Chapter 271: Winter Day Has Come. (2)

What signals that winter has arrived, surpassing autumn.

Is the cold air.

As the gradually chilling wind blows, and the beautifully colored leaves begin to hold their breath.

Only then could one know that winter had arrived.

Of course, it’s still too early to call it winter.

But it likely won’t be long before the unassuming forest turns cold.

The Gu Family’s training ground.

Hwarureuk.

Flames were fluttering inside the training ground.

Unlike the cold air outside.

The spacious room was filled with heat.

A massive flame spun through the air, filling the surroundings.

It sizzled as if the internal energy (Naegi) was about to explode.

‘Don’t let it scatter.’

While paying attention not to let it detonate.

Enduring the vibrations that felt like they could explode at any moment, I compressed and moved it.

My lower abdomen felt tightly constricted from the recoil.

My body, maintaining the pressure, was incredibly delicate.

‘Gather.’

I whispered inwardly as if giving a command.

The flames that had spread in all directions suddenly surged and gathered into my palm.

Hooook-! A gale blew.

My hair fluttered in the wind created by the internal energy.

I didn’t pay it any mind.

Right now, I just had to focus on increasing its perfection.

“Hoo…”

As the flame gradually stopped vibrating.

Only then could I open my eyes, which had been closed.

Where were the pale, innocent hands I saw when I first regressed?

My rougher, larger hands came into view.

And above them.

A small, red sphere had formed.

It was fingernail-sized, but its brilliant color was subtle.

Looking at it, I exhaled and spoke.

“…I succeeded.”

I couldn’t even imagine how much internal energy was contained in this small orb.

It required at least more than half of the internal energy I possessed.

And I had poured compression upon compression into it.

It held a power that, if I lost focus even for a moment, would explode with a ‘Hooook!’ and blow away the surroundings.

‘Though the cost-effectiveness is absolute zero.’

Just creating this small orb consumed more than half my internal energy.

Meaning, at my current level, I could only use it once.

‘Still, I used it well in my past life.’

Back then, in terms of sheer internal energy, I was second only to the Heavenly Demon in the Central Plains.

I could use it freely without needing compression or control.

‘But now… I can’t just do it like that.’

Kwok.

I clenched my fist around the small sphere I had made, crushing it.

Even though I detonated it with the intention of recovering it, a gust of wind momentarily surged, causing the training ground to resonate slightly.

Flame Orb (Yeomok).

It’s one of the Gu Family’s secret techniques, usable only when Gu-Yeom-Hwa-Ryun-Gong reaches a certain level.

Which means…

‘I’ve leveled up.’

It means I’ve finally reached the 6th Star in Gu-Yeom-Hwa-Ryun-Gong.

Furthermore…

‘Just one step left until the Martial Realm (Hwagyeong).’

Even to step into a new world beyond the peak, only one step remained.

‘…It came much faster than I thought.’

The realm I thought I might reach only around the age of twenty.

Had arrived much faster than I predicted.

It wasn’t just the considerable amount of magic stones and energy I’d consumed.

Perhaps it was because I reached the peak level at such a young age.

Maybe the speed at which my internal energy assimilated with my body was faster.

‘…Still, that one step is the hardest.’

The wall blocking my upper dantian is so wide, large, and thick.

I can’t find a crack to pry open like I did at the peak.

And I’m far too lacking to break it down.

I’ve only touched it; crossing it will take some time.

Even so.

‘Reaching the 6th Star is a major achievement.’

It was the result of relentlessly training all this time.

I went through all sorts of hell just to create this crazy orb.

“…I guess I can take it easy now?”

It wasn’t that I particularly wanted to use this martial art.

It’s just that the fastest and best training to reach the 6th Star was the process of forming the Flame Orb.

It required delicate control of internal energy.

And for that, absurd pressure was applied to the body.

Enduring this while moving the internal energy?

‘What else would you call training?’

Even though summer had passed and autumn had arrived.

It felt like rolling around under the scorching sun all day, rather than enjoying the cool weather.

Anyway, I achieved what I wanted…

“Maybe I can rest a bit more from now on…”

-Young Master.

“…Hm?”

As I brushed myself off, a servant’s voice came from outside.

“Yes?”

-I’m here to relay the Steward’s message. The Family Head wishes to see you, Young Master.

“…”

Hearing the servant’s words, I immediately sensed it.

That resting as I pleased was probably out of the question.

---

After being admitted to the Family Head’s residence through the Steward, I found the room.

Having visited a few times now, it felt somewhat familiar.

“I heard you summoned me.”

“Yes.”

Of course, my father’s gaze was still incredibly intimidating.

My father, glancing sideways to assess me, sent his gaze up and down for a moment.

“Hmm.”

I felt a spark of interest in his eyes.

‘He noticed.’

He must have realized I’d reached the 6th Star.

As always, he was sharp.

‘Meanwhile.’

Even though I had reached the 6th Star.

My father’s intensity showed no change whatsoever.

This meant either he was tightly concealing his internal energy, hiding his presence.

Or the gap in our levels was so vast, like heaven and earth, that I couldn’t possibly sense it.

Whichever it was, I still couldn’t truly grasp my father’s power.

‘…A person like that is supposedly only among the top 100 experts of the Central Plains?’

Impossible.

I had already seen it in my past life.

My father was never someone who would remain at that level.

He was merely hiding his fangs.

Such a father looked at me and opened his mouth.

“Not bad.”

“…Thank you.”

It was praise, in its own way, but it didn’t resonate much.

Such a monotonous reaction.

“Third.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you think I summoned you?”

“…”

Hmm…?

‘What is it, did they find out about my screw-ups?’

What could it be?

Did they find out I blew up the training ground during practice last time?

But that wasn’t it; it happened more than once or twice, so it hardly counted as an incident anymore.

Or perhaps, last time when Elder Il tried to spar with me under the guise of teaching.

Are they talking about how we burned down the mountain behind?

Honestly, Elder Il was mostly to blame.

How could I just keep running away when he was throwing punches with genuine intent while calling it teaching?

“…I don’t know.”

No matter how much I thought about it, too many possibilities came to mind, so I really didn’t know.

In response to my uncertainty, my father nodded and took out a letter from his robes, handing it to me.

“The reason I summoned you is simple.”

I took the letter my father handed me and opened it.

“Ah.”

Written there was something that reminded me of what I had forgotten in my focus on training.

-Notice of Shinryongguan Entrance Date.

Was the title.

There were lines upon lines of text, but…

Since it was all just formalities anyway, I skipped over them.

In summary, it could be condensed into two lines.

-Family members of the clans or disciples of sects who receive this letter can take the Shinryongguan entrance exam.

-If you are even a day late, you cannot take the exam.

‘…It’s here, it’s finally here.’

I knew winter was slowly approaching.

And I knew the designated date had drawn near.

But I had momentarily forgotten due to my intense training.

‘Shinryongguan.’

I didn’t go there in my past life.

Ah, to be precise, I failed the entrance exam and couldn’t get in.

Fuck…

Thinking about it again brought back a deeply embarrassing memory.

Honestly, it was a place I could have entered with just a word.

But my pride got the better of me; I insisted I could do it without using that favor, causing a scene.

‘And ended up failing miserably.’

My father didn’t say much at the time.

But I bet he was embarrassed inwardly.

For reference.

My eldest sister, Gu Huibi, also graduated from Shinryongguan.

She was a former graduate of Shinryongguan, the same one I’m being sent to now.

She was probably the top student, or perhaps the second.

I heard Peng Woojin was a batchmate.

‘Why can’t they just provide education and send us off? Why bother ranking things?’

It’s a neighborhood that needlessly loves ranking things.

They had to rank even this, ridiculously.

“You’re telling me to go, right?”

“Yes.”

I asked tentatively, hoping he might say, ‘If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to!’

But my father’s answer was firm.

‘…Damn it.’

He overlooks so many other things.

But he wouldn’t overlook this.

In my past life, it seemed he didn’t care because he knew I’d just fail anyway.

‘You think I’ll fail this time?’

To swim among the late bloomers (Hugi Jisoo).

My size had become too large. It’s not arrogance.

Because realistically, none of those called late bloomers could have reached my current level.

‘At best, maybe Peng Woojin… I don’t know about the Hidden Dragons (Jamryong).’

Peng Woojin is in an ambiguous position to be called a late bloomer, so let’s set him aside.

I haven’t met the Hidden Dragons at this point, so I don’t know.

As for Gu Huibi.

I haven’t properly sparred with her.

But now, I don’t think I’d lose to her.

If anything, I could just spar with her directly.

But thinking about how Gu Huibi would react if I suggested it, I didn’t want to.

Of course, Shinryongguan isn’t just an educational institution for late bloomers.

It was like an unspoken agreement.

It felt like an educational institution for talented young late bloomers.

Should I call it a gathering place for geniuses?

‘Even though they call it sword training rather than martial arts.’

In my eyes, it was nothing more than a place to build connections and a minor political arena.

Countless people know this.

That’s why they try so hard to send their children there.

The world’s direction had already changed long ago, making it pointless to argue about martial arts and chivalry.

“Departure is in three days.”

“…Understood.”

Even knowing all that.

Why I didn’t complain about my father’s words.

Was because there were things to take care of at this Shinryongguan.

And there were several people I needed to see and find.

‘I need to go underground too.’

I also had to visit the Hidden Records (Bigong) hidden beneath Shinryongguan while I was at it.

If I was going, I had to take everything I could.

Before the Heavenly Demon appears and finds the Hidden Records.

I had to get there first and take it all.

‘Still, I never thought I’d actually be going.’

Of course, it wasn’t easy deep down.

“I’ll start preparing immediately upon returning to my quarters.”

It was already a done deal.

And now, there were more reasons to go than to run away.

So I decided to accept it without complaint.

“Good. Make sure you take good care of those who will be accompanying you.”

“Yes… I’ll take good care… Huh?”

My expression furrowed instantly at my father’s words.

“…Take care of who…? Besides me, who else is going?”

I asked my father, filled with bewilderment.

In response, my father took out another letter and handed it to me, as if answering my question.

I took the letter and checked the name.

Immediately after, my expression crumpled completely.

---

Three days passed.

It was still autumn.

But by the time we arrived in Hanam, where Shinryongguan is located, winter would likely have arrived.

The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (Yongbongjihwi) also takes place in winter.

But given that Shinryongguan opens at this time, it was more likely the tournament wouldn’t be held by the Alliance.

“My luggage isn’t much, is it?”

I murmured this suddenly while looking over the accumulating luggage.

It was much less luggage than when I headed to Anhui last time.

“I heard that where you’re going will provide everything, so you don’t need to pack.”

“What if I can’t get admitted there?”

“You, Young Master?”

Hong-wa replied as if asking if I’d said something strange.

Their faith was truly heavy.

If it were like before, they would have treated me like a good-for-nothing brat and naturally assumed I couldn’t get in.

It was quite burdensome how the servants’ gazes had changed recently.

‘This all started after I got that damned nickname.’

Ever since I caused chaos at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

Somehow, whenever the servants or people from other families saw me intending to do something.

Previously, they would have sighed, ‘Sigh, our brat is acting up again~’.

But ever since I joined the Six Dragons and Three Peaks (Yookryong Sambong), the group of snakes and sparrows.

They started looking at me as if, ‘Our young master must have his reasons for acting like this!’

There are no such reasons, you guys.

“…That’s enough. Finish the preparations.”

“Understood.”

Hong-wa bowed formally and disappeared to continue working.

I glanced sideways with a reluctant gaze.

“You’re coming too, right?”

At my question, someone flinched and trembled.

Then came the voice.

“Yes… It turned out that way.”

The one avoiding my gaze was Gu Jeolyub.

I heard last time that this guy was also coming along.

‘It’s obvious Elder Il pulled some strings for this.’

It wasn’t a big problem that he was coming along.

It was convenient for me to have someone to send on errands.

‘Someone like him probably won’t fail.’

At Gu Jeolyub’s level, he shouldn’t be unable to get admitted.

He hadn’t surpassed the peak, but he was still at the very end of the first-rate.

Shall we say it paid off to have trained him all this time?

‘If he still gets beaten up after all that, I’ll really have to destroy him.’

If he gets beaten somewhere.

It means he didn’t know his place and rushed in recklessly, so I’ll have to break him.

However, Gu Jeolyub wasn’t the problem.

Nor were the other familiar faces.

‘Namgung Bi-ah was unexpected, though.’

I expected Moyong Hi-ah to go, naturally.

She had mentioned several times that we would go together if I went.

So I knew.

But Namgung Bi-ah, honestly, I remembered her not going in my past life.

So when she said she’d go with me this life, I was a bit puzzled.

‘I think it will be necessary for my future life.’

Was what she said, I think.

Anyway.

The important thing wasn’t that.

“…So.”

Behind Gu Jeolyub.

I saw a figure keeping their distance, as if not wanting to come any closer.

The culprit, who seemed troubled about what I should do now, was her.

“You’re coming too, Sis?”

“…”

At my call, the girl, now a woman, turned her head.

Resembling Gu Huibi.

This woman, who resembled Madam Mi even more, finally met my eyes.

“…Yes.”

I didn’t know how long it had been since I last heard that voice.

She had been actively avoiding me, and now we finally faced each other properly.

She was my second sister.

And a direct descendant of the Gu family who would later be known as the Crimson Flame Sword.

Gu Yeonseo.