Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 423: 423 Return to the Volcano 9

"It’s not a prank. I really am an instructor."

"I see..."

He seemed quite shocked by my words.

"Then, the young lady beside you is..."

"Ah, she’s a Huashan disciple who joined before you. She’s your senior disciple."

"R-right..."

He looked flustered, holding his head in his hands. I couldn’t tell if he was in denial or regretting joining Huashan.

To be fair, it would be hard to accept someone his age as an instructor and a ten-year-old girl as a senior disciple.

"You’ve traveled far, so rest today. Training starts tomorrow—be at the training ground in front of Baekmigwan by 5 AM."

"Huh? Ah... yes, yes."

I told him, but judging by his expression, I wasn’t sure he’d taken it in.

The next day, Yi-seol and I arrived early and waited—he did show up, so at least he was diligent.

"What exactly are we doing at this hour..."

"What else? Running. If you want to learn anything, you need stamina. Yi-seol, let’s go."

"Yes, brother."

When we started running, Dong-ryong (Baek Cheon) followed.

"Huff... gasp..."

After nearly an hour of nonstop running, Dong-ryong fell far behind. Yi-seol was breathing hard but seemed to be getting used to it and kept up reasonably.

"Hah... hah... Do we have to do this every day?"

After the run, Dong-ryong was sprawled out on the training ground, gasping.

"Yeah."

"I see..."

"You’re not used to it yet, but you will be. It’s not even that fast."

He couldn’t argue—I had adjusted the pace for Yi-seol.

"Rest a bit, eat, and come back."

"Yes..."

After breakfast, I took Yi-seol back to the training ground. At least this time, he was there early and waiting.

I handed Dong-ryong and Yi-seol each a wooden sword.

"Here, take these. From today, you’ll learn the basics—from how to hold a sword to how to swing it. First, hold the sword with both hands and take a stance."

They did, and I carefully corrected each finger position.

"From that stance, you’ll practice horizontal slash, vertical slash, and thrust. Watch me first, then follow. Don’t underestimate the basics—all sword techniques start from here."

"Yes!"

I demonstrated horizontal slash, vertical slash, and thrust with perfect form—the foundation of all sword techniques, the Samjae Sword Technique.

"Do 100 repetitions of each before lunch. Don’t slack off—focus on each swing and make it precise. That’s the fastest way to improve."

"Understood."

I watched their swings and corrected their stances whenever they faltered. Here, Yi-seol’s strength shone—she showed incredible focus and put genuine effort into every swing. Her concentration was truly remarkable.

"I never knew swinging a sword could be this tiring..."

Dong-ryong said after training, his hands trembling with fatigue.

"Being tired means you put in the effort. Good work."

There was no training in the afternoon—that time was reserved for the other instructors to teach the young disciples letters. A long-established sect like Huashan required its disciples to be educated. It would be unthinkable for a Huashan disciple to be illiterate.

In the meantime, I worked on making an easy-to-understand book on acupoints. They needed to learn acupoints before they could study internal energy techniques. Since I only needed to make one and copy it with [Matter Copy], it didn’t take long.

While I was working on the book, the sect leader suddenly visited.

"Sect Leader, you’re here."

"I see you’re working on a book about acupoints. May I take a look?"

"Yes, of course. Since I’m in a teaching position, I felt responsible and put some effort into it—but I’m not sure how good it is."

I allowed him, and Hyeonjong sat down and began reading the acupoint book I’d made.

"This is remarkable. It’s so easy to understand that it sinks right in."

"I’m glad to hear that."

"If you complete this, could we use it as an official Huashan textbook?"

"Yes, by all means. That’s why I made it."

"Thank you. Also, I watched today’s training—since not all second-generation disciples have arrived yet, you can go easy on them."

Now Hyeonjong finally revealed why he had come: essentially, he was asking me to reduce the training intensity. He’d seen Dong-ryong and young Yi-seol struggling to even hold their chopsticks at lunch and felt sorry for them.

"I am going easy. I’m just having them run to build basic stamina and teaching only the Samjae Sword Technique. I haven’t even started strength training yet..."

Hyeonjong looked more surprised at my words.

"R-really..."

"Don’t worry. I won’t push them too hard."

"Okay..."

A few days later, a few more second-generation disciples joined. They all went through the same routine, but with one addition—the acupoint book was complete, so I had them study it. Occasionally, I’d quiz them on acupoints; if they couldn’t answer, I’d make them run extra laps. They must have been dying.

After a month of this, with the number of second-generation disciples growing, I began teaching the most basic internal energy technique, Yukhap-gong. Even though it was basic, being interrupted while cultivating internal energy could be dangerous, so I taught each disciple individually in the order they joined, helping them form their dantian.

"Yukhap-gong is something you can easily buy at a market. Can’t we learn a different technique first?"

Yi-seol had learned without question and formed her dantian, but Dong-ryong was the problem.

"You don’t understand. Yes, Yukhap-gong is a basic technique that accumulates little internal energy. But because it purifies the practitioner’s body, the earlier you learn it, the easier it becomes to reach higher levels. So don’t question it—just do as you’re told."

"I-is that true?"

"Yes. If you really don’t trust me, you can form your dantian and move on to the next technique. Of course, that would only be your loss."

"...Understood. I’ll stick with Yukhap-gong for now."

"Good."

But it wasn’t just Dong-ryong—a few other disciples said the same thing. I had to repeat myself multiple times, which was exhausting.

There was a reason Yukhap-gong received this treatment. Long ago, a Huashan elder had argued that "health cultivation should not be for the Taoist clergy alone, but for all people," and had publicly released the technique. As a result, even though it was Huashan’s basic art, it became known as one of the "Three Great Street Martial Arts," along with Yukhap-gwon and Samjae Sword.

It was well-intentioned, but ironically, it led to such skepticism.

Anyway, aside from the newcomers, most had formed their dantian, so I added strength training to their regimen. From that moment, the real hell began. I made dumbbells, barbells, pull-up bars, and other equipment myself and trained them in a more systematic, scientific way. Of course, Yi-seol had her own adjusted routine.

Their daily schedule started at 5 AM with meditation to reinforce internal energy. From 6 to 7, they ran, then had breakfast, followed by brutal physical training and 100 repetitions of the Samjae Sword Technique before they could finally eat lunch.

The newcomers who hadn’t formed their dantian were exempt—they did running and Samjae Sword drills first, then studied acupoints.

"Ugh... This is pure hell..."

"I feel like I’m dying..."

"Still, I’ve lost fat and gained muscle."

"Yeah, you’re right."

They were starting to notice changes in their bodies, so the complaints had subsided a bit.

Another month passed, and everyone had successfully formed their dantian, so they all received the same training—and I replaced the Samjae Sword with the Yukhap Sword. But here, another problem arose: one of the first-generation disciples, Un-geom, objected.

"Instructor Jin, Huashan now teaches the Jin Yukhap Sword instead of the old Yukhap Sword. Unlike the old version, the Jin Yukhap Sword is a swift and agile martial art. From now on, you should teach that instead."

"That won’t do. Basics must remain basics. It’s true the Jin Yukhap Sword is stronger than the original. But teaching that now is like giving the Analects to children who haven’t even finished the Thousand Character Classic. If they learn the Jin Yukhap Sword, they may get ahead temporarily, but without a solid foundation, they’ll only stunt their own growth."

"Th-there’s no way that’s true..."

Un-geom didn’t believe me.

"Then trace the progression of Huashan’s martial arts—from Samjae Sword to Yukhap Sword, Falling Flower Sword, and Seven Plum Sword. That’s all I have to say."

"I’ll do that."

Un-geom seemed slightly offended, but what could I do? I was stating facts.

Anyway, after three months of teaching, I prepared to return to the estate. I planned to come back to Huashan around this time next year.

"You’ve worked hard."

"Not at all. Teaching also gave me a chance to reflect on my own martial arts."

"I’m glad you think so. Well then, see you next year."

"Please stay well, Sect Leader."

I also said goodbye to Yi-seol.

"Brother, I’ll see you next year. Please give my regards to Father."

"Yeah. Remember what I told you?"

"Yes, I remember. Not to learn any other internal energy techniques."

"Make sure you keep that promise."

"I will."

I didn’t see the other disciples—I wasn’t surprised. I had pushed them so hard that I’d earned the nickname "Silver-Haired Demon." And somehow, word of my exchange with Un-geom had spread; the first-generation disciples avoided learning from me and occasionally shot me disapproving looks.

They probably thought I’d insulted them. But Un-geom himself didn’t seem bothered, which was ironic. Of course, I didn’t care about their stares.

I returned to the estate, shared the acupoint book I’d made, and rested. After eleven months, I went back to Huashan. The atmosphere had changed—the worn-down gate had been repaired, and a new signboard reading "Great Huashan Sect" hung above it.

’Did they use my donations for repairs?’ I wondered as I announced my arrival. Unam came out to greet me warmly.

"Oh~ Instructor Jin, you’re here! I trust you’ve been well?"

"Yes, I’ve been fine. But has something happened at Huashan?"

"Ah, you must mean the new signboard. It’s a bit embarrassing for a first-generation disciple to say, but Huashan and Zhongnan hold a regular martial arts competition every ten years for mutual development. As it happens, last year was that year. I’m ashamed to say the first-generation disciples all lost. However, the second-generation disciples fought hard and won all their matches, so the overall result was a draw. That brought in donations, allowing us to repay debts and repair the sect somewhat."

"I see."

I’d completely forgotten about the "Hwajong Assembly." Huashan hadn’t mentioned it, so I hadn’t thought about it at all—I never expected it to turn out this way.

"Also, the first-generation disciples have been training using the same methods as the second-generation, just with different techniques. In effect, they’ve acknowledged that your methods were correct."

"I see."

"Anyway, let’s go inside."

Following Unam inside, I heard someone shouting,

"Alright, everyone!! Today is leg day!!"

WHOOOAAH!!!

I looked over to see the first-generation disciples working out with the equipment I’d designed. Since it was afternoon, the second-generation disciples were studying letters, so it was the first-generation disciples’ turn to use the equipment.

They were in great shape—they’d clearly been at it since the Hwajong Assembly.

’Did I make a mistake teaching them modern fitness? Ugh... Tanjiro’s nightmare...’

Anyway, I greeted Sect Leader Hyeonjong and settled into my room.

BURST!

"Brother!"

"Yi-seol, it’s been a while."

THUMP!

"Oof!"

Yi-seol must have heard I was back—she ran over and hugged me. She’d also changed over the year: she’d grown taller and more beautiful, but she’d also gained muscle to rival a man’s. When she suddenly charged and hugged me, it knocked the wind out of me. For now it was fine, but I worried her physique might get ruined as she grew. This was a problem.

"How is Father?"

"Cough... He’s fine. Anyway, I’m glad to see you healthy."

Yi-seol and I caught up on the time apart. When dinner time came, we headed to the dining hall—and as soon as I entered, all the second-generation disciples rose, performed a fist-and-palm salute, and greeted me loudly.

"Instructor Jin, welcome!!!"

They were doing this to acknowledge my training methods through the Hwajong Assembly and to express gratitude for my teaching.

It might have been touching, but honestly, what pleased me more was that no one would question my training anymore. That would make teaching much easier—above all, I hated having to explain myself.

Eight years passed. During that time, all the second-generation disciples graduated from Baengmaegwan, received their Taoist names, and had advanced past the Falling Flower Sword to the Seven Plum Sword.

But Yi-seol was different. While the other second-generation disciples had moved on from Yukhap-gong to Small Blue Qi Technique and then to Seven Stars Technique as they learned the Seven Plum Sword, Yi-seol remained with Yukhap-gong.

It wasn’t that her internal energy was lacking. Whenever I was bored, I’d duplicate elixirs from Nanomachine using [Matter Copy] and give them to her. As a result, her body had accumulated pure, refined energy—all according to my plan.

I also used [Matter Creation] to gradually transform her body, like Mitsuri Kanroji from Demon Slayer, maintaining a slender figure while concealing immense power. This prevented her physique from being ruined by training, but the side effect was a significantly increased appetite.

"Brother, chicken."

"Yes, yes."