NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
“I didn’t show such a sloppy form! Do it again!”
“No way, even if it’s a low-level martial art, how can I execute the form properly after just one look? I’m not some genius born with the Heavenly Martial Body to just get it right by looking!”
“Yes!”
At times like this, you have to answer without any arguments. Let’s try again, spreading the legs just like before.
“Hah!”
As I shouted the battle cry and unleashed the first and second forms of the Three Calamity Sword Technique.
“No, that’s not it!”
“Ah.”
The Master Hong’s voice dropped again.
“This is how you do it!”
The completely excited Senior Brother stepped in front of me and began demonstrating the forms of the Three Calamity Sword Technique again.
—Pah!
“Oh!”
As expected, it’s amazing!
A clean and precise form without any frills!
If such a strike were allowed, it wouldn’t be uncommon for one’s body to be split in two. I watched in admiration as Senior Brother’s form sank into my memory.
Yeah, come to think of it, those who shout in frustration tend to be good teachers. They have a tendency to shout until they feel it’s okay based on what they see. Just following that should cover the basics.
Well, a teacher must have some stubborn flair.
“I will show you again! Pay close attention!”
“Understood!”
I examined Senior Brother’s form meticulously and tried to imprint it in my mind as best as possible. It’s not a baseball bat, but a long bladed weapon… swinging it around.
It’s about slicing with a line, not hitting with a surface.
“Try it out!”
“Yes!”
Alright!
Let’s implement exactly what I just saw.
“Kreeeah!”
This time I shouted the battle cry a bit louder, ensuring that it felt like slicing with a line instead of hitting with a surface as I unleashed the first form.
—Whoosh!
Something felt a bit more pleasant about the sound of the wind.
“Next form!”
“Hah!”
I executed the next form while slicing through the air.
“Next!”
With a step forward, I thrust into the air. Even I thought it was a clean stab. Now, how was my evaluation?
“Yes! Now the stance is a bit better!”
Oh, I received praise for doing well.
“Of course, it’s still at the basic level, but starting with that would be enough!”
“Thank you!”
“Then keep practicing that today! Again!”
“Yes!”
So, I continued to train in the Three Calamity Sword Technique as Senior Brother ordered. The stance isn’t perfect, but apparently it’s acceptable for the first day. I guess as I keep punching my attendance at the martial arts hall, I should gradually improve.
At some point, Senior Brother left, and I continued to execute the forms on the spot.
“Hoo.”
My arms are hurting more than I expected, huh?
Still, wielding this wooden sword makes me feel like my martial art experience points are going up, which is quite fun. Finding enjoyment in training— I truly must be a blessed prodigy… Yeah. From today, I am the Heavenly Divine Sword, Kim Geunhyeop.
Let’s head towards the pinnacle of swordsmanship!
Am I actually going to become a true divine sword?
“Stop!”
As I was training, it became quitting time. I noticed the other disciples from the group training packing up and heading out one by one.
Well, I guess it’s my turn too.
After cleaning my spot, I mixed in with the other disciples as we headed outdoors.
“Hehehe.”
Training in martial arts like this after entering the Martial Arts World.
Although it’s a low-level basic martial art, it was indeed a fulfilling time for me.
Will I have to balance work and martial arts training from now on?
Someone save me, please!
*
The next training day.
“Hup!”
“Hoo…!”
“Hup!”
Together with the disciples, we practiced external martial arts training.
Since the equipment is limited, not everyone is doing the same thing; we’re alternating between bare-body training and equipment utilization.
“…”
Reading the atmosphere, it seems like just because we belong to the same martial hall, we aren’t necessarily close. Those who are friendly stick to themselves, and there seems to be a weak sense of belonging to the same martial hall.
Usually, in martial arts novels, if you’re from the same sect or clan, it’s really tight-knit.
Is it ‘guanxi’ they call it? Here, people seem to value a sense of belonging above all else and will back each other up if they’re on the same side. That’s how they survive in this treacherous land. Just like animals forming a pack.
But here, it seems just to be a local martial hall, so there’s no strong sense of belonging.
This feels quite disappointing. If I could align with everyone here, my life in the Martial Arts World would have been much safer.
This will likely be resolved once I hone my skills and join a larger sect.
“Hoo…!”
After finishing squats, I had to wait a moment to do deadlifts.
Well, I had been training in the gym back in the modern world, so my Endurance Technique is practically maxed out. I can take it a bit easy.
“Your stance is wrong, your stance! Doing it like that will mess up your knees!”
“I’m sorry!”
Of course, there are disciples being scolded like that. I don’t need to worry about them, so I’ll just focus on my work. My achievements in Endurance Technique have indeed skyrocketed.
“Okay! External martial arts training ends here! Now everyone, meditate and practice the Vitality Technique!”
Next, we move to internal technique training.
Everyone arranged the equipment and sat down to meditate. I also sat down and started my meditation.
“Hoo… ha.”
Practicing abdominal breathing and accumulating energy in the lower dantian. Normally, this training would disperse internal energy through the body’s meridians, but a basic martial artist doesn’t know that.
For now, let’s just do what I can.
It’s said that meditating like this helps with muscle recovery from external training. That’s why beginners frequently do meditation for its benefits.
“Right. Slowly. Accumulate internal energy while abdominal breathing.”
Senior Brother moved around checking our conditions.
“Get up. It’s time for the Six Combination Fist training.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
After finishing meditation, we stood up and readied our stances.
“I will start!”
On the platform ahead, the top master, Master Hong, began demonstrating the first forms of the Six Combination Fist, and we all mimicked his actions.
“Hah!”
“Ha!”
A combination of punches and kicks.
As we followed Master Hong’s movements, Senior Brother patrolled around, giving feedback to those with incorrect stances.
After wrapping up the martial arts training, the moment we all awaited finally arrived: the sword technique training.
“From now on, we will practice the Three Calamity Sword Technique! Go grab some wooden swords!”
“Yes!”
Here we go, an AlphaGo Omega situation.
Immediately, we each took a wooden sword from the martial hall and practiced the Three Calamity Sword Technique, mirroring Master Hong’s movements just like we did before.
—Pah!
Slice, step forward and slice again, advance to strike, and follow with a horizontal slice, placing the hand on the waist and then thrusting forward.
Relentless fierce attacks and defenses.
This is the most basic form.
Of course, there are plenty of openings, and if it were at a higher level, it could easily be countered, but not every martial artist here is a master. The masters are a tiny fraction. Most martial artists are subpar.
Those at that level tend to feel quite intimidated by relentless sword strikes like this.
If someone were swinging a live blade at you, it’s natural to be terrified unless you’re skilled. If the enemy comes at you fiercely, you’ll have no choice but to feel intimidated, which only fuels the attacker’s enthusiasm.
Ultimately, it’s advantageous to take the lead and attack recklessly at a beginner level. It’s better to unleash a barrage of attacks than to calmly defend. Beginners can hardly defend anyway. They should focus on attacking instead.
“Hah!”
With such thoughts in my mind, I strived to keep my stance as accurate as possible.
In the midst of fighting, stances can become messy, and forms can turn into chaos, but it’s said that maintaining proper posture from the beginning allows for better martial arts skills later on.
So the principle to becoming a master is to start with the stance.
Let’s do it as I was taught.
“Be mindful of your footwork!”
“Yes!”
Is my footwork a bit off?
I want to learn footwork separately, but they charge extra for that, ugh. Forget anything else; I’ll focus on what I’ve been doing.
“That’s all for today’s class! Everyone clean up and head back!”
“Kha!”
“Thank you!”
And that concluded today’s training.
I wish I could do a bit more, but next up are the intermediate-level disciples, who pay a lot more. If I interfere with that, I’d really get beaten up, so I should quickly clear the area.
“Today was quite fulfilling.”
These days, I’ve been balancing my martial arts training with work.
If I have work in the morning, I do that, then join the evening group training, and if I have to deal with demons at night, I train in the morning, rest, and then head out to work.
It’s tough on the body, but since I’m training, rather than getting worn out, I feel like I’m getting healthier. Lately, I’ve been eating quite well too.
“Ah.”
Still, it’s a bit hard when my day and night are often swapped.
But maybe it’s because of how arduous it is. Once I settle down and lay down, I drop into sleep in an instant, so I’m relieved that the fatigue doesn’t build up too much.
That’s how I spent my daily life in the Martial Arts World.
*
“Ugh.”
Without an alarm, I wake up naturally.
I can’t be lazy forever, so I immediately rise and stretch. It’s early morning. I need to wash up and get to Dahoebang to find some work.
So I prepped and went to Dahoebang, but…
“Eh?”
Unusually, there was no work today.
There was simply no simple labor or demon-slaying tasks. How can this be? Can there really be a day with no work? I wondered if it was some kind of recession, but when I asked, they said it occasionally happens.
The only things available were jobs requiring a bit of skill, like building something up on a tree pole.
That’s not something I can do, so…
“Should I take a rest today?”
I have no choice but to take a break.
Moreover, the martial hall is off today, so it’s a day off. This is truly my first official holiday since entering the Martial Arts World.
“…”
But what to do?
What should I do on a day off?
Now that it has become a holiday, I can’t think of what to do. Should I just take a walk and see what’s around? Exploring this neighborhood could be nice as well.
I could check out the shops a bit.
If there’s something famous, I can go have a look.
Currently, I have 370 mun in my pocket. With this amount, I can buy some snacks and enjoy myself a bit.
—Thud.
As I walked like that…
“Aaaahhh!”
I heard a scream from somewhere.
“Huh?”