Chapter 158: Hwangbo Hye-ji (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 158: Hwangbo Hye-ji (1)
It was hard to say whether this was actual training or just being toyed with by sorcery.
Several days had passed since Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah began suffering under Seo-jun’s tutelage. In the meantime, the Round of 16 had come to an end.
The eight Rising Stars who advanced to the quarter-finals were as follows:
Most were familiar faces.
The only unfamiliar name, Tae-byeok, was a Rising Star from the Jongnam Sect. In Seo-jun’s estimation, his skills were quite decent. A natural conclusion, considering he had made it to the top eight of the Yongbong Gathering.
Henan had remained quiet since the night Seo-jun caused that massive stir.
It wasn't for a lack of incidents. Rather, so much had already happened that the sect elders gathered in Henan were kept incredibly busy.
First and foremost was the assassination of the General. It remained an unsolved mystery with no clear leads, serving as a grim wake-up call to the elders.
Next was the Demonic Cult.
According to news from the Kunlun Sect, the Demonic Cult's movements had grown even more active. Unsettling reports suggested they might be planning a full-scale invasion of the Central Plains. Every time new information arrived, it gave the elders of the Sixteen Major Sects and Clans a massive headache.
Among their remaining tasks, the most significant was deciding on the titles for the new Dragons and Phoenixes.
With the quarter-finalists confirmed, titles had to be bestowed upon them. But this was no simple matter. If a title lacked weight, it was an insult; if it was too grand, it invited arrogance. After much back-and-forth, the Yongbong Gathering traditionally finalized these titles only after the finals concluded.
Of course, none of this concerned Seo-jun.
His daily routine consisted of skipping those meetings to oversee Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah's training, or refining his own martial arts.
I feel like I’m just a hair’s breadth away.
The Transcendent Realm. Or the Extreme Demon realm. Or perhaps another unknown stage entirely.
Looking beyond the Super Peak Realm, Seo-jun had a lot on his mind lately.
In his view, the Transcendent Realm was a state where the Upper Dantian fully opened, causing the Spirit to expand immensely. As the Spirit grew, one had to seek the Essence and Qi from the world itself, as the physical body alone could no longer provide enough.
That was the "Domain."
In essence, the expanded Spirit treated the surrounding world as its own Essence and Qi, turning the external environment into an extension of oneself.
To put it another way, it was the act of intentionally tilting the perfect balance of Essence, Qi, and Spirit achieved at the Super Peak Realm. By allowing the Spirit to swell, one could achieve harmony with the world.
That was the Creation Realm—the Transcendent Realm.
Following that logic, he could also get a rough sense of the Profound Realm.
If the Transcendent Realm was where the Upper Dantian opened completely and the Spirit grew explosively, what would happen if one went even further and fully incorporated Qi and Essence into that Spirit?
They would become a complete God.
Once that realm reached maturity, perhaps the path to Ascension would finally open… or so Seo-jun speculated.
Then what more do I need to do here?
The Super Peak Realm was the stage of imbuing Qi with Spirit. It was the stage where the Middle Dantian was fully activated, bringing Essence, Qi, and Spirit into perfect balance.
The Middle Dantian governed Qi.
Qi, located in the center, acted as the mediator between Essence and Spirit.
The energy rising from the Lower Dantian—the Essence—traveled up the Conception Vessel to reach the Spirit. Meanwhile, the energy of the Spirit, governed by the Upper Dantian, traveled down the Governing Vessel to supplement the Essence.
The Middle Dantian, housing the Qi, was what coordinated this circulating energy.
Looking at it that way, martial arts that trained Qi were the secret to linking Essence and Spirit—the method of drawing Essence upward toward the Spirit.
That was the essence of Cultivation.
Of course, this was merely Seo-jun’s theory. There were many paths to the higher realms. He was simply guessing that at least one of them followed this logic.
“Hmm.”
In the end, the only methods that came to mind were either fully activating the Upper Dantian or endlessly training Qi to pull the Essence upward…
Perhaps if he could witness the realm of the Extreme Demon firsthand, another path might present itself. There was likely a reason why the Extreme Demon and the Transcendent Realm were considered distinct from one another.
The conclusion is that I just need to keep training hard.
Seo-jun let out a sigh, ending his fruitless contemplation.
“Should I just dig deeper into sorcery?”
Chun-bong, who had been sitting idly watching Seo-jun, replied, “Why all of a sudden?”
“If you think about it, isn't sorcery deeply connected to the Upper Dantian?”
“I guess so?”
“If I dig into this, maybe it’ll be a clue to the Transcendent Realm?”
“Is… that so?”
Chun-bong, who was only at the Peak Realm, knew absolutely nothing about such profound concepts.
Her blank expression was quite cute.
Seo-jun grinned. He suddenly lunged forward and hoisted her high into the air.
“Flying Chun-bong…!”
“…Good grief.”
Another peaceful day passed.
*
Namgung Myeong often visited the Hwangbo Clan’s villa to meet with Hwangbo Hye-ji.
Though things had become a bit awkward after his recent remarks, Hwangbo Hye-ji never refused his visits.
“Lady Hwangbo, I heard your match tomorrow is against my sister.”
From the quarter-finals onward, the match brackets were announced in advance. At Namgung Myeong’s words, Hwangbo Hye-ji nodded, a complicated expression on her face.
“Yes… that’s how it turned out.”
“If you do your best, I’m sure there will be a good result.”
“Young Master Namgung…” Hwangbo Hye-ji hesitated before continuing. “…Who do you think will win?”
It was a difficult question. Hwangbo Hye-ji knew that.
But since he had put her in such a difficult position before, she felt justified in asking this much. After all, compared to the suffocating silence that had lingered between her and her mother that day, this wasn't even a difficult question.
“Do you want an honest answer?”
“Yes.”
“I believe the odds of my sister winning are higher.”
“…As I thought.”
Hwangbo Hye-ji was certainly outstanding. Even among the Rising Stars of the Sixteen Major Sects and Clans, she was above average.
However, Namgung Myeong was a powerhouse vying for the absolute top spot among the Rising Stars. And the one who had defeated him was Namgung Su-ah. By simple calculation, the odds of Hwangbo Hye-ji defeating Namgung Su-ah were terribly slim.
“I don’t know what I should say to my mother…”
Hwangbo Hye-ji stared blankly up at the sky. Namgung Myeong watched her quietly. She was clearly already picturing the aftermath of her defeat.
Namgung Myeong chuckled softly and took her hand.
“Lady Hwangbo.”
“Ye-yes…?”
“I may have said the odds of my sister winning are higher, but I am rooting for you.”
“Shouldn’t you be rooting for your sister…?”
“I should, but… so what? It’s what I want.”
His sister might be disappointed if she heard him say that, but he believed she would understand. Namgung Myeong squeezed Hwangbo Hye-ji’s hand a little tighter. As she met his gaze, her pupils trembled slightly.
“Win or lose, this is just the Yongbong Gathering. There’s no need to be so obsessed with victory or defeat. Rushing won’t help you reach greater heights, and the effort you’ve put in so far won't just vanish into thin air.”
Namgung Myeong smiled brightly.
“Just do your best in the match. If you do, I believe you will surely find an answer of your own.”
*
The quarter-finals of the Yongbong Gathering.
The stage where the eight Rising Stars destined to be bestowed with the titles of Dragon and Phoenix would clash.
In a sense, this was the true beginning of the gathering. As such, the quarter-finals carried immense symbolic weight. To honor that weight and celebrate the birth of the new Dragons and Phoenixes, a senior of the Murim stepped onto the martial arts arena.
It was Elder Myeong-gak of the Shaolin, the host faction of this Yongbong Gathering.
“Though my skills are lacking, I hope my juniors can gain something from observing this old monk’s footsteps.”
After that brief, humble remark, he demonstrated a few simple punches and kicks.
There were no flashy explosions of Astral Qi. There wasn't even anything particularly striking about his fluid movements.
“Is that… supposed to be something amazing?”
“He’s a Shaolin elder, so it must be, right? I can’t really tell, though…”
The audience’s reaction to Myeong-gak’s plain demonstration was lukewarm, to say the least.
However, the reactions of those who could recognize the true value of the martial arts he displayed were entirely different.
Seo-jun rubbed his arms, goosebumps breaking out across his skin from a chilling thrill.
So that’s actually possible…
They were clearly ordinary punches and kicks. Yet, the flow of internal energy perfectly synchronized with every motion. The absolute lack of any openings in those simple actions indirectly revealed Myeong-gak’s terrifying true strength.
Was that all?
Seo-jun could feel it. This man was by no means inferior to Pae Jin-gwang.
He didn't possess the overwhelming, explosive power of Pae Jin-gwang, but those few movements—honed to the absolute limit—exuded a comparable sense of dread.
It was the extreme of martial arts, stripped down until there was absolutely nothing left to remove.
Even Seo-jun, who was a genius at copying techniques, didn't dare try to mimic it. It had nothing to do with the loftiness of the technique or complex martial principles.
That was the crystallization of madness.
It wasn't a realm reachable through simple effort. It was a masterpiece carved out by pouring in every drop of one’s talent, time, effort, and spiteful obsession.
Myeong-gak of the Shaolin…
Even after Myeong-gak stepped down from the arena, Seo-jun couldn't tear his eyes away from the spot where the elder had stood.
Incredible.
In a way, wasn't Myeong-gak a martial artist at the complete opposite pole from himself?
Seo-jun had ascended rapidly through sheer talent. Myeong-gak had carved out his martial arts through sheer, mad obsession.
If he were to fight Myeong-gak, winning through clever tricks would be impossible. It would be nearly impossible to find a counter-form for martial arts that had been stripped down to such a pure degree.
Wasn't he an opponent one truly had to face with nothing but pure skill?
“Old man, can you do something like that too?”
When he asked Pae Jin-gwang, the old man just snorted.
“You think? I’m too impatient for that kind of thing.”
“True.”
“Hmm. That reaction is quite offensive.”
Amidst that strange atmosphere, Hwangbo Hye-ji finally stepped onto the arena.
Before stepping up, she recalled the words her mother had spoken.
‘You mustn't be satisfied with just making it to the top eight. You don’t want to be pushed into the background like last time, do you? Doing your best is fine, but remember—the world only remembers the winners.’
Strength left her body. Hwangbo Hye-ji forced herself to square her slumping shoulders.
I just wanted to hear a single word of encouragement…
The encouragement she had so desperately craved from her mother had instead come from Young Master Namgung.
She remembered his steady gaze. He believed in her. He told her to do her best rather than obsess over the result.
Caught between the contradictory words of her mother and Namgung Myeong, she felt tossed about like a ship in a storm, unable to find her footing.
“Nice to meet you.”
At Namgung Su-ah’s voice, Hwangbo Hye-ji snapped back to reality.
“Ye-yes…”
“I heard about you from Myeong.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. He said there was a very charming lady.”
Namgung Su-ah giggled. It was a laugh full of mischief. To an older sister, her younger brother’s love life was simply an irresistible source of entertainment.
Hwangbo Hye-ji bowed her head low, not knowing how to respond.
Looking at her, Namgung Su-ah added, “I’m still not going to lose, though. So let’s both do our best.”
“…Yes.”
Hwangbo Hye-ji smiled awkwardly.
She couldn't muster any strength at all.