The Mysterious Force
“Ghk!”
Shin Gi-woon clutched his heart and collapsed. The demonic energy he had believed was under his control suddenly ran wild, forcing him to swallow the black bead that had come from Gangcheol—whether it was poison or medicine, he had no idea.
Circulate first!
The fact that his heart was pounding meant the bead was no ordinary sphere. Poison or medicine, he had to deal with the energy coiled inside it somehow.
He dropped straight into a lotus position, closed his eyes, and began carefully examining the black bead he had swallowed. Even though no particular energy had yet emerged, it was already exerting a tremendous influence on his heart.
Leaving it alone could lead to disaster. All or nothing. He decided to shatter the bead.
He gathered every scrap of energy in his body into a single point and fired it at the bead. Fortunately the black bead was not especially hard; cracks spiderwebbed across its surface as if it were about to break.
KRAK-KRAK-CRACK!
The black bead shattered, and the ferocious energy concentrated inside it flooded through Shin Gi-woon’s meridians without restraint.
“Cough!”
He could not control it. The total volume of energy far exceeded the internal power he possessed!
He expanded the Battle Demon Divine Art as much as he could so it would not be overwhelmed, yet the energy was overflowing even faster.
At this rate it’ll devour me…!
There was nothing he could do. Control had been lost from the very beginning. If he had been fully prepared it might have been different, but the moment the bead broke the energy exploded outward. He should have anticipated that Gangcheol was roughly at the Peak realm and prepared accordingly.
It was entirely his own fault. Of course it was a mistake—but was this really the time to dwell on blame?
He was about to die right now.
Damn it!
No matter how he tried to move his dantian, the vicious energy interfered. It knew exactly where his power was concentrated.
Sweat was already pouring from his entire body like a waterfall when the demonic energy that had been coiled in his dantian suddenly erupted.
BOOOOM!
He was stunned. The same energy that had forced him to swallow the black bead was now trying to protect his body? Still, the appearance of the demonic energy was hope.
The bead’s energy that had been steadily strangling him began to falter. An opening.
Drive it back while I can!
He had needed a gap, and now one existed. Shin Gi-woon drove into the opening the demonic energy had created and poured every last scrap of power from the Battle Demon Divine Art out of his dantian.
At the same time the bead’s energy began to retreat. The problem was its path.
As if it had abandoned the idea of seizing the dantian, it withdrew in an instant and shot upward toward his head.
Shin Gi-woon panicked. He had not yet reached the Peak realm, so his upper dantian was still completely sealed.
If this unknown energy seized the upper dantian first, the existence known as Shin Gi-woon would be replaced by something else entirely.
I won’t let that happen!
He poured every ounce of strength into moving both the demonic energy and his internal power. The unknown energy raced up his meridians; the demonic energy and the true qi of the Battle Demon Divine Art chased after it.
But the mysterious energy that had accelerated first had already reached the very threshold of the upper dantian.
KUUUUNG!
“Gahk!”
Shin Gi-woon’s circulation broke. An enormous shockwave slammed through his entire body.
That was not the end. The mysterious energy seemed determined to force its way into the upper dantian; it hammered continuously against the sealed passage.
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!!
“Gahk! Krrgh! Uweeeegh!”
Unable to endure the pain, Shin Gi-woon vomited blood. The agony was so distant and overwhelming he could barely hold onto consciousness.
He had to keep his grip on his mind. No—he absolutely could not let go.
“I’m not… losing to something like this…!”
He bit down on his tongue. Whether he died from the blood or not was a problem for later. He would never allow this bizarre energy to seize his upper dantian.
“Shut up and get the hell out!!”
His body was in no condition to maintain even a lotus position, yet Shin Gi-woon dragged up every last reserve and drove his energy forward.
His meridians, unable to withstand the excessive power, bulged red and purple. He ignored it. Only by enduring this much pain could he keep himself from being stolen.
“KRAAAAAH!!”
The energy pounding at the upper dantian faltered in surprise. It had expected no further resistance, yet the Battle Demon Divine Art and the demonic energy lunged at it ravenously.
And as a result—
“Cough!”
The unprecedented energy vanished without a trace. Where it had gone, no one could say—because Shin Gi-woon had already collapsed unconscious on the spot.
“Hah!”
Shin Gi-woon’s mind snapped back into focus all at once. He wanted to move immediately, but a wave of total exhaustion flooding his entire body stopped him. After forcing the excitement down, his eyes swept the surroundings.
This was not the closed-door training chamber. The wooden ceiling told him he was outside the training grounds—in a timber building.
What happened— wait, what?!
While calmly reconstructing the situation, Shin Gi-woon realized his upper dantian had opened to a certain degree.
His mind was clear. The air around him felt far more vivid than before. He could hear someone moving outside; his sense for detecting presence had grown sharper.
All of it could only be the result of the upper dantian opening. Which meant—
I reached Peak? Just like that?
Shin Gi-woon had arrived at the Peak realm. Peak was a height countless martial artists despaired of ever reaching, yet he had broken through it in a mere two years and seven months. The talent was absurd.
Even with the experience of a previous life, how long did it normally take just to harden barren ground into something solid? He could scarcely believe he had climbed to Peak so easily.
In the present generation of the Murim, those who had reached the Profound Realm numbered only one in the Demonic Cult, one among the unorthodox, and two among the orthodox.
Together they were called the Twin Stars, One Sovereign, and One Demon.
Considering the heights those figures had achieved in their lifetimes, Shin Gi-woon’s growth rate was nothing short of abnormal.
Awake now?
“…?”
What, can’t you hear me? I asked if you’re awake.
He must have misheard. Shin Gi-woon simply blinked at the girl’s voice coming from somewhere.
For some reason it was an extremely irritating voice. The impulse to smack her rose unbidden.
Don’t tell me you’re deaf? No, that can’t be… you should be able to hear everything…
She was even muttering to herself. The chance that this was sound transmission dropped sharply. Just in case, he scanned the surroundings for anything that looked like a weapon—nothing.
He was briefly considering how he would counter a sudden ambush when—
Still not getting up? Ghost Spear Shin Gi-woon.
“What? How do you—?”
Ah, so you can hear me. How does it feel having your upper dantian open, Mister Ghost Spear?
Shin Gi-woon froze solid. In all the time since his reincarnation, not a single person had ever recognized him as the same individual as the Ghost Spear.
Of course not. The Ghost Spear had always concealed his name; the three characters “Shin Gi-woon” were known to no one.
Yet the being with the girl’s voice knew. She knew the secret that only he should have known.
He was so shaken that heat rose of its own accord. Questions piled up like a mountain, but Shin Gi-woon forced himself to calm down first.
If he let emotion take over, even things that should work would fall apart. Settling his feelings came first.
Perhaps the girl understood; she seemed to be waiting for him to speak.
Once he had steadied himself, Shin Gi-woon checked the presence around him. This was not a conversation that could be overheard.
“Who are you? Who the hell are you that you know my identity?”
I’d say that, other than you yourself, I’m the existence in this world that knows you best.
“I asked who you are.”
He muttered while swallowing his anger. He had roughly realized this place was the medical hall. If he raised his voice the physician would come running, and the conversation would be cut off with ninety-nine percent certainty.
The girl sensed his state—cold fury, the anxiety of a secret that must never be known having been exposed, and the sheer disbelief of the impossible.
She spoke with a smile in her voice.
The existence most like you in this world, yet the complete opposite.
“I’m asking what that means, you bastard.”
Not a bastard. I’d prefer you call me Gangcheol, if you don’t mind?
“…!”
What had he just heard? Still lying motionless, Shin Gi-woon began turning the thought over in his head.
Gangcheol was definitely the fallen imugi he had killed. He clearly remembered crushing its skull, cutting off its breath, and watching it leave behind the black bead.
This thing was that Gangcheol? Or maybe it wasn’t the same one.
Sorry, but I am that Gangcheol.
“You… are you reading my thoughts?”
Half right. Thanks to me opening your upper dantian, I’m sitting in it right now. Still, I can’t read them unless I really focus.
Shin Gi-woon’s eyes twitched. There were more than one or two things he needed to ask, yet the refreshing clarity he had felt since waking proved the creature’s words were true.
He had fainted while blocking the mysterious energy that tried to force open his upper dantian. When he came to, he had already reached the Peak realm and his upper dantian was open.