Surviving as a Rival in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 25 – Forced Apprenticeship (01)

A young man stood at the edge of a cliff, facing the swirling wind.

Perhaps it was due to the high mountainous region, the biting wind was so cold that without internal energy, it could make one catch a cold. Yet, for the young man who had reached the realm of Hanseobulchim, it was just a comfortably cool breeze.

However, the sound of the hem of his empty left shoulder fluttering bothered him a bit.

“Hmm…”

The young man pulled the empty left sleeve and forcibly shoved it into his pocket, but the icy wind blowing here only pulled the sleeve back out, scattering it into the air.

Turning away from the futile fluttering sleeve, the young man muttered, “It would be good if everyone is safe.”

He lightly tapped his left arm, tightly bound with bandages, and then turned back, rushing towards the cliff. With a leap, he jumped off the cliff, using his skill to step on a branch protruding from the cliff, slowing down, and landing in a cottage in the mountain valley.

“…Even if Bangyuseong is a bit injured.”

The young man’s name was Yeon Cheongha.

He was currently in a state of captivity.

* * *

The current situation was as follows.

I fought at Sacheon Blood Field until both arms were mangled, and when Chugeom appeared, I tried to collapse the floor to separate from the group. Of course, Chugeom wasn’t going to finish me off that easily, but I thought that if I bought some time, high-level practitioners of Amipana Spear Technique and Jumchang Spear Technique would appear, and Chugeom would retreat.

However, Chugeom didn’t go back and just flew me away. Instead of going to the Heukwaldang, he came through Samsan Yugok and Cheonae Danbyeok and confined me here.

‘How on earth did he find this place?’

The steep cliffs and scattered forests, as if from an oriental painting, and the altitude so high that clouds looked down below, were visible. I tried to go down blindly, but no matter how much I descended, I couldn’t find a way, and if I went too far from the cottage, Chugeom would run like lightning to block my path, so I couldn’t escape in this situation.

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Moreover, my left arm was coated with herbs and bound with bandages for treatment, and my right hand couldn’t be used properly due to a large wound caused by a sword, so I was stuck without being able to fight or move.

“Here’s your meal.”

Clunk!

Since my arm was like this, I couldn’t even wipe the water off the guy with thick sword wounds in both hands.

Even if I tried to bury it forcefully, the taste of herbs seeped out, and while I trembled with fear, Chugum was preparing a meal for me. It was laughable that the formidable Chugum, an expert in extreme martial arts, would dig up vegetables and wash rice meticulously to cook a meal.

Chugum brought out a table that was roughly prepared with wild vegetables today as well. As I was already engaged in a fasting struggle, which meant that I was asking to be sent away, I raised my foot slightly and hung it on the table as soon as I saw it.

“Don’t do that.”

Chugum’s expression, which I could guess how it would turn out, wrinkled as I kicked the table and tried to overturn it.

Thud!

“Such a hot-headed person!”

As Chugum stood up and picked up the dishes, putting the vegetables back in and placing it back on the table obediently, I showed my stubbornness by making the most of my resistance, thinking that if I ate obediently, I would be surrendering to myself.

“Now just eat. Do you think I’ll be satisfied only if I force-feed you like I did at first and move your jaw to make you eat?”

This guy was really like that, so I could only stop rebelling for a moment, flinching.

“But was this character like this originally…?”

In the original work, Chugum was obsessed with his appearance, then gave up on that obsession and joined the Heukwoldang to become the 9th Party Leader. However, due to the intervention of Bang Gyu-seong and Han So-so and Yeon Cheong-ha, who had to reduce the influence of the Sacheondangmun, Amipa, and Jeomchangpa using the Sacheon Blood Talisman, he failed and was punished, becoming the 10th Party Leader.

In the process, he was subjected to tremendous torture and went crazy, but thanks to that, when he attacked Yeon Cheong-ha, he desperately tried to kill her and made her into a Dong-gwi-eojin. He played the role of an antagonist officer who made it happen.

“Well… considering the situation, that’s still a Dong-gwi-eojin, isn’t it?”

I barely managed to gather my strength and take Chugum with me just before I died… Of course, the purpose was not to kill him, but to take him away from the battlefield.

“I would have taught you the first form of the Okrangcheon Sword (玉琅穿劍) today if everything went according to plan… But since you refused to eat, the recovery is delayed. For now, eat one more bowl specially and recover.”

Now I don’t know who the villain is and who the rival character is.

“Now that the rice is getting cold, eat quickly.”

“Damn it, Chugum, you’re so disgustingly kind…”

Although the content seemed strangely distorted, it felt somewhat similar within the premise that Yeon Cheong-ha was in a life-threatening situation with Chugum and became stronger after obtaining Giyeon.

Originally, after almost dying at the hands of Chugeom, I was supposed to meet Giyeon and recover on my own, reaching a higher level of enlightenment… But looking at it this way, is my Giyeon receiving Chugeom’s training?

Although the time and situation have completely changed, the overall framework, if roughly fitted together, is at a level of acceptance.

Chugeom’s martial arts were highly regarded even in Heukwaldang, and if I were to acquire it, I could potentially become stronger than the End-Stage Yeoncheongha.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll add meat next time. Just endure it for now.”

“When do you plan to let me go?”

In response, Chugeom chuckled, wrinkling his messy face.

“When you become strong enough not to die at the hands of Heukwaldang.”

There was no way for me to leave this place based on my skills alone. Refusing meals and starving to death would only lead to forced feeding after Chugeom, seeing my deteriorating state, fed me blood again. My body would only deteriorate further, and over time, the condition of my arms would become irreparable.

In that case, there was only one thing I could do.

“I’ll have to kill you if it comes to that.”

Receive Chugeom’s training, kill Chugeom, and escape.

At the moment, my right hand was mostly fine. At most, there were minor scars from the process of wearing the sword and holding the sickle, but considering I died and came back to life, these scars were superficial.

“Clearly, having gone through reincarnation makes the recovery faster.”

The left arm was currently wrapped tightly in bandages, but occasionally, itchy or warm sensations indicated that it was gradually healing.

“Even though a skilled doctor has attached it, the chances of it properly functioning are about 30%. Judging by the fact that there is no smell of decay so far, it seems to be intact, but whether it will function is uncertain.”

Thanks to the power of my inner energy, bacterial infections were not easily contracted, and injuries that were normally impossible to recover from were slowly healing. However, despite this, the probability of my left arm surviving was said to be only fifty percent.

Almost half of my forearm was cut off, and I suffered injuries where my muscles and tendons were torn apart. I thought that with that level of injury, the chances of survival were high.

“But my internal cultivation technique is not very efficient, and your technique is not trash either.”

I felt a surge of anger at his dismissive response, but expecting respect from someone like him was as difficult as a stray dog stopping itself from defecating, so I just ignored it.

“However, the internal cultivation technique I received from the Heukwoldang is quite questionable. I heard that it relieves pain and enhances internal cultivation, and it seemed effective for some of the leaders. But still…”

I had no intention of learning it.

The internal cultivation technique used by the Heukwoldang, Heukwol Hyeolwolmara Sim Gong (黑月穴鉞魔羅心功), can be described in one word: drugs.

It seems to relieve fatigue and improve efficiency, but as you become more immersed in Heukwol Hyeolwolmara Sim Gong, you gradually lose your sanity and become completely insane just by hearing the command of the Heukwoldang’s supreme leader.

Perhaps Chunggeom also used Heukwol Hyeolwolmara Sim Gong in the original story to endure the torture of the Heukwoldang, relieving his own pain, and eventually becoming completely addicted to Mara Sim Gong, driving him mad.

‘His personality is completely different from the original… Unless it’s an extremely potent martial art, a person won’t change completely.’

It was fortunate that he was not forced to teach Heukwol Hyeolwolmara Sim Gong.

“Anyway, since Okrang Cheongeom is not learned together with the internal cultivation technique, it shouldn’t be a problem to apply it to most internal cultivation techniques.”

Ssurling.

Cheongeom drew out the sword he had.

“Show me now. The appearance of Okrang Cheongeom!”

At first, he moved very slowly.

For about a minute, he slowly lifted the sword, moving it little by little. Then, Cheongeom swung his sword as it was.

A normal horizontal slash, vertical slash, horizontal slash again, diagonal slash from the upper left to the lower right.

But with each movement, dynamic motion and constantly changing techniques overlapped, creating a magnificent display of power and precise movements that dominated the surroundings.

Crack!

He split a thick brick in half, and he didn’t even exert much force. As the sword swung, its range gradually increased. At first, it seemed like he could barely create a small circle by turning his foot, but now it was stretching out with his arm wide open, forming a round circle, and before I knew it, the range had grown beyond where I was standing, enough to engulf an entire house.

Crash!

Finally, as I stepped into the last moment of the fourteenth training session of the Chugeom, Chugeom and I, standing in the center, swept everything around us with a radius, leaving deep scars on the ground, marking the end.

“This is the Okrangcheon Sword.”

Thump.

My heart was pounding.

As if it were the first time entering this body.

And as I watched Samae unfold his sword dance, my heart was pounding, just like when I fell in love with it for the first time.

“I want to learn.”

I, too, wanted to wield that sword.

A sword so powerful that it could split the earth and cut through the world with just one blade.

With the corners of my mouth naturally curving up, I was desperately trying not to show my excitement, eager to learn that amazing swordsmanship.

“Don’t get too excited. To reach this level, you’ll have to rise to the 8th stage of the Okrangcheon Sword.”

To remember the scene I just witnessed, I closed my eyes and tried to understand the essence contained within. Smirking, Chugeom tossed his sword to me.

Swoosh.

“Since you couldn’t find a practice sword, use this for now.”

…

Without hesitation, Chugeom entrusted me with his weapon and picked up the branch he had cut with the sword technique he just displayed. Somehow, for reasons unknown, Chugeom holding a branch felt stronger than me holding the sword.

‘Originally… a true master breaks through panties with just a branch…’

“For now, let’s start from the first form. The first form is called Okcheonryeonggeom (玉泉冷劍).”

Hellish training had begun.