Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art
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Cheongun was speechless with shock.
He'd risked his life to save her.
He'd walked nonstop from the Yangtze River all the way to Qingcheng Mountain—two full days.
They'd even run into some black path thugs at the inn.
And now? Now they were saying they couldn't give him the Gold Ingot Note?
He'd rushed here for days just for that one thing?
It felt exactly like moving into a new place yesterday only to find out it was a full-deposit scam and the house was up for auction.
Suppressing his boiling rage was no easy task.
Just that was enough to make the Natural Qi still lingering in Cheongun's dantian start seeping out.
His internal energy flowed wildly on its own, his eyes blazed blue, and the temperature within a chi—about a foot—of him plummeted sharply.
"This is how you're going to play it? I saved your one and only little sister, and this is the thanks I get? 'Impossible'? 'Impossible~'? Oh dear. Looks like you don't quite grasp what 'impossible' really means. Should I show you what true martial impossibility looks like?"
"That's not it. Please, hear me out first."
"Hero Cheong! I'm no ungrateful wretch who wipes his mouth after tasting your life-saving grace! Believe me!"
Hmm. Guess he's not planning to stiff me after all.
Only then did Cheongun nod.
If there's a valid reason and no intent to cheat, then fine. Yeah, yeah.
There was a reason Cheongun was reacting so explosively.
The Namgung Clan was often hailed as the pinnacle among the Five Great Clans, but if you looked at actual historical basis from China, it was just one of the Five Great Clans—nothing particularly standout.
Was it because Azure Wind Saga, the original game for this world, was developed in Taiwan?
The historical accuracy was annoyingly thorough.
That was why Cheongun could pull a sword in broad daylight at an inn and demand, "Hand it over."
Because he had the power. Because they were weaker than him.
Disrespect me? Die.
Covet what's mine? Die.
Even slightly entangled in grudges? Die.
Do this, die. Do that, die. Sometimes die for no reason at all.
There's that saying, right?
Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know.
On the surface, it sounds profound, but strip away heaven and earth, and it's just you and me who know—so I'll kill you and wipe out every trace.
A perfect example of that classic mainland mindset.
The law of the jungle. Might makes right.
That was the murim of the mainland, where only the real monsters roamed.
But still, it was one of the Five Great Clans, wasn't it?
A Gold Ingot Note was a hefty sum, sure, but not so massive they'd be sweating bullets over it.
Once he realized that, Cheongun could finally cool his heated head.
As Cheongun's killing intent subsided, Namgung Hwi finally continued.
"As I said, we can't provide the Gold Ingot Note right now."
"So why not?"
"If you'd come to the Namgung main house in Henan Province, we'd hand over as many Gold Ingot Notes as you wanted. But this is a Justice Alliance branch."
...Right?
Cheongun listened quietly to Namgung Hwi.
"The Justice Alliance branch operates independently from the main house, with its own separate budget management. That means we can't arbitrarily spend large sums."
"……"
"We're a thousand ri from the Namgung main branch, so we can't prepare a Gold Ingot Note for you on the spot. I, as branch chief, would need to stamp a document and send it to the main house. Only then can the clan head order the chief steward to issue the note."
Cheongun finally grasped the point.
In other words, to get the Gold Ingot Note, he'd have to wait endlessly while all that bullshit procedure played out.
Namgung Hwi, meanwhile, was gauging Cheongun's reaction.
His rough demeanor made him seem no different from Beggars' Gang beggars... no, black path ruffians.
But the internal energy he'd felt from Cheongun just moments ago was anything but.
It was astonishingly pure.
Like the ocean itself.
He sensed an immortal aura thicker than that of the clan elders.
Not some demonic trick—it was genuine, pure internal energy.
And a Taoist qi art at that!
To accumulate internal energy of such purity meant this boy named Cheongun had walked the path of Tao for at least decades.
A hidden dragon, truly.
Of course, it was all Namgung Hwi's misconception.
What he'd sensed wasn't internal energy, but the Natural Qi crammed into Cheongun's dantian.
Undeveloped, raw energy straight from nature itself—purity was a given.
But as Namgung Hwi scrutinized Cheongun, his expression grew serious.
'That realm at such a young age?'
...No way.
Unless he'd been chowing down spirit elixirs in the womb.
Then what the hell was it? Some legendary return-to-youth state?
And that wasn't the only oddity.
How could someone walking the path of Tao act so crude and greedy?
Namgung Hwi patted his chest in relief.
Then, with genuine regret, he continued.
"Hero. As I said, it's just not possible right now. Give us some time, and we'll pay the promised reward."
"How long?"
"About two weeks, I'd say. Since this is a reward that should have been paid immediately, we'll add extra compensation for the delay."
Oh, now that's more like it.
Cheongun smiled contentedly.
Namgung Hwi gave a slight smile, seeing Cheongun satisfied.
"Do you have somewhere to return to? Or a clan affiliation?"
Affiliation? For a beggar?
Of course not.
"Then how about joining our clan?"
"Me, in Namgung?"
"Yes. I dare promise you the highest treatment."
Cheongun pondered.
Joining a clan? That could be trouble.
Why trouble?
Plenty of reasons.
First, without traits, Cheongun's martial prowess wasn't that high yet.
Second, no matter how desperate for cash, tying himself fully to the jianghu meant getting dragged into all sorts of headaches.
Years as a beggar had taught Cheongun one thing.
How annoying, headache-inducing, and terrifying "grudges" in the murim could be.
My enemy is my enemy. Your enemy is my enemy too.
It's not enough to kill just one—they'll wipe out every last relative too. That's the essence of grudges.
If he joined the Namgung Clan?
Every faction hostile to Namgung would become his enemy.
Solely because he was "Namgung."
"That's a bit..."
"You truly have no intention of joining?"
Cheongun nodded, thinking the guy was persistent.
Namgung Hwi swallowed his regret and asked a few more times, but Cheongun's answer remained the same.
"I understand your will, Hero."
Faced with Cheongun's firm stance, Namgung Hwi ceased persuading.
Not that he'd given up.
In the murim, peak experts were rarer than gold or jewels—especially unaffiliated wanderers.
A freak who'd dropped from the sky like this boy? Priceless.
Namgung Hwi smiled brightly and proposed an alternative.
"Then how about staying here as a guest for a while?"
"A guest?"
"Yes. Until you receive your reward, you can stay comfortably in the guest wing. I'll make the arrangements."
"What about food?"
"No charge. Treat it like your own home."
A guest meant a honored visitor.
Free lodging, three square meals a day, fine silk clothes.
And that's not all. Just lounge around scratching your full belly and say "do it," and they'll handle laundry, cleaning, every errand.
All gratis?
"Sounds good."
Cheongun accepted instantly.
Cheongun was now staying as a guest in the Namgung Clan annex at the Justice Alliance branch.
The annex followed a siheyuan layout—like a square tofu sliced crosswise with the center hollowed out—buildings on all four sides around a central courtyard.
Cheongun's room was one of the west-side guest quarters, overlooking a faux mountain of Taihu stones and a small pond through the window.
From beggar life to Namgung guest? It was paradise.
Three meals a day of Jiangnan delicacies, servants scurrying on tiptoe for laundry and cleaning.
This was the life.
The problem? Not knowing when some villains might raid.
By Cheongun's memory, the Justice Alliance branch on Qingcheng Mountain gets wiped out by Demonic Cult raids.
But the exact timing? Unknown.
Since his possession happened in a custom mode start, way before the original timeline.
So, grab the Gold Ingot Note and bolt ASAP.
While leveling up his martial arts on the side.
Cheongun sat cross-legged in the center of the floor, checking his current state.
The mind method he'd chosen first for building internal energy was the Three Disasters Mind Method.
True to its third-rate name, the efficiency was beggarly.
Isn't Three Disasters decent?
Hell no. In a murim world with skyrocketing power creep, it was woefully inadequate for survival.
Why pick it then? Simple.
Easiest, safest, most stable.
Plus, as a foundational method, no risk of qi deviation even when switching later.
He wanted swordsmanship too, but it wasn't just about knowing forms and having good qi sense.
In-game, one click and done. But this was reality.
"All set."
The new mind method: Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art.
One of the world's top methods in the story.
Created by Taeyi Zhenren, progenitor of Taoism before the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Master it fully, and it's undisputed strongest.
Insanely hard to start, but push through the brutal early grind, and no matter your constitution, you'll surpass demonic arts.
How'd he know? Because every mind method floated before him like buttons.
Click.
He'd held off due to lack of internal energy before, but with his dantian stuffed with Natural Qi now, it was different.
"Hoo."
Cheongun closed his eyes and steadied his breath.
Recalling the Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art incantation, he guided the pitiful internal energy trained via Three Disasters along his now-pierced Conception and Governor Vessels.
A process needing a decade or more for most, but with his absurd qi sense stat, finding the circulation path was easy.
Plus, experience absorbing Natural Qi from that Demonic Cultist had left his paths like highways—already paved. The first gateway opened smoother than expected.
With each measured breath, warm, nurturing energy flooded his body.
A refreshing high flushed his face pink.
Power surged through him—he could probably flatten a first-rate expert now.
Completing the first minor heavenly circulation of the Heavenly Qi stage—the first level of Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art—Cheongun opened his sweat-drenched eyes.
His body was soaked.
No clue how much time passed.
One thing clear: high-quality, pure internal energy now stably settled in his dantian.
Cheongun summed it up.
"Martial arts are easy?"