Chapter 113

Chapter 113
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**Chapter 113: Forging the Baek Bud Squad**

Since coming back, Baek Yang-hui had poured all his focus into nothing but raising his own martial ability.

The reason was straightforward.

It had been deeply frustrating.

He had attained the Super Peak realm and cut down enemies wherever he went—only for time to double back, leaving him trapped in the body of an eight-year-old boy, every bit of his martial skill stripped away.

That return by itself was a stroke of good fortune, yet it also felt like being locked inside a young, frail frame.

*I have now reached the Peak Realm. It is time I began looking out for those around me.*

Stepping up to Super Peak remained a distant goal. To reach that height, one would need to scale a barrier far thicker and higher than the one that stood before the Peak Realm. For now, he had merely set foot on the very first of the countless steps that led to that towering wall. Even with the advantage of memories from his past life, which gave him confidence to stand against any expert of the Peak Realm, the situation remained unchanged.

*I must retrain my body from the ground up in any case.*

He had truly absorbed vital energy and risen to the Peak Realm, and because of that, the body he had once thought perfected now held room to grow still further. His heart, his energy, and his entire being had shifted, making that very measure of advancement possible.

*While I am at it, training everyone together would be getting the best of both worlds.*

With that thought in mind…

“Baek Bud Squad, gather!”

At Baek Yang-hui’s call, the group assembled on the training grounds. These were the Baek Buds—the fresh new shoots of the Baek Clan. Every single one who stood before him was a standout talent, the next generation, meant to be nurtured and honed to become the Baek Clan’s strength in the days ahead.

“Baek Bud Squad Leader reporting.”

For the record, the squad leader was that young scamp.

“Yes, Brother!”

“From now on, call me Instructor—not Brother.”

“Understood!”

Baek Heon-so answered crisply, standing ramrod straight. He had caused a spot of trouble not long ago, yet this seemed overly formal. Still, he would help the boy relax in good time.

With that, Baek Yang-hui ran his gaze over the whole squad.

*They have gaps to fill, but they are promising enough.*

Every member trained in the Six Harmonies Body Refining Art handed down by Yin Hu, supplemented with techniques obtained from the Zhuge Clan. The longest-standing among them had practiced for a mere seven years, so they still had a long road ahead. He sharpened his energy perception; at the very least, their dantian reserves were solid enough.

*That stands to reason—after consuming so many spirit pills.*

The Baek Clan poured more than half its total income into spirit medicines, working swiftly to make up for its lack of senior elders and established masters. When the time spent training was short to begin with, raw inner power had to carry the weight.

*Roughly twenty years’ worth on average.*

Barely anyone in the clan—even the head—had commanded twenty years of inner power right after his return; the change was as vast as farmland turning into deep ocean.

“Jin Sam, step forward.”

One boy stepped forward, visibly nervous. He was the son of Jin Geum-bo, who had entered the Baek Clan’s service. Baek Yang-hui had assumed he leaned toward scholarship, having first met him with a book in hand, yet the boy had chosen to join the Baek Bud Squad—a truly worthy decision.

“Here.”

He held out a spirit pill drawn from the steward’s stores, and Jin Sam started in surprise.

“Young Master… may I truly accept this?”

“Tsk. I told you—Instructor.”

“Ah—yes, Instructor!”

“Your father has given great service. Take this without hesitation. Swallow it, circulate your energy, and you will gain roughly fifteen years’ worth of inner power. I shall guide you through it.”

He personally passed on the foundational Six Harmonies Union Art and even guided energy through the boy’s meridians himself.

“Thank you, Instructor.”

After seeing Jin Sam adjust his posture correctly…

Baek Yang-hui raised his voice and addressed the whole squad.

“You must all become pillars that hold up the family’s future. I stand before you now to forge those pillars so they grow thick and strong.”

The young faces set with resolve. Most were orphans or had known hardship before the Baek Clan had taken them in. He had handpicked the most talented among them to form this unit, so their devotion and drive to train were without equal.

“I ask only this—are you determined to become the firmest pillars of this family?”

“We are!”

“We will strive until it is etched into our bones!”

“Please guide us!”

Every member shouted at the top of their lungs, eyes burning bright. To them, Baek Yang-hui was a figure of pure admiration—the greatest young talent under heaven, who had reached the Peak Realm at just sixteen.

“Good. Now I shall explain the training that lies ahead. Baek Bud Squad Leader—step forward.”

“Yes!”

Caught up in the moment, Baek Heon-so marched briskly to the front.

“Baek Bud Squad Leader.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

“First order of business—you are going to take a beating.”

“Pardon?”

*Thwack!*

“Gwaaack!”

A kick to the stomach lifted Baek Heon-so clean off the ground before gravity dragged him back down with a thud. He was sent sailing up once more, and hung suspended for what felt like half an incense stick’s burning time, taking blow after unrelenting blow.

“That will do.”

Baek Heon-so crumpled to the earth, twitching. The rest of the squad watched in stunned, horrified silence.

“Brother…”

“Instructor.”

“Instructor… why?”

Baek Heon-so’s question trailed away. He assumed this was punishment for his earlier mischief.

“I am sorry…”

“Hmm? For what? Oh—you think this is punishment? No, nothing of the sort. Set your mind at ease.”

“Then why…?”

Baek Heon-so looked half-indignant, thoroughly confused.

“Listen closely, all of you. The human body is like iron. Do you know what that means? Iron grows tougher the more it is struck. So do people. The more you are tested, the stronger you become.”

*That cannot be right*, someone thought. Usually, being beaten leaves you hurt—or worse.

“Yang-hui speaks true. Hardship makes you stronger.”

That came from A-du, standing off to one side. Coming from the broad-shouldered Shaolin novice monk, the words carried weight—and made it all the more unsettling.

*That sort of training only works for someone born with his strength.*

*He will not turn on us too… will he? Surely not.*

*I am scared…*

No one spoke their fears aloud, yet Baek Yang-hui read every one in their faces.

“Do not fear. I will strike you just enough—never enough to harm you beyond recovery.”

“……”

“Ah, but I should explain the true purpose behind this. You will feel it taking effect soon enough. On your feet, young rascal.”

Baek Heon-so groaned as he pushed himself up—and then he noticed something.

“Do you feel lighter?”

“I do, Instructor. How is this possible?”

“Because you received more than simple blows.”

It had been Meridian Pushing, steeped in rich, potent vital energy—energy that showed the body exactly how it ought to grow. That same process was what had let Baek Yang-hui perfect his own frame by age fifteen; now it was time to share that gift with every last member of the Baek Bud Squad.

“And since we are at it, we shall combine this with evasion practice. Stay within these grounds and dodge every strike as best you can. You may even counterattack.”

Baek Yang-hui grinned fiercely.

“Here I come.”

*Thwack! Thud! Thwack!*

Nearly a hundred members of the Baek Bud Squad lay scattered across the training yard as if fallen. Baek Yang-hui rolled his shoulders, looking thoroughly refreshed.

“Ah—what a feeling. I have not had a proper workout in quite some time.”

Baek Heon-so stared back, wide-eyed and shaken. Their gazes met.

“Eek!”

“Why so frightened? Come here.”

“Y-yes…”

He sat cross-legged on the ground, and Baek Heon-so shuffled over slowly to sit beside him. Baek Yang-hui ruffled his hair gently.

“I am sorry.”

“Whatever for, Instructor?”

“Call me Brother.”

Baek Yang-hui looked at his younger brother for a long moment.

“You went to So Ak-hyeon on my account, did you not?”

“…No, Brother. I was simply not good enough…”

He ruffled his hair once more.

“Little rascal… you were never meant to walk my path.”

There was a long quiet, before Baek Heon-so spoke.

“I know, Brother.”

Baek Heon-so understood his own shortcomings only too well. How could he not? He could not hold a candle to his brother—could not even measure up to Hui. It had been plain during the recent journey, when Baek Yang-hui had left him behind and taken Hui and Chui-dal instead. He trained relentlessly to close the gap, and hid the frustration that came with knowing talent was stacked against him. Yet the truth remained: he did not hope to shine as brightly as his brother—he only wanted to walk in his shadow. The shadow of the one who had shown him what it truly meant to have family.

Baek Yang-hui looked at him with nothing but pride.

“You were never meant to become me—and that is a good thing.”

He had left Baek Heon-so behind for a simple reason: the boy was the rightful heir to the main family, destined to stand at its head one day. Baek Yang-hui knew how fiercely he burned to see the world and prove his worth, yet the time had not yet come—or so he had thought, until recently. *Until he went out and made his own way.* That meant he was no longer a child to be sheltered.

He would need the strength to protect himself—and that was exactly why Baek Yang-hui meant to raise him to the first rank before the year’s great contest.

And more than that…

*You cannot walk my road. You would break under it.* His gifts were one in a thousand; a path built for geniuses could not sustain a clan for generations. Only teachings that every hand could learn, no matter their starting talent, would endure unbroken.

“You will be the bedrock upon which the Baek Clan stands, carrying it forward for all time.”

Baek Heon-so stared at him, quiet and uncomprehending in part, yet feeling the weight of his brother’s faith in him.

“Keep growing. Keep striving toward all you wish to be. I will bear every hardship that comes—that is what big brothers are for.”

“Brother.”

“Shall we resume our training, then?”

“Brother?”

Before Baek Heon-so could savor the moment, a fist connected.

“Gyaack!”

High on the rooftop looking down over the yard, Chui-dal watched them with a heavy gaze.

“Brother… I will change. I will not be the same.”

From the procession to the Sword King’s Mausoleum, their three-month journey had laid every one of his weaknesses bare. At fourteen, reaching the second rank would make most proud—yet he could take no pride in it, not when Baek Yang-hui stood beside him: a prodigy seen once in a thousand years, just one year older, and already at the Peak Realm. He would not have climbed so far on his own—not without two spirit pills that had given him forty years of inner power, not without the rush of energy that had cleared every path open to him, not without Master Yeo Un-hyeok’s steady guidance.

“Brother… you told him: if it frightens you, step back and let me face it for you.”

But he knew better than to lean on protection alone. The boy who hid from danger had died the day his father fell. He would strive all the harder—grit his teeth, bleed rather than merely sweat—until he could stand as an equal.

“Master.”

Yeo Un-hyeok appeared beside him as if from nowhere.

“You have something to say, my disciple?”

“I want to change—truly change.”

His teacher smiled gently.

“Even if the road ahead is as bitter as hell itself?”

“Yes.”

The answer came without hesitation, ringing with resolve. Yeo Un-hyeok’s heart swelled.

“Our Shadow Ghost Sect has stood for five hundred years—and it holds a training method unlike any other.”