[Chapter 0]
Corpses and more corpses.
The foul stench of blood, so thick it pierced deep into the lungs with every breath, filled the valley.
Falling Phoenix Sect.
The ominous valley where Pang Tong, a close aide and brilliant strategist to Emperor Shōretsu Liu Bei, met his unfortunate end.
On this very land, countless people were shedding blood once again.
All because of a single man guarding the valley.
"What a monster."
"He's not even human."
"How can a bastard like that be a Great Master. Killing Ghost would suit him better."
The number of bodies lying strewn across the ground appeared to be over three hundred, at a conservative estimate.
Every single one of them was someone who would be called a first-rate master wherever they went.
All of them had lost their lives to one man.
A man, covered in blood from head to toe, holding a pair of swords in his hands.
Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon.
He was the one who had created this hellscape.
Of course, he wasn't in pristine condition either.
Most of the blood drenching his body belonged to his enemies, but the blood that flowed enough to form puddles on the ground was his own.
The corners of his mouth crept up into a smirk, despite having sustained injuries so severe he should have already been dead long ago.
And he opened his mouth to the masters of the Unorthodox Factions who were staring at him as if he were a demon.
"You bastards…."
"..."
"What are you doing?"
"..."
He raised his hand and beckoned with his fingers.
"Bring it on."
In that instant, goosebumps erupted all over the bodies of the Unorthodox Alliance masters who had formed the encirclement.
He was so grievously injured that the very fact he was alive and breathing was incomprehensible.
He was in such a precarious state that forget a man of Martial world, even a third-rate ruffian from the back alleys could knock him over with a slight push.
And yet….
'…Why?'
'How….'
'I can't move.'
It was as if someone had driven a stake through their feet; they couldn't budge.
I have to attack now.
I have to go forward right now.
But I couldn't.
For a martial artist of the Unorthodox Faction, wasn't the greatest prize ultimately taking the head of a big shot from the Orthodox Murim?
If I could just step forward now, I could take the head of that Radiant Dragon Great Master.
An opportunity more valuable than a thousand pieces of gold was right before my eyes.
My head clearly understood that, but….
'Dammit….'
'I can't move forward.'
Not a single one of them could step forward.
Watching the members of the Unorthodox Faction, Jin Cheon spoke nonchalantly.
"You boring bastards."
"..."
"If you won't come…."
As he spoke, Jin Cheon's knees bent slightly.
At the same time, the Unorthodox Faction members in front of him flinched in surprise and took a step back without realizing it.
Watching them, Jin Cheon licked his lips and then spoke.
"I'll go to you."
With those words, the Radiant Dragon's figure, true to his alias, became a streak of light and plunged into the Unorthodox Alliance masters.
"Ugh…. Uaaaaah."
"Dieeee!"
Only then did the masters of the Unorthodox Alliance also brandish their weapons as if in a last-ditch struggle.
And so, a storm of blood raged through the valley once more.
Every time a flash of light sparked, the heads of the Unorthodox masters fell.
In the midst of it all, the weapons swung with desperate tenacity left scars on Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon's body.
Large and small wounds kept piling up, pushing him ever closer to death.
But even as the very end approached, his swords never stopped.
Every time his figure, flashing like lightning, and his two swords, drawing streaks of light, moved, the heads of the Unorthodox masters were certain to fall and their bodies to be split apart.
"Uaaaaaaah!"
"Die! Just die, please!"
"Kuaaaak!"
A scene of carnage unfolded, a veritable pandemonium as if hell had been brought to the mortal world.
Here, there was neither the orthodox nor the unorthodox.
There were only those struggling to survive.
On this day, at Falling Phoenix Sect, the Orthodox Murim master, Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon, breathed his last.
He had charged in alone to save his comrades who were trapped in the Unorthodox Faction's inescapable net and on the verge of death, breaking through the encirclement to let his allies escape.
Afterward, he single-handedly blocked the valley pass and fought to a mutual demise against three thousand elite masters of the Unorthodox Alliance.
A giant of the Orthodox Faction who, since his debut in the Martial world, had written a legend of invincibility with a hundred wins in a hundred duels, and was spoken of as the future World's Best.
His end was a legendary death that would be remembered for ages in the history of Murim.
In the Murim, that is.
* * *
-You punk. How long are you going to live so childishly, like a beast? A person must know propriety and walk the righteous path.
'Such a nag….'
Still, thanks to him, a little demon like me who was rotting in the back alleys managed to become a decent human being.
If it weren't for Master, at best, I would have ended up pretending to be a big shot in the Unorthodox Faction, sucking the blood of the common people.
-Doing good is not something you do in hopes of a reward. You do it simply because it is the right thing to do.
'For a Sect Leader of a third-rate sect in some backwater countryside, he's better at spouting righteous words than the leaders of the prestigious Orthodox sects. That's why he never gets ahead.'
I really ran around everywhere, stirring up trouble left and right, just trying to make this frustrating Master of mine successful.
Thanks to that, I made a few friends.
Though I made a hundred times more enemies.
-It's fine. That is your achievement, not mine. I am fine, so you take it.
'Master…. Master…. You are the most frustrating person in the world….'
If someone gives you something, can't you just take it?
If I don't look out for you, who's going to give you spiritual medicine, Master?
Helping the poor, yet he doesn't even have enough money in his own pocket to buy a single ginseng root….
Anyway, why is he like that?
Normally, if he had a disciple like me, he would have gleefully used me to secure a position in the Murim Alliance and live a life of influence.
Even when ignored, he'd just chuckle.
Even when insulted, he'd just laugh it off.
Well, I later beat bastards like that to an inch of their lives, but still….
'There's a limit to being a good-natured pushover. Master…. What are you really going to do without me?'
Whenever Jin Cheon worried, his Master would say with a smile.
-Why? Do you plan on dying before me? A person must follow their path. It wouldn't do for you to die before I do, would it?
Of course not.
My good-natured Master.
Without me, he's just a weak, gullible fool.
How could I die before a Master like that?
I have to live.
I have to live to let my Master enjoy a life of luxury, and make our Twin Dragon Sect the best sect in the world….
And also…. well, anyway, I'll do everything good for him.
'I have to repay the grace of him making me a person.'
Right.
This is no time to be like this.
I don't know where I am right now, but this situation—dark, stuffy, with nothing but some strange, unidentifiable noise—is not good.
I have to get out.
I have to get out, go back, be a good son to my Master, make those weakling junior brothers of mine strong, and completely fold in half those bastards from the prestigious Orthodox sects who treat our Twin Dragon Sect like a third-rate sect.
I can do it.
I can do it.
Because I am Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon.
'Eeeeeek….'
Jin Cheon struggled with all his might to escape from this dark and stuffy place.
He did his best, using all his strength, to move toward the direction where a faint light was shining.
And finally….
'I'm ouuuut!'
Jin Cheon shouted at the top of his lungs.
Well, I mean….
He tried.
"Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!"
It's just that the result didn't quite follow.
"## ### ###."
"#### ## #### ##."
"##…."
The noisy surroundings were filled with unintelligible sounds.
A loud baby's cry was coming from his own mouth.
Jin Cheon realized.
'Uh…. This isn't right.'
That the situation was quite serious.
* * *
Three years later.
The small kingdom of Atronia, in the eastern part of the continent.
Among its territories, the small fiefdom of Baron Schneider, located at the very frontier.
This was a pioneer's fiefdom, situated right next to a vast forest teeming with monsters and barren land.
Most people considered this place a backwater, unfit for human habitation.
But the actual residents of this fiefdom said that their land was quite a livable place.
The reason for this was the Baron Schneider family who ruled over this fiefdom.
Baron Schneider was a rare case among nobles, a pushover—no, a noble who governed with benevolence.
Although the land was barren and harsh, the fact that the lord who ruled it was a kind and good person was a great advantage.
In a world where life could become hell if the lord was tyrannical, even if the land was fertile and abundant, a good noble like Baron Schneider was certainly a rarity.
The only problem for the Baron Schneider family was that they had been without an heir for a long time.
But that too was resolved a few years ago when his wife gave birth to a son.
It would have been difficult for the Baroness, with her frail constitution, to give birth multiple times, but thankfully, the first child was a boy.
With this, the future of the Baron Schneider family was secured, and the fief's residents could also feel at ease.
And the being born amidst everyone's blessings was Patrick Schneider.
The little kid who was now sitting in the manor's garden with the most world-weary expression on his face, blankly staring up at the sky.
"The young master is at it again."
"Do you think he's okay?"
The maids and servants working in the baronial household looked at Patrick with expressions of concern.
In their eyes, their young master couldn't help but seem a little, no, to be frank, extremely strange.
Seeing him spend most of his time sitting blankly like that, mumbling incomprehensible words, then suddenly getting angry and suddenly becoming sad, over and over again….
"He's not crazy, is he?"
"Shhh! You'll get in big trouble for saying that…."
"Well, no matter how you look at it, he's not normal, is he?"
"Shut up! You have a death wish."
"..."
The servant who had spoken looked at his counterpart with a sullen expression that seemed to say, 'You think so too.'
But no matter how benevolent and kind Baron Schneider was, he wouldn't just let a servant who treated his only son like a madman go.
But there was something they didn't know.
Even though they were speaking in sufficiently low voices and from a distance, Patrick heard everything they were saying.
"I wish I were crazy too, you fools."
And then he sighed again and said.
"My lot in life has certainly improved."
The words that came out of the boy's mouth were in the language of the Central Plains.
To the people around him, it sounded like nothing more than the mumbling of a three-year-old child with slurred pronunciation.
Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon.
His newly reborn form was the present-day Patrick Schneider.
Patrick suddenly let out a smirk and said.
"A noble is a nobleman, right? I've made it, I really have. In my past life, I was an orphan and a beggar."
In his past life, Jin Cheon was an orphan who didn't even know who his parents were.
But in this world where he was reborn, he was supposedly the only son of a noble family.
Although this Baron Schneider fellow was of the lowest rank, a humble noble, but still, that's something, right?
He had his own fiefdom, even if it was the size of a booger, and the residents brought him taxes.
It meant that even if he did nothing, there was no problem with eating, sleeping, and shitting.
"Life is so easy."
In his past life, Jin Cheon at this age already had to find his own food.
Begging was a given, and he was a street urchin in the back alleys whose eyes were always glinting, looking to snatch and steal from others.
Jin Cheon's life continued like that until he was taken in by his Master, the Sect Leader of Twin Dragon Sect, when he was over ten years old.
Compared to then, his current life was so comfortable it was absurd.
It was that comfortable, and yet….
"Haaaah…."
The face of Jin Cheon, no, Patrick, who was sighing as if the ground would collapse, was full of sorrow.
'Dammit, to think I died there.'
To save his clueless allies trapped in an encirclement, he single-handedly broke through the inescapable net, and in the process of retreating, he defended the rear to protect his allies.
As a result, he died at Falling Phoenix Sect, single-handedly holding off three thousand elite masters of the Unorthodox Alliance.
It would be a magnificent death that would go down in the history of the Martial world Murim.
The descendants of the Martial world would probably praise the chivalry and martial arts of Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon for ages to come.
But….
"What's the use if I'm dead? Ah, I'm really going crazy. It's obvious what will happen to my pushover Master if I die."
Patrick tore at his hair and lamented.
His Master, the Sect Leader of a third-rate sect in a remote countryside, was an object of jealousy for the high-ranking officials of the Murim Alliance.
An incompetent figure who simply got lucky by taking in one disciple born with genius-level talent and made a name for himself.
That was what the so-called renowned masters of the Orthodox Murim whispered behind his back.
Of course, they couldn't say it to his face.
If they did….
[Is this bastard out of his goddamn mind!]
Who would dare, when there was a mad dog ready to foam at the mouth and go berserk?
Jin Cheon's alias was Radiant Dragon Great Master, but in truth, he was more often called Radiant Dragon.
And that was among the Orthodox Factions, not the Unorthodox.
But now that Jin Cheon was gone, what about the Twin Dragon Sect?
What about his Master, who was nothing but a good person?
What about the Orthodox Murim?
'Ah, forget the last one. Those bastards need to suffer a bit. Anyway….'
Patrick let out a deep sigh and lamented.
"Haa…. This is driving me crazy, seriously."
Then, the lamenting Patrick looked up at the sky and yelled his lungs out.
"Ah! If you were going to reincarnate me, you could have just done it in the world I lived in, right? Why reincarnate me in some strange world I know nothing about, what the hell. Whether it's the Jade Emperor or Buddha, you're not doing your jobs right! You slackers!"
It was the moment the first human to curse the Jade Emperor and Buddha was born on the continent of Pangemonia.
The surrounding servants and maids who were watching the scene whispered among themselves that their young master was definitely crazy.
It was just another peaceful day in the household of Baron Schneider.
--------
[Chapter 1]
Two years had passed.
Patrick Schneider, five years old.
Over the past two years, his body had grown, and he had learned to manage his heart a great deal.
"Young Master. Young Master!"
"Yaaawn…. What is it, Butler?"
"Young Master. You must train. Sir Erickson is looking for you."
"Tell him I'm tired, so I'm taking the day off."
"Didn't you say you were tired yesterday and took the day off as well?"
"You're wrong. Yesterday, my body was tired; today, my heart is tired."
"Young Masteeeer!"
"Ah, whatever, I'm resting."
It seemed I had managed my heart a little too much.
Patrick Schneider had turned five.
The little boy who, just two years ago, had lived with a sigh constantly on his lips had brightened up quite a bit.
But as his heart grew more relaxed, he also grew more slothful.
'Right. What can't be helped, can't be helped.'
He was a five-year-old who had realized that there was no use in constantly agonizing over a problem with no answer.
In the end, it seemed time was the cure for most worries.
Thanks to this, his original personality began to slowly emerge, and the one who welcomed this change in Patrick the most was, of course, his father, Baron Schneider.
"The little fellow is finally acting like a child now."
"My lord. You've arrived?"
"You've worked hard, Lawrence."
"Not at all, my lord."
Baron Jaycall Schneider.
He was the master of Baron Schneider's fiefdom and also Patrick's father.
Truthfully, he had been very worried.
After marrying his wife, he worried when they had no child for over five years, and this son was one they had with great difficulty.
But the condition of that precious son was quite strange.
Since he was a newborn, hadn't he just stared blankly into space, letting out deep sighs?
And then, hadn't he suddenly started shouting and getting angry about something?
Sometimes, he even looked at him, his own father, with a gaze that seemed to say, 'It must be nice for you to have no worries.'
The feeling at that moment was truly….
In any case, no matter how he thought about it, it was not the behavior of a normal baby.
At first, he had even seriously worried if there was something mentally wrong with him.
Fortunately, the doctor and priest, who were invited at great expense, examined the child and found nothing wrong, and his wife advised that they should just watch over him.
As a result….
"Hahaha. The little fellow is quite child-like now."
Even the sight of his son diligently running away, saying he didn't want to train, was just heartwarming.
'My lord, that's not it.'
The butler, Lawrence, shook his head as he watched Baron Schneider.
But Baron Schneider simply wished for his son to grow up healthy and energetic like this.
"As long as he's healthy. I ask for nothing else."
But he did not know.
That his son should absolutely not be raised with such a mindset.
* * *
"Stance number 1!"
"Haaat!"
"Begin!"
"Haap! Hap!"
Brian Erickson, the only knight of the Baron Schneider family.
Following his command, the soldiers swung their swords vigorously.
To be a soldier in Baron Schneider's fiefdom, which was crawling with monsters, even an ordinary soldier had to be able to beat down five or six goblins.
That was why, though their numbers might be small, the soldiers of the Baron Schneider family were strong elite troops....
"How cute. So cute. So adorable I want to bite them and chew them to bits."
Or so the rumor went….
But to the eyes of five-year-old Patrick, who was lying askew on one side eating cookies and watching, they didn't seem to measure up at all.
Patrick had said he was taking the day off from training because he was tired, but for some reason, he had come to the training grounds.
The problem was his attitude, which showed not the slightest intention of training.
Brian, the only knight in the fiefdom, glanced at Patrick and frowned.
'Distracting.'
He couldn't help but be distracted by the sight of him lying askew on the training grounds, spectating while refusing to train. On top of that….
"My father is a really good person. Paying those things a salary and feeding them, calling them soldiers. Oh my. Look at them toddle. They'd win first place at a talent show."
How could he not be distracted when he was saying things like that?
Eventually, Brian frowned and spoke.
"Young Master, what are you doing over there?"
"Spectating."
Patrick sent a look as if to say,
"The soldiers' training is not a spectacle for the Young Master."
"That's right. It's rude to watch people who are training seriously from the side."
"If you know that, then…."
"So when does the training start?"
"..."
As Patrick asked, his five-year-old eyes twinkling with a characteristic innocence, Brian shut his mouth with a soured expression.
'How dare he act this way toward me, the only knight in the fiefdom. He may be young, but he is far too ill-mannered.'
Brian Erickson.
He was a 2-star knight and the only one in Baron Schneider's fiefdom.
From training soldiers to eliminating monsters, there were more than a few problems that would arise without him.
As such, he expected to be treated with high regard, and indeed, the good-natured Baron Schneider treated him better than an ordinary 2-star knight.
It was also partly unavoidable, as it would be troublesome if the only 2-star knight in this harsh and barren fiefdom were to leave.
Brian had received such precious and esteemed treatment, but….
"What? So? What are you going to do about it?"
Patrick's reaction to him was typical of a ruffian.
'You ill-mannered brat. Even your father doesn't treat me so carelessly….'
Baron Schneider had a weak and gentle disposition, so how did such a ruffian of a son come to be?
Judging by his words and actions, despite being only five, his prospects weren't just bleak; they were a whole rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
If he had his way, he would have liked to correct his manners right then and there, but….
'Tsk, there are too many eyes.'
He couldn't get into a scuffle with the sole heir of the fiefdom in front of all the soldiers.
Especially when that heir was a mere five-year-old child.
"If you are not going to train, then stop disturbing us and get lost."
"Get lost?"
"Yes."
"...Me?"
"You heard me, did you not?"
At Brian's words, Patrick looked up at the sky, let out a deep sigh, and said.
"Master, this is how I live."
Brian probably thought the kid was spouting nonsense again, but Patrick was currently savoring the bitter taste of his five-year-old life.
It had been a truly long time.
He thought it might even be the first time in this life.
Get lost?
How long had it been since someone dared to say such a thing to the great Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon?
'What should I do? Do it? Or not?'
Five years since being born in this world.
At first, he was bewildered by the confusing reality, not knowing how to accept the situation, but even during that time, he had consistently practiced his inner arts.
Truthfully, as a newborn, there wasn't much else to do. However….
'Too small.'
I looked down at my own hands and feet.
Though I was eating well and growing well, a five-year-old's limbs were too short and stumpy.
At the very least, fighting that punk in this body was a stretch.
No, well, if we fought, I would win.
I would probably win.
No matter who the opponent was, if it came down to it, I would definitely win.
But the Radiant Dragon Great Master has his dignity; how could I grit my teeth and get into a dogfight with such a low-level opponent?
'Sigh, it can't be helped.'
"Are you not going to leave?"
"No. I'm leaving. I'm going. I'll go."
Patrick sauntered away, leaving the training ground behind him.
'Haaah…. This is a humiliation. A humiliation. For I, the Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon, to have to retreat from a mere punk like that.'
If my friends from my past life saw this, they would be greatly saddened….
'No, they wouldn't.'
[Puhahaha. Look at that guy. Look at him.]
[Tsk tsk tsk, he lived life recklessly, and this is what he gets.]
[How embarrassing for him?]
[I have to spread the word.]
They were the types to clutch their stomachs, laugh, and tease me instead.
The few friends I had were all like that.
For a moment, Patrick belatedly reflected on whether he had lived his past life too recklessly.
Leaving the training ground, Patrick returned to the mansion.
Right now, there was nothing he could teach the fiefdom's soldiers.
He himself was in a situation where he could barely fend for himself.
But there was one person.
One person Patrick had to make sure trained consistently from now on, no matter what it took.
And that person was right here in the baron's mansion.
"Mother, how are you feeling today?"
"I told you, didn't I? I've been feeling much better lately."
Ava Schneider.
Baron Schneider's wife.
And the only person Patrick could call Mother in this life and the last.
Leaning against the bed, she looked a bit thin and haggard, but she was still so beautiful and elegant that anyone would marvel.
In fact, she was originally a commoner.
She was an ordinary village girl from the fiefdom, but the moment Baron Schneider saw her, he fell in love at first sight and, after a passionate courtship, succeeded in marrying her.
With her unpretentious and gentle nature, wise intellect, and elegant beauty.
She carried herself as such a fine noblewoman that no one who saw her would believe she was a commoner with no prior education.
If she had one flaw, would it be that her body was too weak?
She had always been of a frail constitution, but after giving birth to Patrick, her health had progressively worsened, and now she spent most of her day lying in bed.
And Patrick knew the reason for it.
"Mother, have you been doing the breathing exercises I taught you?"
"Of course. You were the one who asked. Just as you said, I've been doing them every morning and evening."
"You're doing well. You must continue to do them consistently."
"Don't you worry. Didn't we make a promise?"
The Baroness smiled gently at Patrick and spoke.
And Patrick went behind the Baroness and said.
"I will give you a massage."
"Thank you. My son is so kind."
Patrick kneaded her shoulders with his small, fern-like hands, simultaneously sending his ki into her body to check its flow.
'She's doing the cultivation method well. She has improved a lot.'
The Baroness felt better as Patrick's warm energy entered her body.
"It's truly strange. Just having my son massage me makes my body feel so much better."
"..."
"You have no idea how happy and grateful I am for this time you spend thinking of your mother like this. My beloved son."
"..."
At the Baroness' heartfelt words, Patrick bit his lower lip hard and said nothing.
No, he couldn't.
This was a feeling he was too unfamiliar with.
'Mother…'
This was a relationship he was having for the first time.
In his past life as Jin Cheon, Patrick was an orphan with no living relatives.
Before his Master took him in, he had no one he could call family and didn't know what parents were or what a mother was.
But this life was different.
He had a mother who unconditionally believed in and loved him.
Putting myself in her shoes....
As a newborn, Patrick was by no means normal.
What would the surrounding adults have thought, seeing a baby who rarely cried, just stared blankly into space, and mumbled to himself?
It wouldn't have been strange if they had seen him as a slow-witted or idiotic child.
But even amid such concerns, his mother had always given Patrick a constant smile and cared for him with meticulous devotion.
He was able to keenly realize what maternal love, something he had never felt in his past life, was.
And after he had composed himself to some extent and had the leisure to look around, he realized something belatedly.
The cause of his mother's frail health.
'Nine Yin Severed Meridians. I was speechless. How could I have not known, seeing her right next to me?'
Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
Even in the world Patrick lived in his past life, this was a serious illness.
That is, until two hundred years ago.
Those born with severed meridians were intelligent and possessed outstanding looks, but in return, they could not escape a short life.
That was why severed meridians were called a heavenly punishment.
But two hundred years ago, after a man called the Eccentric Doctor of the East perfectly established a method to treat severed meridians, the situation changed.
For the people of Jianghu, the Nine Yin Severed Meridians became a blessing instead.
Those born with the constitution of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians were naturally handsome or beautiful and blessed with brilliant insight.
On top of that, during the treatment process, their bodies were altered to be more advantageous for practicing martial arts, so how could it not be good?
In Jin Cheon's time, there was even a crazy guy who was researching whether it was possible to artificially block the blood vessels to create a severed meridian constitution.
In any case, while severed meridians were a fearsome disease, it was also one that could definitely be cured if one knew the treatment method.
Patrick earnestly persuaded his mother, the Baroness, and taught her an internal energy cultivation method, calling it a good health regimen for the body.
Of course, the biggest challenge was how to teach her.
What parent would obediently learn from their young son who had just started to toddle, when he said he would teach them something?
Still, the situation was urgent.
Patrick ultimately chose a direct approach.
He told her he knew a health regimen that could cure her illness and begged her to please follow it.
[A health regimen? Where did you learn such a thing?]
[…I just, picked it up.]
It was a truly poor excuse.
But what could he do?
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't think of another way.
He thought he would just have to be shameless and push through. As Patrick was pushing forward, the Baroness gazed at him quietly, then spoke with a gentle smile.
"Tell me when you feel ready to tell me."
"..."
The Baroness knew that what Patrick was saying was a lie.
Even knowing, she chose to believe that her son had his reasons for what he was doing.
The Baroness' attitude became an even greater burden for Patrick.
"So, what should I do?"
"First, the posture…. No. Your legs should be like this and your hands…."
'Let's just focus on the treatment for now.'
Patrick decided to concentrate on the treatment.
And she faithfully did as her son instructed.
She held the posture as he told her and did the breathing method as he told her.
That was already a year ago.
And now.
'Now, energy has gathered in her qi center. If she trains just a little more diligently, she can be completely cured.'
In Patrick's view, his mother, the Baroness', condition had improved a lot.
In the first place, her symptoms were not that severe among cases of Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
Even with Nine Yin Severed Meridians, it was rare for all nine meridians to be completely blocked.
Usually, it started with two or three, and the number of blocked meridians gradually increased until, in the end, all nine meridians were blocked, leading to death.
The Baroness had four blocked meridians when Patrick discovered it, which was why the treatment had been proceeding smoothly so far.
'That's enough for today.'
Patrick withdrew his ki and removed his hands from her shoulders.
"You must continue to do the breathing exercises consistently from now on."
"Of course, I must do as my son says."
She had actually felt her physical condition improve significantly after doing the breathing exercises Patrick had taught her.
Breathing had become easier than before, and recently, her condition had improved to the point where she could take light walks.
Her physical condition, which had not improved no matter what the doctors did, had clearly gotten better.
She looked at her son with loving eyes and said.
"Will you stay with your mother for a while? I'll bake the cookies you like."
"No. I'm busy today…."
"I see. Alright then."
"Let's do it later. When you're a little healthier, Mother."
"Yes. Let's do that."
Seeing the Baroness' disappointed expression made Patrick feel conflicted.
Other than his Master, this was the first time he had encountered a being that loved and cherished him so blindly.
Could a being pour out such infinite love and trust for the sole reason that he came from her womb?
A mother….
'This is difficult. Fighting is so much easier.'
For Patrick, this was a very difficult emotion.
He didn't know how to accept this feeling or how to return it.
As a result, whenever she approached, he would create distance and needlessly run away.
"I'll just focus on my own training."
Apart from treating the Baroness' severed meridians, his own training was also important.
He had to get stronger as quickly as possible.
'That bastard Brian is dead.'
A person with a goal becomes stronger.
Though it might be a very unfortunate thing for the person who becomes that goal.
-End of Chapter 1-