Chapter 113: Master Alchemist
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 113: Master Alchemist
Seo-jun reflected on the oral chants of the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art, rapidly analyzing the martial art in his mind.
Pae Jin-gwang had been right—it was a difficult art to categorize. If one really tried, it could be broken down into several entirely different disciplines.
Broadly speaking, it began with a form of donggong—a type of heart method designed to accumulate internal energy through physical movement.
However, it fundamentally differed from other moving arts. Most donggong were ultimately just branches of heart methods aimed at chukgi, the accumulation of internal energy.
The Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art was different. Instead of storing Qi in the Dantian, it melted the Qi directly into the muscles.
Only now did Seo-jun realize the true nature of the strange dissonance he had felt from the Fist King’s aura.
The Fist King had no Dantian.
His massive frame was itself a single, giant Dantian.
Because he melted Qi into his muscles to forge something entirely new, it couldn't even be said that the Fist King "used" Qi in the traditional sense.
Instead of consuming Qi, he merely accumulated fatigue in his muscles. The Qi dissolved within him had already become something akin to the muscle fibers themselves.
‘This is unique.’
That alone was enough to pique Seo-jun’s interest.
It was on a completely different level from any martial art he had seen before. The old man claimed he had created his own martial art because he lacked talent for internal arts, but it seemed he possessed extraordinary, monstrous talent in every other conceivable direction.
‘Next is…’
Fist techniques. Literally, the art of fighting with one's bare hands.
Since this was his first time learning a proper set of fist techniques, he was genuinely looking forward to it. Moreover, these were the personal techniques of the man known as the Fist King.
If he could master them properly, he would be able to switch seamlessly between fists and swords in the heat of battle.
Beyond that, the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art was a tangled web of various martial disciplines: footwork, movement techniques, kicking techniques, grappling, and even eye techniques.
It reminded him so much of the Primordial Unity Divine Art that he felt a strange sense of kinship toward it.
Their directions were polar opposites, but their sheer complexity was exactly the same.
“I have to say, old man. Now that I'm really looking at it, you’ve actually got some skills.”
“I’ve lived hundreds of years longer than you, brat. Of course I do.”
“I’ve seen people who were still utterly useless even after living for six hundred years. From what I can see, once you hit the Super Peak Realm, if you don’t have talent or something special, you won't climb any higher even if you're given ten thousand years.”
“Well, grasping enlightenment is a skill in itself, so you’re not wrong. If you don’t realize your own talent and forge the right path, spending any amount of time is a meaningless endeavor.”
At those words, Seo-jun puffed out his chest proudly.
“Then that's got nothing to do with me.”
“Why, you… you arrogant little brat. I ought to give you a good thumping.”
“Oh? You want to go a round?”
“Gladly, boy!”
Pae Jin-gwang let out a boisterous laugh and slammed his heavy hand down on Seo-jun’s shoulder.
Each time he did, Seo-jun’s entire body jolted.
This was on a completely different level from the rapid-fire "Chun-bong Therapy." If an ordinary person were hit like this, they would literally be turned into minced meat…!
“Are you trying to pick a fight?!”
“Quiet down and just listen to the rest.”
Pae Jin-gwang continued his explanation of the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art.
His explanation of the donggong—the part similar to a heart method—matched Seo-jun’s understanding, but there were still parts of the fist techniques that were difficult to fully grasp.
“There are basic forms, but that’s all they are. To put it nicely, it’s ‘Formless Victory.’ To put it bluntly, you just fight however the hell you want.”
This aspect was very similar to the Giant Spirit Divine Art. The two would likely be highly compatible.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder how Jang-geuk is doing.’
Seo-jun had taught him the authentic Giant Spirit Divine Art, but he wasn't sure if the man was mastering it well. He would need to go check on his progress eventually.
“Alright, give it a try.”
“Huh? Give what a try?”
“What else? The Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art. What’s the first thing you do when you learn a new martial art?”
“Feel the Qi?”
“And after that.”
“The Dantian?”
“Exactly. You need to create the Qi Root, which serves as the Dantian for the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art.”
“Qi Root? What kind of nonsense… When I reach the Profound Realm, are you going to tell me to build a ‘Heart Muscle’?”
“Oh? How did you know? That’s the final goal.”
“What…?”
He wanted to build muscle on his actual heart?
This old man was definitely out of his mind.
* * *
As he continued receiving Pae Jin-gwang’s instruction, Seo-jun’s thoughts suddenly drifted to his Demonification.
When he underwent Demonification, he sprouted six arms. Until now, he had mostly used the extra four arms as support. But wouldn't it be incredibly effective to use two arms for sword techniques and the other four for fist techniques?
Or he could even weave in sorcery and use all three simultaneously.
When he brought the idea up, Pae Jin-gwang nodded seriously.
“That certainly makes sense. …But why are you leaning in and whispering?”
“Chun-bong shouldn't hear this.”
“What’s the big deal? A person can grow a few extra arms. What’s the problem?”
“Hey now. You never know.”
If Chun-bong got freaked out and called him gross, Seo-jun felt like his heart would take a critical hit.
“What a strange fellow.”
Pae Jin-gwang clicked his tongue and closed his eyes.
“Fist techniques performed with multiple arms…”
Within his mental imagery, countless combat paths were being drawn.
The martial arts he had performed with two arms until now—by adding more arms, not only did the number of available paths multiply, but entirely new, unimaginable paths were born.
The Fist King, having woven all those possibilities together, opened his eyes. The gaze of the man who had claimed a throne using nothing but his two fists now held a profound, bottomless aura.
“I’ll organize this and teach you later.”
“Oh, thanks.”
The Fist King was truly the gift that kept on giving.
Since it was only right to show some sincerity when receiving such a gift, Seo-jun glimpsed the countless paths branching out from the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art and began to calmly organize them in his mind.
Since Pae Jin-gwang hadn't favored internal arts, the process was more difficult than usual, but that actually made it more fun.
“Old man, you’d better look forward to it.”
“What are you talking about now?”
Inside Seo-jun’s mental imagery, deep within his massive library, another martial arts manual began to write itself.
* * *
The next day, as if on cue, a message arrived from Namgung Yeong-bo.
He reported that the preparations were complete and they were ready to forge the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir at any time.
Seo-jun skipped his daily training with Pae Jin-gwang and headed straight to the Heavenly Medicine Hall.
“You’ve arrived, Young Master…!”
The scene inside was like looking at a fanatic cult witnessing the descent of their god.
“Hmph. You may applaud.”
“Waaaaaaaah…!!”
Amidst the deafening cheers of the Heavenly Medicine Hall members, Seo-jun entered the alchemy room and immediately finished his preparations.
In truth, there wasn't much for him to prepare. He knew absolutely nothing about alchemy beyond the parts that involved manipulating Qi.
The ingredients had already been fully prepped. Seo-jun just had to stand in front of the cauldron and fiddle with his internal energy.
‘But that’s the most important part…’
Scratching his head, Namgung Yeong-bo barked orders at the hall members.
“Don’t disturb the Young Master! Stay back! Those of you who haven't mastered the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir Art yet, watch until your eyes pop out and learn something!”
“Yes, sir!”
Under the burning gazes of the hall members, Seo-jun mentally twisted the Reverse Five Elements Formation for the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir.
The cycles of generation and overcoming of the Five Elements.
Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.
Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Metal, Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water.
This logic followed the natural order. It was a law set by the heavens, an absolute phenomenon of nature.
He was going to twist it.
It wasn't particularly difficult. Had he not already mastered the Reverse Taiji? Recalling the mystique of Heaven-Defying, he defied the natural order and drew out the changing flow within the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir accordingly.
It was a process closer to sorcery than a martial art.
However, Seo-jun’s talent wasn't limited to martial arts; it extended to the fundamental manipulation of Qi itself.
Without much difficulty, Seo-jun finalized the blueprint in his mind and placed his hand over the cauldron.
“You shouldn't try to copy this just by watching.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a bit different.”
The internal energy extending from his hand perfectly controlled the flow of Qi within the cauldron.
Eerily thin strands of internal energy guided the Qi, forcing its flow to change accordingly.
What he was drawing was the Reverse Five Elements Formation.
The cycles of generation and overcoming were completely flipped, defying the natural order.
Water makes fire burn, fire produces metal, metal allows wood to take root, wood benefits the earth, and earth purifies water.
Water kills wood, wood extinguishes fire, fire burns the earth, earth crumbles metal, and metal cannot hold water.
This inverted logic defied the heavens, yet it was being contained within a mere pill. As the evidence of Heaven-Defying took physical form, the surrounding laws of nature began to warp, giving rise to bizarre phenomena.
Wood sprouted directly from the cauldron and extinguished the furnace fire, while fire suddenly erupted from the ingredients inside the cauldron, boosting their energy.
Soon, the pill, clumping into a perfect sphere within the flames, turned into solid metal and scattered brilliant light into the surroundings.
Namgung Yeong-bo, who had been staring blankly at the pill floating naturally in the air, widened his eyes in shock.
‘The laws of nature are twisting.’
By the time he realized it, the clothes covering the Young Master’s body had unraveled into threads and bloomed into vibrant purple flowers. Soon, the flowers distorted, and multiple pairs of grotesque eyeballs and mouths sprouted from their petals.
“Yo-Young Master…?”
His heart, which had been thumping wildly, suddenly went silent. Namgung Yeong-bo swallowed hard.
The man’s back. The terrifying, demonic silhouette blooming over it took his breath away.
Crushed by that massive, suffocating presence, Namgung Yeong-bo could do nothing but watch.
Ssh—
Seo-jun’s fingers met. Thumb to thumb, index to index, middle to middle. With his ring and pinky fingers spread wide, he trapped the pill within the void created by his six fingers.
Flash—!
In that instant, all the oppressive pressure vanished.
“Haa…! Haa…!”
Everyone in the Heavenly Medicine Hall gasped for air, their wide eyes locked onto Seo-jun.
Everything that had just happened felt like a fever dream, but the anomalous trees and grass that had sprouted across the room proved that the sight was no illusion.
As Seo-jun sealed the energy of the pill and placed it into a wooden box, Namgung Yeong-bo took a trembling step forward.
“Yo-Young Master…”
“Yes?”
His eyes were brimming with intense curiosity. Namgung Yeong-bo’s entire body shuddered.
“How…”
His breathing began to quicken again. His bloodshot eyes took in Seo-jun’s form, his trembling lips betraying his overwhelming emotion.
“Young Master, are you perhaps…”
Namgung Yeong-bo shouted at the top of his lungs.
“The God of Alchemy?!”
“What?”
“No. No…! How did you do it?! To twist a Five Elements Formation that was designed so intricately and instantly draw a Reverse Five Elements Formation…! This is not the realm of mortals!”
Namgung Yeong-bo jumped up and down, practically spitting as he ranted.
“Truly the God of Alchemy! No! Really! This is…! Wow!”
Startled by the bizarre, fanatic reaction, Seo-jun took a step back, but Namgung Yeong-bo did not relent.
“I love you, Young Master…! Please, teach me just one thing!”
“We beg of you…!”
Seo-jun was thoroughly flustered as the voices of the Heavenly Medicine Hall members began shouting in unison.
“No, what is all this now…”
He had absolutely no desire to receive a confession of love from a room full of sweaty men.
* * *
After finally escaping the Heavenly Medicine Hall with a vague promise to teach them later if he had time, Seo-jun let out a heavy sigh of relief.
“Phew, are they crazy?”
Usually, when people witnessed something like that, their first reaction was to be creeped out or terrified, right?
Perhaps alchemists were just surprisingly tolerant of things that defied natural logic.
They all seemed to have plenty of potential to become demons.
But that was a problem for another day. The only important thing right now was this elixir.
Seo-jun’s lips curled into a smirk at the thought of consuming the pill he had finally named the Heavenly Demon Divine Elixir.
‘If it works the way I think it will…’
It would be the very first step toward containing both the natural order and the reverse order within a single body.
Common sense dictated that such a feat was impossible, but that was the very essence of the principle of Heaven-Defying.
Seo-jun’s pace quickened.