Three Years of Blacksmithing, Achieving Divine Martial Arts - Chapter 12

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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 12. The Way to Walk on Water
It was Bo Gong.
So Cheol

could not take his hand off the silk.
When he first confirmed the Jikjeon Pad from Jang Sim Dang, he had been startled. It was a 2nd Grade Beom Byeong made by Son Cheol Shim himself, and simply equipping it changed his sense of strength and forging sensation.
But the thin silk now in his palm served a wholly different purpose.
The characters that rose above the bronze cauldron arranged themselves in order.
Water Dragon Swimming Law.

A portion of Upper-Tier Bo Gong recorded in silk.
One had to possess strength exceeding a thousand pounds to equip it, and once equipped, the sense of how to move one’s body in water and the speed of footwork were both calibrated together.
Above all, a separate Memory Fragment was attached.
Water Dragon Swimming Law Mastery.
So Cheol gazed at those four characters for a time.
He did not yet know how large the name Bo Gong was. This was a classification he was seeing for the first time today.
But judging only by the way the bronze cauldron displayed it, it was not a lighter object than the Jikjeon Pad.

‘Why was Hwang Tae Gon carrying this?’

The word that Gwang Sa Bang’s remnants had passed on.
The words Hwang Tae Gon had spoken when looking at him: ‘Are you one of that person’s people?’
They seemed to connect, and yet something lay missing between them.
So Cheol did not force an answer.
It was better to leave unknown things unknown.
Instead, he could examine what had come into his hand.
Inside the bronze cauldron, two Seongyui were currently open.
In the first was an old Eight-Pound Hammer.
In the second was the Jikjeon Pad from Jang Sim Dang.
So Cheol moved his consciousness.
The Eight-Pound Hammer slipped out of the Seongyui.
Five-colored light traced across his palm, and the actual hammer appeared.
In its place, he inserted the Water Dragon Swimming Law silk.

Hum―

The bronze cauldron resonated with a low sound.
In the next moment, So Cheol’s vision changed.
* * *
Water rose to his waist.
No—it was not that.
So Cheol was not standing in water.
It seemed as though he had become something within the water itself.
When he twisted his body, the current parted. Even without sweeping his arms wide, as his waist and shoulders and hips moved in sequence, he slid forward.
The way force was applied was different from the start.
Pan Seok Se grips the earth.
Yeol Seok Chwe Beop takes that force from the ground and connects it through waist and shoulders, loading it into the hammer.
Water Dragon Swimming Law was the reverse.
It did not grip any one place.
Even as the body flowed, it did not lose its center.
When the toes struck the bottom, that force erupted forward all at once. When the body turned, the waist was not forced into stillness; instead, the rotation itself was carried into the next step.
A scene changed.
The river was swollen with downpour.
The person in the memory did not drift with the water but cut across the current at an angle. One step touched the water’s surface, and the next already fell elsewhere.
The scene changed again.
Wet stone cliff.
Narrow boat hull.
Mud-thick ground.
The worse the footing, the more naturally the body flowed.

The greater the strength, the faster the speed became.
It was there that So Cheol felt an oddly perfect sense of alignment.
He possessed the added strength that the Jikjeon Pad granted him.
The Water Dragon Swimming Law did not simply use that strength to strike forward—it channeled it to propel his entire body.
The memory fractured.
So Cheol returned to the room.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.

“This is….”

Laughter escaped him unbidden.
After mastering the hammer, what he regretted most was his footwork.
In his fight with the river crocodile, in dodging Hwang Tae Gon’s blade—there were moments when he wished his feet had been just a fraction faster.
As the Yeol Seok Chwe Beop grew stronger, that weakness only deepened. No matter how powerful the hammer, if he couldn’t land the blow, it meant nothing.
The Water Dragon Swimming Law filled that gap precisely.
So Cheol made to test it at once in the room, then stopped.
The floor was too narrow.
If he carelessly destroyed a wall, Im Ha would beat his back first, martial prowess be damned.
He stepped outside, still wearing the silk robes and the Jikjeon Pad.
He made his way to the River Bank, far from the village.
Moonlight lay shattered in long strips across the water.
His first step was cautious.
He twisted his toes according to the movements from memory.

Whoosh!

His body surged forward farther than he expected.
So Cheol’s upper body pitched ahead.
He planted his right foot hastily.
This time he skidded even farther.

“Ah.”

On the third step, his balance shattered.

Splash!

He plunged into the river up to his knees.
So Cheol stared at the water for a long moment, then laughed.

“Just because you have the memory doesn’t mean your body follows at once.”

It was only natural.
Even the Yeol Seok Chwe Beop had not been perfected the moment he received Jin Saboo’s memory. The memory had only shown him the path; it was his own body that had to walk it.
So Cheol pulled himself from the water.
He began again.
One step.
Two steps.
If he put too much power into it, his body would launch ahead too soon. Conversely, if fear made him hold back, the flow from the memory would break.
Before long, sweat poured from him.
Yet it was exhilarating.
It was entirely different from practicing with the hammer.
His body surged forward, buckled, then slipped sideways. Seeking the instant when the force born in his toes passed through his waist, he retraced the same path again and again.

Whish!

At some point, a single step came together perfectly.
So Cheol’s form skimmed across the riverbank as though gliding.
He crossed in one bound a distance that would normally have taken three steps.

‘This is it.’

He didn’t stop.
The memory of the Water Dragon Swimming Law and his own body were gradually finding their rhythm together.
He couldn’t reach Mastery before the sun rose.
Yet his feet no longer tangled as they had at first.
He shifted direction at the water’s edge, held his balance even on wet stone.
As dawn broke, So Cheol ceased his practice.
Today was the day he would formally enter Jang Sim Dang.
He couldn’t be late on his first day.
* * *
Back home, he washed and changed into fresh clothes.
Im Ha didn’t ask what training he’d done through the night.
Instead, she narrowed her eyes at the bamboo basket slung across So Cheol’s back.

“What’s that?”
“Dried fish.”
“Yes, I can see that.”

The basket was stuffed with dried fish.

“I thought I’d present them to the people at Jang Sim Dang.”

Im Ha’s expression softened at once.

“Better than arriving empty-handed.”

So Won sat by the gate, her face still bruised.
The swelling had gone down somewhat since yesterday.

“I can’t give you anything expensive, but this is what our house does best.”
“I’ll be on my way.”
“Mind what your master says.”

So Won added one more thing.

“And don’t go around with your chin held high like you’re something special.”

Im Ha shot her a sharp look.

“When was he ever like that?”
“Just being preventive.”
“You worry about yourself.”

So Cheol smiled and stepped out the door.
When he reached the outer gate of Cheol Jang Bang, the air felt different from yesterday.
Several senior apprentices paused in their work and looked his way.

“That’s So Cheol.”
“He’s supposed to be a direct disciple at Jang Sim Dang?”
“I heard Yeo Ui went to Pa Gun Dang.”

The news spread quickly.
So Cheol passed by as if he hadn’t heard.
At the entrance to Nae Mun, he caught sight of a familiar face.
It was Yeo Ui.
He wore a new black martial robe and had a sword cinched at his waist.
Their eyes met.
Yeo Ui’s face hardened for a moment, then quickly returned to its usual expression.

“So Cheol.”
“Yeo Ui. Are you feeling all right?”

The question was about his collapse the day before.
Yeo Ui’s eyebrow twitched, barely perceptible.

“I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”

So Cheol drew out a bundle of dried fish from the basket.
Yeo Ui regarded him with wariness.

“What’s this?”
“I dried it at home. Since we both became direct disciples on the same day, I thought I’d offer a proper greeting.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It’s nothing expensive.”

So Cheol didn’t wait for a response. He pressed the bundle into Yeo Ui’s hands.

“If you don’t want it, share it with the people at Pa Gun Dang.”

Yeo Ui’s gaze shifted between the dried fish and So Cheol.
Before he could speak, a deep voice rang out from behind him.

“So Cheol!”

So Cheol turned around.
As a figure approached, the space around them seemed to shrink.
He towered a full head above So Cheol, his shoulders broad as a door.
His sun-darkened face looked gentle rather than fearsome.
The giant stopped in front of So Cheol.

“I’m Gwak Geo.”

He cleared his throat as if his words had tangled slightly.

“I’m your senior at Jang Sim Dang, and the Master asked me to show you around today.”

So Cheol bowed immediately.

“I’m So Cheol. It’s an honor to meet you, Gwak.”

Gwak Geo laughed heartily.

“Good. Now you’re truly one of us at Jang Sim Dang.”

So Cheol lifted the basket.

“Would you do me the honor of accepting this first?”

Gwak Geo peered inside and blinked.

“Dried fish?”
“I brought it from home.”

A broad, genuine smile spread across the giant’s face.

“Excellent.”

He took a bundle and held it.

“We have only three direct disciples under the master here at Jang Sim Dang. You’re the youngest.”

So Cheol’s eyes flickered slightly.
Three.
Himself and Gwak Geo standing before him.
That left one more—but who?
Gwak Geo read the question in his silence.

“There’s a second senior brother. His name is So Sim Hwan.”
“Didn’t he come today?”

A shadow crossed Gwak Geo’s face—something difficult to name.

“We’ll talk about that as we walk.”

He lifted So Cheol’s bamboo basket effortlessly in one hand.

“First, you need to understand the inner quarters. Even with a direct disciple pad, you can’t just wander anywhere.”

The two passed through the Yeon Mu Dang and turned down an inner path.
Places So Cheol couldn’t properly see yesterday—hemmed in by the line during his entrance examination—revealed themselves one by one.

“You already know the forges on the outer grounds.”
“Yes.”
“Everything past that is the inner quarters. Besides Jang Sim Dang and Pa Gun Dang, there’s Mu Yak Dang, Nae Mu Dang, and Young Seon Dang.”

Gwak Geo folded down his fingers one by one.

“Mu Yak Dang handles medicine and medicinal pills. Nae Mu Dang manages money, supplies, and ledgers. Young Seon Dang handles meals.”

His voice turned unexpectedly grave on those last words.
So Cheol laughed.

“Young Seon Dang sounds like the most important.”
“It is.”

Gwak Geo’s expression suggested he’d missed the jest entirely.

“Cultivation starts with eating. Especially for those practicing Jin San Gong—they need to consume twice what ordinary disciples do. Fall out of favor with the head cook at Young Seon Dang, and you’re finished.”

So Cheol nodded slowly.
After eating Crocodile meat and training on it, the remark didn’t sound like exaggeration.

“The stipends differ for direct disciples too.”
“How much?”
“An ordinary 1st Grade inner quarters disciple receives five taels of silver monthly, one set of Yak Yok San, and five Ki Hyeol Dan.”

Gwak Geo tapped his own chest with an open palm.

“We receive fifteen taels of silver. Four sets of Yak Yok San, twenty Ki Hyeol Dan.”

So Cheol slowed his pace slightly.

“Every month?”
“That’s right.”

The fifty taels entry celebration payment had already seemed substantial.
But separate from that, fifteen taels came monthly.
It was money he could scarcely have scraped together after years of labor in the outer grounds.
Gwak Geo laughed when he saw So Cheol’s expression.

“Everyone’s like that when they first arrive. I lost count of how many times I counted the silver coins when I received my first Monthly Stipend.”
“You too, Senior?”
“I came from a poor family. Seeing you bring dried fish—it looks like we’re cut from similar cloth.”

His speech was rough, yet somehow it drew So Cheol closer.
Gwak Geo pointed toward a high wall at the end of the path.

“That’s the Ui Sa Dang beyond the wall. Where the Bangju and the two hall masters discuss important matters. Don’t enter unless you’re called.”
“Even with a Jikjeon Pad?”
“A pad opening a door and being permitted to enter are two different things.”

So Cheol took those words to heart.
With strength comes the ability to cross many thresholds.
But not all boundaries disappear.
By the time they’d completed the full circuit, the sun had tilted toward the west.
Finally, Gwak Geo led So Cheol to a quiet courtyard behind the Jang Sim Dang.
It was a small compound with rooms opening to four directions.

“This is the Jang Sim Il Won.”
“Do you live here?”
“The Direct Disciples live here. I’ve kept the western room empty for you.”

So Cheol opened the door to look inside.
It was incomparable to the shared dormitories of the Outer Gate—a bed, a table, a small chest, and even a washing stand.
Though it wasn’t larger than home, it was more than enough space for solo training and storage.

“Does Master Jin live here as well?”
“Master has separate quarters. I’m to the east. Your second senior brother is to the south.”

Gwak Geo glanced at the southern room door.
It remained closed.
So Cheol asked a question.

“So seems to be quite busy, doesn’t he?”

Gwak Geo exhaled deeply.

“Busy, yes.”
“What sort of work does he do?”
“Today, he’s probably rescuing someone in the Red Light District.”
“Pardon?”

Gwak Geo’s expression grew darker still.

“He calls it Hongzin Training.”

So Cheol found no words to answer.
He hadn’t yet laid eyes on Jang Sim Dang’s second Direct Disciple, and already the first impression was formidable.

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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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