Chapter 384: Well Done.

Just once.

Father had definitely said so.

He said that if I succeeded with just one attack, he’d tell me where Mother was.

‘…Will it work?’

I had agreed to it, but honestly, I wasn’t confident.

More than ever before.

I’d usually tackle anything head-on, but there’s a limit to everything.

‘What should I do?’

The air was still.

Only the sound of the wind brushed past the open ground.

Father and I faced each other, keeping our distance.

The serious and somewhat poignant atmosphere from just moments ago had completely vanished.

Only a chilling atmosphere lingered.

Father stood watching me calmly, his hands clasped behind his back.

The moonlight rising behind him cast a shadow, making his unusually red eyes seem to glow.

‘Come.’

At Father’s words, I focused my gaze.

Heat surged, rising instantly to my upper dantian, filling the inside with internal energy.

‘Ssssuuu….’

Heat escaped from my lips.

It was proof that my body was properly warmed up.

Feeling the power begin to circulate throughout my body, I asked Father.

‘Won’t you give me some leeway?’

At my words, Father tilted his head, then released his clasped hands and extended one arm forward.

‘I won’t use one hand.’

It was a significant condition.

Since Father was of the same martial arts lineage as me, not using one hand…

…was akin to giving up perfect balance while simultaneously expanding his attack range.

‘…If that’s the case, how about one leg?’

I decided to be a bit more underhanded.

It’s easier to have my legs restrained than my arms.

‘…’

‘That won’t do. Understood.’

Of course, I gave up immediately at a single look from Father.

Did I act too cheap?

Sighing inwardly with regret, I examined Father again with a serious gaze.

‘Does he mean he won’t use his left hand?’

Judging by the fact that the arm behind his back was his left arm.

It seemed he meant he wouldn’t use his left hand.

Then, it would be best to target his left side if possible.

Kkuuuuuk-!

Thinking about my movement path, I put strength into my toes.

Starting from the soles of my feet, flames began to swirl.

I crouched down. It was to gain speed.

I had no intention of testing the waters from the start.

I had to go all out.

Even then, it would be touch and go.

Using the surging heat as propulsion.

The moment I was about to leap at Father.

Pat-!

‘…!’

Father’s figure vanished before my eyes.

I immediately moved my head.

Nothing was caught by the ki I had spread out.

I couldn’t properly sense Father’s presence either.

This was a movement relying solely on instinct.

As if proving that choice wasn’t wrong, something swiftly passed by, brushing my cheek.

It was Father’s arm.

Thump-! Kwadeudeuk-!

The speed was so great that I only felt Father’s movement belatedly after dodging the attack.

It was a close call, but I managed to dodge it somehow.

However, judging by the air pressure I felt behind me and the sound of something breaking.

‘If I hadn’t dodged, it would have been the end.’

The power contained in that single strike must have been no joke.

‘Even now…!’

Checking Father’s condition, my eyebrows furrowed.

The arm he had behind his back was clearly his left arm.

But the arm he used for the attack was also his left arm.

I naturally expected him to attack with his right arm.

‘I was tricked.’

Did he lure me into complacency?

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I also moved my body.

If his left arm was extended and he couldn’t use his right arm.

That meant his side was open.

To target that spot, I also twisted my waist.

Gwoooou-! Flames suddenly burst from Father’s body, obscuring my vision.

I immediately narrowed my ki sensing to increase accuracy and speed.

I felt something near his chest.

It was too late to dodge.

I concentrated my defensive ki onto a single point.

Kwadeudeuk-! I felt the impact.

The ki I had painstakingly gathered shattered in an instant.

Was it Father’s knee? It was hard to identify properly.

Pang-! As my defensive ki burst, the overwhelming impact sent me flying backward.

Deudeuk-! If I fell face-first, it would be the end, so I had to somehow brace myself with my feet and slow down.

My gaze remained forward, needing to grasp Father’s subsequent actions.

But Father was no longer visible there.

‘Damn it…!’

I lost him. Where did he go…

Tung-!

‘…!’

While flying backward, my movement stopped as if my back hit a wall.

All I could see was the open ground, so there couldn’t possibly be a wall.

That means…

Feeling a chilling sensation, I quickly twisted my body.

Tung-! By then, Father’s fist had already connected with my chest.

‘Kkuhk…!’

The impact that erupted the moment it hit my chest sent me flying truly far this time, forcing me to roll on the ground.

The pain wasn’t that great.

Considering it landed without me even properly deploying my ki.

It seemed Father had controlled the force.

The fact that made my blood run cold was this:

If Father hadn’t controlled it during that last attack.

I would have died on the spot.

Getting up from the ground, I urgently tried to find Father.

Father was standing where he had pushed me, looking in my direction.

Was he waiting for me?

Seeing that, I asked incredulously.

‘You didn’t say you’d attack first.’

‘I also didn’t say I would permit you to attack first.’

‘…Damn it, that’s true too.’

Was it my fault for naturally assuming he’d let me attack first?

That was one problem, but…

The most crucial problem was this:

‘The difference in our levels is just too vast.’

What is this?

Even if I’m an incomplete Hwajing.

Isn’t this much of a difference a bit much?

He even declared he wouldn’t use one arm.

He was truly treating me like a child playing a game.

No matter how I looked at it, it was utterly ridiculous.

As I looked at Father with a sense of futility.

Father was also looking at me with a subtle expression.

‘Your reactions are decent. You relied on instinct rather than calculation for your counter, but it wasn’t wrong.’

Was this an evaluation of my movements?

It was like he was bestowing guidance.

‘However, it’s a flaw that you seem unfamiliar with handling heat.’

I myself agreed with Father’s words.

My Nine Flame Wheel Technique was about to reach level seven, surpassing level six.

But my understanding of this martial art wasn’t particularly high.

Increasing speed with smoke.

Unleashing flames for destructive power.

Is that all it amounts to?

It seemed absurd for a martial artist who had reached Hwajing to have such little understanding of their own martial art, but…

…it couldn’t be helped.

‘I haven’t really learned from anyone.’

‘…’

At my words, Father’s expression flinched slightly.

It implied that while I was also guilty of not focusing on martial arts, Father hadn’t exactly paid much attention to me either.

Father, understanding my implication, averted his gaze slightly from mine.

‘Now’s the chance.’

The moment Father averted his gaze, even briefly.

I burst into flames and charged towards Father.

Simultaneously, I gathered my internal energy onto my palm.

The flames swirling around my body moved towards it, quickly forming an Flame Orb (Yeomok).

I tried to thrust the Flame Orb towards Father.

Tak-!

‘Huh?’

Father swung his hand and swatted the Flame Orb from my palm.

The Flame Orb, disappointingly, flew towards the forest beyond the open ground.

Kwagagagang-! Not long after, it created a massive roar with an explosion sound.

What was that? What just happened?

As I looked at Father with a bewildered expression, Father said.

‘Your creation speed is fast. The power you gathered wasn’t bad either.’

‘…Ah, yes, thank you.’

‘However. It lacked weight.’

As Father spoke, something formed on his palm.

Gwoooooo-! It was a Flame Orb.

However, it was different from the Flame Orb I made.

It was much faster.

Rather than gathering flames like I did.

It felt like it suddenly appeared on his palm.

It was even larger and a deeper shade of red.

Just looking at it, I could feel overwhelming power.

My body trembled. Wondering why I was trembling so much.

‘Am I being pulled in?’

The Flame Orb in Father’s hand was pulling my body.

Did Flame Orbs have this kind of power?

‘You must not only create and sustain it, but keep it rotating internally.’

I didn’t understand it right now, but one thing was certain.

If this hit me, not even my bones would remain.

Just as I wondered how to deal with it, Father casually tossed the Flame Orb he was holding aside.

Then.

Thump-! The sound of the flying Flame Orb landing somewhere far off could be heard.

A few seconds later.

-!!!! Along with flames soaring high into the sky far away.

An immense vibration echoed through the ground.

It was a completely different level from the Flame Orb I used.

What is that…?

As I watched the flames with a blank expression.

Father continued to speak to me.

‘Remember the rotation. Always think about what the ‘wheel’ (輪) in Nine Flame Wheel Technique means, and strive to embody its intent.’

Nine Flame Wheel Technique.

Upon casting, a ring made of flames was created based on the martial artist’s attained enlightenment.

Furthermore, depending on how it was used, the ring could rotate rapidly.

I had wondered why the ring’s form was embodied in my body, but…

…I had never tried to find something there until the end.

But to think there was this aspect…

He’s telling me to incorporate the impact of such rings into other martial arts?

‘…Why didn’t I think of that?’

In a way, it was the most fundamental theory.

I finally understood the meaning embedded right in the name.

Did I need to consider rotation, not just compression?

‘Wait a minute….’

What arose as a question amidst this was:

What we’re doing now feels less like sparring and more like…

‘A teaching spar, doesn’t it?’

Is it my imagination?

But judging by everything, it didn’t seem like my imagination.

As I stood there flustered, Father said.

‘How far can you go?’

‘Huh?’

‘Do everything you can.’

A thought flashed through my mind at Father’s words.

Could it be…

‘Is he perhaps bothered by my comment about not learning from anyone?’

Did he decide to teach me something now, after I said I was doing things my own way because I hadn’t learned from anyone?

It was a somewhat favorable situation, as I had intended to ask Father about martial arts anyway.

‘Family Head-nim….’

‘Yes.’

‘Weren’t we sparring just now?’

‘Yes. We are.’

I almost said, ‘But this doesn’t seem like a situation for teaching,’ but I held back.

It was a necessary situation.

And I felt this situation wasn’t necessarily bad.

I instantly raised the internal energy circulating in my upper dantian.

It soared into the air.

And before long, a change was occurring in the sky.

Crimson Sky (Jeokcheon).

Like the Flame Orb, I used one of the family’s secret techniques.

Beneath the reddened sky, heat fully settled.

Kiiiiiing-!

The ring of flames surrounding my body spun ceaselessly.

‘He told me to focus on rotation, didn’t he?’

I had some grasp on the Flame Orb, but I wasn’t sure how to handle Crimson Sky.

For now, I moved.

Putting aside the teaching spar, the main point was the actual fight.

Under the influence of Crimson Sky, my movement speed increased slightly.

Targeting the right side where his arm was restricted, I charged in.

Even amidst this, Father was observing the Crimson Sky I created.

Does that mean it’s at a level where he doesn’t need to concentrate?

This is truly embarrassing. In many ways.

Aiming for the right side, I unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Despite his large build, Father moved lightly, dodging all my moves.

It wasn’t a particularly special movement.

He was simply faster than me.

Thump-! After shifting my center of gravity to my left foot.

I unleashed the Nine Flame Wheel Spear.

I poured more internal energy than necessary to increase its range.

It was an impractical way to use it, but it would be acceptable if the sole purpose was to succeed with one strike.

Just before the flames gathered in my hand were about to explode forward.

Father’s palm blocked my path.

‘Your gathering is fast, but your extension is slow.’

‘…!’

Whoooosh-! Flames erupted from his palm.

The erupted flames enveloped and passed by me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and raised my ki, but it was already too late.

Or so I thought.

Ironically, I felt no pain.

Something felt strange, so I opened my eyes slightly to check.

Flames had indeed erupted, but they had devastated everything except the spot where I stood.

‘…’

What should I even call this?

It was enough to make me lose the will to fight.

Should I say he was overwhelming in every aspect?

At this point, it might just be easier…

…to ask Father to catch the Heavenly Demon for me.

Seeing my bewildered expression, Father asked nonchalantly.

‘Are you thinking of giving up now?’

‘…’

After showing me this much, is he telling me to just give up?

Truthfully, that would have been the sensible thing to do.

‘No.’

Unfortunately, I had no intention of giving up yet.

‘You told me to do everything I could if I was going to do it.’

‘…’

‘There’s still a lot I haven’t done.’

At my words, Father nodded.

It was permission to try more.

There was still something I hadn’t shown Father.

Realizing that just using Nine Flame Wheel Technique wouldn’t suffice.

I had to try other approaches.

I couldn’t use demonic energy or blood energy.

Even using all of that, I doubted I could win, but…

…I didn’t want to use such power in front of Father, at least.

Then.

There was only one thing left.

‘…Ah, he told me not to use this.’

My master (Jin) had said.

He had warned me not to use it for fighting until he gave permission.

‘Isn’t it easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?’

For now, I had to try something.

Wouldn’t that guy let it slide at this point?

‘What if he doesn’t?’

Even if he didn’t, there didn’t seem to be any other way.

My master (Paejon) had also said that besides me, there was no one else who could learn it.

Having thought that far,

Woong-.

‘…!’

I simultaneously activated the Nine Flame Wheel Technique and drew up another energy.

‘…This is…’

Perhaps sensing the energy, Father’s eyes widened more than I had ever seen them.

Is it that surprising?

While sensing Father’s reaction, I focused on spreading the energy.

Then, the peerless martial art of my master (Paejon), the Sky-Piercing Heavenly Art, began to permeate my body.

‘Hoo….’

It was the same exhale as before.

But mixed with the heat was a thick, dark energy.

Immediately, pain also began to rise within my body.

This much was bearable, as always.

After finishing my preparations.

I spoke towards Father.

‘Thank you for waiting. I’ll go again….’

Just as I was about to finish my sentence.

For some reason, Father’s fist was flying towards my face.

‘Huh?’

Ppak-!

Along with the subsequent impact.

My consciousness instantly vanished.