Zhuge Rin spoke first. “Head of Martial Affairs, in your estimation, what is the standard for one’s bearing?”

“I do not understand the meaning of your question.”

Just then, Jin Cheon-hee twisted his body lightly, evading an attack. Despite using the Three Talents Footwork, his movements were utterly fluid, flowing like water as he naturally dodged the assault.

Watching this, Dokgo Jung-hu began to suspect that Jin Cheon-hee had learned and was using a different, unknown footwork. If so, it was problematic. This wasn’t medicine; it was martial arts, and in the world of martial artists, such things held profound significance. If he had already learned the techniques of another clan, he would be disqualified from learning the Zhuge Clan’s secret arts.

And yet, no matter how closely he scrutinized every single movement, it was undeniably the Three Talents Footwork.

Zhuge Rin laughed, a pleased and hearty sound. “Surely the Head of Martial Affairs hasn’t made the mistake of believing the bamboo is the standard for one’s bearing?”

Only then did Dokgo Jung-hu realize.

Ah, of course. Bearing is relative. There is no reason to be imprisoned by the terrain…!

But was such a thing truly possible for someone who had trained for only a few months? He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Upon those thin bamboo stalks, the boy had established his own frame of reference, flawlessly executing the profound principles of left, right, and forward.

Finally, Jin Cheon-hee landed safely on the ground.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it,” Dokgo Jung-hu murmured. “He doesn’t even possess an exceptional martial physique, does he?”

“He possesses only enough of a martial physique to learn, nothing more.”

“But then, how in the world…?!”

His Master seemed to savor Dokgo Jung-hu’s reaction, closing his eyes to relish the moment. In that instant, he was not the White Qilin Divine Physician, a genius of the age, but simply Zhuge Rin, the most embarrassingly doting fool in the world.

“Doesn’t internal energy account for a significant part of martial arts?” Dokgo Jung-hu pressed. “That is precisely why the prestigious clans are so fixated on the martial physique.”

“Are you saying that is wrong?”

“No. The better the martial physique, the easier it is to accumulate internal energy and learn a clan’s secret arts. It certainly has its advantages. However, in the grand scheme of ‘Martial,’ the martial physique is merely one component. That child has simply trained his external arts more diligently than anyone else.”

“External arts… are you saying he trained his body?” As expected of a martial artist from the Zhuge Clan, his understanding was quick.

“Yes, that is correct. He focused particularly on strengthening his lower body.”

“Any martial artist would… to that extent… surely…”

“The important point is that it was not ‘to that extent.'”

Just what level of lower body conditioning had he subjected the boy to? Dokgo Jung-hu simply couldn’t comprehend it. Zhuge Rin offered no further explanation, just a broad grin.

Dokgo Jung-hu said, “But establishing one’s bearing isn’t accomplished with the lower body alone, is it? No matter how trained the body, it’s impossible if the mind isn’t capable. It would be difficult without a deep understanding of formations…”

“Rapid thinking is the most basic of basics,” Zhuge Rin replied simply.

Dokgo Jung-hu was left speechless, utterly dumbfounded.

Leaving the stunned Dokgo Jung-hu behind, Zhuge Rin approached Jin Cheon-hee. “It appears you’ve grown somewhat accustomed to the Three Talents Footwork.”

It wasn’t a matter of ‘somewhat.’ Jin Cheon-hee was a stubborn beast; there was no one more relentless. He was the type to nonchalantly perform training that would make others grind their teeth in disbelief.

To the boy, the fact that he had dodged every single incoming stone without being hit once was less important than figuring out how to screw over that bastard Yoo Ho after this demonstration was over. Externally, however, his expression was the picture of innocence.

“Hehehe, I’m so happy you think so, Master!”

“Yes, yes. It seems it is time to move on to the stage of Bewildering Footwork. It will be incomparably harsher than what you have done so far. Do you think you can do it?”

“What is Bewildering Footwork?”

I already knew from reading the books, but the feigned ignorance was a critical part of the act.

“It is the next stage of the Three Talents Footwork.”

The Three Talents Footwork began by establishing three bearings: left, right, and forward. In a way, it was similar to the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art. The Five-Elemental Cultivation Art started with the five attributes of the elements, and as one’s proficiency grew, it used those five elements to create more diverse abilities:

Wind Qi, which used Fire, Wood, and Water Qi. Ice Qi, created using Water, Metal, and Earth Qi. Lightning Qi, which was made by mixing Fire, Metal, and Water into the previously created Wind Qi.

It was said that once one reached the great achievement of the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art, they could control the qi of all things in creation, handle the principles of generation and restriction as easily as breathing, and reach a state of unity with the heavens and earth—the realm of uhwadeungseon, or ascension, spoken of in the Murim.

My ancestor, Zhuge Gongmyeong, unlike the ending known in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms on Earth, had apparently succeeded in extending his lifespan by performing a rite to the heavens here. After achieving his goals to some extent, he washed his hands of worldly affairs, dedicated himself to raising future generations in seclusion, and finally achieved a state of ‘non-action and naturalness’ before ascending. In that sense, it was said that reaching the Heaven and Earth Five-Elemental Cultivation Art, the higher stage of the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art, could even make the southeastern wind blow. This world of martial arts was truly a world of martial arts.

Similarly, the Three Talents Footwork initially used only three bearings. However, just as the five elements were combined, these three bearings could be combined to command 9, 27, 61, and 81 variations, and eventually, ten thousand transformations of direction.

The 3 of the Three Talents and the 5 of the Five-Elemental.

Both are indivisible prime numbers, holding significant meaning not just in Eastern philosophy but also in mathematics.

‘In terms of Fermat primes, they are the first and second ones, respectively.’

The paths of the Three Talents Footwork, which at first could only be used to evade in three ways, become far more varied upon reaching Bewildering Footwork. And when that diversification was complete, the next evolution awaited.

“What comes after Bewildering Footwork?”

“When Bewildering Footwork reaches its twelfth perfection, one can attain Heavenly Energy Bewildering Footwork. It is a secret art, a divine and ultimate technique. There are fewer than five footworks in the entire world that can match the Heavenly Energy Bewildering Footwork.”

It wasn’t ‘fewer than five.’ In my opinion, the Heavenly Energy Bewildering Footwork was the greatest footwork in the world. It was less a footwork and more akin to precognition. It possessed the ability to predict a single, certain path through a sea of innumerable, indeterminate variables. I had no idea how this was possible, but for some reason, it became possible upon reaching the ultimate mastery.

However, Heavenly Energy Bewildering Footwork had a fatal flaw: the intermediate bridge, Bewildering Footwork, was absurdly difficult. It transcended martial arts and entered the realm of mathematics, calculating natural numbers and probability variables. Making the leap from Bewildering Footwork to Heavenly Energy Bewildering Footwork was even more difficult than the leap from Three Talents Footwork to Bewildering Footwork; it was a feat only a minuscule few within the Zhuge Clan had ever achieved.

I had come to an understanding of why Three Talents Footwork was easy while Bewildering Footwork was hell. It was an insight I never would have gained if I hadn’t pursued it so relentlessly, and it was not an insight one could obtain from the perspective of a Murim warrior. It was an understanding unique to me, Jin Cheon-hee, an Earthling, attainable only with the knowledge of Earth.

‘The insight becomes easier if you understand the concept of ‘Maths.’ Not the characters for Murim ‘Formations’[1], but the characters for mathematical ‘Numeral System’[2]. Specifically, the ternary system. You have to map it to -1, 0, and +1. In other words, Left, Forward, and Right.’

It was what was known as a balanced ternary system.

From my perspective, even the Three Talents Footwork was a profoundly difficult footwork if one truly intended to master it. My ascended ancestor, rather than being in the Murim, would probably be building quantum computers if he were in the modern era. The problem was, like all geniuses, he hadn’t considered that his descendants’ minds wouldn’t be able to keep up. He did create the Profound Primordial Complete Foundation Divine Art to help expand the brain’s capabilities, but it didn’t change the fact that without an understanding of numbers, the difficulty multiplied exponentially.

‘In that sense, my Master, who gained his insight through pure ‘enlightenment’, without any modern mathematical theory, doesn’t seem entirely human.’

“Master,” Jin Cheon-hee said, “would it be alright if I just trained more in the Three Talents Footwork before learning it?”

“Oh? And why do you think that?”

Normally, a disciple of a martial clan would be restless, anxious to proceed to the next stage. But here was Jin Cheon-hee, asking to continue training in the Three Talents Footwork—a technique considered the most basic of basics, not even particularly strong in the martial world. It was bizarre.

Jin Cheon-hee furrowed his brow. “I feel like I must solidify my Three Talents Footwork even more before I can learn Bewildering Footwork.”

“Does the Three Talents Footwork seem difficult to you?”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee nodded.

“Yes. The more I learn, the more difficult it becomes.”

Hearing this, Dokgo Jung-hu, who had been watching, looked bewildered.

Usually, if one calls the mere Three Talents Footwork difficult, they are called a dullard, the greatest dullard there is… And yet…

Why? The boy before him had clearly mastered the Three Talents Footwork more deeply than anyone. The movements the boy had demonstrated were paths that could not have emerged without an understanding far deeper than that of an average trainee. Yet this child was saying that the Three Talents Footwork, a simple three-directional movement, was difficult.

Just then, Zhuge Rin replied. “How interesting. To be honest, I have always thought the Three Talents Footwork was difficult as well.”

This was because if you didn’t gain the proper insight during the Three Talents Footwork phase, you would get absolutely wrecked by Bewildering Footwork.

Heh heh heh. Our paths are different, but our conclusion is the same.

It was comfortable having a Master I could communicate with so well. In a normal martial clan, they would have beaten their chests in frustration at a disciple asking to only practice the Three Talents Footwork. Moreover, Zhuge Rin’s own life depended on my accomplishments. Even in such a situation, he always prioritized the best path for me.

“Haste ruins the path. When you feel you are ready, we shall begin then.”

Jin Cheon-hee clasped his hands in a deep, respectful bow.

***

Jin Cheon-hee continued to dig intensively into the Three Talents Footwork.

It did not take long to gain the second insight after the first. However, the third insight took longer to achieve than the first and second combined.

The boy’s footprints trailed in three directions across the white, frozen snowfield. His movements were free and unrestrained, but whenever his footprints stopped, it was always at the completion of a triangle number.

When Jin Cheon-hee, who had been sitting blankly and counting his footprints, realized this, he thought:

‘Did… Did Fermat enter the Murim as Zhuge Gongmyeong?’

The thought of wanting to read such a novel and the thought of absolutely never wanting to read it crossed his mind simultaneously. If it followed the current trend, the title would probably be something like, ‘The Protagonist Hides His Mathematics.’

It was always like this in martial arts novels. A small principle would hide a great insight.

There were protagonists who gained enlightenment in martial arts from reading the Thousand Character Classic, and others who found it in Laozi’s Tao Te Ching or Confucius’s Analects. Even Phantom Archer had reached the Transformation Realm by gaining insight from the Buddhist concept of Gong, or emptiness.

Where the enlightenment came from was not important. It could be an old man’s scythe-swing or an ant’s march. It mattered not.

It could be small. It could be trivial. It could even be utterly absurd.

All that mattered was how much of the world it could contain, all by itself.

That was insight.

And “Number”was the most direct method of explaining the world.

This small realization began to expand Jin Cheon-hee’s world.