ALL NOVEL Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Buff Guy
As I turned my head, there stood my disciple, awkwardly smiling like a shy little turtle.
When our eyes met, my disciple lowered his gaze slightly.
Could it be the heat rising from the furnace? His cheeks were flushed.
Honestly, his androgynous beauty didn’t help; it just made it more infuriating.
Is there some blood circulation problem? Why is he so red?
Could it be that he really saw something?
Shiver.
A few seconds of silence passed between us.
Crackle, crackle.
The sound of wood crackling in the furnace seemed oddly loud.
“I’ll prepare the meal! You can rest, Saje!” my disciple said to me.
I thought he was hesitating to say something, but was that it?
I sighed in relief internally. Definitely something he couldn’t let go of earlier.
Anyway, if he said he’d prepare, then that was it.
An honorable, righteous hero renowned throughout the martial world—Yujinhwi—would surely do this.
My disciple’s eyes sparkled in the furnace’s glow.
Seeing that, my head started to hurt.
Of course, I absolutely shouldn’t accept his offer.
After all, I’m the youngest in the Gongdong Sect now.
It’s not permissible to pass off the duties of the youngest onto a senior.
Such distribution—where the youngest does the most work—isn’t something you can survive in a world as harsh and unjust as this martial world.
Sure, my naive disciple offered it with pure intentions, but that only complicates things.
The personality of Jeonyeong, the Demon Subduing Swordsman I acquired in my past life, was shy and rigid, just like a picture-perfect orthodox faction.
In short, he was an old school dude.
But if I just listened to what my disciple said and lounged about, what would that uptight Saje think of me?
He’d probably think the hierarchy of our sect was collapsing.
I shudder at the thought.
“From now on, I’ll take care of these petty tasks since I’m the youngest in our sect. You can rest, Saje. That won’t interfere with our sect’s hierarchy.”
I gently declined his offer.
“…..Fine. Saje. Then, is it okay for me to help you?”
My disciple still refused to back down.
Shouldn’t he be happy to be told to take it easy?
What’s with this guy?
Swish.
He came closer to me, and the sweet scent of wildflowers brushed my nose.
Damn it.
Why does a guy smell so good?
I didn’t want to keep eye contact as it felt odd, so I stepped half a pace back and said, “That’s fine.”
It looked like he wouldn’t budge no matter what I said.
Working together should be okay.
“Alright. Then, Saje. I’ll show you how to do it. Just follow my lead.”
I had no clue what he meant by that, but I watched him while trimming wild greens with a knife and cutting board.
Chop, chop, chop, chop.
His eyes widened as he watched me skillfully work on the greens even while he was cooking rice.
Honestly, I was just leveraging my past experience of living alone and my time as a low-ranking Dongchang agent to whip up some side dishes.
Side dishes that amounted to nothing more than the commonly called stir-fried greens and a vegetable soup.
“Wow. Saje. You’re amazing. I think you do it better than me.”
My disciple, who was cooking rice, was in awe of my cooking skills.
“It’s nothing special. Just skills I picked up from being orphaned and wandering the Central Plains since childhood.”
“Ah, I’m sorry…. I brought up your painful memory again…”
The moment I mentioned being orphaned, my disciple shrank back again.
There was a strange thrill in teasing him like that.
The thrill of teasing?
I must be going insane.
“It’s fine. It’s all done now.”
Tap, tap.
I elegantly plated the side dishes and set the table, brushing my hands off.
“I’m done too.”
My disciple set steaming bowls of rice on the table.
I raised the fully set table in excitement.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Maybe it was because I had been working since dawn, but my stomach was growling for food.
“Hehehe.”
For some reason, my disciple burst into laughter upon hearing my stomach’s sounds.
Well, when you’re a kid, even the sound of falling leaves can make you laugh. Still, I didn’t want to hear a guy’s laughter.
I thought that while heading to Hyeoncheon Palace with my disciple for breakfast with our Master.
*
After going to Hyeoncheon Palace with my disciple, waking our Master, and finishing breakfast and washing dishes, I could finally begin my serious martial arts training.
“Martial arts is strongest when inner and outer strength harmonize. Therefore, to become a strong martial artist, one must first cultivate basic physical abilities. After all, martial arts is ultimately expressed through the body, so it’s only natural for those with strong innate abilities and who train well physically to have the upper hand at the same level.”
In the Grand Martial Arts Venue of the Gongdong Sect, I was listening to Jeonyeong’s lecture on martial arts.
His words were extremely logical.
Even though inner power exists in this medieval martial arts world, using martial arts still ultimately comes down to the human body.
Naturally, if two martial artists are of the same level, the one with stronger physical abilities has a significant advantage.
Even with the same martial arts, a regular person is usually weaker than a muscular guy.
Thus, the renowned sects never neglect external training.
That said, in my past life, I reached Hyeon-gyeong, so I thought that if I underwent the Transformation of Flesh and Bone, it could grow there.
I didn’t even have to be told how important external training was, as I understood it well enough from Jeonyeong’s emphasis.
“Hence, before delving into inner mastery, it’s crucial to build the optimal body for learning martial arts through external training first. A strong foundation makes it easier to reach higher levels later. So from today, Chul-Soo, you will begin external training. Start with the horse stance.”
Jeonyeong commanded me to get into the horse stance.
“Understood, Master.”
I obediently followed his instruction and took the horse stance.
The horse stance is similar to sitting on an invisible chair, but for someone with the body of a child who has no inner power, it’s a challenging pose to maintain for long.
It had barely been a moment in the stance, and already my arms and legs were trembling.
“Then, I’ll train your disciple, so don’t even think about slacking off. For every moment you slack, I’ll increase your horse stance time.”
Jeonyeong said, turning away.
Even without him saying that, I had no intention of slacking off.
It wasn’t just because external training is the foundation of all martial arts.
While I’d like to enhance my martial arts skills, having reached Hyeon-gyeong in my previous life, I was confident I could achieve higher levels without this external training.
But the reason I was doing this foolish external training was singular.
‘A buff guy is popular!’
This world lacks the modern medicine’s Supreme Absorption Technique known as plastic surgery.
So, unlike my disciple Yujinhwi, I had no way to fix my comparatively lesser face.
There are transformation techniques like Reverse Transformation Technique or Infinite Face Change, but in the end, they are all just temporary means.
This damned face is, in essence, an unfixable curse in this medieval martial arts world.
With this face, I am at a disadvantage.
And it’s not just me; my disciple is right next to me!
In the future, I might even become so handsome that I’d need to cover my face with a netted hat to avoid attracting women’s trouble, sporting an impressive and attractive face like a rare gem.
Standing next to such a disciple, even if I became a hero in the martial world, there’s a terrifying possibility that beautiful women wouldn’t even glance my way.
‘That can’t happen!’
It’s a life of a man I regained only after dying once.
Unlike in my past life, I was fully functional, and I couldn’t just let myself be solitary because of my disciple.
But since I couldn’t fix the face I was born with, I had no choice left but to train my body.
Unfixable like my face, muscles could grow based on my efforts.
No woman dislikes muscles.
Imagine abs like chocolate! If I develop robust and impressive muscles that garner admiration even from men!
Transforming into a rough, wild, beastly man might just make the women of the martial world attracted to my solid muscles!
Moreover, Jeomseong Yujinhwi was androgynous and slender even in my past life.
Of course, while his face was cheat-level, if I could make my body significantly muscular and manly, I would have a distinct advantage over him.
My brain was flooded with visions of my future self as a muscular alpha male.
‘Oh my! This young master! This firm body is…!’
‘Hahaha! This young master! Your body is splendid!’
‘While Yujin is nice, I prefer this young master’s firm physique!’
I could visualize stunning beauties with sparkling eyes, blushing at my broad chest and abs.
Beyond that, being buff has its benefits.
Superior physical abilities directly relate to superior energy levels.
To enjoy pleasures of the flesh for long periods, I needed a sturdy foundation to start with.
Not just that area, but I needed stamina to properly please women in bed!
So, for my ultimate ambition—enjoying pleasures at Samcheosacheop and in the Wine Pond and Meat Forest, external training becomes essential.
‘Furthermore, the benefits of horse stance don’t just stop there.’
In medieval martial arts, the horse stance can be considered lower body training in modern terms.
And what’s most important in pleasure is a sturdy lower body and waist.
The stronger the lower body and waist, the more stamina I’ll have in bed, allowing prolonged adventures in love. Plus, this boosts the production of male hormones, enhancing my energy levels.
So diligently practicing the horse stance daily for lower body, waist, and foundational stamina is the shortcut to achieve my ultimate color spectrum!
The color spectrum isn’t something you can attain overnight.
Thus, for me, the horse stance is equivalent to an ultimate technique or divine art!
“Hehehe…”
Drip, drip.
With sweat streaming down from holding the horse stance for so long, my legs wobbling, and difficulty creeping in, a smile appeared on my face.
Though my body strained, my spirit felt like I had already become an alpha male beast.
If today’s training leads to my body becoming buff tomorrow and me taking on challenges of energy,
Then I could take on even harsher external training than this.
Right now, inner power holds no importance for me.
That’s something I could sufficiently supplement using the future elixir information in my head.
But there’s no magic elixir for external training.
It solely relies on persistent training.
With a madman-like laugh, I fully embraced all kinds of external training courses, including the horse stance, instructed by my master without a word of complaint.
Of course, I didn’t forget to combine Kegel exercises along the way.
After finishing the external training,
I was left gasping in exhaustion, muscles aching like I’d been battered, with a dizzying spin clouding my vision. Yet, my spirit was euphoric.
Envisioning myself as an alpha male after consistent external training filled me with newfound energy.
And just like that, two months flew by since I joined the Gongdong Sect and began my external training.