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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Bobt
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The bone-chilling wind finally stopped, and the animals that had been hibernating woke up.
The snow that had painted the world white melted away, and along with the warm sunlight, colorful flowers appeared.
The plum blossoms currently blooming on Mount Hwa were called early plum blossoms. They were given that name because they bloomed the earliest among the blooming periods.
Winter had passed along with a year, and Joo Seo-cheon turned ten years old.
It had been several months since he started the Body Enhancement Exercises. No, the cliff climbing.
“Well done.”
Yu Jeong-mok smiled with teary eyes.
“It must have been really difficult for you these past few months, but you finally did it. The cliff climbing ends here.”
Yu Jeong-mok patted Joo Seo-cheon’s shoulders a few times, then turned his back as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Then, unable to contain his pride in his disciple who had completed his teachings to the end, he wiped his tears with his sleeve.
“I hate cliffs… I hate cliffs… I hate cliffs… Please stop. Please stop shouting at me to cheer up. I hate it, the rocks from above… Stop…”
Joo Seo-cheon muttered with dazed eyes.
His eyes were lifeless like a frozen fish’s eyes.
The Body Enhancement Exercises that had lasted for several months!
No, the hellish training hidden under the name of Body Enhancement Exercises!
Compared to that, Rakan Hell was really nothing.
Even if Rakan Hell pushed him to the brink of collapse, at least he didn’t feel a threat to his life.
It just ended with being painful.
However, compared to that, even a slight relaxation in cliff climbing posed a threat to his life. It wasn’t just once or twice that he almost fell due to misstepping or dozing off midway.
Above all, what was even worse was that even if it was difficult, he wasn’t allowed to groan or cry and ask to stop.
For example, if he said to save him or that he couldn’t take it anymore…
“It’s okay, you can do it!”
Yu Jeong-mok would shout in a tearful voice.
The problem was that his voice was filled with passion and cheers, causing the gravel and rocks to fall due to the vibration.
Just thinking about those moments still made him dizzy.
It wasn’t just once or twice that he nearly died because of that, so he eventually gave up on pleading and groaning midway.
How many times did he want to give up?
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of times.
However, when he barely finished climbing the entire cliff, Yu Jeong-mok would rush over like lightning, hug him, and say in an apologetic voice,
“I’m really sorry for making you do this. But I had no choice, even for your sake. You can resent me instead.”
The only person he could call family throughout his previous life. The person who had worried about his disciple until the end. When that person apologized several times with a guilt-ridden face, he couldn’t bring himself to say he wanted to quit.
“I’d rather have a stubborn master who beats me with a stick…”
Then he could have at least gotten angry and argued with him. Oh my, he couldn’t do it because it hurt his heart.
In the end, he couldn’t refuse the cliff climbing, including the Body Enhancement Exercises, and followed as instructed, completing it all.
The more he did it, the less difficult it became, but it was only because he got used to it. It was still extremely dangerous.
When he misstepped or the rock collapsed, his life flashed before his eyes dozens of times.
However, the effect of the training was as significant as its danger.
In those few months, Joo Seo-cheon’s body had grown unrecognizably.
After returning from the Cultivation Cave, he would take a rest and immediately be led by his master’s hand to go climb the cliff.
In the beginning, it took him a whole day to climb.
At first, he took several breaks in between. That’s how difficult it was. But as time passed, he soon regretted it.
Realizing that it became more dangerous when it got dark, he didn’t rest much from then on, no matter how difficult it was.
He only took a little bit of minimal rest in between and focused on climbing before the sun set.
And when the climbing was over, he would lead his exhausted body back to his residence and stretch his muscles. Then he would fill his empty dantian through Qi circulation and fall asleep.
Thanks to this systematic training method, he saw great effects.
Through continuous cliff climbing, his stamina and strength increased. However, in exchange, his body, especially his muscles, was overworked.
But these muscle injuries were regenerated by the internal energy he obtained through Qi circulation before going to sleep.
Thanks to the repetitive training without missing a single day, Joo Seo-cheon’s body visibly grew and became stronger.
As a result, although Joo Seo-cheon was only ten years old, he looked like he was fourteen on the outside.
Joo Seo-cheon was worried that he might not grow tall due to the excessive growth, but fortunately, his height grew rapidly.
It was thanks to the internal energy of the Water Spirit Divine Fruit, as well as the vitality and regenerative power obtained from the plum blossoms.
The next day.
The feeling he had when he woke up after dawn was relief. Just thinking that he no longer had to climb that tiresome and extremely dangerous cliff made him smile involuntarily.
If someone asked if it wasn’t awkward after doing it without fail for months, he was willing to slap them.
Joo Seo-cheon practiced the Plum Blossom Fist at the Cultivation Cave as usual.
“Hmm?”
The supervisor, Cheo Woong, looked at Joo Seo-cheon.
“He’s growing well, probably because he’s in his growth period. He’s grown again in such a short time.”
It was a bit extreme for a ten-year-old to look like a fourteen-year-old, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Unlike the outside world, they had balanced meals regularly here in the Mount Hua Sect, and most of their free time was spent moving their bodies, so it would be strange if they didn’t grow.
“Joo Seo-cheon. He’s fast at mastering the Plum Blossom Fist, and at this rate, he’ll grow up quite well.”
Cheo Woong thought to himself and smiled with satisfaction.
“Phew, what should I do when I go back today?”
Joo Seo-cheon returned to his residence.
By the way, he had already mastered the Plum Blossom Fist.
It wasn’t that difficult, and it was thanks to the experience he had in his previous life.
Originally, at the time he was supposed to go to the cliff, being in his residence like this felt quite awkward. But it was a pleasant awkwardness.
About an hour later, the door opened and Yu Jeong-mok entered.
“Master.”
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
Yu Jeong-mok smiled softly.
“Yes, I’m so glad I don’t have to go to the cliff.”
The thought almost slipped out of his mouth. If it were Yu Jeong-mok, he seemed like he would sulk and say, “Do you dislike being with this master that much…?”
“Do you feel a bit restless from not moving?”
“Well… Yes, I feel a little restless.”
He didn’t want to move while lying down. He meant it sincerely.
“Haha, I knew it. Come, follow me.”
Joo Seo-cheon followed Yu Jeong-mok outside. The two arrived at a private training ground near the residence. It wasn’t that large, but it was a space where the two of them could be alone.
Yu Jeong-mok pointed to a wooden sword he had prepared in advance.
“Here, use this. From today, I will teach you sword techniques.”
“Ah, it’s already time for that.”
Since ancient times, Mount Hwa was known for the sword!
The true beginning of the Mount Hua Sect’s martial arts was when one grasped a wooden sword.
The importance of it was such that the above saying was passed down.
In fact, it was the same for the newly admitted disciples of the Mount Hua Sect and for those who taught them.
Before grasping the sword, it was limited to training basic physical strength and building the body.
Even Joo Seo-cheon was so happy in the past that he jumped up and down when he heard that he would be taught the sword.
“This is the demonstration of the sword technique you will learn from now on. This is the Plum Blossom Sword.”
Yu Jeong-mok displayed the basic sword technique of Mount Hwa, the Plum Blossom Sword.
He deliberately slowed down the speed and unfolded the stances so that they could be clearly imprinted in his disciple’s eyes.
“Hmm.”
Joo Seo-cheon sat on the training ground and watched it.
“I already know all of this.”
Before the regression, he was the Fifth Elder of Mount Hua, and in his later years, he had even reached the Awakening Realm. In terms of sword techniques, Joo Seo-cheon was superior to Yu Jeong-mok.
The Plum Blossom Sword was so easy that he didn’t even need to practice it. It was enough to familiarize his body with it, just like the Plum Blossom Fist.
No, it wouldn’t even take as much time as the Plum Blossom Fist.
The Plum Blossom Sword and the Plum Blossom Fist had almost identical foundations and structures, so if one just familiarized their body with the principles, they could easily display them.
It wasn’t for nothing that they learned the Plum Blossom Fist first.
However, he couldn’t say, “Master, I know the Plum Blossom Sword better than you.”
In the end, he had no choice but to act as interested as possible on the surface.
“Hmm, I think he was a master at the peak level…”
Beyond third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate, one reached the peak level. One had to reach that level of realm to be considered a master in the murim.
“I clearly remember that Master was about to reach the transcendent level before passing away…”
Recalling his previous life wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Especially when it came to his master, who was like a father to him.
Yu Jeong-mok, who had been struggling while lying on the sickbed and then closed his eyes. He didn’t even want to imagine that final moment.
Anyway, Yu Jeong-mok was at the very top within the peak level. He was on the verge of reaching the transcendent level but ultimately couldn’t overcome that hurdle.
“…Huh?”
While following the Plum Blossom Sword with his eyes, a sudden thought occurred to him.
“What Master lacks is not internal energy, but enlightenment. Then if I can teach him that…?”
Martial artists, especially those who were facing a hurdle and couldn’t overcome it, were always thirsty for someone’s advice.
Not only novices but also masters eagerly listened to those who were a few levels above them.
This was because they could obtain clues to overcome the hurdle from those who had already surpassed that hurdle and reached that realm.
In fact, although it didn’t happen often, such incidents occurred from time to time, and that’s why there were people who sought out masters to gain enlightenment.
“Yes, that’s it!”
His mind became clear.
“If he lacks enlightenment and is unable to overcome the hurdle and advance to the next realm, I just need to help him.”
He had to be grateful that Yu Jeong-mok’s realm was at the peak level.
If he had been at the transcendent level and facing the hurdle to reach the Awakening Realm, even Joo Seo-cheon wouldn’t have been able to provide much help.
Not only was the height of the hurdle high, but above all, the enlightenment required for masters of the Awakening Realm to reach their realm varied greatly from person to person.
“There’s no need to teach him directly. If I just identify what Master is curious about and provide him with the clues…”
As the saying goes, whether it’s martial arts or studying, simply telling the answer is meaningless. Even if you tell them the answer, they won’t be able to understand it, let alone have a satisfying resolution. If done incorrectly, it might even thicken the hurdle and make it more difficult.
“Alright, let’s give it a try.”
Somehow, it seemed like the roles of master and disciple had changed a bit, but such trivial matters didn’t matter.
Himself, who had lost everything and was thrown into the world as an orphan. The person who had saved him from that situation was his master.
To Joo Seo-cheon, his master was the sky and the world. He was someone who couldn’t even be compared to the Alliance Leader or the Emperor.
Even after the regression, that respect and gratitude for his kindness remained the same, and he could confidently say that he would become a demon or a devil for his sake.
“Master is definitely not someone who should remain at the peak level.”
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