“I sincerely apologize for rudely demanding a duel, great hero.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“But I thought if not now, I’d never have the chance…”
“I’m sure you did.”
Mak Jinchu, his eyes swollen purple, spoke very respectfully to Jin Cheonhee.
Less than fifteen minutes after Jin Cheonhee properly administered acupressure, the man finally surrendered.
Upon hearing this, Jin Cheonhee immediately fixed his shoulder and told him to head down the mountain.
“I’ve always admired you, White-Robed Divine Dragon.”
And along with the acupressure, his manners had returned too.
That was a good thing.
“Will you be alright going down the mountain alone… Ah, considering your martial skills, you’ll be fine.”
“Yes, and it’s not completely dark yet, so I should be fine using lightness skills to descend.”
“As I mentioned earlier, you’ll feel flu-like aches for three days. Find an inn and rest well.”
“I can only be grateful that the White-Robed Divine Dragon personally administered acupressure for me.”
If only he’d been like this from the start.
Jin Cheonhee showed respect to this passing acquaintance.
And Mak Jinchu showed respect to the White-Robed Divine Dragon in return.
It was a beautiful farewell.
As he continued on his way, Jin Cheonhee thought.
‘I see. Now that my reputation has grown, these things happen.’
With that realization, his irritation subsided somewhat.
“At first it was absurd and annoying, but looking at it another way, this too could be considered part of the martial world’s romance. Right, Hwanggu?”
Woof!
But Jin Cheonhee didn’t know.
That this was merely the prologue to what was about to unfold…
When he arrived in the city, the next morning had already dawned.
‘The duel really took too much time.’
The beating wasn’t the issue—it was the time spent treating afterward.
Even though he only administered pure beating without deadly strikes, he still had to make sure the man could walk down the mountain.
‘If he’d been an evil bandit, I wouldn’t have cared.’
Instead of demanding money, he’d asked to learn from him, so Jin Cheonhee had been quite lenient.
Whinnny-
“Yes, you’re tired too. I’ll leave you at the post station so you can rest there.”
At this point, he planned to rest, then change to a fresh horse before departing.
Maybe have a quick bowl of noodles at an inn.
Since he hadn’t slept at all, he’d take a short nap too.
As he rode along the main road toward the post station, he suddenly heard someone shout.
“Hahaha! I am known as the Crimson Light Sword[1] of Mount Tian! White-Robed Divine Dragon, I challenge you to a duel!”
‘Crimson Light Sword of Mount Tian? Who’s that?’
In modern terms, this guy would be called a “heard but not seen”—someone known only by reputation.
But the fact that he referred to himself as “this lord” meant he certainly had confidence in his skills.
Judging by his age, he was a middle-aged warrior in his forties.
This one also blocked the main road and arrogantly called out to Jin Cheonhee.
Jin Cheonhee replied.
“My horse is tired. I’m exhausted after crossing mountains all day. I’m sorry, but I’m in no condition for a duel. Please step aside.”
The middle-aged warrior shouted in response to Jin Cheonhee’s words.
“Kuhaha! Are you afraid of me? The name White-Robed Divine Dragon is wasted on you! I had expectations because they said you were Divine Doctor White Dragon’s top disciple, but it seems White Dragon’s judgment has declined with age. Kuhahahaha!”
Freeze-
Jin Cheonhee’s rational side urgently spoke to his emotional side.
‘Listen, Jin Cheonhee! This is a desperate provocation to force a duel by insulting your master! Surely you’re not going to fall for such a pathetic provocation…!’
After hearing the rational voice, Jin Cheonhee said.
“Fine. I’ll beat you right away.”
He only listened. Just listened.
Anyway, since the man had insulted his master, Jin Cheonhee thought he should make him unable to eat for at least a week.
‘If I let him feel how far a human jawbone can bend, he might become more polite.’
Respect for senior martial artists as a resident of the Later Era?
Counting his past life, Jin Cheonhee himself was actually older.
The moment Jin Cheonhee dismounted, the opponent launched a sword strike as if he’d been waiting for this.
Clang!
Jin Cheonhee merely fluttered his sleeve, deflecting the strike with just the resulting air pressure.
‘Wow, look at this unorthodox sect bastard. Attacking without even declaring the first move.’
He was just like the other guy—obsessed with fame and devoid of manners—but true to his unorthodox sect nature, this one was more vicious.
“Indeed, White-Robed Divine Dragon! You saw through my first move!”
‘This bastard is embarrassed his sneak attack failed.’
As Jin Cheonhee thought this, the man spat out his next words.
“Receive my sword!”
The red sword energy split into twelve streams.
Though his first move had been pathetically blocked, this sword was the real deal.
A level reached through immeasurable effort.
The sword descended upon Jin Cheonhee as if seeking an answer.
‘Sigh…’
Even so, Jin Cheonhee’s desire to find out how far the man’s jaw could bend remained unchanged.
Flicking Heaven-Penetrating Finger.
Jin Cheonhee-style Modification.
Stepping Rebound[2]–!
Thread-like energy formed from the rebound infused with rotational force.
The energy blast that extended from Jin Cheonhee’s hand flew forward, cutting through the twelve red sword energies.
Clang!
As the Crimson Light Sword’s blade was sliced in half and sent flying.
The man’s vision was covered by a snow-white hand.
Crack-
His jawbone rhythmically undulated.
He opened his eyes wide from the terrible pain.
Of course, Jin Cheonhee had no intention of stopping there.
Insulting his master was like insulting his parents.
Not teaching him a lesson would be a disservice to his master.
Before beginning the beating in earnest, Jin Cheonhee said:
“Eat only porridge and stay in bed for a week. Find a physician from the White Dragon Medical Pavilion in this region.”
BAM BAM BAM BAM-!
“A physician from the Chiropractic Hall will treat you well. If you want to move normally after a week, you’ll need to take care of your body for at least two months.”
THUD THUD THUD THUD-!
“If you have a high fever, get medicine from the Medicinal Hall. They’ll give it to you right after checking your pulse.”
WHACK WHACK–!
Jin Cheonhee calmly completed his diagnosis without showing any anger despite the insult to his sect.
And then he created the results that matched his diagnosis.
Which meant he thoroughly beat the man in the middle of the main road.
“Kuheeeerk!”
After obtaining surrender that way, Jin Cheonhee dusted off his hands.
“Tsk-“
A little blood had gotten on them.
It’s indeed difficult to control one’s strength when someone insults one’s master.
Still, since he hadn’t struck any vital points of the now-patient challenger, he should recover well after resting and paying medical fees at a White Dragon Medical Pavilion branch, and be able to wield a sword again.
Of course, Jin Cheonhee also thought the man had learned a lesson about how his jawbone could bend.
“…Kugh… I apologize for my disrespect, White-Robed Divine Dragon. I was too hasty and ended up insulting your sect.”
Jin Cheonhee nodded.
“These things happen in life. I understand. Just don’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Thank you for your understanding, great hero. I will never commit such rudeness again.”
“Yes. Always maintain courtesy and respect for others.”
“Great hero… I was ignorant and… I’m sorry.”
Jin Cheonhee, as a person from the Land of Courtesy in the East, successfully taught manners to this person as well.
‘Now… shall we get going?’
Now it finally felt like he had arrived in the Central Plains.
Just then, someone came running with lightness skills.
“White-Robed Dragooooon! I’m nextttt!”
An urgent voice.
Clearly, he was running first to make sure he didn’t miss Jin Cheonhee.
Considering he was speaking informally from the start, this bastard would probably insult his sect if refused.
‘Why do these martial artists keep appearing endlessly?!’
This was definitely different from when he moved with the escort agency people.
‘Fine. Bring it on…! Since he hasn’t insulted my master yet, I’ll limit it to two weeks of injuries.’
At that moment, the man urgently shouted at Jin Cheonhee.
“White-Robed Dragon! What makes you worthy of being the Zhuge Clan’s successor! You’re nothing but a worthless scoundrelllll!”
It feels like this had been prepared for quite some time.
The determination to provoke a fight somehow, anticipating this meeting day!
The modern person Jin Cheonhee pondered.
‘Is that insulting my sect or not? For now… it’s not insulting my sect but saying I’m not worthy… right? Then should I end it with three weeks of injuries? Or since he mentioned it, maybe a month…?’
This is the problem with the martial world.
It would be nice to have standard guidelines like: Not Angry, Slightly Angry, Very Angry, Furious.
‘I’ll know once I start beating him.’
For now, he’d aim for at least three weeks, and if that seemed insufficient, add another week.
***
In the end, he had to endure five forced duels.
‘Really… all these people of respectable age…’
The first opponent had been the youngest, while the rest appeared to be at least forty.
‘Of course, they were all skilled. Not at the Transcendent Realm, but seemed to have reached just before that level.’
It was understandable.
Although internal energy could slow aging, for middle-aged people to move their bodies like those in their twenties required immense internal energy and martial skill.
‘Elders from major families like the Namgung clan might be able to wield swords better than young people with their abundant resources and accumulated know-how, but a martial artist from a mediocre family past forty would inevitably feel their body aging.’
That naturally leads to desperation.
Complete bottom-tier martial artists would give up.
Because they can see they’ll never catch up anyway.
But just like with modern college entrance exams, the middle tier always has the most worries.
It feels like they could breakthrough to the next level with just a little more effort.
That feeling comes.
But there’s no way to stop the body from aging day by day.
To prevent that, they needed to do whatever they could, as quickly as possible.
That urgency creates situations like this.
‘Only the strong can age gracefully.’
Jin Cheonhee once had a middle-aged body too.
Digestive power decreasing every year, fatigue not easily removed even after sleep.
In the past, he could work after just a brief nap even if he stayed up all night. Now, doing that would lead straight to body aches.
Just aging slowly, little by little, every day.
But still able to do something, yet not like someone in their twenties.
That awkward age.
Forty.
‘Very few people live a beautiful middle age.’
It was true on Earth and true in this world too.
Television always shows relaxed middle-aged people, but in reality, most live desperately.
To protect their children. To support their parents.
All they can do is endure tenaciously, feeling their health slip through their fingers year by year.
Still, they have to do something to survive, and being more experienced than twenty-year-olds.
Perhaps they endure moderately difficult things with a smile.
Few people are truly relaxed like those shown on TV.
And few are as healthy as the middle-aged entertainers on TV shows.
‘Medieval elders in movies always have faces full of scars.’
Modern people get scars on their souls instead. That’s all.
Just then, Hwanggu barked woof-woof.
“Hmm? Hwanggu, what’s wrong?”
It wasn’t a signal about an ambush.
Judging by his wagging tail, he seemed happy.
Suddenly, Hwanggu ran woddity-woddity toward somewhere.
Woof!
“Hwanggu?”
He darted into an alley and soon came back out.
Hwanggu was pulling on the clothes of a large man—though his face wasn’t visible, his martial outfit was familiar.
Wudang Sect!
“Cheon Woo?”
“…Brother?”
Woof woof woof woof!
Hwanggu happily placed his front paws on Cheon Woo’s body and licked his face repeatedly.
Normally, Hwanggu’s size alone would knock someone over, but Cheon Woo’s height was extraordinary, so there was no danger of that.
“Waah, Hwanggu, stop…! Brother, what on earth brings you here?”
That’s right.
And what are you doing appearing here?