How Strange...
Late into the night, Jo Seol finished her breathing technique practice.
"Good. Your progress is remarkably fast."
"Really??? I must actually have talent for this."
"Don't get cocky. You're still at the toddling stage."
That was what he said, yet Jo Seol possessed more than decent aptitude. Kang Yeon had taught her the breathing method lightly, hoping only that it would help her health, but she was achieving solid results.
"Even so, thanks to the breathing technique my skin feels better and my stamina's completely improved."
"Of course it has. The method I taught you is no ordinary thing. Keep polishing it and your skin will grow even clearer, and your stamina will reach the point where you hardly tire."
He did not explain in detail, but the breathing art Kang Yeon had given Jo Seol was none other than a mental cultivation method once held by the legendary Jade Maiden Sect. That sect had long since been destroyed and vanished without a trace, and just as the name suggested, every martial artist there had been a woman.
The martial arts of the Jade Maiden Sect are especially suited for women.
The women of the Jade Maiden Sect had been famous for their beauty, a gift of their internal cultivation method, the Jade Maiden Heart Art. Yet the art carried a serious flaw: the higher one's realm rose, the stronger the yin energy inside the body became. Because of it the women of the sect often developed cold, sharp temperaments, and once they passed a certain level they required continuous replenishment of yang energy.
What Kang Yeon had taught Jo Seol, however, was a version that completely corrected those defects.
So no matter how long she practiced, her personality would not change and her body would suffer no harm. Kang Yeon had simply assumed she would grow a little healthier; he had not expected such talent. For a moment he even considered teaching her proper martial arts.
No. Absolutely not. Why would I drag her into that bloodbath...
Kang Yeon shook his head and discarded the thought. He had left that world behind precisely to stay far from it; letting Jo Seol set foot there was unthinkable. To him she was no different from a true younger sister. Who in the world would push family into a den of danger?
"Oppa, what are you thinking so hard about?"
"Hm? Nothing. You worked hard today. Go rest. Things might get busy starting tomorrow."
"I hope they do. After a day like today my whole body is itching for work."
"I hope so too. I'd love the inn packed with people."
A faint sadness colored Kang Yeon's voice for reasons he could not name. Jo Seol felt it and was curious, yet this time she chose not to ask. Sometimes pretending not to notice was the kinder choice.
"Then I'll head in first and sleep. We have to prepare for business early tomorrow morning."
"Yes. Sleep early so you grow even prettier."
"Wh—what are you saying...!"
Jo Seol spun around and hurried to her room. The newly built inn had been carefully designed with living quarters for the Jo family and Kang Yeon as well. It was nothing like the shabby house that once stood behind the old inn. Left alone, Kang Yeon sat down in a quiet corner to suppress the sudden swell of emotion.
"Have I still not settled my heart?"
He had believed everything was finished when he returned. The moment he arrived here he had decided his life as a martial artist was over. Yet walking away did not erase the road he had already traveled. Those memories remained deeply branded into him.
"Hah... At times like this, going all out is usually the best remedy."
Kang Yeon gently stirred his energy. Following his will, a vast power swirled through the inn's rear courtyard.
Wooooong.
"Hmm... This doesn't help much either."
He smacked his lips and reined the energy back in. The brief tempest vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
"Hey~ I thought something had happened. What's with the sudden surge in the middle of the night?"
At that moment Dan U-ryeong appeared in the rear courtyard. After building the inn he had been living with the Jo family—amazingly enough, he had even built his own room. Resting inside, he had sensed Kang Yeon's energy and come out in alarm.
"Oh? It's nothing. Just felt like it."
"Whoa, whoa—calm down. Saying 'just felt like it' when the power you hold is that overwhelming is a bit much."
Kang Yeon scratched his head.
"Sorry if I woke you."
"Eh... A man who eats by the blade has to stay sharp at all times, right?"
"By the blade?? What blade do you eat by? You can't even perform a single sword form."
Dan U-ryeong clicked his tongue.
"Heh heh... There you go looking down on me again."
"Looking down? I'd call it stating facts."
"That's defamation of character."
Kang Yeon snorted a quiet laugh. Looking back, he had formed countless ties in the martial world, yet the one who still walked beside him to the end was Dan U-ryeong. The man's playful manner could be exasperating, but that same playfulness often lifted Kang Yeon's spirits.
"Then go report me to the authorities."
"Hah! Officials and martial artists are mutually inviolable. How could a man of the martial world do such a thing?"
Dan U-ryeong's mock-solemn expression finally made Kang Yeon burst out laughing.
"You're hopeless, you know that."
Seeing Kang Yeon's mood improve, Dan U-ryeong grinned and asked,
"By the way, are you really fine leaving things as they are?"
"Hm? I'll adjust little by little. I like how things are now."
"Not that. I mean what happened this morning. That martial artist Nang Hyeon seemed to gain quite a fortuitous opportunity at the inn."
Kang Yeon shrugged.
"Well... call it a slight improvement in his health?"
"That's only slight by your standards. To that martial artist it would be an enormous opportunity."
"Maybe so. But it won't have any great impact on the martial world."
"One person, sure. But think about it—if word spreads, the flood of martial artists who'll come pouring in. Everyone and their brother will show up wanting to cultivate internal energy here."
Kang Yeon furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Oh?? Doesn't that mean more customers? Even better."
Dan U-ryeong let out a short laugh.
"You're truly hopeless."
Pung. Pupupung.
Nang Hyeon's fists cut through the air with unmistakable power. The art he practiced was the Lion Fist. The grand name made it sound formidable, yet in truth it was nothing of the sort.
Nang Hyeon's current realm was First-Class.
Both the Lion Heart Method and Lion Fist he had learned reached their limit at First-Class. Of course an individual could surpass that ceiling through sheer ability, but breaking past a martial art's inherent limit required considerable talent. Unfortunately, Nang Hyeon's talent also stopped at First-Class.
"Hoo..."
Having run through the entire Lion Fist from beginning to end, Nang Hyeon exhaled a long breath. Sweat soaked his body, carrying a faint, unpleasant odor.
"Amazing. My body feels so much lighter."
It felt as though the long-stagnant barrier of his martial realm had risen. The subtle stench meant impurities within his body had been expelled. His thoughts returned to the West Lake Number One Inn he had visited the day before.
It was truly astonishing.
"What in the world is that inn??? Why did my internal energy increase?"
By any common sense it was incomprehensible.
How could simply stepping inside an inn cause one's internal energy to grow?
"It's not as if the place is plastered with something like Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade."
Nang Hyeon shook his head.
"I'm talking nonsense. Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade isn't some pebble lying by the roadside; there's no way an inn like that would have it."
A single fist-sized piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade would cost more than ten thousand gold pieces. Only the leaders or successors of great sects occasionally carried treasures made from it, and even those stories were rare.
"Hmm... Maybe the site itself is auspicious? Then why didn't I notice before? Because the building was newly constructed?? That could be it..."
It was said that arranging a building in harmony with a good site's energy could enhance the Natural Qi of the place. Could that be the reason his internal energy had increased at the inn?
"No, that doesn't make sense either. A craftsman with the eye to elevate a site's energy wouldn't be building an inn of that scale."
For a moment Nang Hyeon wondered whether the long years of effort he had poured in had finally borne fruit.
"That can't be it either. If it were going to happen, I would have broken through back when I trained far more desperately."
After leaving the martial world and coming to West Lake he no longer risked his life in training the way he once had. Even as a solver in Hangzhou his work was rough, yet it never truly threatened his life. To someone who had crossed the line between life and death countless times during the Orthodox-Demonic War, such jobs were child's play.
A small change stirred inside Nang Hyeon's heart.
"Maybe I should focus on martial training for a while..."
With his internal energy increased, he felt he might be able to push through the wall and raise his realm. If he worked just a little harder, perhaps he could finally reach the Peak Realm he had dreamed of. From Peak Realm onward one was treated as a true expert.
"Now that it feels within reach, the old attachment is raising its head again."
Heat gathered in Nang Hyeon's eyes. He clenched both fists as if sealing a decision. He could feel the heightened internal energy coiling around his knuckles, a sense of fullness. The extinguished flame of the martial artist inside him seemed to catch fire once more.
"All right. Let's do this."
Pupung. Pupupupung.
Nang Hyeon began pouring sweat again. He unleashed the Lion Fist with fierce intensity, reawakening a body that had grown rusty. The sound of fists tearing the air grew steadily louder in one corner of the inn courtyard where he stayed.
And so morning arrived.
"Huh?? It's already light?"
Only now noticing the brightening surroundings, Nang Hyeon wore a look of surprise. Had he ever concentrated so completely on martial practice before?
"I'd better circulate my energy first. My dantian feels completely empty."
The night-long training had drained the internal energy in his dantian to the bottom. Nang Hyeon returned to his quarters, settled into position, and began circulating his energy.
Wooong. Wooong.
After a clean circulation he opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
"This is seriously incredible. At this rate am I actually going to reach Peak Realm?"
Joy surged through him for an instant.
And in that same instant the West Lake Number One Inn rose in his mind.
"Should I go again?"
The moment he thought of the West Lake Number One Inn, hunger stirred in his stomach. No matter how different a martial artist's body was from an ordinary person's, even martial artists needed food for strength.
Grrrroowl.
As the rumbling grew louder Nang Hyeon scratched his head. The inn where he was currently staying served excellent food and kept clean rooms, which was why he had been lodging there long-term. He usually ate breakfast there, yet today the food of the West Lake Number One Inn called to him desperately.
"I wonder if they do morning business?"
Nang Hyeon sprang from the bed, left his room, and headed downstairs. The waiter who spotted him approached with a familiar smile.
"Good morning, sir. Breakfast is ready."
Nang Hyeon spoke to the waiter.
"I'll eat elsewhere today, so never mind breakfast."
With those words he hurried out of the inn. The waiter watched him go and tilted his head.
"How strange..."