Chapter 11: Obtaining a Fortuitous Encounter-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: Obtaining a Fortuitous Encounter-3
Time passed without cease.
Sun-woo devoured the secret manual of the Yin-Yang Demon as if he were a man in a desert who had stumbled upon an oasis.
As the disciple of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won, Jang Sam had grown up plagued by a crushing sense of inferiority. People refused to understand how the disciple of the World’s Greatest Martial Artist could only reach the Peak Realm. Instead, they criticized him as a lazy fool, an inferior hack who had only become a disciple through sheer luck. Lee Jae-won, for his part, simply left him to his own devices.
Jang Sam had wanted to scream it to the world. He wanted to tell them that the martial arts of Seon-ong were based on the aesthetics of enlightenment, making them incredibly difficult to master. He wanted to tell them that reaching the Peak Realm with a technique that most people couldn't even begin to grasp in a lifetime of hardship was a feat in itself.
But no one acknowledged his efforts.
He had swung his sword until the bones in his hands were visible; he had sat in meditation until bedsores formed on his backside, all in pursuit of enlightenment. Finally, in his mid-twenties, he had reached the Peak Realm.
Yet, everyone only offered crude insults; not a single person offered praise.
Because the martial arts of Seon-ong were passed down to only one person at a time, Jang Sam was the only one who had learned them. This only fueled the jealousy and contempt directed toward him.
A dullard who can’t achieve anything even after learning the world’s greatest martial arts.
A pathetic son to a heroic father.
These were the labels used to describe Jang Sam.
While Lee Jae-won’s biological children and other disciples practiced different techniques and went from strength to strength, Jang Sam, who practiced the arts of Seon-ong, was always met with looks of disdain.
Before assimilating with Sun-woo, Jang Sam had believed everything was due to his own lack of talent and effort, pushing himself even harder. But once he merged with Sun-woo and learned the truths of this world, a hollow laugh escaped him.
The Absolute Martial God, Lee Jae-won, was nothing more than a puppet created by a transcendent being. He had never put in a lick of effort; he had simply become strong through easy, convenient means.
To Jang Sam, who had spent his life working himself to death out of an inferiority complex toward his master, the Lee Jae-won who gained power without effort was no longer a master to be respected. He was certainly no longer a being to feel inferior to. Now, to Jang Sam, he was merely a half-baked martial artist who had built his achievements on the backs of others' hard work.
It felt as if the fragments of doubt in his mind were finally clicking into place.
Even when Jang Sam was agonizing over his slow progress compared to his peers, even when he was being vilified by countless people, Lee Jae-won had remained silent, a mere bystander.
It was simply because he didn't know.
He didn't know how to achieve enlightenment, nor did he know that the martial arts of Seon-ong were slow to master. Since he hadn't earned his own strength through effort, he knew nothing. He had been a bystander because of his own ignorance.
To Sun-woo, the Yin-Yang Demon—even if they were only represented by the annotations in a manual—were a kind teacher. He couldn't help but be drawn in. For Jang Sam, who possessed an endless thirst for achievement, the martial arts of the Yin-Yang Demon began to seep into him as naturally as if he had known them all along.
Normally, when one has already mastered a martial art, learning a different kind simultaneously is incredibly difficult. Most martial arts possess unique energies that are mutually exclusive. If a foreign energy enters the body, it immediately triggers a violent reaction, leading to Qi Deviation. Therefore, even if it was a pure Orthodox technique, one could not easily learn another.
However, the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, revised and created by the Yin-Yang Demon, possessed a characteristic that offset all these disadvantages.
If one practiced the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art while already possessing internal energy, the technique would alter its own nature to match the existing energy to prevent a clash. Then, after slowly blending with it over a long period, once the power of the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art surpassed the original energy, it would consume it entirely and convert everything into its own essence.
The Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art shifted its nature to match the arts of Seon-ong and began to slowly permeate Sun-woo’s body. In particular, because the arts of Seon-ong were among the purest in the world despite their slow progress, the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art was able to dissolve into them even more effectively.
Observing his internal state, he felt no resistance, just as he had expected. Instead, he felt a sense of overflowing fullness.
Sun-woo was immensely satisfied.
Though it had only been about three months since he started practicing the Twin Demons' arts, the help of the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art had allowed him to reach the very threshold of the Super-Peak Realm. Of course, he had also gained insights from reading the secret manuals of various sects, but there was no doubt that the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art was the primary reason for such rapid progress.
His Sword Qi, which had previously glowed faintly, now shone with a vivid, distinct bluish hue, and he was able to manifest his internal energy naturally.
The cavern was vast enough for him to swing his sword and practice his forms without issue, and his martial arts improved by the day. Furthermore, although the food tasted like garbage, he had secured enough supplies to last three years, so there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
Perhaps because of his assimilation with Jang Sam, he occasionally found himself thinking that he wanted to stay here forever. Sun-woo, though not to the same extent as Jang Sam, felt a certain level of satisfaction with his life in the cave.
The stronger his martial arts became, the higher his chances of surviving in this novel. For Sun-woo, safety was the first, second, and third priority, so he was very pleased with this secure situation.
After finishing his form training, Sun-woo circulated the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art. Perhaps because it had stabilized over the past three months, its purity was so high that it was indistinguishable from the arts of Seon-ong.
"Alright!"
The time had finally come to consume the elixirs.
Having confirmed the state of his Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, Sun-woo immediately headed into the third tunnel. He took out the two wooden boxes containing the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower and the Stalactite Fluid and brought them out into the main cavern.
Placing the boxes on the ground, he first opened the one containing the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower. As expected of something that had aged for a century, a refreshing and deep earthy scent tickled his nose.
Crunch.
Munch, munch.
Sun-woo picked up the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower and began to chew it raw. The characteristic bitterness and earthy taste of the root were revolting, but he ignored it and chewed even more boldly.
Crunch.
Munch, munch.
After devouring the entire root, Sun-woo sat down and began internal energy cultivation. He started to control the energy of the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower as it entered his body.
Raw spirit herbs were like wild colts; their energy was unpredictable and could bolt in any direction. Therefore, if one consumed them without knowing what they were doing, a significant amount of energy could be wasted, or worse, it could lead to Qi Deviation. This was why clans and sects processed spirit herbs into pills that were easier to absorb.
The Shaolin Temple’s Great Restoration Pill and Small Restoration Pill were prime examples, as were the Mount Hua Sect’s Purple Perilla Pill and the Wudang Sect’s Supreme Purity Pill.
However, Sun-woo knew nothing of alchemy, so he had no choice but to face it head-on. The only saving grace was that the arts of Seon-ong and the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art were unrivaled in their purity, meaning the risk of Qi Deviation was minimal. Moreover, with the adaptable Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, he should be able to absorb the energy of the medicinal herb without any loss.
Sun-woo continued to circulate his energy. The power from the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower was surging through his body. He sent the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art to where that energy was and seized it firmly.
It was like a mouse facing a snake. The Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, now one with the arts of Seon-ong, swelled its massive form and lunged to devour the energy of the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower.
As the two energies grappled, Sun-woo’s acupoints were subjected to an immense load.
'Gaaaah! Argh!'
Normally, when consuming an elixir, one absorbs a certain amount of energy and lets the rest dissipate naturally, so the pain is rarely this intense. This was especially true for a relatively low-grade elixir like a Hundred-Year Fleeceflower.
However, the greedy Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art was determined not to let a single drop escape. It held onto the energy of the fleeceflower with a death grip, forcing Sun-woo to endure agonizing pain.
'Gaaaah! Let go already!!'
But the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art and the energy of the fleeceflower continued their tug-of-war, resulting in even greater agony for Sun-woo.
'Aaaaaagh!'
It was at that moment.
The two energies, which had been fighting as they circulated through his body, suddenly merged into one. The Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, now possessing an enormous amount of power, could not contain itself. It thrashed wildly as it surged through his acupoints.
The primary cause was that it had fully absorbed the power of the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower, gaining 1.5 Gapja of internal energy. Combined with his existing power, Sun-woo now possessed 3 Gapja of internal energy, and his body could not handle such a sudden growth in power.
His acupoints began to tear, and cracks started to form in his lower Dantian.
'Shit, I'm screwed!'
Sensing the crisis, Sun-woo tried to endure by circulating the energy as much as possible, but there was simply too much internal energy to be dissipated through circulation alone. To expand the Dantian and acupoints, one needed a period of adaptation and gradual growth, but the insatiable greed of the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art had caused an unintended side effect.
'Shiiiiiit!!!!!'
Curses rose to his throat from the pain of his acupoints tearing and his Dantian breaking, but he couldn't think of a way to resolve it. At this rate, his acupoints would explode, and he would either die or be crippled, losing his martial arts forever.
'It’s do or die!'
Sun-woo sent the massive energies flowing through his body toward his Ren and Du meridians. Honestly, it was a gamble. Although Sun-woo had reached the threshold of the Super-Peak Realm, he still lacked the enlightenment necessary to pierce the Ren and Du meridians.
Opening the Ren and Du meridians was a dangerous task that required delicate control of internal energy, but he had no other choice. If he couldn't open them and unlock his middle Dantian, he was dead anyway.
The massive 3 Gapja of internal energy first moved toward the Ren meridian. It lunged forward and began to hammer at the blockage. The mere contact brought excruciating pain, but Sun-woo did not give up.
'Shiiiiiit!!!!!!!!'
It was an act that invited nothing but curses, but he endured with sheer spite.
And then...
Pop!
The Ren meridian was pierced. With the Ren meridian open, the internal energy felt as if it were flowing a bit more smoothly. But it was still not enough. Opening only the Ren meridian wasn't enough to handle nearly 3 Gapja of internal energy.
Sun-woo gathered his energy once more and headed for the Du meridian. When he struck the Du meridian, the pain was even more intense than when he had struck the Ren meridian.
'Aaaagh! You son of a bitch!'
The pain was so blinding that Sun-woo felt the urge to give up. The pain from his tearing acupoints and cracking Dantian, the aftershocks of opening the Ren meridian, and the agony of trying to pierce the Du meridian all combined to drive him mad. He felt like he was going to lose his mind.
'Should I just... die?'
Just as he was about to give up on everything, a sudden surge of rage toward the author who had sent him here erupted within him.
'You son of a bitch author! I was living just fine until you showed up!!!!!!'
As if responding to his rage, Sun-woo’s internal energy increased in power and began to hammer at the Du meridian.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
'I can't die like this! It's too unfair! I'm going to live! I'm going to live, stab that author in the gut, and go back home!'
The force hammering at the Du meridian grew even stronger.
And then...
BOOM!
With the sound of something exploding, the Du meridian was pierced. As the Ren and Du meridians were opened, the middle Dantian was unlocked. The internal energy that had been tormenting Sun-woo settled quietly into his lower and middle Dantians, and the tearing of his acupoints and the cracking of his Dantian ceased.
"Shit... I did it."
And with that, Sun-woo lost consciousness.
How much time had passed?
Sun-woo slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he felt upon waking was the abundant internal energy enveloping his entire body. He felt so much power that it was overflowing, and he felt an impulsive urge to swing a sword right then and there.
Sun-woo took a cross-legged position and examined the internal energy within his body. His Ren and Du meridians were open, his middle Dantian was unlocked, and his cracked lower Dantian seemed to be slowly recovering. His acupoints had also widened significantly; if the internal energy that flowed before was a stream, it was now a raging river.
They say crisis is opportunity. Sun-woo had turned that crisis into a golden opportunity.
Caught up in the excitement, Sun-woo stood up. He wanted to test his new level of achievement. He grabbed his sword and began to dance with it joyfully.
It was a sword dance that followed his heart, unconstrained by forms, swinging wildly as he felt and thought. However, a blue light began to form on the edge of the blade, and that light grew increasingly vivid.
Finally, the blue light on the blade became so intense that it began to emit a fierce energy, as if it were burning. Perhaps sensing the powerful vibration of Qi, Sun-woo stopped his dance and looked up at the energy gathered on his sword.
Then, he slowly parted his lips.
"........Sword Astral."
Indeed.
Sun-woo had reached the Super-Peak Realm.