Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Training the Blockhead
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On Earth, there exists a profession called [Selectors]. Inheriting secret rituals, they work as civil servants around the world, assessing the talents of people who visit city halls or district offices with near-perfect accuracy.
Attribute: None (無)
Compatible Abilities: None. Trash-tier mana aptitude.
Traits: Superhuman motor nerves, superhuman mental fortitude, inexplicable combat foresight, inexplicable body control.
That was the result I received back then. A spiritual cripple without even a natural attribute.
It was a cruel outcome in many ways, but its accuracy was beyond question. I merely confirmed my despair, but all humanity on the 34th Earth uses the power of Selectors to check their aptitudes.
Whether they pursue that talent afterward is their own choice, but at least they won't wander blindly without knowing their supernatural aptitudes.
‘But Ardania has no Selectors.’
It wasn't just a matter of having a single secret ritual; it required an infrastructure built from numerous ultimate spells, making it impossible to implement in Ardania.
So I applied a different method.
The Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique.
‘It's a technique not commonly used on Earth, so it was a hassle tracking it down.’
The Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique is a foundational art that allows growth in any direction going forward. The cultivation method itself has no attributes and contains no specific philosophy or ideology—it's purely aimed at forming the basis of all qi arts.
I mandated that all aspiring warriors in the Human Empire learn the Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique.
No matter how slow, one can reach the great accomplishment stage in 100 days at most, or as little as a week if fast. This cultivation method emphasizes establishing the foundation of martial arts, but it can also be used in another way.
‘The time it takes to reach great accomplishment serves as an indicator of the practitioner's talent.’
If someone takes more than three months to achieve great accomplishment in the Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique?
They should just learn something like Quick Advance Technique without further ado.
With that kind of talent, attempting an advanced art would mean they'd never complete even a single Heavenly Circuit before dying.
‘Of course, overcoming lacking talent with indomitable will isn't unheard of.’
However, systems must be designed for the majority of cases.
In fact, for the Heavenly Dragon Sword Art, which is currently the most widely distributed in the Human Empire, entry is only permitted if one achieves great accomplishment in the Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique within at least 50 days.
‘There are reverse cases too.’
Human talents vary wildly, so a process that takes someone a full three months might be merely a lengthy attribute process for another in just 10 days.
Considering that the difference between two months and 10 days in the Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique isn't just a sixfold time gap but a difference in the ultimate limits one can reach, those with the makings of Sword Masters naturally show standout achievements from this entry-level art onward.
“Huh? Got it? They naturally obtain standout achievements.”
“Yes......”
“No, does it make sense that a guy who can manifest sword aura can't even circulate qi with the Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique?”
It was a fact that Edward had manifested sword aura.
However, ironically, there were many issues with calling him a Sword Master or a swordsmanship expert.
“Wrong again!”
“Argh! Why do I have to study!? Can't I just move the mana!?”
“Of course not if you're just moving mana! Besides, the incantation for the Three Talents Six Harmonies Technique is only forty characters long—how do you keep getting it wrong?”
Edward's affinity for mana and the light attribute was so strong it made one question if he was human or a fallen celestial. What more was there to say about a guy with the insane talent to produce sword aura in just a week after encountering a proper martial arts manual?
But there was a problem.
His intelligence.
“Isn't this guy a total blockhead?”
“That's too harsh!”
This idiot couldn't even memorize the forty-character incantation for the entry-level art.
Even if he memorized it, he'd soon mix it up and circulate qi all wrong.
“No, how do you confuse the character for heaven (天) with the one for eye (目)? They look and mean completely different things!”
“Oh, right. It was heaven.”
“......”
The situation was the same with the Ninety-Nine Rays Sword Postures.
“Sword aura...... try manifesting it again.”
“Yeah, hold on.”
Edward held his sword in his right hand and the martial arts manual with the Ninety-Nine Rays Sword Postures in his left.
And about five minutes later.
Whoooong!
Glowing sword aura manifested from his sword.
“Success!”
“Damn it!”
When I exploded in anger, Edward protested.
“Hey, why do you keep getting mad!?”
“Why? You're asking why!? Who fights with a sword in one hand and a book in the other? What are you, a mage?”
I'd walked around reciting orthodox, unorthodox, advanced, and even demonic incantations flawlessly despite my trash-tier mana aptitude and inability to properly cultivate inner power, so seeing him cheat off a book while circulating qi turned my stomach.
What kind of open-book test is this? Planning an open-book battle?
“Phew...... Fine. If your head's no good, learn with your body.”
I even postponed my trip to Earth to teach Edward.
Of course, the Human Empire possessed two Sword Masters, but I knew it would take an eternity for the next one to emerge under the current system.
Steelstone's achievement came from twenty years of cultivating the orthodox advanced art Reverse Muscle Youth Restoration Scripture, and Hayes drew on memories and insights from surviving the age of destruction in the future—so it was impossible to gauge how long it would take other knights starting from scratch to catch up.
‘No, even without that situation, he's someone worth managing.’
Even on Earth, which boasts over a hundred thousand expert-level talents, a middle schooler manifesting sword aura in a week would immediately enter special management.
Even if that subject was a blockhead, the situation would be the same.
“Next, this stance.”
“Yes.”
“......No, you say yes properly, but what are you doing? Your heels are off the ground.”
“Like this......”
“No......”
However, after teaching him for half a day.
I learned a new fact.
‘This bastard's got no body awareness either.’
When watching an idol dance, some people mimic it perfectly on the first try, while others strike wrong poses no matter how many times they watch. This isn't just a memory issue—it's a difference in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
It means talent is needed even for handling one's body, and lacking it naturally leads to endless problems in combat, the pinnacle of physical utilization.
“I-is it that bad? Back in the day, I used to beat my brothers as a kid, and when I grew up, I took down adults too......”
“That was just winning with aura. When an adult hits a kid, what technique do they need?”
After several tests, I summarized Edward's talents.
[Mythic mana aptitude]
[Inexplicable light attribute power]
[Blockhead]
[No body awareness]
Having organized the situation, I realized something.
‘He's the complete opposite of me.’
Unlike me, who had combat aptitude strong enough to smash gangster bosses with beginner-level inner power but no path forward due to trash-tier mana aptitude, this guy had tremendous mana aptitude but lacked the capacity to handle it.
‘In other words...... a mouse that reached the pinnacle of nothingness versus a tiger that can only brawl.’
If I'd met him back then, I'd have lost my mind to inferiority and self-loathing. No matter how much a mere mouse achieves in nothingness, it can't beat a brawling tiger.
But now.
Having transcended mouse and tiger to become a cosmic monster, I had plenty of leisure and mercy to teach him.
“For now, I'm confiscating this book.”
“Y-you can't take back something you gave me!?”
“It's not taking back a gift—it's just not suited for you. Now I see there's no need for attribute reinforcement incantations.”
Edward's innate attribute power was so overwhelming that any cultivation method would naturally infuse with light attributes. Incantations designed for ordinary humans who struggle to manifest attributes would only make his energy run rampant.
“Then what do I learn?”
“Tai Chi.”
Specifically, the 24-Form Tai Chi Chuan, commonly known as Simplified Tai Chi Chuan. True to its status as a nationally sponsored martial art, the movements are smooth and uniform, with correct and comfortable postures.
A version of the Yang-style Tai Chi Chuan, composed of simple movements, improved so even the elderly and children can learn it easily. Honestly, it's closer to a health regimen than a martial art. Compared to the high-difficulty Ninety-Nine Rays Sword Postures among martial arts, its difficulty is negligible.
Of course, thoroughly training all 24 movements for practical combat would still be tough.
‘Unlike the Ninety-Nine Rays Sword Postures, where progress halts without deep understanding of the incantation, this can be compensated with the body.’
Edward might be a blockhead, but he doesn't have any disabilities. With endless repetition and movement, he'll pick it up somehow.
“First, memorize these eight characters. Empty Spirit Crown Vigor (虛靈頂勁). Contain Chest Draw Back (含胸拔背).”
“Uh...... Huh? This is simple—it's just about posture!”
“Right. Crown Vigor means keeping the head and spine straight. Imagine a string attached to the top of your head. If you pull that string......”
Time passed.
I lived on a regular schedule. I'd wake in the morning, eat breakfast prepared by the actors in the Great Hall, and teach Edward all morning.
Since I understood he was an incorrigible blockhead, I controlled even his finger gestures and the angle his toes touched the ground with utmost precision.
Then lunch. And teaching Edward all afternoon again.
Edward was a blockhead with no body awareness, but he wasn't dumb enough not to grasp the significance of an emperor spending most of his day on him.
He poured sweat like rain, sometimes steaming from his head while memorizing incantations, but never gave up and devoted himself fully to training.
One week, two weeks, one month, two months.
I spent most of my time in Blaze Citadel, except when I occasionally flew on Kasim to Iron Castle to handle backlog.
Was it because the emperor was staying there?
Despite the staggering distance of thousands of kilometers, enormous numbers of people flocked to Blaze Citadel.
And not just them.
Refugees from the Holy Empire hiding to avoid the Flame Demon King's abduction, exiles drawn to the Human Empire from Ignition, refugees from the Brilliant Empire who fled west, and elves from the Crystal League.
Blaze Citadel accepted them all, swelling its population.
Hayes, who had finished affairs in the Flower and Chrome Kingdoms after relocating there, and Steelstone, who brought the Steel Cross Knights, sorted them, trained them, and even turned some into Players.
And even amid all that.
I taught Edward.
“Reverse Arm Roll (倒捲肱).”
Whoosh!
Stepping back with both feet crossed, drawing a circle. All movements flowed like water, swift and stable.
What was astonishing was the light flowing over Edward's entire body as he performed the movements.
Tai Chi without a single attribute incantation. Even in this simplified martial art, energy was beginning to rise.
It meant the aura that had lingered in his lower dantian had vaporized along the spine, reaching the Refine Essence into Qi stage.
With the brain stimulated, his innate light attribute awakened, flowing along his skin like clothing, like armor, protecting his flesh.
“Lightly.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Softly.”
“Yes.”
I hadn't planned to teach him this long. With his genius talent, I figured tossing him advanced Earth martial arts would make him adequately combat-capable.
But while teaching this blockhead......
I felt something.
“Slowly. And even lighter.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“More.”
“Yes.”
Not once.
Had I ever agonized over postures pursued in martial arts or forms. Not because postures weren't important, but because I could find the optimal posture without agonizing.
Humans lose distance sense with one eye closed. Even a slight ground tilt causes balance errors, and they can't perfectly control their own limbs.
When the body is fatigued or problematic, ordinary humans perceive it merely as pain, and even then, they often don't know exactly where it hurts.
But I am different.
No matter the posture or terrain, I completely control my body. I can move my manhood like a finger and regulate my heartbeat at will. When my stomach hurts, I can pinpoint if it's the liver, stomach, small intestine, or large intestine.
But precisely because of that, I hadn't thought deeply about it.
The meaning of posture in martial arts. The flow of power from bodily movements.
Even raising an arm the same way results in completely different angles, and for stepping forward, Edward's total freakout party of stepping 5 cm ahead, 8 cm behind, heel down then up showed me aspects of martial arts I'd never deeply considered.
“Flow......”
It was everywhere. In my breath, in every step.
I came to know it.
Hummm......
“Your Majesty?”
“Everyone withdraw.”
“Shh. Quietly fall back.”
At some point, flow had vanished from my martial arts. There was no need. As my level rose and collections completed, my body's performance had become too high.
When every attack resolves in a single blow, why need flow? I even mained Land Breaker, an industrial martial art for fighting, not flowing.
Yet flow exists even in a single attack.
And in my body itself.
Clunk!
A new element [Completed], engraved in the world of imagery. As a self-existing microcosm opened—not a mere element—a dimensionally different [Knowledge] poured into my mind like a waterfall.
And after an eon-like eternity,
Or perhaps merely an instant,
I quietly opened my eyes.
“......Good.”
On a day when the contest deadline approached.
The [Body] Chakra reached the 5th gate: Sage Gate (賢門).
The [Martial Arts] Chakra reached the 6th gate: Human Gate (人門).