Chapter 51

Chapter 51, Understanding the Divine Thief's Martial Art

Flutter!

A red flag was raised on the roof of the Beggar Sect branch.

Jaha looked at it and asked Magae,

"Now Hwancheonma should contact us soon, right?"

"That's right. He said once we raise the flag, he'll tell us the meeting place."

"Then we'll wait here until they contact us."

"Do that."

Magae found it difficult to treat Jaha casually now.

Jaha was no longer simply a disciple from some countryside martial school.

He had become a young expert known throughout the martial world as the Heavenly Demon Defying Sword.

On top of that, he had become Namgung Cheol's friend, which meant his status could no longer be ignored.

So when Jaha asked for a quiet room, Magae gave him the most private room in the entire branch.

"Senior, until they contact us, I'll study the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps."

"If it's the Divine Thief's martial art, you won't understand it so quickly. It's not inferior to the highest techniques of the Nine Great Sects. If you rush, you could injure yourself."

Goeui spoke with concern.

Jaha only smiled.

"Senior, didn't you also say I would need at least a year to properly train the Flowing Joint Art and Revolving Joint Formula?"

"Th, that's true, but..."

"I don't believe the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps are more difficult than Senior's martial arts."

"Ahem, ahem. Well, that's true. Fine. If you encounter something you don't understand, don't force yourself forward. Stop there."

"Understood."

After Jaha entered the room and closed the door, Goeui suddenly realized that he had never worried about someone like this before.

Thinking about how much he had changed, Goeui let out a helpless laugh.

Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps.

One of the Ghost Shadow Sect's two greatest ultimate arts.

Jaha was curious why it was considered one of the greatest movement arts in the world.

The Demon Cult possessed many high-level movement arts and footwork techniques learned only by the Cult Leader.

However, most of them required tremendous internal energy.

The advantage of the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps was that it could compete with such techniques while using far less internal energy.

Jaha closed his eyes.

He slowly repeated the mnemonic formula So Rihyang had taught him and began analyzing every line.

No martial art was powerful without a reason.

There was always a principle behind its strength.

If someone failed to understand that principle, they could never grasp its true meaning.

Using his extraordinary comprehension, Jaha slowly broke down the mnemonic formula of the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps and approached its essence.

After studying it for nearly half a shichen, Jaha could not stop himself from exclaiming inwardly.

Ah, this really is an extraordinary footwork art. No wonder they were confident enough to call it the greatest. Almost every lightness skill, footwork art, and movement art in martial history uses the Yongquan acupoint on the sole as its foundation for releasing true qi. But the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps begins by sealing the Yongquan acupoint. That's a complete reversal of normal thinking.

The more Jaha understood, the more impressed he became.

The Heavenly Demon Steps, the Demon Cult's greatest movement art, widens the Yongquan acupoint as much as possible and releases more true qi than other movement arts. That's why it produces explosive speed. But because the acupoint is widened so much, it also consumes several times more true qi.

The Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps does the opposite. It seals the Yongquan acupoint and releases true qi evenly through the entire sole. Because of that, even a small amount of true qi can slightly lift the body into the air. The body moves while barely separated from the ground, which is why no presence can be sensed.

The name truly fits. A ghost spirit moving without leaving a trace.

Through the mnemonic formula, Jaha finally understood the true essence of the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps.

It followed a path completely different from the martial arts he had known until now.

Father wasn't lying when he said even the Heavenly Demon Steps couldn't catch the Divine Thief. The Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps may truly be the finest movement art in martial history.

Jaha was certain.

As far as footwork was concerned, the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps stood at the highest level.

He also began to understand why the righteous martial world had destroyed the Ghost Shadow Sect.

If someone who mastered this movement art became an assassin, almost no one could stop them.

The Martial Alliance had used the fact that some Ghost Shadow Sect disciples became assassins as justification to destroy the sect.

Now Jaha could understand the fear behind that decision.

He also finally understood why he had failed to sense Ha Yeon approaching him from behind.

With the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps, such a thing was possible.

A person could reduce the sound of their footsteps as much as possible, but completely removing it was nearly impossible.

Some part of the foot still touched the ground.

Step on a loose roof tile or a branch, and a sound would inevitably be produced.

The Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps did not have that weakness.

Because the feet barely touched the ground, there was almost no chance of making noise.

I had some doubts before. These were only the martial arts of people who stood beneath the absolute peak. I wondered whether their techniques could truly let me fight the Seven Heavenly Demons.

But after seeing Senior Goeui's martial arts and the Divine Thief's martial arts, I know those doubts were pointless. Their martial arts are the absolute best within their own fields. They simply remained beneath the highest level because those arts were not balanced with other martial arts.

Jaha discarded the last doubts he had about the martial arts of Jagang's so-called second-ranked masters.

More importantly, he became confident that if he gathered all of their martial arts and combined them, he could create something that surpassed every one of them.

At first, Jaha had learned their martial arts because they seemed like his only path toward revenge.

Now his thinking had changed.

Their martial arts were not merely his only choice.

They were his best choice.

He did not believe even the highest techniques of the Nine Great Sects would necessarily surpass them.

Considering Jaha had always believed the Demon Cult's martial arts were the strongest, that confidence was natural.

Jaha stopped thinking and stood up.

He decided to try the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps directly.

Movement arts were not especially difficult to execute once the practitioner understood their principle.

They might be difficult for someone unfamiliar with them, but Jaha had already learned numerous movement arts.

Following the circulation method of the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps was not difficult for him.

If the late Gung Cheolmu or So Rihyang had seen this, they would have been horrified.

Even an extraordinary genius normally needed at least a year of practice to properly use this footwork art.

This is perfect for Byeok Ho's body, which lacks internal energy. Obtaining the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps at this moment could also be called a fortunate encounter.

Jaha began moving around the room using the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps.

At first, he had trouble maintaining his balance.

It felt almost like walking across ice.

Because of that, he broke two flower vases in the room.

Afterward, however, he slowly found his balance.

His body began gliding smoothly across the floor.

If someone had watched him, they might truly have believed a ghost was moving.

Jaha smiled in satisfaction.

Just then, a voice came from outside.

"They contacted us. Come out."

It was Goeui.

Jaha opened the letter Magae had brought.

After reading it, he handed it to Goeui.

"They want us to come to Willow Flower Water Garden. That's an unexpected location."

Goeui read the letter and handed it back to Magae.

"Those bastards really used their heads this time."

Willow Flower Water Garden was a man-made lake several hundred jang long.

At the center of the lake was a small stone island roughly ten jang wide.

Hwancheonma had chosen that island as the meeting place.

Jaha immediately realized Hwancheonma was not an easy opponent.

Hwancheonma must have heard the rumors spreading through the region and thought carefully about them.

It was obvious that many martial artists hungry for the spiritual medicine would gather.

That would divide Hwancheonma's attention.

So he chose a lake where other people could not easily approach.

In some ways, it was a brilliant choice.

It also completely interfered with Jaha's plan.

If the meeting happened in the middle of the lake, gathering all those martial artists through rumors would become meaningless.

"So he really does know how to use his head."

Jaha's cheek twitched.

Goeui asked with concern,

"It looks like they chose Willow Flower Water Garden specifically to ruin your plan. Will you be all right?"

"All the effort we spent spreading those rumors has become useless."

"I thought the same thing."

Still, Goeui already knew Jaha was not the kind of person who would simply obey and accept the situation.

"We'll have to think of another method. For now, let's go to Willow Flower Water Garden."

When they arrived at Willow Flower Water Garden, many martial artists were gathered around the lakeside.

As expected, they had followed Hwancheonma's group here.

No one paid attention when Jaha and Goeui arrived.

The two simply looked like ordinary spectators.

"Why hasn't Heavenly Demon Defying Sword appeared yet?"

"Maybe he became frightened and ran away."

"That could happen. Here, he'd have to face Hwancheonma directly."

"Maybe he took the spiritual medicine and fled."

"No way. His master and fellow disciples are being held hostage. He wouldn't do that."

Groups of martial artists gathered together, gossiping among themselves.

There was not a single boat visible around the shore.

It seemed Hwancheonma's group had already removed them.

At that moment, someone approached.

"We've been waiting. Stay here for a moment. We'll bring a boat."

It was one of Hwancheonma's guards.

They had been waiting for Jaha to arrive.

They prepared much more thoroughly than I expected. They removed every boat beforehand, then waited until I arrived before bringing out the one they'd hidden. This won't be an easy fight.

Jaha hardened his resolve.

Hwancheonma's intention to block his schemes in advance was obvious.

After the guards left, a martial artist who had overheard their conversation carefully asked,

"Are you perhaps Heavenly Demon Defying Sword?"

The man cautiously studied Jaha.

Jaha wanted to deny it.

There were definitely people here who wanted the spiritual medicine.

He did not want them distracting him.

Dealing with Hwancheonma alone was already difficult enough.

Unfortunately, Goeui answered loudly without thinking.

"That's right! This young man is Heavenly Demon Defying Sword, the Invincible Village Sword!"

Goeui was proud that Jaha had inherited his ultimate techniques.

Naturally, he wanted to boast about him.

"Really?"

In an instant, martial artists rushed toward Jaha to see the face of the currently famous Heavenly Demon Defying Sword.

"He's here! Heavenly Demon Defying Sword is here!"

At someone's shout, the martial artists surged forward like a school of fish gathering around food.

"Where? Where?"

"Let me see what he looks like!"

Jaha did not know it, but there was almost no martial artist who had not heard about the battle where he fought against Hwancheonma and Ma Gi alongside the Vermilion Bird Unit.

That battle had sent enormous shockwaves throughout the martial world.

The Vermilion Bird Unit, one of the Martial Alliance's four great combat forces, had nearly been destroyed.

Naturally, the event became one of the most discussed matters in the martial world.

On top of that, Jaha was now the central figure of the spiritual medicine incident.

There was probably no one being discussed more than him.

Jaha frowned at Goeui for carelessly revealing his identity.

Goeui was surprisingly careless about details like this.

When people began crowding around, Jaha backed away until he was near the water.

At that moment, someone suddenly leaped into the air and attacked him.

"Move!"

One man cut down two martial artists standing in front of Jaha and charged forward.

Another black-clothed warrior attacked from above.

They were working together to steal the spiritual medicine.

This was exactly why Jaha had wanted to hide his identity.

Someone shouted,

"It's the Crow Sword and Saber!"

Jaha had no idea who they were.

However, judging from their attacks alone, he could tell they were at least stronger than Byeok Ho.

The Crow Sword and Saber were treated as first-rate masters in the martial world.

Their nickname used the word "crow" because they were known for taking advantage of situations like crows eating dead flesh.

One used a sword and the other a saber.

Their coordinated attacks were famous for being quite sharp.

Goeui was about to interfere, but Jaha shook his head.

He wanted to test the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps he had just learned.

Honestly, with Byeok Ho's Azure Cloud Sword and limited internal power, he could not directly block the Crow Sword and Saber's combination.

So Jaha drew them into the water.

To weaken their coordination, he needed to restrict their footing.

When both feet were submerged, coordinated attacks naturally became less powerful.

The Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps should be especially powerful over water.

Because it released true qi evenly through the entire sole instead of only through the Yongquan acupoint, Jaha believed he could remain above water much longer than with ordinary movement arts.

Jaha was not worried simply because he had learned it quickly.

Demonic martial arts often focused on learning things rapidly.

He had learned and used techniques even faster than this in the past.

"Hand over the spiritual medicine!"

The saber user advanced.

Splash! Splash!

Jaha entered the water.

The swordsman followed.

"We don't have time. Let's finish him quickly."

Confident in their coordinated attack, the two spread apart and rushed at Jaha from both sides.

Even while running through the water, their speed was not much slower than on land.

They quickly closed the distance.

At that moment, Jaha activated the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps.

Tap! Tap!

The sound of Jaha moving through the water was completely different from theirs.

Rather than splashing through the water, Jaha seemed to step lightly on its surface like a skipping stone.

"Whoa!"

Everyone watching exclaimed at once.

"What?"

Even Goeui's eyes widened.

Don't tell me that's the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps. He already learned it? Impossible. But that movement is definitely the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps.