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“You want me to endure the same Ranna Chul ten thousand times as you?”

Feeling flabbergasted, I stared at Lee Kwang. Was he out of his mind?

“Why the heck would I do that?”

It was clear he was trying to get under my skin! There was no way I would volunteer for that!

My immediate thought was to reject Lee Kwang’s ridiculous proposal. Making him go through ten thousand repetitions was my way of paying off my debt from my past life; I had no reason to join him in suffering.

But then, a thought flashed through my mind, prompting me to respond after a moment’s pause.

“You say such things, yet my martial arts should have shown what I can do after managing Soeul Village all this time. It’s ludicrous for you to claim otherwise.”

“You can say whatever you want. The funniest thing in the world is that you’re unable to keep up with your own training!”

I stifled a laugh, struggling not to burst into hysterics. I could feel my cheeks puffing out as I fought to suppress my amusement. Lee Kwang must have noticed, as his expression morphed into something more menacing.

But he might have felt uneasy about my laughter without truly grasping its meaning.

‘Heh heh… Perfect!’ I thought.

Honestly, the very idea that he couldn’t keep up with his own training? That was exactly what I wanted to tell him, Lee Kwang.

This trial wasn’t just anything; it was something Lee Kwang had forced upon me!

Seeing him trapped in his own contradictions gave me an unbeatable thrill. This kind of satisfaction couldn’t be achieved just by beating him up. I worked hard to regain my composure and cleared my throat.

“Alright then. I’ll do it on one condition. If I succeed in the ten thousand repetitions… you must sever your mentor-student relationship with Jin So-cheong!”

Lee Kwang’s face froze in shock, while Jin So-cheong, beside him, remained expressionless, observing the situation.

I knew I was hitting a nerve with this proposal, so I pushed forward without hesitation.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but now that we’ve reached this point, I must!”

Lee Kwang’s mouth tightened, and his entire demeanor stiffened.

“What exactly does that have to do with this?”

“Would you like the reason? I believe having Jin So-cheong as your disciple is an utter waste of time and holding him back! He could have grown immensely, but you seemed to be the one to keep him bound!”

“What…?”

I shimmered with excitement as I declared, “If he were a complete outsider, it wouldn’t be my business, but now that I’ve transferred my greatest technique, the Nine Chambers of Thunder, to him and become his Grand Master, I bear the duty to ensure his future! This is my sincere obligation as his Grand Master!”

“What nonsense…” he spat.

“You are the one holding him back. The price for your reckless challenge is your position as his mentor!”

“Hmph,” he grunted out, clearly struggling to process my reasoning. I saw for the first time that he didn’t seem to understand that his relationship with Jin So-cheong was a thorn in his own side.

He must have naturally thought their mentorship was a given.

‘But Lee Kwang… that isn’t the case.’

I consciously pushed my personal feelings aside and remained objective.

What if Jin So-cheong had joined the Wudang Sect to master the Seven Great Techniques?

What if he went to Shaolin Temple to learn their techniques?

What if he had joined the White Lotus Sect to study the Fire Spirit or Wind Spirit techniques?

What if he learned the Shadowless Soul-Removing Sword Technique with the Shadowless Gate?

What if he became a disciple of the Twelve Joules?

Any scenario would have likely been better than him growing under Lee Kwang’s limitations, and I couldn’t say why he had failed to help Jin So-cheong become a Peak Expert.

The explanation could only point to Lee Kwang’s shortcomings, which was a fair judgment considering I had lived as a reborn person for over thirty years.

After some time, Lee Kwang gripped his spear tightly and stared at me intensely.

“Fine! But if I succeed, that will be null and void!”

I had thought he’d back down, but instead, I was taken aback.

“Is that so? Really?”

“What are you doing? Grab your spear and get ready!”

My incredulity about his self-assuredness grew. Was he really convinced I wouldn’t be able to pull off ten thousand times? Regardless of everything, I had nothing to lose, so I nodded.

“Hand me the spear.”

With a flick, Lee Kwang tossed a high-quality spear at me, clearly prepared beforehand, and I caught it with ease. It certainly was not the proper way to throw a spear to one’s master, but I shrugged it off and flashed a grin.

“Is Jin So-cheong counting the repetitions?”

“That’ll be the most objective method.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I laughed as I spun the spear a few times to loosen up.

“Hmm.”

It felt like ages since I had wielded a spear. It had been decades since I chose to focus on sword techniques! After spending so long only indexing spear techniques separately, I was starting to feel nostalgic over returning to the spear.

“I think so too.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Boom!

Lee Kwang and I stood at a distance, and while this wasn’t exactly a duel, the air felt charged as we faced each other. I could feel the hint of killing intent directed at me from Lee Kwang, and oddly enough, I found it amusing.

‘…Who would have thought I’d engage in ten thousand repetitions with Lee Kwang? How did it come to this?’

Fate truly is unpredictable.

When I first met Lee Kwang and became his disciple, I never imagined this day would come. Somehow, we had formed a bond of ill will that would be difficult to break. Yet, even though it seemed entirely one-sided, I couldn’t leave it unresolved!

‘Hmph. Let’s clear my mind…’

I made up my mind to cast off distractions. Whatever immense internal power I possessed, ten thousand repetitions would not be a simple feat, and I needed to concentrate from here on out. And shortly after, Jin So-cheong exclaimed,

“Start!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Lee Kwang and I began the Ranna Chul simultaneously.

During the initial repetition, I took note of the speed of Lee Kwang’s spear; strangely, it matched mine. Even though I could unleash the Ranna Chul at breakneck speed, I deliberately kept it at a standard pace, but for some reason, his speed kept aligning perfectly with mine.

‘Hmm?’

Could it be a coincidence?

I tilted my head but soon realized it was due to our training together for over ten years. Lee Kwang’s technique was naturally imprinted into my body; the overlapping training speeds had become second nature. It couldn’t help but create a synchrony between us.

“…….”

Don’t overthink it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Over five hundred repetitions passed, and neither of us broke our rhythm. Even under this mechanical repetition, we used our muscles effectively while concentrating the energy optimally. Failure to do so would result in our stamina wasting away across this long duration of training.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

We sailed past a thousand repetitions. If any ordinary person were to attempt a thousand repetitions of Ranna Chul, they’d be wringing sweat from their entire body. But strangely enough, neither of us showed any signs of exhaustion. This was a level of endurance we’d both developed through hellish training.

But there was a nagging concern creeping in.

Your footwork has been off.

As I continued, I grew increasingly aware of my feet. It seemed that after neglecting to practice with the spear, my form was deteriorating as awkwardness slipped through, revealing my inexperience. I kept adjusting this error using the Absolute Realm’s sense, but it was still a disadvantage.

Whoosh—

Soon, I felt a shift in my breathing and pulse as I surpassed three thousand repetitions.

An odd sense of elation washed over me amidst the chaos of confusion.

I wasn’t using internal power, so pure stamina was reaching its limits. This ‘awakened state’ allowed me to drink up its energy without effort, but I also recognized that as soon as it passed, my stamina would recoil in terrifying speed.

‘This won’t do. I need to start transforming my internal energy.’

Clang!

My internal energy burst forth, spreading through my body, simultaneously bringing me back to a mundane state. The revival felt refreshing since my stamina was effectively restored.

Whoosh!

As I crossed over eight thousand repetitions toward nine thousand, I sensed Lee Kwang struggling a bit more.

Even though he was immensely skilled, nine thousand repetitions got annoyingly close to ten thousand, and anyone with some experience could see the exhausting toll it took.

‘Every challenge was taxing, but just a moment ago he was trembling at three thousand five hundred!’

A nagging sense of confusion tugged at my thoughts. A significant amount of time had passed since Lee Kwang last attempted Ranna Chul, and he had been training, eating, and sleeping solely for this, so his skill and stamina should surely have increased. Why was he suddenly weaker?

Whoosh!

But as I hit fifteen thousand, something felt awry.

‘His movements are getting steadier. And his stamina seems to be recovering…’

I puzzled over why I felt this dissonance from Lee Kwang. He appeared more anxious yet somehow stabilized intermittently. I didn’t quite grasp the reason behind it. Yet as I was pondering, the countdown quickly ticked from twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand, and Lee Kwang started showing weakness once again.

Boom!

Then it happened. Something strange emanated from Lee Kwang’s body, wrapping around him like a mysterious glow. I could tell his stamina was somehow surging as his bloodline and energy were absorbed.

“……!!”

No way?

A sudden sense of dread crept into my thoughts. Then I watched as Lee Kwang, sipping energy back from weakness and seamlessly transitioning back into Ranna Chul, had clearly devised a strategy.

‘He’s clever, but still, it seems weak-minded.’

I figured out Lee Kwang’s strategy in a moment: Inputting motions into his will, minimizing the drain on his energy by repeating them! Whatever method he learned from Jin So-cheong left him incapable of entirely plumbing its depths. Admittedly, this groundwork could facilitate efficiency, but without the experience of years of training as Jin So-cheong had, Lee Kwang could not replicate it fully.

Though I had initially anticipated he made strides toward some form of achievement, I realized that no matter how close he got, this was always just par for the course.

There was an undeniable limit to energy resolution. His ongoing attempts would consistently need to square off against those limits.

Then it clicked; with my understanding, he sent an affirmation back to me.

“I won’t quit.”

In that moment, the weight of acceptance bore down on me, striking me profoundly.

Meanwhile, as we surpassed ninety-five thousand repetitions, we were almost at the end of our endurance. Lee Kwang and I were zoning in on the endgame, our faces flushed as we drove toward the last stretch of training.

Whoosh!

With each jab, I felt increasingly fatigued.

‘This time, there’s no lucky escape.’

As I went past ninety-nine thousand repetitions, I sensed Lee Kwang’s resolve wearing thin. We were locked in a battleground of spirit and muscle and drove onward to reach the summit.

Crack!

As we struck our spears again, I felt the spontaneous clash of wills. We were delivering the same force, pushing ourselves past each other’s limits, propelling ourselves toward the unattainable.

‘His spirit does not yield.’

Then, at that moment, my mind conjured a memory.

“That’s right. There are three foundational techniques to master; you could consider them secret skills.”

“The Ranna, Na, and Chal!”

“What?! They are basic techniques!”

“You punk! What do you know? Did you think mastering Ranna Chul is easy?! You’ll spend your life trying!”

“But I mastered it!”

Then, just like that, I understood why I had unleashed the Nine Chambers of Thunder onto Lee Kwang’s energy paths.

Wham!

As I unleashed the pulse of thunder toward Lee Kwang’s heart, the energy rushed in, infusing him with vitality and purpose. Just as he was about to crash, Lee Kwang pushed off the ground, using his spear to leverage himself back up.

Even in this condition, blood dripped down his lips while his eyes blazed with the fierce determination to pull off another strike.

One last drive—fingers stiffened in resolve, he threw his last thrust with everything he had.

“Ranna Chul, ten thousand repetitions, completed!”

With that, Lee Kwang fell over, out cold. If left unchecked, there was no doubt he’d find himself in dire straits.

Jin So-cheong rushed to him, his gratitude clear as he expressed, “Thank you, Grand Master.”

“…”

“I’ll take him to a place where he can recover.”

I finally broke my silence to Jin So-cheong.

“Do you resent me for trying to sever ties between you and Lee Kwang?”

That stopped him in his tracks. He turned his head slightly and replied, “If you truly aimed to sever it, you wouldn’t have assisted your master with the Nine Chambers of Thunder.”

It was clear he had seen through me.

“No, that was merely a whim. I genuinely believed I needed to cut ties between you and Lee Kwang.”

“If that were the case, then why the varying emotions?”

“Well….”

What was I supposed to say? I didn’t even know my own heart.

Staring at the ground, Jin So-cheong continued, “Every person bears a story of grudges and virtues. Even the Grand Master isn’t free from grievances.”

“…”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Whoosh!

As Jin So-cheong sped off, I found myself watching his retreating figure. I slowly bent down to retrieve Lee Kwang’s dropped spear.

Why had I helped him in the end?

What was the whim that had surfaced in my thoughts, as Jin So-cheong surmised?

I held the spear and, with no real intention, executed the Ranna Chul again.

Whoosh!

“Ah.”

As I experienced the flow of the technique, a vivid sensation coursed through me. The exhilaration was something I hadn’t felt during the intense push for ten thousand repetitions just now. It was as if I had shaken off some bindings!

By releasing my mind, the previously cumbersome spear became light as air. While I struggled to focus with thoughts spinning, I only found clarity when I discarded them.

Could it be I felt that sting of regret after losing that connection with the evil spirit?

The emotions I felt earlier were vivid, but to dissect and recall those moments of inspiration felt impossible.

This most recent ten thousand and the one from before had been different from the start.

For the first time, I truly comprehended my earlier insight.

“It’s the conviction that gives rise to martial prowess.”

 

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