The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts - Episode 15
Inner energy circulation is forbidden from now on. If the need arises, just take a beating to death instead, Host.
Mumyeong’s nagging continued for a long time.
“That sounds a bit harsh.”
[If the danjeon that stabilizes inner energy is gone, and even once like this you use it, the host will die instantly. Before it fully depletes, it’s fortunate that Pahwanggun caught me and forcibly stopped it.]
“Even if we go back to that time, my choice will be the same.”
The gravity of the situation, I knew better than anyone.
All of this was because my strength was lacking.
The world did not wait even a moment for someone with no skill.
This time, when I started consuming inner energy and stepping into footwork, it was fortunate that Pahwanggun suppressed me before I consumed too much.
But would this luck continue?
Something needed to be solved.
“How do you get injured so often?”
My side, Physician Haseo looked at me with disappointment.
“Indeed. Life is quite rough.”
“You really should buy me a meal sometime. Understand?”
Physician Haseo said that it was fortunate the emergency treatment had been timely in the early days.
“Oh, right. This came to you.”
Physician Haseo handed me an envelope.
The thing I received felt heavy.
“What is this?”
“It’s probably the gate for your entry.”
On the sheet I held, the only thing written in letters as large as my head was the word "Spring."
“...Spring? Chunmu Hall.”
Physician Haseo’s expression was not ordinary.
I asked cautiously.
“Is it bad?”
“In Cheonsubaekryeonsa, there are four seasonal halls: Chun, Ha, Choo, and Dong. The higher the hall passed, the more honor and recognition. But among them, Chunmu Hall carries a different meaning from the others.”
“What meaning is that?”
Physician Haseo stroked his beard and trailed off.
“The Chunmu Hall was created as the lowest seasonal hall to prevent six years of wasted support for those without talent, back when there were no entry exams in Cheonsubaekryeonsa. It gathers only those who do not consider the possibility of advancing to the next hall.”
It felt like I’d been struck hard on the back of the head.
Physician Haseo hurriedly added.
“Don’t worry! There is still one more chance! Before the hall is confirmed, take the upgrade exam one more time in eight days. If you fail there, it will really be the Chunmu Hall confirmed. Just pass the upgrade exam first.”
Said that mountains were piled upon mountains, I had just passed the entry exam and thought I could relax, but I was still poking my head into the tiger’s jaws.
To ease my tension, Physician Haseo patted my shoulder lightly.
“Don’t worry. Someone who will help you is coming.”
“Who is the helper?”
“Not just you. Before the upgrade exam, all the disciples will have their assigned master from Cheonsubaekryeonsa sticking to them. Under his guidance, you will receive one-on-one personal instruction for eight days. It’s Cheonsubaekryeonsa’s last growth opportunity, out of consideration.”
“Really?”
It felt like a ray of light piercing through the endlessly dark sky.
Physician Haseo nodded.
“Indeed. The master assigned at that time will also be your guild master. In Cheonsubaekryeonsa, three disciples with a joint master are grouped under the ‘Guild’. The master you will see now is also the master you will learn from while at Cheonsubaekryeonsa.”
“Th-that’s good.”
Having lived in the past without anything, I understood the importance of environment better than anyone.
Environment is the most important thing in changing a person.
And the moment the quality of that environment is decided is eight days later.
If the upgrade exam fails, it ends with six years of low-level training in Chunmu Hall.
After failing to become Moyong Taese’s master, I had not met a proper master during my life until now.
I was excited about who would be my first official master.
“Speaking of which, it seems like the time to come is getting close.”
“Does Physician Haseo already know who my master is?”
“That... haha.”
It was an expression I had never seen before.
Physician Haseo wore an endlessly troubled look.
“His skill is definite. But he’s probably the one you’ll really hate...”
“...Me?”
Hate me?
Among the people I knew at Cheonsubaekryeonsa from the beginning, the number was limited.
I felt something was wrong.
“Wait. Physician Haseo, what are you saying right now...!”
“That’s something this body can’t explain!”
Kwaang!
The door opened as if it would shatter.
With that force, dust fell with a poof from the ceiling.
“They said you had amazing recovery power, but you’ve become this sturdy! A sturdy toy is rare, so my heart is pounding.”
In the dust, a long red hair fluttered brilliantly.
That cheerful, boastful laugh.
Even in the dust, the brilliantly shining front teeth dazzled the eyes.
I blinked.
I blinked once more.
I looked to the side.
Physician Haseo was there avoiding my gaze.
The culprit who had turned me into a cripple from the entry exam and left me bedridden stood before my eyes.
“So the master assigned to me...?”
Pahwanggun pointed with his finger.
“That’s right! As I thought, my smart little one!”
“My little one?”
“Physician Haseo, since your business is done, get out. I want to talk to my disciple.”
Physician Haseo left as if he had been waiting.
“Well, I’ve probably heard everything already.”
Pahwanggun sat on my bed.
“I have been assigned as your master for the eight-day instruction. Additionally, after the upgrade exam, I will also be the guild master assigned to you.”
I frowned and resisted.
“Pahwanggun-nim was supposed to be the test manager, right? Guild master assignment... the titles overlap.”
“Hehe. That’s how it is. An adult’s situation.”
Suspicious.
Extremely suspicious.
“Well, it’s not that I felt guilty toward you. Or that I wanted to compensate for my mistakes. I really opposed it, but the person in charge of Cheonsubaekryeonsa, Kang Burong, is my junior disciple, and he begged me so much.”
“......”
Pahwanggun hurriedly moved on to the next story, seeing my grim expression.
“The test result is judged as Chunmu Hall. Correct?”
I also had something to say about that.
It wasn’t that I had done well.
But still... I thought it was unfair.
Although Pahwanggun was three-tenths strong, I thought he had fiercely exchanged blows beyond the time limit.
But being assigned to Chunmu Hall, where the weak gather, was hard to accept.
“It’s hard to accept that... I really was selected for Chunmu Hall, a mess...”
“A mess? Do you know how messy your skill is?!”
My startled reaction caused a hiccup.
“But I held my own in the martial contest... so that’s...”
“You brat! At that time, I didn’t say I was only using three-tenths strength. In fact, I didn’t even use one-tenth!”
“......”
Our eyes met.
Pahwanggun cleared his throat.
“Yeah, I used two-tenths. You were fighting with all your heart, and I wasn’t being rude.”
“......”
“Ugh, can’t you stop that suspicious glare. One thing is certain. If you confront a third-rate martial artist who has received proper training, you will definitely die.”
“What?”
Pahwanggun knocked over the rice bowl beside him.
“Let’s call this rice bowl a sword. I don’t know the backstory, but some of the sword techniques you actually performed were truly high-level and excellent. Just looking at the rice bowl, it seemed extremely clean and solid.”
Tap tap, Pahwanggun tapped the overturned rice bowl with his finger.
“But does the fight between martial artists end with just one sword technique? What if it doesn’t end in one go? If the opponent resists or dodges? A sword technique can be the ending of the fight, but it can never be the fight itself.”
Pahwanggun overturned another rice bowl and placed it side by side.
He dipped his finger in water and drew a line connecting the two rice bowls.
“You lack the basic foundation to connect sword techniques. The rice bowls are separate without any string to bind them firmly.”
Pahwanggun wiped away the thin water line connecting the two rice bowls with his palm.
“No matter how low-level a third-rate opponent is, if they punch through the weak gap between these solid rice bowls, what will happen to you?”
The water line neatly scattered into the air, and the string that had bound the rice bowls was gone.
“...I understand.”
Pahwanggun’s words were perfectly right.
I felt the gap between the martial arts I had taken from Moyong Taese and So Yeomgyo as if my bones were breaking.
Especially when I was using a high-level, skilled sword technique and, after the technique ended, had to confront the opponent with only my own foundation, it felt like making high-end cuisine and pouring salt into the pot.
Pahwanggun had precisely captured that.
Looking at me nodding, Pahwanggun said in a deliberately softened tone.
“Are you very upset about being assigned to Chunmu Hall?”
“......”
If I wasn’t upset, I was an idiot.
I had fought to the death to pass the entry exam.
But being assigned to Chunmu Hall, where the hopeless are gathered, drained my strength.
Of course, it was not yet confirmed.
But I already felt as if the world had branded me with ‘you are nothing but that’, so honestly, I felt immense self-loathing.
“You don’t have to worry so much.”
For some reason, on my face, Pahwanggun looked visibly startled and hurriedly added.
“In every generation, some of the disciples deliberately request eight days of training to start with Chunmu Hall. Moreover, it seems like a coincidence, but the two members of the guild you will meet after the test are both those who have volunteered to start with Chunmu Hall. You can bring them too.”
I lifted my head at the unexpected words.
“Really? Why? There is no reason at all.”
“There is no reason, Inseok-ah.”
Pahwanggun poked his own chest with his finger.
“How valuable it is to have a master like me right next to you for eight days, teaching one-on-one. Of course, it depends on who you meet, but I think it’s a gamble worth trying. In that sense.”
Pahwanggun grinned.
“You are extremely lucky!”
I was actually too anxious.
I had rushed here just because I had passed the entry exam.
And because I had passed it, I had thought I could relax and grow in Chunmu Hall.
But one more gate remained that I had to pass to survive for sure.
I asked with a trembling voice.
“Pahwanggun-nim, if I train for eight days, will I be able to pass the upgrade exam?”
Pahwanggun raised his thumb and said.
“Don’t worry, I am Moyong Bi. I will definitely make you pass the upgrade exam within eight days!”
“Oh-oh!”
That was how I received the first instruction I had longed for so much after my wanderings in the jianghu.
And I realized something was wrong in exactly one day.