719 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

The family’s secret martial arts, passed down through generations. It is the identity of the martial family—akin to a third-generation traditional restaurant's trade secret. If the food doesn’t taste good, no matter how much you advertise or how prime your location is, the restaurant fails. Just as essential to amass power in the martial world is the possession of superior martial arts. Developing recipes can take 50 years, yet it only takes 5 minutes to steal them with a glance, they say. Due to the potentially enormous impact of a leak, these martial arts secrets are safeguarded meticulously. Only direct bloodline members are allowed to learn these arts. If an outsider witnessed training without permission, it led to a life-or-death determination to maintain secrecy. Herein lies the conundrum. Learning another family's martial arts without permission in the martial world is a grave sin worthy of death. Imagine the former head of the Eon family’s reaction when someone boasted about how excellent the leaked martial arts were. "Elder Siwang. It's the first time I'm hearing about this." Kneeling immediately was a matter of survival. "Listen carefully from this moment on," He declared, sounding like a judge issuing a verdict. "A… yes." It seemed this wouldn’t be resolved easily. Elder Siwang spoke to me in his stern voice, reminiscent of a judge pronouncing a sentence. "The fist techniques starting from open-handed combat allow strikes faster than wielding any weapon but have the drawback of facing armed opponents with bare hands. Thus, practitioners naturally seek external techniques to compensate for that weakness." "Like Shaolin’s Iron Palm?" An external technique involving training hands in hot sand, famous throughout the martial world, and utilized by the renowned Shaolin Temple. "Correct. Our family's founder collaborated with both unarmed and armed clans to research, ultimately developing an external technique that can be learned without painful training, like the Iron Palm." "So, this is the Jade Face Protection Technique." Handling the living dead would have made experimentation easier for a family controlling such creatures, and as it needed to be used on them, this involved medicinal essences rather than conventional training. Understanding why Eon family deals with both unarmed and armed clans now made more sense. "It used to be a selective technique bestowed upon those deemed worthy among the family's later generations—until that fateful day." Some wounds never heal with time. Mentioning that painful day darkened Elder Siwang’s expression. "Village calamity...” "The dreadful disaster that befell our Eon family half a century ago did not stop at merely losing precious lives. Part of what defines the family’s legacy was leaked.” “I’ve heard some families suffer near extinction when their secret martial arts get lost.” A common trope in martial arts fiction. Like the imagined story of Zhongnan Sect, once dominating the world, losing their arts and being scorned by the Huashan Sect, ultimately ousted from the Nine Schools Alliance. “No wonder sects are so protective of their arts.” “Yes. During the Great Conflict, many families perished when they lost their arts. The Jade Face Protection Technique was one of the lost arts.” “I didn't know the details behind the external technique I practiced.” Elder Siwang. Glaring at me makes my heart sink. Honestly, I didn’t do it on purpose. "Those whose necks I’ve snapped said similar things." “Elder!” I exclaimed in shock. Had He personally dealt with those who learned the leaked martial arts? “The unspoken rule. As a son-in-law of the Zhuge family, you should know what it means to dare learn a family’s secret arts without permission.” “I am aware of it.” In modern society, it would lead to huge patent infringement lawsuits, but the martial world resolved matters more directly. Death would follow a single word. "As the master of the Eon family, I’ve had to take responsibility for all of it. The first ten years, I killed every single one I saw. No, I sought them out and killed them. Learning the leaked Eon arts meant having a hand in that initial massacre. I showed no mercy.” "......" It wasn’t just words, then. The situation kept getting more complicated. "The next ten years, I refrained from killing." "Because warriors not involved in the incident might have learned it?" I glimpsed a sliver of hope. Surely, continuously killing over leaked arts is excessive. "Yes. I merely severed their veins and crippled their martial abilities." "Isn't that basically killing them as well?" To a martial artist, it’s effectively “I’ll let you live” kind of declaration. "Do you think someone who dared learn the Eon’s techniques without permission could expect to live? I showed plenty of mercy." "Sometimes ignorance can be...” "...." His gleaming eyes bore into me. "No, clearly not. How did things fare in the next ten years?" Execution, saving with severity, positive thinking is key. There are yet 30 of the 50 years left. Let’s hold on to hope. "I found an amusing rumor among the martial world. Those who mastered the Jade Face Protection Technique would face me. For the next ten years, no one dared attempt it." "Hahaha..." Elder Siwang laughed as if he found it funny, but my face froze in a grin. I should have known when Man Geum Junju said He had a terribly difficult personality. I’d forgotten His ferocity—they’d kindly treated me like an elder of martial arts. Eon Woo-jin—The one before me was known as one of the martial world’s terrifying Ten Peaks. "Eventually, the Martial Alliance stepped in, recovering all copied arts that came into sight with a plea to stop." "Did you heed their plea?" Did it really take the Martial Alliance to intervene? "Once everyone started watching my movements, the legitimate practitioners dared not learn it, and the rogues felt it wasn’t worth the cost when those investing immense sums turned up as corpses. Later, it turned into a kind of gift rich families bestowed to their fortunate." “The Fortune Arts…” I thought it was simply named for its high cost, turns out it was a kind of respectful avoidance. “They say calling it the Jade Face Protection Technique spells trouble, hence, it went under a different name. Eventually, it became difficult for even me to track, so I stopped.” If you say Jade Face Protection Technique three times, Siwang will appear. Who would dare learn it? UlFRblVJeEt0R01oWGZFZXFXMGFSNTE4eXAveWlTc2Y3cllhVU8yamFtdjV0TXVURFRFZUlxODFENUNueFh1cw Rumor has it that while many recognize its fame, few have actually studied it. "This was before I was even born, then." "Time flies by so quickly." Elder Siwang seemed to reminisce with a knowing smile, like a once-feared soldier recalling his past exploits just before retirement. It gave me the feeling of a young recruit facing a notorious veteran reflecting on bygone years. 'Originally, it wouldn’t have mattered if one learned the Jade Face Protection Technique.' Siwang accepted the Martial Alliance's request, and martial artists were reluctant to learn the technique due to the watchful eyes of the Eon family. Given the exorbitant cost and difficulty in mastering the martial art, it was all the more discouraging. Eventually, the Jade Face Protection Technique became a non-issue for non-martial artists, evolving into what was called the Fortune Arts—something affluent scions or their cherished would practice. 'In other words, as long as you don’t face Siwang, it’s a safe martial art to learn.' Now, I understood why So Hee readily taught it to me and why martial artists paid little mind to a mere merchant like myself practicing the Jade Face Protection Technique. ‘What are the odds of a common merchant confronting Siwang?’ And yet, Kang Yun Ho manages to do just that. Elder, you won't kill me, right? Please spare me. "It's truly been a long time since someone dared to claim they mastered the Jade Face Protection Technique before this old man." "Elder, I really didn’t know what I was learning." Attempting a subtle retreat. "Do you think confirming your escape path will allow you to flee?" "Haha…" "In all my life, no matter the excuse, I never let someone who learned leaked martial arts leave unharmed." Elder Siwang’s hand twitched powerfully, his light fist clenching. Elder, did you not know that having a high strength stat as a sorcerer is illegal? "E-elder!" How should I reason with him? Is there a way to quell the wrath of one among the martial world’s Ten Peaks? I swiftly considered all my available shields. One: My father-in-law at the Zhuge family. That fake father in the Tang family. I told them your family’s martial arts are superb. Save me. “Handle this wisely,” they would say. Curse those martial artists. I expected no less. What should I do? The youthful face of Siwang from fifty years ago appeared before me. Speak something—anything. "So handle it well." Abruptly, the energy subsided. "Wha..?" The terrifying visage of Siwang faded, replaced by the concerned look of a grandfather worried for his granddaughter. "You are the first, so you must take care of her." Eon Ga Young’s grandfather kindly extended his hand to me as if entrusting her to my future care. —— “Are you sure this is alright?” Surprised, I asked once more. For someone not part of the family to learn its direct martial arts is no trivial matter. In the martial code, letting it slide is more unusual than executing them. “Tsk tsk. Youngsters these days lack spirit. They get tense at the slightest life-threatening aura. Come on, hand over your arm.” Elder, that was the killing intent of one from the Ten Peaks. Acting like it was a joke makes it all the more shocking. "I'm engaged, so offering my hand to other men isn’t something I should do..." "Would you rather I take it apart and bring it with me?" "Goodness. The elder seems less understanding than the youth today." "Tsk. You always have the last word." "Hahaha. Here it is." I extended my arm immediately. "Hm... Seems Geum Gwi had serious intentions." Elder Siwang examined the skin that absorbed the Jade Face Protection Technique, muttering with disbelief. “What’s wrong?” "Over fifty years, the leaked martial arts became fragmented, simplified into subpar forms, or even degraded in attempts to lower medicinal costs." “That happens often.” Like using palm oil entirely instead of cocoa butter in chocolates. "However you managed it, what you practiced seems to be the original lost version of the Jade Face Protection Technique." "Hahaha." Thanks to my childhood friend from the underworld, we might have preserved the original version. "Did you apply the medicine to your entire body every day?" "I even bathed in a tub filled with it." "Those medicines can't simply be bought with money alone." "Is it that precious?" “You have to select rare herbs, mix them at precise times, and apply them before their effects fade. Geum Gwi must have cherished you greatly." Elder Siwang clicked his tongue thinking of Jang Noya, but my thoughts drifted elsewhere, leaving me speechless momentarily. 'So Hee.' It’s my fault. So Hee, who blamed herself for my suffering at the hands of thugs, simmered concoctions with an impassive face and applied them diligently to my skin. During trying times, we found small glimmers of hope. We moved past mutual caution to open our hearts genuinely to one another. A pang struck the depths of my heart. “She gives only the very best.” Refraining from mentioning Cheon Salseong, let’s say Man Geum Junju lavishly gifted it upon his successor. “He’s sly, isn’t he?” “Hahaha.” I won’t deny it. "To get what he wants without stating it directly, that cunning is truly Geum Gwi’s nature." Elder Siwang assessed me thoroughly, finally speaking with a wry smile. "What do you mean by that?" “He’s up to his usual cunning, but goals align this time, so I'll indulge him.” "Huh?" "I didn’t waste my life trying to grasp escaping sands after the martial arts leaked. I discarded what needed discarding and kept what was necessary." The elderly one reminisced about rising past a painful history. "What does that mean?" I met Elder Siwang’s eyes. Golden eyes akin to his granddaughter’s. If hers were like a pure full moon, his were like a waning moon. The elder looked at me for a while, then as if making a decision, he asked, "Would you like to learn the improved version of the Jade Face Protection Technique?"