Beneath the moonlight stood a woman clad in spotless white robes.
With her noble beauty, she looked as if she had just descended from the heavens.
Cheon So-hee wiped her tears again with her sleeve.
She wondered if her sudden tears were making her see things.
But the beautiful woman was smiling brightly before her, introducing herself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lee Ahn. I was the Young Master's former guard.”
Lee Ahn greeted her cheerfully.
She had always been a bright person, but lately, she seemed even more so.
Her every action overflowed with confidence.
“I am Cheon So-hee of the Eastern Fist Hall’s Black Fists.”
“Ah! It’s an honor to meet you.”
“You know of me?”
“Of course. You’re the number one Iron Fist of the Eastern Fist Hall, aren’t you?”
Cheon So-hee felt a warmth spread through her.
It wasn't just because of the praise.
Lee Ahn's praise didn't carry the usual undertone of 'A woman practicing fist techniques? How unusual,' which she often encountered.
“What I said when I came in earlier was just a joke to tease the Young Master. Please forgive me if you were offended.”
“It’s alright.”
“Then, I’ll let you two talk. I’ll come back later.”
As Lee Ahn bowed and turned to leave, Geom Mugeuk stopped her.
“Since you’re here, stay and talk for a while.”
Lee Ahn cautiously asked Cheon So-hee.
“Would that be alright?”
“Of course.”
Cheon So-hee felt a sense of curiosity about this beautiful woman.
The two women were a study in contrasts.
Lee Ahn possessed a noble, dignified beauty, while Cheon So-hee had a resilience that suggested she could survive being thrown anywhere.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t crying because of the Second Young Master.”
“Really?”
“Pardon?”
Lee Ahn’s eyes twinkled as she asked again.
“You really weren’t crying because of the Young Master? I cry because of him all the time.”
Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk and said.
“He makes me cry every time.”
With a woman's intuition, Cheon So-hee sensed it.
She was in love with Geom Mugeuk.
“You were the Second Young Master’s guard?”
“Yes, though I’ve been kicked out now.”
“Why were you kicked out?”
“He said it was for my own happiness, but that’s just an excuse, right?”
“Of course, it is. Be careful. Playboy types are good with words.”
“He is the most skilled speaker in the Martial World.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and spoke to them both.
“How long have you two known each other to be getting along so well already?”
The two women felt a mutual liking for each other.
Lee Ahn had always been fond of strong women like Cheon So-hee.
It was the kind of person she herself wanted to become.
Cheon So-hee’s first impression of Lee Ahn wasn’t bad either.
A woman this beautiful might have had an unapproachable, off-putting air about her, but she had none of that at all.
Lee Ahn asked Geom Mugeuk.
“Is your training going well?”
“If news of it has reached the ears of someone like you, who only holes up in the training grounds, then there can’t be anyone in the Main Sect who doesn't know.”
“Yesterday, even the chefs in the kitchen were talking about you passing the Red Fists test while they were cooking. I heard some people are even placing bets on whether you’ll become a disciple or not.”
Indeed, the fact that Geom Mugeuk was learning fist techniques at the Eastern Fist Hall was the talk of the sect.
Lee Ahn asked Geom Mugeuk with a soft gaze.
“How is it?”
“It’s fine.”
Cheon So-hee watched Lee Ahn smile at Geom Mugeuk's answer.
She sensed a deep trust between the two and felt a momentary pang of envy.
She had no one like that, not even someone who could pretend to be.
“But what brings you here so late?”
“I was training and suddenly wanted to see you, Young Master.”
Geom Mugeuk stared at her intently, then abruptly asked.
“Has it come?”
At the cryptic question, Lee Ahn nodded with a serious expression.
“I think it has.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk shot up from the rock and walked into the yard.
“Let’s have a spar.”
Lee Ahn gave Cheon So-hee a slight nod before walking out into the yard.
It was rude to suddenly start a spar in this situation, but this was too important for her to pass up.
Sensing the mood, Cheon So-hee quickly rose from her seat.
“I should be going now.”
Geom Mugeuk stopped her from leaving.
“You can watch. No, you should watch. This spar will be of great help to you, Miss Cheon.”
It was a lesson from Geom Mugeuk for the one who would become the next Fist Demon.
“Will it really be alright?”
“You shed precious tears; you should earn something for them before you go.”
At the words 'precious tears,' Cheon So-hee’s eyes grew hot again.
'What’s wrong with me?'
It was as if a dam had burst inside her, and tears threatened to fall constantly.
She was flustered by this new experience, but thankfully, Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn were facing each other, about to begin their spar.
“I will face you with fist techniques.”
“Yes!”
“Hey, Lee Ahn! I’m fighting without a sword, aren’t you worried?”
“Worried? Young Master, even if you fought with no hands and no feet, I still wouldn’t be able to win.”
“That’s true. As long as I have this mouth.”
Watching from the side, Cheon So-hee nodded slightly in agreement.
Geom Mugeuk, his back still to her, said.
“Don’t nod your head.”
In response, Cheon So-hee nodded even more emphatically.
He was a man with eyes in the back of his head; indeed, whether he had a sword or not was not the issue.
When the spar began, Lee Ahn couldn't focus at first.
Though she said she believed in him, she was worried that Geom Mugeuk might get hurt fighting with his bare hands.
But after exchanging a few blows, she concluded that her worry was utterly baseless.
Geom Mugeuk was far too fast.
It felt as if she couldn't touch a single hair on his head even if she were wielding ten swords right now.
'Who am I to worry about him!'
Geom Mugeuk pressed her relentlessly.
A fist with enough power to shatter her jaw flew toward her face.
As she barely dodged it, another fist came flying at her side.
This time too, she twisted her body and just managed to avoid it.
If it had landed, all her ribs would have been broken.
Whoosh! Hwoosh!
A sound as crisp as the wind sliced by a sword was heard every time Geom Mugeuk’s fist flew through the air.
She desperately blocked and dodged, trying to create distance, but Geom Mugeuk stuck to her like a shadow.
Once she allowed him to get close, it was not easy to shake him off.
'Ah, so this is how you die!'
Lee Ahn was having a new experience, a fight against a master of fist techniques.
Because she couldn’t secure any distance, she wasn't able to bring out even half the power of her swordsmanship.
In contrast, Geom Mugeuk's fists flew relentlessly, aiming for her vital points.
She used everything she had to barely dodge them.
Realizing that she would eventually be defeated if she only kept dodging, Lee Ahn tried to find a way to counterattack.
At a critical moment, she found an opening in Geom Mugeuk’s defense and used it to create distance.
'Now!'
There was only one chance!
Her sword danced through the air.
As she unleashed the Second Form of the Flying Heaven Sword Technique—Changing Heaven Form—her sword produced twelve variations.
A gasp that Cheon So-hee had been holding back throughout the fight finally escaped her lips.
“Ahh!”
Geom Mugeuk dodged the seemingly unavoidable attack using the footwork of the Black Fists technique.
That footwork was that footwork?
She realized anew how incredible the fist technique she was learning was.
Her heart felt like it would burst as she watched.
She wanted to jump in and fight alongside them.
She wanted to unleash the techniques just as Geom Mugeuk did.
But that wasn't the only impact the spar had on her.
Geom Mugeuk, a supreme master and the Second Young Master of the Cult Master, sought out the Fist Demon to learn his art.
Lee Ahn, a woman beautiful enough to be called the greatest beauty under heaven, was here in the dead of night, training her swordsmanship.
A mix of shame and admiration washed over her, and the image of these two people was etched into her heart like a scene from a painting.
“Well done!”
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly at Lee Ahn.
He had pushed her to her limits while giving her a chance to escape, and she had not missed it, finding a path to survival.
It was the fruit of her harsh training.
“I still feel a sort of tingling sensation.”
Geom Mugeuk could tell.
She had nearly reached the Ninth Star and was searching for the entrance.
“Come find me every night starting tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
Just as his father had forcibly dragged him to Great Mastery in the Four Divine Wind Steps, Geom Mugeuk planned to throw her Flying Heaven Sword Technique into the Ninth Star.
Once her swordsmanship reached the Ninth Star, he could rest easy no matter where she was.
When Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn finished their conversation, Cheon So-hee spoke in a trembling voice.
“To be honest, that sword you sent flying at me, Second Young Master, wasn’t scary because it was too unreal. But the sword this martial artist wielded in the dead of night, when everyone else was asleep... that was scary.”
Could she win against a sword honed by such late-night training?
She had secretly believed herself to be the strongest among women of her age in the Martial World.
But after watching the spar, she realized it was nothing but arrogance.
A desire not to lose made her clench both fists tightly.
In that moment, a fire was lit in her heart as well.
Feeling the intense heat, Cheon So-hee blurted out.
“Please teach me too. Senior Brother.”
Senior Brother.
She must have known.
She must have known what great trouble she'd be in if those words reached the Fist Demon.
She would have no excuse even if she were expelled.
It was a single phrase on which she wagered her life.
Senior Brother.
Perhaps, when she returned to her quarters, she would regret saying those words this very moment all night long.
That was why Geom Mugeuk spoke to her warmly.
“Alright, you come too. Junior Sister.”
Later regrets were for later; right now, Cheon So-hee’s face was filled with joy.
Although she might have felt an unnecessary sense of rejection, as if her own training was being disturbed, Lee Ahn welcomed her with a cheerful heart.
A person must change for their martial arts to change.
Geom Mugeuk was certain that this broad-mindedness of Lee Ahn’s would lead her to the position of a supreme master.
And so, Lee Ahn created a second gathering after the drinking party.
“Welcome to the Late Night Training Session.”
*
Training in the Black Fists continued.
In the midst of it all, I was engaged in a battle of wills with the Fist Demon.
It was a fight to see who would raise the white flag first.
I was confident in this fight.
My life was one of preparing, and preparing again.
Learning the Fist Demon’s techniques was not the only way to advance to the next stage.
The Fist Demon’s techniques were just one part of a process where I made all my preparations simultaneously.
I could learn his fist techniques now, tomorrow, or a year from now.
Why? Because I had many things to do, many things to learn, and many people to take care of.
I was endlessly preparing other things as well.
You think you can beat someone like me?
My eyes met the Fist Demon's from time to time.
Whenever they did, we conversed with our gazes.
Give up.
You give up.
I can go all the way.
So can I.
I am young.
That’s why you won’t last.
He probably thought I wouldn't be able to endure because I would get bored of the training, but that was his miscalculation.
I was no ordinary young man.
*
At night, I taught Lee Ahn and Cheon So-hee.
On the first day of their training, Cheon So-hee asked me.
“Senior Brother, Martial Artist Lee is learning such an important martial art. Is it really okay for me to be here?”
Although she had desperately asked to be taught together that day, she seemed to feel sorry now that they were actually training together.
I told her.
“You are more important than that martial art. The current Fist Demon is my father’s Fist Demon and my brother’s Fist Demon. My Fist Demon is you.”
The future Heavenly Demon and Fist Demon.
A wave of emotion crossed her face.
Then, she asked about the worst-case scenario.
“What if I don't become the Fist Demon, and you don't become the Heavenly Demon?”
“Then the three of us will just have to open a soup restaurant in front of the Martial Alliance headquarters.”
Cheon So-hee burst out laughing, perhaps imagining me using the Changing Form Technique to carry bowls of soup that appeared out of thin air from the kitchen.
It seemed to be the first time I had seen her laugh so openly since we met.
“But why in front of the Martial Alliance headquarters?”
Lee Ahn answered for me.
“There might be a woman he wants to see.”
“Aha!”
I shouted that it wasn't true, but the two of them were already nodding and had begun discussing the characteristics of a playboy.
On the fifth day of the late-night training, Lee Ahn finally found the door to the Ninth Star.
Her sword became faster, stronger, and underwent magnificent changes.
There was no need for words of thanks or congratulations.
Lee Ahn ran over and threw her arms around me.
I held her tight.
You worked hard, Lee Ahn.
Now, there’s just one more hurdle to Great Mastery.
At that moment, the sound of sniffling startled both me and Lee Ahn, and we looked at Cheon So-hee.
She was crying.
“I think my tear ducts opened up that day. I’ve never cried in my life, but now tears keep coming out.”
When she cried, Lee Ahn started crying too.
“Why are you crying?”
“Because Martial Artist Cheon is crying.”
The two women turned their backs to each other and wept.
“Why are you tough women who could beat up every man in the world acting like this?”
Cheon So-hee wiped her tears and said.
“Senior Brother, please keep teaching me.”
She was so sad at the thought of the late-night training ending.
Lee Ahn stepped in on her behalf.
“Young Master, let’s keep this Late Night Training Session going.”
It was at that very moment.
A cold voice spoke from behind us.
“Who decided he was your Senior Brother?”
Cheon So-hee jumped in shock, her face turning pale.
The Fist Demon was entering the place where we were, his face as frightening as a demon's.
I greeted him with a calm expression.
“Welcome.”
In truth, I knew the Fist Demon had been there.
He had already come and gone twice before.
He used to hide himself and watch secretly before leaving.
What on earth did he think while he watched?
The Fist Demon stood in the yard and glared at me, Lee Ahn, and Cheon So-hee.
Cheon So-hee, in particular, was in a state of utter shock.
The Fist Demon had heard her call me Senior Brother, leaving no room for excuses.
In her fear of being expelled from the Eastern Fist Hall, she hung her head low, her entire body trembling.
She was probably praying that the words, 'You are expelled,' would not come.
With that demonic face, the Fist Demon uttered something completely unimaginable.
“Let me join this Late Night Training Session too.”