Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Reincarnation (2)
The Five Great Protectors who followed me were originally the Four Great Protectors.
Sword God, a master of the blade who wagered his remaining life in a bet with me.
Blue Shadow Assassin, a killer and master of infiltration.
Dang Man-cheon, a hidden weapons expert betrayed by the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Mountain Gorge King, an external martial arts master whose strength surpassed even mine.
The Heavenly Demon Cult I led was a group that originated from the Demonic Cult and worshiped power.
In short, the strongest bastard becomes the leader.
The second strongest bastards become the Protectors. Below them are the Hundred White Blood Corps and the Thousand Heavenly Bone Corps Soldiers.
The Hundred White Blood Corps Leader was Hundred Tiger Ghost, and the Thousand Heavenly Bone Corps Soldiers Leader was Thousand Tiger Ghost.
They were all people I had named.
Before I gave them names, they were called by numbers.
In any case, the strongest bastards after me were the Four Great Protectors. But when Jimun Seo-saeng joined, they became the Five Great Protectors.
Originally called Heavenly Scholar, he lowered his own name to Jimun Seo-saeng when he came under me.
The reason I placed someone whose only martial art was Golden Thread Hand in the position of Protector was because he was a genius at reading the heavenly signs and devising strategies.
My unification of the martial world and my venture into conquering other worlds began with his words.
—The many heavens will soon gather under one heaven. The heavens not chosen will collapse, and only the sole heaven will remain.
He was right.
Immediately after unifying the martial world and subduing external forces, the earth overturned and a storm like Mount Tai struck. The sea flipped and swallowed the land, and flames shot up above Mount Tai.
—Our heaven was not chosen.
I set out with those who believed in and followed me to find another heaven. It was to survive.
My conquest of other worlds began that way.
Whether I conquered four other worlds or not.
Whether I had tens of thousands under me or not.
Whether I was the only one under heaven or not.
I'm now in a newborn state.
Thirty days since birth.
A trial has struck.
'Don't do it!'
I want to shout.
With warm eyes and an eye-smile, Mother laid me down on a blanket. And I became naked.
She removed the dirty diaper, wiped my body, and replaced it with a new one.
'The Heavenly Demon can't even control his bowel movements.'
The problem doesn't end here.
The Witch is lying in the same position. Right next to me, close enough for our skin to touch. And she's subjected to the same treatment as me.
She neither cries nor laughs.
She has an expressionless face due to embarrassment.
"My twins, why do you look so unhappy every time I change your diapers? Are you embarrassed?"
I want to nod my head in response, but my body won't obey.
'I need to resolve this quickly.'
I don't want to be exposed naked with the Witch anymore, showing my private parts.
Even if it's in front of Mother, this is a matter of pride.
"My son. Uram."
Mother calls me while hugging me tightly to her chest.
My name is Uram.
Following my father Na Seong-cheol's surname, I'm Na Uram.
It's a name I don't particularly like.
The Witch's name is Na Yuri.
Mother's name was Min Su-jin.
Mother had a small build. She had kind eyes and a small mouth.
She appeared to be in her late thirties, and her voice was thin and low.
Always cautious actions and speech.
Looking at how she treated Father, she had an introverted and utterly devoted personality.
Father was also not young. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, tall but somewhat clumsy.
'An appearance that's easy to look down on.'
My parents' livelihood wasn't very comfortable. The space where I was being raised was also small, and there were many worn-out items.
Still, they always worried about giving the best things to me and the Witch, their late-born children.
"Son, I love you. My baby."
Mother rubbed her cheek against my face. My soured mood instantly lifted.
Mother's embrace is warm. When I close my eyes, I drift off to sleep.
Yes, this kind of peace is fine too.
"My daughter."
Mother put me down and lifted the Witch.
The Witch looked down at me from Mother's embrace. The corners of her mouth rose.
'I'll make it so you can't smile soon.'
My mood soured again.
Parental love is like the heavens.
I, in my previous life, didn't understand this saying. But after experiencing the process of birth with a sound mind, I couldn't help but agree.
Mother doesn't receive treatment even when she's sick. Father comes home exhausted and still plays with me.
But this is the problem.
'You don't need to play with me!'
I wish they would just leave me alone.
Excessive love bothers a newborn.
The third month since birth.
If things had gone as expected, I should have already completed the Dantian that can gather internal energy and be opening my energy meridians. But forget the energy meridians—I've passed the brink of becoming disabled more than twenty times.
Just when I'm about to fall into a state of selfless absorption, someone invariably picks me up.
Sometimes it's Mother, sometimes Father. At times, it's even Grandmother.
I changed my method. Regrettably, during the day I only recited the essential principles of the mental cultivation method while feeling the energy.
I proceeded to actually gather internal energy in my Dantian at night. Because even my parents would sleep.
At first, it went as expected.
But when I fell into selfless absorption, the Witch would cry pitifully.
Without fail, Father would appear to comfort the Witch and even pick me up.
'Don't pick me up! Leave me alone!'
At first, I thought it was coincidence. But I realized it wasn't.
'That girl!'
Knowing I was training, the Witch deliberately made crying sounds. To interfere.
'Just wait!'
I had no choice but to enter mental cultivation training without falling into selfless absorption. It was a slow but safe method.
As a result, the framework of my Dantian was barely established.
Because I was in a newborn state, my body was growing rapidly too.
Thus, the hundredth day since birth arrived.
'I start from today.'
It was late at night.
The Witch's breathing was steady, as if she had fallen asleep.
I raised my upper body. My small body tilted and fell to the side.
'Let's grow quickly.'
I supported my body with my arms and raised my hips first. Then slowly straightened my back.
Wobble.
It wasn't easy to balance with feet buried in the soft floor.
I leaned against the wooden fence surrounding the bed to find my center. Then slowly let go of my hands.
'I'm standing.'
The surroundings were quiet.
Inside the small room were two beds blocked by wooden fences, and except for the brown door, everything was blue.
The Witch was sleeping in the bed placed next to mine.
I bent and straightened my knees. I could feel the muscles tensing.
Only by holding my breath could I perform this motion one more time.
'I must move before the Witch.'
It's a match won by whoever moves first.
To do that, I needed to train not only my internal energy but also my body. Physical training would also greatly help in opening the energy meridians.
If I could just cross this fence and get to the bed next to me, the match would be over.
For that day, I had no choice but to work my short arms and legs, which had more fat than muscle, to exhaustion.
'A bit more!'
Twenty squats.
Twenty push-ups.
I reached my limit.
My whole body trembled and was soaked in sweat.
I flopped onto the bed.
'Not much left.'
It was a satisfactory result for a first attempt. Within ten days, I would cross the fence and deal with the Witch.
'Back to internal energy training.'
If my energy meridians were opened and I could perform energy circulation, fatigue could be relieved quickly. But now it was impossible. I had no choice but to soothe fatigue with rest.
While catching my breath, I clenched and unclenched my fists.
Understanding blood flow greatly helps in opening energy meridians. Because the flowing sensation is similar.
"Huuu."
My breathing grew louder. This was also a good sign.
As expected, it was good that I moved my body.
I became confident that I could grow muscles, energy meridians, and blood vessels all in the direction I wanted.
'Not much left.'
I turned my head to look to the side. To see the Witch, my nearest target.
'Hm?'
She's not there.
The Witch was gone.
An ominous feeling arose.
Suddenly, the area above my head brightened.
Did someone turn on the light?
When my parents enter at night, they always turn on the light. Strangely, when they press something, it brightens with a cheerful sound. It seemed to function like a night pearl.
But not now. It's not a light like a night pearl.
A flickering ball of fire.
I turned my gaze to the ceiling. And I froze.
The Witch was looking down at me, floating a ball of fire above one hand. In the light of the flickering fireball, I could see the Witch's expression.
A sneer with raised corners of her mouth.
That very smile I saw in my previous life.
'I lost again.'
The Witch was faster.
I had lost twice now.
'Kill me.'
I awaited death.
Without avoiding, I glared at the Witch and the fireball.
I would die while watching clearly. And I would definitely come back.
May I be given a chance.
Before death, I wished only for that.
Time that seemed to have stopped passed.
The sneer disappeared from the Witch's expression. Instead, she frowned as if displeased.
Whoosh.
The fireball disappeared.
'Why?'
The Witch flew down softly like flower petals and lay back in her bed.
I turned my head to the side to look at the Witch.
The Witch fell asleep as if nothing had happened.
After that, the Witch didn't interfere with my training. And there was no attack that I had feared.
'Why?'
The question wouldn't leave.
The change in her expression when she held the fireball bothered me.
'I'll beat her up and ask.'
The best method. Because there's no one who can withstand a beating.
From then on, I freely entered training.
As I fell into selfless absorption all night, my Dantian quickly became solid and energy meridians began to open.
Here, I had another peculiar experience.
Normally, the Mingmen Meridian at the end of the spine opens first and connects to the Dantian. The Mingmen Meridian and Dantian act like a passage that refines and receives external energy.
The internal energy created in the Dantian then circulates throughout the body following the blood vessels.
The lowest is the Dantian, the highest is the Baihui Meridian.
As important as the Dantian is this Baihui Meridian. If the Baihui Meridian isn't solid, the energy that rises will strain the body when it comes back down.
'Why did the Baihui Meridian open first?'
The Baihui Meridian opened before the Mingmen Meridian even opened. This was unexpected.
Is it because babies breathe through their heads?
I learned only later that this phenomenon occurred because the bones weren't properly formed yet.
In any case, it was an interesting phenomenon, and I received external energy through the Baihui Meridian instead of the Mingmen Meridian.
'Can this even happen?'
Since my energy meridians had barely opened, the energy that entered through the Baihui Meridian had nowhere to go and gathered.
'Could it be?'
Just as I was about to stop because it might be dangerous...
The energy gathered at the Baihui Meridian didn't escape and began to compress.
It was a phenomenon that appears when internal energy gathers in the Dantian.
'The Baihui Meridian becomes a Dantian?'
Lower abdomen and head.
Two Dantians were created.
In that state, I first opened the energy meridians on the path of Small Circulation.
Circulating shortly through the thick and long blood vessels is Small Circulation.
Passing through all the blood vessels corresponding to the entire body is Great Circulation.
Energy circulation follows this path.
It took thirty days to open the energy meridians enough to enable energy circulation. It was faster than expected.
I cautiously began energy circulation.
The two Dantians simultaneously released energy and moved at once along the path of Small Circulation.
Without time to think, I fell into selfless absorption.
The pure body of a baby accepted the changes as they were. The blood vessels naturally widened, and the energy spread throughout.
The extreme selfless absorption I felt after a long time made me escape from all reality.
In this state, even if someone just touches me, I would die from Qi deviation.
It's dangerous, but I wasn't even aware of it.
I was just immersed in selfless absorption.
An immeasurable amount of time passed...
Bang! Bang!
Explosions occurred simultaneously in the Dantian and Baihui Meridian.
That force quickly circulated along the path of Small Circulation, then gradually sank deeper at the points where the force originated.
"Huuu."
I exhaled a long breath and gathered the force.
Crack!
The sound of bones twisting.
Internal energy cultivation methods affect the body each time a stage is completed. The current skeletal change is actually a good phenomenon.
It was an achievement accomplished one hundred fifty days after birth.