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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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After Im Seo-ryeon left, I was busy trying to grasp a certain feeling by flailing my left hand in the air. To use another martial art with my left hand for defense, and finish the opponent with the ax in my right hand in a single blow.
Although I had managed to find a method that was suited to me during the fight with the Duel Assassin, both the techniques I could use with my right hand and my left hand were lacking. They were techniques with clear limitations, even to a beginner like myself.
What kind of martial arts should I learn to become stronger without any side effects?
“Why are you moving your hand around like that? Are you doing Tai Chi?”
“…Tai Chi?”
Sanyeo tilted her head at my question before blinking and saying,
“Yeah. Tai Chi. I was just saying since you were moving your hand like you were doing Tai Chi. I wondered if you perhaps wanted to learn it.”
“…It doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Tai Chi.”
Although I didn’t know the basics of Tai Chi, it didn’t seem like a bad idea based on the images in my head. To deflect the attacks of my opponent by using the principles of Tai Chi which uses the strength of the opponent and then chop their head off with my ax when an opening was created.
Roughly mimicking the movements in the air, a decent image was formed. I moved my hand through the air and said,
“An ax is… a very fast and straightforward weapon, and conversely, Tai Chi is a very soft martial art, right? If I can properly use the two together, I feel like they’ll create a decent combination.”
Sanyeo smiled and nodded at my words.
“Yeah, that doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Even I think that’s a decent basis. Softness and swiftness are a good combination. Because it makes the attacks unpredictable and increases adaptability, making it hard for the opponent to read your flow. Of course, that only applies if you have talent in Tai Chi, and if you’re able to use martial arts freely with both hands.”
“I’m already using the Seizing Hand and the Mount Tai Ax separately with each hand.”
My confidence seemed like a funny joke to her. She laughed before shaking her head and saying,
“If Tai Chi was so easy to learn and grasp, then everyone in the world would be learning it. It’s easy to begin, but it’s not easy to master since you can only use it properly after you understand its principles. If you’re going to be mindlessly following the forms without understanding its principles, then you’re better off just using the Seizing Hand.”
I shook my head at her negative opinion. I didn’t expect her, who was always provoking me, saying that I had no confidence in the things I was doing, to be like this. I looked at her and said,
“What? You don’t have the confidence to teach it?”
“Of course.”
She said that and then extended her hand to me. I unintentionally looked away after she brought her shackled hand near me and said,
“Yeah.”
“I am confident in my skills, but I am not arrogant. I don’t think that I would be able to teach someone the essence of a martial art that I don’t even properly understand while my hands are tied.”
What would she even have to do to teach the stances one by one while shackled? She would have to spend the whole day correcting the postures. Her intentions were clear. She couldn’t teach me, so I had to consider that and learn it.
“…So, to learn Tai Chi, I have to actually join a sect?”
Sanyeo nodded.
“That’s why I’m against it. You don’t even know the personality of the master at that sect, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll teach you well. There are cases where masters from the Orthodox Sects would forget their place and commit evil deeds. Tai Chi is no exception.
I had felt it with my body, how far the morals of the Orthodox Sects had fallen. I could also understand to some extent why she was not in favor. I asked,
“Where’s the Tai Chi sect located?”
“I heard that there are sects in Sichuan and Henan. The sect is divided into two branches. Yang Family Tai Chi and Chen Style Tai Chi.
I didn’t need to think about it.
“I’ll go to the one in Sichuan then.”
Sanyeo made a puzzled expression and then said,
“You’re deciding quickly. Is there any specific reason?”
“I heard that Sichuan cuisine is great.”
She made a bewildered expression at my words and remained silent for a moment. After blinking as if trying to find something to say, she finally opened her mouth after catching her breath.
“Whatever your reasons may be, that is also destiny, right? It’s not like I’d be able to properly explain the difference between the Yang Family Tai Chi and Chen Style Tai Chi anyway. Do as you see fit. But you know that you have to bring back suitable results, right?”
“I know.”
I nodded at her words. Although I was going to Sichuan because I wanted to try Sichuan cuisine, I didn’t intend to slack off in my training. My future was being determined by how hard I trained in martial arts. If I was to be satisfied with my small position as the leader of the Hongryun Sect, I would end up a useless doll and die a miserable death.
The path was open only to those who had the strength to open the doors themselves. Sanyeo was always expecting results from me that exceeded her expectations, and our alliance was based on the potential of my growth. I spread my hand like a magician and said,
“I’ll master Tai Chi in no time at all and show you.”
“You can’t learn martial arts if you’re impatient. Learn it calmly.”
Of course, Sanyeo brought forward her righteous teachings to my confident persona.
I clicked my tongue and nodded.
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“You’re saying that you’re going to Sichuan?”
That night after I decided to go to Sichuan. Seon-go was fidgeting with her hair while lying beside me. She was pouting her lips and was looking at the lamp, avoiding my gaze. The night air was especially chilly today, and the room had a subtle, melancholic atmosphere, lit by the candlelight.
I was fidgeting with my pillow. Although I hadn’t done anything yet, it felt like we were having the kind of conversation that lovers would have after an affair.
“That’s what happened.”
“There’ll be a lot of beautiful women in Sichuan…”
Seon-go said that, clutching tightly to the blanket. I reached out to her and said,
“Hey, you know that you’re the number one in my heart, right, Seon-go?”
Seon-go shook her head at my words, and said in a dejected tone,
“They say that a man’s heart is like a reed, right? I heard that there are a lot of beautiful women in Sichuan, and I’m worried that you might become obsessed with them and ignore me.”
“…There are a lot of beautiful women in Sichuan?”
She narrowed her eyes at my response and said,
“Look at you. Your eyes have already changed just by hearing the word beautiful women. You said I was the best.”
I hugged her, who had turned her back to me, to my chest. Seon-go grumbled, saying that I was being obvious with my actions, but she didn’t escape from my embrace. Because she was so small and frail, I could feel her heartbeat when I hugged her. I stroked her hair and said,
“…No, I’m just curious because you said that there are many beautiful women there. Why are you so worried, Seon-go, that I might commit adultery with someone? Huh?”
“Ah, th…”
I nibbled on her earlobe. Seon-go trembled and closed her eyes. When she exhaled, I could see white mist, because the night air was cold. Her body temperature was rising, and her fingers tapped on my body.
“Th, they say that the Tang Clan’s daughter is extremely beautiful….”
“…Seon-go, you have a bold side, huh?”
Although I was becoming bolder myself, I didn’t want to die by messing with the Tang Clan’s daughter. Although I might have a chance of survival if I was attacked by someone from the Hengsan Sect, if I messed with someone from the Tang Clan, then I felt like I would die without anyone even knowing.
And yet Seon-go was already imagining me with the Tang Clan’s daughter. Was this the difference in boldness?
I pressed her head with my chin and said,
“What else?”
“Th, they say that there are many talented and beautiful women in the Emei Sect…”
“Oh.”
I saw Seon-go turning her head. She was looking at me as if she was about to shoot me with lightning through her eyes. I awkwardly looked away, and then hugged her again tightly and said,
“You don’t like it when I hold other women?”
“…I don’t like it if it’s not me.
“….It’s fine if it’s you? Any woman?”
Seon-go wiped her lips at my question, made a coy expression and then said,
“…To be honest, I imagined the Tang Clan’s daughter under you, writhing in pleasure… and it felt a bit good? H-how should I put it? Like I was more superior than her…?”
What kind of mental change had she gone through after seeing a first-rate master going wild? I gave a wry smile and kissed her cheek.
“…Alright. Alright. Still, if I was to embrace another woman, then it can’t be helped. It’s something I’ll need for the future. I’m a man who’s about to become a hero, right? It is only natural for heroes to have many wives.”
Seon-go nodded. She was jealous, but she also seemed to understand my tendencies.
One could not just have a single partner if they had the ambition to take over the world. Whether it was political reasons or personal desires, it was only natural to collect women.
“And out of those people, I’m also the greediest one.”
“I know, Do-cheol. But, I am still your first, right?”
“Of course.”
Seon-go, with her face flushed, placed her hand on my chest and said,
“….And if you… pick up a woman, could you just… you know, in front of me, just once…”
“…I’ll do it as many times as you want.”
My wife’s sexual preferences.
Is this really okay?
lmao