Renting a small martial hall, the place was emptied of people, leaving only our group. This was now our temporary training ground.

“So there was an Imugi living beneath Cheongyeong Lake! There have been many stories of strange shadows around Cheongyeong Lake, and it seems the Imugi was the protagonist of those stories!”

“It’s good that there’s an Imugi. But why… why do we have to spar in this state?”

Tap tap tap.

Nangong Seunga looked at the stick tied to her waist with dissatisfaction. It was a makeshift tail, fashioned by tying a long stick near the base of her spine with cloth.

As she swayed her hips from side to side, the stick tail also swung wildly, scraping the ground. It was a ridiculous sight, but Cheonghwi spoke seriously.

“I learned from the Tower of Trials that thorough preparation is truly powerful. If we strategize and exploit weaknesses, we can defeat even a much stronger opponent.”

“…And?”

“However, no one here has fought an Imugi before. So, we need to first anticipate how the Imugi will fight and then come up with countermeasures.”

The Imugi living in Cheongyeong Lake resembled a salamander, with forelegs and hindlegs, and a tail half the length of its body trailing behind.

Cheonghwi lay flat on the ground, imitating the creature’s form.

Then, scurrying. He crossed his hands and feet, crawling on the ground like a salamander.

“Hyit?!”

Nangong Seunga stepped back in surprise. Nangong Myeong clapped his hands in admiration at the high degree of resemblance.

“Wow! You really look like a salamander, Master Cheonghwi!”

“Look. With this posture, the variety of attacks is limited. While it’s endless to study all human movements, if it’s a salamander, we can devise a strategy and go in.”

“…So, you’re saying we should create a way to counter the salamander’s moves? Like devising a martial arts counter technique?”

“Exactly.”

It sounded absurd… but it wasn’t without its persuasiveness!

Nangong Seunga covered her mouth with her hand, taking a moment to come to terms with Cheonghwi’s proposal.

“Imitating the movements of animals in martial arts exists, known as ‘Xiangxingquan.’ If we think of it not as imitating a salamander but as practicing Dragon-Salamander Fist, it might not be such an ugly task after all…”

“Let’s have a light sparring session. This time, I’ll play the role of the salamander, so explore efficient movements.”

“…Now?”

Thud. Thud.

Swish!

The azure salamander rushed forward swiftly. Nangong Myeong and Nangong Seung-ah hastily grabbed wooden sticks. And they focused.

According to Cheonghwi, the Imugi below was as tall as a person. Since there’s no such thing as a size-increasing martial art, they couldn’t replicate its size, so they had to rely on their imagination for this part.

The first impression upon seeing the charging salamander was…

“…It’s low. And heavy.”

“Indeed, the center of gravity is low, sister!”

Against humans, disrupting the opponent’s center of gravity is effective. Standing on two legs, just tripping or pushing can disperse most of the force.

But the salamander clung close to the ground, so such tactics wouldn’t work well.

Whoosh!

The azure salamander kicked off the ground and leaped up, spreading its arms wide and then snapping them shut. It was mimicking a biting motion.

The imagined giant Imugi opened its mouth wide, its jagged teeth ready to swallow in one bite. How should one respond?

Block it? That won’t work. If it’s a creature as big as a giant Imugi, human strength won’t be enough to overcome its biting power, and it won’t be light enough to knock away.

One must dodge. Nangong Seung-ah stepped back swiftly with her footwork. But…

“…!!!”

The giant Imugi, with its mouth open, followed relentlessly. With its front and hind legs free, it could easily accelerate even while attacking.

Nangong Seung-ah felt the wall of the training ground on her back as she retreated. Retreating backward was a bad move!

“Damn it…!!”

Chomp.

Nangong Seung-ah was bitten by the giant Imugi. She should have dodged to the side, not backward. She clenched her eyes shut, slowly accepting death amidst regret…

“…”

From noble mtl dot come

No, it was just imagination.

Nangong Seung-ah opened her eyes. If it had been a real fight, she would have been bitten to death. As ridiculous as the method was, it wasn’t bad if it reduced mistakes.

She was convinced and was about to seriously engage in the mimicry martial arts training when she was startled by a hot breath on her chest and began to grasp reality.

She found herself embraced by Daoist Cheonghwi, his face buried in her cleavage.

Nangong Seung-ah’s face turned bright red.

“…Won’t you let go?!”

“Ah, it was not my intention. I too was immersed…”

“Then fall already!”

Nangong Seung-ah repeatedly smacked Cheonghwi’s crown with the palm of her hand. Cheonghwi wrapped his head with both arms and scurried away. A brief chase ensued.

The martial art to counter the Imugi’s movements improved in completion over time.

“This tail, it’s more useful than I thought. So if you swing it like this…”

“…”

“Why avoid my gaze… Look at the tail, the tail!”

The method of striking with a tail.

The technique of clinging onto a tail in response.

“If you strike here, this area won’t be a blind spot, right?”

“So you’re saying to move to the side and strike like this?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s going to be empty here, so like this… No! I feel a bit stifled, Master Cheonghwi!”

The method of charging and ramming.

The technique of deflecting and burrowing in response.

“There’s a species called Lizardmen. They are bipedal lizards that use their tails very cunningly… Perhaps they could be utilized like this.”

“Are you saying there exist lizard humans as big as people, walking around?!”

“Do these mystical creatures also lay large eggs?”

“Shall we save that story for later? For now, I want to demonstrate the tail-lifting strike method I’ve thought of.”

They anticipated various unconventional techniques and diligently wove them into martial arts.

The depth of their martial knowledge deepened with every drop of sweat shed. Three novice martial artists came together, brainstorming, and the result was quite plausible.

It was a mix of genius intellect, experience from another world, and a coincidence bordering on fate.

Thus, two martial arts were created. One was the Child Dragon Fist (兒龍拳), modeled after the movements of the Imugi, and the other was the Child Dragon Killing Method (兒龍殺法), designed to slay the Imugi.

Although there were clumsy aspects, the martial arts were clearly useful when facing salamanders.

They couldn’t neatly compile the essentials, but thrilled by the joy of creating martial arts together, they went to a bookstore and bought two blank books.

And they wrote the names of the martial arts stylishly on the covers. A proud smile spread across the faces of the three.

Yet, Cheonghwi wore a troubled expression.

“Hmm…”

“What’s the matter, Master Cheonghwi?”

“I feel like something’s missing. So…”

If by chance, this crude martial art were to be passed down to future generations.

Cheonghwi hoped that the future practitioners would enjoy learning this martial art. Although the goal was to obtain an elixir, the process of mimicking and piecing together the salamander’s movements was akin to a game.

Even in the grave and solemn situation of needing to find a spiritual medicine to repair the core energy, laughter erupted whenever one tried to imitate the movement of a tail by shaking their hips.

So, dear practitioner, remember that joy can be found anywhere. Do not forget the pleasure of learning martial arts!

Cheonghwi added the characters for ‘Joyful Path’ (喜道) in front of the martial arts’ names.

Joyful Path Child Dragon Fist (喜道兒龍拳) and Joyful Path Child Dragon Killing Method (喜道兒龍殺法).

This was the essence of these martial arts.

Cheonghwi and the Nangong siblings had finally finished their preparations. After bathing and aligning their minds and bodies, they descended below the Heavenly Mirror Lake.

To capture the serpent and obtain the spiritual medicine.

—

Kuaaa──!!

“There was no mention of the salamander shooting energy blasts from its mouth──?!”

“How was I to know it could spew breath attacks?!”

“What is this ‘breath’, Master Cheonghwi? If you know about this vile attack, you must explain quickly so we can respond!!”

“For now, just run-!!”

Kugugugugu!!

The three of them were running for their lives. A lethal ray that could melt rocks was hot on their heels.

“Just when things seemed to be going well⋯⋯!”

Cheonghwi lamented.

Indeed, up until a moment ago, everything had been going very smoothly. The Joyful Path Child Dragon Killing Method had performed its role splendidly, and they had been beating the serpent with ease.

They dodged the cunning tail attacks, sidestepped when it lunged to swallow them whole, and every move fit perfectly into place.

They even managed to find the serpent’s reverse scale and deliver a fatal blow.

But who could have anticipated a second phase!

Cheonghwi, with the weakening Nangong Myeong tucked under his arm, ran desperately and shouted to Nangong Seunga.

“It can’t keep shooting forever! Eventually, that breath will stop, and we’ll seize the moment!”

“Unless we’re burnt to a crisp before then!!”

“⋯⋯Or perhaps we should split up? Left and right!”

“Use one of us as bait?!”

Nangong Seunga hesitated for a moment before nodding. After exchanging a glance with Cheonghwi, they split up to the left and right.

ooo──!!

The serpent rolled its eyes briefly before pursuing Seunga. Cheonghwi laid Nangong Myeong down in the shadows of the cave and dashed towards the serpent’s large body to strike at its reverse scale.

The reverse scale was on the nape of its neck.

“Joyful Path Dragon Fist, Lizard Dragon Sprint…!”

Cheonghwi lay flat and scurried on all fours. Naturally slower than running on two legs, but for stealthy approach, no technique was better.

He crept silently in the shadow of the rocks.

Controlling his breath, he stepped delicately to make no sound. Even his magic was muted. It was the essence of the assassination techniques learned from the Redburn family.

Mages are a tricky and sensitive lot. The technique was designed to kill them, so deceiving a large salamander was not a difficult task.

He climbed up, gripping the rough scales.

“I’m starting to struggle──!!”

Namgung Seung-ah seemed to have reached her limit, flitting about to buy time. Enbus reached the neck of the Imugi, gripping the awl and gathering strength.

It must be killed in one strike to avoid backlash. If the fight dragged on, humans would tire before the Imugi.

Maximum damage was necessary.

Hanging there, he recalled countless movements he could execute. Among them, there had to be a correct answer. He raised his arm high and pulled. He remembered everything he had learned, everything he had seen.

The graceful curves drawn by Luna.

The straight lines boldly extended by Bennett.

The rogue swordsmanship of Namgung shown by Namgung Seung-ah.

And the gestures of the Heavenly Demon.

The cunning trajectory that could exert astonishing force with the lightest touch.

“Explosive Binding──!!”

He thrust, intertwining them all.

In that moment, it felt as if the sky was pressing down.

Thud.

It slid in smoothly.

Despite piercing through thick scales, there was no resistance, as if slicing through water.

Cheonghwi became the nail, the sky his hammer.

Kooo──.

With a final mournful cry, the Imugi exhaled its last breath. Namgung Seung-ah collapsed exhausted, and Namgung Myeong rushed to tend to his sister.

Cheonghwi stood with a strange expression, clenching and unclenching his hand. What had he just done?

It seemed impossible to repeat. It felt like a divine revelation, a glimpse into a higher realm he had briefly ascended to.

As Cheonghwi stood dazed.

“We survived──!”

“Master Cheonghwi, your sister is safe! Are you alright?!”

The voice of the Namgung siblings rang out, and Cheonghwi regained his senses.

“Ah, ah. This side is fine too. Let’s gather the elixir quickly!”

He hurried down beneath the corpse of the serpent.

—

Lush spirit grass.

Cheonghwi carefully dug up the earth and lifted it. The root’s shape resembled a human, and the faintly spreading fragrance alone was enough to invigorate him.

“…”

Gulp.

Namgung Myeong swallowed dryly. Then he said with a serious expression,

“I’ve heard that there can be complications if the elixir isn’t digested properly. So, just in case, I want to say this. If I don’t wake up, hold no grudge—”

“Why are you speaking such ominous words? Just open your mouth.”

“One shouldn’t speak such ill-omened words at such a critical moment.”

Namgung Seung-ah and Cheonghwi blocked Namgung Myeong’s death flag and popped the human-shaped ginseng into the boy’s mouth.

“Ugh.”

It must have tasted bitter.

Namgung Myeong grimaced and chewed on the ginseng for a while, then swallowed it with a gulp and attempted to meditate in a lotus position. But after a moment, he closed his eyes and collapsed.

“?!?”

“What, what’s the problem?!”

“Wait. Don’t touch him rashly!”

Namgung Seung-ah was greatly startled and took Namgung Myeong’s pulse, but his heart was beating properly and his breathing was normal. She concluded that an immense inner power was circulating within his body.

“It seems like the spirit grass’s energy is healing Myeong’s body. He’s naturally fallen asleep for recovery. It looks like there’s no trouble.”

“That’s a relief.”

Both exhaled a sigh of relief. In the now relaxed atmosphere, they sat down to rest.

“If I had gathered all this inner power for myself, I could have used even the Sammae Jinwha. Aren’t you regretful, Master Cheonghwi?”

“I thought I might regret it a little, but I feel only relief. I’m in quite a good mood.”

He had succeeded. He had set his intention and achieved it.

Now, returning to the Namgung clan, if he could just see Namgung Myeong bustling around energetically, that would be enough. And after that…

“Having saved the son, wouldn’t you teach me martial arts? What do you think?”

“I think so too. The clan leader is a generous man, so perhaps he might even share the clan’s secret techniques. Then, we would practice together.”

“That would be delightful…”

I would have done it even without a reward, but I wasn’t about to refuse one. Cheonghwi imagined what gift he might receive and casually joked,

“If only the way back is safe, it would be perfect! Unless we’re ambushed by green forest bandits or the demonic cult forces chasing after Myeongi.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”

It was the moment future hardships were decided.