The training under the master wasn’t easy.
I confidently believed my physical conditioning didn’t lag behind any martial artist, but the master’s training was so harsh that I found myself reaching my limits every day, even with my trained body.
However, somehow I endured it.
“Do you want to rest? If you want to rest, go ahead. But know that the time for your waiting companions will be delayed.”
To say I endured it might be misleading; it’s more accurate to say the master forcefully got me back on my feet.
“When Jeong Cheol appeared in front of you, would you then plan on lying down like this again?”
The master struck me with the harsh reality, and I had no choice but to rise, battered by the truth bomb.
Cursing under my breath, I trained my stamina and tackled the tasks the master imposed on me. I squeezed every last bit of my energy, and after just blinking while lying in bed, countless dawns would pass me by.
One day, while I was rolling around, getting battered and swinging the True Rock Sword of the Western School, the master broke the silence.
“The basic action a person takes is walking. Even if a person is exhausted and tired, if they have not been injured, they generally walk. The essence of a martial artist is wielding a weapon. No matter how exhausted, a true martial artist can still wield their weapon.”
It was a sudden remark, but I understood what the master meant.
It meant that due to my rigorous training so far, my stamina had reached a level satisfactory to the master.
Why was he going around in circles when saying that the basics had been laid? It made it hard to understand.
Smack!
As I grumbled internally, a slap hit my forehead.
“I can see those impious thoughts in your eyes.”
“Ahhh!”
In the midst of rolling on the floor in pain, the master continued with his declaration.
“From tomorrow, in addition to basic training, you’ll learn the Single Cut Blade Technique and the Seven Thunder Defense Technique. Furthermore, you’ll learn various techniques to become a proper martial artist.”
Training became even harsher.
Even though digesting the introductory forms of the Single Cut Blade Technique and the Seven Thunder Defense Technique, which could be classified as advanced martial arts, wasn’t easy, it turned out it was the easiest thing among the training I had started.
Thump!
“Ahhhh!”
I constantly got poked while trying to distinguish between night spines only by the martial arts.
Woom wooom!
I struggled, holding my ears, unable to properly control the output of the Blue Law technique.
“What’s a burnayburbum?”
This silly disciple couldn’t even distinguish poison mixed in food when learning from Tang So-yeol and went numb in the tongue.
“…Master, my arms aren’t moving.”
“I told you to poke the throat point with three-tenths of your strength; where the heck did you stab?”
Thud bang kaboom!
I practiced the blood point technique and countless times rolled on the ground to learn the advanced lightness technique mixed with the earth-splitting method.
Days were filled with aches and rolling around.
“Sigh… Am I to be attending to the Grandchild at my age?”
Slap!
“Ouch!”
Each day was filled with those brutal training sessions that would have been impossible to digest had I not received treatment for my injuries from the master.
The time spent refining my skills as a martial artist while mastering the Single Cut Blade Technique and the Seven Thunder Defense Technique felt very long.
The black cat, who learned the shadowy qi technique created by the master from the Black Shadow Qi Technique, fully assimilated the Nine Yin technique, and Hyeok Gi-rin, who got coddled by the master while picking up various tidbits, stood at the threshold of Hwa-gyeong.
Seeing my companions progressing made me anxious.
It was good to cement my foundation, but the main thing was the realm itself. If I were to choose between a solid peak and the outer shell of peak expert, I’d pick the peak expert with an outer shell.
Even though time had passed where my companions visibly grew stronger, my realm still remained peak, which naturally made me feel restless.
It wasn’t that my cultivation was blocked; impurities melted in the Barley Lotus Pool, and the limit reached up to the peak expert level. Besides, I had been skillfully wielding my sword before coming here, so I certainly deserved to step into the peak expert realm.
However, the master’s thoughts seemed to differ markedly from mine.
He would tweak the martial arts for my companions, spoon-feed them advice and various topics, yet he rendered me only to train martial arts without ever mentioning the principles necessary to reach the peak expert level or topics of realization.
I mustered up the courage and asked if it was time to reach the peak expert level, but all I got in return was another slap.
“Can someone who can’t even walk leap across a stepping stone to cross a river? You better learn to walk properly.”
Just opening my mouth increased the intensity of training for me without reason.
Thanks to that, only my proficiency in the Single Cut Blade Technique and the Seven Thunder Defense Technique drastically rose.
More time passed without any deadline.
Boom!
Hearing the now familiar clamor within me, I slammed my feet on the ground. Before coming here, just utilizing the first form of the Seven Thunder Defense Technique would tire my legs out, but not anymore.
The first step of the single stepping stone had turned into a double, and then three steps later into the third form.
As my legs danced through the variations of the third form, my hands spread the techniques of the Single Cut Blade Technique.
Single Cut Blade Technique. First form. Falling Thunder.
Swoosh!
The strike, containing the essence of power and speed blended into an icy blast, cleaved the air.
“Phew.”
A sigh slipped out, mixed with a feeling of anxiety alongside the relief of fully unleashing a tricky combination.
What I had just unleashed were the forms of the Seven Thunder Defense Technique and the foundational techniques of the Single Cut Blade Technique, but the reality was what I executed was neither the Defense Technique nor the Blade Technique.
What I unleashed was the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique itself.
With the integration of the Single Cut Blade Technique, the Seven Thunder Defense Technique, and my understanding of the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique in harmony, I created a holistic martial arts manifestation.
In that moment, I found myself enveloped in a whirlpool of conflicted feelings.
Before entering this place, I was perfectly capable of defeating an average peak martial artist, but that was purely thanks to my cultivation level, my lucky coincidences, and my physical prowess.
But now, it was different.
Even though I might run low on cultivation or feel physically drained, I felt confident I could defeat any peak expert.
Compared to any peak martial artist, my essence, which could be deemed the foundation of martial arts, would not fall short.
So wasn’t it time to step into the peak expert realm?
Feeling anxious seeing my companions’ achievements, I reflected on how before, I merely hoped to reach the peak expert realm without any rational basis.
Back then, I hadn’t filled even a fraction of the vessel called “peak.” I was merely being greedy; now, overflowing with contents already, it was quite another situation.
The time had genuinely come to climb into the peak expert realm.
Yet, the master remained resolutely silent towards me, keeping an unwavering wall while offering advice and topics only to my companions, which was indeed frustrating.
Snap!
“Ouch!”
Having sighed with annoyance, a sudden burst of heat ignited from the back of my head.
“Tch tch, it seems your nature can’t change; every time you achieve something, you get arrogant.”
“AHHH! Master! Surely the time has come now!”
“Then you should have conducted yourself properly. Why do you raise your voice in grievance, insisting it’s time when you know perfectly well it’s not?”
Again, the master struck me down with the facts like a coward.
Looking not pleased, the master glared at me, taking a moment to finally speak again.
“Alright, finally, one could modestly consider you a Little Cloud.”
Oh.
I looked at the master with a sense of anticipation. The Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique was ultimately the Thunder Technique. I might not grasp the precise meaning of why the master tagged me as Little Cloud; however, interpreting it as being ready to house thunder might not be too off.
Could it be this time, I would finally be imparted with the key to reach the peak expert realm along with the principles of martial arts?
“Establish the First Thunder in your heart.”
“Hmm….”
“Until you do, cultivate as you see fit.”
“Excuse me? What does that even mean?”
I asked again, baffled by the master’s meaning.
“Literally. Until you establish the First Thunder in your heart, I’ve delivered all I could and taught all I should—there’s nothing more I can offer; therefore, it means to cultivate on your own.”
“Wait…”
I was dumbfounded. Why did someone who provided personalized advice to the other companions only leave me with a few words and draw a wall?
The master really did leave me with that sole remark and ignored me. No matter what I did, he simply spent joyful moments chatting with my companions.
“Sigh.”
A heavy sigh escaped me due to the blatant disparity in treatment, but what could I do? It was me who desperately needed the peak expert realm.
In the end, feeling sorrowful, I sat cross-legged in a cave corner, entering meditation.
The realization that I had to diligently mull over the master’s one-word wisdom was truly sad, but as meditation continued, useless thoughts were swept from my mind.
Establish the First Thunder.
What could it possibly mean to establish thunder?
Boom.
Focusing on the recurring rumble now familiar to me, I pondered what the First Thunder was. Strictly speaking, I should already be handling thunder energy. The very fact that I perceived thunder in my mind was proof of that.
If so, I could argue I had already nurtured a single lightning bolt in my heart.
“Establish thunder in your heart!”
I realized I had already comprehended that notion!!!
…But could that be possible?
Reorganizing my thoughts again, I plunged back into concentration.
What does “First Thunder” even signify?
Boom.
Continuing meditation while listening to the periodically resounding “thunder”, various thoughts tried to surface, but every effort ultimately amounted to nothing.
Boom.
After a prolonged period of meditation, it seemed my mind snapped back into reality as a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
A sudden thought emerged.
Had I not been prepared all along? No matter how much I focused, I had failed to dispel the thunder within my mind; perhaps that thunder was a signal of my inexperience.
…But.
Had the thunder always sounded so feeble?
I reflected back on the battle with Jeong Cheol. What did the thunder within my mind feel like back then? While I couldn’t precisely recall, it felt somewhat wilder than the current rumbling.
It didn’t sound so devastating like tearing the air apart like a thunderbolt, but it definitely didn’t feel as subdued as now.
Boom!
As though protesting, the internal thunder gave a loud rumble, but once again…it didn’t feel quite the same as back then. It seemed akin to when I barely managed to unleash the second first step while dodging Jeong Cheol’s attack.
It made perfect sense. At that time, I hadn’t fully controlled the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique, so it should’ve been only natural for it to act erratic.
So the thunder back then was perhaps more thunderous.
Something flashed through my mind. It felt like a thunderbolt struck straight down within my thoughts. I abruptly unraveled my meditation and stood up.
The Black Cat, Yeo Il-ye, and Tang Do-yeon’s wide eyes seemed to gaze at me in shock, but I couldn’t care less.
My focus was on forcefully unraveling the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique within me.
The master proclaimed that I had become a “Little Cloud.” He must have evaluated me based on my ability to create a proper bolt of thunder.
Boom!
I unleashed the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique with even more vigor. No, I dispersed the Thunder Qi throughout my entire body. This wasn’t just through the qi meridians but instead flooded each limb and section of my body with what could scarcely be called “qi” in the first place.
I was a Little Cloud.
To create a bolt of thunder, a Little Cloud must be filled with droplets and wind.
Crack!
The resounding thunder within me grew fiercer.
However, it still wasn’t sufficient. It wasn’t enough to transform into a single bolt of lightning yet.
More.
A bit more.
While I dispersed the storm of the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique like a blanket, a voice of caution rang in the corner of my mind.
This was quite a dangerous situation. No—this was extremely dangerous.
What was it that caused me injuries while summoning the Seven Thunder Defense Technique?
It was simply because I had unleashed uncontrolled energy recklessly.
My intellect warned me.
If the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique erupted in its current state, it could possibly lead to catastrophic injuries.
Crack!
Yet I didn’t stop.
The reason was simple.
The master had regarded me as a Little Cloud.
Those words meant that he believed I could handle a bolt of thunder at least once.
He believed he had molded me into a cloud capable of bearing bolts of thunder.
He had shared all he could, and while drawing a line, here I stood, what more could I do but trust?
I grasped my sword.
Crack—bang!
And thunder echoed.
Grabbing the sword fanned the embers within me, and the storm of thunder energy began to surge through my arm, moving as if channeled through confined pathways. Fresh energy was not only flowing through the limited channels but also spilling forth into my sword.
That entire process unfolded in the blink of an eye.
As the internal energy I had spread throughout me surged forth in a violent torrent, I felt the pain, but I didn’t have time to focus on the pain.
I was occupied by only sensing the turbulent flow of energy through my arm and hand.
What a truly mystical feeling it was.
The energy, which I had presumed might rampage in chaos, found direction.
The energies weaving through each other tightened, transforming into a powerful essence as if intertwining fibers were merging into a thicker thread.
Crack!
It precariously wobbled as though it would dissipate at any moment, yet a firm essence undeniably clung to my sword.
Looking at that power, I pondered how perplexing this martial essence was.
I simply shoved energy inside without restraint, yet inside it had birthed an order.
I didn’t understand the process of this essence forming; but I believed that once I comprehended this fully as one unified principle, it would be the true peak expert in its truest form.
Crack!
Once all of my internal energy was exhausted, the powerful essence disappeared as well. It was only then that I became aware my companions and the master were intently watching me.
If I had the energy to speak, I would have wanted to share something, but I was completely drained and sprawled out right there.
“Senior!”
“Honorable One!”
“Senior Ho!”
“Let’s quickly move him inside the mansion!”
Hearing my companions call out to me with various titles, I closed my eyes. I was too exhausted to maintain consciousness any longer.
One day, rolling around in the Array Formation,
I, Ho Cheon-an,
became a Peak Expert.
