Volcanic Age - Chapter 10

Editor: Summerstood, Imagine

The bone-chilling cold wind finally stopped blowing and the animals that were hibernating started to wake up.

The snow that dyed the world in white melted and disappeared and flowers started to blossom along with the sunlight.

The Plum Flower that bloomed in Mount Hua right now was called the “early plum”. It was because it was the flower that bloomed the earliest.

A year had passed by and Ju Seo Cheon had recently turned ten years old.

A few months also passed since he started doing the enhancement gymnastics… No, the enhancement mountain climbing.

“I’m proud of you.”

Yu Jong Mok smiled with a teary face.

“It must have been really hard these past few months but you finally did it. Climbing the mountain ends today.”

Yu Jong Mok patted Ju Seo Cheon’s shoulders a few times and then turned his back like he couldn’t endure it.

He couldn’t endure how content he was with his disciple that managed to finish his teachings to the end and wiped his tears with his sleeves.

“I don’t like cliffs, I don’t like cliffs…I don’t like cliffs… Please stop. Stop telling me to cheer up. I don’t like it, this cliff…Stop…”

Ju Seo Cheon mumbled with cloudy eyes.

His eyes were dead as a frozen pollack.

The enhancement gymnastics then continued for a few months!

No, the hellish training that was disguised with the name of enhancement gymnastics!

Compared to that, the Nakan hell was really nothing.

The Nakan Hell pushed you to the limits right before you passed out but at least it didn’t threaten your life.

It only ended at being a little bit painful.

But in the case of the mountain climbing, relaxing for even a moment meant that it threatened your life. It wasn’t one or twice that he almost fell down because he felt drowsy & had misstepped.

But the worst of all was that he wasn’t allowed to cry or groan no matter how hard it was.

For example, he wasn’t allowed to tell his master to save him or that he couldn’t do it anymore.

“It’s fine, you can do it!”

Yu Jong Mok’s voice was heard saying that.

The problem was that his voice was filled with cheering and enthusiasm, so the pebbles and gravels fell down at the shock.

Just thinking about that gave him the chills.

It wasn’t once or twice that he almost died because of that so he gave up on asking his master to save him or complain.

The times he wanted to give up?

There were hundreds, no, thousands of times.

But when he finally managed to climb up the cliff Yu Jong Mok came running like lightning and said with a sorry voice.

“I’m really sorry to be like this but it’s unavoidable as it is for you. You should rather resent me.”

The only person he could call as his family in all his life. When the person that loved his disciple until the end apologized several times with a face full of guilt, Ju Seo Cheon wasn’t able to say out loud that he wanted to give up.

‘A master that rather beats me up with a stick would be better…’

If that was the case, he would have really gotten angry and rebuked but well, he couldn’t do so because it hurt his heart.

In the end, he couldn’t deny climbing up the cliff and followed as he was told to and he finally finished it all.

It was less difficult the more he did it but he had merely gotten accustomed to it, it wasn’t that the danger had disappeared.

When he took a wrong step or when the rock bed collapsed, he felt his life flash before his eyes.

But the effects of the training were as clear as the danger that followed.

Ju Seo Cheon’s body had grown to the point one couldn’t recognize it in these past few months.

When he wanted to take a rest after returning from the training center, he got dragged by his master and went out to climb the cliff.

In the beginning, he took all day to climb it to the top.

At first, he rested a few times in the middle of climbing. It was because it was that hard. But he soon regretted that decision after some time passed.

He realized that it became more dangerous the darker it became and after that, he didn’t rest no matter how hard it was.

He only rested the essential amount and focused on climbing up the cliff before the sunset.

After finishing climbing up the cliff, he dragged down his exhausted body and loosened up his muscles. He then filled up his dantian by circulating energy and fell asleep.

He was able to see great effects thanks to this systematic training method.

His health and strength increased due to continuous cliff climbing. But, it had a massive burden on his body, especially his muscles.

However, the wounds in his muscles were recovered by circulating his internal energy through his entire body.

Ju Seo Cheon’s body got comparatively better and grew noticeably stronger due to the training that repeated every day.

Thanks to that Ju Seo Cheon looked like a fourteen-year-old when he was only ten.

Ju Seo Cheon was worried that he may not grow taller because of the excessive growth but fortunately, he was able to grow taller.

Part of it was because of the internal energy of the Water Spirit Fruit but it was also thanks to the vitality and regenerative power he obtained through the Plum Blossom Art.

The second day.

The emotion he felt after opening his eyes when morning came was a relief. Laughter came out on its own as he didn’t have to think of climbing disgustingly dangerous cliffs anymore.

If someone had asked him why he had stopped, he would have slapped that person.

Ju Seo Cheon executed the Plum Blossom Fist Techniques in the training center as usual.

“Um?”

The instructor, Cheol Ung, looked at Ju Seo Cheon.

‘He is growing well because he is at his growth phase. Did he grow once again?’

It was too much that a ten-year-old looked like a fourteen-year-old kid but it wasn’t that there were no precedents of it.

Compared to the outside, Hua Sect had balanced and regular meals and the disciples used most of the time using their bodies so it would be weirder if they didn’t grow up.

‘Ju Seo Cheon huh? The speed at which he advances in the Plum Blossom Fist Techniques is fast and if he possesses a modicum of talent he will grow to be quite fine.’

Cheol Ung thought like that and smiled in a satisfied manner.

“Whew, what do I do after returning?”

Ju Seo Cheon returned to his residence.

In addition, he had already completed the Plum Blossom Fist Techniques. It was because it wasn’t particularly difficult and also because he had the memories of his past.

It was quite awkward that he was at his residence at the time he had to be climbing the cliff. But it was a nice feeling of awkwardness.

Yu Jong Mok entered through the door after the time it took for a kettle of tea to brew up passed.

“Master.”

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

Yu Jong Mok smiled softly.

‘Yes. I’m really glad that I’m not going to the cliff.’

Those words almost came out from his mouth. If it was Yu Jong Mok, he felt like he may get depressed saying ‘you don’t like being with your master…?’

“Your body aches because you aren’t moving, right?”

“No…yes, a little bit.”

He wanted to lie down and not move.

It was the truth.

“Haha, I knew you would say that. Come, get out.”

Ju Seo Cheon followed Yu Jong Mok outside. The two people entered a personal drill hall that was near their residence.

It wasn’t that big but it was a place for the two of them.

Yu Jong Mok pointed at a wooden sword he prepared beforehand.

“Take this, use it. Starting today I will teach you swordsmanship.”

‘Ahh, is it already time for that.’

Mount Hua was renowned for its blade since time immemorial.

The real martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect began when one wielded the blade.

The importance of these words were transmitted to others.

The disciples that just entered Hua Sect and the ones that taught these disciples also thought like this.

Before one wielded the sword, all their training they did was merely physical training for their body.

Ju Seo Cheon jumped in excitement when he heard that they would teach him swordsmanship.

“Now. I will show you a demonstration of the swordsmanship you will be learning. This is the Plum Blossom Sword.”

Yu Jong Mok executed the basic swordsmanship of Hua Sect, the Plum Blossom Sword.

He spread it out slowly so that it could be engraved in the eyes of his disciple.

‘Mm.’

Ju Seo Cheon sat on the floor of the training hall and observed.

‘I already know all of that.’

He had been one of the Five Elders in his past life and in his later years. Ju Seo Cheon was a level above Yu Jong Mok when it came to swordsmanship.

The Plum Blossom Sword was easy enough for him to recreate that there was no need to practice it. He just had to get his body familiar with it just like the Plum Blossom Fist Techniques.

No, it wouldn’t take as much time as the Fist Techniques

The base and structure of the two techniques were almost the same, so he would be able to execute it easily if he learned the secrets behind them.

They didn’t learn the Plum Blossom Fist Techniques first for nothing.

But he couldn’t say ‘master. I’m sure I know more about the Plum Blossom Sword than you.’

In the end, he had to pretend to be as interested as possible on the outside.

‘Mm, was he a peak level expert…?’

What came after the third rate, second rate, and first-rate was the peak. You could only be called an expert after climbing to that boundary.

‘In my memories, master passed away right before becoming a peak level expert…’

It wasn’t that good to bring up the memories of his past. It was especially so if it was related to his master whom he considered his father.

Yu Jong Mok, the one that passed away in bed after suffering. He didn’t even want to imagine that.

Whatever the case, Yu Jong Mok was an exceptional peak expert even among other peak experts. The pinnacle was right before his eyes but he couldn’t reach it.

‘….Huh?’

A thought flashed his eyes while following a plum flower with his eyes.

‘What master is lacking is not internal energy but insight. If I am able to teach him that…?’

Martial artists, and especially beings that were facing a wall were thirsty to get some advice.

It was the same for unskilled people but experts contained the words of people that were a few levels above them.

It was because they would be able to obtain a clue to overcome that wall from the ones that had already passed that wall and achieved the peak.

Those things didn’t happen frequently and there were people looking for experts to obtain this insight.

‘Right, this is it!’

He came to himself.

‘If he’s lacking insight and isn’t able to cross to the next boundary I just have to help him do so.’

He had to be glad that Yu Jong Mok was at the peak boundary.

If he had been at the Transcendent boundary and was facing the wall to become an Unrestrained Realm Expert, not even Ju Seo Cheon would be able to help him.

It was because of the height of the wall  but also because the insight each Transcendent had on climbing to that boundary was as different as heaven and earth.

‘There’s no need to teach him anything. I have to confirm what he is curious about and I just have to give him a hint…’

In addition, simply giving the answer in martial arts held no meaning at all. He wouldn’t be able to understand it even if he gave him the answer so if something went wrong the wall would only get thicker.

‘Good, let’s do it.’

It seemed like the role of master and disciple had changed but he didn’t care about those trivial things.

He, who had lost everything and was thrown to the world as an orphan. The person that saved that kind of person was his master.

For Ju Seo Cheon, his master was like the sky and the world itself. He was someone that couldn’t even be compared to the leaders of Murim or even the emperor.

The respect and grace he felt after returning in time were the same, and he was able to say confidently that he could become an evil spirit for his master.

‘Master is not someone who will remain at that boundary.’