Taehwa-bo: The Eternal Footwork
Glenn stopped at the annex courtyard. His gaze, slowly sweeping the surroundings, had lost its usual sharpness, becoming as dim as a shadow.
“Hmm…”
Raon stood behind him, silently watching.
“What is he thinking?”
He could roughly gauge most people’s minds, but Glenn was impossible to predict. Why had he come here in the middle of the night to give a reward he had been unable to offer during the day?
-It’s strange.
Wrath narrowed his eyes, scanning Glenn’s back.
“What?”
-That old man seems stronger than before.
“Stronger?”
-Yes. His achievement has definitely risen. For a human to advance so far… what a cheeky old man.
He wrinkled his lips, clearly displeased with the man.
“Hah…”
Raon exhaled a breath.
“How is that possible?”
He had heard nothing of Glenn fighting anyone or training recently. It was hard to believe he had advanced further at that level while staying quiet.
-If I or that old man reached that level, physical training would have no meaning. This is what matters.
Wrath pointed to his own left chest with a finger.
“Spirit power?”
-Not spirit power, but the spirit itself and the heart.
“Heart?”
-It’s about honing one’s own heart beyond martial arts. Not following a path made by others, but opening one’s own path.
“You do that too?”
-Of course. After reaching the realm, I abandoned others’ paths and walked my own. When I was in the Demon Realm…
Wrath boasted about how absolute beings grew.
“So that’s what it was.”
Raon nodded. He had thought Derus Robert had simply grown because he was talented, but it was because he had kept honing his mind and spirit.
“It’s difficult.”
Opening a new path by refining mind and heart was beyond even a master, but he sensed that training this way from now on might let him reach higher places faster.
-It’s not impossible.
Wrath nodded.
-But your efficiency and level are far behind what it should be. The difficulty is so great that the effect will be hard to see.
“It doesn’t matter.”
He had walked difficult and burdensome paths countless times in his past life. He could endure anything.
When he thought about raising his spiritual growth along with it, Glenn turned around. His eyes, which had been a bit dimmed, were now sharper than usual.
“How far have you mastered the Taehwa-bo I taught you earlier?”
Glenn took a step forward, slightly lifting his chin. His large frame and cold gaze pressed down on Raon’s shoulders.
“Only the first step.”
Raon bit his lip and answered. It was embarrassing, but except for the first step, he remembered nothing.
“Pathetic.”
Glenn frowned. The atmosphere in the courtyard dropped as if his energy had waned.
“The first step of Taehwa-bo is important and excellent, but if you rest there, there will be no development for you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Actually, that’s good.”
“What?”
“No need to teach you a new martial art. It would be better to pass on Taehwa-bo. Don’t blame me for being lazy.”
He waved his hand, saying he hadn’t received a better martial art because he was lazy.
“Understood.”
Raon nodded. He didn’t know how good the one he was supposed to receive was, but he wanted footwork. Taehwa-bo was more than enough.
Whoosh!
He activated the Fire Ring to its extreme. His martial arts had risen and the achievement of the Fire Ring had increased, so he could see much more.
“Then let’s begin.”
Glenn lightly lifted his coat and extended his left foot. A step that seemed to wear down anywhere under the heavens seeped into the ground where the night had melted. It seemed like he was standing on the moon in the sky as well.
The second step was fast. He turned the Fire Ring to full power, a speed that even the keen eyes of the Frost Lotus couldn’t follow. It disappeared too quickly, making it seem like Glenn was still there.
The third step was splendid. With the light of the stars, Glenn’s body expanded to ten times instantly and then merged back into one. The mystery with a hint of illusion was contained in that step.
The fourth step was heavy and slow. The control that seemed to encompass the entire annex and even the Zieghart territory spread from his steps.
After that, Glenn took five more steps. Every time he moved, the world changed with him.
“Ah…”
Raon trembled as he slightly parted his jaw. It was thrilling. The aura of the entire universe seemed to wrap around Glenn.
“This is not even a fraction of what I saw before.”
Thanks to the rise in realm and growth of the Fire Ring, he realized it. The Taehwa-bo Glenn showed in the audience chamber was only one-tenth of what he was using now. That was a great martial art on the sky.
“Did you see?”
Glenn stopped after unfolding Taehwa-bo twice. Despite showing an unreal martial art, not a single strand of his hair was out of place.
“I saw.”
Raon nodded. Although he would learn it differently, he had memorized everything Glenn showed.
“Good answer.”
Glenn smiled coldly and brushed his coat.
“Then try it.”
“Understood.”
Raon extended his right foot forward and took a deep breath.
“No need to show everything.”
Following the advanced martial art twice like Glenn didn’t expect. He would just show what he felt like, like before.
Thud!
A sharp step pierced the moonlight. The moment he engraved the will to do anything into his heart, the body and ground responded, completing a step that could reach anywhere.
Then he took the second step. He melted the extreme pleasure breath from the Frost Lotus into his steps. His vision narrowed instantly, and his body raced like a blade.
The third was change and illusion. He moved his body incorporating the profound understanding from the cave. It felt like his body was spreading like red flower petals in the air, like an illusion.
The fourth was weight. He stepped on the true energy filled with aura. The momentum spreading over his shoulders became a heavy wave, suppressing the cold aura and beginning to control space.
Chiing!
Raon spun the Fire Ring painfully to his heart, reenacting the Taehwa-bo Glenn showed. Although the power and speed were incomparable, the direction was similar.
“Hah! Hah!”
Raon stopped his steps, panting heavily, sweating profusely. Having only followed once, his body and mind felt as tired as if he had trained all day.
“Pathetic.”
Glenn looked down at Raon kneeling with knees bent, panting, wrinkling his nose.
“It’s not just the form, but the direction is slightly off. Since it’s the last one, make sure it’s accurate.”
Glenn waved his hand dismissively and showed Taehwa-bo once more, reciting the movements.
“Thank you.”
Raon bowed his head after memorizing the form and movements accurately.
“Footwork is not completed by matching the footprints on the ground. It must contain the right place at the right time in the situation. That is what completes footwork.”
“Yes.”
Raon nodded. As he said, the important thing in footwork was when and what to unfold.
“You don’t need to rush to break through the master’s wall. If you train your body and mind as you have been doing, the wall will break at some point.”
Glenn finished advising not only on footwork but also on reaching the master and turned his back.
“Wait…”
Raon followed behind Glenn who was about to leave.
“Why are you treating me so well?”
It was clearly not a normal thing to come here late at night to teach Taehwa-bo and give advice on reaching the master.
“Treating well?”
Glenn turned his head again.
“Taehwa-bo is an eternal footwork that even I with a low realm can see. Seeing you give this and advice on reaching the master…”
“Hah, the misconception is free, but you are too ignorant.”
His lips curled slightly, as if he was laughing.
“Originally, when a new family head or deputy is appointed, I personally teach and advise appropriate martial arts. You didn’t get that opportunity, and you didn’t receive a book at today’s ceremony, so I was going to give you the compensation all at once.”
“Ah…”
“Moreover, when you become a master, it’s not just you who benefits. The achievement of having the youngest master in Zieghart will give you the chance to suppress the other six kings and five demons. It wasn’t because I liked you, but because it was something I had to do. I don’t know what you’re thinking by saying I treated you well.”
“I’m sorry.”
Raon shook his head. He thought there was some other intention when Glenn came to teach martial arts this night, but it seemed he was mistaken. He was just being fair and thinking about the family.
Glenn turned his back again. He was about to leave, but turned his head again.
“One more question.”
“Yes.”
“Earlier, you said you spent all the gambling hall’s money to find the thief guild member. Where did you learn gambling?”
“Uh…”
Raon swallowed dryly. Glenn knew he had no chance to gamble at the annex. The only name that came to mind at this moment when he couldn’t talk about his past life was one.
“I learned it from the Light Wind Squad leader.”
“Rimer? I see.”
Glenn nodded. The courtyard suddenly felt cold as if swept by the waves of the North Sea.
“I made Taehwa-bo to suit me. You master my Taehwa-bo and complete your own Taehwa-bo.”
He looked at himself for a moment, then disappeared like drifting snowflakes.
“My own Taehwa-bo…”
Raon exhaled a faint breath, looking at the spot where Glenn disappeared. It was advice that seemed to connect to what Wrath had said earlier.
-Now it’s over, go to sleep. This king is tired.
“Just a moment.”
He shook his head and memorized the footprints of Glenn’s feet on the ground. There was a trace that could be called a connection in front of him, but he couldn’t sleep.
Raon spun the Fire Ring and followed the footprints of Glenn’s feet on the ground, stepping on Taehwa-bo.
The first step failed when the tension released, but he repeated it until he could hold the posture.
Even the Taehwa-bo he thought he had mastered was so different from Glenn’s that he repeated it from the beginning again.
By stepping with the body and drawing Glenn’s movements with the mind, the world seemed to be dyed white, and it felt like there were only footprints and himself in the entire world.
Raon continued to step on Taehwa-bo, looking at the footprints without noticing the messages floating in front of him.
[Extreme concentration state entered.]
[Acquisition of Taehwa-bo is accelerating.]
In a space with no dust, red pillars stood like blood. At the innermost, there was a high dais, and a red foot was lowered, so nothing inside was visible.
“Kuuuuk!”
A murderous groan of the 7th Apostle leaked from the center of this strange space that looked like a temple.
“It hurts… it hurts too much…”
The 7th Apostle touched his chest, arms, and thighs that were cut by the Requiem Sword and screamed. Gray blood spread over his white clothes.
“The pain doesn’t go away! Even if I use blood energy, the wounds don’t disappear!”
He bit his own flesh and gnashed his teeth. Even using the white aura continuously, the wounds didn’t disappear and the excruciating pain continued.
“Soon the master will come. Keep your mouth shut.”
The 10th Apostle, leaning against the pillar, narrowed his eyes, watching him.
“Hup!”
The 7th Apostle was suppressed by his momentum, closed his mouth, and shrank his shoulders. But his body trembled continuously because of the pain.
Shaaa.
A clear wind sound rang, and behind the empty red foot, a woman’s curved silhouette appeared.
“I greet the master.”
“I, I greet the master.”
The 10th Apostle knelt, and the 7th Apostle bowed his head while enduring the pain. Calling the master “sabu” and kneeling is only possible for the leader of the White Blood Cult, the White Blood Cult Leader.
“Get up.”
A light hand waved from inside the red foot. Both the 10th Apostle and the 7th Apostle lifted their heads at the same time.
Unlike other transcendent beings, the White Blood Cult Leader had no strong momentum. She generated a faint aura as if she didn’t exist, but the mysterious and elegant atmosphere was overwhelmingly incomparable to anyone.
“So. You were hit by the child from Zieghart?”
A sweet voice that melted the soul echoed from inside the red foot.
“It, it wasn’t that I was hit!”
“Come over here.”
“Ah, yes…”
The 7th Apostle couldn’t stand up and approached the dais.
“Hmm.”
The White Blood Cult Leader examined the 7th Apostle’s wounds one by one with a gaze full of heat. Every time her gaze went to him, the 7th Apostle’s whole body trembled.
“It’s a curse. It’s a curse that has a grudge against blood.”
She extended a long finger over her foot, and yellow blood flowed out from the 7th Apostle’s wound and floated into the air.
“It, it hurts…”
The 7th Apostle opened his eyes wide. A moment ago, the pain that felt like thousands of ants biting had disappeared instantly. It seemed that terrible malice was contained in that yellow blood.
“Th, thank you! Master!”
The White Blood Cult Leader nodded slightly and twisted her chin.
“You said who hit you?”
“I, I was just careless! If I meet him next time, I’ll bite his neck off…”
“Can’t an expert beat a master who is careless?”
“Th, that’s…”
“I must have raised you wrong?”
“Kuuuek…”
The red foot was slightly lifted, and the black eyes flashed like a yo-yo. Just seeing the gaze, the 7th Apostle couldn’t breathe, clutching his neck, and the 10th Apostle bit his lip.
“By losing all the sacrifices and the rumor that the young one of Zieghart defeated the apostle has spread, I had some expectations, but it was a pity. This is where it ends.”
The aura of the White Blood Cult Leader, who was at the bottom of the ground, became the sky in an instant. The firmly hardened space shook as if it would collapse.
“I, I will handle it.”
The 7th Apostle squeezed every bit of strength he had from nursing and opened his mouth.
“I will kill him and erase all the ones who spread the rumor. Ha, please give me one more chance!”
He slammed his head on the ground with blood bursting from his forehead.
“I will make the whole world fear the White Blood Cult! Please, a chance…”
“The fear of the White Blood Cult is not something you can make.”
“Kuuuek!”
The White Blood Cult Leader’s cold flashing gaze filled the 7th Apostle’s face with veins.
“Still, killing with just one failure is too much, isn’t it.”
“Ugh…”
Realizing that he really wanted to kill, the 7th Apostle’s complexion paled.
“Take this.”
The White Blood Cult Leader flicked her finger, and a small glass bottle flew from inside the foot. It contained liquid like transparent water.
“Th, this precious thing to me…”
“This is your last chance given to you.”
The jawline of the White Blood Cult Leader inside the foot twisted and went up.
“If you fail again, I will squeeze more blood from your body.”
“I, there will never be such a thing!”
The 7th Apostle swallowed dryly and bowed his head.
“Go.”
“Yes!”
He bowed his head to the ground and disappeared from this space.
“How was it?”
The White Blood Cult Leader’s gaze turned to the 10th Apostle prostrating on the right.
“It’s a vessel that makes one admire. Even in a state about to fall, he made a declaration to me.”
The 10th Apostle immediately answered, realizing that the White Blood Cult Leader was asking about Raon, not the 7th Apostle.
“Is that all?”
“His weapon is threatening, and if left as is, there is a possibility that it will become a big obstacle for the cult.”
“Hoo…”
The White Blood Cult Leader let out a faint groan and touched her lips with her finger.
“Raon Zieghart, was it.”
“Yes.”
“If the seventh one wins next time, bring that child.”
“Alive?”
“Of course. I will accept him as my disciple.”
“…”
“Why? Does your old thought come to mind?”
“No.”
The White Blood Cult Leader smiled, and the 10th Apostle shook his head.
“Hoo, it would be interesting if the highest talent of Zieghart joins the White Blood Cult.”
Her lifted laughter soaked the white space.
“I wonder what the old man’s expression will be.”
The Leader of the Heavenly Sword Squad was watching the annex courtyard from Bukmang Mountain.
Even though Glenn had left, Raon was still there, continuing to practice Taehwa-bo.
“Why did you follow all the way here.”
The Heavenly Sword Squad leader turned around at the voice from behind. Glenn was with his back to her, with the same gaze as usual.
“If there is no predetermined mission, following the family head is my mission.”
The Heavenly Sword Squad leader answered with a slight bow of her chin.
“How did you see it.”
Glenn stood next to the Heavenly Sword Squad leader and looked down at Raon practicing footwork.
“I think it’s excessive.”
The Heavenly Sword Squad leader closed her eyes.
“Excessive?”
“It means that giving Taehwa-bo is not excessive, but that Taehwa-bo is an excessive martial art for the current Light Wind Deputy to learn.”
It was a connection to Raon, but it was a poisoned connection. Even if he was a genius, it would just be a waste of time.
“I see.”
Glenn nodded without objection or agreement. He watched Raon for a moment and then turned his back.
“Watch over him until he returns.”
“The family head…”
“There is someone who needs to be dealt with.”
“Ah…”
It was obvious who needed to be dealt with. It was probably that crazy guy who taught gambling to such a wonderful gem.
“I understand.”
When the Heavenly Sword Squad leader nodded, Glenn disappeared as if merging into the shadow.
Although no one was watching, the Heavenly Sword Squad leader straightened her posture and watched Raon. Since Glenn gave the mission directly, she prepared to deal with anything that happened.
“It won’t take long.”
Seeing Raon stepping on footwork, it was a series of failures with no little development. He wouldn’t continue this boring training without sensing it, so he would soon give up and return.
However, contrary to expectation, he didn’t leave the courtyard even after several hours. He fell exhausted, failed, and continued stepping on footwork until the sun rose.
Thud.
When the rising sun began to illuminate the courtyard, Raon’s foot stopped.
“It’s over now?”
His perseverance was fine.
Admiration came from Raon’s perseverance in stepping on footwork for over 8 hours without a single rest, only failing.
But contrary to her expectation, Raon didn’t enter the annex but lowered his posture again.
“Annoying. Even if it’s not possible, it’s not possible… eh?”
The Heavenly Sword Squad leader, who saw Raon advancing through the golden dawn, opened her eyes wide.
“Th, what is this guy!”