Five Qi Gathering at the Crown, and the Changes
I landed on the ground, woke my companions, and gave them a rough rundown of the situation.
We seemed to have fallen from the sky. I had no idea where we were.
And so on…
I led the group into the cave, lit a fire, and gave them some food to eat.
Then I put them back to sleep and left the cave.
*Thud!*
I kicked off into the air and ran toward the fox.
*Thud…*
How far had I walked through the empty sky?
I could see the vast consciousness again.
A huge three-tailed fox.
This time, how far could I go?
*Thud*
I landed on the ground.
I activated *Wansuigungmurok* and *Jusuwolmurok* at the same time and slowly approached the fox.
*Buung, bung!*
I formed a hand blade and sliced through the air to sever the fox’s awareness, then slowly approached.
Exactly ten paces inside its consciousness.
That had been my limit in the previous life.
What about now?
*Jwoobuk*
I stepped inside without hesitation.
*Jwoobuk*
And another step.
Compared to when I had just reached Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, the threads of consciousness were far clearer and more distinct.
I could see exactly how to slice and how to penetrate.
I continued walking toward the fox’s consciousness.
Nine paces, eight, seven…
Three, two, and the last one.
I paused briefly before the last step, then, gathering my consciousness even more intensely, I took it.
*Uung―*
I succeeded in stepping into the fox’s consciousness.
‘This is a Core Formation stage monster’s consciousness. Finally…’
I smiled faintly inside the fox’s consciousness.
Finally, I could function to some extent even inside a Core Formation being’s consciousness.
In other words, I could at least avoid being killed in front of a Core Formation saber master.
I continued through the fox’s consciousness using *Wansuigungmurok*, *Jusuwolmurok*, *Jusuwolmu-kyung*, *Jusuwolmu-gyeol*, and so on.
The fox’s consciousness was a thirty-pace radius from the fox itself.
I kept walking and successfully got within one pace of the fox.
The remaining distance was about twenty-nine paces.
The fox’s consciousness would grow even denser ahead.
But I kept my consciousness concentrated and my thoughts clear.
It was still vivid in my mind.
The essence of Kim Young-hoon’s enlightenment that had evolved *Jusuwolmu-gyeol* once.
―The minimum entry condition for that martial art is Five Qi Gathering at the Crown. Just as a first-rate master cannot understand the peak world, nor a peak master understand the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown world… those below Five Qi Gathering cannot comprehend that martial system. That is why it remains incomplete and cannot be properly transmitted.
At the very end of the previous life, Kim Young-hoon’s words brushed past my mind.
‘But you need not worry. This martial art is now…’
I concentrated my consciousness.
‘I will inherit it…’
*Wol-su wol-mu-rok!*
The supreme martial art system born from passing through every stage of *Wansuigungmurok*, *Jusuwolmurok*, *Jusuwolmu-kyung*, *Jusuwolmu-gyeol*.
The minimum entry condition is only Five Qi Gathering at the Crown!
That enlightenment bloomed at my fingertips.
*Wansuigungmurok* sliced the awareness.
*Jusuwolmu-rok* harmonized with the awareness.
*Wol-su wol-mu-rok* spoke of a method to separate the consciousness.
Sword qi formed in the empty sky.
And the shining sword qi in the empty sky soon turned outward, moved on its own, and unfolded *Wansuigungmurok* to pierce into the fox’s consciousness.
Because it was lifeless sword qi, I did not need to worry about biological reactions or other thoughts; I only had to slice the awareness.
That made it far easier for me to approach than it would have been otherwise.
The sword qi closed the distance by six paces in an instant, narrowing the gap between us to twenty-three paces.
However, beyond that it was clearly too dense for me to get any closer.
I dispersed the sword qi at that point and organized the enlightenment of *Wol-su wol-mu-rok*.
‘Something like this…’
I cut my consciousness, input the action, and sent it.
The advantage was that I could fully unfold my technique because not only actions but also thoughts and enlightenment could be input.
‘This is the enlightenment for the next realm after Five Qi Gathering at the Crown…’
The realm that uses the *Gang-gi-ap-hwan*.
Until now I had wondered how the chunks of saber qi from Kim Young-hoon automatically intercepted opponents, but now I understood a little.
If I continued *Wol-su wol-mu-rok*, I would one day reach that realm beyond Five Qi Gathering at the Crown.
With that hope, I sliced the fox’s consciousness once more and returned to the cave.
* * *
The next morning.
The fox came back again and asked for an arm.
I gave it the arm once more.
Because all the toxins such as cholesterol and nicotine on my original arm had been purged, the fox bit my arm deliciously, seeming to want more of the rest, but it eventually left after saying it would return in five days.
It seemed my body had become tastier to the fox thanks to the bone reconstruction.
And several days passed.
They returned again.
*Chwaaaah―*
When Changhoza the saber master spun his feet, my arm regenerated.
Three saber masters appeared and looked us over.
This time, however, their reactions were slightly different from before.
[Hum, there are four of you with spiritual roots.]
The middle-aged man in the golden robe flicked his hand.
When his consciousness moved, the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy twitched on its own and wrapped around me, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, and Kang Min-hee’s substitute.
‘Another new sight.’
Until now it had always been only those three who were chosen, but now I, too, had become their interest.
They murmured the same as before, then took Jeon Myeong-hoon, Kang Min-hee, Oh Hyun-seok, and so on in turn.
And they finally turned their attention to the last remaining me.
[Hum, it does not react to my sword arts either.]
[It does not react to my Ghost Dao technique either.]
[It does not react to my Law Body either.]
“… ”
*Uung uung―*
I felt my consciousness tremble at the strange way they conversed with their consciousness instead of voices.
Until now I had not known, but now that I had awakened my consciousness I realized their speaking method was pouring their thoughts directly into my consciousness rather than speaking through voices.
[Well, let’s first see what kind of attribute spiritual root you have.]
The man in the golden robe reached out to me.
*Uuuung―*
“Guk!”
The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy moved on its own and squeezed my entire body.
At the same time, the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy that forcibly penetrated my meridians stirred every part of my body.
And at the same time I felt the man in the golden robe’s consciousness examine my entire body.
“Keuk, keueup!”
Pain as if holes were being drilled into my meridians!
But I gritted my teeth and endured the pain.
After a while, the golden-robed saber master who had collected the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy from my body spoke harshly.
[Good, you have endurance. But…]
*Paah!*
The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy that had left me gathered in the empty sky and divided into five branches of spiritual power.
The five elements’ attributes.
I saw the golden-robed saber master and the black-robed, blue-armored giant lose interest in what they saw.
[Five spiritual roots, eh?]
[Moreover, the impure aura coming from that fellow’s body… is he a martial artist?]
[Hahaha, judging by his face he probably knew almost nothing about the saber world. Perhaps he simply practiced martial arts in a remote village without knowing he had spiritual roots.]
The blue-armored giant, Changhoza, laughed heartily.
[You don’t know much about the saber world, do you? The spiritual roots, or whatever they are called by the saber masters, basically have faster training speed when they have fewer attributes. Conversely, the more attributes a spiritual root has, the slower the training speed becomes.
That is why single-attribute spiritual roots are called heavenly spiritual roots, and those with two or three attributes are true spiritual roots, and those with four or five attributes are… miscellaneous spiritual roots, and they are not treated as highly as the others.]
“… ”
[Hahaha, but you need not worry too much. If training were determined only by talent, those of you with five spiritual roots like you would have all hanged yourselves long ago. The saber masters consider not only talent but also the understanding of techniques and realms, and overall five virtues.
Endurance, patience, and will are also major factors. In my opinion, your talent is lacking and I do not know about your five virtues, but you passed my ruthless examination of your spiritual roots without a sound, so I think your endurance and will are excellent.]
*Paah!*
Changhoza flicked a small ball of light at me while laughing heartily.
The light ball seeped into the back of my hand and transformed into a small brand.
[At the very end of my clan’s branch line… there is one saber master family that they established. Because they have such poor talent and overall weakness, they do not take them when the Ascension Gate opens this time. But it will still help you. It is a recommendation letter from an external member of the clan.
Since they are in Byeokra Kingdom, the nation of the criminals, and use the name Cheongmun Clan, you may go to the Cheongmun Clan estate.]
After speaking, Changhoza and the other two saber masters transformed into light balls and disappeared into the sky.
“… ”
I looked at the small brand on the back of my hand and gave a small bow to Changhoza.
“W-well, Mr. Seo. What on earth were those guys saying?”
“…I don’t know either.”
I shook my head and pretended I did not understand, and the next day came again.
As before, there was rain and wind.
I lay in the cave nursing the groaning Oh Hye-seo’s substitute and observed her.
‘The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy is moving around her.’
Until now I had not known any of this, but now that my consciousness had awakened I knew.
The vast heavenly spiritual power was circulating around her.
After a while, the Dragon King Seo Hyoel appeared again and took her away, and after some time Kim Yeon the chief awakened her ability.
*Kugu gugu gu―*
‘This…’
Even Kim Yeon the chief, now that her consciousness had awakened, could vaguely see the true nature of her ability.
‘She’s gone mad. This… is a human consciousness…?’
Around her, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of threads of consciousness, visible as if they were wrapping around the heaven and earth, sprang forth.
The size of the consciousness threads was not lacking even when compared to those of the saber masters.
At the same time I noticed her upper dantian rapidly growing larger.
‘While awakening the ability… is she experiencing the same side effect as me?’
I whispered a small exclamation of admiration at her ability, then pressed the blood acupoint to stabilize her upper dantian a little.
“Se… Mr. Seo, when you touch me it feels a little less headachy…”
“… ”
Kim Yeon the chief clutched her head and looked at me.
And at that moment she looked in one direction.
The direction where the several saber masters and the Dragon King had gone.
From there, a curly-haired ghost flew over again.
*Huung―*
And the curly-haired ghost, as soon as it arrived, looked at me and Kim the chief and flicked its finger at her.
Then a pure white ball of light flew and settled on her upper dantian, and the twisting effect on her upper dantian began to ease.
‘What is that…?’
I had not seen it in the previous life.
It seemed they had been using it all along in the previous life, but only now that I had awakened my consciousness could I see it.
After examining Kim the chief, the curly-haired ghost turned its gaze to me as well.
[Hum… hum, this is another martial art.]
As with the previous saber masters, the curly-haired ghost’s gaze was different from the previous cycle.
[Let me see, this skeleton, this spiritual root, this consciousness size…]
The curly-haired ghost, after examining me for a moment, suddenly approached and began to poke and prod my body.
After a while, the curly-haired ghost grinned and chuckled.
[Hehehe, I see. This internal energy, this skeleton, this meridian, this consciousness size, and especially five-element spiritual root. Exactly the same type as the one I saw when I was young!]
The curly-haired ghost bared his teeth and chuckled.
[You are not a saber master who was chosen by fate at birth, are you?]
“…!”
I could not help but flinch at those words.
This fact had not been noticed by any of the previous saber masters or the Dragon King.
Or rather, perhaps they had not been interested.
The old man continued poking and prodding my body while chuckling.
Although a little displeased, because I could not match the old man’s consciousness size, I endured silently.
[Oh, your consciousness is agitated. I was right. You… are a martial artist who practiced martial arts. You entered the saber masters’ realm by practicing martial arts. Is that not so?]
“…How did you know?”
I asked in Yeon language so that Kim Young-hoon and Kim the chief would not understand.
Then the curly-haired old man chuckled and said,
[Because I saw a fellow exactly like you six hundred years ago. Yes, they called that realm Five Qi Gathering at the Crown?]
“…Yes.”
Of course, I had guessed they were people who had lived very long.
There was no way they would not have met a martial artist who reached Five Qi Gathering at the Crown after living such a long time.
[That fellow was called a genius even by martial artist standards. I met him when I was a Foundation Establishment saber master, and he was enough of a match for me.
In the end I lost to him, but it was a very fun experience. After meeting him I searched the classics and looked for whether there were such strange existences. The classics said that such fellows appear once every few hundred years, very rarely.
And their characteristics were exactly the same as yours.]
The ghost’s hand rested on my shoulder.
[Very sturdy bones, wide meridians, internal energy full of a martial artist’s lower dantian.]
The ghost grabbed my chin and forced my mouth open to point at my teeth.
I wanted to kick the ghost away, but I could not help but endure because I knew what kind of storm would follow if I did.
[Perfectly symmetrical, neat teeth. Such teeth could never come out naturally. Saber masters born with spiritual roots do not have them either. Only martial artists who have undergone bone reconstruction after reaching Five Qi Gathering at the Crown have them.]
The ghost let go of my chin and touched my consciousness with his own, saying,
[And a consciousness the size of a Foundation Establishment three or four-layer saber master. A martial artist with only one percent of law power having such a consciousness? Impossible. A consciousness this large can only be because the person has awakened their own consciousness after reaching Five Qi Gathering at the Crown. And especially that five-element spiritual root.]
He finally caught my wrist and sent his spiritual energy through it like a pulse diagnosis.
[Martial artists who reach Five Qi Gathering at the Crown extract uniform spiritual energy from the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy to use for bone reconstruction so as not to unbalance the upper dantian.
Thanks to that, the internal spiritual energy of you Five Qi Gathering martial artists is far more uniform than that of ordinary five-spiritual-root saber masters. These things prove that you are not ordinary five-spiritual-root saber masters but martial artists of Five Qi Gathering at the Crown.]
The curly-haired ghost chuckled and withdrew his hand.
[It is a fact that only someone as learned and long-lived as me can know. It has been a while since I felt like I met my old friend from my youth, so I talked a little more than I should have.]
It seemed he had overlapped me with the Five Qi Gathering martial artist from six hundred years ago, the one he had met in his youth.
The curly-haired old man grinned and looked at the brand on my hand.
[Seeing the brand on your hand, Changhoza that good man gave you a recommendation letter, did he? Hahaha, what an idiot. A martial artist of Five Qi Gathering at the Crown would be an excellent vessel to receive the body-refining technique he practices.
And he is guaranteed basic combat power just by being Five Qi Gathering at the Crown. He recommended him to the foolish clan left behind in the lower realm. That foolish man made another mistake.]
He chuckled as if it were amusing and asked me,
[Let me ask one thing. First, what martial art have you mainly practiced?]
“Saber arts.”
[Oh, good. Saber is good. The friend I met mostly used spears, but he also practiced saber arts. Martial artists in general mostly practice spears and… ah, that is not the important part.
You.]
He gave me an evil smile and looked at me.
[Can you go your whole life without picking up a sword? If you make such a vow, I will personally take you as my disciple.]
Go my whole life without a sword?
The thought was short.
No, it was non-existent.
“I am grateful for the offer. But I cannot lay down the sword.”
[Hmm, even though becoming my disciple would let you cross the Ascension Gate immediately and ascend to the upper realm for free?]
“My knowledge is lacking, so I do not know what kind of opportunity that would be, but I cannot give up the martial arts I have trained for my whole life.”
[If you become my disciple you will be able to live for hundreds of years more. Yet you cannot give up the martial arts you have only trained for dozens of years?]
Only dozens of years.
I gave a small wry smile.
Not dozens of years. Far from it.
My past lives were…
Yes, martial arts were my past lives.
“…I am sorry. But I… may die young, but I cannot lay down the sword in my hand.”
[Hmm…]
The curly-haired old man, after examining me for a moment, laughed.
[You seem like no fun. The fellow from six hundred years ago was the same. His consciousness size was only Foundation Establishment four-layer at most, yet he poured out attacks that went beyond Foundation Establishment extremes, so I wanted to take him as a disciple and see… but he said the same thing as you.]
His expression looked a little regretful.
[Enough. Do not become my disciple. By the way, my personality is bad, so I will not particularly recommend you to Changhoza. It is simply that our fates do not connect. Now, get lost.]
*Uung―*
As the old man reached out, the space behind him split and spewed out pitch-black emptiness.
The same process as before.
My body and Kim Young-hoon’s body began to be sucked into the space crack.
[Well, it does not sit well with me that you did not become my disciple. But I highly value the fact that you kept your spirit, so I will give you a gift.]
*Paah!*
A pure white ball of light burst from the tip of the curly-haired old man’s hand.
The light ball seeped into my mind as I was being sucked into the space crack, as if something was being imprinted on my mind.
I fell into the space crack as before.
The only difference from before was that what I last saw beyond the space crack was not Kim the chief reaching out to us, but the curly-haired old man waving his hand.
* * *
*Huiiii―*
The wind blew.
It was cold.
And the surroundings were completely blue.
“…?”
‘I wonder where…’
I suddenly realized I was falling at high speed.
“…!! Such insane…”
I shook off my daze in shock.
I was falling!
From the sky!
When I looked around, I saw Kim Young-hoon falling alongside me far away.
I hurriedly unfolded *Hugongdabbo* and caught Kim Young-hoon, pressed the acupoint to prevent injury, then used *Hugongdabbo* to slow my descent.
How far had we fallen? I stepped on the empty sky and safely landed on the ground.
‘If I had not woken up, I would have unknowingly passed into the next life.’
It gave me the creeps.
No matter how random it was, I had not expected to fall from the sky.
I wiped the cold sweat and looked around.
‘First, this place is…’
After observing the terrain around me by jumping through the empty sky with *Hugongdabbo*, I knew roughly where I was.
‘West of Yeonsanseong…’
Yeonsanseong.
The city I had first fallen into.
After several cycles, it had fallen here again.
‘First, let’s see what the curly-haired old man gave me…’
I closed my eyes and began reading the law decrees the curly-haired old man had input into my head.
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