Black Snake (6)
I couldn’t help but think as I watched Hong Su-ryeong glare at me with suspicious eyes.
‘Noisy little brats like you are a pain to deal with.’
But even if she suddenly questioned me like this, it would mean nothing.
I slowly extended my left arm toward her.
“If you’re suspicious, go ahead and measure my body.”
“Huh?”
At my words, she immediately formed a seal and pressed her fingers to my pulse.
Hong Su-ryeong’s lightning energy swept through my entire body like a flash of lightning.
And her brows furrowed.
“…Late twenties.”
That was right.
Even if she was suspicious of me, this body itself wasn’t something pulled from the future.
Therefore, the information and history accumulated in the body was only up to thirty years.
“Huuuum…”
She narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
I faced her directly and confidently, showing no hesitation.
“…Well, fine. I’ll take it at face value for now.”
Ultimately, since there was no evidence of me being a monster, Hong Su-ryeong had no choice but to shrug and move on.
“I’ve always had an interest in the Seon-gak Hu-tong method, so I read the flow instantly.”
“Please understand.”
“…Alright.”
Hong Su-ryeong nodded, though she still looked doubtful.
“Whether you’re a monster or not… it doesn’t matter. What matters is…”
Srrreee!
The sword formation that had shown sixty-six changes began to shift.
‘That’s…’
Inside the sixty-four changes, lightning tribulation, thirty-six thousand strong techniques naturally settled in.
And based on that, the changes of the ten earthly branches, ten heavenly stems, and nine palaces followed.
And the changes corresponding to the twenty-eight mansions and seven stars, the six harmonies and five elements, and the four symbols.
Then the changes leading to the three calamities and yin-yang, the one origin and the wuji.
Changes began to unfold inside her sword formation.
‘Aah…’
Tsu-tsu-tsut!
Gradually, the changes her sword formation produced grew faster.
Basic techniques weren’t simple beginner techniques.
The ‘language’ of the Water Path commonly used in the Water Path system was none other than basic techniques.
Even if you mastered advanced Water Path methods, the content of the basic techniques you learned in the Qi Condensation realm, combined with the creator’s interpretation of those basic techniques, became the advanced methods.
That was why, if you built a solid foundation in basic techniques during Qi Condensation, it wasn’t just more convenient later on—it also boosted the power of advanced methods themselves.
The reason Cheongmun Ryeong could draw out the strength of Core Formation from the Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean was because he had perfectly mastered the language of basic techniques used in advanced methods and fully extracted the true meaning of the Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean.
And right in front of me, another person was doing exactly what Cheongmun Ryeong had done—drawing out the power of a method based on understanding basic techniques.
Woo-rung, woo-rung!
“Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven.”
Lightning energy erupted from her lower dantian and connected with the sword formation spewing countless changes.
‘That’s…’
The changes of the basic techniques occurring inside the sword formation connected with the changes of her own method, which began erupting from her lower dantian.
And at some point.
The sword formation that had been swirling in front of me perfectly reproduced Hong Su-ryeong’s method.
‘Beautiful.’
Her sword cultivation ability was far beyond mine, and her understanding of the sword was lower.
On top of that, her comprehension of the Seon-gak Hu-tong method would be incomparable to mine, who had studied it directly from Cheongmun Ryeong.
However.
She had perfectly fused the Seon-gak Hu-tong with swordsmanship.
If I had mastered each method to its absolute peak, Hong Su-ryeong had perfectly combined the two methods.
‘The one move I used to fight her to a draw… was this.’
Complete fusion of Water Path techniques and swordsmanship.
If my swordsmanship and Muhyeong Sword Manipulation relied solely on the ultimate comprehension of the sword,
Her method was like water path and sword comprehension dancing in perfect harmony within her hands.
“Watch this.”
Patak, patak-jijik!
Hong Su-ryeong, who had raised her lightning energy alongside her practice with the sword formation, moved it.
The sword formation that had been rotating and showing changes in front of her suddenly shot toward a spot in the east like a ferocious tiger in her control.
“Cut!”
It was clearly felt.
The power contained in that sword formation was nothing more than Core Formation level—at most, barely Core Formation, and in reality, it should have been considered an attack at full power only by someone in the Foundation Establishment Peak realm.
But the next moment.
Flash!
A beam of light crashed through, and I saw a massive hole being blown in the back of my east.
Kukugu gugu!
The ceiling of the east flew away as if it had been cut, and far in the distance, great sword scars were carved into several other mountains of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect, swept away by the sword energy of the sword formation.
Swi-i-i—
Hong Su-ryeong’s sword formation spat lightning even while stopped.
‘She’s insane.’
I realized she had deliberately put in only Qi Condensation Peak level energy just to show me something and let out a dry laugh.
Destruction was one thing, but in an instant, her sword had reached the inside of the brain.
It was practically impossible to dodge below the level of Heavenly Person.
If she used a sword formation that spat out the power of a Foundation Establishment Peak expert at the level of a Core Formation Peak expert with the power of a Heavenly Person…
‘Maybe she’s a bit weaker than Geum Byeok-ho.’
I looked at her as she retrieved the sword and reevaluated her.
From a madman who experimented on humans, she was now a respectable expert.
At that moment.
[Hong Su-ryeong, this madman!!!]
“Ah…”
Someone cursed at Hong Su-ryeong, and she flinched.
Far away, angry voices echoed from the mountain she had split with her sword energy.
[This damned monster! What’s not to your liking this time that you’re causing trouble even in a new place! It’s not like I can’t handle the ruckus outside!]
“Hmph, hmph… S-sorry. Seniors!”
Hong Su-ryeong coughed dryly and spoke.
“Anyway… if you handle the basics properly like this, you can exert power beyond your stage. And mastering the basics isn’t just a matter of talent. It’s a matter of effort and will. That’s why I thought there was no such thing as talent.”
“I see.”
‘If effort and will determine talent…’
But then, what separated the geniuses from the dullards?
I immediately asked her my thoughts.
“What determines the difference between geniuses and dullards?”
At those words, she nodded and said.
“I think everyone is a genius in some way. And all the people we call geniuses simply found the field they were suited for. Everyone seeks the field they’re ‘drawn to,’ and with will, they cultivate it until they become the master of that field. That’s what I think of as ‘genius’ in the world.”
“Hmm…”
“Desire is fate itself. In short, it’s less about ‘talent’ existing and more about there being a destiny you’re drawn to. Yeah, in a way, what the world calls talent is simply another name for destiny.”
In short, for her, talent was simply another name for fate.
‘Fate…’
If what you’re drawn to is your talent and fate,
‘What is my talent? What is my fate?’
It wasn’t that I started studying martial arts because they drew me.
In the 0th loop, I had been a soap salesman when someone stole my soap-making method and the people chasing me taught me martial arts in desperation.
If attraction is fate,
I hadn’t felt any clear attraction that could be called fate yet.
‘…I don’t know.’
I decided to slowly think about my fate and let out a sigh.
And I realized one fact.
“…By the way, Senior Hong.”
“What is it?”
“My east… I mean…”
“Ah…”
She looked at my ruined east, where the ceiling had flown off and the back wall had been blown apart, and smiled awkwardly.
A dongfu was the residence of a water cultivator.
Usually, they carved caves into mountains, cliffs, or secret places and practiced inside them for a long time.
The more concentrated the energy veins, the more popular the dongfu was with water cultivators.
The reason major water sect gates were good was because they also gave disciples such dongfu for free.
But…
‘My dongfu…’
Hong Su-ryeong floated up into the air with an awkward smile as she looked at the completely destroyed dongfu.
“Hmph, hmph. Since it’s come to this, I’ll bring you a better dongfu.”
“…”
“N-never mind, just a few days. I’ll be off…”
Patak!
After finishing, she vanished using her invisibility technique, leaving me in stunned silence and laughter.
* * *
A month had passed.
During that time, there had been many twists and turns and many incidents.
And I had ended up talking to Hong Su-ryeong far more than I had expected.
“Senior Hong, what do you think of the essence of the lightning path?”
“The essence of the lightning path…”
“I think of it as an instant.”
“Hmm, I’ve had that thought too.”
She had actually taught me things I didn’t expect, and she was practically acting as my master in the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect instead of Jin Hui.
“However, from the deeper perspective of going further into the lightning path itself. The essence of lightning is ultimately just the force born from the exchange of yin and yang. But… yin and yang can also be interpreted as the Heaven-Earth pair, so from the perspective of a force that spontaneously arises below the Heaven-Earth, the lightning path can perhaps be called an instant.”
“An instant between Heaven and Earth… it’s almost like life, isn’t it?”
“That’s why, while practicing invisibility, I often thought that human life is like the lightning path. The life of a human struggling inside the Heaven-Earth and life-and-death, ultimately fading away, doesn’t feel like just a handful of dust or an instant from a higher perspective?”
“…I see.”
“The lightning path flows through all things in the Heaven and Earth and through the human body. And when electricity signals are exchanged inside the brain, thoughts are generated, and electricity is used to move the flesh.”
“That’s right.”
“The monsters aren’t different. They cycle yin and yang, and the faint lightning power born between yin and yang stimulates the brain and develops intelligence. In short, human actions, emotions, and reason are all influenced by the lightning path.”
“…”
“Therefore, the lightning path can be called the principle of nature at the same time as the principle of existence.”
‘The principle of existence…’
Perhaps that was why, from the third step of manifestation, I might have been showing the form of the heavens’ karma.
‘Existence…’
Patak, patak-jijik—
I raised lightning with my fingertips.
Over the past month,
I had recovered all my Qi Condensation cultivation.
Although I hadn’t yet recovered the Qi Condensation Middle Peak that I vaguely remembered reaching in the 16th loop, it felt like I would reach it quickly if I kept practicing the Yang Lightning Path Method that took in Yang energy.
So I wasn’t worried.
And now I was practicing the Seven Thunder Lightning Scripture and the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace method.
Chijijik!
Green lightning danced at my fingertips.
It was the fourth step of the Seven Thunder Lightning Scripture.
And I felt the power of the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace writhing inside my lower dantian.
Woo-rung, woo-rurung!
The Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace, consisting of twelve stars, had successfully reached the sixth star.
‘With normal training speed, it should have taken forty years to reach the sixth star of Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven, right?’
I had heard that was the ‘normal’ training speed from Hong Su-ryeong.
“Hmm, as expected, a lightning body.”
Of course, Hong Su-ryeong also thought I was a lightning body because I was practicing the lightning path method so quickly.
She examined my realm and looked at me with astonished eyes.
“No matter how you look at it, it’s not normal training speed… it’s the speed of recovering scattered realms. Otherwise, it’s impossible speed. Is this the power of a legendary physique…”
“…Well, isn’t it?”
“Huhu, I’m even more eager to reproduce a lightning body myself.”
“In my opinion, Senior Hong should focus on building a foundation in the methods she’s already learned before trying to reproduce a lightning body.”
“Shut up. Who are you to lecture me…”
During that month, Hong Su-ryeong and I had become quite close, chatting like this.
‘Surprisingly, we get along so well.’
It was like a mix of Cheongmun Ryeong and Kim Young-hoon.
For Water Path and lightning path methods, it was Cheongmun Ryeong.
And sometimes, when sparring with her using swordsmanship, she showed the same appearance as Kim Young-hoon.
That was why I had become close to her without reservation.
“…Well, that’s enough for today. Your words sparked an idea. I should kidnap some new disciples and do some experiments.”
“…Please do the experiments in a gentle way so that no strange rumors spread.”
I looked at her with anxious eyes and advised her.
However, she had already entered her own world after getting some inspiration from our conversation and was muttering something.
‘It’s good that she doesn’t see me as a test subject… but…’
Talking to me, researching lightning bodies, and aiming to reproduce a lightning body with her own hands had only grown stronger.
Recently, rumors had spread that new disciples from the Gwanghan Realm who joined the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect had been kidnapped to her research dongfu for experiments.
Of course, the new disciples would suffer, but they would gain special abilities or cultivation. Nothing worse than that happened, so the elders didn’t mind much even if rumors circulated.
I returned from her dongfu to my own dongfu.
Hong Su-ryeong, who had destroyed my dongfu, must have felt bad, so she brought another energy vein mountain from Noeryeong-do and made it my new dongfu.
Thanks to that, my dongfu was much larger than before and had richer energy veins.
‘Then, shall I start training today?’
I sat in half-lotus inside the dongfu and began training.
Hong Su-ryeong was amazed that I had reached the sixth star of Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven in a little over a month, and she must have thought that was the power of a lightning body.
But.
Chijik, chijijik!
“Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean!”
A beautiful jade-green aura spread around my body, which lightning had surrounded.
The Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace was a method specialized for creating a thunder palace inside the lower dantian to increase lightning resistance, receiving heavenly intent, and advancing the terrain around it.
The thunder palace mentioned here wasn’t literally a palace, but a metaphor for the sixty-four hexagrams.
The inner and outer hexagrams combined to draw sixty-four trigrams inside the lower dantian.
And lightning energy moved between those sixty-four trigrams, gradually becoming thicker.
Patak, patak-jik!
And at the center of those trigrams, a single tree grew.
It was an enormously huge tree.
The wood attribute in the hexagrams was the Zhen (Thunder) hexagram.
The Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean, which advanced the terrain to dominate the surroundings with wood attributes, matched perfectly with the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace, which dominated the surroundings with the thunder attribute.
So when I trained the Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean and Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace simultaneously, the training speed was several times faster than before.
On top of that, I embodied the flow of yin and yang with the Yu Xu Gong method, and the power of lightning in the body was amplified by the power of a lightning body, so the training speed again became several times faster.
The result of reaching the sixth star of Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven in just a month was due to the amplified training speed.
Patak-jijik!
Around me, the shape of a tree made of lightning began to form a forest.
I trained the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace at an enormous speed inside the lightning sea.
And thanks to the training speed of Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace, the Seven Thunder Lightning Scripture was also growing rapidly.
Kuurung, ku rurung, kururung!
Orange, yellow, and green lightning erupted from my body and shot out three flags.
I wondered why there was no red flag, but I had heard from Hong Su-ryeong that red lightning was the lightning used to command the Heavenly Thunder Banner, so there was no red flag.
Chijijijik—
I entered concentration while surrounded by lightning.
The sixth star of Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven was at the level of late Core Formation, and I had reported only that achievement while hiding my entry into the Qi Condensation realm.
And the reaction was explosive.
Seven days and nights later.
A ceremony was prepared to grant me the elder position of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect.
The achievement I had shown to Geum Byeok-ho and the elders was still at late Core Formation level, but even so, they seemed ready to grant me the elder position immediately.
‘An elder in just a month…’
They would allow me to climb the ranks steadily up to the end of Core Formation.
After all, Core Formation was something that could be reached in time for the people of the Gwanghan Realm mainland.
And from Qi Condensation onward, it would take a little more time because understanding the ranks was necessary.
‘Perfect level.’
I melted the power of the Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean into lightning power and pierced the seventh star of Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven.
Kwajik!
Lightning writhed and rotated like a dragon inside my body.
‘While I slowly enter Qi Condensation during the remaining time, and just somehow quickly break through the Qi Condensation Middle Peak, it should be fine.’
I had complete confidence in quickly passing the Qi Condensation Late Peak and Peak, so the only thing was to somehow deal with the Qi Condensation Middle Peak that was the memory of the 16th loop.
Chijik…
After a while, I gathered the lightning and approached the two beings training in a corner of the dongfu.
Yuan and Hong Beom.
Chijik, chijijik!
Although I had received the Taiji True Lightning True God before, honestly, a method like Taiji True Lightning True God was very difficult to master in a clear mind, so I had handed it over to Yuan.
Yuan, who had a body that embodied yin and yang, had been steadily increasing the achievement of Taiji True Lightning True God.
And Hong Beom was in the process of awakening his name with the Reborn Demon God Method and then resuming training.
Woo-woong—
When I handed the four-legged method I bought from a mountain to Hong Beom, he quickly started mastering the method.
His achievement had already reached Qi Condensation Middle Peak.
In other words, he had reached the critical point of Qi Condensation Seven Stars.
Puk!
While quietly absorbing energy veins and training, the inside of Hong Beom’s abdomen exploded.
I hurriedly poured life force into Hong Beom.
Hong Beom’s abdomen healed again.
And at some point, the creature writhed wildly and suddenly shed its shell.
According to the formula of the four-legged method, it was shedding its shell.
After repeating how many times the creature’s body had burst and I had poured life force, a full month had passed.
Hong Beom had reached the level of Qi Condensation Seven Stars in just a month.
Writhe, writhe…
Hong Beom, now as big as my arm, rubbed his head against my arm to show friendliness.
He probably didn’t have intelligence enough to speak proper language yet, but he must have realized that I was helping him.
‘Grow strong in this life too.’
I stroked his head once, then returned to my seat and unfolded the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace.
Kuururung!
Lightning energy advanced around me.
A method specialized for receiving heavenly intent through advancing the terrain.
That was the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace.
‘Then, Yeon-ah…’
Chijik, chijijijik…
I activated the connection with Kim Yeon through the strange parasite’s invisibility technique.
And through the power of the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace, I turned my will into a transmission and poured it into the strange parasite’s connection.
Because Kim Yeon’s distance from me was unexpectedly far, direct conversation with the strange parasite’s invisibility technique was impossible.
That was why I had to use the power of the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace in this way to transmit my will to her.
Of course, I hadn’t received a reply yet.
If she started mastering the Strange Star-Mind Scroll properly and activated the strange parasite’s connection even more with her consciousness, it would be fine.
For now, the only thing I could do was shoot out the formulas that would help her with the Strange Star-Mind Scroll as a transmission.
‘I hope it helps.’
Chichik…
After releasing the Extinction Thunder Encompasses Heaven Palace,
I went outside the dongfu.
“Greetings, Senior Seo.”
The new disciples of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect outside the dongfu greeted me with respectful expressions when they saw me, and the passing elders also pretended to know me.
“Haha, Seo Doo. Tomorrow will be that day.”
And one elder sat down next to me friendly and called me Doo.
“Yes, that’s right.”
I laughed and looked at one of the main halls of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect.
The Ritual Hall.
Inside that hall, Jeon Myeong-hoon was learning the etiquette, common sense and language of this world, basic techniques, and so on.
And tomorrow, he would finish his education, I had heard.
“Tomorrow, the interest in Seo Doo will also gradually fade. Still, don’t be too upset. Hahaha! It’s not [that] Heavenly Thunder Body!”
“That’s right. I understand.”
From tomorrow, Jeon Myeong-hoon would finally start mastering the basic methods of the Geumshin Cheonroe Sect.