She was certain that she would never forget the violent scene she had just witnessed. He couldn't believe that the man who had shown him such frenzied ferocity, like a hellish nachal, was a fan of the color red.

"How unhappy are the people who are being taught directly by someone like this?

As she asked herself these questions, she had no idea that she was now surrounded by stars of misfortune.

"Is your sister okay?"

Mo Yonghui's scars were not unnoticed, but her sister's well-being was more important to her than the handsome Mizangbu she met today.

"I'm fine, I just haven't woken up yet."

After receiving a worried glance, Mo Yonghui nodded in confirmation, and Su Yuehua patted her chest in relief.

"Anything that happens to a beauty like this is a loss to the whole kingdom."

Jang Hong, who interjected unnecessarily, nodded in understanding.

"Yuck!"

Namgungsang nodded his head in agreement, only to receive a friendly pinch from Qinling.

Self-employed!

"What about him?"

Mo Yonghui, of course, knew who Yin Dao was referring to. If Bi Ryuyeon were here, she would have lamented, "That's my master's son! What an arrogant, sky-high disciple!

"I'm still behind you!"

A momentary flicker of agitation crossed Na Yerin's face, then it was gone, faster than light. Her mouth tightly closed, a cold chill emanated from her, like an icy flower with its bud tightly closed. Cautiously, she approached the area of his chest where he was feeling the disturbance.

Excitement!

Apparently, the heart is not so well controlled, even though the face is moving in the direction of reason. Putting ice on a flame doesn't completely extinguish it.

Yeomdo's gaze swept over Mo Yonghui's entire body in a single sweep. Sharp, blood-soaked wounds entered his beady eyes. Every single one of them was out of the ordinary.

"Is the opponent strong?"

"Strong."

Mo Yonghui didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm sure he's the one who put you in that much trouble!"

"Sorry!"

It was an apology for the cowardice of leaving a fellow man behind.

"It's okay, as long as it's 'that-thing'!"

Yeomdo asserted.

"I'll ask you again. Is it you?"

The Shadow asked.

"Well…, maybe, if there's no one else here but me."

It's like you're talking about something that has nothing to do with you. It's a distraction.

"You never know, there might be someone else here besides me?"

It had a subtle ring to it, a hint of suspicion, a hint that someone other than me might be lurking. It was an ambiguous, almost condescending tone.

But Grand Duke Bi showed no sign of displeasure. Its cold, unmoving gaze was still creeping across Bi Ryuyeon's cheeks.

"There is no one here but you!"

A firm answer. His low, cold tone was full of conviction.

'It's a shame Mo Yonghui wasn't attacked!

Bi Ryuyeon clicked her tongue inwardly, it was such a shame.

"Why did you take the life of my friend the bastard, you could've gotten away with it."

Ryu-yeon clicked her tongue in a gesture of regret, and I couldn't tell if she was asking because she didn't know why, or if she knew but was pretending not to.

"Is this a complaint?"

A low, guttural bass sounded from beyond the darkness.

"He's a very, very good guy over there in the powerhouse, but he's a little unreliable, a little inflexible, and a little unforgiving of every speck of dust, every strand of tufts, and it would have been beneficial to get rid of him beforehand, wouldn't it?"

It's almost as if he's unhappy that Mo Yong-hui hasn't been attacked by his hand.

"……."

The Grand Duchess was silent for a moment in disbelief.

"…Is it such a shame, that I didn't attack him?"

"Well, sort of."

Once again, there was a brief moment of silence. But the silence was quickly broken, and from the Grand Duke's mouth came a voice that was still low, cold, and calculating.

"…That's a lot of confidence!"

This time, Bi Ryuyeon looks surprised.

"Huh? Did you get it? That's pretty good!"

He'd never heard such childish praise before, and it was refreshing to him. Except for the fact that it left him scratching his head and furious.

"Are you saying that if I had gotten out, you could have killed me in that gap?"

"It would have been a lot less work."

Her face was still beaming, a sign of confidence that there was nothing she couldn't kill now.

"…That's fun!"

For the first time, something that could be called emotion emerged faintly from the shadowy voice.

"I wonder if your skills are really good enough to support your confidence."

"Oh, I'm a little modest."

Bi did the wisest thing for Bi Ryuyeon, which was to ignore his words. Then she spoke, her voice filled with intense power.

"I promised! I will spare your life if you avoid me for one second!"

"I quite like people who make arrogant promises."

"That promise still stands!"

He declared.

"Huh?"

This overconfidence took the timid (?) Bi Ryuyeon by surprise. Suddenly, he became very concerned about the other person, so he chose to be kind.

"That's fun, but it's probably best not to make promises you'll quickly regret, right?"

"I've never been an Ilgurian in my life."

Suddenly, a terrifying aura emanated from the space where the Archduke's shadow lay, a tidal wave of pure murder that could swallow a village or a city in one fell swoop.

"Here, take it, and I'll let you live."

The same conditions, the same promise, the same unwavering, absolute confidence. The words brought a ghostly smile to the young man's lips.

"This is getting more and more interesting."

"This isn't a joke, is it?

People who can't distinguish between jokes and seriousness and don't know how to use moderation are disgusting, she said.

The dark, heavy forces that seemed to be paving the way to death were becoming more and more overlapping. The darkness had reached the sky, and black clouds were drowning out the brilliance of the Big Dipper and its center, the North Star.

'This, this……. I need to get serious!

She had to admit that something out of the ordinary was standing in her way.

It suddenly occurred to me that it might be time to wake up.

"Is it time to wake up……."

Still in a relaxed voice, Bi Ryuyeon mused.

The thunderous strides of Yan Dao as he rushed forward with his rescuers paused for a moment, his gaze drawn to the star-sprinkled silk cannon, no longer remembering how many gates and how many foes had already been crushed beneath his waves.

His searing gaze cooled, and he turned to a place, a long way from where they were.

"The night is stirring!"

An ominous aura enveloped Yeomdo's entire body.

"Boss!"

A slightly urgent voice called out to him. It was Jang Hong, who was now looking in the same direction as he was. Yeomdo looked at Jang Hong with a slightly surprised gaze.

"Does this mean he felt the same thing I did?

I knew he had some sort of trick up his sleeve, but……. I didn't have a good feeling about it anyway. His gaze snapped back to the road ahead.

"We're breaking through!"

His eyes, which had gone cold, burned fiercely again, along with his mournful redness.

Na Yerin continued to run in silence, staring straight ahead. She was in no mood to speak, and even her guardian and protector, a solitary elder, dared not speak to her.

"Why is he so upset?"

The one-eyed woman, who had been running, swinging her sword nonstop, did not hide her bewilderment.

"Is that angry?"

She couldn't tell, no matter how hard she looked, so Yi Yun rolled her eyes, which still hadn't dried from the tears, and asked, "Why?" As far as she could tell, Na Yerin's face was as still as the cold moon, with no trace of emotion on it.

"Yeah, he's definitely angry, that's for sure, and if you're around him when he's making that face, you better be careful too!"

The binary theory still didn't make sense to me. After all, the guardian of the First Flower of Heaven had a much different perspective than the average person.

"Samae…, are you angry?"

Finally, unable to hold back, the poisonous spirit asked. She didn't miss the momentary stiffening of Na Yerin's body.

"No, I'm not mad!"

The answer I got back was chilling. But…….

Na Yerin broke away from the group and stepped forward. There was no time to stop. Already, a cloud of cold frost was gathering around her pet sword, the Han Shang Jade Spirit.

The icy cold spiraled and danced along the sword.

Cold Jade Spirit Sword (寒霜玉靈神劍)

Arcane Misunderstandings

Frozen Nightmare (氷蝶亂夢)

Out of thin air, hundreds of icy butterflies swarmed in a colorful yet chilling dance. It was a dreamlike sight, as if cut from a dream in which the world was filled with pure white butterflies, each one incredibly beautiful yet deadly.

At the tip of the celestial nymph's island, the mirage-like dance of butterflies in the five-color polarized light of the calabash drove the enemies away.

A dense fog gathered around her in the wake of the sword wave she unleashed. As the mist wrapped around her like white silk, she spoke quietly, her eyes the color of the night sky.

"I'm not…, I'm not mad!"

Lee stared at the vision in awe. It suddenly occurred to her that not knowing what she was thinking was more frightening. It was the first time she'd ever felt scared of Na Yerin.

"Don't worry!"

It was Yeomdo who broke down her barriers and spoke to her.

'Worried……? Does your face show emotion?'

Unconsciously, you raise your hand to touch your cheek and the corner of your mouth, but you don't feel any change.

"But how?

It's amazing that I even felt that kind of emotion (called "concern" for others), let alone that it rose from the depths of my heart to the surface……. It was a rare enough experience for Na Yerin that it didn't hurt to be appalled.

Unperturbed by her reaction, Yeomdo continued.

"Stop worrying about it! It's useless. If he was only going to die, I wouldn't have to suffer like this!"

He was right. The problem with Yeomdo was that it was too persistent.

"Even if you wanted me to die there, I wouldn't do it, would I?

That's what the frowning thief thought.

He realized that the only person who could understand these complicated thoughts was his wench, Binggum, and it was a double-edged sword of sorrow and despair that stabbed at his delicate (?) heart in the most devastating way.