Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Whirling Spear Form
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Knock! Knock!
"Seol-hwa, Baek-pung is here. Open the door, will you?"
There was no sound from inside.
"Ever since her father passed, she hasn't left her room at all."
"I know. That's why I came."
"All right, all right. Talk to her a bit. I'll prepare some tea and snacks."
"Yes, Mother."
Once the elegant middle-aged woman had gone, Jang Baek-pung leaned back against the wall.
And he spoke.
"You still can't get over what happened to your father?"
"……."
"We promised to join the White-Clothed Youth Corps together, remember? You forgetting our deal?"
"……."
"Yeah, I get it. Can't be helped. After what happened to Uncle Jegal Jwa-seong."
"……."
"Oh, by the way, I just got back from the training seminar in Cheonhyang, and there was this hilarious guy there. Name's Hwang Tae-seong. A total unorthodox sect punk who had the nerve to show up for our Dragon Academy entrance exam? Ha. Got rejected in the interview, of course. But on his way home, he dragged the Cheon-sim-dan kids who were mocking him up to the sparring stage and beat the living daylights out of them like it was midsummer."
―Rustle
The first sound came from inside, and Jang Baek-pung raised his voice even more.
"So I go to Cheonhyang this time, and the guy's wearing Imperial Palace Martial Academy uniform? I grabbed him and asked why a demonic cult dropout was applying to our academy. Guess what he said?"
"……."
"He hates the Demonic Cult. Said they killed his family and friends or something. So he came to the righteous sects to get revenge on them. Wants to join the White-Clothed Youth Corps."
"……."
"Said he only went to the Imperial Palace Martial Academy to somehow join the White-Clothed Youth Corps and get his payback on the Demonic Cult."
"……."
"With his skills, he'll probably represent the Imperial Palace at the sparring tournament."
"……."
"If you're up for it, don't just hole up in your room. Come out, get some air, watch the tournament. I'll introduce you to some great friends. We can join the White-Clothed Youth Corps together and crush the Demonic Cult."
A brief silence fell, then a reply came from inside for the first time.
"I'll think about it."
"Finally, a voice."
"Thanks."
"No need. We've been like siblings since we were kids. This is nothing."
"See you... soon."
"Sure thing, Seol-hwa."
Tae-seong's systematic and varied methods of drilling the representative team left the two veteran generals dispatched as instructors speechless in admiration.
They had traversed countless battlefields in their lives, training innumerable soldiers, but they'd never seen physical conditioning done so effectively.
After training ended, watching Tae-seong assist the representatives in absorbing their spirit elixirs nearly made them faint.
Most trainees at the Imperial Palace Martial Academy hadn't properly cultivated inner arts since childhood.
The representatives were much the same.
Without early inner cultivation, the meridians clog with impurities, limiting growth.
Those blockages only harden with time.
Clearing clogged meridians for someone else drains inner energy massively, even eating into one's core power.
Not even peak masters like them could do it easily.
Yet this young man handled it effortlessly.
He outclassed them by far, and more importantly, he could rapidly replenish his depleted inner energy.
While helping Pyo Gi-myeong absorb his elixir, Tae-seong suddenly shot to his feet, dropped into a plank, and started doing push-ups.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
Startled, Pyo Gi-myeong asked,
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Don't talk. Messes up my breathing."
"Breathing? Ha-ha, you're full of surprises."
The veteran generals were dying of curiosity over Tae-seong's bizarre behavior.
"Any idea why he's doing that?"
"Beats me... Itchy?"
"Give me a real answer."
"Sorry. No clue."
Unable to contain their curiosity about his mysterious training, the veterans decided to try it themselves.
And they got hooked on modern strength training.
Their eyes sparkled like in their youth.
They trained even harder than the cadets.
"Ha-ha-ha! Being here whets the appetite and fills me with vigor. Youthful energy is something else!"
"Ha-ha-ha! Feels like I've shed ten years!"
"Hey! Tae-seong! What's next? Which one do I lift?"
"……."
These damn old coots ignored their assigned duties to follow Tae-seong's guidance, making it feel like two extra cadets and nearly breaking his back.
Tae-seong cursed them inwardly.
'Why'd you come here and suddenly act twenty again?!'
But they earned their keep.
The emperor hadn't sent them for nothing—even Tae-seong, no spear expert, could see their spearmanship was top-tier.
"Watch closely. This is the essence of the Imperial Palace Martial Academy's 128 Spear Forms: the Whirling Spear Form."
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~
The spear moves poured like a storm, rivaling any martial world's spear arts.
Simple, unadorned motions, yet their lethality proven on countless battlefields.
Then came the 128 Forms' secret technique: Dragon Emperor Cannon.
Tae-seong felt a pang of déjà vu watching his stance.
'Where have I seen that...? Oh! Pool!'
A dragon-like surge of qi shot from his thrust spear, smashing precisely into the target rock.
Crack! The rock split under the force.
Everyone at the grand training ground gaped at the immense power.
Then a scream that tore the air.
"My rooock!"
All eyes turned toward the cry.
The academy head, face blank with despair, stared at the shattered stone.
The rock the veteran had pulverized wasn't just any boulder—it was the academy head's prized scholar's stone.
A bit oversized for one, sure.
"Who did this?! Who dared destroy my treasured stone?!"
"Sorry, Academy Head. Showing the cadets some spearwork, and I..."
"……."
He wanted to chew out the culprit, but realizing it was the veteran, the academy head just groaned and slunk away.
"Ahem. Anyway, we'll pass all this on to you."
With the emperor's permission, they began teaching their finest secret techniques.
As training intensified, the team's skills soared.
Reaping the rewards of their past blood, sweat, and tears.
Among them, Yoo Si-bin and Jo Chil-bong showed the most dramatic growth.
The veterans rated their potential highest and focused spear instruction on them.
These two had thrashed Tae-seong senseless with staffs during the sparring evaluation.
They'd had no inner energy then, but now they did.
Steady practice of the provided Imperial Dragon Heart Method built some foundation, plus the emperor's elixirs and their fateful encounter with Tae-seong led to bone-shaking transformation.
With their prior staff mastery that even startled Tae-seong, they naturally caught the veterans' eyes.
The retiring veterans urged them to join their command post-graduation, and the pair grabbed the golden lifeline without hesitation.
Like modern headhunting for their company.
Those set on military service eyed them enviously.
Retired or not, these were the emperor's favored generals.
As everyone ramped up for the tournament, Ni Dae-ho of the Thousand Gold Merchant Group visited the Imperial Palace Martial Academy.
Having funneled all training supply contracts to them, Tae-seong and the Thousand Gold Merchant Group were thick as thieves.
In modern times, it'd be a scandal—bulk procurement corruption, connections—but here, no issue.
Ni Dae-ho brought bananas.
A massive shipment from Guangxi province had arrived today.
He didn't need to come personally, but stopped by to thank Tae-seong.
These weren't the bananas Tae-seong knew.
Stubby, blunt, seeds galore inside.
But sweeter, richer flavor.
"Delicious."
"First time for me too. Tried some—fantastic. Thinking of distributing them widely in the Central Plains."
"Then buy them green, unripe. They'll ripen yellow during transport, cutting waste dramatically."
"Oh? How'd you know that? Lots of experience with them?"
"Ha-ha-ha. Picked it up somewhere."
"You know commerce too? More and more impressive."
"Thank you."
"No empty words. Haven't talked much, but chatting with you shows broad vision, unlike most. No bias against foreign goods."
'That's 'cause I'm from the future.'
Enjoying the pleasant break, Ni Dae-ho's face clouded mid-conversation.
"Something troubling you?"
"That obvious? Sorry. The caravan master who transported these bananas met with an accident yesterday. Old friend of mine."