Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 127: The Primordial Step (2)

Seojun began by laying out the foundational framework for his movement technique.

Whenever he created martial arts, the first thing he considered was direction. That was always the starting point, no matter how others approached it.

Why create this martial art? How would it be used? What category would it fall into? What would it specialize in?

Once he had those questions answered in rough strokes, the finer details tended to fall into place naturally.

Of course, things rarely went according to the initial plan.

Usually, inspiration would strike midway and transform the technique entirely.

But for this one, the goal was crystal clear: absolute speed.

Nothing else mattered. No need for profound principles or considerations of how he would use it in combat.

This was a technique built for one thing. To traverse the insanely vast Central Plains.

Speed above all.

With that direction set, Seojun began constructing the structure.

He already had plenty of martial arts in his arsenal. It made sense to repurpose whatever parts were compatible.

The Supreme Force Monstrous God Style came to mind first.

His body was much sturdier than before. Then there was Pae Jingwang’s movement technique.

That old man is truly insane.

Despite only reaching the Second Rate realm, how did he move through the air like that?

The answer was surprisingly simple.

He kicked the air.

He stomped on it with overwhelming force, using nothing but raw physical strength to propel himself.

It sounded absurd, but it worked. The man could smash reinforced qi barehanded, after all.

And reinforced qi wasn’t something easily dealt with using brute strength.

From mid-Transcendent Realm onwards, reinforced qi could shield you from a mountain falling on your head with barely a scratch. (What happened after the impact was a different story.)

That’s why martial artists beyond the Transcendent Realm always infused their attacks with inner qi.

Without it, they couldn’t leave a dent in their opponent.

But that crazy old man Pae Jingwang just punched through it

How?

Seojun only understood after seeing it in person. If your physical power is strong enough to rupture space itself, then of course it can tear through reinforced qi.

And the martial art that made such force possible was the Supreme Force Monstrous God Style.

The technique Seojun had inherited from the Fist King.

Let’s try it.

Seojun tightened every muscle in his body and stomped the ground with explosive force.

CRASH────────!!

His body shot high into the sky.

At the apex of his leap—Yellow Dragon Crossing the Rosy Clouds.

A yellow dragon flared to life beneath his feet, and with the might of the Supreme Force Monstrous God Style, he stomped again.

“Oops.”

CRASH-!

The reinforced qi he’d forcefully trampled slammed into the ground like a hammer, kicking up a dense cloud of dust.

Seojun clicked his tongue and began his descent, flipping several times in mid-air to land safely.

“Unbelievable.”

He stared at the ruined courtyard and smacked his forehead.

Truthfully, what passed for “air walking” at the Transcendent Realm wasn’t really walking on air.

So, it wasn’t air walking if you can walk on air?

Of course not.

Here’s how Seojun’s version of “air walking” worked:

He’d channel inner qi through the Bubbling Well Point on his soles, coat his shoes with it, and then project plum blossoms or yellow dragons to use as footholds.

But that created a fundamental problem.

It was like trying to step on your own foot in mid-air to get a second jump, which naturally wouldn’t work.

How could that possibly make sense?

At the Transcendent level, air walking relied on principles and inner qi that defied logic, but it was still limited. You couldn’t apply too much force.

This was because the inner qi fixed in the air just wasn’t strong enough.

But things were different in the Unrestrained Realm. Those who could manipulate natural qi had no such constraints. Their ability to fix qi in space operated on a completely different level.

For them, there was no difference between land and sky.

They could fly or dash through the air as naturally as walking on solid ground.

That was true air walking or void traversal.

Even Seojun, who had been projecting plum blossoms to move through the air since the Peak Realm, couldn’t bypass that restriction.

If I’m envious... I’ll just have to reach the Unrestrained Realm.

“...This is troublesome.”

But wasn’t the whole reason he was trying to develop a movement technique because he hadn’t reached that realm yet?

The raw power of the Supreme Force Monstrous God Style was simply too much for the inner qi in the air to support.

If he could mimic Pae Jingwang’s method of stepping on the air with brute force, that’d be a solution. But mastering that would take too much time.

By then, he’d probably have reached the Unrestrained Realm anyway.

Their areas of expertise were just too different. Nothing to be done about that.

Even the speed at which he was learning the Supreme Force Monstrous God Style was already freakishly fast for something he’d taken on as a side discipline.

“Hmm...”

Should he just run on the ground, then?

Didn’t feel right either...

In most cases, flying through the sky in a straight line was just faster.

You just make a beeline to the destination without worrying about terrain or obstacles.

There’s a reason airplanes were the the overwhelmingly fastest mode of transportation.

“Oh? Wait a minute.”

Flying? In a straight line?

Seojun’s mind raced.

His body was much more durable now... could it actually work?

He immediately began assembling verses. Since he was just modifying existing martial arts, it didn’t take long.

Within moments, he’d drafted a complete prototype, and slowly grinned.

“This is insane. It’s going to be so much fun.”

No way he could do this alone.

Buzzing with excitement, Seojun immediately went off to gather people.

*Chunbong, Namgung Suah, Namgung Myeong, Pae Jingwang, Namgung Hyeok, Jang Geuk, and others.

Quite the crowd had gathered.

Among them stood one particularly notable figure.

“You...”

“Hello. I apologize for last time.”

Muhye of Wudang bowed deeply.

Despite nearly having her head crushed by Seojun before, her expression remained unreadable.

Instead, her gaze was locked on Seojun with intense interest.

Namgung Myeong, standing beside her, offered a careful explanation.

“My friends happened to stop by... She wanted to apologize again for what happened, so I brought her with me for a moment.”

“Chunbong said it was fine. Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your brother’s fault either.”

Seojun turned his eyes to Muhye.

“As for you... just don’t pull that again.”

“Ah... I’ll do my best.”

Her best? He briefly wondered if she hadn’t been hit hard enough last time. But her gaze was serious.

This clearly wasn’t something she could control on command.

“I don’t care what you do with others. But if you do that in front of me again, I don’t care if you’re from Wudang or whatever.”

It might stir up trouble with the Namgung Clan, but that was fine. He’d deal with it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She nodded quickly. Earnestly enough to make him feel a little bad.

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed it.

“I was a bit harsh last time, too. Sorry about that.”

“Not at all. Your response was perfectly justified.”

Hyeun made a prayer gesture without much thought. Seojun returned it casually.

As Hyeun and Namgung Myeong prepared to leave, Seojun stopped them.

“Since you’re here, stick around. I’ll show you something awesome, brother.”

“Um... is it alright for them to see?”

“What’s wrong with that? What could they possibly do just by seeing it?”

It’s not like they could replicate it anyway.

Muhye, Cheongsong, and Wolmang all sat down, eyes gleaming with curiosity. Namgung Myeong joined them, smiling brightly.

With them behind him, Seojun stood tall.

“Watch closely. This is a revolution in movement techniques.”

Those familiar with him were already murmuring in anticipation.

Of course, the less familiar Namgung Hyeok raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Movement technique? Why are you suddenly talking about movement techniques?”

“I created one.”

“Created...? Again?”

Whoosh. Plum blossoms bloomed beneath Seojun’s feet.

He stood suspended in the air, stepping lightly on them.

Namgung Hyeok, despite having seen this before, swallowed hard at the sight.

“Plum blossoms... It seems different from Mount Hua’s...”

Namgung Myeong’s guests also leaned forward, eyes fixed on him without a blink.

Seojun didn’t care.

By now, anyone could recognize that he had copied martial arts. It didn’t matter anymore

What did matter was the technique he was about to demonstrate.

“Behold, the Primordial Step.”

The plum blossoms beneath his feet split and began to rotate.

Energies of yin and yang converged, forming a taiji.

Reinforced qi flared up, cloaking his body as Seojun raised both hands.

“Applaud.”

CRASH────────!!!

The Primordial Sun-Moon Art exploded beneath him, launching his body into the sky.

His figure vanished in an instant.

Pae Jingwang roared with laughter.

“You’re still out of your damn mind!”

Even he could barely track Seojun’s speed. If someone flew at you that fast, you’d never react in time.

Can the kid even control it?

Pae Jingwang doubted it.

And soon,

CRASH────────!!!

Something slammed into the earth.

Rumble-!

A delayed explosion echoed from above.

Chunbong rushed toward the impact zone, sweeping away the dust with qi.

“Hey, hey! Are you okay!?”

Seojun was buried deep in a crater. Chunbong grabbed him by the collar and yanked him out, smacking his back.

“You idiot! Didn’t I tell you to think before you act?”

“Hmm...”

Seojun shook his head and grinned.

“Anyway, I’m fine.”

Success.

Just like with the True Fire Plum Blossom, he had channeled the explosive power in one direction to launch his qi-armored body.

Layered with his own movement technique, the resulting speed was absurd.

A body lightened like a feather, the explosive thrust of the Primordial Sun-Moon Art, and his own leaping power.

These three elements combined to form a perfect trinity.

The only drawback was that if your body wasn’t tough enough, you’d be torn apart even with reinforced qi. But that was a minor detail.

Using it high in the sky ensured nothing would block his path. With some practice in directional control, it would be flawless.

“Wouldn’t it be a waste to stop now, especially with an audience?”

The stage was set. Time to show off.

Seojun leapt to his feet.

“Watch this!”

CRASH────────!!!

Once again, his body vanished.

The crowd exchanged blank stares as a streak of light flickered across the sky.

“Elder Master Wolmang, what... what is that?”

“I’m curious too.”

Cheongsong gave up trying to follow Seojun’s trajectory and glanced around instead. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

To his surprise, everyone seemed oddly composed.

There were plenty of impressed looks, but not one person seemed truly shocked.

Even after witnessing a movement technique that fast!

Cheongsong had never seen a person, not even a sword or a fist, fly that fast.

Shouldn’t people be more surprised?

Perplexed, he scanned the gathered crowd and noticed many unfamiliar faces. But judging by their aura, none of them were ordinary.

And yet, these experts watched the display with calm amusement.

Is this what it’s like in the Namgung Clan?

It was different from what he had expected.

And then,

CRASH────────!!!

Another explosion echoed from far off.

Pae Jingwang burst out laughing at the distant dust cloud.

“That bastard crashed into something again!”

“Senior Fist King, I don’t think this is funny.”

Fist King?

Cheongsong’s eyes widened, but no one acknowledged it.

Namgung Hyeok pointed toward the direction of the blast.

“Isn’t that Shaolin Temple over there?”

“What?”

Pae Jingwang jumped to his feet.

The others froze in shock.

Chunbong turned ghostly pale and dashed off.

“That crazy bastard... He really did it this time...!”

A major incident.