Chapter ~ 05
A few days had passed since then.
There were hardly any days that could be called holidays in the daily routine of the Cardenas Training Camp. On occasions such as the anniversary of the founding of the empire, they would sometimes invite bards or orchestras to perform for the children, but that was about it.
As usual, the children were practicing basic swordsmanship until around noon, when the sun was high in the sky. While pretending to practice, they secretly exchanged whispers behind the instructors’ backs.
Getting caught even once would earn them a severe punishment, but today, more than any other day, they were all itching to talk and found it difficult to hold themselves back.
“Hey, did you hear about that?”
“Number 381? Or was it 98?”
“Yeah, whatever his number was, that guy. I heard he’s already climbed all the way up to number 25.”
“What?!”
The boy who had been pretending to swing his sword flinched in surprise. The boy who had been whispering was startled as well and hurriedly said,
“Hey, what are you doing?! If we get caught, we’re both dead!”
“Sorry, sorry. I was just too surprised.”
The boy apologized with an embarrassed smile before asking again,
“Tell me more. You’re saying he went from 381 to number 25? Wasn’t it only six days ago that he was carried off to the infirmary?”
The boy who had started the conversation nodded.
“Exactly. He climbed all the way to number 25 in less than a week.”
“No way.”
Seeing the other boy’s disbelief, the one spreading the rumor became even more enthusiastic and offered evidence.
“I’m telling you, it’s true! I even asked the guys who got beaten by him. They said he didn’t even use a wooden sword. He beat them with his bare fists. Apparently, he knocked them out with a single hit.”
“Maybe they’re lying because they’re embarrassed about losing.”
“One or two people could lie, but if it’s more than ten people, then it has to be true. Number 25—or rather, number 26 now—said the exact same thing.”
“381 was that strong? I had no idea. But why hasn’t that guy been showing up during training?”
Another boy who had been listening to their conversation chimed in.
“I heard they said he was allowed to skip training for a week because of the injuries he suffered last time.”
“What? Seriously?”
“So the injured guy has been going around beating people up one after another?”
Before long, all three of them were wondering the same thing.
“Where the hell is 381—or rather, number 25?”
“Who knows?”
They didn’t have to go very far to find out.
The person everyone gathered on the training grounds was curious about—the boy who had now become number 25—was currently sweating profusely inside the training room.
He knew that basic swordsmanship training was being conducted during this time, so he had come here to use the room while it was vacant.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
A metal ball swung from side to side at a steady tempo, moving like a pendulum.
It weighed a whopping fifty kilograms, yet Leonard’s forearms easily endured its inertia. His veins repeatedly bulged and relaxed as he pulled it again and again.
It was almost a strange sight to see delicate, rope-like muscles emerge across the small back of a fourteen-year-old boy.
“Hoo…! Hoo…! Huu…”
The moment Leonard’s breathing became uneven, he released the strength in his hands and let the metal ball he had been repeatedly pulling and releasing drop.
Rather than ruining his balance by continuing to train with sloppy form, it was better to take a moment to catch his breath. Obsessing over the weight or number of repetitions was practically the same as forgetting the essence of training.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, only to realize that even the towel had become completely soaked.
How long has it been since I sweated this much?
Once one reached the Transformation Realm and reconstructed the body through Rebirth Through Bone Marrow Transformation, there was no longer any change whether one trained the external arts or not.
That was because the body would form the most perfect physique possible based on the martial arts one had accumulated throughout one’s life, and then maintain it permanently.
Even Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-hyeok had only practiced a little external cultivation, including Yuga Technique, before reaching the Transformation Realm. After that, he had devoted himself entirely to swinging his sword and refining his internal energy.
“Well, it’s not bad.”
The burning sensation of his muscles and lungs screaming was another feeling he had forgotten for so long, much like the taste of food.
There was another difference compared to his previous life.
Having reached the Harmony Realm, his mind could control his body perfectly. Combined with the Yuga Technique, this allowed him to do several things that Yeon Mu-hyeok of his previous life had never been capable of.
One of them was delicately controlling each individual muscle fiber and squeezing out its maximum strength.
At this rate, I’ll reach the level of Unrestricted Flow in two years—or perhaps a little over one year. That’s an absurd rate of growth.
Leonard was almost intoxicated by his own development.
The problem starts again tomorrow, though.
After beating down every person who had come from the three factions, no one else had come after the last opponent, number 25.
He had defeated number 25, a top-ranking two-digit trainee, with his bare hands.
They must have judged him to be at least strong enough to approach the single-digit ranks, perhaps even strong enough to enter them. If someone with a higher ranking came and lost as well, it would damage the reputation of their faction.
The last guy was a little troublesome. If someone stronger than him comes, fighting bare-handed might become difficult.
Leonard recalled the unusual abilities of number 25, whom he had defeated yesterday.
His body hardened as though he were using Iron Body Technique, and he could even reflect the impact he received. If I hadn’t shaken his brain with force, I wouldn’t have been able to knock him out with a single blow.
Unlike the three-digit trainees, who merely possessed somewhat superior physical abilities, the two-digit trainees possessed special constitutions or abilities.
In terms of pure capability, they were strong enough to defeat even a martial artist of the Second-rate realm.
“Tsk.”
Leonard looked down at his right wrist with displeasure.
Because of that reflection ability, some of the impact from his palm strike had rebounded back into him. He had only recovered after using even the potion he had received on his first day.
If it had been a real battle, and his opponent had been a proper enemy rather than a child, that would have been a fatal opening.
He had known that the Cardenas bloodline was special, yet he had still let his guard down. That was something he needed to reflect upon.
If a collateral member can possess an ability like this, I can’t even imagine how extraordinary the direct descendants must be.
For all he knew, they might literally breathe fire from their mouths or shoot flames from their eyes.
Unless he considered every possibility when facing them, Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-hyeok might suffer the humiliation of losing to a fourteen-year-old.
His pride as a martial artist would never allow such a thing.
As he thought about tomorrow, Leonard frowned slightly.
“I want to skip basic swordsmanship training… Is there any way?”
For anyone else, repetition of the fundamentals might be meaningful, but for Leonard, it was pointless—a waste of stamina and time.
He would get far more out of using the training room again or meditating on the experiences of his previous life.
The problem was that he couldn’t convince the instructors of that.
Hmm?
Just then.
Leonard sensed someone entering the training room without making a sound and turned his eyes in that direction.
His pupils widened slightly when he saw the visitor.
“……”
Golden hair and golden eyes.
She was a beautiful girl, with soft hair as rich and flowing as a vast field of wheat, beneath which shone radiant golden eyes.
The golden hair and golden eyes that symbolized the direct descendants of Cardenas.
The girl possessing those distinctive features stared silently at Leonard.
She had an unreal atmosphere, like a character from a fairy tale.
So this girl is number 2.
Certain of it, Leonard spoke.
“Do you need something?”
“Yes.”
The golden girl, number 2, gently nodded.
Then she opened her mouth again.
“Why don’t you come to me?”
“…What?”
“Why don’t you come to me? That’s what I said.”
Number 2 repeated her words to Leonard, who had instinctively asked her to repeat herself.
It was a question he hadn’t expected at all.
She acted as though it were only natural that he should side with her, without even considering the possibility that he might refuse. Her behavior could be interpreted as childishness or arrogance, yet there was something almost mysterious about it.
Leonard, however, felt little about it.
“Because it would reduce the amount of time I have to train. It would only give me more troublesome things to deal with.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Number 2 didn’t deny it.
“Did a lot of people come besides me?”
“I rejected all of them. You’re the first leader to come.”
“Yes. Then it doesn’t matter.”
Their conversation flowed smoothly, yet at the same time it felt unstable, as though it could break off at any moment.
Number 2’s way of speaking was somewhat detached from reality, but Leonard wasn’t exactly good at making conversation himself.
She doesn’t seem to have come here to fight.
Not sensing any hostility from her, Leonard grabbed the handle of the exercise apparatus again and began pulling the metal ball.
Number 2 simply sat down and watched him.
Leonard, who had begun training while leaving his conversation partner alone, and Number 2, who wasn’t offended by this and instead simply began observing him—they strangely resembled each other in some ways.
Neither of them sought sympathy or understanding from others.
Nor did they intend to offer either.
Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak.
Once again, dense, rope-like muscles rose across Leonard’s forearms and back as he pulled the metal ball.
Number 2 pursed her lips in an “Oh” and murmured,
“That’s amazing.”
Leonard heard her and asked,
“What is?”
“You move completely differently from the way I do inside. Even when I try to imitate you, I can’t. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this. How did you do it?”
“…You can see that?”
Leonard released the handle and, unusually, opened his eyes wide.
He had roughly guessed what Number 2’s special ability was.
There was the distinct sensation that she was watching, despite her pupils and irises appearing hazy, almost like those of a drunk person. Her field of perception also seemed to have no blind spots.
From those clues, he had assumed that her ability was related to vision.
But seeing inside another person’s body?
“Huh? I can’t see it anymore. Did you do that?”
For the first time, Number 2 moved her eyes and looked directly at him.
Her doll-like, expressionless face suddenly became lively and animated.
Leonard neither confirmed nor denied her question. Instead, he analyzed her ability.
An Eye of the Mind limited to the area around the body, combined with X-ray vision.
A master capable of manipulating mental images could block an ability of this level with sheer mental power, but there was no telling what would happen if Number 2’s ability continued to develop.
It was literally a superpower.
With even a little martial aptitude, those eyes could allow her to kill an expert several levels above her.
She would be the natural enemy of assassins, and even in a direct confrontation, she would be difficult to catch off guard.
She would also learn and master martial arts quickly. After all, she could look inside an experienced martial artist’s body and copy the techniques behind their movements.
If those old monsters without disciples saw this, their eyes would probably pop out of their heads. Even I, who have little interest in passing down martial arts, feel like teaching her.
As Leonard remained silent, Number 2 tugged insistently at his clothes.
“Right? You did it, didn’t you? You can see it too?”
“I can see it. Though it’s somewhat different from yours.”
The Sword Emperor’s insight was superior even to her still-immature Eye of the Mind.
Once the Upper Dantian was opened even once, one could perceive Yeom, the manifestation of intent. Because it allowed him to read his opponent’s will, it was faster and more accurate than simply looking into their muscles or nerves.
Only a master of the same level, one who had reached the Harmony Realm, could block it.
But what’s more frightening is that I don’t know how this little girl’s ability will evolve if she reaches the Transformation Realm.
What if she approached the realm of the Heavenly Eye, one of the Six Divine Powers inherited from the Life-and-Death Realm, an ability capable of seeing even the future?
That would be interesting.
A beast-like smile briefly crossed Leonard’s lips.
And at that exact moment—
“Hah. I knew it. What, did you get captivated by that girl just because you’re a man?”
Unlike Number 2, an overwhelming presence burst into the training room—one that even someone with dull senses couldn’t help but notice.
Golden hair.
Golden eyes.
Just like the girl, he was a direct descendant of Cardenas, a boy who radiated power befitting his arrogance.
His gaze was blatantly contemptuous, looking down on everyone as though they were beneath him, with the ferocity of a snarling lion.
If Number 2’s atmosphere was like a cloud, the boy’s was like the sun.
Not the sun that gently watched over the vegetation, but the merciless sun that dried up fields and killed crops during a drought.
“…Number 1.”
Number 2 turned away from Leonard and frowned.
Even without her saying anything else, his identity was obvious.
He was the strongest trainee of this generation, and the leader of the trainees who had continuously come to Leonard since the day after he was discharged from the infirmary.
Number 1’s eyes, blazing like flames, turned toward him.
Leonard met his gaze for a moment before turning away.
Then—
Creak. Creak. Creak.
He resumed pulling the exercise apparatus he had stopped using while talking to Number 2.
Number 1 stared blankly at him before finally shouting,
“Number 25—!”
Without even looking in his direction, Leonard answered,
“Why are you calling me?”
“Grrr!”
“Hahahahahaha!”
Number 1 was rendered speechless by sheer frustration, while Number 2 burst into laughter at Leonard’s utterly indifferent attitude and rolled around on the floor.
To anyone watching, it was an utterly bizarre scene that was difficult to understand.
