"Ugh..."
Each breath he exhaled stirred up clouds of dust.
Jo Geol writhed, unable to even think of spitting out the dirt that rushed into his mouth. 'This is madness.' His body felt heavy and unresponsive.
How long had he been rolling around? The sky appeared yellow, and his consciousness was on the verge of slipping away.
If he was in such a state, how must the others be faring?
He struggled to lift his head and look around.
Annihilation.
Not a single person was standing.
No, it wasn't just that they couldn't stand; everyone was sprawled on the ground like corpses, gasping for breath.
The only one managing to sit up was Yoon Jong, who had his butt on the ground while propping himself up with his upper body.
'Senior Brother.' A surge of respect welled up from Jo Geol's chest.
In terms of strength alone, Jo Geol was slightly stronger than Yoon Jong.
He was definitely ahead in swordsmanship and the sense of competition.
But at this moment, Jo Geol deeply felt why Yoon Jong was the senior brother.
While he could barely move a finger, Yoon Jong, who had trained alongside him, was still sitting up, catching his breath.
This was not a matter of skill; it was a matter of mental fortitude.
How could he not respect a senior brother who could do what he could not?
On the other hand...
Jo Geol's gaze shifted to the opposite side.
"Ugh! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
"...".
In Jo Geol's eyes, Cheong Myung was sitting there, repeatedly standing up and sitting down while carrying sandbags three times his size.
He was moving so quickly that it was almost as if there were afterimages.
"Huff! Huff! Hoo! What’s with these bags? Hey, the ones who finished training, pass those sandbags to me... What? Why is everyone lying down?"
'That monster of a guy.' Jo Geol gritted his teeth.
The amount of training they had endured was immense.
It seemed Cheong Myung had made up his mind a few days ago and had pushed the three disciples harder than ever before.
Thanks to that, they were in this state.
Yet, there was one reason they could not voice any complaints.
It was because Cheong Myung was right in front of them, handling five times the amount they had.
If someone had pride and a competitive spirit, they could not complain in such a situation.
Even if they were filled with grievances inside, they would naturally keep their mouths shut out of consideration for others.
But even so, Cheong Myung continued his training without showing any signs of fatigue after handling that amount.
"Ah, has it already gotten this late?"
Thud!
Cheong Myung threw the sandbags he had been carrying onto the ground.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"What’s with everyone sprawled out? Tsk! Kids these days are weak. It wasn’t like this in my time."
"You’re the youngest, you know?" The youngest one was complaining about the younger generation!
"Today’s training ends here. We’ll eat and then have afternoon training. Anyone who dozes off or slacks off during training will have their training doubled tomorrow, so keep that in mind."
"Devil!"
"Monster!"
"Bastard!"
They cursed fiercely in their hearts, but no matter how much they hated Cheong Myung, he had no ability to read minds.
Unfortunately.
"Then I’m off. Clean up the training tools well."
As they watched Cheong Myung walk away with a swagger, the three disciples let out a collective sigh.
Meat.
Meat was in sight.
It seemed that Hwasan was overflowing with money lately, as meat was served at every meal.
Even seeing unfamiliar skilled cooks coming in and out of the dining hall suggested that new people had been hired.
The three disciples, who would usually light up at the sight of meat, had been sitting at the table for quite some time without touching it.
"... Eat."
Yoon Jong said weakly, but no one picked up their chopsticks.
"... I feel like I’ll throw up if I eat."
"I have no appetite."
"Looking at the meat makes me want to vomit. Is it time for me to die?"
None of them could muster the courage to put anything in their mouths.
"Senior Brother."
"... What?"
"This is a bit too much, isn’t it?"
Yoon Jong couldn’t respond.
But that didn’t mean the complaints would end there.
"This is... No, what I mean is, we’re fine with training. In fact, it’s true that we haven’t been focusing on training since we came to Hwasan, and it’s better to train properly than to waste time. I understand that."
"But?"
"But this is too much training. There’s not a single part of my body that feels fine."
It seemed the other disciples shared the same thought.
"... At this rate, we might die, Senior Brother."
"I could endure it before, but now I really feel like I’m going to die."
"When I go into my room, I fall asleep like a corpse. Every time I fall asleep, I worry that I might die in my sleep."
"I can’t even pick up my chopsticks. My hands are shaking."
Yoon Jong sighed.
"Telling me this won’t help..."
"Still, if the senior brother speaks, wouldn’t you at least pretend to listen?"
"After all, you are the senior brother."
Yoon Jong frowned.
'But that’s not entirely wrong.' In the past, when similar situations arose, Jo Geol and Yoon Jong had suppressed their complaints.
But now, it wasn’t something that could simply be brushed aside.
Yoon Jong had reached his limit as well.
When one trains, the accumulated fatigue must be relieved to avoid hindering the next training session, but lately, Cheong Myung had been pushing them without giving them any time to recover.
Every day felt like they were surpassing their limits.
How bad must it have been for Yoon Jong to feel fear even when going out for early morning training?
Yoon Jong glanced at Jo Geol.
"Geol Ah."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"What do you think?"
"Um..."
As Jo Geol pondered, all eyes turned to him.
Among the three disciples, he was the second most influential after Yoon Jong, perhaps even more so.
"Honestly, it’s a bit excessive."
"Isn’t it?"
"This is beyond what the body can handle. The problem is that the intensity is increasing day by day. I welcome intense training, but this is too harsh."
"... Hmm."
"Iron becomes harder the more it is hammered, but a human body breaks when it is hammered."
"So what do you think we should do?"
"The problem is..."
Jo Geol’s eyes twitched.
"That guy... No, Cheong Myung knows this logic."
Ugh.
Yoon Jong groaned.
He shared the same thought.
The training they were undergoing made no sense.
But it was even more absurd to think that Cheong Myung didn’t realize he was pushing them too hard.
Because it was Cheong Myung.
"For now, I think we should endure a little longer. If nothing changes after some time, then we’ll have to speak up."
"Let’s do that. Then I won’t hold back."
Once Jo Geol and Yoon Jong finished their conversation, everyone nodded in agreement.
For now, it was important to hear that they would voice their complaints if this situation continued.
Whether those complaints would be effective or not was a separate issue.
"Let’s eat for now. Even if you don’t want to, force yourself to eat. We have afternoon training too, and if you show weakness, Master will scold you."
Ugh.
"I’ll eat well."
"Oh dear."
Everyone reluctantly picked up their chopsticks with their weary hands.
Seeing their pitiful state, Jo Geol clicked his tongue softly.
"Ugh."
Jo Geol struggled to head towards his bed. 'I really feel like I might die at this rate.'
It was commendable that he had washed up.
Even though his whole body was covered in dust, he wanted to dive onto the bed and collapse, but he wanted to praise himself for washing his clothes and cleaning his body with desperate will.
Thanks to that, his eyelids felt heavy, and there was no strength left in his body.
It was a wonder he could even walk.
Thud.
As Jo Geol collapsed onto the hard bed, he let out a sigh. 'When I wake up, it’ll be time for training again.'
In truth, Jo Geol had no complaints about Cheong Myung’s training method.
No matter how harsh it was, he believed he could endure it.
Because in the end, all that training would make him stronger.
But recently, he had begun to have doubts.
Would his body break down before he could get stronger? Could his body continue to endure this training?
However, before those doubts could deepen, sleep washed over him.
Jo Geol stopped thinking and surrendered himself to the encroaching slumber.
"Senior Brother."
"... Hmm."
"Senior Brother. Wake up. Senior Brother."
"Huh?"
Jo Geol struggled to open his eyes.
A figure came into his blurry vision.
"Who!"
As Jo Geol tried to spring up, a heavy hand pressed him down.
"Don’t make a fuss, just quietly get up."
"Cheong Myung?"
"Quickly."
What on earth was this crazy guy planning to do at night, barging into Jo Geol’s room? How did he even open the door?
"... What’s going on?"
Jo Geol struggled to sit up.
He felt like he had slept quite a bit, yet the fatigue hadn’t lifted at all.
His body felt heavy, and irritation surged within him.
At that moment, Cheong Myung held something out to him.
"Here."
Seeing the small pill resting on Cheong Myung’s palm, Jo Geol couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
"What is this?"
"Elixir."
"What?"
"Shhh."
Jo Geol inadvertently let out a loud sound and quickly shut his mouth.
"I went through a lot to get this. I’m giving it to you because you’re my senior brother."
"Is this really an elixir?"
"Have you been living deceived all this time? You should know just from the scent!"
It was real.
Since a while ago, a fragrant aroma had been tickling Jo Geol’s nose.
Even so, he questioned it because he couldn’t believe the situation.
What is an elixir? It’s a medicine that enhances one’s internal energy and purifies the body.
In the martial world, just the rumor of a top-grade elixir being somewhere could spark bloodshed and lead to deaths.
Even if it wasn’t a top-grade elixir, the value of any elixir that could enhance internal energy would far exceed that of the same amount of gold.
Yet, he was being offered such an elixir?
"It’s not poisoned."
"No, that’s not it!"
Jo Geol almost shouted but took a deep breath.
"Why are you giving this to me? You could just take it yourself!"
"I need it for you."
"..."
"Hurry and eat it. Before the others find out. And the fact that I gave you the elixir is a secret. It’s only for you."
"... You."
Jo Geol opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.
Was it really okay to eat this?
If it were any other time, he would have thought through various concerns, but in his extreme fatigue, Jo Geol couldn’t think as clearly as usual.
Moreover, it seemed that the pill was indeed an elixir.
His tired body was reacting intensely to it.
"Just eat it. I’ll help you refine it."
"... Is it really okay to eat?"
"I’m giving it to you because you’re my senior brother."
Cheong Myung flicked the elixir in his hand.
Before Jo Geol could react, the pill was pushed into his mouth, melting away as it slid down his throat.
He instinctively realized that this was indeed a real elixir.
"I’ll help you refine it, but don’t absorb it too quickly. Take at least a month to absorb it slowly."
"Ah, got it."
"Turn around. I’ll help you refine it now."
As Jo Geol looked at Cheong Myung with slightly moved eyes, he turned around and sat cross-legged.
Cheong Myung grinned wickedly as he looked at Jo Geol’s back.
'You have to give water to a thirsty person for them to know gratitude.'
Cheong Myung was already curious about what kind of expressions the senior brothers would show when they came to the training ground tomorrow.