Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Forging the Vessel
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Namgung Hyuk sat cross-legged and circulated the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art.
He greedily drew in external energy, guiding it to his dantian, while the energy already in his dantian stirred and moved outward in response.
Whooooom!
The rotation of the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art accelerated.
One cycle, two cycles...
In an instant, it completed twelve rotations within his body.
Ssssss!
With each rotation, it devoured the accumulated waste and impurities in Namgung Hyuk's body.
The Soaring Heavens Bright King Art was a greedy energy, yet pure and majestic at the same time.
It possessed the solemnity and unyielding spirit unique to the Namgung family's internal arts, combined with the voracious dominance and speed of the Chaotic Heavens Bright King Qi.
This art that embraced the heavens was free-spirited, containing the harmony of heaven and earth.
The energy coursing through his body was unobstructed, yet unshakable in its path.
As it absorbed external energy, it purified the impurities accumulated within.
At the same time, it filtered and refined the energies, accumulating only the purest essence.
Layers of internal energy gathered in his dantian.
Namgung Hyuk repeated this process a full 108 times.
Finally, his arduous accumulation came to an end.
He could feel the power of his internal energy, now swollen like a pea, larger than before circulation.
By orthodox faction standards, this accumulation speed was incomprehensible.
Having finished accumulating, Namgung Hyuk guided the energy to his heart.
The Nine Yin Blocked Meridians.
Now with eight meridians blocked, it should be called the Eight Yin Blocked Meridians, and the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art energy reached there.
The internal energy, honed sharp like an awl, circled around his heart before quietly returning to its place.
Namgung Hyuk slowly opened his eyes.
"...No dice. Damn it."
He grumbled as he rubbed around his heart.
The chill creeping up his fingertips furrowed his brow.
"It's irritating."
Having broken through one, it was only natural to want to break through two.
But it wasn't as easy as wishing for it.
He tried every time he circulated, but it always ended in failure.
Namgung Hyuk let out a low breath.
"The problem is the internal energy..."
There simply wasn't enough in absolute quantity.
That's why he needed a spirit pill to swell his internal energy enough to shatter the blocked meridians.
"Yeah, that's right."
More was always better.
That much was certain.
But this time, Namgung Hyuk realized another issue as well.
Specifically, through his fight with the Ghost Hand.
"Did I really have to resort to fists against a punk like that?"
In the old days, he wouldn't have needed fists—he could've just flicked a bit of internal energy with Finger Flicking Art and knocked the guy out cold.
Yet how many moves had he used?
Even resorting to the Soul-Shattering Fist.
"Ah, it bruises my pride."
Meeting someone with a bit of martial training, and having to use Soul-Shattering Fist.
On top of that, this damn body couldn't withstand the recoil, leaving his wrist throbbing and his channels swollen.
Without the meridian-opening level recovery of the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art, it would've been quite a ordeal.
"One thing's for sure. I need to forge a vessel."
What was a vessel?
The container that held internal energy.
And the body that trained martial arts.
Martial arts required essence, energy, and spirit to align, with external and internal arts in harmony, to reach true mastery—a profoundly complex, difficult, and deep...
"The conclusion is, I need to make this body stronger than it is now."
Expand the dantian to hold more internal energy, and forge a body resilient enough to bear it.
And refine the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art anew.
Advance it further, achieve greater maturity, and then break through the blocked points.
'I need a deeper understanding of internal energy.'
The framework was the orthodox Soaring Heavens arts, the muscle the unparalleled Chaotic Heavens Bright King Qi.
With bones and muscles in place, now he needed to learn how to wield it properly.
Establish a system and fully embody it.
Then correct deficiencies one by one.
Namgung Hyuk believed understanding internal energy was the first step.
Others might see him as a monster or a fiend, and that wouldn't be strange.
Prestigious martial clans took decades, even centuries of trial and error to perfect their arts, yet Namgung Hyuk was leaping over that process.
Creating arts, systematizing them, stabilizing via that system to forge a path.
Doing all that in one go was deviant, hasty, and dangerous.
Utterly unlike the stability pursued by the orthodox factions.
'But I'm not one of those orthodox fools.'
Namgung Hyuk began regulating his breathing.
He refined the incantations and moved his internal energy.
He focused on the incantations he'd taken from the Soaring Heavens Sect.
An internal art containing the harmony of heaven and earth.
An incomplete art that had aimed too high and failed.
It had far too much to fill in and discard.
Namgung Hyuk pondered deeply, then circulated the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art.
The energy began coursing unimpeded through his body.
He released the energy reacting to the incantations.
The energy, surging fiercely in one direction, scattered in all directions.
A reckless act that could lead to qi deviation and cripple him!
But that was merely from an orthodox perspective.
In the past, Namgung Hyuk had mastered even demonic arts.
Defying the natural order was nothing new to him.
What was the foundation of demonic arts?
Defying heaven.
Of course, what he was doing now wasn't demonic, but shattering the framework was much the same.
'To learn to use it properly, no choice. Anyway, the art I created would be called a freakish technique by those orthodox bastards.'
An internal art close to orthodox yet bearing demonic traits.
Then the way to handle it should differ from the orthodox methods.
Thud thud thud! Crack! Ziiiiiing!
The released internal energy naturally spread through his body, pounding his channels.
Endless echoes and shocks reverberated within, but he endured, suppressing them.
Soon, the energy that had been striking wildly in all directions divided into five streams.
Namgung Hyuk read the flow of energy, read it again, and committed it to memory.
He memorized the flow and reined in his internal energy.
He quietly opened his eyes.
A flash of lightning streaked through his clear gaze before subsiding.
"Mm! Need to refine it bit by bit. Ow, my stomach hurts."
Namgung Hyuk grimaced as he clenched and unclenched his fingers.
A lingering sensation from what he'd felt earlier remained at his fingertips.
Namgung Hyuk gathered energy in his palm.
Flash!
Crackle crackle crackle!
Blue flames flared, then entwined with lightning.
Namgung Hyuk blinked.
He clenched and opened his hand again, gathering energy at his fingertips.
Fsssh fsssh fsssh!
Crackle crackle crackle!
Flames flashed from all five fingers, scattering lightning.
He clenched his fist tight.
Crackle crackle—!
Lightning flickered and surged from his fist.
"Huh."
...Lightning from his hand.
"Why's it even more savage now?"
And not just any lightning—it was wind, cloud, thunder, rain.
The energy whirling sharply in his grip was blade-like, and the lightning born from their clashes held immense power.
Its speed and efficiency were incomparable to before.
Still needed refining, but the difference was clear.
If he unleashed Soul-Shattering Fist at the Ghost Hand now with this internal energy, it felt like he'd pulverize him in one shot.
Which meant an insane...
"It's turned into an orthodox art that's practically demonic?"
Whoa.
Namgung Hyuk let out a hollow chuckle in admiration.
At himself, of course.
"Heh, my genius just won't quit."
Satisfied, Namgung Hyuk withdrew his internal energy.
"Gonna polish this and make a huge, sturdy vessel that doesn't feel the least bit cramped!"
Namgung Hyuk steeled his resolve.
Crackle crackle!
"...Ahem, still needs control."
* * *
"Young master—! Food's here!"
With Geum Cheomsang's confident voice, the door burst open.
"Set it there!"
At Geum Cheomsang's gesture, servants swarmed in carrying trays.
Clack clack clack!
The table was swiftly laid with a feast.
Namgung Hyuk sat at the table, drawn by the mere aroma that lifted his spirits.
"Eat up, young master!"
At Geum Cheomsang's assured voice, Namgung Hyuk scanned the dishes.
Meat.
More meat to the right.
Meat to the left.
Namgung Hyuk's lips curled up.
"Yeah, that's it! This is my table. A meal without meat is for damn monks!"
It was a world away from before his trip to the Northern Plains.
Spices added lavish richness that made his mouth water.
Namgung Hyuk picked up a piece of meat and ate.
Chewy texture with a subtle spread of sweet, tender flavor.
The sharp kick at the back of his throat as it went down made his eyes widen.
"...Wow."
Namgung Hyuk let out a low exclamation and tried another meat.
Rich juices and spicy depth dazed his mind.
Namgung Hyuk gaped at Geum Cheomsang.
"Who's the chef?"
"The head chef from Heavenly Pavilion. The family head tried to headhunt him but failed. Best in Anhui Province, they say. Amazing, right?"
"Man, money really is power."
"White silver a hundred taels makes it worth it."
An enormous sum just for one meal.
Namgung Hyuk swallowed and said,
"Hey, hire him for three more days."
"Pardon? Three days?"
"Yeah, that's just three hundred taels of silver."
"...Think back to our penniless days. Don't you remember grazing on grass ten days ago?"
"Nope, no memory."
Namgung Hyuk grabbed more food.
Every dish was exquisite.
A taste even his previous life rarely savored.
Gulp gulp!
The table was cleared into his stomach in moments.
Dozens of dishes, each with distinct flavors and depths, sent his tongue into ecstasy.
"Try this."
Geum Cheomsang brought another tray.
Namgung Hyuk chuckled lightly at the tray full of medicines.
Finally felt like things were back to normal.
Slurp slurp slurp!
Sucking hard on the vial Geum Cheomsang handed him, Namgung Hyuk wore a satisfied expression.
Bitter medicine, but it tasted sweet.
Grinning, Namgung Hyuk glanced at the box by his bed.
Damn, it's sparkling.
A bill of exchange for 31,000 taels, 1,700 taels in silver, three gold calves, three gold toads, and one black pearl.
They gleamed, radiating insane presence.
At least 40,000 taels in silver minimum.
For an average person, what they'd earn working nonstop for three hundred years without eating or sleeping.
And it was in his room.
Clink clink.
Fiddling with the silver, Namgung Hyuk's eyes gleamed.
He'd spent over ten days away from home for this fat capital.
"One worry down."
One of the saddest things was wanting food but lacking money.
"A fat purse brings leisure."
Namgung Hyuk chuckled, bit into a strip of jerky, and stood.
"Where to?"
"You heard. Fat purse means leisure."
"...So?"
"So? Time to enjoy it."
"To Heavenly Pavilion?"
"Lately, you know me too well."
As Namgung Hyuk grinned, Geum Cheomsang slyly stood.
"Won't you feel a bit lonely without me?"
"Nope."
"I think I have a right to that money too. Covering your scandals, sharing life and death..."
"You've spent plenty of my allowance already."
"That was all for you..."
"Orthodox bastards, always 'for your sake' with everything."
"...But you are orthodox, young master."
"I'm not."
"Huh?"
"Anyway, I'm not."
"Feels that way."
Why's this guy agreeing so easily?
Namgung Hyuk eyed him suspiciously, and Geum Cheomsang rubbed his hands.
"Hehe, I wanna check out Heavenly Pavilion too. You've been so sick, I've never gotten near a place like that—feels unfair..."
"My fault?"
"Mine, sure. So take me along! Please! I got some new techniques I'm practicing!"
Namgung Hyuk smirked and beckoned with a finger.
Geum Cheomsang beamed and followed.
Stepping outside, the Thunder Dragon Squad shot up and bowed.
Namgung Hyuk beckoned.
"Hey, let's go play."
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes widened.
"Pardon?"
"You worked hard, time to play."
...Again?
All Geon Cheon-hwi remembered until returning from Silver Phantom Horse Stable was nonstop drinking.
They'd only actually hunted bandits for two days.
'...He really lets us slack after jobs.'
A devil when pushing, but lets them rest till sick of it now.
Namgung Hyuk seemed to have no moderation.
"Let's go! Time to spend!"
"Yes, young master!"