Training – Jimin 3
The path up Namsan was steeper than it had first appeared.
Early spring sunlight flowed along the mountain's slope, and the wind was low yet sharp.
As the noise of the capital gradually faded, only the sound of footsteps and breathing remained distinct.
Jimin's heart stirred with a strange excitement.
He will teach me.
He will show me the path to the higher realm.
It was hard to believe that the hand which had subdued Peng Qi in a single breath was now opening toward her.
In the jianghu, to have surpassed the stage of Hua-gyeong was spoken of like legend.
To witness that realm up close—and more than that, to be able to say one had studied under such a master—could change the weight of an entire lifetime.
Jimin understood that well.
Soun, walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
The wind brushed the hem of his robe.
"Noona, this is not something to be done this way."
His voice was low but firm.
"There is no secret technique in cultivation.
There is no faster method for one and slower method for another.
It is the constant refining of oneself.
Facing oneself.
Surpassing oneself."
The air on the mountain path grew still.
Jimin tried to laugh it off.
"It's fine.
If I can simply say I studied under a master of Hua-gyeong, that will be enough."
At that, Soun's gaze subtly changed.
"Was that also what your sect wanted?"
The question was quiet, but thin and sharp.
Jimin's steps halted as though blocked by something heavy.
Until now, he had not asked.
He had not asked why she had not left.
Why she had remained so close.
Not asking did not mean he did not know.
The brightness left her face.
The boldness she wore in the capital and along the road fell away.
He had already understood her heart.
Her sect had told her to seize the opportunity.
And she had hated that.
She had hated a world that used a person's sincerity so easily.
They said that to establish one's name in the jianghu, one needed background.
That a single line—studied under a master of Hua-gyeong—would open doors.
That one line would widen the road ahead.
She did not deny it.
"You may withdraw what you said about teaching me, Young Master."
Her tone was calm, but inside she twisted quietly.
It was not pride that stung, but the embarrassment of being seen through.
Soun smiled.
It was not a mocking smile.
It was clear and brief.
"I will not withdraw it."
He looked down once at the city below the mountain.
"Whatever you want, I will only do what I can do.
If what you seek is a name, that is not something I can give.
What I can give is training."
Jimin said nothing.
She did not deny it.
She did not ask him to refuse her because of it.
She knew he was right.
He did not use people.
He did not flaunt himself.
He was a good man.
A righteous one.
That fact struck deeper than anything else.
A good person is not always someone easy to exploit.
The wind of Namsan passed between them.
The rooftops of the capital spread low below.
The wind carried the scent of soil and grass.
This training was not merely about martial arts.
It was not about who taught and who learned.
Jimin spoke first.
Her expression was already settled.
"If my sect told me to do this, then I will.
I follow their words.
But I will not deceive you or use you.
Ha… now, let us begin."
Her laugh was light, but not forced.
It was the laugh of someone who had made a decision.
Soun studied her quietly, as if reading her eyes.
"To follow one's sect and to choose for oneself are different."
"Even so, I will follow."
Her answer was short.
She added no excuse.
"But," she stepped closer,
"what you give, I will receive as it is.
If it is training, then training.
No pretense."
The air atop the mountain grew heavy for a moment, then eased.
Soun nodded.
"Very well. Then we begin from the start."
He raised his hand and lightly pressed her shoulder.
"Stand."
Jimin stood as she was.
"Feel where you stand.
The point where your feet meet the ground.
The direction your weight settles.
The path of breath entering and leaving.
Do nothing else. Just stand."
Her brow moved slightly.
"This is the beginning?"
"Yes."
His answer was simple.
"The path to the higher realm you seek is not far away.
It is within this single step you stand upon."
The wind of Namsan blew once more.
Jimin did not smile.
This time, she truly began to feel the ground beneath her feet.
With that, Soun immediately imposed the White Dragon Unit's style of training.
There was no long explanation.
No theory.
The body came first.
Aside from rolling left and right, it was the same method.
No—more relentless than before.