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Chapter 2: What Should I Do Now?
Chapter 2: What Should I Do Now?
Chapter 2: What Should I Do Now?
One month can seem short, but it can also feel long.
It is definitely enough time, though, to understand that I had died and reincarnated in another body. Its also enough time for me to adapt to my new body and environment.
Please try coming up with an excuse.
What do you mean? I asked, opening my eyes.
The middle-aged man in front of me furrowed his brows. His name was Baek Muheun, and he was the father of my new body as well as the director of the Baek Academy.
Do you really not know?
Nope, no idea.
In response to my frank answer, Baek Muheun sighed.
I sat up straight and stared at him.
I had nothing to be ashamed of, because I dont remember doing anything wrong!
Earlier, Mr Jang, the owner of the cloth shop, came to visit. His second son, a disciple at our academy, went home exhausted from doing squats.
Do you still have nothing to say for yourself?
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So? Whats the problem? I shamelessly raised my voice, saying, When learning martial arts, one must be prepared to endure a lot of physical and mental pain. I trained those kids hard so that their parents wouldnt feel like their money was being wasted. As thanks for my efforts, Mr Jang should be sending me silks instead.
Why you little!
BONK!
Ahh, my vision is spinning and I hear birds chirping around my head.
It didnt really hurt, but naturally, I was quite upset.
Hmm, I can definitely see the attack coming, but I cant dodge it.
Then again, even if I could dodge, taking the hit was still the logical choice. Thats because if I dodged, Id end up having to witness Father sprinting wildly down the street with bloodshot eyes.
You seriously treated ten-year-old children like they were martial arts disciples? Why the fuck did you do that? As for thanking you? Who on earth would thank such a careless, stupid instructor!
Baek Muheun waved the teachers stick he was holding in the air, threatening to bonk me in the head again if I didnt give him a satisfactory answer.
Why the fuck did I do that? Because thats exactly what I did every single day in the Blood Cult
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Tsk. Even though I actually went easy on the brats and only made them do half the usual training. I also didnt pull their nails out because they couldnt endure the training, or threaten the ones who dared to sit down during training with, No dinner for you tonight!
For the last few days, the sniveling brats kept nagging me about wanting to properly learn martial arts, so I only did as they asked and taught them properly!
Those damn brats went complaining to their parents just because it was hard? Sigh, kids nowadays
Are you listening to me?
In the past, Id definitely have Yes, Im listening. My thoughts were elsewhere, but I still shamelessly nodded and replied yes.
With a skeptical expression on his face, Baek Muheun looked at me and said, Nope, youre not. Everything Ive just said has gone in one ear and out the other. After you died and came back to life, I cant understand you anymore. Youve changed so much that I sometimes wonder if youre really my son
Hell, can this man read minds?
Father sighed again.
I lowered my head and apologized, Im sorry, I failed to consider the consequences. I wont do it again.
Suryong.
Suddenly, he called my name, a serious look on his face.
Baek Suryong.
That was the name of this bodys original owner, and it seems that Im twenty-seven this year.
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In this remote village in the middle of nowhere, there arent any decent martial arts academies. Father is hardly an expert, and our only students are the sniveling brats in the village. Life here is far removed from that of a murim expert, and none of the so-called martial artists here are strong enough to even be considered third-class warriors.
Yes, Father?
Baek Muheun seemed a little upset by my simple answer. He hesitated for a moment, before continuing, Since you woke up, youve been spacing out very often. Im sure youre worried about what happened. It must be traumatizing
One month ago, Baek Suryong died and came back to life.
To be precise, Baek Suryong died, and I reincarnated into his body.
If youre seeing this, you are at the wrong place.
You know you can confide in me if youre worried about anything, right? No matter what, youre my only family, and weve only got each other to depend on.
Baek Suryongs one and only family member. Thats exactly why I couldnt bring myself to tell him the truth, to say, Your son Baek Suryong is dead.
Ever since he was born, Baek Suryong had been sickly. His weakness was caused by a blocked meridians disease so rare, no one could name it. His similarly sickly mother, who passed away a few years after giving birth to him, had suffered from the exact same disease.
Baek Muheun took his son to consult every physician he could find, searching for one who could save him even if he had to sacrifice his own life in the process. He also fed all sorts of miracle medicines to the boy, but his son only told him, There is no effect
In the end, for the sake of his weak son, Baek Muheun decided to move to the countryside where the air was fresh and the water was clean. There, he set up a small martial arts academy.
However, when his son saw the academy, he said to his father, You miss life in the murim, dont you?
Why arent you reading this at ?
Despite his illness, Baek Suryong had always dreamed of becoming a martial artist of the murim. However, due to his blocked meridians, he could not learn any qi cultivation techniques. Instead, he focused on training his body while constantly searching for a way to heal his disease.
Finally, a few months ago, Baek Suryong got his hands on a certain qi cultivation technique.
I cant believe that guy was stupid enough to attempt learning a demonic art with a body like this.
Demonic Arts.
Although not all demonic arts are detrimental to the practitioner, they all cause significant side effects. Unfortunately for him, the one Baek Suryong found was a shit-tier demonic art that was extremely harmful to the practitioners body.
Thus, in the end, while trying to circulate his qi by force, Baek Suryong coughed up blood and collapsed.
Well, in fact, he died.
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When he resolved himself to learn the demonic art, he was already prepared to die.
[Id rather die trying than give up on my lifelong dream.]
Those were the words written on a bloodstained will next to where Baek Suryong died.
After he died, I woke up in his body, and for the last month, I pretended to lose my memories and lived as Baek Suryong. Little by little, I learned more and more about the former owner of this body.
Even nowyou still wont give up?
I hesitated.
Baek Muheuns face darkened. He was probably wondering why his son refused to give up on his dream despite having a near-death experience.
I thought for a while, then replied, Im not sure.
Y arent you reading this at ?
I didnt say this only to reassure Baek Muheun. This was how I truly felt.
Is there any meaning to becoming a murim warrior again?
In my past life, as a disciple of the Blood Cult, I practiced martial arts, killed people, and then, after my qi center was destroyed, I became a martial arts instructor and researcher who taught others how to kill people. I did all sorts of horrible things and constantly risked my life, all in the name of survival.
But what about now?
Do I really need to become a murim warrior?
I knew a total of five top-level martial arts. However, becoming a murim warrior means that Ill have to go back to a life where I could die anytime.
Do I really want to live like that again?
To me, who had already experienced an entire lifetime living on the edge, that was not the most pleasant thing to go through again.
A leisurely life spent teaching little brats actually sounds like a great idea.
You ought to read this at .
This rural village where the Baek Academy is situated is a quiet, comfortable place.
Nevertheless, I hesitated. My reply to Baek Muheuns question was not Yes, Ive given up. Instead, it was, Im not sure.
Surprised by my answer, Baek Muheuns eyes widened. He asked again, Youre not sure?
Yes.
This village is a very comfortable place to live. I feel like Im enjoying the life of a retiree every day. Still, I have no idea what the future holds for me.
Well, its a new life.
Theres no need to make a hasty decision.
I need more time to think about what I want to do in the future.
Baek Muheun gave me a complicated look consisting of a mixture of relief, and sympathy for his son who had to make the terrible decision on whether he should give up on his dream.
Y arent you reading this at ?
I met his gaze directly.
Eventually, with a heavy heart, he nodded and said, I understand. Also, you havent fully recovered yet, so be sure to tell me if youre not feeling well, okay?
Okay.
One more thing. Next time, if the children nag you about learning martial arts, just give them a ball and ask them to play soccer as training.
Im going to say this again, but when learning martial arts, one must be prepared to endure a lot of physical and mental pain
What do you think our academy is, Shaolin Temple? If you push the kids too hard, all of them will quit, said Baek Muheun, raising a hand to stop me from arguing back.
I got up from my seat, pouting.
If thats all you have to say, Im leaving.
Fine.
As I spun around and walked out of the room, I heard Baek Muheun sighing and mumbling to himself behind me.
Im sorry, I cant do anything for you even though Im your father
I pretended not to hear him and picked up the pace, walking back to my room.
If youre seeing this, you are at the wrong place.
As part of my daily routine, I stood in front of the mirror in my room and took off my shirt to check my physical condition.
My new body is that of a spoiled brat who has never experienced any kind of suffering before. Like his father, he was tall, with long limbs. He was a little thin for a man, but he was extremely handsome.
Ever since waking up in this body, I have been exercising every day. As a result, my physical condition right now is pretty good.
If not for the blocked meridians disease, this body is extremely suited to martial arts. However, in addition to the problems caused by the disease, my blood is filled with contaminated qi from the demonic art that killed this dude.
I spent a lot of effort healing over the past month, and it seems that the results are showing. Still, this body is hella rotten. In my current state, I probably couldnt even beat a third-rate warrior.
Actually, third-rate warriors can use qi, even if the amount is miniscule. Therefore, even fighting a third-rate warrior would probably be pushing it.
The worst thing is, if I let things continue the way they are, Im probably going to die within three years.
I wonder if this is a simple coincidence, or if it was a quirk of fate. It just had to be the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians.
I knew the name of the disease that Baek Suryong suffered from.
The Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians.
Y arent you reading this at ?
It was a name that most physicians in the world had never heard of. Even if they knew of it, they considered it an untreatable disease that would kill the patient before the age of thirty.
I looked at the reflection of the young man in the mirror and clicked my tongue.
You knew that you did not have much longer to live. Is that why you decided to take a gamble?
Unfortunately, Baek Suryong lost the gamble and died. My soul then reincarnated in his body.
Thank you. From now on, I will use this body well.
If youre seeing this, you are at the wrong place.
The dead rest in peace, while the living struggle to live.
Fortunately, I knew how to treat this disease.
The Heaven Defying Divine Art was the key. It was a top-level martial art that was only taught to the Cult Leaders of the Blood Demon Cult, and among the five top-level martial arts in my head, I considered it to be the best one.
But that was not all there was to it. In the manual of the Heaven Defying Divine Art that I found in the martial arts library of the Blood Cult, I remembered reading the following lines:
- The Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians is a body cursed by the heavens. aggAnnoy20
- The Heaven Defying Divine Art is a martial art that defies the heavens.
- When the two meet, the Blood Meridians will transform into the Divine Meridians, giving one the strength to destroy the heavens.
This sounds extremely confusing, but to put it simply, the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians is the best type of physical constitution for learning the Heaven Defying Divine Art. The reason for this is because the creator of the martial art, the first-generation Blood Demon and the founder of the Blood Demon Cult, suffered from the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians.
I wonder if theres a connection between me using the Heaven Defying Divine Art until right before I died, and me reincarnating into a body with the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians.
That was just a wild guess. I couldnt possibly know the truth.
Anyway, the most important thing right now, was that I knew how to convert the Heavenly Yin Blocked Meridians into the Heavenly Yin Divine Meridians.
There was only one problem
I frowned and muttered to myself, Fuck, Im broke.
In order to learn the Heaven Defying Divine Art, I needed money. Not just a lot of money, but a LOT of money.
Among the long list of herbs and elixirs I needed, the number of names that a normal person would recognize could be counted on one hand. In addition, I needed a ton of other supplementary materials. The total cost of everything would be enough to make a prominent clan go bankrupt.
Father runs a small, shitty martial arts academy in the countryside. There was no way we had that kind of money.
What should I do? The handsome face I saw reflected in the mirror furrowed his brows.
Suddenly, I heard a scream from outside.
Master!