Chapter 313
Chapter 313
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 313
Chapter Title: Refining the Arts in Seclusion
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Grriiind—
The door to the Heavenly Secret Repository closed.
'Tch, I didn't get to see everything yet.'
Cheonhwi gazed at the door beginning to shut with eyes full of regret.
'Sneak back in later?'
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
He now knew all the ways to open the door, so it wasn't impossible.
But.
'Nah.'
He immediately dismissed the idea.
Opening the door anytime was one thing, but sneaking in was another.
If he got caught, the backlash wouldn't be minor.
This was the Murim Alliance's secret repository, after all.
That was when it happened.
"Did you enjoy the viewing?"
Yuk Mugwang suddenly asked.
He had already let go of the door and was quietly watching Cheonhwi, a soft smile playing on his lips.
Cheonhwi shrugged his shoulders and replied.
"I got a good look, but it's a bit disappointing."
Yuk Mugwang chuckled at Cheonhwi's words.
He understood the implication.
"There will be another chance next time."
He murmured in a low voice.
It carried a tone of certainty.
"Yeah, there probably will."
Cheonhwi accepted Yuk Mugwang's words as a matter of course.
Yuk Mugwang smiled warmly at his confident attitude, then turned and sat in his chair.
He settled into the exact same posture as when Cheonhwi had first arrived, then lightly raised his hand in farewell.
"Take care on your way back."
His tone was solemn and composed.
Seeing the gesture, Cheonhwi turned to leave.
There was no reason to stay longer.
As he stepped toward the darkened stairs, Cheonhwi glanced back and moved his lips.
"See you next time."
With those words, Cheonhwi ascended the stairs, and silence settled in his eyes.
He had returned to his usual demeanor.
In that quiet stillness, Yuk Mugwang pondered the now completely vanished Cheonhwi.
Meanwhile, moments later, Cheonhwi emerged from the hall into the pouring sunlight, squinting his eyes.
The sky, which had held a solitary moon when he entered, now had the sun high overhead.
Half a day had passed.
That was when it happened.
"Th-that uniform... Mount Hua Sect? No way, is that the Plum Blossom Divine Hero?!"
"Why is the Plum Blossom Divine Hero here...?"
The Alliance warriors passing by the hall spotted Cheonhwi emerging from the door and widened their eyes in shock.
Some froze in place.
It was none other than the Plum Blossom Divine Hero.
The unparalleled prodigy who had routed the Bandit King, slain Nong Jil, and most recently killed the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader and razed their headquarters.
Everyone swallowed hard, staring at Cheonhwi.
Encountering the Plum Blossom Divine Hero in such an unexpected place filled them with tension.
"Who would've thought we'd see the great hero here."
"He looks exactly as I imagined."
They whispered while watching him.
They wanted to approach and talk, but couldn't bring themselves to do it.
Cheonhwi's fame had long surpassed that of exceptional later-generation talents, placing him among the top figures even in the Murim Alliance.
How could they casually approach?
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi paid no mind to their stares.
His head was filled with one thought alone.
'I want to quickly organize all those martial arts manuals I read.'
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed.
He had read well over a hundred manuals in the Heavenly Secret Repository.
All of them needed sorting.
'This'll take a few days.'
With that thought, Cheonhwi stepped forward.
Time was precious.
Soon, after taking one step, a faint breeze stirred at the hem of his robes.
Swoosh—
His figure vanished like an illusion.
It happened in an instant.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After leaving the Heavenly Secret Repository and returning to the hall, Cheonhwi did not emerge from his room.
It was seclusion bordering on closed-door training.
"Why is the Division Leader acting like this?"
Ho Gwanggae gazed puzzled at the hall due to the unprecedented seclusion of their Division Leader.
Toward the chambers of the Myeoljeol Division Leader, Cheonhwi, on this floor.
His brows furrowed slightly.
Four days had already passed.
After ordering no one to enter, Cheonhwi hadn't eaten and simply remained still in his room.
"Something didn't happen, did it?"
Danri Gwancheon asked cautiously.
His tone was laced with worry.
"To the Division Leader?"
Ho Gwanggae found the question absurd.
Who was their Division Leader?
The supreme expert who saved the Ami Sect by slaying Nong Jil and also killed the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader.
"Still, you never know."
But Danri Gwancheon was prudent.
"Didn't he suffer a serious injury from the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader's single strike? That cult leader's internal energy is infamous for its vicious nature. What if it's caused qi deviation...?"
"Well..."
Ho Gwanggae's brow furrowed.
'He did take a serious wound to the waist.'
He had forgotten momentarily because Cheonhwi had acted as if nothing happened on the way here.
The moment worry crept in and he looked toward the room again.
"Aren't you two training?"
A clear voice rang in their ears.
It was Cheonhyang.
Unlike the two, she showed no worry—didn't even seem to be thinking about Cheonhwi—as she brushed back her sweat-soaked hair and spoke to them.
Collapsed figures lay before her.
Myeoljeol Division members and Hwaryeong Unit warriors.
After returning to the Murim Alliance together, Cheonhyang had led the Hwaryeong Unit to visit the hall where the Myeoljeol Division stayed every morning.
And they sparred like this.
"Lady Cheonhyang."
At Danri Gwancheon's address, Cheonhyang shuddered and waved her hand dismissively.
"Just call me Cheonhyang, okay?"
"...Understood. Junior Sister Cheonhyang."
"That's not great either, but better than 'Lady'."
Cheonhyang grinned.
Danri Gwancheon turned his face slightly and asked in a low voice.
"Aren't you worried about the Division Leader, Junior Sister?"
"Huh? Well... yeah, he has been in there a while."
Cheonhyang furrowed her brow as if recalling.
Danri Gwancheon grew serious.
"Then we should check on him right—"
"Can you handle the aftermath?"
Cheonhyang cut him off as he moved to act.
"He told his junior not to enter, right?"
"..."
Danri Gwancheon shut his mouth.
"He'll come out when he's done."
Cheonhyang said, glancing toward Cheonhwi's room.
Meanwhile, unaware of the commotion outside, Cheonhwi sat cross-legged in his room with eyes closed.
Silent stillness flowed.
But his mind was more chaotic and clamorous than ever.
Dozens, hundreds of martial arts manuals.
He was dissecting each one, stripping them bare.
'Moon Wheel Hand channels qi into the meridians and swings in one breath? But rather than this method...'
Cheonhwi delved deeply into each manual he had skimmed quickly before.
How to perfect it. No, how to master it completely.
That thought dominated his mind, gradually refining the martial arts accordingly.
'Discard unnecessary formulas.'
Cheonhwi boldly reinterpreted the arts.
Even though they weren't his creations, he swiftly discarded parts and added new ones.
It would astonish others.
Even a grandmaster would hesitate to alter arts so freely—it shook their foundations.
But Cheonhwi had no such reservations.
Of course.
He had already grasped their essence.
"The root of all martial arts is one."
As he organized the theoretical foundation of martial arts built over long years, his eyes gleamed mysteriously.
Clear and profound.
His gaze seemed not of this world, and his mind expanded vast, embracing the universe.
Mind Landscape World.
The Plum Blossom Divine Art's energy flowing from his body severed him from the world, creating his own realm.
"All martial arts begin simply. Any art starts with Heaven, Earth, Man and ends with Heaven, Earth, Man."
Cheonhwi murmured softly.
Martial arts began to temper the human body.
Their origin was to infuse the energies of Heaven and Earth into the human form.
This held true for the well-known Confucian Qi Arts, Daoist Qi Arts, Buddhist Qi Arts, and even the Reverse Heaven Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Divine Art, created by the first Heavenly Demon.
The infamous blood arts of the Blood Cult, cultivated with human blood, could not escape it either.
Ultimately, because humans were the vessels.
And it wasn't just martial arts.
Spell arts and formations were the same.
They twisted and wove the world's energies, but were no different from martial arts crafted and unraveled by humans.
And more.
Weapons were mere extensions of the hand.
Sword, spear, blade—whatever.
'And the result depends on the wielder's heart. Whether it becomes a sword of salvation or slaughter.'
Cheonhwi closed his eyes amid his thoughts.
Shiii—
At that moment, a translucent sword appeared before his Mind Landscape World, radiating brilliant light.
It was hazy, as if it might scatter into the ether.
Yet the energy and intensity within were incomparable.
Heart Sword.
The manifestation of the sword in his heart.
Cheonhwi reached out.
A faint energy tingled his palm upon touching the translucent blade.
'No. Not quite yet.'
Cheonhwi released the Heart Sword without regret.
He could grasp it if he tried.
But his current incomplete body lacked the finesse to wield it.
'Once the body fully matures...'
As he moved to dispel the Heart Sword.
Fwoooosh!
Suddenly, energy surged.
Strange phenomenon.
'Letting go brought this gain?'
A smile formed on Cheonhwi's lips.
He instantly grasped the situation.
He focused immediately.
His crown acupoint opened wide, absorbing the pouring energies of Heaven and Earth, cleansing him thoroughly.
At the same time, his smile deepened.
A satisfied smile.
The energy sweeping through his 365 acupoints and all meridians brought refreshing clarity.
'Who knew I'd experience this again.'
Cheonhwi's lips twisted further.
He had felt this before.
Unification of Heart, Qi, and Body.
He had finally reached a realm he should have attained long ago.
His body felt light.
Soon, the energies of Heaven and Earth transformed into pure Plum Blossom Divine Art energy, accumulating swiftly in his lower dantian.
As vast, pristine internal energy filled his dantian.
Fwaaah!
Translucent energy gathered above his head, blooming into flower buds.
Blue, red, white flowers.
Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.
'A bit late.'
Gazing at the sacred flowers of pure essence hovering above like an observer, Cheonhwi twisted his lips.
Delayed due to his incomplete body despite his high cultivation and pure energy, but he wasn't displeased.
'An unexpected boon.'
Cheonhwi slowly opened his eyes.
'But the circumstances are different? Normally, this would trigger Marrow Cleansing and Bone Transformation.'
He suddenly recalled his past life.
Back then, he had achieved Marrow Cleansing instead of gaining energy.
Now, without Marrow Cleansing, his dantian brimmed with internal energy, and his acupoints and meridians overflowed.
"Well, this suits the current situation better, so no complaints."
Chuckling as he spoke, Cheonhwi unfolded his legs and lightly rolled his shoulders.
His body felt light.
Despite sitting cross-legged for three long days, there was no stiffness.
And not just that.
His internal energy flowed comfortably, enveloping his body unlike before.
It was like being perpetually primed.
Confirming his condition, Cheonhwi smiled in satisfaction and rose from the bed.
The martial arts were roughly organized.
Now remained deploying the refined arts.
In actual combat.
"Shall we loosen up a bit?"
Grinning to himself, Cheonhwi grabbed the two swords he had set aside before entering mental training and stepped out of the room.