Chapter 360
Domination means strength. If the feeling of Weight is merely heaviness, then Domination can be described as heaviness mixed with speed. If Weight crushes opponents with solidity, then Domination's meaning lies in destroying the target.
So…
'No matter how I think about it, Domination and lightness don't harmonize… '
Light strength, indeed.
Of course, swiftness has aspects that connect with lightness. But the problem is that Wusan is currently receiving the same kind of training.
If the meaning is to increase the speed of Domination, then there's no reason for Wusan, the representative of Weight from Shaolin, to receive such training.
Peng Dao-ji fell into contemplation.
"I understand."
Peng Dao-ji nodded as if he had achieved great enlightenment.
"Heaviness and lightness. It was wrong to be obsessed with such things. In the end, jeong is ban , and ban is jeong, so we'll reach jeong-ban-hap…"
At Peng Dao-ji's enlightenment, Wei Yan-ho smiled contentedly and replied.
"What are you saying? Crazy bastard."
"…"
"Jeong what? Huh? What are you saying? Speak so I can understand."
"…I'm sorry."
Jeong-ban-hap and whatever else—it seemed meaningless to this guy.
"In the end, the path to pursue the extreme of the Way of Domination can also be reached by going in reverse, right? Domination and Void are different names, but ultimately they're the same thing…"
"They're different, so why are they the same?"
"…"
"Even a three-year-old would know they're different. Did you eat the wrong food, or has your head gone bad?"
Peng Dao-ji hung his head low.
Where did it go wrong?
Seeing Peng Dao-ji's attitude, Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue.
"Anyway, these people who talk about prestigious families don't think they're holding swords and think they should recite poetry. Hey, even people in Confucian circles don't talk like that. I've been there, and those gentlemen are more direct."
Moon Yu-hwan especially gave off a slightly fraudulent feel.
"Even the Three Grand Scholar is desperate to speak simply, but jeong what? What? Jeong-ban-hap? Huh?"
"Stop, stop…"
Peng Dao-ji felt like hiding in a mouse hole right now.
He did tend to speak a bit pedantically, but there was no need to embarrass him like this.
"Anyway, nothing Master said was wrong. These so-called prestigious families first get caught up in appearances and like to twist whatever they say in circles."
Actually, thinking about it, his master Baek Mu-han was also from a prestigious family among prestigious families.
'Master is fine. That gentleman was cursed even in his own family.'
He was someone who had the right to openly criticize prestigious families even though he was from one.
"Then, then why do I have to do this training?"
If there was one thing Peng Dao-ji realized after being cursed at countless times and criticized as a water ghost, it was that this guy wasn't someone who would just "leave it alone and he'll stop eventually." If left alone, he'd curse for three nights and four days. It was better to quickly change the subject.
"Why? Because your foundation isn't established."
"My foundation isn't established?"
"Amitabha!"
As if even he couldn't tolerate this statement, Wusan shouted an intense Buddhist invocation!
"…Buddha probably isn't there for you to call on at times like this, right?"
At Wei Yan-ho's point, Wusan seemed to realize his mistake and continuously chanted invocations.
But the response that came back was still unkind.
"Chanting prayers and falling over."
"…"
Wei Yan-ho, who had cleanly shot down Wusan, turned his head to look at Peng Dao-ji. Peng Dao-ji flinched, but shouted as if this was absolutely unacceptable.
"I don't know about other things, but I cannot accept the statement that my foundation is inadequate!"
"I never said it was inadequate. I said it wasn't established."
"That's the same thing!"
"No. It's not even at the inadequate level. I'm saying the foundation just isn't established."
"What, what foundation am I lacking!"
Peng Dao-ji was naturally bound to feel wronged.
Wasn't the foundation what he had focused on learning most? Children from prestigious families are bound to hear until their ears are callused that how well they build their foundation during their growth process determines how high they can build their tower.
Foundation is always boring to train, so even after hearing such words, it tends to be neglected, but Peng Dao-ji had never once neglected his foundation.
The person who still does over a thousand basic cuts per day—cuts that prestigious families usually move past at age seven—is precisely Peng Dao-ji.
To Peng Dao-ji, who had dug into effort alone because he knew he had no special talent, the words that his foundation was inadequate were tantamount to denying his identity.
But Wei Yan-ho was Wei Yan-ho. He was merciless.
"You're slow at lightness skill, right?"
Thud.
Wei Yan-ho's words became a dagger that stabbed Peng Dao-ji.
"Your footwork is also ambiguous."
Thuud.
Sometimes words are sharper than sharp daggers.
"Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha, Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva…"
Though he criticized Peng Dao-ji, Wusan seemed to have taken shrapnel damage, as he continued chanting invocations. Seeing this scene, Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue again.
"Really chanting prayers and falling over."
"…"
Wei Yan-ho ignored Wusan and attacked Peng Dao-ji again.
"Well, fine. Yeah, I know. You work hard too. Working hard—who would say anything about that? If you keep swinging your sword like that, you could split mountains and seas with a single strike."
"That… that much is…"
"If someone would let you hit them, that is."
"…"
Wei Yan-ho spoke matter-of-factly.
"Look, about this much. This distance. This distance between you and me is the absolute safety line. You cannot cross here to attack me. Right?"
"…"
He wanted to refute it.
But he couldn't refute it. Even if Peng Dao-ji swung his sword like crazy from this spot, it wouldn't reach Wei Yan-ho by even an inch.
He could use sword qi to extend the range, but Wei Yan-ho wasn't someone who would meekly take that.
"In the end, to attack me with that sword, you have to close the distance. But you're slower than me."
"That…"
"Speed is a relative concept. You don't always need to be faster than me. You just need to be faster than me for one moment. But since you can never be faster than me even for a single moment, you can never attack me."
Peng Dao-ji's mouth fell wide open.
It was an obvious fact. But realizing it was different from knowing it.
"So to place your sword on my body, you have no choice but to get faster. But you're still just swinging your sword desperately. Are you hoping your sword will get longer from swinging it?"
"But, but!"
Peng Dao-ji gritted his teeth.
If he accepted this, the martial arts of the Hubei Peng Family would be denied. How could he accept that the martial arts he had devoted everything to learning had fundamental problems?
"Even if I can't catch up, I won't be defeated. If you enter my sword's range, then at that moment…"
"At that moment, what?"
Wei Yan-ho suddenly appeared right in front of Peng Dao-ji.
"Uh…"
"What happens then?"
Peng Dao-ji's hand holding the sword trembled. He wanted to immediately swing his sword and change Wei Yan-ho's smirking face into a bewildered one.
But he couldn't swing his sword until the end.
Because if he swung his sword at this distance and it still didn't reach Wei Yan-ho, he felt he couldn't bear that despair.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue and stepped back.
"What's so difficult about it? Just close your eyes and swing."
Peng Dao-ji hung his head low.
He knew well that Wei Yan-ho wasn't doing this to mock him. But who could pleasantly accept having their shortcomings exposed one by one?
"Master said this."
Peng Dao-ji raised his head.
"People inevitably have weaknesses and strengths. At first, people try to eliminate their weaknesses. But when they feel that eliminating weaknesses isn't easy, they try to focus on their strengths. Then they try to cover up their weaknesses by strengthening their strengths. They package this with the word 'characteristics.'"
Peng Dao-ji's eyes widened.
Seeing such Peng Dao-ji, Wei Yan-ho shrugged his shoulders.
"It's really strange. You surely have pride in the Peng Family's Way of Domination. You think it's great."
"Of course."
"But if I told you to choose between a training method to become a perfect warrior and a training method to see the extreme of the Way of Domination, which would you pick?"
"…"
Peng Dao-ji couldn't answer.
The answer was too obvious for him to answer.
"Right. Everyone wants to become perfect. Fast, accurate, strong, and soft… You want to reach such a level. But at some point, you compromise. Because it's impossible."
"That's… right."
Wei Yan-ho stared directly at Peng Dao-ji and said.
"The fastest way to become strong is to fill in what you lack. That's the fastest, but it's several times more difficult and painful. If you really want to become strong, you have to endure that. Not just desperately digging into the parts you're good at and enjoy, comforting yourself that you tried hard."
It was words like a blade.
A moment ago, when Wei Yan-ho was half-teasing him, it felt stinging, but now it was different. It felt like a cold dagger had been stuck in his body.
It was a sense of defeat that didn't even allow for excuses.
"Are you saying you became strong that way?"
"No."
Wei Yan-ho cleanly shook his head.
"In the end, I won. Master couldn't make me diligent. But I can't deny that by controlling my laziness—my biggest weakness—for five years, I've come this far."
"Hmm…"
"So…"
Wei Yan-ho spoke with a slightly contemptuous tone.
"If you really want to become strong, don't comfort yourself. Don't package it with the name of effort. Do what you have to do."
Peng Dao-ji bit his lips tightly and nodded.
'Did this person have such a side too?'
Wei Yan-ho's words were sharp and correct. The fact that these words came from Wei Yan-ho, not someone else, made him agitated.
'Perhaps this person isn't the kind of person I thought he was.'
If he was as he showed just now, perhaps Wei Yan-ho was…
"But…"
At that moment, Jang-il raised his hand high.
"Why?"
"Your words make sense, but something's strange. Then I understand why the bald monk and that sword maniac are doing such training, but why do I have to do training to dodge daggers? According to your words, lightness skill is my greatest strength, so why am I training my strength further?"
Wei Yan-ho spoke matter-of-factly.
"It's fun."
"…Huh?"
"Because it's fun to watch a beggar bounce around."
"…"
"Why?"
"You son of a…"
At that moment, Wei Yan-ho threw a dagger at Jang-il. Jang-il was horrified and rolled on the ground.
"You bastard who should die soaked in shit water! When I get strong, I'll tear you apart first!"
"Kekekekekeke."
Watching Wei Yan-ho throwing daggers at Jang-il, who was rolling around on the ground, Peng Dao-ji carefully erased the thought that had occurred to him moments ago.
'Like hell he's not.'
Wei Yan-ho was Wei Yan-ho.