Chapter 9
"Identity? I am..."
"A third-generation disciple who learned an internal technique for the first time yesterday is so skillfully completing a heavenly cycle?"
It seemed like light was shining from Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's eyes.
That gaze seemed to pierce right through me.
But what could I say?
If I said I was a master who had worked hard in my past life, I would obviously be treated like a crazy person.
'Since it has come to this, I'll face it head-on.'
I had been through all sorts of hardships in my past life.
Although Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang was my Martial Uncle, he was younger than when I had started to gain fame as the Self-Taught Sword Master in my past life.
Moreover, tricking a naive Taoist who had lived his entire life only in Wudang was a piece of cake.
"Martial Uncle... I think the time has come to finally tell the truth."
"The truth?"
The Martial Uncle's expression became serious.
He probably couldn't guess what I was going to say.
Like the Martial Uncle, I spoke with an incredibly serious face.
"Yes. Since I came to Wudang, there is one thing I have been hiding from everyone. But I am afraid to say it."
"Afraid?"
I lowered my eyes, pretending to be anxious, and nodded.
Then, the Martial Uncle spoke to me in a rather warm voice.
"Do not worry. I will understand whatever you say."
"Martial Uncle...!"
After looking into the Martial Uncle's eyes with a moved expression, I immediately continued.
"I think I might be a genius."
"...What did you say?"
"A genius. If I just think about how to do something in my head, it just happens on its own. Even during the Yuyeop Hall group training in the morning, all the forms came to my mind at once. I... am also scared of where my talent ends..."
"Hah..."
The Martial Uncle let out a breath at my words.
His face showed that he had never expected me to come out like this.
"Then why didn't you say anything until now?"
"Because I was afraid of being envied by my senior brothers."
"Envy. In our Wudang...?"
"Martial Uncle, I am the youngest in our 'Un' generation. And I'm famous for being timid. You've heard that too, right?"
Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang nodded his head without realizing it.
Before teaching me, he must have looked into various things about me.
And the answer would always have been the same.
A timid, fearful child who is not good at interpersonal relationships.
"If such a child suddenly comes forward, I thought there would surely be someone among the senior brothers who would look at me unfavorably. That kind of bullying... I'm used to it."
"Then the reason you are revealing that talent in front of me is..."
"It's just you and me here, Martial Uncle. During the group training, I will show my abilities very slowly, slowly. If I show a consistently developing appearance, won't the senior brothers acknowledge me instead of being jealous?"
Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang thought for a moment and then nodded his head.
Even I thought there was nothing wrong with my words.
It was a good thing I had prepared for something like this in advance.
I opened my mouth to drive the final nail in.
"That's why I've been counting down the days to the competition. The day I can freely display my talent in front of my master, without worrying about my senior brothers' eyes."
"So that was the reason you were so desperate."
I slowly nodded my head.
To be honest, enduring things like that horse stance and lotus position is my specialty.
My body is in pain and it's hard, but enduring that pain is nothing.
But in Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's eyes, it must have seemed like I was desperate.
A figure who, wanting to overcome the situation somehow, endured despite the hardship and pain.
"Alright, I understand. I roughly understand your situation."
"Thank you for understanding."
I bowed my head deeply.
I could feel a warm gaze on the top of my head.
When I slightly raised my head, Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang was looking at me with a different expression than before.
'I didn't know the Martial Uncle could make that kind of expression.'
It was a gaze mixed with pity and pride.
He also seemed to be vaguely thinking about something.
I feel a little guilty for tricking him, but... I can't just say I was reincarnated, can I?
"I've had a similar experience, so I think I know what you mean."
"A similar experience?"
"Although we are a Taoist sect, when we are young, we lack cultivation, so it can't be helped. It's something that will be resolved as we gradually get older and all the senior and junior brothers mature and properly enter the Tao."
I could feel the sincerity in his words.
In that moment, I realized one thing.
'Ah... Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang has had an experience similar to what I said.'
It was a lucky shot, but this was the reason my excuse worked so well.
Judging by Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's achievements, his aptitude was such that it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to call him a prodigy from a young age.
Now they all get along well, but when he was young, the Martial Uncle must have experienced jealousy and envy.
'But... why didn't I know Hyeon Yang?'
It was a question that kept repeating itself, but for now, I decided to let it go.
He might have died in the early stages of the war, or his martial arts might have stagnated at his current state, so he didn't reach my level and I didn't know him.
Or, just maybe, he might have suddenly decided to attain enlightenment and moved from the sword sect to the Taoist sect.
What's important now is not Hyeon Yang, but my future.
"Good. Then from now on, I will treat you as a genius."
"Thank you, Martial Uncle."
"Usually, geniuses have such fast achievements that they think it's okay to lower the intensity of their training. Rather than training the body and forms, they focus on the cultivation of the mind to gain enlightenment..."
"No!"
When I shouted without realizing it, the Martial Uncle was startled and blinked his eyes at me.
I was also surprised after shouting, but I continued speaking calmly.
"I will do my best to cultivate my mind on my own while I am not training with you, Martial Uncle."
"What...?"
"When I am with you, Martial Uncle, I want to learn even one more thing. How to train the body, forms, sword arts..."
My true intention was the sword art at the end, but the Martial Uncle looked quite moved.
"As expected...! It was a good decision to bring you. You're full of grit!"
"Yes. Besides grit, I have nothing!"
"Good! I will push you to your limits!"
A moment of anxiety arose, but I answered bravely.
"Yes! Please do, Martial Uncle!"
"Get up at once. Your body is too weak right now. How can you even swing a sword properly like this? I will transform your body into that of a martial artist in a short period of time. Are you prepared?"
"Yes! Martial Uncle!"
I immediately stood up and stood in front of the Martial Uncle.
I didn't show it on the outside, but inside, a satisfied smile never left my face.
I felt like I was finally going to do some real training.
***
A few hours passed.
I held onto my trembling legs and barely made my way to the dining hall.
'Crazy. Really crazy.'
Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang was a crazier person than I thought.
It was only the first day of proper training, but the amount of training was no ordinary.
'This is why everyone runs away in a few days.'
I could guess why some senior brothers were called as candidates for Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's disciple and then returned in less than a few days.
Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang really pushed the body mercilessly.
It was by no means something that children of this age could endure.
'Still... the effect must be enormous.'
But if you ask if the Martial Uncle just pushes people recklessly without any system, that's not it either.
I could feel that he had been deeply contemplating physical training for a long time.
When you're training your legs and you seem to be reaching your limit, you don't rest, but smoothly transition to upper body training.
Then to the back, to the abs... by the time the upper body reaches its limit, you go back to the legs, which have fully recovered in the meantime.
It was truly a training method that could extract the best efficiency in a limited time.
'It's also just the right amount of hard. Just enough to feel like you're going to die. And feeling like you're going to die means you're definitely not going to die.'
To be honest, I didn't even have the strength to eat, but I forced myself to come here.
Skipping a meal is out of the question.
The most important thing for muscle recovery is to replenish the lack of nutrients through meals.
'I should try applying this training method to the senior brothers too.'
Thinking of the very happy (?) senior brothers, a smile unknowingly spread across my lips.
First, I'll make room number nine the most outstanding, and then, by conquering them one by one, the third-generation disciples of Wudang will surely become stronger as if they have undergone a complete transformation.
'But there's one thing I need to solve before that.'
I haven't completely taken control of our room number nine yet.
Senior Brother Uncheol is still left.
I don't know what he's thinking, but Senior Brother Uncheol has been avoiding my eyes all day.
He can't not know that we have to meet in the room anyway, and now that dinner is over, it's time to have a deep conversation with Senior Brother Uncheol.
"I will eat well!"
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and then took a large spoonful of the rice on my plate and put it in my mouth.
***
On the way back to the room after finishing the meal.
Still, I ate my fill, and thanks to continuously recovering my energy, I could feel my strength slowly returning.
I was once again amazed by the Taiji Internal Technique.
Normally, if I had trained this much, I would have had to lie down groaning for at least a few hours, but the natural energy that naturally entered my body seemed to gently envelop my body.
"Junior Brother!"
"Senior Brother Unshik?"
I had almost arrived in front of our room when the third senior brother, Unshik, who seemed to have been waiting for me behind a large tree, called out to me urgently.
"Junior Brother. Come over here quickly."
"Why? What's wrong?"
He didn't have any particular features, so he wasn't a senior brother who left a deep impression.
I was half in doubt, but I approached him.
I checked if anyone was hiding nearby, but fortunately, Senior Brother Unshik was alone.
"Hey. Are you planning to go into the room now?"
"Yes. Now that the training is over, I should rest a little in the room and then have our own training time."
Senior Brother Unshik flinched at the words 'our own training time', but the senior brother opened his mouth again.
"Hey. It might not be good to go in now. I'll go in first, so you come in right before the roll call."
"Not good?"
"That is..."
He rolled his eyes as if he was thinking about how to say it, and then continued.
"Senior Brother Uncheol is waiting for you. He was grilling us about what happened yesterday. He'll probably try to get revenge as soon as you go in now."
Senior Brother Unshik said urgently.
I looked at him with slightly surprised eyes.
It wasn't because I was surprised that someone like Uncheol would try to get revenge on me.
The moment we clashed yesterday, I had already grasped Senior Brother Uncheol's skills.
With just that level of achievement, he wouldn't be able to lay a single finger on my body no matter how much he tried to ambush me.
But it was surprising that Senior Brother Unshik had called me separately like this to give me a heads-up.
I thought they were all in it together.
"Why are you telling me that? Weren't you also trying to get revenge on me, Senior Brother?"
"Huh?"
Senior Brother Unshik's eyes widened as if he hadn't expected my question.
"What's the reason you're telling me?"
"That's..."
Senior Brother Unshik paused for a moment and then opened his mouth.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Sorry?"
"Yes. I know it's already too late. But, when you really jumped into the pond... I really regretted it a lot. Thank you so much for coming back alive. If you hadn't, I might have lived my whole life in regret."
Sincerity was evident in his expression.
Looking at that face, a smile unknowingly crept onto my lips.
Is a kid still a kid after all?
Thud—
When I placed my hand on the senior brother's shoulder, he was startled.
"Good. I'll accept that apology on his behalf, so let's hurry back to the room."
"On his behalf?"
"It's not important. Let's go back quickly. Senior Brother Uncheol. I can't just leave him be."
I put my arm around his shoulder and headed towards the room with Senior Brother Unshik.
He was a head taller than me now, but his hunched figure even looked cute.
"Don't be scared. Do you think I'll lose to Senior Brother Uncheol?"
"That's not it, but Senior Brother Uncheol is one of the most skilled among our generation..."
I grinned at him.
Skilled among our generation? To be honest, I'm confident that I wouldn't lose even if I fought the Hyeon-generation Martial Uncles right now.
"Haha. Right. Senior Brother Uncheol is somewhat strong, isn't he?"
Finally, we stood in front of the door.
Looking at Senior Brother Unshik's face, which was asking what to do now, I said, "Senior Brother. Do you know what's the most important thing in a fight?"
"What is it?"
"A preemptive strike, a preemptive strike."
"A preemptive strike...?"
BANG—!
Instead of answering, I kicked the door hard with my foot.
Of course, the door couldn't withstand my strength and burst open.
Then, I saw the figure of Uncheol standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, startled.
"Senior Brother Uncheol!"
"U-Unhwi?!"
Tatadat—!
I used my footwork on the flustered him and rushed straight towards Uncheol.
Time to sort out the hierarchy once again.
(End of Chapter)