Chapter 571:
“……So that’s how it happened?”
“Yeah.”
“So then……”
The Luoyang Great War.
It was when Radiant Martial Sovereign captured two bishops and declared to the world that the Central Plains had not yet lost its strength.
It was an event that proved the Central Plains was not to be taken lightly, just when they were about to be completely overwhelmed by the momentum of White Sword Castle and the Demonic Cult. It was evaluated as an event that gave hope to the martial artists of the Central Plains that they could indeed prevail.
Historically, it could be said to be a very meaningful event.
But……
“It’s quite different from what I heard.”
“What’s so surprising about that.”
“……”
That was true. Had Wei Yan-ho’s actions ever once matched the historical record?
While the results were ultimately the same story, the process was always—and it was fair to say always—different.
So it would be the same this time too. But……
“Still, I had some expectations this time.”
The Poison Demon had released poison to massacre the people of Luoyang, and Wei Yan-ho, without regard for his own body, suffered great injuries while dealing with that poison.
The people of Luoyang witnessed the emergence of a new hero as they saw Radiant Martial Sovereign emit brilliant light while neutralizing the Poison Demon’s poison.
This was the basic tone of the Luoyang Great War. But the situation didn’t quite match up.
‘The result is the same story, but still.’
The Historian decided to let it go. It wasn’t like this was the first or second time such things happened to be flustered.
“But did you say transformation?”
“That’s right.”
“There, you mean?”
He had heard plenty of strange stories about Wei Yan-ho, but sudden transformation? This was the first time hearing such a story.
‘Then why?’
Transformation. While the term was heard countless times, how many had witnessed the process with their own eyes? But why hadn’t such a significant event spread?
“Can transformation really come so suddenly?”
“It’s a bit much to call it sudden. There were quite a few factors involved.”
Divine Beggar shrugged his shoulders.
“What do you know about transformation?”
“Literally.”
The Historian answered without delay.
“It’s the remaking of the body.”
“That’s right.”
But feeling that explanation was insufficient, Divine Beggar added more words.
“Transformation, simply put, is the process of changing the vessel.”
“The vessel?”
“Think about pouring water into a jar. The full water will soon overflow, right?”
“That’s obvious.”
“The human body is the same. There’s a limit to how much martial learning it can accept. The strength muscles can produce is fixed. No matter how special a person is, they can’t lift rocks with their bare body without internal energy. That’s the fundamental limit people are born with.”
“That’s right.”
Divine Beggar raised his arm. The dried stick-like arm spoke of the years he had lived through.
“The body, in the end, becomes worn out with use. While there are limits to the strength one is born with, it also gets damaged and dulled. Transformation is the process of reconstructing this body that has reached its limits.”
The Historian nodded quietly. If the vessel was old and small and couldn’t hold much water, then the vessel needed to be changed.
“Did Radiant Martial Sovereign go through the same process?”
“It’s a bit different, but.”
“Pardon?”
Divine Beggar scratched his cheek.
“Transformation can also be said to be the process of changing the body to be suitable for learning martial arts. As you know, people’s bodies are all different.”
“That’s right.”
There were countless people, but their heights and body types were all different.
“And while ordinary people don’t feel it much, the human body is subtly unbalanced. Things like the length of both arms and both legs don’t match up perfectly. Those subtle differences eventually create great discomfort.”
“Ah……”
“Transformation corrects such imbalances. Uh, so…… to put it really simply, it means perfectly balancing left and right, perfectly balancing up and down. Do you know what we call someone whose body is in perfect balance?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Handsome.”
“……Eh?”
Divine Beggar grinned.
“We call them handsome.”
“……”
The Historian’s face contorted.
What kind of useless talk was this?
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s necessary words. In fact, doesn’t ‘handsome’ refer to a face where the balance matches up perfectly? So past sayings like ‘someone who was legendarily ugly became handsome after transformation’ aren’t particularly absurd stories.”
The Historian nodded.
That was true, but why say that now?
“I thought Wei Yan-ho might be like that too, but there wasn’t much change. Turns out this guy had already undergone transformation once.”
“……What?”
“He had that experience a couple of times in that cave.”
“No, wait?”
He had undergone transformation?
Already?
“You’re saying Radiant Martial Sovereign had already gained that level of ability inside the cave?”
“No.”
The Historian’s face became sullen. Then what did this mean exactly?
Divine Beggar clicked his tongue and said:
“If transformation were something that could be done so easily, it wouldn’t have come down as legend. Even Elder Fist and Elder Sword didn’t reach transformation. While Wei Yan-ho when he reached the foundation stage might be different, Wei Yan-ho when he came out of the cave would find it difficult to reach transformation through his own power.”
“Then?”
“That man, you know.”
Divine Beggar shook his head.
“The Sword Emperor, that man beat Wei Yan-ho terribly, didn’t he? I heard that when he opened his eyes he got beaten, when he closed his eyes he got beaten, when he sat he got beaten, when he stood he got beaten. Even when sleeping he got beaten, and when not sleeping he got beaten too?”
“He just kept beating him.”
“Right. For a full five years.”
Divine Beggar giggled with laughter. His expression showed he felt infinitely good just thinking about Wei Yan-ho getting beaten.
“Probably the biggest reason was that the guy wouldn’t move unless he was beaten, but there would have been various other reasons too. It would have had the effect of developing practical combat sense…… But in the midst of that, it wasn’t just beating. There are two ways to achieve transformation, you see.”
“Two ways?”
“Right. Either naturally achieving it by raising one’s own level, or having someone else forcibly break down and recreate the skeleton and body.”
“……Meridian manipulation?”
“Exactly!”
Meridian manipulation was a method of forcibly moving true energy by injecting energy from outside. Most of it was done through beating and striking methods.
Interfering with another person’s body rather than one’s own was extremely difficult work. Even a master at the peak would have their legs give out from the massive consumption of true energy from just one moment of meridian manipulation.
But he did that not for just one moment, but continuously for five years?
“That person would be capable of it.”
It would be impossible for anyone else. Only someone at the level of the Sword Emperor could do such a thing.
“It wasn’t simply at the level of circulating true energy. It was at the level of washing out all the bones, muscles, and even nerves throughout the body.”
“……Transformation indeed.”
“Right. According to Wei Yan-ho, that guy often found his skin cracked and falling off when he woke up from sleep, or his body twisted. He thought it happened because he was overworked and his body couldn’t endure it. In the midst of that, how much he cursed his master.”
“Not knowing the favor……”
“Right?”
Divine Beggar giggled. The reactions of those who heard about Wei Yan-ho’s words and actions were generally similar. He hadn’t been able to tell this story for a long time, and meeting someone to listen to it seemed to excite him too.
“Anyway, Wei Yan-ho had already undergone transformation several times. In the midst of that, he underwent one more transformation. So the dramatic changes that others think of didn’t appear.”
“Ah, I see…… Wait a moment. He underwent transformation again?”
Only then did the Historian realize what Divine Beggar’s words meant.
Transformation was something that happened when the vessel overflowed. But hadn’t Radiant Martial Sovereign already undergone transformation? But transformation happening again meant he was becoming strong enough that even the transformed body couldn’t handle it.
‘Well then.’
This was Wei Yan-ho who had instantly taken down two bishops of the Demonic Cult. He was becoming strong so rapidly that it was no wonder his body couldn’t endure it. Moreover, having absorbed all the poison energy left by the Poison Demon, how much had his internal energy increased?
“He really was becoming monstrously strong.”
“Right, like a monster. Actually, even calling him a monster is inadequate. If a monster met Wei Yan-ho, it would stick out its tongue.”
The Historian nodded greatly.
“He may be an absurd person, but having such a person fighting alongside you would be tremendous strength, wouldn’t it?”
“Mmm……”
Divine Beggar’s face slightly contorted.
It would be right to acknowledge the Historian’s words, but his expression showed he didn’t want to acknowledge them.
“That…… is true. Yes, it is.”
Divine Beggar stretched out his hand as if annoyed and gulped down alcohol. Divine Beggar, who had set down the gourd with a thud sound, let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.
“Tsk, it’s annoying, but thanks to that guy being there, we could maintain our center. Without that guy, everyone would have been unable to regain their senses.”
“As expected.”
The Historian confirmed that his thoughts had been correct.
Wei Yan-ho’s achievements weren’t limited to simply having accomplished many things. His very existence was having a great influence on those around him.
“Then morale must have risen tremendously from that incident.”
“You think so?”
“Wasn’t it remarkable?”
The Historian knew how remarkable beings called bishops were. Just because Wei Yan-ho had defeated them so easily, their value might be diminished, but the bishops of the Demonic Cult were the Demonic Cult’s core fighting force.
Among all those Wei Yan-ho had faced until now, none could confidently say they could face a bishop of the Demonic Cult one-on-one. Bishops were that fearsome of an existence.
It wasn’t that the bishops were weak, but that Wei Yan-ho had become that strong. Moreover, having gone through transformation once more, hadn’t Wei Yan-ho become even stronger?
“We were a bit excited.”
Divine Beggar also readily admitted it.
“It was such a tremendous thing after all. The fact that he cut down those guys in a single stroke was important, but preventing the disaster of Luoyang brought about an even greater sense of elation. How should I put it…… Yes, it rekindled that fragile sense of pride—that perhaps the reason we learn martial arts is, after all, to protect people.”
“There’s no need to be so pessimistic……”
“But well, that didn’t last long.”
“Mm.”
The Historian also nodded. He too knew what happened after that.
Anyone who dealt with history couldn’t not know.
“As expected, Anhui……”
“That’s right.”
Divine Beggar continued with a somewhat empty expression.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, the news from Anhui came quite late. Thanks to that, those who could rest got to rest a little. Though it was no different from a final rest.”
Divine Beggar showed disgust as if even recalling that time was unpleasant.
“And then it began.”
“……”
“The things you most want to hear about, those events that changed the fate of the martial world.”
The sun was setting.
