Training...?(7)
“Don't space out. Didn't I tell you to come at me again?”
“Ah, yeah.”
The attack I just threw was the fastest one I could manage right now. I tried to make a forceful but not overly quick charge feel like a sudden burst of acceleration... but it didn't work.
So, no choice but to try something else.
I slowly tilted my body forward. As my center of gravity shifted from dead center straight ahead, I stepped out. It's a variation of the Eight Directions Step that Hong Yeonhwa taught me—one that doesn't cling too tightly to its balanced nature, which is its main strength.
It's not about moving your legs to shift your center of gravity; it's about moving your center of gravity and letting your body follow suit. It makes your body wobble, so it's useless up close, but at this distance, it lets you move a bit more efficiently.
In just a few steps, I was back in front of Hong Yeonhwa. The moment I arrived at the perfect range for a sword swing—
Tap.
I went for my personal gamble. I feinted a vertical downward slash while twisting my upper body sideways. My center of gravity twisted diagonally as my body shook, and I followed through with my legs, instantly circling from her front to her right side.
“Hup!”
I swung my sword diagonally from upper right. From Hong Yeonhwa's perspective, it might as well have come from behind her.
“There are reasons why this lady tells you not to do certain things.”
Without even turning, Hong Yeonhwa's fist whipped out and deflected my sword.
“Your stance is unstable, so gaps like this open up. And once again, your momentum outpaces your control.”
The recoil lifted my arm high above my head, exposing my completely unguarded chest. Hong Yeonhwa thrust out her straight palm.
“Ack!”
This... hurts down to the bone!
It was the first time in our spars that I'd felt pain on this level. Sure, she'd poked around to point out my flaws before, but never this brutally.
...Did she get mad because I did the thing she told me not to?
I looked up at her anxiously, and Hong Yeonhwa flapped her arm in the air frantically, shouting in a panic.
“N-no! This lady isn't mad at all! So don't look at me like that...!”
“Then what was that just now?”
“That last strike was part of the Iron King Heart Protection Art training method. No ill intent behind it, so don't worry.”
“This?”
I tapped my chest, where the pain still lingered like an afterimage, and Hong Yeonhwa nodded eagerly, looking like she wanted to rush over right then.
“It's true. It's an external art that maximizes the principle of overworked muscles toughening up and broken bones knitting stronger.”
That's why the training method is extremely simple, she said. You repeatedly apply the right amount of impact to specific spots in a set order, forging your body to levels no normal method can reach. That's the whole thing.
Well, that's the hard part, but since it's purely external, she can hit me in my place and it'll still count as training.
“So from now on, we'll train the Iron King Heart Protection Art alongside our spars.”
“......”
In other words, show an opening during the spar, and I'll get hit painfully.
It's more efficient than separate beatings—saves time, and I learn exactly where I'm lacking, etched into my bones.
I get it logically. I do... but...
“Can't you go a little easier?”
“If it's easy, it's not training.”
True.
“What if I dodge or block? Internal art training can go wrong mid-way and lead to qi deviation or something.”
“You'll get bruised.”
“What?”
“Bones might break if you're unlucky... but no fatal injuries either way. So stop worrying and go all out.”
“Got it.”
I brushed the dirt off my knees, stood, and gripped my sword.
“Now I'm going for real.”
Now I'm going for real (special). I was always giving it my all, though.
“Why?! Why aren't you even fazed?!”
I tried yelling a line like a final boss crumbling before the awakened protagonist after unleashing all my trump cards. It was kinda fitting, actually.
“Well... this lady can't just stand there and take hits.”
Hong Yeonhwa scratched her cheek awkwardly. I gritted my teeth watching her soft, alluring cheek wobble under her fingers.
No matter what I tried, I couldn't land a single hit on her. And to make matters worse, I was starting to hit my limit.
Thanks to the Martial Spirit Divine Art's nature, I still had stamina and internal energy to spare. But my mind was the one that couldn't hold out.
The mental fatigue building up before the spar, plus the pain from the Iron King Heart Protection Art training—it was all chipping away at my will, bit by bit.
At this rate, after one or two more exchanges, the Martial Spirit Divine Art would collapse. And then it was really over. The backlash from a second collapse wouldn't be mere muscle soreness. I'd probably be bedridden till tomorrow.
...It didn't used to wear off this fast before.
“Ah.”
Then it hit me—what Hong Yeonhwa had said at the start of the spar. She'd told me to go at her using my focused intent toward her to power the Martial Spirit Divine Art, and see what happened.
“Finally figured it out?”
“Yeah. Looks like I buttoned the first one wrong.”
The Martial Spirit Divine Art is a technique where the mind pulls along qi and body. And mind means intent—will and thoughts.
Will alone isn't enough, nor are thoughts alone. But in this spar, I'd been burning only pure lustful thoughts to fuel it. That must've been the issue.
Think about it. How many guys can get it up when they're exhausted and in pain? I wasn't literally hard mid-spar, but it was that vibe.
Hong Yeonhwa smiled in satisfaction at my furrowed brow.
“Lustful thoughts are explosive but evaporate quickly. Especially when tied to instincts.”
“What about will?”
“Will is simple thought. It has no power on its own, but it sustains lustful thoughts and guides them right.”
...Isn't this some super important stuff?
I lowered my sword for a moment to listen closely.
“Where to start... You know about killing intent, right?”
“Of course. High-realm experts use a murderous aura to pressure foes mentally... that kinda thing.”
“You know it well. Do you know that's a beginner application of intent?”
“Huh?”
Her explanation tied into the mind-qi-body theory she'd mentioned before. Just as low-realm martial artists without proper qi can still use internal energy for basic body strengthening or fatigue recovery, peak and super peak experts without full mind mastery can still wield a bit of intent—like killing intent.
“But think. Can you just think and spread killing intent around?”
“I don't know how, so no clue.”
“Ah.”
Hong Yeonhwa's eyes went wide, like someone who'd just learned a platypus's beak is soft and squishy, not hard.
She never imagined someone couldn't use basic killing intent? Harsh...
“Ahem. Well, you'll learn soon enough, but killing intent isn't something you release with mere thought. It leaks out with a bit of internal energy consumption when you truly intend to kill.”
She covered her slip with a cute cough and continued.
“This lady believes that 'true intent' is the essence of intent. Whether you call it will or lustful thoughts, we already have a friendlier name for it.”
Mind.
She grinned mischievously and asked,
“Is the mind you hold for this lady purely lust?”
“......”
As if.
I gripped my sword tight and steadied my mind. Just that much, and I felt my depleted internal energy and stamina recover. My exhausted spirit was still shot, though. One or two swings, and I'd drop. A half-hearted strike would just bounce off powerlessly.
So I had to bet everything on one shot.
“Now you're looking usable.”
Hong Yeonhwa noticed the shift in my aura and beckoned with her signature confident smirk.
“Come at me. Show this lady what you've got.”
“With pleasure.”
Boom!
I stomped hard and charged forward—my fastest speed yet. No fancy tricks. Everything I'd learned came from her anyway; it'd just get in the way against her.
“Haaaaah!”
The forward charge flowed into Mount Tai Crushing Strike, repeated who-knows-how-many times. Whoosh— The blade fell sharper and heavier than ever, a faint white glow clinging to its surface. Too dim for sword qi, but too potent to ignore.
Hong Yeonhwa beamed like she'd never been happier at the incomplete sword qi plummeting toward her.
“Excellent!”
A dark aura, visible even at midnight, enveloped her hand, forming a demonic claw.
“But you're still far off!”
Sharp talons and a massive grip enveloped my sword. The faint glow was swallowed by darkness in an instant, losing its power.
“Hm. A shame—you didn't even graze this lady's collar. But...”
As she started praising me in a voice mixed with pride and pity—
“Not over yet.”
I cut her off and released the sword from my hand. Clenched my empty fist and stepped half a pace forward.
She reflexively twisted and reached with her other hand for a counter. I shouted desperately at her.
“No petting for a week starting today!”
“What do you—?!”
Hong Yeonhwa's face twisted in horror. Yeah. That must've been how I felt when she banned chest grabs.
Frozen in shock, she flinched. I reached out.
And—
Squish.
My hand sank into breasts too massive for one palm. Phew, mission success. Now just think of my demands.