I headed toward the main building, where my father spent most of his day.
Since it hadn't been too long, the atmosphere of the main building hadn't changed much.
"This way today, Young Master."
"Huh?"
Butler Choi smiled gently and guided me toward the back of the main building.
'That place…'
It was the exclusive training ground for the head of the family, attached to the main building.
No one dared set foot there without my father's permission.
The training ground was simple.
There were no special training devices, no array of weapons, nor any extraordinary stone slabs laid out.
In some ways, it resembled the first training ground, the Soongmujang.
At the center of the training ground stood my father.
He was gazing into the distance, lost in thought.
'Not surprising anymore.'
I had grown significantly once again at Cheonwisan, yet I still couldn't begin to grasp my father's level.
'What a relentless family.'
It had always been this way.
The family never allowed even a moment of complacency.
The moment I felt satisfied with my achievements, they would show me the next level above.
Right now, I felt an overwhelming urge to dash into the training ground.
"It's been a while, Father. Have you been well?"
"…You've come."
My father turned his head to look at me.
But he only stared at me in silence.
'He's changed.'
Lee Taeshin looked into Lee Cheol's eyes.
It had only been a year, yet the boy who once seemed like a child no longer fit that description.
From his body to his gaze, everything had changed.
From those alone, Lee Taeshin could guess how rigorous his youngest son's training had been over the past year.
"You've achieved something commendable."
'Commendable.'
For a father who was so sparing with praise, these words were as good as the highest compliment.
But I didn't feel satisfied with the praise.
"I find myself feeling inadequate. Seeing you just now made me want to train immediately."
"Did you pick up the art of flattery while you were away? If so, I am disappointed."
His voice was even and devoid of emotion, but I widened my eyes in shock upon seeing his expression.
'Did he just… make a joke?'
He was never one to make idle remarks.
Yet his expression was too calm to be that of someone reprimanding me.
In fact, it was closer to one of satisfaction.
"The tea is ready, Master."
"Thank you. Come over here."
My father led me to a small table set at the edge of the training ground.
From the teacup resting on the antique table, a fragrant aroma wafted into the air.
He unfastened the scabbard from his waist, leaned it against the table, and lifted the teacup.
"How have you been?"
A tone as if he were simply asking about my well-being.
And with the fragrant tea before me…
Had it been anyone else asking, I would have answered comfortably.
But given that it was my father, I couldn't help but think differently.
'Is he asking for a report on what happened at Cheonwisan?'
I gathered my thoughts and prepared to speak.
But just then, as if he had read my mind, my father spoke first.
"If I wanted a report, I wouldn't have called you here. Tell me what you felt."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
My father's brow twitched slightly.
"It takes you this long just to share your thoughts? Do I need to wait longer?"
"N-No, sir."
I figured I should answer first.
Clearing my throat, I began to speak.
About my training at Cheonwisan.
As expected, it was a story of hardship followed by more hardship.
Lee Taeshin listened attentively to his son's words.
'This is a first… asking my son about his training, rather than demanding a report on his results.'
In truth, Lee Taeshin had been anticipating Lee Cheol's return.
What will be shown this time, and how much will it grow?
Whenever such thoughts suddenly surfaced, Lee Taeshin would feel a rather refreshing sensation.
So at this moment, for the first time in a long while, he even felt a sense of enjoyment.
'…This is an unfamiliar feeling.'
But it wasn't an unpleasant one.
It wasn't that he had never felt curiosity or anticipation toward his children, but this time, it was different.
Soon, his son's story came to an end.
"That is all."
Since he left out the part he had promised to the caretaker, the story ended sooner than expected.
"You haven't wasted your time."
"I couldn't afford to squander the time you granted me, Father."
His father set down his teacup and asked in a calm tone,
"But tell me, what happened today? Your return was later than the scheduled time."
"I stopped by Soongmusang to pay my respects to our ancestors. Since I was in Cheonwisan during the holidays this year, I hadn't been able to visit them."
"There is nothing to apologize for. In fact, it is something worthy of praise."
These days, unless there was a special reason, even the elders rarely visited the ancestral graves.
However, what Lee Taeshin wanted to ask was something else.
"What made you decide to visit the ancestral graves?"
"I wanted to show my respect to our ancestors. As a descendant of the Soongmu family, I felt it was something I was naturally obliged to do."
"Is that all?"
I gazed at my father steadily.
Then, I answered slowly.
"And…I also wanted the elders to see it."
A slight furrow formed between my father's brows.
"Have you grown arrogant after achieving a small success? Are you saying that you merely used your visit to the ancestral graves to improve your image?"
I took a brief moment to steady my breath.
This was an important moment.
'I could just let it pass, but I need to make this clear now. Because of Heukya, I'll have to visit often, and I can't keep making excuses every time.'
I did feel reverence and respect for the ancestors of the Soongmu family.
After all, they were the roots from which I came.
However, I couldn't deny that Heukya played a big role in my visits to the ancestral graves.
"I wanted to show through actions rather than just words when speaking of tradition and propriety."
"What?"
"They call me a bastard, but I carry the blood of the Soongmu family just the same. I dared to set an example."
For a brief moment, my father looked into my eyes.
"You speak well. I will overlook it this time. However, be mindful that it does not become indulgence."
With that brief statement, my father silently lifted his teacup again.
It was clear that he was letting the matter slide.
I let out a small sigh of relief and lifted my own teacup.
But then, my father spoke again.
"And one more thing. There is something you haven't told me."
"…Pardon?"
Something I hadn't told him?
Could he possibly be referring to the seal on Heukya? Or my dealings with the caretaker?
But those were things my father couldn't have known about.
"I permitted you to go to Cheonwisan, but I do not recall giving permission for Muhyeolmong. When you made your request, you specifically mentioned training at Cheonwisan."
"...."
Ah.
I swallowed dryly.
My father stood up from his seat.
"You deceived your father, so you must be punished. Take up your weapon. I will test what you have gained."
***
This was the reason my father had summoned me to the training grounds.
I stood in the center of the training ground, facing him.
Thump!
My heart pounded wildly.
'This is the first time.'
Across both my past life and this one, this was the very first time I was demonstrating my abilities before my father.
I took a deep breath and reached for my waist.
However—
"Do you think you can show me everything you've learned with that?"
At my waist hung Heukya.
'…So he knew after all.'
I carefully unfastened Heukya and placed it on the weapon rack in the training grounds. Then, I drew Mujin.
Wooong—!
The moment mana was infused, Mujin's form began to shift.
Even as he watched, my father's expression didn't change in the slightest.
I transformed Mujin into a sword and gathered my aura.
"Come at me."
My father spoke as he casually lowered his sword.
I slowly activated my Mystic Eye.
'...!'
I couldn't see.
Not even a little.
My Mystic Eye merely reflected my father's figure, nothing more.
'So, my current Mystic Eye isn't capable of seeing him.'
That meant there was no point in keeping it activated, as it would only drain my focus.
I deactivated my Mystic Eye.
Against my father, a probing attack or warm-up was meaningless.
From the First Strike, I Gave It My All
Mujin Ilshik, Cheokma.
With the intent to put everything into the first blow, I combined the biting wind and chilling cold into an aura skill.
Taking a step forward, I gritted my teeth.
'I'm still nowhere near my father's level, but…'
The father I had only watched from a distance was now standing before me, sword in hand.
An opportunity that might never come again.
I wanted to fully grasp it.
The distance between him and me.
"...."
My father's eyes gleamed as he watched my sword strike.
Clang!
But that strike was effortlessly deflected by my father's light swing, without even using magic.
"Ugh!"
Fragments of shattered aura scattered in all directions.
Swish! Clang!
I changed the form of Mujin, spinning it and thrusting my sword again from a different angle.
A blade to slash.
A sword to pierce.
A spear to extend the reach.
Yet, all of my attacks were blocked by my father's sword.
"That's enough."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Deep trenches formed in the once-silent training ground's stone floor.
"Hah… Hah…"
I had only swung Mujin a few times, but each strike carried my full strength, leaving me breathless.
Slide—Clack!
With graceful movement, my father slid his sword back into its sheath.
"So, this is the answer you found after meeting the Founder?"
"Yes. This is the answer I reached."
With just that brief exchange, my father had already grasped the realization I had come to.
'He has chosen a difficult path.'
Lee Taeshin gazed at his youngest son, who was gasping for breath.
'He did not break. He did not bend.'
He did not question how.
In the Suungmu family, results speak louder than words.
If it was done, it was done.
Lee Taeshin saw the light burning in his son's eyes.
That fire, rather than wavering or dimming, had only grown stronger.
Once again, his son had defied expectations.
"How was it?"
Lee Taeshin looked at his son.
Taking a steadying breath, Lee Cheol finally spoke.
"I… can't fully explain it in words."
I had faced a wall.
And I had broken through it.
One could describe it in terms of fundamentals or essence, but there was something more—something that words alone could not capture.
"I felt the same way. The Founder was strong. Perhaps even stronger than I was at that age."
I had heard these words before.
On the surface, I had reached the state of Muhyeolmong (Dreamless Battle) far earlier than my father had. By that logic, I had surpassed him.
However…
"I never thought that Muhyeolmong was about age differences."
"That's true. If you truly faced him, you'd understand that such things don't matter."
At this moment, exchanging thoughts with my father, I felt something unusual.
For some reason, he no longer felt so distant.
Not as a superior standing above me, but as someone walking alongside me.
As companions on the same path.
I even felt a deep bond, as though we were sharing our understanding of martial arts.
"If you can't put it into words yet, it means it hasn't fully become your own. And your execution of it was not yet at its peak."
"Yes, I know."
As expected, my father had seen right through me.
Just as he said, I had yet to completely refine my realization.
He gazed at me, his expression unreadable.
"If you had entered Muhyeolmong recklessly and shown me something unsatisfactory, you would have been punished properly."
A chill ran down my spine.
That was no idle threat. He meant it.
I hurriedly bowed.
"I apologize."
Lee Taeshin stared at his son for a moment.
The boy, who always seemed like he was hiding a few tricks up his sleeve, now stood there drenched in sweat, sincerely apologizing.
It was almost… endearing.
'Regardless, that was impressive.'
He recalled everything he had just witnessed.
The magic techniques he had developed with his younger sister, Lee Kyunghwa.
The fact that he had already established his own unique combat style at this age.
His ability to immediately apply what he had learned from Muhyeolmong.
He had long surpassed the appropriate level.
"What do you plan to do next?"
At this point, he had outgrown the level of a mere student.
Normally, a third-year at the academy would proceed to Yukmun (the martial academy) or take an apprenticeship in the Warrior Corps.
But for him, that would be a waste of time.
'He has already mastered what they teach in Yukmun on his own, and he is far above the level of an average apprentice warrior.'
With his meticulous personality, he would never tolerate such inefficiency.
"...Actually, there is something I'd like to ask of you."
A request?
It had been so long since one of his children had asked him for something that he could hardly remember the last time.
Yet, the feeling was not unpleasant.
"Speak."
"I am supposed to go through my third-year cadet training. But you already know that…"
"I don't like people who beat around the bush. Get to the point."
"I want to experience the world."
I paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"I want to begin my Musahaeng (Warrior's Journey)."
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