## Chapter 189 – In Search of Martial Arts (1)
“So the ghost stories weren’t a big deal after all.”
Of course, it was thanks to my special inner energy, but I was able to break through relatively easily.
Thanks to that, I cleared more hidden quests than in any other world I’d entered.
“Huuuuh!”
I stretched out fully.
Originally, after returning from a quest world, I would rest and laze around for a day or two, but today I wasn’t that tired.
This time, rather than acquiring new skills, the levels of my existing skills increased a lot.
Notably, Strength, Swiftness, Stamina, and Weapon Mastery were among them.
All of them reached max level, and now my physical abilities were in no way inferior to those of superheroes in movies.
I lightly swung my hand in the air.
Even with a light swing, I could feel my fist being swung like a blunt weapon, making a whooshing sound.
Just how strong have I become now?
Ghost stories were special beings, and my inner energy was practically a natural enemy to them, so they weren’t of much help in measuring my strength.
That’s why my eyes turned to the worlds I had visited before.
As if calling me back, they had started appearing at the top of the quest list.
But to be honest—
“I don’t even remember them.”
It had already been several months, and more than anything, I had passed through so many worlds that they were gradually fading from my memory.
However, some worlds were definitely worth revisiting.
Especially the martial arts world.
“It was a big help this time too.”
The inner energy cultivation method I learned back then had been helpful until now, so the regret of not learning a proper sword technique or lightness skill always remained in one corner of my heart.
And now that my inner energy skill level had reached its maximum and I had even acquired the Sword Energy skill, it was the perfect time to return to the martial arts world and learn a sword technique.
“Let’s just learn one proper sword technique.”
Setting my own goal, I searched for the martial arts world in the quest window after a long time.
[Torture the Demonic Cult’s spy to find out one of the Demonic Cult’s bases]
“Torture?”
The torture mentioned here could be of various kinds, but there was only one kind of torture I was confident in.
Of course, it was the torture from below.
So I didn’t care much about that.
What I cared about more was something else.
“There’s a Demonic Cult spy, huh?”
I don’t know who I’ll meet or what situations I’ll encounter in this quest, but since the quest is saying this.
I’ll definitely run into a Demonic Cult spy.
The quest has never given false information.
I entered the martial arts world even though it hadn’t been long since I returned.
I was planning to quickly complete the main quest, learn just one sword technique, and come out.
It wouldn’t take too long.
Probably.
***
“Here is—”
I raised my head and slowly looked around.
Buildings in the style of ancient China, people carrying swords at their waists, and martial artists openly emitting inner energy.
I occasionally recalled this scenery, but seeing it again with my own eyes felt quite different from the scenery in my head.
It felt more familiar and nostalgic.
Then I stopped for a moment and carefully observed the inner energy of the people passing by.
‘If they’re a Demonic Cult spy, their inner energy might be a little different?’
It was a common setting in martial arts stories.
Unlike the martial arts of the righteous sects, the inner energy of those belonging to the evil or demonic sects is turbid and impure.
I was conscious of that as I looked around, but I didn’t see any inner energy that was particularly unusual.
“It can’t be that easy.”
I laughed in vain and decided to walk the streets for now.
Walking along the familiar yet unfamiliar road, I recalled memories.
“Is it here? Is this right?”
As I groped my way, I saw familiar stairs.
The martial arts academy I used to attend.
It was the entrance to the Inmu Academy.
“It’s here.”
I slowly moved as my body led me.
From here, I didn’t have to try to recall memories.
Memories naturally came to mind wherever my eyes reached.
“Right, this is the dormitory, and in the same room—”
I opened the door to my room in the nostalgic dormitory.
As I opened the door, I made eye contact with a woman.
She seemed to be changing clothes, as her smooth body was visible, and her chest was tightly bound with bandages.
“…”
“…”
My eyes met the woman’s, and she slowly opened her mouth and said.
My eyes couldn’t resist and subtly moved to her chest again.
Her chest, bound by bandages, looked like it was about to burst.
“Welcome.”
“Yeah.”
It was a nonchalant greeting and a soft reply.
Looking at her face, I remembered.
The fact that there was a cross-dressing woman who used to share a room with me back then.
Her name was definitely—
“Jeongseon?”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
A reply came back as I muttered her name.
I felt sorry that I had temporarily erased her from my memory, but Jeongseon was trusting me and openly showing me her almost naked body.
She must remember all the memories clearly.
“Ah, come to think of it, Instructor Cheolung told us to gather at the training grounds before dinner.”
“Instructor Cheolung…”
This was also vaguely left in my distant memory.
His face was faint, but my body remembers.
I remember him being as big as a bear, as his name suggests.
And as an instructor, he taught me the basics of martial arts.
“But… you’ve changed a bit.”
“…What?”
“No, it’s just… you’ve changed a lot…? How should I put it.”
Jeongseon crossed her arms and scanned me up and down.
How much have I changed compared to back then?
My skills have changed tremendously, but I honestly don’t know about my appearance.
Besides, I see my own face every day, so I don’t feel like I’ve changed much myself.
“You’ve become more manly?”
Jeongseon tilted her head, as if she couldn’t quite pinpoint where I had changed, even after saying that.
“Shall we go soon?”
“Yeah.”
Jeongseon took the lead.
I couldn’t remember where the training grounds were.
Jeongseon changed her clothes, and we headed to the training grounds where Instructor Cheolung would be, as we had discussed.
As we were almost at the training grounds.
A group of men was seen walking out from inside the training grounds.
“Huh?”
However, the atmosphere and attire of the people walking out were unusual.
They were people I had never seen before.
No matter how much I searched my memory, I had no memory of seeing them.
At least, they weren’t people belonging to the Inmu Academy.
Among them, the monk at the very front stared at me intently as he walked over.
As we passed each other in an unknowing staring contest, the monk casually said in admiration.
“Hehe, how can he at such a young age…”
“I think it was a good decision after all. Abbot.”
As I secretly stole a glance at the backs of the people passing by, I saw Jeongseon, who had turned pale.
“…Are you sick?”
“Ah, no. Are you okay?”
“Okay with what?”
They didn’t do anything as they passed by, so why wouldn’t I be okay?
When I gave her a completely clueless look, Jeongseon sighed and said.
“That was the abbot of the Shaolin Temple and the Hyeonseong True Man of the Wudang Sect!”
“Ah…”
“You didn’t understand, did you?”
“Nope.”
To be honest, I didn’t understand when I just heard it, but I nodded at Jeongseon’s words that followed with a sigh.
In other words, the two people who just passed by were the leaders of the Shaolin and Wudang sects, representing the righteous faction.
And apart from that, they were the two people currently considered to have the highest level of martial arts in the righteous faction.
I was puzzled.
Honestly, when I saw the two people’s inner energy as I passed by, I only felt a faint inner energy, as if they were ordinary people who hadn’t learned martial arts.
But those two people were so great.
“…So that’s why you had such a stiff expression.”
“Was my expression like that?”
“Yeah, you were pale as a sheet.”
“What should I do? Are we going to get on their bad side?”
Jeongseon said with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
Even so, I didn’t think those two people would be so narrow-minded.
As I said that and walked, I arrived at the training grounds and saw the other students of the martial arts academy who had arrived in advance.
And everyone’s expression was stiff.
It was like Jeongseon’s expression when she met those two people earlier.
Maybe the other people here had also stiffened up after seeing those two people earlier.
Only one person.
Only Instructor Cheolung was looking this way with a nonchalant expression and his hands behind his back.
“You’re late.”
“Sorry.”
Instructor Cheolung nodded and immediately got to the point.
“The reason I called you all to this training ground is one. It’s to talk about the martial arts tournament.”
At Cheolung’s words about the martial arts tournament, the stiff atmosphere gradually eased.
“Martial arts tournament…”
“This time, our Inmu Academy might have a chance…”
“Eh… that’s too much.”
“First of all, many things have changed in the martial arts tournament.”
Cheolung put strength into his voice to calm the commotion a little.
“When our Inmu Academy achieved good results in the friendly match with the Cheonmu Academy. The Cheonmu Academy drew their swords.”
Come to think of it, I remembered having a friendly match with the Cheonmu Academy at the last moment in this martial arts world.
Although it was just a friendly match, the Cheonmu Academy had lost to the Inmu Academy, and the fact had quickly spread and become a laughing stock.
In response, the Cheonmu Academy and the various sects and families that had sent disciples to the Cheonmu Academy had made a big decision.
“The Cheonmu Academy will not participate in this martial arts tournament.”
“Yes?”
At that moment, all the children in the training grounds asked back as if they couldn’t believe it.
“Everyone will participate separately as sects.”
