Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 114: Chunbongs Puberty (1)

The room was empty.

While he had postponed training, Chunbong had not.

Seojun sat cross-legged at the center of the room and set the wooden box down in front of him.

I’ll try it first...

Chunbong and Namgung Suah would take the Heaven-Man Divine Pill, not the Heavenly Demon Divine Pill.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Pill was built on the foundation of the Heaven-Man Divine Pill, his experience would help guide them when it was their turn.

There was no need to worry about the supply of Heaven-Man Divine Pills.

The Heaven-Man Divine Pill had been designed with mass production in mind. As long as they weren’t handing them out to the entire Namgung Clan, there would be no shortage.

Naturally, Namgung Myeong would receive one. Probably old man Jang Geuk, too.

As for his father-in-law... well, he likely didn’t need one in the first place.

But that was a problem for later.

“Hmm.”

After sorting through his thoughts, Seojun picked up the box. As he opened the lid, a scent drifted up—sweet, with a faintly fishy undertone.

He eyed the shimmering, metallic Heavenly Demon Divine Pill... then popped it into his mouth.

Gulp.

The pill dissolved the instant it touched his tongue, sliding smoothly down his throat.

Containing the Heaven-Defying Principle itself, the pill’s qi spread rapidly through his body. Seojun raised his inner qi to guide the process.

Crack!

Instead of flowing to the dantian to strengthen his qi reserves, the energy diffused directly into his flesh.

The Reverse Five Elements Formation embedded in the pill led his body toward reversed principles, and his body, which had evolved through the martial path of Body Rebirth, responded and welcomed the shift. A new path.

The goal was somewhere between the natural and the inverted: Primordial Chaos. Something possessing both nothingness and existence.

The inner core at the center of his being began to align, slowly reconstructing his entire body around a new axis.

The ultimate goal was to use Primordial Qi as a foundation and elevate his body itself one step closer to Primordial Chaos.

“Huuu...”

Only a single breath stirred the stillness of the room.

*“Mmm...”

He opened his eyes.

Something white. Soft.

His mouth moved toward it—

“Nom.”

“Kyaaah...!”

Chunbong’s shriek cut through the air.

When he came to his senses, Seojun blinked and saw Chunbong clutching her cheek, now marked with teeth marks.

“W-What are you doing...!”

“Wow... I was this close to ascending.”

He smacked his lips, as if reminiscing. Chunbong’s cheek had tasted like...

He reined in the impulse.

Seojun burned away the residual impurities lingering in his body while drawing reinforced qi through his meridians.

When he curled his fingers into a fist, he could feel it—his whole body was humming with power. It wasn’t quite a demonic transformation, but it was close. Maybe halfway there.

Following instinct, he channeled both yin and yang qi into his fingertip.

Whoosh!

Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Reinforced Qi bloomed around it instantly.

It takes a bit of time... but this isn’t bad.

The delay in forming the technique could be covered with other martial arts in the meantime. A grin spread across Seojun’s face. He had secured another secret weapon

“Alas, behold Chunbong! I am the Heavenly Demon!”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop with that nonsense? You almost got into big trouble last time too.”

Grandmaster Ji-am—the reverse monk with the long hair.

Seojun chuckled at the memory of his face.

“Now I’ll just crush them.”

“You’re going to crush Shaolin?”

“Well, that’s a bit...”

As suspicious as their reputation might be, Shaolin was still Shaolin. If some bald monk from the Unrestrained Realm showed up, things could go south in a heartbeat.

Then—plop.

A weight dropped onto his head, stunning him into silence.

“Fufu, looks like you’ve achieved something?”

“T-The Weight of Mount Tai!”

“How is it? Feel any stronger?”

“...It feels like that in some areas.”

As Seojun scratched his cheek, Chunbong freaked out.

“A-Aren’t you going to remove that!? What kind of shameless act is this!?”

“Want me to caress Sister Geum too?”

“N-No...!”

Subdued by the Mountain Pressing technique, Chunbong managed to compose herself.

“Hmm... Anyway, I’m glad it worked. If Big Sis takes it and strengthens her essence, her qi and spirit will follow naturally. She might really reach the Transcendent Realm soon...”

“Exactly.”

Seojun nodded.

It was all thanks to the makeshift breakthrough method they’d developed—the Life and Death Breakthrough Art.

It still needed refining before being immediately usable, but once it was ready, the Namgung Clan would surely gain two new Transcendent Realm experts.

“Hey, but what’s with your eyes?”

At Chunbong’s words, Seojun tilted his head.

“What about my eyes?”

“They’re red?”

“Red? Am I that tired?”

“No, your pupils are red.”

“...What”

Drawing his sword, Seojun checked his reflection in the blade. Sure enough—his black pupils were tinged with faint red energy.

When he looked at Namgung Suah, she blushed slightly. Whatever she was thinking, he had no clue.

“...It’s the Taiji.”

“Huh?”

“Red and blue, yin and yang. Taiji. Fufufu...”

The narrowed blue eyes peering at him sparkled mischievously. Namgung Suah whispered in a sultry tone.

“Want to achieve yin-yang harmony with Big Sis?”

“Kyaaah...!”

Having just regained her composure, Chunbong exploded again.

“Big sis, get out!”

“Oh my~”

“How can a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan have no sense of chastity!?”

“But Seojun is my husband, you know?”

“...What”

Chunbong froze. So did Seojun.

Now that I think about it...

They’d been pretending all this time, but wasn’t it just... a fact now?

“...D-Dear?”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Ugh...!”

Chunbong launched a dropkick. Seojun went down like a sack of bricks.

And he continued getting beaten for quite some time after that.

*The Heaven-Man Divine Pills for Chunbong and Namgung Suah would be ready in a few days.

After carefully putting the furious Chunbong to sleep, Seojun climbed onto the roof.

Night had fallen. As he looked up at the sky, inspiration swept over him as always.

He took a moment to settle his disorganized thoughts, then let himself fall back, mentally following the faint threads of insight drifting through his mind..

The Unrestrained Realm...

His cultivation level was already at the late Transcendent Realm, thanks to his absurd advancement speed. However, he had skipped a few foundational steps along the way. Now, he needed to gradually fill those gaps.

He could ignore them and push forward anyway... But Seojun had a slightly more advanced goal in mind.

The Unrestrained Realm... and the Supreme Demonic Realm.

Two similar but distinct realms. Their names were different for good reason.

Up until the Transcendent Realm, it didn’t matter much whether one practiced righteous or demonic arts—but beyond that point, the paths diverged.

The Righteous Path and Demonic Path, with an Evil Path meandering somewhere in between.

If he had to choose, the Supreme Demonic Realm might be the easier route.

But... did he have to choose?

The whole point of creating the Heavenly Demon Divine Pill was to walk the middle path.

Between the Unrestrained Realm and the Supreme Demonic Realm. A balanced realm.

Creation Supreme Demonic Realm? ...No, that sounds weird?

He dropped the idea for now. It was still too early to worry about naming.

Instead, he turned to a more immediate possibility. Fortunately, there was a suitable topic.

It had come to mind while crafting a spirit pill tailored to his own body.

What if I created a martial art for just one person? Like the Heavenly Demon Divine Pill?

And there was only one person he could do that for.

Chunbong.

Because he knew her body better than she did herself.

New Blue Cloud Divine Sword, outshined by the Chunbong Divine Art...!

Grinning to himself, Seojun started assembling a rough framework for the Chunbong Divine Art. It was only a seed now, but with a few added insights and refinements, it could bloom into a complete technique before long.

“Not bad.”

Dusting himself off, he stood and headed back to the room, humming to himself.

Inside, Chunbong was sprawled out like a starfish, her blanket half-kicked off.

“This little brat...!”

He tiptoed closer and poked her cheek.

“Mmm...”

She waved her hand sleepily and scratched her own cheek. Seojun grinned and gave her nose a gentle press.

“Sniff...!”

She twitched and rubbed her nose with a hand.

I can control Geum Chunbong...!

Thoroughly entertained, Seojun picked the perfect moment to quietly lie down beside her, ensuring she wouldn’t wake up.

“Hehe...”

Chunbong giggled in her sleep and naturally nestled into his arms.

She was warm.

Seojun closed his eyes.

A deep sleep followed.

*Corpses and blood.

Seojun stood atop a mountain of flesh, gazing up at the sky.

Something rolled against his foot—a head. He picked it up and studied the face. It seemed vaguely familiar.

A man whose name he didn’t know. Was he one of the Black Serpent? Someone he’d crossed paths with and killed on his way to Mount Hua.

Curious, he sifted through the corpses.

Another familiar face. And another. That one too.

His Transcendent Realm body remembered even the faintest impressions—faces he’d merely brushed past in passing.

I’ve killed a lot of people.

While rummaging through the corpses, Seojun scratched his head, now buried waist-deep in the dead.

What kind of dream is this supposed to be?

He didn’t feel guilty. There wasn’t any obvious reason behind the dream either. No sudden trauma. No lingering regrets.

With his eyes still shut, he awakened his mind and woke up instantly.

“Mmm...”

From the lack of light behind his eyelids, it was still night or early dawn.

Perhaps because of the strange dream, the scent of blood still lingered in his nostrils.

Wait, I can actually smell it?

Sniff, sniff.

His nose twitched.

His sense of smell, particularly sensitive to the scent of blood, quickly determined that the scent was real.

Occasionally, you’d catch whiffs of it in the Namgung Clan.

Injuries during sparring weren’t rare.

Still, half-asleep and absent-minded, Seojun suddenly became curious.

Would anyone really be training at this hour?

That didn’t seem likely.

Even as he lazily lay with his eyes closed, the smell kept bothering him.

It was particularly bothersome because it seemed to be coming from right beside him.

The only person beside me is Chunbong, but why would there be a smell of blood?

Right. Only Chunbong was there.

Suddenly alert, Seojun’s eyes flew open.

“Chunbong!”

Blood. Chunbong. The thoughts connected instantly, and his body snapped into motion.

His eyes glowed red in the darkness, cutting through the black to focus on her.

“Mmm...”

Chunbong smacked her lips in her sleep like she was munching on something. But the scent of blood was definitely coming from her.

“Hey, hey! Wake up! Chunbong! Hey! Geum-hee!”

“Eep...!? W-What! Are we under attack!?”

“Hey! Are you okay?”

“W-What’s going on all of a sudden!”

Still half-asleep, Chunbong flailed wildly as Seojun shook her, having lifted her straight into the air in a panic.

Seojun scanned her from head to toe.

She looks fine... So why does she smell like blood?

Feeling relieved, he instinctively began patting her down. Chunbong, seconds away from a full meltdown, blinked in confusion until she saw his serious face.

“...What’s wrong?”

“I smell blood.”

“Blood? Where? From my body?”

“Yeah.”

Sniff, sniff.

Seojun’s nose followed the scent of blood.

And the place he arrived at was...

“You son of a...!”

“Oof...!”

Chunbong’s roundhouse kick landed squarely in his chest, sending him flying across the room.

She curled up tight, face flushed deep red, arms wrapped around herself. She was flustered, and tears even glistened in her eyes.

With her arms wrapped around her body, she screamed.

“Get out! Right now!!?”

“But this is my room...”

“OUT! You bastard! Just—please...!”

Realizing what had just happened, Seojun scratched his head and quietly stepped outside. As his startled heart calmed down, a grin kept sneaking onto his face.

He couldn’t help it.

Finally, he cracked the door open just a bit and poked his head in.

“So... red bean rice tomorrow?”1

“Kyaaah...!!”

He got beat up. Really fucking hard.

1. Long ago they would celebrate a girl's first period by eating Red Bean Rice.