Three Years of Blacksmithing, Achieving Divine Martial Arts - Chapter 8

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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 8. I Will Go to Jangshimdang
Son Cheol-shim set down the fifteen-jin hammer and received a much larger iron hammer from his disciple.

Whoosh!

The hammer, weighing over a hundred jin, carved through the air. His feet never shifted on the Cheongseok stone. The robes of the apprentices in the front row billowed in the wind.

“Once you’ve poured all your strength into a blow, what do you strike with next? Brace yourself with your feet, rotate from your waist. You must gather back the force you’ve released!”

After a quarter hour of demonstration, ten qualified candidates received fifteen-jin hammers. Children who’d managed well enough when first taking hold of them felt their shoulders sag after only two or three swings.

Thud!

Someone dropped their hammer. A second and third quickly followed.
So Cheol

felt the weight settling into his wrists. He moved following the memory of the Yeolseokchubop he’d learned from Master Jin, but when compared to Son Cheol-shim’s demonstration, gaps became apparent. After one swing, his power faltered.

‘So that’s why the next motion felt so heavy.’

He pressed down with his heel and twisted from his waist. Just before the falling hammer could pull on his arm, So Cheol twisted his wrist to redirect that force back toward his body.
The next swing came easier.
Yeo Ui, gritting his teeth beside him,

had already turned bright red in the face. Even after all the other children had collapsed, he refused to release his hammer. Seeing So Cheol’s swings growing faster, he struck with even greater force.

“Hold back, you fool! You can’t last long if you spend everything!”

Son Cheol-shim’s voice cut through. So Cheol narrowed the arc of his hammer swing. The strength bleeding from his arms flowed back to his waist and poured into the next strike. His fragmented breathing became one continuous rhythm.

Crack!

The hammer struck the Cheongseok stone. Fissures spiderwebbed across the ground. So Cheol caught his breath and glanced to the side.
Yeo Ui was already sprawled on the ground. The fifteen-jin hammer lay abandoned beside him.
Son Cheol-shim walked up to So Cheol and stopped.

“You said Grade B Bone Structure?”
“Yes.”

Instead of answering in words, Son Cheol-shim gripped So Cheol’s shoulder once. His fingers pressed deep into the flesh, then released.

“Looking only at bone structure, you’re right at the threshold of the Inner Sect.”

He turned to look behind him.

“But what was that hammering technique?”

Yang Jeong-cheon stroked his beard.

“Bone structure isn’t the whole of talent.”

So Cheol closed his mouth. He couldn’t reveal that he’d learned from Master Jin beforehand.
Fortunately, it was Son Cheol-shim who spoke first.

“Is it because of Unghon Jichae?”
“That alone doesn’t explain it.”

Yang Jeong-cheon regarded So Cheol closely.

“From a single demonstration, he grasped the essence of redirecting force. A body that fits and eyes that perceive are two different matters.”

So Cheol offered no explanation.
One corner of the Yeonmudang erupted into commotion.
Yeo Ui, who had collapsed, opened his eyes.
Wang San was kneeling on one knee—when he’d moved to the side was unclear—and held a small medicine bottle in his hand.

“Come to.”

As Yeo Ui tried to push himself up, Wang San pressed down on his shoulder.

“Stay down.”
“I….”

Yeo Ui’s gaze found So Cheol first.
His lips tightened slightly.

“Did I fall first?”

Wang San let out a short laugh.

“Here you are, barely conscious, already asking the order of the falls.”
“Please answer me.”
“Yes. You went down first.”

Yeo Ui closed his eyes.
Wang San sealed the medicine bottle.

“You inherited Grade A Bone Structure and lost once—and that’s the face you make? How do you plan to live going forward?”
“A loss is a loss.”
“Then win next time.”

The words were brief.
Yeo Ui’s gaze drifted back to So Cheol, then away again.

“Yes.”

Wang San rose to his feet.
Yang Jeong-cheon clapped once, as if he’d been waiting for just this moment.

“Good. Let’s end today’s test here.”

Every eye in the Yeonmudang turned toward the center.

“The ten who will enter the Inner Sect have already been decided. But I have a special question for two of them.”

Yang Jeong-cheon looked at Yeo Ui first.
Then his gaze shifted to So Cheol.

“Yeo Ui. So Cheol.”

The moment two names were called, the master’s breathing behind him suddenly grew loud.
When So Cheol glanced back, the master had long since shed that usual fearsome expression. He stood with his mouth hanging open, then closing, then opening again.
Yang Jeong-cheon smiled.

Wang San and Son Cheol-shim have agreed that you two may be taken as Direct Disciples.

A wave of muttering broke loose.
Someone in the back mumbled, “They’ve lost their minds.”
Yang Jeong-cheon turned first to Yeo Ui.

“Do you wish to enter our fold?”

Yeo Ui rose slowly, as if strength had not yet fully returned to his legs.
He approached Wang San and performed a deep bow.

“I wish to take Wang, the Faction Leader, as my master.”

There was no hesitation in his voice.
Wang San, too, did not deliberate long.

“I accept you.”

Yeo Ui bowed deeply from the waist.
The disciples of Pagundang swallowed their cheers and exchanged glances of barely concealed exultation. A Direct Disciple with Grade A Bone Structure had joined their faction.
After that, it fell naturally to So Cheol’s turn.
Yang Jeong-cheon asked.

“And what of you?”

So Cheol looked first at Yang Jeong-cheon and then Wang San before turning his gaze to Son Cheol-shim.
He could not choose a master by authority alone. More than that—what he had mastered was Banseokse and Yeolseokchubop. Watching Son Cheol-shim’s demonstration today, Yeolseokchubop, which had been stuck at Lesser Achievement, had reached Greater Achievement, and his martial prowess had risen to late First Rank.
And Jangshimdang was where one worked with metal. For three years that craft had sustained his living—there was no reason to set it aside now.
He bowed first to Yang Jeong-cheon.

“I am grateful merely for the Faction Leader’s notice.”

He then offered the same courtesy to Wang San.

“And I am thankful for your good regard as well, Wang, the Faction Leader.”

Wang San’s eyes narrowed.

“You speak in riddles. So?”

So Cheol turned at last toward Son Cheol-shim.

“I wish to go to Jangshimdang.”

Son Cheol-shim’s straight brows twitched.

“Why?”
“Because I wish to keep swinging a hammer.”

Yeonmudang fell quiet for a moment.
So Cheol continued.

“I wish to study martial arts, and I wish to learn how to forge proper weapons. I believe Jangshimdang is the path closest to what I already know.”

Son Cheol-shim looked down at So Cheol.

“It will be hard.”
“I spent three years striking steel in the Outer Sect.”
“Under me, you’ll strike it far more.”
“Then I’ll become that much stronger.”

After a beat, Son Cheol-shim broke into laughter.

“Ha ha ha!”

A broad palm fell upon So Cheol’s shoulder.

Thwack!

So Cheol’s knees buckled for an instant.
The spot where the blow landed tingled.

“Excellent!”

When Son Cheol-shim raised his hand again, So Cheol instinctively stepped back half a pace.
At the sight of this, Son Cheol-shim’s laughter grew louder.

“Quick instincts too. I like you.”

This time, Son Cheol-shim grasped So Cheol’s shoulder rather than striking it.

“From today on, you are my Direct Disciple.”

So Cheol immediately performed a formal bow.

“I pay my respects to my master.”

The moment those words left his lips, an odd sense of reality settled upon him.
This morning, he had merely hoped to pass the examination. Now he had become the Faction Leader’s Direct Disciple.
From behind, Jin Sabu cleared his throat loudly.
When So Cheol turned around, their eyes met.
Jin Sabu’s face contorted slightly for no apparent reason.

“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing at all.”
“Now that you have a master, stand properly over there.”

The words were gruff, yet the corners of his mouth kept rising.
* * *
As the sun began to decline, a space was prepared in a small shrine within Jangshimdang.
Incense smoke curled upward before the ancestral tablets of Jangshimdang’s former masters. So Cheol bowed twice behind Son Cheol-shim before kneeling.
Son Cheol-shim sat facing the tablets without the playfulness he had shown during the day.

“When you enter a Sect, there are things you must uphold.”
“Yes.”
“Respect your master, and do not carelessly harm your fellow disciples. Do not take what you have learned at Cheoljangbang and stab people in the back.”

The words were rough, but their meaning was clear.

“Can you do this?”

So Cheol bowed his head.

“I will respect my master and never abandon my fellow disciples. I will not betray Cheoljangbang.”

He paused, then added:

“Should I ever violate these words, I will not evade the punishment I deserve.”

Son Cheol-shim said nothing for a long moment.
So Cheol did not lift his head either.
To borrow the power of Cheoljangbang and learn martial arts—such things came with responsibility.
Yet if someone were to place a blade at his throat or his family’s neck first, he had no intention of remaining silent simply because of his Sect. There was no need to speak of such limits now.

“Good.”

Son Cheol-shim’s words fell into silence.
The disciple standing nearby offered forward a teacup.
So Cheol received it with both hands and presented it to Son Cheol-shim.

“Master, please take the tea.”

Son Cheol-shim drained it in one gulp.
The empty cup settled onto the table.

“Now that I’ve accepted your tea, don’t think about running off.”
“Are you worried I’ll escape, sir?”
“Not you—I’m reluctant to waste what I’ve invested.”

So Cheol found himself momentarily speechless.
Son Cheol-shim’s expression was utterly matter-of-fact.

“Your bone structure leaves something to be desired. But when it comes to the hammer—that changes things.”

He pointed at So Cheol with a thick finger.

“A man who swings a hammer well is hard to find in Jangshimdang.”
“I appreciate the simplicity of it.”
“Eh?”
“That was a compliment.”
“Did that mouth of yours learn flattery from your old master?”

So Cheol answered with a laugh instead.
The Jangshimdang disciples waiting outside the shrine finally relaxed their shoulders.
The eldest among them stepped forward and clasped his fists in salute.

“Junior brother, I look forward to seeing you often from now on.”

Junior brother.
That title still felt unfamiliar.
So Cheol returned the salute with clasped fists.

“I’m grateful for your kindness.”
“Starting tomorrow, gratitude won’t be enough. If you want to survive under the Master, eat plenty beforehand.”
“I’m confident about that much.”

Laughter broke out around them.
By the time they emerged from the shrine, the sky had already turned a deep red.
Walking the inner paths of Cheoljangbang felt entirely different from this morning.
Earlier, he had entered following behind his old master, waiting for permission with each step.
Now the Jangshimdang disciples parted the way for him first.
Before So Cheol could even adjust, the rumors moved faster still.

“That boy’s a new Direct Disciple, apparently.”
“His bone structure is only Grade B, they say?”
“But he made it to the final round of the hammer trial.”

People glanced sideways at him as they passed.
So Cheol gave no sign. A change in title didn’t mean mastery would follow of its own accord.
* * *
After completing the Direct Disciple ceremony, So Cheol stopped by the Outer Sect smithy on his way to the Inner Sect.
He meant to at least catch a glimpse of the place, but as he entered the workshop, silver coins caught his eye before the hammers did.
On the table lay bundles of silver coins, a single tael of gold, and a box of Medicinal Pills. In front of them, his old master wore a dazed expression.

“Master?”
“……Why are you back so soon?”

Master Jin lowered his hand, which had been about to cover the bundle of silver. One of the Inner Sect disciples standing nearby laughed.

“It’s the reward I received for raising this disciple.”

So Cheol glanced at the table.

“How much did you receive?”

Master Jin closed his mouth, and the Inner Sect disciple answered in his stead.

“A hundred taels of silver, one tael of gold. And several hundred pills as well.”

So Cheol’s eyes widened.
Master Jin cleared his throat awkwardly.

“When the Outer Sect raises a direct disciple, the reward is naturally substantial. You did well, so don’t look at it strangely.”
“Did I say anything?”
“Your face said it.”

It was something he’d heard many times before.
When So Cheol smiled, Master Jin finally couldn’t hide the curl at the corner of his mouth. On one side of the table lay a few of the red berries So Cheol had given him earlier.
Master Jin glanced at them once and murmured.

“I gave away one broken hammer and it’s come back to me many times over.”
“You’re not asking for that hammer back, are you?”
“Get out of here. I hear they’re giving you something from the Inner Sect too.”

His words were rough, but his voice was bright with excitement.
* * *
After leaving the Outer Sect smithy, So Cheol received his own share from the Inner Sect.

“Fifty taels of silver.”

The clerk set a heavy pouch on the table.
So Cheol took it in both hands without thinking.
It was heavy.
It was more money than he’d earned from catching the Gangnakeo. Ten times the five taels of silver that Hwang Tae-gon had stolen from him just days ago now rested in his palm.

“Do direct disciples always receive this much from the start?”
“This isn’t money we give out every time. It’s an entrance congratulation gift.”
“Then it makes it all the more precious.”

The clerk chuckled and pulled out the next item.
It was a metal plate with a dark luster.
Faint gold patterns ran along its edges, and on the front two characters—”Direct Disciple”—were carved deep. When he flipped it over, he saw “Cheoljangbang Jangshimdang” inscribed on the back.

“Your Direct Disciple Credential Plate for Jangshimdang.”

So Cheol’s expression shifted slightly.

“Show this whenever you enter the Inner Sect. Most places won’t require you to ask for separate permission.”

The clerk slid the plate toward So Cheol.

“If you lose it, you’ll be in trouble. Don’t remove it from your person.”

So Cheol picked up the Direct Disciple Credential Plate.
It was cold and unyielding.
He remembered this morning, standing before the gates of the Inner Sect—how he couldn’t have crossed the threshold without Master Jin’s credential plate.
In less than a day, he’d received his own plate, bearing his name, granting him passage within.

“After sunrise tomorrow, go to the Jangshimdang. I’ll assign you proper quarters and explain your duties.”
“Understood.”

So Cheol tucked the pouch of silver into his robe and turned the Direct Disciple Credential Plate over in his palm.
This morning, he’d been an apprentice waiting outside, begging for permission.
Now he walked through those gates with his own plate in hand.

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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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