Chapter 7. When You Can Do 50 Push-ups Without Stopping

Shards of the wine bottle flew in all directions.

Beomyun, as if that wasn’t enough to quell his anger, shouted loudly and overturned the table.

As he yelled at the top of his lungs and kicked the table and chairs, the other customers were startled and moved back, and some went downstairs.

But not everyone cowered.

A muscular giant who had been sitting by the wall stepped forward.

“Hey, young friend! If you’re going to drink, drink properly. Where do you think you are, causing a ruckus!”

The giant reached out from behind. It was a rough, large hand.

Just as he grabbed Yun’s shoulder, spun him around, and was about to swing his fist.

“Who the hell are you!”

Yun seemed to turn his body back, then struck the giant’s chin with his elbow. Before the giant, whose head had been thrown back, could straighten his head, Yun plunged his fist into the giant’s solar plexus.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

The giant clutched his stomach and collapsed, falling to his knees.

Thud.

It was a quick and clean move. People only grasped the situation after the giant’s large body had fallen forward. After it ended in an instant, the tavern keeper and other people gathered around, buzzing in surprise.

Among them were the two brothers’ bodyguards who had been downstairs.

The guards’ expressions were nothing special.

This kind of thing was common.

They didn’t feel any sense of crisis.

Two or three thugs were no match for the Second Young Master, Beomyun. As a guard, his job was just to clean up afterward.

Meanwhile, Beomyun’s face contorted.

A fight had broken out, and the table was overturned, creating a mess, yet his younger brother was just sitting blankly in his chair.

Just as he was about to burst into a rage, Bumong raised his head and opened his mouth.

“How long are you going to keep running away, brother?”

“What?”

“You’re scared, aren’t you! You’re scared of eldest brother, aren’t you? You can’t even go near him because you’re scared, so stop pretending to be strong. You’re just getting by day by day with alcohol and gambling, aren’t you?”

“You bastard!”

Yun grabbed Bumong by the collar and raised his fist.

Bumong stared back without even blinking.

“Fuck, this feels like shit!”

Yun let go of his collar and spat out a curse. Then he lifted a chair and slammed it on the floor, repeatedly screaming.

“You think I’m afraid of him? That bastard? Fine. I’ll show you. I’ll rip off that bastard’s mask!”

**

Returning to the Cheonhwa Library, Beomyun did not go back to his own quarters.

In the night wind, he headed towards a certain place, full of killing intent.

At that time, Hugong was in the middle of physical training in the backyard of the pavilion.

His physical strength had improved significantly, and recently, the duration and difficulty of his training had rapidly increased.

He was now comparable to an ordinary person.

50 push-ups without stopping.

50 sit-ups without stopping.

50 squat jumps without stopping.

And holding a horse stance for half a quarter of an hour.

Compared to when he first transmigrated and even walking was difficult, it was a sea change. Moving his body as he wished was no longer a problem.

Still, his muscle strength was not yet satisfactory, so today, he was challenging something new.

A high jump, of all things.

Recently, Songhwa had transformed into an active assistant and was providing various help. Songhwa also seemed excited, and her complexion had brightened noticeably compared to the beginning.

“Young master, I’ll go higher.”

“Let’s do it.”

Songhwa swung a long stick as if sweeping the floor.

Hugong jumped up lightly to avoid getting caught. At first, it was about ankle height, but soon, even when the stick passed at knee height, he jumped up without his feet getting caught.

Boong, boong, boooong—

“Seven, eight, nine…!”

As the stick moved from left to right and then from right to left, and Hugong easily leaped up, Songhwa’s face bloomed with a smile.

“Young master. How can you be so good at this? Let’s do ten more, twice.”

“Ten, just once.”

“Are you going to do the splits?

“I’ll do that and try a handstand too.”

“Alright.”

His splits had also made great progress.

His legs, which seemed like they would never split, now had a considerably wider angle. It wouldn’t be long before his crotch touched the ground.

After finishing the splits, he immediately did a handstand.

Songhwa held his feet up, and Hugong supported his weight with his two arms.

As time went on, his arms grew tired and trembled.

“Songhwa.”

“Young master, if you’re tired, you can rest.”

“That’s not it, is someone coming?”

“Pardon?”

With his head down, Hugong could see a person running, cutting through the wind.

“Hup!”

Hugong stopped his handstand.

As he tried to lower his legs and straighten his body, he suddenly felt dizzy and staggered. Songhwa quickly caught him.

“Be careful, young master.”

“Thank you.”

The one who came running was Beomyun.

Yun, who had reached the two of them in no time, burst out in admiration at the sight.

“Wow… two people, a man and a woman, are affectionately acting crazy in the middle of the night. You’re even doing handstands now, you crazy bastard, what the hell is all this!”

‘That must be Yun.’

Although Hugong saw him for the first time, he recognized him immediately.

Who in the Cheonhwa Library could get away with cursing at the Eldest Young Master?

Moreover, his cousin, Bumong, who had been coming to pay his morning respects every morning recently, was watching from a distance with a worried face.

‘Good.’

He had been an eyesore anyway, and he was about to teach him a lesson, and he had appeared right in front of him just in time.

Songhwa whispered from the side.

“Young master, it’s the Second Young Master.”

Even though he already knew, Hugong pretended to widen his eyes.

“What? My younger brother? But why is he drunk and cursing at me like a ruffian?”

“Ruffian?”

Beomyun flared up.

Hugong clicked his tongue.

“Look at your words and actions. If that appearance isn’t a ruffian, what is it? They say there’s a ruffian everywhere. How pathetic.”

“You think I’m pathetic?”

Yun laughed in disbelief.

“A guy who tries to die whenever he gets a chance, so the grim reaper came and went, and came and went again, and by now has probably even made friends with the grim reaper, is calling me pathetic? So this is how you deceived Bumong.”

“…”

“How long are you going to pretend you’ve lost your memory? You’re trying hard, but don’t waste your effort. Everyone knows. That you’ve just changed the way you’re going to die.”

“…”

“Do you know what everyone wants? For you to die quickly. Alone. Quietly. Got it, you mentally ill bastard!”

“…”

“What’s with that expression? Are you offended, by any chance?”

“You must not have heard yet.”

“What are you talking about!”

“Who I am.”

“Who are you?”

Hugong, without taking his eyes off Yun, commanded.

“Songhwa, bring me the stick.”

“Pardon?”

Songhwa stared blankly.

Was there someone else? And why was he asking for a stick? Songhwa couldn’t understand and just blinked her eyes. But when the Eldest Young Master frowned, she flinched and quickly brought him the stick.

Hugong swung the stick in the air a few times.

Boong-boong~

Without even needing to swing it more, he got the feel of it right away.

Although it was just a wooden stick, when held by the Strongest Under Heaven, it became a famous sword, a steel club.

Hadn’t he already raised his physical strength to the stage where he could do fifty push-ups without stopping? Since he could perform forms and footwork, catching a dog with a club was no big deal.

“Crazy. You’re going to beat me with that?”

Beomyun’s eyes turned fierce.

Hugong looked at Beomyun calmly.

The two men’s eyes clashed in mid-air.

The two young masters of a genius family.

The air grew heavy with the aura of the two proud-looking geniuses, and time seemed to stand still.

Just then, a gust of night wind blew strongly towards Hugong, and his hair and clothes fluttered mysteriously.

But the wind was strong.

“Achoo!”

He sneezed so hard that he ended up staggering.

Songhwa stepped in to stop him.

“Young master, let’s stop here. The Second Young Master is not someone who has only studied books.”

Songhwa, who had been worried anyway, whispered as she approached him, seeing him stagger from just a sneeze.

“Step back.”

Hugong said sternly and also shouted towards the darkness on the right.

“The four guards in hiding, listen carefully. No one is to interfere in this fight. Even if you are my guards, if you interfere in the middle, I will not forgive…”

“Young master, it’s on the left.”

Songhwa quickly approached and whispered.

Hugong flinched and turned his head to the left.

“Anyway, don’t interfere!”

Beomyun was dumbfounded.

“This crazy bastard is doing all sorts of things. Fine. If you can hit me even once with that club, I’ll call you brother. But you should be prepared for your face to be beaten to a pulp before that.”

Beomyun had a smirk on his face.

At the same time, he rubbed his fists, and the sound of his bones cracking was loud.

A moment later!

Beomyun was beaten to a pulp.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

The club relentlessly battered Yun.

Yun was so busy covering his head and rolling on the ground that he was completely out of his mind. Because of what he had said, he couldn’t even say “stop” and just screamed.

Beside him, Songhwa was stomping her feet.

“Young master, he’s going to die at this rate.”

“Let go, I’m going to kill this ill-mannered brat today.”

Thwack-thwack, thwack-thwack—

“Brother! Brother! Save me, I was wrong. Brother!”

In the end, Yun, trying to save himself, shouted “brother” and surrendered.

Yun had no choice.

Songhwa, who could have easily stopped him, was only pretending to dissuade him with words, so he thought he would be beaten to death at this rate, and it was not a situation to argue about a man’s word or anything.

Only then did Hugong stop the beating.

“What were you thinking! Who do you think I am, being so rude without any fear!”

“Brother, I know! I know!”

“Who am I!”

“You are… the Strongest Under Heaven!”

Beomyun barely remembered what he had heard from his grandfather not long ago. His grandfather had said that the eldest was strange, that he seemed to have gone mad, and had repeatedly told him to treat him with special care.

Hugong burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, you must be crazy. Let’s have some more.”

Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack!

Another moment later.

Yun was now sitting on his knees demurely.

His clothes were already covered in dirt, and his eyes were bruised.

His lips were also busted, and blood and saliva were drooling down.

Hugong squatted in front of him.

He tapped Beomyun’s shoulder with the stick.

“Who am I?”

“You are my brother. And the Eldest Young Master of the family.”

“What are you going to do from now on?”

“I will get my act together.”

“Alcohol?”

“I will quit.”

“It won’t be easy.”

“I can do it. Please believe me.”

“So you’re planning to get your act together and live properly from today?”

“Yes, brother.”

Beomyun’s answer was spirited.

Everyone was watching the scene at some point.

From the family head, Beomcheon, to the physician, various scholars and swordsmen, and maids, they were rubbing their eyes, wondering if it was a dream or reality.

Who was lecturing whom to get their act together and live properly? It was unbelievable even seeing it.

And they didn’t know why the lecturing posture was so perfect.

“Good. Then lie down.”

“Pardon?”

He thought it was all over, but it seemed not.

Beomyun was bewildered, and the onlookers also watched, wondering why.

“Lie down.”

“…Yes.”

“How many hits?”

“Pardon? I-I’ll take five.”

“Let’s go with seven. Engrave it in your heart as you get hit.”

Swish!

The stick, swung with the strength of fifty consecutive push-ups, landed on Beomyun’s buttocks.

Thwaaaaack!

“Aaaaaaaahk!”

Beomyun’s pained scream echoed through the Cheonhwa Library.

Everyone’s mouths were agape.

“…”

“…”

“…”

This night.

The Eldest Young Master, who had only wished for death, was catching a person.

It shouldn’t be like this, but they didn’t know why their hearts were so moved.

Some shed tears.

At some point, the old family head’s eyes also became moist.