Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Training - 1
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I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have a dantian. If I didn't, my arm would probably be completely shattered by now.
"Aren't you huffing and puffing too much just from three thousand push-ups?"
The stagnant energy in my meridians had been cleared out, and I'd gained ten years' worth of internal energy, which had greatly improved my stamina compared to before. But even so, three thousand push-ups weren't easy.
There wasn't a single part of my body that didn't ache.
"You look like you have something to say."
Yu Ye-ryeon crouched down in front of me as I lay collapsed, grinning mischievously.
Even with that teasing attitude, her beauty made any words I wanted to say stick in my throat.
"Don't think it's too much. This is training, too."
"Hoo... I know."
It was one of the training methods from the novel. The wooden blocks she placed weren't just randomly scattered.
They represented the basic footwork stance.
Step on them wrong, and you'd tumble off the blocks. Mess up the sequence, and you'd lose your way forward.
Her method made the body remember before the mind did. And throwing stones to knock over the blocks was the same. It was training for how to respond when you couldn't use footwork in sudden situations.
So, I really had nothing to complain about.
"Oh. You're pretty useful in this regard, huh? Most guys grumble when I teach them occasionally. It pisses me off."
She ruffled my hair wildly again, then flashed a bright smile as she stood up.
She pulled me up to a sitting position and made me circulate my energy. Once I felt much better, she pointed to my bag.
"Alright, time to prepare some food. Uh... you're not going to make me do it, are you?"
"Do you know how to cook?"
"Nope."
I had no retort to that brazen confidence. I glanced at Yu Ye-ryeon, nodded, and pulled out my cooking tools from the bag on the horse.
"What are you making?"
"It's hard to make anything proper while traveling. I'll keep it simple."
I took out some pasta noodles from the bag. They were one of the Western-style foods sold at inns, and something I'd often made at Hwapyeong Inn.
"Western food, huh. Is that all you know how to make?"
"I can do other things to some extent, but..."
"Really? Then make some dumplings."
"No ingredients."
Even I couldn't create something from nothing.
She seemed to accept that, sitting quietly with sparkling eyes fixed on me, no complaints.
She almost looked like an innocent girl in that moment.
The demon who'd driven me mercilessly earlier felt like a lie.
-Rustle.
I pulled out the necessary ingredients from the bag: pasta sauce, dried mushrooms, vegetables. I took out some jerky and started making the pasta. She watched from beside me, arms crossed, humming thoughtfully before sitting down properly.
"Having a companion is convenient in times like this."
"What do you usually eat while traveling?"
"Jerky."
"That's not good for you."
"Everything in the world is good for some part of the body. Don't forget that all things cycle."
Fair enough. I plated the decently made cream pasta and handed it over.
"Dig in."
"Thanks for the meal."
There wasn't much conversation during the meal. She quietly ate the pasta with chopsticks, while I chewed mine, replaying the footwork steps from earlier.
When we finished without a single word, she gathered the plates.
"What are you doing?"
"Washing dishes, at least. I can't cook, but I'm good at cleanup."
That was unexpected.
Come to think of it, in the novel, when she traveled with Wi Cheonryong, they just scarfed down jerky. No way there'd be dishwashing scenes.
"I'll do it."
"Nah. Keep circulating your energy. We're doing swordsmanship training after I finish the dishes."
I tried to step up since I was the student, but she refused flatly.
While Yu Ye-ryeon washed the dishes by the nearby stream, I sat cross-legged and continued circulating my energy.
"Recovered enough now? Here."
I finished and looked up to see Yu Ye-ryeon holding out a sword. I didn't know much about swords, but it looked like a fine one.
"Take it. Use this for training until you can buy a proper one."
"Isn't this your sword?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Is it okay to just hand your sword to someone else?"
"It's just an inanimate object. And for an expert like me..."
-Slice.
With a casual wave of her hand, a thick tree in the distance was cleanly severed. As I closed my gaping mouth, she shook her hand dismissively, as if it were nothing.
"Your hand becomes the sword."
"...I see."
"Enough chit-chat. The sword art I'll teach you is the Three Ultimates Sword Art."
Three Ultimates Sword Art.
A sword art made up of downward cuts, horizontal slashes, and thrusts—so basic it was almost embarrassing to mention.
But hearing that Yu Ye-ryeon, the Sword Heaven of the Eight Great Heavens of the Nine Provinces, was teaching it so seriously only made me more tense.
"First form: Mount Tai Pressing Down."
Her hand formed into a blade and sliced downward through the air. Without so much as a smile, she swung again toward me as I watched.
"Second form: Sweeping Away Heavenly Armies."
Her right-hand blade swept left. After the clean slash, she retracted her arm.
"Third form: Immortal's Path. Some call it All Directions Wind and Rain, but I call it Immortal's Path."
With those words, she thrust her hand forward. I watched the thrusting motion closely. She nodded after demonstrating all three forms.
"Wondering why I'm teaching the Three Ultimates Sword Art so seriously? But you have to be. All sword arts are built on thrusts and slashes. Master this properly, and it'll help enormously with any other sword art."
"I see."
There was no such lecture in the novel.
It jumped straight to advanced sword arts.
But I'm not Wi Cheonryong. My dantian was just formed today, my internal energy is meager, and I've never touched martial arts before.
So, starting from the basics step by step makes sense.
"You don't ask?"
"Ask what?"
"If this alone is enough to get into Heavenly Martial Hall."
"It's taught by the Sword Heaven herself. No room for argument."
"Heh. I like that. You trust me quite a bit, don't you?"
"Yes. I trust you."
Her eyes wavered. No idea why she was flustered after saying it herself.
"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have brought it up from the start."
"...True enough. As thanks for trusting me, I'll tell you this: don't mention it to anyone else. Especially anything about spirit herbs."
I knew that.
If she weren't the Yu Ye-ryeon with little greed, as seen in the novel, I probably wouldn't have mentioned the spirit herbs either.
"Got it."
"Nice talking to someone reasonable. Alright. Start with Mount Tai Pressing Down."
'What an odd guy.'
Jin Hyun has no 'why.'
Anyone else—even beginners—would blush at being taught the Three Ultimates Sword Art.
It's the foundation of all sword arts, sure, but no one can't do downward cuts, horizontal slashes, or thrusts.
Especially those who've gained internal energy—they'd complain even more.
People with power want to use it.
Yet Jin Hyun had zero doubts about my teachings. He just trusted and followed completely.
That boundless trust wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Feeling a strange itch in her chest, she turned her gaze to Jin Hyun.
I hadn't told him to repeat it a certain number of times.
Just to do it. And so, Jin Hyun kept swinging the sword downward endlessly.
'No traces of martial arts training, for sure.'
It looked like a clean downward cut, but the tip wobbled. That's what happens when internal energy and body movements don't harmonize. The sharpness wasn't impressive either.
But he didn't stop. He just stubbornly kept at the downward cuts, striving to improve.
He looked like an untouched boulder.
Carving her name into that blunt, upright, stubborn rock didn't feel bad at all.
"Your arm's shaking. Again."
Point out a flaw, and he corrected it immediately. She liked that.
Her friend had said teaching disciples required thousands, even tens of thousands of corrections for one fix.
But Jin Hyun was different. One or two pointers, and he realized and fixed his mistake.
No excuses, no overthinking. Just doggedly pushing forward.
Martial arts were no different from studying.
Something mastered through endless repetition over time. Pursuing perfection by drilling a single motion over and over.
Of course, it was boring and grueling.
Plenty of martial artists fled to novelties, unable to endure the pain.
In that sense, Jin Hyun showed talent.
The talent for 'effort.'
The talent of one who relentlessly polishes themselves.
So, she could smile as she watched his training.
'Since we're at it, maybe I should teach him properly?'