Chapter 290: Foundation (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 290: Foundation (2)
Whether or not people believed the rumors that the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord played a major role in the death of the Black Lotus Union Leader, no one could deny one simple truth: his name now shook the very foundations of the Central Plains.
It was a long-standing tradition in human society that once someone struck it big, distant relatives and forgotten acquaintances would swarm like locusts to bleed them dry. Yet Lee Seo-jun, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, suffered no such headaches.
It was only natural.
No matter how blinded by greed or desperate for connections a person might be, no one in their right mind would casually approach a Transcendent Realm martial artist to ask for a favor.
(Furthermore, Seo-jun had no parents, let alone distant relatives. Strictly speaking, his mother might still be alive somewhere, but she certainly wasn't in the Central Plains.)
And what if that Transcendent master’s title was the "Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord"?
Who would dare annoy a supreme master whose very moniker practically screamed that he had a hell of a temper?
Because of this, Seo-jun found himself with plenty of free time.
The Namgung Clan had grown a bit busier on his behalf, but as a prestigious family, they weren't exactly a place where ordinary people dared to tread. From the Namgung Clan's perspective, they were more than happy to filter through and welcome only the most elite connections. They certainly weren't going to complain about the extra workload.
Thus, by that profound logic, Seo-jun was free to embark on his "Sixteen Major Sects and Clans Package Tour" with his two fiancées at any moment.
However, before setting off, he wanted to squeeze in a simple adjustment and training session.
"Alright, focus."
While it was said that the Profound Realm was not a stage one could reach simply by wishing for it, Seo-jun had no doubt that Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah could achieve that sublime height.
No, even if they couldn't naturally, he fully intended to drag them up there himself.
At the very least, they needed to reach the Half-God Realm, where the limits of a mortal lifespan practically vanished.
"What I'm saying is that all of this will be useful to you someday. Listen closely."
Seo-jun began his lecture for Chun-bong, Namgung Su-ah, and Bi-yeon, who had tagged along as a bonus.
"To reach the Profound Realm, you must achieve a perfect state of spirit and shed your physical body..."
To summarize his long, winding lecture: to shed the physical body, one paradoxically needed to know that very body intimately.
Therefore, from this moment on, he would seal his internal energy, lower his physical abilities to the level of an ordinary person, and engage in combat as close to a real life-and-death struggle as possible.
By doing so, he would widen the gap between his body and his soul, allowing him to perceive each element more clearly. This would build the foundation necessary for his spirit to stand whole and independent. That was Seo-jun's plan.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Chun-bong tilted her head at the abrupt declaration.
Seo-jun kindly provided a supplementary explanation for his only younger sister and fiancée.
"I'm going to go wreck a pushover Black Path sect."
* * *
The human body is fragile.
It requires cumbersome maintenance like food and sleep, and despite all that upkeep, it wears out quickly, often breaking down before even reaching a hundred years of age.
This fragile frame undergoes a radical evolution during the process of accepting Qi.
Nevertheless, by the time a martial artist approaches the Profound Realm, the body inevitably fails to keep up with the spirit. It hits a hard limit and becomes a burden.
(Of course, Pae Jin-gwang was an exception. Seo-jun had no idea what was going on with that old monster's body.)
Before shedding his physical form, Seo-jun wanted to deepen his understanding of what a "body" actually was.
Through this, he planned to lay the foundation for reaching the Profound Realm, which would in turn make it easier to seize the martial arts of the Sixteen Major Sects.
The necessary ingredients for this experiment were a fragile body, a soul possessing the enlightenment of the Transcendent Realm, and a suitable trial.
In the Central Plains, where bloody incidents and accidents occurred every single day, finding that trial was incredibly simple.
Just how many Black Path sects existed where the leader was only at the Peak Realm?
Finding a nearby sect that committed heinous crimes like murder, rape, and human trafficking without a second thought—making them easy to exterminate without a shred of guilt—was no trouble at all.
When he asked the Chief Steward for a target, the answer came immediately, without a hint of exaggeration.
"Ah, thank you. Nothing's been too difficult around here lately, right?"
"Haha, I wish every day was as peaceful as it has been lately."
After sharing a cup of tea with the Chief Steward, Seo-jun walked off with a relaxed stride, followed closely by Chun-bong, Namgung Su-ah, and Bi-yeon.
As they walked, Chun-bong gave Bi-yeon a stern warning.
"Watch and learn. Focus, no matter what. Don't even breathe; just watch exactly what he does. Always keep in mind what an incredible, fateful encounter this is."
An opportunity to witness a Transcendent Realm master fighting with the body of an ordinary person?
Even the Great Restoration Pill of Shaolin couldn't compare to such a massive stroke of luck.
There was usually no reason for a Transcendent master to engage in such bizarre antics.
But then again, wasn't Lee Seo-jun the very definition of "antics"?
Seo-jun arrived at a back alley in Anhui and calmly sealed his internal energy.
"Ugh..."
The moment his Qi was locked away, an indescribable sense of discomfort washed over him. It was especially jarring for Seo-jun, who usually performed almost every mundane task using his internal energy.
"How do normal people actually live like this?"
Seo-jun grumbled, but his preparations weren't finished.
His physical body had already absorbed so much Qi over the years that its base state was far beyond the level of a commoner. Since he had even inherited the Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art from Pae Jin-gwang, simply sealing his internal energy wasn't enough to make him "fragile."
Crack!
Using a final thread of internal energy, he forcibly restricted his own muscle functions.
"Should this be enough?"
Seo-jun picked up a pebble at his feet.
He applied pressure, and—snap!—the pebble split in half.
An ordinary human couldn't crush a solid stone just by gripping it.
Knowing this, Seo-jun restricted his physical abilities even further.
"Good grief..."
His body felt incredibly heavy. Even taking a single step required far more effort than expected. Though he had lived in a body exactly like this just three years ago, the sudden downgrade from the Transcendent Realm to a commoner's level was jarring.
As Seo-jun grumbled, Namgung Su-ah spoke up with a hint of worry.
"Are you going to be okay? Their leader is still in the Peak Realm."
Even if a Peak Realm martial artist looked like a mere child to a Transcendent master, what Seo-jun was attempting wasn't just a simple cleanup of a Black Path sect.
Facing a Peak Realm expert with a body no different from a commoner's?
Namgung Su-ah was a Super Peak expert herself, yet she wasn't certain she could pull off such a ridiculous feat.
"Eh, a Peak Realm guy won't even be able to meet my eyes."
Seo-jun just laughed lightly and kept walking.
"I couldn't get hurt right now even if I wanted to, so just stay back and watch."
He waved a hand behind his back and strolled toward his destination.
With his internal energy completely sealed, he could clearly feel the contraction and release of countless muscles with every simple stride.
To be honest, Seo-jun had been relying on internal energy for almost all his physical movements up until now. Why bother straining muscles when circulating Qi was so much easier?
Walking through the back alleys like this, returning to his mortal roots after so long, felt quite nostalgic.
Though his physical abilities were severely restricted, his soul and enlightenment remained firmly in the Transcendent Realm. With every step, he rapidly adapted to his newly weakened body.
"Hey, who are you?"
"Wait, look at his clothes. They're way too..."
By the time he reached the main gate of the Black Path sect, he had finished adapting.
The gatekeepers hesitated, sensing something highly suspicious about his refined attire. Seo-jun, however, did not hesitate at all.
Click—
He pushed the sword guard up with his left thumb, stepped forward with his right foot, and drew his blade in one fluid motion.
There is a gap in consciousness that inevitably exists in all humans—the brief, vulnerable space between breaths. The gatekeepers couldn't react at all to the sword that perfectly pierced that very interval.
Spurt!
Following a concise, flawless trajectory, the blade cleanly took one man's head off. The severed head fell limply to the dirt as crimson blood sprayed from the stump like a fountain.
"Hmm..."
Seo-jun allowed the hot blood to splatter against him, keenly observing the sensations of his own body.
The shifting of weight onto his right foot, the physical friction of drawing the sword, the grisly texture of the flesh and bone he had just cut through, the dull tingling radiating up his right arm.
"You—you bastard, what are you...!"
The remaining gatekeeper pulled out a broadsword in a panic. Seo-jun looked at him with calm, indifferent eyes.
"I think I've got the hang of it."
"Wh-what...?"
"Come at me."
His body felt sluggish. The sword he had just swung to take the man's head had been absurdly slow.
This was the inherent state of the human body.
Fragile beyond belief.
Even his right arm was still tingling from the swing. It was because his unreinforced muscles and tendons couldn't fully handle the kinetic force of the strike.
Cutting entirely through the bone was a waste of energy.
Most humans died just the same if you simply nicked a few major arteries.
Seo-jun rotated his stiff shoulder.
"You little...!"
The gatekeeper, finally snapping out of his shock, swung his broadsword. Seo-jun watched the man's body intently.
The feet planting firmly on the ground, the shifting momentum of the lower body, the rotation of the shoulders and arms, and the minute trembling of the fingertips.
It was a Second-rate level movement—absurdly fast by a commoner's standards—but Seo-jun saw through every single motion before the blade was even swung.
Whoosh!
With a casual half-step back, the heavy blade harmlessly grazed the tip of his nose.
Seo-jun's eyes met the gatekeeper's. The man's gaze was filled with utter confusion.
Seo-jun lightly raised his sword. He pushed off the ground with his toes and twisted his waist, using sheer mechanical leverage.
Slash!
With just that minimal effort, human flesh parted with pathetic ease. The gatekeeper, his throat slashed wide open, clutched his neck and gagged.
"Gurgle...!"
With a wet, bubbling sound, the gatekeeper collapsed in a heap.
Drenched in fresh blood, Seo-jun looked down at the corpse.
How long had it been since he had gotten covered in blood just from cutting down a few weaklings? Usually, his Qi repelled such filth.
The hot temperature of the gore and the sensation of it quickly cooling and thickening against his skin felt quite foreign.
Savoring that raw sensation for a moment, Seo-jun gripped his sword tightly.
"This is still a bit vague."
It wasn't nearly enough. Even with a commoner's body, this pathetic level of combat wouldn't serve as proper training.
However, there were plenty of people inside left to cut down. Seo-jun grinned and raised his foot.
"Hurry up and come out, you bastards!"
Bam!
A sharp, stinging sensation shot up from the sole of his foot as he kicked the heavy wooden gate.
"What the..."
Seo-jun stared blankly at the unyielding wood. Naturally, the thick gate he had just kicked remained perfectly fine.
Realizing once again that an ordinary human couldn't just casually kick down a massive fortress gate, Seo-jun let out a deep sigh.
"This is just ridiculous."
Seo-jun's eyes scanned the structure. To his gaze, which held the profound enlightenment of the Transcendent Realm, the structural weak points and the grain of the wooden doors were clearly visible.
Swish!
Swinging his sword perfectly along the grain, the blade effortlessly sliced through the wood and the locking mechanism on the other side.
Creeeeeak!
The heavy doors swung inward with a loud, ungreased screech. Standing just beyond the threshold was a man staring outward with a stupid expression on his face.
It must have been his job to open the gate when someone knocked.
"A—a master...?"
Shocked by the cleanly bisected locking bar, the man looked at Seo-jun with trembling, hollow eyes.
Seo-jun answered with his sword.
Thrust!
The blade slid smoothly into the man's eye socket and scrambled his brain.
The man collapsed, blood and gray matter pouring from the hole in his face.
Immediately after, Seo-jun cupped his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Intruder...!"
Roused by the alarm, dozens of men came rushing out from the courtyard, frantically grabbing their weapons.