Chapter 565: A Shift in Perspective (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 565: A Shift in Perspective (2)
The wall of the transcendent realm.
The very edge of the 5th Circle.
Just how was I supposed to reach the realm beyond it?
Was I lacking in magic power and internal energy?
No, that definitely wasn't it.
My magic power surpassed that of most 6th Circle mages, and my internal energy was great enough that it wouldn't be strange to call me a master of the Flower Realm.
In other words, simply and mindlessly increasing my reserves of magic power and internal energy wasn't the answer.
That was precisely why, at some point, I had stopped obsessing over elixirs.
After all, no matter how much fuel you have, if the engine can't keep up, it's just pearls before swine.
It was only natural that I had started focusing on strengthening my foundation.
Following Iris and Valentina's advice, I contemplated my astral plane day and night, trying to establish my own world within it.
Even when my brain overheated to the point of steaming, I used Multitasking Thought to push my mind further and continued my meditation.
But my efforts went unrewarded.
I was still stuck at the starting line.
It was the same with my martial arts.
I could clearly see a massive wall before me, but I had no clue how to break it.
In a way, the stagnation in my martial arts felt even more painful than with my magic.
For magic, I had plenty of people to ask for advice, like Iris, Valentina, or Sister Lael. But for martial arts, that wasn't the case.
That was why I'd thought about visiting Murim before returning to Korea.
And to see Yeo-hwa again after so long.
But now, my original purpose for heading to Murim—to find a martial arts master—had faded somewhat.
Instead, only the single-minded desire to see Yeo-hwa remained.
Why?
Because I no longer needed to search for a martial arts master.
I gave a wry smile and clenched my fist.
I had been forgetting something so obvious all this time.
The enlightenment I gained from my sexual encounter with Valentina and Anastasia was remarkably simple.
That the two of them were serving me.
Yes, this mother and daughter, both beautiful enough to topple nations, were devoting their bodies to me with the utmost sincerity, and for me alone.
This bizarre relationship could only exist because of me, and the fact that I would always be at its center would never change, no matter how much time passed.
And it was the same with magic.
It never mattered how many elements I wielded.
Because, in the end, the fact that all elements gathered around me remained unchanged.
My martial arts were no different.
Yin energy and yang energy,
The Righteous Path and the Demonic Path.
And on top of that, even divine power.
To others, it would look like a messy collection of disparate powers, something to be condemned.
In fact, I myself believed that a stubborn master who had perfected a single martial art to its limit was far more difficult to face than a master proficient in a hundred.
But that wasn't what was important right now.
What mattered was that whether it was magic power, internal energy, or divine power, if I decided to embrace it, then harmonizing and wielding it was my responsibility and mine alone.
It wasn't a problem I could dare to pass on to someone else.
It was my burden to bear, my power to embrace.
The moment I realized that simple fact, I had to admit that I had been unconsciously obsessed with the concept of 'harmony' far more than necessary.
Even though there was no need for it.
Harmony isn't some phenomenon you create through force.
It's like how day and night alternate, how men and women exist, how meetings and partings repeat.
It's something that happens naturally, without anyone decreeing it.
That is the true nature of 'harmony.'
Until now, following Iris and Valentina's advice, I had been trying to create my own world within my astral plane.
But to do that, there was a prerequisite.
Fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, ice, light, and darkness.
I had to establish a law that would allow all the elements I would ever wield to coexist in harmony.
But that was an exceedingly difficult problem.
It felt like a question that had no answer to begin with.
But now I knew.
The premise itself had been wrong from the start.
To find the right answer to my problem, I had to look not outward, but inward.
Because whether it was magic or martial arts, they could only truly exist when I, as a person, became the subject.
The protagonist of a bizarrely unfortunate life: losing his parents to a magical beast at the age of five, wandering the slums before ending up in an orphanage, and now a mage and a martial artist.
A strange bastard who doesn't shy away from any hardship to achieve a better ending, even without knowing if that ending will be a tragedy or a comedy.
That was the essence of the man I was.
Well, I've rambled on, but to sum it up in one sentence:
Whether I'm training or having sex, whatever I'm doing, wherever I am, I must not waver. I must think of myself first and find my center.
If I can do that, then whether I want it or not, everything will eventually fall into harmony according to the natural order.
I have no doubt that this was the message my subconscious had been trying to tell me.
Click—
In that moment, it was as if I could hear the sound of misaligned gears finally locking into place.
The elemental planets, which had been scattered across the vast universe of my astral plane, began to form orbits and revolve around the massive star that was Kang Hyun-woo.
Gathering—Alignment—Construction—Expansion.
The four stages a mage must pass through to reach the 6th Circle.
Having succeeded in reaching the 'Alignment' stage, Kang Hyun-woo unhesitatingly moved on to the next.
'Construction' means creating something to serve as the center of the astral plane and, furthermore, establishing a law that permeates the entire plane.
Kang Hyun-woo completed this framework by making himself both the center and the law of his astral plane.
Then, he spread that completed whole throughout the entire astral plane.
That was 'Expansion'.
It could essentially be seen as a kind of verification process.
As the eight planets, each with its own erratic size and properties, began to revolve in perfect ellipses under this newly established law, Kang Hyun-woo's astral plane also began to change accordingly.
The 'Astral' is the mage's mind itself, a medium for manifesting greater mysteries (magic) in reality.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it the very source of a mage and their magic.
And the growth of this astral plane leads directly to the growth of the mage themself.
Ting—
[You have achieved the realm of the 6th Circle.]
[You have met the conditions for the 3rd Class Advancement.]
[You have advanced to High Mage.]
[You will receive a class advancement reward.]
[The skill 'Weakness Insight' has evolved.]
[The skill 'Transcendental Thought' has evolved.]
[The skill 'Multitasking Thought' has evolved.]
[The usage period for the 'Buff for Beginner Mages' has expired.]
[The skill 'Absolutus's Blessing' has been granted.]
Countless screens blocked his vision, but Kang Hyun-woo paid them no mind.
He hadn't endured all that hardship just to overcome a single wall.
Wooooong—
Kang Hyun-woo, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed where Valentina and Anastasia lay unconscious, slowly began to float into the air.
Soon, three flower buds began to bloom slowly above his head.
He shed his obsession with martial arts techniques and internal energy, approached the essence of the Martial Way, and reflected on himself, becoming one with his matured Essence, Ki, and Spirit.
The Three Flowers Gather at the Peak.
It was definitive proof that he had finally reached the complete realm of the Flower Realm.
And in that moment, the realm of his Formless Vajra Art, which had been stuck at 7-Star, rose to 8-Star.
That wasn't all.
The Crimson Cloud Thunder Art reached 9-Star, the Blood Flame Asura Demonic Art reached 7-Star, and the Ghost Divine Art also succeeded in reaching the 7-Star realm.
Furthermore, all of his other martial arts also achieved the feat of advancing a step forward.
It felt as if a long-standing blockage had been completely cleared.
Ting—
[You have achieved the Flower Realm.]
[You have met the conditions for the 3rd Class Advancement.]
[You have advanced to Martial God Candidate.]
[You will receive a class advancement reward.]
[The original manuscript of the 'Heavenly Demonic Divine Art' has been granted.]
[Kang Hyun-woo
Age: 21
Title: Pure Love Knight
Race: Human
Affiliation: Earth
Class: High Mage
Sub-class: Martial God Candidate
Skills: Extreme Blood, True Word, Foresight, Fallen Flame, Primordial Body, Match Warp, Discreet Insight, Sex Expert...
Owned Coins: 1,500 Coins]
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“Hoo...”
Just as the bright full moon was racing toward the horizon, Kang Hyun-woo took a calm, deep breath and opened his eyes.
A golden light leaked from beneath his eyelids.
Kang Hyun-woo clenched and unclenched his fists, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile.
But that was only for a moment.
“...Fuck, why am I floating??”
Thump—!
Startled by his own sudden levitation trick, Kang Hyun-woo flailed and fell right back onto the bed.
Fortunately, both women were sound asleep, so the slight shaking of the bed wasn't enough to wake them.
Of course, Valentina would normally have woken at the slightest disturbance, but Kang Hyun-woo's presence, having taken on the role of the head of the household, had granted her a deep, sound sleep.
Kang Hyun-woo lay sprawled on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
‘Reaching the 6th Circle was more than I could ask for, but the Flower Realm too... What is today?’
He pinched his cheek, but all that came out was an incredulous laugh.
That's how good it felt.
‘...What would my master think if he found out I achieved enlightenment while having sex?’
Knowing that depraved monk's personality, he'd probably just laugh it off, saying, "That's my disciple for you.”
Kang Hyun-woo clenched and unclenched his fists again, checking the condition of his body.
‘It feels like a lot has changed... but it hasn't really sunk in yet.’
But one thing was certain: his view of the world was completely different from before.
Everything was crystal clear.
It was like watching only in black and white and then suddenly seeing a 4K high-definition video.
If he had his way, he would have run out to the garden right now to test a few things.
But the situation wasn't right for such leisurely activities.
Ssk—
Getting up from the bed, Kang Hyun-woo threw on an outer garment and walked to the window.
His gaze fell upon the plains, submerged in darkness without a single streetlight.
More precisely, he was staring at something beyond them.
“...An uninvited guest.”
Kang Hyun-woo smiled faintly and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.