episode_0062

After we reached the point where we could say we were just casually dating, there was only one thing left for me to work hard on.

Martial arts.

The martial arts that I am learning now are diverse.

Starting with the Yeokgeunseosugyeong, the Cheonma Shingong, the Banya Great Power, the Bokma Yoraegeom, and the Mucham Nanga Sword.

I didn’t know, but the Mucham Nanga Sword is a sword technique that is quite famous in the martial arts world as a brutal murder sword.

But seeing that the Muchamnanga Sword is the most lacking in terms of its name, I should have only learned the powerful martial arts.

It just so happens that he belongs to the Demonic Cult. The protagonist of the martial arts novel I read in my previous life was collecting the absolute divine arts of the Demonic Cult. If I’m lucky, I might be able to become a martial arts collector with such peerless connections.

Even after having such useless thoughts, I came to the conclusion that I needed to perfect what I was learning.

“… … Hmm.”

The training room in the basement of the bunta.

I sat cross-legged, slowly inhaled and exhaled, closed my eyes, and recalled the battles that had taken place.

And among them, the battle that surprisingly remained deeply engraved in my mind was not a life-or-death battle.

This is Seoran.

Nowadays, people only think of her as a woman crazy about martial arts, a woman who constantly pressures people to do martial arts, but apart from that, she was clearly strong.

Although it was clearly the same peak, he was also someone who showed how strong a disciple of a prestigious school can become if he has outstanding talent and puts in the effort to polish his skills.

I used to have a useless sense of pride that I was the best in my class, but you could say that my pride was completely shattered.

Even if they are at the same peak, skill levels are divided into high and low levels based on conditions such as the martial arts skills learned, the depth of one’s enlightenment about martial arts, and the level of proficiency achieved through repetition and effort.

If we had to be exact, Lee Seo-ran was about half a level ahead of me.

Of course, I’ve become stronger since then, but I thought back to the conversation I had with Isoran.

‘I guess there will be no problem in winning an award even if you go to the Yongbong branch.’

‘But you shouldn’t let your guard down. They say that the nickname ‘Phoenix’ is a given when you go out.’

‘That’s a good attitude. I’m not qualified to go because I already participated in the last Yongbong branch meeting, but I’ve heard that there are some people who are younger than me who are standing out.’

Lee Seo-ran and Dang-ryeong are both past the age to participate in the Yongbongjihoe, which is a gathering of little kids on the edge of the contract.

But even taking that into account, there must be others of similar age to me who have similar experiences. It would be arrogant to think so.

And I don’t have the right to be arrogant yet.

Originally, confidence had to be backed up by ability, otherwise it was just arrogance.

If you are going to leave Yongbongjihoe while maintaining ties with Jongnampa, shouldn’t you aim for the top spot?

There is a plan in place for the Demonic Cult’s Mine to come to the Yongbongjihoe and steal the most prominent position.

That’s why.

“Your breathing is stable. Good. The basis for anything is breathing. Those who don’t know anything at all are just talking about the law and all, using their limited knowledge.”

“Vice-President?”

“What does black mean, what is the meaning of the ignorance of ascension, most of the people who don’t even have a proper grasp of the basics are talking about this. Just extend your hand. Let me feel your pulse.”

The vice-principal approached with a backpack on his back and urged him to put out his arms.

As I opened my closed eyes and held out my arm, the vice-principal continued speaking while feeling my pulse.

“So you’re really not interested in the Nobu’s sword? Putting aside the fact that you’re a disciple of the small sect, that kind of thing. If you inherit the Nobu’s sword, I guarantee that within ten years, the nickname of the Sword Demon will be yours.”

“In fact, what I’m learning now is already overwhelming, so what more can I learn on top of that… .”

“No, that’s not it.”

The vice-principal stared at me with an expressionless face.

What the heck, why are you suddenly acting so scary?

Those words were almost on the tip of my tongue, but I had the sense not to say them out loud. I kept my mouth shut like a clam and listened in silence, and the vice-principal continued speaking calmly.

“The meaning of continuing the progress of the Shinkyo Chilga and the Inspection Documents cannot be so light, right? If you are not satisfied with your current position as a disciple of the Sogyo sect, and want to go higher, wouldn’t it naturally be helpful?”

“… … .”

“You are not worthy of aiming for the highest position in the law of the strong. The current leader is Cheon-oe-cheon, and the minor leader is different in personality from the previous leader, but Mu-jae is exactly like him. Even if you cannot aim for the highest position, it means you can rise to the position right below that, where No-bu is.”

“… … So, I should learn the vice-principal’s martial arts, reach the ultimate level, and aim for the vice-principal position. Is that what you’re saying? ”

“It’s good that you understand quickly. It took Nobu a year to get here. If Nobu catches hold of your talent and teaches you, he can shorten that time by half.”

Half of that.

At the age of Lee Rip, it’s the ultimate level. Can I reach that level? I don’t even know how to reach the peak right now.

It was such an enticing offer that it made the martial arts I was learning and the thoughts I had of diligently learning seem meaningless.

But is that right?

All the martial arts I’ve learned so far are not new martial arts, and I’m still far from being able to say that I’ve made them completely mine.

Would it be right to put them aside for a moment and continue the teachings of the sectarian sect here?

At first, I couldn’t remember much, like if my hair had been bleached, but no matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t feel like a good idea.

Learning another martial art from a different species that is already in conflict with each other?

Well, looking at all my talents, I guess they are outstanding, but that doesn’t mean I’m as overwhelming as Boridalma or Jang Sam-bong. Of course not.

If you look at talent right now, my talent is inferior to that of my sister.

‘no.’

As the saying goes, “Take a stone bridge and knock on it before crossing it,” I don’t think it’s a good idea to be overconfident in my talents and learn new martial arts here.

“Why are you rolling your eyes like that? I can hear the sound of your eyes rolling from here.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t like it, then don’t tell me. Your worried expression is so obvious, how can you not notice it?”

While I was thinking hard, I raised my head at the sound of a snickering voice and saw the vice-principal with his arms crossed.

“Nobudo knows what you’re worried about. There’s what that old man taught you, and there’s what you’ve already learned, so aren’t you worried about whether you can handle it if you add more to it, or whether the balance will be broken?”

“How did you know?”

“If you pretend, it’s pretend, what the heck.”

Wow, if your martial arts are that strong, you can also use poison magic?

You have a keen eye for detail.

Is that experience? I need to get rid of the idea that I’m an old man who doesn’t live up to my age.

“The old man is not so desperate that he has to hold on to someone who says he doesn’t want to and teach them. So if you don’t want to, just leave him alone.”

The idea of canceling is canceled.

Just by looking at him, you can tell that he is giving off the impression that he is upset, with his arms crossed and his head turned away in a bashful manner.

Where does that look like an adult who is worth his age?

As I was looking at him with subtle eyes, the vice-principal, who still turned his head with a fresh expression, grumbled.

“Since you’ve mastered the Heavenly Demon Sword, you don’t need to learn things like the old man’s sword. That’s why young people these days.”

“… … Yes? How did you know that?”

“I kept it next to me, so I wondered if it was long. So I just felt the pulse, and suddenly, the energy of the Heavenly Demonic Spirit was sweeping through the eight meridians. I’m not an idiot. How could the old man not know that? The young cult leader must be my lover, and he must care for her quite a bit.”

“… … But I shouldn’t have gotten used to this.”

“That’s obvious. It doesn’t matter to Nobu or that guy, but you have to behave properly so that those who have been poisoned to the bone don’t find out. Those guys will immediately sever your tendons and open your dantian.”

“You say those creepy things so nonchalantly.”

“What can you do if it’s true? At least, behave properly so that you don’t get caught until the leader takes over the throne of the Heavenly Horse. I wonder if Nobuya is going to be a long shot, but I’ve taken a look at his pulse, so I don’t know how the leader will react. I think the leader will just let it go without saying anything.”

The vice-principal responded indifferently.

So, when you reach the extreme, you can sense the energy just by sticking close to each other? This isn’t easy.

I thought to myself that I was lucky that I didn’t get caught learning the Heavenly Demonic Skill from Master Hyunheo at the Shaolin Temple’s abbot’s office last time. Even if he was a master of the Hyenkyung realm, I guess it’s impossible to tell with just one quick glance.

As I stuck out my tongue, the vice-principal got up.

“If you change your mind, tell Nobu at any time. If you look at the sword of the Inspector General purely as a sword, it is the best in the new religion, excluding the leader, so you won’t suffer any loss if you learn it.”

“I’ll let you know if I change my mind. But are you leaving already?”

“What can I do since it wasn’t your turn in the first place? You’ve been making a fuss since lunchtime about catching a pair of oxen and getting blood, so now eat something healthy.”

Hey, that little old man.

Anyone can see that he looks like an old man who is really upset because he said he won’t learn martial arts from him.

He transformed into a child of about ten years old, and his mental age followed suit. I thought he was too young for his age, because he kept acting all crazy.

Regardless, after the vice-principal left, waving his arms, it was his sister who came in instead.

What he was holding in his hand was a dark red medicine.

Even if you say it’s the blood of Ssanggaksa, it’s just a snake that was caught, its blood was collected, and mixed with medicinal herbs. Wouldn’t you get infected with parasites if you drink it?

Does heating kill parasites? I’m not sure if they survived the heat or not.

As I was looking at the herbal medicine in my sister’s hand, which was probably made from snake blood, with a look of distrust, my sister tilted her head.

“Did the vice-principal say something useless?”

“No, that wasn’t it.”

He shook his head slightly and stared blankly at the bowl of medicine in front of him. Then he raised his head and looked at his sister.

Suddenly, an expression that seemed to imply something like, “Why is he doing this?” came back, so he motioned for her to sit next to him, and asked her while gently leaning his head on his shoulder.

“Is it okay to drink this?”

“… … It is said that the blood of the Twin Guardians does not increase internal energy in itself. Instead, it increases resistance to poison, so if you drink this first, you will be fine even if you absorb the internal energy of the Inmyeonjiju.”

“Has anyone ever gotten sick from drinking this?”

“At least I haven’t heard of it.”

It seemed like a long time ago, but I lifted my head and looked up when I got the answer I wanted.

For a long time, the bright red eyes and gaze crossed in the air.

The first one to turn his head was my sister.

“… … Why is that?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

It’s still a consistently easy-to-understand response.

So it also has more of a teasing flavor.

Sometimes, when he shows a tendency to be clingy, it’s a little creepy, but in reality, he’s cute in a strange way.

We’ve already gone as far as we can go, so why are you so embarrassed?

He reached out his finger and poked the ball for no reason, then lifted the bowl of medicine.

Yeah, I guess I’ll just drink it to death – I thought to myself as I drank it, but my face immediately distorted at the bitter and fishy taste.

It’s so hard to become strong.