Book 7 Chapter 9
Reminiscence, the second part
- The state of Holhwang
At that time, Biryuyeon asked his master.
It’s an event from 8 years ago, the memory of which is now fading!
It’s a past I don’t want to remember.
‘What did Master answer back then?’
Even thinking about it again now was infuriating.
“If I really do as you say, Master, can I truly reach that state?”
The question he asked 8 years ago.
The master’s words referred to his boastful claim that he could surpass even himself if there were no limits, a statement that Biryuyeon carefully filtered before directly mentioning it to the narrow-minded old man, fearing some sort of calamity.
Biryuyeon’s eyes shone brighter than ever. The intensity surpassed that of an eagle spotting prey from the sky.
‘Look at this guy?’
The master felt a bit uneasy as Biryuyeon’s eyes shone with an unusual brilliance. His sharp and sensitive intuition caught an ominous aura with impure intentions.
‘How dare this disciple eye the position of the great Master, who is higher than the heavens and wider than the universe? It would take you a hundred years to catch up to me!’
‘Let’s have some fun with him!’
Wasn’t it the master’s duty, right, and responsibility to take appropriate action when a disciple harbored impure intentions? There was no reason to refuse to play a trick on a delinquent disciple. The master puffed out his chest and declared loudly.
“Of course. Has this Master ever lied? Believe me! Believe and follow without question! Then you will see the light! Those who harbor even a shred of doubt can never reach that state.”
He had already learned and mastered the fact that a bit of exaggeration was sometimes necessary for dramatic effect in a play, over a hundred years ago, and was ready to use it at any time.
“How?”
“You’re impatient. Cultivate some patience. You won’t lose anything. Huh? What’s with that defiant look?”
“No. It’s just a bit embarrassing to hear that from a Master who doesn’t have a single bit of patience to begin with!”
The master glared at Biryuyeon fiercely. His eyes, watching the increasingly rebellious disciple, were filled with the will to reform him. It was also the master’s duty to guide the disciple to the right path before he strayed.
‘Huh? What?’
However, Biryuyeon did not avert his gaze even when meeting the master’s eyes directly.
‘Hmm… look at this fellow?’
Ever since he sent him to the blacksmith’s shop, his internal energy had suddenly increased beyond imagination, and for some reason, this boy was trying to climb to the top of the Master’s head, higher than any lofty peak.
‘Just because you’ve learned to wield a few flying thunderbolts, you dare to climb on Master’s head? No matter how unparalleled your achievement, this old man cannot stand to see such a sight as long as he draws breath!’
It seemed that the disciple he cherished and loved needed to be taught a lesson. There was no room for compromise anymore. With a serious gaze, he looked at Biryuyeon and spoke in a solemn tone.
“Listen!”
“Yes!”
“And take notes!”
“I’m listening!”
The disciple’s rebellious spirit showed no signs of subsiding.
Soon, the master, burning with a sense of duty, began to expound at length.
“Seeing what cannot be seen is called Yi (夷).”
“Yes!”
Biryuyeon replied with all his might. He had no time to be distracted when being taught how to surpass his master. He focused all his mental energy on every word the master uttered.
“Hearing what cannot be heard is called Xi (希).”
“Yes!”
Biryuyeon nodded again.
“To grasp what cannot be grasped is called Wei (微), to feel what cannot be touched.”
“Yes!”
He nodded vigorously as if he understood the last one as well. Then, the master’s face changed in a strange way.
‘Could it be that he understood this extremely difficult state, a state that ordinary people cannot reach even with a lifetime of effort? This young pup who still has milk on his lips?’
It was impossible.
“Are you nodding because you truly understand?”
Biryuyeon’s constant nodding like a doll made the master suspicious.
No, no.
Biryuyeon shook his head from side to side.
‘Phew! I knew it!’
The master sighed in relief in his heart. Even for a genius, understanding these three concepts after hearing them once was absurd.
For a martial artist of ordinary caliber, even grasping the mere shadow of this state would be impossible in a lifetime. A martial artist of above-average caliber might only catch a glimpse of this state in their later years. And only those with the highest caliber could truly approach the reality of this state.
Of course, there was a world of difference between knowing and mastering it.
“This is called the state of Holhwang (惚恍). The state of formless form, the state of non-material matter.”
“Is that even possible?”
Biryuyeon asked with a doubtful gaze. His eyes were full of suspicion.
“Have you ever seen this Master tell a lie?”
“……”
Suddenly, Biryuyeon’s tongue seemed to freeze, his movements halting. The unusual stiffness of his usually agile tongue made him feel a sense of unease. To the master, it felt like silent rebellion, a sit-in.
“Ahem! Disciple! Your silence is too prolonged.”
The master, unable to hide his awkwardness at the sudden break in conversation, spoke up.
“Hmm! Unfortunately, I don’t think so. While I may have blocked information or downplayed the truth, I have never told a lie. It's a miracle even to me.”
Although the disciple’s tone was subtly off, he decided to overlook it. He no longer wanted to argue with Biryuyeon.
The thought that his disciple was trying to win every argument made the master consider increasing his workload.
“Ahem! See! This Master has never spoken in vain. As you progress in mastering the Yeongsa Simgyeol, you will inevitably encounter this barrier, an obstacle you must overcome. The awakening of these three senses – Yi (夷), Xi (希), and Wei (微) – is the first step for us in the Pilwoe sect to become a master, the very basic technique (基礎之功)!”
“Basic technique?”
“Yes! Basic Technique!”
The master enunciated each syllable of his unilateral assertion clearly. To Biryuyeon, it sounded like a challenging tone, implying, ‘Can you do it? Is this basic technique too difficult for you now?’
“Can you do it? Isn’t this basic technique too difficult for you even now?”
Suddenly, the master asked with a voice full of concern. His complexion was grim. A stranger might mistake him for a great master anxiously worrying about his disciple.
“No! I can do it. I will definitely show you.”
Biryuyeon couldn’t stand the feeling of being looked down upon by his master. Looking back, that was his most fatal mistake. He shouldn’t have rashly boasted in a moment of impulse. He made a mistake in his youthful impatience.
“Excellent, disciple! Train through the Yeongsa Simgyeol (靈絲心結). If you can reach the state of Holhwang, you will gain a free mind. You will possess the eyes, ears, and senses to penetrate the true essence of the world.”
With a satisfied smile on his face, the master began Biryuyeon’s intensive Yeongsa Simgyeol training from that day on. It was a form of training to acquire these three senses: Yi (夷), Xi (希), and Wei (微).
However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not reach the state his master had described. It seemed easy to see and hear, but once he started, it felt like wandering in a sea of fog. He didn’t know where or how to begin.
‘He said it was basic technique… but….’
Biryuyeon painfully realized the brutal truth that his master was not to be easily trusted, eight years later.
The state of Holhwang (惚恍).
Holhwanggyeong (惚恍境).
There was no reason to refuse when told he could surpass his master, so he clung to it desperately, but he never imagined that it would take him 8 years to unravel its secret. Spending 8 years just to grasp one basic technique left him with a strong sense of having been shortchanged.
It took him a full five years from that day to feel that this state could not be reached by mere physical training. To get a feel for the state of Holhwang, his mind had to wander through a void of nothingness in a state of trance. He narrowly avoided becoming lost in the sea of nothingness, where time and space were not felt, and never returning. He almost fell into a state of madness.
After his head cleared, he thought dozens, no, hundreds of times that his master had tricked him. But even though his master was petty, narrow-minded, and even vile, he never lied, and out of sheer pride, Biryuyeon persevered. At this point, he couldn’t give up even out of stubbornness.
Five years after that day, it turned into a battle of pride and stubbornness between the master and Biryuyeon himself. Furthermore, the more he learned the Pilwoe Ddo and the higher his achievement in Yeongsa Simgyeol became, the stronger his conviction about Holhwanggyeong grew.
He began to realize that what is visible is not all there is to this world, and that an infinitely vast world beyond imagination exists right beside us if we just focus our minds and pay a little more attention. Of course, the destination was still distant.
And eight years after that day, Biryuyeon finally managed to fill his master’s face with astonishment. The look of disbelief and bewilderment on his master’s face at that time! The more he thought about it, the more exhilarating it felt.
‘That day was a turning point in my life, no exaggeration!’
However, he had not yet fully comprehended it. Biryuyeon intuitively knew that there was one more higher state before him.
If it takes 8 years just to master, how many years will it take to achieve great success? That was a place he had to reach someday. Perhaps it was the place people called the Dao, or God. That place was so high and distant that most people gave up before even starting. Yet, there are still those who challenge the impossibility that the world calls it, towards the realm called God’s state. Their common trait is that they do not think of the impossible as impossible. For them, it is simply possible, like anything else. Therefore, they make it possible.
He had no timeline, but no intention of giving up either. Quitting was not in his mental world.
‘If I obtain the power of the God of Thunder, I might gain confidence in this state. Or perhaps, do I need to reach this state to obtain the power of the God of Thunder?’
Is it the chicken or the egg first?
Only heaven knows.