WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
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◈ Martial Arts Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 5: Fifteen
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At fifteen, Ju Han-o was far stronger than at ten. The ten-year-old Ju Han-o had picked up third-rate internal energy cultivation methods and fist arts, then used them to beat up thugs and Greenwood bandits. By fifteen, however, Ju Han-o had used those years of training and experience to create martial arts of his own. Around that time, Ju Han-o had begun making a real name in the martial world of the Central Plains. After beating up Namgung Bi-hwi, the Young Sword Dragon and young master of the Namgung Clan, Ju Han-o was being hunted by the clan.
“I should’ve killed that bastard back then.”
The fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o grumbled. Compared to the ten-year-old version, this one was much taller and had lost the baby fat. Baek Hyun privately thought the fifteen-year-old looked old for his age, but saw no reason to say so.
“He started it, too. He was making such a racket at the inn that I told him to shut up, and he lost his temper and came at me. I was going to kill him, but he looked young, so I let him live. And this is what I get. Bah...!”
Despite being pursued by a great clan like the Namgung Clan, Ju Han-o seemed relaxed. This past version had been created from the memories of Ju Han-o, the Martial God Demon. It was a wonder possible only here in the Peach Blossom Realm, and this Ju Han-o had to be considered a separate person entirely.
“You can tell I’m different from my ten-year-old self, can’t you?”
“Yes.”
Baek Hyun answered while roughly rubbing his mouth. A year had already passed since coming to the Peach Blossom Realm. After defeating the ten-year-old Ju Han-o, Baek Hyun had spent a year learning martial arts from the Martial God Demon.
“What I want is for you to reach the fifth stage of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art.”
The Martial God Demon spoke from behind the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o.
“Once you reach the fifth stage, Hyun, I’ll be able to ascend to immortality without regrets. And you’ll be able to return home.”
“That’ll take a long time, won’t it?”
Grumbling, Baek Hyun pushed up from the ground. In truth, the desire to return to the original world had mostly faded by now. When Baek Hyun had first arrived in the Peach Blossom Realm, the only thought had been to escape this damned, unknown place as soon as possible.
But this was fun.
That was all there was to it. There was only one other person in the Peach Blossom Realm, though Baek Hyun wasn’t even sure that being could be called a person. In any case, even if it was just the two of them here, learning martial arts was fun.
Thinking back, Baek Hyun had never worked this hard at anything before. Going to school, studying, working part-time jobs. Knowing what a miserable life it was, Baek Hyun had always left a way out in one corner of his heart, even while working hard.
What could someone like me ever amount to, anyway?
Thoughts like that.
No one had ever expected anything of Baek Hyun. To everyone else, Baek Hyun was an orphan with no parents. Even those from the same orphanage had seen things no differently, whether they had long since gone astray or were still trying to lead decent lives.
But Ju Han-o was different. The master had absolute faith in Baek Hyun and was doing everything possible to teach the disciple martial arts. It was just that the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art was so difficult to understand that Baek Hyun had only reached the first stage.
That couldn’t be helped. Its creator, Ju Han-o, was right there, personally guiding the disciple. But the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art combined the insights the Martial God Demon had gained late in life. It was the essence of a hundred and twenty years of life and experience. Even with the same Innate Martial Genius, Baek Hyun was not Ju Han-o.
Over the past year, Baek Hyun had felt that difference keenly.
The Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art had no set moves. That didn’t mean Baek Hyun hadn’t learned any. Ju Han-o had said that set moves were ultimately fixed forms, and that becoming too used to them would one day trap the mind, energy, and body within those forms. Still, the master hadn’t denied their purpose.
Put simply, set moves were instructions for using the body effectively. Even with the gift of Innate Martial Genius, the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art, and a teacher known as the Martial God Demon, Baek Hyun still needed to learn them. They simply weren’t being learned as martial arts in their own right.
“...Phew!”
Baek Hyun let out a deep sigh and stood up. Squinting, he looked down at both arms. The limbs that had been crushed so badly were already completely healed. This had happened several times before, so it wasn’t surprising. That didn’t make it feel any better.
“Come at me.”
The fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o shook out both hands. Pitch-black light wrapped around his body.
Baek Hyun drew in a short breath at the sight.
A protective force aura. At fifteen, Ju Han-o could freely use something that martial artists supposedly needed decades of training to produce. The difference in fighting strength was overwhelming. There was no need to mention the gap in experience, and the differences in both the amount and control of internal energy were enormous.
But Baek Hyun didn’t back down.
A year ago, it had taken a week to beat the ten-year-old Ju Han-o. This time, it would take far longer. Baek Hyun could feel that without anyone having to explain it.
The thought wasn’t discouraging. It wasn’t irritating, either. Getting beaten up by a fifteen-year-old kid, someone younger, seemed only natural.
Of course it would happen. I’m weak.
If I’m weak, I just have to get stronger.
The Martial God Demon watched Baek Hyun from a distance.
There had been just one lingering regret before ascension. To settle it, Ju Han-o had summoned a disciple from another world and taken him in.
At first, Ju Han-o hadn’t been particularly pleased with the disciple. But that was already a year ago. Compared to the years the master had lived, one year was a short time. Yet this year in the Peach Blossom Realm had been so enjoyable that it could almost compare to an entire lifetime in the martial world.
It was because of the disciple. A year ago, Baek Hyun had done little but shirk work. Now, the disciple knew how to be fairly serious. What pleased Ju Han-o most was that Baek Hyun had discovered the joy of learning martial arts.
In truth, that was only natural. To be born with Innate Martial Genius was to be blessed by martial arts itself. Most martial arts could be understood after seeing them once, and learning them was quick as well. The dull and the ordinary might not find much pleasure in learning, but a genius was different. How could learning fail to be enjoyable when every lesson brought them to a new level?
‘...And there’s that stubborn streak.’
That had surprised Ju Han-o.
Baek Hyun had said he came from a world without martial arts. A world without fighting, where murder was uncommon and strength wasn’t the law. Naturally, Ju Han-o had expected someone soft.
But that wasn’t the case. Even if injuries healed right away, it was human nature to fear pain after taking a beating. Yet no matter how many times Baek Hyun was struck down, the disciple kept getting up and charging in.
It was the same now.
The gap in strength was overwhelming. As things stood, Baek Hyun had absolutely no chance of defeating the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o. With that level of internal energy, Baek Hyun couldn’t produce a force aura yet. None of those attacks could possibly break through Ju Han-o’s protective force aura.
Even so, the disciple attacked without backing down. Eyes wide and senses fully alert, Baek Hyun tried not to miss a single movement. Even when a fist came flying straight at his face, those eyes didn’t close. Baek Hyun dodged by a paper-thin margin and drove a fist into an opening.
Stubbornly, despite knowing it wouldn’t get through.
Ju Han-o smiled at the sight.
But some things simply weren’t possible. Before long, Baek Hyun lay facedown on the ground, a bloody mess. The fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o looked down at the fallen disciple and shook his head.
“You’re a stubborn one.”
It was an honest remark.
“Charging in when you know it won’t work. You can’t die in the Peach Blossom Realm... Is that what you’re counting on?”
“...It’s only possible because we’re somewhere like this. When else would I get to learn this way?”
Baek Hyun lay spread-eagled on the ground, gasping for breath. Watching that, the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o burst out laughing.
“Yes, you’re right about that. You’re an idiot, but I like you.”
With that, the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o turned to smoke and vanished. Baek Hyun flailed his aching limbs once, then sprang to his feet with a snap of the waist.
“How was that?”
“You got beaten to a pulp. What is there to ask?”
“You looked pretty pleased, considering.”
Baek Hyun grinned at Ju Han-o. The master gave a short, incredulous laugh and shook his head.
“I was merely appalled that the disciple of the greatest under heaven could be so weak.”
“You really don’t hand out compliments, do you?”
Grumbling, Baek Hyun sat cross-legged and began practicing the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art while going over the day’s fight.
A year ago, a fist-sized mass of internal energy had sat in Baek Hyun’s dantian. Over the year since then, the disciple had learned the forms of set moves from Ju Han-o while practicing the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art every single day. Thanks to that, a considerable amount of internal energy had gathered in the dantian. It was the result of the Peach Blossom Realm’s abundant qi and the effectiveness of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art.
The day’s fight replayed slowly in Baek Hyun’s mind. Slowly breathing in qi, he watched himself getting beaten over and over again.
“This is going to take a long time.”
Baek Hyun murmured those words after finishing the energy circulation and meditation and opening his eyes.
Defeating the ten-year-old Ju Han-o had taken a week. Defeating the fifteen-year-old version would take far longer than that.
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Three years.”
Ju Han-o had stayed beside Baek Hyun throughout the energy circulation.
Three years. Baek Hyun repeated it quietly.
“That’s a long time.”
It had only been a year since arriving in the Peach Blossom Realm. To defeat the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o, Baek Hyun would have to train for longer than the entire time spent here so far.
“I can fight every day, right?”
“...Can you handle that?”
Ju Han-o asked with a frown. If anything, the question made Baek Hyun tilt his head.
“Why? Am I not allowed to?”
“There’s no reason you can’t. But... fighting my fifteen-year-old self every day means getting beaten every day. Can you endure that, Hyun?”
“So that’s what you were getting at.”
Baek Hyun chuckled.
“Of course I’m going to get beaten. I knew that before we even fought. Oh, I’m going to get the absolute shit kicked out of me. Know how I knew?”
“How?”
“Because I’m still too weak.”
Baek Hyun smacked his lips.
“We both have Innate Martial Genius, but we lived in different worlds and went through different things. You’ve taught me a lot over the past year, Master, but in the end, I’m the one who has to fight.”
“Hyun.”
After a brief silence, Ju Han-o spoke.
“What worries me is that you’ll grow used to losing.”
“Used to it...”
Rubbing his chin, Baek Hyun considered those words.
“What’s wrong with getting used to it?”
“...What?”
“It’s not like some neighborhood mutt beat me up. The person who just pounded me was you at fifteen, Master. Someone who’ll become the greatest under heaven one day. Isn’t it only natural to lose to someone like that?”
Ju Han-o’s mouth fell slightly open at the unexpected answer.
“Or is this what you’re thinking? I’ll take so many beatings that I’ll decide I can’t stand it anymore and quit?”
“...I can’t say that hasn’t crossed my mind.”
“I won’t.”
Baek Hyun shook his head.
“I absolutely won’t. Learning is starting to get fun, so why would I quit? You told me at the beginning that you could change my life. Honestly, I’m not all that interested in that anymore. I just enjoy learning martial arts and training here.”
Twenty-one years. It hadn’t been a long life, but Baek Hyun had never thought he had any particular advantage over other people.
“It’s fun, so I’m not going to quit. I’m going to work hard.”
Baek Hyun said it with a smile.
And for two years, every single day, the fifteen-year-old Ju Han-o beat Baek Hyun up.
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