Chapter 109
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, every member of the White Wolf Unit felt a surge of emotion, and each member's eyes turned red.
Where else would they have ever heard such words?
It was all the more moving because they could feel the sincerity in his voice.
Whether he could truly solve their problems or not, nothing had changed yet, but his words alone felt like a comfort.
“So, all of you, stop thinking strange thoughts and do your best in training. Understood?”
“Yes!”
The entire White Wolf Unit answered with voices filled with more resolve than ever before.
As if pleased by their response, Yeo Un-hwi wore a satisfied smile.
And then,
“Now, this is where the real work begins.”
Suddenly, Yeo Un-hwi’s face became utterly serious as he spoke.
“I believe you are all finally ready.”
“Yes? For what...”
“You all said you wanted to become stronger, didn’t you?”
They had, indeed.
That was why the entire White Wolf Unit had come to Yeo Un-hwi and pleaded with him.
They wanted to become stronger.
Because of that, they have been doing nothing but this hellish physical training until now.
It had become such a part of their daily routine that they had momentarily forgotten.
For him to say they were ready.
Did that mean...?
“Commander, don’t tell me...?”
Understanding Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, every White Wolf Unit member widened his or her eyes.
Yeo Un-hwi nodded his head.
“That’s right. I will now teach you a new martial art suited for you.”
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, everyone’s face brightened.
Thinking they had finally made it, they all clenched their fists tightly.
And for good reason. How long had they all eagerly awaited this day?
The moment that had felt so distant had finally arrived.
Some were already jumping up and down, shouting *“Uwaaah!”* as if they had already accomplished it.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled at the sight of the White Wolf Unit.
“Alright. Shall we go, then?”
“Yes? Where to?”
“There.”
Everyone’s gaze followed Yeo Un-hwi’s fingertip.
The place Yeo Un-hwi was pointing to was the summit of the highest mountain near the Peng Family.
***
*Ruuuumble!*
*CRUUUUUNCH.*
The members of the White Wolf Unit, having arrived at the top, witnessed something unbelievable.
A boulder that seemed dozens of times larger than Yeo Un-hwi had been shattered to pieces.
Of course, it hadn’t broken on its own.
It was the result of Yeo Un-hwi demonstrating the martial art he was about to teach them.
“H-Heh, heh heh...”
Because of its incredible power, everyone’s jaw dropped.
It was on a completely different level from the common martial arts they had used until now.
“This is the Wind Dragon Primordial Art, which you will all learn from now on.”
“Wind Dragon... Primordial Art.”
It was an exceptionally superior divine art that fully embodied swift and sharp momentum and could be applied to various weapons.
Personally, Yeo Un-hwi was confident that there was no divine art more outstanding than this among the martial arts learned uniformly by a single unit.
And it was a martial art that Yeo Un-hwi had created by combining several of the arts he had found in the memories passed down from the Martial God.
In truth, Yeo Un-hwi had spent his entire life only reading books.
Although he had lived as the Blood Demon before his regression, he had never once formally learned, studied, and created a martial art.
So how could he know about the physical condition of warriors, their training, and formations, and even have a martial art to pass down?
It was only possible because Yeo Un-hwi had inherited everything from the Martial God.
The Martial God’s memories and the martial arts he possessed, along with the vast knowledge about them, felt different from ordinary memories; they were like finding and reading books one by one from a library shelf.
Within it were the greatest resources, experiences, and knowledge of martial studies.
They were so incredible that if he just took his time, he could completely master not just martial arts, but all of martial studies.
During his time as the Blood Demon, he had no reason to use it, nor did he have any interest.
Even back then, when becoming the Greatest Under Heaven would have been a sure thing if he had just set his mind to it and taken his time, Yeo Un-hwi had no interest in such things and was excessively focused only on finding and killing evil men.
As a result, he always carried great wounds and internal injuries, and he never had the time to properly let the Martial God’s arts meld with his body.
I was a fool, no matter how consumed I was by revenge.
As I think back on it now, it was an action so foolish there was no room for argument.
To have kicked away a golden opportunity and deliberately made things difficult for himself seems truly laughable now.
What kind of stubbornness was that? No, it was right to call it sheer obstinacy.
That was how Yeo Un-hwi had lived blindly for revenge back then.
Honestly, if one were to judge by that time alone, there was no one less qualified to inherit everything from the Martial God than Yeo Un-hwi.
He would live differently now.
In this life, Yeo Un-hwi would absolutely refuse to repeat the foolishness of his past.
“From now on, you will do physical training in the early morning, and for the rest of the time, you will train in martial arts here.”
It wouldn’t do to have the White Wolf Unit practice its new martial art in a training ground where others could openly watch.
“You’d better brace yourselves. Both the physical training and the martial arts training will become very difficult. Compared to what you’ve done before, incomparably so.”
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, everyone swallowed hard.
Knowing that Yeo Un-hwi never spoke idly, they became tense with fear at the thought of just how difficult it would be.
“Instead, if you endure it all and master this Wind Dragon Primordial Art, then, as I promised, you will reach a completely different level than before, both as individuals and as a single fighting force. So, are you all prepared? Can you do it?”
A completely... different level.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, the hearts of all the White Wolf Unit members began to pound fiercely.
Those words, too, were surely not spoken idly.
Their chests grew hot.
When was the last time they felt this way?
“Yes! We can do it!”
Whether it was because of Yeo Un-hwi’s stern warning or because of their hearts' being overwhelmed by his words.
In any case, the one who broke the momentarily tense atmosphere was none other than the White Wolf Unit’s Vice Commander, O Chae-mu.
Following him, Gu Tae-san, Peng Do-hwan, Do-gyeong, and the twin brothers spoke up in turn.
Soon, everyone was answering in a loud, resounding voice.
“That’s right! We can do it!”
“Do you know how long we’ve waited for this day!”
“Even if we die! Even if we die, we have to do it! Of course!”
Of course, they were afraid. They wondered how much more they would have to suffer.
But the thought that they could become stronger, and the desire to never again feel the boundless helplessness they had felt against the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, made the White Wolf Unit take a powerful step forward.
They were no longer the White Wolf Unit that had been treated as the black sheep of the Peng Family.
This wasn’t simply about their elevated reputation.
Everyone had changed, inside and out, to an extent incomparable to before.
Their hearts, which had seemed dead back then, were now pounding like mad.
It was truly a strange thing.
*Above all, a belief had formed that they could do it, not alone, but together with these men.*
And so, the eyes of every member of the White Wolf Unit were shining brighter than ever.
For them, this was the real starting line.
***
*Meanwhile, the Peng Family was in an uproar.*
It was because of the bundle of Ice Phoenix Herbs that Yeo Un-hwi had brought.
If it were a reasonably priced and reasonably rare herb, they might have let it pass.
But this was a matter that a mere physician could not handle, so Song Deok-jo had no choice but to report the matter to the Family Head, Peng Mugang.
“What did you say?”
One of Peng Mugang’s eyebrows shot up crookedly.
Not out of anger, but out of sheer absurdity.
The story that Song Deok-jo and Peng Seo-jin had suddenly brought him was so unbelievable.
Peng Mugang had been enjoying a quiet moment, drinking tea with his wife, Dan Hee-young, in the Family Head’s office.
He greatly disliked having this time disturbed unless it was an urgent matter, so visitors were rare.
He had been slightly annoyed at their insistence on coming to report, but
“Did I hear you correctly just now?”
Forgetting his slight annoyance, Peng Mugang asked again.
He knew well that it was difficult to obtain even a single root of the Ice Phoenix Herb, no matter how much money one had.
But now he was being told that a whole bundle of it had arrived.
So when he asked how on earth it was obtained, the answer that came back was:
“Ah, well, in the region he went to for his mission, he happened to meet a wealthy merchant who had just returned from the North Sea Ice Palace...”
“And?”
“The merchant was being attacked by bandits, so he saved himself...”
“And?”
“He said he received it as a reward for saving his life, out of gratitude.”
He... was at a loss for words.
Even Peng Seo-jin-jin, who relayed the story, seemed to think it made no sense and scratched his head.
What? In the area he went to for a mission, he happened to save a merchant traveling to and from the Ice Palace?
And the reward for saving his life was that expensive?
Ah, no. A life was certainly expensive.
But not that ***expensive***.
Umm.
In any case, it was absurd. Extremely so.
“Heh heh. To think that precious Ice Phoenix Herb could be obtained like that?”
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make any sense.
Fine. Let’s say he saved his life. But the merchant could have just given him one root, yet he gave him a whole bundle like which is...
“Does that even make sense?”
*Unless he robbed the North Sea Ice Palace.*
Of course, that was a joke, and something that shouldn’t be done, but even if one tried, it wouldn’t succeed.
The North Sea Ice Palace’s Lord, Seol Ja-gang, was a supreme master whose name was listed among the Ten Great Masters.
Who would dare to do such a thing?
And how far was it?
Wasn’t the North Sea quite a distance from Hebei?
Then, how on earth?
It’s not like he robbed a merchant traveling to and from the Ice Palace.
Did he really receive it as a reward for saving a life?
Ah.
The more he thought, the more questions piled up.
Somehow, it was always like this whenever the White Wolf Unit and that fellow Yeo Un-hwi were involved.
“Hoo hoo hoo, why are you thinking so deeply about it?”
“*Keum*, even so...”
“A good thing is a good thing. It turned out well, didn’t it? Don’t you agree, dear?”
His wife, Dan Hee-young, who had been drinking tea with him, smiled brightly at her husband, who, as impatient as his frustrated heart felt, was stroking his beard.
It seemed his wife was simply in a good mood that her son-in-law, Yeo Un-hwi, seemed to be doing a good job.
*Keum.*
But the frown on Peng Mugang’s brow showed no signs of smoothing out.
*No, this wasn’t something to be taken so lightly.*
*But then again, if it was a good thing, it was a good thing, and not something to be questioned so deeply...*
*Hah.*
He didn’t know.
In the end, Peng Mugang let go of his train of thought.
Why continue a line of thought that had no answer? It wasn’t enjoyable.
As his wife said, a good thing was a good thing, and Peng Mugang decided to simply enjoy his time with his wife for now.