***
“Heave, heave.”
Amidst the breath that rose to his chin and a mind that had gone blank from exhaustion, Bi Sa-yeong suddenly recalled the last day he had rushed out from his sect.
‘Eldest Senior Brother! I will go to the front! If even you go, our Bi-jong Sect might truly perish!’
‘Shut up! The Bi-jong Sect has already perished! It is my duty as the Eldest Senior Brother to take revenge!’
With those final words, Bi Sa-yeong had rushed out of the sect and headed for the front.
The Bi-jong Sect, the home of Bi Sa-yeong of the 7th Squad, was in a state of ruin.
Since a martial uncle and a few junior disciples still remained at the main branch, it couldn't be considered completely extinct, but there was no doubt it would soon become so.
This was because the internal cultivation art of the Bi-jong Sect had been lost along with the master and martial uncles who failed to return from the Blood Incident of the Martial Emperor’s Tomb.
Although they never particularly had famous peak-level masters, the Bi-jong Sect’s excellence in the art of lightness was once evaluated as peerless in the martial world; thus, the loss of their internal cultivation art was no different from a death sentence.
After all, the art of lightness without an internal cultivation art was nothing more than mere footwork.
The reason Bi Sa-yeong volunteered to go to the front was actually because he did not have the confidence to send his young junior disciples.
He thought that the disciples of the Bi-jong Sect, who had lost their internal art, would not be able to survive the demons of the Blood Cult anyway, and if they had to die, it was right for him, the Eldest Senior Brother, to die first.
On the other hand, rather than holding onto a crumbling sect, he had also thought that he wanted to take revenge on even a single demon.
However, there was one thing he had not considered.
The fact that there would be disciples of the Jeomchang Sect—whom he hated as much as the Blood Cultists—at the front, and that he would even have to fight in the same unit and the same squad as them.
When he first met Ju Tae-gyeong and the man introduced himself as a disciple of the Jeomchang Sect with an arrogant expression, Bi Sa-yeong had said with a hardened face:
‘I am a disciple of the Bi-jong Sect.’
Then, the man had asked back without even changing his expression:
‘Was there such a sect?’
Curses surged up, but he endured it that far.
It was possible that the man truly didn't know.
So, suppressing his anger, he spoke again:
‘My master and martial uncles passed away during the Blood Incident of the Martial Emperor’s Tomb.’
The Blood Incident of the Martial Emperor’s Tomb.
It was a horrific incident where martial artists who had flocked to Yunnan Province following maps of the Martial Emperor’s Tomb found across the land united to oppose the greed of the Jeomchang Sect, which had intervened late to monopolize it. In the end, not only the gathered martial artists but even the Jeomchang Sect were annihilated due to the collapse of the tomb.
Furthermore, the weakened Jeomchang Sect eventually lost its main mountain to the attack of the Blood Cult, which launched an offensive as if they had been waiting, and they ended up giving all of Yunnan Province over to the Blood Cult’s territory.
All of that had ultimately been a conspiracy by the Blood Cult.
A conspiracy that accurately predicted the Jeomchang Sect would act out of greed and intervene.
However, even if all of this was a Blood Cult conspiracy, to those related to the Blood Incident of the Martial Emperor’s Tomb, the Jeomchang Sect was no different from the Blood Cult.
It was the Jeomchang Sect that had intervened late, claiming the Martial Emperor’s Tomb found in Yunnan was theirs, and murdered many martial artists; it was also they who drove the opposing martial artists into the tomb and made them suffer that tragedy.
Ultimately, to Bi Sa-yeong, the Jeomchang Sect was an enemy of his sect just like the Blood Cult, and the culprit who had surrendered Yunnan Province to the Blood Cult.
Despite all these facts, Bi Sa-yeong had not hoped for much.
He knew that, realistically, it would be difficult to receive an apology from a Jeomchang swordsman who had reached the first-class realm.
Even this thought itself was humiliating, but he felt that if he could have seen even an expression of guilt, even if it wasn't a word of apology, he might have felt at least some consolation.
However, to such a Bi Sa-yeong, Ju Tae-gyeong had only asked back with a mocking expression:
‘Is that so? That means the elders of your sect were people who died while acting out of excessive greed. But what about it? Are you trying to brag about that?’
The moment he heard that oily laughter and voice, Bi Sa-yeong lost his string of reason.
He had lunged at the man, howling like a beast.
‘Is it not because of you bastards?! That tragedy happened because of you Jeomchang Sect bastards!’
Then, Ju Tae-gyeong snorted and countered Bi Sa-yeong as if he had been waiting.
It was a fierce strike fully loaded with internal energy.
Though it was a brief moment, Bi Sa-yeong could feel that Ju Tae-gyeong truly intended to kill him.
But at the moment Ju Tae-gyeong’s palm-strike was about to strike his neck like a sword, when he was powerlessly waiting for death because he couldn't block it, Squad Leader Seol Poong stepped in and blocked Ju Tae-gyeong’s hand.
It was truly a moment of coming back from the dead.
Ju Tae-gyeong, who received Squad Leader Seol Poong’s fierce gaze, snorted as if his fun had been spoiled and left the area with his followers.
Leaving behind the words, ‘If you insult the Jeomchang Sect again, I will surely kill you then.’
Bi Sa-yeong was frustrated.
He had never felt so powerless and pathetic.
His life after that day was not much different.
With his realm being merely second-class, he couldn't defeat a single demon, let alone Ju Tae-gyeong.
To defeat even the most common low-level Wild Dog Ghost, one had to at least reach the first-class realm, the stage of being able to harm others with Sword Qi.
However, with Bi Sa-yeong’s realm, having only mastered a basic internal art, it was obvious that even a lifetime of training would limit him to the second-class realm.
Everything felt too unfair and meaningless.
Of course, Squad Leader Seol Poong had offered to train him before.
But he had flatly refused.
He hated being pitied for being weak more than death.
Bi Sa-yeong was living in such a state.
No, if living meant having a goal and pursuing it, perhaps he wasn't living so much as merely breathing.
Then, one month ago, a madman entered his squad.
A warrior who was merely second-class like Bi Sa-yeong himself, and a fellow who was so generously fat that it was hard to believe he was a martial artist.
But that madman, perhaps truly out of his mind, showed himself clashing with Ju Tae-gyeong from the very first day he arrived.
He provoked him with the nickname he hated most, the Beetle of Jeomchang, and taunted him by saying he could easily win in a month or two.
He was truly a hot-blooded madman.
But that mad action,
Felt incredibly refreshing to Bi Sa-yeong.
Perhaps that was why.
Why he joined the training while pretending to fall for the fellow's provocation.
But from the very next day, he was able to realize it.
That it had been a truly stupid thing to do.
If he hadn't done that then, he wouldn't be this deathly exhausted right now.
In Bi Sa-yeong’s eyes, as he panted in a frustrated posture on a tree branch, he saw Squad Leader Seol Poong—who was wearing a vest with ninety kilograms of steel and even had his eyes covered—flying lightly across the trees and moving further away.
For Bi Sa-yeong, who prided himself on the fact that his lightness art, at least for a short duration, would not fall behind even peak-level masters despite his lack of internal energy, it was a deathly blow to his pride.
But he couldn't help it.
He had tried his absolute best to follow for a month, but the time he, who was only carrying thirty kilograms, could barely follow behind the squad leader was still only about an hour.
“Heave, heave, heave, damn it.”
It was deathly hard, but he could never give up.
Because he hated giving up even more than death.
Furthermore, wasn't that madman following behind him?
“Hahaha! Sa-yeong! Are you frustrated again after only an hour?! I might catch up soon! Hahahaha!”
That fellow Sunwoo Jin was definitely insane.
His appearance, as he followed desperately while repeating the cycle of running across trees and falling to hang from them, was a state where his entire body was covered in dirt, having already fallen from trees several times.
Even today, his face was covered in mud as if he had fallen face-first, and with only his eyes bloodshot red in that mud-caked face, he was running across the trees with grim persistence.
He couldn't understand how the fellow could laugh in that state.
But seeing him, Bi Sa-yeong gritted his teeth and stood up.
He could never lose to that fellow of all people.
Sunwoo Jin’s body had become nimbly recognizable compared to a month ago.
He was now in a completely average physical state. However, the fellow had started running while hanging an equivalent amount of steel on his vest, saying he would compensate for the lost body weight.
Bi Sa-yeong would rather die than tolerate losing to a fellow who was merely a second-class like himself, especially one who was running while carrying heavier steel than he was.
Furthermore, wasn't that fellow learning the Bi-jong footwork from him?
Sunwoo Jin had sought him out three days after the training first started and asked for help.
‘Brother Bi, to be honest, I have never learned a proper lightness art. So, to be honest, I am at a loss as to how to follow the squad leader's training. So, could you help me out a bit, Brother Bi?’
The fellow he already liked was bowing his head and asking for help, so he had felt quite good.
So when he asked how he could help, the fellow had asked cautiously.
‘Could you perhaps teach me a bit of your Bi-jong footwork? Ah! Of course, I am not asking you to teach me the ultimate secrets. I am only talking about the basic footwork! And I am not asking for it for free. I know a fairly good internal cultivation art. It might not be enough to exchange for a secret technique like the Bi-jong footwork, but could I perhaps tell you that in return?’
Bi Sa-yeong was startled to hear those words.
Because an internal art was exactly what he needed most.
It was a proposal that made his ears perk up, but for that very reason, he couldn't answer immediately.
Because his pride was hurt.
Then, Sunwoo Jin spoke with a dejected expression.
‘I suppose it’s not enough after all. It’s a fairly good internal art, but it would be a waste to trade it for an ultimate technique like the Bi-jong footwork. I fully understand.’
Bi Sa-yeong had to barely hold back a satisfied smile that almost escaped him.
To be honest, it was the first time he had met someone who recognized his sect’s footwork in this way.
So, he cleared his throat and spoke to the dejected Sunwoo Jin.
‘Since my sect’s footwork is so outstanding, it is a bit difficult to pass it on at will. However, since many of my sect’s elders have passed away and I am almost like the sect leader, and since we are comrades... well, if it’s just the basic footwork...’
Then, Sunwoo Jin, with a face so joyful he looked like he would jump, grabbed Bi Sa-yeong’s hand and repeated his thanks over and over.
In that way, Bi Sa-yeong passed the Bi-jong footwork to Sunwoo Jin and was able to master a proper internal cultivation art called the ‘Internal Art of Pleasant Intent.’
It was an internal art from the Pleasant Intent Sect, which had gone extinct several decades ago; since that place had also been a sect famous for its lightness arts, it was an internal art optimized for Bi Sa-yeong to master.
In fact, this was something Seol Poong and Sunwoo Jin had secretly discussed to select a suitable one for Bi Sa-yeong from among the internal arts they knew, but there was no way Bi Sa-yeong would know that fact.
Nor did he know that Sunwoo Jin had already learned the Bi-jong footwork from him in his previous life.
Anyway, out of the stubbornness that he could never lose to Sunwoo Jin, Bi Sa-yeong stood up again and began to run.
Though he didn't quite feel it himself, Bi Sa-yeong’s realm, which had been stagnant, had also begun to rise again as he learned a proper internal art.
Seol Poong’s dawn training usually consisted of sprinting across trees for one hour, followed by another hour of sprinting at ultra-high speeds while using one’s hands and feet to catch passing insects.
But for the rest of the people, the first hour was their limit.
So, when Seol Poong departed for the second round, the others would practice weapon techniques in the clearing after performing internal energy regulation; this was also because of Sunwoo Jin.
For about the first week, they had taken a rest after the energy regulation, but after a week or so, Sunwoo Jin, who had lost some weight, would stubbornly get up, saying this much was nothing, and begin swinging his sword again.
Bi Sa-yeong, who felt like he couldn't move even if he were beaten to death, had no choice but to grit his teeth and stand up again at a single sentence Sunwoo Jin threw with a pitying gaze while swinging his sword.
‘Brother Bi, Brother Bae, are you very exhausted? Compared to how you look... hmm...’
He didn't finish the sentence, but it was impossible not to know what he wanted to say with that disappointed look.
The provoked Bi Sa-yeong had jumped up and shouted.
‘This is nothing! I’m not exhausted at all!’
‘Me, me too!’
The strange thing was that even when they felt like they were dying, once they stood up like that, their bodies moved again.
While they were practicing weapon techniques, Seol Poong, who had finished his sprint training, would return and give them advice.
But what Bi Sa-yeong truly didn't want to do was the external art training that started from the afternoon after having a meal, even more than the morning training.
Bi Sa-yeong had thought for a long time that although he was his friend, Bae Jong-gwan’s external art training was useless.
In front of demons who tore trees and crushed rocks with their bare hands, and especially in front of those fellows who wouldn't even be scratched unless one manifested at least Sword Qi, what use would it be to make one’s skin a bit tougher?
Furthermore, the external art training where one applied foul-smelling medicinal herbs to the body and self-harmed by striking one’s body with clubs, starting with split bamboo, was incredibly embarrassing to behold.
So, Bi Sa-yeong had intended to never fall for Sunwoo Jin’s provocation regarding this.
‘I understand. It seems to be a training that is too painful for Brother Bi to endure.’
‘Hmph! Do not provoke me! No matter what, I cannot do that!’
Then, Sunwoo Jin nodded and said to Bae Jong-gwan.
‘It seems Brother Bi is also embarrassed by us after all. It is unavoidable. After all, sharing embarrassment is not something one can do unless they are a true friend, right?’
Bi Sa-yeong’s mouth could only fall wide open at those words.
Because Bae Jong-gwan was looking at him with a disappointed gaze.
‘N-no, it’s not that I’m embarrassed...’
But due to Bi Sa-yeong’s personality, which considered lying to be unmanly, he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
Because it was true that he was embarrassed.
Suddenly, he also thought Sunwoo Jin’s words were right.
Was it not a true friend and a real man who could share even that embarrassment without being ashamed like others?
In the end, Bi Sa-yeong had no choice but to rise up.
‘Ah, damn it! Let’s do it together! We can just do it together!’
From then on, the people of the 13th Unit could see the sight of three men screaming while slapping bamboo against each other’s bare bodies.
Furthermore, the sight of Bae Jong-gwan swinging the bamboo against his friends while smiling with a broad grin from ear to ear was a truly perverted scene that made one’s eyes narrow just by looking at it.
‘Uhahahahaha! As expected, practicing together makes it much easier and faster! Doesn't it even feel enjoyable?! Thank you, friends! You are indeed my true friends! Uhahahahaha!’
While being slapped by the bamboo and watching the red welts swell up on his flesh, Bi Sa-yeong sincerely regretted his words about doing it together.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
‘Ugh! Augh! Kka-ugh!’
But he couldn't say he would quit here.
Because giving up here would be admitting that he wasn't a true friend.
He felt like tears were going to come out.
After having another meal, the evening training was a spar with Squad Leader Seol Poong and his comrades.
Bi Sa-yeong was grateful for this much at least.
Because the opportunity for a peak-level master like Squad Leader Seol Poong to personally face him and give advice was a precious thing he could never obtain if not for this place.
However, the person from whom he actually learned the most during the spars was surprisingly not Squad Leader Seol Poong, but Sunwoo Jin.
Losing to Seol Poong was not that shocking.
Because he was a peak-level master and it was natural that he couldn't be matched by Bi Sa-yeong’s skill.
But watching Sunwoo Jin’s fights, Bi Sa-yeong could feel it to his bones.
That the reason he was weak was not because his internal energy was weak, but simply because he was bad at fighting.
With accurate judgment and appropriate responses, one could put up a magnificent fight against even a peak-level master even with a second-class realm.
Sunwoo Jin was proving that with his own body.
It was a great shock to both Bi Sa-yeong and Bae Jong-gwan.
He could also see why Sunwoo Jin had provoked Ju Tae-gyeong, a first-class warrior.
The fellow truly had confidence.
Bi Sa-yeong reflected on himself, as he had been neglecting his training while only using the excuse of his lost internal art.
It was an enlightenment like breaking out of an egg.
And now, for the first time in a long while, Bi Sa-yeong was feeling that he was alive—vividly alive.