Chapter 19
I’m translating the chapter into HTML with the glossary terms kept consistent and the battle beats rendered as prose, not as a line-by-line gloss. I’m also preserving the one scene break and making sure the dialogue stays natural in English.CHAPTER_TITLE: The Disciple of the Demonic Fist
"Our youngest is home!"
My father scooped me up and spun me around in the air.
"So you took first place in the Martial Gathering! That's my son! Wahahahaha!!"
"I'm getting dizzy!"
Then my eldest brother came strolling out of the main hall with a faint smile.
"Our North Sea Divine Dragon has returned."
"Somehow, the nickname they used only in the North Sea ended up sticking in the Central Plains."
I said it with a touch of pride and showed him the dagger at my waist.
"Oh, so this is the dagger they give only to the champion of the Martial Gathering?"
My father widened his eyes and was admiring the dagger when he noticed that the other side of my waist was empty.
So he asked, puzzled, "Come to think of it, what happened to that unusual sword of yours?"
"Well..."
I explained that the Japanese sword my father had made for me had broken, and how it had broken.
In truth, I had gone to Sichuan because of a mission from the Martial Alliance, and I told him about the battle with the jiangshi and the mysterious man who had appeared in the middle of it.
"Hmm... so that's happening in the Central Plains..."
My father listened to the end without saying a word, then finally spoke.
"Good. I understand it all. Then let's have a feast first!"
I had no idea why that was the conclusion he reached, but my father looked utterly firm about it.
My eldest brother chimed in as if this was all perfectly normal. "Should we call Yubyeok too?"
"Of course! Tell them it's a celebration feast for our youngest winning the Martial Gathering!"
My father laughed heartily, as if mysterious men and jiangshi were things that didn't concern him in the slightest, and beamed from ear to ear.
Right. This really is my father.
I handed him the pills I'd received from the Tang Clan, then headed back to my room.
My room seemed to be kept immaculate even in my absence.
I spent a few days lazing around in my room, enjoying an easy life, then wandered around the Ice Palace for the first time in a while.
I even went up to the back mountain where I used to climb the cliffs, and to the lake where I swam every day.
The more I walked around, the more I laughed at myself, because I couldn't even remember how I'd managed that kind of training in the past.
As I sat quietly looking out over the lake, Sohee came to mind for no reason.
I wonder if Sohee's doing all right. It would've been nice if she had come to the Ice Palace with me too.
With no one beside me now, the empty space felt strangely lonely.
Staring at the lake only made me feel lonelier, so I went back to the Ice Palace.
When I returned, my second brother and the Young Sect Leader had arrived after receiving my letter, and the place was already noisy with activity.
"So our youngest won!"
My second brother came running up to me, full of excitement.
"Long time no see, Brother."
"I knew it. Our youngest is a genius! He was different from the time he was little!"
"Congratulations, Han Gongja. My father will be arriving in a few days as well."
Cheon Yura offered her congratulations to me.
"Thank you for coming. Is my second brother doing well in the Heavenly Sect? He's always been a wild one, so I was worried."
"Of course. Lord Cheon said he likes him because Yubyeok is so dependable and diligent."
From what I heard, my second brother was learning martial arts under Lord Cheon while also taking part in the Heavenly Sect's key duties.
With the whole family gathered after so long, the Ice Palace became lively and noisy.
The feast preparations went on for several days, and at last, the day of the banquet arrived.
Since the official reason was my victory in the Martial Gathering, my father had intended to invite all the external guests, but the situation in the Central Plains was not ordinary, so my mother opposed it.
Unable to overcome my mother's stubbornness, the banquet ended up being a simple family gathering, with only the people around us invited.
That suited me better anyway, since it meant only people I knew would be there.
People who worked at the Ice Palace, the White Clan Trading Company under my mother, several families from the North Sea, and key figures from the Heavenly Sect all came.
"It's been a while."
The voice calling to me was one I recognized immediately.
"Lord Cheon! Have you been well?"
When I turned around, Cheon Muhyeok was standing there with a smile.
"I suspected as much, but to think you truly won first place. Congratulations."
"It was all thanks to my master."
I folded my hands in a joking bow and thanked Cheon Muhyeok.
"You seem to have grown a great deal since then. Your energy feels very different."
"Can you tell?"
"The amount of internal energy you possess, and the way you handle it, are clearly different. It seems you're now using your internal energy freely within your techniques?"
Cheon Muhyeok seemed to have sensed the progress I'd made, merely by looking at the condition of my body.
"I've been trying my best not to shame the title of North Sea Divine Dragon."
As I chatted with my master, whom I'd met after so long, I saw my brothers and father over there, noisily talking away.
"Our youngest really is the best! At this rate, everyone's going to get left behind by him."
"No matter how you look at it, I'm still a cut above you!"
My second brother protested at once.
My eldest brother just took it in stride, shaking his head as if this was all familiar territory.
"Our second brother must have trained a lot too, right?"
"At this point, maybe he can even fight Father? Hahaha!"
At that, Father slapped the table and stood up at once.
"Is that so? Then let's have a spar after all this time!"
My father, now utterly fired up, happily hauled my second brother along more or less by force and headed for the training ground.
Since there was now something fun to watch, we all followed them there.
The other guests began gathering at the training ground after us as well.
How much stronger has my second brother become?
As I trailed after them, I saw Lord Cheon standing between my second brother and my father, acting as the referee.
"If you let your guard down and lose to my disciple, you know what happens, right? lol"
"Hahaha. As if I would lose."
"If Yubyeok loses, he'll be going back to the Heavenly Sect for hell training, got it?"
At Lord Cheon's words, my second brother's expression twisted.
He looked as though Lord Cheon's hell training was something he absolutely had to avoid.
"All right, then. Both sides prepare yourselves. No killing blows, and no underhanded tricks, understand?"
The spar between my father and my second brother, brought about so abruptly, began.
"Still, I'm your father. I can't attack first. Come at me."
"Then here I come?"
My second brother drew up his internal energy and wrapped it around his body.
[Ice Armor Technique, Form 1: Offensive]
It was a little different from the Ice Armor Technique I remembered from before.
Back then, the technique had covered the whole body in a suit of ice armor, but now, ice armor had formed only over both of my brother's arms.
Even on the arms, it was less like armor and more like an aggressive form resembling knuckles.
"Oh? So you remodeled the Ice Armor Technique I taught you?"
My father drew up his internal energy and began to wrap himself in it.
My second brother charged at him.
[Glacial Fist Art, First Form: Ice Spirit Strike]
The Glacial Fist Art looked far heavier than it had the last time I'd seen it.
Even from a distance, I could tell the feel of it had changed.
[Ice Armor Technique]
My father also clad his body in an ice armor.
Then, without using any particular form, he simply took my brother's fist head-on with raw physical strength.
Snow and shards of ice scattered all around them, as if a blizzard had broken out from the clash of their momentum and internal energy.
My father easily flicked away my brother's Ice Spirit Strike.
"Haha. Your fist has definitely become heavier than before."
"This is just the beginning, Father."
My brother lowered his stance and gathered his power.
Even my father seemed to tense up a little at the unusual aura.
[Mount Tai Fist Art, First Form: Mount Tai Fist]
My brother thrust out his fist.
In response, the shape of a fist formed from internal energy flew straight toward my father.
"Oh? So you've reached the point where you can hurl fist energy?"
This time, even my father looked a bit startled.
Lord Cheon looked very pleased to see it.
"If he's my disciple, that's the least he should manage."
[Cold White Divine Palm, First Form: Cold Shade Palm]
As my father sent out his palm, my brother's Mount Tai Fist stopped as if it had struck something unseen.
Then it simply vanished.
"To think the Mount Tai Fist could be blocked so easily."
"I've seen enough of your attack. Now, why don't you take mine?"
My father, brimming with energy, charged at my second brother.
[Cold White Divine Palm, First Form: Cold Shade Palm]
It was the same technique that had shattered the Mount Tai Fist.
A palm strike packed with chilling yin energy slammed into my brother.
[Ice Armor Technique, Form 2: Defensive]
The ice armor that had wrapped around my brother's arms spread across his entire body.
The ice on both arms also changed shape, becoming thick, solid shields.
"Hup!"
My brother's Ice Armor Technique and my father's Cold Shade Palm collided.
At first, it looked as though my brother's armor was holding up somewhat, but after a moment, cracks began to spread through it, and the armor started losing its shape.
"You've really grown stronger."
After saying that, my father put more strength into the strike, and my second brother was sent flying.
He nearly crashed into the wall, but Lord Cheon quickly stepped in and stopped him.
"You lost the spar, so when you go back to the Heavenly Sect, it's hell training, right?"
Lord Cheon grinned as if he'd expected exactly this and cheerfully sang the praises of hell training.
My father, clearly proud of my brother's growth, stood in the center of the training ground and basked in the feeling of it all.
"So he's the disciple of the Demonic Fist after all. He's strong."
"To think he can even throw out fist energy. The Ice Palace's future looks bright."
"Still, he's nowhere near enough to beat the Palace Lord yet."
Even though my second brother had lost, he had displayed considerable skill, so the onlookers praised how much he had grown.
When I looked over, Cheon Yura was also wearing a faintly pleased expression.
My eldest brother came up to me with a bright smile.
"So, is it your turn now, youngest?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Father looks like he's waiting for you."
At my eldest brother's words, I looked toward my father and our eyes met.
When they did, my father smiled broadly.
"Now that I've seen your second brother's growth, it's the youngest's turn next, isn't it? I want to see whether you really deserve the title of strongest among the younger generation of the martial world."
At my father's words, everyone's attention turned to me.
"Come to think of it, if he's the champion of the Martial Gathering, maybe he's stronger than his brother?"
"I doubt it. There's a bit of an age gap, after all."
The spectators muttered among themselves, curious about my skill.
My father seemed determined not to move until I accepted the spar.
"I can't help it."
I took a wooden sword from the weapon rack and stepped up to the center of the training ground.