Chapter 37

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Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 37

Chapter Title: Lesson 9. Learning Martial Arts - 2

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'What in the world is this guy?'

That was the thought Dokgo Yeon had been dwelling on the most lately.

Ban Yu-won was different from any other man she knew... no, from anyone at all.

His talent for martial arts was exceptional, beyond question, but what astonished her even more was the potential of his other abilities.

It almost seemed like those abilities had elevated all his other qualities to such heights.

'I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was truly shocked when he spotted the flaw in my magic that even I couldn't find.'

When he'd uncovered and dismantled the secret of the labyrinth that even she, so confident in her senses, had missed.

At that moment, Dokgo Yeon became convinced: if she wanted to reach the top of the tower, she had to bring this man with her.

The other companions merely marveled at how impressive Ban Yu-won was, but Dokgo Yeon couldn't see it that simply.

If it had taken three hours to crack the trick, that would be one thing, but no matter how she looked at it, he...

'He seemed to notice it from the very start. I don't know why he waited a full three hours without stepping in.'

It made her feel like a fool, sparking a bit of anger, but she believed he wouldn't act without reason, so she couldn't bring herself to press him.

Besides, the technique he demonstrated right after was so astonishing that any urge to question him vanished completely.

Even she, who had experienced countless feats and mysteries in the martial world, couldn't easily assess the internal energy he unleashed—it shook the presence of that massive monster.

'It resembled the sorcery wielded by Daoists, yet it was different. Sorcery has exploitable gaps, but the miracle he created was utterly solid in itself...'

Of course, she could suppress it with her own inner power, but the amount of energy it would cost her would far exceed what he'd expended.

That meant Dokgo Yeon's own martial arts depth fell short of the depth of his technique.

And he was someone who had only just begun developing his abilities!

'How on earth...'

The gap in their realms was still vast, so curiosity outweighed jealousy.

With such incredible talent and potential already, what would happen if he grew systematically?

How quickly, how far could he go?

That was why Dokgo Yeon had decided to teach him martial arts.

'I want to raise him with my own hands.'

No, more precisely, it was a bit different.

She didn't want someone with such tremendous talent to be molded by anyone else.

Right now, while he was still like a newborn babe, unversed in systematic combat arts like martial ways—she wanted to claim him first.

It was the first prodigy she'd ever encountered. No wonder her eyes gleamed with fervor.

She wanted to dye him in her colors, even if it meant passing on her most vital martial art, the foundation of her being.

'The Mystic Body Art was never meant to be taught to outsiders.'

Did Ban Yu-won even grasp the significance of that?

No, in truth, this wasn't a martial art one could teach simply by being revered as a master.

The Mystic Body Art was part of a family divine skill passed down strictly through bloodlines.

If her father learned of this, he'd be far more shocked than reproachful toward her.

She, prouder than anyone of her clan and its divine art, was imparting it to an outsider she'd met just recently.

'Unless Ban Yu-won became my husband, it could never be accepted.'

Dokgo Yeon let out a wry chuckle at the thought.

Herself, married? To this thunderbolt of a man from another world, no less?

She'd sooner kill Ban Yu-won and pretend it never happened.

Imparting the Mystic Body Art was that grave a matter.

If it were discovered, that is.

'But the Mystic Body Art is a divine skill that evolves uniquely based on the practitioner's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠abilities. Unless my father meets him in person and checks his meridians, no one will ever link it back to me.'

In this distant dimension, who would find out whom she'd taught it to and make an issue of it?

Of course, Ban Yu-won would be the only one she'd ever pass it to.

True to its status as a forbidden technique not meant for outsiders, the Mystic Body Art required the teacher to personally plant the seed of its energy in the student's body.

Extracting that seed was no small burden, so even with no risk of discovery, she had no intention of creating any other inheritors.

"Ban Yu-won, are you ready?"

Lost in thoughts of transmitting her clan's secret art, she'd let her mind wander too long.

It was a decision she'd already made, with no intention of backing out—further agonizing served no purpose.

As she steeled her resolve and turned, there stood Ban Yu-won, clad only in light training pants, his upper and lower body fully exposed.

"Perfect condition, aside from feeling like I might die of embarrassment?"

"Tch..."

It wasn't that Ban Yu-won was a pervert.

Dokgo Yeon had ordered him to dress this way!

Eve was desperately trying to cover him, but it only made it more provocative.

"Hah, haa, aaah."

"Lucelle, don't look, don't."

"As Light is, loo, looking though."

"I'm fine. I'm a guy!"

"That's a cowardly excuse!"

As Light and Lucelle, reduced to mere spectators, stared intently at Ban Yu-won.

Was it thanks to acquiring a body honed to perfection in such a short time, without picking up any bad habits?

Ban Yu-won's physique exuded an allure that could captivate anyone.

It was proof of his innate aptitude, strong enough that he hadn't even needed to focus on external training.

'But it's not perfect yet.'

Of course, the unparalleled Dokgo Yeon wasn't satisfied with that.

That was why she aimed to reshape his body and magic in one go with the Mystic Body Art.

"First, a word of warning."

"If it's going to be long, shouldn't you have said it before I stripped?"

"The martial art I'm about to teach you will completely transform the nature of your qi... your magical power and the foundation of your body."

"What?!"

He'd approached learning this "basic" martial art lightly, but this didn't sound light at all!

As Ban Yu-won gasped, Dokgo Yeon continued calmly, as if to soothe him.

"That's because your magical power is completely unrefined right now. Training it into qi naturally changes its nature—it's only logical."

"Well... true."

"No need to take it too seriously. It's just purer, more powerful energy. Not like flame arts or ice arts that overhaul your magic entirely. I called it a basic martial art, didn't I?"

"So, you're filtering the magical power through a framework to turn it into purer qi?"

"...Yes, something like that."

A flicker of amazement crossed Dokgo Yeon's eyes, but Ban Yu-won chalked it up to her chiding his ignorance of martial arts.

"By ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stimulating the body with this purified qi, you'll temper the body's nature to be purer and stronger too. As you constantly refine your body, your magical power will be steadily consumed, and since both body and magic train together, their vessels will naturally expand. It won't increase your total magical power, but that's no issue for you, right?"

"Yeah. I have ways to get more magic fast."

"That's usually the biggest hurdle."

Dokgo Yeon muttered in disbelief at Ban Yu-won's casual reply.

Meanwhile, the more Ban Yu-won heard, the more the Mystic Body Art seemed tailor-made for him.

"I've explained the basics, so let's get to it. Stay still."

"Huh? Don't you usually recite an incantation or something first?"

"It's odd enough that you know about martial art transmissions... Even if I recited the incantation, would you understand it? Easier to just imprint it directly on your body."

Not really—he could grasp anything spoken instantly.

But since he perfectly understood physical language too, either way worked fine.

As he thought that, Dokgo Yeon had already moved behind him.

"One more time: stay still. It might hurt, but don't open your mouth."

"Ah... so you're the type, huh?"

"What the heck have you been reading?"

"Sorry, go ahead."

Ban Yu-won clamped his mouth shut.

Dokgo Yeon's soft hands brushed near his neck, then slowly descended to rest between his shoulder blades.

The motion felt oddly sensual, forcing Ban Yu-won to struggle to calm his flushing cheeks.

"Focus."

Who's making it hard to focus!

—He nearly retorted, but then.

Ban Yu-won felt a black flame flowing from her hands into his body and widened his eyes.

'Hot—insanely hot...!'

No metaphor—this was purely scorching.

Even this tiny clump blazed hot enough to incinerate his entire body, swelling its presence the moment it entered and rampaging freely.

No, wait.

The magical power spread evenly throughout his body was surging toward the black flame like moths to a flame.

'Is this... magical power? Dokgo Yeon's? Don't tell me from now on all my magic will be this hot—'

Intense pain dominated his mind, cutting off his thoughts.

The more the flame devoured his magical power, the larger it grew, soon burrowing through his body to carve paths where none had existed.

Magical power from all over rushed along those paths, and the flame greedily consumed it, accelerating even faster.

'At this rate, it'll scorch my whole body...!'

Ironically, amid the excruciating process, Ban Yu-won gradually felt at ease.

The massive energy from the black flame circulating through him invigorated his entire body, inducing changes beyond mere physical training.

As he grew accustomed to the heat, embracing it as proof of his growth, he regained his mental calm.

'Magical power isn't just about using it as is.'

As Dokgo Yeon had said, the magic transformed into black flame was purer, fiercer, and more enduring.

Once all his magical power had turned to black flame, Dokgo Yeon let out a deep sigh and withdrew her hands from his back.

"Circulate the mystic qi... the flame endlessly along the paths I've imprinted in you. That's the start of the Mystic Body Art. Once you've made progress, you'll find the next paths yourself."

Ban Yu-won half-lidded his eyes, examining his body.

Now he could perfectly observe the changes within with his own eyes.

In truth, it was far easier than he'd braced for.

Dokgo Yeon had already mapped the paths.

And he was aware of the bodily changes from the circulating black flame.

If this was the Mystic Body Art, hadn't he already mastered it?

As Dokgo Yeon had warned, his magical power had fully transformed into black flame—mystic qi.

But it was flame in name only; its nature was the purest magical power imaginable, so handling it going forward would be no issue.

On the contrary, repeated Mystic Body Art training would make the mystic qi even purer and denser, yielding far greater power from the same amount.

For now, the depth had dropped by nearly 50, a setback, but factoring in the positive changes from mystic qi, it was negligible. He was confident he'd refill it quickly.

"How is it? Satisfied?"

Once he'd grown accustomed to the qi circulation—certain he could maintain it even while speaking—Ban Yu-won finally replied.

"Perfect. Think about what gift you want."

"Already adapted... Heh, I'll look forward to that gift."

Ban Yu-won would never forget the expression Dokgo Yeon wore as she said it.

It was the look of a spider gazing at a butterfly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ensnared in its web.

But as he opened his mouth to respond, Dokgo Yeon cut in first.

"The basics of training are done, so now for your next task."

"Huh? Just keep circulating it like this?"

"That's a given, but besides that."

Dokgo Yeon, now stepping back a bit, pointed at his torso.

His upper and lower body were slick with strangely foul-smelling sweat.

"You stink terribly, so clean yourself up thoroughly. Unless you want to explore alone."

Only then did Ban Yu-won fully understand why he'd needed to strip before learning the martial art.