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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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“Hah!”
“Haaaaap!”
In a corner of the training grounds, where the sounds of exertion echoed, I received basic instruction from the exceptional Second-Rate Master, Senior Brother Hong Min-gi.
“As I said, it’s your first day, so I’ll teach you the fundamentals, and you’ll start group lessons tomorrow.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Then let’s begin with the external skill, Horse Stance Tendon Strengthening. Observe my movements carefully, and then follow along. I’ll provide feedback as you go.”
“Yes.”
Senior Brother positioned his feet shoulder-width apart, turned his toes slightly outwards, and then…
Whoosh!
He lowered himself into a squat… Wait, what?
“What?”
A squat?
No, this was actually a squat, wasn’t it?
“Like this. You spread your legs and sit down and stand up, developing the muscles in your lower body. This is the foundation of Horse Stance Tendon Strengthening.”
“Ah… yes.”
Well, even martial artists weren’t aliens.
Whether on Earth or here, lower body exercises were the same. Squats were a good exercise, after all.
From the perspective of someone experienced in weight training, Senior Brother’s form was impeccably perfect.
It was a bit surprising to see the exact same exercise from modern weightlifting in martial arts.
“And the next movement.”
Senior Brother, having finished the squats, went to the corner and touched a bar and a disc-shaped stone… No way!
“For this, you’ll need this tool.”
A barbell!
Before I could even process it, Senior Brother began performing deadlifts with perfect form!
“This movement strengthens the muscles of your entire body by lifting heavy objects. Since it involves using a tool, it’s a dangerous movement, so be careful.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Was external skill training just weightlifting?
“Senior Brother, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Are all external skills about muscle training?”
“Lower-level external skills are like that. And Geun-hyeop, now is not the time to ask questions unrelated to the lesson.”
“I apologize!”
Having finished the deadlifts, Senior Brother demonstrated push-ups and sit-ups.
“These movements train your chest and abdomen. Be careful to maintain perfect form, or you could injure your back.”
“Yes!”
I knew all of this already.
I had consistently worked out for my physical health.
It seemed I would be able to master Horse Stance Tendon Strengthening easily.
“And this is the wrist curl.”
“Ooh!”
Wrist curls!
A great exercise for blasting your forearm muscles.
There was nothing like it.
“Arm strength and grip strength are essential for a martial artist. This movement is more difficult than it looks, but it can strengthen your arms and grip. Now, try the movements I’ve shown you.”
“Understood! I’ll start with the first movement!”
“Good.”
I immediately got into position and started doing squats.
“Huh!”
Wow, it had been a while.
But doing them with just my body weight was too easy.
I wanted to add some weight.
“What’s this?”
Senior Brother tilted his head.
“There’s no wasted movement. Geun-hyeop, didn’t you say you’d never learned martial arts?”
“Ah, I said I hadn’t learned martial arts, just trained my body. Actually, this is what I’ve been doing. I didn’t realize it was a martial art.”
“Is that so? Well, Horse Stance Tendon Strengthening is an external skill that’s spread among the common people, so that’s possible. Anyway, your form is impeccable.”
Senior Brother stroked his chin and nodded.
Let’s move on to the next movement.
“Deadlift!”
“Dead, what?”
“It’s a shout!”
I passed the deadlifts, push-ups, and sit-ups without a hitch. He said there were no wasted movements, so I must have learned well.
“Kuaagh…!”
But doing wrist curls after so long really made my forearms burn.
Wow, this was really intense.
“That’s enough. It seems you’ve already mastered Horse Stance Tendon Strengthening. Your physique as well. At this rate, you’ll learn martial arts quickly.”
“Hahaha, thank you, Senior Brother.”
“Then let’s move on to Primordial Qi Cultivation. Here, sit in a lotus position.”
“Ooh…! Understood.”
Was I finally going to learn a mental cultivation technique?
“Primordial Qi Cultivation is a mental cultivation method adapted from what Yuan Dynasty soldiers used.”
“Yuan Dynasty soldiers!”
Ah, right.
This was the Ming Dynasty. Martial arts stories were typically set in the Ming Dynasty. And before the Ming Dynasty, there was the Yuan Dynasty, so of course they would have used martial arts as well.
It had been passed down and became a martial art taught in schools.
“Primordial Qi Cultivation is the most basic, low-level mental cultivation method, but it has the advantage of being easy to learn for anyone.”
“What’s the disadvantage?”
“Everything else. The rate at which internal energy accumulates is slow, and circulating Qi takes a long time. But as it’s the easiest mental cultivation method for a commoner like you to learn, you’ll see results if you practice consistently.”
“Understood.”
In gaming terms, it was a Basic or Common grade skill.
Further explanation revealed that although its effects were weak, it was compatible with all other mental cultivation methods.
My first mental cultivation method was a trash-tier skill… Wasn’t the norm to start with some kind of divine technique or demonic cultivation method when you entered the martial world?
Well, it was compatible with others, so it was fine. I might acquire a better mental cultivation method someday. I could become a martial arts master then.
Since I couldn’t learn a high-level mental cultivation method right now, I’d focus on practicing diligently.
“Ah, by the way, it’s fascinating that it’s a mental cultivation method used by Yuan Dynasty soldiers. For soldiers to have all learned martial arts… The Yuan army must have been very strong.”
“That’s a story of the past. They were defeated in the end.”
“That’s true.”
But what was the exact history here?
On Earth, the Red Turban Rebel Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and established the Ming Dynasty.
I didn’t know how it was here.
“Since they were defeated, they weren’t a truly strong nation.”
“Hmm, you can’t say that. While the Yuan masters fell at the hands of the Emperor and the Grand General, they were already weakened when they were defeated.”
The Emperor and the Grand General?
Were they referring to Zhu Yuanzhang and his founding fathers?
“It’s a famous anecdote how Köke Temür, the strongest under heaven in the Yuan Dynasty and the terror of the Han Chinese, known as the Heavenly Demon, repelled the invasion of the Bull Demon King.”
Köke, what?
Heavenly Demon?
The Heavenly Demon I knew?
And what was this about a Bull Demon King?
“While it’s true that Shang Yuchun, the current strongest in the Central Plains and the Grand General of 100,000, defeated Köke Temür, it’s widely believed that it was only because Köke Temür had exhausted his true essence and internal energy fighting the Bull Demon King. In fact, the Yuan Dynasty was already on a path of decline due to the large-scale opening of the Ghost Gate and the subsequent invasion of the hellish army led by the Bull Demon King, so it couldn’t be helped. The fact that Grand General Shang Yuchun, an absolute master of the Profound Realm, is still fighting the injured Bull Demon King speaks for itself. While everyone keeps quiet about it, the reason Grand General Shang Yuchun is called the strongest in the Central Plains, not the strongest under heaven, is because of this. The true strongest under heaven is none other than the Heavenly Demon, Köke Temür.”
I was bewildered by the long, incomprehensible story.
So… Köke Temür, the Heavenly Demon of the Yuan Dynasty, was stronger than Shang Yuchun, the Grand General of the Ming Dynasty who had reached the Profound Realm? And there was a Bull Demon King?
It was a low priority for now, but I’d have to study this history sometime. Even the instructor was talking about it, so it seemed like common knowledge among martial artists.
“I’ve digressed. It’s because I personally admire the martial artist Köke Temür. Now, let’s begin.”
“Yes!”
I was curious about the Ghost Gate, but it didn’t seem like the right time to ask. I’d look into this history in detail later.
“Slowly inhale… and slowly exhale, feeling the Qi that exists in nature.”
Senior Brother’s palm pressed against my back. I spread that sensation throughout my body, took deep breaths, and tried to feel this “Qi.”
It felt like meditation.
“As you breathe, gather the natural Qi into your lower dantian. You might not be able to do it well at first, but if you focus on your lower dantian while breathing, you’ll eventually feel it.”
I couldn’t feel it yet.
The thought that I could accumulate internal energy made me impatient. Were there any elixirs or something? I wanted to try one. They were probably too expensive, though.
But if I took one, my lower dantian would be filled with internal energy, wouldn’t it?
Exciting.
“That’s enough. Continue to circulate your Qi like that. When you can feel your internal energy, I’ll teach you the next step.”
“Understood.”
Whether it was a placebo effect or not, I felt refreshed after practicing Primordial Qi Cultivation.
Invigorated.
My primordial energy was overflowing.
“Since you’ve mastered Horse Stance Tendon Strengthening and have a good physique, you’ll feel it soon. Now, let’s move on to Six Harmonies Fist.”
“Six Harmonies Fist!”
Senior Brother immediately demonstrated the forms of Six Harmonies Fist.
Whoosh!
A simple fist technique involving punches and kicks. It was the epitome of a basic martial art.
But because it was being performed by Senior Brother, who had some martial arts experience, it looked quite impressive.
His balance seemed good too.
“Hmm.”
It felt a bit like practical kickboxing. But as I watched, I noticed it lacked grappling techniques.
Was this a limitation of low-level martial arts?
“Senior Brother, I’ve been in fights before. When commoners fight, it usually turns into a brawl where they grapple, trying to overpower and take each other down. Does Six Harmonies Fist have such techniques?”
“Ah, no, it doesn’t. You’ll have to learn a different fist technique for that.”
“Ah.”
So it was just taekwondo.
I’d have to learn a different technique for grappling.
“Six Harmonies Fist is a basic striking technique assuming no internal energy usage. Now, try the movements.”
“Understood.”
I immediately performed the forms.
Whoosh!
Again, there were no particular problems. I had a 3rd-degree black belt in taekwondo, after all. When I was young, my aunt kept sending me to taekwondo because she couldn’t stand seeing me lazing around at home.
Thanks to that, performing these forms wasn’t difficult.
“Geun-hyeop, you seem to have some talent. Your movements are clean.”
“Hehehe! Thank you!”
I couldn’t fail at this with a 3rd-degree black belt. I could definitely punch and kick.
“I think you’ll be able to follow along in the group class without any problems. Then, lastly, I’ll briefly introduce you to Three Talents Sword Technique.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Have you ever held a sword before?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t, aside from the bamboo swords at the taekwondo studio.
There was no reason for a modern person to hold a sword.
Even the bamboo swords at the taekwondo studio were used by the instructor to hit the kids’ feet.
“No.”
“Go get two wooden swords over there.”
“Yes.”
I brought the wooden swords.
“Three Talents Sword Technique. This is a very basic sword technique. Every master learns Three Talents Sword Technique when they first learn the sword.”
“Ooh.”
“While it doesn’t have any impressive forms, the purpose of Three Talents Sword Technique is to learn how to swing and thrust a sword correctly. Try swinging the wooden sword.”
“Yes!”
I grasped the wooden sword and took a stance.
But how did you swing a sword?
Honestly, I didn’t know.
I hadn’t learned kendo.
Still, I knew how to swing a stick.
“Hap!”
Whoosh!
I swung the sword, and at that moment…
“Stop!!! That’s not it!!!”
“Ugh!”
I heard Senior Brother’s voice!
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Lol i think bro is suited with Fist Technique