Chapter 6

Chapter 5. Learning the Dark Art (1)

"Name."

"Seohui."

"Age."

"Twenty-nine."

"Experience."

"Eight years in the irregular squad."

"How did you rank in the Tianxiang Xiao (天香小)?"

Tianxiang Xiao is an institution within the Dark Sect that provides basic education.

It evaluates innate talent and physical constitution, as well as a composite of patience, perseverance, and effort, converting these into scores.

About a thousand people enter the main school each year to become a Dark Sect member.

"Twelfth place."

"What?"

Swish.

Tuhong, the official, stopped his movements and raised his head.

His face showed surprise at seeing such a high rank from such a shabby place.

Then, suddenly,

he noticed that one of Seohui's shoulders was drooping in the breeze coming from the entrance.

"Why is your right arm... like that?"

As Tuhong, who was writing the report, looked up, Seohui answered.

"There was an accident."

"An accident?"

Tuhong glanced at the name of the recommender on the document.

Then, shaking his head, he resumed writing.

"Well, it's not my business."

Tuhong began filling out the document.

After that, he didn't ask any more detailed questions.

'Is it a coincidence, or is it fate?'

Meanwhile, Seohui's feelings were complex and subtle.

Until now, he had been calm about coming here.

But now, something unexpected was before his eyes.

<Life + 1>

This number was above the head of the middle-aged man who introduced himself as Tuhong.

* * *

"This is where you will work."

Tuhong, who had descended underground, spoke.

Before Seohui's eyes were countless books.

At a glance, there were tens of thousands of volumes.

"You will manage these books from now on. You are responsible for organizing them, and even for any that are damaged. What? Don't want to do it?"

"No, no!"

Seohui quickly prostrated himself and answered.

Scattered books on the floor.

Not only were books randomly placed, but some were torn or lost.

"Don't even think about going outside until you finish organizing."

"Understood."

Tuhong, as if something came to mind, continued with a blank expression.

"And."

"Yes, Sir."

"Try not to draw attention to yourself. If you want to live long, that is. There are monsters wandering around here."

Bang!

He then went up to the first floor.

The sound of the door closing was unusually loud.

"..."

A moment of silence.

Despite standing in the dim underground space, Seohui's expression was not dark.

On the contrary, hope was stirring in his eyes.

"How strong is this man's martial arts?"

To leave this place.

No, to take revenge on them, he needed one life.

Even if this life was a mistake.

The next life could be different.

"But before that... how can I win with this body?"

Unfortunately, the injured hand was his right hand, which he used for martial arts.

He had never properly used his left hand for any techniques.

"Taihuang Jue and Wuchuan Jue. You won't know."

Seohui looked around.

Countless secret manuals.

Mostly basic martial arts books and miscellaneous texts of unknown origin.

There would be no high-level martial arts manuals in the underground of the Tianri Pavilion, which had twelve floors in total.

"I don't need high-level martial arts. I just need a manual that can help me defeat Tuhong."

Seohui slowly raised his head.

He glared at the endless rows of bookshelves.

"I will challenge again. Even if it means dedicating this life to it."

* * *

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The bookshelves were being filled one by one from the entrance of the underground.

His movements were slow due to using only one hand, but his eyes were burning.

Until now, he had only learned basic martial arts during his education.

"What's this? Maiqin (脈深)?"

While busily organizing, he picked up a book.

Seohui's eyes were drawn to it for some reason.

Deep (深) in the context of meridians (脈).

What does it mean to be deep?

Seohui put the book back on the shelf without flipping through it.

He thought it was some extraordinary martial arts manual, but it turned out to be a common Chunhua (春夏桃) when he opened it.

"How much more do I have to do..."

Thud.

He paused for a moment and looked back.

Despite working for several hours, the amount to be organized was still vast.

There was no sign of how many books there were.

"Still..."

Seohui, who had been resting on one side, recalled his past memories for a moment.

Specifically, the scenes just before his death.

"A saved point."

Seohui remembered clearly.

The life he had recorded.

He called it a save.

"That means I can record my life... but how do I do it?"

This was Seohui's curiosity.

How do you save?

What situation must you encounter to save?

"That's not it."

Seohui chuckled at the thought.

"At least now is not the time to save. If I save while being a crippled cripple and come back here, that won't do."

At least not at this moment.

If being called means bringing back the saved life, then his current life is a complete failure.

"Hmm, let's just work for now."

Seohui got up on his knees.

The intermittent pain in his right shoulder made one corner of his mouth twitch, but he ignored it and moved.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Seohui gathered the scattered books on the floor into the burlap bags lying around.

Just as he was about to bring them back to the bookshelves,

<Which martial art would you like to learn?>

An unexpected message appeared.

▶ Su Xi Dark Art (素熙魔功) (Possible)

▷ Chishou Dark Art (赤手魔功) (Impossible)

▷ Jiaojí Dark Art (焦極魔功) (Impossible)

'This...'

Seohui's gaze moved downward.

A book that was glowing mysteriously was visible in the burlap bag he had picked up.

Moreover,

"This time, it moves."

His body was not frozen.

Seohui raised his head and looked at the message again.

'Possible? Impossible?'

One martial art marked as possible and two marked as impossible.

Does this mean I can only choose one out of the three?

'But how do I choose?'

Seohui's gaze moved to 'Jiaojí Dark Art,' but there was no reaction.

Previously, the choice was made naturally as time ran out.

But now, there was no time limit.

'Wait a moment.'

A thought suddenly crossed Seohui's mind.

The sentence that appeared before the message.

It meant to slide to unlock.

'I did it like this before...'

While looking at the message, he moved his gaze to the right.

The message disappeared as if by magic.

'Got it!'

<You cannot learn this martial art with your right arm injured.>

"Damn!"

Seohui's face, which had brightened, hardened again.

The choice was made, but the message said it was impossible.

Jiaojí Dark Art is a martial art of the same lineage as Huawen Dark Art, which Taihuang Jue had mastered.

It was considered a high-level martial art in the main school.

Chishou Dark Art is also famous.

It was a martial art that the former deputy leader, Jialian, had learned as a supplementary skill.

"It's okay. There are other options."

Though disappointed, Seohui raised his gaze to the first message.

He didn't know what Su Xi Dark Art was, but it must be a useful martial art.

Given its position among famous martial arts.

Seohui glanced at the inscription 'Three Virtues Original Teaching Book (三秀原敎書)' and said,

"It will work somehow."

He chose Su Xi Dark Art.

<Su Xi Dark Art selected. Choose the style you want below.>

▶ Sword Technique (Possible)

▷ Fist Technique (Possible)

▷ Footwork (Possible)

Seohui made his choice immediately.

If it was possible to learn all of them, there was no need to hesitate.

'Let's start with the sword technique.'

<Sword technique using a sword selected. Showing video.>

'Video?'

A translucent figure appeared with a question.

A shadow, not a person, was moving vividly in front of his eyes.

"Unbelievable..."

It wasn't just moving.

From the initial posture to the stance of the feet.

The natural sword movements.

Even the breathing technique, with white frost appearing at the corners of the shadow's mouth.

The shadow was demonstrating every move of Su Xi Dark Art.

Moreover,

◆ Su Xi Sword Technique Characteristics Table ◆

Da Bo Jian (大舶劍): ↓↘ → ←, B (New)

Completely incomprehensible.

Symbols were also included.

* * *

Swish. Swish.

On the first day, he decided to start with the movements.

As expected.

When he chose the fist technique and footwork of Su Xi Dark Art, a translucent figure appeared and taught all the movements.

He could understand the posture of extending the sword and the stance of the feet.

He could grasp how to take each movement and how to move.

Surprisingly, this martial art allowed him to use it even with only his left arm.

Once he became proficient in the sword technique, the fist technique and footwork were much easier to learn.

Seohui also read the 'Three Virtues Original Teaching Book.'

The sentences that would have been incomprehensible if he had just read them were being illustrated by the shadow in a kind and perfect manner.

Seven days passed.

By then, Seohui could awkwardly follow the movements.

"The problem is what this means..."

Now, he was interested in the technique table that appeared when he performed the Su Xi Sword Technique.

The symbols clearly had meaning, but he couldn't deduce what they meant.

"Wait. What if I do it like when I chose the message?"

With that thought, he stared at the technique table and moved his gaze to the right.

"Oh, something's happening!"

<Refer to the following.>

(Forward →), (Backward ←), (Up ↑), (Down ↓) (Lower Right ↘), (Lower Left ↙)

A = Right Hand, B = Left Hand, C = Right Foot, D = Left Foot

Seohui immediately tried to apply the new text to the technique table.

For Da Bo Jian, the technique table said ↓↘ → ←, B.

This means down, lower right, forward, backward, and left hand.

"Let's try it."

He didn't know exactly what it meant, but Seohui decided to try it.

He would find something out if he kept trying.

Whatever it was.

* * *

"Huff!"

A month had passed.

While Seohui was repeatedly following the shadow's movements, he emitted a similar energy.

It wasn't perfect.

The energy the shadow emitted was powerful enough to pierce through the bookshelves and destroy the wall.

But his energy disappeared after piercing through the bookshelves.

Roughly estimating, it was less than 30% of the shadow's power.

"Even with my left hand, to have this much power..."

The sword technique he had just performed was the power of Su Xi Dark Art.

Despite not using his right arm, a tremendous energy had been released.

"I wish I could use Da Bo Jian..."

Because of its power, Seohui's eyes kept going to the Su Xi Sword Technique characteristics table.

In the month he had tried, he couldn't use Da Bo Jian no matter what.

He understood that B meant left hand, but he couldn't figure out the meaning of the directions.

'But still, this is something.'

It was still good.

He had obtained a divine skill that he could never have acquired in his life through an unexpected opportunity.

He might even be able to fight the official.

"I should tidy up a bit, just in case."

Only then did Seohui notice the many unorganized books before him.

He had spent too much time here.

If it weren't for the dried grains in one corner, he would have finished and gone outside long ago.

"Let me check if I missed anything."

He walked to a corner table.

To read the 'Three Virtues Original Teaching Book' and the Su Xi Dark Art written in it.

Just as he picked up the book,

Creak.

The door opened, and someone came down.

Seohui's gaze met the newcomer's before he could react.

"Oh? There's someone here."

It was a young man.

He descended with his hands behind his back, his robe fluttering, like a scholar from the Central Plains.

'What is this...'

Seohui's eyes couldn't leave the young man.

Confusion, absurdity, and awkwardness mixed on his face.

"Is there something on my face?"

A handsome young man with clear features.

The young man, tilting his head, asked in a high-pitched voice that hadn't fully matured.

<Life + 10>

'What... ten?'

Ten, not one.

Who is this person that such a mark can appear?

"A, no."

Seohui, regaining his composure, hurriedly bowed.

The peak expert, Hei Bi, who had assisted the leader, had four lives.

If someone could control ten lives, they must be an extremely high-ranking person.

"Haha. No need to be so formal."

The young man waved his hand and smiled brightly.

Contrary to his expectations, he seemed innocent and free-spirited.

The young man asked again.

"By the way, what should I call you?"

"Seohui, you can call me Seohui."

"Ah. Okay."

The young man answered politely. Then, raising his gaze, he called again.

"Seohui. What were you doing here?"

"I was ordered to organize the bookshelves."

"Ah, you were organizing."

The young man nodded and said,

"That's good. I have one question."

"Please ask anything."

Seohui answered.

At that, the young man looked around as if searching for something.

"By the way."

He spoke again.

"Have you seen a book called 'Three Virtues Original Teaching Book'?"

<Choose from the following options.>

And then,

▶ I have never seen that book.

For the first time in this life, a choice message appeared.

▶ I have learned that martial art.

Seohui was frozen.

There were only two options.

Coincidentally,

▷ I have never seen that book.

▶ I have learned that martial art.

The book the young man was looking for was in Seohui's hand.

He couldn't choose either option.