Leaving the Retreat
‘If only I’d had seven more days…’
It was a shame, but there was nothing to be done.
I had spent the remaining ten days throwing myself into seasonal training without even bothering to rest my cultivation.
In righteous sects, people would have clicked their tongues and called it a foolish way to burn away your life span, but that only applied to reckless greenhorns who lacked enlightenment.
If I had time, I could get stronger.
I was that kind of man.
Thanks to that, I had made real progress.
BOOM—
“Huh? That easily…?”
When I neutralized the energy bullets fired at me from four directions with my first move, she stood there with her mouth hanging open, looking completely dazed.
“How is it?”
“What do you mean, how is it? I can’t do anything but be amazed. I tried to catch you off guard, and you just wiped it out.”
She covered her mouth with her hand, truly startled, and let out one exclamation after another.
“Want to try again? You can even draw your sword this time.”
“If I try again, I think I’ll get the same result. …You dispersed the bullets the moment they flew out. That’s seriously difficult. So it wasn’t just some simple breathing method.”
It would be a little different if she attacked me directly, but from that sparring session she seemed to have figured out what I’d done.
“That’s right.”
Good instincts. As expected, a genius is a genius.
“Every time I spar with you, big brother, I always learn something. If I keep this up, I’ll reach the stage I want in no time.”
I looked at Hwayeon, who seemed genuinely delighted, and smiled silently.
After I acquired Ilwol Eumyang Singong, the first thing I trained was the Four Gods Formula.
When Cheon Sojin gave his hand a single sweep, a vast amount of internal energy was not drawn forth, but it gathered at his fingertips and shone brightly.
It was a martial art created by the Grand Elder himself, a cultivation art that harmonized with the flow and breath of the surroundings to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
If I don’t use seasonal techniques, I don’t have to worry about running out of internal energy.
It wasn’t pure lunar-yang energy, so the only difference was in output. Still, the rate of growth was absurd.
It sounded grand, but unless you were a martial artist with a special body like the Divine Body of the Four Gods, there were all kinds of limitations.
As I trained, old memories came back to me, and I let out a faint laugh. Things were the same even now.
They really were interesting people.
Hwayeon tilted her head and watched my face closely.
“Big brother, are you thinking about your master again?”
“How did you know? Is it that obvious?”
“Ahem! It’s not like that. I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your face!”
It wasn’t mind-reading, but I supposed she really believed it.
I didn’t know what she was so proud of, but she straightened her shoulders and wore an oddly triumphant expression.
...
If I had a little sister, would it feel like this?
She was so childish that I couldn’t help smiling bitterly to myself.
“Eh— I think you were thinking something rude just now… weren’t you?”
Her cheeks puffed out slightly as she grabbed my collar.
What the hell.
I hadn’t shown it on my face. Did she really know?
A month wasn’t exactly a long time, but it wasn’t short either. We’d spent that whole time in the same retreat, so Hwayeon and I had grown a lot closer.
“Heh— big brother, honestly… to make that face over something like this… you’re cute. Of course I was joking.”
She smiled mischievously and took a couple of steps back.
If I lifted her robe, would I find a demon’s tail—no, a fox’s tail hiding there?
...
I shook my head.
Anyway, on its own the Four Gods Formula was nothing more than a breathing method, but when used together with Ilwol Eumyang Singong, it could be applied to weaken an opponent’s internal force or turn it back against them.
Of course, that wasn’t why I’d trained it.
The main reason was that it was required to learn the secret technique of Ilwol Eumyang Singong, Yeongsig.
Shame.
My appetite turned bitter.
Even though I had gained more than I’d originally aimed for, it was hard not to want more.
I’ll have to leave the rest for later.
It wouldn’t take me all that long to go to the Central Plains and come back.
It was time to leave.
The date I had promised my master was drawing near.
“Thanks to you, I was able to focus on training seasonal techniques. Thank you.”
Neither of us had ever shown our full strength, but she, having reached the Transcendent realm, had been a truly excellent sparring partner.
On top of that, she had given me a Great Rejuvenation Pill and even let me into her inner room. From my point of view, she was a woman I had every reason to thank.
Big brother Cheon, you’ve got me, you know!
I remembered her waving both clenched fists up and down, cheering me on.
...
She was a little exhausting, but she had a kind heart.
“You’re already… leaving…?”
Apparently taking that as a farewell, she hung her head and trembled, looking utterly dazed.
“Yeah. I have to go now.”
“Uuu… If big brother leaves, I’ll be left alone again. Here all by myself, lonely like this.”
Like the tragic heroine of a play, Hwayeon made a show of wiping imaginary tears with her sleeve and let out a sound that was impossible to tell was a laugh or a sob.
Anyone could see it was a deliberately comic act, but she couldn’t quite hide the faint tremble in her fingertips.
She really is bad at being honest.
If I left her like this, she might spend a while wandering around in a listless haze. She was the type who got lonely easily.
And it wasn’t hard to understand why.
We had only met by chance in that training hall called Myeongokjeon.
Maybe she was afraid that once I left, there’d be nothing between us anymore.
And our first meeting hadn’t exactly been a good one, either.
...
She had helped me plenty in her own way. At the very least, I ought to send her off with some energy.
I’d return what I’d received.
Hmm…
What would be good?
Right. I should erase that uneasiness of hers.
Cheon Sojin’s hand touched Hwayeon’s white cheek.
“Eh? W-what?”
With that unexpected, gentle touch, she blushed red as an apple.
...
But only for a moment.
Cheon Sojin wore a faint smile and pinched Hwayeon’s cheek.
“Wait— w-what are you doing ri— ouch!”
Her soft skin stretched like glutinous rice cake, that pleasant texture pressing into my fingertips.
A lifeless expression didn’t suit her.
“B-big brother… ah, st-stop…”
She grabbed my arm with both hands and thrashed about, trying desperately to pull me away.
It was pointless, though.
About ten seconds passed before Cheon Sojin finally let go and looked down at Hwayeon, who had lowered her head.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but her beautiful black hair looked as though it had drooped.
“Cheer up. Why’re you so glum?”
“But… you’re leaving now, aren’t you? Then I’m…”
“We’re in the same academy. We can see each other anytime, can’t we? It’s not like this is the last time.”
Hwayeon, who had been staring at her own fingers, jerked her head up as though those words had been a trigger.
“R-really?”
“Yeah.”
“Ahh—! T-then you mean we can meet again outside, too?”
It was as if all her energy had come roaring back, and a light of understanding sparkled in her eyes.
“When the retreat ends, come find me. I’ll be waiting.”
“Yesss—!!”
That would do.
I brushed the dust from my robe and headed toward the dormitories.
I planned to leave right away.
Let’s see. He said I should go out through the west gate?
Her clear voice came from behind me.
“I’ll finish training quickly and come out right away. No! Let’s meet in the sparring arena next time!”
...
“Big brother! You can look forward to it!”
At her lively shout, I wordlessly raised a hand in farewell.
*
*
*
“Master Raeji isn’t here today. He has a meeting with the head of the academy. He told me that if you came, Cheon Sojin student, you should come back tomorrow morning.”
“Understood.”
So he had things to discuss with the academy head? Couldn’t he have sent me on my errand first and dealt with it afterward?
Still, the fact that he’d left me a message meant it must have been something that came up suddenly.
I should’ve stayed in Myeongokjeon later into the day, then.
But I had no intention of wasting a whole day.
In that case, I might as well absorb the elixir right away.
I strode down the stairs without hesitation.
Nothing’s changed here.
It would’ve been strange if anything had changed in just a month.
But unlike usual, the first floor of the academy was crowded with students gathered in groups.
“We’re screwed. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve started from day one!”
“Damn it! All the assignments we can handle are long-distance missions!”
“Liaoning? Are you out of your mind? We still have seven more missions to clear! We’d be lucky to finish even two after going there!”
“Then maybe we should at least do first- or second-grade missions….”
“Have you lost it? Our level’s not enough for that!”
Only then did I realize they were students preparing to head to the Central Plains at the last minute.
That’s why you should’ve gotten started early.
How many did I still have left…?
My options were broader than most, since I had the skill to back them up, but there was no room for complacency.
This is a pain in the ass.
Meeting the qualifications to participate was work in itself.
“Why are you so calm? You’re not planning to go to the sparring arena?”
“I just need to inherit a sect, don’t I?”
“Doesn’t this bastard piss you off?”
Worried voices and anxious conversations drifted from every direction.
From the academy’s point of view, it was a minimum safeguard meant to send only students with proven skill and safety records, but to me it was just an obstacle.
At a glance, first-grade missions were piled up high enough to bury a person, so if it came to it, I’d just clear those.
If I hadn’t reached the Tenth Flower realm, this would’ve been a problem.
I should finish the missions from my master and the academy head first, then decide what to choose.
As I left the academy and headed for the student dormitory—
Click.
What the hell was that sound?
“Are you Cheon Sojin?”
A woman with slanted eyes and a fierce-looking crew of lackeys blocked the road.
The plum blossom pattern embroidered on their red robes…
My mood immediately soured.
Everything would be fine if they just got out of my way.
Couldn’t they see they were bothering the people around them?
“His internal energy’s only this much? It can’t be a case of reverse breathing… so he really is just like Shin Juha’s other companions.”
Who are you to talk to me like that?
“Mijeong-nim… there are rumors that Cheon Sojin defeated the Namdong Twin Fists by himself. If you underestimate him….”
“Quiet. Something like that, I could do too… Cheon Sojin, follow me.”
Then, as if she wouldn’t accept any objections, she spat out only what she wanted to say and turned on her heel.
From the way she was talking, it seemed like she had business with me. But shouldn’t people normally introduce themselves first?
Still, I’d try talking.
“Hey. Don’t block the road.”
“What did you say?”
“Look, this student here doesn’t seem to understand the situation….”
“Leave it. He looks scared.”
For whatever reason, the people who’d come looking for me so far had at least bothered to state their names and what they wanted, but—
Are these guys just insane?
Being an obstacle wasn’t a crime.
And I still had my elixir to take, so I’d just go past them.
Hadn’t my master said it before?
He always told me to be merciful.
“Sure. Have fun, all of you. I’m going on ahead.”
“You little shit, how dare you ignore Mijeong-nim’s—”
The big guy struck first the moment I tried to pass.
Not a light punch, but a fist strike packed with internal energy.
I let out a sigh.
So this was how it ended.
THUD!
Then it couldn’t be helped.
One down, for now.
“...!”
“What did you do— You just made a mistake.”
“Can’t you see these red robes? Do you know who we are?”
I really don’t know who you are.
“If you’d obediently followed us, you wouldn’t have had to bleed… what a shame.”
I told you not to block the road.
Still failing to grasp the difference in our abilities, they were already thinking about coming at me again.
As expected, I was the only sane one here.
What a miserable thing.
Without a word, I rolled up my sleeves.
##