“Heek...! Haah...! I’m going to die...!”

Chun-bong lay sprawled on the ground, writhing in exhaustion. It was the price she paid for winning the game of tag with the thugs.

“You really need to exercise more. How can you be this out of shape?” Seo-jun clicked his tongue in disapproval. Unsurprisingly, Chun-bong shot him a fierce glare.

“If... if you hadn’t... done anything crazy, I wouldn’t be... like this!”

“What did I even do? Haven’t you heard the saying that you should always be wary of children and women in the martial world?”

“That saying means... not to let your guard down against anyone, you idiot! What, are you just not going to be cautious around adult men?”

“Hmm. You’ve got a point.”

As Seo-jun nodded in agreement, Chun-bong, still gasping for breath, spat out a thick glob of saliva mixed with blood.

“I thought I was going to die...”

Even after catching her breath for a while longer, she asked, genuinely curious,

“So why did you really do it? If a woman clings to you, you could just pat her on the butt a few times and send her on her way.”

“What... Do you have no sense of chastity, Geum Chun-bong?”

“That’s their job!”

According to Chun-bong, in order to survive in the back alleys, some women have no choice but to do that kind of work.

“Some do it by choice, but there are many women in the Black Tiger Sect who were kidnapped and forced into it. They even cut the tendons in one of their legs so they can’t run away.”

“Tendons? Those bastards are insane.”

“You’re not any better, you know. Really.”

Chun-bong clicked her tongue. Seo-jun’s mind wandered to the woman he saw on his first day in the martial world.

Was she also kidnapped and forced into that life? He couldn’t tell if that would be better than death.

Taking a break, Seo-jun recounted that day’s events, and Chun-bong gave him a strange look.

“Do you have some kind of misogyny issue? Do you just hate women?”

“It’s not hatred; I just don’t trust them. What if they stab me in the back while I’m fighting hard?”

“Good grief. What about me? I’m a woman too.”

“You’re Chun-bong before you’re a woman.”

They had rested enough. Seo-jun hoisted Chun-bong onto his back and began walking again.

“And you, what are you talking about, acting like you’re all grown up?”

“I’m old enough to get married, you idiot.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”

After that, they walked in silence for a while. Whenever Chun-bong pointed in a direction, Seo-jun obediently changed course like a puppet on strings.

They eventually arrived at another back alley.

“This place is huge. The back alleys are practically as big as the entire city.”

Ignoring Seo-jun’s grumbling, Chun-bong tapped his shoulder.

“Let’s check over there. Last time, there wasn’t anyone around.”

She pointed to a building similar to their previous residence, but in worse condition. It looked like it might collapse with a single push.

“Are we going to die in our sleep?”

“We won’t die.”

As they entered, they found what could only be described as a pigsty. It was a metaphor, of course. Compared to Seo-jun and Chun-bong, a man who was truly living in squalor was also there.

“What do you want? Get lost.”

Ignoring the man, Seo-jun asked,

“Hey, there’s someone here.”

“Hmm... Should we kick him out?”

“Why are you so mean? This guy lives here.”

“What? That butcher of a man?”

As they chatted, the homeless man quietly picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground.

“Leave that thing at your waist behind. That’s not something a brat like you should be carrying.”

“Hey, old man. Put that down, or you’ll get hurt.”

Chun-bong added,

“This guy’s a real butcher. If you don’t want to get chopped up, let’s handle this peacefully.”

“You little...”

The man approached with a menacing glare.

“Shut up and hand it over!”

He reached out, but Seo-jun, still carrying Chun-bong on his back, dodged with a slight twist.

“Oops!”

The man tripped over his own feet and fell. He glared at them, huffing with anger.

“I tried to be nice, but you asked for it!”

He jumped up and raised the rock high. Seo-jun, still carrying Chun-bong, raised one hand.

Thwack—!

The qi blast hit the man square in the forehead.

“Agh!”

The man clutched his head and rolled on the ground. Chun-bong looked at Seo-jun with mild surprise.

“You didn’t kill him?”

“What do you think I am, some kind of killer?”

By now, Seo-jun had gotten used to using the qi blast, so it was easy to control its power. The more he used it, the more he appreciated it. He might have created it himself, but it was damn impressive.

“You... bastards...!”

Despite everything, the man still hadn’t grasped the situation and lunged at them again.

After about five more minutes...

“Hehe... oh great warrior...! I didn’t recognize you...!”

Beaten thoroughly, the man quickly grew submissive and started bowing to them.

While Chun-bong, who had come down from Seo-jun’s back to start cleaning, looked at the man with disdain.

“How did you even survive with that level of awareness?”

“You’re right! It was pure luck!”

“Ugh...” Chun-bong gagged, finding rotting scraps of food on the floor.

“Hey, clean this up. I was going to do it, but this is too much.”

The man looked at Seo-jun for approval. Chun-bong raised an eyebrow.

“...Seriously?”

“Easy, Chun-bong. We don’t hit people.”

“Then what did you do, pet him?”

“I’m different.”

“You’re insane.”

Seo-jun chuckled and waved his hand.

“Old man, help Chun-bong out and clean this place up.”

“Y-yes!”

As the man quickly set about cleaning, Seo-jun sat down next to Chun-bong, who was surveying the room.

“The more I think about it, the more I miss those machetes.”

“Forget about them. They’re nothing but a headache. You can’t even sell them, so they’re just a burden.”

They had acquired two machetes from the first group of criminals and seven more from the ones who came with Jang Chun-deuk.

Seo-jun had thought they could fetch a decent price if they sold them to a blacksmith or something.

“Can’t we just sell them on the sly?”

“No one will buy them. If word gets back to the Black Tiger Sect, they’ll wipe out the blacksmiths and anyone else involved.”

“Really?”

Chun-bong nodded. Seo-jun smacked his lips in disappointment, and Chun-bong poked him in the side.

“More importantly, we need to find a nearby market. The one we used to go to is too far now.”

“Oh, right.”

Seo-jun asked the man who was diligently cleaning.

“Hey, old man, is there a market nearby?”

“Huh? Oh, yes! There is! Want me to show you?”

“After you finish cleaning.”

“Tsk, tsk.” A small clicking sound came from the man’s tongue.

The magnanimous Lee Seo-jun decided to let it slide. But Chun-bong still had questions.

“Hey, what’s the situation with the local gangs around here?”

“Gangs?”

The man, who was sweeping up the rotting food with his hands, furrowed his brow in thought.

“Hmm... It’s a bit complicated. This area isn’t under the Black Tiger Sect’s control, but it’s not controlled by any of the other smaller groups either.”

“Oh, really? That’s great, isn’t it?”

Seo-jun’s comment made the man shake his head.

“That’s why all those bastards come here. Those good-for-nothing scum. If there was only one gang, they’d at least show some mercy, but with several around, we get shaken down multiple times.”

“Wow.”

What a shitty place to live. It seems like you’d run into a new thug every time you turned a corner.

But on the other hand, it might not be so bad. Doesn’t that mean practice dummies will keep coming to me?

I wouldn’t feel guilty about slicing up scum like that.

Seo-jun’s thoughts made Chun-bong frown.

“I told you before, but blood has a demonic nature...”

“Okay, okay. I get it. You really nag a lot.”

“You complain even when I’m worrying about you.”

Seo-jun grinned and patted Chun-bong’s head.

“Aww, were you really worried about me? You’re so sweet.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Damn it!”

He got smacked again.

The man, who finished cleaning and showing them the way to the market, left with a servile grin.

He didn’t intend to return the house, but when Seo-jun asked if he had somewhere else to stay, the man said he’d just find another empty house.

“Keep it clean while you live there.”

“Yes, of course, great warrior.”

And so, the middle-aged maid, Mr. Kim, left.

As Chun-bong surveyed their reclaimed home with some satisfaction, her eyes suddenly sharpened.

“Let’s start right away.”

“Start what?”

“The Divine Cloud Sword training. We’ll begin with the Divine Cloud Qi Technique.”

Unlike when she taught the Three Talents Sword Technique, Chun-bong became a strict and sharp instructor.

“Memorize it again. If you mix it up, you’re screwed.”

“There’s too much.”

“No excuses.”

First, Seo-jun had to memorize the key points in the Ren and Du meridians, and then the rest of the acupoints throughout the body, as well as terms like the twelve meridians and the eight extraordinary vessels. His head felt like it was going to explode.

“The Three Talents Sword Technique is simple and broad, so it’s relatively safe. But the Divine Cloud Qi Technique is different. It’s not called a divine technique for nothing. If you mess up, you won’t just become crippled—you could blow yourself up without leaving a trace. So, memorize everything until you’re sure.”

And so, Seo-jun memorized. Fortunately, his memory seemed to have improved with his martial arts training, so it didn’t take as long as he feared.

“Good. Now, I’ll teach you the qi circulation path of the Divine Cloud Qi Technique.”

He memorized that too.

“Next, the incantations.”

He memorized those as well.

“The Divine Cloud Qi Technique is based on the concept of ‘Wu-ji leading to Tai-ji.’”

“Wu-what now?”

“Wu-ji leading to Tai-ji. Wu-ji is Tai-ji, and Tai-ji is Wu-ji. Tai-ji is the same as Wu-ji, representing chaos, the state of nothingness, and the beginning of all things.”

“That’s deep.”

“Just keep that in mind. You’ll come to understand it as you progress in your training.”

“Wow.”

After memorizing everything, Seo-jun began practicing the Divine Cloud Qi Technique.

It was definitely different from the Three Talents Sword Technique. The circulation path was so complex that there were moments when he almost took a wrong turn.

“Cough...! Ah, blood.”

“Hey, hey! Focus!”

Fortunately, since the Three Talents Sword Technique was a basic technique, he didn’t have to give up the small amount of internal energy he had accumulated so far.

Once he had gotten used to the Divine Cloud Qi Technique, Chun-bong began teaching him the Divine Cloud Sword Technique.

“I haven’t mastered it either. Actually, I trained in the Azure Cloud Sword Technique instead.”

“What?”

Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong in disbelief, and she glared back at him.

“What’s your problem? The Divine Cloud Qi Technique and Sword Technique are based on yang qi, so they’re not suitable for women. The Azure Cloud Qi Technique and Sword Technique are derivatives meant for women.”

“Ah.”

“They eventually converge to form the Tai-ji, but that comes later.”

And so, a year passed.

“You really have a natural talent for handling qi. I think you’re probably the best in history.”

“Of course. I’m amazing.”

As Seo-jun nodded, Chun-bong looked at him with disdain.

She wanted to say something snarky, but the truth was the truth, so there was nothing she could do.

This was the guy who could already control his internal energy like a servant, even though he hadn’t been training in the Three Talents Sword Technique for long. When they fought against Jang Chun-deuk and the Black Tiger Sect members, he managed to fight well with just a tiny amount of internal energy.

“But you’re not very good at using your body. It’s not that you’re bad, but your talent for handling qi is so much greater.”

“Is that so?”

“I told you to stop petting me!”

Chun-bong grumbled as she dodged Seo-jun’s hand. He laughed as he watched her.

A year had passed, but her small body showed no signs of growing. Whether it was due to her qi blockage or if that was just her full size, he didn’t mind—she was cute the way she was.

“Anyway, keep that in mind. There’s not much more I can teach you... Cough...!”

Blood mixed with her cough. Chun-bong wiped it off on her clothes as if it were nothing, but Seo-jun, who was beginning to understand martial arts better, wasn’t fooled.

‘This is bad.’

At this rate, her life was in danger. Isn’t there some elixir that could help?

Seo-jun’s fingers tapped on the sword at his waist.