The Farmer Who Ended Up Teaching the World’s Greatest Martial Artist - Chapter 53

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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 53

 

When he opened the door and stepped outside, the sun had completely set and it was pitch dark. However, thanks to the moonlight that had risen more than halfway in the cloudless sky, it didn’t feel that dark.

 

Since both of them had learned martial arts, this amount of light was sufficient for them to recognize each other without much difficulty.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“For what?”

 

Yoo Eun-hyun tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. Ju Yu-ryeon lightly drew up her internal energy to dry off the remaining moisture on her body and took a stance facing Yoo Eun-hyun.

 

“What else? A sparring match. Let’s have one to loosen up our bodies after so long.”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon gave him a provocative look as if granting permission to make the first move. Actually, this wasn’t the first time sparring with Ju Yu-ryeon. While Yoo Eun-hyun was training martial arts at the Uiseonsu-ga, he had occasionally sparred with Ju Yu-ryeon.

 

Since Yoo Eun-hyun had no reason to avoid such sparring before the martial competition, he nodded and lowered his stance.

 

“Let’s go easy since we shouldn’t lose strength or get injured.”

 

“Of course we should.”

 

Yoo Eun-hyun smiled slightly and made eye contact with Ju Yu-ryeon. When he nodded his head slightly, without anyone going first, they both rushed forward at once.

 

*

 

“Whew… let’s rest a bit.”

 

And then came a brief rest period. Yoo Eun-hyun, who was sitting on the ground, asked Ju Yu-ryeon, who was also resting.

 

“So, did you confirm everything you wanted to confirm?”

 

“I did, but let me ask you one thing first.”

 

“What?”

 

“Are you really giving it your all?”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon asked Yoo Eun-hyun with a meaningful expression. Yoo Eun-hyun chuckled as if that was all she wanted to know and answered.

 

“Of course? Did you think I was just playing around?”

 

“Don’t joke around. I need to know your real strength to make plans.”

 

Though Ju Yu-ryeon usually enjoyed joking around, this time she was more serious than anyone. Seeing her harden her expression and speak seriously, it seemed she would keep pressing until she got a proper answer.

 

“Of course I am.”

 

Yoo Eun-hyun made a deflated sound and nodded weakly. At his answer, Ju Yu-ryeon immediately recalled their last sparring session and counted on her fingers.

 

“8 wins, 5 losses, 3 draws…”

 

Behind the muttering Ju Yu-ryeon, Yoo Eun-hyun clapped and said.

 

“You won. Congratulations.”

 

“Congratulations isn’t the problem…”

 

“Why? What’s the problem?”

 

“Even after fighting like this, I still can’t figure out your skill level. After sparring several times, sometimes you lose so ridiculously easily, but then other times you’re so hard for even me to subdue…”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon spoke while frowning, but Yoo Eun-hyun shook his head as if it was no big deal.

 

“That’s natural, isn’t it? I’ve only been properly learning martial arts for a year. It’s natural that I’d be inconsistent.”

 

“No. Even if you’re inconsistent, this doesn’t make sense.”

 

No matter how excellent one’s martial arts were, if their skill fluctuated this much, it wouldn’t make sense unless they were holding back. Only then did Ju Yu-ryeon begin to feel that something was strange.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re…”

 

Having thought that far, Ju Yu-ryeon asked with wide eyes. Yoo Eun-hyun didn’t look at her but gazed at the moon floating in the sky and smiled slyly.

 

“What’s important about winning or losing against you? Anyway, I just need to beat those people, right?”

 

“…Fine. Fine. I didn’t know a farmer would have so many cunning secrets.”

 

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday? You make money when you alone have a good harvest while others have a bad year. I need to hide things and only I should do well.”

 

“…How impressive. Well, since it’s come to this, let’s see who finishes first.”

 

“Anytime.”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon also shouted loudly toward the moon as if she wouldn’t lose. Under the moonlight, the laughter and shouts of the two people spread far on the wind.

 

*

 

The next day at lunch. After finishing her meal as usual, Ju Yu-ryeon went outside and began drawing several lines on the ground with small stones she found lying around. Finding this strange, Yoo Eun-hyun stood beside Ju Yu-ryeon.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Perfect timing. Sit down. I’ll explain about the martial world’s factions.”

 

She began placing stones one by one on the drawn lines, marking something.

 

“First, the people at the very front. You know these people well too. Cheon Se-hyeon-ma and Deo Geom Ssang-seon. These are the two people recognized as the greatest under heaven.”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon pointed to the frontmost line as she spoke. Since Yoo Eun-hyun also knew well about these two people, he nodded.

 

Indeed, discussing the martial arts level of the martial world excluding these two people would be meaningless. They would be the goal and object of admiration for all martial artists under heaven.

 

“And the martial artists positioned just below these people are the ten martial artists called the Sip-ji.”

 

“Sip-ji…”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon drew another line behind the frontmost line as she spoke. Yoo Eun-hyun also quietly repeated the term he was hearing for the first time.

 

“And below this Sip-ji. Even though I say below, these people have all reached the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong, surpassing masters. While reaching just the Yeonhwa-gyeong realm, which surpasses the master level where one can fully display their martial arts, earns recognition in the martial world… just as not all masters are the same and there are ranks, it seems there are such distinctions within Yeonhwa-gyeong too.”

 

“These Sip-ji people haven’t surpassed Yeonhwa-gyeong either?”

 

“The established theory is that there’s currently no one in the martial world who has surpassed Yeonhwa-gyeong. There are rumors that Deo Geom Ssang-seon and Cheon Se-hyeon-ma reached Hyeonjeon-gyeong beyond Yeonhwa-gyeong through this closed-door training, but that’s uncertain.”

 

Yoo Eun-hyun listened to Ju Yu-ryeon’s words and nodded quietly. Indeed, even the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong seemed impossibly distant. Sa Un-sik had also said this. Generally, the masters in the martial world were merely a handful of sand when the martial world was compared to a desert.

 

So those who surpassed such masters to reach the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong would be even fewer, and calling the supreme masters among them by the name Sip-ji wouldn’t be unreasonable.

 

Yoo Eun-hyun, who had been quietly listening, asked vaguely.

 

“Then what level would aunt be at?”

 

“Mom? Mom is one of the top masters even within the Sega. She hasn’t reached the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong yet, but considering experience and strength alone, she could fight against masters who have reached Yeonhwa-gyeong.”

 

“What about grandfather?”

 

“The family head is one of those Sip-ji. You heard how people were surprised yesterday when they heard the family head’s name, right? Dong Hyeol Ui-ju Soo Gyeong-tak.”

 

Come to think of it, he remembered Ji Heun-dong being greatly surprised as soon as he heard the name Soo Gyeong-tak.

 

To Yoo Eun-hyun’s eyes, he just seemed like a slightly peculiar grandfather, but as someone who led a Sega, he was apparently a formidable master.

 

‘Well… if he’s mastered Eohyeol Sanhong to the maximum, that would make sense. Eohyeol Sanhong itself is a truly incredibly powerful martial art.’

 

But soon understanding, Yoo Eun-hyun nodded, and Ju Yu-ryeon added as if explaining further.

 

“Oh right. I heard you met Ya-cha Jin-ryong?”

 

“Ah. That guy with the shitty personality? If your body is small, at least your heart should be big.”

 

“Did he give you quite a hard time?”

 

“I was kidnapped, so how bad do you think it was?”

 

“Hmm… still, he’s a young hero with a famous reputation in the martial world, so I was thinking of maybe trying to win him over, but I guess not?”

 

“Well. His face might be your type?”

 

Yoo Eun-hyun muttered while recalling Son Jin-won, who was short and looked like a pretty boy.

 

“But why bring up that Ya-cha Jin-ryong?”

 

“Because that Ya-cha Jin-ryong is a master who has reached the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong. And public opinion estimates him to be just below the Sip-ji level.”

 

Hearing Ju Yu-ryeon’s words, Yoo Eun-hyun opened his eyes wide in surprise and asked back.

 

“His personality is trash, but his skills are solid, I guess?”

 

“That’s why he holds the position of leader of Cheonya-dae in Cheonmu-maeng, right? No matter how much Cheonmu-maeng claims to follow the righteous path, skill determines everything.”

 

Indeed, even for the righteous path, it seemed that skill determined everything.

 

In reality, even though Son Jin-won’s personality was trash, he wasn’t crossing the line. And while both were quietly lost in thought without saying anything, this time Yoo Eun-hyun asked Ju Yu-ryeon a question.

 

“Doesn’t Chukho-bang have any of those Sip-ji?”

 

“No. Instead, the leader is said to have reached the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong, and anyway, Chukho-bang and the other Six Demon Pillars are directly under Ma-gyo, so it doesn’t matter much. If things get dangerous, Ma-gyo will mobilize.”

 

“What about the two people I saw last time?”

 

“Well… it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone who has reached the realm of Yeonhwa-gyeong, but I can’t be certain. We can only imagine the scenery of high-flying birds, but we can’t actually see it.”

 

“Where are you at?”

 

When Yoo Eun-hyun sighed lightly and asked Ju Yu-ryeon back, Ju Yu-ryeon tilted her head for a moment, not understanding what he meant. Then, realizing the meaning, she smiled broadly and picked up a stick to draw a line on the ground.

 

“I’d be around here, wouldn’t I?”

 

The place where Ju Yu-ryeon drew the line was right behind the line representing Yeonhwa-gyeong. Seeing this, Yoo Eun-hyun asked back with slight surprise.

 

“Similar to aunt?”

 

“Of course, if mom and I fought, I’d lose nine times out of ten. But if we each fought against someone using martial arts we’re encountering for the first time, our win rates would be similar or mine would be higher. Mom relies heavily on experience when fighting.”

 

The sight of Ju Yu-ryeon placing her hand on her waist and proudly declaring this, combined with her words, made her look like a madman laughing in broad daylight.

 

Yoo Eun-hyun felt he had asked something unnecessary and quickly changed the subject.

 

“What about mother?”

 

“I’m not really sure about aunt. She’s been away from the Sega for so long. But considering her past reputation, she’d be quite strong, right? I think there were even stories about her being a prodigy.”

 

Soo Hwa-seon’s talent itself was something Yoo Eun-hyun acknowledged. He now knew that the reason Soo Hwa-seon suffered particularly strong side effects from Eohyeol Sanhong was because she had mastered it too well.

 

“In short-term battles, Eohyeol Sanhong is one of the three strongest martial arts in the martial world. At least she wouldn’t be one-sidedly defeated.”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon drew a firm line, not seeming too worried about Soo Hwa-seon. Yoo Eun-hyun also nodded since Ju Yu-ryeon said so.

 

In fact, since it was Soo Hwa-seon who had trained Yoo Eun-hyun when he was practicing at the Uiseonsu-ga, Yoo Eun-hyun was also aware of Soo Hwa-seon’s abilities.

 

“Don’t worry about the lady, worry about yourself. If you lose, I’ll tease you about it forever.”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon erased the lines she had drawn with her foot and stood up from her spot. Only scattered stones remained where Ju Yu-ryeon had been sitting.

 

*

 

Finally, noon of the next day arrived.

 

After finishing a simple meal, Yoo Eun-hyun headed to the location designated yesterday, arriving a bit early with Soo Hwa-seon and Ju Yu-ryeon.

 

“You’re going early to scout the terrain in advance?”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon’s question was perfectly understandable, but Yoo Eun-hyun shook his head as if he had no such intention at all.

 

“This is Our Home to begin with. I know the terrain inside and out, and this is a Field I made myself. Though nothing should be planted there right now.”

 

“You originally planted bok choy, right? From the looks of it, you missed the timing this year.”

 

“I’m thinking of planting garlic when it gets a bit cooler. I need to maintain it properly.”

 

Ju Yu-ryeon, hearing the conversation between Yoo Eun-hyun and Soo Hwa-seon, asked back as if dumbfounded.

 

“So that’s why you came early?”

 

“You have to go about daily life to avoid getting nervous. For me, farming is how I relax. And I absolutely can’t leave it in this state.”

 

“Were you always such a perfectionist, Eun-hyun?”

 

“I don’t know about other things, but this level is basic when it comes to farming. Since this is your first time here, why don’t you scout the terrain like you said.”

 

“Sigh. I guess I should.”

 

So Soo Hwa-seon and Yoo Eun-hyun began tidying up the Field overgrown with weeds, while Ju Yu-ryeon started looking around the area, preparing for any possible situations.

 

The pastoral scenery had some inexplicable peacefulness to it, which seemed to have the effect of relaxing Ju Yu-ryeon as well.

 

“They’re coming.”

 

About half a hour later, Ju Yu-ryeon, who had apparently finished surveying the surroundings and was sitting in a nearby tree watching the roadside, came down and spoke quietly.

 

Yoo Eun-hyun and Soo Hwa-seon also stopped their work and stood up, looking in the direction Ju Yu-ryeon was watching, and indeed they could see four people coming up.

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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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