Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 58: Wedding, Three Days Away

"The wedding is now only three days away."

At Chu Sang-gi's words, Baek Seolyoung looked down at the documents and replied casually.

"It’s already that close huh."

"Aren’t you nervous?"

"Not really."

Chu Sang-gi looked surprised.

Lately, he had been feeling that Baek Seolyoung was changing. Of course, since he was always at her side as her escort, he knew exactly what had caused those changes.

She had broken through a previously blocked stage after learning martial arts from Lee Jaseung, dealt with the Great Eagle Clan, and even survived an assassination from the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan and exposed their crimes. That alone was remarkable.

But Chu Sang-gi honestly didn't like how much influence Lee Jaseung seemed to have on her. He feared that the change might eventually lead to a negative outcome.

Of course, at the moment, her transformation itself was entirely positive.

"By the way, Lord Hae has been transferred to the Murim Alliance’s underground prison. I doubt he’ll ever get out."

"So it came to that. I wonder what will happen to the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan now?"

In a short span of time, all the members of Hae Cheon-in’s family had either died or stepped down. The three of them had been the direct bloodline and core of the house, so selecting a successor would be a major issue.

"There’s a bigger problem than the successor."

"A problem?"

"It turns out the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan was deeply in debt."

"Debt?"

"Yes, and they even used major internal organizations of the clan as collateral."

"Why would they do something like that?"

"In any case, given the situation, it doesn’t look like it’ll be resolved easily."

"Didn’t the Alliance try to mediate?"

"The lenders are being extremely aggressive, so it seems the Alliance can’t do anything."

"Those fox-like old men can’t?"

"They’re worried that if they step in too carelessly, the Alliance might end up taking responsibility for the debt. So now they’re stuck in a no-win situation."

Baek Seolyoung was suddenly reminded of the saying, "Power doesn’t last more than ten years." It wasn’t something to just cluck her tongue at. If she let her guard down, it could easily become her problem too.

With that in mind, she stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta go train."

"Even today? The wedding is only three days away."

"I’ll do it the day before, too."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I’m serious. Sang-gi, I’m a martial artist. I’m not a housewife."

"Of course, but is there really any need for this? You’re not going to be using martial arts yourself anyway."

Baek Seolyoung nodded.

"Yeah. I know poorly trained martial arts will only shorten your life. But that thinking changed recently."

"What do you mean?"

"Why assume I’ll never master martial arts? Because I’m busy? Sure, I’m busy. But if I carve out time, I might be able to achieve greatness, you know?"

Chu Sang-gi couldn’t respond. She was right. It wasn’t realistic, but it was valid.

Of course, Baek Seolyoung wasn’t oblivious to the difficulty either.

"I know. Reaching mastery is really hard. Doing it while managing a whole clan? It’s probably close to impossible."

In the past, she would have accepted that. Since she had no time to train, she would have just tried to make up for it with other work.

But she knew now.  

That was the mindset of a loser.

Maybe that’s why there’s always only one winner. The person who accomplishes what everyone else calls impossible.

If there’s not enough time, you make time. Cut an hour meeting down to fifteen minutes. Take the shortest routes to destinations. If that’s not enough, cut sleep. Eat faster.

You only get to say it’s impossible after you’ve tried everything.

With a slight smile, Baek Seolyoung made a completely different remark from that serious determination.

"Well, I’ll probably give up after a few days from lack of willpower. But anyway, I’m off to train."

She walked out with a light step.

* * *

She felt good arriving at the training hall, but the intensity of the training had already reached the limits of her endurance.

To make it worse, Lee Jaseung’s chilling words echoed in her ears.

"This isn’t even the real training yet."

Baek Seolyoung nearly dropped a huge boulder she was holding as her legs gave out.

‘Yeah, I’m sure he only said that to scare me. Let’s believe it like that.’

But she knew he wasn’t the type to say things just to be scary. Gritting her teeth, she braced herself for what was to come. There was also a sense of pride.

It was the kind of challenge you feel when you’re facing something massive.

Her training was still focused on physical conditioning. Compared to before, her physical strength had improved dramatically.

As her body grew stronger, her mind felt clearer. She had endured the physical training with her mental strength, and now her strengthened body was revitalizing her mind in return.

She’d heard many times that martial arts training requires body and mind to be one.

But this was the first time she truly felt it herself.

Lee Jaseung watched her with a look that carried a kind of respect, not because they were getting married, but because of how hard she was working.

Was it because of that? His tone softened slightly.

"If you work hard enough to nearly die, you can gain a certain reward."

Gasping for breath, she replied.  

“I don’t know what that is, but I hope it’s a pass to kill you.”

Her joke made Lee Jaseung smirk.

Then he gave an unexpected answer.

"That reward is luck."

She gave him a puzzled look. Luck and hard work didn’t seem like they went together at all.

But Lee Jaseung truly believed it.

Luck only visits those who work for it.

As he turned away, he called out,

"Don’t slack off just because I’m not here!"

Watching him walk away, she stuck her lip out.

‘Seriously, is this okay? It’s only three days before the wedding.’

They weren’t even doing some romantic training, gently correcting each other’s form and sharing breath and warmth. No, this was sweaty, grueling messiness.

No other couple in the world of martial arts trained like this.

After leaving her behind, Lee Jaseung returned to his own training.

While she trained in the Northern Sky Clan’s exclusive training hall, Lee Jaseung trained in a small clearing behind his quarters. He’d turned down an offer for a new training ground.

Since that annex was tightly restricted from outsiders, it was more convenient to train there.

Also, whenever he trained, Mook Young would keep a sharp watch over the surroundings, allowing Lee Jaseung to train alone.

His training had three parts.

First, internal cultivation training. As long as his inner Qi held both Yin and Yang, managing that had to be the priority.

Second, he fully began training the techniques from the iron case.

He spent the most time on these. After facing the assassins from the Red Dragon Army, he had seen its power firsthand. There was no doubt, they were devastating techniques.

The ten techniques were divided into three groups.

Four involved the hands, three used the feet, and three used the whole body.

He focused entirely on mastering the close-combat techniques first.

Once they were completely internalized to the body, he would work on fusing them with Yama’s Dagger Arts.

If he succeeded… His dream would be one step closer to reality.

Bang bang bang!

He withdrew his punch from the air and spun quickly. His shoulder slammed through the air again. Then came a flurry of kicks.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

He gradually built up his inner Qi.

His Qi of Yang, equivalent to two hundred forty years worth, exploded from his fist.

The sheer force tore the air apart.

Then a doubt formed in his mind.

Could he block his own attack?

He had trained the Yama's Dagger Arts long enough to know he could counter them, even with extreme force. He had developed his own counters.

But the new technique he had just used?

He wasn’t confident he could defend against it. Maybe after more training he could. But not now.

Finally, he wrapped up his session with one last burst of the Yama's Dagger Arts.

He couldn’t use the physical techniques in front of Baek Seolyoung. She would recognize they are from the iron case. The external movements were too similar after all.  

Revealing his identity was one thing. But one day, he would have to tell her the full truth about the metal case too.

After he finished training and came out, Baek Seolyoung was waiting at the annex entrance.

"I heard thunder."

Lee Jaseung looked up at the sky.

"Think it’ll rain?"

She chuckled. Would she really fail to see the difference between thunder and the sound of his training?

‘He could be such a sly one sometimes.’

She was really curious what kind of amazing martial art he was mastering.

Lee Jaseung asked,

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Come on, I’ll buy you a drink."

"I’m good."

At his indifferent reply, Baek Seolyoung shouted,

"I’m a very busy person, you know!"

She had broken through a barrier and grown stronger thanks to his training.

‘How can he show such a reaction when I’m trying to show my gratitude!’

"Fine, just one. I should check in on that grandmother anyway."

Baek Seolyoung looked flabbergasted.

"No one in the world would believe how miserably I’m being treated right now."

Without answering, Lee Jaseung walked off.

Trailing behind, Baek Seolyoung sharpened her claws.  

"Just you wait! I’ll make sure to return everything to you.”

The two of them arrived at the One Fleeting Dream tavern.

As Baek Seolyoung stepped up to open the door, Lee Jaseung grabbed her arm.

She turned her head in shock. He pulled her behind him with a serious expression.

Baek Seolyoung realized he had sensed danger.

Lee Jaseung slowly drew Asura.

She stepped back a few paces to give him room to swing his dagger freely. She was worried that something might’ve happened to the old woman.

Creak-

Lee Jaseung slowly opened the door.