Chapter 74
p>BOOM! The black Yin energy surged forward, shattering the compressed space as it erupted outward.p>
p>I retreated as far as I could, shielding myself from the violent gale.p>
p>Inside the Seopmyeongship, the internal decks ballooned endlessly, shattering the barriers that had held us captive.p>
p>The barrier of Haemu collapsed. The illusion barrier shattered completely.p>
p>Countless ghosts trapped within Haemu's domain soared into the air, their resentful souls dissolving as the Yin energy vanished.p>
p>With the root of the Yin energy gone, the surrounding clouds and storms melted away like snow in sunlight.p>
p>Swoosh—p>
p>Wave after wave of the sea swallowed the debris.p>
p>I gazed silently at the ruins that filled an entire mountain range once home to the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, mourning my close friend.p>
p>***p>
p>Seran could not be found.p>
p>The storm of space had swallowed him whole.p>
p>I searched for days, then gave up. After holding a small-scale ancestral rite in his honor, I made my way to his resting place.p>
p>Swoosh—p>
p>Standing atop the sea with Suwol Ipdogyeol, I carved through the waves toward his dwelling, my mind heavy with countless thoughts.p>
p>Beyond the tragedy of Seran's death, his revelations had left my mind in chaos.p>
p>"Did I truly hand over my comrades to the dragon who raises them like livestock and feeds them pills?"p>
p>Seran was never the type to do something so unthinkable.p>
p>He had fewer dark rumors than Goegun, and he was the most refined of all.p>
p>"I trusted him because I thought he was the most likable after Changhoja... yet in the end it was the worst possible choice."p>
p>"Damn it..."p>
p>I had committed the most horrific sin with my own hands.p>
p>I clenched my teeth, lost in deep sorrow for a long time.p>
p>"My ignorance caused me to entrust my comrades to the worst possible existence..."p>
p>I could no longer afford ignorance.p>
p>I would learn as much as I could.p>
p>I would gather even more information!p>
p>With that resolve, I headed to the underwater cave where Seran had lived.p>
p>And there it was—when I reached the place he had called home.p>
p>Crack! The blue crystal Seran had given me blazed with light, spreading radiance in every direction.p>
p>"This is..."p>
p>In the areas illuminated by the blue glow, hidden cave entrances appeared.p>
p>I cautiously entered the concealed entrances.p>
p>There were three entrances in total.p>
p>One was Seran's living quarters.p>
p>It felt like a space he had used while living as a human shape. A sturdy bed lay there, along with human-level daily necessities.p>
p>Another was a vast space filled with countless materials.p>
p>Bones, hides, and peculiar woods and stones from countless sea beasts were piled high.p>
p>The last was a library.p>
p>Inside the library, countless sea-beast cultivation manuals and books—far more than could be counted—were stacked neatly.p>
p>Not the slave or livestock-style manuals I had mastered like Hofung Eungdanbyeon, but true sea-beast cultivation arts that the Haeryong clan themselves had studied.p>
p>I slowly flipped through the sea-beast cultivation manuals and offered him my heartfelt gratitude in my heart.p>
p>"Thank you, Seran hyung..."p>
p>I took out the sea-beast cultivation manuals.p>
p>I also pulled out and read several other books that were not cultivation manuals.p>
p>Because Seran was a half-breed of human shape, he possessed not only books from Yeon Kingdom and Byeokra Kingdom, but also those from other mortal nations.p>
p>I picked out books with many fingerprints and read them.p>
p>Among them were sea-beast cultivation manuals, histories of the Haeryong clan, and books about mortal nations.p>
[Culture of Yeon Kingdom].
I read one book and then another.
[Culture of the Seong Empire].
"Among the culture of the Seong Empire, the mountain regions hold festivals once a year... the famous ones include the Double Fan Dance, the Wiryoe-je, and the Gyeongsul-je, passed down for hundreds of years..."
I read the next book.
[Culture of Byeokra Kingdom].
"Byeokra Kingdom borders the desert, so it produces many glass crafts. It also has a custom of offering glass to the dead... the people of Byeokra Kingdom hold glass in high regard..."
There were also books about life in the Upper Realm.
[The Lives of the Ascended].
Seran had clearly read this book the most, as the edges were worn smooth.
"The ancient sages of the Upper Realm would offer two cups of wine to their partners before marriage, a custom still observed..."
"Among the wines of the Upper Realm are Mo Ryeongju, Gye Ryeong-eok, and Baek Hongju, and Baek Hongju is particularly famous..."
"Mo Ryeongju is... Gye Ryeong-eok is... Baek Hongju is made from Baek Yeonhwa and Hong Rihwa, two immortal flowers, and symbolizes the bond of husband and wife..."
"In the culture of the Upper Realm there is also..."
Cultures and customs beyond the Ascension Gate, in that distant Upper Realm.
As I turned the pages, I noticed a particularly worn section.
"When a family gathering is held in the Upper Realm, they all wear purple sashes..."
Family.
The pages around that part were especially worn, as if many hands had turned them.
I imagined Seran reading the book.
He had probably spent years here, reading.
I also imagined him roaming the library, books in hand.
The books about the Haeryong clan had been handled by many hands.
Especially the records of the mixed blood between Haeryong and human, the wear was staggering.
And on the back of that record, Seran's handwriting appeared.
"A typical half-breed possesses the advantages of both human and sea beast, but since my Haeryong blood is too thick, I cannot enjoy the human advantages. Nor do I fully possess the wild nature of a Haeryong. That is why the other Haeryong members dislike me."
"Still, the king stroked my head and told me there were things I could do for the Haeryong clan."
"I will serve the king and Seran hyung with all my heart."
"..."
It seemed Seran had failed to pass through the Seopmyeongship's barrier because his Haeryong blood was far too dense.
I saw the words Seran had vowed to serve with loyalty, then closed the book without reading any more of his notes.
"...Please rest in peace, Seran hyung."
I gathered the sea-beast cultivation manuals from his dwelling and headed back to Yeon Kingdom.
"I was weak and powerless... but I will reach a new future with this."
Kim Young-hoon would be able to reduce countless setbacks with these sea-beast cultivation manuals.
In the next life, I would make sure he lived as long as possible.
***p>
"This is...!"
Kim Young-hoon flipped through the sea-beast cultivation manuals I had brought, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Thank you! With this, we can cut down on countless setbacks!"
"I'm glad to hear that."
Kim Young-hoon read the pile of manuals with a bright smile on his face.
"If he gets this much, Kim hyung really will reach beyond Deungbongjogeuk in this life."
He pored over the manuals with joy, reorganizing all the martial arts he had learned through countless setbacks using only Hofung Eungryongbyeon.
***
I told Kim Young-hoon he needed to practice the Suwol Ipdogyeol, then mentioned I would be at Shattered Heaven Peak in the Seong Empire's Daesan Mountain Range. After that, I headed to the area around Shattered Heaven Peak.
"Since I've mastered Jiwol Ipdogyeol and Suwol Ipdogyeol, I must master Hwaryeol Ipdogyeol, Geumryeol Ipdogyeol, and Mokryeol Ipdogyeol as well."
"Even if it's impossible to master all the five elements in one go, once I get used to any one attribute, in the next life I'll pick it up even faster."
But when I arrived near Shattered Heaven Peak...
"That... is a barrier...!"
I stopped nearby and examined the barrier.
After waiting a while, several human-shaped figures emerged from inside the barrier.
"Damn it... I guess the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect is gone now. No wonder the capital clans of the Seong Empire have claimed the land where it once stood."
I felt a headache coming on and searched the surroundings.
Shattered Heaven Peak was not just one mountain.
The entire mountain range where the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect had stood was called Shattered Heaven Peak, and among the many such peaks, some lacked vein energy and had not been claimed by the capital clans.
"Perfect. I'll train here."
I chose a small peak with just the right amount of vein energy and began training in the lotus position.
This time, I intended to master Hwaryeol Ipdogyeol.
***
Ten or so years passed.
After those ten years, I succeeded in mastering Hwaryeol Ipdogyeol.
BOOM! Three-colored clouds swirled inside my dantian.
"My recovery power... has reached an absurd level."
It was beyond ridiculous.
Even if I challenged Foundation Establishment and fell twelve stages in practice, I could recover everything in a day or two.
However, my remaining lifespan was now only about ten years.
"No matter how hard I try, mastering all five elements will be impossible."
At best, four.
But...
"I won't give up."
With the time of this life as the foundation, and this life's connections as fertilizer, I could plant the seeds for the next life.
Or rather, I must plant them!
CRACK!
I once again challenged Foundation Establishment.
As before, the star of my soul shattered, and my practice level dropped again.
Yet the three-colored soul energy began circulating and recovering inside my dantian.
"A day, two days... and I'll be fully recovered."
Honestly, with this recovery power, I might even be able to match a peak early Foundation Establishment expert while still at Qi Condensation.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
I meditated on the soul energy surging inside my dantian and began recovering my practice.
And two days later...
I had recovered all my Qi Condensation 14th stage practice and, without stopping, moved on to mastering the Geumryeol Ipdogyeol.
There was no time to waste.
I had to raise my realm as quickly as possible.
***
SWOOSH!
White-gold soul energy spread out around me.
My remaining lifespan was almost gone.
Geumryeol Ipdogyeol was currently at 9th stage, just reaching the limit of the Five Elements True Array, and four colors of soul energy swirled inside my dantian.
Yellowish-brown earth energy, black water energy, red fire energy, and white-gold metal energy.
Among the three colors of clouds, a slight current of white-gold energy flowed, but I could already feel the increase in my recovery power.
"Now... I can pull up the power of all attributes, even those that dropped when I challenged Foundation Establishment, back up to 14th stage in half a shichen..."
If I mastered Geumryeol Ipdogyeol as well, I might even be able to fully recover my power in one or two shichen instead of half a shichen.
"Now... only a little left..."
At that moment.
Flash!
"...?"
The message crystal Kim Young-hoon had given me glowed white.
[I am in the Seong Empire now. Meet me at Gyeongju City on the outskirts of the Daesan Mountain Range.]
With that, the message crystal vanished, but I immediately stood up and headed out of the Daesan Mountain Range.
"That voice just now... sounded like someone who had made up his mind."
What was it?
***
Kim Young-hoon was waiting at the entrance of Gyeongju City in the Seong Empire.
"You're here."
"Kim hyung."
"Let's talk somewhere where no one else is around first..."
"Yes, if you wish."
Along with Kim Young-hoon, I entered a quiet, uninhabited valley inside the Daesan Mountain Range.
"What happened?"
He had been busy researching sea-beast cultivation manuals and hadn't contacted me even once in the meantime.
I was glad, but his expression was strangely off today.
I knew that face far too well.
It was the face of someone facing death.
"Kim... hyung?"
"...Eun-hyun-ah."
Kim Young-hoon gave a bitter smile.
"How long do you think I'll live..."
"...?"
"Probably ten years. Twenty at most. But I'm not a cultivator, just a mortal criminal. I can't live long..."
He drew his sword from his waist.
"Thanks to the sea-beast cultivation manuals you gave me, I've reduced countless setbacks, but I've still had to go through countless more. While enduring those setbacks and consuming time... I finally found the 'true path.' Not just changing human consciousness into human form... I discovered something far greater..."
"...!"
"But it's far too late."
Thump, thump, thump...
Tears fell from Kim Young-hoon's eyes.
"From the very beginning, if I had known this realm existed and trained precisely toward this place, maybe... but now, only ten or twenty years to reach it is simply not enough time...!
Even I... need time..."
"Kim hyung..."
Kim Young-hoon's lifespan was a little longer than mine.
But because he was still a mortal criminal, it ended there.
"I have the resolve to reach it. But I don't have the time..."
He gritted his teeth and looked up.
"I dreamed of mastering martial arts, returning home to my family... but it was all in vain. Although I won't be able to return to my family, I have decided that I will see this martial path completed with my own eyes and then die!"
An eerie madness burned in his eyes.
"Eun-hyun-ah, I've come here today to die! I will burn this life, burn all my talents, and in just one single moment reach the next realm... and then die!"
He pulled a thin book from his chest.
Unlike Woldo Wolmurok, which had been filled with Kim Young-hoon's accumulated setbacks, this book was thin.
The book had no title yet.
"Everyone... is leaving me..."
Seran, too, and Kim Young-hoon.
I closed my eyes, then opened them again, feeling heavy.
I couldn't stop him.
So I would just watch.
I would watch and pass it on to the next life.
Whoosh!
He threw the book to me, and I caught it.
"...What is the name of this?"
Wansuigungmurok.
Jisu Wolmurok.
Wolsu Wolmurok...
And Woldo Wolmurok.
A new history of martial arts built upon the resolve of countless Kim Young-hoons.
"This... is a record of what?"
Kim Young-hoon smiled.
For some reason, I felt blood on that smile.
"Not a record."
"Yes...?"
"Wu... It is Wu Xue!"
CRACK!
Kim Young-hoon gripped his sword and assumed a stance.
"What I poured my entire life into, smashed apart, and reborn from is..."
His momentum changed.
Nine Ganghwans rose around Kim Young-hoon, and I opened my eyes wide.
"It is called Woldo Ipcheonmu!"
The next moment.
An unbearable golden light flooded the surroundings.
Kim Young-hoon began leaping toward the next realm, burning his life force.