Chapter 129. It Is Called Failure! (3)

Sword Control Art.

In fact, it was not Patrick's specialty.

In fact, this was a martial art with quite a bit of controversy even in the Jianghu.

It was the Taoist sword sects like the Wudang Sect and Mount Hua Sect that highly valued and pursued the Sword Control Art.

Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of China, who attained enlightenment and ascended to immortality through the sword.

In his legend, there is a tale that he flew around the world riding a single sword.

Perhaps they wanted to imitate that?

In Taoist sects like Wudang, Mount Hua, and Kunlun, they highly valued and were quite obsessed with this Sword Control Art.

And there were those who opposed this.

Places like the Namgung Clan and the Diancang Sect criticized the Sword Control Art as the height of inefficiency.

They criticized the Sword Control Art as a mere showy sword art, saying that its power was weak compared to the consumption of internal energy and that the fact that the sword left the swordsman's hand was itself a great weakness.

Thus, the Sword Control Art was a technique with some controversy.

It was very common for masters who wielded the sword a little to debate the practicality of the Sword Control Art.

“Come to think of it, I did this once too. That debate….”

Patrick's memories recalled a distant past.

***

It was at the 100th birthday celebration feast of one of the Murim Alliance elders whose name he didn't even know well.

The Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon participated as the representative of the Twin Dragon Sect and the leader of the Murim Alliance.

And then....

‘Let's just be quiet. Quietly….’

Jin Cheon sat in a corner and quietly sipped his drink.

It was an uncharacteristic behavior for him, but there was a reason.

‘Master pleaded with me. I have to hold back this time.’

A while ago, when an old fogey of a Shaolin Temple elder was nagging him, he grabbed him by the collar and slammed him onto the floor of the main hall.

His Master, who heard about it and almost fainted, pleaded with him.

To please be quiet.

So, for the first time in a long while, Jin Cheon was truly quiet.

He was planning to just eat the free food and drink and then go back.

The other people also, although they didn't know why that crazy bastard was acting like that, decided to leave him alone since he was being quiet for now.

As the banquet was reaching its peak.

To Jin Cheon, who was quietly drinking in a corner, two men, drunk, approached him and said.

[Radiant Dragon Great Master. How do you evaluate the Sword Control Art?]

[Huh? What?]

The long-nosed Taoist in front of him was, he remembered, an elder of the Song generation from the Wudang Sect.

[A master of the sword of your level would know. That the Sword Control Art is the ultimate martial art of the sword path. Is that not so?]

[Huh?]

This muscular, beefy uncle dressed in fine silk was definitely a Namgung Clan elder.

He remembered him as some guy with a name like Azure Sky Sword.

No, but what kind of nonsense were these guys spouting all of a sudden to someone who was quietly drinking?

[Hahaha. It seems Reverend Songheo has not yet woken from his dream. The Sword Control Art is merely a spectacle that devours an insane amount of internal energy.]

[Hah?]

Patrick wondered why these old fogeys were suddenly acting like this.

Regardless, they were fighting as if it were a very serious topic for them.

[A spectacle? Are you done talking, Azure Sky Sword Emperor?]

[Why, does it hit a nerve?]

[Hahaha. Is that something the Namgung Clan, who use their swords like axes, should say?]

[Like axes?]

[A sword art more tyrannical than the saber art of the Hebei Peng Clan. Tsk tsk tsk, not some mountain bandits, but a prestigious clan....]

[Hahaha. You cross the line quite easily, Reverend Songheo.]

Even the lofty elders of the Namgung Clan and the Wudang Sect were no different from common drunks when they were drunk.

Jin Cheon briefly wondered what to do with these old fogeys.

In such cases, there were usually three options.

‘Should I beat them? Kick them? Send them flying?’

The choices were fantastic.

But he soon remembered his Master's plea and sighed.

And for the first time in a while, he decided to honestly state his sword theory.

[I do not enjoy using the Sword Control Art.]

At that, the Namgung Clan elder burst into laughter, and the long-nosed Wudang man frowned.

[Hahaha. See for yourself.]

[Ugh. Does he not understand the subtlety of the sword?]

But at Jin Cheon's following words, both of their expressions crumpled at the same time.

[There's no hand-feel, you see.]

At Jin Cheon's answer, the two men scowled and said.

[What kind of vulgar and foolish remark is that. Is that something a Great Master of the Orthodox Alliance should say?]

[Hooo. This is deplorable. How can such a person have ascended to the position of leader of the Murim Alliance? Hand-feel, tsk tsk, how violent. Violent... Keoook!]

The Wudang Sect elder was hit once and flew backwards.

And the Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon kicked over the table and stood up, shouting.

[Ah, come on. Are these bastards still giving me crap even when I'm answering seriously!?]

Well, in the end, it turned into a mess.

***

‘Looking back, they are all fond memories.’

Patrick nodded.

In any case, Patrick was not one to enjoy using the Sword Control Art.

He could count the number of times he had used it in a real fight on one hand.

But that was just that he didn't use it, not that he couldn't.

While Mind-Controlled Sword Art or Eye-Controlled Sword Art were out of his reach, Hand-Controlled Sword Art was something he could do anytime.

And that was used effectively here.

“Hehehe. So this is why they say even dog poop can be used as medicine.”

Even a supreme martial principle like the Sword Control Art was just being treated like dog poop by Patrick.

But then....

“Keuk... How did you do that just now?”

Riman, who had been hit by the Sword Control Art and had crashed to the ground, staggered to his feet.

“Oh, you're tougher than I thought.”

‘If he's this tough, maybe I should have hit him a little harder?’

Since the Sword Control Art wasn't his specialty, he had controlled his strength a bit too much.

Still, for someone who had been hit by the Sword Control Art imbued with a lot of aura, he was quite alright.

“To freely control a sword in the air? How is that possible?”

“Are you curious?”

At Patrick's words, Riman forgot that this was a tournament and instinctively nodded.

At that, Patrick held out his hand with a bright face and said.

“If you're curious, 5 gold.”

“……”

“……”

The atmosphere turned chilly.

“That crazy bastard.”

“He really doesn't care about time or place.”

“I want to go home.”

When a crazy person does something bizarre, it was usually the sane people on the same side who had to bear the embarrassment.

Riman was silent for a moment, but soon pushed up his glasses and said.

“You're not going to teach me, I see.”

“No, I said I'll teach you if you give me 5 gold.”

“It is only natural not to disclose the results of one's research carelessly.”

“Is 5 gold too much for you?”

“However, I too have the results of my research that are no less than yours. I will show you.”

“Hoo... you're ignoring me, is that it?”

Being ignored while talking was the thirteenth thing Patrick hated.

In front of Patrick, whose blood pressure was starting to rise, Riman began to do something strange.

“Ignil, Ragios, Turan, Aria.”

He activated four Soul Weapons simultaneously and arranged their energies in a certain pattern.

At that....

“Hmm….”

For the first time, Patrick's expression turned serious.

Extending his hand to retrieve his twin swords with psychokinesis, Patrick seriously took the starting stance of the Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms.

‘This is different. This is different.’

Woooooong.

The presence of the power being emitted was not of a level that a brat like Riman could produce.

A much more advanced martial principle was felt.

Riman looked at Patrick and said with a smile.

“I see, you recognize it?”

“What on earth is that?”

“Patrick Schneider. Do you know? This world is made up of the four great elements.”

“……”

Patrick did not answer, but Riman continued to speak as he arranged the energy in front of him into a complex pattern.

As if mages were drawing a magic circle in the air, his sword moved precisely, and the energy he created grew stronger and stronger.

“Fire, earth, water, wind. The world exists based on these four elements. In other words, the four great elements are the origin of the world and the beginning of all things. That power is the very first existence. It is called Primordial Mana.”

In that moment, a terrifying energy erupted from in front of Riman.

An energy that even the great Patrick could not ignore.

It was an energy that, if brought to the Jianghu, would be considered that of a great master of a generation.

‘How can such a brat….’

Goosebumps rose on his skin.

This was the first time since being reborn that he had experienced this level of power on his skin.

Neither the King Ogre from his childhood, nor the Dullahan that the Black Mage had summoned were at this level.

Was it possible to do something like this with the power of magic?

To the tensed Patrick, Riman said with a triumphant smile.

“Behold. This is the core of my research results. The power of Primordial Mana.”

And in front of him, something with the four attributes united gathered its energy and took form.

A pure white, an absolute white energy so flawless that it would turn all colors to nothing.

Feeling the danger of that energy, which seemed to erase the existence of everything, Patrick....

“Good. Come at me!”

It was the first time.

Since being reborn as Patrick Schneider, it was the first time he had felt such a strong fighting spirit.

“I will receive it with everything I have.”

Patrick decided to use the ultimate decisive move of the Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms, which he had only used a handful of times even in his past life.

That thing deserved it.

The energy Riman was creating grew stronger and stronger.

“W-wow….”

“What is that? What is he trying to do?”

“Are we safe?”

“Shouldn't we run away?”

The power Riman was emitting was so enormous that even the audience was anxious.

“Fufufu….”

Woooooong....

“Hahahahahahaha….”

Woong woong woong woong woong woong woong woong!

In the noise like tens of thousands of bees flying, Riman's crazed laughter grew louder.

And he spoke to Patrick.

“Do you know? Patrick Schneider?”

“What? Just hurry up and come. With my best technique....”

“No, keep this in mind.”

“What?”

“This is the foundation for success, the cornerstone for great progress, its name is....”

The energy in front of Riman grew even larger.

And then....

“It is called failure!”

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

An explosion accompanied by a dazzling flash of light occurred at Riman's location.

The growing energy seemed to surge for a moment, then lost its form and exploded.

“...Huh?”

Patrick, who was about to unleash his decisive ultimate move, had a dazed expression for a moment.

What was this? This awkwardness...?

What was revealed after the aftermath of the explosion was Riman, lying in a battered state.

In that state, the guy raised his head, pushed up his glasses, and said..

“As expected... the research is still... insufficient….”

And as he collapsed, the referee and Patrick looked at each other blankly.

“Ahem, Patrick Schneider wins.”

Patrick Schneider.

Advances to the Arcana semi-finals.

Purely by luck....

***

“Hey, Patrick, congratulations.”

“Now the semi-finals? Keeeuh... a splendid achievement, a splendid achievement.”

“Professor. This must be recorded in the Academy's history.”

Patrick, who had returned victorious, received enthusiastic cheers from his companions.

“To win because your opponent self-destructed.”

“Kuhahaha. You're so lucky.”

“Did you see his serious face?”

“Kuhahahaha. Did you see it earlier? The ‘Good. Come at me’ part?”

“Keeeuhhh. It was like a scene from a novel.”

“And then ‘with everything I have...’ Bleeergh!”

“Do you want to die? You senior bastards!”

Patrick, already embarrassed, started to go on a rampage against his seniors who were adding fuel to the fire.

“The lucky crazy bastard is going berserk.”

“Uhahaha. Run!”

Had they become immune to Patrick's violence?

Even while getting hit, the seniors did not stop teasing Patrick.

‘Damn it, that damned bastard. Making me look like a fool.’

In this world, the number of times Patrick had seriously held his sword could be counted on one hand.

The energy that that glasses-wearing guy named Riman had used was great enough to make even the great Patrick tense up.

‘So what? The way he's going, it looks like he'll never be able to control it in his lifetime.’

If it was a power he couldn't control, it was useless no matter how great it was.

A small knife of three taels was more threatening than a thousand-catty axe that couldn't be wielded.

‘Let's not mind it. He was a weird guy. I shouldn't associate with him.’

But at this time, Patrick did not know.

What the Tower of Truth was thinking about him right now.

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