Ch.234Side Story 2: When I Met Him (8)

# When I Met Him – 8

Let me think.

The fake Sorang uses Shinkyō’s Myeongbukwon, a martial art that embodies the principles of Taegeukhyegum.

I don’t know what Taegeukhyegum is, but it’s definitely a damn annoying martial art that can twist or completely neutralize my attacks.

So what if I use an attack that can’t be twisted?

An attack doesn’t have to be just swinging or extending to be effective.

Good, I have a plan.

My first objective is to get as close as possible.

I use the basic footwork technique from Shinkyō to stride forward confidently. Since I’ve been attacking from arm’s length until now, the fake Sorang seems somewhat puzzled by my approach.

Thwack, thud!

Suddenly, my breath is knocked out of me. Even though I had my guard up, the fake Sorang found the gaps and threw punches through them.

In reality, I wouldn’t have been able to breathe for quite a while, but since this is some kind of mental world, my breathing quickly returned.

I throw a light punch at Sorang. It’s not meant to be a meaningful attack. She’ll surely deflect it with that Taegeum principle or whatever it is.

Whoosh!

As expected, my right fist is blocked by fake Sorang’s left hand and redirected elsewhere. I can see a subtle smile on fake Sorang’s face. The corner of her mouth seems to mock me for not being able to land a hit despite being so close.

I close the distance even further, unlike before, practically sticking to her. She didn’t expect me to get this close and tries to create some space.

Tap!

Dragon Claw Hand. I mimic the movement that Grandpa Cheonma showed me before. The difficulty is higher, but only the speed and impact have increased. I almost manage to grab fake Sorang’s wrist.

If I had caught it, that would have been the beginning, but I really couldn’t get a hold of her. Fake Sorang swings her arm widely and delivers a straight punch toward my solar plexus.

Thwack!

Wow, shit. A pain so intense it momentarily turns my vision white spreads through my abdomen, and for an instant, I see the sky. I’ve been sent flying by fake Sorang’s punch.

Still determined to survive, I forcibly change my posture and somehow manage to plant my feet on the ground. If I had made the slightest mistake, I would have fallen backward and cracked my skull.

Fake Sorang looks at me with an expression of disappointment that I didn’t fall. This bitch can’t even compare to the original.

I’m starting to miss the real Sorang.

[Was that too strong?]

[What did you do to make him say that?]

[I increased the speed by about 30 percent.]

I faintly hear the conversation between Brother Seonwoo Dan and Grandma Hyeolbong.

Thirty percent. That means the speed increased by 30%. It’s embarrassing to be so helplessly defeated just because the speed was increased a bit. I try to close the distance again, making an effort to grab her arm.

Fake Sorang makes another big circular motion with her arm while showing a spinning kick, displaying a threatening posture. It’s as good as saying don’t come any closer.

Still, she’s shorter and weighs less than me, so I can’t just let myself be defeated so easily. I deflect the spinning kick with my arm and take a step forward. Along with a tingling pain in my arm, I momentarily feel a surge of strength filling it.

The qi that Brother Seonwoo Dan and Grandpa Cheonma kept talking about has slightly manifested in my body. They said I need to learn how to control it freely according to my will. That’s the problem—I can’t do it yet.

Tada!

As qi fills my body, I can move much faster than before. I approach fake Sorang again. As a bonus, my dynamic vision seems to have improved as well, making it easier to read fake Sorang’s attacks. Now I need to figure out how to block her attacks and land effective hits.

Like a dragon’s foot, I need to catch the opponent’s wrist to temporarily prevent them from attacking. The Dragon Claw Hand is a technique that all masters know how to use, but I haven’t properly learned it and can only roughly imitate its form.

“Hup!”

“…!”

Still, I was able to follow it to some extent. I managed to grab fake Sorang’s wrist.

“Let go!”

“Oh? So you can talk?”

“Who are you calling mute?!”

Fake Sorang is quite feisty. The real Sorang was a martial artist with manners that could be described as gentle, but this fake is completely different, as expected of an imitation.

I grab fake Sorang’s other wrist with my free hand and, as if wielding a great sword, lift her up and then slam her down.

Crash!

“Ugh!”

The moment I slam fake Sorang onto the training ground floor, her body becomes blurry. And then she disappears.

“Huh?”

While I’m looking for the vanished fake Sorang, I hear Brother Seonwoo Dan’s voice.

[Hmm, that was too easy? Then let’s increase it by 60 percent more than before.]

“No, wait a moment.”

As soon as Brother Seonwoo Dan finishes speaking, fake Sorang reappears in front of me, completely unharmed.

Her expression still glares at me, baring her teeth. Why do I keep feeling like I’ve done something wrong?

“How long do I have to do this?”

[Until your muscles bulge when you need them to.]

“Wow, that’s really too much.”

[It’s not like I’m locking you in the Repentance Chamber and feeding you only Byeokgokdan.]

What are the Repentance Chamber and Byeokgokdan?

“What are those?”

[Dan means putting you in a cave with barely any light and feeding you only preserved food made from grain. How can you say such things to your disciple?]

[Taoists often undergo such training, and many followers of our Shinkyō also practice closed-door cultivation. The disciple could certainly… Ouch!]

[Saying such things to someone who’s about to leave! You should be treating him better!]

Grandma Hyeolbong’s concerned words were truly appreciated, but the restored fake Sorang charged at me again. With a 60% increase in speed, it was on a completely different level from before.

“Slam her down!”

“If I want to win, I have no choice!”

A rapid exchange of attacks and defenses follows. I block punches, deflect kicks, and fake Sorang’s techniques continue to evolve.

At first, she only used Myeongbukwon, but as time goes on, she starts using all sorts of martial arts that the real Sorang wouldn’t know, like Nachal Leg and Yeonhwan Hand Seal.

It seemed to be influenced by the martial arts that Brother Seonwoo Dan had shown me as a sample, but thanks to that, I was having a hellish time dealing with her.

[It seems my disciple doesn’t generate qi properly unless he feels a sense of crisis. We need to work quite hard to draw it out.]

“Come on, is this really necessary?!”

Even though this place was created based on the training ground in my memory, I was struggling against fake Sorang’s attacks, which were strong enough to crack the blue stones that made up the training ground floor.

“If I get hit by this, I’m really done for!”

[What do you mean ‘done for’? As long as your mind remains intact, you’ll be fine.]

“I really want to stop now!”

[What kind of man gives up so easily! Fight now!]

With Grandpa Cheonma’s scolding, I had no choice but to get used to controlling my body with qi.

Ah, seriously, Eliya, you bastard. Just wait until I see you. I’m going to stomp you flat.

* * *

Time in the mental world could flow infinitely slowly or incredibly quickly.

When I finally opened my eyes under Brother Seonwoo Dan’s guidance, only one shichen—about two hours—had passed.

“…It felt like I was there for almost an entire day, but only two hours have passed?”

“Why, do you want more?”

When Grandpa Cheonma asked with a grin, I shook my head vigorously.

“Let’s take a break. Seriously.”

“It seems the Mantouzhimeng technique worked properly. Your muscles look quite good.”

“My muscles?”

When I got up and looked at my muscles, the definition that would normally only appear after intense external martial arts training was visible.

“That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“If you practice several more times, you’ll be able to increase or decrease your muscle mass at will. If I had such a constitution, I would have conquered the Central Plains… Do you even know how good a constitution that is?”

Grandpa Cheonma seemed to envy my constitution, expressing his regret openly.

“I was born this way, so how would I know if it’s good or bad? I should just be grateful to my parents for giving me a good body.”

“Huh, so you’ve eaten enough Central Plains food to speak like a Confucian.”

The sparring with fake Sorang had somehow ended, and as I was asking about a few things I was curious about during the match, Brother Seonwoo Dan cautiously spoke up.

“How about trying the Mantouzhimeng technique again after lunch?”

“Stop that. The Qing’anzhimeng technique should only be done once a day, as written. Do you want to lose your only disciple out of greed?”

“Of course not. I was just wondering if it might be possible.”

“Wow, not only do you not protect your disciple, but now I see that the senior martial brother is the worst.”

“You little…”

Brother Seonwoo Dan smiled and grabbed my head, messing up my hair.

“I think I’m getting a bit more used to infusing my body with qi through mental focus, but it seems a bit difficult to use in real life.”

“Why do you feel that way?”

“The speed at which qi gathers in my body is a bit slow. I wish there was some external aid available.”

“External aid? I’ll have to think about that.”

As we spent the rest of the time asking the three of them questions about external martial arts and practicing accordingly, something happened.

While I was having a light sparring match with Brother Seonwoo Dan using Six Harmonies Fist, I saw Uncle Juhan and another Talmyeongdae member running toward us using lightness skills, with urgent expressions on their faces.

Brother Seonwoo Dan put away his wooden sword and addressed the Talmyeongdae member.

“What’s the matter?”

“Young Master, we have a demon-level situation! An unidentified demon-person has appeared in Seonghwa County, and disciples with limited martial arts skills are being harmed!”

“What? An unidentified demon-person?”

“Currently, the Suradae and Jamidae are engaging him, but they’ve reported that they may not be able to hold out much longer!”

Suradae and Jamidae are Shinkyō’s attack and guard units. Though they rank below Talmyeongdae, which is responsible for guarding the Sect Leader and Young Master, they are not to be underestimated.

If such units cannot hold out, it means the opponent possesses considerable martial prowess, and Seonghwa County, the large village at the entrance to Shinkyō, is in danger.

As I stepped back to allow the two to speak comfortably, the Talmyeongdae member moved closer and said:

“However, according to the Talmyeongdae captain, the unidentified demon-person was using martial arts similar to the Sahyeolryeonju’s signature technique.”

“Captain Yang said that? Could it be the Soul-Stealing Excavation Sword? Gather the Talmyeongdae immediately, and I will deal with that demon-person in place of the Talmyeongdae captain. Move now!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Disciple, I’m sorry. The Sect Leader has probably already heard, so it would be best for you to stay with the Sect Mother.”

“It’s fine, Senior. Please go quickly.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll be back soon.”

Unable to follow Brother Seonwoo Dan who was leaving in a hurry, I watched the two depart using lightness skills and then entered the room where Grandma Hyeolbong was.

As Brother Seonwoo Dan had predicted, Grandpa Cheonma, who should have been in the room, had already left through the window, which was wide open, and Grandma Hyeolbong had a worried look in her eyes.

“I hope everyone will be alright…”

She was clearly restless, sitting there fidgeting.

She must be concerned about preventing any further harm to Shinkyō’s disciples.

Seeing Grandma Hyeolbong full of worry, I felt conflicted between thinking I should do something and wondering what I, who knew no martial arts, could possibly do.

Short deliberations are best.

I carefully suggested to Grandma Hyeolbong:

“Grandma Hyeolbong, I actually know a way to reach Seonghwa County faster than lightness skills and help prevent more casualties.”

“You know such a method?”

“Yes, I really do.”

There might not be a faster means in the Central Plains, but I have one.

With that, I headed toward the mountain ridge with Grandma Hyeolbong.