I Volunteer for Half a Year
You couldn't exactly tell someone to go die, could you? And learning the Odok Shingong alone wasn't going to turn an exile in Guya-rim into a vacation. For a notorious troublemaker like Sanlong, it still seemed like he had more than enough punishment coming. The silence from everyone else suggested they agreed.
“Very well. Then I shall pass the Odok Shingong on to Sanlong. One week from now, a one-month exile to Guya-rim…”
Just as Tang Munseong was about to hand down the one-month sentence, Sanlong spoke first.
“I’ll take a half-year punishment.”
“What?”
Tang Munseong’s normally calm voice rose a fraction. This was something neither he, the Council of Elders, nor the branch families had expected.
Volunteering for a longer sentence himself?
While everyone stared in confusion, Sanlong smiled quietly. He had his reasons.
First, I need to get out of Eon Jungmi’s sight. And now that I’ve learned the Odok Shingong, Guya-rim isn’t just a random death zone anymore.
To those who had reached a certain level, it would be nothing more than a boring exile. But for someone who had just learned the Odok Shingong, the swamp was a treasure trove of internal energy boosters—a whole new world.
It might even become the perfect stepping stone for faster growth than he could manage right now.
If I think of it like a game, it’s like going into a mid-level hunting ground at level one with zero gear to farm exp and equipment, right?
High risk, high return. A month felt too short if he wanted to gain anything meaningful.
Since I have to go anyway, I might as well get something out of it. And surviving in the wild? That’s basic knowledge for a close-range dealer like me.
In his previous life, he had absorbed every possible survival skill to stay alive as a close-range dealer. Spending days camping and sleeping rough just to hunt a single monster had been normal.
That’s what a close-range dealer does.
A close-range dealer was someone who closed the distance with sheer grit and dealt the damage.
And finally, I’ve got one massive incident I need to cause… Call it paying the fine in advance.
Since he couldn’t say any of that out loud, Sanlong dressed his words up nicely.
“After hurting my head recently, I’ve had time to reflect on my past mistakes. To atone for everything I’ve done before, I wish to punish myself with a longer sentence.”
“Well, well…”
“How could…”
“If only he had done this sooner…”
Even the people who had been ready to devour him moments ago now looked strangely impressed. Those who had received Eon Jungmi’s instructions could only stare with pure confusion.
Hmm…
While everyone wondered if Sanlong had finally come to his senses, Tang Munseong felt a complicated emotion stir inside him.
Tang Sanlong—his painful finger. The third of five siblings, he had always possessed average talent compared to his brothers, sisters, and the youngest. Yet he had worked harder than anyone, only to break when he finally hit his innate limits. Now that same boy was looking at him with those eyes again.
Was simply waiting, like his mother said, truly the right way?
Raising children really was difficult. With that thought, Tang Munseong slowly rose from his seat.
“I approve. Does anyone have anything further to add?”
No one spoke. Those who had been tipped off by Eon Jungmi had already achieved their goal, and the elders and branch families who wanted to pressure the direct line found no fault with the verdict.
“Then I will teach him the Odok Shingong personally. Sanlong, follow me to the training ground.”
“As you command.”
With those words echoing through the patriarch’s hall, Sanlong quietly followed behind his father.
Why is he teaching me himself?
He had expected the clan to send some instructor. This was slightly unexpected.
This is awkward.
That was Sanlong’s honest feeling as he walked two steps behind Tang Munseong.
Whether in my past life or this one…
Father and son relationships were always like this, weren’t they? That strange, indescribable awkwardness. You didn’t feel it as a child, but it grew stronger the older you became.
“Hm.”
Suddenly Tang Munseong stopped walking.
Sanlong wondered if something was wrong, but the long corridor leading to the training ground held only the two of them.
About thirty seconds passed before Tang Munseong spoke again, voice low.
“Are you trying to start over?”
“Pardon?”
Before Sanlong could figure out what the question meant, his father resumed walking in silence. Sanlong simply followed quietly.
After some time, the long corridor ended. The first things that came into view were a small residence and a training ground twice its size. It was neatly maintained, yet the marks of frequent, intense use were everywhere.
He’s already at the edge of the Transformation Realm, yet he still trains this hard… They called him the greatest talent in the Tang Clan’s history, and it looks like he puts in the work to match.
Tang Munseong possessed talent so overwhelming it had balanced the increasingly insane direct and branch lines. Yet he never relied on that talent alone; he trained constantly.
A genius who actually worked hard.
Sanlong didn’t like how his father had neglected his mother, but this part was worth learning from.
While he observed the training ground, Tang Munseong’s deep, heavy voice reached his ears.
“Do you know what the Odok Shingong is?”
It was the foundational cultivation method that allowed one to properly learn and use the Sichuan Tang Clan’s martial arts. But judging by the look on his father’s face, he wasn’t looking for the obvious answer.
“I don’t know it well.”
Sanlong answered honestly.
You’ve changed.
Rather than disappointment, Tang Munseong simply nodded as if that was expected.
“Odok refers to creatures that possess poison—centipedes, snakes, scorpions, lizards, toads. They are the most basic poisons the Tang Clan handles.”
As he spoke, Tang Munseong began to move slowly.
“The Odok Shingong involves accepting these poisonous beings into your body…”
Paang!
It was a light palm strike, but the sound of air tearing made Sanlong feel as if something foreign had entered the atmosphere.
“Cough! Cough!”
Thanks to his Gwiwon-gong and Tang Munseong controlling the poison’s potency, there was no major damage. Still, his throat burned as if something had lodged in it.
“And then releasing that poison. In essence, the Odok Shingong is the root and foundation of every martial art in the Tang Clan.”
“I see.”
“And.”
Pa-pa-pat!
Something shot out from his wide sleeve like arrows. In an instant, the straw training dummy was riddled with thin, long hidden weapons and throwing daggers.
“It also allows you to rapidly fire poison-coated hidden weapons and throwing blades using the internal energy of the Odok Shingong.”
Despite the sharp, explosive movements, Tang Munseong’s breathing remained perfectly steady as he neatly adjusted his sleeves.
“The Odok Shingong is not merely a cultivation method. It is the very foundation of the Tang Clan. Do not think of learning it half-heartedly.”
“Yes, Father.”
To Sanlong, the Odok Shingong was practically a lifeline. He had zero intention of treating it lightly.
“From now on, I will teach you the Odok Shingong personally. If you have any questions, ask without hesitation.”
“Thank you!”
Sanlong had already decided to become a relentless question machine.
The foundational poison cultivation art of the Tang Clan. Absorb the five poisons, build resistance, and forge internal energy. The root of all hidden weapons and poison arts.
The transmission of the Odok Shingong did not take long. All the Tang Clan’s cultivation methods branched from the introductory Gwiwon-gong.
What actually took more time were Sanlong’s endless questions. Things that made perfect sense to a genius like Tang Munseong were full of mysteries to an ordinary talent like Sanlong.
A genius could be shown one thing and understand ten. An ordinary person could be shown one thing and only understand one. At least he wasn’t a complete dullard who would forget it immediately, so that was something.
“That is to make handling internal energy more comfortable.”
Even though he was a genius, Tang Munseong explained things well. Most geniuses gave terrible explanations, but he made sure even an ordinary person could understand.
“I see.”
“Are those all your questions?”
Tang Munseong answered the barrage without a single sign of irritation.
“Any questions that come up after today, I will ask again once I’ve finished my punishment.”
“Good. And there is one more thing I will teach you.”
“Yes?”
“A simple throwing dagger technique. Its name… yes, Chuhon Shimpyo. The name sounds grand, but it is not a particularly impressive art.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
He had neither seen anyone use it nor read about it in any books.
“Of course you haven’t. It is a casual technique I created to make learning Ilseombi easier. It can be used with both throwing daggers and hidden weapons.”
“Ilseombi…”
Ilseombi was the Tang Clan’s ultimate throwing dagger art—an absolute one-hit-kill technique. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say every other throwing art in the clan existed as preparation for it.
Techniques like the dazzling dagger storm that confused the enemy’s eyes or the wind-blood dagger that poured blades like rain were all preliminary steps for landing that single, perfect Ilseombi.
A casual technique created before learning something like that was bound to have an unusual origin.
“Are you sure it’s all right to teach me this?”
“True throwing dagger arts require many complicated steps to ensure a single success. But Chuhon Shimpyo is like Ilseombi—it aims to take the opponent’s life in a single strike. It is not overly complicated. In truth, it is a derivative of Ilseombi, a technique I’m almost embarrassed to give a name. It barely works on humans.”
While Sanlong wondered why he was being taught this, Tang Munseong continued.
“However, in Guya-rim, you should be able to use it quite efficiently.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Sanlong understand why his father was teaching him this. Even if he was a neglectful father, he still wanted to give his son one more tool before sending him into danger.
“Unlike Ilseombi, which requires vast internal energy, Chuhon Shimpyo uses the bare minimum. It is a crude art that fills its shortcomings with technique.”
In throwing arts that demanded simplicity, such petty techniques were indeed crude, just as his father said. But if it could produce an effect similar to Ilseombi with minimal energy, then it was still an excellent art in its own way.
“If you strip away and strip away further, only then is Ilseombi completed.”
Rather than adding something, you had to remove things. In truth, removing was often harder than adding. It meant producing maximum effect with minimum effort.
But for Sanlong, who had lived as part of the “efficiency tribe” in his previous life, this was entirely doable.
“This is the Chuhon Shimpyo.”
A high-efficiency dagger technique created by Tang Munseong as a stepping stone to Ilseombi. Minimal internal energy, maximum technique. One strike aimed at the soul.
Tang Munseong moved with dynamic precision. Every single motion existed for the sake of throwing one dagger. He thrust his hand forward.
Pshuk! Kwajik!
It sounded like air leaking, yet the destructive power was extraordinary. The dagger buried itself completely in the stone wall, leaving only the hilt visible.
“Compared to Ilseombi, the destructive force is embarrassingly weak. The sound it makes is nothing like the silent strike of the real thing.”
It was hard to match Ilseombi in stealth or power, but for the current Sanlong, this was more than enough.
In fact, among the arts he currently knew, this was the best one.
If I cut out a few unnecessary movements, it’ll be even better.
Recalling his past life as a member of the efficiency tribe, Sanlong began analyzing the Chuhon Shimpyo in his own way.
It really is complicated.
It was far too complex for an ordinary talent like him to use comfortably.
Like… this?
Watching Sanlong practice the technique alone, Tang Munseong lightly brushed dust from his clothes and spoke.
“Master it before you enter Guya-rim.”
And so, after learning the Odok Shingong, Sanlong had also acquired the Chuhon Shimpyo.