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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Chunmu Hall and My Master
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[No more using Jinwon True Qi. If you ever need to use it again, just let yourself get beaten to death instead, host.]
Moomyeong's nagging went on for quite a while.
"That's a bit harsh, telling me to die."
[With no inner core left to stabilize your Jinwon True Qi, using it even once more like you did would kill you on the spot. You're lucky Pahwanggun caught you and forced you to stop before it fully depleted.]
"Even if it happened again, I'd make the same choice."
No one knew the gravity of the situation better than I did.
It was all because my skills were lacking.
The world wouldn't wait even a moment for my weakness.
This time, I'd only just started burning through my Jinwon True Qi and stepping into my footwork when Pahwanggun subdued me, so it hadn't been consumed much. That was fortunate in the end.
But would such luck hold forever?
I needed some kind of solution.
"How do you manage to get hurt so often?"
Sitting beside me, the Haseo Physician looked at me with utter pity.
"Tell me about it. Life's been pretty rough."
"You really owe me a meal someday. Got it?"
The Haseo Physician said it was a relief that the emergency treatment had been done promptly at the start.
"Oh, right. This came for you."
The Haseo Physician handed me an envelope.
It felt heavy in my hands.
"What's this?"
"Probably your initiation gate."
The paper I held had a massive "春" character on it, about the size of my head.
"...Spring, as in Chun? So, Chunmu Hall assignment."
The Haseo Physician's expression was far from normal.
I asked cautiously.
"Is it bad?"
"Cheonsubakryeonsa has four halls: Chun, Ha, Chu, and Dong. The higher the hall you pass into, the more honor and recognition you get. But among them, Chunmu Hall holds a different meaning from the others."
"What kind of meaning?"
Stroking his beard, the Haseo Physician trailed off.
"Back when there were no entrance exams, Cheonsubakryeonsa created Chunmu Hall as the lowest hall to prevent wasting six years of support on the talentless. It's a place that gathers only those who aren't even considered for the next halls."
It felt like a hammer had smashed the back of my head.
The Haseo Physician hurriedly added.
"Don't worry! You still have one more chance! Before the hall is finalized, there's one last promotion exam in eight weeks. If you fail that, then it's truly Chunmu Hall. Just pass that promotion exam."
Just when I'd thought I'd cleared the entrance exam and could relax, another mountain loomed—still shoving my head into a tiger's mouth.
To ease my tension, the Haseo Physician patted my shoulder.
"Don't fret. Someone will come to help you."
"Someone to help?"
"Not just you—before the Chunmu Hall promotion exam, everyone gets a master assigned by Cheonsubakryeonsa who sticks by their side. You'll get personal guidance from them for those eight weeks. It's Cheonsubakryeonsa's way of giving one last chance to grow."
"Really?!"
It was like a ray of light piercing endless dark skies.
The Haseo Physician nodded.
"Yeah. And the master assigned then will also be your 'assembly' master. In Cheonsubakryeonsa, they group three disciples under one shared master into an 'assembly.' The master you'll meet this time will be the one guiding you throughout your time here."
"I see."
Having lived a past with nothing, I knew better than anyone how crucial one's environment was.
Environment changes people more than anything.
And right now, the moment that decided the quality of my environment was eight weeks away.
Fail the promotion exam, and I'd spend six years doing low-level training in Chunmu Hall before it was over.
After nearly getting Moyong Taese as my master only for it to fall through, I'd never had a proper teacher in all my life so far.
My heart raced wondering who my first official master would be.
"Speaking of which, it should be about time they show up."
"You already know who my master is, Haseo Physician?"
"Well... haha."
It was a new expression for him.
The Haseo Physician looked endlessly awkward.
"Their skills are top-notch, for sure. But you'll probably hate them... a lot."
"...What?"
Hate them? Me?
The people I knew at Cheonsubakryeonsa were limited from the start.
Something felt off.
"Wait. Haseo Physician, what do you mean by—"
"I'll explain myself!"
BAM!
The door flew open as if it might shatter.
Dust sifted down from the ceiling with a whoosh from the force.
"Incredible recovery power, they said—and look at you, all sturdy already! My first sturdy toy has my heart pounding."
In the dust, long red hair gleamed brilliantly as it whipped about.
That cheerful, maniacal laugh.
Even through the dust, those sparkling front teeth dazzled my eyes.
I blinked.
Blinked again.
Looked to the side.
There was the Haseo Physician, avoiding my gaze.
The culprit who'd turned me into mincemeat from the entrance exam and landed me in this bed stood right before me.
"No way... my assigned master is...?"
Pahwanggun pointed right at me.
"That's right! Smart kid of mine!"
"Kid of yours?"
"Haseo Physician, you're done here. Out. I need to talk to my disciple."
The Haseo Physician vanished like he'd been waiting for it.
"Well, you've probably heard it all already."
Pahwanggun plopped down on the edge of my bed.
"I've been assigned as the master handling your guidance for the next eight weeks. And after the promotion exam, I'll be your assembly master too."
I furrowed my brows in protest.
"Weren't you an exam proctor, Pahwanggun? Assembly master on top? Isn't that overlapping roles?"
"Ahem. Circumstances arose. Adult circumstances."
Suspicious.
Reeked of suspicion.
"It's not like I felt guilty toward you or wanted to make up for my mistakes. I refused hard, but that Cheonsubakryeonsa head, Gang Buryong—he's a junior from my sect and begged me relentlessly."
"..."
Seeing my sullen glare, Pahwanggun rushed to the next topic.
"Your exam results put you in Chunmu Hall, right?"
Perfect, since I had something to say about that too.
It wasn't that I'd done well.
But still... it felt unfair.
I'd faced him at 30% power and fought fiercely past the time limit, or so I thought.
Yet assigned to Chunmu Hall, the reject pile? Hard to swallow.
"It's hard to accept that I was really such a mess to end up in Chunmu Hall..."
"Mess? You were a total disaster! Do you even know how abysmal your skills are?"
His forceful tone startled me into a hiccup.
"Still, I held out over an hour in the spar, so..."
"You idiot! Didn't I say I was using 30%? It wasn't even that—less than 10%!"
"..."
Our eyes met.
Pahwanggun cleared his throat.
"Fine, 20%. You came at me with everything, so I had to show some manners."
"..."
"Hey, drop that suspicious look. One thing's certain: in a life-or-death fight with a properly trained third-rate warrior, you'd die for sure."
"What?"
Pahwanggun flipped over a rice bowl nearby.
"Let's call this bowl a technique. Whatever story's behind it, the few techniques you actually used were genuinely high-level and excellent. Just the bowl alone looks clean and solid."
Tap, tap. Pahwanggun knocked on the upturned bowl with his finger.
"But is a fight between warriors decided by a single technique? What if it doesn't end there? What if the opponent endures or dodges? A technique can be the period at the end of a fight, but it can never be the fight itself."
Pahwanggun flipped another bowl and placed it beside the first.
He wet his finger with water and drew a line connecting the two bowls.
"You have almost no basics or fundamentals to link one technique to the next. It's like bowls scattered apart with no sturdy string binding them."
Pahwanggun wiped away the thin water line with his palm.
"Even if the opponent is a low-level third-rater, if they slip through the flimsy gap between these solid bowls, what happens to you?"
The water line scattered cleanly into the air, leaving no trace of the binding string.
"...I understand."
Pahwanggun's words rang utterly true.
I'd felt it to my bones: the gap between the martial arts from Moyong Taese and Soyeomgyo, with nothing to bridge them.
Especially after unleashing a high-level, mastered technique—when it ended and I had to face the opponent with my own basics—it felt like masterfully cooking a gourmet dish only to dump salt everywhere and shake the pot.
Pahwanggun had nailed it exactly.
Seeing me concede, Pahwanggun softened his tone a bit.
"Hurt a lot to get assigned to Chunmu Hall?"
"..."
If it didn't hurt, I'd be an idiot.
I'd steeled myself to die and passed the entrance exam.
Then told I'd spend six years in the no-potential trash bin of Chunmu Hall? It drained me.
Sure, it wasn't final yet.
But it felt like they'd already branded me as "that's all you're worth," filling me with massive self-loathing.
"No need to worry too much."
For some reason, Pahwanggun panicked visibly at my expression and hurried to add.
"Every intake, some disciples volunteer for Chunmu Hall just to get these eight weeks of training. And by coincidence or not, the other two in your future assembly both chose to start in Chunmu Hall. Be confident."
I looked up at the unexpected words.
"Really? But why? No reason to."
"No reason? Kid."
Pahwanggun poked his own chest.
"Know how valuable it is to have a master like me glued to your side for eight weeks of one-on-one? Depends on who, of course—worlds apart—but it's a gamble worth taking. In that sense..."
Pahwanggun grinned.
"You're ridiculously lucky!"
Truth was, I was terrified.
I'd charged forward seeing only the entrance exam pass.
And passed it, so I thought I could finally relax, train from Chunmu Hall, and grow.
But one more hurdle to survive loomed.
With a trembling voice, I asked.
"Pahwanggun, if I train eight weeks under you, can I pass the promotion exam?"
Pahwanggun raised his thumb high.
"Don't worry, Moyong Bi. I'll make damn sure you pass that promotion exam in eight weeks!"
"Ooh!"
And so, after debuting in the jianghu, I finally received the long-awaited first lesson I'd craved.
Exactly one day later, I realized something was terribly wrong.