Volume 1, Chapter 24
“I have talent? Me?”
Lee Hoo blinked.
His face was one of utter disbelief.
“Yes. You have talent.”
Yu Hyeonjun nodded, confirming it once more.
“That can't be...”
Lee Hoo's low mumble followed.
“Hah!”
Yu Hyeonjun let out a hearty laugh.
The natural reaction to being told one has talent is to be pleased.
But Lee Hoo was insisting it couldn't be true, treating it as something strange, so he couldn't help but laugh.
At his peculiar disciple's reaction, Yu Hyeonjun shook his head.
It seemed a little more explanation was needed.
“You made mistakes. The tip of your sword wavered, and you couldn't handle the weight of your swing, losing your center.”
“Yes. That's right. So...!”
“So you have no talent. Is that what you want to say?”
Yu Hyeonjun cut off Lee Hoo, who was nodding.
“That's...”
Faced with Yu Hyeonjun's counter-question, Lee Hoo couldn't readily answer.
“What is talent, Lee Hoo? What do you think talent is?”
At the more fundamental question that followed, Lee Hoo faltered.
Seeing Lee Hoo hesitate again, unable to answer, Yu Hyeonjun gave a small nod.
“Yes. Talent is something like that. People often speak of it as the size and depth of a vessel, but that too is just another way of saying talent.”
Yu Hyeonjun quietly began his explanation.
He was not a Martial Artist who had grown in the orthodox way.
He had lived outside the Murim before plunging into it for the sake of revenge.
Before that, he had been a Scholar, a mere worker who inspected the ledgers of a merchant guild.
So when he first obtained Myriad Liberations and Heaven's Will, he explored them alone.
The realm of talent was also one of the areas of his exploration.
“The Heavenly Martial Physique, the Martial Fervor Physique. Is talent being born with such a body, spoken of as legend? Or is it having good eyes? Or perhaps, is it the ability to grasp a sword path in just a few swings, one that others must practice over a thousand times to attain?”
Yu Hyeonjun was smiling.
“Yes. That is talent. A special body from the legends, keen eyes, the ability to easily surpass the efforts of others—all of these are talent. However, talent is not limited to the physical body. Being quick with calculations, having sharp analytical skills, memorizing everything in a single attempt. These invisible, formless things can also be called talent.”
Talent is not expressed solely through having a good innate physique. A sharp mind is also considered a talent.
“If these are the talents you know, then yes, as you say, you could be considered to have no talent.”
Unfortunately, when viewed within that scope, it was indeed a stretch to say Lee Hoo was born with talent.
“However, you still have talent.”
Yu Hyeonjun met Lee Hoo's eyes and declared it.
“You opened Manhae yourself, and you performed the Heaven's Will Sword. I know. I know that the Heaven's Will Sword you wielded contained the path you glimpsed. And yet, you want to say that such a person has no talent?”
He had already shown it.
He had opened Manhae on his own and glimpsed his own path hidden within Heaven's Will Sword.
“Talent is not confined to having a sharp mind or a strong body. Effort is also a talent. You have striven ceaselessly. Therefore, that too is a talent. But that is not your true talent.”
Lee Hoo's innate physical abilities were not outstanding. He didn't have a sharp mind for calculations or analysis. His memory was certainly not exceptional either.
Average. Or perhaps even below that, a dullard.
That was the extent of Lee Hoo's body and mind.
But he knew that Lee Hoo had made an effort nonetheless.
He ran every day, honing and polishing himself.
That effort could be called a talent.
Moreover, the talent for effort was certainly a valuable one.
But the true talent Yu Hyeonjun saw in Lee Hoo was something else.
“You found your own path. And, you found your own answer.”
Finding a path. Finding an answer.
Adding the talent of effort, Lee Hoo found his own path and his own answer.
He explored.
“That is your true talent.”
Such an ability.
No, such an attempt and attitude. A mindset.
That is talent.
“This talent is not something visible to the eye. It cannot be measured. Nor can it be called a talent that lets you get ahead of others. It cannot be called a talent that lets you climb higher than others. So at a glance, your talent might seem insignificant.”
Since it doesn't show on the surface, it's not easily noticed.
Nor was it the kind of talent that could guarantee he would learn and master Martial Arts faster than others. Nor was it a talent that could guarantee he would reach a higher realm.
“Nevertheless, your talent is undoubtedly a valuable one.”
To find one's own path sometimes meant discovering hidden shortcuts. It also meant being able to find more paths that had not yet been revealed, and it meant being able to find a way to climb to greater heights.
“As long as you do not give up on finding your own path, you can discover ways to go faster and higher than others. That is the infinite potential of the talent you possess.”
Potential. Or, an unknown variable.
This was the hidden value within the talent Lee Hoo possessed.
And one more thing.
“Even if you cannot go fast, even if you cannot go high, as long as you do not give up, you will be able to go farther and longer than anyone. That is the talent you possess.”
That was the meaning of finding one's own path.
Thus, as long as one does not give up, one does not stagnate.
Because one will always be searching for a path.
Whether going straight or taking a detour, one finds a path and moves forward.
Since one can always advance, there is no reason to stop.
That is why one can go farther, and for longer.
This was the one certainty in Lee Hoo's talent, which was otherwise filled with nothing but unknown variables and potential.
“Perhaps your talent is similar to mine, yet different.”
“It's similar...?”
Lee Hoo reacted to Yu Hyeonjun's words that his talent was similar to his own.
Lee Hoo's expression looked pleased.
At his question, Yu Hyeonjun nodded.
“Yes. It is similar.”
Manhae and Cheon-ui.
Yu Hyeonjun had learned Martial Arts alone with two secret manuals.
He had to find the methods himself.
So, he explored and researched. And he analyzed.
That was the only way for Yu Hyeonjun, who had been a Scholar, to learn Martial Arts on his own.
He learned Martial Arts with his mind, tested and proved it with his body, and memorized it.
He was able to reach his current level through countless mistakes and failures.
He had found his own path.
“However, it is different.”
There was force in Yu Hyeonjun's voice as he said it was different.
Finding one's own path was certainly a similarity, but even so, Yu Hyeonjun's and Lee Hoo's talents were different.
“I analyzed and researched with my mind. I understood with my mind and found the path. That path was sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect. I experimented and proved the correct and incorrect answers with my own body.”
Yu Hyeonjun's Martial Arts were learned entirely with his mind.
Thus, he sometimes walked paths he shouldn't have and crossed lines he shouldn't have. At times, he even skipped steps in the process.
Because he learned only with his mind, he thought only with his mind.
And so, between the right and wrong answers of the Martial Arts he learned with his mind, he pushed himself too hard and overworked his body.
Also, it could not be called complete.
“But you are not like that, are you?”
Lee Hoo did not learn Martial Arts with his mind alone. Nor did he seek the path with his mind alone.
He thinks and contemplates, then tries with his body, experiencing, learning, and finding.
They seemed similar at a glance, but that subtle gap created the difference between their two talents.
“And for that, I am relieved.”
Yu Hyeonjun's smile deepened.
He was genuinely relieved.
Lee Hoo, who possessed a talent similar to his own, yet different.
He was also a disciple who had already found a completely different path from his own.
That was what made Yu Hyeonjun feel relieved.
“Find it. In your own way. Try various things. I will watch over you and support you from the side. And I will extend a hand to you whenever you need it.”
“...Thank you.”
At Yu Hyeonjun's words, Lee Hoo bowed deeply.
Yu Hyeonjun's words were filled with sincerity. They also contained a sense of pride toward Lee Hoo.
“By the way, what is it that you have gained?”
Suddenly, Yu Hyeonjun posed a question.
“I have learned that it is all connected.”
Lee Hoo's answer was simple.
But it was enough.
“Connection... Yes. I see.”
Because with just that short answer, Yu Hyeonjun already understood everything.
Yu Hyeonjun's smile grew even wider.
“You have found a good path.”
* * *
Several days passed.
—You have talent.
Lee Hoo mulled over his Master's words again and again.
The talent to find one's own path.
His Master had said that this was the greatest talent he possessed.
He had already lived one life.
It had been a life of failure.
And now, without knowing why, he had returned to the past.
Because of that, a talent he never had was born.
In his past life, he had simply been blind.
He thought his Master's teachings were everything. He neither thought of nor wished for anything more. He didn't know, and he didn't try to know.
But all he had gained from such a life was regret and failure.
So he wished for more. He tried to know.
His Master called that a talent.
To Lee Hoo's mind, it was nothing special, just a natural mindset.
And yet, his Master had praised it highly.
He had called it a talent with countless possibilities, one that could go farther and longer.
He had also told him to find his path in his own way.
That he would support and watch over him. And that he would always be there to lend a hand.
So he decided to work hard.
It wasn't as if he knew how to do anything else anyway.
All he had to do was try various things, experience, contemplate, and strive.
There was nothing in the world easier than that.
And so, a few more ordinary days flowed by.
He would wake in the morning, stretch his body, clean the Sincerity Gate, wake his juniors to feed them, then get ready and run with them. Afterwards, he would handle the small affairs of the gate, run some more, look after his juniors, prepare dinner, and train. And then, he would fall asleep.
This had always been his routine.
And so, one more task was added to Lee Hoo's unchanging daily routine.
“……”
He looked at the wall.
For a long while, Lee Hoo just stared at the wall without a word.
“…Hah!”
Then, he suddenly took a large step forward.
The abrupt step made his body stagger.
After barely steadying his awkwardly staggering body, Lee Hoo tilted his head.
“This isn’t it…?”
Then, this time, he slowly took a step back.
“Again!”
He repeated the action of staring at the wall and then taking a large step forward.
‘Because he said to try various things.’
That was the other task recently added to Lee Hoo's daily schedule.
* * *
“Again!”
It had already been an hour.
He glared at the wall as if to kill it. Then he would suddenly take a step forward, stagger, step back again, and resume glaring at the wall.
There were eyes watching Lee Hoo's actions from a distance.
“…Eldest Brother is strange.”
It was his junior brothers and sisters.
Hohyeon muttered in a sullen voice at Lee Hoo's behavior, which had been going on for several days now, and for another hour today.
Then he snuggled into the arms of the second eldest, Dan Goyul.
“…Why is he acting like that?”
Chaehwa's gaze, after checking on Hohyeon in Dan Goyul's arms, turned back to Lee Hoo.
To her question, Dan Goyul shook his head.
“I don’t know. He said he’s practicing walking fast.”
Dan Goyul didn't know the detailed circumstances either.
“Just one step?”
Chaehwa's eyes widened.
He said he was practicing walking fast.
But all Lee Hoo had done so far was take a single step back and forth.
“Yeah. I guess so.”
Dan Goyul replied, nodding.
At that answer, the question on Chaehwa's face deepened.
“Why?”
She didn't understand.
If you want to practice walking fast, you should just keep walking fast. Why just one step?
Why on earth had he been doing that for days, just to walk one step faster?
Chaehwa tilted her head.
“I don’t know.”
This time, Dan Goyul also shook his head, admitting he didn't know.
In any case, all three juniors were in the same boat, not knowing why Lee Hoo was acting that way.
“I don’t know. It’s scary. Eldest Brother.”
It seemed Eldest Brother's strange behavior was shockingly frightening to the young Dan Goyul.
Hohyeon, held in Dan Goyul's arms, looked like he was about to burst into tears.
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