Martial Arts Ain't That Big of a Deal - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Three Forms Sword Technique

[Translation By Divinity]

Upon returning home, Chunbong abruptly handed Seojun a twig he had picked up from the street.

“Swing it.”

“Without any instruction?”

“Just do it, damn it.”

‘What a disrespectful little brat.’ Seojun grumbled but grabbed the twig and swung it through the air.

‘But hey, this feels pretty good in my hand.’ It seemed like he had stumbled upon a rare twig.

However, Chunbong didn’t seem impressed.

“Meh… Ordinary.”

“What did you expect? That I’d cleave the sky in two just by holding a twig?”

“There you go again, talking nonsense.”

Chunbong sighed and glared at Seojun.

Truthfully, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious Seojun seemed. First of all, he clearly wasn’t from the back alleys. Even when he ate, there was a sense of decorum, though not quite the refined manners of a noble family.

‘Is he from a wealthy family? But then, there’s no trace of him having learned any martial arts.’

Chunbong clicked his tongue and poked Seojun’s side as he was swinging the twig.

“Ouch! What the hell!”

“Quiet. That’s enough. Now sit over there.”

‘Well… he seems like a decent guy.’

‘It should be fine to teach him the Three Forms Sword Technique.’

☆

‘What a fickle kid.’

‘Is he on his period or something?’

Seojun grumbled as he sat where Chunbong pointed.

‘But he’s kind of cute.’

At first, Chunbong seemed quite wary, but after a few days, he was now following him around.

‘Living in these back alleys at such a young age must have been tough.’ It wouldn’t be surprising if he had some attachment issues.

“Just shut up and listen. It’s not that difficult, so you’ll memorize it quickly.”

Chunbong grabbed the rare twig and drew on the ground as if giving a lecture.

“Can you read this?”

“Heaven, Earth, and Man?”

“What? You can read? This is getting more suspicious.”

“Come on, man. Even a neighborhood kid could read this.”

天, 地, 人 (Heaven, Earth, Man)

‘Basic Chinese characters.’

‘Wait a minute. They don’t use Korean here?’ It suddenly dawned on him that it was strange they could even communicate. ‘Was this it? The transmigrator buff?’

“Then what’s this?”

Chunbong drew a strange picture on the ground.

“What is that?”

“Grape.”

“This one’s tough. I think I can guess the others.”

“Whatever.”

Chunbong sighed and pointed to the character for ‘Heaven.’

“The Three Forms Sword Technique consists of three stances. Each is modeled after Heaven, Earth, and Man, and the corresponding cultivation technique is the Three Forms Cultivation Technique.”

“Oh, a cultivation technique.”

“It’s nothing special, so stop making that face. Anyway, the cultivation technique has a mnemonic verse. And you need to memorize it.”

Chunbong cleared his throat and continued.

“Fundamentally, humans are creatures born from the Earth, aspiring to ascend to Heaven. When one reaches Heaven and becomes a celestial being…”

It wasn’t that long. It would probably take about three minutes to read it smoothly.

But memorizing it after hearing it once was another story.

“Hey, wait a minute. Again.”

“Fundamentally, humans are…”

“Ugh… From the celestial being part again, please. Hehe.”

“Hehe, you’re asking for death. Haah… When one reaches Heaven and becomes a celestial being…”

After somehow managing to memorize the mnemonic verse, he felt exhausted.

“Why do I have to memorize this…?”

“You don’t actually have to.”

“What? You little…”

He barely managed to suppress the urge to kill. ‘Good job, Seojun. Beating up a kid is a bit too much, even for you.’

“But it would be stupid not to memorize it. The verse will help instill a basic mental image of the martial art in your subconscious. It can also be somewhat helpful when you encounter Qi Deviation or demonic techniques later on.”

‘So this wasn’t just some random gibberish.’

Chunbong tapped Seojun’s head with the twig. ‘Something’s definitely up. This kid is pretty smart.’

“Were you originally from a wealthy family?”

“Wh-Wh-What…!? No, I’m not!?”

“Ah, okay.”

“What’s okay!”

Seojun frowned at Chunbong, who was jumping up and down.

‘He understands “okay”? This must really be some kind of fake martial arts world.’

‘Did China have contact with the West during this period? I don’t know much about history. I’m not even sure if this world follows the same history as the original world.’

“Alright, teacher. Shall we try the cultivation technique now?”

“Ugh…!”

Chunbong gritted his teeth but stood behind Seojun and placed his palm on his back.

“The first step is to sense your Qi. If you can’t do that, it’s all been a waste of time, so keep that in mind.”

“It’s okay. I think I’ll do well.”

“What baseless confidence.”

Chunbong chuckled and explained.

“I’m going to infuse Qi into you now. But it’ll probably be too weak to be of much help, so try to sense it yourself.”

“What an irresponsible thing to say.”

“I’m starting. I can’t hold it for long, so focus.”

Seojun closed his eyes. He could feel warmth from Chunbong’s hand through his clothes. As he concentrated, he seemed to feel a ticklish sensation within the warmth.

‘Is this Qi?’

He followed the faint sensation and expanded his awareness, realizing that it permeated the entire world. The most distinct presence was within his own body. Only after firmly grasping that presence did he open his eyes.

“What? Why did you open your eyes already? You have no focus.”

“I think I got it?”

“What? This kid’s talking nonsense again.”

Chunbong scoffed and pressed his hand against Seojun’s back a little tighter.

“It hasn’t even been a minute since you closed your eyes. If you sensed Qi already, I’ll fry my hand in oil.”

“Hmm… Maybe it’s not this?”

“Try moving it. If you sensed it, you should be able to control it to some extent.”

‘Well, there’s no way.’ Even the legendary Martial Gods of the past couldn’t have sensed Qi in just a minute.

Chunbong clicked his tongue.

☆

“What the… Crazy.”

‘Is this kid really trying to scam me?’

Chunbong’s jaw dropped open and refused to close. He could feel it from his palm – Seojun’s Qi was moving at will!

From Chunbong’s perspective, he couldn’t help but doubt whether this guy was truly from a wealthy family or if he was being deceived.

But if that were the case, would he deceive someone so carelessly? Even if he were lying, he should at least make it somewhat convincing.

It’s not like he’s claiming to be some unparalleled genius of all time. If that were the case, he’d just be an idiot.

“I’m going to become a MUGONG master~”

“…Why are you rolling your tongue like that? It’s annoying.”

“I’m gonna be the best, the best~”

“…He’s really crazy.”

“The best in the whole wide world~”

‘Or maybe he really is an idiot.’

‘No way someone this stupid could be from a wealthy family.’

‘Yeah, that’s definitely it.’

“You must be really lucky.”

“Hey, Chunbong.”

“What.”

“Do you have something like a branding iron at your house?”

“A branding iron? No, why?”

Seojun abruptly stood up and grabbed Chunbong’s wrist. Chunbong was startled and shouted.

“What are you doing, you crazy bastard!”

“You said you’d fry your hand in oil!”

“…You’re really going to brand it?”

Chunbong’s eyes trembled. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut and held out his hand.

“Do whatever you want!”

“No, that’s a bit much. I’m not a psychopath.”

“A psycho… what?”

“What? You don’t have that word either?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Seojun sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

“Forget it. Anyway, so the cultivation technique worked, right?”

“No? What are you talking about? We’re just getting started.”

Now that he had sensed Qi, it was time to create his dantian.

“Ah…”

Already feeling tired, Seojun slapped his forehead.

☆

That day, after creating his dantian, vanished in an instant.

The next day, Seojun woke up to the sunlight streaming through the hole in the ceiling and jumped up.

“A strong and wonderful morning!”

As he stretched his upper body and moved his body around, he felt strangely refreshed. It was as if he had more energy than usual.

“Ah… I see. So this is what martial arts is.”

As Seojun was about to start his day in a good mood, now that he was a martial artist, he heard a deep sigh.

“Haah… Aren’t you tired of being energetic so early in the morning? You’ve just barely become third-rate, and you’re already talking about martial arts.”

Chunbong, who got up while scratching his head, yawned loudly and walked out.

“If you’re up, it’s time to pay for the food I gave you. Try earning some money today. I’ll, uh… keep watch.”

“Sounds good. A semi-permanent relocation without mutual consent. It was one of the items on my bucket list.”

“There you go again with the nonsense.”

Seojun rubbed the sleep from his eyes and gulped down the water from a cracked bowl.

“Ugh… If you drink this kind of stuff, you’ll get sick even if you weren’t supposed to.”

“That’s why everyone dies young around here.”

“Oh, dear.”

Seojun swallowed the unpleasant taste left in his mouth and stretched.

“Well then, shall we go?”

‘In refined terms, a righteous gentleman. In plain terms, a thief.’ Today was the day of his first class change.

☆

‘What do you want to be when you grow up? A thief?’

Some people say things like that, but they don’t know what they’re talking about. Thievery is a legitimate art form, and naturally, it’s heavily influenced by talent.

Seojun recalled the advice of his senior thief, Chunbong.

‘The first priority is stealth, and the second is also stealth.’

Not getting caught was the best option. If caught, running away without being captured was the next best thing.

‘This is closer to pickpocketing than burglary. You have to wait for the moment when the target’s attention is diverted.’

That’s the realm of a third-rate thief. But a second-rate thief is a bit different.

‘It’s best if you can divert the target’s attention naturally without being awkward.’

He didn’t know much about first-rate thieves, but today he decided to challenge the realm of second-rate.

“Ah, I’ve been caught.”

‘Fuck, I’m screwed.’