***
After hearing that I had intentionally taken the blame to go to the front, Yeon-ha left with a somewhat flustered expression.
The fact that her reaction felt different from my memory left me with an unsettled feeling.
‘What is it? What’s different?’
Back then, Yeon-ha had done nothing but comfort me as I cried endlessly….
Was the feeling different this time because I hadn't cried?
I was deep in thought when it happened.
The second visitor I had been waiting for arrived.
Tadak!
The visit was much faster than I had expected.
Startled by his form as he landed silently from the roof, I cried out.
“Father?!”
The identity of the second visitor was my father, Sunwoo Joong.
He was looking at me with a heavy expression.
‘What? Even Father feels different from back then.’
Was it because I had changed?
The time he visited me and the expression with which he looked at me were completely different from my memories, which was flustering.
Back then, he had come with a look of resignation and asked if there was one last thing I wanted to request.
At that time, I had made the pathetic request of asking if he could just let me run away, and Father had simply turned away after shaking his head with a sigh.
That heavy expression and the way he just stared at me without saying a word were entirely different from the past.
As I watched Father with a tense expression, he finally opened his mouth and asked heavily.
“Is it true that you were framed?”
My eyes widened in surprise.
It seemed he had overheard what I said to Yeon-ha earlier.
Does that mean he had been here since then?
Then, could it be that he was there in the past as well?
Why on earth?
As I failed to answer the question and simply stared at his face, he spoke heavily once more.
“Jin… I knew that you were hiding your talent and playing the fool. However, I did not know that you wished to leave the clan. Had I known sooner….”
Deep regret was etched into Father’s face as he spoke.
That expression was so unexpected that it was bewildering.
And from Father’s mouth, words flowed that I never imagined I would hear from him.
“I am sorry, Jin. Your life has been ruined because of an inadequate father.”
My mind became a tangled mess.
What? What on earth is this?
Until now, Father had completely neglected me.
He didn't interfere with what I did, but he also didn't stop my brothers and their mothers from tormenting me.
As a result, I had been completely isolated within the clan, and I had deeply resented my father for making me this way.
But what was this situation?
Could it be?
A picture I had never even considered in my previous life began to click together in my head.
The influence of the maternal families of my three brothers, excluding myself, was extremely powerful within the Sunwoo Clan.
It was to the extent that even Father, the Head of the Clan, always had to coordinate his opinions with theirs.
So, if Father had personally looked after one child, would he have become unable to control the other maternal families?
Was it that he had to neglect everyone, and therefore, I—who had no maternal family—could not be protected by anyone?
No, was neglecting me actually his way of protecting me?
‘If so, could it be?!’
The face of my father, whom I had always resented and thus never missed, looked new to me today.
Of course, my thoughts were merely a hypothesis, and the resentment I had harbored for that long time did not vanish in an instant.
However, Father’s expression, filled with deep regret, was a vivid reality.
Father asked.
“Is there anything you would like to ask for?”
I suddenly snapped to my senses.
Regardless of what Father’s true feelings were, I couldn't miss this opportunity I had been waiting for.
I swallowed hard and asked in a serious tone.
“Would you allow me to enter the Head’s private library? One day will be enough.”
Then, Father asked back with an expression of surprise.
“The library? For only a single day?”
I chose the right words in my mind and spoke slowly and seriously.
I had to persuade Father to let me into the library no matter what.
“I am ashamed to say that I have neglected my training and do not even know the family’s martial arts. Before I am deployed to the front, I wish to learn even a little of the family’s martial arts.”
It was true. This was one of the parts I regretted most from my previous life.
After all my direct siblings died or went missing, I had somehow been pushed into becoming the Clan Head, but because of my profligate past, I hadn't known even a bit of the Sunwoo Clan’s martial arts.
Because of that, when I went to the Yunnan front, I had to learn martial arts the hard way, starting from the very bottom.
‘And I did it by stealing and learning the martial arts of others.’
Memories of those difficult and dirty times came to mind.
Memories of those days when I was treated as being completely outside the combat force and was ignored and ostracized even by my comrades on the front.
Therefore, if I could only master the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo—the ultimate technique of the Sunwoo Clan, which had existed as one of the top five sects in Guizhou Province for a long time despite the absence of the Nine Great Sects—I would be able to rise much faster than before.
At least compared to my past life, where I had to steal and learn martial arts from other squad members over their shoulders.
Father asked with a complex expression.
“Are you saying you will learn martial arts in just one day, and by looking at books at that?”
“I believe it will be better than doing nothing.”
Then, after thinking for a moment, Father nodded.
“I understand. I shall do so.”
It worked!
For a moment, I almost clenched my fists and cheered.
I was finally able to fill the regrets of my past life.
However, Father’s words were not over.
“But!”
“Yes?”
When I grew slightly tense at Father’s sudden words, words I once again hadn't imagined flowed from his mouth.
“Learning internal cultivation techniques alone is a very dangerous thing, so I shall teach you personally. Sit in a cross-legged position right now.”
“Yes? Yes, yes! I understand, Father!”
Though flustered, I immediately sat cross-legged.
Then, a warm energy began to flow in from Father’s palms, which touched my back, and started to lead me.
“What I will pass on to you is the Primordial Limitless Internal Art (Hon-won-mu-geuk-gong). I will recite the mnemonic a few times, so listen carefully and memorize it all. In the beginning, there were Yin and Yang, and there was Chaos.”
The Primordial Limitless Internal Art?!
I was so incredibly shocked that I almost screamed.
The Primordial Limitless Internal Art was an internal technique that only the Head and the Successor of the Sunwoo Clan could learn.
In other words, Father was currently passing down the greatest secret of the Sunwoo Clan to me.
It should have been a truly surprising and joyful thing, but for some reason, I felt strange.
I should have been overwhelmed with excitement and joy for the new martial art, but strangely, the hot warmth delivered by Father’s palms against my back felt more moving.
It was so… warm.
It was the warmest feeling of kinship I had ever felt in my life.
The next day, I was able to enter the Head’s private library.
My brothers expressed their opposition, saying it was absolutely impossible, but Father dismissed them, saying that if I were to be killed by the demons without being able to do anything, it would rather disgrace the family's honor.
So, having finally entered the Head’s private martial arts storehouse for the first time in two lives, I cracked my knuckles and gave a devious smile.
“Ehehe.”
Did he ask if one day was enough?
It’s plenty!
I didn't intend to master the martial arts today, but simply to memorize them.
To cram them unconditionally into my head. Because that was the talent I was most confident in among the abilities I possessed.
Having been called a child prodigy for my memory alone when I was young, I had to develop that memory even further to survive after being deployed to the front.
Since I knew no martial arts, I had to watch my comrades' martial arts for a brief moment and learn them by imitating them.
Later, Unit Leader Seol Poong admired my ability and gave it a name.
He called it ‘Scene Memory Technique.’
I was a human photocopier who could remember and draw even the number of leaves in a forest just by looking around once.
So, I could say with confidence:
‘It means that all of you here today are destined to enter my head. So, give up quietly and come in; then I’ll use you well so you won't feel neglected, ehehe!’
The Head’s private library was a small room with all four walls filled with bookshelves. And most of the books there were martial arts manuals.
Thinking that all those many martial arts would enter my head made me feel full even without eating.
Of course, I couldn't expect that all of them would be helpful. Among them were basic manuals like the Three Powers Sword Style and the Six Harmonies Fist, as well as health exercise methods like the Five Animals Play.
‘But so what? It’s a million times better than not being able to learn because I didn't have them, like in my past life.’
First, I pulled out the Primordial Limitless Internal Art I learned from Father yesterday and the family's ultimate technique, the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo, and began to read them thoroughly three times each so that the order wouldn't get confused.
While my memorization was perfect, there was a stark difference in my level of understanding between the Primordial Limitless Internal Art, which I had already learned, and the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo, which I still didn't know at all.
To be honest, I didn't understand a single thing about the content of the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo.
‘As expected, it was nonsense to think I could master martial arts just with roughly drawn pictures and text. In martial arts novels, people become masters just by practicing while looking at secret manuals on their own.’
It seemed martial arts novels were just novels after all.
But despite that, I continued to cram the martial arts into my head.
Though I didn't understand them at all, I believed they would be helpful someday.
Time was flowing like water.
By the time I had thoroughly read about half of the books in the library three times each, it was already afternoon.
By then, my head was throbbing unbearably, and my body was completely exhausted.
‘I feel like I’m going to die. I can't push myself any further.’
Unable to endure the state of 'memory indigestion' any longer, I decided to step out of the library and get some fresh air.
As I stood up, I felt like the world was spinning.
And after stumbling outside, I ended up collapsing right there on the grass in front of the library.
“Oh, I’m dying!”
I lay spread-eagled and stared blankly up at the sky.
I felt a bit better for a moment, but when I thought about how half was still left, my head started throbbing again.
Suddenly, temptation rushed in.
‘Should I just stop here?’
It’s not like reading them would be of immediate help anyway. I didn't even understand most of them.
Wouldn't mastering the Primordial Limitless Internal Art and knowing the forms of the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo be achievement enough?
Those temptations were floating around in my head.
It was then.
I heard someone’s voice.
“Hmph! Of course! To think someone like that would master martial arts!”
“I agree. It seems his pig-like nature of lounging around anywhere is unavoidable.”
When I suddenly looked up, it was my three brothers.
They were passing through the garden as if escorting two beautiful young ladies.
My gaze naturally turned toward them.
Both appeared to be great beauties.
However, while one gave off a slightly gloomy vibe because her bangs deeply covered her eyes, the other possessed such incredible beauty that one's eyes would snap open just by a glimpse.
Swallowing hard, I suddenly compared her to the most beautiful woman I knew.
‘At that level, she wouldn't lose even compared to Young Lady Dang.’
Young Lady Dang Yeo-eun, who was one of the unit leaders of the Biryong 13th Unit, had been a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Of course, even though she was a direct descendant, she was the youngest among the Tang family's many siblings and was positioned near the very end, which is why she had been deployed to the front. There, she performed amazingly with her outstanding hidden weapon techniques, footwork, and poison arts, as well as incredible swordsmanship that was unlike someone from the Tang family, eventually earning the title 'Sword Phoenix of the Tang Family' (Dangga Geombong).
She had received the title of 'Phoenix,' which is given only to women who possess both martial arts and beauty and are recognized as those who will lead the martial world in the future.
But to think there was beauty comparable to that Young Lady Dang, I couldn't help but be captivated by her for a moment.
However, it seemed that bothered my brothers.
My eldest brother, Sunwoo Seong, glared at me with sharp eyes and shouted.
“How dare a filthy pig like you look at Young Lady Jegal?! I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable, Young Lady Jegal.”
Young Lady Jegal?
Could it be he was talking about Young Lady Jegal Seo-yul, the 'Heaven-Blessed Sword Phoenix' (Cheonhye Geombong)?
I had heard rumors that a genius of the sword had appeared in the Jegal Clan, which hadn't been well-recognized for martial arts compared to their power and wisdom.
‘I heard that the Jegal Clan is sending her to various martial families to give her experience…. Is that why she came to our clan?’
I suddenly remembered hearing that people from the Jegal Clan would be visiting around this time.
I must have forgotten because I didn't care at all, thinking it had nothing to do with me.
But regardless, I quickly looked away.
Because I knew very well what kind of state men become in front of a beauty.
Especially if they were people with flawed characters like my brothers, there was no telling what they would do to look good to a beauty.
I thought it would be wise to return to the library quickly.
It was then that the woman, who was likely Jegal Seo-yul, asked.
“And that person is?”
My heart sank.
Look here, Young Lady!
Who are you trying to kill right now?
You shouldn't show interest in me!
Then, my brothers vied to answer.
“He is my shameful third brother.”
“As you can see, he is closer to a pig than a human.”
“Even though Father gave him special time to learn martial arts because he has to go to the Great Demon Cult Front tomorrow, he is acting like that.”
She asked back with a surprised expression.
“He’s going to the Great Demon Cult Front?”
Then she looked at me again with curious eyes.
‘Oh no! Young Lady, please!’
I closed my eyes tightly.
Sure enough, my brothers' eyes turned fierce, and they began to glare at me as if they were going to devour me.
“He is not someone you should take interest in.”
“That’s right, as you can see, he’s a pig-like fellow.”
“He is merely going to the front because he committed a crime and must pay for it.”
“Ah….”
However, while she nodded as if she understood, their gaze did not leave me.
Then, the youngest, Sunwoo Gi, who had frowned because he didn't like that, suddenly began to approach me with an oily smile.