Chapter 44
**CHAPTER TITLE: The Regressor’s Silent Resolve**
I opened my eyes. A pungent medicinal scent assaulted my nostrils.
*Honggamju, Wonryangcho, Gulpiji… I know most of them, but I’m still clueless about half the blends…*
I inhaled the herbal aroma and tried to recall the precise combinations. The unfamiliar ones outnumbered the ones I remembered.
I circulated my qi to assess my condition, then slowly rose to a sitting position.
*This place…*
It was clearly the Jin Family Clan’s medical hall.
When I looked around, a small lacquered tray beside me held a red jade pendant. It had suddenly turned blue and emitted a faint glow.
At the same time, countless talismanic characters appeared in my consciousness and began weaving an intricate linking pattern across the room.
*Is this… reporting my state to the outside world?*
The talismanic links spread outward in an instant. Moments later, an elder of the Cheongmun Clan and a physician from the Jin Family Clan entered the hall.
“Elder Cheongmun…”
“Sit. Haha. How is your condition?”
“Fine. It feels as if I suffered no wounds at all.”
“That makes sense. The head of the Jin Family Clan himself watched your spar and grew so excited he ordered us to treat you with utmost care. A Foundation Establishment elder and two Qi Condensation disciples fighting… he actually enjoyed it. Haha. Your skill is truly impressive.”
The elder of the Cheongmun Clan clapped my shoulder while addressing the physician.
“If your pulse shows no abnormalities, you may be discharged.”
“Understood.”
The physician examined me, pronounced me fully healed, and helped me out.
I followed Elder Cheongmun toward the quarters assigned to me within the Cheongmun Clan. My room was right next door, so he stopped me before I could enter.
“Stop for a moment. Come with me to my quarters first.”
The door clicked shut. He sat down and flicked his fingers.
A cushion flew over and landed before him. He pointed at it.
“Sit.”
“Understood.”
“Today’s spar was excellent. You upheld the Cheongmun Clan’s honor in front of the other sects. I will report it to the Clan Leader. You have earned your place.”
“Thank you.”
“However, before I present your reward from the main family, there is something I need to confirm.”
He looked at me with transparent eyes.
“In my youth I read in ancient texts about martial artists of the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin. They appear only once every few hundred years. Even after a lifetime of training, they cannot reach that realm. Only by facing death head-on can one barely awaken it.”
That was accurate.
Not Kim Young-hoon’s oddity of martial talent, but mine as a time traveler. Ordinary geniuses could not reach it without that resolve.
Even at the peak of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, without completing the body reconstruction, the upper dantian would explode.
“So they are born with such impossible odds that their consciousness is far sharper and more detailed than ordinary Qi Condensation disciples. They can wield the pure force of Foundation Establishment cultivators as freely as they please…”
“Pure force…?”
“Do you not know? Once one ascends to Foundation Establishment, the qi follows the path of the primordial force and becomes extremely pure… This is what you have.”
A faint white light rose from his palm.
I stared in astonishment.
*Gangqi!*
“Gangqi? Foundation Establishment cultivators call it pure force. They remove impurities and compress the existing qi dozens of times.”
I watched him casually expel gangqi without a single thought. My mouth was still open.
Then I focused on the pure force he emitted and realized it was nothing like my sword gang.
‘It lacks the intent embedded in my sword gang.’
It was simply a massive quantity of qi compressed to its limit.
Just as when I had temporarily condensed sword qi with my sword thread using the first stance of the Energy Gathering Heavenly Strike.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator merely spewed out qi compressed to the point of incomprehensibility.
‘My sword gang might be sharper in cutting power…’
Watching him casually expel gangqi felt like watching someone operate a machine. My heart sank.
‘Output is overwhelming. Moreover, the purity of the qi is far higher than my sword gang. No impurities at all!’
And most importantly, the sheer volume he could expel.
“…Forgive me, but once one reaches Foundation Establishment, that gangqi… or rather, pure force…?”
“It becomes the foundation itself.”
“…”
“Qi no longer flows through the meridians. Pure force circulates through every point, creating natural rebound. Your so-called protective gangqi is simply something we maintain at all times.”
A monster whose meridians carried gangqi instead of qi!
One who expelled protective gangqi every second, every breath, every instant!
That was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
‘The reason Foundation Establishment cultivators can fight gangqi disciples… is because they constantly project protective gangqi. To inflict real damage, you need power beyond gangqi…’
I had never even imagined such a concept. My head spun.
Gangqi flowing through the meridians instead of qi!
Was this truly a human being?
‘Still, I heard that Foundation Establishment disciples gain significantly longer lifespans…’
I could guess why.
Their entire body was filled with gangqi and they kept expanding its volume with cultivation manuals.
A monster like that should not live longer unless its lifespan itself changed.
“…In any case, martial artists who have reached Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown can imitate our pure force. Even the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin martial artists can wield it quite freely. Qi Condensation and below cannot hope to match it.
However, excluding information that is obvious to anyone, the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin martial artists are so rare that I do not know what you might need. If there is anything from the reward I give you, tell me.”
“Something I need…”
I thought for a moment and spoke.
“Elder Cheongmun Mok once explained to me the principle of first hearing then speaking and first speaking then hearing. Because my imperial qi is weak, I cannot advance quickly. I would like you to help me deepen my understanding of the talismanic arrays through the way of first seeing then hearing.”
“First seeing then hearing… related to understanding talismans and incantations? After you return to the main family, I will recommend you as a disciple of Cheongmun Ryeong. Although he has not reached Core Formation, he devotes himself entirely to studying talismans and incantations. He will be useful for your pursuit.”
“!”
“Thank you!”
“And…”
He stroked his beard.
“The Jin Family Head was also interested in your martial skill and has decided to present you with a reward. Within reasonable limits, anything you desire will be granted. Think carefully about what you want.”
After speaking, Elder Cheongmun gestured for me to leave. I stepped outside and murmured.
“Even the Jin Family… a reward…”
From his tone, it was not a fixed item but a request within reasonable bounds.
*…So it’s possible…*
I recalled a possibility and decided what I wanted.
***
Several days later, I was permitted to meet the Jin Family Head, Jin Yeoun.
He was genuinely curious about me and asked what I desired.
“Within what the main head can grant. Do not push the limits too far.”
The day before the audience, I had received a strict reminder from Elder Cheongmun that any request must stay within Qi Condensation or lower.
“So, Head Master, I request…”
I hesitated, then finally voiced my wish.
“…In the short time I spent in the Yeon Kingdom, I formed connections with its cultivators. Later I heard they were all used as materials for the Makri Clan’s elixirs, and their children are now sheltered in the Jin Family. I wish to visit their living quarters.”
“Hmm. So you wish to see the cultivators who work for the Jin Family…”
He pondered, then summoned one of the clan elders.
“If relatives of the cultivators sacrificed by the Makri Clan, they were trained in assassination throughout the empire, weren’t they?”
“Yes. However, most lack real martial talent. The former Emperor Makri Jeong himself was assassinated before he could establish an assassination unit. We simply educated them to farm or perform menial labor within the empire.”
“Hmm. Then that should be manageable…”
The Jin Family Head nodded.
“Very well. Even if they live in the empire, they are our workers. You, a disciple of the Cheongmun Clan, cannot wander the empire at will. You may only visit the cultivators’ territory and the main family will assign two monitors.”
“I am deeply grateful for your grace!”
“Withdraw.”
I bowed to the head and received two monitors: one the leader of the cultivators’ territory and one assigned to watch me.
One of them was someone I knew.
“We meet again.”
“Indeed.”
Kim Young-hoon awaited me in his signature crimson robe.
“Your younger brother from when I moved in the murim world. May I speak with you for a moment?”
“…Of course.”
The other monitor, a Qi Condensation tenth-layer disciple, glanced at Kim Young-hoon’s expression and quietly withdrew.
“Amazing. You are a member of the Cheongmun Clan’s envoy… No, looking at your consciousness, you have already mastered a cultivation manual. Your imperial qi also feels subtly present.”
“You are observant.”
A Five Qi Consorting with the Origin martial artist could not enlarge their consciousness no matter how they trained or swung a sword.
They could become sharper and more flexible, or even split their consciousness like a cultivator, but their consciousness itself would never grow larger.
Kim Young-hoon, who had already reached Deungbongjogeuk, also had a slightly smaller consciousness than mine even at that realm.
“You chose to become a cultivator. That is one path as well.”
“…When we sparred, I wish to know what you said through consciousness.”
“Haha, that.”
We walked together out of the Jin Family. He gazed at the sky and spoke.
“When I first arrived here, I believed I could never return home. Learning the Danmai Sword Art you taught me only strengthened that belief. Feeling the will embedded in those martial skills… Haha, the very name of the technique, Dao Grave! How cruel!”
“…”
“Even after reaching Five Qi Consorting with the Origin, I still felt that way. But… I created the realm of Deungbongjogeuk and changed my thinking. Through Wolsuwolmurok, I gained the certainty that I could reach the peak of Deungbongjogeuk…”
He opened his palm.
A ball of qi gathered in his hand and condensed into a round pearl.
The pearl split.
It divided into three, spun, and split again into nine.
“I thought this was the end. Now I can only fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator. To take even one arm from a Core Formation cultivator, I would have to risk my life. Core Formation disciples are like natural disasters wearing human form… I knew they heal one arm within a month, so it’s meaningless… but…”
“…”
“But.”
His eyes blazed.
“I know! This is not the end! It is not the end! We! We can go further!
We can reach a realm beyond this! I can see it!”
He continued.
“The sixteenth and twenty-third stances of both Danmai Sword Art and Danak Sword Art are identical—Mountain Beyond Mountain is Endless. Although there are mountains beyond mountains, did you not give those names for a reason?”
I remained silent.
It was the misunderstanding caused by assuming I had created both sword arts.
The reason those were the names of the final stances of both arts was slightly different from what he thought.
“We can definitely open a new realm!! It is possible!”
“…Hyung.”
I looked at him and spoke.
“You said your goal was to pass through the Ascension Gate, but to my eyes it seems the Ascension Gate is merely a reason. Perhaps you are simply more curious about the ultimate limit of martial skill.”
“Haha, that could very well be.”
He forced a smile.
“But the longing for home is real. This longing bottle… I cannot shake it off. The fact that I am so obsessed with martial skills may simply be to forget this longing once in a while.”
To forget the longing.
I dismantled my consciousness in the colorless world of my consciousness domain and observed the color gradient of intent once more.
Kim Young-hoon noticed my gaze and gave an awkward smile.
His intent was filled with golden light.
Joy.
Wistfulness and sorrow were also present, but when he spoke of martial skill, it was joy that dominated.
“…Well. It is true that learning martial skill is enjoyable. Honestly, I have never found a martial skill that fits me so perfectly… Perhaps, as you say, I simply enjoy martial skill…”
“Enjoy…”
I had not realized that this was the source of Kim Young-hoon’s talent.
For me, martial skill was undoubtedly part of life.
I could call it history, but the emotion was far from ‘joy.’
“Well, whether I learned it because of the longing or because I simply enjoyed it, my desire to cross beyond Deungbongjogeuk is genuine. And as a martial artist, you surely wish to reach an even higher realm.”
He smiled faintly.
“Whenever you like. The only Five Qi Consorting with the Origin martial artist in this world now is you. I will teach you whenever you wish.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
I grinned and accepted his offer.
When I had first learned his goal was the Ascension Gate, worry had weighed on me.
He would not reach it in this life.
But now that I understood his true purpose was the pursuit of martial skill rather than the Ascension Gate, my heart felt a little lighter.
“Well, your body has recovered. Shall we exchange a few moves lightly?”
“Haha, I knew you would say that.”
I casually drew my sword from its sheath.
He launched one of the gangqi pearls he had been floating earlier.
That single strike carried the intent of Wolsuwolmurok.
Wolsuwolmurok had evolved from Wolsu Gongmurok, which severed others’ consciousness and awareness, through the realization of Chosu Wolmurok that unified consciousness, and finally into a martial art that severed and controlled one’s own consciousness.
I had used the same method—severing my consciousness, inputting intent, and condensing it into sword qi in mid-air.
Of course, compressing gangqi to make it behave like a living thing in the air was still beyond me, but…
I activated Wolsuwolmurok and raised my sword.
I severed my consciousness, input intent into it, and simultaneously injected qi into the sword.
Whoosh—
Flash!
The sword left my hand and began to float in the air.
“Hah!”
Focusing my consciousness, the sword flew.
Kwaaaaa!
Following Wolsuwolmurok’s sequence, it carried my sword qi and struck Kim Young-hoon’s gangqi pearl.
Sword with Qi!
Again and again in the distance, I severed my consciousness, threw it toward the sword, and constantly input intent.
Whoosh, boom, boom!
The sword hacked through the air, cutting awareness with Wolsu Gongmurok’s sequence according to my will.
Kim Young-hoon’s gangqi pearl did the same—cutting awareness and vanishing from sight.
But I hunted it with mad intensity, eyes locked on the threads of intent.
Suddenly, the threads of intent twisted in the air.
*There!*
I hurriedly input more intent into my sword and dodged.
In that brief moment, his gangqi pearl chased me like a living thing.
At the same time, Kim Young-hoon’s intent clung to mine and interfered with the intent I was inputting into the sword.
We never touched hands like in a real spar, but a massive storm of intent collided in the air.
Countless threads of intent clashed. I pushed through the storm and finally input my final intent into the sword.
However, at that moment—
Crack!
His gangqi pearl danced in mid-air and collided with my sword gang.
Simultaneously, every piece of intent I had input into the sword vanished, and the intent of the gangqi pearl filled the space.
My sword had been taken from me.
“…I have no idea what you did. That gangqi pearl… is it alive?”
“So it is.”
“Is that a joke or the truth?”
He grinned, retrieved the pearl, tested my sword a few times, and returned it.
“Truth. Follow the path of Wolsuwolmurok and you will learn the realization of Deungbongjogeuk. Only then will you understand what I mean.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
I sheathed my sword and bowed.
“Haha, we have played enough. Shall we go where you wish to go?”
And so, with Kim Young-hoon and the other Jin Family cultivator as guides, I headed to one of the border territories of the Jin Family empire.
***
Ordinary people worked.
Carpenters, silversmiths, blacksmiths.
Farmers and herbal gatherers.
They were the cultivators working for the Jin Family.
They all looked like ordinary people, yet no one seemed to suffer abuse or hardship.
Of course, if one worked in the territory of a demonic sect like the Makri Clan, conditions might differ.
After arriving in the empire, I had received instructions to travel only designated paths and had been placed under a weak awareness-binding talisman.
I followed Kim Young-hoon and the Jin Family monitor, searching for familiar faces.
“…They all grew up nicely.”
When I infiltrated the empire years ago, they were still students. Now they were all young adults.
“Cheongya must be working as a physician.”
Even in my previous life, she had learned assassination techniques and poison arts from me. It suited her.
“Hyia is weaving cloth… Haha, her hands were already beautiful, but she does better with weapons.”
“Yeorheun is cutting wood. It suits her perfectly.”
“Daehyun is a carpenter.”
“And…”
I looked for the disciples of my previous life and observed what they were doing.
Fortunately, all of them were healthy and doing work suited to their aptitude, not the grueling assassination training.
Each lived quietly according to their own nature.
It was while I was viewing the disciples who had grown into young adults that the monitor asked.
“You said you came to see your friends’ children… yet you do not speak to anyone.”
“That is true. Why not greet them at least once?”
Kim Young-hoon also wondered why I was behaving strangely. I let out a small laugh.
“…Then I will greet the next person.”
Next was Nogyeon.
The one who had fled from me in my first life and boldly declared he would kill the emperor of his own will.
And the foolish disciple who died first.
“…This must be Nogyeon’s house.”
I went to his home and watched him work.
The house smelled of wood. He was carving something inside a small workshop.
*Nogyeon also became a carpenter. What is he carving?*
I peeked inside and saw he was carving a pair of family members.
His parents and siblings sat happily together, and in the center was Nogyeon himself carved in.
It was the parents and siblings of the one killed by the Makri Clan.
Upon closer inspection, his workshop was filled with countless similar family carvings.
I silently observed them.
Suddenly Nogyeon noticed my shadow and looked up in surprise.
“…Who are you?”
I signaled the monitor and cultivator to step back, then spoke alone.
“Your… or rather, your family…? No, family?”
“…Yes.”
“What you are doing suits your aptitude?”
“Indeed. But who are you…?”
He looked cautiously at the fine black robe of the Cheongmun Clan I wore.
“…Just a passerby.”
“Ah, I see.”
Of course his eyes showed he did not believe me.
Wariness was clear.
“Then why have you come…?”
“…Because I miss my parents.”
“…Indeed. I… lost them when I was young. I miss them terribly and sometimes do this.”
“Is there resentment in your heart because you never saw your parents…?”
“Resentment is gone. My parents were killed by the hands of the Makri Clan. Right in front of me. Sometimes the memory returns and my teeth chatter.”
“I heard you were trained in assassination to avenge your parents. Is there no emotion left because you could not directly kill them?”
Upon hearing my words, he treated me with even greater respect, assuming I was connected to a sect.
“…In truth, the very next day after our grueling training, our target, Emperor Makri Jeong, was placed on the execution ground. At first we did not know whose head it was, but once we learned, the resentment eased a little. Of course, the emotion is not gone… but it is not painful.”
“…I see. That is fortunate.”
“But, sir, may I ask who you are? I fear I cannot properly entertain you….”
“Just a guest of the Jin Family.”
“Ah, I see. Forgive me. With the circumstances… I cannot properly entertain you…”
“It is fine. I must go now.”
I left Nogyeon’s house, who was trying to entertain me.
*You are doing well.*
That was good.
Yet at the same time, my chest tightened.
He was not one of my disciples.
My disciples were in another timeline.
“…”
Pah, pah!
I forced the churning in my chest back inside.
And I went to see the last house.
The home of Man-ho, the representative of my disciples.
*As I traveled, I heard many interesting things about Man-ho…*
As I approached the house, a woman waddled out.
Her belly was swollen and life’s qi stirred inside.
Her face was one I knew well.
*Gye-hwa… Man-ho finally succeeded.*
She was hanging laundry on a pole.
In the distance, Man-ho ran over, stealthily approached me, and then dashed to her.
“Wife! I brought persimmons! You said you wanted persimmons!”
“Oh dear, hush, you idiot! If I scold the child, what then! And what is this? Your clothes are torn! The ones I sewed for you last time!”
“P-pardon. Wife.”
“Sigh, I can’t live like this… really…”
While scolding Man-ho, Gye-hwa suddenly clutched her belly and sat on the floor.
“Oh, look. The baby is kicking.”
“Y-yes?”
“Listen.”
With my Five Qi Consorting with the Origin senses, I clearly heard the baby kicking inside her belly.
Man-ho laughed happily, pressing his ear to her belly.
Suddenly I realized I was crying.
Ah, yes.
You also had that possibility.
Not a life of grueling training, staining your entire body with blood, hearing the wails of dead family and your hatred.
Just living together, doing what you wanted to do.
A new life was possible for you too.
“…Sniff, sob…”
The emotion I had forced back finally spilled out little by little.
It was so joyful.
These children could grow up and live such a life.
At the same time, it was unbearably sad.
These children were not my disciples.
They had no relation to me anymore.
The children I had a connection with were not these.
I had only taught them blood and death.
That had been necessary.
They were children of another timeline.
Looking at these completely different people, I felt both joy and, paradoxically, unbearable pain that I would never see them again.
This was the reality of regression.
No matter what ties I formed, all ties would vanish and the person would disappear into another timeline.
No matter how many times I connected with the same people, every character in every cycle was still a completely different person.
Unlike calling Kim Young-hoon “Hyung” in the first and second cycles, calling him “Hyung” in later cycles was for exactly this reason.
Of course, because they were not completely identical, in urgent situations I could not properly organize titles, so “Hyung” sometimes slipped out.
But he was undeniably a different person from the one in the previous cycle.
And the same was true for my disciples.
The definition of connection was the time spent together.
They were not my disciples who had spent the same time as me.
They were completely different people.
It was the first day of this life.
I had thought the memories of my previous life were buried deep in my chest.
But how could human emotion simply be buried?
The memories and emotions I had already taught these children had long since become part of my life.
“…I am sorry.”
My disciples from the previous life.
I am truly sorry I could not give you the chance to dream of this possibility.
“And thank you.”
My children of this life.
Thank you for living as you are.
As the emotion surged, my subconsciously activated Wolsu Gongmurok gradually dissolved.
Suddenly Gye-hwa noticed me and was startled.
“Oh, who are you?”
“Eh? Oh… you are crying.”
I wiped my tears and smiled at them.
“I am sorry. Seeing you two reminded me of people I knew. …They were precious to me, but I will never see them again.”
“How sad… We too have similar pain. If you do not mind, please come in and have some tea…”
“I am fine. A peaceful home is more fragrant than any tea. I wish you both a hundred years of harmony.”
I finished speaking, bowed to them, and used Wolsu Gongmurok.
They were surprised when I suddenly disappeared like a ghost. They looked around, then seemed to accept me as some cultivator.
“…Have you met everyone?”
“Yes. I have met everyone I wished to see.”
I did not look at them, but gazed at the sky.
My resolve had grown even firmer today.
I would escape this regression.
And to do so, I would cultivate to even higher realms.
So that my life would not be disrupted by the games of time.
***
Several days later.
The time had come for the envoys from the Jin Family to depart.
After bidding farewell to Kim Young-hoon, I returned to the Cheongmun Clan.
I paid a small greeting to the Clan Head and was granted permission to stay in the main residence as a major member.
With Elder Cheongmun’s introduction, I entered the cultivation of Cheongmun Ryeong, the Foundation Establishment elder.
Before him, I took the posture of a disciple and made my vow.
No matter how much my body might break.
No matter what happened.
I would definitely head toward even higher realms!!!