The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 184 - Scholar Juyul (7) - Heartfelt Submission "To follow sincerely with both mouth and heart united." *** "Hmph! Good! However, since you've spoken so boldly, the price for failure will not be light!" Zhang Hualing ultimately accepted Juyul's wager. Backing down in a place where the academy children's gazes were all focused was absolutely impossible for her lofty pride, and she thought this was a wager with sufficient chances of winning. 'I was surprised for a moment, but thinking about it, that my martial arts handle Blazing Yang Energy is something you can tell just by appearance. Centering on the middle dantian is also not that rare among dragonkin, so if he's someone skilled in miscellaneous knowledge, it wouldn't be strange for him to know this.' However, identifying the characteristics of martial arts and improving them were completely separate matters. For example, suppose there are two sword techniques representing the orthodox and unorthodox paths that both have a 'downward cutting' motion. On the surface, these two movements appear to be identical techniques at first glance. However, depending on the details such as the ideology contained within, the method of internal energy operation, the way qi is released, how to measure distance, and connection to the next move, their actual nature differs vastly. To fully understand this, one must thoroughly study the secret manual containing the essence of that martial art, and in fact, it's common to still not understand well even after reading such manuals. If learning martial arts from just a secret manual was so easy, why would masters be necessary? They'd just throw you a book and tell you to figure it out yourself. And the Red Fire Demon Art has no secret manual. Zhang Hualing had never explained its contents to anyone else. The detailed contents of the martial art existed only in Zhang Hualing's mind, and even she herself handled many parts through intuition or subconscious processing. To analyze and improve this just by observing from the outside? 'It's like asking someone to determine the type of hair used in the brush, the wood used to make the paper, and even the year the painting was made from just one completed painting. It might be possible to debate this and that about the outward appearance, but it's impossible to discover anything more intimate than that!' Zhang Hualing was confident of victory. And about three days after the wager began. "Now, here I've compiled the improvements into a book. Of course, I will personally assist with the training, but it would be more efficient if you first read through the contents and familiarize yourself with them." "......" Looking at the secret manual that Juyul had produced so casually, Zhang Hualing could only blink her eyes. Unfortunately, she did not know. That in a certain era where the Crown Prince existed, the example she mentioned was not impossible. By analyzing the minute brush strokes etched in a painting with a microscope, one can deduce what kind of animal hair it is. By analyzing the fibers that compose paper, one can deduce the manufacturing method and materials through the unique fiber structure that exists in each paper. It's also possible to determine which era the organic components of paper belong to through radiocarbon dating, and to deduce the year of use or region by analyzing pigments. The counterargument that this is scientific technology and not individual ability is meaningless. Just as humans have common sense, superhumans have super-common sense. "But you know. Didn't you say that when creating clones, you erase memories that don't fit well with the role?" 「Strictly speaking, it's closer to not being conscious of them rather than erasing them. Isn't it strange for a swordsman who has dedicated his entire life to the sword to be well-versed in the knowledge of magic?」 「...And it makes sense for a scholar to be well-versed in martial arts knowledge?」 「Haha, in the martial world, it's the law that doctors are well-versed in martial arts, shopkeepers are well-versed in martial arts, and surprisingly, even the Heavenly Demon is well-versed in martial arts. How could a scholar, who must accumulate a great deal of knowledge from the start, be an exception?」 「Yeah, what can I even say to you.」 Unaware that such an ominous conversation was taking place in that distant western land, Zhang Hualing struggled to maintain her composure while her fingertips trembled. 'C-calm down. I still don't know what the contents will be like!' Rustle. As each page of the secret manual slowly turned to the next, Zhang Hualing's complexion also transformed quite colorfully. After a long while of this. Zhang Hualing soon had no choice but to acknowledge it. 'I have lost.' Even though she hadn't actually moved her body to demonstrate the martial art, Zhang Hualing could envision the results that would appear when acting according to this secret manual as if she had seen them before her eyes. The weight of her strikes would become heavier, the movement of her internal energy would become more fluid, and the heat of the flames would become even hotter. Even the parts that Zhang Hualing vaguely knew through intuition but hadn't been able to embody in words were written in the secret manual with proper theory. Given her great pride in the martial arts she had built up herself, the shock Zhang Hualing received was truly tremendous. "Of course, there may be parts that are difficult to understand just by reading. So from now on, I'll provide some small advice from the side..." Zhang Hualing shook her head to stop Juyul's words that were about to continue. "...No, that's enough. It's my defeat." "Miss?" "Truly impressive. I thought you were no ordinary person, but I didn't expect you to have such skills as well. However, a match is a match. I shall keep my promise." Zhang Hualing's appearance as she spoke confidently with her back straight was the very embodiment of a great person gracefully accepting defeat in a match. "Where is the other martial art that I am supposed to teach?" "I didn't bring it now. I didn't know how the wager would turn out." "Is that so? Then I should go for today. There won't be enough time to analyze and understand this secret manual!" Saying so, Zhang Hualing left the place with a dignified attitude. From the outside, she also seemed like she couldn't contain herself wanting to test the new power she had obtained. However. "Oh my. Juyul, Juyul. You're still immature, immature." After sighing those words, Juyul immediately moved his steps and headed somewhere. *** Cold. Hunger. Persecution. That was Zhang Hualing's childhood in her memories. Her father, who had lived with loyalty and filial piety, scholarly dignity and morality always on his lips, threw away all parental duty and tried to kill his daughter when he learned that she was born with black horns. She survived thanks to her mother's desperate opposition, but had to live in hiding where no one would go, and after a child was born between her father and his new concubine, mother and daughter were driven out together. Her maternal family turned their backs on the mother and daughter's plight, and when even her mother, who was her only ally, couldn't endure the harsh life and died, Zhang Hualing was left alone. After that, it was days of endless struggle for survival. The maid whom her mother had relied on, entrusting her daughter to her care in her final moments, ran away taking only the inheritance. The wages she received for working all day helping with miscellaneous shop work were half of what was promised, and even that had to be stolen by thugs. Among them, the most dangerous opponents were criminals who specifically targeted dragonkin like her. In the martial world, rumors often circulated that dragonkin horns, bones, and blood were ingredients for spiritual medicines, and especially those like Zhang Hualing who manifested dragonkin characteristics strongly received particularly concentrated attention as their medicinal effects were said to be excellent. Zhang Hualing's martial arts were a creation born from such circumstances. Power to break and shatter the hands trying to steal what was in her embrace, to trample and crush the hands grabbing her ankles, to seize and tear out tongues trying to deceive with cunning words, and to burn all those who blocked her path. What she had desperately built up from the bottom. And what she had seized for herself. That, that effort, had been caught up to all too easily. "Truly futile. What use are empty titles like the Seven Hegemons?" Melancholy took precedence over anger, and emptiness over humiliation. Although she tried to act cheerful and bold in front of others, Zhang Hualing's actual mood was endlessly digging into the ground. As she tilted her cup alone with the moonlight as her companion, while Zhang Hualing was sighing. "No matter how much of a martial artist you are, drinking only alcohol on an empty stomach without any side dishes is not good." With a clatter. Near Zhang Hualing, who was sitting on a large rock, a plate was extended. Seeing the plate with jerky and dried fruits and such, and Juyul who had offered it, Zhang Hualing's eyes trembled for a moment. However, she soon spoke as if nothing was wrong. "Hah, I see. Did you come to hurry me up at this late hour? Surprisingly impatient—" "I'm sorry." Before Zhang Hualing, who had stopped speaking, Juyul bowed deeply, very deeply. "I was so eager to show off my own talents that I failed to consider how it would feel to you. I believed it was wrong for martial artists to value only their strength and look down on those who couldn't learn martial arts, yet I too spoke and acted as if looking down on martial arts as a scholar." "......" "I was in an environment where I could relatively easily access various martial arts. But you must have had difficulty accessing even a single proper martial arts manual. To have created such amazing martial arts in such circumstances, how could I say that effort is inferior to mine? I'll say it again. I'm truly sorry." Even after his words ended, Juyul did not raise his head. Looking at his defenseless lowered head and neck, Zhang Hualing intuited that she could very easily bring down Juyul right now. And probably that Juyul would neither avoid nor block it. But instead of striking out to attack Juyul, Zhang Hualing looked down at him with trembling eyes. In her mind, suddenly some words she had learned during class time with Juyul came to mind. Putting oneself in another's shoes To think from the other person's position by changing places. 'If I had been in the opposite position, could I have done this?' To someone inferior in both knowledge and strength. Not someone met through good fortune, but someone who had unilaterally picked fights and even attacked with violence. Could one admit fault and seek forgiveness simply because 'there was a problem with one's own actions'? The answer came without needing deep contemplation. 'I could not have done it.' I would have raged about how I could bow my head to a student when I have pride as a teacher. I would have mocked them, saying it was truly foolish to be melancholy over such past matters when I had made their martial arts stronger. No, before that, I wouldn't have even tolerated a mere student speaking carelessly to me or showing an arrogant attitude. However, Juyul had done it. As if saying that no matter how much of a teacher one is, wrong is wrong, and what should be acknowledged must be acknowledged. The moment she realized that, Zhang Hualing truly admired Juyul. Not because he was stronger than her. Not because he was more learned than her. Because she was moved by his character. "Please... raise your head." When Zhang Hualing spoke in a trembling voice, only then did Juyul finally straighten his bowed back. After confirming that, Zhang Hualing spoke. "You said before. That there is no meaning in merely speaking politely and following etiquette on the surface when there is no respect in one's heart." "I certainly said so." "Then I will change, starting from now. Not an ambiguous relationship like before. I sincerely wish to have you as my teacher." Zhang Hualing performed a deep bow toward Juyul. "This girl, Zhang Hualing, greets her honored teacher."