Chapter 7: The martial arts initiation I’d dreamt of.

I tensed up for a moment.

Because I recalled a common trope in martial arts stories.

‘How dare you be Master Goo’s disciple! I can’t accept it! I’ve been here for ten years and haven’t become a disciple!’

But reality was different.

The guy bowed politely, despite his age.

The angle… was exactly 90 degrees. A perfect 90 degrees, as if measured with a ruler.

“Hello, I’m Nan-pa.”

I glanced at Nan-cheong for a moment.

They had the same family name. Nan wasn’t a very common surname, I thought.

As I looked at Nan-pa with curious eyes, he smiled bitterly and sighed softly.

“He’s my older brother.”

I looked back and forth between the two’s faces for a moment.

Only then did I see subtle similarities.

They were siblings.

Without any specific command, the boys and girls in the room began to move almost simultaneously.

They jumped up from the mahjong table and began cleaning the room.

Some gathered the mahjong tiles, others dusted, and still others brought in clean bedding. It was an orderly movement, as if they had rehearsed it.

Soon, the place where mahjong tiles had been scattered was transformed into a cozy room with neatly arranged bedding.

There was no trace left that would indicate this place had been a gambling den until just a moment ago.

I burrowed into the bedding and looked up at the ceiling.

The room was cozier than I had expected. Moonlight streamed through the window, softly illuminating the room.

I wondered what kind of day would start tomorrow…

My heart was pounding. Was it excitement or anxiety? Probably both.

It felt like a dream. Martial arts, something I had only seen in games.

And the martial arts of the Shaolin, said to be the leader of the Nine Great Sects.

That I would be training in it myself.

But at the same time, a sense of unease crept in.

What if… this is all a dream?

What if I wake up and I’m sitting in front of my monitor?

What if I’m just leveling up my game character as usual?

The whole thing felt too surreal.

I fell into a deep sleep while thinking about this and that.

The next morning. Of course, it wasn’t a dream. I woke up in my new room.

I stood in front of my master’s residence. I took a deep breath in and out.

“I’m Jun-ho, Master.”

I said with a reverent heart.

“Come in.”

I went inside and bowed politely.

“Master, did you sleep well?”

My master was just having tea. He looked at me with a warm smile.

“You woke up early. Good, good. Shall we start right away then?”

My master got up from his seat and led me to the training grounds.

It was a wide yard with morning sunlight shining down. Even at this early hour, some disciples were already training.

“Now, let’s start with the horse stance.”

My master demonstrated it himself. A stance with knees bent and feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. A stance that looked like you were riding a horse.

I tried to follow my master’s stance. It wasn’t really an unfamiliar stance. I had done it countless times at the taekwondo studio I went to when I was a kid.

‘Even though I’m a black belt…’

I smiled slightly to myself and took the stance. Of course, my master didn’t know that.

My master carefully examined my stance and nodded.

“Not bad for a beginner.”

“Thank you.”

I answered humbly, but I was secretly proud inside.

“Well done, then just stay like that.”

Even after my master left, I continued to maintain the horse stance.

As the morning sun rose above my head, the training grounds became more and more crowded.

Several boys and girls, including the Nan-pa and Nan-cheong siblings, gathered in the training grounds.

They each picked up swords and began to freely practice martial arts.

I could hear the sound of sharp blades cutting through the air.

Some practiced swordsmanship alone, while others paired up for sparring.

My legs began to feel numb.

“Did… did you guys train like this first too?”

I spoke to Nan-pa, who I was familiar with.

“They just made us swing swords from the start, though?”

At his answer, some of those training around us chuckled.

It was definitely laughter mocking me.

But among them, the eyes of those who seemed older were different.

They clearly looked somewhat envious.

They knew. That this was the correct way.

I continued to maintain the stance. Before I knew it, my feet felt like they had taken root in the ground.

It was as if my legs had become one with the earth.

Hot sweat ran down my back.

The sunlight became increasingly hot, but I did not lose my posture.

“Hmm…”

I heard the voice of my master, who had returned again.

He slowly walked around me, examining my posture.

Tak-

He lightly tapped my right knee with the bamboo stick in his hand.

“A little more this way.”

Tak-

This time, he lightly tapped my waist.

“Keep your back a little straighter.”

I corrected my posture according to my master’s instructions.

Each time the stick touched me, the angle was subtly adjusted.

As if a sculptor was refining a work of art, my master was perfecting my posture one by one.

How many days had passed? I couldn’t even count properly.

I was just getting used to the horse stance.

My legs no longer trembled, and now I could hold it for quite a while.

“At this point, you can learn something other than the horse stance.”

“Then, what will I be learning?”

I asked with a voice full of excitement. Finally, martial arts… or mind techniques?

“From today, let’s learn the lotus position.”

“1

…Yes?”

My master got up from the chair he was sitting in and sat on the floor.

Cross-legged… no, he was doing the lotus position.

“The lotus position is the foundation of all inner energy cultivation techniques, so watch carefully and follow along.”

I silently followed my master’s posture.

I put my right foot on my left thigh, and my left foot on my right thigh.

“Keep your back straight, put your hands naturally on your knees, and from today, train in this posture until you go to sleep.”

“Until I go to sleep…?”

“That’s right. You must maintain this posture until it’s night and you go to bed.”

“Master, is there… is there a break in between…?”

“Of course, there is. Meal times and toilet times.”

My heart sank at my master’s words. That’s it? This is too much…

But I couldn’t complain.

If this was the path to learning Shaolin martial arts, I had to accept it.

So during the day, the horse stance. Every night, I sat in the lotus position, calming my breathing.

Simple movements that were repeated unchanged for days and days.

I also learned basic Shaolin fist techniques, but that was almost the same as the horse stance.

Because all I did was punch while in the horse stance.

In fact, it could be seen as an extension of horse stance training.

Sometimes I wanted to learn flashy martial arts, but even with the current training, my whole body ached.

An ordinary child would have been bored or tired.

But I was no ordinary child.

In the martial arts world, the horse stance and lotus position are the basics.

A martial arts otaku possessed from 21st century Korea.

That was me.

A faint smile spread across my face.

The prior knowledge I had gained from countless martial arts novels and games shone at moments like these.

Goo-hyeong watched his disciple and was satisfied inside.

‘He has good talent and the perseverance too.’

There were many in the martial world who only believed in their innate talent and neglected their training.

Especially those with a Harmonious Body.

But this disciple was different.

Even though he had a Harmonious Body that would allow him to live without any problems even if he only reached a certain level, he was focusing all his efforts on basic training, which pleased Goo-hyeong.

Meanwhile.

“Goo-hyung! Goo-hyung!”

“Oh, my pretty one has come!”

Women were always visiting Goo-hyeong’s house.

At first, Jun-ho thought they were there on business, but he soon realized they had a different kind of relationship.

Including the main wife, No. 4, he was deeply involved with at least five women.

“This is all the fate of a Harmonious Body…”

Unlike Goo-hyeong’s words, his expression didn’t look very distressed.

‘What if my disciple sees this and neglects his training?’

That worry crossed his mind.

It was an unnecessary worry.

I smiled slightly at the sound of women’s laughter coming from my master’s room.

As a master and a Harmonious Body, my master was receiving the love of many women.

And all of them were women with outstanding beauty and martial arts skills.

Someday I too…

Ambition bloomed in one corner of my heart.

Not just becoming an ordinary martial artist, but becoming a hero who dominates the martial world.

And receiving the love of many women like my master.

Three wives and four concubines… no, wouldn’t even more be possible?

My special constitution as a Harmonious Body would be a great help in achieving that dream.

It was already as good as half-guaranteed.

Together with the heroines of the martial world…

My heart was pounding just imagining it.

Especially if they were women with excellent martial arts skills.

A life with women who combine skill and beauty.

Moreover, this is a world where beauty increases as martial arts skills increase, and those with particularly voluptuous breasts exert even greater power. The martial world’s

Many of the masters were beautiful women.

Becoming a master of the martial world. That was the only task left for me.

I slowly lowered my posture further. My thighs felt like they were on fire, and sweat poured down like rain.

But a bright smile appeared on my face.

Because this painful training was the first step towards achieving my dream.

The path to becoming a hero of the martial world. It was the moment I took that first step.

“Hehehe…”

Goo-hyeong’s laughter echoed in the darkness.

He was watching Jun-ho training under the moonlight with No. 4.

“What an admirable fellow. He doesn’t complain at all, and even smiles.”

Goo-hyeong smiled contentedly at the sight of him sweating profusely but training with a bright face.

It had already been well over 100 days since Jun-ho became a disciple of Thousand Slaughter Valley.

‘Now I can slowly start teaching him in earnest.’

Goo-hyeong thought.

All the training so far was for this moment.

Goo-hyeong looked at his disciple with satisfied eyes.

The ground was sufficiently compacted. Now it was time to plant the seed of inner energy cultivation techniques on this solid foundation.

That seed would surely take root deep within.

“Stop!”

When Goo-hyeong raised his hand, Jun-ho’s movements, who was practicing fist techniques in a horse stance, stopped.

His breathing was rough but steady.

“From today, I will pass on the inner energy cultivation technique.”

Jun-ho’s eyes sparkled at his master’s words.

His heart pounded as if the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

After 125 days, the boy had finally earned the qualification to become a superhuman who strengthens his body with inner energy. In other words, a second-rate martial artist.