Black-Haired Foreigner In The Martial Arts World – Chapter 30

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

I continued to cultivate my inner energy even after regaining consciousness, practicing manipulating the energy settled in my lower dantian.

Originally, I didn’t have any inner energy, so even when I practiced cultivating, I couldn’t feel anything special. However, this time, by consuming the inner core and increasing the amount of my inner energy, a meaningful change occurred.

Swoosh

The inner energy in my lower dantian began to move slowly. I could subtly feel the inner energy spreading through the meridians of my whole body and circulating.

Undeniably.

Inner energy had settled in my body.

“It doesn’t seem like that much though.”

Still, an elixir is an elixir. To think I gained this much inner energy. Having finished my energy brunch, I got up from my spot and moved my body.

“Whoa!”

Despite the fierce battle, I wasn’t particularly tired. No. Rather, I felt as if I was overflowing with energy.

“Is this the power of inner energy? It’s quite useful.”

Shing

I immediately drew my sword and went outside the lodging. The villagers were startled when they saw me, but I reassured them that I was going out to practice martial arts and moved to the back of the building.

In that state.

Fwoosh!

I performed a movement from the Three Talents Sword Technique.

“Hah!”

I didn’t know if it was my imagination, but I felt like the momentum of my sword had become sharper. No, it wasn’t my imagination; it definitely had. I gained experience through actual combat, and I even gained enlightenment by perfectly executing the technique and slaying the Gobulin chieftain.

On top of that, I absorbed the inner core and increased my inner energy, so naturally, the power of my swordsmanship increased.

Fwoosh!

In that way, I executed all the techniques I knew, repeated the same ones a few more times, and then sheathed my sword.

Sweat dripped down my body.

“Refreshing.”

I only used this small amount of inner energy to cultivate and lightly practice the Three Talents Sword Technique, but it was incredibly refreshing. I even felt a sense of accomplishment.

Training in martial arts is this much fun.

It’s no wonder the martial artists in martial arts novels are obsessed with inner energy and techniques. I could feel my body, my physical self, and my mind strengthening in real-time, so how could I resist?

Martial artists definitely feel a sense of achievement similar to what modern people feel when raising game characters when they cultivate inner energy or martial arts techniques. In other words, martial artists are game addicts. Addicts of the game called reality.

Well, after doing some more exercises and resting, the villagers returned.

They had recovered Do Samcheol’s body.

“Thank you. For retrieving Do Samcheol’s body like this.”

“He died fighting for our village, so it was the natural thing to do.”

“This is a village with good hearts… But, Village Chief, what about the other two?”

“They’ve already left. Without a word.”

“I see.”

“Here. Take this confirmation document with my seal.”

“Thank you.”

I took the confirmation document with the Village Chief’s seal and put it in my pocket. With this, I had monopolized all the rewards. However, half of the silver had to be delivered to Do Samcheol’s bereaved family after inquiring with the Haengdomun.

“Ah, Village Chief. Is there by any chance a cart or procession is heading to the city?”

“There’s one going tomorrow for tax payments…”

“I’ll stay one more night. I’ll pay for it. I’ll leave with that procession tomorrow.”

The Village Chief nodded.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Do Samcheol… Do Samcheol. Ah, this is it. It says he has no family. This guy was a wandering swordsman.”

“Is that so? Then how should we distribute the reward…”

“Do as you please.”

Ridiculously, I ended up taking all of Do Samcheol’s share.

But what was even stranger was the attitude of the Haengdomun people. Clearly, a wandering swordsman had died, and two had fled during the operation, resulting in them not receiving a single penny of the reward, but they seemed completely unconcerned.

“…”

It seemed like the death and betrayal of martial artists weren’t their concern. A mindset of “whoever dies, it doesn’t matter, as long as the job is done.”

There was no questioning about Do Samcheol’s death, and there was no plan to discipline the deserters, Oh Geunsik and Jang Yeomin. No, it was as if such a concept didn’t exist in the first place.

“So, low-level martial artists are ultimately just expendable.”

They don’t care if they live or die.

They only care about whether the request has been fulfilled or not. Since a few wandering swordsmen dying can be easily replaced, anyone will do.

I was once again struck by the cruelty of this martial world.

“This is unsettling.”

Anyway, since Do Samcheol had no family, his reward money, the money in his pouch, his sword, and all his other belongings became mine.

There really wasn’t much.

It was excessively meager for what a person who had lived for at least twenty years left behind. Come to think of it, the robber I killed last time was similar.

…It wouldn’t be much different if I died.

Feeling inexplicably melancholic, I decided to find Jaemison. Since I was here, I should have a drink. I felt like I had become an alcoholic, but there wasn’t much to enjoy in this martial world, so I kept thinking about it. This is probably why martial artists live with alcohol.

As I was walking down the street.

Rustle

I saw a familiar figure up ahead.

“Huh?”

Dressed in tightly wrapped black martial arts clothing for women… carrying a sword, so she was a female martial artist? Catching a glimpse of her face, I could only mutter in disbelief.

“Aunt…?”

A beauty so striking I mistook her for my aunt.
Her long, black hair shone with a beautiful luster, her skin was fair, and she was tall.

“No.”

But it wasn’t her.

My aunt’s chest wasn’t that big. What’s with those head-sized things…? My aunt’s are half that size. More importantly, this female martial artist’s eyes were blue. Korean eyes are all black.

And that.

The buttocks visible below were also quite large.

“But…”

Could such a beautiful woman exist?

A beauty of that level, could she be a martial arts master?

It was then, while I was briefly stunned and lost in thought.

Step

Suddenly, the woman appeared before my eyes.

“Gasp?!”

“What is your business?”

A stiff and businesslike tone.

“Ah, no, that is.”

“Hmm?”

I had nothing to say.

Staring at a woman, only to have her discover me…? Embarrassed enough to want to hide in a mouse hole, I just spoke honestly.

“I apologize, Miss. I was momentarily captivated by your beauty, mistaking you for a celestial being… To think such a beautiful being could exist. I apologize for my rudeness in staring.”

“Oh, a celestial being, you say.”

The female martial artist spoke as if intrigued, her face expressionless.

“That’s an interesting compliment.”

“Huh?”

An interesting compliment?

“Is there anything else?”

“Huh?”

What else is there?

“…”

The female martial artist stared at me intently, and I ended up saying it as if possessed.

“Even the Moon Goddess, Chang’e, would weep in jealousy at your beauty if she saw you! With a goddess descended upon the earth, it’s only natural to be captivated…! Just as beauty is not a sin, being captivating is not a sin either!”

Chang’e is a goddess from Chinese mythology who is said to live on the moon. Her beauty is said to be immense. She’s also known as the goddess of beauty.

“…This is the first time I’ve heard such praise.”

The female martial artist in front of me was beautiful enough to be compared to her.

“Furthermore, Chang’e being jealous?”

“Yes!”

“Hmph.”

The corners of her eyes curled up.

The expressionless woman gave a bewitching smile.

“I find that quite satisfactory.”

Beauty that was impossible to ignore.

“…If you’re satisfied, then I’m satisfied.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be going.”

“Goodbye.”

The female martial artist immediately turned and left.

“What was that all about?”

I couldn’t understand.

Seriously.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

When I went to the inn, Jaemison was there.

We naturally started drinking.

“Kek… I see you came looking for me.”

“I was going to work with you. But you weren’t there. What were you doing?”

“I went to… the brothel.”

Brothel, my ass.

“Brothel?”

“A place where I can unleash my excitement and music… I go there often. Would you like to come with me?”

“If it’s singing and dancing, I can’t miss out.”

“Kekeke… I’m looking forward to that.”

Memo. Jaemison enjoys singing and dancing at brothels in his spare time. It wouldn’t be bad to see his skills if the opportunity arises.

We drank while having such conversations.

“This request was… hunting Gobulin, so it wasn’t that difficult. See this? I killed the Gobulin chieftain.”

I was intentionally wearing the chieftain’s necklace.

It looked a bit gruesome, but it was my achievement.

It was proof that I was skilled enough to kill at least the chieftain of the Gobulins, and this would become my reputation. In this martial world, reputation is more important than anything else.

“Kekeke… As expected of my discerning eye. You have decent skills.”

“With this much, I can make a name for myself as a martial artist who caught a monster like the Baekpal Yokwae Gundo, right?”

“No… even though the Gobulin chieftain is strong, he doesn’t compare to most of the other Baekpal Yokwae Gundo.”

“Is that so?”

“But you’ll still gain a reputation… Kek.”

I had another drink while receiving Jaemison’s gloomy congratulations.

As the alcohol flowed, all sorts of emotions welled up.

Should I tell him that someone died? Should I tell him I ate the inner core? I just felt strange. It must be the confusion I was experiencing due to all sorts of experiences.

“Ah, but… I heard an interesting rumor.”

“What is it?”

“They say the Jade Flower Sword has arrived…”

“What, Jade Flower Sword?”

Jade Flower Sword.

Quite a straightforward nickname. It probably meant a swordswoman as beautiful as a jade flower, so it seemed to be a female martial artist’s nickname.

Since Jaemison was talking about it like this, it seemed like she had some reputation.

“Who is the Jade Flower Sword?”

I asked since I didn’t know.

“What…? You don’t know Namgung Serin, the Jade Flower Sword, one of the Four Flowers of the Martial World?”

“I don’t know many martial artists.”

“Even so, this is Anhui Province… Kekeke, as expected of the chivalrous person I acknowledge. You don’t even know trivial things.”

“Bullshit.”

This level 2 spearman. Anyway, while drinking, I asked Jaemison more about the female martial artist called the Jade Flower Sword.

“The Four Flowers of the Martial World… in other words, it refers to the most beautiful female martial artists in this martial world. Limited to women around twenty years of age.”

I roughly knew that.

“Jade Flower Sword, Namgung Serin… as her name suggests, she’s the daughter of the Namgung family that rules this area of Anhui Province. They say she’s a truly stunning beauty… Moreover, she’s said to have reached the Transcendent Realm at the tender age of twenty.”

“Ooh.”

Twenty years old.

To achieve the Transcendent Realm at such a young age? This was truly remarkable. The leader of our White Sword Martial Arts School is in the Transcendent Realm. She achieved the realm attained by someone of considerable age at such a young age.

But if she’s the child of such a famous martial arts family, it’s also natural since she would have received high-level training from a young age and eaten elixirs like meals.

“But just how beautiful is she?”

“Ah… they say she’s a beauty of absurd proportions. A beauty with long black hair and blue eyes.”

What?

Wait.

“A beauty with long black hair and blue eyes?”

“Is there a problem…?”

No.

Isn’t this the female martial artist I saw earlier?

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇