The First-Class Insight and Third-Class Qi

Insight: First-Class. Internal Energy: Below Third-Class.

Seo-ah spoke. "So... you're saying I have talent?"

It was a one-line summary of Baek-ran’s long-winded explanation regarding Seo-ah’s potential. It was also a statement that hit the nail right on the head. Seo-ah tried her best to maintain a deadpan expression, but even from three feet away, one could easily tell the corners of her mouth were twitching. Then, she muttered something that no one but herself could understand.

"Heh... heheh... Right. Usually, when you reincarnate, you're supposed to have at least this much of a cheat code..."

The title of this novel would probably be something like... "I Was Just a Dust-Like Maid Who Reincarnated into a Martial Arts World, But Turns Out I'm the Greatest Martial Arts Genius of All Time?!", wouldn't it? Or maybe not? Is that... a bit too behind on the trends? Whatever. That’s not what’s important.

The people here were used to Seo-ah blurting out modern slang whenever she got excited, so they just brushed it off, thinking, "She's saying those weird things again." To be precise, they didn't even pay it any mind.

Seo-ah placed her hands on her hips and said with an arrogant expression, "Keuk... My, my. To think that a 'prodigy' like me was letting my talent rot away as a mere maid... Truly, this is a massive loss for the 'Divine Cult'."

Not the Demonic Cult, which was used as a term of contempt in the Central Plains, but the Divine Cult, as the faithful members called it themselves. Somehow, the thought that once she mastered martial arts, she could ascend to the ruling class in the near future made a strange sense of religious fervor well up inside her. Kukuk...

Seo-ah continued to chuckle like a madwoman, imagining a rosy future where she would no longer have to bow to others or live in constant fear of losing her head. Aside from Baek-ran, who watched her with a complex and subtle expression, So-so and Baek-ak shouted as if they were truly impressed by her.

"D-damn!! As expected of our big sister! Our boss!! I knew I could trust you!"

"I don't really know what's going on, but I know it's amazing! ...yup."

Baek-ran was conflicted as she watched that group. Should I join in and congratulate her too...? But that, how should I put it... isn't it just too... 'Baek-ak-like'? To put it simply, it was frivolous.

Of course, it was a good thing that their boss, who had always been confident in front of them, had regained that confidence, just like back in the village. But, how to say it... it felt jarring to see someone who had been so timid until yesterday suddenly acting so overly smug. Yes. She was happy for her, but it felt annoying. It was a complex and subtle feeling.

"Now, everyone, behold! This is the sword that contains the insight of a 'prodigy' who was unfortunately bound by the shackles of a lowly body and unable to display her true talent!"

Suddenly, Seo-ah shouted, drawing everyone's attention. "This is it! This is the sword of a First-Class expert!!!"

A sword of a master who could infuse their weapon with internal energy—that is, intent—and freely manifest their will. Seo-ah took a slow, deep breath, infused her intent into the sword just like she had yesterday, and swung it down.

Thud!

Seo-ah collapsed to the floor. That was right. Setting aside the matter of enlightenment and insight... Seo-ah hadn't even been practicing her internal cultivation method for a week. The tiny amount of internal energy she had in her body had all been drained, leaving her in a state of total exhaustion.

"Boss!!!"

"S-Seo-ah!!"

"Big sister!!!"

Seo-ah somehow managed not to lose consciousness and let out a final gasp with a gaunt face.

"S-so... embarrassing..."

The rationality that had been possessed by her own vanity returned, and her head cooled down. The realization that she had done something incredibly embarrassing for her age hit her late. Her face turned bright red. Among those who had rushed over to worry about her, she caught sight of Baek-ran, the only one watching her with a subtle expression, the corners of her mouth twitching. Seo-ah felt an indescribable, overwhelming sense of shame and lost consciousness as if to escape it.

Insight is First-Class. Internal energy is less than Third-Class. External strength is worse than an ordinary person.

Seo-ah, who had been lost in her own vanity, realized that obvious fact only after she had collapsed from exhaustion. The embarrassing things she had spewed out while half-out of her mind just moments ago kept ringing in her ears.

Ah... I must have lived for over thirty years combined between my past and present lives, yet I did something so shameful... This must all be because of the hormones in this young body.

Seo-ah hypnotized herself with that thought, but it didn't have much effect.

"Big sister! You look like you have a fever. Are you okay?"

"I'll go get a wet towel! ...yup!"

"No, guys... It's not that..."

Seo-ah’s face was red enough to burst from embarrassment. Baek-ak and So-so tilted their heads at each other, not knowing what was going on, while Baek-ran watched the scene as usual before speaking.

"Ahem... Big sister."

"Yes..."

Seo-ah couldn't face her, remembering the twitching corners of Baek-ran’s mouth before she lost consciousness. That was, until Baek-ran continued.

"If it's alright, could you tell us how you managed to gain that insight?"

"Huh? Oh... oh, sure! Follow me for now."

Whether it was because she wanted the twins to practice the counter-technique against that snob as soon as possible, or because she wanted to forget this embarrassment, Seo-ah was genuinely happy at Baek-ran’s question and headed outside.

Seo-ah stepped back into the yard, picked up the wooden sword she had left sprawled on the floor when she fainted, and said, "I was trying to find a way to break the sword of that snob... Jin Geuk."

"...No way."

The twins simultaneously began to stare intently at the wooden sword Seo-ah was holding. They couldn't bring themselves to ask the unrealistic question of whether she had succeeded, so they both kept their mouths shut, but... the meaning was conveyed to Seo-ah well enough.

"It's just one form, but watch closely."

Seo-ah took her stance. "From what I've observed carefully, Jin Geuk’s sword is a heavy, forceful style. It’s hard to deal with using the Swift White-Shattering Sword, which pursues speed and illusion."

Seo-ah thrust her sword forward with force, just like Jin Geuk. She stopped in the middle of the stance where she was about to thrust again and continued, "When Jin Geuk takes this stance. If you strike here, just below the tip of the sword, he’ll likely lose his balance and his stance will break."

Seo-ah walked across to the other side of where she had originally been standing and performed the Swift White-Shattering Sword, albeit clumsily. "From what I watched yesterday... it would be around this point."

Seo-ah stopped her clumsy performance of the form and suddenly swung her sword horizontally with force, in a near-perfect stance. "The thing to keep in mind here is that you can't break Jin Geuk’s sword with the Swift White-Shattering Sword. You can't suppress force with speed. You have to suppress force with force. Just like I did."

Seo-ah corrected her stance and looked at the twins. The twins were staring at Seo-ah as if possessed, their mouths half-open. Fortunately, it seemed they were listening intently, not thinking of my words as nonsense. If they had tried to listen half-heartedly, thinking, "What does she know when she just learned the sword?", I had intended to persuade them several times over to show them this sword properly. It was a relief.

"Even if Jin Geuk forcibly stops his stance from collapsing and you fail to break his balance, it doesn't matter. There are two of you. Jin Geuk, having been hit by a clumsy counter-technique, won't have the strength to deal with the other one."

Seo-ah smiled with satisfaction and said, "Alright. Any questions?"

At that, Baek-ran raised her hand sharply.

"Speak."

"Big sister, you didn't actually just learn the sword, did you?"

Seo-ah closed her eyes as if lost in thought and didn't answer, only opening her mouth after some time had passed. "It feels like it’s been a while since I learned it. But it hasn't even been a week since I picked up a wooden or real sword."

Baek-ak’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Seo-ah with admiration, while Baek-ran looked at Seo-ah with eyes that had given up, as if looking at a monster. Seeing that, Seo-ah didn't feel intoxicated by superiority, but rather relieved that Baek-ran seemed to have forgotten the farce she had committed that morning.

Time flew like an arrow, and before she knew it, the day of the sparring match arrived. In the meantime, the twins had learned the anti-snob counter-technique under my guidance. While the twins might have had a better understanding of pure swordsmanship and forms, I was the one who had created the counter-technique by going through the rare opportunity of enlightenment.

On the way to the sparring arena, Baek-ran looked at Seo-ah with a resentful expression and whined, "I didn't know you would be so cruel to us, big sister..."

Baek-ak nodded with a gloomy expression. These days, whenever he saw Seo-ah’s face, his body would flinch, wondering if he had made a mistake without knowing it.

— You can't take the stance like that!

— More! More! Stronger!

— No, why can't you do something this easy?

— Baek-ran! That’s not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the spot!

It felt as if the difficult days of the past were flashing before their eyes. Seo-ah said with a kind smile, "I did it all because I was worried about you guys. You know my heart, right? You’re ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not sulking, are you?"

"..."

"G-guys?"

Baek-ran and Baek-ak nodded weakly. How could they not know their boss’s heart? However, the past two days had been too eventful to let go of their grudges all at once.

"Baek-ak! Baek-ran! You know my heart, right?"

Like Pavlov’s dogs, the well-trained twins flinched when their names were called and said, "Of course, big sister!"

"Yes, yes. It was such a big help."

So-so watched the scene quietly from the side. It was the moment Seo-ah’s rating in So-so’s heart was upgraded by one level.

The four children arrived at the sparring arena. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Inside the arena, dozens of people—instructors, students, servants, and maids who had heard the rumors—were bustling about. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And as soon as they noticed that Seo-ah and her group had arrived, everyone’s gaze focused on them in unison.

'This is brutal.' Seo-ah swallowed hard.