Chapter 56: Formatting |
“Panting… Huff.”
I let out a shallow breath.
‘How many times have I done this?’
I couldn’t quite remember. I was sure I had counted up to 8,000, but it wasn’t clear in my mind anymore. I knew I still had 92,000 more to go, but the thought of it was so mentally draining that I forced myself not to dwell on it.
Beside me, Instructor Yun Kwang watched me like a hawk. He struck my calf with a wooden sword, shouting.
“Focus! Your footwork is off.”
“……!!”
I felt like I was going to collapse. While my body quickly recovered thanks to my nearly limitless internal strength, my mental energy was almost depleted. This was hardly surprising, considering I had been continuously practicing the Lightning Shadow Sword Technique for two and a half days straight without a moment’s rest. I never expected the training to be this intense from the start.
‘I want to rest.’
“So this is the new master everyone’s been talking about? Just a pushover, I guess? Ha ha ha.”
“What did you say…?”
“I’ve been a master for several years now, but I’ve never seen such insane training. You might as well give up.”
Master Yun Kwang was originally a renowned martial artist in the area surrounding Guanzhong. However, after his defeat by Lee Gwang, he was so impressed that he gave up all his martial activities to become a master of the Thunder God Style. With his background as a successful martial artist, his manner of speaking was arrogant and frivolous.
‘But his skills are definitely solid…’
I muttered to myself internally.
Yun Kwang and Jipyeong, two of the instructors supporting the Azure Dragon Martial Hall alongside Chief Instructor Jin So-cheong, had one thing in common: they were both late-stage masters from Guanzhong and had become quite strong as masters of the Thunder God Style. They were likely on the verge of becoming top-tier martial artists.
Even now, I couldn’t guarantee that I could defeat Yun Kwang within a hundred seconds. I clenched my teeth.
“I won’t give up! Just watch.”
“Hmph, the young one’s got some spirit. Alright, keep going then.”
Yun Kwang smirked and resumed monitoring my stance. Jin So-cheong, Yun Kwang, and Jipyeong would strike me with their wooden swords whenever my ‘stance’ was even slightly off. It seemed they were instructed by Lee Gwang to do so.
Swoosh!
Once again, I rallied my will and reached 10,000 repetitions.
“It’s time to switch. Jipyeong.”
“Mm.”
As the third day was drawing to a close, Yun Kwang was replaced by Master Jipyeong. Unlike the somewhat frivolous Yun Kwang, Jipyeong was a man of stoic silence, resembling a steadfast ox. He didn’t seem inclined to say much.
Whack!
“Ugh.”
Jipyeong, silent in his observation, struck me whenever my stance was off. Even though I used my internal energy to protect myself, the pain was significant. A blow like that could easily kill an ordinary adult man.
‘Is he trying to kill me?’
However, Jipyeong, with his ox-like demeanor, was an unreadable man. I struggled even harder, feeling more exhausted than before. My hands felt swollen from repeatedly executing the Lightning Shadow Sword Technique, but I forced myself to keep going.
I felt like my mind was going blank. I was reaching my limit. I wanted to collapse and sleep. Or at least lie down for a while. My body was screaming at its limit. I couldn’t remember how many repetitions I had done. The thought of dying seemed more appealing than continuing.
That’s when Jipyeong spoke.
“If you want to give up, just say so.”
“……?”
“Hundred thousand times is impossible. At this rate, your ligaments will tear or my muscles will rupture completely, leaving me incapable of living as a martial artist. You should do it moderately.”
It was the first time I heard Jipyeong, the stoic man, talk so much. But I soon realized that his advice came from genuine concern. To him, this training method seemed to be nothing more than a life-shortening exercise for a martial artist, and he felt pity for me. My mind snapped back to attention, and I replied.
“I will do it!”
“Alright then, continue.”
Jipyeong resumed his silent vigil.
Despite feeling like I was losing my mind, my body moved on its own, and distracting thoughts gradually faded away. Once the difficulty surpassed a certain level, my mind felt almost empty, devoid of any thoughts.
Soon, Jipyeong’s shift ended, and Jin So-cheong took over in the middle of the night. He looked at me, drenched in sweat, and said,
“Wait a moment.”
Swoosh!
He suddenly brought a bucket of cold water and poured it over me. I looked at him in disbelief, and Jin So-cheong calmly said,
“How many times have you done it so far?”
“About 26,000 times…”
“You’re too slow. If you don’t speed up, you’ll die during this training.”
“What…?”
Jin So-cheong, hmph-ing, tore open a dry robe and said,
“This training is something the master instructed with his own conviction. But it’s half a gamble. He believes in your potential, thinks you’ll overcome it, and is betting on your growth to the next level. So, trust and don’t doubt.”
“That doesn’t matter to me. I’ve decided to do it, so I’ll see it through to the end.”
“Remember, the key to this training is ‘precision and speed.'”
Jin So-cheong seemed to be giving me a clue.
‘Has Jin So-cheong already done this training?’
A dreadful thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head. If that’s the case, Jin So-cheong is not human but a deity born for martial arts. Even with my nearly infinite internal energy keeping me afloat, this training is incredibly hard. How could a normal human undergo such training?
However, I decided to take his advice seriously. I continued to focus on executing the Lightning Shadow Sword Technique precisely and quickly. I was already beyond my normal limit of concentration, feeling like bugs were crawling in my brain.
For a moment, everything went black.
I must have lost consciousness briefly from exhaustion. I regained my senses and swung the wooden sword again.
Around 35,000 repetitions, the fourth day was almost over.
I was so exhausted that I could barely distinguish who was monitoring me. All I felt was a dark figure shouting and hitting me. My eyes were drooping, and the figures disappeared, continuing in a blur.
“Hey, wake up!”
Swoosh!
Yun Kwang splashed cold water on me. I must have briefly lost consciousness while standing. Immediately after being drenched, I mechanically swung the sword again. Yun Kwang muttered in disbelief,
“Crazy… He’s still going? Insane…”
Crazy?
Am I crazy?
I kept swinging the sword, reflecting on Yun Kwang’s words. The path of the Lightning Shadow Sword Technique became a blur, and my fingertips felt like they had turned into swords. In that strange sensation, I briefly reflected on my past.
Death. Slaughter. And the feeling of defeat. Helplessness.
I had felt too much of it for decades.
And then, Mang-ryang died.
He died because of my foolish choices, because of my weakness.
If I remain weak, the same events will keep repeating.
‘I am weak.’
I had never pondered why I was weak. Since birth, I had been placed in the position of an inherent weakling. For decades, I lived a hopeless life, constantly beaten and downtrodden, dominated by a sense of powerlessness.
So, I endure.
I don’t want to let go.
I’m sick of living a decaying, comfortable life. Time and again, I’ve felt my limitations. I realized the harsh truth of the world: you can’t gain anything without sacrificing something.
The only thing I can give up now is my laziness.
If I quit this training halfway, Threefold Expert Lee Gwang will grow tired of me and let go. Then, I would be back to running in circles, a time of no progress, living life as if nothing happened.
I refuse that. I don’t want to let go.
Now, I am in a position where I must seize it.
And I must do so desperately, risking my life.
Entering the fifth day, Jipyeong looked at me with a worried expression. His normally impassive face showed concern, indicating how pitiable my condition must be. But, with no time to care about that, I numbly counted in my mind.
‘55321… 55322…’
I had just reached the halfway point.
‘Wait… Halfway…? Only halfway?’
My heart nearly broke at that moment. The thought of having to repeat this hellish ordeal again seemed impossible. Yet, despite that, I just clenched my teeth and endured.
I no longer remember why I need to endure.
I just do.
My hand felt like it had merged with the sword. Time seemed to slow down, and my body adjusted to the slowed pace. Absorbed in the shining swordplay in the darkness, I continued executing the Lightning Shadow Sword Technique for the 55623rd time.
‘I will not give up.
I will not give up.
I will never give up.’
I repeated it like a mantra.
Because I am…
“Master. This seems insane.”
On the 11th morning, Jin So-cheong finally voiced his opinion.
During breakfast, Threefold Expert Lee Gwang glanced at him. Jin So-cheong’s face was set hard, no longer moving his chopsticks. Lee Gwang, eating his stir-fried vegetables, responded.
“It is insane. But why?”
“He’s going to die.”
Jin So-cheong said with a pallor.
True.
By conventional wisdom, Baek-woong would soon be dead. Normally, a person would collapse from exhaustion, succumb to wounds and contract tetanus, or die from dehydration at this point. Or their muscles and ligaments would rupture, rendering them incapable of practicing martial arts again.
In fact, Jin So-cheong had trusted his master’s training method. He believed there was a reason behind the master’s insane training of “swing a sword a hundred thousand times without rest.” However, as he took turns monitoring, he increasingly felt this was wrong. Because he could clearly see Baek-woong’s condition deteriorating in real-time.
Pausing from enjoying his breakfast, Threefold Expert Lee Gwang finally spoke.
“He has to die. Otherwise, it won’t work.”
“What?!”
“Baek-woong, that boy, he had desperation. And I realized that the root of this desperation was a lack of talent. It’s hard to believe he mastered the Thunder God Style to such an extent at his age, but he is desperately lacking the insight to understand and embody advanced martial arts.”
“……!!”
“Probably, despite lacking insight, he reached such a level due to his incredibly powerful internal energy. However, that’s become his poison, so I have no choice but to kill him. It’s better to do it sooner before he develops worse habits.”
Kill him.
Understanding his meaning, Jin So-cheong spoke with a trembling voice.
“Are you trying to force him into a state of self-forgetfulness?”
“If I don’t kill him, he will remain at that stage for the rest of his life.”
Jin So-cheong crossed his arms.
“Additionally, there’s something suspicious about that boy. I want to see his determination through this training. Even considering his suspicious aspects, I want to see if he can be accepted as a successor of the Thunder God Style.”
“But… But that’s too much…”
“Enough. If you’re so worried, let’s go and see for ourselves.”
After finishing breakfast, Threefold Expert Lee Gwang and Jin So-cheong headed to the training ground. In this training ground, accessible only to those at the instructor level or above, a musty smell wafted through the air. It was the odor emanating from the body of the young boy standing in the center.
Swoosh
Swoosh-
Baek-woong was still swinging his sword. However, his eyes were half-dead, his movements slow and mechanical. It was as if a living skeleton was wielding the sword.
But Jin So-cheong was shocked to see Baek-woong’s movements.
‘He’s forgetting! And he’s drawing out his potential.’
Lee Gwang asked Yun Kwang, the supervising instructor,
“How many swings has he done now?”
“J… Just 150 left.”
A brief silence followed.
“…Alright. Let’s watch.”
Jin So-cheong noticed a slight flicker in his master’s eyes. Even Threefold Expert Lee Gwang seemed a bit flustered, as if he himself hadn’t expected Baek-woong to make it this far.
‘He really pushed him to the edge of life or death.’
Was it due to vigilance towards the Thunder God Style?
Jin So-cheong, unaware of this, didn’t know that Lee Gwang was particularly cautious of Baek-woong because of his nearly heavenly-level internal energy, Heavenly Spirit Elixir. Despite Baek-woong’s martial arts being incomparable, Lee Gwang knew the significance of Heavenly Spirit Elixir’s internal energy and was highly wary of Baek-woong.
It felt like he wouldn’t mind if Baek-woong died.
Or perhaps, he didn’t want him to die?
At the same time, Jin So-cheong looked at Baek-woong with awe.
‘He’s maximizing his potential by continuously regenerating his body with his boundless internal energy. The absolute values are being raised as his body’s protective instincts use the internal energy spread through the extraordinary and normal meridians for recovery. That’s why he can endure what would normally kill a person.’
Where does such willpower come from?
Jin So-cheong doubted he could do the same, even if he had the same level of internal energy as Baek-woong. Of course, it was largely because Jin So-cheong had talent and didn’t need to go through such madness, but even if he had to, he lacked the foolish willpower required.
Woosh –
When only about 10 swings were left to reach one hundred thousand, everyone in the hall witnessed a bright radiance erupting from Baek-woong’s body. In an instant, his body fully recovered. Bruises, wounds, pain, and muscle and ligament damage accumulated over the days completely vanished. It was as if the internal energy from the Millennium Ginseng he consumed several times erupted, resulting in an extraordinary recovery.
“……!!”
An enormous and magnificent internal energy, unlike anything before, started erupting from Baek-woong’s body. Jin So-cheong couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
‘All the internal energy up to now… was just a part of it?’
He had thought Baek-woong’s internal energy was a hundred times more than that of an average first-rate martial artist. Although Baek-woong was just a child and was too clumsy in handling Qi and intent, making him unable to fully utilize his power. Still, Jin So-cheong had believed Baek-woong’s internal energy was world-shaking and unparalleled.
But – he was mistaken. The internal energy of Baek-woong they had felt up till now was just the tip of the iceberg.
Rumble
The entire training ground shook, and the trajectory of the swordsmanship vibrated noticeably, causing Threefold Expert Lee Gwang’s expression to darken. Even he was perturbed by this tremendous internal energy. He never thought Baek-woong’s true internal energy would be ten times what was apparent on the surface.
Woosh –
Qi materialized around Baek-woong’s body, coiling like a dragon. It was a phenomenon of Qi continuously discharging outward to stabilize the body. As Baek-woong faced several near-death situations, the power of six Millennium Ginsengs, lying dormant within, erupted. Threefold Expert Lee Gwang raised his hand to block its influence and muttered,
“A monster, indeed…”
Ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.
… One hundred thousand.
With half-conscious and in a state of self-forgetfulness, Baek-woong executed the hundred thousandth Thunder Shadow Sword Technique.
At that moment, a tremendous power of Hegemony that Baek-woong had never wielded before was incorporated into the swordsmanship, shining brilliantly. Jin So-cheong exclaimed in astonishment upon seeing the vividly shining constellation of rainbow-colored lights.
“Sword Qi!”
It wasn’t made from complete enlightenment, but to think he could form Sword Qi purely from internal energy! It was extremely inefficient yet beautiful for that reason. It was impossible for humans to form Sword Qi in such a way. Only the greatest masters who have reached the ultimate unity of spirit and body could use such a technique, and Jin So-cheong was immensely shocked that Baek-woong forced it out merely with internal energy.
Woosh –
The light of the Thunder Shadow Sword Technique’s Sword Qi flowed flawlessly along the path of the swordsmanship. The hundred thousand repetitions Baek-woong had executed were faster and more precise than any sword path he had done before. The flowing streaks of lightning were akin to a galaxy.
Suddenly, Lee Gwang, excited, shouted,
“Excellent!”
Thunder God Style
Secret Technique
True Lightning Void Annihilation!
Lee Gwang’s spear split the very fabric of time and space, colliding with Baek-woong’s Sword Qi, creating a massive surge of energy. There was no sound, but ultrasonic frequencies, inaudible to human ears, created multiple shockwaves.
Rumble
As the shock subsided, Baek-woong, still standing, had fainted with his eyes rolled back.
“……”
“……”
Everyone was solemn.
A crazy training that was thought impossible for humans – a boy in his early to mid-teens had endured to the end. Not only that, but the manifestation of Sword Qi at the end seemed like a pinnacle for a martial artist. Thus, even Yun Kwang, who usually joked around, shut his mouth and watched Baek-woong.
Threefold Expert Lee Gwang approached Baek-woong and placed his hand on his shoulder. His energy flowed into Baek-woong, stimulating his meridians, allowing him to wake up soon.
“Uh, uh, where am I?”
As Baek-woong was disoriented, Threefold Expert Lee Gwang calmly said,
“Congratulations. You have successfully completed the hundred thousand repetitions.”
“That’s a relief.”
“From now on, studying Qi and intent will likely lead to significant progress.”
“Oh!!”
Baek-woong’s face was unmistakably filled with joy. He thought he had merely survived what he believed would be certain death and had even succeeded in his training. Of course, Baek-woong had no recollection of having manifested Sword Qi.
Threefold Expert Lee Gwang, who had been intently watching Baek-woong, asked,
“What is it?”
“Huh?”
He had lost his composure.
“What drives you to such desperation? The willpower you possess is not typical for a child your age. Even the mightiest warriors would find it challenging, yet where does such an absurdly strong willpower come from? What makes you so desperate to seek power?”
Lee Gwang’s question was understandable.
Baek-woong’s willpower had surpassed his current understanding. Lee Gwang had realized Baek-woong’s talents and perception were limited, expecting his determination and venom to be average at best. But the tenacity Baek-woong showed was more akin to a mindset willing to die in training.
Lee Gwang had encountered such willpower only once in his extensive experience in the martial world. It was from a highly revered monk, a spiritual master from the Shaolin Temple, known as Monk Minghao. It was a willpower of transcendence, as if having forgotten all worldly life.
Baek-woong hesitated for a moment before responding,
“I don’t want to have regrets.”
Baek-woong was still shouting in his heart.
The hell of his eight past lives was seething inside him.
I will not give up.
I will not give up.
I will never give up.
Because I have…
Decided to live and die a hundred times over if necessary.
That’s how I have resolved to live through my reincarnations!