Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Sun Heart Technique
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[You have read and comprehended all contents of the Sun Heart Technique.]
[Hidden quest cleared.]
[Acquired Sun Heart Technique LV.1]
[Acquired Internal Energy LV.1]
"...Huh."
I'd had a hunch, but to think it was registered as a hidden quest.
Reading and understanding every part of the manual wasn't difficult at all.
It might have been tough if it were the original text, but thanks to my translation skill, it just read like a regular story to me.
Though I'd acquired the Sun Heart Technique and internal energy, I could feel a change in my body.
Slowly, light began to seep into the study.
Someone had opened the door at the entrance.
"You two, grab the manuals you've chosen and come out."
Cheolwoong looked down at the two of us as we emerged from the study.
Each of us held a single book in our hands.
"That book..."
"Yeah?"
"...Never mind."
Seolyeong opened her mouth upon seeing the book in my hand, then firmly closed it again.
Her expression remained impassive as ever.
Cheolwoong looked down at the two of us, then fixed his gaze on me and opened his mouth.
"Huh. Well, this is..."
Letting out a hollow laugh that could have been admiration or sheer bafflement, Cheolwoong scratched the back of his head.
"To build up your internal energy, you'll need to read every passage of that book and comprehend it quickly. ...Follow me. You need to get at least somewhat familiar with martial arts."
Declaring that he would now properly teach us martial arts, Cheolwoong headed back to the training ground.
Jeongseon and Pungwoon were there.
The two of them were clutching their knees or waists, breathing heavily in exhaustion.
Cheolwoong beckoned the weary pair to come closer.
He spoke to the two who shuffled over listlessly.
"Number 7, teach Number 5. Number 1, teach Number 421."
"...I, I want to teach Lady Seolyeong!"
"No."
"Please, I beg you!"
"Ugh..."
Pungwoon clung desperately, while Jeongseon grimaced in utter disgust, but Cheolwoong was firm.
With a single additional remark that it was already decided, he added,
"You'll learn something from teaching them too."
At Cheolwoong's meaningful words, Jeongseon and Pungwoon just blinked vacantly before finally resigning themselves and approaching us.
Pungwoon came up to me but kept glancing back toward Seolyeong several times.
"...Ah, sorry. I get it, right?"
"Yeah, can't blame you."
We both spoke at the exact same time without needing any cue.
And we both turned to look at Seolyeong simultaneously.
"Snow-white hair like frost flowers and lake-blue eyes."
"A beauty so rare it's hard to see in a lifetime."
Then Pungwoon folded his arms behind his back and spoke to me in a low voice.
"...You seem reasonable. Maybe because you're not from a sect?"
"Could be."
"Ah! Just to be clear, I'm not being sarcastic or anything."
Pungwoon waved both hands frantically in denial.
I could see how it might come off that way.
After all, the speaker was from the Mount Hua Sect, and I was just a 400-series examinee who had never even learned martial arts.
"Hmm... First off, why don't you swing a sword a bit?"
Pungwoon wanted to gauge my skill level and told me to swing the sword.
I did as asked.
Using my abilities moderately, without distinguishing between horizontal, vertical, or diagonal swings, I relied purely on the sensation from my now Level 4 Weapon Technique.
It felt like—maybe just my imagination—the sword was speeding up with each swing.
"...Now I see why Instructor Cheolwoong told me to teach you."
Pungwoon stared at me intently, impressed yet deep in thought.
"Your name...?"
"Seonghan."
"Seonghan... Seonghan, huh... Never heard of it..."
Saying that, he committed my name to memory and nodded.
It was an honor that the protagonist remembered my name.
But something about him—he seemed like a guy hiding a lot—left me with a strange feeling.
Pungwoon then slowly gripped the sword at his waist and assumed a stance.
"Alright. We're going to learn Instructor Cheolwoong's Inmu Sword Technique."
"Inmu Sword Technique?"
"It's his improved version of the Three Fundamental Sword Forms, one of the basic martial arts."
Three Fundamental Sword Forms.
Even I, who hadn't read many wuxia novels, knew that term.
Horizontal slash, vertical slash, thrust.
A basic sword technique using just those three fundamental moves.
Apparently, Cheolwoong had refined it into the Inmu Sword Technique.
Inmu was probably named after the Inmu Academy.
"Now I get why Instructor Cheolwoong had me teach you."
With that, Pungwoon slowly drew his sword from his waist.
The atmosphere was different from Cheolwoong's.
When Cheolwoong drew his sword, an overwhelming pressure made everyone tense up automatically. But with Pungwoon, even holding a fierce blade, he exuded an endlessly serene aura.
Which made it all the more unsettling.
Like the eye of a typhoon.
I had a feeling something was about to happen.
"This is the original Three Fundamental Sword Forms."
Horizontal slash, vertical slash, thrust.
Plain, but with unwavering stability at the sword tip.
Still, as martial arts went, it felt a bit plain.
"And this is the Inmu Sword Technique."
It looked like the same moves.
But the results were different.
What I'd thought was a vertical slash seamlessly transitioned into a horizontal one. The following thrust was so fast it was nearly invisible, with no transitional motion visible.
Finally, the slow vertical slash left a deep sword mark on the ground that was hard to believe came from that long, thin blade.
It looked as if a massive axe had cleaved the earth.
"It's the Three Fundamental Sword Forms infused with the subtleties of feint sword, fast sword, and heavy sword. Just memorize it for now—you'll only be able to use it once you start handling internal energy."
"..."
Internal energy.
I had it, but I couldn't control it yet.
If I could master it, could I pull off something like that?
I nodded and engraved Pungwoon's Inmu Sword Technique movements into my mind.
Making internal energy fully my own power became my first goal.
I had to at least get close to Pungwoon's level to survive in this martial world.
After our somewhat brief training session, we slowly watched Jeongseon and Seolyeong's practice from the side.
Watching their training made me realize ours had gone remarkably smoothly.
"Now, watch closely!"
"Okay."
Jeongseon was showing Seolyeong her own Inmu Sword Technique, much like Pungwoon had.
The difference was that hers felt more fluid and upright.
Having sweated through the demonstration, Jeongseon said to Seolyeong,
"Your turn."
"...I can't."
"Arghhh..."
At Seolyeong's words, Jeongseon ground her teeth, barely containing her anger.
Even seeing that, Seolyeong just stared impassively into the distance.
Her attitude only fueled Jeongseon's rage further.
"Just infuse it with internal energy and swing! You can do it!"
"I can't."
"Why!"
At that question, Seolyeong fell silent for a moment before finally answering.
"I have my reasons."
"Arghhh..."
Jeongseon's eyes rolled back halfway. She looked ready to pounce.
"I won't! No?! I can't!"
Whipping around, Jeongseon stormed off somewhere, huffing in fury.
It was possible only because Instructor Cheolwoong had stepped away.
My eyes met Pungwoon's in midair.
Then Pungwoon grinned.
"Guess it's my turn now?"
With confident steps, Pungwoon headed toward Seolyeong.
Of course, the result didn't change.
"I can't."
"...Understood, milady..."
Pungwoon trudged off somewhere with a deflated expression too.
And naturally, my eyes met Seolyeong's.
By the flow of things, it was my turn to step up.
But I couldn't.
"I'm a student myself."
How could I teach what I didn't know?
But Seolyeong's gaze apparently meant something else.
"...That heart technique. You learned it?"
"Huh? Oh..."
She must have meant the Sun Heart Technique.
No reason to hide it, so I nodded.
"Yeah."
"...Once you've learned that heart technique, no spirit elixir will have much effect on you anymore?"
Her voice unusually agitated, Seolyeong poured out the words.
"I know."
It was something I already knew.
Of course, hearing it again made it sting a little.
The cliché of stumbling upon an incredible elixir by chance and skyrocketing your internal energy in one go.
It was a trope that popped up surprisingly often in wuxia tales.
Sadly, that was now impossible for me.
"...Is it because of me?"
"Huh?"
Seolyeong gazed down at me sitting there, her face expressionless.
Her expression didn't change, but the tremor in her voice and her tightly clenched fist told the story.
Seolyeong was drowning in guilt.
"...Because I was staring at that book so intently..."
"No, I learned it because it suited me perfectly."
So I decided to play it bold.
To ease some of Seolyeong's guilt.
"...You expect me to believe that..."
"Sigh..."
I could make her believe it.
Heart techniques weren't something you mastered overnight.
That's why Instructor Cheolwoong had us pick a book from the study and bring it out.
But I'd comprehended the Sun Heart Technique right there and acquired it as a skill.
Internal energy was still hard to handle, but I could at least use the breathing method from the Sun Heart Technique.
The so-called meditative breathing exercise.
"Suuuuuuh... Hooo..."
The Sun Heart Technique's meditative breathing was different from other internal energy methods.
It felt like my body turned into a massive furnace.
The inhaled breath transformed into heat that scorched my entire body, forcing the yin energies lurking in every corner to flee to my lungs unable to withstand the blaze.
Then I exhaled that yin energy through my mouth.
Through this process, pure yang energy would gradually remain within my body.
"...How..."
Seolyeong drew closer to me.
I couldn't respond amid the meditative breathing.
It was as described in the manual: once started, I had to complete at least ten full cycles.
Breaking it off prematurely risked qi deviation.
"...So warm..."
Seolyeong's hand touched my cheek.
Her hand was chillingly cold, but the moment it met my skin, even that chill seemed to melt away.
It was a soft touch.
As if craving warmth, her other hand joined on my cheek.
Yeah, that was all fine.
But—
'Can't I just finish the meditative breathing first?'
While I struggled against the risk of qi deviation, Seolyeong kept her hands on my cheeks, basking in the warmth.
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