Chapter 15
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Still Manageable?
Morning training session at dawn.
Ha Mu-baek had arrived first and was waiting for the cadets.
"Huh?"
Dang Jin-san, the first to reach the training ground, widened his eyes at the unfamiliar sight and hurried over.
"What brings you here, Instructor?"
"We need to do this right. I can't just let you all die."
Ha Mu-baek flashed a grin as he said it.
For some reason, that smile struck Dang Jin-san as utterly chilling.
"Didn't you tell us yesterday to just go home since we'll be heading off to die in two years anyway?"
He repeated the question from the day before.
"That's right. Go home. If you're not going to, then train with me. You'll die in two years either way, but I'll let you struggle a bit first. So if it's too tough, just head home."
His words flowed out indifferently.
It meant he wouldn't simply abandon them.
It was clearly a good thing.
'But it feels like something bad is coming...'
An ominous premonition dominated Dang Jin-san's mind.
And that premonition proved spot-on once the entire squad had gathered.
"I'll lay out your training schedule from now on. The first two hours of morning training will focus on external martial arts. The next two hours will be internal energy cultivation. After lunch, afternoons will cover form practice and shield techniques. On days without group training, stick to this schedule."
It was a proper training regimen.
Seeing the instructor—who had only ever talked about self-study—act this way felt strangely novel.
Ha Mu-baek immediately checked Dang Jin-san, Baek Ri-pyeong, and Nak Woo-jin's bodies, probing various spots to assess their condition.
"As expected. You've been training diligently."
He nodded approvingly at Baek Ri-pyeong.
"Not bad for you either."
He said to Dang Jin-san.
As expected from prestigious orthodox sect backgrounds, both had impressively solid musculature.
Nak Woo-jin was better off than Dan Mok Un-roe or Yeon Ha-min, but he didn't measure up to the other two.
"You four, wait here a moment."
Ha Mu-baek grabbed a shield from one side of the training ground and called over Dan Mok Un-roe.
"The forms of shield technique are decent for building strength throughout the body, no doubt. But it's still too much for you right now. So..."
Crunch.
Ha Mu-baek shattered the shield. Its size shrank to about a third, and its weight lightened accordingly.
"This weight should suit you. Practice the forms slowly with this. For now, it's just right."
After watching Dan Mok Un-roe start practicing as instructed, Ha Mu-baek turned back to the remaining four with a grin.
Yeon Ha-min's face paled slightly at that smile.
The aftereffects of last night's training still lingered all over her body.
Muscle soreness dominated her entire frame.
"Yeon Ha-min, step aside for now."
At Ha Mu-baek's command, she moved a few steps away.
"Now it's just you three."
"Gulp."
Perhaps sensing the shift in Ha Mu-baek's aura, Dang Jin-san swallowed dryly.
"Alright then, let's start with external arts and musculature training. Horse stance first."
At his order, the three immediately assumed the position.
"Here, here, here."
He tapped them to correct their form, resulting in the same posture Yeon Ha-min had held the night before.
"Lower slowly, then rise. Go down until your thighs touch your calves."
Yeon Ha-min watched from the shadows nearby, her face tinged with eager anticipation.
She knew firsthand how grueling that movement was.
But her expectations were shattered.
Nak Woo-jin showed slight signs of strain, but Dang Jin-san and Baek Ri-pyeong looked utterly serene.
"Keep going even slower than now."
Dang Jin-san looked slightly relieved. He'd been tense, but this wasn't so bad.
Squatting and standing in a horse stance-like position? Piece of cake for him.
Even if he'd lived like a playboy in his clan, he'd done the basics. Horse stance was foundational.
'This much is nothing.'
Ha Mu-baek observed their expressions in real time. He smirked, then glanced around.
"Well, I didn't prepare anything for today anyway."
He walked over to the nearby boulders where he usually sat. Since they were behind the three, none of them saw it.
But Yeon Ha-min watched his actions clearly.
With a light swing of his hand, the boulder split cleanly apart.
Two pieces of differing sizes.
He brought the larger one over and placed it on Baek Ri-pyeong's back.
"Ugh."
A short groan escaped, but Baek Ri-pyeong's movement didn't falter.
The other went onto Dang Jin-san's back.
"Hah."
He let out a sharp breath but quickly steadied himself.
Ha Mu-baek nodded as if he'd expected as much.
Yeon Ha-min's eyes went wide.
She'd been dying even without a load—how could they carry boulders like that without a care?
Ha Mu-baek faced the three.
"Still manageable?"
He grinned again as he asked.
Dang Jin-san felt like he saw the shadow of a demon in that smile.
"Th-that..."
Just as Dang Jin-san opened his mouth to respond.
Ha Mu-baek's hand moved like lightning.
"Keurk!"
"Urgh."
Groans incomparable to before burst from Dang Jin-san and Baek Ri-pyeong simultaneously.
Their bodies began to tremble violently.
"This is external arts and musculature training. No playing around with internal energy."
Ha Mu-baek had sealed their internal energy with pressure points.
Now the two mirrored Yeon Ha-min from the day before.
They gritted their teeth, faces flushed red, sweat pouring down, bodies shaking uncontrollably.
Only then did Ha Mu-baek nod in satisfaction.
'Ah.'
Yeon Ha-min newly realized the power of internal energy from their sight.
"Yeon Ha-min."
"Yes."
"You've done this once already, so this time it's loosening exercises. A form of body conditioning."
He taught her stretches—extending arms and legs, twisting the body—to relieve knotted muscles.
At the same time, he instructed the three in new movements while overseeing Dan Mok Un-roe's shield practice.
"Un-roe, extend the shield further. Widen your stance there."
Despite never having practiced it himself, Ha Mu-baek knew every precise motion of the shield technique.
Dan Mok Un-roe moved according to his instructions, sweat pouring profusely.
All five were exhausted.
The three in particular were suffering.
Yet deep down, they felt a spark of accomplishment.
For the first time, they truly felt like Dragon Training Pavilion cadets receiving proper instruction.
An hour flew by in an instant.
"Good. One break quarter-hour, then internal energy cultivation."
At his words, the four—drenched in sweat—collapsed on the spot, but Ha Mu-baek wouldn't allow it.
"Keep moving even during breaks. Stopping dead will knot your muscles, and tomorrow morning will be hell."
He grinned and taught them muscle-loosening stretches—the same ones Yeon Ha-min had done for the full hour.
A quarter-hour later.
The five sat cross-legged and began internal energy cultivation, and soon it was lunchtime.
At Devouring Dragon Pavilion, Ha Mu-baek's meddling continued. He piled food high on plates first and handed one to Dan Mok Un-roe.
"Eat it all."
He did the same for the other four.
"I can't always come with you, so remember these portions. Rice, meat, vegetables—in this ratio and amount. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. And Dan Mok Un-roe, pack that much after dinner and eat once more at night."
Dan Mok Un-roe looked a bit queasy at that.
Still, he forced the food down.
Training was training. He'd give it his all.
Ha Mu-baek finished first.
"I need to hit the forge. Finish up and meet me at the training ground later."
At his words, Dang Jin-san felt another ominous premonition.
'Why the forge...?'
It felt like he'd return with something to torment them even more.
"Nngh."
She'd tried to hold it in, but a groan slipped out anyway.
Not a single part of her body was free of pain.
Every inch ached uniformly. Even small movements were agony from the muscle soreness.
How could every muscle in her body be worked to this extent?
It was called training, but to Yeon Ha-min, it was pure abuse.
Yet a faint smile played on her lips.
It hurt, but these were days where she truly felt alive.
It had been three days since she'd woken from nightmares, trained alone, and met the instructor.
Those three days of training had been brutal.
The groans echoing in her dorm room were probably the same for the others.
The silver lining? She had the room to herself now.
Female cadets were few in the Dragon Training Pavilion, so they all shared Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
Rooms were by squad affiliation, of course.
Yeon Ha-min had shared with another female Fierce Dragon Corps cadet, but that morning, she'd left the pavilion.
She hadn't been able to endure the reality.
Fierce Dragon Corps had even fewer women than Wa Dragon or Hidden Dragon Corps.
It made sense.
Who would volunteer knowing they'd head there after two years?
"Resting properly is important training too."
Recalling the instructor's words, Yeon Ha-min ended her day with loosening stretches.
She'd learned two days ago that sleeping without them would worsen the knots and pain.
Following Instructor Ha's guidance, she gently worked out her whole body's muscles and lay on her bunk.
Perhaps from pushing her body to the limit those three days.
She slept soundly.
No more nightmares. No thoughts of her clan.
Hubei Yeon Clan.
Yeon Ha-min's family, also known as the Yeon house.
'No, not my family. Not really.'
Maybe because it was her first night alone? Unwanted memories of the clan surfaced.
She still vividly remembered first seeing those massive gates.
She must have been three.
Stepmother—no, stepfather.
She had no memory of her real father. By the time she could recognize things, it was just her and her mother.
Then one day, a new father appeared.
As a child, she was just happy to have a dad.
Holding his hand, she'd been overwhelmed by the immense scale of the clan.
And her surname changed.
From Im to Yeon.
That's how she became part of the Yeon Clan.
Was it her youth? Or the sturdy stepfather protecting her and her mother?
She hadn't known then. That she'd entered hell.
The war's aftermath reached even Hubei Yeon Clan.
A long, brutal war.
Its result: her stepfather's death.
That's when hell truly began.
With no blood ties left in the clan.
Her mother wanted to leave after her husband's death, but the clan head refused.
Some noble excuse about them being family. Clan prestige, no doubt.
And they'd upheld that prestige just by keeping mother and daughter confined.
How they were treated didn't matter.
It showed naked contempt, but all within the clan walls.
Around age fifteen.
That's when the blatant stares began.
The clansmen's gazes toward her brimmed with lust.
Days where she might not have endured and ended it all.
What got her through that hell? Her mother.
And two others who helped quietly.
Big brother and youngest uncle.
Both stepfather and mother were remarried.
Stepfather had a son, seven years older than Yeon Ha-min.
The day they met, he'd been overjoyed at getting a little sister.
No blood shared, yet he'd cared for her more than any real brother.
That never changed after father passed.
Youngest uncle.
Perhaps because he'd adored his brother so.
Even after father's death, he shielded Yeon Ha-min and her mother in the clan.
His position wasn't strong, but he did his utmost within his limits.
That must be why.
How she'd endured that hell at all.
Suddenly, her mother's face appeared, tears flowing.
But it was a relief.
Only kind faces came to mind.
No demonic fiends from hell. Her body was too exhausted to recall them.
'I wonder if big brother is okay.'
Leaving the clan for Dragon Training Pavilion had been entirely thanks to him.
Getting her—a caged bird—out of the clan. Arranging the journey to Wuchang alone, though nearby.
All him.
If the clan head found out, he wouldn't let it slide.
Worry surged, but there was nothing she could do.
Except.
Instructor Ha Mu-baek.
There was something about him.
She had to learn as much as possible from him. Maybe a new path would open.
With that thought, Yeon Ha-min's eyes slowly closed.