(4) “We would also like to learn that strange movement art you use, young master.”
“Huh? Movement art?”
“Yes. That movement art where you suddenly disappear and reappear in a random spot to beat us up, you know?”
Oliver was now asking to be taught the footwork and movement art used for moving during combat. In truth, it was the right time in terms of progress. After strengthening the lower body, steadily training internal energy, and reaching a certain level, it was about time to start practicing footwork.
That was indeed the correct progression. The only problem was…
“Already?”
“Is it not allowed?”
“Normally, it wouldn't be, but…”
Patrick thought for a moment. Originally, he planned to have them invest about a year focusing on lower body training. After that, they would begin training in footwork and movement art, then he would teach them basic hand and foot techniques, and only after all that would he put twin swords in their hands.
So according to the original plan, it would take at least three years before they could hold twin swords.
However…
‘Well, their progress is undeniably fast.’
The soldiers' achievements were much faster than Patrick had anticipated. It wasn't because the soldiers were geniuses, nor was it because Patrick was hounding them like he was catching rats. There was a more fundamental reason.
It was the density of energy. It was something Patrick felt while training himself, but the density of energy in this world was much higher than in the Central Plains where he lived in his previous life. It was so dense that the same training yielded about three times the effect compared to the Central Plains.
‘Honestly, at this rate, it's no different from training while consuming low-grade spirit medicines.’
Was that why? Some of the soldiers' bodies were already at the point where energy was about to form in their dantian. Although Basic Blessing was an excellent training method, it had been less than half a year since they started learning it, yet a vessel was already beginning to form in their dantian.
“Their lower bodies too… they seem to have gone from toothpicks to kindling…”
Above all, he liked the look in the soldiers' eyes, which had recently gained grit and tenacity during training. In the end, Patrick made up his mind.
“Alright. I will teach you the basic footwork.”
The soldiers' training moved on to the next stage. Nine Dragons Cloud Steps. It was a movement art from the Twin Dragon Sect, created to embody the image of nine dragons frolicking in the clouds.
It was a movement art that allowed one to move freely—sometimes stealthily, sometimes swiftly, sometimes powerfully, and sometimes with endless variations. It would not be an exaggeration to call it the foundation of the Radiant Dragon Grandmaster, Jin Cheon; it was the supreme movement art. However, there was a problem…
‘This is both the best and the worst movement art.’
It was absolutely impossible to teach this movement art to the soldiers as it was. To explain why, one must first briefly explain the history of the Twin Dragon Sect. The founder of the Twin Dragon Sect was said to have been a rising master who made a name for himself in the martial world of his time.
His skills were said to be on par with the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang or the family heads of the Five Great Families. But as time passed, the name of the Twin Dragon Sect gradually faded. The reason was that the martial arts of the Twin Dragon Sect were too difficult and abstruse.
The founder of the Twin Dragon Sect was a man with a natural gift for martial studies, and the martial arts he created were in no way inferior to those of the prestigious great sects. At least, in terms of power. But the martial arts of the Twin Dragon Sect that he created were all esoteric and difficult.
They were so difficult that even his direct disciples could not achieve a mastery of more than fifty percent. The disciples taken in by those disciples received incomplete teachings, and their achievements dropped even lower, until eventually, there was no one left who had mastered the Twin Dragon Sect's martial arts beyond thirty percent.
That is, until another genius named Jin Cheon, the Radiant Dragon Grandmaster, joined the sect in a later generation. A martial art that was excellent in power, but devilishly difficult to learn. A martial art whose true meaning could not be properly felt unless one was a genius.
In a sense, this martial art was even more worthless than the Three Talents Sword Art.
‘The founding master was hopeless too. How could he create a martial art that no one can learn and then force his disciples to learn it? Well, I learned it just fine, though.’
It all came back to boasting about himself. In any case, it was impossible to teach the Nine Dragons Cloud Steps that Patrick used to the soldiers, who didn't know the first thing about martial studies.
‘It would be easier to teach my gullible father how to be a loan shark.’
But fortunately, Patrick had a solution. In fact, this solution was something he had been contemplating and preparing for a long time, back when he was living as Jin Cheon.
To make his untalented junior brothers and young junior nephews stronger, he had worked tirelessly to interpret and reorganize the difficult and abstruse martial arts of the Twin Dragon Sect, breaking them down to be as easy to learn as possible.
‘Finding other sects’ weaknesses… no, begging them to snatch away… no, obtaining various martial arts from them was all necessary for that process.’
Of course, every time he did so, his Master would foam at the mouth and object repeatedly. It was already shocking enough that he was altering their sect's martial arts as he pleased, but he was also causing all sorts of nuisances for other sects in the process.
His master collapsed more than once or twice every time he got into trouble.
‘Tsk, tsk, tsk, how could a fool understand the will of a genius.’
In any case, the process of remodeling the Twin Dragon Sect's martial arts had made some progress, and he had been planning to introduce it to the next batch of children who joined. But then Jin Cheon died before that could happen.
“You should be grateful. It wasn't meant for you, but I will bestow it upon you.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind… For now, I will give you a demonstration. Everyone watch carefully and follow along.”
Then Patrick began to move his body, performing the footwork slowly, one step at a time.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With each step Patrick took, a clear footprint was stamped into the hard-packed dirt of the training grounds.
“W-wow…”
“Is that even possible?”
“He’s a person, not an Ogre…”
Patrick deliberately performed the footwork slowly, moving in a way that the soldiers could see the connection between the movements. He also adjusted the width of the steps so that the soldiers, with their adult physiques, could follow them naturally. After carefully stamping the ground, Patrick left behind footprints for footwork corresponding to five different types of situations.
When moving forward. When retreating backward. When turning to the right.
When turning to the left. When holding one's ground.
Kuuuung!
“Hoooo…”
After finishing all the footwork and concluding the form, Patrick looked at the footprints he had left behind with a sense of satisfaction.
‘Yesss… this is it. This is what a proper martial art is.’
The original Nine Dragons Cloud Steps begins with eighty-one steps, where nine dragons move according to nine different situations. From there, if one adds the variations for executing the Twin Dragon Eight Sword Forms, it has a total of six hundred forty-eight forms.
‘What kind of crazy bastard would learn all of that… ah, I guess I did.’
Patrick briefly lay down and spit at the sky. Anyway, the important thing was that unless one was a true genius, it was impossible to learn such a precise and meticulous martial art.
That was why Patrick simplified the Twin Dragon Sect's martial arts as much as possible, extracting the core, and in the process, compensated for the resulting weaknesses with martial arts obtained from other sects, thus remodeling the sect's techniques. The new movement art created in this way was…
“Five Elements. Simple, isn't it? Ugh… I went through hell to create this.”
He snatched the Flowing Cloud Movement Art from Wudang. He stole the Dark Fragrance Throwing Art from the Mount Hua Sect. He scammed the Emei Sect to get the Nine Revolutions Illusory Step.
The poor Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
“The footwork you desire is right here. The priority is to learn the forms first, so repeat the movements according to the footprints I’ve made.”
He had kindly shown them a sample and even left footprints to make training easier.
‘Is there really another teacher like me out there?’
Patrick was feeling proud of himself for being such a good teacher, but the soldiers wore expressions of exasperation. Among them, Oliver spoke up.
“Young master.”
“What is it now?”
“Are you telling us to perform these complicated movements?”
“You think this is complicated? This? Waaaah… this? If I were to leave the footprints of the Nine Dragons Cloud Steps, it would not be enough even if I filled this entire training grounds.”
And he was calling just this complicated? As Patrick's mind reeled in disbelief, the soldiers voiced their complaints.
“It's not social dancing, so what's the meaning of such complicated footwork?”
“That’s right, young master. This is meaningless.”
“Surely you’re not doing this because you don’t want to teach us the proper techniques, are you?”
“Speak honestly. If you tell us now, we'll let it slide.”
‘Hehehe… look at these cute little rascals.’
The soldiers had gotten quite bold now. Their fearless yapping at Patrick made them seem like puppies that were two days old instead of one. Patrick gave a bright smile to the soldiers who were full of suspicion and distrust towards him and spoke.
“Yes. So you doubt the effectiveness of this footwork that I worked so hard to create. I see.”
And Patrick once again took his twin swords in his hands. The soldiers flinched instinctively at that moment, but it was already too late.
“Then there’s no helping it. I will make you realize it with your own bodies. The true value of these Five Elements Steps.”
“Huh? Young master?”
“Wait a moment. Wasn’t the sparring over?”
“Young master, please put down the wooden sword for now and let’s talk calmly…”
“Just die, you bastards!”
Patrick then began to actively utilize the Five Elements Steps to beat the soldiers once more, and the soldiers learned the importance of the movement art to the bone. And when I say to the bone, it is not a metaphor.
Whew.
After instructing the soldiers in the movement art training, an occasion arose for Patrick to leave the fief for a short while.
“Are you saying you will go yourself, young master?”
“I have to. There’s no other way.”
At Patrick's serious words, Butler Lawrence spoke with a look of incomprehension.
“For the young master to go in person just to sell monster byproducts. It is hard to understand.”
The reason Patrick intended to leave the fief was to dispose of the byproducts from the monsters he had hunted so far. Starting with the Saber Tiger's pelt, there were also the Troll's blood and hide, the Owl Bears' hides, and so on. Numerous monster byproducts had piled up.
Normally, he could just summon the merchants and tell them to come buy the goods.
However…
“I can’t trust the existing merchants. They’re the same bastards who colluded with Brian to drive down the prices. How can I trust them?”
“That is true.”
Lawrence, too, intended to take this opportunity to cut ties with their existing merchant guilds and establish dealings with a new one. But even so, he still couldn't understand why Patrick had to go out and sell the goods himself.
“Young master, if you summon the merchants, they will come on their own. So why do you insist on going yourself?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Lawrence, you also don't know much about commerce.”
The butler who had managed the finances of the House of Schneider his entire life was being told by a ten-year-old child that he knew nothing of commerce. Lawrence was slightly hurt, but he did not get angry and spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know the best way to sell something for the highest price?”
“There are several ways. Monopolizing a certain essential good, or buying up food in advance and storing it, then waiting for the price to rise before selling.”
Lawrence certainly knew the basics of commerce. Patrick nodded his head and said.
“Right. Then why do grain prices rise during a famine?”
“Because there are many people who need the goods, but the quantity of goods is small. People who are willing to pay more money to buy them are bound to appear.”
“That's right. In other words, the demand of those who want to buy and the supply of those who want to sell are the key factors that determine the price of a good.”
Lawrence wore a rather surprised expression. He knew the young master was good with a sword, good at swearing, good at beating down monsters, and good at tormenting the soldiers.
But…
‘I never knew he had this side to him.’