Early morning.

As Chun-bong carefully stepped out of her room, the first thing she saw was Seo-jun grinning like an idiot.

“You’re up? Aww, our little Chun-bong is all grown up now, huh?”

She twisted her body and kicked him straight away.

“Ouch…!”

Seo-jun’s body twisted in pain as he flew backward. Chun-bong planted her foot on him and glared fiercely.

“You, stay away from me for a while.”

“What…!”

Seo-jun let out a desperate cry. Chun-bong scoffed, but then suddenly winced, rubbing her stomach.

Seo-jun looked at her, alarmed.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“…Shut up.”

Chun-bong stuck out her tongue at him and sprinted off, disappearing quickly.

Seo-jun, watching her retreating figure, scratched his head as he lay back down.

“Hmph… What’s the right thing to do in a situation like this?”

What’s the proper way for an older brother to handle his younger sister’s first period?

For most siblings, this might be something they wouldn’t even notice, but his relationship with Chun-bong wasn’t just a flimsy blood tie.

He wanted to do something for her… but what?

He was genuinely at a loss.

 

Chun-bong reappeared after a while, this time with Namgung Su-a.

Seo-jun glanced at Chun-bong, who scoffed and turned her head away, coldly.

“What the…”

Namgung Su-a chuckled and approached Seo-jun.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s a bit late, but it’s something everyone goes through.”

“Yeah, I get that, but…”

Seo-jun scratched his head. Last night, he’d been deep in thought, but this unexpected situation had driven everything out of his mind.

He’d teased her reflexively, but even he found the whole thing rather awkward and embarrassing.

“You can just act normally, but maybe go easy on training today, just in case.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Nodding, Seo-jun headed toward the training grounds, occasionally glancing at Chun-bong’s expression along the way. She didn’t look particularly upset, and her lips were even curved up slightly, as if she was in a good mood.

“Oy, you’re here?”

Pae Jin-gwang greeted them as they arrived at the training ground.

He briefly raised an eyebrow at the unusual atmosphere, but he quickly brushed it off and lifted a large boulder effortlessly.

“Alright, warm-up time.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Seo-jun, now quite accustomed to the routine, picked up a boulder without much comment.

There was something oddly satisfying about the strain and pain in his muscles.

After finishing the light (but actually heavy) warm-up, they moved on to the main training.

Naturally, the main focus was Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong.

Pae Jin-gwang generously continued to teach Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong in front of Chun-bong and Namgung Su-a, seemingly unconcerned even if they happened to pick up some of its secrets by watching.

“So you’ve already developed your Ki-muscle. I was planning to help you with it today, so what did you do?”

“I learned Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong, didn’t I? I just did as I was taught.”

“Hm, fair enough.”

The Ki-muscle was essentially a muscle made by embedding energy into the muscles through repeated training.

In Seo-jun’s case, he had formed his Ki-muscle, but it hadn’t fully matured.

While he would have preferred to take shortcuts, not even Seo-jun could skip the process of training to strengthen the Ki-muscle.

It was a matter of cause and effect.

Since the Ki-muscle inherently grew through training, he could accelerate the growth, but there was no way to make it grow by just scratching his belly and relaxing.

So, Seo-jun dove into his training without complaint.

He lifted massive boulders, held them up, went outside the estate to uproot trees for squats, and when he got tired of lifting weights, he practiced the fist movements of Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong.

Seeing Seo-jun putting in rare enthusiasm, Namgung Su-a prepared a wet towel and approached him.

“Oh my, your body’s already improved so much.”

Namgung Su-a wiped Seo-jun’s sweaty face with the towel and squeezed his arm playfully.

His arms had become noticeably thicker. Previously, he’d had muscles, but there’d been a slight delicacy to them. Now, he looked distinctly masculine.

Of course, compared to Pae Jin-gwang, he was still relatively slim.

She chuckled.

“At this rate, Seo-jun, you’ll end up bulky like Pa Jin-gwang, won’t you?”

“I doubt it. My body’s already close to an ideal form thanks to the transformation, so I don’t think it’ll change much from here. Why? Would you like that?”

“Nope, I think you’re perfect just as you are.”

Her hand, which had been fondling his bicep, moved further along. From his arm to his shoulder, collarbone, chest, and down to his abs.

“Hmm, it seems like you need a title with ‘King’ in it soon.”

“Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“…Was it not funny?”

“Haha.”

Seo-jun let out an awkward laugh, and Namgung Su-a pouted.

Instead of explaining himself, Seo-jun reached over and pressed a hand against Namgung Su-a’s belly, making her flinch.

As he pressed, he noted that while her muscles were firm, she didn’t have a six-pack.

There was soft skin over the solid muscle beneath.

“Where does someone with a body like this get that much strength?”

He continued pressing, finding the feel pleasant, until Namgung Su-a blushed and let out a breath.

“Mm…”

“You really do have a consistent taste, huh?”

“Hehe, want me to hit you?”

“Maybe not…”

Watching the two, Pae Jin-gwang finally clicked his tongue and looked away.

“That damned brat…”

The Fist King, a man without children, had muscles as his lover and boulders as his beloved. Watching their antics only made him feel the sting of loneliness.

“So, why are you acting like that?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

Chun-bong answered curtly.

At first, she’d at least pretended to show some respect, but now she didn’t even bother.

Seeing her response, so similar to her brother’s, Pae Jin-gwang chuckled.

“Did you two fight or something?”

“Nope.”

“Yeah, sure, you did.”

“I told you, no.”

“Geez.”

“Humph.”

Chun-bong snorted, staring at her brother, who was goofing around with Namgung Su-a.

She had to consciously stop herself from grinning.

Thinking of his annoying teasing made her a bit mad, but the joy of her fully recovered health overpowered that anger.

Her brother’s dedication had saved her life, and maybe even the life of the new life she’d one day bring into the world.

“Seo-jun Jr….”

Chun-bong imagined little kids running around and couldn’t help but giggle.

She’d have to be a bit strict with her kids, she thought.

Thinking of the trouble they might cause, just like her brother, made her laugh but also filled her with a bit of fear for the future…

 

“So it was true…?”

Namgung Hyeok had been traveling back and forth between the Namgung Family estate and his secluded residence, gathering information.

There was no way he would just hand over the Sovereign Sword Form to that arrogant Seo-jun.

Know your enemy, know yourself, and you shall win a hundred battles.

He knew himself well enough; it was information on that brat he needed.

“Are you talking about the young master? He’s truly amazing! Just his Thunderheart Art and Thirteen Thunder Sword are impressive. And I’ve heard he’s accomplished countless other feats. You’d need more than one night to hear it all.”

“Oh, absolutely! He’s practically the god of alchemy! It’s still hard to believe. Would you like to visit Cheonyak-dang sometime? There are traces of him there that are simply…”

“If I were to go back to the battlefield, nothing would reassure me more than having him by my side. I still vividly remember how he saved me from the brink of death at Daedong-hyeon after I was gravely injured. My level has decreased a bit, but that’s easy to recover. Actually, I gained some insight from that near-death experience and feel I’ve come out stronger.”

Almost everyone in the Namgung Family seemed to have a favorable impression of him.

The members of Cheonyak-dang, in particular, had even set up a small shrine-like structure in his honor.

They’d carved a little wooden figure and treated him almost like a deity. The sight infuriated Namgung Hyeok to the point that he nearly obliterated Cheonyak-dang on the spot.

“These people are insane.”

The Cheonyak-dang hadn’t always been like this.

Recalling the Namgung Family from a few centuries ago, Namgung Hyeok let out a heavy sigh.

So much had changed while he’d been secluded from the world.

“What has the world come to…?”

No matter how much he disliked it, if even half of what they said was true, then Seo-jun was indeed a treasure they couldn’t afford to lose.

Though the man himself seemed a bit frivolous, if he possessed that level of skill, it changed things.

After all, pride in a powerful individual wasn’t mere arrogance.

Then what should he do?

After some thought, Namgung Hyeok prepared a test.

Officially, it would be a test to determine his qualification to learn the Sovereign Sword Form, examining his integrity, swordsmanship, and martial skills.

If he could keep Seo-jun bound to the family through this, it would be good. Ideally, he could even attach some chains.

“That girl, Namgung Su-a… can she keep him tied to the Namgung Family?”

No matter how great his achievements, giving away the Sovereign Sword Form didn’t sit well with him. However, if Seo-jun truly held loyalty to the family, he might be willing to bend a bit.

Realistically, it didn’t make sense to teach the Sovereign Sword Form to anyone other than the head of the family or the heir…

But after seeing the madness at Cheonyak-dang, his thoughts had changed somewhat. If it was the trend of the times, trying to resist it would only backfire.

In that case, his concern had to shift.

“How can I block any escape routes for that brat…”

Namgung Hyeok’s worries deepened.

 

Seo-jun continued his training for a few days.

Not just with Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong, but also practicing the Sovereign Sword Form, Hwangun Divine Sword, domain techniques, sorcery, Heaven-Reversing Sun and Moon Energy, and Reverse Heaven’s Sun and Moon Energy.

He’d set aside Demonization for now.

Revealing Demonization in front of Namgung Hyeok would likely lead to a troublesome situation.

“So, when is that guy coming, anyway?”

For someone who left looking like he was about to cause trouble, he was taking his time showing up.

“Did he run away?”

Maybe. After all, if he provoked his father-in-law too much, his head would be on the line.

With a gap of nearly a hundred years between generations in Murim, a grand-uncle he’d hardly ever seen was practically a stranger.

Of course, he wouldn’t treat him as a complete stranger, but the main point was that his opponent was Namgung Jin-cheon.

Going up against someone who could handle the Lord of Ki-Ryeon in ten moves?

Seo-jun didn’t have the confidence for that.

This was truly the power of connections.

Suddenly, Seo-jun found himself admiring his father-in-law again, and he promptly set aside any thoughts of Namgung Hyeok.

“Forget it. He’ll come when he comes.”

It seemed more practical to prepare his sister for the upcoming Yongbong Gathering in spring.

But right now, there was one issue that took precedence over everything else.

“What’s going on with her…?”

It seemed Chun-bong was entering adolescence.

I was screwed.