Red Storm

Book 1-1.4 The Mindset to be a warrior

Another month passed by and Chun Myung Hoon called Yulian over to ask:

“Why are you trying to learn Martial Arts?”

Looking at Chun Myung Hoon’s gentle expression and caring eyes, Yulian responded without hesitation.

Yulian had been thinking about this since the day his mother passed away. He didn’t know whether it would be a lifelong goal or if the feeling would fizzle after a period of time, but until now, he had always been thinking about it.

“To become a warrior.”

“What does warrior mean?”

“You must be courageous, strong, and have the loyalty to not betray your people. All the men of the Desert must become warriors. A warrior’s mission is to protect their people, and to earn the right to be respected.”

“If all men are warriors, it’s not that special is it?”

Yulian shook his head at Chun Myung Hoon’s question.

“I am in line to be the next Glow. So I want to be a warrior among warriors, a special warrior. A warrior who does not lose in battle and has earned the respect of everyone. That’s the type of warrior I want to be.”

Even at such a young age, Yulian had accepted the path he must take and worked towards this path.

Chun Myung Hoon was amused.

He had accepted Yulian as his disciple, but he was a bit shocked at Yulian’s passion. There were also many people in China who were passionate and wanted to learn martial arts, but this kid felt different. From his stare and actions, Chun Myung Hoon was able to sense a poisonous aura.

“I have seen the people here living fiercely, but as the Young Glow, there should not be anything he’s lacking. What led to this kid having such a poisonous aura?”

Chun Myung Hoon started to wonder why his disciple wanted to learn martial arts so badly.

“Is it for just that reason you want to become a warrior?”

“No.”

“Then?”

Yulian subconsciously clenched his fist. His fingers inside the fist started to dig into his palm, but

Yulian seemed to not sense the pain.

“Under the law of the desert, blood revenge is a fair reason to murder.”

Chun Myung Hoon decided not to ask further regarding Yulian’s answer. He just wanted to know the reason.

If you go Ah! They go Uh! ᅟHe had a pretty good sense of what was going on. (Must be a Korean saying. Found some information about it but not enough to explain. I can’t even think of a good English counterpart)

“Alright, then what do you have to do to be the Glow?”

“You must put others before yourself and put in a lot of effort. There is a proverb that states that a running Pirma will end up being loved. You must put in more effort than others, not playing, and even reducing the amount of time you sleep. It may be difficult now, but by the time I become the Glow, I will feel great pride in everything I would have done.”

Chun Myung Hoon was very satisfied with his young disciple’s answer. There were only a few men with such a clear purpose at Yulian’s age. Seeing Yulian speak without any hesitation, he could tell that Yulian had such a sense of purpose since a long time ago.

You can tell from the first leaves that sprout (TL: Another Korean saying?). In general, this type of person tends to push forward without hesitation.

“Let’s fix a few things.”

“Which parts are you talking about?”

“Someone who does not know how to treasure themself cannot become King. If you don’t even know how precious you are, how can you know how precious others are? It’s natural to think of yourself before you think of others. It is probably better to focus on that first.”

After thinking deeply about this statement that he thought he could understand but was still confused about, Yulian responded.

“I will keep this in mind.”

Chun Myung Hoon started to smile and asked again.

“To be the king of those warriors, you must also learn how to lead the warriors, right?

“Yes!”

Chun Myung Hoon briefly thought about Yulian’s answer and asked.

“Is there a large sword?”

“Huh?”

“A large sword.”

Chun Myung Hoon spread his arms open to describe and Yulian understood what he was talking about.

“Oh, you’re talking about a Two Hand Sword. In the desert, everybody uses a Shamshir.”

“You’re talking about the curved blade.”

“Yes.”

“It’s good for running and slashing, but not fit for mass killing. I will teach you how to use the Shamshir and some sword arts.”

“You know how to use weapons?”

“Anything in my hand is a weapon. It is easiest to use my bare hands though.”

The Shamshir may look easy to use, but it was a difficult weapon to use in battle. Because the blade is bent, it is difficult to bring out its full effect with regular swinging. Of course, if someone mastered the Shamshir, there is no other weapon with as much slashing ability as the Shamshir.

But when his master claimed something as preposterous as anything in my hand becomes a weapon, Yulian definitely had his doubts. Weapon Master was something he had not even heard of before.

Looking at Yulian’s eyes, Chun Myung Hoon smiled, noticing that his disciple was definitely doubting his abilities.

“Hand over the Shamshir on your waist.”

When Yulian handed him the Shamshir on his waist, Chun Myung Hoon quickly glanced at the blade and swung lightly.

Wiiing~ (TL: Makes it sound like it lightsaber)

Such a clear sound came out of the Shamshir.

He did not flick it with his finger, nor did he hit it anywhere, all he did was swing it.

As Yulian tried to position himself to focus on his master’s actions, Chun Myung Hoon asked:

“What are you staring at so much?”

“Master, I’m trying to pay attention to how you are using the Shamshir.”

“Didn’t I use it already?”

“What?”

Chun Myung Hoon motioned with his chin to look behind him. Yulian’s jaws dropped once he quickly turned his head around.

“Wh...when?”

What Yulian saw was the large cloth covering the entrance to the Paoe. There was a straight cut on the cloth. Making a cut on a flowing cloth with a Shamshir was not something any warrior could do. But his master managed to do this while being at least ten steps away from it!

Yulian blamed himself for continuing to doubt his master, even after knowing what kind of person his master was. He then ran up to Chun Myung Hoon.

“Master, please teach me how to do it! Right now!”

Listening to Yulian as he grabbed onto his sleeve and started to dangle on his arm, Chun Myung Hoon was a bit nervous but also smug. Yulian’s actions reminded him of a past memory where he was envious of a Master and Disciple relationship. That disciple’s physique was also as big as a mountain and that master was a bit short.

Anyways, staring at the excited Yulian hanging on his sleeve, he lifted him up and replied:

“Work hard. Then it is possible.”

“Yes, Master.”

Yulian answered filled with excitement. He felt like he was actually going to learn something now. Truth be told, he could not determine whether he was learning or not when it came to the breathing method, walking method etc.

Watching Yulian dangling his legs hanging on his arm as he responded, Chun Myung Hoon started to laugh while he started to think:

‘If he has made that kind of determination, I must also meet him with such. Only then can I have any face as his Master.’

Although Chun Myung Hoon had been beating Yulian up while teaching him the basics, he had secretly been considering Yulian’s situation and slowly teaching martial arts. But if his disciple has this type of mindset, he can bring it up to his eye level and teach it properly.

‘If I’m going to teach it anyways, I might as well teach it properly and passionately. Only then can I call myself a man. Yes, I’m sure that’s also the duty of a Master.’

Chun Myung Hoon confirmed to himself as he said:

“First, talk to the blacksmith and have him make a large sword. The bigger the better. The height should be big enough you can move while riding a Pirma.”

“Yes, master. What about the width and weight?”

“A sword is best heavier and sturdier.”

“Yes, Master.”

Yulian responded vigorously, but he could never imagine even in his wildest dreams that the more vigorous he was, the greater than pain would be...