Chapter 3: To the Past (3)

“‘Orabeoni called my name. Hic!’”

Yong Seollan felt that her tears, flowing uncontrollably at his gentle demeanor, made her look like a fool.

But it didn’t matter.

Just witnessing Yong Hwarin’s humane side was enough to make her tears feel worth shedding.

*

Yong Hwarin strolled through the Heavenly Central Sect, lost in rare reflections and memories. Passing martial artists and attendants bowed respectfully as they greeted him.

“Young Master, you look well today.”

Such compliments were directed his way.

From this, it was clear that Yong Hwarin was held in high regard. In his memory, he had never mistreated or tormented others outside his family.

On the contrary, he often took care of them and looked out for their well-being.

Looking back now, he thought his life had been a blessed one.

However, the same could not be said for his family. His younger sister and father had been assassinated, his half-brother had become the Sect Leader in his stead, and the Heavenly Central Sect fell into rapid decline, eventually walking the path of ruin.

Before those events, Yong Hwarin had entered the Sky Ocean Merchant Union as a live-in son-in-law, later uniting the merchant unions in Henan under his control.

What he failed to achieve in the martial world, he had accomplished in the business world.

Yet even as he immersed himself in the world of commerce, his life was filled with regret. He had been unable to offer any assistance as his family collapsed.

His half-brother, Yong Kijoong, had fallen into qi deviation while mastering their family’s secret martial arts and became partially paralyzed. As a result, the weakened Heavenly Central Sect was eventually reduced to a subordinate branch of the Weiji Clan.

Even as that happened, Yong Hwarin had been powerless.

But now, he had a chance to rewrite that regret-filled life.

‘I will no longer lose my family and my people. I will protect them at all costs.’

At the time, he hadn’t understood anything, but now, having endured all that past, he believed he could prevent and prepare. By addressing the causes, he could amend that painful process.

‘For Buddha to send me back to the past… he must have taken pity on me.’

Every aspect of the Heavenly Central Sect now appeared precious and beautiful to Yong Hwarin.

‘If all humans could live twice, the world would surely be a more beautiful place.’

He thought that no one would choose to live even their second life with regret.

* * *

From that day, Yong Hwarin began to change.

First, he actively stepped up to resolve matters within the clan. In the past, Yong Hwarin would have been too frail to do anything other than take herbal medicine and read books in his room.

Now, however, he was strong enough without relying on any medicine.

It was as though his frail constitution had been corrected when he returned to the past.

Of course, Yong Hwarin knew that showing a sudden transformation would arouse suspicion. For this reason, he resolved to reveal his changes gradually, over time.

Among these changes, the most significant was Yong Hwarin beginning to learn martial arts on his own.

“Father, starting today, I will also learn the martial arts of our family.”

Over the course of several months, through his daily greetings, he had built a certain level of rapport with his father. In the past, before the Heavenly Central Sect fell, Yong Hwarin had never properly trained in martial arts. His frail constitution was such that even a small amount of training would leave him bedridden for days.

By the time his body had been transformed through various spiritual medicines, his younger half-sister Yong Seollan had already passed away, and his half-brother, Yong Kijoong, had entered isolated training. Moreover, as a son-in-law living outside the sect, he had no reason to learn martial arts properly.

He had assumed that Yong Kijoong would inherit the Heavenly Central Sect.

Looking back, it felt as though all those events had happened because of him.

His half-sister, Yong Seollan, had wanted to spend time with him, but when he refused, she went to play with her friends instead and met with misfortune.

The downfall of the Heavenly Central Sect began from that point.

If only Yong Hwarin had known martial arts, if only he had been warmer to his father and Yong Seollan, and if only he had accompanied her on that outing…

Perhaps those tragedies could have been avoided.

“Is that true?”

Yong Biyang was already grateful to the heavens for his son’s newfound health, and the fact that he wanted to learn martial arts was a blessing beyond measure.

He had encouraged his son to practice martial arts for the sake of his health, but after his remarriage, his son had completely ignored his advice.

Now, hearing that his son was voluntarily committing to martial training, Yong Biyang felt deeply moved.

“You’ve made a wise decision. Practicing the family’s martial arts will help strengthen your body.”

Yong Hwarin still didn’t know why his body had become so robust after returning to the past.

But he could imagine many possibilities.

Although he had been obese, he had recovered his health with the power of spiritual medicine. He thought it was either that this healthy state had been transferred with him into the past, or it might have been related to the elderly man he fought with at the end.

With his now-healthy body, Yong Hwarin resolved to learn martial arts. Above all, he felt the necessity of mastering martial arts to protect his family.

Although he was part of the Upper World, he had deeply realized in his previous life the need for strength sufficient to at least safeguard himself.

The Upper World was intricately connected with Murim, to the point where it was impossible to discuss one without mentioning the other. Murim and the Upper World were places where it was difficult to protect what one possessed without power.

“I’ll assign a martial arts teacher to you first.”

“Understood.”

* * *

The next day, Yong Hwarin’s residence welcomed his martial arts teacher.

“Hmm?”

Yong Hwarin looked at the teacher’s face with a surprised expression. It was a familiar face, though they had never conversed much before.

The person was none other than the martial arts teacher of his half-sister, Yong Seollan. They had only exchanged brief greetings in passing.

“Greetings. I am Mo Biyoung, assigned to teach you martial arts, Young Master.”

Originally, Yong Biyang had deliberately chosen a female martial arts teacher for his daughter. He believed that a woman would be better suited to understanding his sensitive daughter.

With the assumption that his son had not fully regained his health, Yong Biyang thought it would also be better to assign a female teacher instead of a male one. Hence, Mo Biyoung was sent.

Moreover, Mo Biyoung was a descendant of loyal retainers who had served the Heavenly Central Sect for generations, and she was more knowledgeable than anyone about its secret techniques.

She was one of the few masters who had proficiently learned the “Soaring Heavenly Dragon Emperor Sword” and “Azure Bamboo Sword,” the signature techniques of the Heavenly Central Sect, second only to Sect Leader Yong Biyang.

In terms of skill, she was a swordsman who could be counted among the best in Henan. However, she had never ventured outside and had remained solely within the sect, leaving her relatively unknown to outsiders.

Within the sect, however, people did not hesitate to call her “Dragon Flower Sword.”

Yong Hwarin couldn’t hide the bittersweet emotions rising within him as he looked at Mo Biyoung. Even after the Heavenly Central Sect fell, she had tirelessly worked to rebuild it until she met an untimely and mysterious death.

While he had entered the Upper World and turned a blind eye to his family’s fate, Mo Biyoung had devoted herself to restoring the sect, living a life of constant struggle.

She was the most fervent in the battles against the Dabie Sect, which had established its base in Mount Dabie and led the destruction of the Heavenly Central Sect.

Because of that, five years later, she gained the alias “Blood Flower Dragon,” which, as a woman, was not a title she could take pride in.

He had been unable to help her at the time.

To Yong Hwarin, Mo Biyoung, who had dedicated her life to his family, was someone who evoked profound feelings of gratitude and sorrow.

He bowed respectfully.

“It is an honor to learn under the Dragon Flower Sword.”

His excessively polite greeting made Mo Biyoung slightly surprised. In truth, she had regarded Yong Hwarin as a rather cold and unapproachable individual.

Even when family circumstances were difficult, there were many who lived life with optimism. Furthermore, it was not uncommon in that era for men to remarry.

Yet, even under such circumstances, Yong Hwarin had built walls around himself, severing ties with others, which she did not find appealing.

In fact, if it weren’t for the Sect Leader’s orders, she wouldn’t have taught Yong Hwarin martial arts at all.

To Mo Biyoung, Yong Hwarin appeared to lack the pride or dignity expected of a martial artist.

However, his courteous demeanor was unexpected.

‘Let’s see how long this lasts.’

With that thought in mind, she exchanged brief pleasantries before beginning the martial arts lesson.

“The martial arts of this sect consist of only two sword techniques, one footwork technique, movement arts, and mental cultivation methods. However, those two sword techniques alone have allowed this sect to wield considerable influence in Henan. The Soaring Heavenly Dragon Emperor Sword produced martial artists who were among the top twelve masters of Murim, while a past master who perfected the Azure Bamboo Sword was recognized as the greatest martial artist in the northern regions.

The greatest master of this sect was Yong Gosan, the Supreme Dragon of Henan from thirty years ago, who was the former Patriarch of the sect. However, since his passing, the sect no longer has a master who has reached the peak level.”

She began explaining the unique martial arts of the Heavenly Central Sect.

“While there have been many outstanding practitioners, strangely, no one from this sect has achieved a level beyond the peak. For years, the sect has researched this phenomenon, but has yet to identify the cause. However, I believe the fault lies not with the martial arts themselves, but with the descendants who have failed to fully comprehend the true essence of the techniques.

Young Master, I hope that you will be the one to break this limitation of the sect.”

Yong Hwarin nodded while listening to Mo Biyoung’s words.

The reason why it was impossible to surpass the peak stage—Yong Hwarin already knew that reason. It was because he had lived through the future.

That very reason was also the basis for the destruction of the Heavenly Central Sect.

Yong Hwarin almost couldn’t resist the urge to speak out.

However, if he were to reveal the cause immediately in a state where he hadn’t even mastered martial arts, anyone would find it strange. Thus, he planned to reveal the cause and correct it once the time was right.

According to his calculations, it was currently about a year before his younger sister’s death, and the event that would entangle his family in a great conflict.

Yong Seollan’s death was destined to occur during the Spring Festival a year from now. She would visit the Yongmun Stone Cave and Baekma Temple in Luoyang for sightseeing but would end up falling victim to a catastrophe.

To prevent that tragedy, Yong Hwarin had to discover the secret technique to raise the family’s strength within a year.

First, he had to regain his physical strength, master the family’s martial arts, and uncover the weaknesses in those techniques so that the family’s martial artists could become stronger.

One year might seem insufficient, but it was by no means a trivial amount of time.

‘In my past life, I spent that year secluded in my room, taking medicinal decoctions and reading books while isolating myself from the world. This time, I won’t live like that. I will protect my family and my people with my own strength.’

*         *         *

Several days had passed, and Mo Biyoung found herself observing Yong Hwarin anew.

He was fully immersed in training without a trace of pretense or laziness.

Previously, she had seen him as someone lacking the disposition of a martial artist, but his ability to grasp each lesson as she taught him was unparalleled.

On the hundredth day, although Yong Hwarin had not yet awakened the ultimate principles of the sword techniques, he had reached a level where he could fully demonstrate both sword arts. He had mastered all their forms, and from now on, the key was to uncover the profound meanings within those techniques.

When Mo Biyoung explained the significance behind each movement, there were times when Yong Hwarin uncovered hidden meanings within the stances that even she had overlooked.

She couldn’t help but shiver at those moments.

‘Was the Young Master’s talent always this extraordinary?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep