Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Calluses of Life
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Walking the path without certainty, with calluses embedded all over the body. That's life.
"Your master must have thought the same as me."
"You're saying that wasn't just to avoid disappointing me?"
"Absolutely not. No matter how much qi you've accumulated in your dantian, without muscle, you can't use it. Qi flows through the meridians, but in the end, it's muscle that generates the power. Of course, inner power strengthens the muscles. The higher your inner power, the stronger your muscles become, up to the limit we commonly call a thousand years of cultivation. Go beyond that, and the muscles throughout your body rupture. The best example of muscles rupturing is qi deviation. When you fall into qi deviation, you wield near-infinite power, and eventually, your muscles explode, killing you."
"So what are you getting at?"
"Exactly what you said earlier. Muscles conquer inner power. But there's a prerequisite."
"What prerequisite?"
"The muscles have to be tougher, stronger, and more elastic than anything in this world."
"How do you make muscles like that?"
"Do you know what Bone Marrow Replanting is as a method of cultivating martial arts?"
"Isn't that a torture technique?"
Bone Marrow Replanting meant exactly what it said: shattering bones and slicing muscles. Victims endured unimaginable agony before dying. That's why it was known as the ultimate torture method.
"It was originally created as a way to cultivate martial arts. But it was so painful and grueling that it fell out of use. Instead, Hair Growth and Flesh Peeling was developed, and Bone Marrow Replanting devolved into a torture technique."
"You're saying I should believe that?"
"Believe it. Both Bone Marrow Replanting and Hair Growth and Flesh Peeling transform an ordinary body into a martial artist's body, but Bone Marrow Replanting is far superior. Because it's the foundation for acquiring Latent Great Power."
"Latent Great Power..."
He never expected to hear those words from So Daehwa that his eccentric master had once spoken.
"You said you consumed inner pellets?"
"Yeah. Three of them."
"You're insane."
"And they weren't just any inner pellets—they were left by absolute masters. But I didn't even feel full."
"You've undergone Bone Marrow Replanting too, haven't you?"
"How did you know?"
"Normal people collapse at their limits. But you keep moving even in extreme situations, striking poses no ordinary person could manage. Those are movements impossible without a body reconstructed through Bone Marrow Replanting."
"I don't know if it was Bone Marrow Replanting, but my bones and muscles are definitely in a completely different state from when I was born."
"You have no choice but to keep going down that path."
"Live as a martial artist without inner power?"
"Instead of inner power, you'll develop Latent Great Power. And Latent Great Power will eventually become Superhuman Great Power."
"Superhuman Great Power?"
"You'll learn about it naturally later. Of course, only if you keep training like you are now."
"Why tell me all this?"
"Because I'd like you to meet my father."
"...Can I ask one more thing?"
"Go ahead."
"If I acquire Superhuman Great Power, will I be able to wield this properly?"
Ak Muyoo drew the Solar Heaven Sword from his waist.
"That's an incredible sword."
So Daehwa was genuinely impressed. He hadn't even touched it, but he could tell it was a divine sword at a glance.
"Is it just a picture on the wall, or can I use it?"
"I don't know."
So Daehwa shook his head.
"..."
"As far as I know, no martial artist has walked the path you're on. You have to pioneer it yourself. If you can do it, you can. If you can't, you can't."
"Bullshit."
Ak Muyoo shook his head and slid the Solar Heaven Sword back into his sash.
"Everyone else sheathes it smoothly in one go."
So Daehwa smiled faintly as he said it.
"That's exactly my point. But it's better than the first time."
"That's how you have to go. You can only climb one step at a time. You absolutely can't skip two or more. Even if you have hundreds of enlightenments, it's the same. One step at a time. That's the fate of those without a dantian. Walking the path without certainty, with calluses embedded all over the body."
"Walking the path without certainty, with calluses embedded all over the body..."
Ak Muyoo quietly repeated So Daehwa's words.
"That's life. Good luck."
A gentle smile touched So Daehwa's lips.
Ak Muyoo, who had been gazing at So Daehwa, rose from his seat.
He bowed toward So Daehwa.
"I'll engrave those words into my shattered bones and never forget them until I die."
Ak Muyoo straightened up and approached So Daehwa.
So Daehwa had stopped breathing. Ak Muyoo placed his hand over So Daehwa's eyes and gently pressed down. So Daehwa's eyes closed.
"General Gun."
Ak Muyoo called out to Gun Cheokjeon.
"Has he passed?"
Gun Cheokjeon asked.
"Yeah."
Soon, Gun Cheokjeon's group arrived. They silently gazed at So Daehwa.
While they bid farewell to So Daehwa, Ak Muyoo dug a pit with his demon hook. He dug as deep as possible, placed So Daehwa inside, and buried him. Returning to his spot, Ak Muyoo loaded the remaining horse milk liquor and So Daehwa's sword onto his camel.
"I'll wake you in two hours, so sleep."
Ak Muyoo said as he stepped out of the tent.
"Where are you going?"
"Scouting!"
"..."
"If you don't sleep, you'll end up like So Daehwa. So shut up and sleep."
"That bastard, even his words..."
Ak Guneok grumbled softly.
"He's right. We need sleep to recover. Force it if you have to."
Gun Cheokjeon lay down by the fire. As he did, Ak Guneok and Ara lay down too. Luhwa fetched wood and tossed it into the campfire. As the flames grew, she stepped away. After scanning the surroundings briefly, she leaped onto a sand dune. Ak Muyoo stood guard atop it.
"Do you see anything over there?"
Ak Muyoo pointed south.
"I don't see anything. What's there?"
"I don't see anything either. At least until morning, we should be fine."
Ak Muyoo said as he stood.
The two descended the dune and returned to the campfire. Gun Cheokjeon's group was asleep. Ak Muyoo fetched the shackles he'd acquired earlier and examined them. Manacles were attached to both ends of the chain. The locks that had secured them were gone. The prisoners must have removed them and tossed them away.
"Can you attach these?"
He asked Luhwa.
"Let me see."
Ak Muyoo held out the shackles.
Luhwa carefully inspected them.
"If I twist this ring sideways to create a gap, I think I can separate one manacle."
"Please do."
"Got it."
Luhwa gripped the manacle and chain ring, channeling her inner power. Her face flushed, and soon the ring's joint twisted left and right. She removed the manacle and fitted a hoop from the demon hook in its place. Then she twisted the demon hook in reverse, restoring the joint to normal.
"Try it on now."
Luhwa held out the chain with the attached demon hook. Ak Muyoo took it and fitted the manacle around his wrist. Meant for ankles, it was loose on his wrist.
But when he clenched his fist, it wouldn't slip off.
Meanwhile, Luhwa attached another demon hook to the other end of the chain.
"Can you bend this a bit?"
Ak Muyoo pointed to the manacle on his wrist.
"If I bend it, you won't be able to remove it."
"I need to wear it constantly to get used to it, so it's fine."
"Alright."
Luhwa gripped both sides of the manacle and applied force. Infused with inner power, it slowly constricted.
She tightened the right manacle, then adjusted the left to fit his wrist.
"Thanks."
Ak Muyoo raised both arms.
The demon hooks dangling from the chain felt heavy. He swung his right hand lightly.
Shing!
With a sharp sound, the demon hook sliced through the air.
"Nice."
A satisfied smile curved Ak Muyoo's lips. He hooked the demon hooks to his sash and stepped out of the tent. The chain was about six feet long, not too restrictive for arm movement. As he exited, Luhwa followed.
Ak Muyoo faced forward and took a deep breath.
Calm, he began to move. Macheon had called the first fifty steps the rider stance. But it wasn't a simple rider stance.
Even taking fifty steps made the demon hooks sway.
Finally, the fifty steps ended, and he unleashed Mad Thousand Blood Steps. The Mad Thousand Blood Steps slowed to a walking pace again. In that state, he advanced while swinging the demon hooks.
"This is it."
He grinned.
It felt far more comfortable than without the chain, like wearing perfectly fitted clothes.
Just one execution left his body drenched in sweat. Without rest, he stepped into Mad Thousand Blood Steps again. The speed was the same as before, but he didn't stop once. He kept unleashing Mad Thousand Blood Steps after that. His pace gradually quickened. Ak Muyoo stopped only at dawn.
He entered the lake to wash, then roasted camel meat. As he cooked, the sleepers awoke. They washed their faces, refilled water skins, and prepared to depart.
They ate the roasted meat Ak Muyoo had prepared and set off.
Gun Cheokjeon's group and Luhwa rode camels, while Ak Muyoo trailed at the rear, executing Mad Thousand Blood Steps.
The sky was heavily overcast, as if rain was coming.
Rumble!
Even under the dry sky, thunder occasionally cracked.
"I hope it rains a bit."
Gun Cheokjeon muttered, gazing at the sky.
Dark clouds rapidly approached from the west. The sky above the group soon turned black.
Plip! Plop! Plip plip plip! Plip plip!
Swoosh!
The initial scattered drops quickly turned into a downpour.
"It's coming."
A faint smile appeared on Gun Cheokjeon's face.
Rain as thick as a pinky finger lashed the desert. Each drop pocked the sand, creating tiny holes. Those holes were soon filled by other drops, only for new ones to form.
No concentric ripples like on a lake, but the endless cycle of appearing and vanishing holes created a wondrous spectacle. The tiny sand pits spread left and right or forward and back as they formed and vanished.
The camels neighed happily, invigorated by the rare rain. The group pressed through it.
"Chaha!"
Ak Muyoo bellowed, unleashing Mad Thousand Blood Steps. His speed increased with time. The one who used to tumble forward now swung the demon hook on his right hand for momentum, righting himself and surging ahead.
The demon hook struck high, low, left, and right without restraint.
Air tore, sand sprayed, and falling raindrops halted midair.
Latent Great Power was truly manifesting, but Ak Muyoo, focused on Mad Thousand Blood Steps, was unaware.
The group raced through the rain.
The rain kept falling.
"This place gets rain too."
Ak Muyoo murmured softly, looking at the sky. In the ten years he'd lived here, this was the heaviest downpour.
"Feels refreshing."
A bright smile lit Ak Muyoo's face.
He unleashed Mad Thousand Blood Steps again and ran.
—There's someone ahead.
After charging through the rain for about half a shichen, Luhwa's transmission reached him. Ak Muyoo halted Mad Thousand Blood Steps and hooked the demon hooks to his sash.
He gazed ahead.
Five sand dunes stood in a semicircle.
Five Ling Hills.
The term for the five unchanging dunes at the entrance to the Four Evils Sand Wastes. Unlike dunes that form and vanish overnight, these endured. Arranged in a semicircle, the central one was tallest, called Great King Dune. It was thirty paces from the entrance to Great King Dune.
The group entered.
"Halt!"
Someone appeared atop Great King Dune and shouted.
Soon, armed figures emerged on the flanking dunes and between them.