Chapter 10
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Isn't This a Demonic Art?
After finishing training and washing away the sweat in the communal bathhouse with cold water, he felt refreshingly clean.
The night air was still quite chilly for a cold-water rinse, but that posed no problem for Dang Jin-san.
Warming his body with internal energy was no difficult task, even for someone like him—labeled a wastrel with no talent in his family's martial arts.
He dried his hair with a towel and entered the room.
There sat Dan Mok Un-roe on the bed, legs crossed in meditation, focused on his breathing technique.
A fair amount of time had passed since arriving at the Fierce Dragon Corps.
In other words, it had been a while since he started sharing a room with this guy. Yet they still felt awkward around each other.
In truth, he was amazed at himself for tossing that joke at Dan Mok Un-roe at the end of today's training.
Was it because the instructor, who usually just yelled "self-study every day," had finally given a proper lesson?
Or because they'd all trained together?
Now, for the first time, it felt like they were comrades in the same squad.
That was why he could say it now.
"Hey."
Dan Mok Un-roe didn't stir at Dang Jin-san's call.
His eyes closed, he seemed utterly focused on his breathing—only the steady rhythm of inhalations and exhalations filled the air.
"Hey! Dan Mok Un-roe!"
A fairly loud voice.
Only then did Dan Mok Un-roe's eyelids flutter open. He looked at Dang Jin-san with eyes full of confusion.
After all, his roommate had always acted like he was there one moment and gone the next.
Even at the end of today's training, he'd behaved differently from usual. What could it be?
"What's up?"
"I've held back all this time, but..."
"Yeah."
"Let's wash up."
"...I already did..."
Caught off guard by the sudden remark, Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes widened as he murmured softly.
He'd wiped down his hands, feet, and face before coming in.
"You. Be honest—have you ever properly bathed since joining the Fierce Dragon Corps?"
Bathed?
That was something you did only a few times a year, on special occasions when the weather was warm.
The communal bath in the Fierce Dragon Dormitory only had cold water anyway, making a real bath impossible.
"Well... it's still too cold to wash my whole body... and baths aren't something you do that often..."
"Sigh."
Dang Jin-san let out a deep sigh at Dan Mok Un-roe's response.
"You sweat buckets during training and just wipe your hands and feet? What about the rest? You'll ruin your health like that. Come on."
Dang Jin-san tossed aside the towel he'd been using on his hair and grabbed a fresh one.
Then he dragged Dan Mok Un-roe to the bathhouse by force.
Though reluctant, Dan Mok Un-roe had no choice but to follow. He was just an ordinary person without a scrap of internal energy.
A few days of external training wouldn't let him shake off the hand of Dang Jin-san, a scion of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The bathhouse was empty. Everyone who wanted to wash had already done so.
"Honestly, it'd be great if I could heat the water since I'm skilled enough, but that's not happening."
With that, Dang Jin-san gripped Dan Mok Un-roe's wrist pulse point.
Startled by the sudden action, Dan Mok Un-roe flinched.
Soon, a hot surge rushed from his wrist, coursing through his entire body.
A light sheen of sweat beaded on Dang Jin-san's forehead.
"Whew. That's my limit. It'll keep you warm for about half an incense stick's time, so hurry up and wash."
"Uh, uh, okay."
Dang Jin-san shoved the dazed Dan Mok Un-roe—stunned by his first taste of internal energy—into the bathhouse and tossed him a towel.
"Wash before you cool down. I'll head back first."
Returning to the room, Dang Jin-san flung the door wide open.
"Whew. Out with the stench. Now I can breathe easy."
That was it.
The sweat stench clinging to Dan Mok Un-roe's body. Putting up with it had been pure torture.
If he were in another squad, it might've been different, but as a squadmate, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
It didn't feel right to complain to a guy who was already down from being neglected by the instructor.
'But... was I the type to care about stuff like that?'
Dang Jin-san was slightly surprised by his own change.
Back in Chengdu, he hadn't been like this.
Back then, resentment toward his clan had consumed him, leaving no room to care about others as he roamed as a wastrel.
Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
Nothing special about it.
They were just being left to their own devices.
Yet here he was, worrying about someone else's feelings. It wasn't like him.
'Maybe the me in Chengdu wasn't the real me...'
Dang Jin-san clearly remembered his childhood self. Back then, he'd been a kind kid who looked out for others.
At least, that's how he saw it.
But as his pitiful talent revealed itself, the piercing glares from all sides had worn him down, turning him into what he was.
A direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
That label carried far more weight than he'd imagined.
But a direct descendant without talent? Impossible.
Lost in memories of the past, the door opened, and Dan Mok Un-roe entered.
Water dripped from his hair.
His lips had turned slightly blue. Dang Jin-san grabbed his pulse point again and infused more internal energy.
Warmth quickly spread through his body.
"Th-thanks..."
"No big deal."
Then he sat by the window. Just in case Dan Mok Un-roe tried to close it.
The room's smell hadn't fully dissipated yet.
"Ugh."
Dan Mok Un-roe pinched his nose and grimaced.
He'd finally noticed the lingering odor. And he knew where it came from.
It was soaked into his own bed.
"S-sorry..."
Face flushing red, Dan Mok Un-roe apologized. Only now did he realize what a nuisance he'd been to his roommate.
"Nah, it's nothing. Really. But for martial artists like us who sweat every day, keeping clean is important. Illness doesn't spare warriors."
Dang Jin-san said it casually, knowing Dan Mok Un-roe wasn't from a martial clan.
"I'm the one who should apologize. I should've told you sooner."
"Th-then Baek Ri-pyeong and Nak Woo-jin too...?"
"They wash their whole bodies every day. Can't soak in a tub, but they splash water and scrub clean."
It was embarrassing.
He didn't know about Baek Ri-pyeong, but Nak Woo-jin was supposedly just an ordinary person like him.
And he himself was actually from a martial family lineage.
It shamed him that hardship had left him ignorant of even this.
"You haven't gotten sick yet, so start washing properly from now on. Breathing practice is kinda iffy today, but after intense external training at the end, you'll want to."
"Oh, that thing you did to my wrist, Dang Jin-san..."
"Jin-san. Just call me Jin-san. If we'd met on the Chengdu streets, I'd have you call me 'Brother Dang' since I'm four years older. But here, squadmates—so Jin-san. I'll call you Un-roe too."
"O-okay. Jin-san, that thing you grabbed on my wrist—that was internal energy, right?"
Dang Jin-san nodded at the question.
"Yeah, that's internal energy. Oh, sorry. Let me apologize. You shouldn't just grab a warrior's pulse point like that. Infusing energy like I did? Total taboo. No explanation, just barging in—my bad."
Dan Mok Un-roe waved it off.
"No, you helped me."
"Well, don't let anyone grab you like that again."
"Got it."
Dan Mok Un-roe nodded at Dang Jin-san's serious warning.
"That internal energy thing... can I learn it too?"
"Ask the instructor. I'm off to bed."
Judging the smell mostly gone, Dang Jin-san closed the window and headed to his bed.
The next day.
The five gathered at the training ground on time.
Ha Mu-baek arrived right on schedule too. Standing before them, he said,
"Morning's breathing practice again. Let's go."
The five sat cross-legged.
Of course, Baek Ri-pyeong delved into his sect's internal energy cultivation.
Ha Mu-baek stared silently at the remaining four.
Their inhalations and exhalations were clear as day to his eyes.
He couldn't teach them the lost incantations of the Three Talents Arts.
That was his sect's martial art, after all. But guiding them to cultivate it without the incantations? Not hard for these four.
That was the conclusion Ha Mu-baek had reached after agonizing the night before.
"Don't move. Focus on your breathing."
Ha Mu-baek extended his hands, placing his palms on Yeon Ha-min and Dan Mok Un-roe's backs.
Internal energy flowed from his palms.
It entered their bodies and slowly circulated with their breaths.
Their bodies jerked.
Yeon Ha-min trembled violently in particular.
Dan Mok Un-roe, having experienced Dang Jin-san's energy the night before, just shuddered lightly.
"Yeon Ha-min. Concentrate."
The trembling soon stopped.
"Keep breathing."
The internal energy, moving ever so slowly with their breaths, finally settled in their dantians.
Ha Mu-baek had controlled every step, of course.
The energy spread gradually, moving in sync with the Three Talents Arts breathing—hiding the lost incantations within the flow, mastering both energy accumulation and meridian pathways.
"Good. Keep it up."
Then Ha Mu-baek repeated the process with Nak Woo-jin and Dang Jin-san.
Once all four were immersed in breathing trance, Ha Mu-baek stepped back to watch.
His gaze flicked to Baek Ri-pyeong.
"Baek Ri-pyeong. Focus on your heart method. Otherwise, you won't gather any energy."
Baek Ri-pyeong flinched at Ha Mu-baek's words.
He'd noticed how Baek Ri-pyeong couldn't concentrate, distracted by whatever Ha Mu-baek was doing to the other four.
To Baek Ri-pyeong, it felt like he was the only one left out.
But he absolutely couldn't learn the Three Talents Arts heart method. He had his sect's own.
How much time passed?
The four opened their eyes one by one.
Three wore puzzled expressions, but Dang Jin-san's face was filled with shock, his mouth agape.
"What... is this? Is something like this even possible?"
Dang Jin-san stared at Ha Mu-baek with trembling eyes. Ha Mu-baek just shrugged with a sly grin.
Dan Mok Un-roe and Yeon Ha-min looked baffled, while Nak Woo-jin wore a complicated expression.
"You guys really have no idea?"
Dang Jin-san turned to the three in frustration and asked.
"Wh-what...?"
Dan Mok Un-roe asked back, clueless.
"Damn it. Can't you feel the internal energy settled in your dantian?!"
"Huh?"
"Oh?"
"What?"
Sounds escaped from each of the three.
Baek Ri-pyeong's eyes snapped open, his whole body shuddering. His gaze shook wildly too.
Of everyone here, Baek Ri-pyeong likely knew best just how absurd Dang Jin-san's words were.
How much effort had it taken to form even a grain of rice's tenth the size of internal energy in his dantian?
How fiercely had he trained to even sense it?
Recalling those grueling days, Dang Jin-san's claim sounded utterly impossible.
Unless it was a demonic art...
"Th-this?"
Dan Mok Un-roe rubbed near his navel and looked down.
"Half a grain of rice's half. Even this size is ridiculous... Sigh."
Dang Jin-san said with a deep sigh.
Yeon Ha-min placed her hand on her own dantian and felt it too.
Dang Jin-san glared fiercely at Ha Mu-baek.
"Isn't this a demonic art?"
The word "demonic art" made the three flinch.
"No way. This is the Righteous Heaven Alliance's Dragon Training Pavilion. I'm a Righteous Heaven Alliance man. Can't be demonic."
"Argh."
Dang Jin-san ruffled his hair roughly, unable to accept it. By his common sense, this was nonsense.
"But how does this even make sense?"
"You just experienced it."
"That's why I'm going crazy! Is this possible?!"
Dang Jin-san couldn't easily accept something beyond common sense.
This was even more absurd than yesterday's spar with the head instructor.
Sure, clans did it occasionally—elders guiding internal energy to help juniors sense and build it quickly.
Dang Jin-san had benefited from that too.
But in such a short time? Two at a time? Implanting energy into four dantians in an instant?
Unheard of, even in his clan.
Ha Mu-baek grinned at Dang Jin-san again.
"The man capable of that is your instructor."