Chương 171: I Want to Become a Master Too

The explanation had been long, but almost as soon as they arrived, they were driven out of Huiling Fortress. No one even told them to rest before leaving. Gaegyeong was very far away. They could not reach it in a single rush. As if trying to settle a troublesome matter quickly, Youngwoo rode hard, changing horses as he went. He did not bother looking for inns. When there was no place to stay, he slept outdoors and kept heading south. With talkative Cheolun beside him, the journey was not dull.

He was always muttering about something.

"Jungnangjang."

"What?"

"I want to learn martial arts too."

"You are learning already."

"What, the sword forms? The Bonguk Sword Method?"

"Yes. You practice it every day."

"I am not improving. It is always the same." Youngwoo agreed.

"That is how it is. No matter how hard you train, you feel as if you have not advanced a single step. That is why there are many fellows who swing swords here and there, but most of them are much the same. If you pit them against one another, you cannot easily say who will win. It depends on luck and circumstance. Truly overwhelming differences in martial strength are rare."

"But the immortals are different."

"They are different. Very different. Overwhelmingly different. Completely different." Unable to find a stronger expression than "different," he repeated the same word several times.

"I want to become like that too. Like you, Jungnangjang."

"I am not there yet. Compared to them, I am only a drop of blood from a bird's foot."

"Still, you can easily knock down most men."

"Ah, stop. Even that is not easy. When they come in numbers, shoot arrows first, and then rush you, there is no answer. I almost died. No, I practically died. It was strange that I survived at all." He was speaking of the incident in Gaegyeong, and Cheolun knew it well. Even after coming close to death, Youngwoo had risen again like a phoenix.

"Eh. Then you should have taken it easy. If men are rushing at you to catch you, who would leave you alone?" Cheolun had a habit of speaking as if everything were someone else's business. Perhaps it could be called objective. He had the nasty habit of explaining or describing another person's pain from a third-person view. Youngwoo felt like smacking the back of his head. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

The man could not say a word about matters directly before him, yet he chattered freely about everything else.

"More importantly, teach me some martial arts too."

"I am teaching you." Youngwoo gestured toward the daily sword practice and standing-post training.

"Ah, not that. Is there not something special?" Everyone wants something special. Each person's life feels unique and special to himself.

"Hm. Something like taking one pill and becoming a master?"

"Eh. Who asked for a pill like that? There must be some secret method."

"Just work hard. First, you have to do that."

"But you said it does not work even if we try."

"That is true. Entering the gate is easy, but great accomplishment is hard. Martial arts are like that. There is a threshold right in front of the gate, and it is very high. Almost everyone fails to cross it. They work hard, but they remain much the same. They train painfully for decades and still do not become better than children sword-fighting in an alley. Ah, why do you keep making me repeat myself?" Youngwoo snapped.

"You repeated yourself and then blamed me for it."

"That is what I mean. There is no particular method. You still have to work hard. Working hard does not mean everyone rises, but if you do not even work hard, there is nothing to expect."

"Eh. I should stop talking." Trying to explain something, Youngwoo slowed his horse. No, the horse slowed on its own. They had a long road ahead, and this was why they kept falling behind. Every day, because of So Cheolun's questions and conversations, they slowed a little.

"So, when you do something like standing-post training, there is that point."

"Ah, what point?"

"The point where you feel this is it, this is my limit."

"Yes."

"Go a little beyond that."

"If I could do that, why would I think of it as my limit?"

"Is it so hard to stay a little longer?"

"So you are saying it is psychological?"

"You have used all your strength. You cannot do any more. But you are still doing it. Then what is that strength?"

"It means I could still do more, but I thought I could not."

"Do not only say it with words. Try it. At the end where you truly think it is over, something comes out."

"You are not trying to persuade me with some empty word like courage, are you?"

"Eh. If you do not want to do it, then stop."

"Will it really work if I do that?"

"You may be able to find a beginning. Do you know what people say after doing only as much as they feel like doing and then claiming they worked hard?" Cheolun shouted,"Sincerity!"

"Yes. They do not even know what it means. They simply say they were sincere. Some people think they have lived sincerely all their lives… Then think about who that sincerity was for. The answer is obvious. Ah, my words are wandering again. In any case, work hard. Focus on your breath without resting for even a moment. If you are truly studying, you will not even have time to chatter like this." Cheolun pouted.

"I kept talking because I thought you might feel empty and troubled, Jungnangjang. And now you say I chatter."

"Ah, is that so? I am sorry. In any case, I am telling you to go beyond your limit. More precisely, go beyond what you think is your limit, you brat."

"So it is not actually the limit?"

"No. In any case, try it. Do not run your mouth about doing your best or being sincere without doing it that way, you brat."

"Will that be enough?"

"No." Cheolun trembled.

"No? Then why say something will work when it will not?"

"I heard the same words, and because they were my master's words, I believed that doing so would be enough. But even though I explain it this kindly, you say it is not enough. Without that kind of faith, how will it work? It is difficult even when you believe it will work and do it…" The one who wanted to learn and the one trying to explain were both much the same. Youngwoo did not know exactly how he had escaped that swamp.

He had struggled, unable to get out of the mud, and then at some point he had become a master. Of course, his master's care and teaching had played an important role, but there was no way to explain how to cross the wall directly in front of oneself. He had worked hard. No, who does not work hard? He had had a master. Everyone learns. Everyone learns from someone. Had his master taught well? No. He had thrown out one blunt word at a time. There had been no kind explanation.

Had Youngwoo's qualities as a student been outstanding? No. He had worked hard since he was fifteen, but he had remained much the same. Youngwoo's natural talent was certainly not very good.

"I do not know. But it is true that you must work hard. I think the word milmil密密 touched my heart. It means continuing without omission, without gaps. You keep going without anything missing. You make sure there are no breaks, no long gaps. Even now, though we are riding on horseback, I am continuing my breathing practice."

"Ah."

"I concentrate… It has become a habit, I suppose." Cheolun tried through persistent questions to discover the secret behind Youngwoo's success, but there was nothing special. Success was made of things anyone could say. The truths were so ordinary that it was frustrating that Youngwoo himself did not know the reason for his own success. Seeing him demonstrate before his master and receive praise must have stirred something in Cheolun's heart for no reason.