Chapter 104

• The Origin and History of Sound Arts

Where can the origin of sound arts be found?

Even without asking, one could confidently say that it began
from the experimental spirit of a martial arts master who was unusually unique and fond of peculiar things,
or perhaps even eccentric.

Otherwise, which madman would have created sound arts, which was about ten thousand miles away from practicality!

Of course, that eccentric but powerful master must have been a person who loved melody fanatically.

All sound sects commonly trace their founder, that is, the founder of the sound sect, to the Heavenly Cry Sound, Hong Jo-hyeon.

He was a legendary sound arts master from 700 years ago and also the person who announced the beginning of sound arts. In other words, he was the first person to kill a person with sound. To be more precise, he was also the person who killed a person with music using an instrument, not just sound. Is it too bloody to say he killed? Still, he was the great patriarch of a martial lineage...

Ordinary people usually think of melody and music only as the music for drinking and singing, but this is a truly ignorant and shameful thought. In this world, there is music that enhances the mood of a drinking party (although this is the majority), but there are also many kinds of music created with other purposes. And there were also people who devoted themselves to melody to cultivate art and immortality.

The person who clearly proved that music was not just the sound of drinking and singing was the genius from 700 years ago, the Heavenly Cry Sound, Hong Jo-hyeon. He was a person who loved melody fanatically, and his melody was said to have reached the heavens. He was also a person who had proved that music not only had an excellent effect in enhancing the mood, but also had the efficacy of shaking and controlling a person's mind, and even giving a mental blow to show them the other world.

At first, everyone must have scoffed at his theory and explanation. It was because he had learned the world's number one energy practice, the Great Heaven True Life Divine Skill, and was a person who could be called a great sword god, with no one to follow him with a sword. But after ten years of contemplation, he had created a martial art of melody that could move a person's mind and even lead to death with melody, surprising the world. And so, he had become the great patriarch of a new martial lineage.

It is said that the first person to inflict injury on a person with melody, not just words, by putting internal energy into a tremendous sound like the Shaolin's Brahma Sound or the Lion's Roar and emitting it in an instant, was the Heavenly Cry Sound, Hong Jo-hyeon. And the sect he founded was the Heavenly Sound Sect, and the current Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, was a descendant who had inherited that lineage. So, one could well guess Hong Ran's pride in sound arts.

Until sound arts was completed by the hands of the Heavenly Cry Sound, Hong Jo-hyeon, it must have been a truly crude power. Besides, it was difficult to learn and even more difficult to use, and its inefficiency was said to be second to none. Of course, it is still so now.

It is said that sound arts, which was so inefficient that it was second to none, first cautiously showed the signs and possibilities of mass slaughter from the time of the Demonic Sound Immortal, Gwak Hyu-jeong, 300 years ago. At that time, when he was surrounded by about 100 martial artists in Hengshan, he had sat loftily on a rock 30 meters high and had sent all 100 martial artists who were within a radius of 90 meters to the other world while playing one tune, just by flicking his fingers and not moving a single toe. The tune he had played at this time was named the White Blood Sound. It meant a tune that had drunk the blood of 100 people.

Of course, the Jianghu could not hide its astonishment, and the shock it had received at that time was beyond imagination. And then, the people of the Jianghu had no choice but to silently admit that sound arts had the power of mass slaughter, while being astonished.

From this time on, the lineage that had split from the sound sect and had come down to this line was called the Demonic Sound lineage, and it had been passed down, taking root in the unorthodox path. From the perspective of the orthodox sound, which had come down from the Sound Immortal, the Heavenly Cry Sound, Hong Jo-hyeon, they were people who should rightly be called sworn enemies.

Sound arts was advantageous when the distance to the enemy was long, but when it was short, there were few martial arts as disadvantageous as sound arts. If it was too far, the power of the melody could not reach, and if it was too close, one would be attacked before it reached its original power.

Therefore, the comparison of sound arts was not a difference of an inch, like the comparison of a spear and a sword, but the unit of comparison for sound arts was in units of 'zhang'. Once an enemy was within 10 zhang (about 30 meters) and was facing you, it was not unreasonable to assume that you were at a disadvantage. Especially in the case of sound arts using an instrument that was easy to carry and move, like a jade flute, a master could be said to be able to face an enemy up to a distance of 5 zhang (about 15 meters, 1 zhang is 3 meters). And only when one could face an enemy within 3 zhang could one be called a super master.

But the case of the zither was a little different from other sound arts. With a jade flute, one could move their feet and retreat when an enemy attacked, but an instrument that was the biggest hindrance to movement, like the zither, would require serious consideration to use unless one was a peak master.

Therefore, it was not a martial art that could be used in a narrow duel stage. Didn't the posture of playing the zither itself seal the movement of the legs and allow only the upper body to be used?

According to one rumor, it was also heard that a special movement method for playing the zither had been developed and was being passed down as a secret. In other words, one could move as if sliding on the ground or on an ice sheet with just the control of internal energy and the movement of the toes, without bending the knees. But its true identity had not been properly revealed. That movement method was the secret of secrets in the Sound Sect. There was no way that Bi Ryu-yeon, who had learned it as a nobody for only half a year, could do it.

The most important things in sound arts using a jade flute were the breathing method, the true qi circulation method, and the footwork that could freely change the body shape while playing the jade flute. These three had to be in harmony and become one, and if even one of them was missing, cultivation was impossible.

This was the same for the zither. If one could not do this, the zither was just a decoration.

It was not much of a mistake to think that sound arts was almost useless in a group battle or a chaotic battle. It was fine to consider it a useless thing.

In the act of killing a person, to use an instrument and play a melody to kill was, in a way, a very inefficient and ineffective story. The person who had first created sound arts must have felt the same way. Because it was highly likely that sound arts had started from the absurd idea of a martial artist who loved melody too much. Besides, it would have focused more on suppression than on killing.

But that did not mean that sound arts was completely useless. It was said that a person who had reached the realm of the Sound Immortal with just sound arts could injure a large number of people or give them a mental blow with a single note of a tune. The fact that it was possible to give a mental and psychological blow was the excellent advantage of sound arts. Because sound arts had the power to stir a person's mind with melody.

Then what was the biggest weakness of sound arts?

It was distance and time. A short distance and the resulting insufficient time were a fatal weakness and a serious threat to sound arts. That was why sound arts was considered one of the most unsuitable martial arts for a duel competition. Because the duel stage was too narrow for sound arts to exert its full power.

Due to its nature, it was difficult for sound arts to reach its peak power in a short period of time. Because music created a melody by combining various sounds and harmonies.

Therefore, the level of sound arts was judged by how quickly one could capture the opponent in their sound. Sound arts was that difficult to learn, even more difficult to unfold, and a martial art that was followed by numerous restrictions.

Among sound arts, sound arts using a zither was particularly difficult to cultivate and also difficult to handle. Using it in a real battle could be said to be the same as picking a star from the sky. Especially in a narrow and limited space like a duel stage, there was no need to say more. It was the same as putting a thousand-pound shackle on one's own feet.

Bi Ryu-yeon was now trying to unfold such a martial art. For this reason, Hong Ran was now worried and was also criticizing his actions as reckless and absurd. And Bi Ryu-yeon had realized his mistake in the face of Dan Pyeong's fast attack, which gave him no time to breathe.

It was a fatal mistake for Bi Ryu-yeon, who was using sound arts in a real battle for the first time.