Ch.230Side Story 2: When I Met Him (4)
by fnovelpia
#02_When I Met Him_4
When the Talmyeongdae member was speaking, and I was making a bewildered expression, a confident-looking girl was staring at me intently.
A girl with her hair tied back once, a small, delicate nose and mouth contrasting with her large eyes, and a fresh appearance without any common accessories or makeup.
The girl lightly greeted the older man with a cupped-hand salute and then turned toward me.
“Young Master Deok?”
Although I am called the disciple of Grandfather Cheonma and the junior disciple of Sect Leader Seonwoo Dan, that doesn’t mean I receive the same treatment as the Junior Sect Leader within the Divine Sect.
If I had to find something similar, I’d be below the elders of the Divine Sect, but still a guest who deserves respect within the sect.
As a result, people who don’t have a direct connection to me, like the Divine Sect member from Chobaekdae standing before me, address me as “Young Master.”
I don’t know why they call me Young Master Deok when my surname isn’t even Deok.
“Ah, yes.”
“I am Sorang, the captain of Chobaekdae.”
Her voice was cheerful, matching her cute appearance. Sorang greeted me with a cupped-hand salute and slightly raised her head, examining me carefully.
“Ah, well. Nice to meet you, Captain So.”
When I returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute, Sorang accepted it and lifted her head sharply as she spoke.
“May I ask you a personal question?”
“A question? Yes… go ahead.”
“Are all Semuren this tall?”
“Hmm, probably not. I’m unusually tall.”
When I was abducted into space, I was about 10 inches (about 25cm) shorter than I am now.
As I trained in external martial arts, my posture unconsciously corrected itself and my muscles grew, so I might have grown another inch taller.
“He really is tall.”
“I heard Semuren wear armor made of metal chains and cylindrical helmets.”
“But this Semuren is wearing training clothes similar to ours.”
“Of course, that’s because he’s the disciple of the Sect Leader! They say when he first appeared, he came riding a flying iron carriage.”
“Isn’t that something immortals ride?”
Listening to the comments thrown in low voices by the relatively young Chobaekdae members made me feel like a zoo bear on display.
Sorang seemed embarrassed by her members’ behavior, turning her head back to glare at them briefly before returning her gaze to me.
“…Should we prepare for a sparring match right now?”
“Right now?”
As soon as the word “sparring” was mentioned, the Chobaekdae members began exerting silent pressure.
They were all staring at me intently, as if asking me to choose them.
“The disciples of the Divine Sect do not fear combat. They all have tremendous competitive spirit.”
As the Talmyeongdae member proudly stated this, I started to get a headache.
Come on, if it’s sparring, they should know how to go easy, but they’re looking at me like they want to pulverize me completely.
Of course, there was no way to avoid the sparring, and the Talmyeongdae member’s gaze made it clear he wouldn’t let me off the hook, so I had to make one final request.
“If you could just spar at a level where I can still walk out on two legs…”
“Hahaha, we don’t do things like that! We’ll push you hard to build your skills!”
The man’s hearty laughter was, for me, a signal that a path of suffering lay wide open before me.
This place seemed to be rightfully called the Demon Sect, as the righteous martial artists called it, not the Divine Sect.
I’m really going to die at this rate.
Originally, this was Junior Sect Leader Seonwoo Dan’s preliminary training ground, and the training field had smooth bluestone laid out without a single blade of grass growing.
Standing on the training field, I looked at the older man and said:
“Are you really going to make me fight ten people?”
“We’ll have to see how you do. Sorang, assuming no internal energy will be used in the sparring, who do you think would be a good match?”
As soon as Sorang heard the man’s words, she narrowed her eyes and scrutinized my face, arms, and legs from various angles.
Then, as if she finally understood, she nodded and turned around, saying:
“Have everyone from one hundred down to ninety-one come forward.”
I doubt their names are numbers, so maybe they’re ranked by martial prowess?
While I was thinking about this, as soon as Sorang finished speaking, the Chobaekdae member at the very back came forward in a rush.
Ten members, both men and women, stood behind Sorang, watching me.
They all seemed shorter than me and didn’t appear to have much muscle, but their eyes burned with intensity.
Especially if they were selected from among the best hundred in the Divine Sect, their martial prowess must be formidable.
Sorang stepped onto the training field, pointed at me and one of the members, and said:
“This will be a one-on-one match. There are three ways to end the match: stepping outside the training field is ‘out of bounds,’ your opponent’s ‘surrender,’ or ‘defeat’ if you’re knocked unconscious or injured to the point where you can’t continue.”
Sorang explaining the rules so precisely seemed somewhat precocious.
“Killing techniques must not be used, and internal energy must not be used either.”
The member in front of me asked in a low voice:
“Then, can everything else be used?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
I have had something like sparring matches with the Talmyeongdae member and Seonwoo Dan before.
And I felt one thing:
Overwhelming difficulty.
That was the emotion I felt when exchanging blows with those two.
The Talmyeongdae member with an ordinary, worn wooden sword was more frightening than an android wielding a plasma blade.
I couldn’t think of where or how to attack, or how to defend myself.
No, it was more than that. It felt like facing a huge wall rather than a living being.
Recalling those times, I felt like I could handle the stern-faced member standing before me now.
Yes, at least I could stand my ground and fight.
As I lowered my stance and raised my fists, the Chobaekdae member also took a stance, looking at me with steady eyes.
“Begin!”
With Sorang’s voice, the member charged at me first.
Whoosh!
The speed was so fast that the fist made a wind sound as it swung.
The member, who had probably learned martial arts since they were old enough to hold a spoon, fiercely dove inside and aimed for my chin first.
I almost stuck my tongue out in amazement at how quickly they closed in without using internal energy. That’s to be expected from someone who has devoted their entire life to martial arts.
The problem was this: I could clearly see the trajectory of the member’s hands and feet. Why could I see this?
I hadn’t completely neglected my duties as Eliya’s bodyguard, but I had almost no memory of systematically learning anything.
Therefore, my method of protection until now had been to somehow block and endure with my strength and toughness, which were among my body’s advantages, then discover weaknesses and focus on hitting those spots.
Of course, using a blaster or laser rifle was the first option.
All I had learned within the Divine Sect was running until I was out of breath, getting beaten mercilessly, swinging my arms and legs as instructed, and lifting all sorts of heavy things.
The only thing related to martial arts that the Talmyeongdae member taught me was Yukhabgwon, which starts with punching attacks.
Could Yukhabgwon possibly be the greatest external martial art in the Central Plains?
No matter how I thought about it, that couldn’t be right. But I should focus on the sparring match for now.
Bwoong! I bent my waist to avoid the sharp kicking technique and tried to deal with it by recalling everything I had learned so far.
Get hit less, hit more. Better not to get hit at all, and even better if you can subdue them in one go.
This method applies to any fight, even wars between countries or planets.
While I was earnestly sparring with the member, I could see Sorang and the Talmyeongdae member chatting.
“As expected, building the fundamentals…”
“I heard he was Semuren, but at this level, he’s almost…”
What conversation are they having? As I tried to focus on their conversation, the member looked at me with an unbelieving expression and attacked.
“Where are you looking during a match!”
“Ah, sorry.”
That must have been behavior contrary to Central Plains etiquette. The member attacked more fiercely, but honestly, I felt they were a bit… no, quite lacking against me.
So I struck the member’s abdomen hard while properly looking at them, and the member collapsed with a short cry of pain.
“Ugh…”
“Was that too hard? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… I admit defeat.”
Seeing me help the member up, Sorang narrowed her eyes and said in a cold voice:
“Looking away during a match, Young Master Deok must find our Chobaekdae laughable.”
“No, I just noticed you two talking about me.”
“Hmph. Ninety-nine, ninety-eight!”
My excuse didn’t seem to sound like an excuse at all, as Sorang glared at me briefly and immediately called two more people in a sharp voice.
As soon as Sorang said the numbers, one female member and one male member came forward.
Honestly, the sense of martial prowess felt similar between the hundredth-ranked member and the ninety-ninth and ninety-eighth members.
But that was only true when facing one person. With one person, I could handle it, but with two, I had to dodge attacks by instinct rather than by sight.
That meant I had to use senses I hadn’t been using, and although there was just one more opponent, it felt more than twice as busy.
It was such a busy match that sweat beaded on my forehead.
Moreover, unlike the hundredth-ranked member, I took a few effective hits, making my shoulder and side area feel stiff.
Ah, I really need to take this seriously. With that thought, I clenched my fists and barely managed to get the two to surrender. Sorang tilted her head.
It wasn’t a sharp glare, but eyes that seemed surprised by something.
“Something’s… different…?”
“Different?”
What’s different? As I was trying to look myself over, Sorang closed her eyes, extended her hand toward me, and said:
“Just a moment. Hmm… yes, the aura. The aura emanating from your body is very different.”
“Aura?”
When Sorang said that, the Talmyeongdae member also nodded and looked at Sorang, saying:
“You felt it too?”
“Yes. As soon as Young Master Deok clenched his fists…”
“As soon as he clenched his fists… is it intent?”
“Intent?”
I don’t know what they’re talking about. Why is the word “intent” suddenly coming up?
While I was wondering, the Talmyeongdae member stroked his chin thoughtfully, then looked at Sorang and said:
“Let’s try once more. Two people again, like before.”
“Yes. Ninety-five, ninety-four!”
With those words, two more members came forward. For me, these were still concerning statements.
“Couldn’t you explain what’s going on before we spar?”
“If my guess is correct, I’ll tell you.”
With those words, Sorang announced the start of the match, and I clenched my fists as tightly as possible to focus my mind.
I couldn’t understand why they were acting this way, but I needed to concentrate properly the moment the match began.
* * *
While Dexter was focusing on the two Chobaekdae members, Juhan, the Talmyeongdae member, saw the qi rising from Dexter and his face hardened.
‘Is this guy really someone without internal energy?’
Dexter himself seemed unaware, but whenever he concentrated seriously, his aura changed noticeably.
‘When he was sparring with the hundredth-ranked member, he didn’t show any behavior like emitting qi, but when fighting two people, his aura changed. What does this mean…?’
While Juhan was pondering various aspects, Sorang communicated with him through sound transmission.
[Master Ju, Young Master Deok is definitely… unusual, isn’t he?]
[You felt it too, Captain So?]
[Yes, not just the change in aura, but look at his arm muscles.]
As Sorang said, Dexter’s arm muscles seemed to bulge more than before.
Although his forearms had become more robust after external martial arts training, they hadn’t been bulging with veins like now.
[Just now, Master Ju, you mentioned intent, right?]
[When building qi, don’t we use intent to perform small circulation? Where does a person without internal energy get qi from?]
[Are you saying he’s accumulating qi from the surroundings in his muscles?]
Gathering natural qi is called building qi, and collecting it in the dantian is described as accumulating internal energy.
When gathering that qi, circulating it through specific meridians in the body is called circulation. Generally, great circulation is only possible for masters who have reached considerable levels, so most use small circulation, which utilizes relatively fewer meridians.
But to move qi along the meridians, the power of the mind, or intent, is important.
[Just as qi moves along the meridians, that guy might be using natural qi in his own body.]
[Using natural qi as he pleases… that means essentially no one can defeat Young Master Deok, right?]
[Well, this is just my speculation.]
Juhan watched Dexter’s sparring and fell into thought.
‘The Sect Leader will be busy, so I should report this issue to the Junior Sect Leader.’
After several minutes of sparring, Dexter finished the match with the two members, exhaling rough breaths. Again, it was Dexter’s victory.
As Dexter wiped the sweat from his forehead with his eyes and looked at him, Juhan smiled and said:
“Still energetic? How about two more?”
“Are you crazy? Let me rest for a moment.”
“If you can talk, you’re fine! Sorang, send out two more!”
“Ninety-five, ninety-four!”
“Couldn’t you at least make it one person!”
“This is all for your own good!”
“What kind of old-fashioned nonsense is that!”
Unlike Dexter, who was shouting in disbelief, Juhan smiled and fell into thought.
‘Is he really controlling natural qi through intent?’
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