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Chapter 272: Winter Has Arrived (2)

Winter arrived, signaled by the chilly air.

As the cold wind began to nip at my skin, and the beautifully colored leaves held their breath, only then could I truly sense the winter had come.

Of course, it was still a bit early to call it winter.

It wouldn’t be long before the naïve forest turned cold.

In the Gu Family’s Training Grounds.

Flame Burst!

Flames danced wildly inside the training grounds.

Unlike the cold outside, the spacious room was filled with warmth.

A gigantic fire swirled in the air, filling the surroundings.

It was pulsating, as if about to explode at any moment.

‘Don’t let it get out of control.’

I focused on controlling it, while also ensuring it didn’t burst.

As I withstood the vibrations that seemed ready to explode at any second, I compressed and shifted the energy.

My lower dantian felt tight with the pressure, and my physical body was exquisitely delicate under that force.

‘Gather!’

Whispering like a command within, the flames which had spread in all directions suddenly swirled violently, converging in my palm.

Whooooosh-! A gust of wind blew.

The wind created by the energy made my hair dance, but I didn’t care.

Right now, I had to focus solely on improving my control.

“Phew…”

As the flames gradually stopped vibrating, I opened my eyes that I had closed just moments before.

Where had the pure white hands from my first reincarnation gone?

Now, what I saw were rough and enlarged hands.

And atop them, a small red orb had appeared.

It was the size of a fingernail, yet it shone with an enchanting glow.

Sighing at the sight, I murmured, “…I did it.”

I couldn’t even imagine how much energy was contained in this small orb.

Certainly, I must have used over half of my inner strength just to create it.

And I poured every last bit into it by compressing it further.

If I were to relax my focus even for a moment, it would explode and blast everything around me away with sheer force.

‘There’s no cost-effectiveness to this.’

Over half of my energy had been spent merely creating this little orb.

At my current level, I could only use it once.

‘In my previous life, at least I made good use of it.’

Considering the amount of energy I had, aside from the Heavenly Demon in the Central Plains, I must have been among the highest.

I had been able to use it freely without needing any special adjustments.

‘But right now… that’s not enough.’

Clenching the small orb in my fist, I retracted it.

Even though I intended to create it for retrieval, the gust of wind it generated slightly shook the training grounds.

Flame Jade.

It was one of the techniques of the Gu Clan I could use only when the Flame Wheel Technique reached a certain level.

This meant, ‘I’ve leveled up.’

It indicated that my Technique of the Flame Wheel had finally reached the Feathers level.

Moreover, ‘Just one step away from the Transformation Realm.’

I was only a step away from transcending the peak and stepping into a new world.

‘…That came much faster than I expected.’

I thought it would take at least until my twenties to reach this level.

However, it had come way sooner than I anticipated.

The Demon Stones I consumed, along with my energy, certainly played a significant role.

Or was it because I reached the peak at such a young age?

Maybe my inner strength was assimilating with my physical body at an accelerated pace.

‘That said, that one step is the hardest.’

The wall blocking my upper dantian was too wide, thick, and formidable.

I couldn’t burrow through it like during the peak level.

I lacked the power to break it down.

I had reached it, but surpassing it would take some time.

Still, ‘Reaching the Feathers level is a significant achievement.’

All those times I had pushed myself to the brink paid off.

I had gone through all the madness just to create this insane orb.

“…Is it finally time to take it easy?”

I hadn’t necessarily intended to use this martial art.

Reaching the Feathers level had been the quickest and most effective training method for constructing the Flame Jade.

I had to regulate my energy delicately.

For that, my body was subjected to insane levels of pressure.

Moving the energy while enduring that?

‘That’s what training is all about.’

Even though autumn had arrived after summer, it felt like I was rolling around all day in the scorching sun instead of enjoying the cool weather.

Nevertheless, since I had achieved my goal…

“From now on, I can take it a bit easier….”

– Young Master.

“…Huh?”

As I shook off my body, the voice of a servant reached my ears.

“What is it?”

– The Head Officer has an announcement. The Clan Leader is looking for you.

“ ”

I immediately sensed from the servant’s words that my plans of taking it easy were probably in jeopardy.

After entering the Clan Leader’s residence through the Head Officer, I arrived at the room.

By now, I felt somewhat familiar with this place, having visited several times.

“I heard you called for me.”

“Indeed.”

Of course, my father’s gaze still felt unbearably heavy.

Glancing at me, my father scanned me from head to toe and then remarked, “Hmm.”

I could sense a flicker of intrigue in his eyes.

‘He’s noticed.’

It seemed he had caught on to the fact that I had reached the Feathers level.

That being said, his perceptiveness was still sharp.

‘Despite that…’

Even though I had reached the Feathers level, my father didn’t show a hint of excitement.

He must have concealed his energy so well that his presence was unnoticeable, or the level difference was so vast that I couldn’t sense it.

Whichever it was, I still couldn’t fully grasp my father’s strength.

‘…Is that guy really just at the level of a top master in the Central Plains?’

No way.

I’d seen it in my previous life, and my father was no one to be confined to such levels.

He merely kept his true strength hidden.

With that thought, my father spoke to me, “Not bad.”

“…Thank you.”

It was a type of compliment, perhaps, but it didn’t truly resonate with me.

“Third.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any idea why I called you?”

Uhh…

‘What did I do now?’

I wondered.

Did he find out that I destroyed the training grounds last time I was training?

No, that couldn’t be it. I had done similar things before, so it didn’t seem like such a big deal.

Was he talking about the last time Elder Lee attempted to teach me through a sparring session, which ended up burning the back mountain?

To be honest, that was mostly Elder Lee’s fault.

How could I just run away when he was throwing real punches at me under the guise of “teaching”?

“…I don’t know.”

No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

My father nodded at my confusion and withdrew a letter from his robe, handed it over to me.

“The reason I called you is simple.”

As I accepted the letter and unfolded it, I found a note that told me something I had forgotten while engrossed in training.

– Announcement regarding entrance to Shinryong Temple.

There were a lot of formalities written, but since it was just routine, I skimmed through and summarized it in two lines.

– The bloodline of any clan or sect who receives this letter can take the entrance exam for Shinryong Temple.

– If you’re even a day late, you’ll miss the exam.

‘…It’s here.’

I had been aware that winter was approaching, and the set date was drawing near, but I had momentarily forgotten because of my training.

‘Shinryong Temple.’

That was a place I hadn’t gone to in my previous life.

Or rather, I hadn’t been able to enter because I failed the entrance exam.

Damn it…

Thinking back, it was quite an embarrassing memory.

Honestly, I could have just walked in with my breath.

But with pride as it was, I had foolishly made a scene, insisting I could get in without using it.

‘And I ended up getting rejected.’

While my father didn’t mention it then, he must have been embarrassed about it.

Just for reference, my older sister, Gu Huibi, also graduated from Shinryong Temple.

And the letter that just arrived was from the Shinryong Temple’s top student.

She had probably placed first or second.

I heard Peng Woojin was also a classmate, but…

‘It’s not like they’re making me go, right? What ranking is that even?’

This place had a habit of ranking everything needlessly.

“Is it an order to go?”

“Yes.”

I wondered if he would casually say, “You know, if you don’t want to go, don’t go!”, but my father’s response was resolute.

‘…Damn it.’

While he was lenient in many areas, he wouldn’t let this slide.

In my previous life, I had sensed that I would just fail anyway, so I hadn’t bothered about it.

‘Am I really going to fail this time too?’

Among the late-stage talents, I was far too large of a presence to swim among them.

It’s not arrogance; it’s just a fact.

There couldn’t be anyone among those late-stage talents that could rival my level.

‘Perhaps just Peng Woojin… or Sleeping Dragon… I’m not sure about the latter, though.’

As for Peng Woojin, he was in such an ambiguous position that he could be considered a late-stage talent; I could dismiss him.

Sleeping Dragon, I had never met at this point, so I had no clue.

As for Gu Huibi, while I had never truly sparred against her, I wasn’t worried about losing to her now.

Though it felt easier to think that way than to actually spar with her.

Of course, Shinryong Temple wasn’t exclusively for late-stage talents.

Still, it kind of had an unspoken agreement.

It felt like an educational institution aimed at nurturing talented young late-stage talents.

Like a gathering of geniuses.

‘It’s just sword team training, not martial arts.’

To me, it was nothing more than a networking opportunity and a small political arena.

Since so many people understood this, they were probably keen to send more there.

The world had already changed in a manner that made discussing martial arts and alliances irrelevant.

“The departure is in three days.”

“…Understood.”

Despite knowing all this, I didn’t put up any resistance to my father’s decision.

Since I had some things to take care of at Shinryong Temple, and people I needed to see and seek out.

‘I have to go to the underground too.’

If I was headed to Shinryong Temple, I needed to stop by Biwaegun underneath as well.

If I was going, I had to prepare for everything.

Before the Heavenly Demon appeared and found Biwaegun, I needed to go and seize everything first.

‘Still, I can’t believe I’m really going to this.’

Of course, while my feelings about it weren’t entirely bad, it was still daunting.

“As soon as I return to my residence, I’ll start preparing immediately.”

This was an inevitable reality.

There were more reasons to go than to run away at this point.

So I decided to accept it without any complaints.

“Good. Make sure you take care of those who will accompany you.”

“Yes… I’ll take good care of them… Huh?”

My father’s words made me frown for a moment.

“…Who am I supposed to take care of? Is there someone else going besides me?”

I asked with a mixture of disbelief and confusion.

My father then handed me another letter as if to answer my question.

Upon receiving the letter and checking the name, my expression crumpled even further.

Three days passed.

It was still autumn, yet I would probably arrive in Hanam, where Shinryong Temple was located, just as winter set in.

Even though the Dragon Meeting was scheduled for winter, the chances of it happening were likely slimmer with the opening of Shinryong Temple.

“I don’t have much luggage, huh?”

After surveying the bags piling up, I couldn’t help but mutter.

Unlike my previous trip to Anhui, I had brought far less this time.

“I heard they’re going to provide everything you need there, so you don’t have to prepare much.”

“I might not get admitted there.”

“You, Young Master?”

Hong Wa looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense.

The weight of that belief was utterly burdensome.

In the past, I would’ve thought I’d be treated like a good-for-nothing who would obviously never get in.

However, lately, the way the servants had viewed me had changed significantly.

‘All of this was after earning that cursed nickname.’

Ever since I made a scene at the Dragon Meeting, it felt like everyone had started regarding me differently.

Previously, if someone thought I might do something, they would likely say, “Oh, that reckless young master is causing trouble again.”

But from the moment I joined the ranks of the Six Dragons and Bennett, it felt like they were thinking, “There must be a reason for this young master to act like this!”

No, there’s no reason at all!

“…Enough. Get everything ready.”

“Understood.”

Once Hong Wa finished his bow and hurried off to work, I cast my gaze to the side.

“You’re going too, right?”

At my question, someone flinched and shuddered.

After which, the voice that followed was, “Yes… It has come to that.”

The one avoiding my gaze was Gu Jeolyub.

I had heard he was also going along this time.

‘Clearly Elder Lee must have put in a word for him.’

Having him tag along was not a huge problem.

He was just the right guy to send on trivial errands.

‘He should be fine and won’t drop out.’

With Gu Jeolyub’s level, he shouldn’t have any issues making the entrance.

Though he hadn’t reached the peak yet, he was definitely at the tail end of the top-tier.

It felt like the effort I had put in had paid off.

‘If he comes back all beaten up, I guess I’ll have to give him a real beating.’

If he got into trouble somewhere, it was because he didn’t understand his place and charged in recklessly.

But the more important matter was not about Gu Jeolyub.

The same went for other familiar faces.

‘Nangong Bi-ah had nothing to do with it.’

Of course, I assumed Mo Yong-hee would naturally go, as she had mentioned to me on several occasions that she would come with me.

I expected that, but Nangong Bi-ah was a bit strange since I remembered her not going in my past life.

‘She seemed to have said it would be necessary for her to live on.’

At least that was what I remembered.

But that wasn’t the main issue.

“…So.”

Behind Gu Jeolyub, a figure who seemed distinctly uninterested in approaching lingered.

It was someone who looked like she had a difficulty deciding what to do.

She was, without a doubt, Gu Yeonseo.

“Are you going too?”

At my call, the girl who was now a woman turned her head.

She looked much like Gu Huibi, yet resembled Lady Mi even more as her gaze met mine.

“…Yeah.”

I didn’t know how long it had been since I had last heard her voice.

She had been purposefully avoiding me, and now we finally faced each other.

She was my younger sister, Gu Yeonseo, who would later be known as the Crimson Flame Sword within the Gu Clan’s legacy.

 

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