Martial Arts Ain't That Big of a Deal

Chapter 188

Seo-jun was on his way to the area where the Violet Thunder Demon had been sighted, returning the wild demonic beasts he encountered along the way back to nature.

That day wasn’t any different from usual. Contrary to his initial prejudices, Tian Shan was also a place where people lived. Their way of thinking was just somewhat different—by quite a bit, actually—but there weren’t any truly drastic differences compared to the orthodox sects’ territories.

Well, other than the fact that human lives were treated a bit more lightly here, that people occasionally turned into monsters, and that you’d sometimes run into weirdly shaped demonic beasts?

If you broke it down in detail, the differences were pretty significant, sure—but even going to a foreign country could feel like that.

Tian Shan was... yeah. It felt exactly like an isolated island inhabited by cannibals.

Basically, it was like a foreign land—but with a sprinkle of seasoning added in.

So, Seo-jun found the current situation to be rather fascinating.

“AAAAAAHHH!”

He caught a deer.

“P-please spare me!”

To be precise, it was a deer-human hybrid. Or was it supposed to be a horned deer?

“What exactly are you supposed to be?”

Seo-jun slipped his hands under the creature’s armpits and lifted it straight into the air.

It had small horns on its head, but other than that, it looked no different from a plump child with baby fat.

“I-I’m going to get eaten!”

The child flailed its short limbs desperately.

‘Were deer and roe deer both herbivores?’

Seo-jun couldn’t quite remember. Maybe roe deer were omnivores? Either way, they both seemed to eat plants.

Pulling out a carrot from his bag, Seo-jun brought it up to the child’s mouth. He carried carrots around just in case he needed to feed the occasional demonic beast he ran into.

“D-do I have to eat carrots...?”

“Then what do you want?”

“Bok choy tastes better these days?”

Seo-jun wasn’t about to start carrying bok choy around. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a peach instead.

“How about a peach?”

“Peach is good.”

The child grabbed the peach with both hands and started eating it eagerly.

“So, why were you hanging around in such a dangerous place?”

“I wasn’t hanging around?”

What was with this kid’s way of speaking? Was this how deer-people talked? Scratching his cheek, Seo-jun asked again.

“Then what were you doing?”

“Running away?”

“From what?”

“I don’t know? Some guy was shooting purple lightning?”

“Oh.”

Purple lightning probably meant the Violet Thunder Demon. Lucky.

‘Wait, what?’

Seo-jun looked at the child with a curious expression.

“You ran away from that guy? How? Don’t tell me you challenged a transcendent to a game of rock-paper-scissors.”

“Deer are good at running away.”

“Your name’s Nokyo?”

“That’s right.”@@@@

Having finished the first peach, Nokyo stretched out both hands.

Seo-jun pulled out another peach and placed it in her hands.

“So, are you... a deer-human or something?”

“Deer? What’s that? Nokyo is a fawn?”

“Oh, right.”

Now that he thought about it, horned animals were more likely to be deer.

Horns probably meant it was a male deer, but—looking closely—this Nokyo was undoubtedly a girl.

He could tell because he’d raised Chun-bong when she was younger. There was no way this kid was a boy.

“Can you take off your horns or something?”

Seo-jun tapped Nokyo’s horns, making her shudder.

“If my horns fall off, I’ll die...?”

“You’ll die? Just from losing your horns?”

“Wouldn’t a human die if their head fell off?”

“Ah.”

When she put it like that, it kind of made sense. Seo-jun nodded seriously, and Nokyo gently stroked her horns.

“Adults can hide their horns at will. But Nokyo isn’t an adult yet, so I can’t hide them.”

That’s how it was, apparently. She said it confidently, so Seo-jun decided not to argue.

“Anyway, you said you were running away from someone shooting purple lightning?”

“Ah! That’s right!”

Nokyo shoved the half-eaten peach into her mouth.

“Bwe haf to wun!”

“We have to run?”

Nokyo nodded rapidly. Seo-jun poked at her puffed cheeks, stuffed full of peach, before standing up.

“No need. I’m stronger.”

“Ooooh?”

Spitting out the peach pit, Nokyo plopped down onto the ground.

“Then Nokyo will take a nap.”

“What?”

“Wake me up when it’s over.”

Seo-jun charged. The Violet Thunder Demon panicked.

“Wait, what? Why? It’s a good offer!”

Even in his panic, the Violet Thunder Demon unleashed his technique with precision.

Violet Thunder Explosion.

Rumble—!

Violet lightning erupted from his entire body, surging outward in waves.

Seo-jun ignored it and advanced. The lightning tried to cling to him, but it failed.

Crackle—!

Instead, the lightning coiled around Seo-jun’s sword. Most demonic energy couldn’t defy Seo-jun’s will.

He moved forward, examining the demonic lightning dancing on his blade. Unlike the pure and crisp lightning used by Namgung Su-a, this energy was sticky and foul.

‘Lightning techniques, huh.’

A certain martial art came to mind. Boundless Sky Swordsmanship.

Namgung Su-a’s Boundless Sky Swordsmanship focused on controlling the lightning that filled the heavens.

But using techniques from the Namgung Clan here in Tian Shan didn’t sit well with him. More importantly, the Violet Thunder Demon’s lightning felt fundamentally different.

Time slowed. Seo-jun reached into his mental space, pulling forth images and ideas.

Whoosh—!

The chaotic fragments of his thoughts unraveled and fell into order.

‘So, it still comes back to the sky.’

The Namgung Clan’s Path of Dominion focused on defying the heavens—and he already had precedent for it with techniques like King’s Sword Form and Heavenly Demon’s Step.

Seo-jun merged these threads and wove them into his blade.

Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.

Crackle—!

Dark lightning coiled tightly around his sword. Seo-jun drew the sky itself into his blade. Memories of his back-alley brawling days flashed through his mind, and so did the principles of the Three Talents Swordsmanship.

‘Heaven, Earth, and Man.’

He recalled Chun-bong’s voice, explaining the sword’s logic. Heaven is divine energy, Earth is essence, and Man is qi.

By merging the Three Talents with the principles of Spirit, Essence, and Qi, Seo-jun crafted his own understanding.

There was no single answer. If he believed it could be done, then it would be.

Seizing that inspiration, Seo-jun slashed downward, bringing the sky itself crashing down.

Heavenly Demon Divine Sword—First Form: Mount Tai Suppression.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The slash split the world in half.

*****

Seo-jun took a moment to process his sudden insight.

The Three Talents and Spirit, Essence, and Qi. He had focused on each aspect individually, but now he saw the broader picture.

Balancing the Three Talents led to transcendence. Enlarging Spirit led to Enlightenment. Combining them into one led to Divinity.

Then what about the Three Talents? What lay beyond their balance?

Though it was still vague and riddled with leaps in logic, Seo-jun wasn’t concerned.

He was certain the answer would come—

And when it did, his Heavenly Demon Divine Sword would be complete.

“Grgh...!”

The Violet Thunder Demon groaned, his left side completely severed. Seo-jun had spared him intentionally—to learn more about his techniques.

As Seo-jun approached, Nokyo trailed behind him, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Mister, you’re really strong! Maybe not as strong as my mom, but still super strong!”

“...What?”

The Violet Thunder Demon, who was beginning to go berserk after failing to break through his limits, didn’t even register to Seo-jun anymore.

“What the hell does your mom even do?”

Seo-jun stared at Nokyo. She shrugged.

“My mom’s just a really big deer?”

He still had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.