Chapter 81

He had never heard of the name Jihak . But Bul-yeong, the GrandMaster of Shaolin, had mentioned Jihak as ‘The future of Shaolin’ .

Lee Sung-min did not have any complaints . Even if he was defeated, there would still be something he would gain .

This was the case with Namgong Hee-won . In his fight with Namgong Hee-won, Lee Sung-min learned about his shortcomings from his defeat .

Under the auspices of the Grand Master Bul-yeong, Lee Sung-min faced the intellectuals . Jihak was unarmed . On the other hand, Lee Sung-min lifted his spear .

Lee Sung-min looked at the Grand Master Bul-yeong body gently to ascertain whether it was okay to use the spear, but Grand Master Bul-yeong only laughed after receiving his attention .

“Can your spear pierce the Geumgangseok?”

That being said, Lee Sung-min contemplated for a while . If the words of Grand Master Bul-yeong were true, then Jihak had achieved the peak of Geumgangseok, the gold standard .

Lee Sung-min gulped and looked at Jihak . Looking at Jihak’s physique, his body did not appear to be significantly different from that of Lee Sung-min’s .

The fight soon started .

And it ended after a mere 100 seconds of exchanging blows . It was Lee Sung-min’s defeat . Lee Sung-min, who sat down on the floor, looked up at Jihak with a dismayed look, fists clenched . Jihak didn’t have even a single wound on him and Lee Sung-min’s body’s situation wasn’t looking that good . Grand Master Bul-yeong laughed loudly as he watched Sung-min’s body fall on the ground .

“Indeed . I know why that boy asked me to look at your martial skills . ”

Lee Sung-min gritted his teeth as he watched Grand Master Bul-yeong clap his hands in amusement, letting out chuckles . Did it make sense? Now, Lee Sung-min was close to knocking on the door of what was beyond the Peak . However, Jihak had played with Lee Sung-min as if he were a child . Although he had suffered defeat at the hands of Namgong Hee-won, he wasn’t treated like a child in their fight .

“Jihak, how was it? ”

Jihak, who bowed his head while he sat down, raised his head and looked at the GrandMaster .

“… How should I respond? ”

“Best to answer honestly . ”

Lee Sung-min had never felt that the Grand Master Bul-yeong gave off an impression of a highly virtuous monk . Jihak’s lips that were previously pursed tightly, opened up .

“It is not enough . ”

These words became a dagger and penetrated into Lee Sung-min’s chest deeply .

“What he lacks most is experience . It must be that the art of wielding the spear should be exquisite but his flow of Qi isn’t as smooth, going hay-wire in parts . He just uses the spear to cut and block, but doesn’t combine them with Qi . ”

These words were also said by Namgong Hee-won .

“He is inexperienced in dealing with balancing inner Qi . He doesn’t seem to have a lack of inner qi, but the overall flow is all jumbled up and a matter of concern . ”

“This is because there is no balance between the heart, the spirit and the body . It is bizarre that his body didn’t explode, but gave way to greater strength . His Spirit and Qi are increasing, but his body lags behind . It’s dangerous . ”

GrandMaster Bul-yeong added to Jihak’s answer .

“Oh . You don’t seem to understand what I mean . So… It’s like this . If both legs are of the same length, there should be no problem walking or running . However, if one leg is excessively long or short, it will be extremely difficult to walk or run . If you forcibly try to walk or run, You will have no choice but to fall . The analogy is that even if one can do this in a normal manner, your condition is not that simple and easy . ”

“… What should I do?” Lee Sung-min asked .

“The first thing to do is to improve the Qi vessel, your body . If luck comes along, it will solve the problem . As the flow of Qi becomes smoother, the imbalance will disappear from your body . In fact, the easiest way is to get rid of the bones and change every… Giggle! Overhaul is not easy to handle . ”

In saying so, GrandMaster Bul-yeong rose up from his throne .

“Jihak, for the time being, take him with you and look after him . ”

“Okay . ”

Jihak came back into the cave after sending the Grandmaster back . Lee Sung-min sighed and stood up to follow Jihak .

He had climbed to the peak of Mush’s mountain and realized his strength in his fight against Aine . He… he had thought he got stronger .

In fact, he was not wrong . Lee Sung-min had indeed become stronger . The level he had reached in his previous life had already been far exceeded . Lee Sung-min was not weak anymore . Among numerous cultivators of diverse ages, Lee Sung-min would still be called one of the best .

However, the reason was actually that his opponents were not suitable for him . Namgong Hee-won was the next generation of Namgong lineage . He was regarded as a king among cultivators, regarded as Sword Master .

“Don’t be too discouraged . ”

It was the same with Jihak .

“Your strength is never lacking in an objective sense . It is rare for a man with No class to reach that level at the age of 18 . ”

“… But did you not treat me like a child? ”

“I don’t like saying this because I think it’s self-praise . I am saying that this is the best institution that has existed since Shaolin was established on earth . Even before I took a step, I was in Shaolin, and as I grew up, not only GrandMaster Bul-yeong, but also the outstanding warriors of Shaolin taught me martial arts . I shared their enlightenment and grew up consuming all of Shaolin’s martial arts and elixirs . ”

Jihak uttered those words in one flow, his expression unchanging . That said, Lee Sung-min was tired . “The future of Shaolin . ” He finally understood why GrandMaster Bul-yeong had said that while introducing Jihak .

“Even so, I couldn’t beat Minor Heavenly Demon . ”

Jihak murmured in a small voice, fists clenched . Lee Sung-min’s eyes flashed excitedly .

“Have you ever fought her?”

“Yes . ”

“Minor Heavenly Demon… Why did Wijihoyeon come here?”

“I’m not sure either,” Jihak replied with a grumpy expression .

“It was a sudden visit . She… she went over the mountain of Shaolin by herself . Then she said, “I want to see the power of Shaolin . ”

It was an ignorant act . Lee Sung-min commented to himself .

“This is what a 17-year-old girl who had not yet fully matured had said . But no one there was able to rebuke or laugh at her . I was there too … it was a… very mysterious, humiliating… It was an astounding experience . I had never thought that one’s presence could overwhelm the people around them so much . ‘

“… After that? ”

“I heard that after she visited, GrandMaster Bul-yeong came directly . After that, GrandMaster Bul-yeong talked with Wijiho-yeon . I don’t know what type of conversation took place between the two . Then… I had a duel with Wijihoyeon . Wijihoyeon said that she wanted to see Shaolin’s power, and Grand Master Bul-yeong commented that he saw me as the future of Shaolin . ”

Lee Sung-min was already aware of this .

“The world is vast . ” Jihak muttered softly, closing his eyes .

“Was it a little over 100 seconds? no… That’s not it . If it were a life and death duel, it wouldn’t last even 50 seconds . She called himself Minor Heavenly Demon, but I couldn’t understand that title . If she is the son of a heavenly demon, who could possibly be the heavenly demon?”

Lee Sung-min does not know the current Wijihoyeon . He had never met her after being reborn . He had thought that Wijihoyeon would have become stronger, but now, he couldn’t even imagine how strong she must have gotten .

Wijiho-yeon had defeated Jihak effortlessly, the same Ho-yeon who used to play with Lee Sung-min as a child .

“… Wijiho-yeon … how… What level is he?”

“I do not know . But one thing is certain . She is already beyond Peak . I don’t know if she is on the threshold, or if she has already crossed . … What is your relationship with Wijihoyeon? ”

“… friend . ”

“Is that so . ”

Jihak nodded, his gaze lingering on him . Lee Sung-min stumbled and raised his body . Jihak asked again, looking at Lee Sung-min holding the spear .

“What you lack the most is experience . I have seen you … You are not using your strength properly . It will and can only be complemented by going through various battles . ”

“… Okay . ”

“What I’m saying … may sound a bit dry . But don’t get too frustrated if you lose . ”

“You don’t have to worry about that . ”

Lee Sung-min said with an amicable smile .

“I’m used to frustration . I am also used to standing back up again and again,” said Lee Sung-min .

He was too familiar with it .

It was not easy .

He felt that it was too far .

Lee Sung-min, who left GrandMaster Bul-yeong’s, went down to Shaolin . It was not the way to Shaolin that felt distant to him .

Dim … He thought he was getting closer . He didn’t have to be at front, if he just ran a little further . He thought that would be enough .

Enough for him to reach her if he extended his hand a bit more .

It was just an illusion . Wijihoyeon was going farther than Lee Sung-min had imagined . Maybe Wijihoyeon wasn’t that far away, but Lee Sung-min was just too slow .

‘Not enough . ’

He was lacking . Lee Sung-min looked down at the spear in his hand . The spear was not heavy, but Lee Sung-min missed the heaviness he felt back in Mush’s mountain . The invisible eyes fixated on him, watching his every move, the nostalgic odor, the never-ending noises and more . If he thought about it, even though it was so hard that he felt he would go crazy, wasn’t it more worth than any moment Lee Sung-min had lived?

What did he do after he came down the mountain?

He walked down the mountain without running . Lee Sung-min contemplated himself while listening to the buzzing of wild insects .

After descending Mush’s mountain… He went to the mercenary guild and became a mercenary .

An S-class mercenary . In his previous life, he would be satisfied with this high grade that he couldn’t even get close to . He thought the asceticism he had done on the mountain had been proved, and was delighted that his “current” self was different from his previous self .

A few months later, he made money while performing a quest . The spear was crafted with the money he earned . Satisfaction at its finest… . He was delighted to finally be able to hold a good weapon . .

It has been for months . He had been working hard, fighting and moving on for self-satisfaction .

Because he had always wanted to be recognized, he was happy that he became an S-class mercenary . Power that he had never had before was filled in him .

In the mercenary guild of Behengerr, it was fun to see people he knew behave differently than before . For some moments, he was not that eager to practice, persevering felt futile to him . But since he had memories of his previous life, where he had always used the tool called sheer hard work and persistence, he just wanted to rest for a bit this time .

He didn’t even know whether it was safe to do so .

(T/N: Probably talking about relying on his previous life memories . )

Depending on the memories of his previous life, he tried to cross over the wall he had faced .

‘Effort . … effort?’ Lee Sung-min laughed . What he accomplished for some few years on Mush’s mountain was purely because of effort .

He had put in his everything, worked like crazy everyday .

In the end, Lee Sung-min was not much different from his previous life . He earned enough to live a day . It was no different from when he was a Class C mercenary . He could play because he had risked his life and had made a living . Drinking alcohol, hugging a woman .

What was different now and then was that; he lived day by day, based on a certain psychology .

‘It was okay to take a little rest, as he was an ascetic from Mush’s mountain . ’

He had done his best, exerting efforts in a body with no talents . He knew the road of martial arts was arduous and long but he still wanted to see the end, the end which he had no idea of .

He now knew reality .

He thought that he had already transformed into a cicada, a larvae who had taken off its hard covering…

It was just an illusion .

Lee Sung-min was still a larva . He had a long way to go .