Slowly. Don’t rush.
Jin Wi-gyeong steadied his breathing. This was a crucial moment. He couldn’t let everything be ruined by a single mistake.
You’ve done well. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.
A cold drop of sweat slid down his cheek. But Jin Wi-gyeong, exercising extreme concentration, didn’t even notice it.
Contracted pupils. His shallow, trembling breaths stopped.
Now!
Just as Jin Wi-gyeong’s eyes snapped open and his hand shot out like lightning—
BANG!
“My Lord!”
Wi-peng burst into the office with an urgent expression.
“There’s chaos outside… What’s wrong?”
Jin Wi-gyeong’s voice trembled as it escaped his lips.
“I was almost finished.”
“Pardon?”
“Two hours of painstaking effort. All for this moment.”
“I don’t know what you mean, but that’s not important right now—”
“It IS important!”
With a cry like a wail, he clutched his head.
“It WAS important! Who are you to judge that!”
Trembling.
His appearance was so pitiful and full of resentment that Wi-peng forgot the urgent situation and just stared at his lord.
I was too hasty.
It had been five days since the war ended. Jin Wi-gyeong had been suffering from unprecedented workload dealing with the aftermath. Of course he’d be sensitive. It was clearly Wi-peng’s fault for making someone usually so generous this angry.
“I apologize. In my haste, I—”
Jin Wi-gyeong’s heart softened at Wi-peng’s sincere apology.
“Be more careful next time.”
However, he couldn’t hide the deep sorrow permeating his voice. Feeling even more apologetic, Wi-peng spoke:
“If there’s anything I can help with…”
“No need. The water’s already spilled. I’ll have to start over from the beginning.”
“I’ll draw it for you inst— What?”
Wi-peng approached Jin Wi-gyeong with trepidation. He saw a large sheet of rice paper covering the desk.
“What is this?”
Though his voice was drier than desert sand, Jin Wi-gyeong didn’t notice.
“I was recreating the battle from five days ago on canvas.”
“You mean the Third Young Master, not the battle.”
“Same thing. Anyway, I just needed to draw in Tae-kyung’s eyes and everything would’ve been perfect…”
“And my entrance made your brush slip.”
“No. Come to think of it, this is for the best.”
Jin Wi-gyeong sighed.
“Heaven must not have permitted my humble skills to portray Tae-kyung. Don’t you think?”
Wi-peng silently picked up the rice paper.
“No! My ‘Birth of a Hero’!”
“…You even gave it a title?”
While listening to the anguished scream, Wi-peng pressed his forehead. Sometimes, very rarely, when Jin Wi-gyeong acted like this, he felt like retiring to the countryside.
Maybe I should just open a martial arts dojo.
Watching his lord dejectedly picking up pieces of rice paper made retirement seem even more appealing.
“I was going to keep it for my personal collection!”
“Forget your personal collection—you need to come out right now.”
“Why?”
“Young Master Jin has returned.”
Jin Wi-gyeong tilted his head while picking up rice paper.
“Where did the youngest go?”
“Not that Young Master Jin.”
At his meaningful look, Wi-peng nodded.
“Yes. The Second Young Master has returned.”
“Mu-gyeong!”
His face lit up. His second brother had returned after three years. He wanted to rush out immediately.
“Where is he now?”
“At the Third Young Master’s quarters.”
“Mu-gyeong? The one who hated our youngest so much? He went to see him first thing? Maybe he’s finally acting like a proper brother. He’s grown up. Hahaha.”
Just as Jin Wi-gyeong burst into hearty laughter—
BOOM!
Screams rang out along with an unexpected thunderous noise.
“The building’s collapsing! Everyone run!”
“Get help!”
“The Third Young Master’s quarters are collapsing!”
Jin Wi-gyeong blinked.
“I think I just heard that the youngest’s quarters collapsed.”
“Brothers grow up fighting, don’t they?”
“What do you… No way?”
“It’s nothing. Just draw a new picture.”
Wi-peng replied with an enlightened expression as he spread fresh rice paper on the desk.
“How about titling this one ‘Hero Gets Beaten Like a Dog by Second Brother’?”
Swoosh!
Watching Jin Wi-gyeong’s back as he dashed away using master-level lightness skills, Wi-peng sighed.
Maybe I really should open that dojo.
These days, his worries only grew deeper.
Jin Mu-gyeong.
Age twenty-three. Alias: Heavenly-Shaking Sword Jin.
A martial arts genius who reached the master realm at just barely twenty.
More importantly, he was my, Jin Tae-kyung’s, second brother. So naturally, I was curious.
I can’t remember what Second Brother Jin Mu-gyeong was like.
Amnesia was a convenient excuse.
When I asked that way, Jin Wi-gyeong told me everything about him.
You won’t be able to see him right away. He’s quite far away.
Where is he?
At the Heavenly Martial Academy in Henan. The heartless guy hasn’t shown his face for three years.
Though he said that, Jin Wi-gyeong’s expression was proud.
Like parents whose child got into Harvard.
What’s his personality like?
Hmm. He’s kind. People often misunderstand him, but he’s definitely kind.
Were we close?
…You were close. You must have been close? Yes, you were close.
Ah, I see.
I didn’t think much of it at the time.
After learning the distance between Henan where Jin Mu-gyeong was and the Taiyuan Jin Family, I lost interest completely.
Well, as if I’d still be in the martial world by then anyway.
A distance that would take several weeks of non-stop horse riding.
That was also why Jin Mu-gyeong hadn’t shown his face until the war ended. But…
To think we’d meet like this.
An unexpected appearance.
I extended my hand with an awkward smile.
“Long time no see, brother.”
He stared at me for a moment before grasping my hand.
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
This guy seems nicer than I expected?
As Jin Wi-gyeong said, people probably misunderstood him because of his sharp eyes.
Thinking that helped me relax and smile more naturally.
“Have you been well?”
Jin Mu-gyeong returned a faint smile.
“More or less, little brother.”
“Huh?”
“Your speech has gotten shorter?”
Whoosh!
The next moment, when I came to my senses, I was flying toward the wall. Jin Mu-gyeong had thrown me with tremendous force.
What the.
Feeling dumbfounded, I twisted my body in mid-air. As I landed lightly after stepping off the wall, Jin Mu-gyeong smirked.
“Well well.”
Ah, I really don’t like where this is going.
I scratched the back of my head.
“Weren’t we close?”
“We were. My fist and your body.”
“I see.”
I’m the idiot for believing Jin Wi-gyeong. Wasn’t he someone who’d die for his siblings in the first place?
Fuck. He should’ve explained properly.
Jin Mu-gyeong held out his fist.
“It’s your childhood friend. Say hello.”
“Hello.”
Ominously, his smile deepened.
“Our youngest has grown a lot. Getting cheeky in front of your brother.”
Swoosh!
Jin Mu-gyeong charged like lightning and threw a punch. The air split at its tip.
This is serious.
Though no internal energy was loaded, it was a single punch carrying tremendous power.
I yelped and hastily twisted my head.
CRASH!
The wooden wall shattered.
Through the wooden debris scattered in the air, punches rained down.
BAM BAM BAM!
Face, chest, shoulders, stomach.
Though they seemed random, the movements were smooth and the attack range was as dense as a net.
Fist technique?
“Been a while since you’ve seen the Rebirth Fist[1], hasn’t it?”
Fuck, what kind of name is that for a martial art?
Just as I was internally cursing, the first strike of the Rebirth Fist slammed into my abdomen.
THUD!
“Ugh!”
“Not done yet.”
Enduring the pain that knocked the wind out of me, I blocked the incoming fist with my forearm.
My bones ached with the dull impact.
“You blocked it?”
BAM BAM BAM!
It hurts. Hurts like hell.
Jin Mu-gyeong had the advantage over me in both power and speed.
But somehow…
This is more manageable than I expected?
Is it because he’s not using internal energy?
At first I just got one-sidedly beaten, but after a while, his attacks gradually became visible to my eyes.
Swish!
Jin Mu-gyeong’s fist cut through the air.
Precise prediction. Clean evasion.
He looked at me with surprise.
“You’ve improved somewhat.”
I caught my breath and grinned.
Since it had come to this, I figured we might as well go all out.
“Not somewhat—I’ve improved a lot. Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
“I have. To the point of being sick of them.”
Jin Mu-gyeong smirked.
“Let’s see how much of it is true.”
SWOOSH!
With a sharp sound of air splitting, his hand shot out to grab my wrist.
Not happening!
I glared and moved to knock away the approaching hand.
Or rather, tried to.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!
In less than a second, five exchanges of attack and defense occurred. And instantly, victory was decided.
GRAB!
“What is this pathetic Restrict and Capture technique?” Jin Mu-gyeong twisted my wrist in a strange motion and spoke with a look of disdain. Being caught so easily was already making my blood boil, but his next words set my chest on fire.
“One more time.”
“…What are you trying to do?”
“I already knew the rumors were false. Time to fix my little brother’s attitude of not knowing his place.”
Jin Mu-gyeong released my wrist and beckoned with his finger.
“Come. No more going easy.”
I stared at him silently.
Jin Mu-gyeong was clearly stronger than me. The wall of being a master was too high—I couldn’t overcome it with my current abilities.
I know. I know all that, but…
This pisses me off.
And suddenly I became curious. How far could I go?
Just how good was this genius Jin Mu-gyeong everyone talked about?
It was the competitive spirit not of a hunter, but of a martial artist.
Let’s do this.
Jin Mu-gyeong was the first to notice my change.
“I didn’t know you could make that expression.”
“This is my real expression.”
He laughed in amusement.
“Fine. All good, but… still speaking in short sentences?”
At that moment, Jin Mu-gyeong’s fist blurred.
Swish, BAM!
My vision flashed. Even though I was concentrating intensely, I couldn’t completely dodge the attack.
Jin Mu-gyeong looked back and forth between his fist and me.
“This shouldn’t be possible.”
His fist had aimed for my temple. If it had landed precisely, this would have been the final strike.
Although he wasn’t using internal energy, I had somewhat managed to dodge an all-out strike from a master.
“I’ve improved a lot, right?”
“I’ll admit it. Though not even a quarter of a quarter of the rumors.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll start catching up from now.”
“You? Catch up to me? In what lifetime?”
I answered:
“Starting from this moment.”
“If you can last even a moment, I’ll acknowledge you as my older brother.”
Once again, Jin Mu-gyeong’s form blurred. But this time, I was a step faster.
Assign 10 points to Agility.
Ten level-ups gained through the war. And 100 points sleeping soundly in my status window. Some of them responded to my command.
WHOOSH!
The change was instantaneous. At the same time, I felt certain.
Certain that I could perfectly dodge Jin Mu-gyeong’s fist flying toward my face.
SWISH!
Too slow.
Without hesitation, I twisted my head.
BAM!
…Fuck, should’ve used 10 more points.