With Chun-bong's condition stabilized, Seo-jun decided to check the items stored in the Black Tiger Sect’s vault.

“Whoa... Whoa…”

First off, there was quite a lot of silver. It wasn’t an amount to be scoffed at, even for a shady gang in the back alleys. With this much, he could live comfortably for years without needing to lift a finger.

Aside from that, there were some land deeds and a few martial arts manuals. However, Chun-bong glanced through the manuals and shook her head.

“They’re trash. Don’t even bother looking at them.”

Still curious, Seo-jun skimmed through them anyway, and soon understood why she said that.

“They really are trash.” “Did you think they were fake trash?” “Well, you never know. Even something like the Samjae Sword Technique is pretty useful, so there’s always a chance.” “The Samjae Sword Technique is at least a verified martial art.”

No matter how common a martial art is, there’s usually a reason why it has survived unchanged for so long.

Hearing this, Seo-jun felt she had a point.

“Hmph.”

In any case, they were now wealthy. Struggling to suppress the smile creeping onto his face, he pocketed a few pieces of silver.

“Geum, how about we go shopping?” “Shopping? What’s that?” “Let’s go buy some stuff.” “What do you want to buy? You shouldn’t waste money just because you’ve come into some.”

Seo-jun pondered for a moment before nodding.

“Some clothes… your sword? Maybe some food, too.”

As he looked around, he noticed that their house was on the verge of collapsing. They had grown somewhat attached to it, but honestly, it was starting to feel like they might get crushed in their sleep any day now.

“What do you think about moving? We could live in the Black Tiger Sect’s place.” “What about the bodies in there?” “Ah, right.” “And it’s way too big. What do we need all that space for, just the two of us?”

Furrowing his brows, Seo-jun tapped his lips before his eyes brightened with an idea.

“Let’s buy clothes first.”

•  

After giving themselves a good scrub at home, they headed to the market. There’s no point in wearing new clothes if your body’s dirty.

“This is really strange, though.”

Seo-jun buried his nose in Chun-bong’s hair.

“You’re not secretly using something, are you?”

Of course, Chun-bong flailed her arms in surprise.

“What are you doing?!” “Why do you smell so nice?” “It’s because I was given all sorts of cleansing treatments when I was little.”

With no impurities in her body, there was no reason for her to smell bad. The pleasant scent was due to one of her ancestors combining the essence of the Celestial Cloud Art with the Immortal Maiden Art.

“Immortal Maiden Art? Isn’t that the one that makes you beautiful?” “That’s right.”

Seo-jun’s eyes scanned Chun-bong from head to toe.

“It doesn’t seem to do much for… Ah!”

He was struck before he could finish.

Honestly, he couldn’t really argue since he brought it upon himself.

“Sigh… Let’s drop the chest talk. More importantly, how did you really do it?” “Do what?” “You turned yin energy into yang energy. Did you grasp the principle of Taiji or something? There’s no other way it could’ve worked.”

“Taiji?”

Balance of opposing forces? That didn’t seem right.

“You know what yin energy feels like, right?” “Of course. My specialty is close to yin energy.” “And you’ve got a general idea of yang energy too, right?” “More or less, yeah.”

Then isn’t that all there is to it? Yin energy is calm, yang energy is active. If you give those quiet friends a good beating until they get lively, that’s yang energy, isn’t it?

“Isn’t that right?” “What nonsense are you spouting? How could that work?” “But it did work.” “Well… I guess it did.”

As Chun-bong made a strange face, they arrived at the fabric shop. Though it mainly sold cloth, it did have some clothes.

Chun-bong led the way inside, but out of nowhere, something was thrown at them.

“We don’t give handouts to beggars! Don’t dirty the merchandise, get lost!”

Chun-bong touched her cheek. Leftover soup dripped down her jawline.

“Damn it…”

Her face flushed red with anger, and her eyes seemed to well up a bit.

How would it feel to be treated like this after growing up in a prestigious family? He couldn’t be sure, but it probably felt pretty awful.

“Hey.”

Crash!

With a swift kick, Seo-jun shattered one of the shop’s counters, sending it flying.

This was the martial world. If you feel wronged, you settle it with force.

If people don’t want to get hurt, they shouldn’t do things that piss others off, but it seems many don’t get that.

“Did you just make my sister cry?” “I-I didn’t cry… And what’s with this lowlife thug behavior? Stop it.” “Tsk!”

Seo-jun unsheathed his sword, still in its scabbard. The shopkeeper flinched at the sight.

“Y-you bastard! This shop pays protection money to the Cheongha Sect! Are you ready to face the consequences?” “Cheongha Sect? Never heard of it.”

He didn’t care what kind of group they were; there was nothing stopping him from cracking this guy’s head open.

“Come here, you bastard.” “Eek…!”

Cornered, the shopkeeper threw a bowl at them. It still had food in it. If he was eating, he should’ve eaten in peace.

Swish

Seo-jun spread his qi from the tip of his sword sheath. It only covered an area about the size of a palm, but when he swung it, the remaining afterimage turned into a protective barrier.

“A sword aura shield…?”

For some reason, Chun-bong seemed surprised, but Seo-jun didn’t pay it any mind for now.

Slash!

The spilled contents revealed the shopkeeper had been eating some sort of spicy soup. The smell was awful. And he had thrown it at them.

“O-oh…”

The shopkeeper, now trembling, collapsed to the floor.

“I didn’t realize you were a master… Please, have mercy…”

“Hey, friend.” “Y-yes!” “First, take a beating.”

Seo-jun beat him senseless.

•  

“How should I handle this merciful heart of mine?” “You did well.” “Huh? Really? I thought you’d scold me.” “Why would I? That was pretty mild, actually.”

The guy hadn’t lost his life, hadn’t had any limbs chopped off, or even broken a bone.

Just beating him up was definitely a restrained approach.

“I was only worried you might kill someone again.” “Do you think I’m some sort of murderous maniac, going around killing everyone?” “You’re not? That’s surprising.” “What? You…”

As they walked along, chuckling, Seo-jun and Chun-bong were now dressed in new clothes.

They were clothes taken from that very fabric shop. In exchange for a bit of “gentle” persuasion, they had gotten a few pieces for free.

“Now let’s go buy a sword.” “My sword?” “Whose else? I’ve got mine.” “Isn’t yours damaged? You’ve been using it pretty roughly.”

In response to her question, Seo-jun unsheathed his sword, causing the people around them to panic.

“Hey! Stop drawing your sword out in the open!”

They ducked into an alleyway, where Chun-bong inspected the blade and nodded in surprise.

“It’s in perfect condition. That’s impressive.” “It’s because I handle it well.” “Yeah. You’re right.”

“What?” The unexpected response made Seo-jun step back, but Chun-bong glared at him.

“What’s with you? What’s your problem?” “Who are you? You’re not Geum Chun-bong, are you?” “Shut up.”

The crazy girl threw the sword at him. Seo-jun quickly caught it by the handle and sheathed it.

“Watch it, will you?” “If you’re first-rate, what’s dangerous about that? By the way, what was that earlier?” “What now?” “The sword aura shield.” “Oh… that? I just thought it might work, so I gave it a shot.” “Damn, you and your ridiculous talent.”

Cursing, Chun-bong smacked her forehead.

“Congratulations. You’ve reached the Absolute level.” “…Absolute? Really?” “Yeah, you idiot.” “Hmmm.”

Seo-jun stroked his chin, deep in thought, as Chun-bong eyed him suspiciously.

“What’s that look for? What now?” “I’m just asking because I don’t know.” “Ugh, what? Just say it, already.” “Isn’t martial arts really easy? It’s a piece of cake.”

“…You son of a—!”

Chun-bong unleashed a fierce kick into the air. It was pretty sharp. Seo-jun quickly dodged, grabbed her by the waist, and set her back on the ground.

“Phew. Ms. Geum Chun-bong, you’ve gotten pretty quick, haven’t you?” “Shut up.”

With a pout, Chun-bong let a platinum-colored aura flare up around her fingers.

“Oh…?” “I can use the strength of a first-rate now.” “Wait, aren’t you seventeen? Were you a first-rate martial artist even before that?”

Chun-bong snorted and lifted her chin.

“I was at the Absolute level, remember? I told you, everyone praised me as a genius, a prodigy.”

Achieving the Absolute level at fifteen was an unprecedented feat in martial arts history.

Back then, it caused quite a stir in the martial world, but now, in this situation, it didn’t seem to matter at all.

“Damn it all.” “Why do you look so down now?”

Seo-jun tapped Chun-bong’s head playfully.

“But seriously, what? You reached the Absolute level at fifteen? And now you’re like this? Is this some kind of elaborate deception?” “Do you think we’re the same? Forget it, let’s just go buy the sword.”

Seemingly in a sudden bad mood, Chun-bong marched ahead. Seo-jun quickly caught up, lifting her onto his shoulders.

“W-wait…!?” “Let’s go, Chun-bong!” “W-wait…! Put me down, you bastard!” “Nope, not happening.”

Chun-bong yanked out a good chunk of Seo-jun’s hair in her grip. It was a sad loss.

•  

Seo-jun, this crazy bastard.

He finally brought them to the blacksmith while she was still on his shoulders. Is he seriously insane? She almost died of embarrassment under the stares of everyone around them.

“…Put me down.” “As you wish.”

The feeling of solid ground under her feet again was oddly comforting. Looking up at him, she saw that infuriating grin as he ruffled her hair.

“I told you to stop.”

His touch, rough yet gentle, felt annoyingly pleasant. Though she tried to pull away, he kept ruffling her hair, and it made her feel a little better.

“Anyway, don’t get too cocky. Your martial level and your actual combat skill are two different things.”

The martial level measures how freely you can control your internal energy.

Using Seo-jun as an example, his skill at handling internal energy was indeed at the Absolute level, but his swordsmanship was only at the entry level of first-rate.

Which, honestly, didn’t make any sense either. What? He started using sword aura and then caught a glimpse of the unity of sword and spirit?

It sounded absurd, but the fact that his swordsmanship had suddenly improved meant there was no arguing with it.

“Whatever. I get it, Teacher Chun-bong. Now shall we go look at some swords?”

“Hey, old man! It’s been a year, hasn’t it?”

As Seo-jun boldly strode into the blacksmith’s shop, Chun-bong pouted, watching his back.

“He never listens to a word I say. …Hey! Wait up, you jerk!”

She hurried after him, her short legs working hard to keep up with her brother.