Morning bled into noon, and noon into late afternoon.
When the sun finally just hung low in the sky, Sung Jihan's legs were shaking uncontrollably, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. Every breath he took felt like fire burning inside his chest.
Yet Master Hyeon's voice remained steady, unforgiving.
"Lower your stance."
Jihan tried. His knees buckled.
Thud.
He fell to the wooden floor, gasping.
Hyeon didn't move to help him.
He simply looked down with that same unreadable expression.
"Again."
Jihan pushed himself up, arms trembling beneath him. His body felt twice as heavy as it should feel. His muscles screamed in protest.
Hyeon stepped around him slowly.
"Your reflexes are sharp. But reflexes alone can't build martial strength. Your body has to keep pace with whatever is inside you."
Jihan nodded weakly, though he wasn't sure he understood.
"Begin." Hyeon tapped the floor with his toe. "Horse stance."
Jihan lowered himself again.
His thighs strained.
His calves twitched.
His spine felt like it was carrying a weight far beyond his size.
A minute later, his legs began to shake violently.
After two, his vision blurred.
"Good," Hyeon said. "Hold it."
"Master…" Jihan whispered. "I don't think I—"
"You can."
Hyeon's voice hardened.
"You must."
Jihan clenched his teeth, trying to stand it.
Why… why is this so hard?
Everyone else does training like this every day… so why can't I…?
His muscles seized.
At last, his knees buckled.
He fell again.
Hyeon exhaled, the smallest sigh. Not disappointment—calculation.
"As expected," he murmured. "Your body is too weak. Your stamina far below average."
Shame, raw and heavy, seemed to burn inside of Jihan.
"I'm sorry… Master."
"I did not say you failed," Hyeon said.
Then he added softly:
"Stand up."
Jihan's breath stilled.
Slowly, painfully, he rose again.
"Good."
Hyeon nodded.
Your body is weak, but your will is not.
He circled Jihan like a hawk watching a hatchling attempt its first flight.
"There are two kinds of talent," Hyeon said. "Those given by birth, and those carved through suffering."
Jihan swallowed.
"Which do I have?"
Hyeon paused right beside him.
"You have neither."
His tone was matter-of-fact, without cruelty.
"But you have something more valuable."
Jihan blinked. "More valuable…?"
"You have the kind of stubbornness that refuses to die. That itself can surpass talent-if trained."
A small, fragile warmth flickered in Jihan's chest.
But Hyeon wasn't finished.
"However…" He leaned slightly forward. "You too have got something inside you. Something dormant. Something I am unable to identify.
Jihan's heart skipped a beat.
Hyeon stood in front of him.
"Your body is not ready for it. If it awakens when you are this weak, it could destroy you."
Jihan's eyes widened.
Destroy… me?
"So our goal," Hyeon said, "is simple.
He pointed to Jihan's chest.
"Break your body."
Jihan stiffened.
Hyeon continued, "And rebuild it stronger. Again and again. Till what's inside or outside can't overpower it.
"Master… is that even possible?
"For most? No."
Hyeon's eyes showed a strange certainty.
"For you? Yes."
Jihan didn't understand why Hyeon believed that.
He could hardly believe it himself.
As if in response, a soft chime whispered through his mind.
[Physical stress: 87%.
Muscle tear achieved. Activating micro-repair.
A cool sensation washed through his spine, down into his legs and arms.
The pain eased a little.
His breathing steadied.
Jihan's eyes widened.
That feeling… it's the same as before…
Nobody else seemed to hear anything.
Hyeon studied him. "Your face changed. Explain."
"I… just felt something," Jihan said honestly.
"Inside my back. Like warmth spreading."
Hyeon narrowed his eyes.
"A surge of energy?
"Not exactly."
Jihan searched for the right words.
"It felt like… my body is fixing itself. Faster than normal."
Hyeon slowly straightened.
"Self-repair?" he muttered.
"That's not qi. It's something entirely different." He stepped back, gaze sharpening with newfound resolution. "Then your training will be twice as intense," declared Hyeon. "No—a triple." Jihan's jaw dropped. "M-Master?!" "If your body heals faster," said Hyeon, "then I will break it faster. His tone didn't leave room for protest. Jihan swallowed hard. But then… he smiled. Not because he wanted more pain. Not because he was strong. But because, for the first time, someone believed he could be more than a weak boy that everyone pitied. Master Hyeon lifted his staff. "Prepare yourself, Jihan. Today, your real training starts." The Nexus Core pulsed softly, almost eagerly. [Synchronization: 22%.] Initiating adaptive reinforcement cycles. Jihan tightened his fists. He would endure. He would rise. He would change. Even if it broke him a hundred times.