I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

The next day.

As I headed to the junior student building, the gazes of the surrounding instructors had changed.

‘What is this?’

They were gazes as if looking at something strange. I cautiously approached one of them and asked.

“Is there something you wish to say to me?”

“Ahem. It’s nothing.”

But for that, his attitude was very unnatural.

However, it wasn’t just the instructors who had such an uncomfortable reaction.

“Heok! Zhuge Cheonwu?”

“Shh, be careful. I heard Do Sogi was eventually expelled.”

“That’s the second one…! Is he getting rid of everyone who gets in his way?”

“He probably trampled them to the point where they can’t even attend the academy.”

They were rumors that would naturally make one sigh.

The guys who scattered in surprise when I subtly stared at them.

It was the same for the other students, so I was able to move along the automatically opening corridor.

Today’s class was [Understanding of Cultivation Methods]. It was a rare indoor class at the Martial Academy.

The moment I entered, the classroom froze for a moment.

I could feel the tense atmosphere of the other students who had come in advance and were waiting.

‘This has become annoying.’

I was about to instinctively sit in one of the remaining back seats, but I suddenly stopped my steps.

‘I didn’t come here to kill time as an ordinary student.’

With the ominous rumors about me and the various incidents, I had to be even more on my guard.

‘To become stronger, I have no choice but to endure.’

With that firm resolve, the place I headed to was the very front center seat of the classroom.

There is no miracle where your understanding increases just by sitting still and listening to the lecture for a fixed time like in a game.

I had to understand and learn everything from one to ten myself.

Moreover, it was a situation where I had missed several classes due to being absent without leave and being disciplined.

‘I have to make my face known even in this way.’

Thinking so, I boldly sat in the front seat. Then, the nerdy-looking student who was sitting in the seat next to me flinched and moved far away.

Thanks to that, the area around me was empty.

At this point, the person who should be hurt would be me. Unfortunately, since Lee Huimun and Gu Dong were in different classes, there was no one to sit next to me.

‘Except for that guy, that is.’

When I turned my head to the side, Baek Cheong was there.

A genius born in the Huashan Sect and the second-place entrant. And now, he was also the most likely candidate for the top student position, which had become vacant after being revoked.

The guy, as if he had felt my gaze, immediately looked this way. He slightly widened his eyes and then raised his hand slightly to pretend to be friendly.

I, who was at a loss for words for a moment at the unique friendliness of a smiling face, soon turned my gaze away.

Because the front door of the classroom had opened and the martial arts professor had entered.

“Class is starting, you brats.”

“Hehe…. There’s a student I haven’t seen today.”

In the silence of the crowd, what stood before the platform was a twin old man with a stooped back and wrinkled face.

“Last time, we learned about the basics and types of cultivation methods, so today I will explain about their operation.”

And then, among them, the strict-looking one, Maeng Dong, immediately started the class.

“The basis of a cultivation method is circulation. It’s safe to say that it’s in the combination of that circulation. But you shouldn’t just think of it in a mathematical domain…”

The explanation of the cultivation method continued, and before long, everyone started to doze off.

As expected, since it was a place where guys who only used their bodies were mainly gathered, they seemed to be vulnerable to this kind of mental attack.

However, it was not at all for me.

‘There are many interesting points.’

It was a class that had a lot of room to help me understand the Reverse Heaven Cultivation Method.

The flow of various major cultivation methods, and the explanation of how a cultivation method amplifies energy and strengthens the body, allowed me to form a framework for the concepts I had vaguely known.

“Now, then, let’s each try to operate a cultivation method.”

Finally, when the theory class ended and the practical class began, the students, as if nothing had happened, each sat cross-legged and entered a state of qi circulation.

Who would refuse when a master helps with the operation of a cultivation method? The reason why the students who entered the Martial Academy achieved rapid progress was also thanks to this kind of help.

The downside was that their teachings were quite strict.

“You still get disheveled when you withdraw your qi. Tsk tsk, it’s because your concentration is scattered.”

If you don’t meet the standard, they don’t look at you any further. It’s as if you have to prove your limits in every class.

The strange sense of competitiveness and fervor that came from being recognized and improving little by little was the main driving force of this class.

“I haven’t seen you before.”

Just then, a low, scratching voice was heard. When I lifted my head, what was there was an old man, Maeng Ha, looking at me with a mischievous expression.

“I hear you’re the troublemaker who’s caused quite a few accidents. Try operating it once.”

‘It was a good thing I sat in the front.’

To think the aggro would be drawn so quickly. I was just thinking that I needed guidance on cultivation methods these days.

I immediately operated the Three Talents Cultivation Method.

Then, I could feel the old man, who was sensing it with his hand on my back, tilting his head for a moment.

Of course. It would be unbelievable that the internal energy cultivation method of a blood relative of the Zhuge family and the top student entrant was just the Three Talents Cultivation Method.

“If it’s a joke… it’s quite audacious.”

Maeng Ha muttered, gathering his white eyebrows.

He liked to joke, but that’s why he was cold to those who were clueless.

If I didn’t show a proper ability, it was obvious that he would lose interest without a doubt.

I gathered my mind and continued to operate the cultivation method. Cleanly and clearly, as usual.

Then, a strange light appeared in Maeng Ha’s eyes.

‘Look at this?’

It’s too clean. No, it was perfect.

Usually, operating a cultivation method is often compared to a form.

Performing the same movement in the same flow.

How much you control your whole body, such as the trajectory of your fist and the stride of your feet, to completely implement a form, is also similar to one aspect of a cultivation method in terms of form alone.

But even if the forms of a beginner and a master look the same on the outside, there is a clear difference within.

The completeness in the invisible realm, such as the tension of the muscles, the center of gravity of the body, and the flow of power that follows the joints, is different.

And if that’s the case for just the body, what about handling the formless power of internal energy?

Of course, it’s difficult to even circulate it along the designated acupoints, and even if you do, the flow or the pace is crooked in most cases.

‘Because a single blood vessel, a single tendon, creates endless variables.’

That’s why even masters who have trained for a lifetime find it more difficult the deeper they go, and that is the cultivation method.

But what was this guy now?

‘There’s nothing to fault.’

Although it’s a simple Three Talents Cultivation Method, it’s so perfect that it’s chilling.

‘Incredible.’

It was as strange and beautiful as seeing a perfect circle in nature.

On the other hand, it was also a wondrous sight, just as the moon that swallows the sun during a solar eclipse achieves a perfectly circular ring of fire.

“T-try it again.”

Maeng Ha swallowed dryly and continued.

If he hadn’t seen it wrong, this was a miracle.

A moment of mind-body unity that a martial artist rarely experiences in their lifetime. He had witnessed the moment when the cultivation method, the will, and the body were operated as one.

Whether he knew this or not, Zhuge Cheonwu continued the cultivation method casually, as if it were no big deal.

At that sight, Maeng Ha let out a faint exclamation.

Because he was sad that he had missed such a precious opportunity on just the Three Talents Cultivation Method.

‘If it had been another cultivation method, he would have gained an excellent insight.’

So he had him do it one more time. To reproduce the feeling of just now as closely as possible.

But the cultivation method that unfolded after that was completely different from Maeng Ha’s expectations.

The pure energy gathered in Zhuge Cheonwu’s body circulated from the whole body to the dantian along the acupoints of the body without a single error, gracefully and beautifully.

Perfect.

It couldn’t be better.

“Shall I do it one more time?”

The words of Zhuge Cheonwu, who had finished the circulation, did not enter Maeng Ha’s ears right now.

Right now, only one word came to his mind.

Completion.

As he recalled that fact, astonishment filled Maeng Ha’s eyes.

This child, at an age where he hadn’t even reached his twenties, had completed a cultivation method.

“…Will you try?”

Once can be a coincidence, but twice is a necessity.

In that case, what about three times?

“Heo…!”

Fate. An undeniable talent was unfolding before his eyes right now.

As a retired master of the Wudang Sect and one of the top figures in the Central Plains in cultivation method research, he could say for sure.

‘A genius.’

He had met talented children who had entered the Martial Academy for decades, but this was the first time.

Maeng Ha asked with a trembling voice.

“From which noble person did you learn your martial arts?”

“I learned it by myself.”

When I answered the out-of-the-blue question with the truth, I could feel the palm of Maeng Ha, who had his hand on my back, trembling.

‘What is this?’

Is he a pervert?

‘I don’t think there was a setting like this.’

As I was feeling a certain anxiety, an unexpected proposal came back.

“You, do you have any thoughts of becoming my disciple?”

It was a low voice, but the content alone was enough to bring a silence to the classroom.

Soon, the surrounding students began to murmur.

“What did I just hear?”

“A disciple! And to a junior student?”

They all looked this way in surprise. But it probably wasn’t as much as me.

Because the person who was the most puzzled right now was me.

‘Why in the world is a former elder of the Wudang Sect doing this to me?’

And just by operating the Three Talents Cultivation Method at that.

“…Of course, it’s an honor. But it’s a bit sudden.”

I expressed my awkwardness by turning my words as much as possible.

Of course, it’s not a bad proposal.

Because becoming a professor’s disciple means getting a solid backing, and this will be a great help in my further education and life after graduation.

‘The problem is that the influence is also big.’

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world. It’s the way of the world that if you receive help, you have to contribute that much.

If I get caught up in it wrongly, it’s obvious that my future actions will be restricted.

‘My goal is, after all, to clear the Martial Academy.’

First of all, a hasty decision is forbidden.

As if he had read my intentions, Maeng Ha continued his explanation.

“Don’t think of it too difficultly. I will help you with the operation of the cultivation method, and you can do research with me on the side. And if it suits your aptitude, you can go to the university and do research with me.”

He meant for me to become a graduate student.

‘That’s not it.’

But since it was also ambiguous to refuse flatly, I eventually chose to postpone.

“I’m sorry, but I think I need time to think.”

“Did I hear you wrong just now?”

Then, a strict voice was heard. The old man with a nervous impression, Maeng Dong, had approached.

“To refuse a martial arts professor’s proposal. Your arrogance pierces the heavens.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s a talent with a bright future ahead of him.”

“Your fault is that you’re too soft.”

“And you’re too stiff.”

The professors who were fighting among themselves over me.

‘My head hurts.’

This kind of attention was unexpected.

“So what was it like that you would offer the position of a disciple to such a young student?”

In the midst of the argument, Maeng Dong asked, pointing at me.

“Hehe, it’s nothing.”

“The fact that you say that makes it more suspicious… Student. Try operating a cultivation method once.”

At those words, I operated the cultivation method again.

“This is…!”

Maeng Dong, as if surprised, had me operate the cultivation method again.

His eyes grew wider and wider, and then his tightly closed lips parted.

“You… do you have any thoughts of becoming my disciple?”

“You nosy bastard! Where do you think you’re trying to snatch him away!”

“Is this child yours? You’re a person who has abandoned human ethics.”

“Before you talk about human ethics, check your own conscience first!”

The classroom became noisy in an instant.

“What in the world happened? Even Professor Maeng Dong has joined in…”

“Is it Zhuge Cheonwu again?”

“Scary, so scary…”

The murmuring voices of those around. And the loud voices of the old people surrounding me.

‘It’s a mess.’

I sighed deeply inwardly.

(End of Chapter)