“Hmm.”

Gong Son Wu put on a deliberately serious expression.

In fact, he didn’t really think much of Na Rin’s achievements.

‘Internal energy level 4 at the age of five… and she was looking to go beyond that.’

In the eyes of others, Na Rin’s martial arts were already at a sufficiently perfected level.

Wherever she went, she would be able to stand as a powerful figure, so there was no need for her to strive to become even stronger. Having reached such a realm at her age, it would be understandable if she wanted to just live arrogantly.

‘Transcending realms…’

Come to think of it, Gong Son Wu himself was like that too.

At some point, he became satisfied and no longer pursued anything higher.

Could he still call himself a martial artist if he was content with the empty title of being the second strongest under the heavens, a title he didn’t even obtain through life-or-death battles?

“I’m learning from you.”

“Then do you want to do the formal disciple ceremony? I’ll accept you as my disciple.”

“You always have to add one more perfectly fitting statement, don’t you?”

Na Rin quickly covered her head with both hands.

Gong Son Wu, who had no intention of hitting her this time, shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“If that is your intention, then I will also change my mind. You can use not only the new recruits but all the members of the Cheongryong Unit as you wish. Teach them to your heart’s content.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

“However, you must also diligently learn and master the Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique. No matter what, my stance that you need to master it up to the 5th level remains unchanged.”

“Hehe. As if I would refuse. Ah, now that you mention it…”

“What is it now?”

“Could you get me some heavy iron? It’s for training.”

Iron?

Gong Son Wu tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what Na Rin was talking about.

Why on earth would she need something like that for training?

“I want to build up my strength. I tried lifting rocks too, but they’re too light and I can’t feel anything.”

“Can’t you just not use your internal energy?”

“It’s light even without using it!”

Na Rin continued with a frustrated expression.

“Don’t you know that training should push your body to the point where only two feelings remain: ‘I’m going to die!’ and ‘I’m going to live!’? If you do half-hearted iron training, your muscles won’t tear!”

The face of a nearby Cheongryong Unit member turned pale as he quickened his pace.

With someone holding such views becoming the new training instructor, his future looked truly bleak.

‘Am I too soft?’

Gong Son Wu scratched the back of his head, feeling conflicted.

Originally, it should have been Gong Son Wu forcing Na Rin to undergo unreasonable training, and it should have been him who became the target of fear for the Cheongryong Unit members.

“How many geun would suffice?”

“The heavier the better.”

“A hundred geun?”

“That’s about right for wearing while resting.”

Na Rin said, showing her arms and legs. In other words, she was saying that she needed to wear at least 400 geun on a regular basis.

‘The cost of the iron will be quite substantial.’

However, since it was for training, he couldn’t skimp on the money.

“Make some time later. It would be best for you to go to the iron chamber and make the request yourself.”

“Yes, father!”

Gong Son Wu patted Na Rin’s head with an appreciative look and asked,

“It seems like only yesterday you were insisting on becoming a librarian at the Jangseo Hall. How did you suddenly become so enthusiastic about martial arts training?”

“Hehe.”

Na Rin didn’t answer and just brushed it off.

That was because she had circumstances that she couldn’t explain to Gong Son Wu.

‘No matter what, I have to escape from the child transformation.’

That’s right.

Although she sometimes forgot, Na Rin had a once-in-a-lifetime task.

It was the ‘child transformation’.

It was a kind of ‘status abnormality’ she obtained for undergoing the transformation before her body had finished growing.

This utterly unreasonable status abnormality temporarily increased her stamina, strength, speed, and accuracy by 100 each, but if she couldn’t make them her own within 10 years, it would take the stats back.

Giving and then taking away stats! If this wasn’t a curse, then what was it?

‘Although there is still time left, it’s not the kind of stats that can be increased just by training hard for a day or two.’

Na Rin was in a tight spot in many ways.

Gong Son Wu looked at Na Rin and laughed as if he knew.

“I can tell just by looking. You must have discovered a secret manual to your liking in the Cheonmabigo.”

“Huh? Secret manual?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Do you think I wouldn’t know that you’ve been frequently visiting the Cheonmabigo and staying there for hours recently?”

Ah.

Na Rin avoided his gaze, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“There are so many incredible secret manuals, it’s no wonder your martial artist’s spirit has awakened. You even bring tea and snacks for two people each time, right? It seems like you’re really determined to delve into it. That’s great to see. Indulge to your heart’s content!”

“…Yes. Father.”

Na Rin suddenly felt like hiding in a mouse hole.

Next time she went, she should probably take a look at some martial arts secret manuals too.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Martial arts secret manuals?”

Ja Ha asked as if he didn’t understand.

“I thought Na Rin was already strong enough. Why does she need to learn more?”

“There is no end to learning, you know.”

That’s true.

Ja Ha nodded his head as if he understood Na Rin’s words.

Just as Ja Ha constantly studied, Na Rin couldn’t neglect her training either.

“Then should I give you some recommendations?”

Na Rin’s eyes widened.

“Martial arts?”

“Yeah. I’ve read all the secret manuals here. If you tell me the conditions for the martial arts you want, I’ll recommend one that fits.”

It was a tempting offer.

It was amazing to hear that he had read all these secret manuals, but at the same time, it wasn’t that surprising. After all, to Na Rin, Ja Ha was like the fairy of the library.

“Okay. Then I’ll leave it to you!”

“Haha. What a heavy responsibility.”

“Just wait a moment.”

Na Rin covered her mouth with her hand and muttered in a small voice.

“Status window.”

Focusing her gaze on the status window scroll that appeared before her eyes, Na Rin quickly flipped through the contents and stopped at one point.

[Martial Arts: 24 Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique (二十四手梅花劍法_10th level), Hidden Fragrance (暗香飄_10th level), Seizing Hand (擒拿手_10th level) ▶ More]

“More.”

Usually, she would just poke it with her finger, but she couldn’t make such suspicious movements in front of Ja Ha. As Na Rin opened the ‘More’ window with a mosquito-like voice, the martial arts she had learned so far were laid out.

[Martial Arts: 24 Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique (二十四手梅花劍法_10th level), Hidden Fragrance (暗香飄_10th level), Seizing Hand (擒拿手_10th level), Six Harmonies Sword (六合劍_10th level), Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword (七絶梅花劒_8th level), Dark Spirit True Energy (冥靈眞氣_5th level), Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique (天龍劍法_Beginner)]

‘I’ve diligently learned quite a lot.’

How much time had she devoted to training to master all these martial arts?

As memories of her time in the Hwasan Sect flashed by, she suddenly felt a strange feeling.

To think that Ju Na Rin, who had been a Hwasan Sect member to the bone, had now become the Blood Demon Girl Dokgo Na Rin.

‘It’s a bit of a shame that I couldn’t master the Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword to the 10th level.’

At that moment…

“Are you still thinking?”

“Oh my gosh!”

When Ja Ha suddenly spoke, Na Rin was startled and took a step back, dropping the status window scroll.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, it’s okay. I was just too lost in thought.”

Na Rin shook her head and smiled awkwardly.

She had been so focused on looking at the status window that she forgot Ja Ha was waiting.

“I thought it would be good to discuss it together if you were having trouble deciding.”

“Together?”

Na Rin thought for a moment and then nodded her head.

“Sure!”

It would be fine if it was Ja Ha, even if it wasn’t someone else.

Na Rin said,

“My concern is that I don’t know which martial art would be suitable to complement my current martial arts without conflicting with them.”

“I see. What martial arts have you learned?”

Na Rin recited the martial arts she had just checked in the status window. Surprisingly, Ja Ha seemed to know all of those numerous martial arts, as he nodded his head without any reaction.

“That’s unusual.”

“What is?”

“They’re all martial arts from the Hwasan Sect. Aren’t you from the Devil Cult, Na Rin?”

Flinch.

Na Rin slightly averted her gaze and brushed it off.

“Well, that’s… many of the Devil Cult’s martial arts make you ugly. I wanted to have flower petals fluttering and such…”

“Aha. So you care about appearances too.”

Ja Ha repeated ‘I see, I see’ and immediately took out a brush and paper.

“What are you doing?”

“There are quite a few martial arts that fit the conditions you mentioned. Wouldn’t it be more convenient for me to write it down rather than saying it?”

You’ve already sorted it out?

That in itself was amazing, but the way Ja Ha took out the brush seemed somewhat unusual. Na Rin asked cautiously, just in case.

“I’m just asking out of curiosity. Roughly how many martial arts have you thought of right now?”

“Hmm. Around 600, I guess.”

That’s too much!

Na Rin quickly shook her head.

“I can’t learn that many! It would take 20 lifetimes even if I trained my whole life!”

“20 lifetimes…?”

As Ja Ha tilted his head at Na Rin’s unique expression, Na Rin was racking her brain to come up with conditions to narrow down the 600 martial arts.

‘What am I lacking the most right now?’

That’s when the ‘Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword’ came to mind.

The Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword, the most difficult and powerful sword technique in the Hwasan Sect. There was a reason why Na Rin had only managed to master this sword technique up to the 7th level.

“…Cultivation method.”

“Cultivation method?”

“That’s right, cultivation method. I need a cultivation method!”

The only cultivation method Na Rin had learned was the Dark Spirit True Energy (冥靈眞氣) that the Hwasan Sect disciples learned when they entered the sect.

Of course, the Dark Spirit True Energy was a very excellent cultivation method in itself. It allowed one to gather only the purest essence, so even if it was slow, one could achieve greatness if they could master it.

The problem was that the way Na Rin had built up her internal energy was completely incompatible with the Dark Spirit True Energy.

‘I didn’t have the leisure time to slowly build up my internal energy.’

She had to immediately grab a sword and rush onto the battlefield. If she was even a moment late, her sworn brothers’ arms and legs would be cut off, and if she was unlucky, their heads would be cut off too. Where would she find the peace of mind to meditate?

“Sect Leader! Give me the Purple Essence Pill!”

Recalling that time, she felt like she understood a little why Hyeon Un had hated her so much.

In the end, the internal energy of Ju Na Rin, which amounted to 2nd-grade, was the result of recklessly consuming the Hwasan Sect’s spiritual medicine, the Purple Essence Pill, and the energy she had accumulated was by no means clear or pure.

And with this turbid internal energy, she couldn’t master the Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword.

“Is there a cultivation method that can either remove the impurities mixed in the energy or completely blend them to create energy of a single nature?”

“Hmm.”

Ja Ha tilted his head and fell into thought for a moment.

It wasn’t that there were no cultivation methods that fit the conditions Na Rin mentioned. Since there were many masters in the world who had raised their internal energy using spiritual medicines, there were plenty of cultivation methods that were well-suited for turbid but powerful energy.

‘But most of them are demonic arts.’

What cultivation method would be perfect for Na Rin, who had mastered the martial arts of the righteous martial arts world in a way that was more like demonic arts than anything else?

“There isn’t one?”

“No, there is. But, hmm… it’s quite a coincidence.”

Ja Ha said, scratching his head.

“Right now, there are only two cultivation methods that are perfect for Na Rin. You can choose whichever one you want to learn, but there will definitely be a difference between them.”

“What are they?”

Ja Ha took out a piece of paper from his pocket, tore it in half, and wrote the names of the cultivation methods on each piece.

Then he held them vertically in front of Na Rin’s eyes.

“One is the Purple Mist Divine Art (紫霞神功) that is only passed down to the sect leader of the Hwasan Sect, and the other is the Purple Lightning Demonic Art (紫電魔功) that is only passed down to the Cult Master of the Devil Cult.”

“…”

This is truly a coincidence.