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A chirping sound of birds was heard.

Morning.

Soo-ah opened her eyes and first kicked off the blanket. After yawning and dozing off a bit, she finally sat up.

“…Daddy…”

She opened the door to the next room, but he wasn’t there. Soo-ah quickly grabbed a towel and turned her body around.

She headed towards the backyard of the third courtyard.

There was someone moving, even though dawn hadn’t broken. She saw him slowly moving with a sword in his hand.

The red-stained sword melded with the sound of the chirping birds. It was fascinating how he was clearly moving yet seemed not to move at all.

Extremely controlled and slow motions.

Soo-ah perched herself on a well-polished wooden stump. She brought her legs together, rested her arms on them, and stared at the moving warrior.

A perfect state of concentration. He was so focused he didn’t even notice her presence. His movements were slow enough that, at a glance, he looked like he was merely standing still.

But Soo-ah couldn’t take her eyes off him. She knew nothing about martial arts, but instinctively felt that what he was doing was anything but ordinary.

He had once told her that one motion could be broken down into hundreds and that it should be repeated as slowly as possible.

Her older brother and sister had tried to imitate this but dropped down after failing the first motion. Just a bit of movement, and they had sweated profusely as if it were raining.

A series of extremely difficult motions.

And he was doing it all as if it were nothing.

Soo-ah wiggled her fingers as she quietly watched him. She kept remembering every movement in her head, unable to take her eyes off the slowly moving Blood Sword tip.

Perfect execution. It was like looking at a finely polished statue.

By the time dawn broke, the last sword sheathed itself. Jeok-un, who had been cooling off his sweat, suddenly turned around and was startled.

“…Soo-ah? When did you get here?”

“Daddy!”

Soo-ah ran over and clung to him. Jeok-un hesitated, looking a bit flustered.

“I think I’m going to get sweaty.”

“I have a towel.”

Soo-ah handed the towel she had grabbed earlier to him, and her eyes, slightly enlarged, began to smile faintly.

A gentle gaze met her. A hand that had come up to pat her head moved softly.

“Thank you.”

“Hehe.”

She liked that large hand. The hand that sweetly patted her head.

Soo-ah’s stomach grumbled. Jeok-un chuckled.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Then I’ll just wash up and come back, so let’s go eat together. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Just wait here for a moment.”

Soo-ah waved her hand at Jeok-un as he departed. After he completely disappeared, she hopped down from the stump.

Was it like this…?

Soo-ah moved, holding on to a branch.

Imitating what she had just seen.

. . .

The early morning training was simple.

Loosening unused muscles and waking up a sleeping body.

There wasn’t even a need to call it martial arts. It was just something she had naturally learned as she raised her level.

All of her Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword training had been replaced by mental training. Since she was in enemy territory, she couldn’t let her guard down for even a moment.

After finishing her light training, she washed up. She locked eyes with Narin and Gwangyang, who had come out late.

“…Master? You didn’t sleep?”

“It’s still not dawn yet. What are you…?”

They had indeed come out unusually early.

But there was a reason for that. Having come here, she now understood why this Cheonmu Academy was renowned among young warriors.

The air was different.

This wasn’t just a metaphor. The density of energy was rich. It felt as if artificial techniques had been used to heighten the concentration of energy.

So she felt a bit exhilarated.

It was her first time in such a place.

“Is it usual to start morning training at this time?”

“Since what I learned from the master has become second nature, I now wake up automatically.”

“Sister and I come out every day without fail during dawn and dusk. It’s to review what we’ve learned.”

“Well done.”

“Hehe.”

“Hmm-hmm.”

Narin and Gwangyang grinned. After patting their shoulders, he picked up Soo-ah, who had just finished washing up.

“Big brother, sister! Good morning!”

“Yeah, Soo-ah. Good morning. But Master, shouldn’t Soo-ah get more sleep?”

“Uh-huh, I woke up by myself. Daddy didn’t wake me.”

“Truly a daughter like her father…”

“The diligent young lady.”

“Are you really going to keep calling her young lady?”

“The master is like a second father to me. Naturally, she is a young lady. It is rather you who should be called a young lady!”

“Well, it can’t be helped… Let’s settle this with a spar.”

“Bring it on, sister!”

Leaving the two of them bickering behind, I strolled through the garden with Soo-ah. The progress we’d made so far could be looked at later…

But first, I had to take care of Soo-ah’s grumbling stomach.

It wasn’t quite breakfast time yet. However, fortunately for me, there was a dedicated maid attached to me.

I locked eyes with the beauty who had risen early in the morning. The way she smiled seductively as she bowed her head was captivating.

“You woke up early, my lord.”

“Gyo-ah, I apologize for troubling you so early, but could you possibly get something to nibble on? Soo-ah seems hungry…”

“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”

Gyo-ah.

The head maid of Cheonmu Academy who had been assigned to me.

The heavily made-up beauty briefly stepped out and soon returned with a simple array of snacks that were delicious enough to find no flaws in.

Soo-ah nibbled on the food, even offering me a bite.

“Daddy! Ah!”

“Ah.”

After quickly filling our bellies, I walked with Soo-ah through the courtyard. Children who appeared to be waking up glanced over at me sneakily.

“Look over there… Muk Geom…”

“They say he came as an assistant instructor…?”

“Do you think he might actually teach us properly…?”

“Who knows… We’ll just have to wait and see…”

Within those gazes, there was also a mix of skepticism. According to Narin and Gwangyang, the instructors here didn’t bother to teach those without merit properly.

Soo-ah scampered ahead, glancing around before leading the way.

“This is the training area… If you go straight that way…”

Did she really memorize the path in one glance after just seeing it once?

I patted her gently on the swaying head and wrapped up our light stroll.

Once the assistant instructor’s class was over, we would depart right away.

I couldn’t bring her along to dangerous places, so I wanted her to adapt perfectly while she was here.

Someday, I would have to tell her that we would be leaving, but…

For now, let’s postpone that to a later time.

“…You came quickly.”

After finishing a simple breakfast, the morning class for the beginner group began.

Each assistant instructor gathered under the head teacher, Lim Won-pyeong, to teach according to the students’ levels.

That was how it was supposed to be. But each assistant instructor only tended to a few students. Narin clicked her tongue.

“Those kids are ones who should quickly move up to the intermediate class. They’re disciples of the Wudang Sect, I hear.”

“Wudang Sect?”

“All the ones who are getting instruction right now are like that. Children of the Guppy Open Room or the Five Great Families… or at least kids from well-known martial clans. Only those kids get a proper eye from the assistant instructors or the head teacher. Look over there.”

Narin pointed to the side. A boy, swinging a wooden sword alone, peered over and asked the assistant instructor.

“Um, teacher. What should I do about this…?”

“Tsk. Look to the side and learn. You can’t even do that one thing… Come on, now. Student Baek, that’s not how you do it. You need to get the balance right.”

Ignoring the words of the scruffy-looking kid, he only guides a student who seems like he was born with a silver spoon.

Is this what they mean by “when the top is rotten, so is the bottom”? To raise the future of the righteous path like this…

There really is no answer. No answer at all.

I sighed. I glanced back at Narin and Gwangyang.

“Loosen up your bodies.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Narin and Gwangyang began to move, and students began to crowd around them. They started to awkwardly follow their movements.

The two of them seemed quite familiar with the motions. They even gave a few tips to the students who trailed after them.

Soo-ah started to mimic their movements as well. Without any trouble, she copied them, making me blink in surprise.

“Are you not tired?”

“No, Daddy.”

She didn’t seem like a typical child…

But then again, I wasn’t exactly well-versed in martial arts either.

“Be careful when doing it, okay?”

“Yes!”

I left them alone for now, giving a warning to Narin and Gwangyang.

“Just loosen up your own bodies.”

“U-uh, but master… there are kids asking for instruction…”

“I’ll teach them, so focus on yourselves.”

Narin’s eyes lit up. Gwangyang grinned.

“Yes! Master!”

“Did you see that, sister? The master is the master after all.”

“I know that too, you know?”

The students who had locked eyes with me flinched. I casually checked my throat.

I surveyed the number of students. It seemed there were easily over thirty of them around here…

“You.”

I pointed to one student. He flinched.

“M-me?”

“Yeah. You’re my benchmark. Since you’re in the position of being taught, I’ll skip the formalities. Repeat after me. Benchmark.”

“B-benchmark!”

The student shouted out with all his might, drawing attention. I spoke in a low voice.

“Anyone who wants to learn, line up in an orderly fashion. Begin.”

“…b-begin!”

The students, who had been hesitant, began to move. The eyes of the teacher-in-charge twitched at the sight of both boys and girls lining up.

“What are they doing now?”

“I intend to teach martial arts to those children who wish to learn.”

“…tch.”

Though the action itself didn’t please him, it seemed he had no ground to accuse me since he turned away.

“You think those unqualified brats could learn anything… Whatever you teach them, they won’t gain a thing, dumbass.”

He shifted his focus toward the children of prominent families. Casually ignoring him, I quickly checked the line I had created.

Was this the beginner class level one? I felt the gazes of the two assistant instructors, who were in a similar position as me, glancing over at me.

I ignored that too. There was no need to pay any mind to them.

“Make the space a bit wider. Don’t bump into the person next to you or in front of you. Keep it like this. This distance is just right.”

Teaching a crowd like this was new to me. But since I had learned while teaching Narin and Gwangyang, I had a general idea of how to conduct a lesson.

I figured starting with building basic stamina would be a priority, just like how I had done with those two.

But they didn’t show the perseverance needed to follow through. The glances darting towards me were all timid and weak.

There was no longing.

Not like Narin and Gwangyang.

Were those two really special? Their eyes shone with determination, whereas these kids had none whatsoever.

It was clear they wouldn’t keep up even with stamina training. Hence, I decided to shift my training focus.

What I learned from Ilma was to build from the basics…

But maybe it wouldn’t be bad to prioritize swordsmanship while changing the order a bit.

If I could show them something, they might feel some interest and follow along. During the time I was an assistant instructor, I intended to focus on that role.

Moreover…

The fact that they had nothing and were denied even the chance offended me.

“My name is Jeok-un.”

It was embarrassing, but I ultimately let my nickname slip out as well.

For the sake of grabbing their interest.

“I also go by Muk Geom, though it is an insufficient title.”

“R-really…?”

“Wooow… amazing…”

In front of the buzzing students, I could see Narin and Gwangyang puffing up their shoulders. Soo-ah was beaming beside them as well.

I wondered why they seemed so pleased.

“I was set to work as an assistant instructor for about three months. Though a short time, I have no intention of shirking my obligations.”

“……”

“……”

“Ordinarily, it would be best to start from the basics, but today we’re going to teach swordsmanship first. Some of you here might have had experience with martial arts, while others may have never held a sword at all.”

I swept my gaze over the students. A few, who seemed to have their postures together, awkwardly straightened their backs.

They must have at least held a sword at some point.

“But there’s only one sword technique we’ll learn today. The Three Basic Sword Styles. Whether you hold a sword or not, this is a martial art you must have heard of at least once.”

“…Three Basic Sword Styles?”

“It’s the basics of the basics, right? It’s what you learn during the Cheonmu Academy entrance exam.”

“Diagonal slash, vertical slash, thrust… Can anyone really not do that?”

Some of the students laughed. I lowered my voice.

“Quiet.”

“……”

“……”

“Indeed, the Three Basic Sword Styles is known to all. Combining just those three simple motions into what is called a martial art. But how well you understand that concept is another matter.”

“…Um, teacher, what does that mean?”

I pointed at one of the kids.

“Show me a vertical slash.”

“Uh?”

“Quickly.”

“Y-yes, yes!”

The student who had been hesitant when I first brought up martial arts swung his sword.

The cleanly executed sword strike caused the students to gasp in admiration. I nodded along.

He would likely rank among the top students here. Excluding the fact he had no background, he might soon be heading to the intermediate class.

“Well done.”

“T-thank you!”

“But there are several points to correct. Come stand by me.”

I corrected the kid’s posture. I personally adjusted his twisted ankles, straightened his bent back, and guided him on how to properly position his hands when swinging.

Natural talent is essential in any person. But equally vital is the presence of a mentor.

With diligent and appropriate instruction, I had learned much from Ilma. And through that, I also learned that a master is like a second self in martial arts.

“Minimize the loss of power. That is today’s assignment. Of course, you won’t master it in a day. However, if you correct the discrepancies, you can gain something overnight.”

I stepped away from the student who was awkwardly standing in the corrected posture.

“Swing it again, just like before.”

“Yes!”

—Whoosh.

The wind split at the end of the swung wooden sword. That sword strike, now evidently stronger, moved much more smoothly than before, even startling the boy who had swung it.

“Whoa…?”

His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at his own swing. I gently ruffled the boy’s hair.

“Don’t forget the posture we just practiced. No matter what martial art you possess, it can only assist you, not hinder you.”

“Y-yes…”

I sent the boy, who seemed dazed by what just occurred, back to his place. The other students looked at me in wide-eyed silence.

I lightly lifted the wooden sword I had set down next to me. Grabbing it with ease, I prepared to demonstrate.

“Now.”

For those who had come seeking opportunities yet hadn’t even glimpsed a fragment of them.

I began to move the sword for them.

“I will break down the actions into detailed segments and show you. Follow along with your eyes and copy what you see.”

Everyone deserves a chance to dream.

 

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