Chapter 26
‘Yang Bong got taken down?’
Black Corpse was just as stunned by the sight before him.
He’d watched the fight raging on until the smoke was cleared, so the shock hit even harder.
‘Who on earth is that bastard…?’
The man who had brought the sect leader crashing down was approaching slowly.
Young and striking, looking barely out of his teens. A level of skill high enough to kill a sect master on his own. And an unfathomable air about him, as if he did not belong to the mortal world at all.
As Black Corpse pieced together the scattered clues, his body began to tremble.
‘No way!’
It was then.
“When the sect leader comes back, I told you he’d either be half-dead or a corpse. Why’re you so surprised? You thought I was kidding?”
Gang Hyeon, now somehow right on top of him, thrust out his twin sabers like lightning.
Clang! Clang!
“You brought in the successor to the doctrine?”
Gang Hyeon answered by going straight for a vital point. From that silence, Black Corpse drew his conclusion, and the corners of his mouth stretched wide to either side.
“Keh-heh-heh. You’ve done something interesting. Well, I can make use of this too, in my own way.”
His voice was nauseating, like a snake crawling across skin. Black Corpse knocked aside the broadsword with force, then snapped his fan open wide.
‘There’s been a loss, but all in all, the gain is greater.’
That a descendant of the Cheon family had become entangled with a lowly bloodline—that alone had enough value to be useful. As time passed and his name spread, that value would only double. For now, retreating was the wise choice.
He concentrated the power that had gathered through his whole body and swept the fan outward.
Whoooosh!
A massive blade gale began to scour across the entire estate.
A terrifying killing aura burst forth, and a whirling storm of blades swallowed the surroundings, painting the heavens and earth a sickly yellow.
“Aaaagh!”
The razor wind lashed wildly, pushing Black Corpse’s body far back and surging forward as if to devour everyone in the manor, disciples included, along with Gang Hyeon.
BOOM!
At that instant, Cheon Sohyeon cut straight into the heart of the storm.
He grabbed Gang Hyeon by the back of the neck and hurled him aside, then wrung his dantian to its limit and unleashed a blast of palm force.
Bang! Bang!
As the palm force collided repeatedly and brutally with the whirlwind, the gale’s ferocity gradually subsided, then vanished as though melted by spring snow.
Gang Hyeon barely managed to steady himself and looked around.
‘T-this…!’
Black Corpse was nowhere to be seen in the now-silent estate. He had already fled.
Then Gang Hyeon’s gaze shifted to Cheon Sohyeon, who had collapsed to the ground.
“Wha—!”
He hadn’t realized it from a distance, but now that he was close, the condition was clearly serious.
Small wounds showed through the torn clothing, a long sword gash ran down the right arm, and thick blood smeared the corner of his mouth, while his breathing came rough and uneven.
‘…Was the Jagui Sect leader really that strong?’
Gang Hyeon hurried over.
“Yo-young master, are you all right?!”
“The enemies.”
It was a question asked even while he was scanning the area. His vision still wasn’t fully settled.
The internal injuries from the battle were that severe.
“T-there aren’t any left. And that Black Corpse guy seems to have run off too. I’ll go inside and see if there’s any medicine for internal injuries….”
Cheon Sohyeon sat down in lotus position and closed his eyes.
“Stand guard.”
“…Yes, sir.”
* * *
How much time passed after that?
Gang Hyeon’s face was burning hot.
‘What a pathetic bastard.’
He’d lost Black Corpse, and now he himself, the one who had asked for help, was standing there looking perfectly fine. The shame of it was awful.
More than that, what really made his face burn was the thought lingering in the back of his head: shouldn’t he be chasing Black Corpse right now?
‘And you call yourself a human being?’
Smack!
Disgusted with himself, Gang Hyeon slapped his own cheek.
Then it happened.
“Huh—raaagh!”
Cheon Sohyeon let out a bizarre cry and shot up from where he sat. Gang Hyeon jolted and stared at him.
“Yo-young master. Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“No, some bald guys showed up in my dream and started preaching at me….”
“Huh? What are you talking about…? Your complexion changed a few times just now. Are you feeling all right?”
“Hang on.”
Cheon Sohyeon shook his head hard and turned his attention inward.
He had just forced himself to finish his circulation after the shameless nonsense his senior brothers had blurted out, the heat of anger driving him to do it in a hurry.
He had practically done it on instinct, so he’d been worried he might have caused some problem, but as his energy continued to circulate, that unease slowly faded.
Not too bad, actually.
His organs and dantian were in better shape than expected.
No—more than that, the internal power stored in his dantian had actually increased.
The spiritual energy from the Mahwandan he’d absorbed through sheer hellish effort, the force that had clung to his meridians—all of it was only now seeping into his dantian.
Because he’d shoved that energy into himself before his body had truly risen to match it, the pain had been enough to knock him unconscious. But in the end, the result was good.
I’m going to have to focus on external training from here on out.
The feeling was like a bowl full of water about to spill over at any moment, which meant he needed to raise the caliber of his body as soon as possible.
“You’re better than I expected. The wounds should be fine with some medicine, more or less.”
“That’s a relief.”
Gang Hyeon looked bitterly at the leader of the sect and the disciples, now cold corpses, and said, “While I was standing guard, I kept imagining charging into the Jagui Sect alone. No matter how much I rampaged, I figured I’d still end up dead in the end. Thank you for helping me.”
“So that’s the end of your revenge, then?”
“…You knew about it?”
“Would’ve been weird if I didn’t. It’s written all over your face. ‘I’m in the middle of my revenge right now,’ or whatever. You really didn’t know that? Idiot.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
“So how do you feel? The Jagui Sect was wiped out just as you wanted.”
“I’m not sure. I thought I’d be happy, but I also feel hollow. And angry, since I let them get away. But at the same time, thinking I took care of bastards like the Jagui Sect makes me feel better too… It’s just kind of complicated.”
Gang Hyeon gave a dry laugh.
“I guess I’d better focus on training for a while.”
He seemed to have no intention of going into details, so Cheon Sohyeon nodded readily.
“Right. Better to pour yourself into training than to stay chained to the past and keep regretting it. That’s how a warrior should live.”
“Haha, that’s right. Then are we heading straight to Unambong?”
“We are. Let’s cremate the bodies and go.”
* * *
Cheon Sohyeon followed Gang Hyeon, using light footwork.
Even with a map, I probably would’ve had a hard time finding this place.
Just how deep in the mountains was Imaje’s residence? They had already gone a long way along a winding mountain path, but still no sign of it.
“By the way, why is your master living in seclusion out in a place like this?”
“Beats me. He’s the kind of person who never talks about himself, so I don’t really know.”
“You don’t know?”
Gang Hyeon coughed awkwardly.
“But there are things I’ve figured out by watching him.”
“Like what?”
“For one, when he’s training, he pays absolutely no attention to anything around him. And he seems to be obsessed with strengthening his muscles. You’ll probably be very surprised when we get there.”
“Surprised by what?”
“I guess you’d call them training tools? Anyway, there are a ton of weird things there.”
Gang Hyeon raised a hand and pointed ahead.
“Oh, there! That’s it.”
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Once they passed through the gate, a courtyard came into view—shabby on the outside, but spacious and possessed of a deep, understated elegance. And there, Cheon Sohyeon spotted a towering man with his upper body bare, showing off enormous muscles.
So that’s Imaje.
He was swinging a wooden sword, apparently in the middle of training, and from his appearance he looked to be in his early forties.
“Master, I’m here.”
No answer came back. As if used to that, Gang Hyeon shrugged and said to Cheon Sohyeon, “Looks like this’ll take a while. I’ll go start preparing the meal.”
“Huh? Meal?”
“We haven’t eaten yet.”
“So you’re saying you’re cooking too?”
“Who else would do it if I didn’t?”
When Cheon Sohyeon looked at him skeptically, Gang Hyeon added, “I’ve learned a few things here and there, so don’t worry about the taste. I’ll serve you dishes so good you could eat yourself to death and never even know it.”
“Hmm. All right.”
After Gang Hyeon left, Cheon Sohyeon washed up, dealt with his wounds, and then returned to the training ground.
With nothing else to do, he looked around until his gaze landed on the equipment scattered across the yard.
What are those?
Bars fitted with stone weights were lined up all around.
A heavy barbell was resting on what looked like a wooden rack, and below it sat a long bench without a backrest.
It looked like one of those exercises where you lie back and press the weight up, so he got into position and gave it a try, but perhaps because he was using unfamiliar muscles, he couldn’t feel much in the way of stimulation.
Then—
“……!”
Cheon Sohyeon’s eyes widened. All of a sudden, Imaje was right there in his field of view.
Ah, damn, that startled me.
He had been so absorbed that he hadn’t even noticed the man approach. Just as he set the bar down and was about to greet him, Imaje raised a hand to stop him.
“Keep lifting.”
“Pardon?”
“Keep doing what you were doing.”
Was he angry that someone had tampered with the equipment without permission?
Imaje, whose face was already sharp enough to make children cry, glared at him. Since he needed to open the line of conversation first, Cheon Sohyeon grabbed the bar again.
“Ahem. Yes, sir. I’ll give it a try.”
As he lifted the heavy bar, Imaje adjusted his posture, moving his elbows and repositioning his arms.
“Lift slowly. Exhale as little as possible. Don’t empty your breath completely. Leave a little in your abdomen. Don’t use internal energy.”
“Hngh… yes, sir.”
“That was too fast just now. Slower.”
“Grrr…”
“All right, set it down and rest.”
Cheon Sohyeon set the bar down and sat, panting heavily. Not just his arms, but even his chest was shaking.
“And who might you be?”
Cheon Sohyeon stared blankly at him.
He barely managed to swallow the words, Isn’t that a little late?
“I’m the Third Young Master, Cheon Sohyeon.”
Imaje’s thick brows twitched.
“The Cheon family’s third son came all the way out here?”
“I came because I had something to ask you. If I may….”
“Wait.”
Imaje raised one rough hand.
“Rest time’s over. Lie back down.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said rest is over. Don’t dawdle, just grab it quickly.”
What in the world was wrong with this man?
“Start lifting!”
The tone made it sound like disobedience would be met with a life-or-death duel, so Cheon Sohyeon had no choice but to hoist the bar again.
“Ugh.”
“You don’t look like someone who’s trained externally, and yet you’re lifting it rather well. Hold on a moment.”
“Nngh… is it over?”
“You seem to have gotten the hang of it, so we should increase the weight.”
Imaje muttered something incomprehensible, then brought over a barbell fitted with a stone so large it was practically the size of a human head.
“Now, lift it.”
For a moment, his breath caught in his throat, but at the same time his stubbornness flared up.
Cheon Sohyeon settled into position with renewed defiance.
“Fine. Let’s give it a go!”
Imaje told him to repeat it twelve times before resting, but as the exercise went on, irritation took over, and he ended up lifting it two extra times each round.
I’m the monk who climbed Mount Song carrying a boulder the size of a house on his back, you damned demon!
It didn’t take long for him to realize how childish that thought had been.
“Oh?”
That was because Imaje’s smile deepened in a way that was almost unnerving.
“You’re maintaining form even while your arms are shaking. Your grit is impressive. Let’s increase the weight again.”
“W-wait a second. Sorry, but I didn’t come here to train….”
“If you come to my residence, you should greet me properly. No exceptions. Now, lift it.”
“……?”
“Hurry up and lift it!”
His attitude was utterly unyielding.
“Hngaaah!”
There was no other choice but to lift the bar. After that, he was put through several more strange pieces of equipment before he was finally allowed out from under the pressure.
By then he was sagging like a corpse, and Imaje was touching his arms, his chest, both legs, and even his shoulders.
“As expected of the Cheon family. Your build is remarkable.”
Then Gang Hyeon’s voice came from inside.
“Master! Meal’s ready. If training’s done, let’s eat.”
“Let’s go eat.”
“I think I’m going to throw up, so I can’t eat.”
“A short rest will help. And eating is part of training. Don’t linger—move quickly.”
Just what was it he kept insisting shouldn’t be delayed? That was all he’d heard the entire time he’d been lifting the bar.
With no energy left to answer, Cheon Sohyeon simply nodded.
Click.
Cheon Sohyeon took in the plain furnishings, pulled out a chair at the table, and sat down.
Not long after, Gang Hyeon appeared carrying a large tray with both hands.
Since he was a guest, Cheon Sohyeon reached out to take the tray himself… but his hand froze in midair.
“W-what is all this?”
As Gang Hyeon set the dishes down, he answered, “These are the foods my master likes to eat. If you don’t like them, I can bring something else.”
“No, no, it’s fine. This is perfect.”
One bowl after another was laid down, filling the broad table.
Dishes kept coming until every bit of empty space was gone, and what they carried was meat—nothing but meat.
Cheon Sohyeon stared at the spread, dumbfounded.
Boiled slices of pork, thinly cut and pale as white meat; Dongpo pork drenched in a rich brown sauce; and a heap of chicken dishes he’d never seen before, apparently traditional fare from the Demonic Cult.
So they had really learned how to cook—properly. Dishes you’d normally only find at an inn kept coming out without end.
Facing a royal feast made entirely of meat, the words escaped him before he could stop them.
“B-but is it really okay to eat this openly like this?”