"Did you go to the brothel, you bastard?"

Chun-bong’s sharp gaze was piercing.

Honestly, Seo-jun hadn’t done anything wrong, but the look in her eyes made it seem like he was about to be accused of a crime he didn’t even commit.

"Uh… yes?"

Chun-bong didn’t say a word, but her gaze ran slowly from his head to his toes, lingering for a long time.

'I’m innocent,' Seo-jun thought. 'I didn’t spend a single penny.'

Rather than making excuses, he stood tall, his shoulders squared.

“…Hmph. Acting all confident.”

“I didn’t spend a single coin!”

“Idiot.”

Chun-bong pouted her lips and lay back down on her bed.

“You reek of perfume. Go wash up before you sleep.”

“Okay.”

Seo-jun thoroughly washed up and went to bed.

The next morning, when Seo-jun woke up, he found Chun-bong clinging tightly to one of his legs, still fast asleep.

‘Is she not mad anymore?’

He poked her chubby cheeks before quietly slipping out of bed.

Lately, Chun-bong had been sleeping in more often. Seo-jun suspected it was because her health still wasn’t fully recovered, and it was starting to worry him.

“Sigh. She’s always giving me headaches.”

Grabbing his sword, Seo-jun stepped outside.

He didn’t plan on going far. His destination was the ruins of the Black Tiger Sect’s building, just in front of their home.

Climbing over the rubble, Seo-jun stood on top.

“The air’s nice.”

Unlike the stifling air of modern society, the crisp morning air filled his lungs.

Seo-jun took a deep breath and drew his sword.

‘What’s the big deal with the Taiji?’

According to Chun-bong, the Golden Cloud Divine Art was based on the concept of Wuji (infinite potential) transforming into Taiji (supreme ultimate).

‘If that’s the case, mastering Taiji should lead to some significant progress, right?’

With that thought in mind, Seo-jun began circulating the Merged Origin Divine Art.

Zzzz—

He converted his internal energy to yin, and the temperature around him dropped sharply, frost forming on his sword.

He then added sword energy, and a gloomy blue aura wrapped around his blade.

‘Now, if I mix in yang energy…’

Using the technique he had recently learned, the Yin-Yang Reversal, he switched the yin energy to yang.

The air around him immediately heated up, and a radiant golden aura enveloped his sword.

“Huh?”

That was it. There was no grand fusion of yin and yang; it just flipped from one to the other.

To make matters worse, the sudden temperature shift caused his sword to emit a strained creaking sound.

“What the hell…”

It wasn’t working as he’d hoped.

Letting out a sigh, Seo-jun sheathed his sword. If it didn’t work the first time, he’d just have to try again, step by step.

This time, he tried holding yin energy in his left hand and yang energy in his right, aiming to merge them.

‘Yin in the left hand…’

That part was easy.

‘Yang in the right hand…’

No problem there either.

But when he looked down, the yin energy in his left hand had already turned into yang.

“Ah, screw this.”

Seo-jun instinctively knew—he wasn’t at the level where he could pull this off yet.

Clicking his tongue, he jumped down from the rubble.

“Did you practice?”

“Yeah.”

Chun-bong had been leaning against the wall, watching him.

“Using the Merged Origin Divine Art?”

“Of course.”

“…What about the Golden Cloud Divine Art?”

“Doing one automatically helps with the other.”

The two techniques weren’t completely unrelated. Often, a breakthrough in one martial art would lead to improvements in others.

“…Hmph.”

“What now? Are you mad again?”

Was she going through a rebellious phase or something?

In Seo-jun’s mind, a book started writing itself: “No more sleeping together!” “Stay away from me, you stink!” “Ugh, disgusting!” “I’m marrying someone else, so don’t look for me!”

Seo-jun covered his mouth, stifling the ridiculous thoughts.

“No, Chun-bong! I can’t let that happen!”

“What… what are you talking about?”

“I won’t let you marry anyone weaker than me!”

Chun-bong’s expression grew serious.

“Are you sure you’re not going crazy? You seem to be getting worse by the day.”

“What?”

“I mean… whatever, yeah, sure.”

Chun-bong furrowed her brows and scratched her head.

Maybe this is enough messing around for now. Seo-jun chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

“Before that.”

Chun-bong swung the sword she was holding.

“Let’s spar.”

The sparring match wasn’t anything too serious.

They agreed to limit their internal energy to first-class level, no sword auras allowed, and of course, no lethal moves.

Using real swords was a bit dangerous, but with martial artists like Seo-jun and Chun-bong, they could handle it.

“Here I come.”

Seo-jun gracefully advanced, using the Yellow Dragon Crossing the River. His feet barely touched the ground, as if he were gliding over ice.

Clang—!

His light strike was easily blocked.

Locking eyes with Chun-bong, Seo-jun spun his body to dodge.

Whoosh, his robes fluttered, and Chun-bong’s sword flashed, aiming swiftly for his body.

Clang, clang—!

Seo-jun swung his sword wide, his eyes gleaming. He saw an opening and thrust forward.

But Chun-bong’s sword drew a soft, circular motion.

“Huh?”

Even though Seo-jun had put force into the attack, it felt like his strength was absorbed into an odd void.

Before he knew it, Chun-bong had swung her sword, and though Seo-jun tried to block it, his destabilized stance made it difficult.

Seizing the opportunity, Chun-bong struck twice in quick succession.

Ting-ting—!

Two precise hits landed in the same spot. By the time Seo-jun recovered, Chun-bong’s sword was already at his throat.

“Whoa…”

“You’ve improved.”

“What, are you mocking me?”

“Mocking you?”

“How long do you think we’ve each been practicing martial arts? I started when I could barely walk. If you beat me, that’d be more surprising.”

“So does that mean the sect leader of the Cheongha Sect is an idiot?”

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment, Chun-bong tilted her head.

“Maybe?”

“Whoa.”

Seo-jun covered his mouth.

Chun-bong chuckled and shook her head.

“You have talent in other areas anyway.”

“True. Speaking of which, how about a Qi duel next?”

“No thanks. You’re not even good at that.”

“What…!”

His record was 0 wins, 1 loss. He couldn’t argue.

“This is so frustrating…!”

“Shut up.”

Seo-jun grinned as he sheathed his sword.

“I’ve got an idea.”

As Chun-bong gave him a curious look, Seo-jun fired a Qi Blast at the nearby wall.

Crack—!

The blast froze a portion of the wall on impact. Chun-bong clicked her tongue, seeing how naturally Seo-jun wielded yin energy now.

“Tsk, what the hell.”

“Just watch this.”

Seo-jun prepared another blast, this time using yang energy.

Boom—!

He fired it at the same spot on the wall where the yin energy had struck earlier.

Nothing happened.

Aside from a few cracks due to the sudden temperature change, there wasn’t much of an effect.

“Sigh… This isn’t right.”

“What exactly are you trying to do? What you’ve done is already impressive, you know.”

Manipulating both yin and yang energy at will?

Most people would either think it’s impossible or accuse you of practicing some dark magic.

“No, one more time. I feel like I’m close.”

Seo-jun focused.

His inspiration came from Chun-bong’s sword technique—the one where she had knocked his sword aside by hitting the same spot repeatedly.

If he couldn’t handle yin and yang simultaneously, he’d just have to alternate between them quickly.

“Hoo…”

Closing his eyes, Seo-jun rapidly rotated the yin energy at his fingertips, visualizing a swirling blue orb.

Then he opened his eyes and fired a Qi Blast.

Crack—!

The blast struck the wall, but something was different this time. The yin energy lingered, swirling in place.

Quickly firing another blast, Seo-jun smiled faintly.

This felt promising.

“Hey, Geum Chun-bong! This is the Taiji…!”

BOOM—!!!

A deafening explosion rang out.

Beep—. His ears were ringing.

“Cough, cough…!”

After coughing a few times, Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong, who was now cradled in his arms.

“Whoa… Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah…”

Chun-bong, still in a daze, suddenly grabbed his arm tightly.

“What about you?! Are you okay?!”

As she turned him around, his back felt strangely cool.

'Ah, great. This was a new outfit… Now I have to buy another one.'

Sighing, Seo-jun felt small hands patting his back.

“Sigh… No serious injuries.”

“Of course not. I used my internal energy to protect myself. You know, putting Qi on my back. Like, what’s that called… back Qi? No, wait, is it back energy (背氣)?”

“Stop spouting nonsense and get some medicine on it.”

Slap—! He was hit on the thigh.

“Hey, but wasn’t that amazing? Wait… why do you look like that?”

Though Chun-bong wasn’t crying, her face was contorted like she was on the verge of tears.

Startled, Seo-jun grabbed Chun-bong’s cheeks.

“Did you get hurt?”

“…No.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

He stretched her cheeks, but there was no response. This was serious.

Seo-jun crouched slightly to meet her eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“Come on, tell me. I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”

Was she upset because he hadn’t been using the Golden Cloud Divine Art lately?

Maybe she was mad because he’d been playing around with Qi blasts instead of practicing sword techniques.

As he locked eyes with her, Chun-bong finally muttered softly.

“I just feel like… I’m not useful anymore…”

What kind of nonsense was this? Was she really going through a rebellious phase?

Seo-jun suppressed his instinct to spout some careless comment.

Chun-bong wasn’t joking. She was serious.

“Hey, what are you talking about?”

“I’ve taught you everything I know. Now, you can do everything on your own. With the Merged Origin Divine Art, the Golden Cloud Divine Art doesn’t even seem that useful anymore. You’ve been working so hard to get elixirs for me… And now, you even got hurt protecting me…”

Tears welled up in her eyes as her lips quivered. She had always acted tough, but now, Seo-jun realized just how fragile she could be.

Had she been thinking about this all along?

With a furrowed brow, Seo-jun scooped Chun-bong up in his arms.

“Listen, Geum Chun-bong. I got hurt because I was being an idiot.”

“But still…”

“Oh, this won’t do.”

Seo-jun quickly hoisted Chun-bong onto his shoulders, piggyback style.

The dust had finally settled, revealing the completely destroyed wall.

Seo-jun stepped over the rubble and used Yellow Dragon Crossing the River to glide out into the marketplace.

As they passed by people, Chun-bong tried to cover her tear-swollen eyes with her hands.

Realizing this, Seo-jun gently lowered her from his shoulders and cradled her in his arms instead. He patted her back and spoke softly.

“Look.”

“…At what?”

“Hurry up, look.”

Chun-bong hesitantly peeked out, glancing around at the people in the market.

And Seo-jun, in a loud voice, declared,

“Look at all these idiots.”

“What?”

Chun-bong’s face was one of utter confusion. The people around them also shot him puzzled looks.

Sure, his words might have sounded ridiculous, but he was serious.

“Look at these countless fools, and then take another look at yourself. Compared to them, you’re seriously amazing, you know that?”

“…Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“Of course it is.”

Even if you’re not useful all the time, it doesn’t matter. You’re my sister. Without you, I would have ended up as just another corpse in some alley. Just having you around, chatting with me, has helped me more than you know.

But there was no need to spell that out.

“They call you a prodigy, right? Maybe one day you’ll even fix your meridians and surpass me. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get so strong you’ll be the one supporting me.”

“……”

“Although, by then, I’ll probably have reached the pinnacle, so that’s not likely.”

It was meant as a joke, but Chun-bong didn’t react.

Still, Seo-jun was confident.

“And by then, I’ll probably have a line of women stretching around the training grounds five times over…”

“Shut up, you idiot.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He shut up.

But Seo-jun was smiling. He had won this round.

Chun-bong’s puffy, teary-eyed face was so amusing that it almost felt like a shame to keep it all to himself.