"It's not like I'm asking for something difficult."
"Aargh… Gaaah…"
"It's the Horse Stance. The absolute basics of the basics."
"P-please… spare… Kuaaakh!"
"I'm just telling you to do this for exactly one hour longer than you did yesterday."
"No, I'm gonna… I'm gonna die at this rate… Uuuugh…"
"What? Die? How dare you even think about dying! If you die before I give you permission, you're dead meat!"
"Krrr-ghhh."
Patrick's physical discipline was horrific to watch and felt like hell to experience.
He stomped and kneaded them from head to toe as if tenderizing meat, inflicting pain that felt like bones were shattering and flesh was tearing.
But here was the real problem…
"Tsk, you useless lot."
After a round of brutal pummeling…
"Aren't you going to snap out of it?"
"Y-yes, sir!"
At Patrick's roar, the soldier who had been collapsed on the ground sprang to his feet. Patrick barked another order.
"Start again!"
"Yes! Understood!"
And the soldier resumed his Horse Stance training.
Something strange was happening.
Despite Patrick beating the soldiers so ruthlessly, not a single person was actually getting injured.
It hurt enough to make them want to die while they were being hit, though.
Yet, no bones were broken, and not a single bruise appeared on their bodies.
Even though every strike delivered a shock and pain that seemed to penetrate deep into their marrow, there were no casualties. If anything…
My body feels better.
Why is this happening? Is getting beaten actually good for you?
I haven't awakened some weird fetish, have I?
Soldiers who looked like they were about to collapse would suddenly become as fresh as if they'd been healed by a priest after one of Patrick's "stomping sessions," allowing them to resume their training.
It was a bizarre phenomenon, but it was actually happening.
Standing among the soldiers, Patrick clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, what a pain in the ass… Hey, Youngest!"
"Yes, Young Master."
"Towel."
"Yes, right away."
At Patrick's word, Brian scurried over and politely offered a towel with both hands.
Patrick took the towel, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and spoke.
"What's so hard about the Horse Stance? Huh? It's much harder for me, the one doing the hitting. Don't you agree?"
You demon…
You're more cruel than a monster.
Is this what the Demon Clan from the rumors is like?
The soldiers gnashed their teeth inwardly at Patrick's words. However, there was something they didn't know.
Damn, trying to perform the Meridian Unblocking Technique on two hundred people individually with this young body is freaking exhausting.
What Patrick said was the truth.
In reality, Patrick was doing much more grueling labor than any of them.
The Meridian Unblocking Technique.
It was a secret art where one injected their own Qi into another person's body to clear blocked meridians and relieve muscle fatigue.
It was a technique that required exquisite control of Qi rather than just a high level of internal energy; no one but a high-level master would even dare attempt it.
Even for masters, it was a secret art that required immense concentration.
In fact, even in the prestigious Orthodox Factions, elders or sect leaders wouldn't perform the Meridian Unblocking Technique for every single disciple.
It was such a labor-intensive task that they usually only performed it for a select few talented individuals.
And I'm doing it for every single one of you bastards. You should be grateful.
Patrick wiped the sweat dripping down his face and continued to watch the soldiers.
Once he decided to teach them, he would do it right.
For the future of the Schneider family, and…
Even if this is a completely different world, if the martial arts of our Twin Dragon Sect spread far and wide… Master, would you be happy?
He didn't know.
If it were his Master, who had no greed for material things, he might just say Patrick was doing something unnecessary.
But Patrick wanted to do it.
Simply for the single reason that his Master might—just maybe—be pleased.
Master, I…
Thud.
"Oh, for the love of… these bastards won't even give me a moment to get sentimental."
"Huh? Yes? What?"
"You chose now of all times to collapse? Die! Die! Just die, you bastard!"
Patrick rushed over to the fallen soldier and began the Meridian Unblocking Technique again.
"Aargh! Spare m—! Kuaaaakh! Aaaaaargh!"
He probably didn't hold a grudge.
Probably.
*
Two weeks later.
Was it because of Patrick's extreme devotion?
Or was it because the individuals' talent and grit were exceptional?
"Oh… It's working! It's working!"
"Sanson, hang in there!"
"One minute left!"
Finally, the first person to succeed emerged.
The moment the sand in the hourglass finished falling, Sanson, who had been enduring with everything he had, looked at Patrick with a desperate expression.
"Y-Young Master."
"Mmm…"
"Young Master?"
What kind of fault would this demon find now to plunge him back into a living hell?
His anxiety reaching its peak, Sanson maintained his Horse Stance until the very last possible second, just in case.
Looking at Sanson, Patrick gave a small smirk.
"Pass."
"Uwoooooooooh!"
The moment he heard the word "pass," Sanson collapsed backward, throwing both hands into the air and letting out a roar of triumph.
"Whoa!"
"He did it! Sanson did it!"
"Yeah! He finally did it! He actually did it!"
The other comrades rushed over to Sanson, hugging him and offering their congratulations.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at them acting like he accomplished something grand. Someone would think he just mastered a Peerless Divine Art.
Patrick clicked his tongue and scoffed inwardly, but a soft smile played on his own lips.
Whether it was a Peerless Divine Art or the most basic of basics…
The act of setting a goal and achieving it was, for a martial artist, an eternal cycle of pain and happiness.
The higher the goal, the greater the pain, and the sense of accomplishment when the result was achieved increased proportionally.
Even though it was just the Horse Stance, at this moment, Sanson was wearing a bright smile, filled with the satisfaction of having reached his goal.
Fine. Go ahead and laugh for now.
Sanson had done it.
As promised, Patrick decided to teach Sanson the Aura Blessing right then and there. However…
"So, the name is the Great Pure Aura Blessing?"
"Yeah."
"..."
"What? If you have something to say, say it."
"Does it have to be called that?"
"..."
At Sanson's question, Patrick also looked toward the distant mountains with a miserable expression and lamented.
Don't blame me. I didn't come up with the name.
The Supreme Purity Mental Method.
It was one of the basic mental methods of the Wudang Sect, and the one Patrick intended to teach them as their foundation.
It had few side effects and allowed one to accumulate clear, pure energy in the body. It was an excellent foundational art that could be easily converted even if one learned a different mental method later on.
The only problem was that when he translated the name "Supreme Purity" into the local language, it became a cringeworthy name like "Great Pure."
I understand. I understand, but do you have any idea how good this martial art is? Do you know how politely I had to beg the Wudang Sect to get my hands on this?
Patrick briefly recalled a memory from his past.
*
It happened after he saved a Wudang Sect elder who had been foolish enough to fall into a trap while trying to capture an Unorthodox master, nearly getting himself and all his disciples killed.
Patrick—no, Jincheon—had asked for a very, very small and trivial token of gratitude.
That was the Supreme Purity Mental Method, the Wudang Sect's basic mental method…
[You won't give it to me? You can't teach it? Wow. You filthy lot. You can't even teach a basic art like that to the benefactor who saved your lives?]
[No, Hero Jincheon… please listen. Originally, a sect's martial arts are strictly forbidden from being shared outside the sect.]
[So the conclusion is you won't give it? You refuse?]
[Please try to understand our position.]
[Positiooooon? They say the mind changes between going into the latrine and coming out, but this is too much. And you call yourselves 'Taoists.' You don't even recognize the debt of having your 'lives' saved.]
[No, well… that's… that is…]
[Good heavens, humans were born before mental methods, not the other way around! Aigo! Everyone, look at this! Hey! You, the Shaolin monk passing by, you come listen to this too! These Wudang bastards have no conscience!]
[W-Wait!]
And so, Jincheon was able to learn the Supreme Purity Mental Method peacefully.
*
Mmm, it was a wonderful negotiation that proceeded very peacefully.
He would have to hear the side of the Wudang elder who had his mental method extorted by Jincheon back then, but what could he do?
The man wasn't here.
In any case, the best foundational art Jincheon could think of was this Supreme Purity Mental Method.
The Twin Dragon Sect's mental methods had too many issues to teach to beginners, and for an introductory foundational art, the Supreme Purity Mental Method was the best.
The only problem was this incredibly cringeworthy name.
Sanson spoke up cautiously. He spoke with the care of a loyal subject offering advice to a tyrant.
"Um, Young Master."
"What?"
"In my opinion, I think it would be better to change the name of the Aura Blessing. Is that not possible?"
"Hey. Change the name?"
"Is it not allowed?"
"Are you even listening to yourself? You ignorant fool."
Patrick was dumbfounded.
Change the name of the mental method?
The name of that mental method contained the will and philosophy of the great ancestors of the Wudang Sect.
It included the enlightenment they felt while creating the martial art and the message they wanted to pass down to future generations.
Therefore, changing the name recklessly could be a denial and insult to the achievements of those ancestors…
"…But now that I think about it, they aren't my ancestors, so does it really matter?"
If the Wudang Sect Leader had heard what Patrick just said, he would have clutched the back of his neck and fainted.
But that was the perspective of the Wudang Sect, which didn't even exist in this world…
Hmm, now that I think about it, changing it would be better.
From Patrick's perspective, there were more than one or two martial arts he had to teach in the future.
But in this world without Hanja, explaining all those martial arts by translating them into the local tongue was an incredibly tedious task.
Yeah. Let's change it.
He made a clean decision.
Spirit and soul, my ass…
If he were the type of person to care about such things, would he have been called the Crazy Dragon?
"Hmm, then how about Basic Blessing?"
"Basic Blessing?"
"Yeah. It's an Aura Blessing that's perfect for learning as a foundation, so let's call it that."
"Yes. That sounds much better."
Sanson let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
Actually, Sanson had been very worried.
In the future, when people asked him, 'What Aura Blessing did you learn?'
I couldn't exactly say, 'The Great Pure Aura Blessing,' could I?
He absolutely did not want to do that.
The formal transmission began.
Patrick explained the knack of the breathing technique and the principles of the Aura Blessing to Sanson once, then had him sit down.
"Now, take the posture as I tell you. Breathe as I taught you and remember the flow of the energy I'm injecting into you."
"Yes. Understood."
"If you forget the flow of Qi, make sure to ask again. If I catch you circulating it incorrectly on your own, you're dead."
"Yes. Understood."
"Good. Let's begin."
Thus, Sanson became the first among the soldiers to learn the Aura Blessing.
And seeing this sight, the remaining one hundred and ninety-nine soldiers burned with motivation.
I will definitely…
I will definitely learn it too.
Just a little more. Just a little…
*
A month passed.
Finally, every soldier achieved four hours of the Horse Stance, and Patrick taught the Basic Blessing to every single one of them without exception.
The soldiers' daily routine proceeded systematically.
First, they would come out to the training ground at dawn to practice the Basic Blessing. Once the Aura Blessing practice was over, they continued with the Horse Stance training.
The soldiers thought they wouldn't have to do this anymore since everyone could now do the Horse Stance for over four hours, but Patrick insisted that the basics were important and kept making them do it.
Even so, the sounds of groaning should have decreased a bit compared to before…
"Ugh… Aaaaaargh…"
"I'm… I'm dying. I think I'm going to die."
"Ugh… Noooooo…"
But they didn't.
This was because there was a demon who couldn't bear to see the tragic sight of training becoming easy.
Currently, a large rock was placed on top of each soldier's head.
Thanks to this, it was possible to grant a new dimension of pain to the soldiers who thought they had finally gotten used to the Horse Stance.
"Good. That's enough for today."
Once the Horse Stance was over, the morning training ended.
This wasn't enough to satisfy Patrick, but since the soldiers had their own duties to perform, he couldn't make them train twenty-four hours a day.
"Tsk, training time is lacking, but it can't be helped. I'll just have to push them that much harder…"
As Patrick expressed his disappointment, one of the soldiers approached him and spoke.
"Um, Young Master."
"What?"
As Patrick replied disinterestedly, the soldier spoke cautiously.
"I'm not saying this because I have any complaints, but I'm asking because a question occurred to me."
"Stop beating around the bush and just say it."
"Yes. Well… when do we learn the sword?"
The soldier thought he had asked a perfectly reasonable question. However…
"The sword? The swoooord? THE SWOOOOOORD!?"
As the saying goes, one must choose their words carefully depending on who they are talking to.