Silence fell over the gathering.
Yoo Kangho was shocked, Yoo Jungyeon watched with an amused glint in her eyes. Yoo Min simply remained silent.
Even the trainees, who had been glancing over during their training, were stunned, and so were the instructors.
"........"
".........."
But between Yoo Baekjun and Yoo Moohak, there was only silence.
Yoo Moohak's gaze pierced through Yoo Baekjun.
"Yoo Baekjun."
A deep voice echoed through the room.
It was Yoo Moohak's voice.
"What brings you here? This isn't a place for someone with neither talent nor interest in martial arts."
Yoo Baekjun looked into Yoo Moohak's eyes.
Eyes so devoid of emotion it was hard to believe they were looking at his own child. It was as if he was only now recognizing Yoo Baekjun's existence.
'No, the rest of the family's the same.'
Yoo Jungyeon, Yoo Kangho, and even Yoo Min.
They all pretended otherwise, but when they looked at him, there was always a trace of contempt in their eyes.
Yoo Baekjun let out a faint chuckle.
"I've suddenly developed an interest in martial arts."
"Interest? You? The same brat who, no matter how much we tried to teach him martial arts since childhood, always refused, saying he didn't want to learn techniques to kill people?"
"Ah, well, that did happen."
Yoo Baekjun tilted his head slightly.
"But after almost dying to a monster, my perspective changed a bit."
"Your perspective changed?"
"Yes."
"Fine, come closer."
Yoo Moohak gestured with his hand.
Yoo Baekjun rose from his seat and knelt before him again.
"Say it again. Your perspective changed?"
"When you're about to die to a monster, you stop caring about whether it's a technique to kill people or not. I threw away my old way of thinking back then."
"And so?"
Yoo Baekjun looked at Yoo Moohak with a sly grin.
"I'd like to learn martial arts from one of the Four Grand Masters, Father."
"What nonsense! You, of all people, want to learn martial arts from the Grand Masters? Even a dog passing by would laugh at that!"
The one who responded wasn't Yoo Moohak.
It was Yoo Kangho. He shot up from his seat, speaking in a voice laced with anger.
"Ha, martial arts. Martial arts, huh."
Yoo Moohak quietly laughed. He was laughing, but there was still no emotion on his face.
His eyes scanned Yoo Baekjun from head to toe.
His body had improved thanks to the elixir, but it was still painfully thin.
"........"
Yoo Moohak's eyes glinted briefly as he looked at that body.
It was pitiful, but something had changed. A faint glimmer of talent in a body that had none before...
"You want to learn martial arts. You?"
"Yes, someone like me."
Yoo Moohak clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"No. Your talent is so insignificant it's meaningless to teach you. Especially not for a Grand Master."
"What if that's not the case?"
"Oh?"
He already knew he'd say something like that.
Still smiling, Yoo Baekjun spoke in a confident tone, unlike his usual self.
"I'll prove my talent. Talent worthy of being taught by the Grand Masters."
"And how will you do that?"
"Let's see."
Yoo Baekjun pointed to his side. At Yoo Kangho, who was still looking at him with eyes full of disgust.
"I'll spar with older brother Yoo Kangho exactly one week from now and show you I can win."
"Me?"
Yoo Kangho scoffed.
"You must really think I'm a joke, huh? Saying crap like this when you've never even learned martial arts...!"
"What do you think, Father."
Yoo Baekjun didn't look at Yoo Kangho. Yoo Moohak didn't either. The two were staring only at each other.
Eyes full of scrutiny exchanged for a long moment.
".....Fine."
Permission was granted.
"Do as you said. But know this is your last chance. If you fail..."
Yoo Moohak declared in a low voice.
"I'll strip you of your status as a blood member of this family. You'd better be prepared for that much."
"Yes, understood."
Yoo Baekjun bowed his head.
"...I'll keep that in mind."
He smiled silently.
***
The deadline was one week.
If he could defeat Yoo Kangho, he'd be allowed to learn martial arts from one of the Four Grand Masters in the Sword Saint Clan.
It was basically a reward for clearing an event.
"A chance to learn a Skill for free—no way I'm passing this up."
He could feel that Yoo Moohak had examined his body just now. He hadn't just looked.
Yoo Moohak had checked Yoo Baekjun's physique.
'My stats rose from F-rank to C-rank, so he must've noticed the change.'
That was the minimum requirement to trigger this sparring event. On top of that, he had the Heavenly Martial Physique and much more mana than before.
If he hadn't met those conditions, Yoo Moohak would've dismissed the idea of sparring altogether.
"While my dear big brother is away, I need to establish myself as much as I can."
Yoo Baekjun looked at the training ground before him.
Despite its aged exterior, the inside of the training ground was filled with modern exercise equipment.
'Well, more importantly…'
Yoo Baekjun activated one of the devices.
Bzzzz! The device absorbed mana and projected a blue figure a short distance away.
A scarecrow made of mana.
'It's a bit different from regular scarecrows.'
This one could actually move. Though limited, it could even attack.
With this, he could raise both proficiency and stats. Slower than fighting a real person, but right now, he had buffs active.
"I'm going to raise every stat and Skill by at least one level. Looks like I won't be sleeping much for a while."
It was going to be an intense grind.
But when it came to grinding, he was more confident than anyone.
***
Yoo Baekjun began his training.
At first, all the trainees watching him clucked their tongues.
"That frail Yoo Baekjun is training?"
"Ha! Wasn't he the one who cried and ran away when Lord Yoo Kangho tried training him before?"
"I wonder how long he'll last this time."
They couldn't help but mock him.
He may have brought it on himself, but Yoo Baekjun's reputation within the family was terrible.
–Gentle, but indecisive.
–A weakling unfit for the Sword Saint Clan, which values innate talent in martial arts. A disgrace to the family.
–Someone who must never become clan head.
Yoo Baekjun wasn't a bad person.
Born with a high status as a blood member of the Sword Saint Clan, he had always treated others well.
He was far from a delinquent.
–This is the Sword Saint Clan. A place ruled by the law of strength. The weak have no place here.
The problem was that this was the Sword Saint Clan, a place that revered only martial prowess. Lacking innate talent in martial arts, Yoo Baekjun was always an object of scorn.
–Look at that skinny frame. How can someone like that perform martial arts?
–He's a disgrace to the family. Now I understand why the clan head pretends he doesn't exist.
If you treat people well, they only cut you down as someone who knows nothing but how to smile.
Seeing that frail and sickly thin body, people didn't even try to hide their mockery.
Even though he had trained since childhood, he was ridiculed for not being able to properly perform any martial arts.
"He won't last long anyway."
That's what all the trainees thought.
Most of the instructors thought the same. Only a few had a different opinion.
Thus, one day passed, then two, then three. Contrary to everyone's expectations.
"Huh, he's still training?"
Yoo Baekjun continued to show up at the training grounds. Earlier than any other trainee in the family, and leaving later than everyone else.
"I came at 4 AM and he was already there."
"4 AM?! I left at 1 AM yesterday and he was still there then?"
"What, does that mean he didn't sleep at all?"
Yoo Baekjun trained literally all day long.
He spent the entire day drenched in sweat as he used the mobility technique, and without rest, unleashed the Tri-Sword Technique and various Skills on the mana scarecrow.
"Ha, is that even a martial art? He's a bloodline of the Sword Saint Clan, and he's using fists instead of a sword!"
"Well, I guess he didn't receive any sword instruction from the clan head or the instructors. Tsk tsk."
"And that's the Tri-Sword Technique, isn't it? A dirt-cheap Skill you can buy at an auction for just a few hundred thousand won…"
The Sword Saint Clan reveres the sword.
From the Grand Masters to the trainees, everyone trains in swordsmanship, and other combat methods are treated as heresy.
Yet the clan's heir wasn't using the family's sword techniques, but a low-grade fist technique sold on the market.
It was laughable.
"Tsk tsk, using a martial art like that. Compared to Lord Yoo Kangho's swordsmanship, the result is obvious."
But a few instructors saw things differently.
"Those movements…"
One of them was Instructor Han Seonga. She was focused on Yoo Baekjun's movements.
Normally, she didn't care about the clan's successors. But seeing him perform martial arts, she couldn't help but be drawn in.
'His movements are unbelievably good.'
What especially caught Han Seonga's attention was the movement in Yoo Baekjun's Tri-Sword Technique.
While there were shortcomings due to the limitations of the martial art itself, his movements were strangely refined.
And his form as well.
'It doesn't waver. He maintains his stance firmly while executing each move.'
When Yoo Baekjun moved using the mobility technique, she couldn't help but be shocked.
'He's been running around all day using the mobility technique? How much mana does he even have?'
While the other instructors were blinded by prejudice and looked down on Yoo Baekjun, she was accurately observing the results he was achieving.
'And with each passing day...…..'
He was growing.
His muscles visibly developed, and his stamina increased—anyone watching could tell.
All this in just three days of training!
"Is this even possible?"
"Instructor Han Seonga, is something wrong?"
"…No, it's nothing."
Han Seonga gave a low murmur.
People said Yoo Baekjun had no talent. She used to think the same.
But seeing him now, a new thought crossed her mind.
'The child of a tiger is a tiger.'
A tiger's cub can't grow up to be a dog.
That outstanding physique of Yoo Moohak—perhaps it had also been passed down to Yoo Baekjun.
He may have rejected it until now.
'But why fist techniques?'
If there was one thing she found strange, it was that.
After watching Yoo Baekjun for a long while, Han Seonga cautiously walked over to him.
***
As for Yoo Baekjun's training, there wasn't anything special about it.
"Huff, huff!"
He ran across the entire training ground using the mobility technique and practiced martial arts against the mana scarecrow.
The difference between him and other trainees was that Yoo Baekjun did it all day long.
"Gasp, hah!"
And even while doing it all day, he didn't slack off, and his form never faltered.
His posture as he ran around the training ground for hours was so perfect, it drew gasps of admiration.
–Due to training that surpasses your limits, Strength and Stamina stats have increased by 1.
–Due to the effect of the elixir, Stamina and Mana stats have increased by an additional 1.
–You have gained insight into the mobility technique. Mobility technique proficiency has increased by one level.
The results were perfect.
Without rest, Yoo Baekjun continued to pummel the mana scarecrow using the Tri-Sword Technique and Strike.
–Due to training that surpasses your limits, Strength, Stamina, and Agility stats have increased by 2.
–Due to the effect of the elixir, Stamina and Agility stats have increased by an additional 1.
–You have gained insight through training. Tri-Sword Technique and Strike proficiency has increased by one level.
With the Heavenly Martial Physique and the effect of the elixir combined, his stats were rising at a terrifying pace.
Of course, that was partly because Yoo Baekjun's current stats were still at C-rank, which was very low.
Once he hit B-rank, his progress wouldn't be as fast as it was now—though it would still be plenty fast.
'And then there's the quest.'
Yoo Baekjun smiled as he checked his quest window.
[Blood, Sweat, and Tears.]
The blood, sweat, and tears you shed today will not betray you. Continue brutal training that exceeds your limits and temper your body.
Condition is fulfilled if the message 'training that surpasses your limits' appears more than 5 times in one day.
–Reward: 100P, stat increase
His stat growth was already fast, and now with the quest rewards, it was like giving wings to a tiger.
"Whooo!"
Yoo Baekjun stopped training and opened his status window.
[Yoo Baekjun]
Strength: C (61/100) Agility: C (57/100)
Stamina: C (59/100) Mana: B (11/100)
[Innate Ability: Martial God's Book (EX, 1★)]
[Trait: Heavenly Martial Physique (S)]
[Skills: Oriental Medicine Formulation (B), Mobility Technique (D, 4★), Tri-Sword Technique (D, 4★), Tri-Mind Method (D, 3★), Strike (D, 4★), Attribute Manifestation (A, 1★)]
He had grown quite a bit.
Yoo Baekjun glanced at the mirror. He was still thin, but now he could see muscle starting to form on his body.
'Today makes day three. I've got about four days left… I've got plenty of time.'
This wasn't his first time grinding like this.
When it came to grinding to increase stats and skill proficiency, he was more confident than anyone.
Yoo Baekjun smirked and was about to start training again. But at that moment—
"…Young master, are you all right?"
Someone spoke to him from the side.
Yoo Baekjun turned his head. A tall woman with a well-trained frame and neat, shoulder-length black hair.
It was none other than Han Seonga.
'She finally came.'
One of the reasons Yoo Baekjun had intentionally trained in the crowded training grounds.
The event with Han Seonga had begun.