How to Live as a Mage in the Murim World

Chapter 35 – Episode 8: Martial Principles (2)

The Hebei Peng Family was known for one particular thing compared to other major families.

Strength.

Their strength could be described as divine power.

Their physiques, different from birth, enabled them to dish out devastating strikes capable of ignoring most defenses.

Yet, no matter how gifted they are, without proper guidance, it’s akin to leaving a beautiful jewel unpolished.

The Hebei Peng Family had spent generations developing training methods to maximize their natural advantages.

One such method involved pushing the body to its absolute limits and beyond.

For Zhuge Hyeonmong, this one hour was enough for him to see the gate of hell.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

“Your body… is quite a mess.”

“Is… that so?”

“Indeed. Perhaps because you haven’t moved much, your flexibility is poor, your lower body musculature is lacking… You get winded just walking normally, don’t you?”

“…”

“Even if you are a scholar, you should have done some exercise to maintain your health.”

Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded.

He had been thinking the same thing while undergoing this training.

“First of all, we need to correct your breathing.”

“Breathing?”

“Yes. Breathing is the foundation of all movement. Inhaling and exhaling. If you can do this properly, you won’t unnecessarily waste energy like you are now.”

“How so?”

“Through breath, one draws in the energy of the heaven and earth. That’s why one might absorb more of this energy depending on how one breathes. And what if, instead of passively absorbing it, you could actively control it?”

“I see. By controlling that energy and harmonizing it with one’s movements, one could unleash far greater power.”

Peng Ak nodded at Zhuge Hyeonmong’s words.

‘He certainly is sharp. To grasp the principle of breathing immediately.’

Of course, this wasn’t enough.

Intellectual comprehension differed vastly from physical embodiment.

To truly embody such theories required intense effort and practice.

“That’s right. The crux is in aligning the movements of the inner and outer self. That’s the first step. Let’s begin with that.”

Zhuge Hyeonmong fell into contemplation.

‘Can I do it?’

To be honest, he wasn’t confident.

While he could understand the concept of controlling one’s breathing and channeling the resulting energy throughout his body, actual execution seemed distant from him.

But there was a potential theory for this problem.

‘I think I can do it this way.’

He roused his mana, forming hand seals to construct a spell formula for finer control.

Body Enhancement was a spell Zhuge Hyeonmong had frequently used. This was not just because of the necessity of the situation, but also because this spell was Allen’s favorite in his dream.

But he never delved deeply into its principles.

‘I mostly used it in desperate situations.’

The essence of this spell was simple. It was to infuse mana into muscle to augment strength and stamina.

It made mana function as physical strength and assist bodily movements.

Zhuge Hyeonmong reversed this process.

For him, moving mana was faster and simpler than moving his body.

“Is it like this?”

Zhuge Hyeonmong guided his body through the spell.

Ideally, he would manipulate his body like a marionette, but that was far too difficult. Simply moving muscles alone required immense calculations. Furthermore, full-body manipulation demanded parallel processing beyond his current capacity.

A single Ring isn’t enough to do such a feat.

However, guiding the body to some extent was possible. Especially since the mana around his home was abundant, thanks to the incense burner.

After fumbling for some moments, Zhuge Hyeonmong soon found his rhythm and began moving his body according to his mana.

A flicker of surprise crossed Peng Ak’s eyes.

‘His core suddenly became more solid.’

The main problem with Zhuge Hyeonmong’s body was that his center of gravity was misaligned, causing instability in his movements.

But he instantly corrected that flaw.

Though not flawless, it’s still good enough nonetheless.

“It seems you were born with considerable martial talent.”

“Ah, that’s not it. I just applied some sorcery.”

“…You can do that with sorcery?”

“It seems so, as I just discovered.”

Peng Ak raised an eyebrow.

Not because he found the young man’s statement arrogant.

‘Does he have something he wants to say?’

After seemingly contemplating something, Peng Ak shook his head and grinned.

“Well, that’s good.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you can keep up using sorcery, you’ll adapt to the training much faster. I was planning to adjust the intensity given your lack of physical capabilities… but it seems unnecessary.”

“I think it’s still necessary!”

“Nonsense!”

Peng Ao burst into laughter.

“Since you’ve discovered new possibilities through this training, pushing yourself to the limit might reveal even more new things, don’t you think?”

“…”

Zhuge Hyeonmong experienced a rare sensation.

He never realized that being unable to refute something correct could feel so irritating.

‘To think such malicious rhetoric exists in this world.’

Without considering how he usually spoke to others, Zhuge Hyeonmong felt indignant.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

***

Fortunately, there was no need to dispose of a corpse.

Despite his intimidating words, Peng Ak only trained Zhuge Hyeonmong within the necessary limit.

However, that “necessary limit” left him walking back like a newborn fawn.

Stumbling back to his room, Zhuge Hyeonmong was immediately slapped by a stack of documents by the courtesy of Zhuge Jun and Sima Lin.

“What is this?”

“The report you need to write.”

“Weren’t you going to write it for me?”

“You expect us to write a report about your encounter with Gal Sa-ryang?”

Zhuge Hyeonmong offered a strained smile.

“By the way, Miss Sima, why are you still here?”

“Ah, it’s just easier to breathe here. The air is quite pleasant. Does my presence make you uncomfortable?”

“I can’t rest comfortably.”

“Well, consider it motivation. Come on, even after your training, you should still have enough strength to hold a brush, right?”

Zhuge Hyeonmong let out a deep sigh.

“Don’t be so dramatic. It’s just paperwork—at least that’s all you have to do. When I was young, I had to do all this too. Train hard and study. Isn’t that right, Young Master Zhuge Jun?”

“Yes. And we had to additionally master at least one of the four arts—poetry, calligraphy, or painting.”

‘Thank goodness I wasn’t born into the Zhuge Family.’

What kind of hellish upbringing was this?

As he worked on his report, Zhuge Hyeonmong’s head nodded off repeatedly before eventually succumbing to sleep.

***

“Now that things have settled down somewhat, I’ll start teaching you the Heaven’s Secret Steps today.”

Zhuge Jun said this on the third day.

“The Heaven’s Secret Steps is a footwork that uses the concept of divination. By divining the directions beforehand, one can seize an advantageous position in a confrontation, achieving an effect akin to reading the secrets of heaven.”

After demonstrating the sixteen-step sequence, Zhuge Jun came to a graceful stop.

“As you can see, it doesn’t require intense movements, making it suitable for you to learn. Although it’s a family martial art, it’s a basic one, so there shouldn’t be any issue with teaching it to you, and it won’t take long to master.”

Zhuge Jun was right.

Before long, Zhuge Hyeonmong was able to learn the Heaven’s Secret Steps without much difficulty.

He listened to the mnemonic verses, grasped the martial principles, imprinted the movements into a spell using the Body Enhancement spell, and repeated the process.

Just by doing so allowed Zhuge Hyeonmong to master the form of the Heaven’s Secret Step

The problem came next.

“Helloooo.”

“Is this really necessary, Brother Jun?”

Zhuge Hyeonmong asked Zhuge Jun with a flustered expression, looking at Tang Hwa-ryeong who was smiling cheerfully for no reason.

The answer came not from Zhuge Jun but from Tang Hwa-ryeong.

“You’ve learned the theory and the form, so what you need right now is experience in practical application. What good is footwork if you can’t actually use it to dodge attacks?”

‘What is this injustice?!’

Why did she keep making valid points?

“Don’t worry. They’re just pebbles—even if you get hit, it barely stings.”

“Can you define what you consider ‘barely stings’? My threshold might be a bit different from yours.”

“Here I go.”

Tang Hwa-ryeong, now somewhat accustomed to Zhuge Hyeonmong’s way of talking, grinned and suddenly launched a small pebble she had been toying with.

Whoosh!

‘Left shoulder!’

Zhuge Hyeonmong read its trajectory and performed the Flowing Cloud Chasing Step.

A technique that generated momentum by slightly leaning back and rotating the body.

The pebble grazed his left shoulder, and at that moment, he felt a dull pain in his thigh.

“Ugh!”

“I never said I’d only throw one at a time.”

“You never said you’d throw more than one either!”

“Hm? Did I?”

“…”

Tang Hwa-ryeong nonchalantly replied as she kept throwing the stones.

After frantically dodging or getting hit for a while, Zhuge Hyeonmong spoke up.

“How long are we going to do this… gah!”

“Hmm, how about until you can reach me within one zhang without getting hit?”

‘If that’s all.’

It wasn’t like Tang Hwa-ryeong was using her full strength, and thanks to that, he could somewhat read her movements.

‘Seems doable.’

And that proved to be a grave miscalculation.

“Huff, huff, phew.”

“Hmm. You.”

Tang Hwa-ryeong stared at him with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

“You have absolutely no talent for martial arts, do you?”

An average person would have developed some semblance of competence by now.

It’s true he had a pair of good eyes and dexterity that allowed him to quickly master the forms, but that was the extent of his talent.

He lacked the intrinsic talent to internalize and embody the martial principles he learned into his body.

His mind grasped the concepts, but his body remained unresponsive.

“…Let me try once more.”

Zhuge Hyeonmong exhaled a long sigh.

‘Just once, just this once, let me get it right just once.’

Zhuge Hyeonmong regulated his breathing and closed his eyes.

“You’ve got perseverance, I’ll give you that.”

Tang Hwa-ryeong said as she flicked a stone.

As if by unspoken agreement, her first throw always targeted his left shoulder.

Her attacks only varied after the initial throw—sometimes targeting his feet, other times his solar plexus or thighs.

‘Right shoulder!’

Whoosh!

Zhuge Hyeonmong quickly spun his body using his prepared spell. It was the Flowing Cloud Chasing Step performed in reverse.

He followed with a light leap, dodging a stone aimed at his feet.

‘Anticipate all scenarios.’

If he lacked innate martial talent, he would compensate by preparing for all situations.

That suited Zhuge Hyeonmong’s disposition much better.

‘Three steps!’

After dodging three of her attacks, Zhuge Hyeonmong planted his foot on the ground.

And then he slipped.

“Huh?”

This wasn’t right.

His eyes widened in alarm as he lost his balance.

“Oh?”

Tang Hwa-ryeong’s eyes widened as well.

His unexpected falter sent the pebble aimed at his chest hurtling towards his head.

It was too late to deflect it with another pebble.

Time seemed to slow down in his eyes. Zhuge Hyeonmong could perceive the pebble approaching his forehead with terrifying clarity.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but it looked particularly sharp and pointed.

In that moment.

Zzzzt—

A sensation of being observed with profound disappointment washed over him, accompanied by a sudden wave of enlightenment that came over him.