Junha was dragged off to the bathhouse, and my father and I were waiting for Grandfather.
"Don't be nervous, Seoha. Everything will turn out fine."
"It feels like you're more nervous than I am, Father."
"Want some Cheongsimhwan? I already took two."
"Didn't you say overuse wasn't good?"
"When it comes to your grandfather, even three wouldn't be enough."
"Then why did you only take two?"
"Because I only brought two. One for me, one for you."
"So you already took mine too? Then why did you even ask?"
"I was just being polite. Why? Want me to spit it back out?"
"I'm fine."
"Yeah, I knew you'd say that, so I ate them all."
Honestly, this dad of mine.
Father glanced at my expression and smiled faintly.
"Looks like you've relaxed a bit. As expected, casual conversation is the best way to ease tension."
"Don't dress up the fact that you hogged the Cheongsimhwan."
Well, I complained like that, but I couldn't deny that Father had helped me relax.
As if on cue, at that very moment, Grandfather entered the room after changing into more comfortable clothes.
As though there was no need for any more preliminaries, he sat down and immediately got to the point.
"So, you said you want to challenge the Seongmu Academy?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Why the Seongmu Academy?"
"…That is."
Why does it have to be the Seongmu Academy?
That's because people call those of my generation—my age or just a couple of years apart—by a certain name in the present.
The Golden Generation.
A hackneyed term for a generation brimming with talent.
But in the future, the title changes.
To the Cursed Generation.
That meant that while there were many geniuses among my peers, an overwhelming number of them also died tragically or defected.
In other words, there were many geniuses I would have to save and help.
And the place where most of them gathered was the Seongmu Academy.
But I couldn't explain that, so I had to give a different reason.
"I want to grow not in a lake, but in the sea. To become a great person, you have to swim in great waters."
"So you're saying Cheongsin is just a lake?"
"No matter how vast it is, a lake is still a lake."
I said this knowing that Grandfather wasn't the type to be offended by such things.
Then why were my knees trembling?
"Hahaha. Yes, you're right. But with your current abilities, you won't be able to enter the Seongmu Academy."
"I know."
The level of the Seongmu Academy was high.
I couldn't be confident of passing the entrance exam just because I had overwhelmed Lee Junha.
Of course, that wasn't a reason to give up.
After all, there were still about two months left until the exam.
"I'll raise my abilities as much as possible before the exam."
"As my grandson, that's only natural."
It must have been a fairly satisfying answer, as Grandfather nodded and continued.
"Then I'll state my conditions. I'll watch you until one week before the exam, two months from now. If you fail to earn my recognition by then, you'll quietly enroll in the Cheongsin Academy. Understood?"
The condition Grandfather set was simple.
To acquire the ability worthy of entering the Seongmu Academy.
The problem was that the one evaluating me would be Grandfather himself.
It meant I had to surpass a benchmark set not by ordinary standards, but by Grandfather.
Even training day and night wouldn't be enough.
I would have to undergo training intense enough to feel like dying and coming back to life.
But I had my own plan as well.
I had fully expected this kind of reaction, and I had already prepared a strategy to deal with it.
"Before that, I have a request as well."
"Speak."
"When I won the spar, the reward was that I would enroll in the Cheongsin Academy, and Junha would get one thing he wanted. Wasn't that the deal?"
"It was."
"But I've decided not to enroll in the Cheongsin Academy. That means I never received a proper reward."
"So?"
"I'd like you to give me the reward you promised Junha. Please buy me one thing I want."
Grandfather laughed with a broad grin.
"Hahahahaha! Yes, you're right. Of course I should buy it for you. What do you want?"
"I'll tell you when the time comes."
"I won't wait too long. You might ask for something strange ten years from now."
"I'll tell you before the Seongmu Academy entrance exam."
It was something that couldn't be bought right now.
More precisely, it was something scheduled to appear at an auction one week before the entrance exam.
It was absolutely necessary to pass the Seongmu Academy exam.
"Very well. I'll wait."
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
"Don't get complacent. Keep striving."
While bowing my head in gratitude, I casually brought up another matter.
"Oh! And Grandfather. Could we be moved to a larger room as well? Sleeping in the servants' quarters is fine for a day, but staying there long-term seems difficult."
"The servants' quarters?"
A sharp light flashed in Grandfather's eyes.
This time I nearly wet myself too, but since that anger wasn't directed at me, I could let it pass.
"Yes. There were so many guests that we were assigned the servants' quarters. For a day or so, sleeping while hugging Father is fine, but every day is a bit…"
"Very well. Sangwon, move your belongings to the room you used to use."
"Yes, Father."
The room my father had used as a child was inside the main house.
Even within the Cheongsin Clan, sharing the same residence as Grandfather carried special significance.
"Thank you. Then I'll go train."
"Go on."
As I stepped outside, a cold breeze brushed past me.
Refreshing.
I'd crossed a major hurdle, so now all that was left was training until the entrance exam.
"Then shall I train without worries now?"
Two months until the entrance exam.
Within that time, I had to become the strongest fifteen-year-old in this country.
After his grandson left, Lee Kangjin drank his tea with a smile.
The grandson he was seeing for the first time in three years had become a completely different person.
The boy who used to wear a face full of dissatisfaction, irritated by everything.
The child he thought would never amount to much was now shining more brilliantly than anyone Lee Kangjin had ever seen.
"Better than the report."
At Lee Kangjin's muttered words, the door to the adjoining room slid open, and an old man entered.
An old man missing his left arm.
Hwang Hyeon, Lee Kangjin's longtime right-hand man who had retired alongside him.
As Elder Hwang refilled the empty teacup, he spoke.
"The report was from November, so he must have grown even stronger in the meantime."
"I'm not talking about strength. I'm talking about aptitude."
To be frank, Seoha's current strength was merely outstanding among his peers.
Nothing more, nothing less.
What satisfied him most was the innate quality one had to possess as a martial artist.
"When I was young, I once held a weapon for the first time and sparred. It was a wooden sword. Do you know what I was thinking then?"
"Well… that you'd kill your opponent?"
"That's what I'd think now, but back then, I was scared. One hit and a bone could break. I was so tense the hilt nearly slipped from my grip."
"You had a time like that too, Commander?"
"I did. But that boy Seoha didn't even blink when he dodged."
"Wasn't Geonhwa like that as well?"
Lee Geonhwa.
The first grandson was far stronger than Seoha at the same age.
Yet Lee Kangjin felt even happier now than when he had faced fifteen-year-old Geonhwa.
"That's true. But if Junha's opponent today had been Geonhwa instead of Seoha, what do you think would have happened?"
"Well… what would have happened?"
"Junha's head would've been smashed. Geonhwa would never have stopped his sword. That's the kind of man he is."
Geonhwa was as talented as Seoha—no, even more so—but he was cruel and cold.
"Suitable as a soldier, but never as the head of the clan."
A cruel, emotionless person should never be entrusted with great responsibility.
Geonhwa should be nothing more than a soldier who moves according to orders.
Staring into his hot tea, Lee Kangjin said,
"Let's see. Just how far Seoha will go."
From now on, it seemed his days would be quite enjoyable to watch.
The day after entering the Cheongsin Clan.
The servants brought over all the belongings we hadn't been able to pack.
For now, Father and I were sharing the room he had used since childhood.
It was a size you'd never believe was meant for a child.
Judging by the attached private bath, it was clear how much Grandfather had doted on his sons.
"I can see now why he got angry when you said you'd become an apothecary."
"Yes. After raising me like a prince, of course he'd be angry when I said I was leaving."
"Uncle and the younger uncle don't even have any hope, though."
"Hahaha. To be honest, I was the best at martial arts too."
Father's waking time also changed to match mine—Myo-si (5 a.m.). He used to wake up at Jin-si (7 a.m.).
"Then I'll go train."
"…Take care of yourself."
Father looked at me with eyes full of pity, like someone watching a pig being led to a slaughterhouse.
"What's with him?"
It was the same training I did every morning.
Nothing particularly special.
Just as I was stepping over the threshold—
"Oh? Just as Sangwon said. You really do wake up at Myo-si and start training."
Grandfather was standing in front of the room.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes! The room is spacious and the bed is soft, so I slept well."
"That's good. At least you should sleep soundly."
At least I should sleep soundly?
For a moment, I couldn't understand what he meant, but I soon realized.
"Starting today, this old man will help with your training. Let's warm up first."
This was a bit unexpected.
I had planned to continue training my own way for the remaining time.
"Ah… yes!"
Still, let's think positively.
Something I could never have imagined before my regression.
A master whose skills would be recorded in history was going to train me personally.
'But…'
It was certainly a good thing, but there was one concern.
Rumor had it that Grandfather's training methods were unimaginably crude.
Climbing cliffs every day, training swordsmanship with a 200-geun (120 kg) lump of iron, and so on.
'No way. It's probably exaggerated as it spread by word of mouth.'
When even systematic training would barely be enough, there was no way he'd resort to such brutish old methods.
At worst, it would just be a bit tougher than ordinary training.
And I was someone who had endured all kinds of hardship before my regression.
There was no way it could be worse than back then.
That's what I thought, until after warming up for about one gak (30 minutes), Grandfather said,
"Then let's move."
"Where to?"
"There's a perfect cliff just behind here."
"..."
Maybe he meant a small cliff on the back hill?
...
There was a time when I thought that.
The cliff before my eyes had no visible end.
"Cliff climbing builds boldness, agility, judgment, as well as strength and endurance. Physically and mentally, there's no better training. Since it's your first time, follow me up."
Saying that, Grandfather handed me a rope.
The rope was tied around his waist.
"Don't worry even if you fall. This old man will hold firm."
"Ah…"
It seemed the rumors weren't exaggerated in the slightest.
Morning training with Grandfather was simple.
We repeated climbing up and down the cliff countless times, and once my body was exhausted, we sparred.
After getting thoroughly beaten, Grandfather would point out several issues, and I'd focus on correcting them.
Starting at Myo-si (5 a.m.) and continuing until close to Mi-si (1 p.m.), we trained the body, then ate lunch and moved on to internal energy cultivation.
Grandfather offered to even neglect his guests and oversee my internal energy training as well, but I firmly refused and insisted on training alone.
I couldn't explain why I had to hone the Shinro Simbeop.
After all, Grandfather believed the Cheongsin Simbeop he had created was the best.
"Ah, I'm dying. Jonsun, your big brother is dying."
Thankfully, the servants brought Jonsun over.
It was a relief, since finding a suitably round stone to use as Jonsun wasn't easy.
"It's about time to move on to the next stage."
After endlessly repeating Stage 1, Cheonro (闡路), all the cursed body's meridians were fully opened.
Now it was time to hammer and reinforce the opened paths.
Stage 2, Gangro (强路).
As the name implied, it was the process of strengthening the pathways, making the meridians sturdy and flexible.
What set the Shinro Simbeop apart from other cultivation methods was that it strengthened the vessel itself.
It might seem slower than other methods at first, but in the long run, it allowed one to gather internal energy faster and in greater quantities than others.
If you continuously trained Cheonro (闡路) and Gangro (强路) from a young age, while others accumulated 1 unit of internal energy per day, you would accumulate 10.
"It's about building the pillars step by step first."
Impatience was poison.
If you only chased results, you would never reach them.
"Focus. Focus."
While operating Stage 1 Cheonro, I compressed the naturally accumulated internal energy as much as possible.
To properly master Gangro (强路), the internal energy within had to be condensed into a large mass and circulated rapidly.
Soon, I moved the newly formed sphere of internal energy into the opened meridians.
As something larger than the pathway entered, the meridians tore, and pain surged through my entire body to the point of paralysis.
But I clenched my teeth, endured the agony, and focused on repeatedly strengthening the meridians.
The human body was simple— the stronger the stimulus, the stronger it became to withstand it.
After circulating it through my entire body once, a scream burst out of me.
"Aaaaaah!"
It hurt like hell.
It felt even more intense than the first time I attempted Gangro before my regression.
"Ah, I'm tearing up."
I wiped away the tears that flowed against my will and crossed my legs once more.
"Think positively. The more it hurts, the stronger you get. I'm someone who can't feel pain. Hahahaha!"
It felt like I'd have to act crazy just to keep doing this.