Overcoming the Wall – 2

[Typification of Inner Force]

It was different from the flames Cheong-yeon shot out or the ice crystals she created.

The fire energy created by her Inner Force retained the properties of flame.

However, the typification of Inner Force shown by her Master, Yeomjin, was not about creating flames, but more like creating something entirely new.

“Now, I can do things like this too.”

Her Master said, brandishing a whip made of flames.

The whip, glowing with a vivid crimson light, could be swung to strike or used to wrap around something.

“I don’t ask for the impossible.”

Her Master’s teaching policy had always been like that.

Clearly, it was an area that could be reached by applying what she had learned so far.

However, lately, it had been too difficult to cross into that area.

Just like when she first awakened her Fire, she tried this and that, and suddenly, Inho came to mind.

Yeomjin had already entered the room the village chief had provided, and Inho had left again to help with the remaining village chores.

Something about a broken cowshed.

Soyou felt a pang of annoyance thinking about the village women coming to Inho, looking shy, and asking for his help.

“What cows would a slash-and-burn village have?”

She was furious at the sight of her disciple so readily helping, even though it was an obvious lie.

Inho sometimes showed such naiveté about the world.

“The farmer act must be a lie.”

She recalled Inho awkwardly holding and swinging farming tools.

If it had been shortly after he became her disciple, she would have tied him up and pressed him about his origins, but Soyou had no intention of doing that now.

She simply understood him, thinking, [He must have his reasons.]

She had roughly guessed it since the day they drank alcohol on the roof of the pavilion while watching the moon.

That Inho’s origins were extraordinary.

“Could he be related to the Imperial family?”

But it didn’t make sense that he couldn’t read.

“Hmm… I can’t figure it out.”

Her head throbbed, and she felt frustrated.

She had been feeling like this whenever she thought of Inho lately.

And it wasn’t just her head.

When she saw Inho’s face, her heart fluttered.

When she resolved to talk to him, her mouth went dry.

She got angry when she saw him with other women.

When he was silent and sulky, she felt anxious, as if she had done something wrong.

“……..”

Soyou was too precocious and intelligent to ask the foolish question, “What is this feeling?”

“I’m crazy. I’m going crazy.”

She muttered, hugging her knees.

A Master loving her disciple? She had never heard of such a thing.

“Haha… Is this also a first?”

The first Yomryun Skill to lose to Bingryungong.

The first Master to love her disciple.

She felt bitter, as if she kept monopolizing titles that weren’t very good for a martial artist.

“Haa… What should I do?”

Since the day she was turned away, Soyou had come to rely on Inho for a significant part of her emotional support.

On days she wanted to cry, she leaned on his shoulder and cried, and on days she was frustrated with her lack of progress in Martial arts training, she talked to him to ease her mind.

Sometimes, when her chest felt tight, she felt better when she rubbed her face against his chest.

Yes, this was definitely.

Affection, love, and passion.

When she was with Inho, she kept thinking that she wanted to spend time with him rather than practice Martial arts.

Instead of wasting time on training, she wanted to hold hands with him, stroll through the market, buy food, and share it.

-Clap! Clap!

She slapped her cheeks hard with both hands to wake herself up.

“Focus on training.”

As if ordering herself, she forced herself to get up.

She took a deep breath, and the chilly night air of the mountain filled her lungs.

She recalled the conversation she had with Inho a little while ago.

‘What if we changed the order?’

‘Order?’

‘Well… instead of igniting the Fire first and then shaping it, we create the shape with Inner Force and then load it with Fire energy.’

‘How do you create a shape with Inner Force? You need to ignite the Fire first as a basic step.’

‘It wouldn’t hurt to try. I happened to overhear it by chance.’

He said, rolling his eyes around.

Soyou knew he was lying, but she didn’t bother to point it out.

‘Okay, was there anything else you overheard?’

‘I think it’s similar to circulating Inner Force quickly within the body. In a way, it’s a concept of giving speed to Inner Force.’

‘Hmm….’

She began to take Inho’s words a little more seriously, seeing a new perspective on Inner Force.

‘Of course, Inner Force doesn’t have a self, but… if you can freely control its flow within the body, wouldn’t it be possible to give it shape or properties?’

Soyou, recalling the conversation, closed her eyes.

She closed her eyes and illuminated her inner self.

She felt the Inner Force circulating through her body, though she couldn’t actually see it.

She tried making the flow of Inner Force faster and slower.

She had a feeling that she could control it a little like her own limbs.

Slowly, she gathered Inner Force in her palm and adjusted the flow.

Some sections fast, some sections slow.

Adjusting the speed, she pushed the Inner Force towards her skin.

Pushing it out, she molded a shape.

A sensation of a very small thread protruding from her palm.

She placed Fire on it.

-Whirr

Something like hair made of flames danced on her palm.

“Huh?”

She opened her eyes at the unfamiliar sensation, and it burst into flames and disappeared.

Soyou blinked, watching it disappear without a trace.

“You’ve got the feel for it.”

A seductive voice came from behind.

It was her Master.

“Master? Weren’t you sleeping?”

“How could I, as your Master, sleep when you are training so diligently?”

Yeomjin, still covering her mouth with a fan, patted Soyou’s shoulder.

“Anyway, it seems you’ve grasped the principle. If you keep practicing, you’ll soon achieve results.”

“Oh… Did I succeed?”

“I should say you’ve found the signpost leading to success. You haven’t mastered it perfectly yet. But still, you’re amazing. It wouldn’t have been easy to break the fixed ideas about handling Inner Force.”

“…I got a clue while talking to Inho.”

She said, thinking of Inho.

“Is that so? Inho is a blessing in many ways.”

Yeomjin’s eyes curved, and Soyou turned her gaze away with an awkward expression.

“Soyou, do you like Inho?”

“Huh? N-No!”

“Hahaha, there’s no need to hide it. Your eyes are on Inho all day long, how could I not know? I don’t think there would be a problem even if you two were in love.”

Yeomjin smiled kindly.

“Ah… well….”

Soyou’s face turned bright red, and she couldn’t say anything else, hanging her head low.

“Yes. I like him.”

And after a long silence, Soyou raised her head slightly and said.

“I see.”

Whirr, her Master folded her fan.

“It seems the time has come.”

Yeomjin smiled at Soyou.