Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Wahahahahaha!”
I laughed and laughed and laughed, very happy.
“Come on, stop laughing and let’s go outside. Since you’ve become my disciple, shouldn’t we say hello to the other elders and their disciples?”
“Oh, yes!”
I replied, stopping laughing but unable to hide my joy, and followed Master Mujin outside.
The time was noon, when the sun was high in the sky.
It’s time for the Boping disciples to recite the Jia Hashim, and for the Sokka disciples to gather together to train in the first forms, such as the Yi Form and the Bi Form.
And the immediate disciples were no exception, as they were the ones who benefited the most.
“Ha’at!”
“Iyaab!”
Chop! Chop!
Swords clanged, steel clashed, and sparks flew.
“Falling Flower Stream!”
The sword pole shook, and beautiful flower petals danced and flew toward the opponent.
“Qi’ite, Manga Heaven!”
A child drew a large flower petal to defend the front against Falling Flower Water.
The two swords clashed, and the two kids took five steps backward each.
“Hoo…… hoo…….”
“Haa…… haa…….”
Just as the two kids caught their breath and raised their swords again, the two old men who had been watching from a distance raised their hands.
It was a signal to stop fighting.
Puzzled, the two lowered their swords and took up positions against each other. Then, with a cold snap, they turned and walked toward the two old men who had raised their hands.
“Why did you tell us to stop, we were so close to winning…….”
The angular-faced boy in the red cloth said.
“What are you talking about, Yoo Hyuk. I almost won this bimu.”
“You’re the one who’s talking, Zhang Yil. Your ineffectual flower-drawing skills would have been defeated by the Falling Flower Sword Technique in an instant if you’d struck for another second.”
At Yoo Hyuk’s words, a round-faced, white-robed boy named Zhang Il blushed red.
“Hehe, stop it,” he said.
“If you guys fight here, you’ll only embarrass the two of us.”
“…….”
“…….”
Hearing the two old men’s words, Zhang Il and Yoo Hyuk looked at each other, frowned for a moment, and then stood next to the old man.
The old man standing next to Yoo Hyuk was tall and wore the same red robe as Yoo Hyuk.
This old man was one of the elders of the Volcano Sect, Falling Flower Sword Xiao Yilian.
And the old man standing next to the kid named Zhang Il was Doudou Hua of the Harmony Sword, one of the elders of the Volcano Sect.
“A new guest is coming today, and you’re trying to humiliate me like this. Liu Hyuk, do you think I’m ridiculous?”
At Yi Lian Qin’s words, Liu Hyuk shook his head in disbelief.
“No, Master.”
“Zhang Yi, no matter how much you claim to be my disciple, do you think it’s acceptable to show such rude behavior when a guest arrives?”
Zhang Yil shook his head in disbelief.
“No, Master.”
“Then keep quiet and keep to yourself.”
“Yes.”
As Liu Hyuk and Zhang Il stood still in the back, someone arrived in front of them.
“It’s been a long time, Mujin Qin.”
“Long time no see.”
“It’s been a long time.”
Master Mu Zhen replied, smiling at Elder Dowager and Elder Xiao Yilian.
Master Mujin, who was given the name Qin Yin by the Volcanic Sect, and Elder Dowager and Elder Shou Lian, the two representatives of the Volcanic Sect’s Sword Gate.
The children beside them also looked as sharp as the disciples of the representative elders of the Sword Gate.
“Is this the child, the first direct disciple you took in?”
Elder Su looked at me curiously.
“That’s right, this child is my disciple.”
“Hmph…….”
The two children standing next to me gave me a strange look.
Their eyes gave me goosebumps and I flinched.
“This is the last disciple I accepted, his name is Qingwu. I’m sure you’ve heard from Master Zhang that he had some unfortunate incidents before he became my disciple, but I hope you won’t hold it against him.”
At Master Mujin’s words, the two elders looked back and forth between me and Master Mujin and nodded.
“So you’re the youngest of the immediate disciples? You and Elder Wu Ying are the only ones who haven’t had any immediate disciples, but Elder Wu Ying is the patriarch of the Bo Ping disciples, so he doesn’t accept immediate disciples.”
“That’s right.”
“Then you’ve only just become a direct disciple, so your skills aren’t very good. I’ll make you feel more secure, and you can watch for a while.”
Elder Dowager Dowager speaks with a smile on his face, in contrast to his soft-spoken and stern demeanor.
The words sounded insulting, but Master Mujin nodded, realizing that the two elders were doing this for me.
“Alright, then, let’s start the dance again. Please stand in place.”
The two elders, who had been standing behind me and sending me bizarre glances that sent chills down my spine, stepped forward and stood in the center of the clearing.
Standing in the center of the clearing, they took up positions.
“I am Zhang Yi, the immediate disciple of the Harmony Sword Dowager Elder.”
“I’m Liu Hyuk, the immediate disciple of Elder Dowager Dowager.”
After a few nervous words, both men simultaneously drew their swords from their scabbards and raised and lowered them toward each other.
It was like a ritual before a battle.
Yoo Hyuk took a step forward with his left foot, one hand clutching the sword bottle tightly, the other holding it at an angle.
Two-handed sword, an unusual stance.
Zhang Il took half a step backward with his right foot and lowered his sword at an angle.
Then, a momentum like a sharp sword could be felt from Liu Hyuk, and a momentum like a wind that swept away everything could be felt from Zhang Il.
A momentum so sharp that even I, who had only been a Bo Ping disciple two days ago, could feel it.
I didn’t like the look in their eyes, but I felt that their skills were real.
“Quite an achievement, both of you.”
Master Mu Jin said in astonishment.
“You’ve been studying as Elder Huashan’s disciples for over five years. Such an accomplishment is only natural.”
“Well, well.”
The two elders looked at the two disciples with pride.
“Let’s get started.”
“Go for it.”
“Haat!”
Zhang Il’s sword slashed smoothly against Yu Hyuk’s vertical slash.
The sound of the swords clashing together was barely audible.
“Haap!”
Unnerved by Zhang Il’s sword that kept shedding his offense, Liu Hyuk frowned and unleashed his initial attack.
“Falling Leaf Sword Technique One Second Yuan Leaf Fall!”
Liu Hyuk’s sword instantly turned into multiple swords and stretched out, pressing against Zhang Il’s entire body.
Pit! Pit!
Narrowly avoiding the attack, but frowning at the cuts on his clothes, Zhang Il switched his stance from defensive to offensive.
“Harmonizing Sword Three Seconds Chu Song Ya Lin!”
Drawing his sword back to his chest in an inviting semicircle, Zhang Yil stabbed out.
It was a slow, but devastating slash that contained the essence of transformation and heavy sword.
“Chiit!”
Just when he thought he had the upper hand, the situation reversed in an instant, and Liu Hyuk frowned again, concentrating to block Zhang Il’s sword.
However, he was unable to block Zhang Il’s sword.
His sword changed shape in an instant, sidestepping Liu Hyuk’s sword and stabbing him in the uvula.
“Whoa!”
Zhang Yil took a step back in surprise, but the sword was even faster than that, catching up to Yu Hyuk’s new form.
Bam!
Zhang Yil’s sword touched Yu Hyuk’s uvula.
“Stop!”
Elder Xiao Yilian shouted, realizing that he might get hurt if he continued, and declared the end of the duel.
As soon as the elder shouted, Zhang Yil lowered his sword to the ground, even though he had originally intended to stop.
Zhang Yil lowered his sword and walked over to Liu Hyuk’s side, muttering something.
Judging from the way Liu Hyuk’s hands were trembling, it seemed that Zhang Yil was teasing him about something.
“Stop teasing me, little brother.”
Elder Dowager Dowager stopped speaking, but soon revealed a sneering expression.
The look on his face made Elder Yu Hyuk even angrier.
However, Elder Xiao Yi’s silent glare caused him to calm down and catch his breath.
“Now, this is a victory for Il Ah. You must work harder to win next time.”
At Elder Dowager’s words, Yu Hyuk took over.
“What do you think, Mu Jin?”
Master Mu Jin was surprised by the elder’s words.
“It’s amazing, even if you’re not a top-ranked player, you can still be heard as a second-rate player.”
Elder Xiao Yilian nodded at Master Mu Jin’s words.
“Did I say Qingwu, Wuaya, what do you think?”
He asked softly, and I blurted out the words that had been ringing in my head.
“It’s great…… it’s great…….”
I really thought so.
It was so different from the martial arts I had learned as a Bo Ping disciple.
The speed, power, and technique were inhuman.
And I was thrilled to think of learning them myself.
“You can be like that someday.”
He nodded at Master Mujin’s words.
“Well, goodbye, then.”
Master Mujin bowed with a gesture of respect. Then the two elders bowed in return.
I bowed ninety degrees and followed Master Mujin out of the room.
After that, everything was similar.
I would visit the elders and disciples who were practicing, greet them for a while, listen to a few words of virtue, then meet another elder, listen to a few words of virtue, meet another elder, listen to a few words of virtue, then meet another elder, and so on…….
Half a day went by just greeting people.
After saying goodbye to everyone, I made my way to Master Mujin’s home, the Quyun Temple.
Master Mujin turned to me.
“How was it?”
“What?”
I asked, because we had been walking in silence and he suddenly spoke to me.
“Did you feel anything when you saw those children, who are about your age or a little older?”
I nodded and thought about it.
I remembered the first two, Jangil and Yoohyuk, who had given me goosebumps with their strange glances, but after that, their skills had given me goosebumps. And then there was Gwuoya, who was the same age as me, but was the first to enter the room. The only female among my former students, and my sister-in-law, who is two years older than me. And the rest of the other specialties…….
All of them had excellent martial arts skills.
And although they were young and a little arrogant, their mindsets as martial artists were aiming higher.
All of them were something I needed to learn from, something I needed to catch up with.
“You’re going to be better than them.”
“Eh? Really?”
“I’m sure of it. You will be better than them in five years.”
“Why?”
“Because you are my student, and I will make you so.”
Words of assurance.
Master Mujin’s words filled my heart.
“But if that is to be so, you will have to obey my training. Can you do that?”
“Yes!”
I answered vigorously, and Master Mujin smiled faintly and quickened his pace.
I matched his pace and ran.
Soon we arrived at the Quyun Mountain, and I groomed myself, bathed, and went to bed.
With my heart pounding with anticipation, I held onto…….