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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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Sometimes, it happens.
You confide in someone you barely know, someone you’ve only brushed shoulders with.
Perhaps it’s because, just as you don’t know them and they don’t know you either. Being complete strangers allows for a certain freedom of speech, a lack of worry about judgment.
Anyway, his mind was a mess, troubled by the existence of Wu Ming, the so-called strongest assassin in the martial world, and Xue Mudan, whom Zi Lu had declared him too weak to defeat.
So, he cautiously sought advice from the unknown master who had introduced himself as a passing beggar.
“Old man… is there a way to defeat an invincible opponent who is stronger than you?”
Even so, it must have been a bewildering question for the beggar.
He might have thought Mancheon was some young punk looking for a shortcut instead of training diligently.
The only advice he could offer was to train hard and become stronger than the opponent.
“Once upon a time, there was an Asura named Namuchi.”
But the words that came out of the beggar’s mouth were completely unexpected.
“He was already one of the strongest Asuras, but he sought even greater power, so he trained and meditated tirelessly.”
“As a result, he gained an invincible body that was immune to death during the day and night, impervious to weapons made of wood, stone, or metal, and unaffected by dry or wet weapons.”
He told the story like a grandfather sharing a tale with his grandchild, his voice soft and gentle.
“No warrior god in the heavens could defeat the invincible Namuchi, so finally, Sakra, the king of the gods, stepped forward himself.”
He smiled warmly at Mancheon, a young face with the gentle kindness of an old man.
“Sakra defeated Namuchi with a weapon that was neither wood, stone, nor metal, neither dry nor wet, during neither day nor night, but at twilight with a bubble.”
He tilted his head, unsure whether to find the solution creative or absurd.
Twilight made sense, but bubbles? Wasn’t that a bit much?
But… then again,
there were games like Bubble Bobble (a classic game where cute baby dinosaurs trapped and killed monsters with bubbles) and characters like Caesar Zeppeli, the Bubble Man from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Fighting with bubbles wasn’t an uncommon trope.
“There’s no such thing as a truly invincible being in this world.”
“An opponent becomes truly invincible only when you become paralyzed by their illusion of invincibility, stop thinking, and lose your will to fight.”
He tapped Mancheon’s head lightly with his staff.
“And the most important thing in a fight isn’t how strong your opponent is, but your reason for fighting, isn’t it?”
“……!!”
It was an obvious statement, but it was also an important one, the words he needed to hear. He felt a sense of clarity, as if a blockage had been cleared.
“If you’ve decided to fight, don’t hesitate any longer.”
Suddenly, the beggar swung his staff powerfully from above.
Dog Beating Staff Technique – Strike to the Head.
A blow to the head, a reprimand.
-Bang!!
The sound of the staff ripping through the air echoed as dust and dirt erupted in concentric circles, like ripples on a pond, from the tip of the staff, which had stopped just short of the ground.
“The most important aspect of the Dog Beating Staff Technique is speed.”
The beggar lowered his staff and laughed heartily, like a child.
“If there’s a bad dog in front of you, don’t hesitate. Just beat it.”
He was speechless for a moment, processing the move he had just witnessed.
A simple downward swing of the staff.
But… within that simple movement, he saw the path his staff technique needed to take.
It was the same feeling he had experienced when he first saw his master perform the Dog Beating Staff Technique.
“Who are you…?”
“This old man has overstayed his welcome. …I’ll see you again.”
With those words, the beggar vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.
Or rather, he had simply walked away, but it was as if he had used some special movement technique.
With each leisurely step, the distance between them increased, and he soon disappeared from sight.
“Huh…”
He blinked, dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
He wondered if he had been dreaming, but the distinct ripples on the ground told him it wasn’t a dream.
And he didn’t have time to worry about the mysterious beggar anymore.
“If I let my guard down for even a moment, he’ll be learning martial arts from another master…”
Wang Meiyang, his little master, was approaching, her face cold and hard, like a lover who had caught her partner cheating.
“Um… Master? It’s not what it looks like. I was just having a little chat…”
“Bend down.”
Unfortunately, his excuses didn’t work. He bent down to meet Wang Meiyang’s eye level.
-Pinch Pinch!
Her small, doll-like hands pinched his cheeks hard.
“Ow! Ow, ow! Master! That hurts!”
“It’s supposed to hurt! You said you’d buy me dumplings, but you never came back!”
Wang Meiyang’s beautiful eyes glared at her impudent disciple.
The Martial Alliance leader, who seemed to have some connection to Mancheon, and now this.
What did these masters see in this crippled boy that made them so willing to teach him?
She couldn’t understand.
Sure, he was a bit of a troublemaker, but he was a diligent student and a reliable disciple in times of need…
But still, too many masters were taking an interest in him!
“He’s my disciple… they should be teaching their own disciples…”
She muttered sullenly, her face still puffed up.
And far away,
the unknown master, once again using his staff as a guide, embarked on another aimless stroll.
Lao Rouxin, the Brocade Beggar Immortal, one of the Ten Great Masters, recalled the boy he had just met,
Mancheon, a gentle smile spreading across his face.
“Confucius… that friend of mine taught an interesting child. He has good disciples.”
Wang Meiyang, after hearing a brief summary of the situation from Mancheon, nodded slowly, then…
her eyes flashed with determination.
“Alright. Let’s use this as practice and get our revenge with the Seven Stars Gathering, one of the Emei Sect’s secret techniques.”
“Seven! Stars! Gathering!?”
He was already excited at the prospect of learning such a powerful technique.
He had never heard of it before, but
judging by the name and the Emei Sect’s association with the Big Dipper, it couldn’t be weak.
“The Seven Stars Gathering was developed by the Seven Disciples of Emei after the death of Patriarch Wang Chongyang to counter the Ancient Tomb Sect’s techniques, which are our natural enemy.”
“However, I’m the only Emei Sect member left, so it’s a technique I can’t use on my own…”
Wang Meiyang looked at him with a confident smile, her cheeks slightly flushed with anticipation.
“But now that I have you! We won’t be defeated so easily again!!”
He felt a sense of unease, despite Wang Meiyang’s excitement.
‘She can’t use it on her own?’
And his unease was confirmed by her next action.
Wang Meiyang pulled out a black mask with eye and mouth holes and put it on, her eyes sparkling.
“I prepared this just in case, but I didn’t think I’d have to use it so soon.”
“Excuse me?”
“Here, I have one for you too.”
She handed him an identical mask, her golden eyes gleaming with the light of the Big Dipper, the star of death.
“Let’s show that Xue Mudan what happens when you make an enemy of the Emei Sect.”
“Gasp?!”
He felt a jolt, as if he had been hit on the back of the head. His breath caught in his throat.
Seven Stars Gathering – The power of seven stars combined.
So, as the name suggested, the Seven Stars Gathering was a group tactic, a combined assault on a single target.
He suddenly understood why the Emei Sect was once considered the strongest sect.
The Heavenly Dipper Formation, a group buff formation that amplified their combined power.
And the Seven Stars Gathering, a modified version of the Heavenly Dipper Formation that could be used by a smaller number of people.
A combined attack technique where multiple people moved in perfect unison, overwhelming the opponent with their synchronized movements, countering the Ancient Tomb Sect’s swift attacks.
Their way of thinking was completely different. If they were weaker than their opponent, they would gang up on them.
No wonder they were considered rivals to the Shaolin Temple’s One Hundred and Eight Arhats Formation.
How could other sects, who hadn’t developed group tactics, possibly win against them? They couldn’t.
To be fair, the Emei Sect’s emphasis on group tactics wasn’t about ganging up on weaker opponents.
Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Emei Sect, lived during the Jin-Song Wars,
and he personally led his disciples in guerrilla warfare against the Jin Dynasty.
They needed a way to fight against the well-equipped and organized Jin army,
so he created group formations designed for small squads fighting against larger groups:
the Heavenly Dipper Formation and the Greater Heavenly Dipper Formation.
But… to Mancheon, who didn’t know the details, it just seemed terrifying.
If there had been a support beam nearby, he would have slammed his head against it and shouted,
“Despicable! Emei Sect!!”
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No Freekin’ way he’s gonna gang up someone😭
