The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

Tag.

This was Bieunggaek's unique training method, designed to train movement techniques, stealth, and concealment all at once.

First, the two opponents tie a long cloth of a conspicuous color around their lumbar and coccyx.

And the one who snatches the other's cloth first wins, a simple method.

"Kkeung!"

Jin Sohyun groaned as he tied the string.

"This is too unfair."

There was a reason why Jin Sohyun puffed out his cheeks with a sullen voice. It was because he had never once won against Bieunggaek in this game of tag.

The way the game was played was simple, but who was it that said? The simpler it is, the more difficult it is.

A person's field of vision is basically directed towards the front of the body.

But the string to be protected is behind the back, so to win the game, one had to chase the 'it' who was hiding somewhere with their eyes, while being wary of their back with their other senses.

'The important thing is to complete the climb, right?'

Jin Sohyun's gaze naturally turned towards the top of the peak.

After all, the condition for descending the mountain was to obtain all the gifts that the masters had hidden on the peaks.

It wasn't about whether he could catch Bieunggaek's tail or not.

'In that case...!'

Jin Sohyun focused his strength on the tips of his toes and lowered his upper body.

Thwang—!

Like an arrow that had left the bowstring, Jin Sohyun's figure shot out and flew towards the peak at high speed.

Tadadat!

It was when Jin Sohyun, who had started to climb the peak at a tremendous speed, had reached the middle of the peak.

"Success!"

It was when a smile was spreading across Jin Sohyun's lips, drunk with the joy of victory.

"Success, my foot. You have failed."

"...What?"

Jin Sohyun, who had stopped his steps, noticed that Bieunggaek, who had appeared in front of him at some point, was holding something.

It was the red cloth that Jin Sohyun had tied behind his back.

"Oh? When did you take it?"

Just in case, he reached behind his back and fumbled, but there was nothing to be felt.

"A ghost would cry at this."

"You fool! Even a three-year-old would know that you would aim for the peak first! Your movements were read, so your back was so easily caught. Do you understand?"

"Tsk..."

Jin Sohyun, who was scratching his chin as if embarrassed, sneakily looked around.

No matter where he looked, Bieunggaek's gift was not visible.

"This brat!? When a master is giving a lesson! You're not concentrating, and you're already thinking about something else!"

Bieunggaek shouted and took out a small pouch from his waistband and hung it on the pouch in front of Jin Sohyun.

"This is my gift to you."

"What is it?"

"See for yourself."

As Bieunggaek handed back the red cloth, Jin Sohyun took the cloth with pouted lips and tied it behind his back.

"Go down and start again!"

"...Yes."

Jin Sohyun went down to the starting point and started again from the beginning.

But no matter how many times he tried, he had his cloth snatched by Bieunggaek before he could grab the pouch.

By the time he had repeated this about ten times, Jin Sohyun was sprawled out flat.

"Heok— Heok— Heok—!!"

Now, both his stamina and internal energy were at their bottom.

"At this point... he could have gone easy on me... he has no mercy."

Jin Sohyun sat up with only his upper body and stared blankly at the peak.

"How can I reach the peak before my master reaches me..."

He had tried moving in a zigzag pattern, and he had tried moving stealthily while hiding his body.

But he couldn't shake off Bieunggaek with stealth and concealment, and on the contrary, his tail was caught even more easily.

'Should I snatch my master's tail first?'

He had thought about this method too, but the problem was that there was no way to find Bieunggaek, who had hidden himself with all his might.

A dense forest.

The occasional sound of birds and the chirping of insects.

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

None of it was of any help to Jin Sohyun.

"Ugh—! I don't know!"

Jin Sohyun, who had lain down flat again, just wanted to take a deep nap like this.

But then, Jin Sohyun, who was lying down looking at the sky, suddenly shot up.

—Concealment that has reached its peak can never be found with the naked eye, and it is difficult for even a master with sharp senses to find it.

—Then how do you find a person who is concealed?

—You have to make him move first.

The basis of concealment begins with erasing oneself.

Assassins who have reached a certain realm suppress their breathing, and further, even control their heartbeat.

The moment the flow of qi in the body matches the flow of qi in nature, one becomes one with nature.

If that happens, even a master called the number one under heaven cannot easily find an assassin who has become a part of nature.

—That is why the existence that the masters of the Central Plains fear is the assassin.

More frightening than a giant blade that brings a great wind is a dagger hidden in a calm lake.

—Remember. The wisest way to deal with an assassin whose concealment has reached its peak is to make him move first.

In the end, the most important thing in a fight between assassins was patience.

The one who moves first loses.

Therefore, this game of tag was a battle of patience.

But Jin Sohyun had no intention of doing that.

Tag is a trap.

The real purpose is Bieunggaek's gift, which exists on top of the peak.

"Anyway, as long as I arrive at the peak before my master catches me, that's all that matters, right?"

Jin Sohyun took about ten steps back and then caught his breath, staring straight at the distant peak.

"Hoo—!"

Afterward, he brought the tips of both hands together and closed his eyes.

"Can I do it?"

Thump— Thump—!

Jin Sohyun's heartbeat began to get faster and faster.

—Sohyun, do you know what even the strength of the Hebei Peng Family, which can shatter a rock in one blow, and the sword of Wudang, which contains the essence of deflecting any force, cannot reach?

—No. Is there such a thing?

—It is a speed that nothing can reach.

—Speed...?

—I cannot defeat the number one under heaven. But I do not lose.

Bieunggaek said this and then slapped his two legs and laughed heartily.

—Because there is no one in this martial world who can catch your master! Keke!

Isn't it just being good at running away? Jin Sohyun had thought, but he too had no choice but to admire Bieunggaek's speed.

Especially when fighting with O Yoran, he would leave the spot faster than she could pick up her daegeum.

His speed was so fast that when he blinked once, Bieunggaek was already on another mountain.

'Master O said he was a person that even sound could not catch.'

The reason this was possible was thanks to the realm of the Shadowless Body, which could be called the essence of Bieunggaek's Number One Divine Wind Shadowless Divine Steps.

The one whose shadow does not exist.

For this to be possible, one had to be so fast that a shadow would not be left behind.

Swoosh—!

Jin Sohyun's hair began to rise in waves, and his martial arts uniform fluttered even though there was no wind.

The flow of qi in Jin Sohyun's body was currently flowing several times faster than usual.

His heart was beating five times faster than usual, and his body turned red as his blood flow quickened.

When all of his body's functions had reached their limit, Jin Sohyun snapped his eyes open.

His pupils shone with a bright light.

At the same time, Jin Sohyun's two legs bent and then, finally, he soared into the sky.

"Damn... it!!"

Bieunggaek, who had been quietly watching all of this, chased after his disciple, who had disappeared into the sky, with a pale face.

"A Shadowless Body!!"

Bieunggaek gritted his teeth so hard they might break and threw his whole body.

He hadn't been this urgent even when being chased by Cheon Yusin.

"Jin Sohyun!!"

Bieunggaek flew off to find Jin Sohyun, who had disappeared into the sky.

***

"Woooow—!!"

Jin Sohyun, who had flown into the sky, even felt as if he had become a bird.

Jin Sohyun, who had flown through the air and instantly reached the front of the peak, realized that he had made one mistake.

"Ah, right."

It was good that he had flown into the sky to avoid Bieunggaek, but it was much higher than he had expected.

A bird has wings and can land freely, but Jin Sohyun did not.

Jin Sohyun, who had begun to fall, bit his lip as he looked at the ground that was approaching at high speed.

It was a situation where if he were to plummet like this, all the bones in his body would surely be shattered.

'The Cloud Immortal Steps should work.'

True to its name, the steps of an immortal walking on clouds, it was originally a footwork for gliding on the ground, but Jin Sohyun kicked his feet quickly, and even while stepping on the air, he slid down smoothly.

Finally, Jin Sohyun, who had reached the middle of the peak by kicking off a tree, grabbed the pouch that was hanging on a branch.

"Heok— Heok—! Success!"

"Jin Sohyun!!"

At that moment, Bieunggaek appeared and shot a glare at Jin Sohyun with his bulging eyes.

"I won..."

Jin Sohyun felt the ground getting closer and closer.

'No, I'm collapsing...'

Thud—!

As Jin Sohyun fell forward, Bieunggaek was startled and checked his condition.

But Jin Sohyun was not breathing.

His body, which had reached its limit, had stopped all its movements.

"Damn it!"

The flustered Bieunggaek quickly took off Jin Sohyun's upper garment and then imbued his fingertips with qi and stimulated several acupoints.

"Please... please... please!!"

As he poked Jin Sohyun's whole body with his fingers and infused qi, the heart that had stopped began to beat again.

Following that, Jin Sohyun, who had been lying collapsed as if dead, coughed and opened his eyes.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Are you alright!? Are you alright?"

"Am I... alive?"

"Yes, you brat! What on earth were you thinking, using the Shadowless Body! Didn't I tell you it was still too early for you!"

"He...he..."

"Haaa... my lifespan must have shortened by ten years because of you."

Bieunggaek, who had sat down on the spot, looked down at his disciple with a complicated gaze.

'I was worried about this situation, so I only taught him, but to think he actually did it...'

In fact, if Jin Sohyun hadn't fainted, Bieunggaek would have embraced him and rejoiced.

It was only natural, as the realm of the Shadowless Body was literally the realm of a superman.

The realm of the Shadowless Body was to artificially push the body to its limits and transcend the speed that a human could produce.

If an ordinary person had attempted this, their blood vessels would have not just swollen but burst and been torn to shreds.

But unlike an ordinary person, Jin Sohyun's vast blood vessels, which were without a single speck of impurity, made this possible.

Although it was not the complete realm of the Shadowless Body but merely an imitation, even this was a talent close to a miracle.

'A genius...'

Bieunggaek stroked Jin Sohyun's head and smirked.

"Even the White Moon Divine Lord of all people would have to concede a point to you in terms of talent."

"Who is the White Moon Divine Lord?"

"There is one. You'll meet him one day too."

No, he would definitely meet him.

Because he would have to compete with him for the position of the number one under heaven in the future.

Bieunggaek felt a strange feeling at the fact that his disciple surpassed the talent of the White Moon Divine Lord.

'If I had my way, I would want to rejoice to my heart's content.'

"Kuuu... kuuu..."

At some point, he suddenly had such a thought as he looked at the innocent face of Jin Sohyun, who had fallen asleep.

"Wasn't this talent too much for this child?"

The thought that Jin Sohyun's talent, which was not just overflowing but about to form an ocean, might be a curse tormented Bieunggaek.

"What happened?"

At O Yoran's question, who had come at some point, Bieunggaek smirked.

"He passed with flying colors."

O Yoran looked down at the face of her sleeping disciple and nodded.

"Then all that's left is... Elder Kang's test?"

"Yes."

"It'll be alright, right? After all, Elder Kang is the first master who has taught Sohyun the longest among us."

"That's why I'm worried."

"Why?"

Bieunggaek stroked Jin Sohyun's head and stared at the last peak, the location of the third test.

'Please go easy on him this time.'

He knew Kang Cheon better than anyone else.

Although he was now teaching Jin Sohyun with a gentle appearance as a disciple, Kang Cheon's title in his youth was not the Flying Sword Hero.

The Ten-Armed Blood Ghost.

A bloodthirsty ghost with ten arms.

That was Kang Cheon's title.

Bieunggaek, who recalled the sight of Kang Cheon standing on the battlefield, drenched in the blood of his enemies without even realizing it, shook his head vigorously.

"We can only hope that Sohyun is prepared."

(End of Chapter)