When Lee Sungmin opened his eyes, Wijihoyeon was nowhere to be seen. Lee Sungmin raised his body as he pressed down on his disheveled hair, straightening it out.
He immediately felt flustered as he recalled what had transpired last night. It wasn’t the first time he had sex with a woman, but it was his first time in this life, that was certain.
Besides, this wasn’t like his prior experiences when he would pick any sort of prostitutes or whores. This was with someone he truly loved.
As he looked around, Wijihoyeon’s residence was built more like a hut than a house, but the quilt on the floor was so soft and fluffy that it did not fit in the rugged interior and appearance of the hut.
There were still bloodstains on the top of the quilt. Looking at the bloodstains, Lee Sungmin felt complicated.
He truly wondered if it was okay for him to have her first time.
[You’re thinking like a fucking creep.]
Heoju grumbled. But the words from Heoju did not contain any irritation. On the contrary, Heoju expressed satisfaction and talked to him.
[So…. Did you like it?]
‘Shut up.’
Lee Sungmin was dumbfounded that Heoju so brazenly asked such a shameless question in a playful manner.
Therefore, Lee Sungmin told Heoju to shut up, but Heoju was persistent. He continued to speak, since he had been quiet all night.
[It was good, huh? By the way, you looked so pitiful and pathetic with your waist movement, are you sure you’ve had experience before….?]
‘Oh, shut up.’
Lee Sungmin wanted to cover his ears, but he could still hear the giggling voice of Heoju.
Lee Sungmin raised himself up in his undergarments. Even though he had warned Heoju that he would put him in a toilet, Heoju did not stop this time.
Heoju, who was pouring out questions one after another and Lee Sungmin admonishing them, felt that he had too many harsh things to say, regardless of the dangers of being put in a pile of shit.
“Are you awake?”
Lee Sungmin thought that Wijihoyeon might have left.
Wijihoyeon was a little worried about that. However, Wijihoyeon was standing just outside the hut. Standing outside the hut, she was wearing a simple uniform, not a dress like she wore the night before.
Lee Sungmin exclaimed a sigh of relief as he saw Wijihoyeon standing outside with a fine face.
“Why are you outside so early?”, Lee Sungmin asked.
“I woke up early. And I thought it would be a little… no, very embarrassing to look at you naked in there.”
Wijihoyeon replied with a slight smile. Lee Sungmin avoided Wijihoyeon’s gaze by staring at the ground, lowering his head.
He didn’t imagine that Wijihoyeon would talk about that so shamelessly.
No, if he thought about it, it was only natural. What happened last night was a complete series of ‘first-times’ for Wijihoyeon.
“That’s… uh……are you all right?”, He asked, avoiding the topic of conversation.
“No, I’m not.”
Wijihoyeon answered Lee Sungmin’s question with a frown.
“I don’t know if it’s because it’s my first time. Sure it was embarrassing, but it was my first time doing such a thing. Of course, I don’t feel O-K-A-Y.”
Wijihoyeon closed her legs slightly as if she was embarrassed.
“I had heard about… this type of thing back then when I was being educated in my home world. But all I knew was theoretical knowledge, nothing else.”
“Ah, that’s… that’s right.”
What manner of theoretical education did she receive? Lee Sungmin was inwardly curious about it, but did not think to ask.
“I was disappointed because it was different from what I expected. The pain was stronger than the pleasure. I’m used to pain, but the pain I experienced at night was… different from the pain I’ve experienced before. Especially… How should I put this? I didn’t think that I would be willingly suffering like that so much.”
“Yes….”
“I thought it was a little unfair. Why should I be the only one feeling pain?”
There was no answer Lee Sungmin had for that remark. When Lee Sungmin kept his mouth shut, showing he didn’t know what to say, Wijihoyeon squinted at Lee Sungmin with her eyes.
“You weren’t feeling pain, were you?”
“Uh…… it didn’t hurt.”
“That’s why it’s unfair. Why should I be the only one in pain? If I do it again next time, I will have to make you suffer pain whenever I experience it too.”
Heoju burst into laughter in Lee Sungmin’s head at the brazen words from Wijihoyeon.
[She’s clearly saying she was in pain because you can’t do it right! So, just follow the old man’s words and practice hard so that you don’t make her feel so much pain when you’re pounding her.]
‘What the hell do you mean by practice?’
[There are many ways. The best thing is having an actual game, but there’s no one here to practice with…… You have no choice but to practice the exercises by yourself.]
‘You’re fucking crazy…’
Although he answered so irritatingly, Lee Sungmin was seriously listening to the empty words in his own way. Meanwhile, Wijihoyeon, who stretched her legs a few times and then folded them, said to Lee Sungmin.
“I’m going to go train my new martial art techniques. What are you going to do?”
“Me? Me too… I have to practice them as much as possible right now.”
Lee Sungmin replied, feeling nervous. He was shocked that Wijihoyeon was so calm under the pretext of what had happened only a day before.
He had said he was a changing man, and didn’t want to live as a coward anymore, but Lee Sungmin knew better. He was simply saying the words without any meaning behind them.
[It’s because you were embarrassed, or due to your own pride. After all, The Minor Heavenly Demon is a warrior that has mastered several martial arts, and traveled across the continent witnessing several things. Just because she’s a warrior recognized by all, doesn’t mean you don’t feel embarrassed seeing this unique side to her according to how shy she is at night. What a waste to spend all her time and attention on you… tsk-]
Heoju spoke, clicking his tongue.
[You’ll also have to continue to train, you know that right? If you fall behind her, she could leave you at any time. Don’t use that silly excuse of being less talented than her to avoid confronting your own training and feelings.]
‘No, you’re right.’
Lee Sungmin made up his mind about it the day before. He didn’t want to be the one always chasing Wijihoyeon. He wanted to become stronger, he wanted to be reliable, he wanted to be there for her through thick and thin.
She was still someone he acknowledged being much more talented than he was, but he didn’t want to use that excuse anymore either.
Solely because he was slightly stronger than Wijihoyeon now, this didn’t mean he wanted to stay stagnant. No, he wanted to continue being ahead of her.
He didn’t want to fall behind, hence why he left the hut with Wijhoyeon, and they found a secluded area in the forest to sit down and meditate. Lee Sungmin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, circulating his new internal energy technique for the Dark Storm Arts, gifted to him by Sima Ryunju.
The moment Lee Sungmin was about to start circulating the internal energy in earnest, Sima Ryunju’s voice rang out in his surroundings.
[Come here to where you need to be training. You don’t need such distractions.]
It was a selfish and crude remark. Lee Sungmin wanted to respond to the mental message sent to him, but he couldn’t even identify where Sima Ryunju’s presence was coming from, so in the end he was forced to stand up after a sigh.
“What’s going on?”
Wijihoyeon, who was frowning with a strong circulation of internal energy around her, asked Lee Sungmin. She also did not detect the presence of Sima Ryunju.
“My teacher called me.”
“Make sure you come back then.”
Wijihoyeon said. When asked to come back later, Lee Sungmin laughed without realizing it. Lee Sungmin turned around and left their area of practice.
He didn’t know where Sima Ryunju was, but he decided that going to Sima Ryunju’s cabin was an acceptable start.
As Lee Sungmin had guessed, Sima Ryunju stood in front of the cabin.
Sima Ryunju, who was leaning against the doorframe to his cabin among the chatty fairies, pushed the fairies away and straightened his posture as Lee Sungmin approached.
He was wearing yet again, a new mask this time.
“What’s the matter that you called me for?”
“Did you do it with that brat?”
As soon as Lee Sungmin came up, Sima Ryunju asked him about it, not bothering to beat around the bush. Lee Sungmin stood silently at the sudden question.
When Lee Sungmin hesitated without saying anything, Sima Ryunju snorted and said.
“You must have. You must have tried to use a curtain to block the sound as much as possible, but you can’t deceive this old man. Besides, all the fairies in the forest know that you and the Minor Heavenly Demon kissed.”
“……well, that’s possible.”
“Well, what a shame. Thanks to that brat, one of your chances is gone.”
Sima Ryunju grumbled and kicked the ground with his feet. He seemed to feel genuinely regretful.
“Chances ? What do you mean?”
“Your virginity.”
Answered Sima Ryunju. Heoju burst into laughter in Lee Sungmin’s head.
“When I looked at your body, it was surprisingly……never mind. It was pure with yang qi. Meaning you were clearly a virgin. Thanks to that I was thinking I could teach you a tremendous martial art revolving around your yang qi, but thanks to that brat, it’s not possible anymore.”
“No, what… my yang qi…….”
“Don’t look down on one’s virginity. It’s awfully hard to keep your virginity for the entirety of your life, but yang qi Martial Arts are highly efficient if you learn it. There’s no conflict with other martial arts when it’s utilized properly. This old man was thinking of trying to replace your poor talent with a yang qi cultivation technique, but…… Hmm. You’ve mixed yourself up with a bratty girl in bed, so you can’t.”
[Hey, why don’t you ask him the same?]
‘What do you want me to ask him?’
[Ask if he’s mastered a yang qi cultivation method or not.]
Heoju raised the question with a fuss. In fact, Lee Sungmin also was thinking about what Sima Ryunju said just now, so he was curious if Sima Ryunju had mastered a yang qi cultivation technique prior.
“Did you learn how to cultivate with Yang Qi then?”
“Huh, What are you saying?”
Sima Ryunju laughed in vain at Lee Sungmin’s silly question.
“This old man has lived a long time, but the question you asked is like asking if dogs like to fly. That’s how stupid it is… Have I mastered a Yang Qi cultivation method? Are you crazy?”
“You’re saying you haven’t?”
“Of course I haven’t. I didn’t even feel the need to learn it. I don’t have a strong sexual desire, but when I was young I liked to play quite a bit.”
[Is he young enough to even stand up down there?]
“Aren’t you too elderly to get it up?”
“You crazy bastard.”
Lee Sungmin unknowingly spat out the words that Heoju murmured, and Sima Ryunju’s voice became apathetic.
Crackle-
In front of Lee Sungmin’s eyes, Sima Ryunju disappeared with a black current of lightning. Lee Sungmin instinctively attempted to respond quickly, knowing what was going to happen, but it was too fast for him to even possibly catch up to Sima Ryunju’s movements.
Boom-
Lee Sungmin’s body flew in the sky with a loud noise. This time again, he groaned while holding onto his sore butt.
“It’s a pity that I can’t show you how well it stands and how mighty it is, but it’s quite obvious this old man doesn’t swing that way.”
“Why are you doing this to me again?…!”
“You must believe this old man to be some sort of fool, don’t you?”
Sima Ryunju spoke in a heavy voice, and Heoju cackled crazily in Lee Sungmin’s head.
“I noticed what transpired last night, but I had to confirm that you did it with the Minor Heavenly Demon last night, with you. It’s not like there aren’t ways around it, but we’ll have to look into it in detail.”
“There’s another way?”
“There are, in fact, many ways. It’s just… it’s just a little bit…. The same goes for trials from gods and goddesses, but you have to give up something unreasonable in order to gain incredible strength and efficiency in your martial arts.”
“What do you want me to give up?”
“Do you know the martial art of preserving your state?”
“No, what’s that?”
“To put it simply, You need to give up your masculinity. If you learn how to preserve the regulation of your yang qi, your penis will dry up and you will end up falling apart. You’ll have to live your life neither a man nor a woman, but instead you can replace that loss of flesh with a martial art technique that can pierce the heavens.”
“…No, I don’t want to.”
“I knew it.”
[Maybe he’s mastered this art of preservation, too.]
Again this time, Heoju secretly urged the question. However, even before Lee Sungmin asked, Sima Ryunju answered on his own, ahead of him.
“This old man has not mastered the art of preservation, so don’t ask any questions about it.”
“….I didn’t mean to ask about it.”
“Fucking…”
Sima Ryunju grumbled like that and put his hand inside his wide sleeve attached to his robe. What he took out were five masks.
“Do you know the techniques related to facial masks?”
“I don’t.”
“To put it simply, you have to be able to hide your face quickly, like this.”
Sima Ryunju moved his hand in a blur. When he finished the movement, the mask on his face changed. It was too swift for Lee Sungmin to even recognize the change at first glance.
“You should have noticed by now, but every martial art related to this old man is related to the pursuit of the fastest speed. The Dark Storm Arts were specifically made and tailored towards this goal. However, the technique I showed you before was only the cultivation method. Now it’s time for you to consider controlling it.”
Lee Sungmin could tell the difference immediately. Compared to when he was practicing with the Dark Storm Arts, Sima Ryunju had immense control and finesse over the technique comparative to him.
Lee Sungmin had been trying to reach faster speeds during his training, to match at least something close to the speed of which Sima Ryunju moved at, but to no avail, he was never able to do so. And he knew the reason as to why as well. The Dantian was under immense pressure as the internal circuitry compressed itself and expanded like rubber to explode with force, propelling the martial artist cultivation, the technique, at high speeds.
“These five masks will force you to control your internal energy and the fine-tuning mechanics over your body. Practice this, by changing these five masks regularly.”
“How much?”
“Until this old man is satisfied. It won’t be easy. I entered the Realm of Transcendence with this technique a long time ago, but I also completed the technique after undergoing body metamorphosis later on. I’ve thought about other ways to teach you the method most effectively, but your body has undergone something somewhat similar to body metamorphosis, making it possible for you to learn it through practice.”
Sima Ryunju threw the five masks from his hands, into the air. Lee Sungmin asked while catching the masks and putting one on.
“Is it also for training, that you’re wearing a mask right now?”
“Half right and half wrong. This mask completely blocks the presence of this old man from being detected anywhere in the world and also serves as a blockage of hiding my identity as well as for training… One is just for my personal tastes, one is for my duties, and one is for my training. As I said to the Minor Heavenly Demon, don’t you think wearing a mask is quite mysterious? There are a lot of masks that I have on hand, so you can choose any depending on your mood. Not only that, but the fairies love it.”
Sima Ryunju said proudly.Training, duties and… personal tastes?
Lee Sungmin had no choice but to be surprised by the words. Even though he was wearing a mask that helped mask his internal energy, he couldn’t even catch the basic movement of Sima Ryunju with his eyes, let alone trying to track him with internal energy.(T/N : yea, meaning martial artists try to gauge where others are at with internal energy if they’re out of vision, but even when Sima Ryunju is in sight, Lee Sungmin can’t catch his movements.)
“Ignorantly pouring in all your internal energy doesn’t exactly mean you’ll be able to pursue the top speed possible with your body through the Dark Storm Arts. The goal is to create a movement that will be efficient, perfected to the most minute detail, and completely untraceable to the enemy.”
Sima Ryunju took a step back as he finished his last words.
“And I’m not going to force you to do this training either. But…. If you don’t, what do you think the fairies will be talking about otherwise if you aren’t playing with these masks?”
“……I … understand.”
Lee Sungmin nodded his head embarrassedly.After nodding his head with a satisfied expression, Sima Ryunju turned around and vanished in the dark portal of lightning.