Chapter – 11
“…You don’t know how to read?”
Addressing my daughter’s declaration of illiteracy, Jusohui looked very surprised, but soon patted my shoulder with a somewhat solemn expression.
“…I see. You must have had a hard upbringing, so learning letters would have been difficult.”
“Y-yes…”
The atmosphere sank.
But it didn’t last long. Jusohui tried to lift my spirits with words of encouragement.
“If you’re illiterate while learning martial arts, it will make things harder for you in the future. So for one month, you will also study reading and writing. Your father will teach you this.”
“My father?”
“Do you dislike the idea?”
I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head.
Although he was a somewhat awkward man, since we were affiliated with the Paeng family, I couldn’t pretend not to see the head of the household. Maintaining at least a decent relationship would be beneficial.
“Since you can’t read the secret manuals yourself, I will recite them for you. I will keep reciting until you memorize them. Study both morning and evening.”
“Yes.”
Jusohui sat before me and began reciting the secret manual in a clear voice.
“This mysterious martial art, passed down in the imperial secret manuals, is a technique inspired by the icy palace of the Northern Sea experienced by the Crown Prince during the era of the High Emperor—”
As I listened quietly, my mind slowly drifted into a trance-like journey.
“The first step to receiving the Northern Darkness is Wu-a Selflessness Returning to Nature, which opens all the energy channels of the body, allowing your own vital energy to harmonize with nature.”
“…”
Anyone who has ever sat through a disliked class at school would know this feeling.
Your body is physically present in the classroom, looking at the blackboard, but your focus is hazy, lost in selflessness.
This was exactly that moment. I missed the times I had acquired martial arts through finger taps on a screen, despite all the probabilistic gacha mechanics.
At that moment—
“…It is named Northern Darkness Divine Skill.”
The mention of Northern Darkness Divine Skill made my eyes snap open.
‘Northern Darkness Divine Skill? All that recitation up until now was Northern Darkness Divine Skill?’
What was Northern Darkness Divine Skill?
A legendary martial art, practically the final-tier skill, obtainable only after combining the rarest resources and overcoming a terrifying 0.1% probability, after spinning countless gacha draws.
In online communities, it was famous as a skill worth 18 million won.
Even I, who had completed Cheonma’s Trust Technique, had never dared attempt it.
…And now, could it really be free?
‘Mom’s power is insane.’
Fueled with motivation, I opened my ears wide and focused entirely on Jusohui’s words.
Although the secret manual in Chinese characters was difficult, she provided such simple explanations that understanding the overall content was easier than expected.
After reciting about a tenth of the text, Jusohui said:
“That’s one recitation. Now I will keep reciting until you memorize it. Listen carefully.”
“Yes!”
Memorization was my specialty, even if I didn’t know Chinese characters.
“That’s atropine, binds to muscarinic receptors to inhibit the parasympathetic nerves, cholinergic antagonist. Racemic compound… ugh! My head feels like it’s going to explode! How many drug names are there?”
…Recalling sleepless school days of rote memorization made shivers run down my spine. Still, I managed to memorize it relatively easily.
“That’s two recitations. Just three more times and then we’ll take a short break.”
“I’ve memorized it all.”
“Huh?”
Jusohui, taken aback by my confident claim after just the second recitation, asked in surprise.
“You shouldn’t just memorize the content. For internal arts, yes, but for martial arts that start with mental principles like this, a strong foundation is essential for proper learning.”
“I really memorized it all.”
Since the explanations were long, the original text wasn’t actually that lengthy. Jusohui looked slightly unsure at my successive confident assertions.
“Then I will check if there are any mistakes. Recite it for me.”
“Yes.”
I began reciting, having made a mental “cheat sheet,” and shortly after, Jusohui burst into tears.
“My child is truly a genius!”
Jusohui’s astonishment didn’t end with my rapid memorization.
[Martial arts training in progress.]
[A master at Hyungyeong level guides your internal energy. Speed increases.]
Thanks to all these buffs from the status screen, I had fully internalized the Northern Darkness Divine Skill in just two days.
From my perspective, this was only natural. After all, this was a game world. A martial art that would normally take a year in a game could be mastered in a day or two—an exclusive benefit for players.
The problem was rather with the other side.
Fundamentally, different martial arts clash with one another.
Some styles of the same path could be learned together, but mastering a destructive lightning technique of Pacheon while simultaneously learning the Northern Darkness mental cultivation method—where the practitioner becomes a vast sea to absorb all surrounding energy—was physically impossible.
Wu-a Selflessness Returning to Nature.
As the manual said, one must discard oneself and return to nature. Only by letting go of all previously accumulated internal energy can one harmonize with the pure energy of nature.
This was also Jusohui’s intention.
‘Even if it’s manageable in front of others, magical internal arts erode martial artists until the stage of transcendence. While growth slows, it’s correct to abandon prior power.’
Magic internal arts were not called “magic” for nothing. Their training methods were harsh, and those who learned them were prone to temptation called Enchantment.
Entering Enchantment led to rapid short-term growth, but it soon plateaued. Power obtained easily could collapse just as easily.
While peak martial artists could enter Enchantment, progressing to ultimate and then transcendence was nearly impossible.
The reason was simple: the Enchantment equivalent to super-peak, and ultimate to Hwagyeong.
Martial artists at these levels developed a violent, bloodthirsty nature, unlike those who reached the same stage through normal cultivation.
Such individuals were either immediately eliminated as martial achievers or their bodies could not withstand the magical energy and perished. Only a handful ever reached transcendence throughout martial history.
‘But if one learns Northern Darkness Divine Skill, previously mastered magical energy naturally disperses.’
The goal of achieving super-peak in a month had been absurd from the start.
Jusohui originally only expected that I would restore my peak cultivation in half a year to a year using Northern Darkness Divine Skill.
Growth delay?
Honestly, it was fine. I could now use the excuse of being “weaker than before” to laze around at home.
However, Jusohui was unaware of another one of my extraordinary traits.
[Warning!]
[Currently operating Cheonma’s Trust Technique as main martial art.]
[Only one main martial art can be equipped per character. (Switch cooldown: once per day)]
[Do you want to switch your main martial art to Northern Darkness Divine Skill?]
“Huh? …Ah, slot. I’ll switch it right now.”
I could replace the skill instead of discarding it.
Moreover, the nature of internal energy also changed according to the martial art, so the destructive lightning energy accumulated through Cheonma’s Trust Technique became the dark, cold energy of Northern Darkness Divine Skill.
Thus, the original intent of “discarding magical energy” became meaningless from the start. However, as with all things, every coin has two sides. There was good news too.
A week into training.
The blue aura surrounding my sword naturally extended outward, forming a faint barrier.
At first, the barrier was thin and weak. Even in sparring with a Hyungyeong-level master like Jusohui, it shattered in an instant against her wooden sword.
Still, it was a barrier.
The ability to release sword energy beyond the sword itself.
I had entered the stage of super-peak.
“Expected, but my child is truly a genius!”
“Goodness! All of the lady’s blood must have gone to Dori! No wonder her learning was slightly delayed!”
The Paeng family of Hebei was abuzz.
Not only Jusohui and Paeng Baek, but even servants and stewards who had awkwardly greeted the returning young lady spread the news.
“Did you hear? The returned young lady is even a genius above the madam.”
“She mastered the secret martial art taught by the madam in just a week.”
“Even this young master wasn’t that strong… You can’t hide your bloodline.”
All those who had worked in the Paeng household had died in the Paekgyo incident ten years ago. Now, only people who had never met Dori were present.
Of course, no one disliked her return, but genuinely serving her was another matter.
Even so, the young lady’s skills had a positive influence, like a favorable wind spreading through the household.
‘Good. This is going well.’
Unsurprisingly, the head of the Paeng family, Paeng Baek, knew everything.
He enjoyed a pleasant time of reading lessons with his daughter.
Of course, martial arts came before reading, so he had only half an hour after dinner allocated for literacy lessons.
“So this is ‘eol’?”
“It’s ‘yeom.’ Similar in appearance, but the strokes differ slightly.”
“…Ah! I’ve memorized it now.”
Though my daughter’s character acquisition was slower compared to prodigies, that wasn’t important to Paeng Baek. Jusohui probably offered the lessons to provide father-daughter time rather than expecting literacy in a month.
For Dori, however:
“I’ve improved a lot. Once you finish the Thousand-Character Classic, we’ll move on to the Lesser Learning and the Young Learners’ Manual.”
“…Haha. Still a bit inexperienced.”
Feigning ignorance about the Thousand-Character Classic she had already memorized, I distracted myself.
‘And now I have to study again?’
Honestly, I had a lot to say.
As a post-Chinese-character-generation, I could barely read the days of the week in Korean.
I didn’t want to live illiterate in Chinese, so I learned the Thousand-Character Classic, but I absolutely refused to study Confucian classics or the Analects.
Common knowledge? Culture?
No! I won’t learn it!
‘Sorry, sir. I need some rest too…’
Thus, poor Paeng Baek, oblivious to my laziness, would spend months teaching the Thousand-Character Classic, already fully memorized.
Meanwhile, Jusohui:
“Since my child quickly mastered Northern Darkness Divine Skill, I can now teach proper sword techniques.”
“Oh!”
She entered the second stage for the top student.
She smiled warmly at her daughter, eyes gleaming.
“The technique is called Moon-Sea Sword Method. It means a sword that surpasses the sea.”
