"It's not like I'm asking for something difficult."
"Aaargh... Kuaaargh..."
"Horse stance. It's the most basic of the basics."
"S-save... me... Kuaaak..."
"And I'm just telling you to do it for one hour longer than you did yesterday."
"No, I'll die... at this rate, I'll die..."
"What? Die? How dare you die! You'd better believe you'll be dead if you die before getting my permission!"
"Krrrrk."
Patrick's beatings were horrifying to watch, and for those on the receiving end, it was like hell. He stomped on them from head to toe, as if mincing them, inflicting a pain that felt like bones were being crushed and flesh torn apart. But the bigger problem here was...
"Tsk, you worthless bum with no progress."
After one round of brutal assault had passed.
"Are you not getting up?"
"Y-yes! Sir!"
At Patrick's command, the fallen soldier shot to his feet. Then Patrick ordered the soldier.
"Start again!"
"Yes, sir."
And the soldier began his horse stance training again. Something strange was happening. Despite Patrick brutally beating the soldiers, not a single one of them was injured.
Though when they were actually hit, it hurt enough to kill them. No bones were broken, and no bruises formed on their bodies. Even though each and every blow delivered a shock and pain that pierced to the very bone, there were no injuries.
Rather...
'My body feels better.'
'What's happening?
Could it be that getting beaten is good for the body?' 'I haven't awakened to some strange fetish, have I?' Even the soldiers who were on the verge of collapsing would become revitalized after being stomped on by Patrick once, as if they had been healed by a priest, enabling them to resume their training.
It was a strange phenomenon, but it was really happening. Amidst those soldiers, Patrick clicked his tongue and said.
"Tsk, what a pain... Hey, you, the youngest!"
"Yes, young master."
"Towel."
"Yes, right away."
As soon as Patrick spoke, Brian came scurrying over and politely offered a towel with both hands. Patrick took the towel, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said.
"What's so hard about the horse stance? The horse stance? I'm the one having a harder time hitting you all. Isn't that right?"
'That devil...'
'He's crueler than monsters.' 'Could this be what the demons I've only heard of in rumors are like?' At Patrick's words, the soldiers inwardly ground their teeth.
But there was something they didn't know... 'Damn it, performing energy circulation and blood activation on two hundred people one by one with this young body is freaking hard.' What Patrick was saying was true.
In reality, Patrick was doing more strenuous labor than they were. Energy circulation and blood activation. It is a secret art where one injects energy into a subject's body from the outside to clear blocked meridians and relieve muscle fatigue.
It's a technique that requires exquisite control of energy rather than a high level of internal energy, and unless one is a master of considerable skill, they couldn't even dream of attempting it. And it was a secret art that even masters had to perform with great care.
In truth, even in the prestigious righteous path sects, not even the elders or sect leaders would perform energy circulation and blood activation on all their disciples one by one. It was such a laborious act that they would usually select only a few talented individuals to perform it on.
'And I'm doing it for every single one of you, you bastards. You should be grateful.' Wiping the sweat trickling down his face, Patrick continued to watch the soldiers.
Once he decided to teach, he would teach properly. For the future of the Schneider family, and... 'Even though this is a completely different world, if our Twin Dragon Sect's martial arts spread far and wide...
Master, would you be pleased?' I don't know. A Master free of worldly desires might just say I'm doing something unnecessary.
But Patrick wanted to do it. For the sole reason that his Master might, just maybe, be pleased.
'Master, I...' Thud.
"Ah, these bastards. They don't even give a man a moment to get sentimental."
"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"You choose now of all times to collapse? Die! Die! Just die, you bastard!"
Patrick ran over to a collapsed soldier and began to perform energy circulation and blood activation again.
"Aaargh! Save me... Kuaaargh! Aaaaaaaaargh!"
There were probably no ill feelings.
Probably...
Two weeks later. Was it because of Patrick's utmost devotion? Or was it due to an individual's outstanding talent and grit?
"Ooh... It's working! It's working!"
"Brother Sanson, hang in there!"
"One more minute!"
The first success story had finally emerged. The moment the sand in the hourglass ran out, Sanson, who had been enduring and enduring, looked at Patrick with a desperate expression and spoke.
"Y-young master."
"Huuuhm..."
"Young master?"
What kind of excuse is this devil going to find now to throw me into a living hell? Sanson, his anxiety at its peak, held his horse stance until the very last moment, just in case. Looking at Sanson, Patrick chuckled and said.
"You pass."
"Wooooooooh!"
Hearing the word 'pass', Sanson fell backward, raised both hands, and let out a cheer.
"Waaaaah!"
"He did it. Brother Sanson did it!"
"Waaah! He finally did it! He did it!"
His other comrades rushed to Sanson, embracing and congratulating him. 'Tsk, tsk, tsk, look what a great thing you've done. Anyone watching would think you've mastered a peerless divine art or something.'
Patrick clicked his tongue inwardly and sneered, but a soft smile was hanging on his lips. Whether it was a peerless divine art or the most basic of basics... The very act of setting a goal and achieving it is an eternal pain and joy for a martial artist.
The higher the goal, the greater the pain, and the sense of accomplishment when results are achieved increases proportionally. Although it was only the horse stance, at this moment Sanson was beaming with a bright smile, filled with the sense of accomplishment from having reached his goal.
'Right.
Well, smile for now.' For now, Sanson had done it. As promised, Patrick decided to teach Sanson Aura Blessing right then and there.
But...
"So, its name is Great Pure Aura Blessing."
"Yeah."
"Why? If you have something to say, say it."
"Does it have to have that name?"
At Sanson's question, Patrick also looked at a distant mountain with a miserable expression and lamented. 'Don't blame me. It's not like I made up the name.'
Great Clarity Heart Technique. It was one of Wudang's basic heart techniques, the one Patrick intended to teach them as a basic art. With few side effects, it allowed one to accumulate clear and pure energy in the body, making it an excellent basic art that could be easily converted no matter what heart technique one learned later.
However, changing the name 'Great Clarity' into the local language resulted in a cringeworthy name like 'Great Pure'. 'I get it. I get it, but do you have any idea how good this martial art is?
How politely I had to beg the Wudang Sect to get this.' For a moment, Patrick recalled a memory from the past.
That happened after he had saved a Wudang Sect elder, who had foolishly gone to capture a master from the unorthodox alliance, only to fall into a trap and nearly get himself and all his disciples killed. Patrick, no, Jin Cheon had requested a very, very small and trivial reward for saving his life.
That was the Wudang Sect's basic heart technique, the Great Clarity Heart Technique...
[You can't give it? You can't teach it? Waaah. You filthy things. You can't even teach a mere basic art to the benefactor who saved your life?]
[No, Grandmaster Jin Cheon... please listen. It's a fundamental principle that a sect's martial arts are not to be taught to outsiders.]
[So the bottom line is you can't give it? You won't give it?]
[Please consider our position as well.]
[Positiooooon? They say your mind changes after visiting the latrine, but still, how could you be like this. You things who call yourselves 'Taoists'. You don't even recognize the grace of me saving your 'lives'.]
[No, that... that is...]
[Were people born after heart techniques, or were heart techniques born after people? Aigoooo! Everyone, look here! Hey! You passing Shaolin monk, you come listen too. These Wudang bastards have no conscience.]
[W-wait!]
And so, Jin Cheon was able to peacefully learn the Great Clarity Heart Technique.
'Hmm, it was an excellent negotiation that proceeded peacefully.' One would have to hear the side of the Wudang Sect elder who was strong-armed into giving up the heart technique by Jin Cheon at the time, but what could be done? He wasn't here now.
In any case, the most excellent basic art Jin Cheon could think of was this Great Clarity Heart Technique. The Twin Dragon Sect's heart technique had many problems for teaching beginners, and for an introductory basic art, the Great Clarity Heart Technique was the best. The only problem was this incredibly cringeworthy name.
Sanson spoke cautiously. Cautiously, like a loyal subject advising a tyrant.
"Um, young master."
"What?"
"In my opinion, I think it would be good to change the name of the Aura Blessing. Would that be alright?"
"Hey. Change the name?"
"Is it not allowed?"
"Is that even something to say? You ignorant fool."
Patrick was dumbfounded. Change the name of a heart technique? The name of that heart technique contains the will and ideology of the great ancestors of the Wudang Sect.
It includes the enlightenment they felt while creating the martial art and the meaning they wished to pass down to future generations. Therefore, changing the name carelessly could be a denial and insult to the great achievements of those ancestors...
"...but, on second thought, they're not my ancestors, so does it matter?"
If the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect heard what Patrick was saying now, he would have grabbed the back of his neck and fallen over. But that was the position of Wudang, which didn't even exist in this world... 'Hmm, on second thought, changing it seems better.'
From Patrick's perspective, there were more than just one or two martial arts to teach in the future. And in this world without Chinese characters, it was a huge pain to translate and explain all those martial arts in the local language.
'Yeah.
Let's change it.' He made a clean decision. Spirit and soul, my ass...
If he were the type of person to care about such things, would he have been called the Mad Dragon?
"Hmm, then how about Basic Blessing?"
"Basic Blessing?"
"Yes. It's a perfect Aura Blessing to learn as a foundation, so let's call it that."
"Yes. That's much better."
Sanson let out a sigh of relief. 'What a relief.' In fact, Sanson had been very worried.
For when people asked him in the future, 'What Aura Blessing have you learned?' 'I can't possibly say, 'Great Pure Aura Blessing', can I?' He absolutely did not want to do that.
The official instruction began. Patrick explained the knack of the breathing method and the principles of the Aura Blessing to Sanson once, then had him sit down.
"Now, get into the posture I tell you. And breathe as I taught you, and remember well the flow of energy I'm infusing into you."
"Yes, sir."
"If you forget the flow of energy, make sure to ask again. If I catch you circulating it incorrectly on your own, you're dead."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Let's begin."
And so, Sanson became the first among the soldiers to learn Aura Blessing. And the remaining one hundred ninety-nine soldiers who witnessed this scene burned with motivation. 'I must also...?'
'I will definitely learn it.' 'Just a little more. Just a little...'
A month passed. Finally, all the soldiers achieved four hours of horse stance, and Patrick taught Basic Blessing to every one of them. The soldiers' daily routine proceeded regularly.
First, they came out to the training grounds from dawn to practice Basic Blessing. And after the Aura Blessing session, they continued to train their horse stance. The soldiers thought they wouldn't have to do this anymore since everyone could now hold the horse stance for over four hours, but Patrick said the basics were important and made them continue.
Still, there was a little less groaning than before...
"Uwaaaaaaah..."
"I'm... dying. I think I'm going to die."
"Ugh... Nooooooo..."
It should have lessened, but that wasn't the case. Because there was a devil who couldn't bear to witness the tragic disaster of 'training becoming easier'. Right now, a large rock was placed on top of each soldier's head.
Thanks to this, it became possible to bestow a new dimension of pain upon the soldiers who had just started to think they were getting used to the horse stance.
"Alright. That's enough."
And with the end of the horse stance, the morning training concluded. As for Patrick, this wasn't satisfactory, but he couldn't just make the soldiers train for twenty-four hours since they also had duties to perform.
"Tsk, there isn't enough training time, but it can't be helped. I have no choice but to push them that much harder..."
As Patrick lamented, one of the soldiers approached him and spoke.
"Um, young master."
"What?"
To the listlessly replying Patrick, the soldier spoke cautiously.
"Um, I'm absolutely not saying this because I have a complaint, but merely because a question has arisen."
"Don't beat around the bush, just say it."
"Yes. It's just... when do we learn the sword?"
The soldier thought he had asked a reasonable question in his own way.
But...
"Sword? Swoooord? Swooooooooord!?"
It's always been the case that one must choose their words carefully depending on who they're talking to.