Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: First Love
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Something had changed.
To be more precise, his senses had become sharper.
Perhaps that was why he could now feel things he couldn't before.
Had my body always been this uncomfortable?
The act of breathing.
The act of moving his fingers and toes.
Even in the simplest things, he felt a sense of awkwardness.
Did I eat an elixir, or was it poison? I've never had an elixir, so I wouldn't know.
Still, he instinctively knew what he had to do next.
"First, I need to get rid of this discomfort."
There was no special method. It was just a matter of pushing his body.
Until it adapted!
Ha Yuseong immediately went outside and started running.
He ran at full speed until it was time to report to the Murim Alliance.
In terms of time, it must have been well over two hours.
Again, Ha Yuseong felt something was off.
"Why am I not tired?"
After his rebirth, his stamina had increased to the point where he could run all day at a normal pace.
But when running at full speed, that time would drastically decrease; he usually ran out of energy in less than an hour.
Now, however, though he was out of breath, he knew.
"I can still run more."
Did I really eat an elixir?
"For now, let's head to work."
This behavior of Ha Yuseong's didn't change even after he arrived at work.
Upon reaching the tavern, Ha Yuseong displayed the mysterious feat of sitting in mid-air, supported by only one toe.
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo didn't find Ha Yuseong's peculiar actions particularly strange.
He was always like that.
It was just a little more intense today.
On top of that, Ha Yuseong was now repeatedly standing up and sitting down, alternating which toe he used.
The people who had been arguing below saw this and momentarily made peace.
A small sigh of disappointment escaped Ha Yuseong's lips as he looked down.
As time passed, Ha Yuseong's behavior grew even more bizarre.
He was now doing push-ups while in a handstand, balanced on a single finger.
Having witnessed these strange antics, Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo shook their heads, giving up on trying to understand him.
* * *
After the day's work was done, Ha Yuseong learned something new.
"I can feel internal energy."
At first, he thought he was mistaken.
But when he pushed his body to the point where he could no longer move, he clearly felt a stream of pure energy flowing from his dantian.
And each time, vitality surged back into his body. Thanks to that, he could continue his training.
As a result, he was able to do more than twice his usual amount today, but Ha Yuseong realized once again that he was not normal.
"It seems I have no choice but to find those old men again."
He needed to know the exact state of his body.
As soon as his work at the Murim Alliance was over, Ha Yuseong headed up the mountain where he usually trained. But the two old men were nowhere to be seen.
"Well, since I'm here, I might as well train some more."
He felt that he might be able to attempt what he couldn't before.
Just then.
Ha Yuseong turned his head at the presence of two figures approaching him.
"Hoh! It seems you took it properly!"
It was the two old men from yesterday. One of them had a large bruise over his eye, as if he had been punched.
Sensing his gaze, the bald old man answered.
"My disciple hit me. Hehe. He may be my disciple, but he's grown up well."
In the martial world, do disciples hit their masters?
And do masters feel proud of it?
Unaware of the exact circumstances between them, Ha Yuseong was puzzled, but he had something more pressing on his mind.
"What on earth did you make me eat?"
The bearded old man answered Ha Yuseong's question.
"We didn't make you eat anything. We simply gave it to you. You were the one who ate it. Isn't that right?"
"That's true, but."
Unlike the bald one, the bearded old man was somehow unsettling to talk to.
‘It feels like talking to a venomous snake, not a person.’
"And I was right, wasn't I?"
The bearded man's question pierced right through Ha Yuseong's worries. That's why he didn't want to answer. He felt like he would lose if he did.
"Well, for now."
"You must have many questions for us. Right?"
"Yes."
"For the record, we have many questions for you as well. But we can't act rashly. Believe it or not, we have a social reputation to uphold."
Anyone hearing that would think they were some great figures.
The bald old man added.
"Amitabha. My disciple threatened to put me in wall-gazing training at this age if I cause any more trouble."
Anyone hearing that would think he was the abbot of the Shaolin Temple.
The bearded old man spoke again.
"How about a duel? For the record, if you beat either one of us, it's your victory."
"With you two, sirs?"
"Of course."
Ha Yuseong wore a reluctant expression. It was obvious the two old men hadn't had much to do with martial arts.
He hated to say it, but they had neither the appearance nor the aura of martial artists.
"If you win, we will tell you everything you want to know."
Ha Yuseong couldn't understand why the two old men were doing this to him.
One thing was certain: they bore him no ill will.
If they had intended to harm him, they would have done something during their first encounter.
Although they did give him something, be it an elixir or poison.
"And if I lose?"
"We would like to request one thing of you."
"If it's an unjust request, I will not accept it even if I lose. I am a warrior of the Murim Alliance."
The bearded old man's eyes widened in surprise as he replied.
"It's been a while."
The bald old man also opened his mouth, his eyes filled with nostalgia as if recalling something.
"A youth of rare purity these days. Kids nowadays are only obsessed with getting ahead. This won't do. May I go first? My body is itching for some action."
The bald old man, Great Monk Cheonsu, felt a thrill at encountering such purity after so long. It was a different feeling from when he fought his disciple, who was already steeped in the ways of the martial world.
It was like the freshness of raising a disciple for the first time.
Ha Yuseong also decided to end this strange encounter quickly.
‘I'll move my training spot starting tomorrow.’
Whatever the outcome today, he didn't want to get involved with these strange old men anymore.
He decided to settle today's questions today.
"I will not go easy on you."
Ha Yuseong said seriously. He knew all too well that acting half-heartedly with such people would only lead them to repeat this kind of behavior.
And Ha Yuseong was confident he would win this fight.
‘I'll end it in one blow with a new technique.’
The one he hadn't even dared to try before because he lacked internal energy in his dantian.
Ha Yuseong lowered his stance and drew upon his internal energy.
Before, he had felt nothing, but now, he could feel the energy stirring in his dantian.
Ha Yuseong's confidence surged.
There's no way I can't beat a couple of old men!
And though he had said those words, he actually planned to just scare them and end it there.
How could he bring himself to strike old men who were in a similar situation to himself?
Pushing off the ground, Ha Yuseong closed the distance to the old man.
He threw a punch right past the old man's side.
Three Talents Fist Art.
Until yesterday, Ha Yuseong could only imbue the Three Talents Fist Art with the principle of weight.
But now that he could use internal energy, he was finally able to incorporate a new principle.
Swiftness.
A speed that surpassed the limits of the physical body.
The miracle of being able to use internal energy.
Ha Yuseong called this technique:
It might be a bit grandiose, but it was his own, the only one of its kind in the world.
Yuseong Style Three Talents Fist,
Swift Form: Shadowless Fist.
"Hoh! You've imbued the Three Talents Fist Art with the principle of swiftness."
The bald old man didn't even blink as the fist flew past him.
"But it's still very crude."
The bald old man clenched his fist.
"The basics of wielding internal energy are gathering and releasing."
He pulled his arm back. With that simple motion, Ha Yuseong felt the illusion that the world was being sucked in toward the bald old man.
When that feeling reached its peak.
The bald old man thrust his arm forward. It was the exact same motion he himself had just performed, without a single deviation.
But the result was different.
*CRACK!*
The bald old man's punch grazed Ha Yuseong's earlobe. Ha Yuseong slowly turned his head. And his eyes widened.
The trees behind him, which must have been growing for decades, had all been uprooted.
"Wha- what in the..."
Just then, the bearded old man moved.
"Let me play too!"
In the hands of the bearded old man, Dang Mandok, were ten large needles.
Ha Yuseong's gaze fell on Dang Mandok.
At that moment, Dang Mandok flicked his hand into the air.
"Internal energy can also be wielded like this."
The ten large needles flew through the air.
They split into smaller pieces.
In half.
And in half again.
And again.
Soon, what were once large needles had been split so finely that they were almost invisible unless one focused their eyes.
The pinnacle of unbelievably microscopic control of internal energy.
Ha Yuseong could only stand there, frozen.
Was it because he had suddenly witnessed such a high level of internal energy control?
No.
"What is this..."
Ha Yuseong lifted his head.
The sky was adorned with a sight that could be mistaken for rain.
The needles, now filling the air, were falling, each one imbued with internal energy, as if they were alive.
*Thud-thud-thud.*
The needles landed everywhere except for the spot where Ha Yuseong stood.
Ha Yuseong had no idea what the two old men had just done.
As Ha Yuseong stood there dumbfounded, Great Monk Cheonsu spoke.
"When releasing your energy, you must focus the gathered energy into one point without scattering it to maximize its power."
Following him, Dang Mandok spoke.
"Conversely, if you split the gathered energy into strands and release it, you can do things like this."
What Dang Mandok had just shown was a simplified version of the Sky-Full-of-Flowers Rain.
Ha Yuseong remained dazed for a while.
And by the time he came to his senses and asked about the two old men's identities.
"Who in the world are you?"
The two old men had vanished.
The next day, he would meet one of them again.
* * *
The memory of yesterday lingered all day.
Even when he closed his eyes, the techniques the two old men had displayed came to mind, and even in his sleep, he dreamed of them.
How on earth did they do that?
The world of martial arts was so much vaster than I ever imagined.
He wanted to know.
He wanted to perform it, just once, or even something similar.
He had already forgotten all about the elixir.
He spent the entire day thinking about it as he headed to the Murim Alliance.
"It's a designated mission."
The Unit Leader said abruptly.
"Pardon?"
"A designated mission. Didn't you hear me?"
He had heard. But what was that?
"This is the first I'm hearing of it."
"Hmm."
The Unit Leader, lost in thought for a moment, let out a sigh as if he'd remembered something.
"Come to think of it, designated missions are usually for Level 3 and up. You're still an apprentice."
Then it had nothing to do with him.
"I'm still an apprentice, sir."
"Right. But a mission came in specifically designating you, and no one else."
"Can't I just refuse?"
Ha Yuseong's remark was perfectly reasonable.
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo, who were watching from the side, nodded in agreement.
"I'd like to, but they offered terms we couldn't refuse. We're making a special exception this time. By the way, you two are going as well. It'll be a good experience."
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo were suddenly roped in.
And unlike the clueless Ha Yuseong, they knew very well that Level 3 missions could be dangerous enough to risk one's life.
"Is it dangerous?"
"Well."
The Unit Leader paused again, then looked at Namgung Yuya and said.
"Certainly, for people of your level, you might die."
The faces of all three crumpled at once.
"Well, don't worry too much. I've called one of your seniors. He'll be waiting at the Strategist's Hall."
Having said his piece, the Unit Leader went back to sleep.
They had no idea what was going on.
For now, Ha Yuseong's group headed to the Strategist's Hall.
When they arrived, someone was indeed waiting for them.
Namgung Yuya's and Hae Myo's faces brightened considerably.
A woman was there.
Even from behind, it was clear she was a woman of considerable beauty.
The woman turned around.
Her face was expressionless, but that alone made it impossible to find words to describe her beauty.
And for good reason, as she was one of the Three Flowers of the Martial World.
Jegal Biyeon.
A Level 3 warrior of the Crouching Dragon Unit, she opened her mouth to greet the juniors she was meeting for the second time.
"Hello."
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo bowed deeply and replied.
"Greetings! I am Namgung Yuya!"
"Today, this Hae Myo has seen the light! You are so beautiful!"
Jegal Biyeon had come here after being suddenly assigned to a new mission yesterday. She hadn't even been briefed on it yet.
And right now, Jegal Biyeon was in a slightly bad mood.
Was it because she had to look after three fledglings?
No! It was because the very person she had greeted was ignoring her.
Ha Yuseong's gaze had also first gone to Jegal Biyeon. It was an unavoidable male instinct. But behind her was someone who drew his attention even more.
"Yo!"
The bearded old man was there.
The Strategist, Jegal Noein, introduced the bearded old man.
"Everyone, show your respect. This is the Grand Patriarch of the Tang Family of Sichuan."
The bearded old man.
He had expected him to be no ordinary person.
But.
"The Grand Patriarch? You mean the former Poison King?"
That was Namgung Yuya's reaction.
"Holy crap! A former member of the Ten Grandmasters of the World?"
That was Hae Myo's reaction.
"It has been a while, Elder."
That was Jegal Biyeon's reaction.
And.
‘Ah!’
That was Ha Yuseong's reaction.
It was the look of someone falling in love for the first time.