Star Spirit Body Art
A little over two hours had passed. Yeom Woon-hwan stared at Yeop Pung, her eyes wide with astonishment.
"Wow! Yeop Pung, you—you can already use the Star Spirit Body?"
Across from her, Yeop Pung stood wrapped from head to toe in a radiant nebula of starlight, gazing down at his own palms with unconcealed delight. Specks of brilliance sparkled and circled his fingers as if a host of tiny fairies were bobbing up and down, dancing for sheer joy. When he turned his hand, a miniature Milky Way unfurled through the night air.
So this is the Star Spirit Body Art!
Yeop Pung crowed inwardly with triumph.
Condensed starlight settled upon the skin — the hallmark of entry.
Just as he had expected, this body art was a profound divine technique that complemented the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture in every respect. To cultivate the Star Spirit Body Art, one first had to train the Scripture to the realm of Hundred Stars Returning to Radiance. Condensing stars from one's own qi was the very foundation upon which the art was built.
In turn, the Star Spirit Body Art stimulated every acupuncture point throughout Yeop Pung's body to the utmost, awakening latent potential. Its most immediate effect was to accelerate the rate at which the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture drew in energy.
The bottleneck that had plagued him all this time had finally broken.
And that was not all. The Star Spirit Body Art was a wondrous combat technique in its own right. Through it, a practitioner could cover short distances at extreme speed—a speed that scaled with their cultivation. When Maeng Chang-haeng executed the art, his movement approached teleportation. Even the version Yeom Woon-hwan displayed was more than twice as fast as Thunder Shadow Steps. Among all profound movement arts, the Star Spirit Body Art stood at the very pinnacle.
A century ago, when the Cheonun Sect had commanded the martial world, one of the things that most tormented enemy ranks was this meteor-swift divine body art. It was no exaggeration to call it the fastest movement technique below the Spirit Realm.
Tonight was Yeop Pung's first time cultivating the Star Spirit Body, and in a mere two hours he had already learned to hold condensed starlight upon the surface of his skin. That was the sign of having crossed the threshold. At his absurd rate of comprehension, he would likely grasp the art's essence completely within the remaining twenty-odd days—and if he did, his cultivation speed would at least double.
On top of that, the incomplete Saint Path he had already mastered could push his energy-absorption efficiency to its limit. That meant he could break through to the 4th Meridian Profound Realm before returning to the present, and his body's fundamental combat power would leap forward with it. He already had a herb garden running as it should, and a warm, adorable girl who had come to feel like a little sister besides.
All things considered, this journey through time had been a success through and through.
It's worth it. It's really, truly worth it!
"Haha."
Yeop Pung laughed, the sound bright with genuine happiness.
In that moment he was like a climber scaling a mountain of impossible height. Jagged peaks stretched endlessly around him, and a single misstep would send him plunging into a chasm ten thousand fathoms deep. Above his head, the summit remained lost beyond sight. Every step he took was as careful as walking on thin ice.
Fortunately, Yeop Pung had help beyond anything others could imagine—the Golden Disc. Even so, he had poured unfathomable care and meticulous planning into every single journey through time. This trip had gone smoothly, but in the month leading up to it he had barely slept twenty hours in total. Every night, in solitude, he had wrestled with how to build the herb garden, immersing himself in the fundamentals of spirit-beast taming, an art he had known nothing about. It was all that effort that had allowed him to bring this journey to a successful close.
A man had to give everything he had in private if he wanted it to look effortless in front of others. Yeop Pung had done exactly that, and the reward he received was no more than he deserved.
"Yeop Pung!"
Yeom Woon-hwan's gentle voice drifted from beside him.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Nothing. It's just... the way you smile. It looks really nice. You're usually so stern. You should laugh more, like me."
Yeom Woon-hwan's eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons as she shared his joy with complete sincerity. Beneath the moonlight, a soft breeze lifted the hair at her forehead. Her round face, her lovely gaze, her warm words—all of it came together in a single instant, composing a scene Yeop Pung would never forget for as long as he lived.
If only... if only Woon-hwan hadn't been someone from a hundred years ago.
Two hours later, Yeop Pung escorted Yeom Woon-hwan all the way back to the Cheonun Sect. This time he said nothing. He simply watched her receding figure until it vanished, and stood there long after she was gone.
Suddenly, Geumban's cold voice sounded in his mind.
"Yeop Pung. Do you know what you're doing right now?"
Here it comes.
Yeop Pung wasn't the least bit surprised. He bit his lip, a bitter taste in his mouth.
"I know, Brother Geumban. You don't have to tell me. I already know."
"And if I do see her again?"
"..."
Geumban fell silent, as if turning something over in its mind. Then, abruptly, it let out a sigh of relief.
"Nothing will come of it."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. If you want to see her, see her."
Yeop Pung frowned. Why was Geumban talking in riddles like this? First it said not to meet her, and now it was fine? What on earth was going on?
He couldn't make sense of it. But one thing was certain: Geumban was a being he could trust absolutely. If Geumban said it was fine, then it really was fine.
The twenty days that followed were the happiest of Yeop Pung's life.
With Heukgu managing the herb garden, he no longer had anything to worry about. Every day he devoted himself entirely to the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture, the Star Spirit Body Art, and the Falling Star Sword Technique. The fourth profound meridian within his body stretched outward at a terrifying pace.
The fourth profound meridian—the Life Meridian—ran through the liver and gallbladder and held the force of vitality. Once it opened, the body's strength would reach four thousand catties, and its self-healing capacity would improve dramatically, flooding him with vigor as his qi and blood surged.
Once that fourth meridian was open, and he combined the Star Spirit Body Art with his golden Profound Qi, Yeop Pung was confident he could contend with martial artists of the six-meridian realm. Even if he ran into a six-meridian monster like Sa Cheonseong again, he would be able to face him without the Black Frost Sword. And of course, if Yeop Pung drew the Black Frost Sword, every martial artist below the Spirit Realm would have no choice but to kneel at his feet.
In the hours outside of training, he would talk and play with Yeom Woon-hwan, who slipped out at night, and together they explored every corner of Cheonun's rear mountains.
He also gave Heukgu lessons. The curriculum consisted mainly of the following: eat Green Root Fruit and cultivate Profound Qi for a hundred years; live in safe and quiet seclusion; keeping a few subordinates was fine, but never pick a fight with vicious characters. Yeop Pung promised he would return in a hundred years to take Heukgu with him.
Heukgu, frankly, was baffled.
Why is Master making plans for such a distant future? Talking about a hundred years from now already—I don't even know if I'll live that long.
But Heukgu listened to every one of Yeop Pung's teachings with respectful attention.
Whether I can actually keep them... well... I'll think about that when the time comes. Besides, we'll be apart for a hundred years, right? Haha, this is basically freedom! Finally, nobody will call me Heukgu anymore. Yes!
Before he knew it, a full month had passed.
Yeop Pung didn't even say goodbye to Yeom Woon-hwan. There was no need. If he wanted to see her, he could simply meet her again on the next journey through time.
The day before Yeop Pung returned to the present, the fourth Life Meridian finally opened completely.
Armed with newfound confidence in his soaring strength, he returned to the present.
Swish!
The instant Yeop Pung entered the fold of space-time, a colossal tide of golden energy appeared alongside him.
So much of it!
For the first time, Yeop Pung watched a massive wave of golden qi surge up from empty air and pour into the Golden Disc.
A vast current of golden energy rose from the void and flowed into the Golden Disc, flooding the third ring at a visibly rapid pace.
"Next time, the stay duration will be extended by ten days, and the Position Shift function will activate, allowing movement within a range of three thousand feet."
Position Shift?
Yeop Pung asked, curiosity in his voice.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that both the place you arrive when you cross space-time and the place you return to can be freely chosen within a range of three thousand feet."
Now that's a useful function.
The thought clicked into place at once. On the next journey, he wouldn't even need to leave Nagun Peak. He could sit quietly in his room and appear three thousand feet away. Another advantage: he could use it to run. Until now, every return through space-time had dropped him back at his point of departure—but this was as good as an instant three-thousand-foot teleport. And if he used it in the middle of a fight, it would become a sudden, ambush-grade blink strike. This was true teleportation, far beyond even the Star Spirit Body Art. The pity was that, for now, it was limited to once a week.
"Brother Geumban, when we go back this time, shift me three thousand feet toward Nagun Peak."
"Understood."
Geumban agreed without hesitation.
Whoosh!
In a blink, Yeop Pung burst out of the cave in the rear mountains where he had originally been and trudged back toward Nagun Peak.
But Bone, who had been trailing him, was utterly bewildered. It had been following Yeop Pung from a distance for some time. Ever since it had licked Yeop Pung's blood, it had gained the ability to track him even from very far away. Back at the Dragon Tomb, Bone had helped him once without leaving so much as a ghost's whisper of a trace—and that fool still hadn't noticed.
This time, though, Bone had clearly watched Yeop Pung go into the cave. Then, in an instant, the brat's aura appeared far outside. What the hell was this?
For the first time, Bone was genuinely startled because of Yeop Pung.
How did this brat get away?
Bone bolted into the cave and searched it from top to bottom, but found neither a teleportation formation nor anything like one.
He was definitely running toward Nagun Peak! How is that possible?
Its head a snarl of question marks, Bone burst out of the cave and tore toward Nagun Peak at a speed that was simply not normal.
Bang!
Arriving at Nagun Peak a step ahead of Yeop Pung, Bone slammed straight into Maeng Chang-haeng's room the moment the door gave way.
"What's going on?"
Maeng Chang-haeng had been in the middle of humming a tune. Seeing Bone this startled was a rare thing for him.
Bone barked wildly, both forepaws thrashing at the air, straining to convey the bizarre thing that had just happened to Yeop Pung. Maeng Chang-haeng watched for a good long while, then said,
"Bone, you've changed."
"Woof?"
"You've gotten talkative..."
Bone wore a look of sheer grievance. I can't even talk—how am I supposed to simply explain something that weird?
By the time Yeop Pung returned to Nagun Peak, Maeng Chang-haeng was waiting in front of the door with a smile.
"Been out, have you? Where'd you go?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk around the rear mountain."
Yeop Pung shrugged as if it were nothing.
"Good attitude. That's fine, then. Don't sleep tonight."
"D-did you need me for something...?"
Yeop Pung's instincts screamed that something was about to happen.
"What's with that look in your eyes?"
Maeng Chang-haeng sounded distinctly put out.
"When have I ever done anything to you? Come on. Senior Brother's waiting up top!"
He pointed a finger toward the mountain's peak.
Lee Sujol had already been waiting there for some time. Hearing Yeop Pung approach, he turned and smiled.
"Yeop Pung, I have something to teach you tonight..."
"Yes?"
Yeop Pung couldn't hide his delight.
"What is it you'd like to teach me?"
"Heh heh."
Lee Sujol stroked his beard, his expression thoroughly pleased.
Yeop Pung bit his lip without meaning to. He knew at once what Lee Sujol intended. But... what was he supposed to do? He already knew it. How was he supposed to keep from wounding the pride of a master he so deeply respected?