It was a golden box.
At first glance, it seemed like it contained something extremely valuable.
Perhaps a spiritual pill, or a spiritual pill, or something like a spiritual pill.
It felt far more luxurious than the Baeksong Pill that the Gongsun family had sent last time.
Jin Cheonhee thought to himself, '...
If what I'm thinking is right, this is a huge deal... right?' Cheonsong Pill.
It's a pill made by refining the life force of a thousand-year-old pine tree that only grows in special regions.
The Gongsun family's pill not only enhances internal energy but is also excellent for treating internal injuries, protecting successors even amidst countless blood battles.
"Wow, what's this, sister?"
"It's nothing special."
Gongsun Hyun's voice trembled.
What was the Cheonsong Pill? It was a spiritual pill meant for the direct heirs of the main family, specifically for treating internal injuries.
There weren't many left.
Even though she decided to give it generously, her voice shook with hesitation.
"Make sure to eat it well. And show it to Master before you eat it, okay?"
That way, Baekrin's Immortal would recognize its value.
Jin Cheonhee laughed like a child.
"Wow, I'm so excited! Thank you, sister!"
Watching him, Gongsun Hyun thought wistfully, 'Still, couldn't you refuse just once?'
In Jin Cheonhee's life, there was no such thing.
Yoo Ho came and reported that preparations for departure were complete.
"Young master, everything is ready."
When he was threatening to kill, he was full of murderous intent, but once the decision was made, he didn't look back and changed his attitude.
I thought he was just a side character in a novel, but in fact, there's no one as mysterious and frightening as this guy.
Jin Cheonhee smiled calmly.
"Got it."
The boy said goodbye to everyone and stood up.
The Gongsun family and the Unryong Escort Agency, all the household members were reluctant to see Jin Cheonhee leave.
Gongsun family.
Unryong Escort Agency.
These two are in a strategic alliance.
And Jin Cheonhee had bestowed grace upon these two groups.
Once Jin Cheonhee leaves, Gongsun Hyun and Gongsun Young will leave the branch of the Unryong Escort Agency with the warriors of the Gongsun family.
"Take care, little benefactor."
Gongsun Young hugged Jin Cheonhee tightly.
"Hehehe, see you again, sister. Ah, Gongsun Hyun sister, thank you so much for everything. I'll take good care of the gift."
"Yes. Make sure to show it to Master before you eat it."
Gongsun Hyun emphasized again.
"Yes!"
Gongsun Young chimed in.
"Make sure to use the Black Pine Cloud Sword well."
"Of course!"
Gongsun Young smiled brightly.
"Thank you once again. Really, thank you."
"I'm the one who should be thankful. And I didn't get to say it earlier... Sister, congratulations on becoming a top master."
According to the alliance, the attack on the Unryong Escort Agency will now be jointly investigated and responded to by the Unryong Escort Agency and the Gongsun family.
What role Gongsun Young will play there, Jin Cheonhee did not know.
It was another future for Gongsun Young that wasn't written in the novel.
"Thank you for your kindness, Baekrin's Immortal."
"Don't mention it. It was a good connection."
The head of the Unryong Escort Agency and Baekrin's Immortal exchanged respectful bows.
It was a heartwarming scene.
After all the farewells, Baekrin's Immortal got on the carriage.
Jin Cheonhee followed behind.
The head of the agency watched them with a wistful gaze.
"Yes. A young phoenix should grow under a phoenix."
He had seen many people over the years.
To his eyes, young Jin Cheonhee was truly a young phoenix.
He had given plenty of gifts.
It seemed even the Gongsun family's Poison Dragon had given something to the child.
How this grace would flow, he would have to watch and see.
At that moment, Jin Cheonhee peeked his head out of the carriage.
"Mister!"
The boy waved his hand brightly at him.
'I look forward to the day that young phoenix takes flight.'
Waving his hand back, the head of the agency thought.
003. Tree (1)
Several months passed after that.
Jin Cheonhee carried a water bucket up the mountain.
The mountain was very steep, but the boy's breath never faltered.
Over a thousand steps ran alongside a stream.
The strange thing was that the stream's color was milky white.
And one more thing, steam constantly rose from the stream.
Near the branch of the Unryong Escort Agency was a dormant volcanic area.
The water in this area flowed as hot springs.
The hot steam reddened the boy's cheeks.
Even though it was already hot, the boy's legs did not stop.
The water bucket did not shake either.
How much further did he climb the stairs? A large manor gate began to appear.
"Ugh!"
Finally reaching the end of the stairs, the boy put down the water bucket for a moment and caught his breath.
Hearing Jin Cheonhee's arrival, the servants hurriedly opened the gate for him.
Jin Cheonhee picked up the water bucket again and walked to the middle of the yard.
Thud—
"Master! I'm here!"
"You've come!"
Baekrin came out at Jin Cheonhee's voice.
"Did you get hurt?"
"I'm fine. More importantly, the water, Master. Please take a look at this."
"Let me see."
Looking down at the water in the bucket, the master spoke in a surprised voice.
"It's almost not shaking at all now. Well done. Usually, it takes at least a year to master this basic training, but you've already done it like this."
To carry a water bucket from the bottom of the mountain to the top, it wasn't enough to simply have strength or endurance.
A firm lower body and a flexible upper body were needed.
Moreover, the distribution of strength was important, so if you only exerted force in one part of the body, it would cause great trouble.
You had to breathe in a set way and walk up in a set way.
It was a very difficult task to correct the breathing and steps, which you usually didn't pay attention to, one by one in a set method.
But it had to be done.
Breathing is the foundation of internal energy cultivation, and walking is the foundation of footwork, developing the lower body muscles needed to learn martial arts.
Jegal Lin was a reasonable master, so he explained in detail why this training was necessary.
Even so, Jegal Lin was amazed as he watched the months of basic training.
Even if a person knows in their head that they need to make an effort, actually doing it is another matter.
Jin Cheonhee was doing it.
'I said it would be a very difficult task, but he's doing it like this.'
Jegal Lin said to his disciple:
- I won't teach you the real martial arts yet.
What you will learn is the basics, the external skills, and the moving skills.
Moving skills, Dongwoon Gong.
It refers to the method of accumulating internal energy by repeating the same movements.
What Jin Cheonhee would learn was a very basic moving skill, something that could be sold in the market as a low-level moving skill.
The lower body had to be solid.
It had to become one with the ground.
In Jegal Lin's view, this was something that couldn't be learned with the Jegal family's secret techniques alone.
It wasn't a matter of knowledge, but a matter of will.
'The Jegal family has been known to be strong in internal energy but weak in external skills, that is, the physical aspect.
It's true.
We've been arrogant, thinking that strong internal energy could easily overpower external skills.
That's why you'll learn a bit differently.'
The martial arts of the Jegal family were so exceptional that they were called absolute arts.
However, being intoxicated by the absolute arts, they had neglected the basics at some point.
They had always used their heads more than their bodies, and this was the result.
As Jegal Lin redefined the family's internal energy, he realized how important the basics were.
- I will first give you a vessel.
A large and strong vessel that will never break.
Jegal Lin explained this when he accepted Jin Cheonhee as his disciple a few months ago.
The vessel is sometimes compared to the dantian, but in a broader sense, it can also mean the body itself.
Jin Cheonhee continued to train his lower body using moving skills.
Climbing the endless stairs was part of that.
However, it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Those who had learned martial arts passed by Jin Cheonhee using lightness skills.
Seeing them fly up like the wind could make one envious.
But Jin Cheonhee endured without losing focus, gritting his teeth.
'I haven't even learned how to crawl yet, so I know I can't flap my wings already.
Stamina is national power.
First, take it step by step, one thing at a time!'
Jin Cheonhee had his own plans.
In martial arts novels, there are two ways to become strong.
1. The proper way, building up from the basics step by step.
2. The shortcut method, aiming for the top by obtaining a fortuitous encounter.
Which is stronger depends on the novel's world view.
But one thing was certain.
The path the protagonist takes is usually the path to becoming the strongest.
Cheonma Yeo Haryun does both.
It's one of the characteristics of a long novel spanning over ten volumes.
But in the beginning, it's one.
Despite being a Cheonsal Star, he prioritized the proper way.
To gain enlightenment through battle, the body that holds it must have a solid foundation, according to martial arts.
In the beginning, he ate blood marrow and trained the basics with the Ma Sect's initiates.
Other initiates were eager to gain fortuitous encounters and tried to impress the high-ranking members of the Ma Sect, but our protagonist, true to his role, quietly honed his basics.
It might be a predictable development, but Jin Cheonhee really liked this basic training scene.
The young and taciturn Yeo Haryun was disliked by many initiates.
It would have been nice if he showed a bit of a smile, but his cold demeanor seemed to provoke them.
A protruding stone gets hit.
Eventually, trouble arose.
Dozens of initiates, led by the instigator, lynched Yeo Haryun.
Here, Yeo Haryun defeated them all using only simple basic movements, without any martial arts.
He wasn't faster than others, nor did he have any changes, but his precise posture and appropriate strength from solid muscles.
Moreover, there was the subtlety of true awakening gained from long horse stance training.
To such a Yeo Haryun, dozens of initiates were nothing. 'That was cool.
Yeah.' While he liked the ever-changing and flashy sword techniques, he also liked such plain martial arts battles.
To Jin Cheonhee, the words of his master, Jegal Lin, to learn solidly from the basics were like rain in a drought.
If he had been taught in the original Jegal family's way, Jin Cheonhee would never have been able to surpass Yeo Haryun.
In martial arts novels, the protagonist's training method is often described as a shortcut to becoming a strong person in the future. 'As expected, a genius is a genius.
And maybe it's because the Jegal family's secret techniques and knowledge are added to it.' However, Jegal Lin knew that method even without reading the novel.
In fact, it would be stranger if he didn't know.
He was a tragic genius who died young, and he possessed all the secret techniques and knowledge of the great Jegal family.
That's why he made Jin Cheonhee draw water with moving skills from dawn, and while the water was boiling, he made him practice the horse stance.
The water Jin Cheonhee fetched was used for his own breakfast.
A sense of achievement is important.
He had to feel the sense of having accomplished something, even if it was small.
Jegal Lin planned for Jin Cheonhee to feel this habitually every day.