Galaxy Martial God Temple - Entrance Exam (3)

Time flew by as I learned martial arts from Siwoo. Adapting to the new cultivation method didn't take long at all. After mastering the Wind Mist Cultivation, the mana that had been trapped behind a wall of 30 surged upward as though it had never stagnated, racing toward 40.

Both Siwoo and Cheon So-yeon expressed genuine astonishment that my internal energy had already approached the threshold of the 1st-rate realm. Yet Siwoo immediately forbade any further internal cultivation training. She explained that while abundant qi might feel beneficial in the moment, an excessive imbalance between internal energy and the physical body would only make future breakthroughs more difficult.

I was displeased. The only aspect of my training that showed rapid progress was the cultivation method, and now even that was banned. Not because I lacked talent, but precisely because I possessed too much of it. Still, since the words came from my master Siwoo, I resolved to obey without complaint.

Noticing my discontent, Cheon So-yeon leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “From what I see, stopping the internal energy training is the right decision.”

“Isn’t more internal energy always better?”

“In ordinary cases, yes.”

So I was not an ordinary case? When I looked at her with puzzled eyes, Cheon So-yeon hesitated, carefully reading my expression before speaking as though she had steeled herself for what came next.

“Jiwoo, you are… rather extreme.”

Extreme?

“To be honest, when I first saw you, I thought your master was being overly cautious. I believed you could safely advance to the next stage and raise your realm.”

Ah, right. Back when we first met at the amusement park, she had told me the same thing—that I could move on to the next step.

“The fact that you thought so at first means you no longer believe it now?”

Cheon So-yeon nodded at my question. “Correct. Your talent for internal energy cultivation is so exceptional that even I, who possess the Heavenly Martial Body, am occasionally taken aback. In handling qi, you have a natural genius that surpasses even the Heavenly Martial Body.”

“…Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It is good. But as I said, you are extreme. Martial arts are ultimately the study of using the body. Yet while your talent for internal qi is heavenly, your physical ability is… closer to that of a slow learner.”

A slow learner? That felt a bit harsh. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Had she been watching my reaction earlier out of fear that blunt honesty might damage our friendship?

“Internal energy and the physical body exist in a mutually complementary relationship. Once that balance breaks, the higher your realm grows, the harder it becomes to shatter the next wall.”

“So you’re saying one of the two legs I need to walk the path of martial arts is completely shattered?”

“Tha—! No, it’s not… not to that extent….”

Cheon So-yeon, who had been about to agree, quickly averted her eyes.

“A-anyway! You must stop your innate internal qi training and focus on supplementing your body far more than others.”

“But Siwoo was the one who taught me the Wind Mist Cultivation.”

“Your master probably never imagined your talent for internal qi would be this extreme. Normally, no matter how gifted one is in internal cultivation, if the body cannot keep up, qi growth becomes bottlenecked. It is the same even for me, despite my Heavenly Martial Body.”

I had never felt any such limitation.

“The Blue Wood Cultivation is the greatest introductory method under heaven, but that very excellence makes its limits clear. Had she known the true extent of your talent, your master likely would not have taught you the Wind Mist Cultivation.”

I let out a small sigh at Cheon So-yeon’s words.

“Then what should I do?”

“Simply follow your master’s training. No one understands your current state better than she does. Not even you, the person in question. So trust your master, train diligently, play, eat, and sleep. That is all.”

In the end, she was telling me to continue living exactly as I was. Well, I was still a preschooler. With plenty of time ahead of me, I could afford to take my training slowly.

“Oh, but there’s something I’ve been wondering for a while. Why do you seem so uncomfortable around Siwoo?”

At my question, Cheon So-yeon fidgeted before answering in a small voice. “…Because your master dislikes me.”

Dislikes her? Siwoo? That didn’t seem right to me at all.

As time passed, the intensity of training steadily increased. Even so, it never reached the level of overworking a child as young as me. The training pushed me exactly to the limit of my physical growth, then coaxed me one single step beyond it.

The rise in intensity did not bring a corresponding rise in training hours. At some point the gradually increasing training time stopped increasing altogether. Siwoo seemed convinced that any additional time would cause my body to burst like a punctured tire. She even forcibly prevented me from sneaking in extra training sessions.

Internal cultivation had been satisfying because the growth was clearly visible, but physical training offered no such tangible markers. Even when I built muscle, the Chukgeungolgong kept it from expanding beyond a certain density, rendering the results invisible.

Nevertheless, I trained diligently according to Siwoo’s wishes.

I performed a recorder recital before both Siwoo and Cheon So-yeon.

“How is it? It’s gotten pretty listenable now, right?”

My fatally poor sense of rhythm had finally surrendered before relentless effort.

Both Siwoo and Cheon So-yeon applauded.

“You worked so hard! It’s truly remarkable!”

“You have worked hard, Young Master.”

If they reacted with such emotion, it only made me feel embarrassed. Of course my first attempt had been a disaster! But now that I could produce a merely passable performance, they didn’t have to look at me as if I had miraculously learned to walk again after years of rehabilitation.

Once I became capable of normal recorder playing, my light footwork techniques also began showing results. Although Siwoo had forbidden increasing my internal energy, she had no objection to using qi for technical application. In fact, she said practicing delicate qi manipulation was beneficial.

Around the time Cheon So-yeon and I turned five, Cheon So-yeon’s younger brother was born. Since both parents had reached the Transformed Realm and undergone bodily rejuvenation, possessing the physical forms of people in their twenties, it was only natural for another child to arrive.

I had expected Cheon So-yeon—who had no friends besides me—to be delighted by the arrival of a sibling. Instead, she wore a complicated expression. At first I wondered if she felt anxious about losing her parents’ affection, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

After spending a day or two deep in thought, waiting until her brother returned home from the postpartum care center, Cheon So-yeon spoke to me with firm resolve.

“I will not hate my younger brother. I will love him dearly.”

“Uh… yeah. Good luck ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with that.”

I didn’t know how to respond to someone declaring they would love their sibling without hating them. I wouldn’t hate him, but I certainly wouldn’t love him either. Honestly, I wished that gorilla-faced kid with the thick makeup would just disappear from the house.

After Cheon Hoyeon’s birth, even Cheon So-yeon’s Transformed Realm parents appeared utterly exhausted both physically and mentally. They said Cheon So-yeon had been an exceptionally easy baby, whereas caring for Cheon Hoyeon required the two of them to take turns standing night watch.

Wasn’t childcare supposed to be like that anyway? Because her parents were struggling so visibly, Siwoo occasionally stepped in to help care for the newborn.

While assisting with Cheon Hoyeon, Siwoo nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes, this is what a baby is supposed to be like according to the childcare manual.”

It seemed I had been quite different from the standard manual. Still, until I turned one, hadn’t I also stayed quiet and behaved like a normal baby? I had accelerated time back then, so my memories of that period were hazy.

Cheon Hoyeon’s aptitude appeared ordinary compared to Cheon So-yeon’s legendary Heavenly Martial Body. Though to be fair, anything would seem ordinary next to that constitution.

The Cheon Clan had apparently held high expectations because of Cheon So-yeon’s Heavenly Martial Body, so they seemed somewhat disappointed by the new arrival.

Time continued to flow, and I turned six.

While swinging my sword as usual, I felt something strange. It was as if the blade had grown sharper, or perhaps the resistance had vanished. Nothing appeared visibly different, yet a peculiar sensation tickled at my senses.

I was certain I had felt this before. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember when.

Was my memory always this poor? Strange. Aside from my luck, memory had always been my greatest pride.

I asked Siwoo while continuing to swing the sword.

“Doesn’t this feel a little strange?”

Siwoo watched my movements and smiled gently.

“It is only natural, Young Master. We may increase physical training time slightly from now on.”

One slightly off sword swing and my training time had increased. Ah…! I had already thought the intensity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was becoming rather harsh, yet now she wanted to extend the hours as well.

When I didn’t receive a clear answer from Siwoo, I asked Cheon So-yeon. She simply smiled brightly and told me it was a natural phenomenon.

While I continued the dual life of training as a martial artist and living as an ordinary child who played and ate, a letter arrived for me.

Actually, it wasn’t only for me. A letter arrived for Cheon So-yeon as well.

The sender was the Martial God Academy Foundation, an educational organization operated by the Cheon Clan.

In short, it was an official order to enter elementary school the following year.

Although Cheon So-yeon and I belonged to different generations within the clan, we were the same age and both direct descendants. Therefore we would attend the elementary school reserved for direct lineage children.

After reading the admission guide, I tilted my head in confusion.

“An entrance exam? I thought you just went to elementary school. Why is there a test?”

Siwoo answered my question in her usual polite, structured tone.

“Even among direct descendants, there are cases such as Young Master, who is merely a third-generation descendant, and cases such as Miss Cheon So-yeon, who is a seventeenth-generation descendant. With so many descendants, the clan cannot involve itself in the rise and fall of each individual. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As a result, even among direct lineage children, the disparity in level is quite significant.”

Being registered in the clan genealogy as a direct descendant meant receiving spiritual herbs and introductory martial arts from the family. However, whether those resources actually reached each direct descendant was uncertain.

In plain terms, if parents lacked even milk powder for their infant, they would have no choice but to sell the allocated spiritual herbs to secure living expenses. When both parent and child faced starvation, spiritual herbs became irrelevant.

Of course, periodic audits followed the distribution of spiritual herbs. The Cheon Clan understood that some families might sell a portion of the herbs to maintain basic livelihood and overlooked such minor sales. However, selling every single herb allocated to the child would result in the complete recovery of all provided resources and total expulsion from the clan registry.

Even if all the herbs were fed to the child, without a high-level expert like Siwoo to perform Chugunggwahyeol, growth would still be affected. The same applied to martial arts training.

Some children received dedicated instruction from a master from the moment they learned to walk. Others threw tantrums, crying that they hated difficult and tiresome training. There were children who had only had their dantian opened by their parents without any real training, children whose bodies had grown well from herbs alone, and children who hadn’t even received proper herbs. The differences were inevitable.

Since it was impossible to teach all these children together, the academy conducted an examination before enrollment to assess each child’s level.

“Then it’s not really an entrance exam. It’s more like a placement test.”

“The reason it is called an entrance examination is because it also serves to filter out children who cannot follow the school curriculum—those incapable of learning martial arts or unable to digest spiritual herbs. Hence the name.”

I see. So regardless of family circumstances, some children were simply born unable to practice martial arts, or developed such inability later in life. They might have been born too frail, suffered severe allergic reactions to spiritual herbs, or acquired disabilities through accidents or illness.

The school I was scheduled to attend was a martial arts specialization academy. Children unable to practice martial arts would attend ordinary schools instead.

It might sound rather cruel, but for some, a life without martial arts could actually be the better path. The Righteous Faction territories maintained excellent public order, allowing people to pursue other talents and carve out lives according to their wishes.

On the other hand, children forced to attend a martial specialization school regardless of their own desires might consider themselves unfortunate.

Of course, the opposite could also be true.

“In the end, everything happens according to the circumstances of adults.”

The thought left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

(To be continued)