No One Has Ever Mastered It

Sitting cross-legged in the corner of my room, murmuring the incantation of the Bagua Wuji Heart Method, I slowly opened my eyes.

"Oh, nice... One Cycle of Heaven complete!"

I already knew how to manipulate mana with the dragon's mana, so directing it according to the manual wasn't all that hard. A laugh bubbled up.

"Heh heh heh, could I be... a martial arts genius?"

I could definitely feel a different flow in my body than usual. The mana that used to burst out roughly and explosively from the Dragon Heart in my chest had been refined through the breathing technique into a calm, gentle wave of energy, flowing through my veins like smooth water.

Is this the inner energy that martial artists talk about?

I maintained the flow and wondered what would happen if I executed spear techniques with it. I jumped to my feet, pulled the black Black Iron Spear from my inventory, and gripped it. Then I flipped through the manual and carefully examined the first form of the Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear.

First ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Form: Submerged Dragon Raises Its Head. A ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠majestic thrusting technique named after a hidden dragon poking its head out. Yeah, something like that. Whatever.

Alright, let's do this.

I rooted my lower body firmly, gathered the energy to the spear tip according to the heart method, and thrust the Black Iron Spear fiercely at the empty air in front of me.

Whoosh―!

A crisp sound slicing through the wind.

"...?"

But that was it. No massive spear qi in the shape of a dragon erupted from the tip or anything dramatic like that. It was just a plain, honest thrust, like something you'd see at the local gym during spear practice.

"Huh? What the hell. Why isn't it working?"

I scratched my head and relaxed my stance. Compared to the javelin throw that shattered an A-rank Ice Arachne's leg in the gate, this was barely mosquito-bite level.

I scrolled back through the holographic manual floating in the air and read it meticulously again.

"Seems right? To use the first form of the Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear, you need this heart method operation: After One Cycle of Heaven, gather the qi from the lower dantian, raise it through the Sea of Qi, Hot and Cold, Light and Heavy, and release it through the spear tip..."

I'd followed it to the letter, not missing a single character. What did I do wrong?

I closed my eyes again, circulated the heart method, and observed how the energy flowed inside me.

"Ah..."

Then I spotted a fatal problem.

It's dispersing?

I'd successfully taken the mana from the Dragon Heart, fragmented it finely through the heart method, and converted it into martial arts inner energy. But after this handful of inner energy circulated once through my body, it couldn't find a place to settle and scattered into the air like lost direction.

I pondered for a bit and realized the issue.

"The dantian! Right... I don't have a dantian!"

The most basic common knowledge from wuxia novels. The vessel below the navel where you store qi—the lower dantian. I didn't have one.

The way I'd used the Dragon Heart's mana until now was magic, not martial arts. Dragon Words magic was an emission-type mechanism: release mana from the heart and immediately alter phenomena with the emitted energy. Martial arts, on the other hand, completed the transformation internally in the dantian before emitting it—a ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠complete opposite.

Of course the technique wouldn't come out if I couldn't transform it inside.

"Ah... learning someone else's clan's techniques is never easy. Might as well stick to blasting Dragon Words around comfortably."

Dragon Words didn't even require learning in the first place. Big Bro King God General Jermad had just hammered them into my head. Honestly, if someone asked me to explain Suh or Cheok to another person? I'd never be able to.

But it wasn't time to give up yet. Without inner energy, I couldn't get a rank from the Association's mana tester, and more importantly, it was too heartbreaking to never use those badass Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear techniques with their dope names.

I sat cross-legged again.

"Alright. First things first, make a dantian. Back to the basics of the Bagua Wuji Heart Method."

Following the manual, I focused my mind on my lower abdomen and forcibly tried to clump the dispersing mana together. But after 1 hour, 2 hours... the results were dismal.

"Damn it. Why does it keep scattering?!"

It would gather softly like a ping-pong ball below my navel, then suddenly—poof—like air leaking from a balloon, it dispersed. It felt like something inside my body was strongly rejecting the formation of a dantian.

Could it be interference from the Dragon Heart mana embedded in my heart?

I was yanking at my hair in frustration, unable to pinpoint the cause, when—

Ding―!

1:1 Message

ShadowlessSword

Benefactor, you there? Thanks to the manual you gave me, I escaped prison nice and quietly. Just leaving a note so you don't worry—I'm safe. I won't forget this favor. See you next time.

Eh? Wait! ShadowlessSword! The owner of the martial arts manual and a murim master. Exactly the one-on-one tutor I needed right now.

I hammered the keyboard frantically before he went offline.

Oh! Glad you escaped safely? Congrats! Hey, before you go, I have one question about martial arts!

ShadowlessSword

Hoho, you've already opened the manual I gave you, eh? Good. It's the least I can do for the benefactor who saved my life. What are you stuck on?

This guy was a good person too. I explained my symptoms in detail: how the inner energy gathers but won't clump in the lower dantian and just keeps scattering.

After hearing me out, ShadowlessSword paused, as if deep in thought.

(Detailed explanation of the inner energy scattering issue...)

ShadowlessSword

Hmm... I can't be sure without personally checking your pulse, but from the symptoms, it seems like it's because of the order in which the energy settles.

Order? What do you mean?

ShadowlessSword

From what you've said, your body already has an activated middle dantian. Right?

Yeah, you could say that.

ShadowlessSword

Normally, martial artists open the lower dantian first, and only after advancing do they open the middle dantian. But in your case, with the middle dantian's energy established first, it won't tolerate new inner energy trying to nest in the lower dantian—it either absorbs it all or pushes it out to scatter.

Why?

ShadowlessSword

Do you know why water flows from high to low?

Just the natural way of things.

Ah... so that's why it scatters right when it starts to gather. What should I do then?

ShadowlessSword

Honestly, as a martial artist, I don't know a good solution. From the start, the only ones who open the chest's middle dantian first while leaving the lower empty are Central Plains' sorcerers and Taoists. They don't store inner energy in the dantian—they accumulate spiritual energy in the middle dantian for talismans and spells. In other words, you've entered the jianghu as a sorcerer's vessel, not a martial artist's.

I'm screwed. Does that mean I'll never make a dantian and can only use Dragon Words forever? Well, novels always say you can't learn both magic and martial arts together. Still, it's too bad...

As I started typing my regret, ShadowlessSword added:

ShadowlessSword

But it's not hopeless. There are extremely rare eccentrics in the jianghu who use both sorcery and martial arts.

Oh, like magic swordsmen? Do you know how?

ShadowlessSword

I've heard the principle. They use immense attractive force to forcibly capture and hold the scattering lower dantian energy.

Huh? Capture energy with attractive force?

ShadowlessSword

Exactly. Using the massive power of the huge middle dantian in the chest to forcibly maintain the lower dantian's frame. But the process is extremely painful, fussy with details, and inefficient, so almost no one combines martial arts and sorcery.

Ah... so use the heart's mana to pull and suppress the scattering energy in the ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lower abdomen, keeping it from escaping and holding its shape? The moment I heard that explanation, chills ran down my spine.

For others, it might be inefficient or near-impossible. But for me, I had a perfect way to generate that attractive force.

Wait... I can do that? No need to brute-force crush it with energy. I've got the attracting Dragon Word, Suh.

What if I continuously cast Suh toward the dantian?

Whoa!! Thank you! This is hugely helpful!!

ShadowlessSword

Hahaha, no need for such thanks. Glad it helped. I owe you my life—this advice is the least I can do. By the way, benefactor, if I may ask one more thing?

What?

ShadowlessSword

The martial art you're trying to learn... is it the Moon Shadow Sword Technique I gave you? If so, I can give more advice.

Nah? It's the Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear.

ShadowlessSword

What...?

Why's he like that? Kinda ominous?

ShadowlessSword

...You circulated the breathing method and tried the spear art, but your body had no issues or problems?

What kinda random question is that? I'm already pissed I can't make a dantian.

Yeah... I'm fine. The form didn't come out because the dantian won't form, but my body has no problems. Why?

ShadowlessSword

...No, good thing. If you haven't done the One Cycle of Heaven yet, I'd recommend not doing it.

I did that too.

ShadowlessSword

...?? How are you still alive?

This bastard...? A chill of déjà vu hit my brain. It was exactly like the nasty pattern when I drank the Dragon Heart activator from the Royal Alchemist.

Hey, ShadowlessSword. This isn't one of those shitty arts with side effects like your body exploding or qi deviation turning you into a vegetable, right?

ShadowlessSword

......

A long string of ellipses appeared in the chat. I clutched the back of my neck.

"These bastards... Do other-dimensional folks have no conscience? The alchemist geezer too, and this murim guy I thought was a loyal southern bro. They treat people like suckers."

Wow... seriously disappointed. You gave me this dangerous martial art as payment for the gear?

As I pressed him, the boisterous ShadowlessSword tucked tail and sent a wall of apology text.

ShadowlessSword

Sorry! To be honest, the only proper manuals I had were my main Moon Shadow Sword Technique and that spear one. You demanded both sword and spear arts, and I desperately needed that cutter to survive... I hid how dangerous it was. I sincerely kneel and apologize.

A prideful murim man flat-out prostrating without excuses. But even if I grabbed him by the collar here, the deal was done—no refunds. Plus, I hadn't died or gotten hurt anyway.

Sigh... I get you had to survive somehow, so I'll accept the apology. Thanks for being honest. But explain the details.

ShadowlessSword

As expected!! Benefactor has the qualities of a great hero with ocean-like magnanimity! Hahaha. What do you want to know!? I'll answer everything I can.

Look at that attitude switch. I chuckled in disbelief and asked.

Why the Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear is dangerous.

ShadowlessSword

Ah, simple. Since the Central Plains murim began, no one has ever properly mastered and executed the Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear. Everyone who tried, lured by the manual, ended up with twisted meridians, vomiting blood from all seven orifices, and dying horribly.

...Pardon?

ShadowlessSword

No one's ever seen its completed form. An unfinished—no, illusory martial art. Honestly, I don't even know if the manual is legit.

This guy... getting worse...

You saying it's fake?

ShadowlessSword

The manual itself is probably real. But if no one can learn it, isn't it as good as fake? I went through hell to get it but lacked the guts to try, so I just kept it.

Hmm, so high chance it's authentic then.

ShadowlessSword

Rumor has it it's not a martial art for human bodies. Some say it's a spear art dragons learn for ascension... Hahaha. Of course, that's absurd, but that's how bizarre it is.

I stared blankly at ShadowlessSword's messages.

What...? Dragons? A spear art for dragons ascending?

ShadowlessSword

Anyway, my honest advice: Benefactor, never train it. Seal that spear manual away. Mastering just my Moon Shadow Sword Technique will give you transcendent power. With it alone, you can reach the peak of supreme mastery, and if you have talent, maybe even the dream realm of Transformation Realm. Please value your life. Gotta go now—need to keep moving.

Ah... yeah. Thanks for the advice. Rest well.

I closed the chat window in a daze.

A dragon's spear art. One no human body could handle, causing all who tried to burst from seven-orifice blood vomiting. An illusory ultimate technique.

"...A dragon's spear technique?"

A chuckle slipped between my lips. It soon turned into uncontrollable laughter.

"Crazy! That's totally me!!"

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No One Has Ever Mastered It

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