I Decided to Give the Contract to the Male Vassal - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 76

 

The training hall floor was covered with frost that had fallen overnight, frozen smooth.

 

Though my legs were trembling, I stubbornly maintained the horse stance for over an hour.

 

As soon as the signal came that I could stop, I collapsed to the ground.

 

“Please stand up.”

 

“…Hah, just a moment, let me rest…”

 

I was completely out of breath.

 

Wicheonso sat in his chair, looking down at me while flicking his finger.

 

“Your basic stamina is terrible.”

 

His words were short and concise.

 

Though there was neither reproach nor affection in them, they strangely provoked me more.

 

I caught my breath irritably and retorted.

 

“Husband… don’t you train? It would be better for you to use this time productively rather than watching me.”

 

I had thought that once we came to Cheongwolgung, Wicheonso would focus on his own work while I handled mine.

 

I had planned to be introduced to a suitable training ground and use my own training methods… but unexpectedly, Wicheonso put effort into interfering with my dawn training.

 

“Watching others is also part of training.”

 

He looked down at me without moving from his seated position.

 

Except for the roughly ten years when I entered Sangteon-dang and trained harshly, I had done more teaching than learning.

 

So this situation was also bewildering.

 

Even after three days at Cheongwolgung, I found Wicheonso’s insistence on basic stamina training annoying.

 

‘He’s just like the old me.’

 

When I first took Baekah as my disciple, I had him focus solely on stamina training for about two weeks.

 

No matter what happened, he needed to be able to maintain his leg balance to properly wield a sword.

 

Since I was experiencing the same thing from Wicheonso, I could understand the frustration Baekah must have felt back then.

 

“Please sit.”

 

This time Wicheonso pointed to the platform.

 

“What do I have to do now?”

 

Instead of answering, Wicheonso stared at me intently.

 

Thinking he might want to check my physical condition, I sat on the platform, crossed my legs, and straightened my back.

 

“Try circulating your qi.”

 

He meant for me to try the qi circulation I had learned in Seolsan.

 

I felt a bit self-conscious about circulating qi in front of Wicheonso.

 

When I was alone, I would choose and use whatever qi circulation method seemed appropriate, but I couldn’t do that in front of Wicheonso.

 

According to the vague memories this body possessed, in Seolsan they would regulate their breathing while accepting cold qi on top of cold rocks.

 

The cold energy accumulated layer by layer seemed to have become internal energy.

 

I wasn’t confident since I had never personally tried the Seolsan Jeokga method of qi circulation, but I had to try it now.

 

I inhaled and exhaled very slowly. I felt cold energy rising from my lower abdomen, traveling up my spine, then descending again.

 

Ice-like fierce cold qi swirled within me.

 

This internal energy didn’t suit my current body very well. I wondered what to do, but to avoid qi deviation, I had to continue the qi circulation for now.

 

Before I knew it, Wicheonso had moved behind me and placed his palm on my back. Thanks to that, the cold energy subsided momentarily.

 

“Slowly.”

 

His low voice circled around my ear.

 

I could feel his internal energy seeping into me.

 

“Learn this flow.”

 

Like water gently rippling, subtle waves arose within me.

 

A stream of internal energy flowed through my bloodstream, as if trying to teach me how to manage that fierce cold qi.

 

I could feel the blade-like killing intent characteristic of demonic arts from the well-refined clear energy.

 

It followed a steady flow, stirring up my original internal energy.

 

As I silently followed that flow, the freezing cold qi gradually subsided.

 

“Don’t try to freeze your heart, make it tremble and flow.”

 

Following his energy, I also moved my internal energy. The energy gathered within me was still cold, but it didn’t solidify like a glacier.

 

“When you inhale, don’t gather energy in your heart… just let it settle lightly so it trembles. This trembling is called Water Heart.”

 

My internal energy flowed flexibly toward my dantian like swimming along a waterway.

 

“Don’t force it down, don’t cut it off, just let it flow.”

 

I used his voice as an incantation to create waves.

 

“Change your breathing. When you inhale, create waves; when you exhale, let those waves spread to your limbs. This is called Flowing Meridians.”

 

Water seeming to flow within me.

 

It felt as if cold and hot qi had met to create a leisurely stream.

 

“Don’t stop. Like water flows, energy must also flow.”

 

Eventually my internal energy reached my dantian.

 

Like water gently rippling, subtle waves arose within me.

 

It felt like a handful of internal power was being added to my weak dantian.

 

Then Wicheonso withdrew and gathered his internal energy before slowly raising his head.

 

“This is the first stage of Cheonryusimbeop.”

 

I was amazed. This suited my body better than any other mental cultivation methods I had used before.

 

Thanks to it, I could feel reborn after a long time.

 

Perhaps my constitution had changed due to absorbing the Bloodstone Flower.

 

Being able to teach someone through internal energy like this was something only masters who had reached a certain level could do.

 

Perhaps Wicheonso was an even greater genius than the rumors suggested.

 

Cheonryusimbeop.

 

I remembered hearing about it during my Sangteon-dang days.

 

It was the mental cultivation method used by the 5th Sect Leader who had dominated the martial world as a Heavenly Demon, and could be dangerous if one’s constitution wasn’t well-suited to it.

 

“Most people try to maximize the yang energy of Heavenly Martial Arts, so few learn Cheonryusimbeop. But for someone like you who goes with the flow, it’s a perfectly suitable mental cultivation method.”

 

This meant it wasn’t the mental cultivation method Wicheonso used.

 

“Is it alright for you to teach me something like this?”

 

I’m not the Leader’s disciple, nor am I from Cheonsan.

 

“Aren’t you the Cheongwolgungju and a believer of our Main School? Each palace master of the Heavenly Sect is given mental cultivation methods and secret techniques suited to their characteristics.”

 

“Still, I am…”

 

I was about to say I was a fake wife, no different from an outsider.

 

“In any case, you belong to Cheongwolgung. So don’t neglect your mental cultivation training.”

 

“I’ll work hard at it.”

 

It seemed he wouldn’t go back on his promise to teach me Heavenly Martial Arts.

 

During the contract period, I could help Wicheonso with this martial art, so it wouldn’t be bad for him either.

 

However, it felt strange that Wicheonso seemed like my master.

 

“Don’t circulate qi alone for the time being.”

 

“…Why not?”

 

“If you go in the wrong direction, you might never walk again.”

 

I suppose that aspect was typical of demonic arts. I pondered his advice.

 

“Now take up your sword.”

 

This time he placed a sword in front of me.

 

Just as I caught my breath and took my stance.

 

Wicheonso approached from behind, adjusting my elbow angle and placing his hands on my shoulders to fix them.

 

“This way is more efficient.”

 

Then he lightly grasped the back of my hand.

 

“If you grip the sword like this, the recoil will be severe. Relax your strength a bit like now and lower your center.”

 

“…Ah.”

 

“Again.”

 

I raised my sword again with an indescribable feeling.

 

Wicheonso also stood opposite me. This time too, he didn’t draw a sword.

 

The moment he kicked off from where he stood and rushed toward me, I reflexively thrust my sword forward.

 

In that split second, his fingertips brushed against the blade.

 

“Do not stop.”

 

He neither pushed the sword away nor used force.

 

He merely twisted the direction slightly, yet it seemed to shake my center.

 

However, this time I endured it. It was because I had firmly strengthened my lower body.

 

The next moment, when I swung my sword according to Seolsan’s swordsmanship.

 

“Too slow.”

 

Before I knew it, Wicheonso’s hand blade had blocked my sword.

 

“Your gaze moves before your sword does. That’s practically like announcing to your opponent where you intend to strike, isn’t it.”

 

He seemed to have seen through that I wasn’t familiar with Seolsan’s sword.

 

Though I was currently in a state no different from relearning martial arts, it wasn’t particularly welcome advice for someone who had been the Heavenly Sect Leader.

 

Before I knew it, Wicheonso deflected the blade and grabbed my sword-holding wrist, fixing it in place.

 

“If you put too much strength in your wrist, you won’t be able to endure for long.”

 

He was pointing out my wrist that had stiffened from using unfamiliar swordsmanship.

 

He released my wrist and corrected my posture again.

 

The tip of my sword began to trace increasingly stable trajectories.

 

After exchanging a few more moves, Wicheonso spoke quietly.

 

“Good. The technique I just used is Cheonryugeombeop, the swordsmanship that pairs with Cheonryusimbeop.”

 

Cheonryugeombeop. That too was a supreme technique said to have been created directly by the 5th Sect Leader. It seemed he was now going to teach me even Cheonryugeombeop.

 

“Just as water flows, the sword must also flow.”

 

Wicheonso’s words were profound, but having directly experienced Cheonryusimbeop, they felt quite familiar.

 

I held my breath, then regulated it again as I lowered my sword tip.

 

I thought I understood what he meant.

 

Legs firm, waist flexible, and wrist flowing like water.

 

A smooth sword path cut through the cold morning air.

 

When my sword tip aimed for his neck, Wicheonso caught the sword with just two fingers.

 

His red eyes looked down at me as if finding this interesting.

 

“Well done.”

 

It was the first praise I had heard in three days.

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