Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Hands-On Lesson
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Classes ran from Monday to Friday.
The advisor professor's lessons were on Mondays and Fridays. Normally, one professor oversaw multiple students, but that didn't apply to Wi Seongcheon.
His advisor, Golden Capture Whip Flash Seo Il, only had him as a student.
That explained the small classroom. Wi Seongcheon scanned the empty interior as he entered. It was completely bare. No chairs, no desks. Was this the right place? He tilted his head and checked outside the door again.
Guidance Classroom 15.
No doubt about it. He'd confirmed it on the first floor of the Martial Studies Hall where indoor classes were held. From now on, he'd attend Professor Seo Il's lessons here on Mondays and Fridays.
The class had already started, but Seo Il still hadn't arrived. Wi Seongcheon sat in the center of the room and waited.
In the meantime, the neighboring classroom's lesson had begun. He could faintly hear the other professors' voices and the students' responses.
There weren't many students. Most advisor sessions took place on the training grounds or Mount Yicheon.
"Have you been waiting long?"
About the time it takes to burn one incense stick had passed.
A man opened the door and entered.
Wi Seongcheon stood up. The man met his eyes and smiled with gentle features.
"Not too long, just a bit."
"Sorry about that. It's my first time teaching as an advisor."
He was Seo Il, the one known by the moniker Golden Capture Whip Flash. Though a professor like Absolute Life Sword Seok Ijin, his vibe was entirely different. Seo Il scratched the back of his head and bowed slightly, and Wi Seongcheon immediately returned the gesture.
"Pleased to meet you, Student Wi Seongcheon."
"Feel free to call me casually."
"This feels comfortable for now."
Seo Il waved it off.
The conversation stalled there.
Seo Il stood awkwardly, looking at Wi Seongcheon, who blinked back at him.
A sharp kiai echoed from the next room. The vigorous sound snapped Seo Il out of it.
"Uh, um."
He looked embarrassed.
"It's my first time as an advisor, so..."
Repeating himself, Seo Il rolled up his sleeves.
"I heard about you from Professor Seok Ijin."
"Was it praise?"
Seo Il gave an awkward smile instead of answering. Though he didn't say it outright, the smile hinted at what Seok Ijin had shared.
"...Today's your first lesson, right, Student Wi Seongcheon? So, even if it's a bit late, let me introduce myself."
"Yes."
"I'm Seo Il. In the martial world, they call me Golden Capture Whip Flash—probably more than I deserve."
He rolled his sleeves up past his elbows. It revealed his forearm. Compact muscles rippled at the slightest finger twitch. His bulging elbow resembled a blunt weapon.
"By trade... in 'Practical Training,' I handle the Golden Claw Technique."
At Yicheon Academy, only the advisor professor's Monday and Friday lessons were fixed.
Tuesdays through Thursdays filled with other classes, the bulk being 'Practical Training.'
Practical Training was the students' favorite. For first-years, it was offered as Basic Practical Training, taught by not just Absolute Life Sword Seok Ijin but many professors.
Seo Il was one of them. Just not a popular one.
Because he taught the Golden Claw Technique.
That was the general view. The Golden Claw Technique was a side skill at best, never a mainstay. Not that it was unimportant. Disarming or subduing an opponent's weapon barehanded? Excellent.
But why not just slice them first? If subduing was the goal, there were better ways than Golden Claw.
Barehanded martial arts? Fist techniques alone had countless renowned styles. Claw techniques using fingers and nails were inevitably dismissed compared to them.
Golden Claw Technique in that climate? No wonder it wasn't popular.
"Disappointed that I'm your advisor?"
"No."
That was the common perception.
But not for Wi Seongcheon. He didn't even get why they categorized it as Golden Claw Technique in the first place. The distinction between fist and palm techniques felt arbitrary.
After all, it was barehanded fighting without swords or weapons. Why split hairs over fists versus palms?
Of course, such thoughts from Wi Seongcheon would rightly earn scorn from fist or palm purists. But what could he do? Cheonhwa Sect techniques weren't subdivided so rigidly.
"Do you know the Golden Claw Technique?"
"I do."
Grab with the hand, twist. Along the way, strike pressure points, or outright shatter bones and joints.
"I'm not here to teach you a new technique, Student Wi Seongcheon."
Seo Il said. That was true for all Yicheon Academy classes. Professors didn't pass on their signature styles. They just sparred against students' techniques, offered advice, and built experience.
"Talk is cheap—better to try it yourself."
"...How?"
"Here."
Seo Il grinned brightly and pointed to his own chest.
"Grab here, and you're done."
"What happens then?"
"Pardon?"
Seo Il's eyes widened at the sudden question.
"No reward or anything?"
"Uh... should there be?"
"You need some incentive for motivation."
"Right... um..."
Seo Il's eyes clouded. In that instant, Wi Seongcheon's body shot forward, hand thrusting toward Seo Il's chest.
"Didn't think of anything yet..."
Thwack.
Wi Seongcheon blinked at his hand. It was instantaneous. He'd thought he'd grabbed it. But his hand had been flicked away to a completely different spot from Seo Il's chest.
Even a cheap shot like that. Seo Il had deflected it flawlessly without a hint of fluster.
'As expected.'
Golden Claw specialist, indeed.
"Inner energy okay?"
"No. First lesson today."
He'd wanted to go at it with Heavy Light Float Stance. Instead, Wi Seongcheon ignored his dantian energy and focused on pure body movement. He didn't repeat the same ambush. Slowly extending his hand, he closed the distance with Seo Il, who met him with a bright smile and his own hand.
Just before their fingers touched.
Wi Seongcheon's hand snapped sideways to seize Seo Il's wrist. Seo Il flared his thumb wide.
Wi Seongcheon's hand hit the thumb barrier. Undeterred, he tried to grip and twist the thumb.
Right then, Seo Il's fingers pinned Wi Seongcheon's wrist joint. His grip slackened and lifted upward. Wi Seongcheon twisted his wrist sideways, using his fingers to jab Seo Il's wrist joint in kind.
Thwack. Their hands parted. Seo Il's smile faded slightly. He eyed Wi Seongcheon with surprise. Wi Seongcheon pressed on. His hand moved again.
'This...'
Seo Il straightened his stance.
'As Professor Seok Ijin said.'
Tap, tatak! Their hands clashed repeatedly. Identical. Seemingly graspable, yet not. Attempt a grab, and it countered as if waiting.
'Can't underestimate this student...'
They hadn't crossed the wrist boundary yet. Without prior agreement. Yet they fought as if bound by that rule, using only right hands. Seo Il's eyes grew serious.
He stopped smiling. That was when his hand movements shifted. From luring in and slapping away to outright aggression.
No inner energy from either. But this wasn't mere play.
Even without energy, it was martial arts. Five fingers. Knuckles and wrist joints. Hands were precise. A single hand offered myriad joints and motions.
Not identical motions. Differing hand movements produced the most varied actions humans could muster.
All channeled into grasping, flicking, twisting—that was the Golden Claw Technique. Their fingers battled fiercely. A finger slapping upward smacked the palm away.
A twisting wrist and forearm pushed the palm aside. Grab. No grab.
Tap, tack. Irregular strikes alone broke the silence. Wi Seongcheon and Seo Il clamped their mouths shut, glaring at each other's hands.
Seo Il was impressed. No inner energy, but the same for Wi Seongcheon. Under equal terms, he couldn't dominate.
Sweat beaded on their foreheads. The neighboring kiais faded. Shadows stretched across the window. Time had passed. Still, their hands clashed, neither seizing the other.
"Enough."
Seo Il spoke first.
He stuck out his tongue and stepped back a few paces. Looking down at his overworked right hand.
The back and fingers were swollen, joints aching. Wi Seongcheon's were the same.
'The same...?'
That was the real shock. Twenty years honing Golden Claw Technique. Even without energy, his hand was forged in it.
Yet this student's hand, barely past thirty... matched it?
"Impressive... Where'd you learn..."
Foolish question. Seo Il cleared his throat and lowered his sleeve.
"Technique-wise, I have nothing to teach you."
"With inner energy, it'd be different."
Wi Seongcheon muttered, clenching and opening his stinging hand. He'd thought he could grab it. He couldn't. Never crossed the wrist line.
With energy? Heavenly Flower Chain Skill and Heavy Light Float Stance. No certainty. Seo Il's moniker was Golden Capture Whip Flash. He hadn't shown its full flair yet.
"No. Let's call it here for today."
Seo Il shook his head.
After sending Wi Seongcheon off, Seo Il sat and pondered. He stayed there a long while.
[What's wrong?]
A voice echoed in his head.
"You saw it."
[Asking the squad leader's thoughts.]
"To subdue, I'd have needed to break his arm outright. Can't hold back against someone like that."
[No inner energy used. If squad leader had used Heavenly Net Ghost Strike properly...]
"Still need to break it."
[Then just break it.]
"Making me want to—that's what's impressive."
Seo Il muttered, shaking his head.
[Hmm, got it. Won't report it that way to the Division Head.]
Whoosh.
The presence vanished.
* * *
A bit late, but not too late for lunch. Thanks to Seo Il ending early, he had free time. Eat, hole up in the dorm, cultivate—sounded good.
"Hand."
The guy approached out of nowhere.
No Sang Irin or Yeong Sojin from last time, no other students. Muyeon Jun was alone. But students exiting the cafeteria eyed him.
Muyeon Jun ignored it. The whispers weren't worth hearing—Wi Seongcheon mattered more.
"...What?"
Wi Seongcheon had no clue what was happening. Muyeon Jun slowly raised his hand toward him.
"Give me your hand."
That too.
Blocking his path suddenly. Demanding his hand?