"H-How... are you using the Lotus...?"

For the first time, Yayul Geuk made a dumbfounded expression that suited his age.

"The Lotus?"

I asked back, pretending not to know.

It made sense, considering the Lotus I used was the Ascension Form, converted through Jegal's Three Forms.

"Are you talking about the trick of Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees?"

"... It wasn't the Lotus?"

"No."

The look in his eyes was thick with suspicion, but what could he do about it? I said it wasn't.

It wasn't like the Flowing Cloud Sect had a monopoly on the trick of Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees anyway.

"Are you not going to attack anymore? Were you and your brothers truly as worthless as I said?"

"..."

Yayul Geuk put on a spiteful expression once more.

"Why is it only you..."

"Hm?"

"Why is it only you who brought all your martial brothers with you!"

The reason this guy was having such a fit at me.

"Is that why you hated me?"

I was in the same situation as him, but I produced a different result.

The brighter I shined, the deeper his own darkness must have felt to him.

"Do you truly not know the reason?"

"The reason?"

Yayul Geuk's eyes widened.

An expression anticipating an answer he couldn't have imagined with his own head.

"Because you're incompetent."

"..."

Rather, I was pleased by his inferiority complex.

If he had truly given up in despair, he would have been consumed by his darkness and become numb to everything.

"Why are you blaming others for your own incompetence?"

He must feel this much resentment towards me because he still has the will to change, even if only a little.

"Go on, let out more of that pathetic whining, you pitiful bastard."

"Aaagh!"

That was why I continued to provoke him. Because I thought Yayul Geuk could use his own darkness and wretchedness to become even stronger.

Yayul Geuk drew out all the internal energy he had and rushed at me.

He poured out the Strong Thunder Fist Technique and the Heavy Rain Palm Technique, but there was no way such martial arts, which weren't even secret techniques to begin with, would be effective against his opponent.

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP.

When I neutralized his martial arts with just one hand, not even both, he must have thought it was impossible to win normally, as he executed the Flowing Cloud Divine Art's Snowflake.

If the Lotus was a counterattack using the trick of Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees, the Snowflake was an offensive technique based on the principle of Deflecting a Thousand Catties with Four Ounces.

It was supposed to inflict massive damage on the opponent with just a small amount of force, but...

"What is this, child's play?"

His Snowflake felt like nothing more than a mere parlor trick.

SMACK!

"Aaagh!"

Yayul Geuk screamed and stepped back, his wrist twisted.

"Understanding positional force and kinetic force is the foundation of Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees and Deflecting a Thousand Catties with Four Ounces."

Frowning and caressing his wrist, Yayul Geuk glared at me fiercely.

I grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him into the air.

"Aaagh!"

Yayul Geuk flailed in midair, trying to correct his posture.

I put more strength into my hand.

"An object raised high falling to the ground is positional force."

THUD!

And I slammed him down onto the floor.

"Ugh."

Fallen to the ground, Yayul Geuk ground his teeth, sprang to his feet, and swung his fist.

I lightly dodged his fist, simultaneously tripping his foot and pulling his clothes in the direction he was moving.

"The force possessed by a moving entity is kinetic force."

THUD-THUD-THUD!

After sweeping across the floor and rolling several times, he stumbled to his feet, seemingly in immense pain.

"If your sect's martial arts are focused on the principles of Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees and Deflecting a Thousand Catties with Four Ounces, you should have learned the basic concepts. Did you fail to master them?"

"Pant... pant... pant."

Yayul Geuk kept panting heavily, as if he couldn't hear my words at all.

His appearance wasn't unfamiliar.

"Like brother, like brother."

I muttered softly so he couldn't hear.

Yayul Geuk was like this too, but Yayul Jae also had quite a fiery temper.

He would forcefully apply strength when using the trick of Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees, and put more strength into his body than usual when using Deflecting a Thousand Catties with Four Ounces.

It was because he put too much strength into it, trying to deal a blow to the opponent that matched his temper.

It would be effective if it were an overbearing martial art, but there was no way it would work in a martial art that required using the opponent's strength.

It was truly ironic considering the reason he was finally able to perfect the Flowing Cloud Divine Art in the late years of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War was because he had to fight without properly recovering his internal energy every time, forcing him to relax his strength when executing the Flowing Cloud Divine Art.

'He needs to relax his strength a bit.'

And when it came to draining strength, wasn't a beating the best method?

Of course, I had no intention of inflicting ignorant violence like Ak Jupyeong.

After all, my goal was completely different from that bastard's.

If I keep tormenting him so he can't properly recover his internal energy, all while pushing qi through his acupoints, wouldn't he realize it at some point?

Furthermore, an excellent(?) teacher like myself will be giving him instructions.

Where else in the world could you find such customized education?

'What an incredibly annoying pair of brothers.'

Yayul Geuk's breathing was still rough.

"Are you tired already?"

At my words, he lunged at me again with a look that suggested his eyes would roll back into his head at any moment.

He truly was easy to read.

SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, BAM!

A chained form connecting the Strong Thunder Fist Technique and the Heavy Rain Palm Technique.

It was a method Yayul Jae had used to death, so my eyes were completely used to it.

If I just apply a slight counterattack here.

GRAB.

Just as expected, the Flowing Cloud Divine Art came flying right at me.

"Tsk, tsk. I told you it won't work."

I returned his Lotus back at him and slammed him into the floor.

THUD!

"Urgh..."

It must have hit quite hard this time, as he twisted his body.

"Softness overcomes hardness. Think again about how softness can capably overcome strength. Whether it is Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees or Deflecting a Thousand Catties with Four Ounces, it is not just a mere trick. If you do not realize the source of its principles, you will never be able to complete your sect's martial arts in your entire life."

Even while lying flat on the ground, Yayul Geuk glared at me fiercely.

"..."

It was incredibly laughable how he kept hissing like a wounded cat.

Anyway, I had shown him the clues for the Lotus and the Snowflake, so he wouldn't do something like giving up again.

I gave him a mocking smirk and left the area.

"F-Fuck! Jin Sowoon! Watch your back!"

Hah... That bastard was still out to get my back.

* * *

The next morning, as I straightened my robes and stepped out of the pavilion, I felt a qi sense from above my head.

"Good grief..."

It was Yayul Geuk, clutching that same jagged rock as usual, jumping down from the roof.

"Wouldn't the sword you received from the academy be better for an ambush?"

I couldn't fathom what exactly was inside his head.

I never understood Yayul Jae's personality to begin with, so trying to understand the behavior of his younger brother was absurd anyway.

'Does he have some disease where he dies if he doesn't keep his word?'

Even so, aiming only for the back of the head every single time was quite strange.

I stepped back slightly and struck his abdomen with a roundhouse kick, which was said to be the specialty of incompetent men.

SMACK!

Yayul Geuk, who flew back nearly three jang and rolled across the floor of the personal training ground, began to vomit as if his stomach had turned inside out.

However, instead of food, he only threw up yellow gastric acid.

"Tsk... Did you come without even eating breakfast?"

Well, I was planning to go find him anyway, so I was thankful he came looking for me himself, but not thankful enough to hold back my hand.

"I was planning to deal with you after having a peaceful morning, yet you interrupted my morning routine."

I thrust out the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist and executed a full-body acupoint stimulation.

In short, it meant I beat him to a pulp without missing a single spot on his body.

"Keugh."

The guy, who was sent flying another one jang, sprang up, but feeling something wrong with his body, he threw up once more.

This time, it wasn't yellow gastric acid, but dark red blood.

The congested blood that had built up inside his body over a long period had traveled up his internal organs.

"Damn it..."

A normal martial artist would likely hesitate out of worry that they might have suffered internal injuries.

Wipe... After scrubbing his mouth once to remove the bloodstains, Yayul Geuk prepared his opening stance again.

Then, he lunged at me like a flash of lightning.

'Oh, did he recover this much in just one day?'

It seemed his meridians had been slightly unblocked because I pushed qi through his acupoints a bit yesterday.

His movements themselves were much smoother and faster than yesterday.

However—

"Softness overcomes hardness! Softness overcomes hardness! You stupid bastard! Did you already forget what I taught you yesterday?!"

It was an overbearing movement that didn't apply the principles of the Flowing Cloud Sect's martial arts at all.

I swallowed a sigh and executed the Ascension Form of the Flowing Cloud Divine Art's Lotus with one hand, slamming him to the floor.

"Urgh..."

The unbearable pain of rolling on the hard marble floor must have struck him, as he writhed for a long time like a trampled earthworm.

I lightly stepped on him.

"If you're going to rush in blindly, use a different martial art. If you want to use your sect's martial arts, utilize its principles. You should at least do one of the two."

"Pant... Pant..."

Letting out rough breaths, Yayul Geuk glared at me.

I wriggled my finger and said.

"Come at me. You'll never crack the back of my head just by glaring."

"Aaagh!"

Screaming out maliciously, Yayul Geuk charged.

I completely exhausted him before even two gak had passed.

"Hah, hah, hah."

Sprawled on the floor while letting out heavy breaths, Yayul Geuk panted.

I deliberately twisted the corners of my mouth up.

"Are you not going to attack?"

"... Y-You. Just you wait... Once I perfect the Flowing Cloud Divine Art..."

"Don't worry. From what I see, you have absolutely zero talent for it."

"Keugh!"

He glared at me with bulging eyes in a fit of rage, but what could he do about it?

All he could do was lie there and breathe.

"Sir Jin Sowoon."

Just then, the head maid came out from the pavilion.

"It is time for breakfast. Will you be eating with your friend?"

I looked at Yayul Geuk and asked.

"You're going to eat, right? The food in the dormitories used by the representative is famous for being delicious."

"... I-I'm not eating!"

Yayul Geuk blushed for some reason.

What's with him?

"This guy says he doesn't want to go inside to eat."

The head maid nodded and spoke.

"Then I will bring it out here for you."

"Please do."

When the head maid said so and went back inside the pavilion, Yayul Geuk raised his voice.

"I-I said I'm not eating!"

Why was he shouting with such passion and sincerity that he wouldn't eat?

What a temper he had.

"Eat. I want to beat you up some more, but beating a guy who's already flat on his back isn't really my taste."

"... Son of a bitch!"

A short while later, led by the head maid, three maids brought out trays of easy-to-eat food and set them down in front of us.

The guy who stubbornly refused to eat eventually took a spoonful when the surrounding maids didn't leave and waited instead.

"!!!"

After just one bite, Yayul Geuk's eyes widened as large as a rabbit's.

"Delicious, isn't it?"

"... I can eat as much of this as I want once I become the representative!"

At his words, I unintentionally burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! With your skills?"

"...!!!"

Keeping his mouth shut tight, Yayul Geuk glared at me, trembling.

"The Flowing Cloud Sect's Flowing Cloud Divine Art can counter any martial art! Don't think you'll be the exception!"

Now I understood a little.

The reason he hadn't wished for anyone's help until now.

The reason he kept attacking Ak Jupyeong even while getting beaten up every day.

The reason he had sharply raised a thorn-like defense mechanism.

'This guy...'

He was struggling to protect a noble sense of pride.

Refusing the help of others stemmed from his pride that he needed no one's help other than his brother's.

Continuing to attack despite knowing he would get pulverized must have been his final struggle to not be a burden to the brothers who had sacrificed themselves for him.

To protect those things, he had struggled and struggled until he was on the verge of death.

A hollow chuckle escaped me at his sheer willpower.

'... He was even crazier than I thought.'

Yayul Geuk rapidly emptied the food even while glaring at me.

Without taking his eyes off me, he moved his utensils swiftly to eat faster than I did.

CLACK.

"Th-Thank you for the meal."

He then gave an awkward bow to the maids and stared at me again.

"How long are you going to keep eating?"

This bastard...

Why was he still giving me that disrespectful look?

I was clearly the one who treated him to the meal.

In any case, it seemed he needed education in many different areas.

"You're dead meat."

Training was good, but personality correction definitely had to come first.

I mean, didn't Yayul Jae eventually mellow out after constantly getting beaten up?

It was an already proven method, is what I mean.

* * *

After treating Yayul Geuk to all three meals a day and making him vomit up everything he ate right afterward, I concluded the day and changed my clothes for my evening appointment.

Because I had to prepare to form the representative delegation in preparation for the academic schedule that would soon resume.

'First, Jang Ujae makes one.'

One of the four vacant spots had been filled, leaving three spots remaining.

And one of those three spots had been filled unexpectedly.

'Nam Hwaseong, huh...'

An unexpected guy had appeared.

I thought Cheol Sunjik would have come personally if he wanted to know about our internal affairs.

'It makes no sense to begin with that a guy like him would trust anyone enough to delegate a task to them.'

For whatever reason, Nam Hwaseong had applied for the delegation.

I asked a few questions to find out his intention for applying, but he only gave evasive answers like, 'I just wanted to. Is there a problem?', and, 'Why do you think I can't be an officer in the delegation? I'm not that ignorant.'

"It's suspicious, but it wasn't something completely unexpected when forming the delegation."

Even if I had to keep him in check, as long as he provided minimum cooperation, it was a situation where I wouldn't lose much.

"Once the remaining two spots are filled, the delegation can officially launch."

Thinking so, I moved to the meeting place.

Wuhan's entertainment district had more armed martial artists compared to the entertainment districts of other regions.

Thanks to that, there were plenty of quarrels to get caught up in.

Using the principles of the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps, I subtly slipped through the crowd.

'Huh?'

However, I had no choice but to stop my footsteps in front of a certain man.

I had clearly left behind an illusion and dug into an empty space, yet the man was suddenly blocking my path again.

This was clearly an intentional action.

When I raised my head, a large man with glaring eyes was looking down at me.

"Are you Jin Sowoon?"

'As expected...'

Without even listening to my answer, the man continued.

"I am from the Inspection Pavilion. Come with me."

The man roughly grabbed my shoulder.