Chapter 5
Several days passed.
The Cardenas trainees didn’t have any days off. However, sometimes they got to see minstrels or bands perform on nationwide holidays.
As always, they were working on basic stances until the sun rose high in the sky. During the session, children whispered amongst themselves so their instructor wouldn’t hear. If they were caught even once, they would be in big trouble. But today, they couldn’t seem to keep their mouths shut.
“Hey, did you hear?” one trainee asked.
“About No. 381, you mean? Wait, he’s No. 98 now, right?” replied the other, pretending to swing his sword.
“Yeah. Anyway, that guy has already become No. 25, apparently.”
“What?!” His shoulders jumped in surprise, and the other trainee panicked.
“Hey, what’re you doing?! If we get caught, we’re so dead!”
“Sorry, sorry. I was just so surprised.” He smiled sheepishly as he apologized. “Tell me more. You said No. 381 is already No. 25 now? Hasn’t it only been six days since he was discharged?”
His friend nodded. “Yeah. It hasn’t even been a week, but he’s already risen that high!”
“Come on, that’s impossible.” He didn’t seem to believe it.
The other trainee raised his voice a little. “I’m telling the truth. I even asked the ones he beat up. They said he beat them without even using a sword, with his bare hands. They were knocked out in one hit.”
“Are you sure they’re not bluffing? Maybe they’re just embarrassed.”
“I wouldn’t believe it if there were only one or two of them, but more than ten people have said this. Even No. 25, I mean, No. 26, said the same thing.”
“No. 381 was that strong? I never would’ve guessed. But why isn’t he here?”
The trainee in front of them interjected, “I heard he got a week off because of his injury.”
“What? For real?”
“So you’re saying he’s been beating people up even though he himself hasn’t fully recovered?”
The three trainees were all wondering the same thing.
“Where in the world is No. 381—no, No. 25?”
“Who knows?”
***
As a matter of fact, he wasn’t very far away. While the other trainees were at the parade ground and wondering where he was, Leonard, now ranked 25th, was sweating away in the indoor training room. He knew they would be outside working on swordplay fundamentals, so he’d taken the opportunity to come here.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
The barbell moved up and down at an even tempo, like a pendulum. The total weight was a whopping fifty kilograms, but Leonard easily bore the strain as the veins on his arms popped in and out, in and out. The muscles on the fourteen-year-old’s small back were corded like rope. It was an amazing sight.
“Hoo…! Hoo…! Hoo…!”
As soon as he felt his breathing grow harsh, Leonard let the barbell drop from his hands. It was better to take a moment to catch his breath than to use a poor, unbalanced form. It was easy for a person to lose sight of their true goal if they only focused on how much they could lift or the number of repetitions they did.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel, and then he noticed how drenched the towel was.
How long has it been since I’ve sweat like this?
Once a person became a Creation Realm martial artist and reinforced their body with the Bone Reconstruction technique, it no longer mattered if they participated in physical training or not. The martial arts skills they had amassed throughout their lifetime allowed them to achieve a perfect physique that didn’t need effort to maintain.
After reaching that stage, the Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk had devoted himself to swordplay and internal cultivation. He did a little bit of physical training, such as yoga, but it wasn’t much.
“Well, I don’t mind it.” He savored the burning sensation in his lungs and muscles. It had been a long time since he’d felt it.
That was another thing that was different from his past life. His mental power as a Creation Realm martial artist had remained, and it gave him perfect control over every part of his body. Combined with the yoga, he could now do things that the old Yeon Mu-Hyuk couldn’t. One of them was squeezing out every drop of strength in his muscles.
At this rate, I’ll be unstoppable after just two—no, a little over one year of training. I’ll get there insanely fast.
Leonard was practically drooling, thinking about his growth rate.
But starting tomorrow, I’ll have another problem to deal with.
Multiple trainees from three different gangs had approached him, and he’d pummeled all of them into the ground. And ever since he beat No. 25 with his bare hands, no one else had approached him. It may have been different if he only beat trainees ranked in the three digits, but No. 25 was ranked high. Now that he’d established his power, everyone knew that he was likely strong enough to be in the top ten. If he beat someone who ranked that high, whatever gang they were affiliated with would take a hit to its reputation.
The last guy was a bit of a hassle. If anyone stronger wants to fight me, it might be hard to beat them with just my hands.
Leonard thought about his fight with No. 25. He was very sturdy, as if he used qi reinforcement. And he deflected the force of a heavy blow. If I hadn’t hit his head hard enough, I wouldn’t have been able to knock him out with one hit.
Unlike the ones ranked in the triple digits, the trainees in the double digits possessed some unique abilities or physical features. In fact, they were capable enough to defeat even a second-grade martial artist.
“Tsk.” His eyes flashed with annoyance. He looked down at his right hand, thinking about the shock he’d felt when he first saw No. 25’s deflective ability. He’d had to take one of the potions he’d received on the first day to let his hand fully recover. If the fight had been a real battle with a real enemy and not a child, he could have died. It was his fault for letting his guard down while knowing that the Cardenas had special abilities.
If the branch families’ powers are this strong, I can’t even imagine how impressive direct descendants are. Who knew, maybe they could breathe fire or something. He’d believe it. If he didn’t brace himself for every single possibility, the Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk just might suffer the indignity of being defeated by a fourteen-year-old. His pride as a martial artist, however, would never allow it.
Leonard squinted a little as he thought about the following day. “I want to skip the fundamentals training… Is there something I can do to get out of it?”
Though this wasn’t the case for other kids, going through the motions of basic stances was pointless. It was only a waste of time and energy. It would be much more productive to spend that time working out or meditating on his past experiences.
The only problem was that he couldn’t convince his instructors.
Hm?
Leonard sensed a presence and turned. Someone had entered the room without a sound.
When he saw who it was, his eyes widened a little.
Standing there was a beautiful, ethereal girl with golden hair and eyes. Her hair was as smooth as an abundant wheat field, and her eyes twinkled. Their golden color was a telltale sign of a direct descendant. She wordlessly met his eyes. There was an otherworldly quality about her, as if she were a character in a fairy tale.
This girl must be No. 2. He was sure of it.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Yes.” The golden-haired girl, No. 2, nodded softly. “Why aren’t you joining my group?”
“Come again?” Leonard retorted before he could stop himself.
“I said, ‘Why aren’t you joining my group?’ ”
Leonard repeated her words to himself. Now, that was a question he never saw coming. She spoke as if it was only natural for him to join her group, as if she didn’t even consider it possible for him to refuse. The childishness and arrogance seemed unreal.
He wasn’t interested. “Because it’ll cut into my training time. And it’ll only cause problems for me.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s true.” No. 2 didn’t refute him. “Have many others sought you out?”
“I rejected them all. But you’re the first leader who’s come to me.”
“I see. In that case, it doesn’t matter.”
Even though their conversation was going smoothly, there was a sense of unease, as if it could break at any second. Though No. 2 presented herself in a composed manner, Leonard, on the other hand, wasn’t a very affable person.
It doesn’t seem like she’s here to pick a fight. He didn’t sense any malice from her. He returned to his workout and wrapped his hands around the barbell again.
No. 2 sat there quietly and began to observe him. She didn’t seem annoyed that Leonard had stopped talking to her and gone back to work. Strangely, they seemed to have something in common.
They didn’t expect or desire others’ sympathy or understanding.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
As he lifted the weights, the muscles in Leonard’s arms and back began to tighten like ropes again.
No. 2’s lips made an “o” shape.
“Fascinating,” she whispered.
“What is?” Leonard asked.
“I’ve never seen this before. The mechanics of your body are completely different from mine. I can’t even emulate it. How do you do it?”
“You can see it?” Leonard let go of the barbell. For once, he was shocked.
From the moment he saw her, he knew that her ability was related to sight. She had a piercing gaze, giving off the distinct feeling of seeing right through a person. Furthermore, her pupils were glassy and dilated like someone who was inebriated.
But still, she could see inside people?
“Huh? I can’t see it anymore. Did you do something?” For the first time since their conversation, she looked straight at him. Her face was no longer doll-like and impassive but rather filled with excitement and life.
Leonard neither confirmed nor denied it, too busy trying to analyze her ability. Not only does she have a mind’s eye, but she also has a second sight that lets her see through things.
Master martial artists who were good at visualization could develop a mind’s eye and sense objects and people around them, but it was impossible to tell how far No. 2’s ability could go.
Simply put, it was a superpower.
If she learned even a little about martial theory, her second sight would allow her to kill opponents who were several levels above her. No assassin could ever get close to her, and it would be impossible to ambush her even in a direct confrontation. Furthermore, she was probably quick to learn and master fighting techniques because she could see the inner workings of the instructor’s techniques.
I bet all the murim geezers without disciples would fight to take her as an apprentice. Hell, I have no interest in training others, but even I want to try teaching her.
While Leonard was silently thinking, No. 2 tugged on the hem of his shirt.
She pressed, “I’m right, aren’t I? You did something. Can you see it too?”
“I can. But the way I see things is a little different from yours.”
The Sword Emperor’s insight triumphed over her mind’s eye, which wasn’t fully developed yet. Once a person gained the ability to read someone’s wavelengths, they could immediately pick up on the nuances of the other’s body language and temperament. In order for a person to mask their own intentions, they had to at least be in the Creation Realm.
But I have no idea how this kid’s powers will evolve if she becomes a Creation Realm expert. It scares me.
Those who reached the Life and Death Realm attained the six types of higher knowledge, also known as abhijna. One of them, the divine eye, allowed one to see the future. Would she be able to do that?
Now that would be interesting. A predatory smile flickered across his face.
Someone new suddenly entered the room. Unlike No. 2, he had an imposing presence that even dimwits would be able to appreciate.
“Geez, who are you trying to impress? Is this the boy you were obsessing over?”
He had the same golden hair and eyes, radiating both arrogance and power befitting a direct descendant of the Cardenas family. His eyes were ferocious like a lion’s, and his haughty gaze made it clear that he thought he was above everyone else. If No. 2’s aura was like a cloud, his was like a sun. Not the kind of sun that fed warm sunlight to plants, but the kind that dried up farmland and induced droughts.
“No. 1.” No. 2 turned away from Leonard to look at him, scowling a little.
Even if she hadn’t addressed him, anyone would have been able to guess who the boy was. He was the strongest trainee in their class and the boss of all the others who’d come up to Leonard after he was discharged.
No. 1 fixed his fiery eyes on him. Leonard met his gaze and adjusted his posture. And then…
Creak. Creak. Creak.
Leonard had been distracted while talking with No. 2, but now he resumed his workout.
For a moment, No. 1 was too stunned to speak.
“No. 25—!” he screamed.
“What?” Leonard responded, not looking up.
“You—!”
“Ahahahaha!” No. 2 burst into laughter. No. 1’s foul temper, Leonard’s nonchalance—it was all too much for her.
It was the most peculiar situation.
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