Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 2: Three Principles Sword Technique

When they got home, Chunbong immediately thrust out a stick he’d picked up from the street.

“Swing it.”

“What, no instructions?”

“Just do it first, dumbass.”

What a rude little brat. Seojun grumbled but he gripped the stick and swung it through the air.

Surprisingly, it felt pretty good in his hand. Looks like he’d scored a rare stick.

But Chunbong seemed unimpressed.

“Well... that’s ordinary.”

“What, did you expect me to split the heavens just by holding a stick?”

“There you go again with your bullshit.”

Chunbong sighed and glared at Seojun.

Truth be told, all things considered, this Seojun guy was extremely suspicious. For one, he clearly wasn’t from the back alleys. While he didn’t exactly display perfect table manners, there was still a certain refinement to how he carried himself.

Is he from a noble clan? But there’s no trace of martial arts training...

Tsk, Chunbong poked Seojun’s side as he swung the stick.

“Ow! What the hell!”

“Shut up. That’s enough, now sit over there.”

Well... he seems like a decent guy. It should be fine to teach him the Three Principles Sword Technique.

Chunbong sighed.

*What a moody brat. Is he on his period or something?

Seojun grumbled as he sat where Chunbong pointed.

Still, he’s kinda cute in his own way.

At first he had seemed really wary, but after a few days, he started following Seojun around.

Living in these back alleys at such a young age, his life must have been pretty tough. It wouldn’t be strange if he was starved for affection.

“First, shut up and listen. It’s not that complicated, so you should memorize it quickly.”

Chunbong drew on the ground with the stick like he was giving a lecture.

“Can you read this?”

“Heaven, Earth, Man?”

“What. You can read? That’s suspicious.”

“Come on, even a neighborhood kid could read this much.”

天, 地, 人.

Basic Chinese characters.

Wait a second?

Come to think of it, they don’t use Korean here? It’s strange that we can communicate at all. Is this some kind of transmigration buff?

“Then what about this?”

Chunbong drew a weird picture on the ground.

“What’s that supposed to be?”

“Grapes.”

“That’s too tough. I might be able to guess the others though?”

“What are you on about?”

Chunbong sighed and pointed to the character for ‘Heaven’.

“The Three Principles Sword Technique consists of three movements. Each is based on Heaven, Earth, and Man. The principle behind them forms the Three Principles Cultivation Technique.”

“Ooh, a cultivation technique.”

“Stop making that face, it’s nothing special. Anyways, there’s a sutra for the cultivation technique which you have to memorize.”

Ahem, Chunbong cleared his throat and continued.

“By nature, humans are insignificant creatures who strive to ascend from earth to heaven, and only upon reaching the heavens to become a heavenly being...”

It wasn’t that long. It would take about three minutes to read without pausing.

But memorizing it in one go was another story.

“Uh, hey wait. Again.”

“Originally, humans...”

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“Ugh... Can we start with heavenly beings again? Hehe.”

“I’ll kill you if you hehe me again. Sigh... When they reach the heavens to become heavenly beings...”

By the time Seojun roughly memorized the sutra, he was exhausted.

“Why do I have to sit here memorizing this...”

“Actually, you don’t have to.”

“What? You fucker.”

Seojun barely suppressed the urge to murder him.

Good job, Lee Seojun. No matter what, beating up a kid would be going too far.

“But if you don’t memorize it, you’re a moron. Just memorizing the sutra will imprint some basic martial arts imagery in your subconscious. Or it might help if you ever fall into qi deviation or face sorcery later.”

Guess this Chunbong brat wasn’t just talking out his ass.

Chunbong tapped Seojun’s head with a stick.

There’s something about him. He’s pretty smart.

“Were you originally from a wealthy family?”

“W-What...!? No, I wasn’t!?”

“Ah, okay.”

“What do you mean, okay!”

Seojun frowned as Chunbong jumped up and down in protest.

He understands okay? This really must be some wannabe murim.

Did China have contact with the West in this era? I’m not great with history, so I’m not sure. I don’t even know if this world follows the history of the original world.

“Alright, Master. Shall we try the cultivation technique now?”

“Urgh...!”

Chunbong gritted his teeth but stood behind Seojun and placed his palm on his back.

“First, you need to feel the qi. If you can’t do that, all this effort is wasted. Just so you know.”

“It’s fine. I have a feeling I’ll be good at this.”

“What baseless confidence.”

Chunbong snickered and explained.

“I’m going to transfer qi into you. But it’ll probably be too weak to help much, so you’ll have to feel it on your own.”

“How irresponsible of you.”

“I’m starting. I can’t do this for long, so concentrate.”

Seojun closed his eyes. He could feel the warmth from Chunbong’s hand through his clothes. As he focused, he felt a tingling sensation within that warmth.

Is this qi?

Following that vague sensation, his awareness expanded outwards and he realized that this something was spread throughout the world, with the most distinct presence within his own body. After firmly grasping that presence, he opened his eyes.

“What? Why are you opening your eyes already? Your concentration is terrible.”

“I think I got it?”

“What? There you go again with your bullshit.”

Chunbong scoffed and pressed his hand more firmly against Seojun’s back.

“It hasn’t even been a minute since you closed your eyes. If you can already sense qi, I’ll burn my own hand.”

“Hmm... Is this not it?”

“Try moving it then. If you’ve felt it, you should be able to move it somewhat at will.”

Well, that’s impossible. Even a man once called the Martial God couldn’t have felt qi in just one minute.

Chunbong clicked his tongue.

*“W-What’s this?”

Is this bastard really trying to scam me?

Chunbong’s jaw dropped and wouldn’t close, having felt it through his own palm. Seojun’s qi was moving at will!

From Chunbong’s perspective, he couldn’t help but suspect whether this guy really wasn’t from a noble clan, or if he was trying to deceive him.

But if that were the case, would he deceive someone so sloppily? Shouldn’t he at least try to make it somewhat believable?

It’s not like he’s setting himself up as some peerless genius. If that were the case, he’d just be a moron.

“I’m gonna become a MUGONG Master~”

“...Why are you rolling your tongue like that? It’s gross.”

“Deu-dda deu-dda~”

“...You’re seriously crazy.”

“Deu-dda-dda u-dda-ya~”

Or maybe not? Maybe he really is just a moron. There’s no way someone this stupid could be from a noble clan.

Chunbong sighed.

“Haah... I guess you got lucky.”

“Hey, Chunbong.”

“What?”

“You got something like a branding iron at home?”

“A branding iron? No, why?”

Seojun suddenly sprang and grabbed his wrist. Chunbong shouted in shock.

“W-What are you doing?! You lunatic!”

“You said you’d burn your hand!”

“...You’re really going to do it?”

Chunbong’s eyes trembled. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut and thrust out his hand.

“F-Fine! Do whatever you want!”

“Nah, that’s a bit... Hey, I’m not a psychopath or anything.”

“Psycho... what?”

“What, you don’t got words like that here?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Seojun sighed and waved his hand.

“Forget it. Anyways, does this mean I’ve completed the cultivation technique?”

“No? What’s that nonsense? This is just the beginning.”

Now that he had felt qi, it was time to form his dantian.

“Ah...”

Seojun, already tired, smacked his forehead.

*The day went by in an instant after forming his dantian.

The next day, Seojun woke up to sunlight streaming through the holes in the ceiling and jumped up.

“Mighty fine morning!”

As he sat up and stretched, he felt inexplicably refreshed. Whether it was just his imagination or not, he felt more energetic than usual.

“Aah... I see. So this is martial arts.”

I’m a martial artist now! Just as Seojun was about to start his day in high spirits, he heard a deep sigh.

“Haah.... Aren’t you tired of this first thing in the morning? You’ve barely reached third-rate, what martial arts are you even talking about?”

While scratching his head, Chunbong got up with a big yawn and walked out.

“If you’re up, pay me back for teaching you martial arts. Go earn us some food today. Your sis- brother will keep watch.”

“Sounds good. Nothing wrong with a little non-consensual semi-permanent relocation. That was definitely on my bucket list.”

“There you go again with that bullshit.”

Seojun rubbed his eyes and gulped down water from a cracked bowl.

“Ugh... Drinking this crap would make anyone sick.”

“That’s why everyone dies young.”

“Geez.”

Seojun stretched, swallowing the unpleasant taste in his mouth.

“Well, shall we go then?”

In sophisticated terms, a gentleman thief. In crude terms, a damn pickpocket. Today was the day of his first job change.

*What do you plan to be when you grow up? You gonna make a living as a thief?

Some people say things like that, but they don’t understand. Thievery is undeniably in the realm of arts and physical education, and of course, it’s heavily influenced by talent.

Seojun remembered the advice of his senior thief, Chunbong.

The first rule is stealth, second rule is also stealth.

The best option is to avoid getting caught. If caught, the next best thing is to make a clean getaway.

This is closer to pickpocketing than theft. You have to wait for when the target’s attention is elsewhere.

That’s the Third-Rate Realm, but second-rate thieves are a bit different.

If you can naturally divert the target’s attention elsewhere, that’s the best.

He wasn’t sure about first-rate, but today he would try for the Second-Rate Realm.

“Ah, busted.”

Well, fuck.

The MUGONG Master is based on the dororong meme, so search that up if you're interested.