What is Martial Arts?
The leader of the Martial World, Go Tae Ho, said it’s the strength to protect the weak, but the answer varies for every martial artist out there.
Some masters might say it’s about the strength of one’s individual power, while some rogue types might say it’s the bare minimum of strength needed to avoid being robbed by the strong.
‘What direction is my fist facing right now?’
In a packed arena, Kim Hyul stood alone, lost deep in thought. Is this overwhelming response from the crowd really the true essence of Martial Arts?
The reason for his pondering was also the girl with the black hair radiating presence from afar—Bi Wol. Originally, she was supposed to be killed by Bing Seolhwa, and though she belonged to the rogue faction, she was a disciple of a well-regarded sect in the village, making Kim Hyul grip his fist tightly.
‘Is killing a girl like that truly what I envisioned Martial Arts to be?’
There’s a look that only those who have taken a life know. When his village was attacked by marauders as a child, Kim Hyul once punched a bandit to death with just his bare hands. The will to kill someone begging for their life and the sensation of taking a life for the first time is something you can never come back from once experienced.
He noticed from a distance that Bi Wol seemed like someone who had never got her hands dirty.
‘…Deep down, I’d like to ignore the orders of that woman, Bing Seolhwa.’
No matter how he thought about it, something felt off. A pair of individuals with white hair and blue eyes, signifying North Sea Ice Palace. If someone didn’t know better, they might mistake them for siblings.
‘I’ve heard of the Ice Dragon’s reputation myself, so I can’t go around killing without verifying the facts.’
Even during the Great War, there were young martial artists and those desperately trying to protect the weak, and a monster who erected ice walls all around to minimize the external damage.
Unless one were a mountain bandit or ignorant to worldly affairs, everyone, including Kim Hyul, had heard rumors of Bing Yeon a few times in the martial world.
He’s classified as a rogue for gathering vagabonds, sick people, and orphans to create a labor collective—nice guy, huh?
‘They say the ‘evil’ in rogues signifies freedom, and I almost want to believe it’s true.’
When hearing others talk around him, he felt like a peculiar fellow holding onto righteous ideals. Just how severe was the rule against killing without reason within the sect?
Those categorized as rogues would typically be on the road to strengthen themselves by ambushing passersby for absorption techniques or vitality recovery, but blood cultists would grind people to make their dark practices, so he was kind of an oddball among them.
“I’d like to talk to you directly, but who knows if that’ll be possible after this tournament ends.”
As competitors approached, Kim Hyul clicked his tongue in disappointment. It was a phrase he remembered from his teacher who saved his life and his family’s during the marauder incident, a strong figure known as the undefeated god of martial arts.
– Are you talking about the most famous of my disciples?
With a single punch, he’s said to crush mountains and split seas, the legendary master once boasted about another disciple while grinning.
– There’s a guy in North Sea Ice Palace so valuable he could sell for billions. Well, he came to me empty-handed after losing in a power struggle.
When Kim Hyul stared enviously, the master chortled and continued.
– Apparently, he’s now called the Ice Dragon—what a joke! A true martial artist should have sturdiness over flair, you know?
Yeah, back then, it was all about the name.
‘Bing Yeon, I want to know how strong you are as someone sharing the same teacher.’
The leader of Ice Dragon Blossom Heart—Bing Yeon.
*
I was watching Kim Hyul’s match from afar.
Originally the waiting area for tournament participants, I looked around several times, but could not spot Seolhwa’s figure.
“Are you acquainted with my benefactor?”
At that moment, a blue-haired male approached me. He was the kind of character with a long scar on his eyelids, standing out.
“…Zikhart.”
According to the original story, after Verdandi went on a killing spree and fell from grace, he was chosen as the next Hero.
He lost sight but gained a natural gift for the sword, bearing an indomitable will to grow stronger.
“Haha! How surprising that you named yourself without an explanation!”
He extended a hand to shake mine while laughing heartily. Despite his young age, he carried himself like an old man, a setup I had to avoid overlapping with other side characters.
“I felt a similar aura and figured I’d see if you were someone like my benefactor.”
Even without sight, he obtained much in return. I thought that perhaps his grim reality should’ve yielded some reward.
“Do you know Bing Seolhwa?”
I asked Zikhart my burning question. I had to find out how she could manipulate the original protagonists to her will.
Since Bi Wol had become my disciple now, she wouldn’t raid Kim Hyul’s village, and frankly, there wouldn’t be a reason for Kang Si Woo to kill Azazel either.
But how on earth could she gather so many diverse personalities from the original protagonists in one place?
“Of course! We’re all under her grace, taking part in this martial competition.”
Zikhart chuckled at my question.
“She rescued a boy from a bandit attack, saved a boy from a dire circumstance, and took in a boy who had to slay the demon lord.”
“That means…”
“Well, to put it simply, she saved us all from dying at least once.”
Seems like the story flowed pretty closely to the original. The original protagonists’ goals were inherently linked to the Final Boss, all of which Bing Seolhwa was holding the reins to.
“But why tell me this?”
I suddenly found myself questioning Zikhart. If Bing Seolhwa indeed commanded my disciples to kill the original protagonists,
why reveal this to me? It could simply be a provocation or a declaration of war.
However,
“I also find it suspicious how well she salvaged the misfortunes that overturned us.”
His statement raised unexpected doubts.
“…As if she were seeing the future?”
“Exactly.”
I tossed him a hint to create small ripples of that doubt, and Zikhart took the bait.
This alone revealed a lot. Bing Seolhwa had intimidated the main characters of the original work into killing my disciples without proper cause.
“Well, being a life saver and taking my family hostage, it’s hard not to comply.”
“So, do you plan to kill my disciples?”
The chattering crowd drowned out our conversation. There’s a saying that to hide a tree, one must bury it in a forest, and to hide a person, one must do so in a crowd.
“…If I learned one thing from losing my sight, it’s to sense the concealed intentions within people.”
As he spoke, Zikhart grasped at the air. In his grasp formed a transparent sword.
One who could manipulate everything within his reach as his weapon, that was the protagonist from You Must Kill the Hero.
“Honestly, after meeting your master directly, I’m pondering if he’s really that bad of a person.”
Zikhart fiddled with his wrist as he felt for the weight of his sword before dissolving it.
“If I can’t kill your disciples, my family will die as well.”
“Before that, wouldn’t it make more sense to think about safely sending your family over to our side?”
“Not possible. I don’t even know where they were hidden. I’m grateful to you for saving them, but since then, I haven’t been able to contact them.”
I proposed a simple solution, but Zikhart vigorously shook his head, a gloomy expression crossing his face.
They were probably under the grip of that alien Shub Niggurath.
In this world, if she could implant me and Seolhwa into it, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think she held the original protagonists’ families as hostages.
“What if we teamed up and fought her together?”
Unexpectedly, Zikhart was quite the cautious character.
“Isn’t that why I came to meet you first?”
Even under the threat of my disciples being killed as his family’s lives were at stake, he still sought to grasp the true intent behind it all before making contact.
“…So, you mean that we’re still insufficient.”
“If you can win against me and others in this tournament, then I’d hold on to hope.”
As he spoke, Zikhart prepared to rise from his seat.
To me, they are the protagonists of the original work like my own sons.
‘Originally, the motivation that moved the protagonists in the original story came from the Final Bosses killing their families out of revenge.’
Seeing Seolhwa disobeying the command of the entity seeping into her, it might indicate that her remaining self was struggling against giving them a grim past.
At the moment, the families weren’t all dead, and they weren’t being blamed on my disciples but merely held hostage.
“Well then, I truly hope you find strength.”
“Yeah, it would be great if we don’t meet in the finals.”
“Haha, as if that were possible!”
Zikhart shook his fist at me before tapping his staff on the ground, striding towards the arena.
*
Bi Wol was currently watching the ongoing match, reading her opponent’s movements with her eyes. A simple fist that doesn’t rely on flashy techniques.
– I am a disciple of Shaolin, known as Narhun. Please give me a good fight…
Boom!
With a single punch, the participant from Shaolin was sent flying. As her master Bing Yeon said, it was like a fist made of diamond—so hard and sharp that it could be believed.
– Is this Martial Arts? I was worried because I heard she practiced Diamond Indestructible, but it seems she’s still lacking.
If Kim Hyul truly had mastered Diamond Indestructible, then Bing Yeon would also know that no low-tier martial arts like the Three Talented Sword method would pierce through it.
‘Why did Master teach me the sword?’
With thoughts of an opponent she might face later, Bi Wol fell into contemplation.
There are famous healers here, well-regarded enough to reattach limbs, and those who had come from the Western Region after great struggle to find a healer.
“…No, there must be a deep meaning behind it.”
Injuries or death didn’t concern her much.
“What I see as Martial Arts is the power to protect my master, and Chivalry is the affection I hold for her.”
Gently patting her own cheek, Bi Wol walked onto the stage to prepare for her next match.
