Chapter 50

Seo-jun's Martial Arts Class Begins Now!

“I-I trust you…?” Chun-bong muttered nervously.

“Of course! I’ve already tested it thoroughly!”

It wasn’t some experiment done on a white rat—he had tested it on a human.

On his own body.

Though the effect was still minimal and required further refinement, there was no risk of physical harm.

“Alright, close your eyes and trust me. Just follow my lead.”

“Mm…”

Standing behind her, Seo-jun placed his hand on Chun-bong’s back. Her body, accustomed to his internal energy flowing through it as if he were in his own home, naturally accepted it without any resistance.@@novelbin@@

Cham-hyeong Gi-gong (잠형기공)

This was the name of the martial art he had hastily come up with. Though the name wasn’t that important, the key point was to hide Chun-bong’s unique internal energy from the Cheongun Shingong (청운신공).

The method he thought of had two main parts.

First, change the nature of her internal energy entirely.

He quickly scrapped this idea because it required mastering the Merged Origin Divine Art, something Chun-bong wasn’t even close to grasping when he had roughly explained it to her before.

‘Why can’t she do it?’

It wasn’t even that difficult.

Anyway, the second method was to generate a disturbance around her body that would interfere with anyone trying to sense her internal energy. This was the principle adopted by Cham-hyeong Gi-gong.

He had referenced the defensive energy of the Armored Ghost (갑주귀), but since she didn’t need physical protection, he reduced the output and increased efficiency significantly. If she mastered Cham-hyeong Gi-gong, she would eventually be able to manipulate protective energy at will.

“Mm…”

A small groan escaped from Chun-bong’s lips as Seo-jun focused harder, guiding her internal energy.

He could clearly sense the state of her body through her energy: frozen, blocked meridians and, deep within, a cold aura that occupied a large space. This aura was something he had only just discovered, now that his own skills had improved.

Whoever was responsible for this had a disturbingly high level of skill.

That aura wasn’t something the Plum Blossom Pill could heal. More potent medicine was needed.

Or, perhaps, Seo-jun would have to grow stronger.

‘Tsk.’

For now, he chose to ignore it.

Guiding her internal energy, Seo-jun completed a circuit around Chun-bong’s meridians, settling her energy back into her core. He removed his hand from her back.

“How do you feel? Did you get it?”

“Oh? Yeah, I memorized the pathway, but… why does it work like that?”

“Haha, that’s why I’m here, your teacher Seo-jun, to explain it all.”

Simply showing the path of internal energy wasn’t enough to complete the transmission of a martial art.

That day, they spent the entire time immersed in a lecture on Cham-hyeong Gi-gong.

The next day, Seo-jun woke up as if it were a regular workday and headed to the arena, only to trudge off the stage with a dumbfounded expression.

“This is ridiculous…”

He never imagined his opponent wouldn’t even show up.

This was the quarterfinals?

Seo-jun laughed in disbelief and plopped down next to Chun-bong, who had been waiting for him.

“Seriously, what’s their deal? Did I do something wrong?”

“Well, honestly, I thought you were some sort of demon king or something.”

“What?”

Should he just accept his fate and change his career aspirations to becoming the Heavenly Demon?

"Number Thirty-three!"

It was Namgung Sua’s number.

From the quarterfinals onward, only one arena was used, so it wasn’t difficult to find her.

“Hmph.”

“What now?”

“It’s annoying. No one forfeits against her, but they all forfeit against me.”

“Well, she’s a Namgung. They probably think they can gain a lot from fighting her.”

“And what about me?”

“They probably thought fighting you would get them killed.”

This was so frustrating it was making him sick.

Slouching in his seat, Seo-jun prepared to watch Namgung Sua’s match.

Which meant he placed his hand on Chun-bong’s cheek.

“Stop it! You’re going to wear it out!”

“What…!”

Startled, Seo-jun quickly pulled his hand away as the match began.

Rumble─────────!!!

A lightning bolt struck the stage.

Namgung Sua’s opponent was left on their knees, and she glanced over at Seo-jun with a faint smile.

It was as if she were asking, Still feeling confident?

“I really don’t like her.”

Seo-jun chuckled as he patted Chun-bong’s head, who was grumbling in annoyance.

“I’ll still win.”

He confidently declared his victory in advance.

Chun-bong could only respond with a wry laugh.

Meanwhile, the audience was on the verge of exploding with cheers.

“Is that the martial arts of the Namgung family?” “Incredible! She’s really controlling lightning with her body!”

The civilians, especially those who were easily impressed by flashy displays, were in a frenzy.

Seo-jun glanced at Chun-bong, silently asking for an explanation, and she sighed before responding.

“It’s the Chang-gung Mu-ae Swordsmanship. Only the direct descendants of the Namgung family can learn this advanced martial art.”

“Oh, I see. But it seems like the lightning isn’t the most important part, right?”

A faint golden light flickered in Seo-jun’s eyes before disappearing.

The sword he saw from Namgung Sua didn’t just carry lightning. The lightning was merely a byproduct.

What she had imbued into the sword was the sky itself.

“That’s impressive.”

So, that’s what a Heavy Sword was like.

It was definitely different from Chun-bong’s light and agile style.

“By the way, Chun-bong, do all Namgung family members use greatswords like that?”

“No, I don’t think so. From what I know, they usually use regular long swords.”

“Hm.”

Seo-jun scratched his head, and Chun-bong leaned in close, whispering into his ear.

“When you fight her…”

“Eek…!”

“Haah…”

Chun-bong pulled away slightly and continued.

“When you fight her, be careful. The Namgung family doesn’t have its reputation for nothing. Her sword may be slow, but you can’t dodge it. So, be sure to—”

“Ah, no spoilers.”

“What?”

“If I know all that beforehand, it’ll ruin the fun.”

It had been so long since he had a proper fight with a real martial artist. Knowing her weaknesses in advance would take away the thrill.

“Hmph.”

Chun-bong pouted.

Seo-jun patted her head to soothe her while replaying the image of Namgung Sua’s sword in his mind.

‘The sky.’

Wasn’t there a technique that perfectly fit the concept of the sky?

The Three Calamities Swordsmanship

, Taesan-apjeong.

Lost in thought, Seo-jun smirked.

“This is going to be fun.”

It was about time he welcomed a proper “sky” into his mental landscape.

As soon as Namgung Sua’s match ended, Seo-jun carried Chun-bong on his back and found a secluded forest area. It wasn’t easy to find an unpopulated spot in such a bustling city, but using his full speed with Lightfoot, it didn’t take too long.

“Chun-bong, keep an eye on me. Let me know if I’m missing anything.”

“What’s gotten you so fired up all of a sudden? Did seeing that girl get your blood boiling or something?”

“That sounds a little weird…”

“Shut up.”

Pouting, Chun-bong sat down on the ground.

Seo-jun, snickering, drew his sword.

Sreung-

It was a broken sword.

Though it would have been easy to get a new one, he had grown attached to it, so he figured he’d keep using it.

“Chun-bong, let me tell you something about the Mount Hua Sect...”

Golden energy formed around Seo-jun’s sword. The intense heat caused shimmering waves to rise from the blade.

Recalling his faint memories of his fight with Elder Jong-in, Seo-jun completely twisted the nature of the internal energy in his sword.

Flare-!

The energy ignited in a blazing red flame.

It was no longer Yang Energy; it was now Fire Energy.

“A true volcano isn’t just about molten rock and ash. It’s about everything burning and being reduced to cinders.”

Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, First Move: Volcano

Fwoosh────────

Flames scattered like plum blossoms.

Standing at the center, Seo-jun focused his mind, condensing the fire energy into his sword. The compressed flames oozed like molten lava, sticky and dangerous.

Seo-jun swung his sword at a nearby tree.

Sizzle-!

The tree was instantly cut through, igniting in flames before collapsing.

Crash-!

It was then shredded by the following Blazing Plum Blossom.

Satisfied with the smoldering remains, Seo-jun nodded approvingly.

“Mount Hua Sect members… are they insane?”

They actually used this on people?

Wherever the Mount Hua Sect passed, it seemed like only fragments of human remains would be left behind.

This wasn’t something even the demonic sects could pull off without being accused of pure madness.

“To be honest, I think you’re the crazy one.”

Chun-bong shook her head in disbelief.

“You little—!”

Seo-jun lunged at her, pinching her cheeks.

“Ow, ow…!”

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, I’m kidding.”

Giggling, Chun-bong covered her cheeks and backed away.

“I’ve been tricked…!”

Seo-jun gasped in mock horror.

Flare-!

Then, he noticed a large fire had broken out behind him.

Seo-jun turned to see the flames spreading and clapped his hands.

“Oh, I forgot to put out the fire.”

His Plum Blossom Swordsmanship had set the forest on fire.

“You crazy bastard!”

“People forget things sometimes!”

“What are we going to do about this?!”

“Well… we’ll have to put it out, of course.”

Seo-jun grabbed his sword with both hands.

Crack-

Frost began to spread from his surroundings.

The cold energy compressed and gathered around his sword, creating a misty fog.

‘This should be enough…’

Would it be able to withstand even a Sword Force?

No, it still wasn’t enough.

Sword Force wasn’t simply about compressing internal energy into a sharp edge; it required imbuing the energy with mental imagery and intent to manifest destructive power.

There was one other way.

‘Just compress it like crazy.’

Mental imagery, mind over matter? Screw that.

It was all about raw, massive compression.

Crack-crack-crack──────────!!

A blinding white light exploded from Seo-jun’s sword.

Ssshhhh──────────

As he swung, everything in the sword’s path froze solid.

The once-burning forest turned stark white.

Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction.

‘This should do…’

No matter how powerful the Sword Force was, he could withstand at least a few blows.

Seo-jun grinned.

“You idiot! How many times have I told you to be careful!”

Slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-!

Chun-bong’s hand smacked him repeatedly.

He felt all his fatigue wash away.

Seo-jun and Chun-bong sat together, gazing at the frozen forest.

“It’s beautiful, right?”

“I seriously worry about your mental state sometimes.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.”

At his nonchalant response, Chun-bong sighed and glanced at his face.

‘He may be avoiding women, but…’

She worried that the emotional scars in his heart might one day consume him.

Avoiding women? That wasn’t a problem. People had their reasons for that.

Besides, she was the exception anyway.

What truly concerned her was that when he finally faced his past, it would break him.

A broken heart was no different from death.

That’s why Chun-bong needed to stay by his side—to prevent that from happening.

For some reason, he seemed far more stable when she was around.

“Hehe.”

“What are you smiling about? You look cute.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Chun-bong giggled to herself.