Chapter 22
“Hey, you little brat, you’ve been to the brothel, haven’t you?”
Chun-bong’s gaze was razor-sharp.
Honestly, I didn’t do anything wrong, but her look suggested that a nonexistent wrong would somehow be concocted right here and now.
“Uh… right?”
“…….”
Chun-bong’s eyes swept over me from head to toe with a deep intensity.
I’m innocent, I swear! I didn’t spend a single penny!
Instead of making excuses, I stood tall and puffed out my chest.
“…Hmph. How dignified.”
“I didn’t use a single coin!”
“Idiot.”
Pouting like a spoiled child, Chun-bong turned on her heel and flopped back onto the bed.
“Since you’re so frustrated, you should wash up and go to bed.”
“Sure!”
I scrubbed myself down meticulously before hitting the sack.
*
When I woke up in the morning, I found Chun-bong holding onto one of my legs tightly while she slept.
‘Has she gotten over her sulking?’
I pressed her plump cheeks softly and quietly got out of bed.
Lately, Chun-bong had been sleeping in more often. I guessed it was because she wasn’t feeling well, which was a bit concerning.
“Geez, always a handful.”
I grabbed a sword and left home.
I had no intention of going far. My destination was the collapsed ruins of the Black Tiger Sect right in front of my house.
I stepped cautiously over the debris and climbed on top.
“The air is nice here.”
Clear morning air filled my lungs, in stark contrast to the murky air of modern society.
Taking a deep breath, I drew my sword.
‘What’s the big deal about the Taiji?’
According to Chun-bong, the Yellow Dragon Divine Art was created based on the understanding of Wuji Tai Chi.
So, if I could just make the Taiji once, wouldn’t that be quite an accomplishment?
With that thought in mind, I began to channel the Essence-Unity Divine Technique.
Swish—
I transformed the internal energy circulating in my body into Yin energy. The temperature around me dropped sharply, causing frost to coat the sword.
As I laid a layer of sword energy over the blade, a gloomy yet blue glimmer of energy appeared.
‘If I mix in Yang energy here….’
Next, I used the prior understanding I gained from the Yin-Yang Reversal technique to convert Yin energy into Yang.
The air around me heated up as a brilliant golden sword energy surged through the blade.
“Huh?”
That’s right. The Taiji and all, it was just my Yin energy flipping into Yang.
Even the metal sword let out an anxious creak, seeming to protest the abrupt temperature change.
“What the hell….”
Things really weren’t going my way.
With a sigh, I sheathed the sword. If it doesn’t work in one go, I’ll just take my time and try again.
This time, I decided to hold Yin energy in my left hand and Yang energy in my right, merging them together.
‘Yin energy in my left hand….’
That part was easy.
‘Yang energy in my right hand….’
That also went off without a hitch.
However, upon looking at my left hand, I found the Yin energy transformed into Yang.
“Damn it. I’m done.”
I instinctively realized I wasn’t at the level to pull this off yet.
I clicked my tongue and jumped off the rubble.
“Did you practice?”
“Yeah.”
When did she start watching? Chun-bong leaned against the wall, eyeing me.
“Essence-Unity Divine Technique?”
“Right.”
“…What about the Yellow Dragon Divine Art?”
“Well, once I master one, I get some practice in the other too.”
It’s not entirely separate martial arts. When you gain insight from one technique, it tends to raise your level in others as well.
“…Hmph.”
“Hey now, why are you sulking again?”
Is she going through a phase or something?
In my mind, I pictured a whole book being written.
‘From now on, I won’t sleep with you!’
‘Don’t come near me, you smell!’
‘Ewww… how disgusting.’
‘I’ve decided to marry this other dude. Don’t look for me anymore.’
I clamped my mouth shut. That kind of dialogue was out of the question.
“No way, Chun-bong! I won’t allow it!”
“What, what are you talking about?”
“I won’t let you marry someone weaker than me!”
Chun-bong’s expression turned serious.
“Are you seriously not being possessed or anything? It seems like you’re getting worse day by day.”
“Who…?”
“No, really… What? Okay, whatever.”
Chun-bong scratched her head, making a face that looked rather upset.
Maybe I should stop teasing for now. I chuckled and patted Chun-bong’s head.
“Enough of that. How about we eat?”
“Before that.”
Chun-bong shook the sword she held in her hand.
“Let’s have a duel.”
*
A duel wasn’t that big of a deal.
We restricted internal energy levels to elite, forbade sword techniques, and obviously, deadly moves were off-limits.
Using real swords was slightly risky, but for martial artists like Chun-bong and me, it was something we could control just fine.
“Are you ready?”
With a gentle thrust, I executed the Crossing the Yellow Dragon. My feet floated slightly above the ground, gliding as if I were on ice.
CRACK!
My lightly swung sword came to a halt.
Our eyes met, and my heart dropped as I turned around.
Flap, Chun-bong’s sleeves fluttered in the breeze. In that instant, her sword sliced toward me, aiming for my whole body.
CLASH!
My eyes lit up as I swung my sword wide. A moment of vulnerability. I lunged in for a strike.
Chun-bong’s sword smoothly traced a circle.
“Huh?”
I felt a strange sensation even though I had applied force, as if my attack was going awry.
With my sword flying up, Chun-bong quickly swung her blade.
I tried desperately to block with my sword, but my disheveled posture revealed its limits.
Seizing the opportunity, Chun-bong unleashed her sword like a ray of light.
Clang!
Her sword struck the same spot repeatedly. As I quickly redirected my sword, Chun-bong’s blade was already touching my neck.
“Whoah…”
“Wow, you’ve improved a lot.”
“What is this? Is this cheating?”
“Cheating?”
Chun-bong scoffed.
“Do you even realize how much more training time I’ve had than you? I’ve been practicing since I started walking, so if you beat me, that would just be weird.”
“Then does that mean the Qingha Sect’s masters are idiots?”
“Oops.”
Chun-bong tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Maybe?”
“Gasp!”
I held my mouth shut, flabbergasted.
Chun-bong smiled slyly and shook her head.
“Honestly, your talent is elsewhere.”
“Hmm, you might be right. In that case, how about we have a round using our divine arts?”
“Not interested, you’re a total newbie.”
“What?!”
With a recent record of 0 wins and 1 loss, I couldn’t argue back.
“So frustrating!”
“Get a grip.”
Chun-bong laughed as I sheathed my sword.
“I just had a brilliant idea!”
At Chun-bong’s puzzled take, I pointed at the wall right in front of us.
Swish!
A chunk of the wall froze upon impact from my dart.
Chun-bong clicked her tongue, seeing how easily I manipulated Yin energy now.
“Tch, what the hell.”
“Whoa, just watch!”
I gripped my thumb firmly on the dart again, this time channeling Yang energy.
Crash!
The dart flew perfectly and struck the corner of the wall, which still had some Yin energy lingering.
That was the end of it.
The wall cracked slightly from the sudden temperature shift, but that was about it.
“Hmm… This isn’t quite right.”
“What are you trying to do? This is already impressive enough!”
Manipulating Yang and Yin freely?
If anyone heard that, they’d assume I was talking nonsense or practicing forbidden arts.
Or that I learned the Ill-Yue Devil Arts, leading to me being branded as a top-tier sorcerer.
“No, not yet. Just once more. I feel something might happen this time.”
I concentrated.
The inspiration struck me when I thought of Chun-bong’s sword technique—the one she used to dispatch my sword consecutively.
If I couldn’t manage both Yang and Yin at the same time, maybe I could just break it down into steps.
“Woo….”
I closed my eyes, quickly spinning the Yin energy at my fingertips, imagining a blue orb.
With a snap, I opened my eyes and unleashed a dart.
*Swish!*
It embedded into the wall. But this time it was different; the Yin energy swirled dramatically where it struck.
Quickly firing off the next dart, a smile crept onto my face.
This, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that this was it!
“Alright, Chun-bong! This is the Taiji—!”
BAAAANG—!
BEEP—my ears rang from the sudden explosion.
“Cough…! Cough…!”
After a few dry coughs, I glanced at the Chun-bong cradled in my arms.
“Uh… are you okay?”
“Uhh? Uh….”
Chun-bong, who had been staring blankly at me, suddenly gripped my arm tightly in shock.
“Are you alright?!”
As I followed her lead, I spun around, feeling a refreshing chill on my back.
My new clothes… and I’ll need to get new ones again.
Sighing, I felt little hands tapping gently on my back.
“Sigh… I’m relieved you’re not seriously hurt.”
“Of course. I blocked it with internal energy. If I wrapped the energy around my back, it would be… back energy, right? No, it’s something like 배기 (Bae-gi)?”
“Quit the nonsense and put on some ointment.”
Slap! I got hit on the thigh.
“How could that be so awesome—uh, wait, why do you look like that?”
Chun-bong, who wasn’t crying but looked like she was about to, wore a pained expression.
Surprised, I held Chun-bong’s cheeks between my hands.
“Did you get hurt?”
“…No.”
“Then why the long face?”
Even as I pulled her cheeks this way and that, she showed no reaction. This was serious.
I knelt down a bit to meet her gaze.
“What’s going on?”
“…Nothing. It’s not a big deal.”
“What is it? Just tell me. I promise to listen to everything.”
Was she upset that I hadn’t used the Yellow Dragon Divine Art lately?
Maybe she felt neglected since I’d only been practicing the Essence-Unity Divine Technique and doing strange things with the mysteries.
Looking deeply into her eyes, Chun-bong mumbled with hesitant lips.
“I just feel… like I’m not really helpful anymore…”
What in the world is she talking about? Is this some teenage mood swing?
This wasn’t a throwaway line. There was genuine weight behind her words.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“…I’ve taught you everything I could. Now you can do everything on your own, right? With the Essence-Unity Divine Technique, the Yellow Dragon Divine Art isn’t exceptionally helpful anymore. You’re going through all this trouble just to find mirages for me… and then you got hurt just now taking a hit for me. I’m just the one who keeps asking for help…”
Her lips were pouting out adorably, and tears glistened in her eyes.
She’s more fragile than I thought—acting strong all this time.
I realized now she had been harboring this kind of thought.
Frowning, I scooped Chun-bong up into my arms.
“Listen here, Chun-bong. To be honest, I messed up and got hurt because of my own stupidity.”
“Still…”
“Come on, enough of this.”
I easily hoisted her onto my back, lifting her high.
The dust from the ground settled, revealing the completely collapsed wall behind us.
I walked past the remnants of the wall and unleashed Crossing the Yellow Dragon into the street.
Seeing people around, Chun-bong hastily covered her puffy eyes with her hands.
I swiftly wrapped my arms around her and patted her back gently.
“Look.”
“…What?”
“Hurry.”
Chun-bong cautiously peeked out. She scanned the people passing by and then suddenly shouted loudly.
“Look at all these idiots!”
“What?”
Chun-bong wore a baffled expression, and so did the pedestrians.
To them, it might have sounded ridiculous, but I meant every word.
“Just take a good look at all these idiots out here and then compare that to you. You really are something else, you know?”
“…Is that your idea of consolation?”
“Of course!”
Even if you think you’re not helping, it’s totally okay. You’re my sister! If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead in some back alley by now! Just exchanging silly words with you is already plenty of help for me.
I didn’t need to spell out those obvious points.
“You’re a genius and a prodigy, right? Before long, you’ll fix the Block issue too, and when that happens, you just try to keep up with me! Who knows? You might get so strong you end up supporting me instead.”
“…….”
“Well, by then, I’ll have already reached the highest level, so maybe that won’t even happen.”
I chuckled at my own joke, but Chun-bong stayed silent.
But this time, I felt confident.
“Just think about it—my popularity will likely be through the roof! If I lined up all the ladies who were into me, we’d be looping around the market five times…”
“…Shut up, you fool.”
“Yes ma’am!”
I obeyed.
Still, I smiled. Because I had won this round.
Chun-bong’s face, pouting with her swollen eyes breaking into a grin, looked too entertaining for just me to enjoy.
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