One month.
A time that could be considered both short and long.
It was enough time for me to come to terms with the fact that I, who had thought I was dead, had awakened in a different body and to somewhat adapt to this new body and environment.
"...... Try making an excuse."
"What are you talking about?"
When I opened my eyes wide and asked back, the eyebrows of the middle-aged man sitting in front of me twitched violently.
He was none other than Baek Mu-heun, the father of this body and the head of the Baek Martial Hall.
"Are you really asking because you don’t know?"
"Yes. I don’t know."
At my confident reply, Baek Mu-heun grabbed the back of his neck.
I sat up straight, maintaining a proper posture, and stared directly at him.
I was confident.
At the very least, I had no memory of doing anything wrong that would require an excuse......
"Earlier, Mr. Jang from the fabric store came by. He said his second son, who was sent to the martial hall, returned half-dead."
"......"
"Do you still have nothing to say?"
"What’s the problem with that?"
I raised my voice, adopting an unapologetic attitude.
"To learn martial arts, one must be prepared to endure pain and put in the effort. Only then will the time, money, and effort invested not be wasted. Instead of being grateful, they couldn’t even bring some good-quality silk......"
"You brat!"
Smack!
In an instant, stars flashed before my eyes, and a sharp sound rang out from my head.
It didn’t hurt much, but the unpleasant feeling was unavoidable.
‘Ugh.
I can see it, but I can’t dodge it.’
Well, even if I had the ability to dodge, it would have been better for my well-being not to.
Unless I wanted to see my father, with bloodshot eyes, throwing a fit.
"Making kids under ten years old practice horse stance for an hour? Be grateful? What kind of foolish training is that? Is there any master in the world who does such a thing?"
Baek Mu-heun swung the ruler in his hand threateningly through the air, as if he was about to strike my head at any moment.
‘Well, at the Blood Sect, we did that every day......’
And I even halved it from two hours.
I didn’t pull out nails or threaten to withhold dinner from those who collapsed midway, as they did at the Blood Sect.
I just taught them a bit more seriously because the kids had been so eager to learn martial arts properly these past few days.
‘They couldn’t handle that and ran to their parents to tattle? Kids these days......’
"Are you even listening to me?"
"If it were the old days...... Yes. I’m listening."
When I shamelessly nodded while lost in thought, Baek Mu-heun looked at me with an exasperated expression.
"Do you think I don’t know you’re letting it go in one ear and out the other? I don’t know what’s going through your mind since you came back from the dead. Sometimes I wonder if you’re really my son......"
This guy is sharp.
I bowed my head to my father, who was sighing deeply.
"I was thoughtless. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again."
"Su-ryong."
Suddenly, he called my name with a serious expression.
Baek Su-ryong.
That’s the name of the original owner of this body.
Twenty-seven years old.
A man who ran a small martial hall in the countryside under a father with no notable reputation, teaching local kids with no real skill to speak of.
A life far removed from the flying and leaping masters of the martial world.
Not even a third-rate martial artist.
"Yes."
At my simple reply, Baek Mu-heun’s expression softened slightly.
He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"I know you’ve been spacing out a lot since you woke up. You must have your own worries. You went through something big not long ago......"
One month ago.
Baek Su-ryong died and came back to life.
To be precise, Baek Su-ryong died, and I woke up in his body.
"If you have any worries, you can be honest with me. After all, I’m your only family."
Only family.
That’s why I couldn’t be honest.
‘Your son Baek Su-ryong is dead.’
Baek Su-ryong had been weak since birth.
He was born with a rare condition known as the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian.
His mother, who was also weak, died a few years after giving birth to him.
Baek Mu-heun sought out renowned doctors and fed him all sorts of medicinal herbs to save his only son, but...
‘It was all for nothing.’
In the end, Baek Mu-heun moved to the countryside, where the air and water were good, and opened a martial hall for his frail son.
But his son...
"Do you still have ambitions in the martial world?"
"......"
Despite his innate condition, Baek Su-ryong had wanted to become a martial artist.
Even though his blocked meridians prevented him from practicing proper internal techniques, he trained his body daily and searched everywhere for a way to cure his illness.
And a few months ago, Baek Su-ryong finally got his hands on an internal technique manual.
‘Foolishly, he dabbled in demonic arts.’
Demonic arts.
Not all demonic arts are dangerous or have severe side effects, but the one Baek Su-ryong tried was among the worst.
In the end, he overexerted himself, coughed up blood, and collapsed.
......
No, he died.
It was a death he had prepared for.
[I’d rather die trying to struggle than live giving up on my lifelong dream.]
A blood-stained suicide note was left at the spot where Baek Su-ryong collapsed.
After that, I woke up in his body, and a month has passed since then.
Waking up in a strange body, I pretended to have lost my memory and gradually learned about the life of the original owner of this body.
"Do you still... not want to give up?"
"......"
When I didn’t answer, Baek Mu-heun’s expression darkened.
He thought his only son, who had narrowly escaped death, still clung to a futile dream.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"I’m not sure."
It wasn’t to reassure Baek Mu-heun, but a sincere answer.
‘Do I have ambitions in the martial world?’
In my past life, I had crossed the line between life and death every day just to survive in the Blood Sect.
I learned martial arts, killed people, and after injuring my dantian, became a martial arts instructor—all to survive.
But now?
‘Do I really need to become a martial artist?’
Right now, I have five supreme martial arts techniques in my head.
But becoming a martial artist inevitably means putting my life in danger more often.
‘Do I have to live like that again?’
Having lived a life walking on the edge of a blade until the day I died, that wasn’t exactly appealing.
‘Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just teach kids and live a relaxed life.’
The village where the Jin Martial Hall was located was truly a peaceful and quiet countryside.
Yet, instead of saying, "I have no ambitions in the martial world," I said, "I’m not sure."
My answer seemed to surprise Baek Mu-heun.
He opened his eyes wide and asked again.
"...... You’re not sure?"
"Yes."
While this place feels comfortable now, like I’m on a vacation, who knows what will happen later? This is a new life.
There’s no need to rush into a decision.
"I’ll think more about what I want to do in the future."
"......"
Baek Mu-heun looked at me with a complicated expression, as if he was both relieved and saddened that his son might finally be giving up on his dream.
I met his gaze without avoiding it.
"...... Alright."
Finally, he nodded heavily.
"Your body isn’t fully recovered yet, so if you feel even the slightest discomfort, tell me right away."
"Yes."
"If you’re going to make the kids practice horse stance, just throw a ball or something instead."
"...... I’ll say it again, to learn martial arts, one must be prepared to endure pain and put in the effort......"
"Do you think this is Shaolin Temple? If you keep this up, the few students we have will all leave."
Baek Mu-heun waved his hand dismissively, not wanting to hear it.
I clicked my tongue and stood up.
"Then I’ll take my leave."
"Alright."
As I turned to leave the room, I heard a sigh and a muttering from behind.
"I’m sorry. There’s nothing your father can do for you......"
I pretended not to hear and quickly walked back to my room.
Back in my room, I took off my shirt and stood in front of the mirror.
It was part of my daily routine to check my physical condition.
‘He looks like a pampered young master who’s never suffered a day in his life.’
He had inherited his father’s tall stature with long limbs.
Though a bit thin for a man, his face was strikingly handsome.
Thanks to consistent exercise since waking up, his physical condition wasn’t bad.
‘If only the blocked meridians were fixed, he’d have a great physique.’
The problem was inside his body.
Already suffering from the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian, which prevented proper internal energy circulation, the aftereffects of the demonic arts had filled his meridians with turbid energy.
And this was after a month of recuperation.
‘Tsk.
He’s worse than a third-rate martial artist.’
At this point, calling him third-rate was being generous.
Even a third-rate martial artist could use a tiny bit of internal energy.
Moreover, if left untreated, this body would die within three years.
‘Is this a coincidence or fate...? Of all things, the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian.’
I knew the name of the condition Baek Su-ryong suffered from.
Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian.
A terrifying congenital condition that even the most renowned doctors had either never heard of or couldn’t treat.
Those born with the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian usually didn’t live past thirty.
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the young man in the mirror.
‘So you were destined to die young.
Did you know that and struggle so desperately?’
Perhaps Baek Su-ryong had instinctively felt that his life was running out and took an extreme gamble.
But that gamble failed, and instead, my soul entered his body.
‘I’ll make good use of this body.’
The dead are dead, and the living must live.
Fortunately, I knew how to treat the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian.
The Reverse Heaven Divine Art.
A supreme martial art passed down only to the leaders of the Blood Demon Sect, one of the five martial arts in my mind, and among the most powerful.
The secret manual of the Reverse Heaven Divine Art, which I had found in the Blood Demon Sect’s martial arts library, stated:
-The Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian is a body cursed by heaven.
-The Reverse Heaven Divine Art is a martial art that defies heaven.
-When these two meet, the blocked meridians become divine meridians, and the power to shatter heaven is obtained.
In simpler terms, the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian was the best constitution for practicing the Reverse Heaven Divine Art.
After all, the first Blood Demon of the Blood Demon Sect had the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian.
‘Could there be a connection between using the Reverse Heaven Divine Art before death and waking up in this body?’
It was just speculation, but I couldn’t know for sure.
What mattered was that I had the martial art and knowledge to turn the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridian into the Heavenly Yin Divine Meridian.
There was just one problem......
Tsk. I clicked my tongue and muttered.
"I don’t have the money."
Practicing the Reverse Heaven Divine Art required a lot of money.
Not just a lot, but an astronomical amount.
Famous elixirs and one of the top doctors in the Central Plains.
Plus, the materials needed for various rituals.
Enough to bankrupt a prominent family.
There was no way my father, running a small martial hall in the countryside, had that kind of money.
"What should I do about this......"
Just as the handsome face in the mirror was contorted with worry.
"Master!"
A scream-like shout came from outside.