Chapter 16: Secrets, Sparring, and the Purity Police
I've been through a lot of strange things in life.
I've fought street gangs. I've dealt with arrogant martial artists. I've nearly passed out doing leg kicks for six hours straight.
But nothing—and I mean nothing—could have prepared me for a grown man whispering to me about my… purity.
We were walking toward the training area, just me, Lee Na, and a faint sense of doom.
"You've been hanging out with those girls," Lee Na said suddenly. "Are you interested in them?"
That question hit me like a roundhouse kick to the brain.
What was I supposed to say? "Yes, I am definitely interested in one girl who kicks people through walls, one who can kill you with her looks, and another who thinks training is a personal insult."
So I went with honesty.
"I am interested… and I was wondering why Queen wasn't invited."
Na didn't even blink.
"Isn't that simple? She's from a powerful background. Her family already knows about our world and hires us. If they wanted her to learn, she'd already be here."
And just like that, it clicked.
Power doesn't mean freedom.
Not in Murim.
Not in the real world either.
"That's the truth," said a new voice.
Enter: Charles.
If you don't know Charles, imagine if a noble swordsman and a gossiping uncle had a baby. That's him.
"I am very much interested in taking her in," he said, brushing back his hair like a drama villain. "But her father doesn't want it. And I don't want to anger him. We're friends."
Friends with the father of Queen? That explained a lot.
"She isn't the only one. I'm interested in your other friends too," he continued. "I personally invited Lee Go Seul. She has potential. Impressive discipline."
I nodded slowly.
It made sense.
It was like royalty back in my world. Born with all the potential but locked out of the actual battlefields.
We kept walking until we reached the training grounds, a polished stone courtyard that looked like it belonged in a wuxia drama.
"Good afternoon, Master," I said. "Thanks for answering my curiosity. What are we doing today?"
Charles turned toward me with a grin that said, This is gonna hurt—but in a spiritual growth kind of way.
"You'll cultivate like yesterday—after sparring with the girls. They'll push you using their powers, force your instincts to awaken."
"Am I fighting you today, Miss Lee Na?"
"Yes," she said, calm as a lake before a storm. "I will guide you."
My heart did a somersault.
Lee Na was a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in abs. I'd never seen her full power—and now I would. This was my chance to show them I was worth it. That I could rise above my limits.
Then Charles decided to ruin the moment.
He leaned in, slapped a hand on my shoulder, and whispered in my ear like some shady back-alley Ki dealer.
"It's good you're very pure," he said. "Or we'd be in trouble."
"...What?"
"You haven't done it yet," he said, voice silky and suspiciously amused. "You haven't masturbated. So your yang essence is still strong. Pure. If you had, it would take more effort to cultivate. Your body would be past the ideal state."
I blinked.
And blinked again.
Did this man just whisper about my personal business like it was a stock report?
Meanwhile, Lee Na's ears twitched.
Her enhanced senses picked it up.
I saw the corner of her mouth twitch like she was holding back a smile—or a sigh of eternal embarrassment.
I wanted to disappear into the floor.
"What the heck does that even mean?" I whispered back.
Charles chuckled like someone who knew too much.
"In cultivation," he said, "pure Yang and Yin matter. Your first time helps your partner grow. Their first time helps you. It's a delicate exchange—sometimes enough to break through a bottleneck."
Great.
So not only do I need to cultivate, train, and survive death matches…
Now I need to protect my innocence like it's a priceless elixir.
Lee Na finally broke the silence with a sigh.
"He could've just sent you the message mentally. He's messing with you."
Charles winked at me.
"What's the fun in that?"
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"C-rank?" I repeated.
Charles nodded, casually brushing imaginary dust off his jacket like he hadn't just told me I'd be fighting for my life. Again.
"Yes. F-rank is for beginners, grudge matches, and hotheads trying to prove themselves. You've outgrown that. It's time you fight real opponents."
"And by real, you mean...?"
"People who can kill you with a sneeze," he said cheerfully. "Some of them have Ki. Some of them have killed their own masters. Some of them just fight for fun."
"Sounds... cozy."
Lee Na didn't even blink. She walked ahead like this was Tuesday.
As for me, I couldn't help but think: So this is what moving up in the world feels like—like getting thrown off a cliff and told to grow wings on the way down.
But I wasn't scared.
Not really.
Because this wasn't new.
Back home, I fought in alleys, in backrooms, in underground cages where the lights were always flickering and the crowd always smelled like blood and sweat. I knew what killers looked like.
I had been one.
Charles must've sensed something in my eyes because his smile faded for a second.
"You'll be fighting in front of elders too," he added. "Don't hold back. They need to see what you're worth. Some of them are scouts. Others are judges. And a few… well, let's just say, you impress the wrong person, they might try to recruit you or eliminate you. Sometimes both."
"Noted," I said.
"This isn't a game, Jae Gu," Charles said seriously. "Purgatory is still illegal. But it's tolerated because it keeps the worst of our world contained. If you survive and rise, you'll gain prestige. Reputation. Access. But you'll also gain enemies."
"Good," I replied quietly.
They both looked at me.
"I was starting to get bored."
Charles chuckled like a proud uncle.
Lee Na? She just smiled faintly and looked ahead. But I could tell. She approved.
Purgatory.
It was more than a fighting ring. It was a global network. Every country had its branches, secret arenas, shadow connections. Fighters were ranked from F to S, and above that? Only legends.
I had entered it back when I was still looking for a way to eat without begging. When winning meant rent, and losing meant the morgue.
"I only stayed in F-rank to avoid the vultures," I muttered. "Now I have backup, huh?"
"Now you have us," Charles agreed.
And maybe that was the real difference now.
Not my strength.
But the fact I had people behind me for support.
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There are moments in life where your brain stops working.
Usually, they involve breathtaking danger, sudden emotional trauma, or—for some of us unlucky martial artists—beautiful women in tight clothes.
This was one of those moments.
The underground training area of the Wild Guards looked like the love child of a high-tech dojo and a gladiator pit. Polished stone floor, glowing formation runes, and a faint smell of ozone in the air like someone had just done a lightning jutsu. The ceiling curved in a perfect dome, echoing every breath and footstep like we were inside some ancient temple built for punching people in the face.
Which was accurate.
I stood on one side of the battlefield, freshly changed into my training gear: a plain white shirt and black compression tights that made me look like I was about to join a high-stakes yoga cult. Across from me stood Lee Na.
And man, she looked like a whole war Immortal.
She'd swapped her official Wild Guard uniform for something a little more breathable—still sleek, still dark, but this version allowed her strength to show. Lean muscles under perfect posture. That deadly grace where you just know she could fold a man in half and not spill her tea.
I've fought assassins, mercs, gang leaders, and one very angry grandmother with a frying pan.
But standing across from Lee Na?
I was intimidated and impressed.
Honestly, she was up there with some of the strongest and most beautiful women I knew back in the Elemental Nations: Tsunade, Shizune, Mei Terumi, Kurenai Yuhi…
If you put the four of them in a room together, the walls would melt from sheer pressure. And also because someone (probably Tsunade) would throw a table first.
Two of them could probably kill me if they got serious. The other two? Well… maybe accidentally.
Lee Na? She stood right beside them, no question. Not just because of her looks—though, yeah, my sixteen-year-old brain noticed that too—but because she had that aura. That cultivated calm. Like a mountain before an avalanche.
"You can start," Charles said casually from the side, hands behind his back like this was a picnic and not a potential deathmatch.
Right. Focus, Jae Gu.
This wasn't about hormones. This was about training.
He wanted to see how Ki affected my body. Whether I could handle it or if I'd explode like a badly wired chakra core. Worst-case scenario? My body rejects Ki completely and I end up drooling on the floor like I got hit with a paralysis seal.
No pressure.
I took a breath and stepped forward. I could feel my pulse slow down—not because I was calm, but because my body was shifting, like it remembered this kind of tension. The kill-or-be-killed kind. The kind that made your soul either burn brighter… or get snuffed out.
Lee Na's eyes narrowed, just a little.
"Don't hold back," she said. "Or you won't learn anything."
I smiled.
"Funny. That's exactly what my old master used to say… right before he threw me into a pit full of angry Lions."
Her expression didn't change, but I swear her eyebrow twitched.