Chapter 37: 37

Terms used in this chapter:

Ninth Heaven – this is the highest level/layer in heaven in Chinese cosmology . For more information on why the Chinese call it Ninth Heaven or their fascination for the number ‘nine’

Gucheongumun .

The Ninth Heaven and Nine Doors .

This wasn’t the first time he had heard of it .

‘I’ve certainly heard of it before . But where?’

He was certain that it was not a martial art technique that appeared in the first episode .

It was when Jude tried to enter his Memory Palace out of habit .

“Ah!”

Behind him, Cordelia suddenly exclaimed .

Jude automatically looked at his back and Cordelia moved her lips to convey a silent message .

He then understood when he read her lips .

‘Third episode . ’

That was what Cordelia silently said .

Thanks to her, he finally remembered . Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors was a fantasy martial art that appeared in the third episode, or to be more precise, in the last expansion pack of the third episode .

‘It’s similar to Nine Celestial Steps . ’

Its existence was known, but the martial art did not appear in the game .

But now, rather than anyone else from the third episode, it was Landius, one of the main characters of the first episode, that had spoken of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors .

‘Did Landius learn it? Sometime in the past 10 years? Or perhaps Landius himself created that martial art?’

Either way, it didn’t matter to him for now .

Just that it was clear that the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors was the highest in rank for that martial art skill tree, similar to Nine Celestial Steps .

“I’ll say it for the last time, boy . Be my disciple . With your Cheonmujiche, you can learn the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors . ”

At Landius’ words, Jude swallowed in excitement . He admitted it .

His heart was pounding .

Among the numerous rotten waters in Legend of Heroes, there was no one else who had the opportunity to learn and master that fantasy martial art skill, and this fact got him excited .

Furthermore, he would become the disciple of the sun warrior Landius, his favorite character in the first episode .

There was no way he’d ever refuse that offer .

“Ha . ”

Landius smiled in satisfaction as he read the eyes of Jude, and soon, Jude opened his lips . He was about to say that he would become his disciple .

But right at that moment…

“Wa-wait a second!”

Cordelia unexpectedly raised her voice while pulling Jude’s arm .

Because of that, everyone’s gaze on Jude and Landius turned to Cordelia . Landius looked at her, seemingly wondering what was going on, and Cordelia herself was surprised at her actions and hesitated to open her mouth .

It seemed like her voice popped out without her realizing it .

“Th-that…”

“Tell me, girl . ”

When Landius spoke magnanimously, Cordelia looked at Jude once and soon plucked up her courage as she spoke .

“That Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors…if he learns it…”

“If he learns?”

“Will Jude…get bigger?”

Everyone went blank at Cordelia’s timid question, but soon nodded in understanding .

Because Landius was indeed abnormally huge .

Even Jude, who just before was thrilled at the thought of becoming Landius’ disciple, was startled as he looked at Landius .

He was definitely big . Extremely big .

“Hmm . ”

Landius touched his chin in amusement, and asked Cordelia again, who was hiding behind Jude’s back .

“Girl, what is the relationship between you and the boy with Cheonmujiche?”

“He’s my…fiancé . ”

“Sure enough, it’s something worth worrying about . Mm-hmm, it is a very important question . An important issue . ”

Landius nodded in understanding, and the knights sporadically cleared their throats as everyone’s faces, except for Lucas, turned red .

“Huh? What’s wrong with everyone?”

“Young master, for a moment . ”

Immediately after, Sir Seornn hastily pulled Lucas’ hand .

Landius happily gazed at the completely red-faced Jude and Cordelia, and then laughed as he spoke .

“Don’t worry, girl . It’s not because of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors that I am huge . ”

“It’s not because of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors?”

Cordelia blinked in surprise as she asked again, and Jude became surprised too, as he looked at Landius .

Landius in the first episode was definitely around 190 centimeters tall .

It was impossible for his growth period to suddenly come back in his late 20’s, so it must have been due to some acquired cause . But if it was not due to the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors, what other reason could it be?

“I have the blood of Giants flowing through my body . I used the Ancestral Regression technique to draw out the power of my ancestors . ”

“Ancestral…Regression technique?”

“Yes, the Ancestral Regression technique . It’s a technique to awaken the ancestor’s physical and spiritual powers sleeping in the blood, and regress in a form similar to one’s ancestor . ”

At Landius’ explanation, the knights had faces expressing that they’ve haven’t heard of it, but not for Jude and Cordelia .

This is because it was a technique that had appeared several times in Legend of Heroes 2 .

‘In the immediate future, Cordelia also wakes up her angelic blood through the Ancestral Regression technique . ’

That was why the two understood Landius’ words .

If the blood of the giant had been awakened through the Ancestral Regression technique, it would indeed make sense that Landius’ size had greatly increased .

‘I never thought that the blood of giants flowed in Landius . ’

Although it was a sudden character setting, it was understandable .

Landius had an overwhelming physique from the start .

“That’s why, girl, even if the boy with Cheonmujiche learns the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors, he will not become as big as me . So don’t worry . ”

“Uh…yes, I see . ”

As Cordelia faltered and shut her lips tightly, Landius focused on Jude again .

“Now answer, boy with Cheonmujiche . Will you be my disciple?”

A fantasy martial art called Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors .

A disciple of Landius, one of the main characters of the first episode .

It was a very different development from the original story, but there was no reason for him to refuse it .

To begin with, Jude’s goal was to destroy the original ending and bring about a perfect happy ending .

‘Will you do it?’

‘I will do it . ’

Jude exchanged looks with Cordelia before looking up at Landius and finally replied .

“I will become your disciple, Master . ”

“Ha, good . You are my disciple from today . So answer my questions, disciple . ”

“Yes, master . ”

When Jude responded nervously, Landius asked with a magnanimous face .

“First of all, what is your name? How old are you? If you have a fiancée, are you a noble?”

It was the most basic questions .

Though they had become master and disciple, they had yet to mutually introduce themselves .

With a dazed look on his face for a moment, Jude opened his mouth and answered the questions of his overly considerate master .

***

The next morning .

The group had spent the night in the now ownerless mansion of the Northern Viscount . There were opinions that it was still dangerous, but Landius’ presence was the answer to all of their concerns . While preparing to leave in a hurry, they also delivered the news to Langesthei .

The fact that a nobleman with a manor was a demon follower, and even became a demonic human, was a very serious matter .

“If we go by the standard procedure, we should stay here and cooperate with the investigation…but as there had been two attacks already, I think it’s for the best to return to the count as soon as possible . ”

There was a second attack, so there could be a third attack .

So it was best to return quickly when Landius was with them .

Jude knew that Landius was traveling all over the continent in search of the archbishop Manuela .

Landius only accepted the job this time because he also had to meet and deal with Count Hræsvelgr . So if they got delayed for a long time, he was more likely to leave .

“Okay, let’s do that then . ”

Lucas replied to Sir Seornn before enviously looking at the carriage where Jude and Cordelia was in .

‘I’m really envious . ’

He wasn’t talking about Jude having a perfect and harmonious teamwork with a fiancée that is an incomparably beautiful girl .

It was because of being Landius’ disciple .

Landius had the personality that Lucas longed for, as his visuals and strength seemed to have been torn from a heroic novel, and that Landius had demanded Jude first to be his disciple .

That did not happen when he was with Lucas .

“Young master, Sir Landius’ martial arts are of a form that cannot be mastered without having a special bodily constitution . It is not because of young master’s lack of talent . Landius himself didn’t pay attention to that . If it’s only the talent for the sword, young master is already on par with Sword Noble Kamael . ”

“Yes…yes, but…”

He knew that .

But he was still envious of what he highly desired .

The training of Sir Landius .

The training from the red-haired warrior .

While Lucas stared at the carriage, Jude was lying at death’s door .

“Aaa…ugh…aagh…haak…aaah…”

Lying on a remodeled bed in the carriage, Jude wriggled his body and let out groans while Cordelia sat down at the bedside of Jude and took care of him .

“Does it hurt that much?”

“It hurts, f*ck . It f*cking hurts . I really think I’m going to die . It wasn’t even like this when I was in Afghanistan . Aa…aaaah… . ”

It was unlike the usual Jude as he uncontrollably kept popping out curses in just one day .

No, it wasn’t just a day but from the few hours of training in the middle of the night that made his whole body scream in pain .

‘I have to leave again when we arrive at Count Hræsvelgr . I can’t take you with me, so I’ll teach you the basics while we go to the count’s territory . ’

It was good so far . He fully understood that .

But the training that followed was far beyond Jude’s expectations .

“Ah, I didn’t learn like this from my father…”

There was quite a difference from when he learned Lightning Punch and Lightning Strike Fist .

He would react like that because Landius overworked all the muscles of his whole body .

It wasn’t martial arts training, but some kind of physical training… No, it felt more like physical abuse .

Moreover, Landius made him do all possible exercises, or more like continuous abuse, by repeating adequate rest and training that is just right for Jude who didn’t have enough physical strength yet because of his Gueumjulmaek .

“So…do you know exactly what the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors is?”

“I don’t know, but…based on the training, it doesn’t strengthen the body itself…aah, aaa…f*ck, it f*cking hurts . It hurts even if I stay still . Aagh…”

“Don’t just say f*ck twice . ”

“F*ck . ”

Their positions were reversed from their usual conversation when the door suddenly opened .

“Hmm, you look fine . It’s Cheonmujiche, indeed . ”

When Landius spoke with a pleased face at the sight of Jude stretched out on the bed, Jude’s soaring anger burst at that moment .

‘Are you sane saying that I am fine!’

Fortunately, he still held some degree of reason so he could only shout in his mind .

Landius said as he nodded his head in satisfaction .

“Let your body rest until lunch . We’ll start the training again every time the carriage stops . Ah, girl . Feed this to my disciple . ”

Landius took a pouch from his waist and threw it to Cordelia .

When she opened the pouch, there were a lot of pills inside that were the size of a thumbnail .

“Physical…no, to be exact, those are pills that helps the muscles recover . From now on, feed those pills at the end of every training session . Do you understand?”

“Ah, yes . ”

“All right, then see you at lunch . ”

Landius smiled refreshingly as he closed the door and left, and Cordelia turned to Jude with a face full of concern .

“Uh…umm… Do you want to say ‘Ah’ first? I’ll give you the pills . Ah~”

Cordelia had somehow become so eagerly nice to Jude as she pretty much spoke in a gentle voice, and Jude trembled as he opened his mouth .

And those unforgettable hellish days continued to Jude for five more days .

***

“Aagh…ugh…ugh…”

On the sixth night after meeting Landius, Jude trembled and fell down in place after having finished doing squats .

“Ma-master . ”

“Yes . ”

“M-my legs won’t move…”

“You’re right, your lower body needs to rest a bit now . So let’s train your upper body now . ”

Landius was laughing ‘hahaha’ as he helped Jude sit in place before handing him his handmade exercise equipment .

“Be quick . We don’t have much time . You need to train your muscles during breaks too . Don’t cry . You’ll lose the water in your body . ”

As he trembled in various ways, Jude began working out his upper body .

And after two hours like that, Jude had completely used all of his body muscles as he collapsed while looking out of breath .

“Hmm, that’s good . Repeat the entire training course even when I’m not here in the future . Okay?”

“O-okay…”

They’ll be arriving at Count Hræsvelgr’s territory tomorrow .

‘It’s liberation, I’ll finally be free now . ’

Jude was flushed with tears, and Landius chuckled as he said .

“Don’t be too sad, my disciple . I’m only going to take care of some urgent business before coming back to see your training . So stop those tears or you’ll lose the muscles you’ve gained . ”

Jude trembled instead of answering, and Landius continued his words .

“Now then, there’s only one day left, so let’s start the training for Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors . ”

“Yes…what?”

Jude asked as he looked up and raised his head, even if his body had collapsed .

What Landius said was too absurd .

Start?

Training for Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors?

So what had he been doing so far?

“What is it? It’s muscle training . My dear boy, you’re too weak even without Gueumjulmaek . So work hard repeatedly to build up your body . ”

Landius clicked his tongue, and Jude had a stunned look as he blinked .

Simple muscle training, not training for Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors .

When he thought about it, he agreed too .

The training was so hard that he didn’t properly think about it, but in retrospect, it was all pure physical training that had nothing to do with martial arts .

It was also true that Jude was weak, even if he didn’t have Gueumjulmaek .

But, but even so!

‘Fu-f*ck!’

Fortunately again, Jude only shouted in his mind .

Landius sat Jude upright as he spoke .

“From now on, I will teach you the oral passage of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors . Learn it by heart . ”

“All I have to do…is memorize it?”

“For now, yes . ”

At that moment, Jude was mortified as a few tears came out of his eyes, but he decided to endure it for now .

He had to learn the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors .

“Okay, let’s get started . ”

The oral passage of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors .

Jude closed his eyes and focused on Landius’ voice .

A new memory was added to his memory palace .

For a while, the oral passage settled down at one point in Jude’s head .

It then naturally became one with Jude .

And only then did Jude realize .

Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors was not a combat technique that consisted of attack and defense like Lightning Punch or God’s Fist .

However, it wasn’t inner Qi cultivation either .

Make nine doors to one’s body and soul .

Every time a door is opened, new possibilities are unlocked .

All of these will lead the body and soul to reach a higher level .

It is a soul training method that is a mixture of both martial arts and magic .

It makes the soul evolve .

Jude felt the location of the bottommost door as the door was created .

The first door .

It couldn’t have been this fast originally .

But his Cheonmujiche made it possible .

In the first place, Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors itself was one with Cheonmujiche . It was a martial art that could not be properly learned without having Cheonmujiche .

Sweat poured down from Jude’s whole body .

He forgot the passage of time, and the first door was finally completed after what felt like an eternity .

And at that moment, Jude realized .

One of the martial arts that Jude himself had reacted to the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors .

It advanced to a higher rank .

‘Thirty-Six World Steps . ’

Jude’s footwork technique .

Can he reach the ultimate fantasy footwork technique, Nine Celestial Steps, by the end?

But why?

Why does the Thirty-Six World Steps respond to the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors?

The first door opened .

The first evolution began in the depths of Jude’s body and soul .

And at the same time, the Thirty-Six World Steps took on a new form .

‘Twenty-Four Gale Steps . ’

Jude opened his eyes and faced Landius .