After pushing Jin Cheon-hee far beyond the limits of the Dragon-Phoenix Meeting and subjecting her to hellish training, she finally gained enlightenment.
However, the tension drained from her body, and she collapsed.
In the original story, she couldn’t even leave her sickbed, but now she could move around normally, only retreating to rest when she felt exhausted.
“Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that things are getting worse.”
She underwent heat therapy, received antibiotics, and forcibly replenished her fire energy… Fighting against fate was always exhausting.
Jin Cheon-hee prepared to move to the next stage to save her master.
After completing her preparations, she gave a long explanation to Yu-ho.
As she finished her explanation, rain began to fall outside the main hall.
The cold scent of wet earth filled the air.
Jin Cheon-hee cradled a teacup in both hands.
Yu-ho spoke up.
“What kind of nonsense is this… Young Master?”
“I need the Hyunwon Five Elements Divine Pill. Don’t you understand? Should I explain it again from the beginning…?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m asking why you need it.”
The Hyunwon Five Elements Divine Pill—a secret medicine of the Zhuge family.
Comparable to Shaolin’s Great Recovery Pill and Wudang’s Taiqing Divine Pill, it was an improved version of the original Five Elements Divine Pill, refined by Zhuge Lin.
Only three were ever made: one was consumed by Zhuge Lin himself, and the remaining two were kept in storage.
“But that’s our master’s life-saving medicine, isn’t it?”
That was true.
However, like the Bezoar Heart-Clearing Pill, it was only an emergency medicine that could temporarily alleviate dizziness or paralysis.
It couldn’t solve the root of the problem.
“You know that even if you take both pills, it won’t do any good.”
At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, a murderous aura began to rise from Yu-ho’s body.
The teacup trembled in her hands.
Yu-ho’s shadow split into three, four, five parts.
The terrifying aura made Jin Cheon-hee’s breath catch.
‘Damn it, what the hell has this guy been learning?!’
Jin Cheon-hee circulated her internal energy to recover.
Showing any sign of weakness here would only become a vulnerability.
She forced herself to remain calm and took a sip of tea.
She couldn’t even taste it.
Eventually, Yu-ho’s shadow returned to normal, and the murderous aura subsided as if it had never been there.
Yu-ho grumbled.
“Even so, isn’t this going too far? There’s nothing better in an emergency, and the Hyunwon Five Elements Divine Pill isn’t some random trash.”
‘You almost killed me just to grumble about that?’
Jin Cheon-hee clicked her tongue inwardly.
She thought Yu-ho was a piece of trash, but since he was still useful, she decided to make use of him.
“For the master’s illness, the White Phosphorus Divine Pill I made would be more useful.”
“……”
Yu-ho fell into thought.
“Take it. After getting the master’s permission, I’ll give it to you immediately. Of course, since it’s your request, he’ll definitely agree.”
This easily? She had expected to have to argue for a while, but he accepted it surprisingly quickly.
Yu-ho asked again with a blank expression.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Guide me to the library.”
“The library?”
“The innermost library where all the secret manuals are stored. The master already made arrangements, so there shouldn’t be any procedural issues.”
“……Understood.”
“You’re not going to say no?”
“You’ll do as you please anyway. And if things go wrong, I can just kill you, Young Master.”
“Such threats.”
Jin Cheon-hee chuckled.
“I’ll take that as a sign of trust, Yu-ho.”
“Do you need any companions for capturing the Millennium Fire Carp? I can accompany you, or the Palace Lord or the Martial Force Leader could.”
The Millennium Fire Carp—a carp that has lived in the Sulfur Hot Springs for thousands of years, imbued with the energy of fire.
It was an essential ingredient for curing the master.
Jin Cheon-hee shook her head.
“Given the nature of the Millennium Fire Carp, only someone who has mastered the Five Elements Divine Arts is needed. Without mastery of fire, earth, and ice energy, it’s impossible to capture it without injury.”
“So no matter how many people go, they’ll just get in the way?”
“Yes. Only someone who has truly mastered the Five Elements Divine Arts can go. Or someone who has learned the Demonic Sect’s Heaven-Earth Unity Art or the Yin-Yang Taiji True Energy.”
The reason the Millennium Fire Carp had never been found was due to the energy it emitted and the location where it lived.
Even reaching it safely was no easy task, and killing it without injury was another problem.
After killing it, one had to protect it with earth energy to prevent the loss of fire energy during transport.
For that, the martial arts mentioned earlier were essential.
“So you’ll go after secluded training?”
“Of course, it’s a secret from the master.”
“Haa, if he finds out, he’ll lock you up. He rushed here after receiving a single letter about you, Young Master.”
“Right. He’d chain me up if he had to.”
“Huhuhu, he’s already preparing the Millennium Cold Iron. I saw him measuring your ankle size by eye. It’ll be finished soon.”
“Really, your jokes are too much.”
Jin Cheon-hee grumbled.
Yu-ho spoke again.
“You don’t believe me? Anyway, I understand. You just want me to tell the master that you’re in secluded training, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why are you telling me all these plans if you’re going to hide them?”
“There are two reasons. First, if I didn’t tell you, you’d never hand over the Hyunwon Five Elements Divine Pill. And second…”
The boy took a sip of tea and continued.
“You care more about the master’s life than mine, right? So you’d want to save him even if it costs my life.”
“……”
Yu-ho didn’t respond.
After a while, he smiled as usual.
“You’ll regret wasting the Hyunwon Five Elements Divine Pill. If you eat it and die, it’ll be a loss.”
“Consider it the White Phosphorus Divine Pill. So, will you prepare it by tomorrow?”
“No need. I’ll prepare it right now.”
Seeing that murderous smile, cold sweat dripped down Jin Cheon-hee’s back.
The library was opened.
The Zhuge family was famous for its strategists, and strategy came from books.
The library, where secret manuals were stored, was the core of the Zhuge family.
It was a place every martial artist and strategist dreamed of visiting at least once—a repository of the world’s rarest ancient texts.
Jin Cheon-hee had obtained permission to go to the deepest part of the library, equivalent to the authority of the family head.
However, the place she headed to was the general library, accessible to anyone with even the slightest connection to the Zhuge family.
“The secret manuals here are just common techniques you can find anywhere. Why bother…?”
Yu-ho asked, puzzled.
Jin Cheon-hee didn’t answer.
‘Even if I say I need them because I know the future, he won’t believe me.
And if he does believe me, that’s a problem too.’
A kid who knows the future—there’s no better tool to exploit.
She didn’t want to be treated like a lunatic or a tool, so she just smiled without a word.
As she smiled softly, lowering her eyelashes, the passing doctors blushed.
Her beauty, honed by mastering the Five Elements Divine Arts, shone brightly here.
However, only Yu-ho looked as if he had seen a bug, his face twisted in disgust.
“Do you want to die, Young Master?”
“Oh? I smiled at you, and you’re threatening me? You’ve grown up, Yu-ho.”
“It’s amazing. To think that was a smile… I got goosebumps just…”
Let’s not talk to this guy.
Jin Cheon-hee clicked her tongue and began scanning the bookshelves one by one.
True to the Zhuge family’s reputation, even the miscellaneous books in the corner were neatly organized according to the index.
After running her fingers along the spines for a while, her hand stopped at one spot.
“Do you need the Rolling Dog Technique?”
The Rolling Dog Technique—a skill that involves rolling on the ground to evade attacks.
Its appearance, resembling a dog rolling, was considered shameful.
It was the most disgraceful form a martial artist could take.
Jin Cheon-hee replied.
“Yes. I really need it. Really!”
She then picked up a few more books.
One of them was an obscene illustrated book that would make anyone blush.
“……Only adults can borrow this, Young Master.”
Jin Cheon-hee answered indifferently.
“I’m an adult in spirit.”
Yu-ho sighed.
He knew she wouldn’t believe him.
“Alright~ I’ll let it slide and lend it to you.”
She picked up a few more books and left.
Most of them were closer to miscellaneous techniques than martial arts manuals.
After packing only the essentials, she headed to the secluded training chamber without looking back.
“Don’t open it until the time comes.”
“Don’t worry. Even if you beg me to open it, I won’t.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
“Good, that’s the spirit.”
She then entered the chamber.
The cold air from the cave walls seeped into the soles of her feet.
The door closed behind her with a loud bang.
The sturdy door was so solid that even Jin Cheon-hee couldn’t open it on her own.
“Secluded training begins.”
For some reason, her heart raced.
‘Yes.
The flower of the martial world is secluded training.’
The thought of doing it herself made her strangely happy.
If Yu-ho had heard her, he would’ve clicked his tongue and called her crazy, but Jin Cheon-hee was excited.
‘Being locked up and just training! Getting stronger!’
The combat power of a martial arts novel protagonist could be divided into before and after secluded training.
No matter what others said, Jin Cheon-hee was happy.
Secluded training—the flower of martial arts novels.
Through it, the protagonist grows stronger and reaches higher realms.
A period where one can’t meet others, half-mad, only training.
Refining the mind by facing the wall, tempering the body through daily practice.
These two combined refine one’s martial arts.
There’s no set duration.
Some protagonists spend a few months, others decades.
What matters is becoming strong enough to be satisfied.
The secluded training chamber was no different from what one would imagine from novels.
Inside a massive cave, there were wooden dummies and various weapons for training, as well as simple bedding and fasting pills for sustenance.
A hole in the high ceiling let in light, and night pearls embedded in the ceiling allowed for cultivation day and night.
A pond with crystal-clear underground water and nameless fish swimming in it provided food whenever needed.
It was a space designed solely for uninterrupted cultivation.
The idyllic days of secluded training continued.
Today, Jin Cheon-hee began doing squats with a massive bronze statue of Zhuge Liang on her shoulders.
Its official name was the Bronze Sleeping Dragon Statue.
“Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, ughhh…!”
Crash!
After putting down the massive bronze statue, she counted how many sets she had done.
‘I’m probably the only one who uses the Sleeping Dragon Statue like this.’
Originally, it seemed to be a meditation and mental cultivation tool left by the ancestors.
There were traces of incense burned by someone from a previous generation.
Jin Cheon-hee was using it like a gym weight.
If the late Zhuge Liang had seen this, he would’ve risen from his grave, tears of blood streaming down his face.
“No, no. The size and weight are just right. Maybe this was also part of the ancestors’ arrangements. Hmm, it’s too well-balanced to be just for meditation.”
Jin Cheon-hee convinced herself that she wasn’t insulting the ancestors but following their arrangements.
Thinking that way, it made sense.
“Alright, break’s over. Let’s go again!”