JINGLE.
The sound of a bell broke the quiet stillness.
The chilly mountain wind awakened his mind and drew Namgung Yeon’s mental image, which had been in energy circulation, back outside.
Huu…….
Namgung Yeon began the day by operating his heart art.
Opening his eyes, he spoke to the Demonic Spirit Sword, which kept letting out bell sounds in the wind.
“Do not pester me. By nature, the true delicacy is to fatten it up plumply before eating.”
Strangely, the wind was still blowing, yet the bell no longer made a sound.
He smiled faintly and rose from his seat.
His physical condition was still not satisfactory, but it was certainly better than it had been three months ago.
Training, nutrition, and rest.
With those three elements properly falling into place, he now looked fairly like a martial artist.
He quietly stood and stepped out to the training field, where someone drenched in sweat was catching his breath.
“Huu……. Huu…….”
“You are overdoing it. There is no need to go that far.”
“What does it matter to you?”
The one answering crookedly was Namgung Jinjin.
Perhaps he had swung his sword without even sleeping properly, because exhaustion clung to his entire body.
Namgung Yeon knew every reason why, but he did not bother opening his mouth.
“Let us go.”
“…….”
Namgung Jinjin very much disliked Namgung Yeon, who merely glanced at him and walked away.
But what could he do?
No matter how he thought about it, there was no chance that he could defeat the group leader right now…….
‘But someday, I will definitely catch up. Definitely.’
He glanced at the instructor watching from a distance, then shouldered the Dragon-Sealing Chains.
And he shouldered two large water jars along with them.
It felt as though his shoulders would tear off, but once he circulated internal energy through his whole body, it was bearable.
At that moment, as expected, words flew toward him.
“If you use internal energy already, you will have a hard time later.”
“…….”
“Do as you please.”
Namgung Yeon chuckled.
Namgung Jinjin ground his teeth, but he did not answer.
Honestly, it was also because the water jars and Dragon-Sealing Chains were far too heavy for him to answer.
He had no focus to waste on a verbal fight.
Even circulating true energy was overwhelming.
In contrast, Namgung Yeon caught his breath and slowly moved his steps.
It was better when his body was strained like this.
When he sat still, various memories gnawed away at his mental strength.
Huff—!
Along with his rough breathing, the morning of earnest training dawned.
And there was an instructor watching that sight with curious eyes.
“Hmm…….”
With an interested gaze, he scribbled this and that down.
One sheet was for the official record.
The other was-.
“Interesting. No, is it dangerous?”
The fourth child of the Namgung Clan, whom no one had cared about.
He had not expected him to adhere to such a systematic yet ignorant training method.
Martial study was study.
If one trained the body so ignorantly, it was easy to damage it.
At least, that was what he thought.
He still has a long way to go.
However, he seemed worth watching a little.
Because no one had ever brought out such a training method until now.
‘Perhaps it is because this is the Young Clan Head Competition.’
A chance that came only once in a generation.
If one could seize it, then one had to do whatever it took.
The instructor slowly turned his eyes to the remaining participants.
Now it was his turn to work.
His real work.
***
Huff—! Huff—!
Namgung Yeon felt the muscles throughout his body trembling like aspen leaves.
His muscles were already exhausted to their limit.
The uneven terrain, and the rugged mountain slopes.
Just coming down here had placed an enormous physical load on him.
Correcting one’s body amid such imbalance was exactly the kind of strength a martial artist truly needed.
There was no better fundamental training than this.
“Haaah……. Haaah…….”
“Are you all right? Can you go without spilling the water like that?”
“…….”
Namgung Yeon chuckled as he looked at Namgung Jinjin, who was cursing him with his eyes.
That is why I told you not to use internal energy from the start.
Namgung Yeon headed toward the trickling stream.
Then, as he drew water, he opened his mouth.
“When fighting, our bodies face countless imbalances.”
“Does that have something to do with this training?”
“The mountain is rugged, and our bodies keep losing balance in tiny ways. On top of that, we are carrying weight. How hard must that be?”
“…….”
Because it made sense, he had even less to say.
While moving like this, circulating true energy felt even more difficult.
Had his father, the White Dragon Unit Captain, done this kind of training too?
Or had he simply swung his sword?
A question suddenly arose.
The reason he had lost to the group leader, Namgung Yeon…… could it perhaps have been because of a difference like this?
Yeon’s gestures and movements as he drew water also looked extremely unstable.
He was barely managing to settle himself while controlling a body trembling all over.
“When your internal energy runs dry, the only thing you can trust is a strong body. And…… understanding when and how much internal energy to draw out is also important.”
“…….”
“Be careful not to spill it. It is the water we must use all day. I will go first.”
“W-wait-!”
Namgung Yeon did not wait for an answer and began climbing the mountain with quick, balanced steps.
That crazy bastard. He saved his internal energy on purpose and then-.
“Son of a bitch…….”
Namgung Jinjin realized why the group leader had said that before they departed.
And even here, he had given him generous advice for his own sake.
But I…….
“How pathetic. Pathetic. If this is all I amount to…… I have no face before Father.”
He gritted his teeth.
He did not even hope to become the Young Clan Head.
After all, the Clan Head’s direct line, and among them, the eldest son [Namgung Cheon], called a heaven beyond heavens, stood firm.
However, Third Group was evaluated as a relatively weak group.
If he became weak even in a place like this…….
Perhaps he might have no value worth living.
With a body trembling all over, he drew water.
However, the end of one who did not know when and where to draw out strength was miserable.
“Haaah, haaah…….”
“You are only arriving now.”
“Damn it…….”
“What is this? Less than half the water is left. You will have to draw it again.”
“Aaaaargh-!”
The sloshing water jars.
The rough mountain path.
A body tired and without internal energy.
And, to put the finishing touch on it, the tremendously heavy Dragon-Sealing Chains.
What happened when these three things met?
What else would happen?
The water he had gone all the way down to draw would all spill out and disappear.
In the end, only after going back and forth two more times was Namgung Jinjin able to fill his quota.
“You wasted today’s training, did you not?”
“…….”
He wanted to tell him to get lost right away, but Namgung Jinjin was sprawled out without even the strength to do that.
Those who had quietly woken up without knowing what had happened began nervously gauging the mood.
If it was Namgung Jinjin, he was the second strongest person in Third Group…….
How had he ended up that exhausted?
Could it be that Namgung Yeon had held a grudge and……?
The group members swallowed hard.
Next, it might be their turn.
“If you are awake, you should train. What are you doing?”
“…….”
Namgung Yeon looked at them and spoke indifferently.
Those eyes, which reflected nothing at all, seemed to drive them even harder.
Namgung Yeon began training in earnest.
The laborers, too, arrived for work and began reinforcing the training ground.
A day like any other.
A day that would now become routine had begun.
Naturally, Namgung Yeon did not stop throwing money around here either.
“The groceries you ordered have arrived-!”
“You arrived at the right time.”
“My lord, thank you very much for choosing our butcher shop again.”
A large number of people arrived.
They had all climbed this rough mountain carrying A-frame carriers on their backs.
What they carefully set down was all meat.
The instructor came running in a panic to stop them, but Namgung Yeon blocked him.
Violation of the rules was a serious matter.
That was why he had tried to stop them immediately.
“During training, eating and drinking anything other than the supplied provisions is forbidden. You know this, do you not?”
“There are exceptions.”
“By exceptions, do you mean a backer?”
For the sake of fairness in training, the principle was that they had to eat only the food originally provided.
However, that was only the surface reason.
Did one think there would be no privileges in this unreasonable world?
If one did think so, perhaps one was still innocent or inexperienced…….
Namgung Yeon smiled faintly and nodded.
He had received it in advance because he knew this would happen.
He held out a token to the instructor.
“A backer…… T-Tang Yeonho!?”
“He is my maternal grandfather, so I believe he has sufficient qualifications as a backer.”
“…….”
By nature, a backer could be chosen without any conditions.
Also, a backer could not have multiple sponsors.
Once one officially had a backer in that way, the true charm of the Young Clan Head Competition was that one could receive as much support as possible.
The reason such a device had been arranged?
It was obvious.
It was all a movement to secure power within the clan.
Things everyone knew but hushed up and passed over.
‘Originally, this should have been a fight between the Elders and the Clan Head, but even the Tang Clan…….’
He felt that matters had become even more complicated.
Also, the weight carried by the name Tang Yeonho played a part.
That seal meant that the Retired Clan Head of the Tang Clan was exerting himself solely for Namgung Yeon.
The instructor’s complexion turned pale.
‘Is this possible? I must report it quickly.’
That was what he had heard.
However, eras flowed, and situations changed.
Thinking about it, yes.
The Tang Clan was no longer a stranger.
Strictly speaking, it was this child’s maternal clan.
“Huh……. Then all of this is…….”
“Meat specially aged by the Tang Clan. Why, would you like some?”
Want a taste of meat pickled in poison?
***
“Waaah…….”
“The delicious smell reaches all the way here.”
“They said it was specially aged by the Tang Clan. I wonder how it tastes.”
Hoho smacked his lips.
His body had become firm through harsh training, but that appetite of his had not gone anywhere.
Hoho loved eating very much, and he had a natural talent for cooking.
The Tang Clan’s aged meat was precious enough that even the Imperial Family sought it out.
And yet they had sent such a large amount merely because they were his maternal clan.
Since it had absorbed plenty of various medicinal ingredients, it should also contain enough nutrition.
No one had even thought that far…….
In addition, Namgung Yeon took out more Clear Origin Water.
“This much should be enough to use when cooking.”
“Th-thank you.”
Hoho clicked his tongue at Namgung Yeon’s unstinting support.
So this was the financial power of a great clan.
It was a moment when countless emotions crossed him.
‘I want to become strong quickly and be recognized too.’
Around the time Hoho’s will grew stronger, Namgung Yeon handed Clear Origin Water to the other group members as well and spoke.
“And during breaks in training, drink this.”
“Was that also sponsored?”
If I said no, could you even find out where it came from?
Namgung Yeon merely nodded.
Because of that, the instructor could not stop him at all.
Instead, he decided to distribute it to the instructors as well.
[Clear Origin Water]
[999,983,212 units]
[Current removable quantity: 200 per day]
Two hundred a day was enough for the people here to eat and drink it like water.
And one more thing.
This Clear Origin Water had a very fine effect.
[Clear Origin Water: To those poisoned by demonic energy, it acts like a poison that slowly intoxicates them.]
He had said it to the Demonic Spirit Sword.
Prey was a delicacy when one fattened it up plumply before eating.
Right now, Namgung Yeon was raising them.
‘And it is about time I send someone on an errand.’
The time had come to make use of the Black Wind Gang.
Also, he would have to shock his father and the Elders.
He would show them that although everything appeared peaceful on the surface, a dagger had already risen right beneath their jaws.
“I wonder who will be caught. Is that not so?”
JINGLE.
The bell of the Demonic Spirit Sword rang.
Namgung Yeon’s gaze was directed not at the group members, but at the instructors.