Book 1 Chapter 12

Let's never be a learner.

In transparent water!

A place where clear blue breathes and cold chill swims, where a giant flow of water embroiders the world. At the center of it all, Bi Ryuyeon stood.

This was a special place where sounds could not carelessly venture, so it was only natural that Bi Ryuyeon was quiet.

Because it was underwater, directly beneath a waterfall.

Although the cold chill enveloped his entire body, it had little effect on the sole disciple and heir of the Bi Rhe Moon, who was there at the moment. In Bi Ryuyeon's hand was a Bi Rhe Sword. He calmed his mind, concentrated his spirit, and gazed at a rock about five jang away from him. It was a rock as large as his hateful master's face.

The rock, simply by virtue of being the size of his master's face, doubled his desire to destroy it. In an instant, Bi Ryuyeon's hand shot forward. It wasn't a fast movement. Due to the water's resistance, he couldn't move his arm as quickly as he could on land. However, despite the extreme water pressure and resistance, his arm moved smoothly and naturally without awkwardness.

Along with it, the Bi Rhe Sword in his hand swam rapidly through the water and struck a rock the size of his master's head, which was far away. Even though he threw the Bi Dao in the deep water, where immense water pressure pressed down on his whole body, the Bi Dao seemed to mock the laws of nature and smoothly pierced through the water, embedding itself in the rock. However, despite this magnificent achievement of conquering the laws of nature, Bi Ryuyeon was not particularly happy.

'Tch, is it a failure… It didn't split in half.'

A flicker of disappointment flashed across Bi Ryuyeon's face. What others would consider an extraordinary feat was, to Bi Ryuyeon, merely a dismal failure. Bi Ryuyeon pulled the Thunder Spirit Silk connected to the Bi Rhe Sword to retrieve it. If this were on land, the Bi Rhe Sword would have returned to his hand without fail, but in the water, where an invisible, intangible current existed, it returned halfway and then began to sink, losing its momentum.

At this moment, the water spirit violently stirred. Swept away by the current, the Bi Rhe Sword swam erratically through the water. The Bi Rhe Sword, already out of control, could no longer be adjusted. This was due to his insufficient training.

What is the weakness of the Bi Rhe Sword? Isn't it underwater combat? When subjected to the water's resistance and strong pressure, the body becomes sluggish, and the Bi Dao does not fly. If you add invisible, intangible currents, it's even worse. Of course, the power imbued in the Bi Dao also significantly decreases. The speed decreases, of course. If a Bi Dao, whose life is speed, loses its speed, it means death.

The Silk Sword was the same. In the water, which waves irregularly following invisible, strong currents, adjusting a silk thread thinner than a strand of hair is impossible. If it were a Bi Dao, it could move a short distance at a snail's pace in the water.

However, if one were to try to wield the Silk Sword, which has almost no weight or strength, underwater, people would call that person a madman without hesitation. If you don't believe me, try putting a thread in the water yourself. The thread will immediately lose its strength and move with the flow of the water. This is common sense.

Therefore, throwing a Bi Dao underwater is as difficult as a madman shooting a bow on a stormy day and hitting the center of a target a hundred paces away. To put it more simply, it's impossible.

But the previous masters of the Bi Rhe Moon did not give up. They challenged the impregnable barrier, shattered the barrier that people deemed impossible, and completely overturned their common sense. To compensate for the weakness of the Bi Rhe Sword, which possesses the characteristics of both a Bi Dao and a Silk Sword, an advanced training process called Su Rhe Bi (Water Lightning Flying) was developed.

Su Rhe Bi, meaning roughly 'lightning that flies in water,' was not a martial art but a training process. It was training to overcome the weakness of the Bi Rhe Sword. The mantra given for this training was:

"Become one with water. There is no distinction between me and matter. Forget yourself, do not defy nature, and become one with nature."

It was only a single line of mantra.

Although Bi Ryuyeon had almost completed the first stage, he still lacked the power to imbue the Bi Rhe Sword, and its speed was insufficient. Furthermore, his ability to control his internal energy was very poor, so he couldn't even dream of controlling the Thunder Spirit Silk, which is essential for the Silk Sword. Currently, all Bi Ryuyeon could do was throw the Bi Dao with almost no resistance from the water.

Bi Ryuyeon, who had retrieved the runaway Bi Rhe Sword with great effort, was angry. Thinking of himself still struggling at this level, heat surged from the depths of his chest. Next to Bi Ryuyeon's foot was a round rock, like a watermelon. Bi Ryuyeon lifted the watermelon-sized rock, shouted inwardly, "Waaaah!", calmed his mind, and powerfully threw the rock upwards towards the outside of the water. The rock, flying powerfully, barely avoided the danger of falling back down after hitting the cliff face and flew away to another world where air exists. This was also possible because he had learned Su Rhe Bi. The problem was where that rock flew and what it did. What happened?

After taking his anger out on an innocent thing, Bi Ryuyeon felt a little calmer. But this time, he felt suffocated. Unlike a moment ago, it was due to a lack of breath. Bi Ryuyeon could only last about half a shichen (about 1 hour) underwater. Moreover, when practicing martial arts, it was limited to about one sikyeong (about 30 minutes).

Bi Ryuyeon felt the need to go back above the water to get oxygen. This time, he had to climb the cliff, not swim up. This was because Bi Ryuyeon's wrists and ankles were each fitted with four Mook Ryong Hwans, weighing 140 geun each, for a total of 560 geun. Bi Ryuyeon, who hadn't thought of this method initially, had to inconveniently remove the Mook Ryong Hwans one by one and throw them out of the water. It was a very cumbersome task.

Now, when training underwater, Bi Ryuyeon found it more comfortable to wear these Mook Ryong Hwans. Although he had faced near-death experiences because of them at first, now, without the Mook Ryong Hwans, it was very difficult to maintain balance underwater. Especially since it was under a waterfall, the water currents changed drastically, making it difficult even to stand on the bottom. Therefore, he always trained underwater wearing these Mook Ryong Hwans.

"Phew."

Bi Ryuyeon inhaled deeply into his lungs. It was clean air. A cool breeze wrapped around his whole body, drying the water from him. It was a refreshing feeling that he could never feel underwater.

Ah, what is this? Bi Ryuyeon, who had been in another world for a moment, now saw a white-haired old man lying spread-eagled, looking up at the sky. The old man's face was swollen and blue, clearly having suffered a major blow. However, Bi Ryuyeon could not guess what kind of blow it was. Froth was bubbling from the old man's mouth, and he seemed to have lost consciousness. Bi Ryuyeon approached the fallen old man, felt his pulse, and assessed his condition. Then he shook his head.

"Tsk tsk, he's dead."

Bi Ryuyeon clicked his tongue with an expression of pity. His breath had stopped, his pulse no longer beat. His heart had stopped functioning and was silent, and the blood flowing through his body had ceased. The lying old man was no longer of this world.

"To die so carelessly in such a remote place, it's truly a shame."

The cause of death seemed to be a concussion. Although he hadn't witnessed it directly, based on the circumstances, it seemed that the direct cause of death was a sharp, vicious-looking stone protruding from the back of the old man's head. It seemed that when he fell backward, his head unfortunately struck the sharp stone. Moreover, by chance, the pointed conical stone had struck a vital point, becoming the direct reason for his untimely death.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why the dead old man's face was blue. No traces or remnants were found around the corpse. His gaze flashed as he searched for a weapon that could have inflicted such damage to the old man's face, but no matter how he looked around, he couldn't find any trace.

Bi Ryuyeon, who considered himself to have a cool and sharp mind, and also claimed to have one, could only tentatively conclude that the old man had slipped on the slippery rock, fallen backward, and unfortunately hit the back of his head on a conical protruding stone, causing a concussion. However, he could never ascertain the cause of the stimulus to the face.

Naturally, he would never have imagined, even in his dreams, that the stimulus to the old man's face was the rock he had thrown in anger underwater. The rock, which had once been reduced to a murder weapon by someone else's actions, had already disappeared into the water. Giving up on racking his expensive brain over useless matters, Bi Ryuyeon firmly believed that his extraordinary (?) reasoning was correct. Only heaven knew the truth.

Thinking that he couldn't leave the body in such a secluded place, Bi Ryuyeon had a noble idea to prepare the old man's body for burial (a traditional custom and feng shui concept of an ideal state for a corpse in a grave; not an unusual state, but an ideal one) and bury him in a sunny spot.

Before preparing the body for burial, Bi Ryuyeon began to search the corpse's pockets. Following the Bi Rhe Moon's teaching, "Empty hands come, empty hands go," he took out anything that could be of monetary value. These things still had much to be done in the secular world, so it was too early for them to go to the afterlife. They were to be usefully utilized by those left behind in the secular world. This naturally included weapons.

Only a single set of clothes was to be taken to the afterlife; that was enough. A corpse wearing only one set of clothes was the most ideal state for a grave, which was the essence of the teachings passed down through generations of the Bi Rhe Moon. The items taken out would now become Bi Ryuyeon's property. That was the rule.

Many strange items came out of the old man's pockets. Eight iron balls, the size of walnuts, round and heavy like children's toys; twelve bracelets, thin as blades; an exquisite human-skin mask; a letter; and a very heavy pouch that became more pleasing the more he looked at it.

"Oh, the pouch is quite heavy, wow!"

Bi Ryuyeon exclaimed with a hint of joy.

"Swish, swish."

Bending his head back and forth violently, Bi Ryuyeon confirmed that no one was around and, calming his excited heart, slowly pulled the drawstring of the pouch. As the pouch slowly opened, the mystery was revealed. Inside the pouch were ten splendid golden coins. In addition, about thirty taels of silver were included as a bonus. Something he had never expected had happened. Such a vast sum of money inside…

'Twinkle twinkle, golden coins shining beautifully, lalalala!'

At this moment, Bi Ryuyeon was out of his mind. He had lost his reason. Truly, it was the first time he had seen ten taels of gold at once. Given his usual principle of diligence and frugality, when would he have had the chance to handle such a large sum of money?

'One tael of gold is twenty taels of silver. Ten taels of gold is two hundred taels of silver. Add another thirty taels of silver as a bonus, and that's a grand total of two hundred and thirty taels of silver! My salary for two years and three months! The money he could barely earn by working tirelessly in a hot and rough forge for two years and three months fell from the sky! What a windfall! Heaven has blessed me with such a large sum of money.'

He was happy. To earn such a huge sum in an instant, he couldn't help but be happy.

'It's true that it's good to live a good life!'

He even had a pleasant thought.

As Bi Ryuyeon, jumping up and down like a madman, repeatedly shouted "Long live, long live, long, long live!", a white letter caught his eye. On the outside of the letter was beautifully written: "To Jin Cho-un of the Iron Ball Flying Rings, personally."

The term "personally" meant that the recipient was requested to open the letter themselves, but since the person who was supposed to receive the letter was no longer in a position to open it themselves, Bi Ryuyeon decided to open it on his behalf. Perhaps he could earn the value of the money received… Even so, Bi Ryuyeon considered himself too conscientious and moral, always at a disadvantage.

Letter

To Master Jin Cho-un of the Iron Ball Flying Rings, personally.

We would like to invite Master Jin Cho-un as a teacher for our Cheon Mu Hak Kwan's annual event and most important tradition, the summer intensive training. This is a crucial time for those children. A time of boundless development. I have high expectations for these children. Therefore, I request that you bestow your teachings upon these outstanding talents who will lead our path of righteousness in the future. I am well aware of your high skill and trust you, so teach them as you see fit. I acknowledge all actions necessary for teaching children. I believe you will teach impartially, without being bound by blood or regional ties. No individual should benefit from personal sentiments. Everything will be proven by one's own ability.

The location is the Cheon Mu Ami Training Center on Ami Mountain, and the estimated arrival date is July 15th. Ten taels of gold are being sent as operational support, so please use them wisely. If the support funds are insufficient, please request additional support from the Silver Exchange under the Martial Arts Alliance. And you must bring your identification card at that time. The duration is three months. Please take good care of the sixteen children.

Head of Cheon Mu Hak Kwan, Cheol Kwon, Ma Jin-ga

"Ma Jin-ga? A strange name!"

Bi Ryuyeon muttered as he looked at the three characters adorning the end of the letter. The content of the letter was not very atmospheric. This extremely business-like letter, which completely disregarded etiquette and formality, was written in a very perfunctory tone. Well, looking at the name of the person who wrote the letter, he didn't seem like someone who cared about atmosphere. Ma Jin-ga! The more he savored it, the more he couldn't hide his strange feeling. However, regardless of the atmosphere, the content of the letter piqued Bi Ryuyeon's interest.

'Hmm, this sounds interesting!'

Currently, the characters that caught Bi Ryuyeon's eye were "bestow teachings" and "ten taels of gold as support funds," and "additional support." Although the latter two words, "additional support," appeared three times larger than the former two, he was not uninterested in the former two. He thought it would be interesting. For Bi Ryuyeon, whose life had been monotonous, dull, and boring lately, this event felt like a refreshing drink. Moreover, since he had received money, he had to pay a price.

'Teach… Hehehe. Yes, I'll teach them. Just like my master taught me, thoroughly and painfully… Finally, I have a place to vent my anger. I will teach them. I will teach them painfully how arduous and painful learning is. And then, I will make them masters one by one. Hehehe.'

Bi Ryuyeon looked back at his past. His own miserable past, where he had to be overworked in the name of training and practice… At that time, he had sworn to the heavens.

'Let's never be a learner. Let's be a teacher.'

He was himself, who had made a passionate oath while watching the flickering stars. Bi Ryuyeon decided to teach them. Above all, it seemed like it would be fun. He didn't know who they were, but he would find out soon.

However, to realize his decision, a concrete plan was needed. Bi Ryuyeon's mind began to spin at a furious speed. Once he decided to teach, he had to think about how he would teach. And also, how to avoid his identity from being revealed… At this point, the human-skin mask taken from the corpse's pocket caught his eye. It was a very exquisite and detailed human-skin mask.

In an instant, a clear picture formed in Bi Ryuyeon's mind, and the plan became more complete. It seemed that a considerable amount of money would be needed to realize this plan. It would also require a long time. Although he felt a bit reluctant, he decided to invest in his own game-like business. Since he had already decided, only execution remained.

Bi Ryuyeon first went to the village bookstore. This was because to teach people, knowledge about it was necessary, and knowledge was mostly contained in books. He had only been taught – if anyone foolish enough to call it teaching – and had never taught, so he lacked information and understanding about teaching. Therefore, Bi Ryuyeon felt the need to buy books on teaching methods and private tutoring. Currently, Bi Ryuyeon needed special materials. Information and resources that would serve as nourishment for the perfect execution of his plan.

Based on his common sense, he guessed that the Cheon Mu Hak Kwan would not be teaching simple martial arts forms to the children. Since the old man who had died was a martial artist, he wouldn't readily impart his unique skills to others. Therefore, it wouldn't be simple martial arts forms or incantations. It would probably be about teaching the principles of martial arts, the logic of martial arts.

Teaching to that extent required a meticulous plan. But even planning itself was very enjoyable for Bi Ryuyeon. His entire body was filled with vigor, and his eyes sparkled with a brilliant light. Soon, beings who would bring change and joy to his life would arrive. Bi Ryuyeon's face, as he meticulously considered how to "roast and eat" them, was graced with a smile of utter satisfaction.

While his mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, Bi Ryuyeon's body descended the mountain at arrow-like speed. The arrow's destination was a bookstore in the village.

'By the way? What kind of place is Cheon Mu Hak Kwan?'

As he descended the mountain, a question suddenly flashed in Bi Ryuyeon's mind. Come to think of it, he knew nothing about Cheon Mu Hak Kwan. He had thought of starting something without knowing its location or its composition and power. If anyone who knew something about Cheon Mu Hak Kwan had heard this, they would have forcibly stopped him, but there was no such person around Bi Ryuyeon.

Of course, he had earned money by going down to the village and working, but Bi Ryuyeon, who had lived a largely reclusive life, knew nothing about the current state of the martial arts world. He didn't even know what the nine great sects were, let alone Cheon Mu Hak Kwan. His master hadn't taught him, and he hadn't learned, so it was natural that he didn't know.

Bi Ryuyeon emerged from the bookstore, which reeked of musty paper, with two old books in his hands. Having been there for a long time, a thick layer of dust covered their covers and his shoulders and head. After diligently searching in a dusty pit that smelled of ink and mold for about three shichen, Bi Ryuyeon finally found the materials he wanted.

One was a famous ancient book, said to have been written during the Tang Dynasty, titled "Monkey Can Do It: Skills" (원숭이도 할 수 있는 사기술). The other was also written during the same era, with the enticing title "You Too Can Become a Master" (당신도 고수가 될 수 있다). Both books were written by the same author. Bi Ryuyeon found out that the author's surname was "Sa" (사), and his name was "Gi-gun" (기군), a prominent figure of the Tang era known as Sa Gi Gun (Fraudulent Person).

According to one theory, he wrote these two books in a cold prison. It is said that he poured everything into these two books, suppressing his resentment towards the state that unjustly imprisoned him for his ideas and actions being deemed incorrect.

In the bookstore, Bi Ryuyeon spent a long time reading related books such as "The Theory of Unbeatable Fraud" (필승 사기론), "Secret Method Revealed: Absolute Fraud Technique" (비법 공개 절대 사기법), "Introduction to Fraud: Completely Beginner" (입문 사기 완전 초보), "Theory of Public Fraud" (대중 사기론), "Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Fraud" (강호 사기 대백과), and "Mastery in One Hundred Days" (백일 고수 완성), "Complete Dissection: What is a Master?" (완전 해부 고수란 무엇인가), and "Theory of Master's Birth" (고수 탄생 이론). However, he did not find any book easier, superior, or more excellent than the two books he now held. Discovering these two books in that pile of trash was truly a brilliant achievement brought about by Bi Ryuyeon's effort and perseverance.

Now that the materials were prepared, the next thing needed were the tools to teach people. However, Bi Ryuyeon's brow furrowed slightly as he pondered this issue. The reason was simple. Unlike the materials, preparing these would inevitably incur significant costs. Bi Ryuyeon's mouth tasted bitter as he realized he would have to endure a considerable financial strain. He felt a sense of regret. However, no matter how precious money was, the decision he had already made could not be reversed. The plan must continue. Without fail.

He needed to get money again, and for now, he could only hope that the worst-case scenario of exceeding the budget would not occur. If an unforeseen event of exceeding the budget occurred, he felt like he would abandon everything.

'The preparation begins now. I'm going to be busy from now on.'

The red sunset slowly shattered at the boundary between the sky and the earth, dyeing the world in red. Bi Ryuyeon walked towards the location of Cheol Hwa Jang. The plan would proceed without a hitch.