Chapter 20
Chapter 20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Thunder Dragon Debut
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to stay at Mangnyang the Sage's house for the next three years, and fortunately, there was an annex about twenty paces from his thatched house. He must have made a fortune from fortune-telling, as he'd built it to give to a lover later on. From the way he talked, he had one lover in Jinrang Valley and a few more in other regions.
*This guy sure loves women.*
Maybe he'd even fled the Imperial Palace to sleep around freely?
Of course, there was no need to stir up my benefactor with careless words like that, so I kept my mouth shut for now. I agreed to live in the annex and occasionally help with Mangnyang's work to earn my keep.
"For starters, it's a hassle to have you call me Mangnyang the Sage every time, so just call me Mangnyang from now on."
"Sure."
"And I can call you Baek Woong?"
"Yes."
Once we'd settled on how to address each other, the studying began the next day.
I had no idea what we'd study at first, but suddenly Mangnyang handed me an incredibly thick book titled *Myriad Characters Text*. Flustered by its sudden thickness, I looked at him, and he said,
"Baek Woong, the foundation of all learning is Hanja. From today, memorize the *Myriad Characters Text* until you're familiar with it."
*Myriad Characters Text*.
I'd seen this book before. Unlike the *Thousand Characters Text* that children learned as an introduction to study, this was a book that serious scholars cramming for the civil service exams memorized down to the finest details. Geum Manjae had even bought one for home, but it gathered dust after he glanced at a page or two.
"Mangnyang, why skip the *Thousand Characters Text*?"
"If you master the *Myriad Characters Text*, the *Thousand Characters Text* comes naturally. No point wasting time—let's go hard from the start."
"But ten thousand characters is still too much..."
As I trailed off negatively, Mangnyang looked at me like I was talking nonsense.
"It's not ten thousand characters—what are you saying?"
"Oh, so it's actually a bit less."
"This actually contains thirty thousand characters."
"......"
For a split second, I nearly cursed him out. No wonder it was as thick as three of my forearms stacked—I'd wondered why. To me, who barely knew five hundred usable Hanja words, thirty thousand was overwhelming pressure.
"No choice. Books like *Qimen Dunjia* or formation manuals are full of archaic script and forgotten terms not in common use. Unless you're like me and versed in all the classics, even a regular scholar has to interpret them like a foreign language. This isn't optional—it's essential."
"Sigh... You could just interpret them for me."
"Of course, but given the volume, I can't do it all for you."
It didn't seem like Mangnyang was just messing with me. I sighed in resignation.
"...How many per day do I need to memorize?"
"At least a hundred a day. Study all the time except eating and sleeping."
"Fuck..."
I couldn't help swearing despite trying to hold it in. I'd never studied writing in my life and never needed to. Staring at a book that made my eyes spin just looking at it for hours on end was pure torture.
Mangnyang said,
"Of course, expecting desk-endurance from someone who's never studied is tough. So let's use a trick: the *Thunder Essence Scripture*."
"*Thunder Essence Scripture*? Doesn't that boost brain vitality? Does it really work?"
"It activates mental waves. It'll greatly help with concentration recovery."
And so my daily schedule was set.
Aside from eating and sleeping, I poured everything into memorizing the *Myriad Characters Text*, trained internal energy for one hour a day, and during breaks, recited the *Thunder Essence Scripture* to recover brain fatigue and sharpen focus.
Yeah. In theory, a perfect study method.
Mangnyang claimed that even an illiterate bumpkin could pass the preliminary civil service exam with this approach.
"......"
No way in hell.
Three days into the *Myriad Characters Text*, I'd hit my patience limit and lay staring at the empty annex ceiling. The sheer volume and pace were no joke, but sitting at a desk all day drove me insane. Martial arts training tired the body and cleared the mind, but building study stamina was brutal.
*I get how Geum Manjae felt now.*
Even mastering the *Myriad Characters Text* this intensely wouldn't guarantee passing the exams. Scholars seemed weaker than martial artists, but this proved they fought themselves more fiercely than anyone.
Thinking of Geum Manjae reignited my drive.
If I lay here whining instead of studying, what set me apart from that scum who deceived his parents, chased women, and wallowed in vice? I'd be trash like him, and I couldn't survive my future like that.
Trembling with rage from decades as an escort warrior, reliving deaths, earning time through Millennium Snow Ginseng—it flashed like a lantern show. All that desperate endurance was to live my life on my terms.
I couldn't break here!
I'd push further.
The inner scream drove me back to study. Gritting my teeth, I began reading the Hanja aloud in the quiet annex.
Ten thousand or thirty thousand—didn't matter.
As long as I memorized, it'd all stick eventually.
That thought eased my mind a bit.
Half a year passed since starting. I truly only ate, slept, and studied, bleeding effort to hit a hundred characters a day.
My overflowing internal energy meant no stamina issues, but focus sometimes flagged. Reciting the *Thunder Essence Scripture* then brought mental clarity, restoring concentration.
Curious, I asked what made the *Thunder Essence Scripture* so effective. Mangnyang's answer was concise.
"It's Buddhist scripture converted to Taoist style."
"So it was originally a chant?"
"Most religious chants are. Meaningless mumbling affects the mind."
He checked my homework, then said,
"You're at private school level now. Let's make those memorized characters more fluent."
"How?"
"Read the *Four Books and Three Classics*."
"What? How could I possibly..."
The *Four Books and Three Classics* required serious study to tackle. Mangnyang grinned.
"Baek Woong, do you know how many characters Hanja has in total?"
"No clue."
"Me neither."
I glared, suspecting wordplay. But Mangnyang replied calmly.
"Hanja is the world's only open character set. Anyone can create new ones anytime. Unlike phonetic scripts that only add characters for new sounds, ideographic Hanja carries meaning per character, so new concepts demand new characters."
"......"
No idea what he was saying.
Better just listen quietly.
"That's why no one knows the total. The *Myriad Characters Text* exceeds thirty thousand for that reason—packed with obscure variants."
Irritated by the knowledge assault on my brain, I snapped back gruffly.
"Fine. But what does that have to do with me reading the *Four Books and Three Classics*?"
"They're canonical texts unaffected by neologisms. Timeless classics readable with basic Hanja. You've studied enough—no problem."
"Hmm...."
"Reading them will make your memorized characters flow naturally."
Really?
I couldn't help doubting Mangnyang.
The *Four Books and Three Classics* were seven or nine core Confucian texts; fewer than one in ten scholars finished them. They got harder deeper in, and mastering them alone could pass the prelims. I, a lifelong escort with only swordfights, doubted I could.
But Mangnyang was right.
In just three days, I finished the *Analects*, one of them. Stunned, I sat blankly afterward. A mere escort like me had read it alone, without his help.
Telling Mangnyang my achievement, he grinned.
"The rest are similar. With my guidance, you can finish them in a month."
That was true too.
With his explanations, I completed them in three weeks, not a month. I was baffled at breezing through scholars' must-reads. Arrogant as it sounded, no book seemed beyond me now.
"How is this possible? Don't scholars study years for them?"
"Their study efficiency sucks."
Mangnyang scoffed at them.
"They sit clutching heads at desks, but all learning roots in Hanja. You've seen at least ten thousand characters in half a year—five thousand even if half stuck. While they wrestle Confucius and Mencius, you've finished basics, no extras needed. Plus, they force interpretations of benevolence, righteousness, rites, wisdom."
"I see..."
I'd found the right man.
His boast wasn't bluff. He was a genius who'd placed third in the national civil service exams.
"And Baek Woong, your memory seems overly good."
"Huh?"
"Watching you study, you memorize four out of ten perfectly on the spot, all after three or four looks. Not genius level, but way above average."
"Mine was never that good..."
Being honest, Mangnyang tilted his head.
"Could reciting the *Thunder Essence Scripture* resonate with your internal energy? Can't think of another reason."
"Hmm."
Maybe.
Reciting it blanked my mind, boiling internal energy through my body, skin tingling. I'd chalked it up to imagination, but now it clicked: the scripture attuned to my Millennium Snow Ginseng energy. My brain had improved—nice feeling.
After the *Four Books and Three Classics*, I focused on the rest of the *Myriad Characters Text*. By finishing eighty percent, a year had passed since starting; fully done took another half year.
Only then could I begin the *Taiji Secret Book* and *Divination True Manual*. Seeing their first pages, I groaned.
"Hmm... Tough."
Back when black was characters and white paper, I hadn't a clue. But post-*Myriad* and classics, these divination texts twisted incomparably—hard meanings, rare Hanja. Hard to call it readable.
I glared at Mangnyang.
"Mangnyang, you threw these self-study hellbooks at me?"
He looked guilty, glancing away, mumbling,
"I thought you were a top righteous faction prodigy or secret weapon then. A prodigy in letters and martial arts..."
"Sheesh."
"Anyway, starting now, you can finish most studies in a year."
He wasn't wrong.
In that year, I mastered the *Taiji Secret Book*, *Divination True Manual*, and basics of formations and Qimen Dunjia.
The process was hellish. No time left for separate internal training—endless brutal memorizing, head-scratching. Especially math and numerology; I endured his nagging to cram them in.
Soon, I'd forgotten *why* I studied, just grinding in the annex. One day, mid-zombie memorizing, I snapped awake.
"Gah... Damn it! What am I doing?"
Nearly three years under Mangnyang.
I'd study forever at this rate. Having learned enough, I told him,
"Time for the Nameless Sacrificial Book."
He replied,
"Good. Time to teach you the Imperial Palace攻略 method."
Three days later, I left Jinrang Valley.
Time flew like an arrow, leaving emptiness. My martial arts barely grew, and the grueling study felt wasted. I shook my head.
"Just cleared one hurdle."
Don't overthink.
In my hand was Mangnyang's Imperial Palace map scroll; his Qimen Dunjia破解 guide packed in my bundle. Three days drilling the plan gave me success confidence.
Goal: Steal the Nameless Sacrificial Book from the Inner Palace's Inner Pavilion!