Chapter 2: I Became a Super Bowl Baby in the Martial World.
Chapter 2: I Became a Super Bowl Baby in the Martial World.
Nine months into my reincarnation, I decided to accept that this world was a martial arts novel—a Murim.
If I had been dropped into medieval China with the vibes of an alternate history novel—meaning a standard time-slip—there would be absolutely nothing I could do right now.
What could a 21st-century Korean do in a medieval China of an unknown era? My memory of my own country's history is hazy enough; I’m even more confused about the order of Chinese dynasties. There’s no way I’d know the specifics of micro-history.
For instance, let’s say I’m the eldest grandson of some General Kim So-and-So. If history says General Kim is destined to be executed for treason next year, I’d have no way to stop it. I have no knowledge and no way to respond.
Again, let’s not start with assumptions that make deduction impossible.
A baby’s brain turns to mush if it thinks too hard for too long. At this stage, I have to overwork my brain with extreme efficiency. Even ordinary thoughts are too complex for a baby—
“Daaaa (I’m sweepy)…”
Snap out of it.
I quickly swallowed the drool escaping my mouth and regained my focus. I almost reverted to a full-blown infant for a second there.
Let’s think about something else.
This is the Murim.
This one assumption solves many problems.
If I’ve entered a Wuxia novel, it’s a genre I’ve read often. I’m not completely ignorant.
If the point of reincarnation is as a newborn, being in the Murim is actually an advantage. This is because there’s a solid system that encourages early education, where martial arts gain bonus points the earlier you learn them.
So now, it’s a matter of "what shall I learn?"
“Baaaa (Let’s go out). Paaaa-eh (Let’s go out already)!!”
“Oh my, does the young master want to see the outside again?”
I fussed and flailed my arms at the nanny. Now that I was in my ninth month of reincarnation, the nanny often took me in her arms to stroll through the garden.
During those times, I would babble with an innocent expression while nestled in her embrace, all the while scanning my surroundings with a sharp gaze.
The attire and behavior of the passing servants and martial officers.
The authority of the grandmothers and grandfathers who seemed to be family elders.
Their attitude toward me.
The scale and power of this household.
‘It’s definitely a first-place prize.’
If a reincarnation ticket were a lottery, this situation was clearly the jackpot.
If I had been born as the son of a commoner in the barbaric Middle Ages, I could have died at any moment. Considering the horrific infant mortality rates of the era, a third-place prize would have been a quick death.
But being born into a family of such immense power changed the story.
My body was healthy and free of illness, and there were over five nannies and maids dedicated to my 24-hour care.
It was a level of treatment that would make kings and nobles envious.
‘The important thing is, which family is it?’
With this much power, one could expect them to be imperial royalty like a Prince, local magnates, or high nobility like a Great Clan.
This wasn't something achievable simply by being rich.
In China, capital didn't translate directly into power.
The high and mighty would smack down a wealthy merchant before they could even establish a single manor.
That’s true even in the modern world.
Therefore, this was a class that held real power.
‘The manor is near a city.’
Though I’d never been close to the city itself, I had seen peddlers coming and going in the distance.
Their clothing was far too clean for people who had traveled a long way.
To maintain a manor of this size near a city... it meant an area the size of a small town belonged to a single family. And that meant...
‘There’s a high probability it’s an Orthodox sect.’
If they belonged to the government, it would be a prestigious clan; if they belonged to the Murim, it was likely a Great Clan.
And for a Murim starting baby, this was the equivalent of the Super Bowl.
Martial arts are fundamentally Bi-in-bu-jeon (not passed to those who are not the right person). The principle is not to teach anyone you don't trust.
And for the Chinese, "people you trust" ultimately boils down to Gwanxi—the scope of hiring acquaintances through known families.
In a family of this caliber, it didn't matter if the family martial arts were mediocre. The masters brought in through Gwanxi would be more than enough to cover it.
In other words, the level of this reincarnation ticket had been upgraded from a lottery win to a Super Bowl victory.
‘I just wish I knew the family name.’
If I had to pick the "real" winners from that pool, it would be the Five Great Clans.
They belong to the Orthodox Faction, they are great magnates who can treat local Princes like brothers, and they are warlords capable of raising their own private armies.
Their martial arts are top-tier even within the entire Murim, and the family elders are high-ranking seniors of the Orthodox world.
Under these conditions, it could truly be called the Super Bowl.
My question was answered the very next week.
It was because my father personally picked me up and took me to the main plaque.
“Look, Hwi-ah. Behold. Can you not feel the majestic spirit?”
“Pa (eh)…”
I was held aloft, staring blankly at the plaque as my father pointed. That’s right. This man was currently holding his own son with one hand.
This hulking man shouted in a voice that was still hazardous to my eardrums.
“In the future, you shall become a pillar of this family and, together with your brothers, lead the clan to…”
“Ugeh.”
I couldn't even hear half of what he was saying. I was using all my concentration to try and read the Hanja characters.
At the entrance of the manor stood a massive... even from an adult's perspective, it was a massive gatehouse.
It was a scale you’d only see in a documentary about Chinese travel.
The grand roof rested upon pillars so thick a single person couldn't wrap their arms around them, and everything was painted a polished, shimmering black.
And right in the center was the thing I had been longing for.
The plaque. A massive... truly massive plaque where each character was about the size of an adult male.
Since a plaque represents the prestige of a family, this proved that this family was easily at the level of a Great Clan...
‘Dae (Great)... Ha (River) Buk (North)... Damn, I don't recognize that next character, and that one is... Ga (Family)!’
The calligraphy was unfamiliar, but fortunately, there were characters I could decipher at a basic level.
The Great Hebei [X] Family.
What word goes in the [X]?
It was obvious. It didn't matter if I didn't know the specific Hanja. This was in the realm of common sense. Within the bounds of basic knowledge, there was no way a name like 'Jang' or 'Kim' would suddenly appear there.
The Great Hebei Peng Family (大河北彭家).
One of the Five Great Clans of the Martial World.
A Chinese-made (the good kind of China) Super Bowl.
An overwhelmingly Tier 1 ticket for a Murim baby start.
I had become the Young Master of the Hebei Peng Family.
‘I’m lucky.’
I babbled, trying to suppress my cheekbones from ascending to the heavens in a grin.
My father’s boisterous laughter ringing in my ears had never sounded as good as it did today.
Suddenly overcome with filial piety, I grabbed my father’s sleeve tightly and even gave him a kiss.
What are the Five Great Clans of the Martial World?
Just as fantasy has orcs and goblins, elves and dwarves, Northern Dukes and evil Imperial Courts, they are groups that exist within the realm of "common sense."
The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans exist as the representatives of the Orthodox Murim. It’s like having a Permanent Security Council in the UN.
Even in a China that boasted a population in the hundreds of millions during this era, they were an elite, chosen few.
No matter where you went in the world, if you revealed your affiliation, people would immediately show respect; they were the pinnacle of Gwanxi.
‘The Five Great Clans, the Hebei Peng Family...’
Among them, the Five Great Clans were the great families in charge of the "secular" part of the Orthodox Faction. They were local magnates closely tied to regional power.
It’s easiest to think of them as the Orthodox Power Rangers.
Namgung is Red (Authority), Zhuge is Blue (Wisdom), Murong is Pink (Elegance), Tang is Yellow (Will), and Peng is Green (Might).
Variations like the Huangfu Family, the Shandong Yue Family, or the Jinju Eon Family might jump in as the Black or Purple teams, but the Major League always consisted of those five.
And among them, the Hebei Peng Family.
This was truly...
‘The best.’
The first-place prize is, of course, the Namgung Family. In any work, they are the nobles among nobles, with a Sword Emperor appearing or their family martial arts being insane.
But the Hebei Peng Family was definitely the second-place prize.
‘A genius start is impossible in the Zhuge Family, and honestly, I don't know what's so good about the Murong Family. It’s either the Sichuan Tang Family or the Hebei Peng Family for second place.’
Depending on the story, the Five Great Clans could be antagonists or the masterminds behind the scenes.
This was especially true for the Zhuge and Namgung families.
"Those hypocritical Orthodox bastards!" They were always on that list.
But the Hebei Peng Family?
They usually held the position of the "strong but slightly dim-witted friend."
When it came to saber techniques, they were arguably the best under heaven. They were a family of gallant warriors with deep loyalty and a wide reputation (solid Gwanxi)!
They were the icons of the Orthodox Faction, stepping up for justice with a hearty laugh.
Unlike the other four major Orthodox clans, they rarely appeared as antagonists in the first place.
There was a prejudice that the family wasn't smart enough to plot conspiracies or betrayals.
Plus, the fact that they used the saber was a bonus. There was less competition, making it easier to make a name for oneself.
For example, a "Sword King" would have to compete with every single family and sect that used a sword, but a "Saber Emperor"?
That title was usually just given to the Head of the Peng Family.
It was only natural, as there were fewer competitors and they led the largest force among them.
“Bbu-paaa!!”
I spent another day as a superstar, smiling pleasantly at my nanny and the maids.
This is truly the best. The Hebei Peng Family. A clan with immense capital and authority, and family martial arts considered the pinnacle of the Murim.
I must have done a lot of good deeds in my past life. Yeah, I picked up trash from the ground a few times, and I helped grandfathers pulling carts once or twice.
Hehe. Hehehe.
“Oh my, the young master seems to be in a very, very good mood today!”
“Paaaa!!”
Now, my life path was more or less set.
—A genius of this caliber in our Hebei Peng Family?!
—To think someone who actually uses their brain would come from our clan!
—Please lead the family immediately, Young Master!!
Oh, dear. Don't you know?
Transmigrators are always "geniuses" by default...
Armed with the brilliant intellect and reason of the 21st century, the Young Master with the greatest brain in the history of the Peng Family—a brain that would insult even the gods—had been born.
“Hehehe... hehe... paaa...!”
Ah, shall I start by mastering the Thousand Character Classic at the age of three?
One week later.
Amidst the elders gathered for my first birthday party, all of whom were prostrating themselves on the ground.
“Hmm.”
I was facing an old man whose gaze alone felt like it could slice ten people into sashimi.
“The current Peng Family is blessed with many sons.”
I listened to those chilling words, muttered as if he intended to personally reset that blessing.
The old man, called the Leader of the Sima Alliance, had forced every member of the household to their knees and was looking down at me.
“Euuu (I pooped)…”
It’s soggy…
* * *
Traditionally, China holds a total of three banquets to celebrate a child's birth.
The Full Moon Banquet, the Hundred-Day Banquet, and the Zhuozhou (Doljabi) Banquet.
In medieval China, where infant mortality was common, a baby who had lived for only a month was not considered a living person.
Therefore, the Full Moon Banquet (满月) is a somewhat familial celebration of surviving the first month.
I hadn't reincarnated yet at that point, so skip.
The Hundred-Day Banquet (百日) has the same meaning as the Korean hundred-day celebration.
The meaning and the event are almost identical to Korea's.
That, too, would have been a small gathering for the family to celebrate and enjoy.
Of course, I hadn't reincarnated then either, so skip.
And then, the long-awaited first birthday party. Zhuozhou (捉周). The baby's first birthday, held amidst the relief that one no longer has to worry about sudden death now that the child has grown this much.
Except for the minor difference that they scrape together every relative, acquaintance, employee of partner companies, and even passing villagers, it has the exact same meaning as a Korean Dol party.
You receive birthday gifts, do the Doljabi, feed the guests until they’re full, and show off your prestige by opening the granary to distribute rice to the village.
The situation now, with countless people staring at me, must have stemmed from that background.
“Hwi-ah! Go! Show them your spirit!”
No, you crazy bastards.
“Ho ho, the child is quite handsome, Young Family Head. How could such a child come from the Peng Family?”
“It must be thanks to my wife’s virtues, bwahahaha!!”
This happened during the Doljabi, when the party was in full swing.
‘Wait, is the concept of Doljabi different here than in Korea?’
The Doljabi remains a tradition in Korea, China, and Japan.
It’s an ancient tradition whose origins are hard to trace to any single country.
And generally, regardless of the culture, common objects (easy for a baby to pick up) were laid out.
For example, a spool of thread to wish for longevity. Five-colored paper for health. Banknotes or coins for wealth. Brushes and books for academic achievement.
And what was currently in front of my eyes was...
“Just pick one! Just one!”
“Bbu-eh-ya (I can’t pick two anyway)…”
A saber (刀).
Next to it, another saber (刀). Next to that, yet another saber (刀). Daggers, short sabers, throwing knives, katanas, tiger-head sabers, greatswords…
The edges were dulled, but they were made of heavy iron.
An array of all kinds of sabers was lined up before me.
“Bwahahaha! A descendant of the Peng Family must become a saber specialist, no matter what!”
I wonder where one reports child abuse in medieval China.