My fingertips trembled. I had won the battle of wits, but I had squeezed out every last bit of strength from my body, leaving me with no energy. My master’s smile, as he leaned against the wall, was vividly etched in my mind. I didn’t wait for him to approach, his footsteps echoing.
I simply sat down and assumed the Lotus Position.
I placed the backs of my hands on my knees and regulated my breathing. I couldn’t afford to lose this enlightenment. What I had obtained was thunder, lightning, and lightning strikes. I now understood that there was no need to distinguish between the three. I repeatedly replayed the moment when that immense power entered through my Middle Dantian and surged into my sword.
Bluish lightning coursed through my Qi and blood. It flowed in the right direction without any effort on my part. The aura of my Middle Dantian resonated with the Azure Sky Martial Arts I had originally possessed. The newly learned and the long-known tore me into three hundred and sixty pieces, then merged me back into one.
The energy carrying Thunderclap gently filled my Lower Dantian and half of my Middle Dantian.
When I opened my eyes, an auspicious, blue energy filled the training hall. I felt a warm gaze looking down at me. I struggled to suppress the urge to laugh out loud.
It was as if the time when I had squeezed out every last bit of energy was a distant memory; my body was overflowing with power. I clenched and unclenched my fists. It was unbelievable.
“Congratulations, Mika.”
“…Thank you.”
I grasped the hand that was suddenly extended towards me, unable to rise immediately due to the lingering numbness. I took my master’s hand and stood up. Sansone used his other hand to ruffle my hair as if pressing down on my head. I knew he was messing up my neatly styled hair, but I didn’t push him away.
How long had I yearned for this moment?
Having barely reached the lowest rung of the Transcendent Peak, the path to the next realm seemed high and treacherous. I had succeeded in opening my Middle Dantian, but I had wandered for a long time, unsure of the path forward.
It was like groping in the dark, mistaking the elephant in front of me for a tree, a wall, a window, or a snake. But now I could see. My eyes were half-open. I was so ecstatic about taking one more step forward that it was difficult to suppress my joy.
Best of all, I no longer had to separate and analyze internal energy and aura. I had learned it at Shierun Academy, so I had been thinking of using it only in the Shierun way, but after taking a step up, I realized that wasn’t the case.
Besides, what was that just now? A Thunder Dragon falling straight from the sky to the ground? That was the essence of Namgung and the path of the emperor. Now that I had learned how to fall, all that remained was to learn how to fly. My heart pounded.
I swept away the overwhelming emotions in front of my master, who shared my joy and assured me that the path I was taking was the right one. I couldn’t calm down, no matter how many times I gasped for breath. So, I became greedy once more.
“Professor, if you’re free now, would you mind Sparring with me one more time?”
“Now? It’s morning already, you energetic brat. You should go wash up and go to class.”
“Huh?”
I blinked in surprise. I now noticed that the wide windows of the training hall were brightly lit. Brilliant light poured into the training hall, rippling through the air. Judging by the angle of the shadows, it must already be between 5 AM and 7 AM.
I had started Sparring right after lunch the day before, so I had been in here for a full sixteen hours. I was dumbfounded.
Sansone slapped my back hard, making a loud noise, and then shook my shoulders as he chuckled again.
“Hurry up. Are you going to skip class?”
“No, I’m not. Then… I’ll see you again later.”
“Alright, let’s do that. If you feel any pain, be sure to tell me.”
“Yes, Professor.”
I no longer regretted postponing my studies. As we left the training hall together, Maelo Sanson swallowed a joke.
“If I get sick from overwork, you have to come visit me in the hospital.”
“Yes, I will.”
“You really have to, really.”
“Yes!”
What could possibly make a Martial artist of Hwagyeong sick from overwork? I knew he was teasing me, so I didn’t fall for it, but I answered cheerfully. He clicked his tongue a few times, but eventually laughed along with me. I couldn’t hide my joy and grinned all day long.
❖ ❖ ❖
On Thursday, I informed Douglas and Boulder about my new enlightenment and showed them a few demonstrations. I also checked on the Mind method they were revising. Removing the passages about supporting the heavens and inserting items about God seemed bizarre to me, but I left it alone.
I had only inherited the Namgung’s Divine Art. I lived by doing what I was told and not doing what I was told not to do. Creating a new Mind method was several times more difficult than creating a swordplay, so it was difficult to speak up easily.
On Friday, Rubel sent another letter, acting cute.
I often left the Child’s letter on the desk in my personal study and reread it several times every sleepless dawn. This time, too, I couldn’t point out that the Child was giving himself to me when he finished the letter.
He said he would pick up his Shierun Academy pass around the time of the final exams and come to visit, so I told him to do so.
If there was any achievement to be had from reading Rubel’s letters out of longing, it was that I naturally came to know how the imperial council was running.
I also received a letter saying that my family would not be coming to the capital this summer.
Since my younger siblings would have nothing to do while I, who had now started socializing, participated in the Summer Hunting Festival, they would be spending their family vacation at Count Ernhardt’s residence. When I heard that the youngest of the Serbel family would be joining them, I wondered if that guy was eyeing Asdel, so I firmly warned Michael.
In May, I gathered all my friends during the time I had set aside for exams and headed to the archery range.
In the Central Plains, bows were weapons of war. Just like the prohibition of gunpowder, carrying a good bow would attract the attention of the military. Most Martial artists used swords. There were also those who used Flying Daggers, Hidden Weapons, or auspicious musical instruments as weapons, but their numbers were small.
That’s why I was so excited when I heard that I would be shooting a bow, not a sword, at the Hunting Festival.
All students admitted to Shierun Academy were eligible to attend social events. Since the Summer Hunting Festival was a regular event, the academy had allocated a large space for an archery range so that all students could practice archery.
In particular, from April to May, when the weather warmed up and hands didn’t freeze even when holding a bow, several managers were assigned from 9 AM to 8 PM, so that students could practice whenever they had time.
I wondered how this was possible when there were hundreds of students in this academy, but I seemed to have underestimated the size of Shierun once again.
It seemed to be well over a hundred yards from one side to the other. Sturdy walls and a roof were built to prevent stray arrows from flying into empty space and harming others.
The meticulously lacquered ceiling and pillars gleamed red. I admired the carvings on the ceiling for a long time. It was such a sturdy and magnificent building that I wondered if the Forbidden City, which was said to be large, wide, and red, looked like this. Every time I walked around, the carpet on the floor made a soft, rustling sound.
On one side, targets were lined up as they had been at the Flying Dagger Training Field, with arrows sparsely stuck in them in the distance.
“It seems they don’t retrieve the arrows.”
“During practice, you could get hurt by stray arrows. I heard that after the day’s schedule is over, the servants collect all the used arrows and clean them up. They replace the broken tips with new ones, and collect the broken shafts separately.”
“Once it’s past 9 AM, no one is allowed to cross the line towards the targets. You’ll get demerits if you cross it without permission, so be careful not to shoot the bow too far forward.”
Shayden replied casually, while Jenny gave me a kind warning. Marianne was already excited, dragging Ivan and Damian to where the bows were gathered.
Benjamin and Marianne were said to be very fond of hunting. Thinking about it, it was only natural. If Marianne had been a fragile girl who hesitated even to catch animals, would she have easily said that she would go to the Yuil Mountains to catch Monsters?
People dressed in bright colors walked around in between. They were both women and men, and all wore vests with red embroidery on a white background, which caught my eye. When I looked at them with interest, Jenny quickly added an explanation.
“Those people are archery instructors.”
“Instructors…? Are they very different from the Professors?”
“Well, the fact that they’re temporary…? Shierun Academy professorships are close to honorary positions, so you keep the title of Professor for life even after you retire. But this archery range is only open in April and May, and you can qualify as an instructor if you only know enough archery for the Hunting Festival.”
“Ah.”
“I know that they do other things the rest of the time. I heard that people with expertise in archery are helping out as a hobby… Well, that’s just what I heard.”
“I see.”
Looking again, all the instructors had well-developed arms and shoulders, and their eyes were serious, so they seemed to have a talent for Eye Technique. As I was looking to see which instructor was the best, Shayden put his hand on my shoulder to get my attention.
“Young Master Claudian will teach us, so we don’t need to ask for an instructor.”
“…Young Master Claudian?”
“Yeah. Why would we need one when we have last year’s Hunting Festival winner?”
Benjamin, who had been walking silently beside me, smiled. I smiled too. Yeah, he was a guy who knew everything about martial arts. I nodded contentedly.
We walked past the busy servants who were tightening the loose bowstrings or sharpening the sharp parts.
Where the Children were leading the way, I was once again impressed. Hundreds and thousands of bows were hung on supports, lined up in a row. The gaps between the supports were wide enough for two people to pass easily, and the Children were walking between them, choosing the bows they wanted to use.
Leaving the guys who were busy choosing bows, I asked Ivan, who was holding the one he would use first.
“Can I just pick any one here?”
“Yes. Mika… I think you should choose one with a blue or green ribbon.”
“Ribbon?”
“Yes. They range from white to black. The shapes and forms are a little different, but they use ribbons to distinguish the weight.”
“The shapes are all different?”
“There are still more people who don’t know which shape of bow suits their body type. It’s good to try out bows of various shapes.”
Shayden, who saw Ivan next to me, also went into hiding between the supports to choose the bow he would use. Ivan walked beside me and added an explanation.