Crossing Time Once More

Yeop Pung returned to his hut. Humble as the little space was, the three days he had spent here had given it a warmth of its own.

He tidied the place, then sat down and began to circulate his energy, guiding the Profound Qi that raced through his body.

He was certain now that the liquor Maeng Chang-haeng had brewed was a spiritual treasure that aided cultivation. Its efficacy rivaled that of a second- or third-grade spiritual elixir. The amount he had drunk tonight would yield results equal to at least a fortnight of grueling training.

Is Peak Master Maeng… helping me cultivate?

Yeop Pung felt the man's goodwill, yet he could not make sense of it. If the Cheonun Sect meant to raise him, why had they banished him to Nagun Peak? There had to be some hidden circumstance he did not know.

Even as these thoughts turned in his mind, he kept his eyes closed and continued circulating his qi. Bolstered by the spiritual liquor, his Profound Qi swelled rapidly. Combined with the operation of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture, a profound meridian was forming at a striking pace — one that ran through both legs and connected to the lungs. This was the second meridian of the Profound Realm: the Sharp Meridian.

Through the entire night, Yeop Pung opened a third of the Sharp Meridian. He felt anew just how remarkable the efficacy of Old Man Maeng's spiritual liquor truly was.

Dawn broke. Just as Yeop Pung was drawing in the last of his Profound Qi and preparing to end the session, he suddenly realized something.

"Geumban, has something changed?"

The Golden Disc ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠within Yeop Pung's dantian was small, its form indistinct. Without careful attention, its minute ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠changes were easy to miss.

But in that moment, Yeop Pung happened to notice a faint golden radiance emanating once more from the innermost core of the Golden Disc. Beneath that gold, the strange door that transcended space seemed about to open again.

It's here!

Yeop Pung's mind snapped to full alertness. He was eighty percent certain. The moment that mysterious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠central nucleus filled with gold was the moment he could cross time once more — and that moment was approaching now.

"Wait… wait a second!"

Yeop Pung sprang to his feet. Over the past few days he had sketched out his plans for traveling to the past countless times in his head, but he still hadn't finished preparing. He couldn't afford to waste this opportunity.

Should I go look for spiritual herb seeds right now, for instance?

Or should I find Old Man Maeng and borrow his identity token? A hundred years ago no one knew me, but if I disguised myself as Maeng Chang-haeng, it might work!

And if I could find a spiritual pill or elixir — or bring back a divine weapon — my strength would surely soar.

But the instant Yeop Pung was about to dash outside, that cold voice rang through his mind once more.

"Don't bother."

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Now you decide to talk…"

Yeop Pung was annoyed by Geumban's icy attitude. But every time Geumban opened its mouth, it was clearly for something important. Knowing this, he hurried to ask.

"Don't bother? What do you mean?"

"The preparations you're making are meaningless right now."

"Why?"

"With my current power, I cannot send anything to the past besides you yourself."

"What?"

Yeop Pung was bewildered, then something occurred to him.

"Then what about my clothes…"

"Clothes are… the limit of my current ability. Of course, if you'd prefer, I can send you without them."

No!

Yeop Pung waved his hands frantically. The mere thought of time-traveling in the nude was horrifying.

But he couldn't let this hard-won chance of Geumban speaking slip away. He poured out the questions he had been storing up.

"Look, Geumban. Can we talk properly? You've got this incredible power, but I can't just go time-traveling like a blind man who knows nothing, can I?"

Geumban… fell silent again.

"Damn it! Silent again! Can't you just talk when you've got something to say?"

"Five minutes until the next time jump."

"That's not what I was talking about!"

The moment he heard those words, Yeop Pung said nothing more. He bolted out the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠door and raced toward the cliff's edge on the mountainside.

He already knew one rule: even when he traveled through time, his physical location did not change.

A hundred years ago, Nagun Peak had been guarded by a powerful Profound Qi formation. If he positioned himself wrong, he wouldn't be able to see the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Wall even after returning to the past.

"Woof?"

Outside, Bone had been sleeping soundly when Yeop Pung's presence startled it awake. It lifted its head — just in time to see Yeop Pung tearing past in a panic.

"Crazy bastard…"

Bone dropped back down, covered its eyes from the sunlight with a paw, and went back to sleep.

"Look, Geumban! We really need to have a serious talk."

Even as he ran, Yeop Pung kept speaking to the Golden Disc.

"I don't know why you ended up inside my body, but you keep sending me through time over and over — there has to be a reason. And that reason is clearly something very important to you, isn't it?"

Yeop Pung's mind was sharp. Over the past few days he had been thinking constantly about how to negotiate with this stubborn Golden Disc. Just as he expected, the Golden Disc blazing with gold in his dantian gave a slight tremor.

This is my chance.

Inwardly delighted, Yeop Pung pressed on.

"It's obvious I can be of use to you, and honestly, the power you've given me is incredibly important to me too. So we need to cooperate. If you won't tell me anything, how am I supposed to help you?"

"…"

"You don't have to say it. I know you want me to do better. If you didn't, you wouldn't have warned me twice already. And since you've already given me warnings, why not just tell me straight? Help me. Tell me how to make better use of your power. I, Yeop Pung, will never let you down!"

By the time he finished speaking, Yeop Pung had already reached the cliff's edge. The Golden Disc's radiance filled his dantian once more. His consciousness felt as though it were being drawn into the spatial door at the center.

"Tell me, please! Even just a little. I swear I won't disappoint you!"

Yeop Pung's voice was desperate. Only someone who had clawed his way out of the mud could possess such desperation. The Golden Disc was his only hope of growing stronger. He could not let this chance slip away.

At last, just as Yeop Pung drew fully up to the spatial door and was about to pass into another time, Geumban's voice rang through his mind.

"You need only remember three things for now."

Geumban paused, then spoke with force.

"What does doing better actually mean?"

"Time! The longer you remain after traveling through time, the better! Go, Yeop Pung. This time, as you said — I hope you won't disappoint me again."

"All right, I got it!"

In that final moment, Yeop Pung asked nothing more. He shouted at the top of his lungs.

At night. At night. At niiight.

Yeop Pung's voice echoed through the endless void. Then he passed completely through the spatial door and vanished.

Then Geumban's voice rang out quietly, carrying a hint of warmth.

With that familiar rushing sensation, Yeop Pung returned to Nagun Peak of a hundred years past.

In his mind, Geumban's cold guidance rang out.

Nothing had changed from last time. But Yeop Pung was glad that Geumban had kept its promise.

It was already night, the moon hanging high overhead. Before his eyes, the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Wall glittered with starlight beneath the moonlight, as though the Milky Way itself had been unfurled across the cliff. The majestic star chart, imbued with the Profound Qi of the Great Dao, spread once more before him.

There's no time to waste. I have to train!

Yeop Pung had no time to dwell on the three laws Geumban had just given him. He knew only that the longer he stayed in the past, the better — and that his most important task right now was to learn the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture. Unable to bring any recording tools, he could rely only on his own exceptional talent and memory.

Faster. Faster!

More — I have to remember just a little more!

Yeop Pung cast aside every stray thought and opened his eyes wide. Those eyes held nothing but the stars that filled the heavens. The glittering starlight dazzled him, and the sequence of their flickering seemed to move at random, without any law at all.

Anyone else would have been lost before this vast celestial image. But Yeop Pung, by nothing more than his superhuman talent and astonishing memory, gradually carved this complex star chart into his mind.

Last time, in the span of a single meal, he had memorized a tenth of the star chart. He was confident that if he were given half a day this time — no, even just two hours — he could take away a third of it.

My cultivation speed is bound to explode again! Time — what I need is time!

Sweat beaded on Yeop Pung's forehead from the extreme tension. His hands moved unconsciously through the air, like a machine operating at high speed.

Heaven itself seemed to look after him this time. For a considerable while — nearly an hour — no one noticed that an uninvited guest had entered the forbidden place.

In that precious hour, Yeop Pung managed to memorize nearly another quarter of the constellation chart. Combined with what he already had, he had now committed more than a third of it to memory.

But Yeop Pung's luck ran out there.

With a roar that seemed to shake the heavens, that familiar figure from last time appeared before Yeop Pung.

He's here!

Yeop Pung's heart plummeted. He had prepared himself, but in this moment he could not help but tense.

He had asked Geumban to advance his return by a day. This, too, had been a kind of experiment. From the presence he felt at his back, the man clearly did not recognize him. In other words, the previous time jump had left no mark upon the past.

"Wait! Just a little longer…"

Yeop Pung stretched out a hand, pushing toward the powerful aura surging in from behind.

Huh? What's going on here?

The Cheonun Sect master was bewildered at first, then felt a scorching rage rise to his face.

Damn it! Are thieves these days all this brazen? Wait a little? Wait for what!

"You shameless bastard! Die!"

At that very moment, Yeop Pung finally ran through the constellation chart in his mind from beginning to end, perfectly, once through — and only then let out a breath of relief. He spun around and dropped to his knees on the ground.

One day! This time, no matter what, I will fill out a full day and then return!

Yeop Pung vowed this desperately in his heart. He lifted his head to look at the Cheonun Sect master — a man with leopard eyes and a copper-colored beard — then immediately bowed his head and spoke with utmost courtesy.

"Martial Grand-Uncle, this disciple… this disciple… this disciple…."

But after repeating "this disciple" three times, Yeop Pung froze in shock.

What's going on?