Besok tiba-tiba Baek So-cheon tiba di tempat latihan mekanisme khusus. Cukup sekali mengunjunginya untuk mengerti kenapa kata khusus muncul dalam namanya. Selain itu, tempat ini juga memberikan demonstrasi langsung betapa maju seni perompakan mekanis Aliansi Murim. Mekanisme itu sendiri terbuat dengan sangat baik, tetapi alasan mutlak tempat ini khusus adalah karena tingkat kesulitannya dapat disesuaikan. Jadi, semua orang bisa berlatih di sini, mulai dari anggota Unit Urusan Internal dan Unit Penyukung Luar yang relatif lemah hingga seniman bela diri elit dari Istana Rahasia dan Korped Pedang Perak. Ini adalah tempat latihan pertempuran nyata. Tidak ada yang lembut atau terkendara. Serangan yang lebih berbahaya daripada yang ditemukan dalam pertempuran sebenarnya terbang, dan peserta bisa cedera atau mati. Faktanya, beberapa orang mati di sini setiap tahun selama pelatihan. Tingkat kesulitannya dibagi lima level: Low, Medium, Upper-Medium, High, dan Extreme. Hanya rentang tengah yang dibagi dua karena mayoritas seniman bela diri berada di level tersebut. Anggota Korped Pedang Perak biasanya melatih di tingkat High, sementara yang dari Istana Rahasia melatih di Extreme. Keduanya bangga mampu melatih di level tersebut. Lima dari tujuh unit Korped Pedang Perak berkumpul hari ini. Dua unit lainnya berada dalam operasi. Saat Baek So-cheon muncul, seluruh tatapan terfokus padanya. Dialennya menggeleser seniman bela diri yang sudah berkumpul. Hwang Il-bi, pemimpin Unit Pertama, hadir, sebagaimana No Ung, pemimpin Pembagian Ketiga. Baek So-cheon mengenal mayoritas yang lainnya juga. Setelah melayani di Korped Pedang Perak, Baek So-cheon dipindahkan ke Istana Rahasia dan kemudian kembali ke korps. Dari semua tahunnya di Aliansi Murim, dia telah menghabiskan portion terbesar di sini. "Semua baik-baik saja?" tanya dia. "Ya!" balasan geminggunjung menyanyinya. Atmosfer tidak buruk. Setiap pemikirannya tentang Baek So-cheon berbeda, tetapi tidak ada yang memikirkannya rasa dendam besar atau kemarahan dalam. Baek So-cheon telah menyebabkan berbagai kejadian, tetapi mayoritas melibatkan penghalang perintah atau menunjukkan amarah kepada atasannya. Dia pernah sekali saja mendera bawahannya. Beberapa di antara mereka mengkritik masa dia kehilangan arah. Namun mereka pernah menghormati dan menganggapnya pahlawan. Perasaan positif dan negatif mereka seimbang satu dengan lainnya dan menetap pada jarak yang moderat. "Dengan izin Komandan, aku datang untuk melayani sebagai instructor sehari-hari," ujar Baek So-cheon. "Selamat datang!" balasan lainnya yang geminggunjung. "Lalu mari kita mulai." Latihan mekanisme terdiri dari dua tahap: kursus horizontal pertama dan kursus vertikal kedua. Kursus horizontal mengharuskan peserta melewati koridor yang dipenuhi senjata tersembunyi. Mereka harus maju sambil menyingkir proyektil yang ditembak dari depan, belakang, kiri, dan kanan. Kursus vertikal memerlukan mereka mendaki ke atas melalui ruang di mana senjata tersembunyi jatuh. Ini lebih sulit daripada kursus pertama, tetapi dengan tidak disengaja lebih umum dalam pertempuran sebenar karena musuh biasanya menetapkan pemakaman di ketinggian dan menyerang dari atas. Baek So-cheon membuat pengumuman yang tidak terduga. "Aku akan demonstrasi terlebih dahulu," ujar Baek So-cheon. Semua terkejut. Siapa pun tidak membayangkan Baek So-cheon akan demonstrasi secara pribadi. Mereka percayai tempat latihan ini tidak pernah bisa dibersihkan tanpa energi internal. Hwang Il-bi segera maju. "Kamu tidak bisa!" ujar Hwang Il-bi. Chung Yang terus-menerus mengkuhnya bersampingan dengan Baek So-cheon, jadi Hwang Il-bi sudah menetapkan tidak interveni kecuali mutlak diperlukan. Namun, ini secara langsung terkait kehidupan Baek So-cheon. Bahkan Hwang Il-bi sendiri bisa mati di pelatihan ini jika ia acuh. "Mengapa? Apakah kamu takut aku mati di sini?" tanya Baek So-cheon. Hwang Il-bi tidak mampu menjawab ya. "Tidak bisa membersihkannya tanpa energi internal," ujar Baek So-cheon. "Aku bisa," ujar Baek So-cheon. Baek So-cheon berbicara dengan pengatur mekanisme. "Persiapkan kursus," katanya. "Tingkat kesulitan apa yang anda inginkan?" tanya pengatur. "Setel sesai biasa," ujar Baek So-cheon. "Korped Pedang Perak melatih di tingkat kesulitan High. Apakah itu baik?" tanya pengatur dengan cemas. Ia juga tahu Baek So-cheon kehilangan energi internal. "Akan baik," ujar Baek So-cheon. Pada saat itu, suara lain berbicara. "Karena kamu sampai sejauh ini, mengapa tidak demonstrasi di tingkat Extreme?" ujar Cheon Su, pemimpin Unit Keenam. Baek So-cheon menatapnya. Cheon Su berusaha tetap tenang, tetapi ekspresinya aneh kaku. Baek So-cheon tidak pernah membentuk dendam khusus kepadanya. Cheon Su memiliki kepribadian tidak sosial, tetapi Baek So-cheon mengingatnya sebagai orang yang baik mengikuti perintahnya. Ia selalu menjadi yang pertama bergerak pada perintah Baek So-cheon, dan satu kata pujian pernah mengundang senyuman tak nyaman ke wajah batu tersebut. Alasan mengapa dia berbicara adalah sederhana. Chung Yang pasti memerintahkan ia melakukan hal tersebut. "Bagus," ujar Baek So-cheon. Baik begitu Baek So-cheon dengan senang hati menerima, keresahan menyebar di kerumunan. Extreme adalah tingkat kesulitan bahkan mereka tidak bisa membukanya. Anggota Istana Rahasia melewati pelatihan di level tersebut kapan saja kondisi fisik mereka sedikit kurang. "Pemimpin Unit Cheon!" marah marah Hwang Il-bi. Cheon Su adalah junior-nya dua tahun. "Bagaimana kamu bisa membuang-perbuatan hal-hal sia-sia kepada seseorang yang belum pulih sepenuhnya dari cedarannya?" tanya Hwang Il-bi. "Namun, ini secara langsung terkait kehidupan Baek So-cheon. Bahkan Hwang Il-bi sendiri bisa mati di pelatihan ini jika ia acuh," ujar Baek So-cheon. Baek So-cheon mengangkat diri di antara mereka dan perlahan berbicara. "Aku baik. Unit Leader Cheon benar. Jika aku percaya aku tidak bisa, itu harus aku katakan." Hwang Il-bi bertanya cemas, "Apakah kamu sunggu-sunggu yakin?" Semua menatap Baek So-cheon dengan kekhawatian yang sama. "Apakah kamu tahu mengapa aku menerima jabatan instructor khusus hari ini?" "Tidak." "Aku tidak datang sekadar untuk melihat wajah familiar, maupun membanggai bahwa aku masih mampu." "Mengapa kau datang?" "Karena aku ingin membantumu sebagai instructor." Semua terkejut lagi. Mereka telah mengasumsikan acara hari ini hanyalah benturan politik antara Baek So-cheon dan Chung Yang. Tidak ada yang menyangka Baek So-cheon datang dengan niat sejajari mengajar mereka. Ekspresinya menjadi serius. "Sebagai yang sudah Anda alami, ketika perang memulai, Anda akan dikirim ke pertempuran yang paling berbahaya dan penting. Semoga pelatihan hari ini sedikit membantu saat hidupnya terancam. Ya, melihat cara Extreme kursus seharusnya dikelola mungkin berguna." Baek So-cheon menukar kalimat ke pengatur mekanisme. "Setel tingkat kesulitan ke Extreme." "Dipahami." Kursus disesuaikan di tengah kegelapan tegangan. Baek So-cheon mengambil pedang latihan dan beberapa kunai latihan dari rak dekat, lalu berdiri sebelum masuk mekanisme. Dari hari-harinya di Korped Pedang Perak hingga waktunya di Istana Rahasia, dia telah melatih di sini puluhan kali. Sekali, ia bisa membersihkannya dengan mata tertutup. Ia masih yakin sekarang. Jika latihan fisiknya kesal dan prinsip gerakan dalam taklukan langit sembilan surgawi bisa mengisi kekosongan energi internalnya, ia bisa berhasil. "Mulai kursus." Pada shout pengatur, Baek So-cheon melangkah ke dalam tanparagu. Swoosh! Swoosh! Senjata tersembunyi terbang dari kedua sisi. Serangan pertama bukanlah lemah. Proyektil cepat dan menakutkan, dituju pada titik vital siapa saja yang masuk. Penonton di samping melirik hanya dari melihat mereka. Clang! Clang! Baek So-cheon menyingkirkan kedua senjata dan maju. Eksclaimation pendek meloloskan penonton. Bukan hanya karena ia menyingkir serangan. Gerakannya tampak menunjukkan metode buku untuk menghadapi dua senjata tiba dengan kecepatan sama dari sisi berlawanan. Baek So-cheon memindahkan tubuh ke kiri, membuat senjata di pihaknya tiba secara efektif lebih dulu, lalu menyingkir serangan kiri dan kanan berurut. Clang! Clang! Tiga kunai berikutnya ditangani dalam cara yang sepenjelas instructif. responsnya menunjukkan cara menghadapi tiga berbeda dari dua. Ia menyingkir satu dan menyingkirkan dua yang lainnya. Gerakannya mengalir seperti air, menunjukkan senapa senjata yang harus dielakkan dan mengapa. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Jenis senjata tersembunyi beragam, dan jumlahnya terus meningkat. Baek So-cheon bergerak seolah-olah memiliki energi internal. Ia cepat, tepat, dan disiplin. Terutama, ia memenuhi perannya sebagai instructor dengan kejutan yang luar biasa. Berbeda dengan organisasi lain, Korped Pedang Perak memutar pemimpin squads dan unit melalui peran instructor. Namun demonstrasi Baek So-cheon melebihi apa pun yang pernah mereka tunjukkan. Ia menyingkir beberapa senjata dengan pedang, menyingkirkan yang lainnya dengan langkah kaki, dan membuang kunai untuk menghentangi serangan sebelum mereka bisa meluncurkan sepenuhnya. Pikiran tergerak kepada seniman bela diri yang mengurus mekanisme. Jika saja adegan ini bisa dijaga sesatakar-kira. Dia ingin menampilkannya kepada setiap seniman bela diri yang datang ke sini dan mengatakan mereka, Ini adalah cara yang benar untuk membersihkan mekanisme ini. Serangan akhir terdiri dari nine senjata tersembunyi. Swooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswoosh! Tampak jatuh sekaligus. Serangan ini menginspirasi putus asa—sesuatu yang merasa mungkin bisa menyingkir tiga atau empat, tetapi pasti harus menerima sisa dengan tubuhnya. Baek So-cheon bergerak dengan kecepatan yang luar biasa. Ia menyingkir senjata dengan pedang, melempar kunai dengan tangan lainnya, menyingkirkan apa yang ia tidak bisa menyingkirkan, dan bahkan meredirect satu senjata yang sudah menyingkir ke senjata lain. Pertahanannya mengandung setiap metode yang dimilikinya. Satu pikiran pertama muncul di dalam setiap penonton. "Se begini mungkin!" Disusuri dengan keinginan untuk mencapai hal yang sama sendiri. Baek So-cheon menghadapi semua nine weapons dan dengan aman membersihkan kursus. Semuanya menatap dalamkejutan yang terpinggul, unable to speak. Hwang Il-bi akhirnya memecahkannya. "Apakah kamu benar-benar kehilangan energi internal?
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Chapter 44. One-Day Instructor (1)
The following day, Baek So-cheon arrived at the special mechanism training ground.
One only needed to visit the place to understand why the word special appeared in its name. It also provided a firsthand demonstration of how advanced the Murim Alliance’s mechanical formation arts had become.
The mechanisms themselves were excellently constructed, but the decisive reason this training ground was special was that its difficulty could be adjusted.
Thus, everyone could train here, from the relatively weaker members of the Internal Affairs Unit and External Support Unit to the elite martial artists of the Secret Pavilion and Iron Sword Corps.
This was a live-combat training ground. Nothing was softened or restrained. Attacks more dangerous than those found in actual combat came flying, and a trainee could be injured or killed. In fact, several people died here every year during training.
The difficulty was divided into five levels: Low, Medium, Upper-Medium, High, and Extreme. Only the middle range was divided into two because the largest number of martial artists fell within those levels.
Members of the Iron Sword Corps usually trained at High difficulty, while those of the Secret Pavilion trained at Extreme. Both took pride in being able to train at those levels.
Five of the Iron Sword Corps’ seven units had gathered today. The remaining two were away on operations.
When Baek So-cheon appeared, every gaze focused upon him.
He slowly looked over the assembled martial artists.
Hwang Il-bi, leader of the First Unit, was present, as was No Ung, leader of its Third Squad. Baek So-cheon knew most of the others as well.
After serving in the Iron Sword Corps, Baek So-cheon had transferred to the Secret Pavilion and later returned to the corps. Of all his years in the Murim Alliance, he had spent the greatest portion of them here.
“Have you all been well?”
“Yes!”
A thunderous answer met his question.
The atmosphere was not bad. Each man held different thoughts about Baek So-cheon, but none harbored any great grievance or deep resentment.
Baek So-cheon had caused numerous incidents, but most involved disobeying orders or expressing anger toward his superiors. He had never once tormented the subordinates under him.
Some among them had disapproved of the period when he lost his way. Yet they had once respected him and regarded him as a hero. Their positive and negative feelings balanced one another and settled at a moderate distance.
“With the Commander’s permission, I have come to serve as your one-day instructor.”
“Welcome!”
Another resounding answer rang out.
“Then let us begin.”
The mechanism training consisted of two stages: the first horizontal course and the second vertical course.
The horizontal course required trainees to pass through a corridor filled with concealed weapons. They had to advance while evading projectiles fired from the front, rear, left, and right.
The vertical course required them to climb upward through a space where concealed weapons poured down. It was more difficult than the first course, but unexpectedly more common in actual battle because enemies usually set ambushes at high ground and attacked from above.
Baek So-cheon made an unexpected announcement.
“I will demonstrate first.”
Everyone was startled. No one had imagined Baek So-cheon would personally demonstrate. They believed this training ground could never be cleared without internal energy.
Hwang Il-bi immediately stepped forward.
“You cannot!”
Chung Yang constantly accused him of siding with Baek So-cheon, so Hwang Il-bi had resolved not to intervene unless absolutely necessary.
This, however, directly concerned Baek So-cheon’s life. Even Hwang Il-bi himself could die in this training if he became careless.
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll die here?”
Hwang Il-bi could not bring himself to answer yes.
“You cannot clear it without internal energy.”
“I can.”
Baek So-cheon addressed the martial artist managing the mechanisms.
“Prepare the course.”
“What difficulty would you like?”
“Set it as you normally would.”
“The Iron Sword Corps trains at High difficulty. Will that be all right?”
The manager asked anxiously. He too knew Baek So-cheon had lost his internal energy.
“It will.”
At that moment, another voice spoke.
“Since you have come all this way, why not demonstrate at Extreme difficulty?”
The speaker was Cheon Su, leader of the Sixth Unit.
Baek So-cheon looked at him. Cheon Su tried to remain calm, but his expression was strangely rigid.
Baek So-cheon had never formed any particular grudge with him. Cheon Su had an unsociable personality, but Baek So-cheon remembered him as someone who followed him well. He had always been the first to move at Baek So-cheon’s command, and a single word of praise had once brought an awkward smile to that stony face.
The reason he had spoken was therefore simple. Chung Yang must have ordered him to do so.
“Good.”
When Baek So-cheon accepted readily, agitation spread through the crowd. Extreme was a difficulty even they could not clear. Members of the Secret Pavilion skipped training at that level whenever their physical condition was even slightly poor.
“Unit Leader Cheon!”
Hwang Il-bi angrily rebuked him. Cheon Su was his junior by two years.
“How can you spout such nonsense to someone who has not yet fully recovered from his injuries?”
Hwang Il-bi had intended to stop Baek So-cheon from demonstrating even at High difficulty. Extreme was practically a demand for his death.
“I merely made a suggestion.”
“Then think before making one.”
“If the instructor considered it impossible, he would have refused.”
“You bastard! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Mind your words!”
The two confronted one another fiercely.
Baek So-cheon stepped between them and spoke gently.
“I am fine. Unit Leader Cheon is right. If I believed I could not do it, I should be the one to say so.”
Hwang Il-bi asked anxiously, “Are you truly certain?”
Everyone looked at Baek So-cheon with similar concern.
“Do you know why I accepted the position of special instructor today?”
“No.”
“I did not come merely to see familiar faces, nor to boast that I remain capable.”
“Then why did you come?”
“Because I want to help you as an instructor.”
Everyone was surprised again. They had assumed today’s event was little more than a political clash between Baek So-cheon and Chung Yang. No one had expected Baek So-cheon to come with the sincere intention of teaching them.
His expression grew serious.
“As you have already experienced, when war begins, you will be sent into the most dangerous and important battles. I hope today’s training will help even slightly when your lives are at stake. Yes, seeing how an Extreme course should be handled may prove useful.”
Baek So-cheon turned to the course manager.
“Set the difficulty to Extreme.”
“Understood.”
The course was adjusted amid a tense silence.
Baek So-cheon took a training sword and several training daggers from the nearby rack, then stood before the mechanism’s entrance. From his days in the Iron Sword Corps through his time in the Secret Pavilion, he had trained here countless times. Once, he could have cleared it with his eyes closed. He remained confident now. If his grueling physical training and the profound movement principles of the Heaven-Overturning Nine Fists could fill the void left by his internal energy, he could succeed.
“Beginning the course.”
At the manager’s shout, Baek So-cheon launched himself inside without hesitation.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Concealed weapons flew from both sides. The first attack was by no means gentle. The projectiles were fast and threatening, aimed directly at the vital points of anyone who entered.
A nearby observer flinched simply from watching them.
Clang! Clang!
Baek So-cheon deflected both weapons and stepped forward.
Brief exclamations escaped the observers. It was not merely because he had deflected the attack.
His movement seemed to demonstrate the textbook method for dealing with two weapons arriving at identical speed from opposite sides.
Baek So-cheon shifted his body to the left, making the weapon on that side effectively arrive first, then deflected the left and right attacks in succession.
Clang! Clang!
The next three daggers were handled in a similarly instructive fashion. His response demonstrated how dealing with three differed from dealing with two.
He evaded one and deflected the other two. His movements flowed like water, showing which weapon should be avoided and why.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The types of concealed weapons diversified, and their number continued increasing.
Baek So-cheon moved as though he possessed internal energy. He was fast, precise, and disciplined.
Most importantly, he fulfilled his role as instructor brilliantly. Unlike other organizations, the Iron Sword Corps rotated its squad and unit leaders through the role of instructor.
Yet Baek So-cheon’s demonstration surpassed anything any of them had shown.
He knocked some weapons aside with his sword, evaded others with footwork, and threw daggers to intercept attacks before they could fully launch.
A thought occurred to the martial artist managing the mechanisms.
If only this scene could somehow be preserved. He wanted to show it to every martial artist who came here and tell them, This is the proper way to clear this mechanism.
The final attack consisted of nine concealed weapons.
Swooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswooshswoosh!
They seemed to pour down all at once. The attack inspired despair—the sense that one might knock aside three or four, but would inevitably have to receive the rest with one’s body.
Baek So-cheon moved with incredible speed.
He deflected weapons with his sword, threw a dagger with his other hand, evaded what he could not knock aside, and even redirected one deflected weapon into another. His defense contained every method available to him.
A single thought rose first within every observer.
‘So that is possible!’
It was followed by a desire to accomplish the same thing themselves.
Baek So-cheon dealt with all nine weapons and safely cleared the course.
Everyone stared in stunned silence, unable to speak.
Hwang Il-bi finally broke it.
“Did you truly lose your internal energy?”
“Actually, I did not. I have been deceiving all of you.”
At those words, everyone swallowed hard.
“I wish I could say that.”
The moment should have produced a few chuckles, but the training ground remained silent. The joke failed because they had genuinely begun to wonder whether he might have been deceiving them.
“Judging by your reactions, my training was not wasted. You may not know this, but for the past three years I have worked hard enough to nearly die. When circumstances became unbearably difficult, I found myself wishing they would change. But they only worsened. So I tried to change myself instead. I was afraid others would see the miserable sight of me trying and failing, so I trained every night where no one could watch.”
Baek So-cheon did not hide his ability or boast before the Iron Sword Corps. He spoke only the honest truth.
Just as he still held meaning for them, they held meaning for him. Once, they had been subordinates as precious to him as his own life.
“Do not let yourselves be injured. Every day of recovery was truly hell.”
They all understood how much effort movements like his required. He had not evaded more effectively merely because he had once been the greatest expert under heaven. This was the result of nothing but relentless physical training.
Everyone silently looked at him. Even those who disliked Baek So-cheon felt respect, at least in this moment, for the effort he had made.
“The demonstration is over. Begin training.”
Baek So-cheon lowered the difficulty to High. He did not indulge in the childish revenge of ordering Cheon Su to clear the Extreme course simply because Cheon Su had requested the demonstration. Nor did he stare pointedly at the slightly uncomfortable man.
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