I poured the perfectly brewed Tiger-Bear Primordial Body Decoction into a bowl.
Gurgle.
The black medicinal brew streamed into the bowl.
Whew! It smelled bitter enough to make my tongue curl.
I carried it out to the rear courtyard.
“Nine thousand nine hundred five!”
“Nine thousand nine hundred six!”
They were finally closing in on the ten thousand sword forms I had ordered them to complete.
I waited until they finished all ten thousand, then approached them with the decoction.
“Good work. Now drink this all the way down.”
“Huff, huff… What is that?”
“It’s a medicinal decoction I brewed myself.”
They both stared at me in shock.
“You personally brewed this, Great Hero?”
“Yes.”
I gave them a pleasant smile.
“This is expensive stuff. It was made with a secret formula, and it’ll rapidly build up the stamina you’re currently lacking.”
Overwhelmed by the honor, they obediently raised the decoction and gulped it down.
“Mmmpf!”
“Urgh!”
“Ah, yes. It’s going to be incredibly bitter. But they say bitter medicine is good for the body, don’t they? So don’t even think about spitting it out. Keep drinking. All the way down!”
“…”
“For every drop you leave behind or spill, you’ll do ten hanging sit-ups.”
Their faces crumpled miserably, but they still drained every last drop from their bowls.
“I-I’ll go drink some water, at least.”
“No. For the next three days, you may consume nothing except this decoction. The decoction is the only thing allowed past your lips.”
“…”
Their faces fell into utter despair, but I remained firm.
“Jog lightly around the yard while you listen.”
At my command, they began circling the yard, and I explained how the decoction worked.
“…So endure it for just three days. Pleasure comes only after hardship. If you suffer through these three days, you’ll gain the same benefits as three full months of stamina training.”
“Huff, huff… But why do we even need stamina training?”
“An excellent question.”
I nodded approvingly before continuing.
“The martial art you learned draws out the full extent of your latent potential whenever you become enraged. The drawback is that it burns through your stamina far too quickly. Do you remember when I checked your pulses and asked you to become angry?”
“Yes.”
“I remember.”
“You were both already furious because of those Unorthodox Sect bastards, so your stomachs started growling almost immediately. Becoming stronger is meaningless if you can’t maintain that strength for long.”
“You’re right.”
“That is why you need stamina training. First, it will extend how long you can draw out your latent potential through anger. At the same time, it will correct the imbalance between your mental state and your physical endurance.”
“Huff, huff… I understand. But…”
Warrior Dae-nok grimaced before asking,
“It feels like someone’s wringing out every muscle in my body. Is this really all right?”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? The muscle pain would be severe. And it only feels this mild because you’re still moving. Try stopping.”
They came to a halt at my words, and a moment later…
“Nnngh!”
They twisted their entire bodies in agony.
“You should be able to endure it as long as you keep moving.”
They clenched their teeth and immediately began running around the yard again.
After watching them, Escort Guard Myeong Jong and Escort Guard Chang Un apparently grew curious about the decoction. Each dipped a finger into the bowl and tasted it.
And then…
“Bleeergh!”
“W-Water!”
They bolted toward the inn as fast as their legs could carry them.
.
.
.
It was the second day of the friendly matches.
After giving the two Escort Guards their training instructions, I headed toward the martial arena.
Stamina training was something they had to do on their own, anyway.
Young Lady Seohyang and Palgap had no particular need to attend the matches, so they remained at the inn to keep an eye on things.
All the other Escort Guards came with me.
Watching a wide variety of high-level matches might allow one of them to gain a valuable insight.
On the way, I ran into Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun, and we continued together.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Sa Gang seems so happy these days he might burst.”
Remembering how sweetly he and Young Lady Jeong Ryeon had been carrying on, I let out an amused chuckle.
“Can you blame him? He’s enjoying the best part of it.”
“That’s true. By the way, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun, when do you plan to marry?”
“What?”
“You’re not planning to remain unmarried forever, are you?”
“…I’ve never given it much thought.”
Marriage still felt like a distant concern to me.
I had considered it briefly after Guizhou Province’s Provincial Administration Commissioner asked me to marry his daughter, but…
My foremost goal was still taking revenge on the Murim Alliance and the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
Dragging a wife down that road of hardship with me would hardly be fair to her.
“Isn’t there some young lady around you who, for reasons you can’t explain, makes your throat go dry whenever you look at her?”
“…”
Someone did come to mind when he put it that way, but…
Hah. I didn’t even know what to make of it myself.
Just then…
“…!”
I caught sight of a familiar gait.
A man was walking toward me. He brushed past without a word.
His face was unquestionably unfamiliar, yet something about him felt anything but strange.
Could that have been Master?
Had Master come here as well?
The realization came a moment too late. I quickly looked back, but Master had already vanished from sight.
Had he come here after taking Brother Jeong-ho back to Headquarters?
“What’s wrong?”
At Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s question, I shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
The Murim Alliance’s eyes could be anywhere, so I had to watch my every move.
For now, simply knowing Master was here would have to be enough.
We soon arrived at the martial arena and headed toward our respective seats.
My parents had left the inn ahead of us, so they were already seated and waiting.
Outer Chief Administrator Go Il-pyeong and Brother Jin-ho sat beside them.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, then asked Brother Jin-ho,
“Nervous?”
“No. I was a little nervous on the first day, but now? Not particularly.”
His answer carried unmistakable confidence.
He had probably realized it as well.
The competitors in these friendly matches were not nearly as formidable as we had expected.
The friendly matches had originally been a place where accomplished experts tested their martial arts against one another and exchanged insights, but they had deteriorated into a contest of pride among younger generation prodigies.
As a result, older martial artists had stopped entering because doing so would be beneath their dignity.
Even though there was officially no age restriction.
There was a saying that water without a fresh current, water that never flowed, would eventually stagnate and rot.
Both the Murim Alliance and this event had remained stagnant for far too long, and both had inevitably become distorted.
“Fellow martial artists!”
At some point, Commander Geum Yeon-hwa, the Red Rain Sword, had stepped onto the stage.
“We will now begin the second day of preliminary matches for the Murim Grand Assembly’s friendly competition!”
“Waaaaah!”
The crowd erupted in cheers.
“I will now reveal the matchup that will open the second day!”
At her words, an assistant removed the covers from the wooden plaques hanging on the bracket.
“Eon Seung-yeon of the Jinju Eon Clan! His opponent will be Yeom Wu of the Yeom Clan!”
Warrior Eon Seung-yeon and Warrior Yeom Wu climbed onto the stage after hearing their names.
The mention of the Yeom Clan brought back memories of my maternal uncle’s situation, as well as the match-fixing that had taken place during the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering.
Unlike the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering, however, arranging a fixed match during the Murim Grand Assembly’s friendly competition would be extremely difficult.
The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering drew competitors with wildly different levels of skill, and the results were not important enough to prevent match-fixing entirely. These friendly matches were different.
Most of the participants were evenly matched, and every bout carried their clan or sect’s pride.
Trying to fix a match in a place like this…
Well, I hardly needed to explain what would happen next.
Boom–!
At the sound of the drum, Warrior Eon Seung-yeon and Warrior Yeom Wu saluted each other and assumed their opening stances.
They soon closed the distance, and sparks flew as Warrior Eon Seung-yeon’s iron gauntlets collided with Warrior Yeom Wu’s sword.
Clang! Clang, clang! Clang!
Ordinarily, the fighter with the longer weapon held the initiative.
A sword had the advantage over bare fists, while a spear had the advantage over a sword.
The Jinju Eon Clan, however, was renowned for its fist arts.
It possessed martial arts capable of overturning even such a basic principle.
One of those martial arts was the technique before me now.
The Iron Body Art.
It had once been called the Walking Corpse Art, though at some point people had started favoring the name Iron Body Art instead.
It hardened the practitioner’s body until it became as tough as solid metal, allowing them to withstand attacks from long bladed weapons.
Warrior Eon Seung-yeon drove straight into Warrior Yeom Wu’s reach.
Screeeech!
Warrior Yeom Wu’s sword scraped across Warrior Eon Seung-yeon’s body, but instead of flesh being sliced apart, the grating shriek of metal rang through the arena.
So this was the level of someone who entered the friendly matches.
The man who had fought Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a at the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering had not mastered the Iron Body Art to nearly this degree.
“Urgh!”
Warrior Yeom Wu urgently tried to open the distance, but Warrior Eon Seung-yeon seemed to have anticipated that and quickly pressed closer.
Paradoxically, a long weapon became a disadvantage once the distance between two opponents grew too short.
The Yeom Clan was also a prestigious martial family, however. They would naturally have prepared a countermeasure for such a situation.
Thud!
One such countermeasure was the supplementary Fist-and-Kick Art its members practiced.
Warrior Yeom Wu’s kick struck Warrior Eon Seung-yeon’s stomach and knocked one of the markers attached there onto the floor.
The opening match continued in a gripping back-and-forth struggle, but ultimately ended with Warrior Eon Seung-yeon’s victory.
“Waaaaah!”
“Well done!”
“Iron Body Fist Hero! Iron Body Fist Hero!”
A hero of fist arts with an iron body… It was a remarkably fitting epithet.
The assistants entered the arena and cleaned the floor.
The match had been fierce enough that quite a lot of blood had been spilled.
It seemed golden wound salve would sell well again today.
“Now, I will reveal the second matchup!”
The assistants removed the covers from the next set of name plaques.
“Jo Un, disciple of the Zhongnan Sect! Facing him will be Eun Jin-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
Brother Jin-ho rose from his seat.
At last, it was his turn.
He removed his outer robe, took up Azure Dragon Dance, and bowed respectfully to Father and Mother.
“I apologize for not telling you beforehand. You may scold me afterward.”
Mother answered only with a sigh, while Father gave him a wry smile.
“Hohoho. Since you’re going out there anyway, make certain you win.”
“Yes!”
“But don’t get hurt doing it. If you lose without getting hurt, I won’t scold you. If you win and come back injured, however, I’ll give you a proper thrashing.”
“I’ll remember that.”
After making that promise, Brother Jin-ho turned toward me.
I grinned broadly and said,
“Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Stop trying to look impressive and get out there. Can’t you see the audience waiting?”
“Ahem, ahem.”
Looking thoroughly embarrassed, Brother Jin-ho climbed onto the stage.
As if Brother Jin-ho had any business trying to act cool.
The two competitors attached seven markers to their bodies.
Boom–!
The match began with the beating of the drum.
The Zhongnan Sect disciple made the first move.
“Do you know him?”
Escort Guard Chang Un nodded at my question.
“Yes. He’s my senior brother. His skill stood head and shoulders above the rest of ours, and the elders called him Zhongnan’s future.”
Escort Guard Chang Un’s face shone with pride.
“I see.”
I nodded.
“What is his specialty?”
“What? Are you perhaps thinking of sending Brother Jin-ho a Voice Transmission?”
I let out an amused chuckle.
“You know better than anyone that such a thing is impossible here, don’t you, Escort Guard Chang Un?”
A formation enveloped the martial arena, preventing anyone from sending a Voice Transmission inside.
It existed specifically to prevent spectators from coaching the competitors or interfering with a match.
Apparently remembering that, he lowered his head.
“It slipped my mind. My apologies.”
“It’s fine. Given the circumstances, it was a reasonable thought.”
“Yes. To explain briefly, Senior Brother Jo Un’s specialty is the Heavenly Star Swift Sword.”
It was a sword art that maximized speed among the techniques belonging to the Heavenly Star Sword, Zhongnan’s representative martial art.
As a result, each individual strike lacked overwhelming power, but its relentless attacks flowed from every direction without pause.
Anyone who became overwhelmed by that indiscriminate barrage and did nothing but fumble through one defense after another would inevitably lose.
“He may prove to be a difficult opponent for the Second Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Is that so?”
I gave a faint smile.
Escort Guard Chang Un only said that because he knew very little about Brother Jin-ho.
Brother Jin-ho’s martial arts were no less formidable, and Escort Guard Chang Un had never seen him truly cut loose.
Hah!
Warrior Jo Un made the opening attack.
That was an ordinary Heavenly Star Sword technique. Was he merely testing the waters?
Hah–!
Clang!
Clang, clang!
Brother Jin-ho easily blocked the attack and immediately countered.
“Haaah!”
His spear, Azure Dragon Dance, began to whirl, and the two exchanged six moves in the blink of an eye.
Clang! Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
“Hoo… Very well. I acknowledge you.”
Warrior Jo Un spoke.
“I apologize for underestimating you because you came from a merchant group. From now on, I’ll fight you in earnest.”
Swish!
Before his warning had even finished, Warrior Jo Un’s figure vanished.
No – it was the Heavenly Star Swift Sword.
He truly deserved to be called Zhongnan’s future.
Most ordinary Peak warriors would have been unable to follow that speed.
However…
Clang!
Brother Jin-ho’s Azure Dragon Dance intercepted the attack. The look on Warrior Jo Un’s face was priceless.
One of Brother Jin-ho’s greatest strengths was his broad field of vision and astonishingly fast reactions.
That was precisely what made him so well suited to spear arts.
Snap.
Brother Jin-ho’s success did not end with merely blocking Warrior Jo Un’s attack.
He had parried the strike and immediately counterattacked, destroying the marker on Warrior Jo Un’s shoulder.
“Waaaaah!”
“As expected of the Tiger-Slaying Spear Hero!”
Everyone from the Eunhae Merchant Group shouted Brother Jin-ho’s epithet and cheered him on.
“This isn’t over yet!”
“Then come! I’m not finished either!”
Warrior Jo Un bit his lip at Brother Jin-ho’s response, then attacked once more with the Heavenly Star Swift Sword.
He had to be seething inside.
He had launched what he considered a serious attack, only for Brother Jin-ho to block it with ease and counterattack in the same breath.
In truth, Brother Jin-ho had not always been capable of responding to swift sword techniques with such calmness and precision…
Sparring with me had accustomed him to my speed and movements, and his skill had risen dramatically as a result.
Ah. If Warrior Jo Un lost, would that make it my fault…?
I stole a glance at Escort Guard Chang Un.
His expression was growing stiffer by the second.
Hmm. I should probably keep quiet.
–TL Notes–
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