3

Ju Seo-Cheon had travelled back in time.

He had the mind of a 77 year old man, one who had faced many great hardships and passed a lot of hurdles inside the body of an eight year old.

And like most 8 year olds, he also did not have any freedom.

This was even more true for the disciples of the Volcanic Sect.

Every morning, he woke up and greeted his teacher. He then went to the training center for practicing with his fellow fourth generation disciples.

“Hah, hah….”

The training center was on the volcanic mountain of Nakan. It was really hard to reach the peak as it was located near the top of a volcano.

It was hard even for a healthy adult male who had not undergone training to reach the training center, let alone a child.

He felt like he could die out of exhaustion at any moment, it was torturous.

Reaching the training center was in and of itself a kind of training.

‘aaah, ****..’

He screamed and cursed inwardly.

He thought it would be good to start over. But he forgot that starting over would also mean that he would lose everything that he had gained in his previous life.

If it were him from his previous life, he would have climbed the peak like a casual walk, but not anymore.

Tears started welling up in his eyes, he could also feel his lungs tearing themselves apart trying to take in air. The muscles of his soles and thighs were hurting like hell.

‘I forgot that the training of the Volcano sect was this excruciating!’ The memories of his previous life came back to him.

The Volcanic sect wasn’t one of the best sects for no reason, their training methods were one of the best and thus was also one of the strictest.

It did not matter whether you were young or old, the only way was to train until your body had reached its limit.

This way, if one ever reached their limit, they could then be allowed to rest and recover. Through this way, not only was one able to recover from tiredness, but they also were able to slowly break their body’s limits and sooner or later, even a child would be able to climb the Nakan peak.

Hence this path was also dubbed as the ‘Hell of Nakan’. After one passed this stage and reached the training center, they were divided according to one’s respective abilities.

In his case, he only had to arrive at the peak of the volcano and reach the training center.

At the training center, you could see the older disciples of the fourth generation practicing the sword. A little further, and one could see the smaller disciples engaging in duels and bouts.

“Good work. You can have breakfast over there, after that you have to go down again.” The instructor pointed to the dining table that was stacked with round balls (Byoekgokdan).

Ju Seo-Cheon bowed before the instructor with whatever was left of his power. He then went over to the table and threw the Byoekgokdan in his mouth.

Most of the disciples also did the same and they went forward to eat the Byoekgokdan, but as soon as they started chewing it, everyone’s faces contorted.

Although there were a lot of nutrients in the Byoekgokdan, its taste was so bland that no one liked it. However, Ju Seo-Cheon had eaten the same for most of his previous life again and again and was pretty used to eating it, thus he kept taking big bites out of the Byoekgokdan.

After taking a small break of 15 minutes, Ju Seo-Cheon went down the mountain again. The trip downhill was not as difficult as the trip to the top of the mountain.

“Master, I’m home”

“You must have suffered a lot today, didn’t you?” Yu Jeong-Mok smiled bitterly.

If you were a disciple of the Volcanic sect, you would surely know the pain that is known as the Hell of Nakan, and it was irrespective of whether one was a genius or someone normal.

“If I could I would give you some time to rest, but sadly I can’t” Yoo Jeong-Mok looked genuinely sorry.

The morning training (also part of the Hell of Nakan) was just the basic training for building up muscle strength and endurance. After that, every student went to their respective teachers to receive guidance.

“It’s okay master!”

Ju Seo-Cheon was moved by just how much his master cared about him as well as how considerate he was to him. Perhaps this was the reason the absence of parents never really affected him, his teacher was enough to fill both his mother’s and father’s role.

“Okay then, let’s go sit. you are not yet familiar with Mae-Hwa Ki Gong, I will tell you about it”

Yoo Jeong-Mok went to his seat and sat down, his back facing Ju Seo-Cheon as if he wanted Ju Seo-Cheon to come to sit in front of him.

“Well, first of all, I’m going to…..

Yoo Jeong-Mok started telling Ju Seo-Cheon about the meaning of Plum Blossom Qi Art.

Mae-Hwa Ki Gong consists of a total of 12 stages, and until one achieves stage 5 of the art, there is a danger for it to go out of control, and thus, the speed of it till then is quite slow.

For reference, every Volcanic Sect disciple practiced the first stage of Plum Blossom Qi Art upon entering the sect.

This was the simple and basic art which helped them build a dantian and eventually a Qi circuit through which they could strengthen their veins.

However, just as it is a basic stage, the speed at which the Qi accumulates is quite slow and the capacity is also reduced.

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This stage of the form itself is not too bad, and is also quite easy to master, but the only drawback is that it takes a long time to advance.

“But, in the first place, it’s a method that helps you strengthen the basics, and as such, even though it will only be polishing the basics, you can still learn other stuff, so there’s nothing for you to be worried about.”

“Even though this art belongs to the basic martial arts category not only is it the best in the Volcano sect, it could also be said to be one of the best in the Martial world.

‘No.’

“Yes!

Ju Seo-Cheon said with all his might.

‘I know it all’ Even though he knew his master was giving it his all to help Ju Seo-Cheon he couldn’t help but feel bored.

Ju Seo-Cheon had already mastered the Plum Blossom Qi Art in his earlier life, and it could also be said that his achievements and understanding in it were even greater than that of his master.

He also knew the secret to the Plum Blossom Qi Art, which had yet to be revealed at this point in time.

‘I want to get stronger!’ Having memories of his previous life, of course it was not hard for him to become strong very quickly.

But then, of course, the people who show this great growth always stand out. A rumour might start about him being a genius.

He needed to control himself, he needed to go at a slow pace. But he also really longed to be a hero.

He didn’t intend to start getting attention from the people around him.

Being in the limelight not only creates restrictions on the behaviour, but also leads to the person’s future becoming a target of instability.

‘I have to be careful’

In his previous life, he was somehow able to find peace, but it was never easy to get it.

The forces that would be taking part in the upcoming war were not ordinary at all, they were just too powerful.

These forces also might endanger these talented sprouts, so it was better to stay down as long as he could to build up his strength.

Therefore, he had to live in the same ordinary way as his previous life, a life in which he couldn’t be distinguished in any way.

‘Of course, I don’t really mean to do that.’

Anyways, it was too early to be talking about his performance and military achievements that he could get in the future. And if he really did live his life just like he lived his previous one, it would be a waste of a second chance.

Ju Seo-Cheon knew his place well.

He was more special than others, but he knew that it was not because of his talents but because of the knowledge and memories of his previous life.

He had to start getting stronger fast, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to face the factions that would rise in the coming war.

It took him a lifetime to get to the Unrestrained Realm Elder of the Volcano sect, and he had only touched upon the Realm as well.

He didn’t even know what Realm came after the Unrestrained Realm, he had no idea whatsoever.

That’s why he had to be faster than anyone else, and do everything he could to get ahead. Only then would he be able to fight while having breathing space.

‘So, by practicing the Plum Blossoms Qi Art, I could pretend to be like the other cultivators, but I could still study other qi techniques.’

The stability acquired by practising plum blossoms qi art was said to be best in martial arts. It could also be said to be better than the martial arts in the Shaolin Temple.

No matter how stable it may be, he needed to study another qi art while practicing Plum Blossoms Qi Art.

Of course, studying Plum Blossoms Qi Art meant that you were a beginner, so you couldn’t learn other arts.

Only in Ju Seo-Cheon’s case was it different because he could reach the peak of Plum Blossoms Qi Art easily.

The Volcanic sect also had a technique of its own, called the Violet Mist Sword Art.

The Violet Mist Sword Art had the characteristic of creating a purple stream of air around the user when he/she was about to attack, though only after reaching a certain level of proficiency in it.

It was not only for show, but it also packed quite a punch and was very powerful.

But the problem was that this technique was passed down only to the Sect Masters of the Volcano Sect. Even the Elders were prohibited from learning it.

Nevertheless, Ju Seo-Cheon knew about the technique because the situation of that time in his previous life was an anomaly.

In times of war, people die as easily as ants being crushed under feet, and this was also the case with the Old Sect Master of the Volcano Sect.

‘I didn’t expect that the old Master would pass away like that.’

In Ju Seon-Cheon’s previous life, the old Sect Master of the Volcano sect was killed in war. After he died, his position was given to his disciple, but even then, anxiety remained throughout the sect.

Having become a Sect Master at a very young age, the new Sect Master had no disciple of his own. He was worried that he might die suddenly like his master, so he informed the Elders of the Violet Mist Sword Art technique.

Even though it was very unlikely for him to die, nothing was certain in a world filled with chaos and war.

And thanks to these circumstances, Ju Seo-Cheon was able to learn this technique.

‘The Violet Mist Sword Art doesn’t show any special characteristic until one reaches a certain point in cultivation.’

Only when the violet air currents appear, does it become noticeable. But, on the contrary, until one reached that point, Violet Mist Sword Art was weak.

He knew mastering these techniques would be difficult but as he had the experience and memories of his previous life, he could be relaxed at doing these. This also gave Ju Seo-Cheon a more advanced path than the others.

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‘I just need to hide my powers until the Age of Wars starts, after that I can just come up with a good reason.’

He still had not mastered the Plum Blossom Qi Art and thus his Dantian had still not been formed, and due to that he couldn’t yet learn the Violet Mist Sword Art technique. However as he was the only one who could practice the Violet Mist Sword Art except the Sect Master, he was already looking forward to the results.

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