Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: First Martial Arts Training (1)
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"I'll come back to see you in a week."
After receiving the initiation ritual, I stayed at my master's residence for three days, taking some rest.
And then, in the early dawn when mist gently rose from the water, I headed home amid the fervent send-off from the sect's servants.
It was because Jang Ryeongwol's condition had improved so noticeably that anyone could see it.
"Disciple, I'll see you in a week."
"Handsome big brother, I'll be waiting."
"......"
They stood outside the main gate until I became a tiny dot and vanished from sight.
I returned home.
As usual, I loaded my cart with peddling tools and headed to the market with Maban.
At the open space where I set up my stall, Hye-yoon and Somi were already there waiting for me.
Together with them, I greeted customers, prepared food, and spent busy days without a moment to catch our breath.
Time flies by.
And a week later, I visited my master's residence again.
"Disciple Woonsik Oh pays his respects to Master."
"You've arrived, disciple."
As I slowly lowered my hands from the fist salute, I saw my master, whose worries had visibly eased, and Ryeongwol, who looked much more comfortable in her attire.
"Big brother, are you going to make something delicious again while you're staying this time?"
"Of course."
She was still dressed as if it were the dead of winter.
But the white fox scarf that had always been wrapped tightly around her neck was gone, and her cheeks had a prominent rosy glow like pink sausages.
"Let's head to the inner quarters, disciple."
"Yes, Master."
In my joy, I straightened up Ryeongwol, who was clinging to my waist like a sticky candy.
And I quietly followed behind my master.
As we walked down the corridor toward the inner quarters, I swallowed dryly for no reason. Tension was creeping up my neck.
Whew, today is when it really begins.
In my past and present lives combined, I'd never once undergone proper training.
Because our circumstances weren't affluent, I'd only thrown myself into work to survive.
What if I have no talent for martial arts at all? Come to think of it, even the kindergarten kid next door awakened in my past life... I was the only non-awakener.
I might disappoint everyone as a disciple of the White Tiger Butterfly Sect.
Various thoughts flashed through my mind for a moment. But as always, I shook my head to clear them away.
What could I do?
I'd just have to give it my all.
We entered the inner quarters.
The room was draped in black cloth just like during the initiation ritual, blocking out the light.
Familiar lanterns swayed quietly, greeting me.
"Sit, disciple."
"Yes, Master."
My master sat on the floor in a cross-legged position. I followed suit, adjusting my posture.
At that moment, my master's sharp gaze flashed in the darkness.
His calm voice carried an inexplicable weight. The energy settling over my ears was deep and sharp, like a tiger's roar.
"I will do my utmost to learn it, Master."
Overwhelmed by his presence like a beast facing a tiger, I prostrated myself flat on the floor to respond.
For this disciple utterly ignorant of martial arts, my master first explained simply what an inner cultivation method was.
To put it simply, it was a training method centered on incantations to gather qi in the lower dantian through qi circulation and breath regulation.
And the Flying Tiger Illusory Divine Gong I was to learn today was the White Tiger Butterfly Sect's secret technique, passed down through single succession.
"Once you cultivate inner energy with the Flying Tiger Illusory Divine Gong, you can unleash fierce attacks like a raging white tiger and wield sword arts that dance like butterflies."
"Yes, Master."
Across the entire Martial Alliance, only my master knew of the Flying Tiger Illusory Divine Gong's existence.
And today was the day I challenged to become its second inheritor.
"Disciple, turn around so your back faces me."
"Yes, Master."
I quickly shuffled around on my butt and straightened my back into a cross-legged position.
"Disciple, to gather inner energy in your lower dantian, you must first sense the existence of qi."
"Yes, Master."
My master quietly placed both hands on my back.
This was true qi guidance to open my qi meridians and awaken me to qi's existence.
"......Do you feel it?"
My master's voice flowed out quietly. There wasn't even a shred of expectation in it.
"......"
Unfortunately, I felt nothing.
I couldn't lie.
But I couldn't disappoint my master either, so I hesitated to respond for a while.
In the end, I held my tongue.
Instead of answering, I squeezed my eyes shut and silently called up my status window in my mind.
Status window, help me learn the inner cultivation method.
I'll use 1,000 points.
"......It's fine. For ordinary people, it can take half a year or more just to sense qi itself."
"......?"
"Does it feel like qi now?"
"Yes, Master. I can feel the qi."
Though I couldn't see my master's expression with my back turned, a subtle warmth lingered in the faint qi flow from his fingertips.
As if quietly encouraging me.
Now that I'd sensed the existence of qi—the first hurdle—we moved on to qi circulation and breath regulation, the true beginning of inner cultivation.
In other words, the training method of drawing qi in through breathing and gathering it in the lower dantian.
"......Next, circulate the drawn qi through your major meridians in one full circuit."
"Yes, Master."
How much time had passed?
I couldn't see outside, and my sense of time had grown dim. I simply focused silently on mastering the basics.
And finally, I learned the incantations for the White Tiger Butterfly Sect's inner cultivation method, the Flying Tiger Illusory Divine Gong.
The moment I comprehended it, a massive white tiger appeared before my eyes.
It opened its maw as if to devour me, flashed brilliantly for an instant, then scattered like dust, fluttering upward like countless butterflies.
Is it still immature, so the grade is low? Still, at this speed... I must be at least up to the heels of the disciples who've passed through Master's side before.
I could distinctly feel a grain-of-rice-sized amount of inner energy filling my lower dantian.
And at that moment.
"Disciple, good work. You may go now."
My master's voice signaled the end of the training.
As I turned around slowly, I saw my master—his face somewhat stiff, but with a faint kindness in his eyes.
Not quite a satisfied expression, regrettably.
I must refine myself further.
"Thank you, Master."
I rose quietly from my seat and slowly stepped out of the inner quarters.
"Come in, Hui."
Hui, who had been waiting outside the door, entered the inner quarters quietly.
At the same time, all the black cloths filling the room were removed.
Sunlight poured in through the window onto Jang Mucheon's massive back like a mountain, casting deep shadows over his face.
"Lord, half a shichen has passed. Seeing it end so quickly... it seems Young Master Oh couldn't even sense qi."
The corner of Hui's mouth twisted upward as if to say he knew it.
"No. Not only did he awaken to qi, he even mastered the White Tiger Butterfly Sect's inner cultivation method, the Flying Tiger Illusory Divine Gong."
"Lord, a complete novice who didn't even know the basics of martial arts... mastered the Flying Tiger Illusory Divine Gong in just half a shichen—an hour?"
"......That's right. I was quite surprised myself, Hui."
As Jang Mucheon took a step forward, his face emerged from the backlight.
He was grinning widely, showing all his teeth.
In all my life, I've never seen Lord make that face.
Hui was too flustered to continue speaking.
And rightly so.
Hui had served by Jang Mucheon's side for decades.
He had personally witnessed the beginnings and ends of countless disciples who passed through his hands.
Most were child prodigies who received the initiation ritual young, innate geniuses in martial arts.
Yet none had mastered the sect's inner cultivation method in half a shichen.
Not even geniuses—it took them over a month of all-day training to barely grasp a feel for this advanced technique.
For an ordinary person exerting their utmost, it would take at least half a year, up to a year or more.
Hui stood frozen like a jiangshi in shock.
Gazing at him, Jang Mucheon slowly spoke.
"Hui, it seems Woonsik Oh was born with a 'Heavenly Martial Body'."
"Young Master Oh......"
"At first, I took Woonsik Oh as a disciple to cure Ryeongwol."
"......"
"......But now, I don't want to let him go as my disciple."
Jang Mucheon, hands behind his back, had ambition and madness gleaming in his eyes.
"In the future, the White Tiger Butterfly Sect's ninth-generation disciple Woonsik Oh will shake the entire Martial Alliance, just like me."
"That man......"
Hui's mind was in turmoil.
Jealousy, doubt, shock, anticipation.
Emotions tangled and churned.
I won't acknowledge him until I see it with my own eyes.
For some reason, Hui couldn't bring himself to accept Woonsik Oh.
He kept his head bowed, his whole body trembling faintly.
Hui lifted his head. With a serious expression, he spoke to Jang Mucheon.
"Lord, may I spar with Young Master Oh?"
Hui's action bordered on challenging the master's authority.
But far from annoyed, Jang Mucheon narrowed his eyes in interest, as if a fun spectacle had arisen.
"Haha, very well. The same method as with previous disciples?"
"Yes, exactly."
"It's a bit early, but if you wish it, so be it."
Hui wanted to confirm with his own eyes.
Whether he truly had what it took to succeed Jang Mucheon. Whether he was someone Hui could accept.
I left the inner quarters and headed to the courtyard. The time spent inside had felt like an eternity, so I needed some fresh air to breathe easy.
Upon reaching the courtyard, I spotted Ryeongwol playing under the apricot tree with Maban.
More precisely, Ryeongwol with an excited face, frolicking around the listless Maban.
"Big brother, you're done already?"
"Already?"
"Yeah, it's only been half a shichen since you went into the inner quarters."
Only then, hearing Ryeongwol, could I gauge how long I'd been inside.
"Disciple, have you rested a bit?"
My master's voice came from behind.
Turning, I saw he had already come up right behind me.
"Pardon? I just came out...... Ah, no. I've rested well, Master."
"Good. Then let's head to the training ground."
My master seemed a bit impatient by nature.
I'd only just stepped into the courtyard, yet in less than five minutes, he was leading me to the training ground.
After a few steps, a cramped open space appeared—so small it was embarrassing to call it a training ground.
And understandably so.
This residence where my master stayed was tiled, but modest and simple in appearance.
"......?"
As I scanned the familiar yet unfamiliar space.
The narrow clearing transformed in the blink of an eye into a vast training ground.
"Master, what sorcery is this......"
Indeed.
This training ground was a hidden space—a formation array—that appeared cramped due to spatial distortion in daily use, revealing its true form only for training.
I stared wide-eyed at the center of the training ground, where my gaze met Hui's, standing there.
"Young Master Oh, I've been waiting."
He exuded a sharp aura like a mountain wolf and flashed me a pointed, fang-like smile.