The Void Emptiness Divine Art
Jeon Su greeted him first as soon as Namgung Woo stepped out of the training cave. “Oh, you’re out. Boss, did it go well?”
Yang Kvae stood with his saber slung crookedly over one shoulder, waving his hand in the air as if practicing the forms of the Lightning Flash Heart-Destroying Saber through hand movements alone.
“Yang Kvae. Where’s Yang Jeong?”
“We’re taking turns standing guard, so he’s probably resting in his room.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Yang Kvae’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Something had changed. Namgung Woo’s aura was noticeably different from when he had entered the training cave. The difference was so stark that even a lowly expert like Yang Kvae could sense it.
How many days has it been? Is this guy seriously a genius?
The gap in their realms was overwhelming—almost cruel. Namgung Woo stopped in front of him, his presence now far more stable and heavy.
“Is that so? How many days has it been?”
He had lost himself in a trance, forgetting the outside world entirely. Time had simply slipped past him.
“Exactly two days.”
“Longer than I thought.”
“You do realize it, huh. The Paeng family people were about to lose their minds.”
“I suppose I caused them some inconvenience.”
The moment he arrived, he had boldly asked to borrow a training ground, then proceeded to seclude himself for two full days. It was only natural they would be stunned. Yet Namgung Woo felt no regret. It had been a necessary step. And it was the fastest path toward fulfilling the Paeng family’s deepest wish.
“By the way, why the sudden closed-door training?”
“I didn’t know myself.”
Namgung Woo gave a light chuckle, patted Yang Kvae’s shoulder a couple of times, and walked past him. Sensing that further explanation would be omitted, Yang Kvae followed behind.
“What about the Paeng family? I figured at least one of them would be watching.”
“Ah, they said they didn’t want to disturb you, so they cleared the entire training area. They left me and my brother alone since we’re your subordinates.”
“Really?”
Still, it seemed there was some mechanism to detect when someone emerged from the training cave. An array formation, perhaps. As he sensed the approaching presence of the Paeng family members, Namgung Woo quietly circulated the third divine energy that now flowed peacefully within his upper dantian.
Yang Kvae must have felt the shift in that energy. His voice rang out in pure astonishment.
“Boss… don’t tell me you gained some kind of enlightenment?”
“Who knows.”
It wasn’t anything as grand as enlightenment. He had simply come to understand himself a little better.
“But that’s enough.”
Among the many buildings within the Hebei Paeng family estate, the largest by far was the Patriarch’s Hall. It served as both the family head’s residence and his office. If compared to an emperor or king, it would be akin to a private audience chamber. Beside it stood the Matriarch’s Hall where the family head’s wife resided, followed by the Elder Council composed of those among the family elders who possessed outstanding character, martial prowess, and talent.
The fourth building, however, was markedly different in nature from the previous three. It existed not for the family’s own members, but for outsiders. The uppermost floor of the Guesthouse—known as the Origin Pavilion—was, for the first time in a long while, opening its doors to welcome visitors.
“First, I must apologize for suddenly entering closed-door training.”
“Not at all. We were the ones who granted you access to the training cave, and it was only two days.”
Paeng Ja-ryeong spoke calmly, but the woman beside him, Moyong Hye, was in no such state. Dark shadows of exhaustion clung beneath her eyes as if she hadn’t slept a wink in those two days. Although she had learned martial arts, her achievement in them was modest. Staying awake for two full nights—especially while her mind raced with endless worries and consumed her mental energy—had clearly taken a heavy toll. Nevertheless, her eyes still shone with clear, piercing light.
After more than ten years of accumulated longing, the end might finally be in sight. That single thought alone was enough for Moyong Hye to endure several sleepless nights and days.
“Let’s get straight to the point.”
“Yes. Thank you for your consideration. However… Benefactor.”
Even in this critically important meeting, Paeng Ja-ryeong found the words incredibly awkward to say, yet he could not avoid pointing it out.
“Is… is this really alright?”
He subtly extended a finger, pointing behind Namgung Woo. There stood Paeng Ye-ryeong, pressed tightly against his back, gripping his head with both hands while staring intently at the crown of his skull.
“Mmmmmm…!”
Naturally, everyone had tried to stop Paeng Ye-ryeong at first. Paeng Ha-ryeong had blocked his path, Moyong Hye had hugged her daughter’s waist as if clutching a doll, and Paeng Ja-ryeong had sternly rebuked her with the authority of the eldest son. Yet it was Namgung Woo himself who had told them to stop.
“It’s fine. This will actually be helpful.”
The Paeng family members probably sensed it vaguely, but to be honest, Paeng Ye-ryeong’s mental state was far from normal. They simply couldn’t define it precisely and had only vaguely attributed it to her heavenly affliction or innate nature.
However, Namgung Woo—armed with knowledge from a distant future where psychiatry had been systematically developed and the human mind thoroughly analyzed—could diagnose her condition far more accurately. The mind that should have closed its Heavenly Gate and built its own world had instead become trapped in a separate realm, unable to grow properly. It could be considered a form of autism. Fortunately, it was high-functioning autism without accompanying intellectual disability.
When Namgung Woo casually said it was fine, Moyong Hye hesitated for a moment but ultimately accepted his words without objection.
“Ah, yes.”
No matter how much one observed, fully understanding Namgung Woo’s physical condition would be impossible, but they could at least grasp a portion of it. Especially since Paeng Ye-ryeong’s intellect was unparalleled. She might even discover something beyond what he had anticipated.
That would be even better.
Martial arts, after all, were a matter of comprehension. This was especially true for internal cultivation methods that refined breath and mental imagery to transform external qi into internal qi. If she could see the answer key in advance, it might help her reverse-engineer the solution process and deepen her understanding.
“Please ignore her and focus on the discussion.”
Though the person in question claimed it didn’t bother him, hosting an honored benefactor and guest made the situation incredibly awkward.
Still, it would be rude to say anything more here…
Paeng Ja-ryeong did his best to push Paeng Ye-ryeong from his mind and concentrated on Namgung Woo’s words.
“While I was in seclusion, I reflected on the constitutions of both myself and Miss Paeng.”
“Pardon? You’ve only seen Ye-ryeong once before today, haven’t you?”
“I have an excellent memory.”
And excellent eyes, he added silently. Yang Jeong watched the Paeng family members’ expressions with slight concern, wondering if such a vague reason would satisfy them. Surprisingly, they accepted it with surprising ease.
“To continue—strictly speaking, my constitution and Miss Paeng’s are different.”
Yang Jeong, who had been carefully observing their faces, clearly witnessed shock ripple across them, accompanied by visible twitches. Moyong Hye clenched both hands tightly. Veins bulged prominently on the backs of her trembling hands.
“…Then, are you saying even you find it difficult, Benefactor?”
“Please hear me out until the end.”
In the world where Namgung Woo originally lived, there was a saying: always listen to the end. He had intended to explain in as much detail as possible, but their impatience seemed to have only heightened their anxiety.
“In Miss Paeng’s case, her Heavenly Gate is open. Commonly known as the Baihui acupoint.”
“Yes, we are aware of that.”
“In my case, it is not the Baihui acupoint. I was born with special eyes.”
Eyes had no blood vessels. There was no pathway for qi to flow through them. Yet eyes possessed a unique quality distinct from ordinary meridians. There was a saying that the eyes were the windows to the soul. In other words, they served as passages connecting the inner and outer worlds. Indeed, humans perceived the world primarily through their eyes. The eyes formed the boundary between the external universe and the internal universe, and they were the organ that transmitted external information most directly to the brain.
“Therefore, at their core, my condition and Miss Paeng’s are remarkably similar. The only difference is whether it flows through the Baihui acupoint or through the eyes. In the end, both connect to the upper dantian.”
“Then… does that mean you can cure Ye-ryeong?”
The moment Paeng Ha-ryeong asked the question, a silence so profound it seemed even breathing had stopped descended upon the room. In that quiet where one could almost hear the heartbeat of the person beside them, Namgung Woo finally spoke.
“That is not certain.”
“Ah…”
Moyong Hye staggered, her face turning deathly pale as she clutched her hands. Paeng Ja-ryeong quickly supported her.
“Madam. However, it is certainly worth attempting.”
“What… what is the method?”
Fearing she might collapse first if this continued, Moyong Hye asked Namgung Woo to skip further preliminary explanations and tell her the solution immediately.
Namgung Woo answered.
“She must learn a method to control the upper dantian.”
“…Upper dantian martial arts. It’s not that we haven’t considered it.”
Unfortunately, all of the Paeng family’s martial arts centered on the lower dantian. Even among the Nine Great Sects, only about half possessed upper dantian techniques worthy of being called advanced martial arts. Upper dantian studies were that rare and difficult to learn. Even within the sects that possessed them, very few practitioners had learned them directly. Most were passed down through single-lineage transmission by just one or two people.
However, even if she were to learn upper dantian martial arts now, the problem would remain. The more she practiced, the faster her Baihui acupoint would open, drastically reducing the time left to Paeng Ye-ryeong. In the terms of Namgung Woo’s original era, learning upper dantian arts would literally be a time attack.
But Namgung Woo had a way to solve both problems.
“I possess an upper dantian cultivation method.”
The Gongryeong Taeheo Singong. This was the last internal art Namgung Woo had obtained. While the Cheonroe Jewang Singong and Changgung Daeyeon Singong were inherited from within the Namgung family, the Gongryeong Taeheo Singong was a technique he had acquired alone. It was the supreme single-lineage divine art from Chukrok Murim, of which only one copy existed.
Its level was by no means inferior to the other two divine arts.
“And the level of achievement does not matter.”
All that was needed was to guide true qi. To prevent the true qi gathered in the upper dantian from opening the Baihui acupoint.
After hearing Namgung Woo’s full explanation, the Paeng family members stared at him as if they could not believe what they had just heard.
“Don’t tell me, Benefactor, you intend to…”
It was only natural. To martial artists, the techniques they cultivated were sometimes more sacred than their own lives. If it was a divine upper dantian art, it was never to be taught to outsiders.
“Are you saying you will allow Ye-ryeong to learn your divine supreme art?”
Yet Namgung Woo had just declared that he would teach it to her.