Chapter 11: The Real Training Starts Now

Several days had passed since Ha-Ru and his grandfather left the resistance camp, their journey taking them back to the secluded shack nestled high in the mountains. Despite Ha-Ru's relentless pace and determination, Seung-Jin remained far ahead, his figure nowhere to be seen. The old man moved with a speed and grace that defied his age, leaving Ha-Ru to wonder if he had even stopped to rest.

"Has this old man even rested once?" Ha-Ru muttered under his breath, pausing to catch his breath for what felt like the hundredth time. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his chest heaving as he gazed up at the towering peaks above. "Surely, I should've caught a glimpse of him by now."

The next day, Ha-Ru finally reached the base of the mountain. He tilted his head back, his eyes tracing the jagged cliffs that seemed to pierce the very heavens. The peak was shrouded in clouds, its summit a distant, almost mythical goal. "You've got to be kidding me," he groaned, his voice tinged with disbelief. "I don't remember this mountain being so… huge." Memories of his first climb surfaced, but they paled in comparison to the daunting task before him.

Just then, a familiar voice boomed down from above, echoing across the vast expanse like thunder. "ABOUT DAMN TIME!"

Ha-Ru's body jerked in surprise, his head snapping toward the source of the voice. His eyes widened as he spotted Seung-Jin standing on a ledge high above, his arms crossed and a smug grin plastered across his face. "You've got to be kidding me…" Ha-Ru muttered, his shoulders slumping in defeat. The old man's expression was unmistakable—it was the look of someone who had already won.

Hours later, Ha-Ru finally reached the worn-down shack that Seung-Jin called home. The sight of it brought back memories, none of them particularly fond. "No offense, Gramps," Ha-Ru said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "but I don't miss this place at all." He glanced around, his face a mask of disappointment as he realized this would be his training ground for the foreseeable future.

Seung-Jin chuckled, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Good, because you won't be staying here. I will. You, on the other hand, will be staying up there." He pointed toward the highest peak of Mount Tian, its summit disappearing into the clouds. It was a place so remote and forbidding that it seemed more suited to gods than mortals.

"Ha… haha," Ha-Ru laughed weakly, his energy draining away as if the mountain itself had siphoned it from him. He collapsed to the ground, his legs refusing to hold him any longer. "Gramps, I thought this was Mount Tian. Are you telling me we're not even at the peak yet?"

"It is," Seung-Jin replied, his tone matter-of-fact. "Just not its peak."

Ha-Ru sat up, his frustration boiling over. "Why the hell do I need to go to the peak just to train? Can't we just do it here!?"

Seung-Jin's expression remained calm, almost infuriatingly so. "The air at the top of Mount Tian is incredibly thin," he explained, his voice steady. "The lack of oxygen will force your body to work harder, pushing you beyond your limits." He turned to a bag he had prepared earlier, its contents carefully packed. "Here," he said, tossing it to Ha-Ru. "This has the essentials you'll need: Qi-enhancing pills, Qi-suppressing pills, food that will last you at least five days, and a special elixir I made myself."

Ha-Ru caught the bag, his eyes narrowing as he rummaged through its contents. "Sooo, what about a place to sleep? Or better yet, something to sleep on?"

"You have the floor," Seung-Jin replied, his tone dismissive. "Make do with that." He began walking back toward his shack, his steps unhurried. "Off you go. You're losing daylight."

"W-Wait!" Ha-Ru called out, scrambling to his feet. "I don't get why I can't just work harder down here!"

Seung-Jin paused, turning back with a smirk that sent a chill down Ha-Ru's spine. "Oh, my apologies. It must be my old age—I forgot to mention one small detail." His grin widened, taking on an almost sinister edge. "You'll sleep on the peak and train there during the morning. Then, you'll descend here to continue training with me until nightfall. After that, you'll climb back to the peak to sleep." He pushed the door to his shack open, his laughter echoing as he disappeared inside. "Good luck, boy."

"D-Demon!" Ha-Ru shouted, his voice reverberating across the mountain. "YOU'RE A DEMON!"

Ha-Ru clenched the bag between his teeth as he began his ascent, his hands gripping the jagged rocks with a determination that belied his exhaustion. Hours passed, and the peak seemed no closer, its summit still shrouded in clouds. Night was falling, and Ha-Ru felt as though death itself was only minutes away. His breaths came in ragged gasps, his muscles screaming in protest. "What the fuck!?" he muttered, the words muffled by the bag in his mouth. Despite his fatigue, he pressed on, leaping and stretching from one precarious foothold to the next, his body pushed to its absolute limit.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Ha-Ru reached the peak. He collapsed onto the cold, hard ground, his body drenched in sweat as if he had bathed in a river. His chest heaved, each breath a struggle as the thin air clawed at his lungs. "I… gotta meditate," he gasped, forcing himself into a seated position. He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing—slow, steady, and calm. The world around him faded away, leaving only the sound of his heartbeat and the endless expanse of sky above.

Minutes passed, and Ha-Ru's breathing steadied. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the breathtaking view before him. The moon hung high in the sky, its silver light spilling over the clouds below. He stood and moved to the edge of the peak, gazing out at the sea of clouds that stretched to the horizon. For a moment, he felt as though he were the only human alive, a solitary figure standing at the top of the world.

Morning came, and Ha-Ru had barely slept. The freezing temperatures and the unforgiving rock beneath him had made rest impossible. "Aghh, my back is killing me," he groaned, rubbing his sore muscles as he rose to his feet. He looked around, his confusion evident. "Now what?" he muttered, his voice echoing in the stillness.

He reached into his bag and pulled out the Qi-enhancing pills his grandfather had given him. "I wonder if these enhance the demon Qi as well as my own," he mused, hesitating for a moment before deciding against taking them. "Screw it, I'll start by strengthening my own Qi as much as I can before using them." He tossed the pills back into the bag and walked to the centre of the peak, closing his eyes and emptying his mind of all distractions.

Ha-Ru visualized his Qi flowing through him, a serene river of energy. "Calm," he whispered to himself. "Let your Qi flow through your whole body like a soothing river." Slowly, his Qi began to emerge, a radiant sky-blue aura that matched the vast expanse above. It started at his head, cascading down to his feet, enveloping him in a shimmering glow.

"Okay, now condense the Qi to a single point," he instructed himself, focusing on channelling the energy into his right arm. "More," he muttered, a flashback of his battle with General Wu surging through his mind. The memory of his father's dark Qi wrapping around his hand spurred him on. "That's it!" he exclaimed, his hand glowing with a familiar, intense light.

Ha-Ru opened his eyes, examining his glowing hand with a mix of awe and satisfaction. "Haha, okay," he said, moving his hand up and down, testing the energy. "Now let's try what I did against the General." He walked over to a massive boulder near the edge of the peak, his Qi amplifying as he prepared to strike.

With a thunderous crash, his fist connected with the boulder. Birds scattered, trees swayed, and the entire mountain seemed to tremble. Even Seung-Jin, miles below, jolted awake in his shack, the shockwave rippling through the earth. The boulder evaporated in an instant, reduced to nothing but dust and heat by the sheer force of Ha-Ru's attack.

"...No way," Ha-Ru whispered, staring at his hand in disbelief. "Power like that… from something so basic?"

"I had a feeling your Qi would be powerful," a voice said from behind him, "but that was just ridiculous." Ha-Ru spun around to see Seung-Jin standing there, his arms crossed and a proud smile on his face.

"Gramps? How the hell did you get up here so fast?" Ha-Ru asked, the glow around his hand fading.

Seung-Jin ignored the question, his sharp eyes scanning the area. "Hmm, I see. You focused your own Qi into your hand, strengthening it just before impact. And it hasn't even been a full day since you arrived. Well done, Ha-Ru."

"Haha, thanks, Gramps," Ha-Ru said, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Now," Seung-Jin continued, his tone shifting to one of authority, "you'll practice that in combat. While we spar, I want you to focus on defending the parts of your body I attack. Got it?" He turned, preparing to descend the mountain.

"Wait, hold on!" Ha-Ru protested, following him. "I only just managed to pull it off. Now you want me to use it against you? I don't understand."

"Really?" Seung-Jin said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Sounds like you understand to me. Now, off you go." Without warning, he pushed Ha-Ru off the side of the peak.

"Huh?" Ha-Ru's eyes widened as he plummeted toward the base of the mountain, the worn-down shack blurring past him in seconds. "YOU DEEEMOOON!!!" he screamed, his voice fading into the distance.

Seung-Jin burst into laughter, his figure vanishing from the peak in an instant.

Ha-Ru continued to fall, his eyes squeezed shut as he braced for impact. "AHHHHHH!" he screamed, the wind whipping past him. But then, everything went silent. The only sound was the gentle rustling of leaves. Ha-Ru opened his eyes to find himself hovering inches above the forest floor, a swirling aura of green Qi surrounding him.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, his voice a mix of frustration and confusion.

"Hahaha," Seung-Jin's laughter echoed through the trees as he appeared, the same green Qi swirling around his hand. "I hope you enjoyed the trip, because it's going to happen often," he said, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

"You've definitely lost your damn mind!" Ha-Ru shouted as the green Qi dissipated, dropping him face-first into the dirt. "Thanks," he muttered, spitting out a mouthful of grass.

"Okay, get up now," Seung-Jin said, lifting Ha-Ru to his feet with a flick of his Qi. "Playtime is over. We'll begin by getting you to use that attack of yours in combat."

"Ohhh, I've been waiting for this," Ha-Ru said, a grin spreading across his face. Without warning, he lunged at Seung-Jin with incredible speed, his Qi blazing like a comet as he prepared to strike, Ha-Ru's fist shot forward, blazing with sky-blue Qi, only to be dodged effortlessly by Seung-Jin. The old man moved with a fluid grace, his expression calm and unreadable. "Faster," he said sharply, gesturing for Ha-Ru to attack again.

"Tch!" Ha-Ru growled, his frustration mounting. He wrapped his hand in an even more intense aura of Qi and swung at Seung-Jin again, and again, and again. Each strike missed by a hair's breadth, the old man's movements impossibly precise. "Is that all you're gonna do—" Ha-Ru began, but before he could finish, Seung-Jin vanished.

In less than a second, Seung-Jin reappeared in front of Ha-Ru, his fist slamming into the young man's chest with devastating force. The impact sent Ha-Ru flying backward, his body crashing against the base of the mountain with a thunderous crack. Rocks and dust erupted around him as he slid to the ground, coughing and spitting blood.

"Cheap shot," Ha-Ru muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Seung-Jin stood in silence, his gaze steady as he watched Ha-Ru struggle to his feet. The old man's expression was unreadable, but his eyes held a glimmer of expectation.

Ha-Ru met his gaze, his annoyance growing. "Fine," he said, his voice tight with determination. "You want me to go harder?" An idea sparked in his mind, and a sly grin spread across his face.

Seung-Jin let out a disappointed sigh. "I'm going to be honest, Ha-Ru. I was expecting at least some common sense, considering the little experience you've gained so fa—" His words were cut off as Ha-Ru appeared in front of him with a speed that Seung-Jin hadn't seen in years.

"Heh, brat," Seung-Jin muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Ha-Ru's fist blazed with Qi, leaving a sparkling trail of light as it hurtled toward Seung-Jin with the speed of lightning. The moment it connected, a deafening bang echoed through the forest. Trees were uprooted, the ground itself lifted, and a shockwave rippled outward, flattening everything in its path. The recoil sent Ha-Ru flying backward, his body crashing through a pair of trees before finally coming to a stop.

"Hahaha! You alive, old man?" Ha-Ru shouted, his voice strained as he tried to catch his breath.

"Who are you talking to, boy?" Seung-Jin's voice came from behind him. Ha-Ru turned to see the old man leaning casually against the tree he was resting under, completely unharmed.

"Seriously!?" Ha-Ru exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You can't be human…" He scrambled to his feet, inspecting Seung-Jin's body for any sign of damage. "Did I even connect with you at all?" he asked, his voice tinged with disappointment.

Seung-Jin's face broke into a proud smile. "Let's just say no one has come that close to hitting me since my battle with your father," he said, placing a hand on Ha-Ru's shoulder. "I saw what you did. Well done."

Ha-Ru let out a small, defeated laugh. "Can't believe you noticed that so quickly."

"I'm serious, Ha-Ru," Seung-Jin said, his tone earnest. "To use your Qi to amplify your speed without destroying the ground beneath you is very impressive. Most martial artists think covering their bodies in Qi is only good for attacking or defending. Few consider using it to enhance their movement." He turned and began walking back toward the mountain. "However, it's not a permanent solution. You'll still need to work on your speed without relying on Qi. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Ha-Ru said, a smile spreading across his face as he basked in the rare praise. "Wait, are we done already?" He began to follow Seung-Jin, his steps lighter despite his exhaustion.

"While you didn't learn what I intended to teach you today, you did discover a very useful trick," Seung-Jin said, his voice carrying a note of approval. "One might even say it's a trick better suited for you." He paused, turning back to Ha-Ru with an evil grin. "So yes, we're done for today. Now get back to climbing."

Ha-Ru stopped in his tracks, his gaze drifting to the towering peak of Mount Tian. The summit seemed impossibly far, its jagged edges cutting into the sky like a challenge he wasn't sure he could meet. "God, please no…" he muttered, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

To Be Continued....