Chapter – 10
The first person to visit Moyong Academy after the expansion construction was finished wasn’t Moyong Jin or Moyong Hyuk—it was Peng Yi-jong.
He looked around the interior with a flushed expression. Moyong Academy had changed so much that its previous appearance was barely recognizable.
The old, dilapidated buildings had all been torn down, replaced by intact pavilions. Inside the pavilions, there were spacious rooms for the students to sleep, and even private rooms for individual use.
The area that had been a storage space had now become a restroom, and behind it was a washing facility to clean off sweat and dirt.
“Wow… now it really feels like an academy…”
The last time he had come, the stones in the training yard were all broken. Now, the entire courtyard was paved, and one side had a private training area hidden from outside view.
Still, the facilities at Moyong Academy weren’t exceptional. It was only just enough to call itself an academy now.
In these competitive times, even in Hebuk, there were dozens of academies with far superior facilities.
As Peng Yi-jong carefully surveyed the surroundings, a familiar voice reached his ears.
“Hey, long time no see. How did you manage to come before me?”
Startled, Peng Yi-jong quickly turned his head and performed a full bow, almost touching his forehead to the ground.
“Grandmaster! Are you in good health? I asked the workers personally to notify me as soon as the construction was finished!”
“Yes, yes. You were eager, weren’t you? So anxious to learn that you came immediately?”
Moyong Jin’s words made Peng Yi-jong widen his eyes and nod vigorously.
The real reason Peng Yi-jong had rushed to the academy as soon as the construction ended was the Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Blade (Oho Danmun Do).
Moyong Jin, who had decided to continue running the academy here, made Peng Yi-jong just one offer: he could become his disciple.
Even without learning the Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Blade, the offer was a treasure in itself. Moyong Jin was none other than Peng Yi-jong’s grandfather, the legendary Heaven-Earth Sun Blade (Cheonji Il-do) Peng Mu-ak.
Becoming the disciple of the greatest martial artist in the world? Any martial artist would give anything—even their soul—to achieve that.
Of course, Peng Yi-jong immediately performed the nine-bow courtesy (Gu-bae-ji-rye) and became Moyong Jin’s disciple.
Moyong Jin promised to teach him the Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Blade and the Five Tiger Penetrating Steps (Oho Dancheol Bo) under only two conditions:
- He must keep Moyong Jin’s secrets under any circumstances.
- He must remain at the academy as long as there were no major issues with the family.
“By the way, about your title… when students come to the academy, it might be awkward for them to call me ‘Grandmaster.’ So from now on, just call me ‘Sabu’.”
“No… Grandmaster… how could I call a grandmaster such as you…”
‘Sabu’ literally means “teacher.” Not adding an honorific is typically reserved for someone younger or when the relationship is more casual. It wasn’t strictly required, but it was an implicit rule.
It symbolized mutual ease between master and disciple.
For Peng Yi-jong, it was absurd. But to prevent potential confusion or controversy, they had to establish the title.
“Don’t worry. I’ll also treat you as my disciple from now on, just like a teacher of an eleven-year-old would. Understand?”
Moyong Jin’s suddenly stern tone made Peng Yi-jong nod reluctantly.
‘Right. Grandmaster Peng Mu-ak wants to keep his identity secret. There’s no choice.’
Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Peng Yi-jong bravely spoke:
“Understood… understood, Sabu. Is that okay?”
“Huh, I never said to use casual speech… hmm, kids these days… give them freedom and they think they can just do whatever. Back in my day…”
“I-I’m sorry, Sabu! I’ll use honorifics! It’s much more comfortable!”
Realizing his mistake, Peng Yi-jong apologized, while Moyong Jin, wearing a sullen expression, had already turned and started walking away.
“S-Sabu! I’m sorry! I-I’ll never do anything so reckless again…”
Hearing Peng Yi-jong’s trembling voice from behind, Moyong Jin chuckled and gestured lightly toward him.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you following me? Today is your first day learning the Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Blade.”
The day after Moyong Academy’s construction was completed, Moyong Jin wasted no time reopening it. Normally, internal preparations would take longer, but he finished everything in just one day.
He hired enough people to quickly clean and organize the academy. Thirty workers had been deployed, and overnight, the academy looked completely different.
The traces of construction were gone, and the main building was stocked with bedding and clothing for students.
Of course, all of this cost a fortune, which Moyong Jin covered by emptying Peng Yi-jong’s pocket.
“Have the notifications to the local authorities been sent? Did you check all the children yesterday?”
“Yes, I visited all the homes of registered children.”
“How many might come back…? Did you distribute everything I gave?”
“This?” Moyong Hyuk showed a piece of paper.
The flyer, boldly labeled Moyong Academy, stated that the academy no longer taught the Peng family’s techniques but would teach stronger internal energy methods and external martial arts. It concluded with: ‘We will make your child a renowned martial artist.’
Moyong Jin nodded in satisfaction.
“A perfect flyer, even now.”
But Moyong Hyuk’s expression was less bright.
“Son…”
“Yes?”
“Honestly… I’m a little… no, very worried. Until now, students came because I taught the Peng family techniques, so we had some numbers…”
“Don’t worry, Father. Who am I? I am Moyong Jin, a living miracle of the Nine Yang Meridian (Gu-yang Jeol-maek)! If I teach my martial arts, our academy will be the best in Hebuk… no, the best in the world!”
“Of course I believe in you. I trust you… but…”
Moyong Hyuk’s worry soon became reality.
“Why…?”
The training yard of Moyong Academy was empty. Even though the flyers had been distributed all over Jeongso Village, no one had come.
Not completely empty—Peng Yi-jong, Moyong Jin’s disciple, was the only one there.
Moyong Hyuk gently patted Moyong Jin’s shoulder, somewhat anticipating this. He knew that since the academy was no longer teaching Peng family techniques, no one would come.
Three hours passed, and still no students arrived.
By sunset, Peng Yi-jong left to handle other matters. Moyong Jin was left alone, disheartened.
His imagination had painted a vastly different reality. He had mastered dozens of secret martial arts and was confident he could teach them all—but that knowledge existed only in his mind.
He had made a perfect flyer in his own eyes, but the reality was that no one knew about it. Moyong Jin, a warrior through and through, was completely unskilled in promotion, business, or marketing.
That first day passed, and the next day Moyong Jin resolved to improve the flyers and distribute them again.
It didn’t matter; he had started, and as Kwangma Cheon Gi-rin, he was determined to see it through.
Three days passed. Four days. And finally, seven days had gone by.
Moyong Jin and Peng Yi-jong were in the private training yard.
“Ugh…”
Peng Yi-jong lay face-down, doing push-ups, a heavy rock on his back with Moyong Jin sitting on it.
The reason Peng Yi-jong’s training focused only on basic physical conditioning rather than the Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Blade was because Moyong Jin said his body wasn’t yet ready. For seven days, he endured only physical training.
On the first day, it had felt unbearable.
Even holding up a rock on his back was tough, and Moyong Jin added push-ups on top.
It was manageable, thanks to internal energy, but Moyong Jin didn’t allow him to rely on it.
Whenever Peng Yi-jong tried to use internal energy, Moyong Jin would detect it instantly and jab him in the nose.
“You can’t use internal energy for basic conditioning. Your body will naturally try to compensate, but controlling it is part of the ability. That’s how I know you’re not ready yet.”
Peng Yi-jong’s nose was red and sore every day after training, yet after seven days, it was fine. His basic strength had improved significantly in just one week.
“Bae…eek!”
“Ten more.”
“Ugh… one hundred and one!”
Even with ten more added, Peng Yi-jong continued without complaint.
On the first night, he had thought about giving up. He hadn’t even touched a sword, only enduring harsh physical training all day.
But believing Moyong Jin to be Peng Mu-ak, he had no choice but to continue day after day.
On the fourth day, he realized his body had changed dramatically.
Even without using internal energy, his muscles were strong, and the rock on his back felt lighter.
As the rock became lighter, Peng Yi-jong’s trust in Moyong Jin grew. Seeing this, Moyong Jin felt an unexplainable sense of pride.
‘So this is the joy of raising a disciple… not bad, not bad at all.’
Of course, physically, seven days of conditioning isn’t enough for dramatic change. But Peng Yi-jong had never properly used his muscles before.
Having been raised under a prestigious family with good internal energy methods, he relied more on internal energy than his muscles, leaving him frail.
Yet he was still a martial artist. Having mastered the Honyun Pil-ryuk Blade, he already had trained muscles, and Moyong Jin had only helped him use them effectively.
Now, Peng Yi-jong’s body had visibly grown as hidden muscles began to activate.
“How is it?”
“Bae…aek… huh?”
Surprised by Moyong Jin’s sudden question, he froze.
“The way I’m teaching you, as your Sabu… not bad, right?”
“Yes, Sabu! Of course!”
Peng Yi-jong’s answer came sincerely, completely believing in Moyong Jin as a godlike figure.
Even if it seemed like a big deal to see his old, frail body improve, to someone who had long been insecure about his size, the daily progress was pure joy.
“Still… why aren’t students coming? Even with all our promotion… what are we missing?”
Peng Yi-jong hastily stayed silent. Seven days had passed, and not a single student had registered.
For Moyong Jin, it was a tremendous source of stress, and Peng Yi-jong knew it all too well.
So he kept his mouth shut—one wrong word could provoke his Sabu.
“Ha… we need more students to make money and survive… hmm, is there any good way?”
