Chapter 13

Before my enraged grandfather could open his mouth to shout, Aunt Euiran quickly cut in. “Father, you have no idea how hard Pyo and Ak are training these days. They’re already close to mastering the Effortless Elevated Technique at the third level.”
The Effortless Elevated Technique was an exclusive style of swordsmanship that only those of the Baengri bloodline could learn. Grandfather looked at the twins. The two boys straightened their postures, their chins lifted with pride.
Uncle Euimook chimed in to talk them up. “Pyo and Ak are already so close to the third level? That’s amazing. Congratulations, Euiran. Isn’t that wonderful, Father?”
Aunt Euiran, who had been smiling genteelly behind one hand, glanced pointedly at my father. “If they can reach the third level at the age of seven, they’ll break Euigang’s family record!” She was attempting to goad my father who had remained silent all this time, but he simply continued to sip his tea with lowered eyes.
For reference, I’d suffered from qi deviation before I could even learn the technique. Though my Father had taught me the basics afterward in my last life when I’d begged him to, my technique had remained at the first level due to my lack of inner qi.
The first level was extremely basic, basically just the first step of a long journey. Then one would slowly increase their mastery and rise to the second level, the third, the fourth, and so on. As one’s level of mastery increased, so did the strength of their technique. While a swing of the sword at the first level could slice a tree branch, at the second level the same swing could slice a tree trunk, and at the fifth level, it could slice a boulder clean in half.
But with each increasing level, the difficulty rose exponentially. Rising from the fifth to the sixth level was said to be many times more difficult than going from the first to the fifth. And then to reach the seventh, eighth, and ninth level... Well, you get the picture. The ninth level in particular was known as the obstacle of suffering, with many dedicating their entire lives to overcoming it and yet still failing. Even within the Baengri clan, only a handful of its previous leaders had ever risen past the ninth level. Due to its difficulty, the difference between those who had reached the ninth level and those who could not was immeasurable.
My grandfather, who numbered among the eleven strongest fighters in the martial world, was at the tenth level: the highest level of mastery ever achieved in our family’s history. My father was currently at the eighth level, but close to the ninth. Later, Father would go on to break all of Grandfather’s youngest-ever records when he reached the ninth level himself. Many had believed that my father would also achieve the tenth level before my grandfather had, and would someday make it to the eleventh level, or even the legendary twelfth level.
But in the end, my father had not attained the tenth level before he... passed away.
Grandfather looked at them doubtfully. “Are they really nearing the third level?”
Even my father, a genius among geniuses, had been eight years old when he’d reached the third level. For reference, Grandfather had been praised as a prodigy for reaching the same level at age nine.
“Of course. These kids train day and night! They really are just like you, Father.” Aunt Euiran took the opportunity to talk up her sons to high heaven.
Stroking his beard thoughtfully, Grandfather looked back and forth between the boys standing with their heads held high. “If Pyo and Ak can reach the third level, that would be quite impressive indeed.”
“Father, it’s more than just impressive!” Aunt Euiran said.
I bowed my head and tried to keep my expression neutral. According to my memory, it would take the twins another five years to achieve third-level mastery. And they were throwing themselves a parade about how they were going to be reaching the third level soon last time, too.
Grandfather remained silent for a moment before turning to Myung. “Be that as it may for them, what about you, Myung? What do you think about the school?”
Standing with the perfect posture of a proper young master, Myung answered as though he had just been waiting for the chance. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn under such a renowned teacher, and I would like to go. My only concern is whether I should be neglecting my martial prowess while the twins are focusing on theirs so fervently. Wouldn’t it be best for me to focus on training as well?”
For all his beating around the bush, Myung’s meaning was clear: If the twins weren’t going, neither was he.
Grandfather’s brows began to twitch. With a stiff expression, he turned toward Riri next. “And you, Ri?”
“Huh? What?”
“The school. Do you want to go or not?” He tried to keep his tone kind at first, but his growing irritation leaped out at the end.
Riri’s mouth hung open blankly. Uncle Euimook stared at her pleadingly, as though he were trying to communicate with her telepathically, but she returned his desperate gaze with a puzzled look. “Why would I go to school? The teacher can meet us here at home.”
Whoa... What a bold statement, truly befitting a granddaughter of the Baengri clan! I thought with admiration, but Grandfather was none too pleased.
Uncle Euimook noticed Grandfather’s neck turning red with rage and jumped in to scold her. “Riri! What are you saying? Have you even been paying attention to what’s going on?”
Riri gaped in shock, then started to whimper. “D-Daddy, why are you yelling at me?”
“Baengri Ri!”
At that, poor Riri burst into tears, while Myung tried helplessly to calm her down.
Grandfather looked around the room furiously before slamming his hands down on the table. “That’s enough! None of you will be going!”
It was utter chaos. I wanted to leap from my chair and cry out in frustration. What are you saying? I want to go!
Simply knowing the future wasn’t enough. With my father’s authority and my own efforts, I could dodge some dangers now, but there was no guarantee that my success would continue in the future. I needed to learn more about this world.
Myung and the twins, and even Riri, had made valuable connections at school in my last life. These connections had been precisely why Grandfather had wanted to send Myung, the future heir of the Baengri clan, there in the first place. But of course, there was no way the current Myung would know that.
Look at them, so blissfully ignorant. Though he was busy coaxing his sniffling sister, Myung was obviously pleased to hear that he no longer needed to go to school. As for the twins, well, they were practically preening.
My Grandfather saw it all. Face screwed up in anger, he roared, “That’s it. Everyone out!”
But if anyone had really left at that moment, they were sure to have felt the fury of hell rain down on them. When no one moved from their seat, Grandfather yelled once again, “Why aren’t you leaving?!”
My relatives eyed each other warily, waiting for someone else to stand up first, or else to bite the bullet and try to appease my grandfather.
Just then, my father opened his mouth. “Father.”
“What!”
“You haven’t asked Yeon yet.”
My uncle, aunt, and even Myung stared at Father in amazement.
Aunt Euiran sneered, “Are you serious? Father is furious, but Yeon is all you can think about? Besides, what does she know? She’s Riri’s age. There’s no point even asking.”
The nerve of that woman...
With Aunt Euiran fanning the flames of Grandfather’s anger, he turned his scowl onto me. “Very good, let’s see. Yeon, what do you think? Do you want to go to school or not? And don’t bother lying!”
Flanked by sniffling on one side and a glare like a wild beast’s on the other, I shifted uncomfortably and hesitantly opened my mouth to speak, acting as if I’d been cowed by the mood of the room. “I...”
Father looked at me reassuringly with gentle eyes. Pretending to muster up my courage under his encouragement, I said, “I don’t understand why you’re angry, Grandfather.”
Aunt Euiran scoffed as though that was exactly what she’d expected from me.
I looked at my aunt and then at the twins. “Isn’t it that Pyo and Ak can’t go to school, even if they wanted to?”
“Can’t go?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?” Grandfather asked, narrowing his eyes.
I made sure my expression remained as clueless as possible. “Don’t they need to go into sequestered training?”
“What on earth are you talking about!” Aunt Euiran shouted in outrage. Her face had gone uneasy the moment I mentioned the twins, and she’d finally lost control.
Sequestered training meant cutting all contact with the outside world and isolating yourself in one spot to focus solely on honing your skills. Thus, those in sequestered training generally ate field rations that were... horribly bland. One would train for anywhere from a month to years on end, surviving solely on these rations. In certain situations, sequestered training had also been assigned as punishment.
The twins, of course, had grown up pampered and coddled from the moment they were born. I highly doubted those two could endure the trials of sequestered training. I kept talking, wide-eyed and innocent. “But Aunt Euiran, I heard that Grandfather went into sequestered training when he was trying to reach the third level. I heard Father did as well.” I turned around and blinked at the twins. “Doesn’t that mean you two will, too?” If even prodigies like Grandfather and Father worked that hard, what about you two?
Before anyone could find fault with me, I smiled with a touch of sorrow. “I really envy you. Let me congratulate you early on reaching the third level.”
“You little, you don’t even have a qi ce—”
Aunt Euiran hastily cut off the red-faced twins’ outburst. “What are you talking about? Your father didn’t go into sequestered training!”
“Oh? Really?” I tilted my head quizzically and turned back toward my father. “I guess I was mistaken. Why didn’t you, Father?”
The twins sat back down in fear after Father silenced them with just a look.
“You aren’t mistaken,” Father replied. “I did indeed go into sequestered training. But my mother fell ill, so I had to leave after just two days.”
“Oh, Grandmother was ill?”
“She was.”
“Ohh. I had no idea,” I said, eyes sweeping over my aunt and the fuming twins. They all looked to be in perfect health.
That pointed glance alone was enough for my grandfather to get the message.

Chapter end