Ideal Noviciate (2)

Baek Yisoo quickly changed into his guard uniform. Then he entered the training ground and immediately started jogging. No one questioned him about why he was late. After all, she had told them what happened last night. Baek Yisoo could still feel the pain there.

After a fast-paced half-hour run around the big field, Baek Yisoo stretched to warm up his body. Immediately after ten minutes of warming up, he picked up his spear and practiced stabbing the wooden dummy for an hour.

At the end of the hour, he went to the weights.

"Let's see how effective it is..."

The average man could lift 1.5 times his own body weight. Baek Yisoo had been a porter since he was very young, so at the beginning of the course he could barely lift twice his own weight, 140 kilograms.

After warming up with an iron plate, he attached fourteen cast-iron plates worth 140 kilograms to the iron and lifted them.

"Huh?"

He used to have a hard time lifting this weight. His veins would swell and his face would turn red. But now he lifted it so easily that he couldn't help being surprised.

He put another cast-iron plate on each side.

One hundred and sixty kilograms.

Baek Yisoo took a deep breath, grabbed the iron bar and lifted it.

"..."

He lifted it successfully.

One hundred and eighty kilograms.

He lifted it successfully.

Two hundred kilograms...

Two hundred and twenty kilograms...

While he lifted the others without any problems, he had some difficulty with two hundred and thirty kilograms.

And his limit was two hundred and fifty kilograms.

"Exactly two hundred and fifty kilograms! That means that every power stats gives me ten kilograms of power. Sung-hoon said that the limit for non-martial artists is five times your own weight... 70x5=350. I need to lift another hundred kilograms to reach my limit."

Even so, very few martial artists train their bodies to their limits. The majority focused on internal energy. It was simpler and more efficient.

"Also, whereas before I started to get tired in the first ten minutes of half an hour, now I get tired around the twentieth minute, which shows that the Health statistic has a lot to do with it."

Explosive power, agility, endurance and weapons training continued. By the end of the day, everyone had finished their training. Just as they were getting ready to leave, they had to wait a little longer as Instructor Mo called Baek Yisoo to his side.

"Yes, sir!"

Baek Yisoo greeted Instructor Mo with a proper salute.

Instructor Mo looked at him calmly.

"You're not skipping your training, are you?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Show me your move."

"Excuse me?"

Baek Yisoo was surprised by this sudden request.

 "I said, show me your spear move."

"Uh? Yes, of course, sir!"

Baek Yisoo took his wooden spear and spread his legs shoulder-width apart. The power of an attack did not only depend on physical strength. Speed, coordination, and timing also played a big role.

He gripped the shaft of the spear tightly and took a deep breath. 

He pointed the tip of the spear forward and rotated his shoulder, drawing strength from his waist and hips. His breath exploded out as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Whom!

He didn't show the slightest sign of trembling as the spear pierced the air.

Instructor Mo looked at Baek Yisoo.

"What is your name?"

"Yisoo, sir."

"You will join the main group from now on."

 "Yes, sir!"

Instructor Mo turned his gaze to a man in the guard trainee group.

"Na Sam, Yisoo is your responsibility."

He was looking at a man who looked to be in his late twenties, with broad shoulders and spindly arms. He had stubble, pumpkin eyes that gave him a sinister air, and a round face. Hearing Instructor Mo's words, he gave a proper salute.

"Yes, sir!"

The next morning Baek Yisoo got up with the guard group and they trained together. On the first day he learned the principles of obedience, discipline, martial arts and formation training. It was the beginning of a new life. So Baek Yisoo trained until he could no longer move.

He spent several days doing nothing but training. He kept moving forward without any contact with Minji. Nam San taught him everything he needed to know in a very short time. He could be called a good teacher. He explained calmly and did not withhold his knowledge.

Baek Yisoo stood in front of the wooden puppet.

The Baek Clan's Spear Technique was called the White Waterway Spear. Because it was a first-class technique, it was a little more difficult to learn than other techniques. It consisted of three stages, and Baek Yisoo's goal was to reach the first stage within a month.

He gripped the shaft of the wooden spear tightly and made a few stabbing motions towards the wooden dummy's chest. He then twirled the spear in his hand and cut it at a ninety-degree angle. He struck the wooden dummy with the shaft and pushed himself away, then lunged forward and made a slash at the wooden dummy's neck.

The first stage of the White Waterway Spear, 'Stream', was a move for third-level martial artists. The few moves Baek Yisoo had just executed were the unenergized version of the Stream. Baek Yisoo was currently unable to use the internal energy in his body.

When he reached a certain level in the Current, his body would do it automatically. It would become a reflex and he could activate it without thinking.

"I don't know if you realize this, but..."

Nam San was watching Baek Yisoo from the side.

"The your development speed is terrifying."

It had only been a few days, but Baek Yisoo had learned the first step of the White Water Way. As a third-tier martial artist, Nam San was the strongest and most senior of the group. He had learned the Stream in about two weeks. And that alone showed that his skill was above average.

"I only perform what you teach me."

Although they were simple movements, he repeated each move at least five thousand times a day. As a result, his task progress increased slightly. Interval Training and Plyometric Training had increased to 5%, while Martial Arts and Spear Training had increased to 3%.

Of course, he wasn't just learning the White Water Way. He was also learning support skills such as Waterfall Steps, Long Fist Style and Turtle Shield Art. Although the Long Fist Style and Turtle Shield Art were the simplest techniques of the Shaolin Sect, they were incredibly effective.

All the guards in Shaanxi used them in shield and hand-to-hand combat.

"Even so, there's not the slightest hitch in your movements."

Baek Yisoo twirled the spear in his hand and swung it hard as he spun around. Despite Nam San's praise, Baek Yisoo still felt very inadequate. Because he couldn't use the Baek Clan's breathing technique. And that was why, even after several days had passed, his inner energy hadn't improved in the slightest.

Even though his Strength and Health stats had increased by one point each, his Breath stat had remained static.

"How about taking it slow? We still have two and a half months, and in that time you need to learn the specifics with the formations. Martial arts are only partially important. No one will ask you to be an escort or a VIP bodyguard."

Nam San was telling the truth. Perhaps none of those who trained here would ever leave the mansion. They would either guard the gate or the storerooms. It could be said that the training was just a procedure.

Baek Yisoo thought differently.

This training was his springboard.

After laying his foundation here, he would set sail for bigger seas. When that day came, he had to have learned everything Instructor Mo could give him. To become powerful enough to decide his own destiny, he must not follow the path others had taken.

"I was not born into a great clan or born with superior talent. I don't know what this guard training means to you, but it means a lot to me. Because I am taking my baby steps here."

Nam San shook his head.

"Your life."