White Lotus Flame
"Cheon Sojin, I’m here for you!"
She waved both clenched fists up and down, cheering me on.
“...”
"If you get thirsty, just say the word! I’ve even prepared tea."
Flushing with bright innocence, Hwa-ryeon pulled out a thermos and spun in place, showing off some bizarre little dance move.
I let out an incredulous laugh.
So this was the academy’s number one?
If any of the other students saw White Hwa-ryeon like this, they’d probably faint on the spot.
She didn’t look dignified and composed at all right now. She looked more like a mischievous younger sister.
I snapped the wildly surging dragon-manipulation aura apart with both arms and let my stance relax.
This was enough for now.
The rest I could learn gradually as the blossoms opened.
"Huh… are you tired?"
I reached out and gently stroked her glossy black hair, then smiled quietly.
Thanks to her help, I’d finished the time-consuming practice I’d set as my goal far sooner than expected.
The fact that fine control was still difficult irritated me, but that was only because of the purity of my sun-and-moon energy, not because of any flaw in my techniques or control.
I drained that much inner energy out of myself, and she’s still full of energy.
Her eyes, black and gleaming like obsidian, looked up at me. When our gazes met, she gave a shy little smile and ducked her head.
*
Good start.
On the first day I practiced Jolwoljang, I felt a presence pacing near the window.
I’d half expected it, but she really had come.
"Miss White, a proper young lady shouldn’t come looking for a man in the middle of the night."
Talk about timing. I’d just been about to change clothes.
The plain training robe soaked with sweat was unbearable.
"I didn’t come for that! Ah—s, sorry! Young Master! …I know it’s rude, but I have a favor to ask."
Hwa-ryeon burst through the door and got straight to the point.
“...”
She was young enough to have reached the Transcendent / Grandmaster realm, which meant she should be quick-witted and sharp. Even after sensing my refusal, she’d come back anyway.
That means it must be important.
I could already guess at a few possibilities.
That playful, slightly contemptuous expression she usually wore was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she looked at me with complete seriousness.
"Please… I hope you won’t refuse."
She came closer, her voice trembling with urgency, her face on the verge of tears.
"I’ll hear you out. Sit down."
I nodded easily in agreement.
It wasn’t that I’d softened or felt sorry for her.
There’s no harm in hearing her out before deciding.
If I flat-out refused without hearing her first, it could even end in a duel, and short of burying her in some mountain ravine, I didn’t need things getting messy.
"R-really?"
Apparently she hadn’t expected that at all. Hwa-ryeon’s eyes went wide, and her face lit up.
"Yes. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll lend a hand."
At my reassuring answer, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Could you teach me martial arts?"
What?
Did I hear that wrong?
White Hwa-ryeon was publicly known as a late-stage Super Peak / Master, on the same level as Wei Shiyun, the Martial Alliance Leader’s son. In truth, though, she was a girl who had already entered the Transcendent / Grandmaster realm.
She should have been in a position to teach, not to receive instruction.
"You’re already in the Transcendent / Grandmaster realm, are you not?"
"So you knew… yes, I am."
There must be a reason she was hiding her realm, but she admitted it so readily that my question had clearly been pointless.
She must have decided there was no use in pretending.
“...”
I watched her black eyes quietly, as though they might pull me in.
There was definitely some circumstance behind this, but what was it?
"I’m not asking you to tell me everything. That one thing you showed me earlier would be enough."
"That thing?"
I couldn’t remember showing her anything that spectacular.
"The way you kept enduring my internal energy. You weren’t just clashing strength against strength, were you? It must be a secret art of your sect…?"
So this was the mind of a Grandmaster, after all.
She’d instantly grasped the situation and put words to it.
It wasn’t some grand secret art, though—just a small bit of trickery.
I’d used the sun-and-moon energy’s nature of scattering inner force, together with the subtle principles of Ban-yeonha-sang.
"It’s not something to brag about, but my inner energy is probably at least twice yours, Young Master."
That sounded about right.
What she didn’t know was that even with highly refined sun-and-moon energy, I could only hold back her internal force four times before it started to slip.
For such a slender body, she held an incredible amount of inner energy. It was astonishing.
With talent like that, she must have gulped down priceless elixirs like water.
But—
"You do know that asking someone to reveal the secrets of their martial arts is an extremely rude and taboo act in the martial world, don’t you?"
No.
She hadn’t asked me to help her with a problem or take care of someone. She’d asked me to teach her martial arts.
Ilwol Eumyang Singong was a art passed down from one person to the next, with no room for outsiders.
Even if I had handed my position to a successor before coming here, a successor was still a successor.
There was still a little pride left in me.
I couldn’t casually reveal the secrets of my martial art to an outsider.
…Besides, even if I told her, she couldn’t possibly learn it. And even if she miraculously did, she’d probably go mad from qi deviation before long.
It was that powerful, and that full of restrictions.
There was no way around it.
"…I’m sorry."
Exposed by the most correct possible answer, Hwa-ryeon drooped her shoulders like a puppy that had done something wrong and bowed her head, looking deflated.
Seriously.
Don’t make that face either.
"I’m sorry, Miss White. I’d very much like to help you, but this is something I can’t do. I’m afraid I must refuse."
There was no room for compromise.
The moral high ground was on my side, and she knew she was pushing too hard.
"Isn’t there any way? Please…"
Her eyes reddened as she looked up at me with such pitiful desperation that I did become a little curious about her circumstances.
But I had no intention of digging deeper.
If I got tangled up in this any further, it would only become a headache.
"Surely you understand, Miss White? This is difficult. Please head back."
I delivered a firm order to leave and turned around, gathering up my things.
"I’m not asking for much. Just a little hint…"
Giving her a few pointers—on technique rather than actual martial arts—wasn’t impossible, but I had no idea how much time it would take, and I wasn’t especially inclined to do it.
“...”
"You must think I’m shameless… I know. But there’s someone I absolutely have to bring down."
A mortal enemy?
She definitely had an elder sister seven years her senior and an older brother who’d died in the line of duty.
Piecing together what I knew, it was obvious she was building her strength to avenge her brother.
The higher one’s realm rose, the harder enlightenment became to grasp.
How much more so for the Transcendent / Grandmaster realm?
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. I’d been there too.
Maybe because I’d only seen her playful side, her voice now carried a raw sincerity as she begged me.
"I need a way to withstand a domineering, powerful sword. Please, help me."
Hwa-ryeon clung to my leg and rubbed her face against me.
The soft weight of her chest was unmistakable.
So this was the academy’s number one among the righteous sect’s most outstanding prodigies?
She was obviously an adult, yet she was acting no differently from a child.
No, maybe more like an immature younger sibling.
“...”
It had already been five minutes since she barged into my room.
If this went on much longer, we’d be up all night. Should I just toss out something half-baked and be done with it?
Even if I shook my leg, she showed no sign of letting go. With her eyes squeezed shut, she just kept muttering the same thing.
"Young Master Cheon, please tell me…"
I’d been about to settle my inner energy and start training again, but she was making that impossible.
Time was running out.
If only this were an inner room instead of an outer one… inner room?
At that moment, a flash of insight cut through my mind.
No—this was it.
"Miss White."
"I’ll do anything you ask! Just please tell me…"
"Miss White, calm down. There’s something I need to say."
"You can order me to do anything… huh?"
She cautiously opened one eye and looked up at me.
The question that had been bothering me since the moment I first saw her.
"Are you from the Second Hall?"
Jade Radiance Hall was only accessible to the academy’s masters, so why was White Hwa-ryeon here?
"Yes. Ah…"
She nodded blankly, then seemed to understand what I was asking and smiled softly.
Her small, pearly teeth showing between her lips stood out especially clearly.
Good.
Just like how I’d entered Jade Radiance Hall under Raeji’s name.
So it wasn’t the Second Hall head instructor after all—Hwa-ryeon was the one training there.
She’d used the same trick I had.
"You want to use the inner room?"
"Naturally. I was only wondering why a Miss White like yourself was training in the outer room."
If I could use the inner room, there was no reason I couldn’t explain the principles of Ban-yeonha-sang.
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to use my time far more efficiently.
Of course, that meant I’d have to teach White Hwa-ryeon as well, so maybe it was a net zero.
I’d need about a week, probably.
If I moved to the inner room, I could learn the Ilwol Gwangnyong-in before leaving Jade Radiance Hall.
"That place feels bad, though. It’s like forcing inner energy in."
"That’s fair."
Her complaint made sense.
Once one reached the Super Peak / Master level, inner-energy shortage was almost never felt.
I was the unusual one.
Hwa-ryeon’s eyes sparkled as she slowly stood.
"Then can I take that as you agreeing to my request?"
"I’ll at least give you the basics."
"R-really?! W-wait—yay!!"
Was she that happy?
Her smile bloomed like spring flowers.
"Let’s go right away."
“...”
"Miss White?"
"J-just a moment, Young Master Cheon. I really didn’t think you’d agree…. Honestly, I was prepared to get hit."
She bowed repeatedly, then drew a small silk pouch from inside her robes.
"What’s this?"
"It’s just a little token of my gratitude. …I thought you might be short on inner energy compared to your skill, so it’s something useful."
She smiled innocently and held out both hands.
Hmm…
White Hwa-ryeon lacked enlightenment, but she certainly didn’t lack inner energy.
She must have brought out a mid-grade elixir like Gangjindan from somewhere.
Gangjindan was already hard to find on the market, but after eating top-grade elixirs like Cheonjidan and Chebodan over and over, most ordinary pills barely impressed me anymore.
Better than nothing, I suppose.
I didn’t expect much.
Maybe I should top up my inner energy a little before training?
A pill shimmering with a faint golden light rolled out of the small pouch.
“...”
"Do you like it? It was really hard to get, you know? I’d been saving it all this time in case I hit a wall and needed to use it!"
No.
Why was this here?
She gave a playful smile and stuck out the tip of her tongue.
There was no mistaking it.
"Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pill?"
##
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