Chapter 41
Plans for training……
I’ve been thinking about it for a while.
First, among these kids, Il-dong, who shows the most promise, I’m going to take responsibility and make him first-rate within a year……
Yi-dong and Sam-dong are also talented, but they’re not as naturally gifted as Il-dong, so I plan to help them develop gradually.
Also, after guiding the rest of the disciples in areas like mentality and perseverance, I’m thinking of leaving the practical martial arts training to the Dongdong Brothers. The reason for this is to induce their explosive development.
Martial arts are useless if you just train your physical strength like crazy, repeat forms and routines, and chant mental techniques day and night. Without real combat experience, it’s all for nothing.
So, by constantly engaging in real combat and teaching your martial arts knowledge to others, you come to realize your own shortcomings. I wanted the Dongdong Brothers to gain that kind of experience while teaching the disciples.
By teaching others and becoming objective about themselves……
Wouldn’t the Dongdong Brothers eventually become masters who can establish their own perspectives?
I thought……
“Get out of my way, you bastard!”
“Ah! Seriously, what are you doing? Move aside, will you!”
“Kekeke. Brothers! Bickering like that. Huh? Keep fighting as you go. I’ll take first place!”
I had to change my mind quickly.
‘Those guys, masters? Ha……’
The behavior of Il-dong, Yi-dong, and Sam-dong as they ran along the ridge……
was a sight to behold.
While running, saying they would go ahead, they shouted, got annoyed, and sometimes even tripped each other. Seeing that, I realized that although they might become strong in martial arts, they would never become ‘grandmasters’ who uphold their own martial beliefs.
‘I should have expected what I could expect. Well…… That kind of thing suits them anyway.’
Let’s just say…… it’s better this way.
Actually, guys like Il-dong, Yi-dong, and Sam-dong are good for mindlessly becoming good fighters.
I experienced this while training assassins in my past life……
Was it 1036?
That guy was burning with a thirst for martial arts knowledge, so he kept asking me tedious martial arts questions, and I spent a lot of time on him every time.
Yeah.
In that case, being ignorant might be better.
If they can’t do it, smack them. If they don’t listen, smack them. If they complain, smack them again……
Wouldn’t it be easier for me to teach them by beating the c*ap out of them without caring about their personality or anything?
So.
But……
‘Sigh……’
Why am I sighing?
Thump━.
Thump━.
Thump━.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
“Ouch!”
I ended up flicking the Dongdong Brothers on their foreheads.
“Why are you hitting us?”
“Why are you hitting us?”
“Why are you hitting us?”
Then, the three of them asked simultaneously as if they had planned it. Their telepathy was amazing, considering they looked, sized, and even sounded alike.
“Shut up, you ignorant bastards.”
“???”
“???”
“???”
◈ ◈ ◈
“Pant…… Pant…… Pant……”
“I…… I can’t go any further!”
“I’m going to die…… Ouch!”
Exactly half an hour.
I knew this would happen, but……
Seeing the disciples collapsing, exhausted after just half an hour, made me frown.
Slap━ Slap━!
I mercilessly slapped the weaklings.
“I won’t say much. If you don’t want to get hit, move. If you can’t run, walk to the top. If you stop, I’ll beat you to an inch of your life, fix you up, and beat you again when you recover. So keep that in mind.”
“Ugh……”
“groan……”
“Sob……”
Only after hearing my roar did the collapsed disciples dust themselves off and start moving again.
‘They probably want to kill me, right?’
Surely, the disciples must be grinding their teeth inwardly while looking at my face.
But this is all part of my meticulous plan.
「Evil」
For the disciples to endure my ‘Asura-Naga Training’……
Their heads and hearts must be filled with only evil!
The desire to become a master?
The will to work hard?
The tenacity to persevere?
They can never endure my ‘Asura-Naga Training’ with such idealistic and abstract values.
“Bite down on this evil and don’t think about anything. You’ve lived your lives without much thought anyway. So just run. If you can’t run, walk. Just keep moving forward without even having time to feel how hard it is. All the problems in the world come from worrying. So don’t worry, don’t think, just keep going.”
I encouraged(?) the disciples like that.
Of course, if others saw it, they would say it’s not encouragement but harsh words, but that’s because they don’t know s*it……
What if I treat the disciples humanely now?
They’ll surely start begging me to stop.
Humans become weak when they have someone to lean on, someone to rely on.
But the moment they realize that they are alone in a pitch-black world……
That’s when their ‘fighting spirit’ and ‘survival instincts’ kick in, and I intended to awaken that.
“Let’s go, to the top.”
◈ ◈ ◈
The results of the Mount Guangyang running competition are……
1st place, Kang Il-dong.
2nd place, Kang Yi-dong.
3rd place, Kang Sam-dong.
As expected, the Dongdong Brothers took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place……
4th place was Master Dongbyeok, and I was quite shocked by this old man.
And,
“I, Jin So-cheon, am disappointed in Seok Yeon-u.”
5th place was Yeon-u. Honestly, he ran better than I expected, so I didn’t want to criticize him, but I deliberately provoked him.
“Gasp…… Brother. What kind of training is this mindless running……”
“Forget it.”
“?”
“Yeon-u, you’re doing a night run today. I’ll be giving you one-on-one personalized training, so keep that in mind.”
“Yes?”
“I listened to you when you insisted on entering the martial world with the Dawn Heaven Sect. However, I also set a condition. Even house guests must follow the rules of the Dawn Heaven Sect.”
“But……”
“Don’t try to get out of it. If you can’t do it, go back to the Seokga Estate.”
“Ah…… Brother!”
“Will you do it or not?”
“I, I’ll do it.”
Yeon-u’s lips stuck out a mile.
He’s probably thinking all sorts of things.
He must be feeling ashamed after being outrun by Il-dong, Yi-dong, and Sam-dong, whom he implicitly looked down on, and even falling behind Master Dongbyeok, who’s over 80 years old.
But this was also intentional.
Because Yeon-u needs to accurately grasp his ‘position’ right now.
A martial artist who lacks self-awareness cannot grow.
Moreover, the path to becoming a master is nothing but a thorny one, a h*ll paved with pain and adversity.
I will help Yeon-u, the Dongdong Brothers, and the disciples grow through such hardship.
“Still, you all managed to get here. I was going to determine the last place, but since the last group arrived at the same time, let’s not bother.”
“Phew……”
“I’m alive……”
“Gasp……”
The disciples who reached the summit collapsed here and there, breathing sighs of relief.
“I’m giving you a break for one hour from now. Catch your breath, circulate your energy, meditate, and clear your minds. I’ll say it again, the important thing for you right now is to empty your minds. Got it?”
I asked the disciples.
Then,
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Understood, Sect Leader!”
The disciples, who were struggling just a moment ago, answered energetically as if nothing had happened.
‘Yeah, even if they’re about to die…… They get their energy back when it’s time to rest.’
In other words, these guys……
are still doing alright.
So,
“Don’t get too relaxed. If you do, your muscles will also relax, and it’ll be hard to descend. For your information, the second part of physical training is harder than the first. The second part is a full sprint to the main building, and if your body loses tension, you might injure your knee joints while running downhill and become crippled.”
I didn’t forget to warn the disciples who were getting complacent.
Then,
“Hehe. Looks like we’re going to be sweating bullets again.”
“Wow! But it’ll still be tough even if we do it again.”
“Haha. Brothers! Still, physical training is manageable, right? Those guys will probably cry tears of blood during the beating training, right? Kekeke.”
The Dongdong Brothers, who had already developed a tolerance to my ‘Asura-Naga Training’, were relatively calm, and
“???”
“……”
“……!”
The faces of the other disciples turned pale with a hint of terror.
‘Still……’
For some reason, Yeon-u’s eyes were filled with a dark determination.
Perhaps he’s learned something?
◈ ◈ ◈
Late at night━.
After many twists and turns……
The Dawn Heaven Sect’s first group training session ended.
Of course, Yeon-u and the disciples, excluding the Dongdong Brothers and Master Dongbyeok, will have their lower bodies feeling like a ton of bricks, unable to walk properly tomorrow. But tomorrow is another day, and I have no intention of resting from training either.
‘Those guys…… They probably won’t be able to sleep because of the pain.’
The Dongdong Brothers were the same.
Because of that, the disciples’ physical condition will probably be at its worst tomorrow, and even if we train at the same intensity as today, the pain they feel will be doubled.
‘But it can’t be helped, guys.’
I chuckled to myself.
Somehow……
Training so many people after a long time reminded me of when I was the leader of the Assassin’s Guild in my past life, training assassins.
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory, but it wasn’t entirely bad either.
However……
‘Cult Leader……’
Whenever I recall my past life, I also think of one person.
Cult Leader.
How strong is Wi Ji-hon now?
He was getting stronger every day, so it’s probably hard to even imagine his current level.
‘Let’s meet again someday, Cult Leader.’
Will I be able to twist his neck then?……
“What are you doing, not sleeping?”
At that moment.
While I was lost in thought, standing on one side of the estate, Master Dongbyeok quietly approached and asked.
I also had something to say to him, so it was a good opportunity.
“Elder. Why did you hide it?”
“Huh-huh. What did I hide from the Sect Leader?”
“Did you learn something like Taoist magic?”
“You seem to have noticed. It’s hard to recognize the Earth Shrinking Technique without a certain level of insight. Have you seen it before?”
Earth Shrinking Technique……
Actually, I was amazed by Master Dongbyeok while climbing Mount Guangyang.
Master Dongbyeok clearly didn’t use any movement techniques and didn’t even run.
But he maintained the same speed without any faltering, so I observed his footwork, and then I realized that the elder was using Taoist magic.
“The Earth Shrinking Technique is unfamiliar, but I know that Taoists or Taoist magic users with excellent Taoist power use similar techniques.”
“I’m amazed by your insight once again. You’re right. This old man has learned many Taoist magic techniques. Especially, I’ve deeply cultivated the Art of the Mysterious Gates, the Art of Heavenly Concealment, and the Art of Earth Concealment. But those are all things of the past. I haven’t had a chance to use them recently, so I’ve forgotten about them.”
“That’s unexpected. I didn’t know you’d learned such unorthodox Taoist magic.”
“Ha! You shouldn’t think of it that way. Even the Zhuge Family, known as one of the Eight Great Families, teaches the Art of the Mysterious Gates. Also, frankly……”
“……”
“What does it matter if it’s unorthodox Taoist magic or Taoist magic from Taoist immortals? It’s all good if it’s helpful.”
“I agree. Anything is good if you learn it.”
“Tell me if you want to learn it. I’m willing to teach you.”
“It’s alright. Instead, I have a favor to ask of you, Elder.”
“What is it?”
“Do you have any medicine that can effectively heal internal and external injuries…… No, I mean, something that can completely heal them in a day?”
“Hmm…… It depends on the severity of the injury, but there’s no way to heal a serious internal injury instantly. However, if we limit it to external injuries…… It’s possible to make a very effective salve or medicinal water.”
“Then please make some salve and medicinal water starting tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to…… beat up the disciples a bit.”
“???”