Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

His personality is pretty damn awful too, but at least it’s somewhat tolerable.

No, wait, there’s a problem with saying it like that. To be more precise, his personality is really damn awful, but it gets overshadowed by other problems.

What?

Guangqushen is rumored to have an upright and just personality?

What bullshit.

Think about it logically.

That guy is the one who ended the world’s great calamity, and he’ll be talked about countless times in the future.

But would you tell your child, ‘That bastard became such a great figure despite being a piece of shit, so you should follow his example and become a fine piece of shit too!’

You couldn’t, right?

Right?

Of course not.

So what do you do?

You make stuff up.

You make up all sorts of things and spread the word that the guy was a wonderful person!

Did Wei Yan-ho just sit there and take it?

He had no choice but to sit there and take it.

That’s just how he is.

He doesn’t care about such things.

What?

No, it’s not that he doesn’t care about those things specifically—he doesn’t care about anything.

I’m telling you, he doesn’t care!

Ah, this guy really doesn’t understand what people are saying.

It’s not about reputation or anything like that—the guy really doesn’t care about anything.

Because that guy is…

***

Every human being lives with dreams.

Sometimes they forget their dreams when swept away by the world’s waves, and sometimes they try to hide the dreams they hold, but fundamentally, everyone has great dreams in their hearts.

Then what dream would a boy born into a martial arts family have?

Of course, it would be to become the best under heaven.

To practice chivalry with the world’s greatest martial arts, establish justice, and raise one’s name throughout the world—that would be the proper dream for a descendant of a martial arts family.

There was such a boy here.

A boy born into a martial arts family, who grew up learning about the chivalry of martial artists.

The boy also had the dream of becoming the best under heaven in his heart.

And the boy knew what the fastest path to becoming the best under heaven was.

Endless effort!

No matter how talented a genius one might be, they cannot become the best under heaven without effort.

A diligent fool can defeat a lazy genius.

The boy knew better than anyone that only endless daily training would elevate him to the position of the best under heaven.

Of course, the boy also had the will to endure bone-grinding hardship.

But there was a problem.

It wasn’t a big problem. If you really think about it, it was a very trivial problem.

But that triviality put him to the test.

‘It’s too late today.’

The boy saw the sunset outside the window.

What a pity!

Today was the day he was going to sweat and lay the foundation for becoming tomorrow’s best under heaven, but it had gotten too late.

The sun was setting.

Couldn’t he train at night?

What nonsense!

If he trained until late today, he wouldn’t be able to get sufficient rest, and training without sufficient rest would be inefficient.

In the end, it would be much better to sleep well and start training early tomorrow morning rather than training today.

‘I should sleep well today and train tomorrow.’

The boy made a firm resolution.

Effort isn’t just about moving your body.

True effort is moving efficiently with perfect understanding of training and precise planning!

The boy pulled the blanket over himself.

“I need to sleep early today to wake up early tomorrow morning. I’ll train from dawn tomorrow.”

A firm will settled in the boy’s heart.

But when do things in the world ever go as planned?

The boy’s grand ambition would soon suffer from a massive obstacle.

Slam!

The door opened roughly.

The space called his room, which had been lovingly embracing only the boy, began to be invaded by merciless external intruders.

How should this sad and presumptuous situation be resolved!

The boy didn’t move.

This wasn’t the time to act rashly. Wasn’t analyzing the information about whoever entered the room with his whole body the first thing he should do right now?

Thump.

Thump.

Footsteps could be heard.

The boy’s ears perked up.

The boy began analyzing the situation based on the footsteps he heard.

‘This heavy, loud footstep is…’

This is definitely…

“Get up.”

It was his father.

The boy didn’t move.

‘If I pretend to sleep, he might not wake me up anymore and just leave. Even if not, at least I can lie down a little longer…’

Whoosh!

The blanket covering the boy flew through the air.

“Ah…”

The boy felt an indescribable emptiness and slightly raised his head. The dear blanket he had rolled around with about 300 out of 365 days a year was now moving away from him before his eyes.

And through the fluttering blanket, he could see the figure of some middle-aged man.

It was a familiar face.

Of course, it was his father’s face.

But today, that face looked a little strange.

‘Has the wind come?’

His father’s cheek was trembling nonstop.

“Get up.”

The boy sluggishly raised his upper body.

“Yan-ho.”

“Yes.”

“The sun is setting.”

“I saw.”

“But you’re still lying down.”

“Because the sun is setting.”

The boy’s father, Wei Jeong-han, smiled.

“Do you know how long you’ve been holed up in your room lying down?”

The boy tilted his head.

‘Was it three days ago, or four days ago?’

It was ambiguous.

“Three days?”

Wei Jeong-han shouted loudly.

“Four days, four days! You damn bastard! You’ve been stuck in your room corner for four days, covered with a blanket and rolling around! Doesn’t your back hurt! Even a bear would turn over after lying down for three days because of the sweat on its back!”

The boy nodded.

Wasn’t it a child’s duty to respond when his father said something right?

“So I got up and lay back down once in a while.”

Creak.

Wei Jeong-han’s teeth clashed together making a rough sound.

“Right. So for the four days I was away from home, you rolled around in your room and just received the meals the servants brought you?”

The boy felt wronged.

“Actually, I was going to train too.”

“But?”

“But every time I opened my eyes, the sun was setting.”

“So?”

The boy scratched the back of his head.

“When the sun sets, you have to sleep. That way you can wake up early tomorrow and train…”

“Kraaack!”

Wei Jeong-han grabbed the bed and lifted it up.

When the bed was lifted and tilted, the poor boy on the bed lost his balance and rolled down to the floor.

“Ow!”

Wei Jeong-han grabbed the boy’s neck who had fallen to the floor and lifted him up.

Thanks to that, the boy ended up dangling in the air.

“Today I’m going to fix that laziness of yours! And that impudence while I’m at it!”

The boy made a tearful face.

The invader who had barged into his room didn’t seem to have any intention of letting him go quietly.

It seemed like he had chosen the wrong day.

“Can’t you stand properly?”

“Ngh.“

Wei Yan-ho was shouldering a water carrier and taking a difficult horse stance.

Sweat was beading on his forehead, stinging his eyes, and his legs were trembling on their own.

“To be gasping after just one quarter-hour of horse stance! Are you truly a descendant of a martial arts family!”

Wei Yan-ho’s mouth popped out.

“Aren’t children of martial families human too? It’s human nature to find heavy things tiring.”

“That damn mouth of yours!”

Wei Yan-ho’s mouth went back in.

What an obedient son who listens so well. But contrary to Wei Yan-ho’s thoughts, Wei Jeong-han didn’t seem to like Wei Yan-ho at all.

Wei Jeong-han shouted with an angry face.

“Martial arts come from effort! No matter how heaven-sent a talent someone may have, if they can’t train and strive day by day, they can never reach a high level! Do you truly not know this?”

“I know.”

“But!”

Wei Yan-ho seemed to think for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Well, there are many people in the world who work hard, so do I really need to become a master too?”

Tremble.

Wei Jeong-han’s eyelids began to quiver.

“Not everyone needs to become a master. If everyone worked hard toward the same goal, what a harsh and difficult world it would be to live in. Masters need beginners supporting them from below to be masters, and if everyone were masters, what meaning would being a master have?”

Crack.

The switch Wei Jeong-han was holding broke, unable to withstand his grip.

“The world is supposed to respect diversity…”

Wei Yan-ho, who had been talking for a while, tilted his head.

“Are you sick somewhere?”

Wei Jeong-han, who had been trembling with clenched fists, came to his senses at Wei Yan-ho’s words and let out a deep sigh.

“Right, diversity… That’s a good word.”

“Hehe, right?”

Wei Yan-ho grinned.

Now it feels like we’re finally communicating?

“In that spirit, you should try rolling around in various ways today.”

Wei Yan-ho made a dying face.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Quiet! Don’t even think about resting until midnight today!”

Wei Jeong-han threw a wooden sword he had placed nearby to Wei Yan-ho.

“Catch it.”

“Like this?”

“Put it down!”

Wei Yan-ho quietly put down the water carrier and caught the wooden sword.

“Overhead strike!”

Wei Yan-ho pouted and raised the wooden sword above his head.

“One thousand overhead strikes.”

“I think the number is a bit wrong.”

“One. Thousand. Times!”

Wei Jeong-han had no intention of compromising.

“I’ll say it again, one thousand times. If you don’t complete a thousand overhead strikes today, know that you won’t be able to eat, let alone drink water!”

“Water too?”

“Water too!”

Wei Yan-ho’s mouth stuck out like a duck’s beak.

“Start!”

This is child abuse!

And it was unreasonable punishment.

How can a thousand overhead strikes make sense for saying one wrong thing! Not middle strikes, but overhead strikes! Just lifting the wooden sword above your head takes so much strength, and to do that a thousand times!

This is tyranny!

But what power did he have?

Poor Wei Yan-ho sighed deeply and began the overhead strikes.

After the wooden sword went up and down a couple of times, Wei Jeong-han, who had been watching, opened his mouth.

“Stop.”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Wei Jeong-han with delight.

Honestly, a thousand times was a bit too much.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“I asked what you’re doing.”

“I’m doing overhead strikes.”

“Is that so?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“What do you think an overhead strike is?”

“Well, it’s striking the sword from top to bottom. Literally.”

“Then what is it that you’re doing?”

Wei Yan-ho smiled broadly.

“Overhead strikes!”

“Kraaaack!”

Wei Jeong-han threw the switch he was holding at Wei Yan-ho.

Wei Yan-ho, making his sluggish movements so far seem like a lie, dodged the flying switch with quick movements and shouted.

“Why are you doing this!”

“A swatter that a dying old man waves to catch mosquitoes would have more power and accuracy than your wooden sword!”

“But I did what you told me to!”

Wei Jeong-han’s face turned red.

It was the moment when his resolve to never use violence in his child’s education was torn apart like paper.

Wei Jeong-han approached Wei Yan-ho with big strides.

That’s when it happened.

“What are you doing?”