Published at 29th of January 2026 10:14 am

Chapter 382

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

A day passed, and morning came.

More precisely, it was the moment when night ended and the sun began to rise.

"Whew."

On the far left side of Blue Moon Sect, there was an area set aside—a clearing, really, where members of the Small Moon Division could train freely.

As I came down from the mountain, I wiped off my sweat.

'This is tough.'

Every time I finished training, my body felt stiff and heavy. I wondered when this damn muscle pain would finally disappear.

『That's actually a good thing.』

Groaning, I heard Yu Chun-gil's voice speak to me.

『The higher your level and the more intense your training becomes, the less stimulation you feel. Which also means your external martial arts training slows down...』

Yu Chun-gil's blue eyes scanned me up and down.

『Your body hasn't reached that point yet, so it means you still have a lot of room to grow.』

A body that hadn't yet reached its limit.

It meant that there was still a lot of potential for improvement through external training, which was definitely a good thing.

'Hearing it like that, I guess it's not all bad.'

I nodded at his words.

Crack.

I did some light stretches. At the same time, I removed the shackles from my wrists and ankles.

Boom—!!!

A loud sound echoed as the ground caved in.

"Ugh..."

How long was I going to have to keep doing this?

'The weight has increased a lot.'

At first, I used to train with sandbags tied to me, but now it was shackles wrapped with iron weights—a world of difference from before.

'I'm not sure if my body's gotten bulkier, though...'

Even though I'd built more muscle, there wasn't much of a visible change physically.

Maybe it was because I never ate well in the first place?

I'd gotten stronger, but my build stayed the same. Was that a good thing or not?

'Anyway, even if my body gets bigger, there's no way I'll catch up to those monsters.'

Becoming as massive as Yu Chun-gil or the Tyrant King was impossible for me from the start.

My father was great in every aspect, except he was a bit short.

Maybe it was genetics, but I wasn't tall either.

In fact, I ended up shorter than my older brother or my father.

'Well, it's not like I've ever felt inferior because of my height.'

With a good-looking face, height wasn't much of an issue. That's how I tried to see it.

'But as a martial artist, it becomes a problem...'

Length of the arms and legs—physical disadvantages that became troublesome in real combat.

'Tsk.'

I scratched my head.

It was a chronic problem I'd realized through several real battles.

Of course...

'Still—'

Since it wasn't something I could fix, I figured I should just move on.

『Why do you think it can't be fixed?』

Yu Chun-gil spoke to me.

"Huh?"

What was he saying now?

"So, you're saying there's a way to fix being short?"

Did things like shoe lifts exist in this era? Even if they did, fighting in those would be ridiculous.

『If you're short, then you need to get taller.』

"... Grandpa."

I looked at Yu Chun-gil with a completely exasperated expression.

"If that was possible, everyone in the Central Plains would be over eight feet tall by now."

It was something even modern medicine in my past life couldn't solve.

Sure, I'd heard about things like breaking and extending the leg bones...

'But that would ruin your body.'

Besides, there was no way to do it in this era. At least, not in the Divine Physician's memories. And if the Divine Physician didn't know, it probably didn't exist anywhere in the Central Plains.

"If you're just joking, how about you save it for lat—"

『Do you think I'm joking?』

"......"

I stopped and looked at Yu Chun-gil. His expression, to my surprise, was dead serious.

『Heh heh heh—I told you. You just need to make yourself taller.』

"... Are you saying there's really a way?"

A method that even the Divine Physician didn't know? Really? I stared at him, wondering if he could possibly mean that.

『You must've heard of it before.』

Yu Chun-gil said in the gravest voice.

『Muscle-Tendon Transformation.』

"......!"

At those words, my eyes widened.

* * *

Muscle-Tendon Transformation (換骨奪胎).

To martial artists, it's a very famous term.

A body that has reached a certain level. An extraordinary inner ki to match.

And then, a sudden enlightenment.

When these three things come together, it signifies a tremendous transformation for a martial artist.

Not only does the body itself change, but the very vessel that holds the ki is also transformed, leading to a massive awakening.

'I've never experienced it myself, so I wouldn't know.'

I'd heard it was completely different from regaining youth or reversing age.

"... Muscle-Tendon Transformation..."

Hearing Yu Chun-gil's words, I tilted my head.

'I talk about my limbs and he's telling me to go through Muscle-Tendon Transformation?'

Is this seriously his solution? It seemed a bit absurd.

"It's not something you can just do because you want to."

Like I'd already recalled, Muscle-Tendon Transformation is like a dream for martial artists.

You need the realm, the amount of inner ki—and even enlightenment to go with it.

Would just wanting it make it happen? Of course not.

'... Still.'

It felt strange. For some reason, if it was Yu Chun-gil, I felt like he really could make it happen.

"Hmm."

I gazed into the air. Yu Chun-gil wasn't around at the moment. He'd left, saying he had to go check on something.

'... Muscle-Tendon Transformation.'

In the meantime, I was reviewing all the information I had about Muscle-Tendon Transformation.

From the Divine Physician's memories, that is.

'It's not really a medical thing.'

This was something not even the Divine Physician fully understood.

The minimum requirement was the Transcendent realm. Along with that, strengthened external martial arts and filled lower and middle dantian.

You had to assess just how much inner ki was within.

'The problem is—'

Even if all those requirements are met—

'...that damn enlightenment.'

The enlightenment that must come to a martial artist—this is something medicine can't prove or measure.

'That's why, even if people fulfilled all the conditions, they often couldn't achieve Muscle-Tendon Transformation because they didn't reach the necessary enlightenment.'

That was the information as I knew it.

'And yet, Yu Chun-gil is planning to help me achieve Muscle-Tendon Transformation.'

I found it incomprehensible.

'Just what method is he planning to use?'

It already made me nervous. Not knowing what he'd do made it worse. The problem is—

'... I can't think of any reason it wouldn't work.'

I can't convince myself it's impossible. If it's that old man, I feel sure he'd pull it off no matter what.

'He's impossible to predict.'

I was afraid because I couldn't guess what trouble he might cause—but I also believed that if he set his mind to do something, he would absolutely succeed.

He would do whatever it takes to get it done.

Definitely...

'That's what makes it truly scary.'

Hiss...

I unconsciously wiped away the cold sweat.

'Right, Yu Chun-gil is Yu Chun-gil.'

I decided to just leave the old man alone and focus on my own tasks. If I worried about him too, I really would end up wasting my entire day.

'Alright then.'

I straightened up. It was midday already.

'At least there doesn't seem to be any Small Moon Division missions today.'

It was the perfect time to get some things done.

'Going to the secret store room isn't a good idea without Yu Chun-gil.'

It seemed a bit dangerous to head to the store room while Yu Chun-gil was gone, so I decided to pass on that.

So then—

'... I should probably check in on the Tang family guy or the Small Moon Division leader.'

Finish my current training, and then go get the final sword review from Sword Emperor at night.

'Doesn't that mean I'd just be training the whole day?'

Now that I thought about it, yes. Well, training's work too, I suppose.

'Researching the sword's image is important, but...'

I couldn't just keep watching those people forever.

'There's also the issue with Baek Yun and Chun Hye-In...'

I should look into that as well.

'Hmm. So the priorities are—'

I paused to think and quickly laid out a plan.

'Start with Chun Hye-In.'

Baek Yun and Chun Hye-In; among them, Chun Hye-In was the one I needed to check on first. For that—

"I should go to Chun Uijin."

He was the safest person I could ask.

* * *

I went to the place where Chun Uijin was staying. It was the shared quarters for disciples, and within, Chun Uijin was in the training hall.

Swish—! Swish—!!

The sword path traced rapidly—azure sword aura slicing through the air.

Agile and delicate.

Chun Uijin was creating sword paths with piercing blue eyes.

I watched his precise sword forms intently.

'That's good...'

He'd improved a lot. I hadn't seen him in just a few days and yet his growth was sharp.

Impressive. As always, both Do Hyung and Chun Uijin put in tremendous effort.

As I was observing,

"Oh."

I realized I couldn't just keep watching.

"Excuse me, young master Chun—"

Freeze—!

At my call, Chun Uijin instantly stopped. Still catching his breath, he turned to face me.

"Ah, Young master Bang."

"Sorry to interrupt your training. Do you have a moment?"

"Of course...!"

Chun Uijin smiled and slid his sword into its sheath.

"What brings you here?"

"Ah, I just wanted to ask you a few things."

I smiled as I spoke, before getting to the question.

"You've gotten incredible."

"Eh? Ahaha, not at all..."

Chun Uijin scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Compared to you, Young master Bang, I've still got a long way to go."

"Judging by what I just saw, you're already quite something."

"Thank you..."

"When will you be joining the Small Moon Division?"

"Ah."

At my question, Chun Uijin hesitated. Chun Uijin had already awakened Moon Eye, so he was qualified to take the Small Moon Division's entrance test.

"I was planning to try soon..."

"Oh..."

So he'd been thinking about joining.

"I just felt I still wasn't ready, so I wanted to polish my skills a bit more."

I could sense the determination in his eyes. He wasn't satisfied with himself yet.

"That's a good idea."

I understood his resolve. It wasn't my place to intervene.

"Thank you. Ah, so what did you want to ask...?"

"Ah, yes. I actually wanted to ask about Lady Chun."

"... About my sister?"

Chun Uijin's expression quickly stiffened when I mentioned Chun Hye-In. They must still have a bad relationship.

"Yes. If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to answer."

"... No, if it's Young master Bang asking, I'll answer whatever I can."

He seemed so determined that I almost felt bad for pressing.

Anyway...

"So, my question is... Does Lady Chun have any close elders or seniors?"

"... Elders?"

"Yes. For example... elders among the division leaders, that sort of thing."

"Ah."

Chun Uijin mulled over it.

"I believe she has some connection with the Small Moon Division leader."

"Ah... I already know about that."

I could skip the division leader. That uncle had been in my camp for a long while.

"If not the division leader... hmm..."

Chun Uijin thought for a moment longer.

"Ah."

His eyes widened as if he remembered something.

"Come to think of it—"

Just as he was about to speak—

Tap.

"... One moment, please."

I quickly covered his mouth.

"Huh? Young master Bang, why are you..."

Why are you stopping me? Chun Uijin protested, but soon his eyes widened too.

"Ah."

"Someone's coming."

I felt a rapid presence approaching from nearby.

Their target was here. Something was approaching at an incredible speed.

A moment later—

Boom—!!!

A tremendous noise echoed through the empty training hall as the door burst open.

"Hmm."

The door to the training hall swung open, and someone appeared. A young man with dark black hair and blue eyes.

'... Who's this?'

What's with this guy? I frowned as I watched the person who'd suddenly appeared.

"... Oh?"

Chun Uijin's response was different from mine.

"... Senior brother?"

"Senior brother?"

Senior brother? At Chun Uijin's words, I looked the young man up and down again.

"That's right."

The youth suddenly looked at me and nodded.

Srrrng—! Swoosh—!!!

"......!!!"

Suddenly, sword aura burst toward my eyes.

With a terrible killing intent behind it.

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