Sama Hyeon was set to join the secret cave expedition, but Cheon Woo was left out. The Wudang Sect had decided to withdraw from the affair entirely.

“My master blew a fuse, saying what kind of nonsense this was,” Cheon Woo explained.

The Fist Emperor of Wudang wasn’t the type to tolerate such chaos. He’d likely rage that mastering the Taiji Wisdom Sword was far more important than chasing after the Eight Great Divine Arts.

“That’s for the best. Honing Wudang’s divine arts comes first,” Jin Cheonhee said.

“But the elders are still grumbling, hyung.”

“What can you do? Unless you’re ready to fight it out, you follow the pecking order.”

In the martial world, overcoming Confucian hierarchy requires profound martial prowess—or at least a good excuse. Right now, no Wudang elder could overpower the Fist Emperor with martial learning. In fact, he was eagerly awaiting challengers, itching for an excuse to put reckless upstarts through hellish training.

“So, after this is over, you’ll come to the White Dragon Medical Pavilion, right?”

“Yeah, I got permission. They actually welcomed it. Master was deeply impressed by what you did this time, hyung.”

The Fist Emperor’s prickly nature must’ve found something in Jin Cheonhee’s actions that struck a chord.

“W-Well, that’s good,” Jin Cheonhee stammered.

He exchanged farewells with Cheon Woo and the Wudang group. The Fist Emperor curtly told him to hurry back since he was busy and then vanished with a flourish. To others, he might seem like a crotchety old man, but Jin Cheonhee saw it differently.

‘He’s making sure no lunatic accuses me of colluding with the orthodox factions by distancing himself first.’

The Fist Emperor was shielding Jin Cheonhee from even the slightest trouble. Despite claiming to hate politics, he couldn’t entirely ignore them.

“We’re going together, hyung~” Sama Hyeon said.

“There shouldn’t be any big trouble, but stay sharp, got it?”

“Don’t worry~ I brought all sorts of stuff just in case.”

“Like what?”

“Antidotes, miscellaneous gear, you know?”

“Good job.”

Sama Hyeon was one of the ten chosen by the Technique Emperor, naturally joining Jin Cheonhee in the secret cave expedition. He grinned at the praise. With that, the exploration team headed toward the cave’s entrance.

The secret cave’s entrance looked like an ordinary cavern at first glance, but stepping inside revealed a passageway of smooth stone walls. This was where the true secret cave began.

As soon as they entered, the mechanism and formation experts from each faction shouted, “Stop! From here, we’ll take the lead.”

They began tapping the walls with tuning fork-like tools.

***

“Ugh, warriors are always so impatient… tsk tsk,” one expert muttered.

“Don’t touch anything! There’s definitely a trap here,” another warned.

“Do you even know anything about mechanisms?! You could die!” a third snapped.

‘Geezer vibes. I can smell ’em,’ Jin Cheonhee thought, observing their antics.

The warriors looked exasperated by the mechanism experts’ behavior.

‘Still, they’re not threatening them with force. Guess that’s how social dynamics work.’

The subtle balance of power meant that, in this situation, the warriors had to tolerate the experts’ condescending attitude. Jin Cheonhee watched the odd spectacle with amusement, moving forward as the experts meticulously inspected every nook and cranny.

How long had they walked when—“Trap! It’s a trap! Everyone stop!” one expert yelled.

Sure enough, a patch of floor had a slightly different hue. An expert drew a small dagger from his waist and pried open a floor panel.

*Click!*

A trap was indeed installed.

“It’s rigged with acid poison,” the expert said.

“Such malice! Disarm it carefully,” another urged.

Sweating profusely, the expert gingerly used the dagger’s tip to disable the mechanism, succeeding with precision. Jin Cheonhee watched, genuinely impressed.

‘In novels, they blast through traps with martial arts. That’s just when they’re in a rush. This feels like an archaeological dig, wuxia style.’

It even reminded him of Indiana Jones from his childhood. Come to think of it, he’d never read a novel that detailed secret cave exploration like this.

But the novelty wore off quickly. One hour passed, then two. Two hours—four hours in modern time—and they’d only covered sixty feet.

‘What? It took four hours to cross a distance you could walk in minutes? How are we ever gonna finish this exploration?’

It was a turtle’s pace, and as a hurry-up Korean, Jin Cheonhee felt his patience fraying.

***

“Hyung, feeling bored~?” Sama Hyeon asked.

“You’re not?”

“It’s boring, but what can you do~? That’s why I’m sneaking in some internal energy training. Gotta make the time count~”

“Dynamic Cultivation makes that possible, huh? Still, be careful. You don’t want qi deviation.”

“Don’t worry~ It’s not my first rodeo.”

Training internal energy while stationary is called Static Cultivation[1], while doing so in motion is Dynamic Cultivation[2]. Static Cultivation risks qi deviation—disrupted qi flow—if disturbed, so it’s typically done in secure locations. Dynamic Cultivation, performed while moving or in specific motions, gathers energy with less risk of deviation, some methods being entirely safe.

But every advantage has a drawback. Dynamic Cultivation accumulates energy much slower than Static Cultivation. Jin Cheonhee knew this well.

“Still, I’m saying be careful. Absolutes are rare in this world.”

“Mm~ If you say so, hyung, I’ll watch out~”

“By the way, at this rate, who knows how long this exploration will take.”

Jin Cheonhee sighed, watching the experts tap walls and dig at the floor like archaeologists dismantling traps. Wouldn’t it be faster to just blast through with martial arts?

“I heard once that a large secret cave usually takes a month to excavate,” Sama Hyeon said.

“A month?”

“Yup. A month.”

“Haa…”

A month?! His bunny-like second child, Streptomycin, was waiting at home. He couldn’t be stuck here for a month!

“No way,” Jin Cheonhee declared.

“What’re you gonna do?”

“Watch.”

He stepped forward. An expert shouted, “Hey! It’s dangerous up there! This may look tedious, but it’s not easy!”

Jin Cheonhee sighed. Mechanisms and formations in front of the Zhuge Clan? His master would’ve scoffed, asking who dared speak of such things before him.

“I’ve got some expertise too, so let me lend a hand,” he said politely.

“White-Robed Mad Dragon, we know you’re Zhuge Rin’s disciple from the Zhuge Clan and the Minor Pavilion Master of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion, but aren’t you a physician? Are you claiming to have mastered the Zhuge Clan’s secret knowledge of mechanisms and formations?” the expert retorted.

Then, a scholarly man with a long white beard stepped forward. His back was strong, his eyes sharp—clearly a skilled martial artist.

“May I know the esteemed name of this great hero?” Jin Cheonhee asked.

“I am Namgoong Cheong-mo[3] of the Namgoong Clan, known in the martial world as the Fox Scholar[4],” he replied.

“Namgoong, the great hero.”

“Indeed. And few in the martial world match my expertise in mechanisms and formations. This isn’t boasting—the martial world acknowledges it. You surely know the Namgoong Clan has studied mechanisms and formations for nearly as long as the Zhuge Clan.”

“I’m well aware,” Jin Cheonhee said.

The Namgoong Clan! They were renowned for their mechanism expertise, not quite on par with the Zhuge Clan but among the top five in the martial world. ‘It’s a common setting in novels, like Supreme Heavenly Demon,’ Jin Cheonhee noted internally.

But knowing that didn’t mean backing down. If he let this drag on, they might be stuck for over a month.

Unfortunately, Namgoong Woon, the Azure Dragon Sword, and Namgoong Yeon, the future Iron Bloody Sword Queen[5] (though the story’s diverged), weren’t here to ease the conversation. At this rate, they’d be crawling for a month.

‘Shock and awe, you filthy turtles!’ Jin Cheonhee shuddered internally but flashed a polite smile.

“I understand your concerns, Great Hero Namgoong, but my knowledge of mechanisms isn’t shallow. Please let me try.”

“Knowledge alone isn’t enough. Field experience matters. You know you can’t master martial arts just from manuals, don’t you?” Namgoong Cheong-mo said.

Other experts chimed in: “The White-Robed Mad Dragon’s too arrogant, reaching the Transformation Realm.” “Does he even have field experience?” “This is why masters shouldn’t spoil their disciples.”

Their words were openly provocative but not entirely wrong. Their argument held no contradictions.

“So don’t interfere and stay put,” Namgoong Cheong-mo concluded.

“I won’t be a hindrance,” Jin Cheonhee assured.

“Ha… fine, come try,” Namgoong Cheong-mo sighed, shaking his head, his disdain for Jin Cheonhee blatant.

Jin Cheonhee maintained a smiling facade while sighing inwardly. He stepped forward confidently.

“Hey! You can’t just walk in! There’s a trap—” an expert warned.

*Thud.*

*Hummm—*

Jin Cheonhee stomped the ground, producing a strange resonance. He extended his hand, and a shard of pure white sword aura shot out, shattering the trap’s location.

Using sound techniques to locate the trap and sword aura to destroy it in one go!

Jin Cheonhee smiled. “It’s gone now, so we’re good, right?”

Everyone froze, stunned by his display.