Failed to Control My Strength
“Family Head!”
“Family Head!!”
Someone screamed like a banshee. All at once.
“You bastard!”
Kwak Pung-do charged toward me with the slippery, gliding steps unique to the Kwak family. He called it charging, but with my eyes closed, he was suddenly right in front of my face.
“How dare you—!”
This body's senses were annoyingly sharp, so I could clearly see Kwak Pung-do's palm flying at me. Back then, I wouldn't have been able to react and would've felt robbed, but now I was in a whatever-happens-happens mood, eyes wide open.
Because—
Boom—!
A small figure had blocked my path.
Sa Wol had intercepted Kwak Pung-do.
“Out of my way, wench!”
Kwak Pung-do snapped irritably, spinning his body like a top. The moment he gained acceleration from the spin, he kicked off the ground, leaped over Sa Wol, and shot toward me like an arrow.
But Sa Wol didn't just stand there. If the Kwak family's footwork glided smoothly, hers folded space in segments.
Whoosh—!
She appeared from below like a sprouting plant, swinging her dagger at Kwak Pung-do's ankle. He clicked his tongue and kicked the top of his own foot. His body floated into the air once more.
It was the feat known as Step-on-Step Soaring into the Air.
Of course, it blatantly ignored the laws of physics, but when some old coot could spew fire from his hands, there was no point complaining.
What I really wanted to complain about was that the bastard was trying to attack me even if it killed him.
Just like Kwak Ri Yeon, a purple aura clung to Kwak Pung-do's hands. If that were the end of it, great... but...
Hummm—!
The aura in Kwak Pung-do's hands grew fiercely intense. No matter how I looked at it, he was about to shoot it at me. As a Super Peak master, firing off energy like sword arts was child's play for him.
And sure enough, he unleashed it at me. The purple energy hurtled forward like a cannon shell. Since it was condensed gang qi fired at high speed, even Sa Wol couldn't block it in time.
...Gotta use Blink!
Blink only required intent. But I had to time it perfectly for a clean dodge.
I was gritting my teeth, blood seeping out, calculating the exact moment for Blink—
“Cease this, Elder Kwak.”
Kwak Ri Yeon's voice rang out.
I just stood there, eyes bulging. Then—
Skreech—!
The energy Kwak Pung-do fired veered at the last second, grazing my cheek. It stung like a razor blade slicing thin.
At Super Peak, controlling one's energy was trivial.
It was just a test probe from the start.
It felt desperate from my side, but neither Sa Wol nor Kwak Pung-do had shown their true Super Peak prowess. No intent projection, no simsang manifestation—just an exchange of basic forms.
“What is this disgraceful behavior, Elder Kwak?”
Kwak Ri Yeon said sternly.
“But, Family Head, this man tried to harm you.”
“No. I simply failed to block the strike properly. Dismiss yourself, Elder Kwak.”
Kwak Pung-do snorted and stomped off. Unlike the crumbling Sado family, the Family Head's authority here seemed absolute.
Only now could I properly see Kwak Ri Yeon's condition.
To put it bluntly, his left arm was split open, bone exposed—a gruesome sight that made me wince. He'd sealed his acupoints, so bleeding was minimal.
The man was insanely tough. A normal person would've passed out from that, not just cried.
“Impressive, Sado Family Head. If that sword's power had been a fraction stronger, your arm would've been severed clean off.”
“......”
I couldn't speak. Thanks to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it was healing fast, but my tongue wasn't ready yet. Talking now would come out slurred and babbling, wasting my fake internal injury and blood spit.
“As expected, you've taken internal wounds. With that much force packed into one strike, it's no wonder.”
Luckily, my acting worked.
If I'd landed a hit on Kwak Ri Yeon and walked away unscathed, that would've been weirder. It would've shaken the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's hierarchy.
For me, who needed to maintain the status quo, this was ideal.
“This bout... count it as my loss. Don't claim victory or argue otherwise. It would trample my pride once more.”
I nodded silently.
Old-school, but no hard feelings.
“Father......”
Kwak Jeong finally approached with a worried look. Kwak Ri Yeon smiled warmly, ruffling his son's hair with his good right arm.
“No need to worry, son. This is scarcely a wound.”
“But Father......”
“More importantly, be grateful you've gained such an excellent master.”
A heartwarming scene.
“Apologies for Elder Kwak's sudden attack. It's because his son is Kwak Jin.”
Kwak Jin...
Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Taeryeong County branch manager.
That explained it. In Taeryeong County, I'd ripped the Silver Tile Battle Command plaque from Kwak Jin and borrowed a fortune. From my view, necessary; from his, a disaster.
I'd unwittingly made an enemy of a Super Peak master.
Every step had to be cautious. Though back then, it was the best move—no regrets.
Probing my mouth, my tongue felt normal again. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art's recovery was astounding.
“No mind.”
“You're already mended. I'd love to celebrate your son gaining a fine master with a drink... but with my arm like this, impossible.”
“Think nothing of it. Shouldn't you head to Ma Ui's pavilion at once?”
Kwak Ri Yeon nodded.
“Indeed. Ma Ui can heal without aftereffects. But shouldn't you treat your internal wounds?”
“Hard for me to seek Ma Ui's care, given my ties to Dok Ma.”
“True, those two are bitter rivals beyond mere enmity. Understood. I'll send the seal via Jeong-i.”
“Very well.”
I extended my arm. Pa Cheon, which had sliced Kwak Ri Yeon's arm and pierced the ground, returned.
“……My apologies. I got carried away and failed to control my strength.”
No. It worked out perfectly. And I confirmed its power for sure.
Obvious, but in bare-handed vs. armed combat, the weapon side has the edge. Blocking a blade unarmed is a tall order, even for martial artists.
That dynamic flips once one can wield qi.
Most defensive arts focus on channeling inner energy for protection rather than sharpening it offensively like other techniques. From there, bare flesh can withstand a blade's edge.
Not to mention at gang qi level?
Defense turns so potent you can crush foes with it.
Even invoking cult traditions, Kwak Ri Yeon agreed to the single exchange for that reason.
Truly astonishing. You mixed Domination into the eddy before, but I'd done that prior too. I didn't alter a thing, yet the gang qi just... severed.
Meaning attack power was now guaranteed—at least to a degree. The catch: if it lands.
Handing over the Flame Fire Jade was absolutely the right call.
Best case, it topped out at Peak-level offense. Fire breath or not, useless against Super Peak.
Better one strike that works on Super Peak masters.
Having achieved the day's peak result, I returned home in high spirits.
After Sado Hwan departed.
Kwak Ri Yeon headed to Ma Ui's pavilion.
Normally, even reserving days ahead meant no treatment slots, but the head of the cult's top family opened doors. Plus, Kwak Ri Yeon and Ma Ui shared deep ties.
“This wound—from that Sado Hwan brat?”
Ma Ui was a middle-aged man whose stubborn mouth screamed I'm a cranky old codger. Looks aside, he was an elder in substance.
“Indeed.”
“Impossible.”
“It happened.”
“He even sliced through your Nine Yin True Armor to wound you. You wouldn't know, but a hair more force and your arm's gone.”
“Such precise control, no waste in that immense power......”
Ma Ui shook his head.
“No way. I examined him as a snot-nosed kid.”
“And?”
“All meridians completely blocked, for some reason.”
“......Sealed Meridians? The incurable cursed affliction?”
“Yes. His brother whisked him away the instant I reported it, never to return.”
“Could've been a misdiagnosis.”
Ma Ui looked incredulous at Kwak Ri Yeon's words.
“Who am I? Ma Ui. You saying I'm wrong?”
“Not back then, perhaps.”
“Doesn't change facts. Besides... most physicians who diagnosed Sado Hwan vanished without trace.”
“Murder to silence. That confirms Sealed Meridians.”
Yet that made it all the more baffling.
“But that can't be.”
“Why?”
“Sado Family Head, the qi feat he showed was the perfected form of the insight I've lately grasped.”
“Insight?”
Kwak Ri Yeon nodded.
“Rotating qi to amplify destructive power. But controlling that vortex is insanely hard—even I'm struggling. How could a Sealed Meridian cripple pull it off?”
“......One possibility.”
“What?”
“What if his Sealed Meridians were cured?”
“......!”
Ma Ui's words were revolutionary. Sealed Meridians tied to qi and blood were deemed utterly incurable—hence cursed heavenly punishment.
Yet nothing else explained it.
“Those born with Sealed Meridians gain genius intellect at martial arts' expense—like payment for that gift.”
“Recovering from it would explain his explosive growth.”
“Exactly. Perhaps Sado Hwan holds the key to curing Sealed Meridians.”
That would be monumental.
To martial artists—or their bloodlines—Sealed Meridians were a curse. Especially in the cult, where arts decided all.
A clue in Sado Hwan's hands.
“I'd drag that brat here and make him spill... but damn it, he's chummy with Dok Ma. Infuriating.”
Ma Ui and Dok Ma were arch-enemies. Thus, no summoning Sado Hwan, Dok Ma's pal.
“Pride matters more? Curing Sealed Meridians benefits you most, Ma Ui.”
“Urgh... true, but how do I coax a Dok Ma buddy?”
“Tsk tsk. What good's that brain?”
“This punk talks no respect to his elders.”
“That's how frustrated I am. Solution's simple.”
“What?”
“Sado Family Head's position is low, young, weak support. Inside clan, fine; outside, vulnerable.”
Kwak Ri Yeon continued.
“So load up gifts, offer support with one word. Done.”