“Stop daydreaming. Didn’t I tell you to come back again?”

“Oh, yeah.”

The attack I just made was the fastest one I could do right now.

I tried to make it feel like a powerful but not so fast charge, mixed with a momentary acceleration… but in the end, it didn’t work.

So I had to find another way.

I leaned my body forward. As the center of gravity shifted forward, I lifted my foot.

One of the application methods that Hong Yeon-hwa taught me was that I didn’t need to be too obsessed with balance, even though balance was my strength.

Rather than moving my legs to shift my center of gravity, I moved my body to follow it.

Although I couldn’t use it in close proximity to my opponent because my body was shaking, I could move more efficiently at a slightly longer distance like this.

I arrived in front of Hong Yeon-hwa again after a few steps. The moment I arrived at the perfect position to swing my sword downward.

Thwack.

I unfolded my own gamble. I pretended to cut down vertically and twisted my upper body to the right.

The center of gravity twisted diagonally, causing my body to shake. I moved my legs accordingly and turned to the right in front of Hong Yeon-hwa in an instant.

“Huh!”

I swung the sword from the upper right at an angle.

From Hong Yeon-hwa’s perspective, it was no different from a sword flying from behind.

“There’s a reason why I told you not to do it.”

Without looking back, Hong Yeon-hwa’s fist bounced my sword away.

“Your posture is unstable, so you leave gaps. And you’re still ahead of yourself.”

Her arm was raised up to her head due to the recoil. Hong Yeon-hwa stretched out her empty palm towards my chest.

“Ah!”

This… it hurts to the bone!

It was a level of pain that I had never felt before in my swordsmanship with Hong Yeon-hwa.

She had pointed out my problems before, but she had never hit me so hard.

… Did she get angry because I did what she told me not to do?

Looking at her with anxious eyes, Hong Yeon-hwa frantically waved her arms in the air and shouted.

“No, no! I’m not angry! Don’t look at me like that…!”

“Then what was that attack just now?”

“It’s a training method from the Iron King’s Heart Sutra. There’s no personal grudge in it, so don’t worry.”

“This?”

As I poked my chest, which still had a lingering pain, Hong Yeon-hwa nodded her head with a look that wanted to rush at me right now.

“It’s true. It’s an external skill that maximizes the principle of making the muscles that have been killed harder and the broken bones stick together more firmly.”

“That’s why the training method is also very simple,” Hong Yeon-hwa said.

In a predetermined order, in a predetermined place, repeatedly applying a suitable amount of shock to train the body to a level that cannot be achieved by ordinary means is the entirety of the training method.

Well, that’s difficult, but it’s only external training. Even if Hong Yeon-hwa hits me instead of doing it myself, it’s still enough for training.

“That’s why from now on, you will practice the Iron King’s Heart Sutra while practicing martial arts.”

“….”

Simply put, if I show a gap during martial arts, I will be hit very painfully.

It’s more efficient to be pointed out and hit during martial arts than to be hit separately.

It saves time, and I can realize more painfully where I am lacking.

I understand it in my head. I understand, but…

“Can’t you go a little easy on me?”

“If I go easy on you, it’s not training.”

That’s true.

“What if I dodge or block it? If I make a mistake in my inner strength training, it’s like throwing money away.”

“You’ll get bruises.”

“What?”

“If you make a mistake, your bones may break… but there won’t be any fatal injuries. So don’t worry about unnecessary things and go all out.”

“I understand.”

I stood up, patted my knees, and held my sword tightly.

“I’m going all out from now on.”

…

…

…

…

…

…

I’m always doing my best.

“Why? Why are you so calm?”

I shouted like a final boss who had exhausted all my hidden moves but was defeated by the awakened protagonist.

It was actually a similar situation.

“Well… but you can’t just let me hit you, can you?”

Hong Yeon-hwa scratched her cheek awkwardly. I bit my lower lip as I watched the swollen ball on her finger being pressed and shaken.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t hit Hong Yeon-hwa. On top of that, I was starting to feel my limits.

Due to the nature of the Mu-ryung Divine Art, I still have some leeway in terms of stamina and inner strength. However, my mind cannot withstand it.

The accumulated mental fatigue from before martial arts, and the pain that was felt during the training of the Iron King’s Heart Sutra.

All of this was gradually eroding my will. If this continues, Mu-ryung Divine Art will be released after one or two attacks.

Then it’s really over. The recoil that will come next won’t be just muscle pain. I probably won’t be able to move until tomorrow.

… It didn’t seem to be released so easily before.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, I remembered what Hong Yeon-hwa said when we started martial arts. She said that it would be good for me to experience using the Mu-ryung Divine Art with the determination to Hong Yeon-hwa.

“Have you finally realized it?”

“Oh, it seems like I’ve buttoned the wrong button.”

Mu-ryung Divine Art is a martial art that pulls the mind and body with the energy of the advanced Simxin. And Sim is an idea, and an idea is will and aspiration.

Even with just will, it’s not enough, and even with just aspiration, it’s not enough.

But in this martial arts, the problem was that I used Mu-ryung Divine Art by igniting only aspiration… especially, only the pure aspiration.

Think about it. How many people can stand up straight when they are exhausted and in pain.

I’m not in the middle of martial arts with an erection, but it feels similar.

Hong Yeon-hwa looked at me with a satisfied smile as I frowned.

“Aspiration is explosive but easily volatile. Especially if it’s related to instincts.”

“What about will?”

“Will is just a simple thought. It doesn’t have power in itself, but it maintains aspiration and leads to the right path.”

…Isn’t this a very important story?

I lowered my sword for a moment and decided to listen to Hong Yeon-hwa’s words.

“Where should I start… You know what life is, right?”

“Of course. It’s when a martial artist with a high level of cultivation exerts psychological pressure on their opponent… something like that.”

“You know it well. Then do you know that it’s a beginner’s use of aspiration?”

“Huh?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s explanation continued, and there was a part that was in line with the Simki-che theory that I had mentioned before.

Even if a martial artist below the first-class level cannot achieve energy, they can use internal energy to perform simple physical reinforcement or fatigue recovery.

Even if the peak or sub-peak martial artist cannot complete Simxin, they can handle a little bit of aspiration, and one of them is called life.

“But think about it. Can you spread life around just by thinking about it?”

“I don’t know because I don’t know how to use that kind of thing.”

“Oh.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened as if she had just learned that a duck’s beak is not hard but soft and fluffy.

Did she not even think that there might be someone who cannot use such a natural skill as life?

How cruel…

“Ahem, ahem. You will soon find out, but life is not something that can be released just by thinking about it. It is something that flows out when you sincerely want to kill your opponent, along with a little bit of internal energy consumption.”

With a cute fake cough, Hong Yeon-hwa explained the previous incident.

“I think that the essence of that sincerity is the essence of aspiration. We call it will or aspiration, but don’t we already know a slightly more familiar name for it?”

Heart.

After saying that, Hong Yeon-hwa giggled and asked me.

“Is the heart you held for Bonnyeo purely an obsession?”

“……”

Of course not.

I tightly gripped my sword, holding onto my ‘heart.’ Just that alone was enough to recover the inner energy and stamina consumed during the swordplay.

Of course, my mind was still exhausted. If I swung my sword one or two more times, I would collapse. The mediocre sword would bounce off without any force.

So I had to put everything on the line at once.

“Now you’re finally useful.”

Hong Yeon-hwa noticed the change in my mood and clicked her tongue with her usual arrogant expression.

“Come and see. And show it to Bonnyeo.”

“As much as you want.”

Thump!

As soon as I answered, I rolled my foot forward and jumped out at the fastest speed so far.

But I didn’t use any special techniques. After all, all the techniques I learned came from Hong Yeon-hwa.

It would only hinder me from reaching Hong Yeon-hwa.

“Ha-a-a-at!”

The combination of countless forward movements and Taesanapjeong continued repeatedly.

Whooong-

The surface of the sword, which was much sharper and heavier than usual, had a cluster of white light.

It was not strong enough to be called a sword energy, but it was an undeniable power.

Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t be happier to see the sword energy falling towards me.

“Great!”

A dark current covered Hong Yeon-hwa’s hand, even though it was dark enough to be seen in the middle of the night. Then it took on a threatening shape like the hand of a demon.

“But you’re still far away!”

Sharp claws and giant hands wrapped around my sword. The faint light cluster was instantly swallowed up by darkness, losing its power.

“Um. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even touch Bonnyeo’s clothes. But…”

Just as Hong Yeon-hwa was about to praise me with a voice full of admiration and regret.

“It’s not over yet.”

She interrupted her words and let go of the sword in her hand. She clenched her empty fist tightly and moved forward.

Reflexively turning my body, I urgently shouted towards Hong Yeon-hwa, who was trying to counterattack me by reaching out her other hand.

“No touching for a week from today!”

“What…!”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face twisted in surprise. Yeah. That’s how I felt when I was forbidden from touching her chest.

I reached out my hand towards Hong Yeon-hwa, who was flinching and couldn’t do anything. And.

Squish.

My hand touched her chest, which was so huge that I couldn’t hold it with one hand.

Mission accomplished.

Now I just had to think about what to do next.