Chapter 235

The training Jeok Cheongang put me through was simple.

Take a horse stance beneath the waterfall. Do push-ups. Go fetch me some bird eggs because I feel like eating them…

That much was fine. The problem was the options attached to every exercise.

“Six shichen¹ in a horse stance.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Does it sound like I’m joking?”

Whoosh!

It was a waterfall plunging hundreds of jang below. Even with my exceptional physique, just one shichen beneath it left my entire body aching as though it had been smashed apart, and my vision growing hazy.

And he wanted me to stay there for six shichen. In a horse stance, no less.

“Old Master, this is a bit much. If I stay in there for six shichen, I’ll really die.”

“Have you tried it?”

“Huh?”

“Try it before you say that. If you don’t like it, go back to your family.”

It took me ten full days to complete the Quest.

As a side effect, I briefly lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, the iron balls had grown heavier.

“An additional hundred geun². From now on, we’re increasing it to twelve shichen.”

“……”

For a moment, I considered using Logout.

But I had to finish the training. It might have looked foolish to some people, but it was a rule I had set for myself when I began.

If I go back, both my body and mind will grow lax.

Whoosh!

The pressure of the waterfall was terrifying. With my internal energy and physical abilities restricted, I had to endure using nothing but my body and mental strength.

At last, when I finished the waterfall training, I was greeted by legs harder than steel—and an unexpected System notification.

Ding.

System

Fire King’s Hellfire Training-2 has been completed successfully!

Outstanding achievement: Unmoving achieved!

Toughness changes to Endurance!

Level Up!

Level Up!

You acquired 50 Bonus Points!

The training continued without pause. I wasn’t even given time to rest.

I got one shichen of blissful sleep a day. Other than that, everything was part of my training.

“Next are push-ups.”

“That’s too easy. Wait. How many?”

“Ten thousand. Put the iron balls on your back.”

“……”

It was the most hellish push-up routine in the world. But I gritted my teeth and did it.

On the day I completed every kind of push-up Jeok Cheongang wanted, the year’s first sprouts were pushing up from the ground.

“The weather has grown warm. I feel like eating a swallow’s nest dish for once, so go fetch one.”

“Aren’t swallows migratory birds? They won’t come until it gets warmer.”

“You know nothing! This old man has lived on Mount Jiuhua his entire life. By this time, a few impatient swallows should already be starting to build their nests.”

“Whew. Where am I supposed to look for them?”

“Cliffs.”

That was the Quest that took the longest. I had to find a swallow’s nest when I didn’t even know where one might be.

By then, I was combing through every cliff on Mount Jiuhua, carrying iron balls that had long since surpassed a thousand geun in total weight.

At last, I found a newly completed swallow’s nest and brought it to Jeok Cheongang.

“Here it is. A swallow’s nest.”

His long silence was followed by a single muttered sentence that was more than enough to snap the last thread of my patience.

“……It really exists.”

“You fucking old bastard!”

My eyes rolled back, and I lunged at Jeok Cheongang. He beat me within an inch of my life.

When I came to again, the iron balls had grown heavier. That was only natural.

“If you’re awake, get moving.”

“Is this a new training routine?”

“It is. In a sense.”

Jeok Cheongang thrust a deranged schedule in front of me.

It contained every single thing I had done so far, without leaving out even one.

“Three round trips across Mount Jiuhua in the morning, ten thousand one-arm push-ups on each side at noon. Climb the cliffs, then take a horse stance beneath the waterfall… Human, are you insane?”

“Five hundred geun more if you don’t like it.”

“I’ve actually wanted to spend every day like this for a long time. I’ll be right back.”

“Good.”

From then on, I did whatever he told me to do.

I wondered if it was even possible, but once I tried it, it turned out to be possible.

When your body is exhausted, the day passes quickly. As the training grew more intense, time flew by faster and faster.

The frozen earth thawed, and fresh sprouts began to bloom.

Two months passed, but my daily routine remained unchanged. The only differences were that the training had become more brutal and the iron balls had grown heavier.

Rustle.

Flowers and grass that had grown tall brushed against my calves.

On one of Mount Jiuhua’s high peaks, painted in vivid colors, Jeok Cheongang, who had been sleeping with his back against a tree, groggily opened his eyes.

“Is that you?”

“Who else would come looking for you besides me?”

“I thought you were the Grim Reaper.”

“I think even the Grim Reaper would run away in fear.”

Jeok Cheongang let out a short laugh at my nonsense.

“You grow more flattering by the day.”

“Yes, and you’ve been sleeping more, too, Old Master.”

Just as I said, Jeok Cheongang had been sleeping much more often lately. Given his age, perhaps it was only natural.

“I was training.”

“Ah. In your dreams?”

“I was merely resting my eyes.”

“You were snoring.”

“……Ahem. More importantly, what are you doing here instead of training?”

“I’m finished.”

“Already?”

Jeok Cheongang’s eyes widened slightly.

“I wasn’t slacking off, so don’t give me that suspicious look.”

“Who said anything? Fine, then shut your mouth and work on your fists and feet.”

“Yes, sir.”

I answered promptly and took up a stance in an open area not far away.

Unlike spear techniques, I was practically a beginner when it came to fists and feet, so I was currently working on my fundamentals.

“You know what you’re supposed to do, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

Ding.

System

Repeat Quest Fist-and-Foot Training has been created.

I began with the simplest straight punch.

Each movement came with the insane requirement of one thousand repetitions, but compared to everything I had done before, it was easy.

The fact that I think this is easy means I’m going insane, too.

After letting out a deep sigh, I began throwing punches.

Whoosh. Bam!

The wind split around my fists, and compressed air burst outward.

In the past, I had simply relied on strength, speed, and internal energy. Now, I could perform each movement accurately and control my strength accordingly.

Clatter!

How long had I listened to the chains connected to my wrists sway and rattle? I kept driving my fists into an imaginary point without pause until I heard a System notification in my ear.

Ding.

System

Repeat Quest Fist-and-Foot Training has been completed successfully!

Perfect movements without a single error!

Strength, Stamina, and Agility have each increased by 1!

You have not yet learned fist-and-foot martial arts. Additional rewards will be granted when you acquire a related martial art in the future!

The rewards from the repeat Quest were worthwhile. The quality of the rewards decreased with each repetition, but even this was more than enough to make me grateful.

I think I could do this two or three more times.

You only received rewards after accepting the Quest.

I relaxed my stance and walked toward Jeok Cheongang. He was watching me from beneath the tree, just as before.

“Old Master. I’m finished.”

“……”

“Old Master.”

“Uh… huh?”

He snapped awake and looked up at me.

“What is it?”

“I finished the fist-and-foot training.”

“What did you finish?”

“The fist-and-foot training. Fists and feet!”

“What are you talking about?”

“You told me to do it. About a shichen ago.”

“What?”

Jeok Cheongang narrowed his eyes.

“When did I?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you suddenly saying such nonsense? This old man has been sitting here watching you with both eyes wide open.”

“……”

What the hell is going on here?

I asked him, bewildered.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“What?”

“Are you doing this on purpose to make me train more? You didn’t have to go this far. I was planning to keep training anyway.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”

Jeok Cheongang was about to erupt in anger when he suddenly closed his mouth.

For an instant, unknowable emotions passed across his wrinkled face. After remaining silent for some time, he finally spoke.

“You’re a perceptive one. If you’ve figured it out, go and practice your fists and feet some more.”

Ding. A notification appeared telling me that a Quest had been created, but I didn’t move an inch.

I stared at Jeok Cheongang for a long moment before suddenly opening my mouth.

“Old Master. I just want to ask you something.”

Jeok Cheongang’s shrewd, gray eyes trembled.

The suspicion I had thought could it be? became certainty.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

It wasn’t an easy subject to bring up, so I had phrased it indirectly. But there was no doubt that he understood what I meant.

After a suffocating silence, a sigh-like word escaped Jeok Cheongang’s lips.

“……Follow me. There is somewhere we need to go together.”

Dementia.

Even in the modern world, where magical medicine had advanced tremendously, dementia remained an illness that could not be completely cured.

Its progression could only be slowed. Everyone was equal before the curse of time.

Why didn’t I realize it?

Thinking back, there had definitely been warning signs. His increasing hours of sleep, and the kind of forgetfulness he had just displayed—I had noticed it several times before.

Even so, I hadn’t been particularly suspicious because he wasn’t an ordinary old man.

Fire King Jeok Cheongang.

I had never imagined that a Supreme Peak master whose martial arts had reached the heavens could suffer from the ailments of old age.

Perhaps it was a fact even Jeok Cheongang himself wished to deny.

“The history of our sect stretches back hundreds of years.”

Jeok Cheongang’s voice echoed through the cave.

The inside was hot and humid like a steam sauna, and the deeper we went, the more intense the heat became.

I had already been staying on Mount Jiuhua for more than two months, but I had never once visited this place.

“Our founding ancestor was the greatest under heaven of his era. However, his forthright nature earned him many enemies.”

His calm voice continued like flowing water.

It was the history of the Fire Gate Clan, from its beginning to the present.

From the first Sect Leader to Jeok Cheongang’s master, the seventeenth Sect Leader.

Some of them went out into the Murim and made their names known throughout the world. Others remained buried in the countryside their entire lives and quietly raised successors.

Countless sects had fallen over the past several hundred years, but the Fire Gate Clan had preserved its lineage.

“Even that became uncertain in this old man’s generation. It is all the result of my lack of virtue.”

After about half an hour, we finally stopped walking.

By then, my entire body was drenched in sweat.

The heat was coming from beyond a moss-covered stone gate.

“This place is…”

“The Fire Gate Cavern. This is where our sect began, and where its legacy continues.”

Jeok Cheongang gazed at the stone gate with a nostalgic expression before placing his palm against its surface.

The instant the Scorching Yang Qi flowing from his fingertips touched the stone gate, an intricately engraved sun emblem began to shine, and the firmly closed gate slowly opened.

“……Whoa.”

I stared into the Fire Gate Cavern as though entranced.

It was several times larger than the training hall of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. Seventeen urns had been arranged around a blue-white flame.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what the urns contained.

The former Sect Leaders of the Fire Gate Clan.

Their funeral urns, most likely. Just as I expected, Jeok Cheongang abruptly dropped to his knees and bowed deeply before the urns.

“Your unworthy Disciple, Jeok Cheongang, pays respects to the Sect Ancestors.”

He rose and gestured for me to follow.

“Come in.”

“Ah, yes. Excuse me.”

The instant I carefully stepped into the Fire Gate Cavern, a System notification pierced my ears.

Ding.

System

You have entered Fire Gate Cavern!

The effects of Fire Gate Clan martial arts are amplified when learned!

Your Scorching Yang Qi is reacting intensely!

The restriction on internal energy has been lifted!

Hummm.

The internal energy in my dantian, awakened from its long slumber, spread through my limbs and body.

Jeok Cheongang spoke as though he had already expected my astonished expression.

“Your internal energy comes from the Blazing Flame Divine Pill. It is only natural that it would react to the Fire Gate Cavern.”

Found its roots—is that it?

It was a strange feeling. As my internal energy throbbed like a living creature, my heart began to pound as well. This place, where I was setting foot for the first time, felt strangely familiar.

“Sit.”

We sat facing each other with the flame between us.

Beyond the blue-white fire, Jeok Cheongang’s face looked noticeably older.

“I will pass on our sect’s martial arts to you.”

“……!”

“What? Did you think I would suddenly tell you to become my Disciple?”

“To be honest… yes, I did.”

“A master and Disciple are not bound together by necessity or coercion. Besides, this old man is already suffering from the ailments of old age. Learning from me will place you in great danger as well.”

Every word Jeok Cheongang said was perfectly reasonable.

If he became confused about the formula of an internal cultivation technique, if he forgot even a single word, I would cross an irreversible river.

The river of qi deviation—or death.

“Can you learn martial arts from someone like me?”

I took a deep breath.

Only after finishing countless worries and thoughts did I finally reach a conclusion.

“I will.”

“I’ll say it again…”

“I trust you, Old Master. That’s enough.”

At that moment, indescribable emotions rose over Jeok Cheongang’s face, leaving him speechless.

Then a smile spread across his wrinkled lips.

“Then we’re alike in that regard.”

One-person succession, never passed on to the wrong person.

The Fire Gate Clan had been passed down for hundreds of years to a single person at a time—one talented individual who could be trusted not to commit evil deeds.

The fact that Jeok Cheongang had brought me here to the Fire Gate Cavern meant that he already trusted me.

Fire King Jeok Cheongang trusted me and chose me. He intends to pass everything in the Fire Gate Clan on to me.

My heart swelled at the thought. As though it had sensed my emotions, the blue-white flame surged violently.

Ding.

System

Quest Heir of the Fire Gate has been created!

Along with the System notification, Jeok Cheongang reached out his hand. As Seizing an Object Through Empty Space took effect, the lid of a dark metal box that had risen from the flames opened.

I read the title of the old book floating toward me.

“Fire Gate Divine Technique…”

I instinctively understood. This was the foundation of the Fire Gate Clan, a martial art that was practically the clan’s entirety.

Jeok Cheongang had risen to his feet and now stood straight behind me.

“We’ll begin at once, so sit cross-legged and close your eyes. From now on, circulate your energy according to the formula I teach you.”

I followed his instructions and closed my eyes. In the darkness filling my vision, the blue-white flames seemed to flicker.

At last, Jeok Cheongang’s voice pierced my ears.

“What about your fist-and-foot training?”

“……Huh?”

“Did you finish your training and start slacking off? Wait, fuck, that startled me. This is the Fire Gate Cavern. What the hell is this?”

“……!”

Oh, fuck. Dementia…

After that day, the two people who had caused such a commotion on Mount Jiuhua for some time vanished without a trace.

While they were gone, the trees sprouted green leaves, the flowers bloomed in full, and the swallows built their nests on the cliffs.

From green, to autumn foliage, and then to white snow.

Until Mount Jiuhua changed clothes three times.