Chapter 154
**
The instructors at Cheonmu Academy have been largely fired. Among them was Lim Won-pyeong, who often picked fights with me.
Mo Yong-hwi, who came to find me, spoke calmly.
“I plan to change Cheonmu Academy. It was originally founded to provide equal opportunities for all, so this is the right course. Let’s start by replacing the teachers. Since we no longer need to trade with the Martial Alliance Leader, there’s no reason to witness any more sordid deeds.”
The headmaster, Mo Yong-hwi, flashed a smile. Unlike the cold smile I first saw, it was quite charming.
“I have no idea what you dream of or what you plan to do… But remember one thing. Changseong Mo Yong-hwi is behind you.”
“The elixir I received is enough…”
“That’s that, and this is this. Do you give away what you don’t need and call it a gift? At least I wouldn’t. An elixir is something I had no need for, so even giving it to you doesn’t bring me relief. Besides, you didn’t eat it to build up your energy, did you? It’s just a handful of pills that replenish vitality.”
Mo Yong-hwi handed me a document.
“The Martial Alliance Leader asked me to keep an eye on you. He wanted me to write down all the information I’ve gathered. I intend to pass this document to the Martial Alliance Leader. Read it and review it. Feel free to correct anything you want.”
I quickly scanned the document Mo Yong-hwi brought.
There was nothing to point out. An external energy master. Peak level of martial arts.
It noted that he liked teaching children and had a gentle nature.
It was somewhat embarrassing to say, but this impression was just right.
Friendly and kind…
It was written in a way that made me think he seemed easy to exploit.
“This is sufficient.”
“Good. And… the changes at Cheonmu Academy will proceed slowly. I plan to maintain it as it is for about a year, unrelated to you. However, regarding that secret class you’ve planted at Cheonmu Academy, I will provide full support separately. I will send a few trustworthy people to train the kids as best as possible.”
“Thank you.”
“What’s there to thank? I’m just doing what I should have done earlier. I owe you nothing but gratitude. You gave me a chance to shake off my shame…”
Mo Yong-hwi took my hand.
“You are my benefactor, Muk Geom Jeok-un. No matter where you come from or what you dream of… remember that I will be standing behind you.”
“…Yes, Headmaster.”
I bowed my head. Mo Yong-hwi chuckled softly.
Then he casually asked, “Have you decided on where to let your daughter stay?”
“It’s a bit dangerous to take her with me… I think it’s better this way.”
“Try talking to her once. Even if you have less than a half month left until you leave… still, have a heart-to-heart conversation. Don’t act unilaterally like I did.”
“…Yes.”
“If you let me take care of her, I will take responsibility. Don’t worry. Speaking of which, I will personally teach the child about her martial arts.”
“It would be an honor.”
Changseong.
One of the five stars. A symbol representing the highest master in the martial world.
I approached Sua, who was struggling with her wooden sword. After a few swings, Mo Yong-hwi tilted his head.
“Is she your biological daughter?”
“She’s my adopted daughter.”
“Hmm…”
Mo Yong-hwi spent half a day with Sua.
She rushed up to me, almost spitting as she talked.
“Whoa, where did you find her?! Such talent?!”
“Talent…? What do you mean?”
“If she’s not talented, who is?! She’s a natural! She moves like she’s born for it!”
I looked at Sua in disbelief.
Looking back, I had never properly taught her martial arts. She merely blended in with the other children, learning the same things as everyone else.
…But, if I think about it, none of the other kids sought me out specifically like she did.
“Sua.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Could you show me what you showed the Headmaster?”
“Yes!”
Her small body moved. In that movement, I caught glimpses of the actions I had performed.
The movements I had done to unwind stiff muscles. The shape of the sword I swung was exactly the same.
And not just that.
The basic techniques I had taught the other kids…
Merged within her, creating a new movement.
Was it not akin to combining two opposing martial arts into one?
“…How did you…?”
“Dad said that the tougher the path, the fastest way is.”
Sua smiled brightly.
“Your movements are the hardest, Dad. But your movements just loosen the body. They’re not fast… so I mixed them with what you taught me.”
“Do you know how hard it is to blend martial arts?! No, what… Where in the world did you get a child like this?!”
Sua glanced between me and Mo Yong-hwi, her shoulders drooping.
“Did I… do something wrong?”
“No, you did well.”
“…Ehehe.”
She had a genius I didn’t possess…
But I wasn’t jealous of that talent. Everyone has their own path to take.
Rather, I felt proud. No matter how talented, tying those two together was no easy feat…
It was almost as if she had created a new martial art while fully maintaining what I had taught her. That process must have been incredibly grueling.
I had thought she hadn’t been seen around lately, but was she busy creating something like this on her own?
Suddenly, I remembered the elixir I had. The elixir that contained pure energy.
If I gave this Great Return Elixir from Shaolin to this child… could I assist her at the starting point of her martial arts?
“Sua.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Would you like to eat this?”
I pulled out the Great Return Elixir.
The headmaster was shocked.
“This… is the Great Return Elixir from Shaolin?! What the hell?! Why are you carrying something like this?!”
“I received it from Bul-jun.”
“Heavenly Seer Gongbaek! No… even if it benefited each other… to have received a Great Return Elixir…? What exactly happened in Shaolin?!”
The headmaster was visibly excited.
“If such talent is enhanced by a pure energy like this… explosive growth is possible! Even if there’s a natural limit to external power, it can be sustained with outstanding talent and internal energy! I’m a top master of ki, but… handling internal energy is a totally different matter…”
“Dad, what is this?”
Sua reached for the Great Return Elixir, sniffing at the swirling energy above it.
“Something amazing is blooming like a strange haze.”
“…No, no way. Can you already sense internal energy? You haven’t even properly established a dantian?!”
“No need to worry it seems.”
“A genius that appears once in a hundred years?! What martial arts do you plan to teach her?”
“Let the Headmaster decide. I will have to leave anyway.”
“I, me?! Really?! I’d love to, but… Hehe… then, I’ll raise her to be a master! It’s like I’m nurturing the next Changseong with my own hands! Hehe… this is insane… to stumble upon such talent at my age…? What does this even mean…?”
Sua held onto my sleeve tightly.
“Dad?”
“Hm?”
“…Are you leaving?”
“…Yes. I guess I need to talk about that first.”
I had come to discuss that after all. Besides the talent, it was important to have a proper farewell.
“Headmaster, could you give us a moment?”
“Oh? Of course. See you later.”
I took Sua and slowly strolled through the garden. Sitting in an empty pavilion, I held her hands.
“Sua, you know I’m the Martial Alliance Inspector, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“So I have to leave here in a fortnight. The Martial Alliance has another mission prepared for me.”
“…….”
“And that path could be very dangerous… so I can’t take you with me.”
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“It’s okay. I understand. I know what you do.”
Sua leaned her head on my shoulder.
“You don’t have to say it like that. I don’t want to burden you.”
“……”
“I’ll stay here. But Dad…”
Sua looked up at me with wide eyes. Her forced smile was pitiful as if she was trying to suppress her loneliness.
“You will come back for me, right?”
“…Of course.”
“That’s enough for me.”
Sua jumped down in front of me.
“There’s my sister and brother here, so I’m not lonely at all. I’ve made friends! A few!”
“……”
“So I’ll wait for you, Dad. Please come back quickly.”
“…Alright.”
What a good kid. I gently patted her head.
Sua placed her hand on mine as I patted her head.
“…Daddyyyy…”
“Hm?”
“…….”
Sua shook her head.
“Nothing.”
…
The Great Return Elixir from Shaolin.
I decided to feed it to Sua. Mo Yong-hwi’s words suggested that now was the perfect time to use it since her body’s skeletal structure and dantian were not fully established yet.
“Leave it to me. I will create a vessel worthy of such a talent.”
Even if it wasn’t Mo Yong-hwi bragging, I intended to ask for his help.
The Great Return Elixir from Shaolin. Pure energy.
That was a type of energy I couldn’t handle delicately. What I had mastered was the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword, and what I contained was closer to demonic and bloody energies…
There was no way I could manipulate that in someone else’s body. So I waited patiently.
But…
The outcome became somewhat strange.
“…Huh…?!”
The headmaster tilted his head while watching me. He turned to me and said.
“The… dantian itself is complete, but… the Great Return Elixir is scary…”
“What went wrong?”
“…Nothing is wrong. But how should I say… the last thing I felt was soaked in the smell of blood…”
“Excuse me?”
The smell of blood…
No way…?!
I immediately checked Sua’s body as soon as the headmaster turned back.
The pure energy settled in her dantian. But it was gradually turning red.
The nature of the internal energy was changing. Why?
“…This…?”
I noticed that within her rhythmic breaths, faint traces of a martial arts technique remained.
“Sua, are you…?”
“…Ah, Dad, this… So…”
The Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.
The technique I had practiced in my mind’s world, she was instinctively replicating.
“…….”
The reddening was not only in her dantian. Her genius strides had already permeated throughout her body.
The traces of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique had become strongly imprinted all over her body, which had naturally solidified in that form while creating a vessel with the Great Return Elixir.
“…How did this happen…?”
“…Ah, after watching you breathe, I started to follow you… eventually, I realized there was a pattern… then, as I followed the moving muscles… somehow it happened…”
Her talent had exceeded the norm.
To pierce through a martial art just by observing the regularity of breathing and the movement of my muscles.
I looked at Sua. I stared closely at her anxious face.
“Ah, Dad… I… I did something…”
Had she wanted to be like me that much?
So much so that she spent her genius talent to see right through me.
An unexpected result. I should have waited a bit longer to feed her the Great Return Elixir.
After showing her that there are many paths in martial arts, I should have completed the vessel afterward.
…It was my mistake.
“…Sua.”
I embraced her. I wondered if I could turn this back now.
Yes. That’s right. I should first try to erase my traces. I patted Sua’s head.
“You need to forget all the movements I taught you.”
“…What?”
“Sua, take a different path. This path… isn’t one I’d recommend. You should instinctively understand what I mean. It’s a road that doesn’t need to be walked. You’re a genius, and there are far better paths open to you than learning my martial arts. You don’t need to…”
“…Is it because Dad’s martial arts are not ordinary?”
Sua shook her head.
“I… I like Dad’s martial arts. You saved me, you caught the person who killed old Dad… and now you’ve brought me this far.”
“…….”
“Ah, I want to learn Dad’s martial arts. I don’t care about anything else… that’s what I want to do. Please, Dad… don’t say that. I don’t want to forget. I’ll practice in secret. Just me… I’ll train alone without anyone knowing. So please…”
“…This is a martial art that will inevitably show itself when you wield a sword. Until you reach a high level, that’s how it is. If you’re found out for having learned this nearby… it would be a big deal. My martial arts are like that.”
“Why…?”
“…I am.”
I pulled her from my embrace.
Looking up at her fragile body, I whispered the words I had to say someday.
“The Martial Alliance Inspector is… a member of the Demon Cult.”
