Chapter 76
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Too Lazy, So I Roughly Made It Up
“Alright, the flow of internal energy goes like this. Then, at the end, lightly press down with your legs and soles, and release it all at once.”
With those words, Ha Mu-baek's form shot straight up into the air.
The seven cadets craned their necks to watch.
Even at a conservative estimate, he'd leaped at least five zhang.
Ha Mu-baek flipped his body lightly and landed softly on the ground.
“Easy, right? The trick is simple. It's not a lightness skill that demands a specific heart method. Just circulate your internal energy according to the trick I taught you, using whatever heart method you've learned, and move your body.”
“Um... it doesn't look that easy...”
Nak Woo-jin said in a voice full of doubt.
“What's the name of the lightness skill?”
Ha Seol-ran asked cautiously.
“Vermilion Bird Flying Heaven. It's a type of Lightness Ascending to the Void. Alright, let's give it a try starting now!”
At Ha Mu-baek's command, the cadets lined up in front of the wall began kicking off the ground while circulating their internal energy.
He'd said it was easy, but it wasn't.
Controlling the flow of internal energy and your body movements simultaneously was no simple task.
Their internal energy and bodies moved independently.
The cadets were soon drenched in sweat.
Amid it all, Ju Woo-myeong was gradually picking up the knack.
The more he did, the more he realized that yesterday's training hadn't been in vain.
It had only been about an hour of practice, but his body was already getting used to leaping toward the top of the wall.
As his body moved on instinct, he could focus more on handling his internal energy.
An hour passed, then two.
Before they knew it, the sun hung high in the sky, pouring down its scorching heat.
Just as they thought it was time for lunch...
“Taaah!”
With a spirited shout, Ju Woo-myeong's form soared upward.
Three zhang.
He leaped exactly that height and grabbed the knot on the rope.
“Whoa!”
“Wow!”
The others stopped their training and let out cries of admiration at the sight.
At that moment...
Ha Mu-baek's form immediately leaped exactly three zhang high, and he smacked Ju Woo-myeong's butt with his palm.
Smack!
A sharp sound pierced everyone's ears.
“Ugh.”
And Ju Woo-myeong's small groan.
“Once you've grabbed on, climb the wall as fast as you can. What are you doing standing there dazed? You just got caught by a jiangshi. I told you clearly—jiangshi can leap three zhang too.”
Ha Mu-baek, landing on the ground, shouted fiercely.
He showed no mercy whatsoever when it came to training.
“Ju Woo-myeong, Instructor Ha is right. That was too sloppy.”
Even Han Seol-bing, Ju Woo-myeong's assigned instructor, offered the same criticism.
Ju Woo-myeong, now back on the ground, bowed his head deeply.
“I'm sorry. I was careless.”
“Got it? Then get over there, run, leap up, climb the wall—that's your training now.”
At Ha Mu-baek's order, Ju Woo-myeong resumed his practice.
The second to succeed was unexpectedly Dan Mok Un-roe.
Everyone had assumed it would naturally be Baek Ri-pyeong next.
Thanks to Ju Woo-myeong's example, as soon as Dan Mok Un-roe grabbed the rope, he climbed the wall at full speed, and Ha Mu-baek's palm sliced through empty air.
After him came Baek Ri-pyeong and Yeon Ha-min.
Then Ha Seol-ran and Dang Jin-san, and finally Nak Woo-jin.
By sunset, all had succeeded in leaping three zhang.
Dinner time atop the wall once more.
“Instructor, what sect's lightness skill is Vermilion Bird Flying Heaven? I've never heard of it.”
Dang Jin-san asked curiously.
It was an impressive lightness skill. At least when it came to leaping height.
Still, it was strange that such a technique wasn't well-known.
“It's from the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”
Ha Mu-baek said dismissively.
“Pardon? Can just anyone learn something like that?”
Dang Jin-san asked in surprise.
A lightness skill this advanced had to be at least classified level.
“Doesn't matter.”
“It's not classified?”
At the question, Ha Mu-baek's gaze shifted to Han Seol-bing. He hadn't known that far.
Han Seol-bing let out a light sigh and said,
“It is classified.”
At that answer, the seven cadets' faces stiffened.
They, as Fierce Dragon Corps cadets, had learned a martial art classified as secret by the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
If word got out, it could spell big trouble.
“I said it doesn't matter. What are they gonna do if they find out?”
Ha Mu-baek said as if it were a trivial issue.
“He's right.”
Han Seol-bing added.
The cadets fell into confusion.
Classified, but it doesn't matter?
“Instructor Ha made it himself. Out of necessity.”
The cadets' expressions changed dramatically once again.
This goblin-like instructor was at a level where he created martial arts?
They knew he was incredibly skilled, but the more they learned, the more enigmatic he became.
“Um, then why call it Vermilion Bird Flying Heaven?”
It resembled a vermilion bird ascending, but the name "Flying Heaven" didn't quite fit a technique focused on leaping height—that was the thought behind Yeon Ha-min's question.
“Too lazy, so I roughly made it up.”
Ha Mu-baek glanced at Yeon Ha-min and answered.
A look of absurdity spread across everyone's faces—even Ha Seol-ran, his sister.
Han Seol-bing, who knew the full story, chuckled softly.
“There's also Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise.”
The cadets' expressions twisted even more grotesquely.
“Instructor Ha's Four Divine Beasts Arts.”
Han Seol-bing said, amused by their reactions.
“Um, did you learn it too, Instructor Han?”
Dan Mok Un-roe asked cautiously.
“Of course. And you'll probably learn them too. They're made for fighting jiangshi.”
“There are three more?”
Baek Ri-pyeong asked, stunned.
“Well, the others are similar to Vermilion Bird Flying Heaven. They don't demand specific internal energy, and they're not hard. Just need constant practice. Ah, but they might be hard...”
Han Seol-bing muttered uncertainly after a moment's thought.
The ones learning the arts were different.
The Four Divine Beasts Arts were created by Ha Mu-baek for Hocheon Corps warriors amid brutal fights against jiangshi.
They weren't hard for Hocheon members, but Fierce Dragon Corps cadets were another story.
Vermilion Bird Flying Heaven was the easiest, made purely for escape.
“Not hard? They are hard.”
Ha Mu-baek interjected dismissively.
“You still have to learn them. That's the point of this training. We'll stay here until you do. Tomorrow, we'll do actual combat against jiangshi using formations.”
Ha Mu-baek said casually, chewing on jerky.
The cadets' faces paled again.
“Against jiangshi?”
“You've learned how to flee, so now fight.”
Ha Mu-baek replied matter-of-factly to Dang Jin-san's question.
“What if they swarm us?”
Dang Jin-san pressed.
“I just said—you've learned to flee. So flee. You need real combat experience for that too. Not just practicing leaps without pursuit.”
“I-I think we need more training...”
Dang Jin-san said cautiously.
“A few more days, maybe?”
“Real combat is training. Don't worry. I won't let you die.”
Those words were even scarier.
He won't let you die.
Implying everything else was fair game.
Night passed, and morning broke.
After breakfast, they descended the wall via rope.
“Should I go?”
“I'll handle it.”
Han Seol-bing answered Ha Mu-baek's question. He nodded lightly.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned to Ha Seol-ran and Ju Woo-myeong.
“You two haven't learned joint techniques yet, right?”
“Yes.”
“That's right.”
The pair replied.
“Then just watch for the first round.”
The moment Ha Mu-baek finished speaking, Han Seol-bing vanished.
“Grab your swords and shields and get ready. The jiangshi will be here within an hourglass.”
Ha Mu-baek told the seven-man squad cadets.
Dang Jin-san started to protest but quickly took his position in the formation instead.
How hard they'd practiced that formation to catch Namgung Ji-hu at the last Summer Combat Festival.
It formed naturally.
Ju Woo-myeong let out a small gasp at the sight.
“Ah, that's...”
“Yeah. The formation that caught Namgung Ji-hu.”
Ju Woo-myeong's eyes sparkled.
How his heart had raced when he'd heard Namgung Ji-hu lost at Wudang.
Memories flooded back of his chest swelling with competitive spirit.
Now he could see that formation in action. Even if it was against jiangshi.
“Incoming.”
Not even half an hourglass had passed. Yet Ha Mu-baek issued a low warning.
Tension rippled through the eyes of the five cadets in the seven-man squad.
Grips tightened on swords and shields.
Then Han Seol-bing appeared, unfolding her lightness skill swiftly.
She leaped over the squad's formation.
And behind her...
It appeared.
That grotesquely hideous monster.
The thing Ha Mu-baek called a jiangshi.
A single creature, rotting in places and creaking as it moved, charged rapidly.
Eerie.
Its body jerked like it was broken in spots, yet it was fast.
A paradoxical sight.
One eyeball had rotted away, leaving an empty socket.
The flesh on its face hung in tatters.
It swung an arm with exposed bone.
“Get it together!”
Ha Mu-baek shouted then.
At his cry, Nak Woo-jin instinctively moved his shield.
Bang!
A sound unbelievable for a rotting arm echoed as Nak Woo-jin staggered back a step.
He'd been momentarily entranced by its hideous form.
But this was way off.
Not at all like the jiangshi they'd imagined.
Common knowledge held jiangshi as cleanly preserved corpses, right?
That must have been mere fantasy from stories.
The reality before their eyes was a rotting corpse.
“Ugh...”
Ha Seol-ran couldn't even look straight at the jiangshi.
“Look properly. How do you expect to fight if you can't even face it?”
Ha Mu-baek said coldly at the sight.
Right now, he was instructor, not brother.
Perhaps the first attack's power snapped them to attention.
Afterward, the seven-man squad properly formed their sword formation.
Nak Woo-jin blocked the front, Dan Mok Un-roe attacked from the flank.
Baek Ri-pyeong struck the front.
Dang Jin-san assisted Baek Ri-pyeong. Yeon Ha-min targeted the rear.
“Uwaaaargh.”
The jiangshi flailed its limbs with strange cries.
It bared filthy teeth and howled savagely.
“Shouldn't you warn them?”
Han Seol-bing said worriedly at the sight.
The squad was fighting well.
But ignorance led to unexpected accidents without precautions.
Ha Mu-baek nodded and shouted,
“It's a Dead Stiff Corpse. Its teeth carry jiangshi poison. Get bitten, and you might turn into one like it. So don't let it bite you.”
The squad flinched at his words.
No wonder it'd been lunging with its teeth.
Swords slashed the jiangshi repeatedly.
Yet it didn't fall. Blades barely penetrated.
The squad overwhelmed the Dead Stiff Corpse but couldn't finish it.
“Dead Stiff Corpses fall only if you smash the head or sever the neck.”
Ha Mu-baek added advice.
Swords focused on one spot.
The neck.
It resisted, but repeated strikes finally severed it.
The creature's movements ceased.
“Hoo.”
“Hah. Hah. Hah.”
“Ha... gonna die.”
Tension released, they collapsed in heaps.
This time, even Ha Mu-baek said nothing.
Instead, he asked,
“How was it?”
The five turned to him.
“Real...”
Dang Jin-san opened with a voice full of resentment.