Chapter 87: Chapter 87- A Sparring Match for the History Books

Beginner Mastery, Mastery, Greater Mastery, Completion, Perfection.

These are the five stages of comprehending a Martial Art, a Skill, and a Martial Skill.

As for the levels of Martial Arts, Skills, and Martial Skills, they can be categorized as Mortal Realm, Spiritual Realm, and Heavenly Realm techniques. Their names and strength reflected the realms of cultivation they are used in.

It wasn’t difficult for a Mortal Realm cultivator to reach the Beginner Mastery Realm, or even the Mastery Realm of a Mortal Realm Martial Art in a short period of time.

But it was unheard of for a Mortal Realm cultivator to learn a Spiritual Realm Martial Art past the Beginner Realm. It was further impossible for them to learn a Heavenly Realm Martial Art to the Beginner Realm.

The difference in level was just too hard to overcome, it was impossible, unheard of, and no one could do it.

This was a fact that was backed by numerous geniuses from all walks of life trying and failing.

Having the required level of strength to comprehend Martial Arts Techniques was so ingrained into the cultivation world that it became a norm. However, this norm was completely broken by Byeong-Ho.

The 32 Plum Blossom Swordplay was a Martial Art that involves 32 sword movements and nothing else. No circulation method.

However, those 32 sword movements were so profound and had so many variations that it was categorized as a Heavenly Realm Martial Art.

There wasn’t a lot of Heavenly Realm Martial Art in Jianghu, only the Shaolin Sect’s Arhat’s Swordplay and the Wudang Sect’s Taiji Swordplay had reached that high of a level.

Byeong-Ho not only managed to learn a Heavenly Realm Martial Art, but he had reached the Mastery Realm!

Some might say learning a Heavenly Realm Martial Art wasn’t as difficult as learning a Heavenly Realm Martial Skill, and that would be true, however, a level of difficulty was still there.

After all, there was a reason why Byeong-Ho was the first Mortal Realm cultivator to learn one. But it’s just that he had done so at the age of twelve!

It had been two years since then, so who knows if he had gained enlightenment and reached another level.

That would be horrifying.

But that wasn’t even his greatest feat.

His single greatest feat was that he had defeated a quasi-Spiritual Realm cultivator in an exchange. He would ultimately lose the match, but Byeong-Ho’s name skyrocket to heights never before reached by someone in Jianghu.

He was a monster-level genius in every sense of the word.

He was in a place no one had ever reached. So, one could imagine the unspeakable things anyone here would do to see the scenery he sees.

“Who do you think Byeong-Ho is going to challenge?”

“Of course, it would be Haneul, he’s the only one in this generation who can compete with him.”

“Well, that’s true. Maybe the debate of who is more talented will finally be settled!”

While listening to the disciples’ conversations in the surroundings, Sol found out that Haneul was the bald monk who wasn’t dressed like a monk.

Sol looked at this person curiously.

He was excited, perhaps with this he would be able to witness the Martial Art Techniques of the Six Holy Sects and Five Great Clans.

Sol could barely keep himself calm.

However, something was wrong.

Haneul, who had his eyes closed all this time as if nothing here interested him, opened his eyes for the first time.

He was pretty pretentious.

However, when Haneul glanced at Byeong-Ho thinking he was about to challenge him, he realized Byeong-Ho wasn’t even looking at him.

A slight frown appeared on his face as he followed Byeong-Ho’s gaze.

Everyone sort of realized this as well and followed Byeong-Ho’s gaze.

Yoon-Jae who was in his seat thought that Byeong-Ho was looking at him, however, his eyes flashed, and he shifted slightly.

All eyes suddenly fell on Sol, who was looking at the stage and waiting for the battle to start.

But when he saw that everyone was looking at him, he froze.

“Why…”

Sol was about to ask why everyone was staring at him; however, he suddenly met Byeong-Ho’s gaze.

Intense, and unbridled battle intent was pouring out of Byeong-Ho’s eyes.

His entire demeanor was like a volcano that was suppressing its eruption.

Seeing Byeong-Ho’s battle intent, Sol’s heart speed up. His senses heightened, and he could physically feel his heart beating in his chest, while a loud ringing noise drowned out the disciples’ who were asking who he was.

This wasn’t Sol being nervous, this was a result of a dangerous amount of adrenaline pumping through his veins; adrenaline that came from a copious amount of excitement.

“Brother Sol, if you will.”

Byeong-Ho cupped his fist as he said this.

Sol couldn’t control his body, and he shot up from his seat. After he picked up the sleeping Little Zeel and handed him to Yoon-Jae, he then raised his foot and took a step.

Just as everyone thought he was going to walk to the stage, his figure suddenly began fading.

“This…”

Everyone was taken aback.

“He’s on the stage!”

Hearing this exclamation of surprise, everyone quickly turned to look at the stage to see that Sol was already standing in front of Byeong-Ho.

Woo-Seong’s pupils dilated when he saw this scene.

Haneul’s heart stirred with emotion as well, but he forcefully suppressed the shocked look from appearing on his face and instead frowned. He realized there was something strange about Sol’s Movement Skill.

“Why is he so fast? I couldn’t even see his movements.”

“Yeah, but can someone just tell me who this person is?!’

“Look at his wrists and ankles! He’s the one who they said climbed the Heavenly Staircase!”

Someone who recognized Sol from earlier in the party yelled, and it was like a gallon of gasoline had been poured onto a wildfire. The crowd went absolutely crazy when this was revealed.

“Brother Sol, I mean no ill will by challenging you to a match. I hope we will both benefit from this exchange.”

Sol couldn’t really speak at the moment, so he just nodded like a chicken pecking the ground. His heart was still beating rapidly.

“Then I’ll go first.”

After Byeong-Ho said that he took a step forward and his figure left a trail of indistinct shadows as he appeared in front of Sol.

His palm almost seemed to distort space as he aimed to strike Sol’s chest.

However, Byeong-Ho’s palm merely went right through Sol, missing him.

Byeong-Ho turned to Sol who appeared eight meters away.

“You figured it out?”

Sol asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Of course I did, it wasn’t anything special.”

Despite Byeong-Ho’s nonchalant words, he was sporting a prideful smile.

Sol couldn’t help but release a loud laugh when he heard Byeong-Ho.

Meanwhile, those in the crowd couldn’t understand a thing they were saying. It was a conversation that only the two understood, and it made everyone feel excluded.

“Wait, doesn’t it seem like Byeong-Ho is treating this person as an equal?! He’s not just being polite, is he?”

When everyone heard that, they had to agree that was the case.

Byeong-Ho had never treated anyone as an equal. He would be polite, but when someone spoke to him, he would always make that person feel as if they were looking up at him.

Haneul could no longer hide his displeasure, and he openly scowled at Byeong-Ho and Sol on the stage.

Everyone was still trying to process the fact that there could be someone else that saw the same scenery as Byeong-Ho.

On the stage, Sol calmed his excitement and said.

“You say it wasn’t anything special, but do you dare test it?”

Sol took a step and vanished from view.

Byeong-Ho gritted his teeth before he took a step and vanished as well.

“What exactly are they doing?”

The disciples in the surroundings realized Byeong-Ho and Sol weren’t fighting, they were just running around on stage.

However, what these disciples saw as weird, a select few understood what they were doing.

They were comparing their Movement Skills!

However, why did their Movement Skills look so similar?

Byeong-Ho’s Movement Skill was from his Master, how was it possible for this person to have a Movement Skill that resembled it?

On the stage, a few breaths of time went by before Byeong-Ho’s figure paused. He almost fell face first on the stage, but he forcefully steady himself.

Sol stopped using the Movement Skill and stared at Byeong-Ho.

“I predicted you wouldn’t be able to do more than a dozen steps, but you did better than I thought you would by taking thirty steps.”

Byeong-Ho felt something he hadn’t felt in a long while rise in his heart.

Defeat.

He felt defeated that Sol learned his Master’s Movement Skill faster than he did and even thought of using it like this.

It was a strange feeling that made he want to clench his fist and scream in frustration, but he controlled his emotions.

As if he could sense Byeong-Ho’s feelings Sol said.

“No need to feel frustrated. I have my Runic Body so I’m able to last a bit longer by drawing from the Aether Energy in the surroundings.”

“No need to for that Brother Sol, I admit I am inferior to you when it comes to learning my Master’s Movement Skill.”

An uproar came from the crowd when they heard that, and speculations of Sol’s identity and his relationship with Byeong-Ho started flying about.

But what was more shocking was Byeong-Ho admitting defeat!

Byeong-Ho ignored the crowd and said.

“Let’s continue.”

“Sure.”

Sol nodded.

His and Byeong-Ho’s figure then left shadows on the stage as they started to compare their Martial Arts.

The match wasn’t intense or gave someone the feeling that their blood was boiling, but something about these two sparring to compare their talents was captivating.

If Mar-Dule and Su-Jin’s match will cause a wave in Jianghu, then this match between Byeong-Ho and Sol will cause a wave in history itself.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep