Adolescent Chun-bong: A Name to Be Reckoned With
Seo-jun couldn’t fathom how to navigate this terrifying situation.
"From now on, we’re sleeping separately."
"What…! Wait, Geum! Why suddenly?"
"It was weird for a man and a woman who aren't married to sleep together in the first place."
"But siblings usually sleep together!"
"Pfft, only when they’re little."
With a snort of dismissal, Chun-bong packed her things and moved. Next door.
In the guesthouse that the Namgung Family had allocated for Seo-jun, multiple rooms were available, so just five steps from his door led to Chun-bong’s new room.
Peeking into Chun-bong's room, Seo-jun grumbled.
"I can’t sleep without my Chun-bong…."
"You slept just fine without me before, didn’t you? And you sure were up to plenty."
"That… That was back then…."
"Well, keep it in mind."
Claiming her own room, Chun-bong slammed the door shut.
"I’m changing, so don’t come in."
"…My Chun-bong’s all grown up. So I don’t have to dress you anymore?"
"Try it, and I won’t sit still!"
Peeking through a slightly cracked door, Chun-bong stuck her tongue out at him before quickly closing it again, trying to calm her pounding heart.
'This is how it should be.'
They’d been too casual all this time. If things continued this way, she would never break out of the “sibling” role.
So, this was a single step back to take ten steps forward… something she just had to endure.
“Hee-hee.”
Now, she had nothing to be ashamed of. This “menstrual” thing came with unpleasant cramps and bleeding, but it also proved that she could become pregnant.
The adult Chun-bong…!
Having already pre-named about twelve hypothetical grandchildren, Chun-bong spread her bedding with a hearty laugh.
The Namgung Clan’s rebirth was not far off.
Chun-bong slowly opened her eyes, groggily sitting up.
“Haahm… Water…”
“There you go, Chun-bong. Water’s right here.”
Tipping her head back, she found the water reaching her lips. Drinking deeply, Chun-bong stretched her arms high with a loud yawn.
“Well done.”
Her body moved instinctively. Still half-asleep, Chun-bong allowed herself to be quickly dressed by skillful hands.
As she stood, her hair was gently pulled and tidied. The soft touch made her sleepy again, and she yawned once more, habitually counting the days.
'Today is…'
What day of the week was it?
After five minutes of deliberation, she finally remembered with a sense of accomplishment, giggling to herself until she suddenly jolted awake.
“Wait, what? What’s going on?!”
“What’s wrong?” Seo-jun, standing right in front of her, tilted his head.
Frantically glancing around, Chun-bong realized she was in Seo-jun’s slightly barren room. Why was she here?
Chun-bong’s eyes grew wide.
“Hey! Did you kidnap me in my sleep?!”
“Nope.”
Seo-jun’s face looked genuinely innocent as he shook his hand, leaving Chun-bong bewildered.
“Then why am I here…?”
“You opened the door, came in, and lay down next to me last night?”
“I definitely went to sleep in my room!”
“Well, I wouldn’t know about that.”
Seo-jun shrugged.
Chun-bong, looking serious, tried to piece together the events of the previous night.
After struggling for a while, a vague fragment of memory surfaced.
‘Haahm… what…’
Cold weather. An unusually empty space beside her.
‘Where’s that Seo-jun…’
She remembered getting up groggily, stumbling toward her brother’s room, and throwing open the door…!
“No way…”
Had she really become incapable of independence?
Chun-bong grabbed her head in shock.
“Hey, Geum. We should get going.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Let’s go.”
“Why don’t you wash up?”
“Yeah, wash up. Right…”
Watching her dazedly walk toward the wash basin, Seo-jun tilted his head.
‘What’s with her?’
Geum Chun-bong… even in puberty, you’re too adorable!
Seo-jun had run through countless scenarios for Chun-bong’s adolescence in secret.
“Hey! I told you not to wash our clothes together!” “Get away; you stink!” “Want to sleep together? Perv. Why don’t you just die?” “I can’t live with someone like you. Don’t bother looking for me if I leave.” Relieved that Chun-bong’s puberty was turning out more manageable than expected, Seo-jun hoped she’d continue to grow up just like this… without too much trouble
“The formation and growth of Ki-muscle, as obvious as it sounds, requires internal energy. While training in Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong, it’s better to give up on cultivating inner energy growth.”
Training continued as always with the Fist King.
Seo-jun listened carefully but wasn’t afraid to discard what didn’t feel right.
“Can’t I just do both?”
“…Do whatever you want, kid.”
Once one reaches a certain peak, they must forge their own path.
At the Absolute Stage, a disciple must ultimately find their unique path, even if they follow the same martial techniques.
Especially for someone like Seo-jun, whose path was uniquely his own, it was better to leave him to his ways.
Seo-jun was handling it well on his own.
“Fist techniques aren’t all that different from sword techniques, huh? I just need to figure out how to connect some of the differences.”
“Aren’t weapons just extensions of the body anyway? Hands may be short-range, but they can do more.”
“Aha.”
Instead of directly infusing inner energy into his punches, he adjusted the flow of his energy to complement his fist techniques.
It was similar to how he first tried sword energy and caught the beginnings of Sword Union.
With energy wrapped around his fists, Seo-jun unleashed Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-gong, smashing space with a single punch and taking incoming attacks head-on.
Adapting the Fist King’s brutal style to fit himself, Seo-jun used other martial arts to fill in the gaps, creating a functional combination.
And then it hit him.
“Shouldn’t we be calling it Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-mu instead?”
“Call it whatever you want; I didn’t come up with the name anyway.”
“Great.”
From now on, it was Pa-ryeok-gwae-shin-mu.
As he trained daily, Seo-jun’s body started forming proper muscles.
Though he couldn’t yet compare to Pae Jin-gwang, his muscles had hardened and thickened enough to surpass human standards, and his size increased slightly with added weight.
He now felt he could arm-wrestle Namgung Su-a and have a good chance of winning.
But Seo-jun held back.
He aimed for overwhelming victory, determined to overpower Namgung Su-a until he could hold her down with ease. His relentless training continued.
Watching Seo-jun’s expanding physique, Pae Jin-gwang chuckled approvingly—only to gape the next day.
“What…! Where did all your muscles go?!”
“Ah, muscles? Oh, those…”
Slimmed down significantly overnight, Seo-jun grinned.
“These are compression muscles.”
Ki-muscle? Though it was energy transformed into a muscle-like form, it was still energy.
He had simply compressed it, reducing the volume and increasing density.
Compression muscles, literally.
“Why on earth would you do that…?!”
“Actually, this is more efficient.”
“You’re not even a real man! Get out of here!”
“We’re not even on a mountain.”
“Fine! Let’s see who dies today.”
That day, the Namgung Family’s exclusive training ground was half-destroyed.
Panicking clan members rushed in, only for Namgung Jin-cheon to laugh and wave them off.
“It’s just a training ground; we’ll rebuild. Just focus on your practice….”
Such was the Namgung Clan.
Watching Namgung Jin-cheon’s radiant presence, Seo-jun closed his eyes tightly.
For days, Pae Jin-gwang grumbled.
“Ugh… can’t even hit him when I want to.”
“Well, then surpass me in strength.”
“Oh yeah? Want to go again?”
“Uh, the training ground will be wrecked again! Really?!”
The power difference between Seo-jun and Pae Jin-gwang had narrowed, but to settle the score, they’d both have to fight with the intent to kill.
And the one most likely to fall would still be Seo-jun.
One solid punch from Pae Jin-gwang would shatter him to pieces.
If his body shattered, even he might not survive.
Seo-jun pondered seriously.
Or would he survive?
The thought occurred, but he dared not test it.
If he actually died, he’d go down as the greatest fool in the Central Plains.
When he asked Pae Jin-gwang, his mentor also pondered seriously.
“I don’t know. If you fought while running away, maybe I couldn’t catch you.”
“But if I’m caught, I’d die, right?”
“That Heaven-Reversing Sun and Moon Art you used against the Qi Sword Master… That would slice me deep, even if I couldn’t guarantee survival.”
“Pretty sure it wouldn’t cut through even half my neck.”
“Most people die when their necks are half cut through.”
“I don’t think you would die.”
“I wouldn’t know… I’ve never been cut.”
Listening to their debate, Chun-bong’s face twisted.
Why were these two fighting when they thought they’d lose?
She sidled up to Namgung Su-a, whom she thought was relatively sane, but Namgung Su-a spoke first.
“Hey, Geum.”
“Huh?”
“Doesn’t Seo-jun’s arm look really solid?”
“Oh, yeah. I guess.”
“Would it feel good if he choked me?”
Chun-bong backed away. This sister was also starting to lose her mind.
‘Maybe we’ve all become too close…?’
At first, she’d shown some decorum, but now, they’d shed all pretense.
Chun-bong suddenly had an epiphany.
Were there no sane martial artists at the highest levels?
Then again, reaching such a level was impossible with an ordinary mindset.
‘Could it be…me too?’
She took a moment for self-reflection.
But no matter how she thought about it, she was still the sanest one here.
“Fine, I’ll just keep doing my best.”
It was then that Namgung Jin-cheon appeared, cutting across the sky.
“Son-in-law….”
“Oh, Father-in-law!”
“The grand-uncle has set a date. It’ll be in a week….”
“A date? You mean the test, right?”
“Yes….”
Namgung Jin-cheon explained that Namgung Hyeok’s proposed test involved three challenges.
The first was trust.
The second was swordsmanship.
The third was martial arts.
“Passing just two will earn the grand-uncle’s recognition of your qualifications. If you succeed, he’ll support you, eliminating any concerns about other opposition….”
“What if I fail?”
Namgung Jin-cheon merely smiled faintly.
“There won’t be any need to worry about that….”
If anyone dared try crippling his martial energy or cutting his tongue and wrists, he’d stop them himself, but he doubted it would come to that.
Even in failure, the grand-uncle didn’t seem inclined to harm his son-in-law.
Leaving Seo-jun with a word of encouragement, Namgung Jin-cheon departed.
“Take this chance to secure your place….”
It wouldn’t be a difficult task for his son-in-law.
.