-I'm just an ordinary person who's learned a little martial arts for self-defense.

The girl recalled the words she had heard as she replayed the recent situation in her mind.

The martial prowess that had sliced through the masters of the Martial Alliance with a single stroke.

And right after, the movement technique that had carried her through the sky in his arms.

'Void-Pacing Steps, something I've only heard of in legends.'

Although her mind was hazy from being severely injured and she had only just come to her senses, the events from a moment ago were firmly imprinted in her mind.

And yet, despite displaying such extraordinary skills, the man before her simply referred to himself as an ordinary person.

"I don't have any proper wound medicine, but I have some useful herbs, so wait just a moment."

"Ye-yes."

At the man's words, the girl came to her senses and stared blankly at him.

Long white hair, a white robe, and a youthful face despite an aura that suggested age.

To the girl, the man looked like nothing less than a divine immortal straight out of the stories told by the marketplace storytellers.

The man mixed what looked like herbs, crushed them, and made a sticky juice.

"It might feel a little strange, but it won't hurt, so don't worry."

After finishing the juice, the man slathered it all over the girl's body.

The girl felt a warm and tingly sensation on her wounds.

Feeling the strange sensation, the girl looked at her wounds and saw the parts touched by the juice beginning to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"My wounds?!"

The girl stared at the man with her mouth agape.

"What on earth are these herbs?!"

"They're just ordinary herbs I dug up from the herb garden in my backyard."

At her reaction, the man chuckled and gently stroked the girl's head.

"How can these be ordinary herbs...?"

"They are ordinary herbs."

"N-no..."

"Now that your wounds seem to have healed a bit, let's get you washed up."

The man led the girl out of the medicine room.

'Is this the divine immortal's residence?'

The inside of the house was surprisingly ordinary. Except for the fact that it was well-organized despite being deep in the mountains and had quite a lot of household goods, it didn't seem particularly special.

However,

"This is the bathroom."

"The bath... room?"

People usually washed themselves by soaking in the river, but to have a separate bathroom inside the house.

It felt strange that this ordinary house had a bathroom that would only be found in the mansions of high-ranking officials.

The bathtub consisted of a large, flat stone at the bottom with a wooden tub placed on top.

"Where should I fetch the water from?"

"Ah, right. Wait just a moment."

The man slowly waved his hand.

Then, a long pipe emerged from a small window drilled in the upper part of the bathroom, and water began to flow out through the hole.

"Sp-Spatial Manipulation?! Th-that aside, what kind of magic must you work for water to flow from that pipe..."

The girl's jaw dropped.

In contrast, the man wore an indifferent expression, as if he had no idea what the girl was talking about.

"Spatial... Manipulation? I don't know what you're talking about, but wait a little. The water is cold, so I'll heat it up for you in a moment."

This time, a pure white flame flickered in the man's hand and began to heat the stone under the wooden tub.

The powerful heat of the sun's energy began to heat the stone red-hot, and the water in the wooden tub heated up in an instant, sending steam rising.

"Samadhi True Fire?!"

The girl was once again astonished.

Finding her reaction quite amusing, the man let out a chuckle.

"It's just a humble trick to fill the bathroom with water and heat it."

"It's not humble at all..."

"It's a humble trick that anyone can do if they can just handle internal energy."

The man's face was nonchalant, as if he truly believed so, and the girl was just as confused as ever.

"Do you have any trouble washing yourself alone?"

"N-no! I can wash by myself!!"

This time, the girl was flustered for a different reason and waved her hands and shook her head.

Finding her appearance quite cute and heartwarming, the man was still smiling faintly.

After the man left, the girl took off her clothes and soaked her body in the tub full of water.

The feeling of the warm water enveloping her released the fatigue and weariness she had accumulated.

All sorts of complicated thoughts passed through the girl's relaxed mind.

The pursuit of the Martial Alliance.

The death of her family.

'It's all because I have no power.'

The tears and screams of her family still echoed in her head.

Thus, the complicated thoughts in the girl's head reached a single conclusion.

'I want power.'

The girl's eyes narrowed.

Her gaze was so full of resentment that it gave the illusion of a sharp, cold glint.

* * *

A short while later, the girl, having finished her bath, came out.

She came face to face with Baek Yoonjun, who was about to prepare dinner.

Baek Yoonjun wondered what to say for a moment, then realized they hadn't even introduced themselves to each other yet.

"My name is Baek Yoonjun."

"Ah, I haven't even introduced myself to my benefactor. I'm sorry!"

"It's alright."

The child rolled her eyes as if slightly troubled, then bit her lip and gave a clumsy fist-and-palm salute.

"My name is Baek Sowol, benefactor."

To meet someone with the same surname, Baek, in a world of a different dimension.

Baek Yoonjun thought it was a truly strange fate.

He then briefly heard about Baek Sowol's situation.

'So she was framed, for example.'

Of course, Baek Sowol could be deceiving him, but at least in Baek Yoonjun's eyes, it didn't seem like a lie.

And even if she wasn't framed, it wouldn't be a reason to brutally kill a girl like this.

'Before I came to the mountains, didn't I see countless people die due to the whims of martial artists?'

Just as Baek Yoonjun was feeling sorry for Baek Sowol.

Thud!

Baek Sowol suddenly slammed her head on the floor.

"Benefactor! I'm grateful enough that you saved me, but I have a shameless favor to ask!"

She had slammed her head on the floor so hard that blood was flowing from her forehead.

"Please, I beg you! Please teach me martial arts! I know how shameless a request this is, but I beg you."

Perhaps the sorrow had welled up while talking about her family's death earlier.

At some point, tears had gathered in Baek Sowol's eyes.

And her head headed downwards again.

"Stop."

Baek Yoonjun stopped Sowol, who was about to slam her head again.

"Why are you slamming your head when you can just say it? You'll just hurt your head for no reason."

"...Pardon?"

"Let's take a look at the wound first."

Fortunately, it wasn't as badly torn as it looked.

Baek Yoonjun brought the herb juice and applied it to Baek Sowol's head.

'Yes, teaching martial arts is one thing, but this child has nowhere to go right now, so it would be safer to let her stay here for the time being.'

However, what worried Yoonjun was something else.

"If you wish, you can stay here as long as you want, and I can teach you martial arts... but all I've learned is a third-rate martial art. I myself am just an ordinary person, ashamed to even be called a martial artist. Do you still want to learn martial arts from me?"

"I don't think my benefactor's martial arts are third-rate at all."

"That's because you don't know the world."

"When you saved me, didn't you defeat numerous martial artists?"

"Martial artists? Those were just ordinary mountain bandits who didn't know martial arts, so I was able to win."

"...Mountain bandits?"

"A martial artist who has truly learned martial arts is a monster completely different from what you imagine."

At that moment, Baek Sowol thought.

'In his eyes, mediocre martial artists are just seen as mountain bandits.'

Baek Sowol came to that understanding and spoke carefully, worried she might offend him.

"Even if that is so, my heart will not change."

Baek Sowol's eyes showed a strong will, as if to say it wasn't just words.

'Right, even if it's third-rate, if you learn martial arts, you won't have a problem with thugs like the ones from before, right?'

Baek Yoonjun organized his thoughts.

"Alright. It's a humble skill, but I will pass it on to you."

"Thank you! Master!"

Baek Sowol tried to slam her head on the floor again, but he quickly reached out and stopped her.

"Hey, I told you not to do that!"

And so, his life with his first disciple, Baek Sowol, began.

* * *

The leader of the Golden Wolf Brigade, one of the martial forces of the Martial Alliance, looked at the scene with a troubled gaze.

Six of his subordinates were dead.

'Except for the two who seem to have been hit by hidden weapons, looking at these sword wounds, they all died from a single blow.'

The leader's brow furrowed as he looked at the scene.

'With such clean sword wounds, the person must be at least at the peak, or perhaps an even higher realm...'

The leader was lost in thought.

Where on earth did such a master come from?

And why on earth would he help someone declared a public enemy of the martial world by the Alliance?

'Nameless master. You may have drawn your sword to uphold justice, but you are overlooking how much bloodshed will occur in the Central Plains because of it.'

The leader spoke to the nameless master in his heart.

"Leader!"

At that moment, a member of the Golden Wolf Brigade who had gone out to search hurriedly approached him.

"Yes. Was there any progress in the search?"

"Th-that is."

The leader frowned at the stuttering member.

"What is it? Don't tell me the scent of the Tracking Incense has been cut off?"

"That's not it! No, I think it would be better for you to see for yourself!"

"Hmm... lead the way."

The leader followed the Golden Wolf Brigade member and arrived at the problematic location.

And soon, he couldn't help but make the same dumbfounded face as the member.

"The scent of the Tracking Incense hasn't been cut off, but..."

"It went up to the sky?"

The leader's expression hardened after confirming the scene.

'How could the lingering scent of the Tracking Incense have shot up to the sky?'

"Could it be the rumored Void-Pacing Steps..."

"Stop. We cannot cause confusion with unnecessary speculation."

But the leader who said so was in a more complicated situation than anyone else.

'Void-Pacing Steps! Is the nameless master a divine immortal? How can a person stand in the sky so casually!'

The leader hardened his resolve after confirming the scene.

This was definitely not something that could be resolved by a single martial force.

Something so big might happen that it would make the whereabouts of the public enemy seem like a 'trifle'.

"We will return to the Alliance for now."

At the leader's command, the Golden Wolf Brigade left the scene and headed back to the Alliance.

After that, a story about a reclusive eccentric whose martial prowess could not be measured quietly spread within the Alliance.

* * *

Six months had already passed since Baek Sowol became his disciple.

"Heup. Eup."

Baek Yoonjun looked at Baek Sowol, who was grunting while sitting cross-legged, with a distant look in his eyes.

Unfortunately, she had no talent for martial arts.

At least, that's what Baek Yoonjun thought.

It had been about six months, but she still hadn't learned the Three Talents Heart Method, or more accurately, the Three Talents Heart Method that he had improved himself.

Naturally, since she couldn't learn the basic heart method, learning other martial arts was out of the question.

He had her learn just the forms without internal energy, but that too was not very good.

'She doesn't seem to have two left feet, so this is strange.'

At least she was quite smart, so she memorized things like formations, medical texts, and herbs well, but martial arts was still the problem.

'Is it not her aptitude?'

There was no need to go down a path that didn't suit her aptitude.

But he couldn't make her quit because of Baek Sowol's strong will.

'If it really doesn't work, how about I try to modify the heart method and martial arts to suit Sowol?'

Having reached a conclusion, Baek Yoonjun quietly raised his hand to stop Sowol's training.

"Stop, let's stop there."

"What? I-I can do more."

Baek Sowol's pupils trembled with anxiety.

She seemed quite anxious.

"There's no need to keep wearing something that doesn't fit your body. I'll try to improve the heart method to suit you, so wait a little."

"N-no. I'll try harder..."

"It's alright. You've done enough."

"......I understand."

Baek Sowol's shoulders slumped.

Although Baek Yoonjun said he would fix the heart method, how could creating a new martial art, even if it was a modification, be a simple matter?

Even among the shining stars of the martial world, there were almost no one who could create or modify martial arts themselves.

Creating a martial art was something that only geniuses of a thousand years could do, and weren't they the ones called the founding masters, like the legendary Bodhidharma of Shaolin?

'He said he would improve the martial art for me... but there's no way that's easy.'

It would take a long time, and there was no telling if something proper would come out even after a long time. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Rather, it might be better to devote herself to the current martial art, even if it took more time.

"Sowol, everyone has things they can and cannot do. Cheer up. If you really have no energy, how about going to see the village at the foot of the mountain?"

"No. I'll do some external training behind the house."

What a diligent kid, Baek Yoonjun muttered as he sent Sowol off.

'I need to fix the heart method and martial arts as quickly as possible.'

And so, Baek Yoonjun improved the heart method over seven days and nights.

And for fifteen days, he taught Baek Sowol with the improved heart method and martial arts.

"I-I succeeded! I did it!!"

"Amazing! You're amazing!!"

Finally, she succeeded in accumulating internal energy.

"Wow! Wooow!! I-I!! Finally!"

"Our disciple is a real genius! Amazing!"

Baek Sowol and Baek Yoonjun hugged each other and gave each other piggyback rides, causing a commotion.

"Master."

After the commotion subsided for a moment, a much more serious Baek Sowol carefully spoke to Baek Yoonjun.

"What is it?"

"Th-this heart method and martial art, what is its name?"

At that question, Baek Yoonjun closed his mouth for a moment.

He didn't have a name in mind.

'At best, what comes to mind is Sowol Fist Art? Sowol Heart Method?'

Not only did he not have a name in mind, but he also had no sense for naming things.

"I don't have anything in mind, but do you have a name you'd like to give it?"

"I have one, but is it alright if I name it?"

Baek Yoonjun nodded readily.

"Yes, it's a martial art made for you, so name it as you please."

At those words, Baek Sowol seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened her mouth.

"It's a name that suddenly came to mind, but..."

And she said.

"Heavenly Demon Divine Art. I think that would be good.”

(End of Chapter)