Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: First Martial Arts Training (2)
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Originally, it was just an ordinary backyard.
On the dry dirt ground, weeds sprouted here and there, and grasshoppers dressed in autumn colors chirped and hopped about.
At least, that's how I remembered it.
For the residence of a master who once commanded the Martial Alliance, the impression was overwhelmingly modest.
'Is it a formation set up by Master?'
But the moment I realized that what met the eye wasn't everything, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end all at once.
'What kind of being have I dared to become the disciple of...? He might be even greater than I thought.'
A shiver ran down my spine, making my body tremble once. Then, a familiar figure waved a finger at me.
"Young Hero Oh, we've been waiting for you."
"Brother Hui is going to instruct me? Why is that?"
Today was the day I was supposed to learn martial arts from Master.
Not understanding, I rolled my eyes and looked toward Master.
Master, sitting under the zelkova tree, quietly stroked his beard and nodded.
It meant to follow Hui's lead.
'Ah, Brother Hui is the one guiding me today.'
I stepped toward the center of the training ground.
The man named Hui had delicate features. But life had been tough on him, so he always wore a stern expression.
Yet right now, his face was blooming with a smile so bright it seemed like it might scatter into the wind.
'Did he pick up a money pouch on the way?'
"Disciple, today I'm giving you a test."
Master, who had been watching, spoke up.
"It's a tug-of-war with Hui standing before you."
"A tug-of-war with Brother Hui?"
At my question, a thick fog rose and dissipated in the training ground.
In that split second, a line was drawn between Hui and me, and beneath it lay a fairly thick rope. It had happened in the blink of an eye.
"Yes, Hui is one who has cultivated martial arts for many years. For you, who has just stepped into the martial world, he's no easy opponent."
Master proposed a tug-of-war with Hui for today's training.
A red cloth was tied to the center of the rope. Pull it to my side, and it was over. Simple rules.
"It will be very disadvantageous for you. So Hui will use only his left hand to pull the rope."
"Just one hand?"
"Yes, use any means necessary to bring the red cloth to your side. But the rope must not leave your body."
"Is there a time limit for this test?"
"None. Whether it's one sichen or two, as long as you want. For reference, there's no punishment if you don't win this training, so approach it with ease."
"Understood, Master."
The rules were simple.
I nodded vigorously and gripped the rope on the ground. Serious faces followed.
'In my past and present lives combined, I've shaken a cast-iron wok for nearly half a century. If there's one thing I have confidence in, it's my arm strength.'
Muscles matter in quality, not bulk.
Just as skinny ferrymen always beat bulked-up gym rats in arm wrestling, proving that fact.
I rolled up my sleeves.
Only then did the fine muscles honed over decades bulge on my forearms.
Not bulky, but densely packed survival muscles like those of a ferryman.
A confident smile crept onto my lips.
My opponent was using one hand.
It wouldn't be easy by any means, but if I poured in steady effort, I could win—that thought bubbled up.
Thud-
Suddenly, Hui flung off his upper garment.
"......?"
My eyes widened like saucers. An unexpected sight filled my view.
Hui was a handsome man slightly taller than me, with sharp eyes that could be mistaken for a woman's and a sleek nose bridge. But...
'To hide a body like this under his clothes...'
It was a body in stark contrast to his face.
A thick chest and rocky upper body, with knotted muscles rippling like waves from below his neck.
Scarred here and there, as if carrying some story.
'Oh boy, this won't be easy.'
Whoosh, Hui grabbed a handful of dry dirt at his feet.
He rubbed it into his palm until it crunched, then gripped the rope firmly with his left hand.
I, too, quickly wrapped the rope around once and clenched it tight, worried it might slip from my grasp.
I took a deep breath, then pulled with all my might, leaning back until my navel faced the sky, using my full body weight.
"......?"
I pulled.
"......?"
Pulled...
"......?"
The rope didn't move even a single pun.
The man before me held it calmly, almost bored.
"Is that all you've got, Young Hero Oh?"
"Ah, hold on a moment."
Why isn't it moving?
Should I rub some dirt on too?
Or is the rope new? Come to think of it, the surface feels slippery.
All sorts of excuses piled up in my head.
"Hoo, let's try again."
"As you wish, Young Hero Oh."
To focus, I took a deep breath.
Then I planted my toes firmly, bent my knees slightly, and lowered my center of gravity as much as possible.
The key to tug-of-war is balance.
Not just waist or arms, but linking all body muscles to push back.
"Urraaah-!"
I pulled again.
"Urraaah-!"
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Huff, huff, huff, huff.
Two sichen, four hours, pulling with all I had until my palms were raw.
Yet the red cloth remained fixed in midair, unmoving.
Hui stood firm as if rooted to the earth.
In contrast, I collapsed spread-eagled on the ground, drenched in sweat like I'd been caught in a downpour.
But I followed the rules. One hand still gripped the rope.
Remembering Master's words to use any means, I'd tried everything.
'Not ticklish?'
'Eyes stinging?'
'Doesn't hurt?'
I tickled his ears with grass, threw dirt in his face, even tried a low side kick to his arm.
And... everything else I could think of.
Huff...... huff...... huff...... huff......
But despite my efforts, Hui didn't flinch.
He even yawned lazily like a drowsy cat.
Meanwhile, I gasped for air, the taste of blood in my mouth like the end of a long run.
"Disciple, you've worked hard. If you want, you can stop now."
Master's sympathetic voice came from the zelkova shade.
"Big brother, don't push yourself. Brother Hui is a first-rate master. It's natural to lose."
Somehow, Ryeongwol had appeared beside him, chiming in.
I was merely a third-rate warrior just stepping into martial arts. The man before me was a first-rate expert honed over decades.
Like heaven and earth. An uncrossable gap lay between us.
So this situation was perhaps utterly natural.
Master probably didn't expect me to win this test either.
"Master, you said there was no time limit, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll continue."
But I thought differently.
I couldn't give up easily. Whether he was first-rate or whatever didn't matter.
I wasn't fighting this man right now.
I was fighting myself.
As I stubbornly kept tugging without giving up, the smile faded from Hui's face.
It was understandable.
Because of me, he couldn't clock out and was stuck working overtime.
'I'll have to treat Brother Hui to a proper feast later.'
I brushed myself off and stood.
Then I flung off my sweat-soaked upper garment.
'Until it works. Until it does.'
With the cool breeze brushing my skin, my mind cleared.
Moisture spread from the damp clothes tossed on the ground.
'Hoo, time is on my side. Let's find a way.'
Suddenly, memories of my past life surfaced.
I loved cooking and had some talent, but I wasn't a genius.
My classmate, Park Kang-hyuk, was different.
'First time wielding a knife?'
'You made this?'
Park Kang-hyuk showed exquisite knife skills after a few practices, with senses sharp enough to grasp a dish's essence after one or two looks.
He didn't just replicate—he improved it.
I didn't show it, but I envied that genius classmate.
But I stopped there.
I was an orphan.
That meant a different starting line from others.
Luckily, I realized early that comparison was a poison eating away at me. So I cut off those thoughts firmly before they spiraled.
Instead of feeding that darkness, I walked my path silently.
That was how an orphan like me tamed the shadows and lived.
'You're the only one from your class who survived.'
My world-renowned Chinese cuisine master had patted my back when I opened my own restaurant with my name.
Yes.
Talent? Unsure. But grit? I had that in spades, no matter what anyone said.
I grinned at Hui, lifting the corner of my mouth.
Instead of the old way, I'd find another path.
"As long as the rope doesn't leave my body..."
Worried I might drop it by mistake, I wrapped it around my waist and sat on the ground.
"The disciple seems to be trying a different method."
"Big brother, fighting!"
It was already late night. But fortunately, no one urged me to hurry.
Not that urging would help anyway.
I'd solve the problem at my own pace.
I paused the fight.
Crossing my legs, I circulated the inner cultivation method Master taught me again.
'No time limit on this fight. So I must use everything I have.'
The man before me was a first-rate master. But for some reason, he wasn't a disciple who'd received martial arts directly from Master.
Yes. I held something he didn't.
[Inner Cultivation Method: Flying Tiger Illusion Divine Art activated.]
Golden Vermilion Bird qi billows up, enveloping the air.
[Current Status]
[Qi and Blood Circulation: 34% >>> Accelerating to 57%.]
'Use 3,000 points.'
Caw, caw, caw.
I quietly opened my eyes at the crow's cries.
The dawn sky, stripped of darkness, filled my view. Followed by Hui's glaring eyes.
"Sorry for the trouble, Brother Hui."
"......"
After cultivating all night, my rice-grain-sized inner power in the dantian had swollen to the size of a grape.
That energy flowed through my limbs, igniting my body like it had swallowed the Vermilion Bird.
Not yet enough to beat the man before me. But I was sturdier than before.
I gripped the rope again and stood.
Then commanded the status window.
'Status Window, use dantian inner power to fully activate my entire body to the limit.'
"Then I'll try again, Brother Hui."
I flexed my now-firmer muscles and pulled the rope with all my might.
"Urraaah-!"
Joints cracked, muscles wringing out every last drop like twisting a dry rag.
"Oh dear, still not enough, huh."
Unfortunately, the red cloth before me didn't budge.
Feeling awkward, I scratched the back of my head.
The protagonists in wuxia novels and movies I'd read as a kid shattered walls in one go after training, working miracles.
'But reality is different.'
Still, I wasn't disappointed. If lacking, just fill more.
"......?"
And then it happened.
For the first time, Hui adjusted his stance and met my eyes.
In that gaze, a heavy, resolute determination flickered.