“Ugh…”
Namgung Jipyeong felt like he was dying. He had shouted confidently, feeling slighted somehow, thinking he could do it. That part was fine.
But that was as far as it went. While performing the sword technique, just as he was about to thrust his sword forward, the child suddenly stopped moving. Trying to stay still with two hundred jin strapped to his arms and legs made his limbs tremble uncontrollably.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped his lips. He hoped the child would hear it.
‘Why… why isn’t he telling me to stop?’
The child simply stroked his chin with a serious expression, staring at him, but said nothing about moving.
‘I… I can’t take it anymore…!’
He tried to endure to the end, but he had reached his limit. Just as he was about to drop his trembling arms— Tap.
“…?”
Suddenly, the pressure pulling his arms down disappeared. Startled, he opened his eyes and saw the child touching the tip of his sword. Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes widened.
“H-How did you do that?”
The weight was gone. Just by touching the tip of the sword with a single finger, he had made fifty jin of weight disappear?
“It didn’t disappear. I just spread the weight of the weights across your whole body.”
“That’s… even possible?”
The weight of the weights pressed downward. To resist that force, the only way should’ve been to use strength in the arms to lift upward.
“You’re strong, warrior. More precisely, you have a lot of strength. But you tend to use all that strength at once.”
“…How did you know?”
“If you do that, you can make a powerful attack in a moment, but if the fight drags on, you’ll be at a disadvantage.”
It would be nice if every fight ended in a single blow, but battles never go as one wishes. Sometimes, you have to fight evenly. Sometimes, the opponent is so strong that all you can do is endure.
For someone like Namgung Jipyeong now, those situations would be more common.
“If you charge at someone stronger than you with all your strength, it’s no different from asking to be killed. The tougher the opponent, the more careful you need to be. You have to wait for the chance to counterattack.”
Opportunities don’t come often. To seize that chance, you need the strength to endure until it comes, and a balanced body that minimizes energy loss. That’s why external training was necessary.
“Don’t pour all your strength into one spot. Practice spreading it evenly throughout your body. So that no single part bears the burden.”
To bear that weight with just one arm would require ninety percent of your strength, but if you use your whole body, you might not even need ten percent.
“Like this.”
“But… you didn’t touch my body, did you? How did you control my strength just by touching the tip of my sword?”
“If you realize that, you’ll be able to reach a higher level.”
Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes sparkled for a moment.
‘Unity of body and sword!’
A state where the body and sword become one, a realm only those at the peak could understand.
‘This child… is a master at the peak!’
It was a reasonable guess—but wrong. Right now, Seolhwa’s inner energy only placed her at the second rate. But just because inner energy was low didn’t mean enlightenment disappeared.
Knowing and doing were two different things.
‘Showing this much is possible.’
Thud— As soon as Seolhwa removed her hand from the sword, Namgung Jipyeong’s arms dropped limply. He had used up all his strength and collapsed, but his eyes now shone with a different light. Seolhwa saw in his gaze a look that reached toward a higher place.
“Shall we stop here for today?”
Namgung Jipyeong quickly got up and clasped his fists in salute. Though the two hundred jin still made his limbs tremble, his posture didn’t waver in the slightest.
“I sincerely thank you for your guidance, young hero. If not for you, I would not have gained today’s insight.”
“Was it too hard?”
“It was. Very much so. But now that I understand how necessary this training is, I plan to continue wearing the weights during practice.”
“Good. Once you get used to using your strength properly, we can gradually increase the weight.”
“More than now…?”
“You should at least be able to lift five hundred jin with one arm easily.”
“Whaaat?”
Namgung Jipyeong’s mouth dropped open. Now he understood why this training was necessary. He was determined to give it his all from now on.
But what did she just say? He was already dying from fifty jin, and now she wanted him to go up to five hundred?
‘You’re saying I need to wear weights ten times heavier than now? Without even using inner energy?’
Is it even possible to move like that? At this point, doubt began to rise.
“If I may ask… young hero… how much do you lift…?”
At Jipyeong’s hesitant question, Seolhwa rolled up one sleeve. On her slender arm were three weights, each twice the size of the ones Jipyeong wore.
“Right now, I’m wearing about three hundred jin. I still have a long way to go. Let’s work hard together.”
At Seolhwa’s innocent reply, Jipyeong’s mouth dropped even wider. Three hundred jin times four made twelve hundred jin. They had been together the whole training session, so that meant she had been wearing that weight the entire time.
‘I… was whining about dying from just fifty jin…?’
This uselessly large body of his… The question he had asked in doubt now only left him with self-loathing. Namgung Jipyeong swallowed his tears.
“Oh, right. Starting tomorrow, if there are any warriors who want to train, bring them along.”
“Pardon…?”
“If we’re doing it anyway, it’s better to do it together. It gives strength, and we can encourage each other. Don’t you think that’s good?”
“Would that be alright?”
“Of course.”
Strengthening the foundation of Namgung couldn’t possibly be a bad thing. In fact, the more warriors who wanted to grow stronger, the better it was for Seolhwa. Namgung Jipyeong was impressed.
‘A peak master who doesn’t hold back in teaching!’
Teaching also takes time and effort. For someone at the peak to teach so actively—this was a rare opportunity. The faces of the 11th squad members came to his mind.
They probably couldn’t even lift thirty jin, let alone fifty. If they trained together, they could all grow stronger.
“I will definitely bring them!”
“Bring as many as you can.”
“Yes! As many as possible!”
A fire lit in Namgung Jipyeong’s eyes.
After finishing morning training, Seolhwa washed up and went out to the streets with Namgung Cheongun. It was her first outing since entering Namgung.
“There are a lot of people, so hold Father’s hand tightly.”
Namgung Cheongun, wearing a bamboo hat, smiled gently under it and held Seolhwa’s hand tightly. Officially, he was supposed to be away on a mission. There was no one in Hefei who wouldn’t recognize the First Young Master of Namgung.
There was no need to cause a scene, so they decided to hide their identities. Though it was a casual outing, five escorts followed them. Considering it was the First Young Master of Namgung and his child, it wasn’t excessive protection.
“We’ll go to the candied fruit shop after we eat.”
Seolhwa nodded as she counted the number of people following them.
“Alright.”
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
Seolhwa looked up at Namgung Cheongun. Seeing her clear, sparkling eyes, Cheongun chuckled softly.
“Tell me anything. Whatever you like, I like too.”
“Then, I know a good place.”
“A good place?”
Seolhwa nodded and pulled Cheongun’s hand. She led him to the inn she had gone to with Seop Mugwang when they first arrived in Hefei.
“Dumplings and noodles, huh. I really like those too.”
Seolhwa and Cheongun ordered a lot of dumplings and noodles and shared them. When Cheongun put food in Seolhwa’s bowl, she also gave him dumplings in return. That made Cheongun’s eyes redden again.
The dumplings and noodles were just as delicious the second time. Namgung’s food was excellent, but it couldn’t compare to the taste of this inn.
‘I understand why Storm Thunder God likes this place.’
Even after eating all the delicacies of Namgung, the dumplings and noodles that came to mind were only from this place.
‘Why didn’t I know about this place in my past life?’
She had visited Hefei often in her previous life, but this place hadn’t existed. If the food was this good, there’s no way she wouldn’t have known.
‘Did they make a lot of money and retire?’
“It’s good to see you eating well. Eat a lot and grow big.”
Just as Namgung Cheongun, having calmed his emotions, was gently patting Seolhwa’s head— “When did we ever say we wouldn’t pay, huh? I told you we’d settle it next time! I just forgot my coin pouch today!”
A commotion broke out a few tables away from where they were sitting. Namgung Cheongun observed the situation from under his bamboo hat. If things got dangerous, he planned to take the child and leave the inn.
“Sir, do you know how many times you’ve said that already…? Today, you really must pay your overdue tab or we can’t keep running this place…”
Crash—!
With a loud noise, a table was smashed. The dishes on the table fell and shattered, causing a big scene.
“Has this old innkeeper gone senile!”
The man who smashed the table grabbed the collar of the elderly man who seemed to be the innkeeper.
“Please, sir! Spare me!”
“Do you not know who we are, huh?”
“I do! Of course I do! How could I not know the warriors of Namgung…!”