Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 141

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 141. Galaxy Martial God Hall – Branch Family (2)

Combat is the finest environment for a martial artist to achieve Enlightenment.
Enlightenment is not some grand affair.
If you usually find your sword thrust unsatisfying, then discover that reducing your foot spacing by a single centimeter brings stability—that too is Enlightenment.
If you sense a lack of power when swinging your sword and realize the solution lies in building grip strength, that too is Enlightenment.
A martial artist’s—or indeed, any person’s—Enlightenment is built from small things.
These small insights accumulate and layer upon each other, shaping a person forward, and by combining such Enlightenments, one advances to the next Rank.
The Enlightenment of sensing Qi, of absorbing Qi, and of circulating Qi converge to form Rank 3 Level.
Enlightenments gathered through attempts to expand the scope of Qi Circulation beyond oneself converge to form Rank 2 Level.
Enlightenments gathered through practice in expanding Qi Circulation from the material to the immaterial converge to form Rank 1 Level.
When I became Rank 3, when I became Rank 2, and when I became Rank 1, my vessel—myself—was brimming so full with the water of Enlightenment that it threatened to overflow at any moment, and only because of this was advancing in Rank possible.
Combat merely served as a catalyst to gather that Enlightenment.
I had just ascended to Rank 1 Level. My vessel had widened, and now was the time to train earnestly to fill it with fresh Enlightenment.
“Wow, you’re not actually some legendary physique that nobody even knew existed?”
Cheon So-yeon, visiting our home as always, watched my training with obvious delight.
At her words, I let out a dry laugh through my nose.
“That’s you. I’m a dullard, and you know that perfectly well.”
“Reaching Rank 1 Level before turning ten, and you say things like that—people will curse you for it.”
With only about four months left until my tenth birthday, it was fair to call myself ten already.
“Father said that even within the family, only a handful of true geniuses supported by vast supplies of elixirs reach Rank 1 by the time they graduate Elementary School.”
And hadn’t Cheon So-yeon herself been Rank 1 by age three?
Well, she was a prodigy of an unprecedented caliber—the Cheonmu Physique.
Of course, what Cheon So-yeon said was true.
Even those called “elites” in the Major Sects typically don’t reach Rank 1 until middle school or just before graduation.
The vast majority who aren’t elites reach Rank 1 around high school graduation or shortly after.
But this is only in the case of “Major Sects” where all manner of support is possible.
For Minor Sects, where even feeding people elixirs is a stretch, it’s standard to reach Rank 1 in one’s thirties.
Minor Sects rarely cultivate children from a young age unless they’re the children of sect leaders or high-ranking members; instead, they recruit adults.
The earlier one begins martial training, the better—cultivating from childhood is ideal—but building such a cultivation foundation is not easy for Minor Sects, so it’s unavoidable.
Moreover, even parents prefer sending their young children to Major Sects rather than to Minor Sects with uncertain futures, so it’s difficult to recruit children in the first place.
The Heterodox Faction and Demonic Cult simply kidnap promising-looking children and raise them as sword fodder or cannon fodder, but the Orthodox Faction cannot do such things.
“I’m looking forward to the next ranking tournament.”
At Cheon So-yeon’s remark, I continued practicing my Swordsmanship as I spoke.
“I don’t intend to make it public at school, though.”
“Huh? Why? Even though the martial world says to hide thirty percent of your strength, during your growth years you should reveal your talent so the family supports you as much as possible.”
At her words, I chuckled softly.
“No, when did you pick up that way of thinking? That’s how it was in times when resources were scarce.”
When resources are limited, you must twist and contort like a chick waiting to be fed by its mother, but in an age of abundance like now, there’s no need for such things.
And given that I’m right beside Cheon So-yeon eating my fill of all the support showered upon her, there’s no reason to twist myself for more.
Besides, revealing my achievements might invite teachers with meddlesome attitudes toward my education.
Of course, Teacher Kim Do-hwa is my homeroom teacher, and out of respect for Siu—my teacher—she refrains from interfering with me and even receives the curriculum I should follow directly from Siu, so there’s no problem there, but the other teachers are another matter.
Even if Teacher Kim Do-hwa is my homeroom teacher, she can’t control the meddling of assistant teachers and teachers of special martial arts.
Worst of all, with my mediocre talent—truly dull even for a dullard—they might want the family to investigate how I’ve achieved so much, pull me aside for research, and interfere with my training.
A Fortunate Encounter that involves packing explosive Internal Energy into my Dantian and using that as a foundation to drive physical growth is the kind of state where, without Internal Energy Control at my level, attempting it alone is a surefire way to die.
At my words, Cheon So-yeon looked shocked, her expression going blank.
“Ah, right. That’s true. I didn’t realize….”
Cheon So-yeon occasionally wore a wistful expression at incomprehensible moments.
She looked like someone quietly worried that she herself might be consuming all the family’s resources and earning resentment from those around her.
No matter how remarkable the Cheonmu Physique, the resources Cheon So-yeon consumes are so infinitesimally small compared to the family’s total assets that even calling it a drop would be an exaggeration.
“Noona~! Noona~!”
Just then, from outside came the voice of Cheon Ho-yeon, Cheon So-yeon’s younger sibling, calling for her.
Cheon Ho-yeon was already four years old, and would be turning five this year.
Watching Cheon Ho-yeon toddle into our home searching for her sister made me acutely aware of how quickly time passes.
In two years’ time, that little one would be old enough to enter Elementary School.
“Noona~! Brother~! Me too! Me too!”
Cheon Ho-yeon called out to us, wanting to join in whatever Cheon So-yeon and I were doing.
Unlike Cheon So-yeon and I, who were the same age, Cheon Ho-yeon’s vocabulary was somewhat limited, which had caused her parents some concern, but truthfully, it was Cheon So-yeon and I who were abnormally advanced—Cheon Ho-yeon was perfectly ordinary.
Seeing Cheon So-yeon’s parents consumed with worry, Siu stepped in to help with their child’s upbringing, lecturing them about how excessive comparison only harmed a child’s growth.
“I think we’ll wrap up this morning’s training here.”
I sheathed my sword and did some light stretching.
School would be starting soon.

* * *

After classes began again, my daily routine was as monotonous as ever.
In the mornings I attended the mad android Riven’s lectures at four times normal speed, and in the afternoons I took martial arts classes with Teacher Kim Do-hwa.
“Huff! Huff!”
During class, I diligently kept my Internal Energy sealed while wearing sand bags across my entire body, climbing onto the perpetually rotating Climbing Machine.
When you think of a Climbing Machine, you usually picture a stepper like a ladder packed with iron bars, or an exercise apparatus that moves up and down in place.
But this insane school’s Climbing Machine was a wall covered densely with climbing holds that rotated endlessly like a treadmill.
It was literally a climbing apparatus—a proper wall-climbing exercise machine.
“Ten minutes elapsed! One-point-two times speed!”
At Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s shout, my classmates and I clenched our teeth and kept climbing, climbing without end.
High-concentration oxygen flowed into my lungs from the heavy oxygen tank hanging at my back.
I could understand now why so many of the seniors looked prematurely aged.
With physical training like this, how could anyone avoid aging?
“Twenty minutes elapsed! One-point-four times speed! The longer you hold on, the greater your reward! Grit your teeth and finish the course!”
Despite Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s shout, some students couldn’t hold their ground on the climbing rail descending at one-point-four times speed and fell.
This is insane. This is child abuse!
But I couldn’t give up.
My pathetic body wouldn’t grow unless I subjected it to this.
I could feel my physical growth beginning to slow slightly.
The fallen students weren’t allowed to rest; they had to climb again on the wall designated for stragglers.
Though that straggler wall was fixed at one-point-two times speed.
“Thirty minutes elapsed! One-point-six times speed!”
Screams pierced through the oxygen masks from every corner.
More stragglers appeared in rapid succession.
“Forty minutes elapsed! One-point-eight times speed!”
At one-point-eight times speed, only four of us remained: me, Cheon So-yeon, Cheon Ha-sung, and Cheon Gong-hu.
“Fifty minutes elapsed! Two times speed!”
At two times speed, Cheon Gong-hu and I couldn’t hold on anymore and fell.
“Sixty minutes! End!”
In the end, only Cheon So-yeon and Cheon Ha-sung survived on the Climbing Machine to the finish.
Though sweat poured from both of them like rain, unlike Cheon So-yeon, who had the composure to wipe it away, Cheon Ha-sung lay on the floor, gasping for breath, his body melting.
“Rest while you listen.”
Now that we were upper elementary students, afternoon classes had stretched from one or two hours to three or four.
“Points for use at the school’s Point Mall were distributed in proportion to how long each of you endured. I’ve given double points to Cheon So-yeon and Cheon Ha-sung for completing the course, so everyone make an effort.”
The Martial God Academy Foundation operated a Point Mall for students where they could purchase game consoles, comics, and other leisure items, as well as appliances like televisions and refrigerators, or training equipment like uniforms, sneakers, and gloves—all with points.
Naturally it was a carrot to manage the students, so while the school was strict about outside goods, items purchased here could be freely used in school or the dormitory without issue, as long as they didn’t interfere with classes.
In truth, this system existed more for students living in the dormitory than for those who commuted.
Because of that, the largest use of points was decorating dormitory rooms, followed by clothing and snack expenses.
Points were earned by keeping up with training as usual, but also by test scores on midterms, finals, and periodic assessments.
This was still a school, so they took academic progress evaluations seriously.
Whether it was because I was favored by Riven or because I received sixteen hours of instruction while others got four, points were practically lavished on me, so I had little motivation to accumulate them.
I could purchase an Advanced Combat Suit with points, something I couldn’t otherwise afford, but since Advanced Combat Suits were custom-made, my Tower avatar couldn’t wear one.
I was still only nine years old in body.
Teacher Kim Do-hwa smiled briefly watching the young students who found motivation in a single point, then spoke seriously again.
“Now that you’re upper-grade students, you’ll soon participate in exchanges with other schools.”
While the seniors who graduated mainly did club-based exchanges, the mention of interacting with peers from other schools set everyone murmuring.
“This exchange will involve year-level and class-level interactions, and later there may also be exchanges in the form of combined clubs. You’ll hear about combined clubs from your club advisor during club time, but for now I’ll explain this class-level exchange.”
According to Teacher Kim Do-hwa’s explanation, this exchange was with elementary schools under the same Martial God Academy Foundation—in other words, with children classified as Branch Family.
Children who shared the Cheon surname but weren’t of the direct line of the current Family Head, Sword King Cheon Ja-su.
Or children who were classified as the direct line but had entered the household register of another family and bore that family’s name.
You might ask why the direct line of the Cheon Family didn’t simply marry in a son-in-law to pass on the Cheon name, but just as not everyone of direct descent lived well, each family had their own circumstances.
Likely there were many children in this world who were direct descendants of the Family Head but lived without knowing that fact.
The Family Head had lived over six hundred years, and six hundred years was dynasty-length for a nation.
Not all descendants of Yi Seong-gye, who founded Joseon, lived well, after all.
Consider King Cheoljong, the twenty-fifth sovereign of Joseon—before ascending to the throne, he lived in poverty on Ganghwa Island, working as a woodcutter. It tells you all you need to know.
“Right then, we’ll save the details for later. Rest time is over, everyone up now.”
As Teacher Kim Do-hwa rallied the students, she sent me a discreet message through sound transmission.

-I need to speak with you. Stay behind after class for a moment.

What now? What could she possibly want to tell me?

(To be continued in the next installment)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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