I decided to wait for a while. After the exam, the students would have to go to the Martial Arts Pavilion's secret manual library to learn the manuals there and train. In the meantime, I tormented Zhuge Xiaohui.
"You're careless again. Listen carefully. Some evil faction members attack with hidden weapons at the same time as they cup their fists."
"Wh-What? That's so vicious!"
"Hah... You're hopeless again this time. From now on, I'll ambush you even when you sleep, so try to endure."
"No, wait! Kyaa!"
And so, for about a week, I had fun under the guise of training. While playing like that, I noticed someone snooping around our lodging. I teleported and grabbed them by the scruff of the neck. It was none other than Cheon Won-ryeo. Cheon Won-ryeo, having her neck grabbed, was very flustered.
"Eep! How did you... I was still inside the lodging a moment ago..."
Cheon Won-ryeo, still flustered, had her right arm, which had been cut off, fixed with bandages as it wasn't fully healed yet.
"What did you come for?"
At my question, Cheon Won-ryeo spoke shyly.
"W-Well... I came to express my gratitude. I heard you reattached my severed arm."
"Your thanks are enough. And you came at a good time. I was going to send someone to tell you, but come back here in about three more days. I need to remove the stitches. In the meantime, don't move too much."
"Understood. I'll do that."
Cheon Won-ryeo answered and left. Then Zhuge Xiaohui, with deep dark circles under her eyes and a gaunt face, came out and asked me.
"Who came just now?"
"The girl whose arm I reattached came to say thank you and left."
"I see. That means she ended up failing at the Martial Arts Pavilion after all."
"Well, I suppose so."
After finishing that conversation, I immediately reached out to ambush her. Zhuge Xiaohui hurriedly blocked.
"Oh~ Now you're blocking a bit. One more week like this and you'll be there."
At that, Zhuge Xiaohui despaired again.
"Oh, please..."
Deciding that enough time had passed, I snuck into the Martial Arts Pavilion at night and moved to the students' quarters. I sent a telepathic message to Cheon Un-woon.
[Come to the forest near the abandoned training hall to the northwest at midnight today.]
Then, Cheon Un-woon looked around cautiously. But he found nothing.
After that, since I was here, I thought I'd check on Moon Gyu. I found her in the secret manual library, looking at papers with martial arts transcriptions. Even though she wore a human skin mask to conceal her appearance, I could see her real face with [Clairvoyance]. Her beauty was indeed on par with Zhuge Xiaohui's.
'She is beautiful.'
I could NTR Moon Gyu at any time by using the fact that I could treat her sick younger brother, but I had no such intention.
There was a reason for this. The timeline in the Nano Machine universe is a straight line without a multiverse. If I took Moon Gyu, Cheon Un-woon's descendants would change, and he wouldn't obtain Nano at all, messing everything up. Therefore, I had no intention of touching Wang Yeo-gun or Moon Gyu.
I wandered around the Martial Arts Pavilion, observing various figures like Heo Bong, Baek Gi, Go Wang-heul, and Ho Sang-hwa. Then, when the time came, I moved to the forest and waited. Cheon Un-woon also arrived at the forest on time.
"You're here."
"You are the best under heaven, Taejin?!"
"You know me, so this will be easier."
"Of course. After the incident during the exam, rumors about you spread. But why did you call me?"
This kid spoke casually to me right away, which was a bit off-putting.
"You have no manners for a child. First, take this."
I threw a composite sword and a Taecheng Pill to Cheon Un-woon.
"This is..."
As expected, Cheon Un-woon immediately used Nano to scan the sword and elixir.
"Someone twisted your destiny. So I'm giving you a little help."
At that, Cheon Un-woon asked me.
"What do you mean, my destiny?"
I had no intention of explaining in depth.
"You'll find out in time. One piece of advice: your future is bleak, so if you want to live, you'll have to work hard. My help ends here. If you survive, we may meet again in the future."
At that, Cheon Un-woon thought for a moment, then said.
"Can't you tell me more?"
"Greedy, aren't you. Fine, I'll tell you one more thing. Be careful of the Reverse Blood Demon Art."
With those words, I left that place and returned to the lodging. I thought this much help would be enough for him to do well on his own.
I continued to torment Zhuge Xiaohui while preparing for the next journey. Two days later, Cheon Won-ryeo returned as promised. However, she was not in good shape. Her clothes were dirty, and her face was grimy, as if she hadn't washed.
"Have you been homeless? Why do you look like that?"
"W-Well, circumstances..."
Cheon Won-ryeo seemed to have had various troubles since leaving the Martial Arts Pavilion.
"Come in first. Let me see the wound."
"Yes."
I took Cheon Won-ryeo inside the lodging.
When we entered the room together, Cheon Won-ryeo, embarrassed, turned her back, took off her top, covered her important parts with it, and then showed me the wound.
I unwrapped the bandages and looked at the wound. The bone would take more time, but the nerves were fine, and the muscles had attached well. Perhaps because she was a martial artist, it healed quickly without inflammation.
"Hmm... It's healing well. But it will take more time for the bone to completely fuse."
"I see."
I disinfected the wound, removed the stitches, and then wrapped it with fresh bandages to finish. Cheon Won-ryeo put her clothes back on, hesitated for a moment, and then said to me.
"Um... Could I get something to eat?"
"Huh? Have you been going without food?"
"Yes..."
"Wait."
I went out for a moment, took some braised pork and stir-fried vegetables from my inventory, and set them out in the room. Cheon Won-ryeo began eating hurriedly.
"Eat slowly and rest before you leave. Since the stitches were just removed, you can wash from tomorrow, but I'll give you new clothes."
"Thank you."
"But why have you been starving?"
"Well, you see..."
Cheon Won-ryeo explained what had happened. In short, after failing at the Martial Arts Pavilion and losing the chance to compete for the succession, she was to be married off as a pawn to strengthen ties with other sects. She said she couldn't stand it and just ran away.
"If it weren't for Cheon Un-woon, I wouldn't have been treated like this!"
Cheon Won-ryeo ground her teeth and blamed Cheon Un-woon for her situation.
"You're mistaken about something. From what I saw, even if it weren't for Cheon Un-woon, with your current skill, you wouldn't have beaten your other siblings, like Cheon Mu-yeon of the Hyeonma Sect or Cheon Yu-chan of the Doma Sect. And didn't you get your arm cut off because you couldn't accept the outcome of a decided match and let your anger take over?"
"Th-That's..."
At my words, Cheon Won-ryeo couldn't make an excuse. If she had any sense, she would know. That in the end, it was because she hadn't worked hard and couldn't control her anger that this situation came about.
I gave Cheon Won-ryeo time to think, got her some clothes, and then asked the maids to prepare an extra room for her to rest. Meanwhile, I checked on Zhuge Xiaohui. She hadn't been sleeping well, so she was hiding in the carriage, nodding off. I gave her a smack on the back of the head.
Four more days passed. Zhuge Xiaohui's training was finished, and Cheon Won-ryeo was still staying here. She seemed to have nowhere to go.
"We're leaving now, so get ready. I've already prepared the carriage."
"I was just about to rest comfortably, and now you say we're leaving right away?"
"Yeah. We can't stay here forever."
"Hoo... Fine. I'll get ready."
Just then, Cheon Won-ryeo, having heard the news, came to us and made a request.
"Please take me with you. I can't stay here any longer. If you leave, I'll be captured again for sure."
I thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Hmm... Taking you is fine, but we're not going to the Central Plains. We're going to the Western Regions. If that's okay, you can come along."
"I'll go."
Cheon Won-ryeo answered without any hesitation, as if she had already made up her mind.
"Fine."
I sent someone to inform the Heavenly Demon Cult that we were leaving. Then Cheon In-ji and Seop Maeng came.
"I didn't know you were leaving so soon. But who is this girl?"
"Ah, she's my new servant."
"Servant?"
Then Seop Maeng quietly whispered to Cheon In-ji about Cheon Won-ryeo's identity.
"She's my granddaughter. Well, well..."
Then Cheon Won-ryeo also cupped her fist to Cheon In-ji, bowed her head, and greeted him.
"Former Leader, nice to meet you. I am Cheon Won-ryeo of the Eumna Sect."
"Nice to meet you. But why are you following them?"
"I want to see the wider world."
This girl, she didn't want to be forced into marriage, but she lied without changing her expression. Perhaps because of her environment, such excuses came naturally to her.
"Hmm... Well, I suppose it's fine. Understood. Go and see the wider world."
"Thank you, Former Leader."
Then Cheon In-ji smiled kindly at Cheon Won-ryeo and said.
"As you're leaving, call me Grandfather."
"Ah, okay. Grandfather."
"Have a good journey."
"May you also be safe, Grandfather."
After the goodbyes, we got in the carriage and, guided by Seop Maeng, left the Heavenly Demon Cult. Before leaving, I didn't forget to give Seop Maeng a bottle of liquor as a gift.
"I'm going to miss this liquor. Well then, see you next time."
"Yeah, see you later."
We headed northwest again, crossed Qinghai, and began crossing the Tibetan Plateau in the Tibet region. We enjoyed traveling, admiring the beautiful lakes and canyons of Tibet. Then we began crossing the desert. Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo were amazed at the carriage's performance.
"Look, sister. It's strange. Inside the carriage is cool, but outside is very hot."
"I know, sister. It's strange. What on earth is this carriage..."
'First Servant' and 'Second Servant,' having become close, were now calling each other 'sister' on their own.
We passed through the Timur Empire and continued traveling through the Ottoman Empire. Finally, after half a year, we entered Europe. Europe was a complete mess due to the Black Death. To be precise, it was just after the Black Death had ravaged, so people were wary of foreigners, and the streets were overflowing with beggars. So I had pre-vaccinated Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo before traveling.
"It's a beautiful city, but plagues are truly scary. Why don't people wash?"
"Because they believe that washing makes you sick."
"Good heavens... They really believe that?"
"Yes."
Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo were experiencing culture shock at my explanation. And since every city had so many beggars, I shared bread as I traveled. Then strange rumors began to spread across Europe. The story was that a second Messiah had appeared in a carriage with angels. Feeling that staying any longer would become a huge hassle, I passed through France, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, and entered the African continent.
In Africa, I followed the Mediterranean, visited Egypt, and went down to the Cape of Good Hope. The women were very happy to see various animals. It was like going to a zoo. Of course, the scale was different.
"What is that animal?"
"A lion."
"And that one?"
"A rhinoceros."
"And that tall animal over there?"
"A giraffe."
"Wow~ This is truly an animal kingdom. Those cute, puppy-like animals are following us in a pack. Can I touch one?"
"Don't. They're hyenas. They're following us to eat us."
Zhuge Xiaohui flinched at that.
"I-I see. Ah! I know that animal. It's an elephant! I didn't know they lived here too... But are elephants that big?"
There is a size difference between Asian and African elephants.
Anyway, we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope and rested for a few days. During that time, Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo also trained hard. Zhuge Xiaohui reached the peak of the Profound Realm, and Cheon Won-ryeo reached the peak of the Transformation Realm.
Cheon Won-ryeo had learned during the journey, and her learning speed was definitely faster than Zhuge Xiaohui's. Moreover, having let go of her greed and traveled with us, seeing various things, her personality had softened considerably.
"Now we'll travel by ship. You won't see land for a while, so prepare yourselves."
"Huh? We have a ship too?"
"Yeah. I asked for it to be prepared, so it should have arrived."
This was actually a lie. I had copied a merchant ship I had made in the One Piece universe using [Matter Copy] and docked it off the coast near the Cape of Good Hope.
Seeing the ship we would board, Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo admired it.
"Wow~! A beautiful ship. But who brought it?"
"Knowing will get you hurt. Just get on."
"I'm getting tired of asking questions anyway. Fine."
We loaded the carriage and other items onto the merchant ship and set sail. Then Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo became a bit worried.
"Um, if we keep going like this and reach the edge of the world, won't we fall off? We've come quite far west..."
"I'm worried too, sister."
They believed in a square earth with a round sky covering it, so they thought this way. The square earth concept is slightly different from the flat earth theory, but it's nearly the same.
"You don't know what shape the world is?"
"I do. It's square, covered by a round sky."
"That's ridiculous... You won't fall, so don't worry. When this journey ends, you'll know the truth. Then, if you have questions, ask me. I don't want to explain."
"Okay."
Anyway, we continued sailing northwest. If we kept going, we would reach the American continent. And I had the 'Sword of Triton' obtained from the Pirates of the Caribbean universe, so there were no particular issues with navigation.
On the ship, I shared a room with Zhuge Xiaohui, and Cheon Won-ryeo had her own room. One day, Cheon Won-ryeo came to our room with an angry face and said.
"Enough already! I can't sleep at night because I can hear you!"
Having traveled together, we hadn't been able to enjoy ourselves, so we were making up for lost time. Apparently, the sound had been carrying.
"Really? Then we'll put up a sound barrier, so don't worry and sleep from now on."
At that, Cheon Won-ryeo was incredulous.
"You're not going to say you'll restrain yourselves?"
"Well, honestly, we haven't been able to."
"Is that because of me?"
As expected, Cheon Won-ryeo was quick.
"That's right, you know it well."
"Hah... I'm truly sorry!"
Bang!
At that, Cheon Won-ryeo, a bit offended, slammed the door and went back to her room.
We put up a sound barrier and enjoyed ourselves hard that day as well. Then something interesting happened. Because Cheon Won-ryeo had slammed the door so hard, the locking mechanism broke and it wouldn't stay shut. Through the gap, Cheon Won-ryeo was peeping at us and pleasuring herself. So I used [Telekinesis] to fling the door wide open.
"Eep! No... Th-That's..."
Without a word, I brought the flustered Cheon Won-ryeo into the room. From that day on, the three of us began enjoying ourselves together.
Two months passed like that. We stopped at the Bahamas, admired the coral, enjoyed swimming, then crossed over to the American continent. We traveled again by carriage, stopping occasionally at Native American villages to trade. We saw the Grand Canyon and reached the Los Angeles area. There, we boarded a ship again, crossed the Pacific, and arrived in Japan.
Zhuge Xiaohui saw the people's clothing and immediately realized this was Japan.
"Gasp! This is Japan! How can this be... We've been traveling west the whole time."
"Because the world is round."
"Huh? Round?"
I had a hard time explaining to the surprised Zhuge Xiaohui and Cheon Won-ryeo that the Earth was round and about gravity.
At this time, Japan was in the Warring States period. Everywhere we went, wars were being fought. So we only did maintenance at a port town and then went straight to Joseon. In total, this journey had taken three years.
"This is Joseon."
"Yeah. We'll be staying here for a while, so know that."
"Huh? Having come this far, wouldn't it be better to just go to the Central Plains?"
Zhuge Xiaohui, having been away for a long time, seemed to want to return to the Central Plains quickly.
"There's something I want to see here. Let's go to the Central Plains after I've seen it."
"Is that so? Fine."
We traveled by carriage up to Buryeongbu (Chongjin City) at the foot of Baekdu Mountain. We bought and renovated a tile-roofed house in a somewhat mountainous area and began living there. Actually, "living" was just a repetition of training, eating, and sleeping. Zhuge Xiaohui broke through a wall and reached the early Life-Death Realm. Cheon Won-ryeo reached the peak of the Profound Realm.
Zhuge Xiaohui was still stronger than Cheon Un-woon. The effort I had put into infusing natural energy while they circulated their energy had paid off. Moreover, Zhuge Xiaohui was putting in enormous effort, afraid that Cheon Won-ryeo might catch up to her level.
Of course, I also continued training and researching martial arts without pause. Then, at the point three and a half years after leaving the Central Plains, my [Swordsmanship] finally reached EX rank. And it didn't end there. By researching and creating various martial arts based on existing ones, I created a new martial art: [(S) Martial God Primordial True Martial Arts].
[(S) Martial God Primordial True Martial Arts]
The beginning and end of all martial arts.
Allows the creation or understanding of S-rank or lower martial arts. (All S-rank and lower martial arts are integrated.)
The [Martial God Primordial True Martial Arts] had a description similar to [Omega-level Magic] obtained before: 'the beginning and end of all martial arts.' Naturally, I used three Skill Upgrade Tickets to raise [(S) Martial God Primordial True Martial Arts] to EX rank.
Then, not only the Six Styles I had learned in One Piece, but also the 'Jangbaek Sword Art' from Hot Blooded Martial Arts, the 'Heavenly Meteor Sword' from The Modern Man Who Fell into Martial Arts, the 'Total Concentration Breathing' from Demon Slayer, and all other martial arts and martial arts-related abilities were integrated into one. I could now consider swordsmanship to be complete.
And finally, having also trained hard in bare-handed martial arts, I was able to raise [Martial Arts] to SSS rank as well.