The Third Son of the Zhuge Clan is a Returned Martial God - Chapter 09

========== CHAPTER 9 ==========

========== CHAPTER 9: MUHAKDANG (2) ==========

The beginning and root of all martial arts is the internal energy cultivation method, the Simbeop.

The Heavenly Mystery Calm Heart Technique is a Simbeop focused solely on accumulating pure internal energy.

As it has been passed down through the Jegal Clan for generations, its use is not limited to martial arts; it was designed to be applied in various ways, ranging from medicine and mechanism arts to formation techniques.

‘What matters is not the size of the power, but the refinement and deep purity of the internal energy.’

That is why, compared to the other Five Great Clans, it is difficult to expect overwhelming destructive power or a fast growth rate.

That is also why it is hard to produce many masters in a short period.

‘Moreover, the incantations were complex, and it was quite tricky for a child learning the Simbeop for the first time to handle.’

It should have been that way, but…

“What on earth is going on…”

Jeok-un, who was watching the students’ Simbeop training, found his mouth hanging open without realizing it.

Because Mu-yeon, who had never learned a proper Simbeop other than a third-rate one, had already been continuing his meditation for an hour.

“…That is internal energy circulation.”

Just from the incantations he heard for the first time, he was accepting internal energy into his acupoints, leading it, and circulating it along his energy meridians.

Soon, his gaze shifted.

The other students had long since finished their Simbeop training at the level of just feeling the internal energy.

They couldn’t even dream of doing that much.

“This doesn’t make sense even if he had learned martial arts before…”

He couldn’t understand it at all.

At that moment, one assumption came to mind.

“Could it be that the Flying Swallow Unit Leader has already been training him in the Simbeop for a week!?”

If that were the case, it would be possible.

Isn’t the second-best master in the Jegal Clan the Flying Swallow Unit Leader, Jegal Ho?

If he had personally taught the Heavenly Mystery Calm Heart Technique, then the current situation would make sense.

Just as he was trying to convince himself of that.

“Sss-huu.”

As he gathered the internal energy in his body into his Dantian, a deep breath escaped Mu-yeon’s lips.

The moment I opened my closed eyes, I felt several gazes focused on me at once.

‘Ha. It’s been too long since I last circulated energy, so I ended up getting too immersed.’

After leaving Sihyeolgok to avoid the Jegal Clan’s suspicion, I barely practiced any Simbeop or martial arts.

To maintain the pretext that I had been involved with third-rate underworld gangs, all I had learned was the Three Talents Heart Method.

Because of that, when I did meditation for the first time in a while, my body followed the familiar flow.

‘I almost opened my Governing Vessel.’

If I had completed the Small Circulation connecting the Conception and Governing Vessels with a Simbeop I encountered for the first time, not only the Jegal Clan but the entire Hubei Province would have been in an uproar.

‘If that happened, rumors would have spread about me being the greatest genius of all time.’

I quietly calmed my breathing.

“Mu-yeon is the last one.”

“I finished half an hour ago.”

“Didn’t you wake up from sleeping?”

I heard the voices of the students giggling.

It would be better to have such misunderstandings.

In the meantime, I remembered what Instructor Jeok-un had said beforehand, telling us to address each other comfortably while we were staying here, since we were peers who entered the Muhakdang together.

“I didn’t sleep.”

After answering briefly, I lowered my head and repeatedly clenched and unclenched my hands.

‘It’s not a Simbeop of the Five Great Clans for nothing.’

I had only circulated energy once, yet vitality surged through my whole body, and even my head felt clear.

‘Moreover, it’s safe, so it’s enough for me to learn.’

It’s a shame I can’t learn the Jin family’s Mugyeol Simbeop right now, but since I decided to become a member of the Jegal Clan, it couldn’t be helped.

‘I’ll have to look for an opportunity later to raise my achievement level in the Mugyeol Simbeop.’

Just then, a large foot appeared in front of me, and a shadow was cast.

“Are you finished?”

When I looked up, I could feel his confusion in Jeok-un’s gaze as he stared intently at me.

I tried to pretend I didn’t notice and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Did you happen to circulate energy?”

According to prior information, Jeok-un is a master who has reached the peak. So, there was no way he wouldn’t notice that my internal energy was moving.

I nodded.

“Yes. I tried moving the internal energy I drew into my Dantian a little according to the incantations.”

“…”

Perhaps flustered, he paused for a moment before continuing.

“Excellent. Do not forget the attitude of not neglecting what you have learned from the Unit Leader.”

“???”

Why was the word ‘Unit Leader’ mentioned all of a sudden?

‘Is he talking about the Flying Swallow Unit Leader?’

What did I learn from that guy?

Just as I was wondering, Jeok-un looked around at the students and continued.

“From now on, after finishing meditation every dawn, you must attend Muhakdang classes.”

“Yes.”

With those words, he turned around.

“Simbeop training ends here. Everyone follow me.”

I followed him out of the Muhakdang and headed to the vacant lot next to it.

It was the training ground exclusively for the Muhakdang.

Jeok-un, who climbed onto the platform prepared there, put his hands on his waist.

“Looks like everyone is here.”

I looked around.

The training ground was quieter than I thought.

Since it was exclusive to the Muhakdang, there was no one else.

Old weapons and training tools were neatly arranged on the walls, and the very arrangement seemed to reveal the clan’s temperament.

Seeing that, I thought, ‘It’s finally starting.’

“Whether you are a martial artist or a strategist, the most important thing is physical strength.”

Jeok-un’s voice was calm but firm.

“If physical strength is not supported, even lofty martial arts or command on the battlefield will all become empty.”

He paused for a moment and scanned them with his gaze.

“Even if you end up walking the path of a physician in the Medical Hall, it is the same.”

Jeok-un raised his hand.

And he shouted briefly.

“From now on, run the training ground thirty times. Start.”

Instantly, the students’ faces hardened.

“Th-thirty laps?”

“Now? The sun is setting soon…”

Before entering the Muhakdang, they must have done their own physical training in their own way.

However, this must be their first time with such a blatant and ignorant method.

A moment of chaos covered the training ground.

Tak. Tak.

I kicked off the ground without hesitation and ran out.

‘I’m confident in my physical strength.’

In Sihyeolgok, I just couldn’t learn martial arts, but instead, I poured most of my day into physical training to survive.

My current body, at least by the standards of a child just starting martial arts, was close to a completed form.

“Th-that guy is running alone?”

“What are you doing, everyone! Follow him!”

The students who were standing blankly started running in a rush, belatedly.

I turned my head slightly and scanned them.

‘They aren’t completely clueless. But is it only thirty laps for the first day?’

A subtle smile hung on Jeok-un’s lips as he watched the children running while panting.

He muttered lowly.

“Welcome. To Avici Hell.”

Half an hour later.

Children sat down all over the training ground.

“Huff… huff… I think I’m going to die.”

“Water… water, is there any?”

Since they had run roughly twenty li, it was no wonder they were exhausted.

Jeok-un’s gaze passed the exhausted group and stopped at one child.

The child who finished first was Jegal Mu-yeon.

His breathing had already returned to normal, and even his sweat had almost dried.

‘It didn’t even take half an hour…’

The other children also ran quite well for their age.

But Mu-yeon was just too different.

“Did the Unit Leader train him in physical strength separately?”

The more I think about it, the less it makes sense.

If he was going to do that, he should have just taught him himself; why bother sending him to the Muhakdang?

Jeok-un came down from the platform and stood in front of me.

“Mu-yeon, you came in first. Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine.”

“If it’s hard, you can say it’s hard. It’s only the first day, after all.”

“Rather than hard… it feels like my body has loosened up because I haven’t run in a while.”

“…”

It was an answer like a martial artist who had warmed up before training.

They said he was the legitimate son of the Jin family, so perhaps he was born with the bones of a martial artist.

Jeok-un’s uneasy gaze scanned my body for a moment.

A strange expression flashed by.

“Yes. Continue to approach your training with that mindset.”

“I will keep that in mind, Instructor.”

“Ahem.”

I bowed my head slightly to show respect.

At the title of ‘Instructor’, the corners of Jeok-un’s mouth moved slightly.

A very faint crack appeared on his cold expression.

He returned to the platform and shouted.

“The first day of training at the Muhakdang ends here. Everyone go back, have dinner, and rest early.”

“Yes!”

As soon as Jeok-un disappeared, the children lay flat on the floor.

“Ah… I really thought I was going to die.”

“My stomach is still churning…”

The students continued to talk while lying down, as if they hadn’t recovered.

I turned around to slip away quietly, but that was when it happened.

“Jegal Mu-yeon!”

My name was called from behind.

When I turned my head, three people were standing there, with one child in the lead.

“Did you call?”

The child standing in front opened his mouth.

Jegal Jeong-gwon.

“Even if you’re going to leave, you should greet this hyung-nim when you see him.”

Come to think of it, I think I saw the name Jeong-gwon among the branch family members.

He was a kid who looked quite clever at the Muhakdang.

‘He’s not clever, he’s just a guy who’s quick-witted.’

“In the Muhakdang, everyone is the same student. Plain speech is appropriate, right?”

“As expected, you’re an ill-mannered guy just like the rumors.”

Jeong-gwon’s lips twisted.

Ju-sang and Dae-myeong, who were by his side, stepped forward.

“How dare you to your hyung-nim!”

“Hurry up and bow your head!”

Jeong-gwon stepped forward.

“I saw you circulating your Simbeop for a long time earlier, do you think you did something great?”

“And you ran ahead alone when we were running the training ground, too.”

At those words, a face suddenly came to mind.

Because it was a picture I had seen somewhere often.

‘Could it be the Second Young Master…?’

There was a possibility.

That kind of method was exactly that guy’s taste.

It might be that he’s taking out his anger about the last incident in this way.

If so, the story changes.

“So?”

When I asked, Jeong-gwon glared at me.

“What?”

“I don’t think that’s something for guys who came in half an hour late to say.”

Jeong-gwon’s face hardened.

At first, he doubted his eyes, the second time he passed by he confirmed it, and from the third time on, he didn’t even count.

Reading his agitation, I continued coldly.

“If you’ve come to the Muhakdang, just train. Don’t think useless thoughts.”

A strange current flowed with a moment of silence.

“Did you understand?”

“…Yes!”

Unexpectedly, Dae-myeong answered first.

“What are you doing! Why are you answering?”

“Ah… his eyes are similar to the Instructor’s, so I answered without realizing it.”

“You stupid idiot.”

Jeong-gwon and Ju-sang pushed Dae-myeong.

I had nothing more to see, so I turned my back.

Children grow up by fighting.

And such fights usually don’t last long.

Watching my back as I walked out the door, Jegal Jeong-gwon gritted his teeth.

“Damn adopted son, just you wait.”

After leaving the Muhakdang and returning to the detached building, the lights were on in the room.

The moment I opened the door, I heard a busy movement inside.

“Ah, Young Master!”

Hyun-ah approached in a hurry.

In her hand, she held a towel that hadn’t fully cooled down yet.

“Today was your first day. How was the Muhakdang? Wasn’t it very hard?”

“I’m fine.”

“Saying ‘I’m fine’ is what you say when you’re the least fine.”

I paused for a moment at the words that continued without a break.

It was a kind of worry I had never heard in Sihyeolgok.

“You must have gone to the training ground, too? I heard they catch people from the first day there…”

“Thirty laps.”

“Yes?”

“I ran thirty laps on the training ground.”

Hyun-ah’s eyes widened.

“Th-thirty? On the first day?”

“That’s why everyone collapsed.”

“Oh my… you too, Young Master?”

“Not me.”

A brief silence flowed, and Hyun-ah scanned me up and down.

“…You don’t even have sweat.”

“I just ran a bit.”

“That’s the weirdest part.”

Grumbling, she held out the towel.

I waved my hand saying I didn’t need it, but Hyun-ah didn’t back down.

“Just wipe yourself for now, and I’ll prepare bath water.”

“I said it’s fine.”

“No, this is not the time to be doing this.”

I watched the back of Hyun-ah, who was leaving the room in a flurry, with complex and subtle eyes.

A damp towel was held in my hand.

“Is this what a normal daily life is like?”

It was unfamiliar.

Nevertheless, a feeling I didn’t dislike flashed by.

“…I must not get used to it.”

Because it’s a place I have to leave someday.