Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 48: Chunbong’s Fierce Battle (2)

The Plum Blossom Pill.

While Seojun hadn’t been sure what to expect from just the name, it was undoubtedly a spirit pill with extremely yang properties.

The pill smoothly melted as soon as he put it in his mouth and slid down his throat.

It’s hot.

It felt like he had just swallowed hot water all at once.

He could feel the shape of his throat, esophagus, and stomach vividly.

Seojun closed his eyes and summoned the inner qi of the Primordial Divine Art dwelling in his dantian.

Rumble!

The inner qi rose like a wildfire and thundered through his meridians.

The moment he swallowed it, the Plum Blossom Pill’s qi dissolved rapidly, spreading through his body. The inner qi of the Primordial Divine Art pursued it hungrily, consuming every trace of undyed energy in its path.

The process was much simpler than expected.

After coursing through every meridian in his body, the inner qi of the Primordial Divine Art fully absorbed the Plum Blossom Pill’s qi and panted like a dog waiting for praise.

Hmm.

Seojun opened his eyes slightly.

He could see Chunbong standing guard seriously.

If he fully opened his eyes right now, it felt like Chunbong might get a bit embarrassed.

Seojun closed his eyes again and decided to refine the Primordial Divine Art a bit more while he was at it.

Plum blossoms.

While he had wielded it effectively against Jongin, in retrospect, it had been nothing more than brute force.

The plum blossoms of Woonjak, which he’d glimpsed only briefly, had shown him something entirely different.

His plum blossoms lived and breathed, blooming and withering, showing off their splendid life.

What was he lacking?

As he continued to ponder, Seojun quickly gave up.

What’s the point of knowing what I lack?

No matter how much he searched, he kept finding more and more things he lacked.

In his current situation, he needed to find his strengths and maximize them rather than focus on his weaknesses.

And Seojun didn’t need to search far and wide for that.

Qi.

The answer had always been right there.

If Mount Hua had perfected plum blossoms through the sword, he would perfect plum blossoms through qi.

Thump—

Seojun’s lips curled up at the pleasant heartbeat.

*Quite some time had passed when Seojun opened his eyes.

The moment he did, Chunbong scurried over and thrust her face close to his.

“Are you okay? Why did it take so long?”

“Huh? Uh... yeah.”

Seojun chuckled and got up.

“So there are two days left until the martial arts tournament?”

“What? Oh, right.”

“I should use that time to train.”

As he walked leisurely, Chunbong followed behind with short steps.

“So how is it? Do you feel any different?”

“Different? Well, my inner qi increased?”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

She grumbled.

But it had probably increased much more than she thought.

A normal martial artist would have absorbed about fifty to sixty percent of the spirit pill’s qi at most, but he had absorbed one hundred percent so it was hardly surprising.

Seojun grinned, watching her whine.

“Actually, I did get something significant out of this.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Well, that’s...”

He leaned down towards her.

Her eyes lit up as she brought her ears close, exhaling sharply.

“What is it?”

“Well, you see.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not telling.”

“What the hell, you bastard?”

He got beaten up.

*What he had gained wasn’t anything special, but it was quite significant.

The Plum Blossom Pill, the prize for winning the martial arts tournament.

It was a huge advantage for Seojun to have consumed it in advance.

“I’ve got a feel for it now. Next time when you eat it, I’ll show you something amazing.”

It was a Plum Blossom Pill containing extremely yang qi.

There was no need to use Yin-Yang Reversal, so there was a lot of concentration left over.

This time, Chunbong’s blocked meridians would surely show definite improvement.

As Seojun was humming happily, he suddenly froze.

“Oh, fuck.”

“W-What is it?”

“Wait a second. I hadn’t thought of this?”

Chunbong’s blocked meridians getting better? Of course that’s a good thing. There can’t be anything better than that.

But thinking about it the other way, it means that the more her blocked meridians heal, the more likely it is that Chunbong’s chubby cheeks will become thin.

That’s right. The joy of life is disappearing.

“What’s even the point of living anymore!?”

“...Dumbass.”

“Hmph.”

*Two days passed and the martial arts tournament resumed.

However, on that day they only finished the remaining matches of the round of 128 that couldn’t be completed last time, and the round of 64 would be held the next day.

In the end, after Seojun had watched Chunbong overwhelmingly defeat her opponent, he had to wait another day for his match.

And so, the next day.

Seojun having achieved somewhat satisfactory results from his training, flexed his hands as he walked.

“They’re all fucked.”

He hummed as he pulled his bamboo hat low.

When he went to the arena yesterday, the murmuring of people recognizing him had been quite annoying.

As he quietly entered the tournament venue and chatted with Chunbong, he stood up when he heard number 78 being called.

“I’ll be back.”

“End it quickly.”

“Got it.”

Seojun stepped onto the arena, looking around.

It had only been a few days since that incident, but nothing seemed to have changed much.

Is Mount Hua Sect amazing, or is this just how desensitized people are in murim?

He shook his head and looked at his opponent who had come up to the arena.

His opponent was a man with a well-muscled body.

His main weapon seemed to be a sword, but the look in the man’s eyes was strange.

“It’s the Mad Hungry Wolf...!”

“The Mad Hungry Wolf is here!”

“Fucking kill him!”

The area below the arena was quite noisy.

Here we go again with this bullshit.

Mad Hungry Wolf.

It literally means a mad and hungry wolf.

What should he even say? It was just the title they had given him.

Is this even the kind of title you give to a person...?

Seojun clicked his tongue and placed his hand on his sword.

When he looked at the referee, he nodded and raised his hand.

“Then...”

“Wait a moment!”

Seojun’s opponent shouted suddenly.

He closed his eyes tightly and seemed to be pondering something, then finally hung his head.

“...I forfeit.”

“What?”

Seojun’s jaw dropped.

Forfeit?

Then what about my unsatisfied urges? Am I going to become sexually frustrated at this rate?

“No, wait! This man doesn’t kill people that often!”

Well, I do kill some people from time to time though.

“Eek...!”

His opponent’s face turned pale and he finally ran away.

The referee and Seojun blinked at each other, then the referee declared.

“Winner, Lee Seojun!”

*Were the murim friends always this timid?

After winning by forfeit in both the round of 64 and 32, Seojun slumped his shoulders as he headed to the arena the next day.

Finally the 16th round... He had won, but he couldn’t help feeling deflated.

“This is so frustrating...”

“Wha...!? Stop you bastard!”

He hadn’t really been planning to do anything, but Chunbong got scared and offered up her cheeks preemptively.

Squish squish.

His frustration melted away in real-time.

“This is the life...”

Suddenly he felt like having a cigarette. This must be what they call the post-sex cigarette craving or whatever.

“They won’t forfeit today, right?”

“Well, there are only sixteen people left now, so the ones who would have dropped out should be gone. At the very least, they won’t forfeit without even fighting.”

“Yeah. That’s how it should be.”

“...You better not do anything weird, okay?”

“Kekeke, if you don’t want to see blood, just offer up your cheeks obediently!”

“Kuh...! Lemme kill you!”

Seojun arrived at the tournament venue while having this meaningless conversation with Chunbong.

As always, a Mount Hua Sect martial artist called out while they were chatting and waiting for their turn.

— Number 125!

Unlike before, Chunbong’s turn came up before his today.

“Well then, go win, Geum Chunbong.”

“Of course.”

— Number 33!

Chunbong’s body suddenly stiffened.

“What’s wrong? Who’s number 33?”

“...Namgung.”

“Oh.”

This is quite a big match, isn’t it?

He scratched his chin and patted her head.

“Go crush them.”

“...Of course.”

Chunbong walked towards the arena with a solemn expression.

Seojun watched her back as he scratched his chin.

The smooth feeling of his chin, without a single whisker, felt strangely new today.

Will Chunbong win?

He couldn’t tell.

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It wouldn’t be a big problem even if she lost, because he could just avenge her.

The problem would be if she got hurt during the match.

“Tsk...”

I need to hold back, but will I be able to?

He wasn’t sure.

*As Chunbong stepped onto the arena, she unconsciously adjusted the bamboo hat on her head.

Thump- Thump-

Her heart was pounding.

The opponent this time was also from a noble clan, unlike the previous ones.

Relatively young age, limited martial arts, not fully healed blocked meridians, and years of inactivity.

After reciting her disadvantages to herself, she let out a bitter laugh and spat them all out.

Slap slap!

She slapped her cheeks hard, snapping herself out of it.

If Lee Seojun can charge at a Mount Hua Sect elder, what’s a mere Namgung Clan heir?

Chunbong chuckled as she thought of her big brother. Come to think of it, he was quite the madman.

“Is there something amusing?”

Namgung Suah stood opposite her, holding her long sword in her arms.

Chunbong shook her head and placed her hand on her own sword.

“Not really.”

“My... Have I done something wrong?”

“Not really.”

“Well, it would be nice if you could be half as friendly to me as you are to that Young Expert.”

Chunbong slightly lifted her bamboo hat to take in Namgung Suah’s appearance.

This woman she had been encountering frequently lately... For reasons she couldn’t clearly explain, she didn’t like her much.

She didn’t like how she kept trying to act friendly, or how she had secretly sent a sound transmission to Lee Seojun before.

He’ll tell me everything he knows anyway, so why send it to him separately?

She naturally knew that was normal. If you’re going to talk behind someone’s back when they’re present, you should use sound transmission rather than speaking out loud.

Especially if it was about a Mount Hua Sect elder.

So in truth, those were all excuses, and she just didn’t like that woman.

If she had to give a reason... well.

It was instinct.

“Hmph.”

“Hmm... I really wonder what it could be...?”

“Your breasts are too big.”

“Pardon?”

— Begin!

The moment the referee signaled, Chunbong drew her sword and charged.

“Die...!”

Maybe something rubbed off on me from that Lee Seojun bastard?

That thought suddenly crossed her mind.