Baek Seong-Jun takes Ji-hyeon to the right corner of the area beside the weapons stand.
"Most of our body's strength comes from our legs, so let's start with that. First, show me how many squats you can do. Since you carry the blood of the lord, you should be stronger than the average child."
"Understood."
Ji-Hyeon then proceeds to do squats. Since he had soldiers do it quite a bit, he knew the correct form. "91, 92 and… 93. Okay, that's good. The other siblings can do more than that, but considering that you haven't trained till now, that's a pretty good number."
"Thank you."
'I wanted to get some reaction out of this kid, but he is remaining calm. Though he lacks physical strength, he sure is mentally strong.'
Satisfied with Ji-hyeon's performance, Baek seong-Jun gives Ji-hyeon some tasks that he has to do every day.
"Do this every day for a few weeks, and depending upon your performance, who knows, I might even teach you some sword techniques."
"Thank you. I will make sure I complete these tasks consistently. May I ask if you have some library of sorts here?"
'Still nothing, huh? And books? Being a commoner, he must have never gotten his hands on one. Poor kid. '
"We don't have anything like that in the estate. Only the lord has a few books in his study. Rather than that, you should ask the lord to take you to the alliance grounds. There are tons of books there, literally."
'Alliance grounds? They must have stored some of the history about the murim there.'
"Thank you for your suggestion. I will do that."
"Then see you tomorrow."
"Oh, that I cannot guarantee since I will likely stay there for a while. But I will still make sure to complete the tasks you have given."
"I see. Then good luck."
Bowing down, Ji-Hyeon bids him farewell.
'He seems like a good kid.'
***
Heading out of the training grounds, he sees a maid approaching him. "There you are, young master. The lord has called for you to dine together. Please follow me."
"I see. Sorry for the trouble."
"It's not a problem, young master."
In a wide dining hall with a ceiling that could fit a giant, he sees a huge table in the centre. At the end of the table was his father, and on each of his sides were his wife and Ji-Hyeon's mother. Ji-Hyeon greets Kim bai-tian and proceeds to sit beside his mother.
Across the table, Baek su-jin was looking at them with a smile, but in her eyes, there was disdain.
'So he finally told her.'
"Before we eat, I should introduce her to you. Mei-lan, Ji-hyeon, this is Su-jin, my wife. I have already told her about our relationship. I also have three children: Kim-yeji and Seojin, my two sons, and Min-ho, my daughter. Ji-hyeon, you are the eldest, so get along with them. Since you all will be living together from now on, get familiar with each other, that is it."
'Compared to yesterday, he seems like another person. Well, if he were to act like that in front of the world, they would eat him alive, so it makes sense.'
Turning to the right, he sees his mother nodding without a change in expression. Smiling in his heart, he thought, 'I wouldn't expect anything less of my mother.'
Finishing his meal, Kim bai-tian starts heading out when Ji-Hyeon calls for him, "Sir, could I go along with you to the alliance? I am very interested in studying, so I would like to go to the library there."
Taken aback by the request, he considers it. "I don't mind taking you there, but you don't know how to read the books and just started training yesterday; the books will be useless to you. But since you have interest in it, I will assign a teacher to you; then, after a few months, I will take you there if you still wish to."
'Months…that is far too long. I wanted to keep the facade for longer since what kind of kid can read without ever studying, but I can't wait too long. It seems playing the act of a genius is the only way.'
Bowing to the waistline, "Thank you very much for your consideration. But I would hate to further burden you, and I am much better at learning on my own, so I would like to head straight to the library if you would allow it."
Seeing the stubbornness of the child, Kim bai-tian concludes, ' I guess he is not aware of how hard studying techniques is, even more so with an inadequate body. After he fails to understand any of the words in books, he should learn his lesson. Failure is the best teacher after all.'
"All right. Since you are so passionate, I won't stop you. Then follow me."
"Thank you, sir." Looking back at his mother, he bids her farewell.
Seeing such passion from her son, Mei-lan momentarily feels guilt but quickly combats that with gratitude for Kim Bai-Tian because of whom her son can now study. Giving a smile, he bids Ji-Hyeon farewell.
***
Heading out of the estate, Ji-Hyeon notices Baek Seong-Jun's absence.
Seeing Ji-Hyeon look over all the soldiers, "He is the captain of the estate's soldiers, he can't just leave his post for short travels."
"I see."
Inside the carriage, the two sit with pin-drop silence, not uttering a single word. Kim bai-tian breaks the silence, "When you return, give your measurements to the maid. There will be seven training uniforms as for your other clothes you may consult with the maid about. Don't worry about the cost."
"Thank you, sir, for your generosity."
"Umm."
'Still not calling me father. I expected him to do so since he always lacked one, but it seems his hatred for me outweighs his need for a father's love.'
Reaching the alliance, the two enter through the gates after being greeted by the guards. As he leaves the carriage, he sees a man greeting Kim bai-tian.
"Welcome back, sir."
Nodding his head, Kim bai-tian returns the greetings. "Ji-hyeon, this is Lee jin-shi. He is the captain of the squad that serves as my guards. Lee jin-shin, this is Ji-hyeon, my son. He wants to study in the library, have someone take him there."
His eyes wide open, Lee jin-shin quickly calms down, "I see. I understand I will have Ryu-nari guide him."
They then proceeded toward the alliance leader's office, where two people were standing guard. Nodding the two guards, Kim bai-tian heads in, Lee jin-shin then calls one of them out, "Ryu-Nari, this is Ji-Hyeon, the leader's son. Take him to the library."
"I see. Nice to meet you. Wai,t but I have already met the three siblings. Ohohhh! Is this why the leader went out of the city?! Ah, sorry, sorry.My apologies, sir. I will do that."
Sighing at Ryu-Nar,i who was unable to keep her composure, Lee jin-shin heads inside the office to brief Kim bai-tian about all the incidents that occurred in his absence.
"Follow me, young master., Do not make a mess while I am gone, Chung-yeon!"
"Sure, sure, whatever."
***
Reaching the library,y i-Hyeon is shocked at seeing a huge collection of books. 'It is still far smaller than the imperial library, but still it is nonetheless humongous. I thought they were just a bunch of muscle heads.'
"From the first floor to the fifth on, each floor has manuals ranging from beginner to grandmaster, respectively. There are a few techniques from each sect and also other miscellaneous ones, which is why it is the largest library in Murim. Normally, beginners of the alliance only have access to the first floor, after which they need to collect enough contribution points to enter the other floors, but since you are here on the leader's recommendation, you can access all the floors."
'It seems nepotism has its perks.'
"Thank you for such an informative description, but I would first familiarize myself with murim's history first. May I ask where the history section is?"
"History? Ah.. It's in umm… Oh, I think I remember seeing something like that on the fourth floor., Since they don't have a lot of techniques for advanced master and grandmaster, they have kept stuff like that up there."
"Thank you. Before you head back, you said something about beginner to grandmaster. Could you please brief me on that terminology?"
"Sure, no problem!"
"Than- "But what does it mean?"
"Come again?"
"What does it mean? Terminology?"
Flabbergasted by the question from a guard in charge of the alliance leader of all the orthodox sects in murim, 'I take it back. They are a bunch of muscle heads.'
"It means the meaning of a word used in a field. Basically, what beginner to grandmaster implies in the world of martial arts."
"Oh, I see. In martial arts, there are a total of 6 levels starting from beginner, Practitioner, Master, Advanced master, Grand master, and finally, Divine. Although, the last one is more of a myth. But since people in the starting phase of, let's say, a practitioner will be far weaker than someone who has been one for longer, it is further divided into the initial, middle, and peak stages. As the amount of qi one has in each stage increases greatly, there are techniques tailored to a particular stage; that's why there are five floors for each stage."