Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Decapitation
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Lou Gehrig's disease is a type of degenerative disorder, one that primarily afflicted middle-aged people between their fifties and seventies.
In So-hyang's previous life, it had struck her right around that age.
Her hair had turned white, and her skin was covered in wrinkles—she was around sixty then.
It had been a long time since she'd perfected her techniques, and she was focusing on overcoming the limits of her body.
Whether it was due to nerve damage from intense activity and trauma, the ends of her limbs suddenly grew numb, and her body began to paralyze.
The intelligence agencies and criminal organizations of various countries rejoiced upon hearing the news.
Finally, the superhuman whose very humanity was in doubt, the mutant who sliced submarines with his sword, was losing his teeth.
Even someone who showed no signs of weakening with age couldn't ultimately defy time like a true human, they said.
Not long after, she overcame the illness and grew even stronger, rampaging once more—a truly pitiable turn of events.
In the medical world of her previous life, it was an incurable disease whose cause and treatment remained unknown.
The Black Dragon Poison was the same. The curse poison of the dragon, the only known antidote being the passage of time as it dispersed.
Thus, So-hyang couldn't cure the disease or neutralize the poison, but she could eliminate the symptom of dying nerve cells in the body.
Like eradicating a cold virus that had invaded the body was impossible, but preventing symptoms like fever and swelling from occurring.
Suppressing the progression through ultimate control over the body and forcibly maintaining a normal state.
So, in her previous life, So-hyang overcoming Lou Gehrig's disease was... exactly that: overcoming it.
It was a terribly crude and forceful method unfit to be called a treatment, but it was undeniably effective.
She voluntarily undertook the irrational act of repairing dead nerve cells and restoring her body to normal, shocking the medical world at the time.
"Please tell us the method! Help with our research!" They came running with eyes bulging, but there were no real results.
In the end, So-hyang's method boiled down to the power of will.
Perceiving the body down to the cellular level and controlling it with strong will to rebuild the nerves.
...What on earth does that even mean?
It's no different from saying the universe will help if you wish hard enough.
Yet it actually worked, driving the scholars mad.
Even So-hyang in her previous life had only vaguely aimed for it, awakening to that realm under the despair and crisis of never wielding a sword again.
So the question was, how to apply this to someone else?
Causing a structural upheaval in the body through ultimate perception and projection of will... An impossible feat for anyone but So-hyang. How could Yi Chun possibly follow?
The answer was simple.
Infusing information through divine intent.
Previously, she'd hammered in her entire complex thought process to subdue him, but this time, she'd organize it to a receivable level.
Since Yi Chun had endured the oppressive divine intent pressure for subjugation, he could handle this much.
Half of the realm So-hyang achieved, half of that half, half of that again—a mere speck of it...
Limited to the part for treating Lou Gehrig's disease, that is.
"It'll still be dangerous, but the odds of success are high. What do you think?"
"...Isn't it obvious?"
No matter how much he valued his family and people and wouldn't regret it, he was still a martial artist.
The transcendent realm was unattainable without reveling in the martial path as one's calling. Naturally, he'd want to reclaim it if possible.
In the past, when he had to lead and care for his subordinates, it might have been different, but now with reliable superiors, his life wasn't essential.
"My lord, shall we try it?"
But Yi Chun and the entire Palace Slash Sect were now under Third Imperial Princess Zhu Yeonhwa. He couldn't risk his life on a whim.
"Of course. Do as you wish."
Naturally, Zhu Yeonhwa had no reason to refuse.
If it succeeded, she'd gain a transcendent martial artist under her command. If he died in failure, it wasn't a huge loss.
If the success rate were truly that low, her friend wouldn't have suggested it.
"Then, let's begin?"
So-hyang's silver-white eyes began to emit a soft white glow, linking her divine intent to Yi Chun's soul and mind, implanting vast information.
"-Kuaaaaaagh!!!"
The intent differed slightly, but it could be called Transmitting Across Bodies, in that it passed on the internal energy So-hyang had accumulated over her lifetime.
The process involved delivering unfamiliar knowledge of neuroscience, intricate body information, and details of Yi Chun's body that So-hyang had perceived through divine intent, allowing him to perceive it himself.
Even selected and organized, it was like cramming hundreds of doctoral theses into his mind—knowledge comprehensible only to field experts.
"-Kuhk, kuuuugh...!"
Thanks to the mind that had once reached transcendence and surpassed limits, Yi Chun endured the pain, gritting his teeth.
"Got the gist? It's about achieving Rejuvenation on the affected areas to restore them."
"I have no idea why I understand this...! But yeah, I get it...!"
He couldn't remodel or enhance like So-hyang, whose brain structure had transformed during growth, but restoration like her previous life was now possible.
"But there's still a problem. You don't remember the normal nerve structure."
To restore, one needed to remember the original state.
From neuron placement and structure to protein arrangements—truly recalling 'every' state perfectly.
Her previous self constantly contemplated her body, so it was easy, but demanding that of others was too harsh.
Yet there was a way.
"Even if you can't consciously remember, it's stored deep in the unconscious."
The human brain is wondrous, recording every moment of birth, aging, sickness, and death.
Even unusable data is etched deep in the mind.
And there was a way to draw it out.
Recalling infant memories you'd never remember, or sketching a montage of a face glimpsed at vision's edge.
Focused meditation, hypnosis to surface the unconscious, mnemonic techniques for recall.
But those were dull, pedantic, and time-consuming.
So So-hyang chose a quick, effective method needing no prep.
"Then, die."
In an instant, she gripped a pure white spirit sword and, without warning, severed Yi Chun's neck.
In his weakened state, Yi Chun couldn't even capture So-hyang's sword strike with his eyes.
He could only infer its elegance from the lingering trail.
By the time he realized, his head was already detached, floating up.
Am I... dying?
The old man's eyes in the rising head gazed into distant depths, reminiscing the past.
Regret for trusting the martial artist So-hyang too much, rage at the betrayal.
Even that faded quickly, leaving only sorrow.
If his family saw his corpse right after their hearty meal and good rest, what would they feel?
Just sorry, and worried.
His talented granddaughter would sob uncontrollably. Even mimicking emotional suppression, she couldn't hide her innate brightness.
He'd called her Number One for a while, but she had a name.
A flower blooming in hellish chaos and famine, the fruit of his son and daughter-in-law.
He recalled their beaming smiles: "Seong-gwi if a boy, Seong-ah if a girl."
On that day of radiant light, tiny fingers wiggling and cries bursting forth, the emotion-faded clan all cheered and wept.
Why did we forget that day's emotion so soon? Scatter feelings again and chase money like the dead?
To a child deserving blessings and play, we gave a bow and taught killing.
After years of desperate struggle amid collective madness. Such cruelty shouldn't exist.
Lee Seong-ah had a proper name, yet we raised her as a killer, calling her Number One.
Regret upon regret.
And even that regret blurred.
Finally, touching life's essence.
Father's essence and mother's earth met, fruit blossoming, preparing in the womb to face the world.
Devouring nature through the mouth, burning fuel for warmth to live.
Understanding the world through light, perceiving tree-trunk-like cells forming thoughts.
Life's essence and existence's origin.
Firing of elements called neurons and synapses, holding thought and mind.
Truly perceiving the body's nerves transmitting thought.
The clearest moment: completing transcendence, achieving Bone Transformation.
After emerging from mother's womb, another birth in meaning.
And now, the end approached.
Eerily clear consciousness, time halted yet accelerated mind—end still comes.
Blood flow to brain severed, oxygen cut off; awareness faded, vision clouded.
No pain, thanks to the clean cut at unseen speed.
Yi Chun, warrior who shot down the Black Dragon, died thus—
"Alright, up to here!"
—no, he didn't.
Near-death experience.
When truly sensing and cognizing death's brink, the brain frantically searches past memories for survival.
So-hyang had induced what was called a life-flashing-before-the-eyes phenomenon.
Severing the neck without warning, reattaching in less than half a second.
"-Huh, huuuh, huuugh...!"
She'd cut so cleanly not a drop of blood flowed, ready to reattach perfectly.
Infusing all available vital energy to seal it, no aftereffects expected.
"...Cough, kuhk!"
Mental shock aside.
Of course, that wasn't the priority now.
"Focus! Before the life-flash fades, rebuild and restore the nerves!"
Th-that, ha...
Yi Chun eyed So-hyang with a face full of words, but held back for now.
As she said, he felt the memory fading in real-time.
Sitting cross-legged, eyes tightly shut, he drew deep breaths.
Clutching the dreamlike fading memory, he rebuilt nerves using implanted knowledge.
Impossible to manipulate flesh to So-hyang's extreme, but partially substituted via qi circulation.
The time taken was but an instant.
Not a grand change like reshaping bones or muscles, but a minute one in precise areas.
"...Hoo, it actually worked."
Dead nerves restored, cells reverted to vigorous state from Bone Transformation.
The method was radical—extremely so—but effective.
Arms moved as willed, grip sensation sharp.
Power not fully recovered, but numb, rigid body now obeyed easily—enough.
"Tha... nk you. Lady So-hyang."
It was certainly grounds for thanks, yet having his neck severed left his heart in turmoil.
"Aw, no biggie. Spar with me once you're fully recovered."
"...Yes, of course."
Sparring with someone who beheads then reattaches as 'treatment'—future felt bleak.
Cheap price for curing the Black Dragon's incurable affliction, though...
Unaware or indifferent to Yi Chun's dizziness, So-hyang beamed innocently.
Entrusting her, only for her to decapitate and reattach like a madwoman.
"Uh, uuu..."
Moon Shadow, guarding nearby, was pale with terror.
Even bold Zhu Yeonhwa, with imperial blood's daring, couldn't hide her grimace.
"...My friend is quite the character, isn't she?"
Downing wine and puffing tobacco to swallow unease, she summed up.
"Well, I've achieved my goal."
Repelled assassins targeting her, captured and recruited them instead.
Even restored a transcendent expert among them—exceeding expectations.
Next...
"Friend. I plan to return to Beijing now... Where will you go?"
"Hm, was heading to Zhongnan Sect originally?"
Shaanxi Province, beside Hubei.
Region split between Zhongnan and Huashan Sects, two sword schools extending influence.
Wudang Sect was a famed orthodox sect, but more Taoist than sword-focused, thus gentler.
Zhongnan and Huashan, however, were seen as closer to the secular world and sword-serious.
So-hyang looked forward to it.
"Shaanxi... Another sparring tour, I presume?"
"Yeah, goal's to visit the Sixteen Great Sects in order for now."
"Then, I'll introduce you to imperial experts. Join me?"
"Oh, really?"
So-hyang's eyes sparkled at the tempting offer.
She could challenge sects or clans under sparring pretext, but attacking the imperial family was criminal, potentially treason.
Previous-life So-hyang would've charged regardless, but this life had reservations for such recklessness.
She'd tour the martial world first, maybe enlist later for chances—but here was one now.
"In return, grant a small favor later."
"Sure, sounds good."
The proposal appealed, and she liked the open request, unlike shady past intents.
"Great! I'll go to Beijing with you!"
"Excellent. Looking forward to traveling together."
"-Y-Your Highness?"
Moon Shadow, finally escaping the monstrous horror, gasped—only for her sky to collapse.
But what objection could a mere guard raise against an imperial scion? Tears in eyes, she sealed her lips.