The Storm Itself

Five days after he had first fallen, Ouyang Qiangang woke from his long, deep coma. The moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was a fullness he had never known before. The cold energy of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, which had once crushed his entire body, had faded to something almost impossible to feel, while in his dantian, internal energy as deep and powerful as an ocean stirred and coiled.

'What... has happened to my body?'

As he checked himself over in astonishment, a voice clearer than it had ever been rang through his mind. It was Akasha.

'A hundred years...?'

"Yes. It is the result of the extreme yin energy dormant in the third great acupoint of your Nine Yin Severed Meridians being purified and converted into true qi, together with the internal energy you absorbed from the Blood Spirit Human Demon."

'Ah...!'

"Thanks to that, my nanobot operating efficiency has increased by 250 percent, and the duration of maximum combat mode has been extended from ten minutes to fifteen. A deep material-composition analysis function has also been newly activated."

'The combat mode extension is still stingy. I just gained more than thirty years' worth of internal energy, and all I get is five extra minutes? Don't you think that's a bit much?'

"That portion is beyond my control."

There was something distinctly unbothered in Akasha's voice. Clicking his tongue, Ouyang Qiangang recalled his battle with the Blood Spirit Human Demon, leader of the Thousand Seas Gang, and his brow knotted.

'I built the Transcendent Formless Divine Art to control cold energy... but this is dangerous... dangerous... To think that in battle it can devour even an enemy's internal energy and make it mine... This is a more vicious, more perilous art than any demonic technique in the murim.'

He understood now, fully, how dangerous the Transcendent Formless Divine Art was. 'The moment I abuse this power, I become the public enemy of all under heaven. The Absorption Art must never be used carelessly.'

With his eyes shut, the monstrous palm force the Blood Spirit Human Demon had unleashed at the very end rose again ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in his mind. 'His final strike was strange. It carried force far beyond his own internal energy... Can you work out how that was possible?'

"According to my analysis, his final attack was amplified to roughly one and a half times his original internal energy." Akasha's voice sank cold. "I judge the cause to lie in the horrific rites performed at that altar."

'That altar... it looked like it was converting biological energy into something else...'

"I reached the same conclusion. What the Blood Spirit Human Demon performed was most likely a wicked ritual—one that absorbed the terror and agony of the victims offered up as sacrifices, along with the life force of their blood, and converted it all into destructive blood qi that the caster could wield."

'So that blood-red torrent he rode on his final palm force was forged from the victims' very lives, used as fuel?'

"Precisely. In that last instant, the Blood Spirit Human Demon drew upon not only his own internal energy but the energy of resentment and agony condensed within that bone by dozens of victims. That is how he produced destructive power one and a half times beyond his limits."

'Hmm...'

"And the bone fragment you recovered, Doctor, appears to have served as a kind of capacitor and catalyst, condensing and amplifying all of his energy."

Ouyang Qiangang's eyes went as cold as ice. His stomach twisted at the thought of an evil art that fed on human lives. 'That madman...'

After a while, his anger settled, and he replayed the battle against the Blood Spirit Human Demon from beginning to end. For all his victory, a corner of his heart was left wanting. The Absorption Art of the Transcendent Formless Divine Art that he had used that day had been no orthodox method but a shortcut(?). He had resorted to it precisely because he could not bring the man down head-on—though of course, without it, he would be dead.

'Akasha, is there a way to raise the power of my palm arts another step?'

"Of course there is, Doctor."

'What, you'd already worked it out?'

"I am Akasha, after all." The answer was supremely confident. "Your current palm arts excel at speed but fall badly short on mass. Destructive power is proportional to the product of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two. If the same amount of true qi could be compressed to a far higher density before release, the destructive force of your palm strikes would climb exponentially."

'Compression of true qi...' A divine light smoldered in Ouyang Qiangang's eyes. With a way to advance his martial arts laid out before him, there was no reason to sit idle.

'Understood. Akasha, we begin researching true qi compression now. And gather data on the wicked sorcery we saw on Blood Pearl Island—find a way to neutralize it if we can, or better yet, turn it against its users.'

"Understood."

Sitting up, Ouyang Qiangang drew out the precious relic he had kept tucked in his breast, a bone fragment wrapped in red cloth. 'Akasha, can you analyze this?'

"I will attempt a reanalysis."

After a moment, Akasha spoke again, her voice troubled. "Doctor, analysis remains impossible. This bone fragment seems to exist outside the category of matter altogether. It absorbs and emits energy at the same time, and its structure is shifting in minute ways without pause. Nothing in my database matches it."

'Don't give up on it.'

"As you say, Doctor."

Frowning, Ouyang Qiangang looked down at the thing for a long moment, then wrapped it in the red cloth again and tucked it away. It was time to go meet the people waiting for him outside.

While Ouyang Qiangang still lay in his coma, the great hall of the Du Clan Manor's main residence had sunk into heavy silence. Former Manor Master Du Jeong-gwang, current Manor Master Du Wi-pyeong, and Du Wi-pyeong's son Du Jin-seong sat facing one another. It was Du Jeong-gwang who broke the quiet, and after days of deep deliberation, his voice brimmed with conviction.

"Manor Master, this old father believes the Du Clan Manor must return to the Ouyang Clan's fold."

Du Wi-pyeong's brow creased deep. Tapping the desk lightly with his fingertips, he answered in a low voice. "Father, have you still not let go of that attachment?"

"It is no attachment." Du Jeong-gwang's voice rose. "You never saw that sight, Manor Master, so you cannot know. The Eldest Young Master is no ordinary man. On Blood Pearl Island, he and Brother Ju ravaged that den all alone, a warren packed with five hundred pirates, and out of that island hell he brought out more than fifty children and women. In seventy years of life, I have never seen his like."

His voice burned, but Du Wi-pyeong stayed cold-eyed. He was the Manor Master, the man answerable for his clan's survival, and it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no simple thing to reach the same conclusion as his father on the strength of sights he had never witnessed himself.

"Father, I grant that the Eldest Young Master is a remarkable man. But he is bold to the point of recklessness. You know as well as I do that storms inevitably close in around a man of such ability." The air in the hall grew heavier, but Du Wi-pyeong did not falter. "Before long, he is certain to collide with the Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor. Our family has no strength to withstand a storm of that size."

Loyalty and reality stood at knife's edge against each other. Just as Du Jeong-gwang drew breath to answer, Du Jin-seong, who had been listening in silence, steadied himself and spoke.

"Father. Grandfather. You are both right." His voice was calmer than his years. Hailed as the finest genius in the Du Clan Manor's history, Du Jin-seong was a talent neither elder could afford to dismiss. He looked from one man to the other as he went on. "The Eldest Young Master is a dangerous man. I saw it with my own eyes on Blood Pearl Island. Alone, he swept away the leadership of the Thousand Seas Gang, the Blood Spirit Human Demon at their head, and trampled the madness of five hundred pirates face to face. A colossal storm will surely sweep down the road ahead of him."

Du Wi-pyeong's eyes narrowed. "Then tell me, Seong-a—what do you think this father should do?"

Du Jin-seong did not hesitate. "Father, what guarantee is there that men like the Thousand Seas Gang will never hunt us again? The Eldest Young Master is the storm itself. Rather than stand outside it and be swept away, I believe we must walk into the very heart of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it and rise into the heavens alongside him. That is the path our family must take."

Du Wi-pyeong sighed inwardly at his son's words. 'Whew... Seong-a is looking farther down the road than I am.'

Du Jeong-gwang's eyes gleamed as he gazed at his grandson. "Seong-a, you are right. The Eldest Young Master is our family's future."

Du Wi-pyeong let out a long breath and looked at his father. "Father... are you certain that is the right road?" Hesitation still clung to his voice, but it was plain that his heart was tipping.

Meeting his son's eyes, Du Jeong-gwang nodded with force. "Manor Master, when the Eldest Young Master soars into the ninety-thousand-li heavens, we must be standing at his side."

Awake at last from his long coma, Ouyang Qiangang sat across from the leadership of the Du clan—Du Jeong-gwang, Du Wi-pyeong, and Du Jin-seong—in the great hall of the annex, with Geum Wang perched on his shoulder. Ju Pyo was present as well.

The first to speak was the clan's current head. Du Wi-pyeong rose from his seat and bowed low toward Ouyang Qiangang. "Eldest Young Master, from this day forward, our Poyang Du clan shall once more—"

At that instant Ouyang Qiangang rose, took Du Wi-pyeong by the hands, and lifted him back up, cutting him off. "I know what you mean to say, Manor Master. That heart of yours is thanks enough. But the time is not yet right."

The unexpected words flustered Du Wi-pyeong and everyone else besides. Du Jeong-gwang hurriedly leaned forward. "Eldest Young Master, the return of the Du clan to the Ouyang Clan's embrace is not a matter that can be put off any longer, I tell you!"

Ouyang Qiangang's gaze shifted to him. "Unless the safety of the Du Clan Manor and of Poyang itself is secured, an alliance between our houses will end as a slogan and nothing more. So I would rather bring the matter of the Thousand Seas Gang to a close first, and then talk again. Besides, Manor Master—you do not yet truly know who I am, do you?"

Ju Pyo nodded along from beside him. "Aigoo, the Eldest Young Master has it right. First you raise sturdy walls, then you plant your flag—that is the order of things. And the Manor Master needs time to learn what sort of man the Eldest Young Master is, too."

"Mm..." A thin groan slipped from between Du Wi-pyeong's lips.

At the lowest seat, Du Jin-seong, silent until now, opened his mouth. "Father, the Eldest Young Master is not testing us. If anything, he is showing us consideration."

Ouyang Qiangang turned his head toward him, and a gleam of interest surfaced in his eyes. "You believe I am being considerate of you two, Young Manor Master?"

"I do."

"How did you reach that conclusion?"

Du Jin-seong answered without a pause. "If we submitted to the main family with the Thousand Seas Gang still unresolved, the Ouyang Clan could not pretend not to notice a branch family in crisis—it would have to intervene. And that would surely draw the Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor's gaze."

"Go on."

"But if the Thousand Seas Gang is dealt with before we submit, we cut off any chance of the Ouyang Clan being endangered on our account. Beyond that, the Du Clan Manor's position in Poyang will become immeasurably firmer than it is today. So the Eldest Young Master's decision to defer our submission until after the Thousand Seas Gang is settled can only be consideration granted to us."

Du Jeong-gwang and Du Wi-pyeong stared, eyes gone wide. A smile spread at the corners of Ouyang Qiangang's eyes. "Your insight is remarkable, Young Manor Master."

With a sigh, Du Wi-pyeong bowed his head. "We will follow the Eldest Young Master's will."

Ouyang Qiangang nodded. "Then shall we begin our discussion of the Thousand Seas Gang?"