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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Training and an Incident
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“Ugh…”
Namgung Jipyeong felt like he was dying.
It was all well and good to boldly declare he could do it, feeling as though he was being underestimated, but that was as far as it went.
While performing his sword technique, the child suddenly halted his movement at the stance where he lunged with his sword.
Stopping while carrying two hundred geun on his arms and legs made his limbs tremble uncontrollably.
“Ughhh…”
Groans escaped his lips involuntarily. He hoped the child would hear them, but.
‘Why… why isn’t she telling me to put it down?’
The child merely watched him with a serious expression, stroking her chin, without uttering a command to move.
‘This is… this is my limit…!’
He tried to endure to the very end, but his limit had arrived.
Just as he was about to let his trembling arms drop.
Tap.
“…?”
Suddenly, the burdensome downward pull on his arms vanished.
He opened his eyes in surprise and saw the child touching the tip of his sword.
Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes widened.
“H-how did you do that?”
The weight had disappeared.
Just by placing a finger on the sword tip, she made fifty geun of force vanish?
“It didn’t disappear. I dispersed the weight of the weights throughout your entire body.”
“Is that… possible?”
The weights’ force pressed downwards.
To resist that downward pressure, there should be no way other than to exert force upwards with his arms, right?
“Sir Warrior is strong. More precisely, you have a lot of raw power. However, you tend to use that strength all at once.”
“…How did you know?”
“If you do that, you might deliver a powerful attack for a moment, but you’ll inevitably be at a disadvantage if the battle drags on.”
It would be ideal if every battle ended with a single decisive blow, but battles don’t always go as planned.
Sometimes, you must fight on equal footing, and other times, the opponent is overwhelmingly strong, and merely enduring is all you can do.
In Namgung Jipyeong’s current situation, such cases would be more frequent.
“Charging with all your might at an opponent stronger than you is tantamount to asking to be killed. The more difficult the opponent, the more cautious you must be, and you must wait for an opportunity to counterattack.”
Opportunities don’t come often.
To seize such opportunities, you need the strength to withstand your opponent until the chance arises, and a well-balanced physique that minimizes the loss of your own strength.
That was the reason for external martial arts training.
“Practice distributing your overflowing strength evenly throughout your entire body, rather than pouring it into one spot. Don’t burden any single part of your body.”
For one arm to bear that weight, ninety percent of your strength is required, but if you use your entire body, it requires less than ten percent.
“Just like now.”
“But… Young Master, you didn’t touch my body, did you? How did you manage my strength just by touching the tip of my sword?”
“If you realize that, you’ll be able to reach a higher realm.”
Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
‘Singeomhapil (身劍合一)!’
It meant "body and sword as one," a realm achieved by those who reached the Jeoljeong stage.
‘This child… is a Jeoljeong master!’
It was a plausible deduction, but it was wrong.
Seolhwa’s internal energy at present only made her a second-rate practitioner. However, a decrease in internal energy did not mean her enlightenment had vanished.
Knowing and doing were two different matters, though.
‘I can at least show this much.’
Thump—!
The moment Seolhwa took her hand off the sword, Namgung Jipyeong’s arm dropped limply.
He lay sprawled out, utterly exhausted, but his eyes held a different light than before.
Seolhwa sensed a gaze in his eyes that looked towards a higher place.
“Shall we stop here for today?”
Namgung Jipyeong quickly got up and performed a pokwon.
His hands and feet still trembled from the burden of two hundred geun, but his posture remained perfectly stable.
“I sincerely thank you for your guidance, Young Master. If not for you, I would not have gained this enlightenment today.”
“Was it not too difficult?”
“It was difficult. Very much so. However, I’ve realized this training is necessary, so I plan to continue training with the weights on.”
“Good. Once you get used to using your strength, we can gradually increase the weight.”
“More than now… you mean?”
“You should at least be able to effortlessly lift five hundred geun with one arm.”
“Huh?!”
Namgung Jipyeong’s mouth dropped open.
He now understood why this training was necessary. And he intended to do his best going forward.
But what did she say?
Five hundred geun, when fifty geun was already killing him?
‘I have to wear weights ten times heavier than now? Without even using internal energy?’
Is it even possible to move?
At this point, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of disbelief.
“Forgive my presumption, but… Young Master, how much… do you lift…?”
At Jipyeong’s hesitant question, Seolhwa rolled up one sleeve. On the child’s slender arm were three weights, each twice the size of those Jipyeong was wearing, neatly strapped on.
“I’m currently wearing about three hundred geun. I still have a long way to go, too. Let’s work hard together.”
At Seolhwa’s utterly innocent reply, Jipyeong’s mouth dropped even wider.
Three hundred geun times four, totaling twelve hundred geun.
She had been with him throughout the training, meaning the child had also been wearing that weight the entire time.
‘Was I… whining about just fifty geun…?’
This useless, bulky body of mine.
Namgung Jipyeong, left with only self-reproach after throwing out his disbelieving question, swallowed his tears inwardly.
“Oh, right. Starting tomorrow, if there are any warriors who want to train, bring them along.”
“Yes…?”
“Since we’re doing it anyway, it’ll be more encouraging if we all do it together, and we can cheer each other on. Won’t that be good?”
“Will that be alright with you?”
“Absolutely.”
It was about strengthening the roots of the Namgung, so of course it would be alright.
In fact, the more warriors who desired to grow stronger, the better it was for Seolhwa.
Namgung Jipyeong was filled with admiration.
‘A Jeoljeong master is generously offering guidance!’
Teaching also required time and effort. For a Jeoljeong master to actively provide such instruction was an unparalleled opportunity.
The faces of the 11th squad members flashed in his mind. It was obvious they couldn’t even lift thirty geun, let alone fifty.
If they trained together like this, they could all grow stronger!
“I will definitely bring them!”
“Since you’re bringing them, bring a lot.”
“Yes! A lot!”
A flame ignited in Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes.
***
After finishing her dawn training, Seolhwa washed up and immediately headed out to the streets with Namgung Cheongun.
It was her first outing since entering the Namgung.
“There are a lot of people, so you must hold your father’s hand tightly.”
Namgung Cheongun, wearing a bamboo hat pulled low, held Seolhwa’s hand firmly, a gentle smile beneath the brim.
He was officially on a caravan escort mission.
No one in Hefei would fail to recognize the Namgung’s First Young Master. Since there was no need to cause a commotion, they decided to travel discreetly.
Though it was a casual outing, five bodyguards accompanied them.
For the Namgung’s First Young Master and his child’s outing, it was not excessive protection.
“Let’s go to the Tanghuru shop after we eat.”
Seolhwa nodded, counting the number of footsteps behind them.
“Sounds good.”
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Seolhwa looked up at Namgung Cheongun.
His eyes sparkled brightly, and Namgung Cheongun let out a soft chuckle.
“Just say it. Whatever you like, I’ll like it too.”
“Then, I know a good restaurant.”
“A good restaurant?”
Seolhwa nodded and led Cheongun by the hand.
The place she headed to was the inn she had first visited with Seop Mugwang upon arriving in Hefei.
“Dumplings and noodles. I truly love those dishes too.”
Seolhwa and Cheongun ordered plenty of dumplings and noodles and shared them.
When Cheongun placed food in Seolhwa’s bowl, Seolhwa also put dumplings into his.
This made Cheongun’s eyes well up again.
The dumplings and noodles were delicious, even on a second try. The Namgung’s food was also very good, but it couldn’t compare to the taste of this inn.
‘I understand why Pungnoesin liked this place.’
Even after eating the Namgung’s delicacies, these dumplings and noodles would be the only ones that came to mind.
‘Why didn’t I know about this place in my previous life?’
She had often visited Hefei in her previous life, but this inn hadn’t existed.
If the food was this delicious, she, who frequented Hefei as if it were her own home, couldn’t possibly have been unaware of it.
‘Did they earn a lot of money and close the business?’
“It’s good to see you eat well. Eat a lot and grow big.”
It was then that Namgung Cheongun, who had managed to compose his emotions, was gently stroking Seolhwa’s head.
“When did we say we wouldn’t pay? Huh? We told you we’d pay next time! We just forgot our money pouch!”
A commotion broke out a couple of tables away from where they sat.
Namgung Cheongun surveyed the situation from beneath his bamboo hat.
He planned to take the child and leave the inn if a dangerous situation arose.
“Oh, sir, do you know how many times you’ve said that? Today, you really must pay your overdue tabs so we can run our business…”
Bang—! A table shattered with a loud crash.
Dishes on the table fell, causing a great uproar.
“Has this innkeeper gone senile!”
The man who broke the table grabbed the collar of the elderly man who appeared to be the innkeeper.
“Oh, please! Save me, Sir!”
“You don’t know who we are, do you? Huh?”
“I do! I know very well! How could I not know the Namgung warriors…!”
