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Chapter 49: It Feels Like Living
Late at night, when the drinking meeting ended, the bandits dispersed to their lodgings.
Shim Yanggak, Hwang Yomyung, and Cheon Gideok also returned to their rooms to prepare for sleep.
But was Hwang Yomyung frustrated because things didn't go as expected?
At the end of the meeting, Hwang Yomyung, who had been muttering, stealthily approached Shim Yanggak.
"Sir, what do you think of what Boss Pung said?"
"What did he say?"
"That nonsense about selling cheaply and in large quantities. He told us to let the merchants keep deceiving us."
"And so?"
Shim Yanggak looked at Hwang Yomyung with narrowed eyes.
'Wow, this fool has gained courage after being boss for four months.'
The man seemed unable to get over memories of the past. At any moment, the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks could surpass his abilities.
"How can he tell us to let those miserable merchants deceive us? Isn't that a problem?"
"If you don't like the temple, the monk must leave."
"What?"
Hwang Yomyung thought he had misheard.
Was this the same Shim Yanggak who always criticized Boss Pung now defending him?
"Are your ears clogged? If you don't like Boss Pung, then leave the camp, idiot."
"That's not what I mean... I just wanted you to be the boss... out of loyalty..."
"Fool!"
Shim Yanggak kicked him from his seated position.
With a loud noise, Hwang Yomyung rolled backward a few times before quickly kneeling.
"I'm very sorry. Please forgive me!"
"If you want to die, do it quietly without dragging me into it. If you open your mouth thoughtlessly again, I'll cut your throat myself."
"Yes, yes. I won't do it again."
Hwang Yomyung hit his forehead against the ground, blinking. He couldn't understand the sincerity of Shim Yanggak's words. Was it possible for someone who had been aiming to be the boss to change so much in a few months?
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The next day.
Cheon Gideok woke up barely at noon.
The silence in the room made him look around; no one was there. Normally, Hwang Yomyung would have kicked him awake if he got up late. The fact that he left quietly showed how affected he was by last night's events.
Cheon Gideok, who used to be bullied by Hwang Yomyung, felt relieved.
Gruu.
The sound of his stomach reminded him he was hungry.
Cheon Gideok went to the dining hall and ate whatever he found before stepping into the courtyard.
With his stomach full, he felt unoccupied.
Wandering aimlessly, he accidentally ran into his friend Lee Cheolsan in the backyard.
"Cheolsan."
"Hello, Gideok. What brings you here?"
Lee Cheolsan raised his hand with a friendly smile.
Since they moved lodgings, they hadn't seen each other often.
"Just wandering. Why are you so sweaty?"
Cheon Gideok asked, though he already knew the answer.
"The boss told us to train in martial arts yesterday. We have to do what we're told. Have you made any progress?"
Lee Cheolsan casually used the word "progress."
It's a word used when one has a primary technique to practice.
With a bitter smile on his lips, Cheon Gideok responded.
"Well, I've learned the basics like the Three Elements Method and the Six Harmonies Method. You know."
Lee Cheolsan nodded.
The Three Elements Method, the Six Harmonies Method, the Eight Trigrams Method, and the Dragon and Tiger Method were basic teachings in any martial academy.
"And you? I heard you learned martial arts from Yeon. Have you improved?"
Cheon Gideok looked at Lee Cheolsan curiously.
They grew up in the same village and knew each other well. After more than ten years of fighting together, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Lee Cheolsan responded calmly.
"I've improved a bit, but I'm still lacking. Yeon says I need to train two or three more years."
"Really? Do you want to spar for the first time in a while?"
Cheon Gideok looked at him with competitive eyes.
He wanted to see how much Lee Cheolsan had improved after learning from Yeon Jeokha.
"Why not?"
Lee Cheolsan was also curious about his own progress.
There was no better way to know than to face someone so familiar.
They took wooden swords and faced each other.
"Cha!"
With a shout, Cheon Gideok was the first to attack.
The sound of wooden swords clashing filled the air.
Cheon Gideok moved his sword according to the teachings of the Six Harmonies Method.
As the wooden swords clashed, Cheon Gideok felt something strange.
It was as if their movements were perfectly synchronized. The swords met with precision, leaving no margin for error.
Usually, in a wooden sword fight, some strikes would miss. But their swords met astonishingly precisely.
Of course, he wasn't doing it intentionally.
After a flurry of attacks, Cheon Gideok was gasping for air.
His heart was pounding.
Finally, with a nervous move, he struck Lee Cheolsan's sword and stepped back.
"Haa, haa! Enough. I'm exhausted."
Looking at Cheon Gideok, who was breathing heavily with his shoulders rising and falling, Lee Cheolsan nodded.
"Okay. Good job."
"..."
Cheon Gideok couldn't look Lee Cheolsan in the eyes and stared into the distance. Just six months ago, they were equals, but now Lee Cheolsan seemed like a true warrior of Murim.
Was it possible for someone to change so much in just six months?
He couldn't understand it.
"I guess I should stop drinking and train more. I can't keep exhausting myself like this."
Cheon Gideok walked away from the backyard, shaking his head.
Once Cheon Gideok disappeared from sight, Lee Cheolsan picked up his great sword again.
And began practicing the first move of the Flying Dragon Ascension.
The dao, starting from a low stance, ascended in a zigzag until it reached a peak above his head. From there, it descended smoothly in a curve until it hit the ground.
For a moment, a bluish energy gathered on the blade of the dao.
Zzzz-.
Lee Cheolsan held the dao and calmed his accelerated breathing.
The heavy energy that had gathered on the blade dissipated smoothly like smoke.
Next, he performed the Heavenly Dragon Dance technique he had recently learned.
From a high stance, he attacked side to side before finally making a deep thrust forward.
At the moment he slightly lifted his heel, the tip of the dao trembled.
However, unfortunately, he didn't manage to unleash the wind burst of the dao as Yeon Jeokha had done.
"Ah!"
A bit more effort and he might be able to release that energy through the tip of the dao.
'What a shame!'
Perhaps in two or three years, he could unleash that piercing energy.
And after that?
Suddenly, he felt strange.
Ha Sobaek's dream was to have a tea house, while Han Chaeyeon wanted to run a small inn in a big city. For that, they would first have to leave the Five Peaks Mountain.
How long could they keep the name of the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks Mountain?
Becoming an expert was exciting, but the thought of parting ways saddened him a bit.
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At sunset.
Yeon Jeokha, who was practicing the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship at the highest peak of the Five Peaks Mountain, stored his energy. Watching the burning sunset, today he felt particularly empty.
On days like these, it was best to train the Nine Heavens Energy, but sometimes the heart doesn't follow logic.
To relieve his emptiness, Yeon Jeokha headed to the backyard.
The Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks, immersed in a heated debate about martial arts, gathered around Yeon Jeokha.
The eldest of them and boss, Pung Yeoncho, was the first to speak.
"Yeon, younger brother, we've noticed something strange and we want to hear your opinion about it."
"What is it?"
"You taught us the first and second moves of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, right?"
"Yes."
"But when we perform the first move, Flying Dragon Ascension, a bluish energy gathers on the blade of the sword. That energy that they say only experts can handle. Although we've barely been training for half a year, we've achieved it."
"So, what's the problem?"
"Is it possible? Does it make sense? Some of us think we've become experts, while others aren't so sure."
Han Chaeyeon intervened.
"That's right. We want to know exactly what level we're at, brother. We don't want to act like experts and end up dead because of it."
Yeon Jeokha understood the confusion of the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks.
It was a lack of understanding of the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One and the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship.
"It's true that the energy accumulation speed of the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One is fast, but you haven't yet reached the sword energy emission. As I said at the Po Family shrine, the correct posture of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship allows you to draw all the energy. Try to do it with Vice Boss's technique, the Heaven and Earth Sword Technique, or the Six Harmonies Sword Technique, and nothing will happen."
Pung Yeoncho asked with a thoughtful expression.
"So, only with the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship does that energy appear?"
"Yes, specifically when performed with the energy of the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One."
"Ah! So, we're half experts."
"Don't be discouraged. If you keep training, eventually, you'll be able to generate that energy with the Heaven and Earth Sword Technique of the eldest brother."
Lee Cheolsan, the eighth member, cautiously intervened.
"The eldest brother is right. Today I sparred with Cheon Gideok, and I could anticipate his movements clearly. Although I didn't use the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, I could handle him easily. It seems that the deeper we delve into the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship and the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One, the more our skills grow."
The Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks nodded.
They had also felt that the more they trained the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, the more their skills improved.
Suddenly, the third, Ma Hyeongdo, looked at Pung Yeoncho.
"But eldest brother, do you know that there are rumors you've left the camp?"
"Huh? I never said I was leaving the camp."
The fourth, Heo Imdal, added.
"I heard it too last night. They say you've retired and are leaving things to others."
"Is it because I haven't been going on expeditions?"
The second, Tak Gomyung, nodded in agreement.
"We've let Hwang Yomyung handle everything, so it's natural for rumors to spread."
"I understand. Do you want to go back on expeditions?"
Pung Yeoncho looked at the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks.
All, as if in agreement, shook their heads. If they planned to leave the camp someday, they didn't want to be known as mere bandits.
Even Ma Hyeongdo and Heo Imdal, who had no other goals, refused. In their case, they simply didn't want to run in the cold winter.
"Then, Ma and Heo, will you go when the weather improves?"
"Yes."
"That's right."
Both, who came from a life of bandits and thieves, were satisfied with life in Nokrim.
Nodding, Pung Yeoncho looked at Yeon Jeokha.
"And you, younger brother?"
"I'm not sure."
Yeon Jeokha shrugged.
He had no specific plans in life, so he hadn't thought about the expeditions. So far, he had just gone with the flow with the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks.
Tak Gomyung intervened.
"Then you should also stop the expeditions. With your skills, it's a waste to dedicate yourself only to robbing. It's like using a butcher's knife to kill worms. I think it would be better for you to stay here and teach us."
"Yes, brother. I want to learn more from you. If I want to survive in the Murim World, I must learn all I can while we're together."
At Ha Sobaek's plea, Yeon Jeokha nodded.
Although he hadn't said it, he preferred teaching martial arts to his sworn brothers rather than engaging in banditry.
"Alright."
When Yeon Jeokha agreed, the Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks cheered.
Amid the cheers of his sworn brothers, Yeon Jeokha smiled.
Now it really felt like living.
In the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One it said, "The Nine Heavens Energy comes from the void, so wait with an empty heart," but for now, he preferred the bustle.
He had no pressing need to become a great figure.