Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 115: Chunbongs Puberty (2)

Early morning.

The first thing Chunbong saw as she cautiously stepped out was Seojun grinning like an idiot.

“You’re up? Oh wow, look at my Chunbong. All grown up now, huh?”

She twisted her body and kicked him hard.

“Oof...!”

After being sent flying, Seojun groaned and writhed on the ground. Chunbong stomped on him with one foot, her eyes gleaming.

“You’re banned from coming near me for a while.”

“What...!”

Seojun howled. Chunbong just snorted, then suddenly winced and clutched her stomach.

He asked, his voice shifting to concern.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“...Shut up.”

Chunbong stuck out her tongue and dashed away.

Watching her retreating figure, Seojun lay back down and scratched his head.

“Hmm... What should I do in this situation?”

What’s the proper response when your little sister gets her first period?

Normal siblings probably wouldn’t even blink, but their bond wasn’t built on something as simple as shallow blood ties.

He wanted to do something for her... but what?

Honestly, he was stumped.

*Some time later, Chunbong returned with Namgung Suah in tow.

When Seojun glanced over, she snorted and turned her head away with an icy glare.

“What...”

Namgung Suah smiled and stepped closer to him.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s a bit late, sure, but it’s something everyone goes through.”

“I know that, but still...”

Seojun scratched his head. Whatever he’d been thinking about last night had completely flown from his mind after this unexpected event.

Even if he’d teased her on reflex, the whole thing had genuinely caught him off guard.

“You can treat her normally, but just in case, it’s better to go a little easy on training today.”

“Right... yeah.”

Seojun nodded and hesitantly headed toward the training ground. On the way, he kept sneaking glances at Chunbong’s expression.

She didn’t seem particularly upset.

Some women became moody during this time, but fortunately, Chunbong didn’t seem the type. In fact, the slight upward curve of her lips suggested she might be in a good mood.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Pae Jingwang greeted them when they arrived at the training ground.

He looked momentarily confused by the subtle tension in the air, but quickly disregarded it and lifted a massive boulder.

“Come on, warm up.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Seojun, now used to this kind of routine, lifted a boulder of his own without complaint.

The strain on his muscles felt oddly satisfying today, giving him a strange feeling.

After their light (crushing) warm-up, they moved on to the main training.

Naturally, it was the Supreme Force Monstrous Divine Art.

Pae Jingwang taught openly in front of Chunbong and Namgung Suah, apparently unconcerned if they picked it up just by watching.

“You’ve already formed your qi muscle. I was going to help with that today. How’d you manage it?”

“I just followed the Supreme Force Monstrous Divine Art like you taught.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Qi muscles refer to the transformation of normal muscles into muscles naturally infused with qi through training.

In Seojun’s case, while he had succeeded in forming it, it hadn’t properly grown yet.

Much as he wanted to skip ahead, even he couldn’t grow the qi muscle without training.

It was the law of cause and effect.

Qi muscles only grew through repeated strain. You couldn’t just lounge around scratching your belly and expect your qi muscle to grow.

So, without complaint, Seojun trained.

He lifted boulders, uprooted trees outside the clan to squat with, and when that got boring, practiced the combat paths of the Supreme Force Monstrous Divine Art.

Namgung Suah approached with a wet towel, watching as he trained with unusual energy.

“My, your body’s already changed quite a bit.”

She wiped the sweat from his face and gently massaged his forearm.

His arms had thickened quite a bit. The lean look he once had was being replaced with something more solid, and could now even be described as quite manly.

Of course, compared to Pae Jingwang, he still looked slim.

She chuckled.

“At this rate, are you going to end up as burly as Master Pae?”

“I don’t think so? Since my body became closer to an ideal form during Body Rebirth, I doubt the shape’ll change much more. Why? Would you like that?”

“Nope. I think you’re just perfect the way you are.”

Her fingers, which had started on his forearm, slowly wandered upward. From the forearm to the shoulder, collarbone, chest, and finally the abdomen.

“Hmm, maybe we should start calling you King Seojun.”

“Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“...Was it not funny?”

“Haha.”

As he laughed awkwardly, her expression turned sulky.

Rather than making excuses, he reached out and touched Namgung Suah’s stomach. She flinched slightly.

He pressed gently. It was firm, but there was no six-pack or anything like that.

Just taut muscles beneath soft skin.

How does someone this strong have a body like this?

He kept pressing, more because it felt good than anything else. Namgung Suah blushed and let out a soft breath.

“Mmm...”

“Your tastes really don’t change.”

“Fufu. Are you going to hit me?”

“That’s a bit...?”

Watching the two of them, Pae Jingwang clicked his tongue and looked away.

“Damn brat...”

The Fist King with no children. His only lover was muscle, his only sweetheart was a boulder. Watching a scene like that made the air feel even colder.

“So what’s with you?”

“With me?”

Chunbong answered curtly.

She used to at least pretend to be polite. Now, she didn’t even bother with that.

Her bluntness made Pae Jingwang laugh dryly. It reminded him of her brother.

“Did you two get in a fight or something?”

“No.”

“You definitely fought.”

“No, we didn’t.”

“...Good grief.”

“Hmph.”

Chunbong snorted, eyes fixed on her brother, who was giggling with Namgung Suah.

If she wasn’t careful, the corners of her lips might curl up unconsciously.

Of course, she was still angry about his earlier teasing, but that irritation was buried under something stronger: gratitude. Her body had healed completely.

Her brother’s devotion had saved a life once destined to fade. Maybe even a new life, yet to be born.

Lee Seojun the Second...

The image of a few mischievous children running around played in her mind. Chunbong couldn’t help but giggle.

She’d definitely have to be strict with their education.

Just imagining a pack of little Seojuns rampaging through the house made her laugh but also fear for the future...

*“So... those rumors were true?”

Namgung Hyeok moved between the Namgung Clan and his secluded hideout, gathering intel.

There was no way he could just hand over the Sword Form of the Emperor to that arrogant Lee Seojun.

Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated.

He knew himself well enough. What he needed was information on that man, but...

“The Young Master? He’s incredible! Just look at the Azure Lightning Thunderlight Cultivation Art and the Thirteen Stormflash Swords. And I heard that’s not even everything. If you wanted to hear all the stories, one night wouldn’t be enough.”

“Of course I know him! Isn’t he the God of Alchemy? I still can’t believe it. Actually, do you want to visit the Heavenly Medicine Hall? There are traces he left behind, and they’re just...”

“Back in Datong County, I was on the verge of death, but he appeared and treated me. I remember it like it was yesterday. My realm’s dropped a bit since, but I can recover it. In truth, that brush with death gave me some enlightenment—I believe I may break through to an even higher level.”

Most of the Namgung Clan was favorable towards him, no matter what he had done.

At the Heavenly Medicine Hall, they had even built a little shrine in one corner.

They carved a wooden statue and began worshipping him like a god. When Namgung Hyeok saw that, he was so infuriated that he almost blew up the place.

They had to be insane.

The Heavenly Medicine Hall hadn’t been like this before.

As memories of the Namgung Clan from hundreds of years ago came to his mind, Namgung Hyeok let out a long sigh.

Too much had changed during his time away from the secular world.

“What has the world come to...”

But regardless of the state of things—if even half the rumors were true—then Lee Seojun was a treasure too valuable to ignore.

The man himself seemed quite frivolous and irritating, if his abilities were real, that was a different matter.

After all, arrogance backed by strength wasn’t arrogance at all.

So, what was the best course of action?

After some thought, Namgung Hyeok prepared a test.

Officially, it was to judge whether Seojun was qualified to learn the Sword Form of the Emperor. Perhaps checking his loyalty, swordsmanship, and martial arts would be sufficient.

If those could be used as reasons to bind him to the Namgung Clan, that would be good. And if he could place a leash on the man, that would be even better.

Namgung Suah, was it? I wonder if that child can keep him anchored to the clan...

No matter how great the man’s contributions, handing over the Sword Form of the Emperor still didn’t sit right with him. However, if he had no ulterior motives and genuinely cherished the clan, then maybe some flexibility was warranted.

Then again, the more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt to teach the Sword Form of the Emperor to someone who wasn’t the Clan Head or their heir, and yet...

After witnessing the behavior of those lunatics in the Heavenly Medicine Hall, his thinking had shifted somewhat. If that was the direction the world was heading, resisting it would only invite backlash.

So he needed a new strategy.

How can I seal off all of this man’s escape routes...?

Namgung Hyeok’s concerns only deepened.

*Seojun had been training for several days.

Not just the Supreme Force Monstrous Divine Art, but also the Sword Form of the Emperor, Yellow Cloud Divine Sword, domain, sorcery, the Primordial Sun-Moon Reinforced Qi, and the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Reinforced Qi.

He had delayed the demonic transformation for now.

Showing that in front of Namgung Hyeok would open a can of worms he didn’t want to deal with yet.

But seriously, when is that bastard showing up?

He’d left like he was going to stir up trouble at any moment, but there was still no sign of him.

Did he run away?

Wouldn’t be surprising. One wrong move with that father-in-law, and your head’s gone.

In the martial world, where generational gaps can span a hundred years, a great-uncle who left the clan and barely showed his face was basically a stranger.

Of course, he wouldn’t be treated entirely as a stranger, but when the other guy was as important as Namgung Jincheon?

Picking a fight with someone said to be able to defeat the Qilian Sect Leader in under ten moves?

Even Seojun didn’t have the guts for that.

This... is what they call connections, baby!

Having abruptly decided to appreciate his father-in-law, Seojun quickly lost interest in Namgung Hyeok altogether.

Whatever. He’ll show up when he shows up.

It seemed more productive to teach his big sis a few things in preparation for the Dragon Phoenix Tournament coming up this spring.

And besides, there was a far more urgent matter at hand.

What is up with her...?

It looked like Chunbong had hit puberty.

We’re fucked.