Chapter 103

• Is Sound Arts for Everyone?

"No, that child is!"

When Bi Ryu-yeon first came up on the duel stage,
the Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, who was sitting in the judges' seats,
had to open her eyes wide.

She had recognized Bi Ryu-yeon, and she had also recognized the Ink Thunder hanging on his back. And so, she could not help but say a word.

"How reckless!"

The Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, had recognized Bi Ryu-yeon, who was just coming up on the duel stage, at a glance. Moreover, the god-like famous instrument, the Ink Thunder, that he possessed was something that Hong Ran could not forget even if she tried. Even if she were to forget Bi Ryu-yeon's face...

"Is he a child you know?"

An Old Master who was next to her asked. Hong Ran nodded her head. She did not try to hide the puzzlement on her face.

"It's strange. Considering that child's current level, there's no way that child can use sound arts in a real battle... Such a reckless act!"

How long had it been since he had learned it, to come out with just one Ink Thunder on his back in a high-level duel competition where such enormous masters were gathered! Seeing that he had no other weapon, it was clear that it was his absurd will to use the ink zither on his back as a weapon. Therefore, she could only describe it as reckless.

No matter how much she thought about it and pondered it, considering Bi Ryu-yeon's insincere attitude in her class, there was no way he was at a level where he could already apply sound arts in a real battle. Certainly, compared to his first impression, he had an unexpected talent and skill in basic melody, which had surprised Hong Ran. The skills he showed from time to time were skills that had not been acquired in a year or two, which could be seen at a glance. Among the current first-year Heaven character group, he would be the best in terms of melody (not sound arts), along with Moyong Hwi. Although she hated to admit it...

Still, that was that, and this was this.

Just because one played the zither well for a hundred days did not mean that one could unfold sound arts properly.

Melody was music, and sound arts was martial arts. The fields were as different as heaven and earth. But what could he unfold after learning for just one year!

Sound arts was not for everyone.

Until this time, Hong Ran had not imagined at all that the result would turn out that way.

"Ah! To think such a thing would happen. Who could have imagined it!"

As she thought about the terrible atrocity that Bi Ryu-yeon had committed today, she had to let out a deep sigh, falling into despair. If he had been a disciple she had taken in herself, she would have kicked him out of the sect right away. But this was the Cheonmu Academy, and that punk was not her direct disciple. The sea of countless shining stars was losing its light in her sorrow. At least, that's how it looked in Mun Il-gi's eyes.

There was no law that a beautiful sound was necessary to kill a person, but as such, there was a virtue that the Sound Sect had to protect. Style, romance, and dignity were the three great virtues that a musician who was in the Sound Sect had to protect. A sound arts practitioner was a proud and dignified martial artist, not a street ruffian. Besides, he was even less of a murderer. They were men of taste who wandered in search of style, propriety, and romance.

This afternoon, Hong Ran had almost been unable to use her jade flute because of the twisting. Instruments were delicate, so even a small impact could make the sound go off. If the sound went off, it meant the same as the life of the instrument had ended. Although it was also her fault for holding it too tightly, if her beloved instrument had met its end, the Heavenly Sound Fairy might have rushed out to beat Bi Ryu-yeon to death right away.

Just as a sword was a swordsman's life, an instrument was a musician's life.

Since that life had almost been ended thanks to an absurd disciple, she could not help but be even more dumbfounded. Moreover, what Bi Ryu-yeon had committed was an even more shocking thing.

So, who would just stand by, and how could she calm down?

To have to stand by even after seeing such an unsightly duel. It would have been better to see if he had lost cleanly and neatly... Then wouldn't she have just laughed it off as the bravado of a punk who had not even been there for a year?

A sigh mixed with a lament burst out on its own. It was her, who was keenly realizing what it felt like to have the world go dark in just one day.

Then did Bi Ryu-yeon lose miserably? That wasn't it. Rather, he had won. But this time, the problem was that he had won.

Bi Ryu-yeon's first opponent was Dan Pyeong of the Hainan Sect.

Dan Pyeong was a person who was highly praised by the Old Masters for the outstanding change inherent in his sword.

And so, people called him the Fast Illusion Sword. It meant that the change contained in his sword was that fast and frightening. The deep blue martial robe, reminiscent of the indigo sea, with silver thread embroidery reminiscent of the foam of a breaking wave, was the symbol of the Hainan Sect, and it was a garment that only the disciples of the Hainan Sect could wear. The Fast Illusion Sword, Dan Pyeong, the Hainan Sect he belonged to was both one of the nine great sects and not one of the nine great sects. If this was a play on words, it was because one could say that the nine great sects were both nine and not nine. The reason was simple.

Except for the four great sects of Shaolin, Wudang, Mount Hua, and Mount Emei, the remaining seven sects had always changed their positions.

The remaining five positions out of the nine positions of the nine great sects had to be competed for, and this competition was always set among seven sects.

They were the Qingcheng Sect, the Kunlun Sect, the Zhongnan Sect, the Kongtong Sect, the Hengshan Sect, the Diancang Sect, and the Hainan Sect, these seven sects. They had always taken turns entering and leaving the nine great sects in a friendly manner. As a result, it was inevitable that an invisible chain of fate would bind them.

For them, who were a total of eleven sects, to call themselves the nine great sects was, in a way, a very funny thing. And in reality, they were bound like that.

Just because they had always changed their positions, except for the four absolutely immovable great sects, did not mean that they had broken their pride enough to get along well with other sects. The fact that they had changed their positions every time meant that their skills were all about the same, and except for the four great sects, the decision was often made by luck. In this case, it was even more difficult to submit to the result.

So they had created an unwritten rule among themselves. Even if a sect did not win the honor of the nine great sects in the competition that was held once every five years, it had now become a tradition to treat them as a member of the same nine sects when they were treated.

Even when there was a meeting of the nine great sects, it was always these eleven sects that gathered. It was never the case that exactly nine sects gathered. And yet, the name and sign they put up was always the meeting of the nine great sects. At a glance, it was a difficult thing to understand. But if one looked at the other side, they had a reason to do so. Because they did not know when they would fall from that position. That was what they were afraid of.

Even if they were sometimes pushed out of the position of the nine great sects, they could not turn their backs on the nine sects. The nine great sects could not turn their backs on them either. Who knew when they would fall into that position and be in the same situation! Since they were in a position where they could not leave the nine sects like this, and since their pride was too great and high to associate with other minor sects, they called each other the nine great sects, at least in name.

For the sake of their pride, they could not associate with any other sect other than the nine great sects. No, they did not associate. It was for the reason that the level did not match. Due to that context, the number of sects belonging to the Nine Orthodoxies Association was also not nine, but eleven.

Therefore, it seemed that these eleven sects all called themselves the nine great sects. When they called themselves, and when others called them! Even in the Jianghu, they were in a position where they had no choice but to acknowledge it.

There were many such things in the Jianghu, where one covered their eyes and pretended not to see. They would fight over absurd things, and they would deliberately find and force themselves to follow formalities even for trivial things.

The current nine great sects, which had been decided in the competition that discussed the qualifications once every five years, were occupied by Shaolin, Wudang, Mount Hua, Mount Emei, Qingcheng, Hengshan, Kunlun, Zhongnan, and Kongtong. Unfortunately, the Hainan Sect and the Diancang Sect had been excluded. But, even if they were excluded, they were always the descendants of the nine great sects, which were called the pillars of the Murim. And they were more than capable of being so.

The Fast Illusion Sword, Dan Pyeong, was a direct disciple of the Hainan Sect, which was both one of the nine great sects and not one of the nine great sects. As a disciple of a prestigious orthodox sect, there was no way his skill would be mediocre. To come out with a zither that he was not even familiar with against such a person... Bi Ryu-yeon's action was something that could not be understood from a common-sense point of view.

This was, in a word, an act that ignored sound arts. And it was also an act that completely looked down on Dan Pyeong.

Sound arts was not for everyone. It was fine to come out with a melody of one tune as a weapon. Who would argue with that? But the problem was what came next.

Bi Ryu-yeon was in a position where he had to keep his mouth shut like a clam even if he were to be criticized for his lack of insight.

Although Bi Ryu-yeon had confidently come up on the duel stage with the ink zither, sound arts was so inefficient, ineffective, and also so complex and difficult that it would shake one's brain, that it was not something that just anyone could learn. Even in the current Jianghu, the number of people who could protect their bodies and display their martial prowess with just sound arts was so small that one would have fingers left over if they were to count them with ten fingers.

Why would there be the saying, 'a hundred days for a saber, a thousand days for a spear, and ten thousand days for a sword'? It was because the sword was that inefficient and difficult to learn. That's why there were few swordsmen in the Black Path. One could even say there were none. Because it took too long to learn, and it took even longer to use it in a real battle. A master of the demonic path's sword could be said to be a master among masters. Otherwise, they were just a shell that was just showing off...

Sound arts was not a matter of 10,000 days. Even if one were to be generous and set it low, one would have to learn it for about 20,000 days to properly exert its power. In fact, 20,000 days was a period of nearly 60 years. One couldn't just learn sound arts until then, could they? It meant that it was that difficult.

Of course, this was when one had entered the path of sound arts and had only learned sound arts. Because although melody was melody, for sound arts to exert its original maximum power, an indispensable element called internal energy was absolutely necessary.

As was widely known, this internal energy was so difficult and tricky to cultivate that the cultivation of sound arts was even more difficult. Of course, if one were to start with a certain level of internal energy or higher, they would be able to show a much faster achievement. But even so, it felt that half a year, which was less than 200 days, was too short. It was the same even if Bi Ryu-yeon had studied melody in advance in the meantime.

In fact, if one were to just consider the study of melody, it had already been nearly 8 years for Bi Ryu-yeon. It had been about 7 years since he had been practicing with the ink zither. Although his master did not know much about sound arts, he had a deep knowledge of melody. Since he had plenty of time, it seemed he had learned it for fun. Even he did not know exactly how old his master was. He only knew that he had eaten a lot, to the point of being sick of it.

In fact, for his master, sound arts was completely unnecessary. Because even without it, his master had plenty of other means to catch a person.

As expected, it seemed to be an immutable truth of all ages that there was a world of difference between practice and a real battle. It was difficult to learn sound arts, but it was even more difficult to use it in a real battle.

Hmm..., as expected, the biggest miscalculation of this duel was the fact that he had overlooked the fact that his opponent was not a plant that was still and quiet. Of course, that was a very common-sense story and an absurdly obvious story, but because of that, the opponent did not seem to be willing to fight elegantly. Besides, the calculation error according to the distance was greater than he had thought. It was Bi Ryu-yeon, who was once again keenly feeling that sound arts was a quite inefficient punk.

A complaint was just a complaint, and now was the time to face the enemy who was rushing in like a flash of lightning to do some sword work.

Although it was not clearly visible because it was covered by his bangs, Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes began to flicker with a strange light.

Bi Ryu-yeon was not given the time to play.