The Heavenly Thunder (6)
When my lifespan ends, heaven will somehow manufacture a fate that kills me.
Even at the end of my past life, a tree would suddenly fall or a venomous snake would bite me.
Insane bad luck would strike one after another, only to end in sudden heart failure.
‘But if I keep pouring out endless saber energy and force my heart to keep beating…’
‘Then perhaps heaven will grant me a little more time in this life.’
If that’s the case…
What if I keep pouring out saber energy without stopping?
If I never die as long as I never stop pouring it out?
Then perhaps heaven might reset my lifespan.
Just like Foundation Establishment cultivators who spin their entire meridian systems with Pure Force, the same as saber energy.
I might be able to maintain this life for a while by continuously stimulating my heart with saber energy.
‘And with my dan already formed… I might truly hold out until heaven resets my lifespan…!’
My inner energy reserves far surpassed anything I had in my first life as a mere Five Qi Consorting with the Origin.
‘It’s worth trying, isn’t it?’
First, I swallowed every spiritual herb and spiritual root available in the imperial palace’s medicine storehouse, packing my dan solid and compressing my inner energy to the limit.
Then I quietly laid down a formation near the Heavenly Spirit Platform where the In-yeon royal clan performed its annual ancestral rites.
After that, I released the Wansuigungmurok technique and climbed onto the Heavenly Spirit Platform, sitting down slowly while calming my mind and body.
And I continuously reflected on the comprehension of Qi Condensation 13th Star, One Origin One Response, exploring it in the way of Seon-gak Hu-tong.
***
It had been a day, or half a day at most, since I took my seat on the Heavenly Spirit Platform.
Imperial inspectors patrolling the area immediately spotted me.
“Hey! Who are you?!”
I ignored them completely and said nothing in return.
“This, this fellow… Do you even know what the Heavenly Spirit Platform is?! Only His Majesty the Emperor is allowed to ascend this sacred altar with his divine body!”
Swoosh!
One inspector drew a dagger from his sleeve and charged at me.
The dagger carried profound energy, marking him as a first-rate expert.
But the moment I flicked my fingers, a wave of saber energy from my inner dan gently pushed the inspector away, sending him flying far into the distance.
Because it was saber energy meant to repel rather than harm, the inspector landed softly on the ground.
Immediately, the inspector’s face turned deathly pale and he roared.
“A-Alarm! A supreme expert has invaded the Heavenly Spirit Platform! Guards! Guards!”
At his shout, the guards swarmed in, surrounding the Heavenly Spirit Platform and pointing spears and swords at me.
“You wretched rebel! How dare you climb this altar where only the imperial family offers rites to heaven?! Come down at once!”
“…A place where one offers rites to heaven.”
It was a familiar spot.
For the past forty-plus years, that had been my entire life—offering rites to heaven.
No one here could perform those rites better than I.
“…Bring someone here who can offer better rites to heaven than me. They will be spared.”
“The rebel is full of words! Die!”
Uwaaaaa!
The imperial soldiers charged at me, infusing their weapons with their own energy.
But I grinned and raised my hand.
Uwoong!
“H-Hey…!”
“No way!”
“M-My spear!”
“My sword!”
Hundreds of weapons rose into the air under my Sword Control Technique.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The weapons spun in mid-air.
And in an instant.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
The weapons, spinning in mid-air, all flew straight to their rightful owner and re-embedded themselves in place.
Crack.
The atmosphere in the square turned as cold as ice.
They had all realized it.
With just a thought, I could have slaughtered them all right then and there.
Meanwhile.
A high official pushed through the soldiers and walked toward us.
When he reached the front of the Heavenly Spirit Platform, he bowed respectfully and asked.
“Are you well, sir? I am Yuk-jeon, the left vice-censor in the Seongje Empire. Might you be a cultivator…?”
As expected, the imperial court’s high officials were familiar with cultivators.
He exuded utmost respect toward me.
“If I am a cultivator, why would I casually use forbidden techniques in the imperial palace?”
“…They say even law techniques are permitted inside the palace for the virtuous elders of great clans. Could you perhaps be a newly appointed imperial censor from a great family?”
It seemed they called the censors from the great clans “imperial censors.”
But I shook my head.
“That is not the case.”
“Then…?”
“If you truly wish to know, do as I said and summon someone who can offer better rites to heaven than me.”
The high official seemed to understand my meaning and gestured urgently to the inspectors, speaking in a low voice.
“Summon the censors! Quickly!”
And only moments later.
“What’s this? Another one?”
“Haha, looking at the ceremony, he’s a cultivator too? You, whoever you are. Which clan are you from?!”
“No clan insignia. Is he a hermit?”
The In-yeon royal clan sent three.
And the remaining six clans from the Six Great Clans sent six more.
Altogether, nine Foundation Establishment cultivators in the 8th or 9th stages surrounded the Heavenly Spirit Platform.
“Tsk, you madman. A hermit like you dares to invade the imperial palace? Don’t you know that once you enter the palace, all law techniques and energies are sealed except for the tiny amount that flows through your body for training?”
Swish! Crack! Crack!
The nine cultivators each pulled out a talisman and activated it.
Flash!
The talismans glowed.
At the same time, transparent barriers the exact size of their consciousnesses formed around each of them.
Inside those barriers, using law techniques appeared possible.
“Go on, die, you foolish hermit…”
Kwang!
And in the next instant.
The 8th-stage cultivator who had spoken first was struck by my saber energy and sent flying.
Thud!
Simultaneously, I used Sword Control to pull the 8th-stage cultivator’s talisman toward me.
‘Activate!’
Flash!
This time the talisman glowed in my hand and formed a barrier perfectly matched to my own consciousness size.
Only then did the law energy that had previously flowed only within my body begin to leak out.
Law techniques were usable again.
Ku-gu-gu-gu!
I fully revealed the pressure of Qi Condensation 13th Star, and even the consciousness I had hidden with the hidden consciousness technique was laid bare.
Despair began to appear on the faces of the other 8th and 9th-stage cultivators.
“Q-Qi Condensation 13th Star…?”
“Almost at the peak of Foundation Establishment!”
“H-Haha, wait. If he’s at One Origin One Response, isn’t that basically the stage right before Foundation Establishment?”
“Ugh… S-Senior! This junior and his fellows have committed a grave offense. Please forgive us!”
The cultivators’ faces instantly lost all color, and they began begging me with hands and feet before me.
But I moved my fingers and used Sword Control to snatch away the other talismans they held in their palms.
With that, there was no need to worry about using forbidden techniques inside the imperial palace.
I heard that even Foundation Establishment cultivators were forbidden from using law techniques inside the palace.
And they would need talismans to operate here.
But no clan would dare bring anyone here, for fear of violating clan restrictions.
‘Even I would feel uneasy bringing in a mysterious intruder and then sending out the full power of a rival clan’s family to deal with him, so I’d never sleep soundly.’
They would probably fight each other desperately, using political maneuvers to trip each other up.
Well, perhaps the Seven Great Clans could send one Foundation Establishment cultivator each.
But the clans were not so idle as to dispatch Foundation Establishment cultivators just to deal with me, a mere Qi Condensation cultivator.
For a long time, debates would rage among the clans: how to handle me.
If I simply sat here without causing any trouble, the debate would drag on even longer.
And by then my lifespan would have already ended.
I had no concern over any of it.
Whether I lived or died, it was the same to me.
What would happen, though?
***
And time passed, my lifespan growing ever closer.
I summoned the high official and the emperor, declaring myself a cultivator and ordering that no one approach me for several days.
No one came near me.
The chance that a human could kill me was now almost zero.
For earthquakes, the barrier that covered the imperial palace was said to protect it from such calamities.
Venomous snakes or insects could not reach me without being detected.
Moreover, such creatures did not exist in the imperial palace to begin with.
Now the only way heaven could kill me was through heart failure.
And I had already prepared far more than enough inner energy for even that.
Far greater than the mere day I had barely survived in my past life.
I was not even exhausted, as I had been back then.
I could endure far more.
‘If I can endure… perhaps heaven will reset my lifespan…’
Even if I survived, the great clans would come looking for me.
If my lifespan extended, I would be treated as a late-stage 13th Star expert and could enter one of the Seven Great Clans.
If I died, I had caused such a ruckus in the heart of the empire that no one would question the outcome.
‘Come on, heaven.’
Everything was ready.
And the moment of my death finally arrived.
There was no factor that could suddenly kill me.
No venomous creatures, no snakes.
The altar was built of extremely sturdy stone, and its height was not enough to collapse and crush me.
Even if something fell on me, the barrier that covered the imperial palace would mitigate the damage.
Essentially, the only way heaven could kill me was heart failure.
And the stars began to appear.
“…Heaven.”
For the first time in a long while, I spoke those words.
“This time too, I will take my life from you.”
It was not as though you gave it to me.
I will climb there myself and take it!
And.
Dubub…
Dubub… Dubub… Bang!
The moment of death had come.
But.
Kwoong!
Saber energy from my lower dan erupted and surged into my middle dan, stimulating the nearby heart.
Simultaneously, my inner energy made my heart beat again.
‘Ku-eueueup!’
Of course, stimulating the heart with saber energy was maddeningly painful.
But I gritted my teeth and kept at it.
So what if it hurts a little!
I am not going to die today!
Kwoong! Kwoong! Kwoong!
My ears grew numb, and the sound of saber energy stimulating my heart to beat roared like thunder.
Kwoong!
“I… will not die…!”
Kwoong, kwoong, kwoong…!
The stars shone down upon me.
Looking at this bug who dares to struggle this hard.
Kwoong, kwoong…!
“H-H… heaven…”
Kwoong!
It hurts.
But I had already passed through it like a fleeting shadow.
Even in this life, I had no desire to die.
I recalled a conversation I had had with Kim Young-hoon.
When he asked me about the connections I had with the disciples I left behind.
What had I answered?
‘Just… connections.’
The connections in this life had been extremely short.
Forty years spent in a daze in the Deungsunhyang.
The remaining ten-plus years spent trapped in the imperial palace’s study.
Meeting Kim Young-hoon and my master had been ridiculously short.
But they were connections nonetheless.
Even if they were just connections, they were connections.
I did not want to die.
I wanted to live.
I wanted this connection not to become meaningless.
A connection without a name.
A trivial, short, even shorter connection.
Just a connection.
I only prayed that these nameless connections would not disappear because of this insurmountable fate.
“Uoooooo!!”
Kwoong, kwoong, kwoong!
It felt like my heart would burst.
It hurt too much.
But I gritted my teeth and endured.
Why should opposing fate be easy?!
I gritted my teeth and endured.
Until dawn!
‘If I can survive this time, I should return to the Deungsunhyang.’
The altar I had built there would still be standing.
‘If I survive, I should go see Kim-hyung for the first time in a while.’
I had promised to visit often, but I had been trapped in the study for the past ten years.
‘If I survive, I should pay respects to Master.’
I might not be able to meet him, but he probably wouldn’t have forgotten me.
‘If I survive again…!’
Continuously lost in my thoughts, I endured in that pain.
And endured again.
“If I survive!”
Kwaduk!
My hand, filled with energy, crumpled the floor of the altar itself.
So tightly had I clenched my teeth that my gums bled.
“If you would just grant me a little more!”
I looked up at heaven and shouted.
“These connections I hold in my heart! How many more will there be!”
Kwoong!
Kwoong!
“Why are you so—”
My heart was hardening no matter how much I stimulated it.
The more time passed, the more saber energy was required to stimulate it.
“You’re desperate to stop me, aren’t you?!”
But I paid no attention and kept pouring out saber energy.
I sent even the law energy and spirit veins circulating through my lower dan into my dan, converting them into inner energy and extracting every last drop of power.
Ku-gu-gu-gu!
Inner energy erupted from my dan like a volcanic eruption.
Du-kung!
Du-kung!
Du-kung!
Didn’t I say it myself?
There is no end to mountains outside the mountains, no end to roads in the middle of the road.
I had encouraged Kim Young-hoon to make the same vow, so how could I not see beyond the end of this road?!
Must!
“I will see beyond this road!”
My heart felt like it was being squeezed in real time.
The countless stars in the sky seemed to be pressing down on me, urging surrender.
That vast sky seemed to be denying me entirely and pressing me down.
Uwoowooong!
I activated the formation I had laid in advance.
Kuuwoong!
The pressure of the spirit energy released by the formation surged toward my chest and stimulated my heart together with the saber energy.
Kuuwoowooong!
But heaven had again bestowed upon me the fate of death.
The formation strangely went wrong, and the pressure of spirit energy became more than twenty times stronger.
My heart was about to physically burst!
Kwang!
But I immediately wrapped it in protective saber energy, shattering the pressure, and dismantled the formation.
Go on! Keep trying!
Even though the pain is intense, my inner energy is more than enough!
The stars moved across the night sky, and the cold dawn gradually approached.
Because I was using all my inner energy and law energy to make my heart beat, the spirit energy in the veins that usually acted as a cold suppressant was no longer working, and my entire body trembled.
It’s cold.
But the morning sun will definitely rise!
I will endure only this dawn!
The coldest time is right before the sun rises.
I gradually felt the heat leaving my body.
‘I’m okay, I can endure it.’
My stamina was still more than enough.
And this much cold won’t kill me!
“Heaven… countless stars…!”
I growled while looking at the sky and the countless celestial bodies gazing down at me.
“You must rewrite my lifespan…!”
And far away, the sun began to rise.
‘Warm… it’s warm.’
In my past life too, I had died around this time.
But this time would be different.
Heaven would itself rewrite my lifespan.
The morning sun gradually rose above the horizon.
I looked at the morning sun and filled myself with hope.
Eating clouds began to block the morning sun.
Kurung, kururung…
It was not the quiet eating clouds that simply blocked heaven and me during the 7-Star Ceremony.
It was a cloud shaped like a mighty beast, flashing with blue light between the gaps, its jaws wide open.
Kwoong, kwoong…
I kept stimulating my heart with saber energy and looked up at the sky in a daze.
The inspiration of a cultivator who faintly read the heavenly secrets from the 7-Star Ceremony.
With that inspiration, the heavenly secrets were read.
I knew today was the day I would die.
No matter how I struggled, it was useless.
Heaven was telling me that.
“You’re joking, aren’t you…!”
Fwaaaat!
Light erupted from my inner dan.
The starlight born from me flew toward the sky.
“What do you mean it’s useless?! Why won’t it work?! If the clouds come, I’ll tear them apart with my bare hands!”
Flash!
Saber energy exploded and tore the clouds in a perfect circle.
But there were still many clouds left in the sky, and I had only made one small hole in them.
The other clouds continued flashing with blue light and growling.
“Rewrite my life!”
I raised another round of saber energy.
Even if I had to tear apart every cloud, I would not die today!
And.
Before the saber energy reached the sky again.
Flash!
A streak of blue heavenly thunder descended toward me at the speed of light.
“…!!!”
Protective saber energy shattered.
The defensive law technique I had prepared broke instantly.
My skin burned to charcoal, my bones burned to ash.
Heaven.
Just someone who cherished connections.
Just an ordinary man.
Just someone who had simply wanted to live a little longer.
Was this really such a great sin?
My scream was swallowed by the blue thunder.
I looked at the sky in the light.
The sky does not change.
That is why it is eternal.
That is why it is One Origin.
It is absolute oneness.
I felt that will with my entire body and soul, and completed my One Origin One Response at Qi Condensation 13th Star.
And reached Qi Condensation 14th Star.
And so the entire world went dark.
At the peak of Qi Condensation, I vanished from this world.
It was my eighth regression.