Smack!

Timing, speed, power. And finally, the point of impact. The blow just now had been perfect. The one unfortunate fact was that this perfect blow had buried itself right in my solar plexus.

“Keuk!”

A sharp pain that stole my breath for a moment. Through my blurry vision, I could see Cheong Pung raising his fist again.

“W-Wait!”

“Why?”

“Y-You got my solar plexus, my solar plexus.”

“My grandfather said that once you start a fight, you have to beat your opponent to a pulp.”

“This is a duel!”

“My grandfather also said that you have to treat a duel like a real battle to survive in the harsh world of Murim.”

I had nothing to say. This wasn’t some neighborhood grandpa; the Sword Saint himself had taught him that, so what could I say? And he wasn’t wrong about treating practice like a real fight.

Once I let everything go, my mind became peaceful.

“…Fine, you fucker. Hit me.”

“Okay!”

BAM!

Tiring!

My vision flashed, and the strength drained from my legs. Against my will, my body slumped backward.

‘Can’t let my head crack open.’

Fortunately, what I feared didn’t happen. Hyeok Mujin’s butt, who had already passed out and collapsed, cushioned the back of my head.

‘It’s gross. Gross, but soft. Gross, but firm.’

This guy had an apple bottom, at the very least. It was enough to make me suspect he’d been doing Pilates or yoga on the side during his shifts at the Water Gate Pavilion.

Using Hyeok Mujin’s butt as a pillow, I looked up at the sky. Perhaps because I was looking at it after getting my ass thoroughly kicked, the sky was yellow.

‘Check Quest.’

Tiring!

[Experiencing the Sword Saint’s Training Indirectly – 2]

Cheong Pung, highly elated by your excellent performance, has proposed a second training session. Defeat him at least once before New Year’s Day!

• Grade: Peak
• Mission: Win a duel against Cheong Pung (Incomplete)
• Restriction: Must have completed the prerequisite quest
• Success: ??? [Cheong Pung] will be very pleased.
• Failure: ??? [Cheong Pung] will be very sad.

The hope that I might win at least once vanished the moment we began. The duel with Cheong Pung was even more one-sided than my fight with Jin Mu-gyeong, and just as harsh.

‘How does he know so many martial arts?’

I had seen more than ten different techniques in just two days. Just when I would get used to the Supreme Unity Illusory Palm Arts[1], he would switch to the Falling Blossom Chasing Shadow Palm[2]. And just as my eyes were getting accustomed to that, the Tiger-Subduing Fist[3] would come flying out.

Besides those, countless other secret arts that had made the Huashan Sect one of the Nine Sects and One Faction were ingrained in his very being.

‘His martial arts foundation is the Huashan Sect. The person who taught him is the Sword Saint.’

Shouldn’t there be a balance patch for this?

“Heh heh, heheheheh.”

As I let out an empty laugh, Cheong Pung approached and asked, “Benefactor, are you alright?”

“If you’re going to ask that, then go easy on me.”

“But then it wouldn’t be training. Doing things half-heartedly is worse than not doing them at all…”

“Let me guess, your grandfather said that.”

“Gasp, how did you know? Have you, by any chance, lived on Lotus Peak before?”

“…No.”

I’m a Gyeonggi Province native, you bastard.

I let out a deep sigh and pushed myself up. Hyeok Mujin, who had passed out a long time ago, was still motionless.

“What did you do to this guy? Isn’t he going to die at this rate?”

“Well, I tried to control my strength, but I guess I was a bit inexperienced.”

“Control your strength?”

“Yes. Until now, I’ve only ever had one sparring partner in my life.”

This was Cheong Pung, who had dueled with a Transcendent Realm master, the Sword Saint, as if it were a daily meal. Naturally, he would have only learned how to fight with his full strength all the time. The man continued with sad eyes.

“Now that I’m out in the world, it seems harder than I thought. I was clumsy and ended up hurting that senior from the Zhongnan Sect, and now even Martial Artist Hyeok…”

The nature boy’s adaptation to the Murim seemed to be quite difficult. I scratched the back of my head and said, “What’s the big deal? The Zhongnan guy was a bastard who deserved to be hit, and Mujin won’t hold it against you since it’s training.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You’re getting better, so don’t worry too much.”

Cheong Pung smiled brightly, as if he had forgotten all his worries.

“Benefactor, do you know something?”

“How should I know?”

“Of all the people I’ve met in the Murim, I like you the best, Benefactor!”

I drew up my internal energy.

“Get back right now. If you lay a single fingertip on my body, I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself.”

“Because, Benefactor, even when I hit you with all my strength, you get back up again!”

“Ah.”

“You’ve got the best feel to punch, too!”

Listen to the way he talks. A wave of relief and rage washed over me at the same time. I had wondered why he was beating me so relentlessly, and it turned out I had unknowingly been serving as his punching power measuring sandbag.

‘No wonder my toughness stat has been shooting up.’

I hadn’t invested any points in the toughness stat, which was the last one to be generated. Yet, it had caught up to my other combat stats that I had poured points into.

‘Should I be grateful for this?’

It was only a short-term training of a few days, but I was definitely seeing the effects. I had gained the Gecko Art and a significant stat boost from climbing the cliff, and now I was crazily raising my toughness by experiencing the Huashan Sect’s martial arts firsthand.

“I’ll be in your care from now on. I’m also learning a lot while hitting you, Benefactor.”

“…Ah, yes.”

I wanted to smack the back of the politely bowing Cheong Pung’s head, but I held back. I knew that there was no malice in his words. And in a way, I was also relieved.

‘If he were any stronger than this, there would be no answer.’

To me, Cheong Pung was a mountain I had to overcome. If he had been holding back while fighting me, I would have actually been offended. Consideration from an opponent you want to defeat doesn’t feel like consideration at all.

I spoke in a serious voice.

“Let me ask you for just one thing.”

“Anything for you, Benefactor.”

“When you fight me, please do your best.”

“My best?”

“Yes, your best. That’s all I ask.”

Cheong Pung, who was staring at me, nodded.

“I understand.”

“Thank…”

Swaaaaaa.

Before my words could even finish, the heat of the Purple Mist Divine Arts erupted from Cheong Pung’s entire body like a wildfire, burning the cold winter air. His eyes, now tinged with a faint violet hue, stared at me.

“I’ll really do my best, Benefactor.”

“…Oh, so this is your best.”

Dammit, I forgot about that.

At my hollow gaze, Cheong Pung slapped his forehead.

“Ah, right. I’m sorry. I’m a bit slow on the uptake.”

“It’s fine. As long as you understand now…”

Shhhring.

This time, Sword Qi shot up from the sword in Cheong Pung’s hand.

“Now I’m ready to do my best.”

“Ah…”

“Benefactor, I’ll really try my hardest! Because even if I hit you with all my might, you’ll definitely get up again!”

I don’t think I’ll be getting up this time.

Silently staring at the billowing energy of the Purple Mist Divine Arts and the blazing Sword Qi, I managed to part my lips.

“Hey, let’s put away the Sword Qi.”

Let me live a little, you bastard.

***

Shwaaaek!

The tip of the spear tore through the air. A fast and sharp strike. As I dodged it by shifting my shoulders, a second and third attack followed like a storm.

“Hah!”

With a spirited shout, a torrent of spear strikes poured down. The art itself was simple and heavy. But the movements of the one wielding the spear were light and fast. Hidden within the efficient movements was an unconventional strike.

Shwik! Shwish-shwish-shwik!

A smile formed on Cheong Pung’s lips as he effortlessly dodged the spear tip.

‘Wow, this is fun. Was Benefactor this strong?’

He smiled brightly and looked at the young man who was relentlessly pressuring him.

Jin Tae-kyung. Though they had met only a short while ago, he was a benefactor who had helped him a lot. The first time they met, when he gave him all the bingtanghulu, Cheong Pung had almost cried.

‘He’s a good person. To give me something so precious.’

His grandfather was wrong. He had said the Murim was crawling with heinous, cruel, and scary people, but everyone was gentle and kind-hearted. He didn’t even hate the senior from the Zhongnan Sect whom he had injured by mistake a while ago.

‘He’s my senior, so there’s no way he’s a bad person.’

As far as Cheong Pung knew, the relationship between seniors and juniors was no ordinary bond. It was a strong connection forged by something thicker than blood. And his grandfather had always told him to protect the weak. The senior from the Zhongnan Sect was weak in martial arts. Cheong Pung’s heart ached for having hurt such a senior.

‘But… with the brothers Jin Mu-gyeong and Jin Tae-kyung, there’s no reason for my heart to ache. It’s great.’

They were the strongest people Cheong Pung had met since leaving Mount Hua. This very moment, exchanging blows with Jin Tae-kyung, was nothing but joyful.

Shwaaaek!

Effortlessly dodging the spear thrust at his shoulder, Cheong Pung couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Hehe.”

“You’re laughing?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“You really need to watch your mouth. That’s a dangerous thing to say.”

Shwish-shwish-shwik!

Six killing strikes and twice as many feints poured in from all directions. But Cheong Pung was no longer there. Jin Tae-kyung, having pierced through a faint afterimage, shouted as if he had seen a ghost.

“What was that?!”

“Profound Fragrance Drift[4]. Hehe.”

“That’s cheating!”

“Shall I teach you?”

“Great Warrior Cheong, as for me, I am barely surviving this harsh world with a meager skill called Jin Family’s Footwork Arts…”

“Ah, right. My grandfather told me not to teach it to anyone.”

“Hey, you little shit?”

Fwoooosh!

Jin Tae-kyung changed direction and stabbed low. Just before the fiercely rotating spear tip could pierce his foot, Cheong Pung lifted his foot with blinding speed and instead pressed the spear tip down to the ground.

Kagagak!

“Wow, that was a little dangerous just now.”

However, Jin Tae-kyung wasn’t listening to Cheong Pung. With a sharp kiai, he lifted the spear shaft that Cheong Pung was stepping on.

“Hap!”

“Benefactor, it’s no use. This is the Thousand-Jin Drop…”

Fwoooosh!

The next moment, Cheong Pung felt a sense of weightlessness. The spear shaft had been swung into the sky by Jin Tae-kyung’s immense strength. Naturally thrown off, Cheong Pung’s two feet trod on empty air. Losing his balance for a moment, he hastily drew up his internal energy.

Pa-pa-pang! Shwish-shwish!

The force of the Falling Blossom Chasing Shadow Palm struck the empty air, pushing his body back. A split second later, Jin Tae-kyung’s spear stabbed and slashed through the space where Cheong Pung had been.

‘Wow.’

Though not as good as his grandfather, Jin Tae-kyung’s strength was beyond imagination. No, it wasn’t just his strength. His outstanding stamina that allowed him to get up again and again after being knocked down, his agility that shouldn’t be possible for his physique, and his owner of immense toughness.

‘The way he uses his martial arts is different from other people too.’

Cheong Pung was a Peak Realm master. He was raised by the Sword Saint and grew up watching the Sword Saint’s martial arts. He could gauge an opponent’s level with just a single glance at their technique.

‘Young Warrior Jin was sharp.’

Jin Mu-gyeong, with whom he had dueled a few days ago, had an aura so sharp it felt like it would cut you if you touched him, and the martial arts he displayed were the same. But despite being blood brothers, Jin Tae-kyung’s disposition and martial arts were the complete opposite of his brother’s.

‘What should I call this?’

Rough, unrefined, and mediocre martial arts, yet his movements gave off a strange sense of tension. The aura that naturally emanated from him…

“Hoo, not coming? Then I’m coming for you.”

Watching him stride towards him, Cheong Pung finally recalled a single word.

‘Wildness[5].’

A beast determined to finally sink its teeth into its prey’s neck. Jin Tae-kyung’s claws were not yet polished, and for that reason, they felt all the more immense.