Revealing His Strength
I finally managed to shake off Jongsinwon, who had been clinging to me with bizarre persistence, and started toward Master Raeji.
The look on his face when I’d turned him down had been so ridiculous that just remembering it tugged one corner of my mouth upward.
...
It had been a ridiculous favor, but I knew it was a kind gesture, so I wasn’t offended.
Even while I was lost in thought, my feet kept carrying me forward without pause.
Before I knew it, the sun had dipped behind the mountains and shadows were stretching all the way to the trees.
It was almost time for the evening meal. Time to go meet the academy head.
I’ll hear them out for a bit, and if things start going sideways, I’ll bring up Guyang Jihee.
If I had a good bait, there was no reason not to use it.
If I stood out for no reason, all I’d get was trouble.
Now that I’d reached the tenth level, I still needed to keep practicing my forms and ultimate techniques, so wasting time wasn’t exactly appealing.
My strength was growing by leaps and bounds, but to be honest, I still wasn’t satisfied.
It was only acceptable, that was all.… I needed to get stronger. There was nothing more miserable in the martial world than being weak.
That was the nature of the martial world as I had come to understand it myself.
By the time I reached the main compound,
What are they up to now?
“Old man!! What the hell do you think you’re doing right now!? Keep your eyes where they belong!”
“Oh dear… Young master… this old man deserves death for his sin…”
A male student was glaring furiously, his temper flaring like a fire.
The hem of his clothes had been stained pitch black.
“Old man, this is bad. How exactly do you plan to compensate for this? To be honest, this man doesn’t have a very pleasant personality.”
“A beggar who’s only good for hauling compost around Jeongdo Academy—how is he supposed to compensate? And where the hell did that bastard even go? I can’t even see him.… Haa… what a cursed day.”
It wasn’t even a particularly nice outfit.
This was clearly the sort of incident that could have been smoothed over easily, yet they were looking for someone to take their anger out on and tormenting an old servant instead.
I couldn’t believe something like that was happening inside Jeongdo Academy, where the seedlings of the righteous factions were supposed to be growing.
...
It was a sight that would’ve made anyone frown, but not a single student stepped forward to stop them.
On the contrary, one after another, they hurried about as if they were desperate to get away from there as fast as possible.
“Ah! I’ve thought of a wonderful way to make him pay! Old man, how about this?”
The man slapped one fist into his palm and grinned in an almost childish way.
“Pardon? What do you mean—”
“It’s not difficult.”
“Then I understand. What would you have this young master do…?”
“There’s a new form I’ve been practicing lately, and I was curious how effective it is. Take a few hits for me. Well… you won’t die, so don’t worry.”
“Y-young master. If an old man like me takes that, who knows what’ll happen! Oh dear…”
“That’s none of my concern. Or do you want to compensate me instead?”
I had no intention of helping the old man.
His breathing method already isn’t something an ordinary person would have.
Maybe the other students couldn’t tell, but he wasn’t going to fool my eyes.
I didn’t know why he was getting beaten around by a bunch of brats like that, but it was obvious he was hiding his skill.
And not just a little bit, either.
He must have his reasons.
I naturally followed the other students and headed inside the main compound.
No— I tried to.
Crash, stumble—
One of the students in front tripped over his own feet and went sprawling.
Was he hurt or something?
“Why is it so noisy? Huh?”
“Th-that—!”
And then, at that moment—
“Wait!! Cheon Sojin! So you finally showed up. You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”
“Huff, at last, we found you. Please spare us a moment. Right now.”
Two men came up close, blocking the path in front of me.
...
Look at these bastards.
“We can set off now.”
“Where the hell have you been wandering around all this time?”
I hadn’t even answered, and they were already acting like leaving was a foregone conclusion.
Their attitude, as if this was all perfectly natural, was so absurd I could only laugh inwardly.
As expected of people raised coddled at home, the righteous-faction sense of superiority was nauseating.
Besides, Jeongdo Academy strictly prohibited the kind of life-or-death duels common in the martial world, or the honor killings carried out by wandering warriors, all in the name of protecting the seedlings of the righteous path.
They probably had hardly anyone around to discipline them.
That’s what happens when you grow up never getting hit.
Come to think of it, kids like Jongsinwon, Ju Yeonhwa, and Paeng Gayeon were the unusual ones.
As expected, every word and action they displayed was soaked in arrogance.
“But is this student even the one? He doesn’t seem to have much internal energy… I don’t like the idea of us having to drag this man there ourselves.”
“It’s definitely him. That pretty-boy face… I’ve seen him from afar before. He was a complete failure at martial arts too, so I don’t know what the hell they’re thinking.… We just have to do what we’re told.”
What was I supposed to do about this?
I had no intention of going with them.
Honestly, I wasn’t even that eager to meet the academy head, and I had no time to waste fooling around with these brainless pieces of trash.
A sigh leaked out from inside me.
I hadn’t come to Jeongdo Academy to associate with idiots like these.
How much longer was I supposed to keep bickering with people like this?
“Move.”
“What? Hah! Come on now…”
The sturdy-looking man snorted in contempt.
“This is your last warning. Get lost.”
“Hahahaha!! Are you pretending not to know me? Or do you seriously mean to say you don’t recognize me?”
?
It was our first time meeting today—what was he even talking about? How could I know him?
The bastard leaned his face in with a smug expression, reeking of foul breath.
Without meaning to, I gave a small nod and let out a dry chuckle.
Did he not understand what last warning meant?
No, before that, I was starting to wonder if he even understood human conversation.
Looking around, I saw several students hurriedly leaving the area.
So this is the righteous path…?
It was probably time to show a little strength.
We were right in front of the main gate, a place where students from all the halls came and went constantly.
I stepped forward with my right foot.
Standing on the heavenly position among Heaven, Earth, and Man, I activated Pungsinbo.
Whoosh!
“What?!”
In an instant, I shot out my right hand and hammered down on his shoulder, then
“Kuh! ...Ghk!”
I grabbed his neck with my left hand.
He was in the later stage of Peak, so I thought he might at least react… was that too much to ask?
That made one thing clear.
To keep up with my speed, a person had to be at least at Super Peak.
“H-hey!? W-what the hell—how…!”
I tightened my grip on his throat and glared at him.
“Why can’t you understand things when I say them nicely? Answer me.”
“Kgh! Kuaaaagh!”
Instead of an answer, piglike squeals pierced my ears.
Look at this bastard.
Was that such a difficult question?
What separated a person from an animal was the ability to communicate.
I’d even given him time, and he still couldn’t answer, only letting out weird howls. He was no different from a beast.
I put more strength into the hand around his throat.
“No, I said speak.”
“Grrrhk! Khek!!”
He clawed at my arm with both hands, trying desperately to break free, but it was useless.
...
He couldn’t even answer such an easy question.
I couldn’t help but wonder why someone had sent a beast like this to me in the first place.
One of them had gone pale and was screaming, while this bastard just kept making animal noises instead of talking.
If you wanted to convey a message, you should at least send a human being.
What a disappointment.
I had given him a chance.
Bang!
With a crisp crack, the sturdy man shot up into the sky.
He traced a perfect arc before burying his head in a heap of scattered compost.
“W-what was that just now?”
“That was amazing…”
All the academy students passing by stared slack-jawed at the rare spectacle before them.
I was surprised at how satisfying the impact had felt.
Not bad.
It was worth having reached the tenth level.
Because the explosive force of the sun and moon energy was now twice what it had been before, this was possible.
I turned my head and smiled faintly at the other bastard, who was trembling all over.
Every step I took toward him made his body shrink back, which was rather amusing.
You called me over?
Was he out of his mind?
He hadn’t even come in person, and yet he was ordering people around as if he owned them… not a shred of basic decency among them.
“So who ordered this?”
Did he think he could just let it slide?
“W-who? Ah! Wait! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
Color rushed back into the bastard’s face.
Trying to slink away unnoticed was… pretty damn obnoxious. Didn’t he know comrades were one body?
His friend was hurt right now; if he alone came out unscathed, their friendship might crack.
“Don’t need it.”
...Honestly, I wasn’t even curious.
The unfortunate one would come looking for me again.
My fist, carrying all my burning feelings, slammed into the man’s forehead.
Bang!!
“Kraaaagh!!”
With a clean, clear crack, the man tumbled backward.
Now there was no chance of any friendship cracking.
“Whoa… did you see that guy fly? Who the hell is he?”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before… seriously. There was a hidden master among us all along….”
“That face… could it be Cheon Sojin from the Third Hall?”
“The one who was kicked out of the Jin family? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“No, wait. I’ve been hearing rumors lately that he suddenly got much stronger.”
“You know those are all staged, right? It’s some scheme to land a good position in the Martial Alliance later. There’s no way it’s the same person.”
Since we were right in front of the main compound, onlookers had begun gathering one by one, just as I’d expected.
They always showed up after the work was done.
“Oh my goodness… Young hero!! To step forward on behalf of this old man personally… th-thank you so much!”
Whatever the intention, the result was this.
The old man bowed deeply, his hands and feet trembling with gratitude.
To be honest, it wasn’t like I deserved thanks. Those bastards had been after me in the first place.
“Not at all. It’s nothing. There’s no need to worry about it.”
I played the part of a perfect righteous-faction disciple and returned the salute.
It was a little awkward to receive thanks from an old man who was clearly hiding his identity…
The fortunate thing was that I had seen through the old man’s strength, but he had failed to notice mine.
“How can this old body ever repay you…?”
“No, really, old man. It’s fine. Please just take care of yourself. I must be going now!”
Before long, the crowd had gathered thick enough to ring me in completely.
If I wasn’t careful, I might not get out of here.
“He took down the South-East Twin Fists? Who the hell is he?”
Wasn’t this a case of all bark and no bite?
South-East Twin Fists—what an impressive name for such pathetically weak trash.
“That guy?”
“Cheon Sojin from the Jin family? Are you sure?”
“I’m telling you it’s him. I saw him at the main hall last time.”
I hadn’t knocked those bastards flat without thinking.
Seeing how quickly these kinds of people had started sticking to me, it was probably time to reveal a little strength.
About thirty percent should be enough.
If I only kept hiding it, it might get even more troublesome, and showing just a little would be sufficient.
As I turned toward the murmur around me, my gaze met that of a soft-looking female student with a puppy-like face standing among the crowd of dozens.
Her intense eyes were almost too much to bear. Her face looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her right away.
“Miss, could you please move aside?”
“Huh?! Me? Ah! Y-yes, of course! Please go through!”
“Thank you.”
The sun had already set, and it would be best to get there ahead of time.
Master Raeji was the type to take appointments seriously, so if I was late, who knew what kind of lecture I’d get.
I gave the girl a faint smile and left.
*
The old man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the youth disappear into the main compound.
“...Cheon Sojin, was it.”
The children around him drifted away, talking among themselves.
He slowly stroked his beard and turned the boy’s movements over in his mind until everyone had gone.
His boxing itself had been crude, but his footwork had already reached the realm of a master.
“He can’t bear injustice, either. Unlike what I’d heard, he’s a boy full of potential.… If he’s taught properly, he may become a pillar of the righteous path in the future.”
After a long moment of thought, the old man wore a satisfied smile and nodded.
“I don’t have much longer to live anyway.… Who knows when another talent like that will appear? …He’s perfect to take in as my successor.”
The old man chuckled happily and vanished into the darkness.
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