160
Chapter 160: Disciple.
The wind rising from the bottom of the cliff fiercely whipped Mu Hwi’s entire body. Even amidst this, Mu Hwi somehow managed to stabilize his posture mid-air.
“Huh!”
Under normal circumstances, he would have at least used sword energy to slow his fall, but Mu Hwi no longer had the strength to do so, and his internal injuries were severe to the extreme.
It wouldn’t have been strange if he had coughed up blood and died on the spot. The only reason he had held on until now was thanks to the Purple Sunset Divine Technique.
Yet, Mu Hwi forcibly summoned what little strength remained and gripped the Sim-myeong Sword. With the sole determination to save Dokgo Yul, he drove the sword into the cliff.
Kwa-gak!
The Sim-myeong Sword embedded itself into the cliff, slowing his descent momentarily before being dislodged again. It hadn’t sunk deep enough.
Had his body been intact, he wouldn’t have needed to stab the sword in—he could have simply unfolded the Dark Scent Flutter and descended by kicking off the cliff. But his left leg was broken, making that impossible.
Moreover, his body, pushed far beyond its limits, screamed in agony, making it difficult to properly embed the sword into the cliff.
Had he not trained his external martial arts through the Iron Mountain Fist King’s methods, it would have been impossible to hold onto Dokgo Yul’s massive frame and endure like this.
“Damn… You’re heavy.”
Mu Hwi glared at the back of Dokgo Yul’s lifelessly hanging head before gritting his teeth and thrusting the Sim-myeong Sword again.
Kwaang!
Only after repeating the process of embedding the sword and being flung off multiple times did he finally reach the bottom of the cliff.
Though he had slowed his descent as much as possible, his condition had already been dire before hitting the ground. The minor impact of landing was enough to make him feel blood rising in his throat.
“Huu.”
Mu Hwi let out a sigh filled with exhaustion, then sharpened his gaze.
He had barely avoided the disgraceful death of falling off a cliff, but he was far from out of danger.
Immediately, he checked Dokgo Yul’s condition.
“Hmm.”
Mu Hwi’s eyes trembled slightly as he let out a low hum.
The internal injuries Dokgo Yul had sustained while enduring the Paewangseong’s fatal strike were severe, especially because he had forcibly drawn out his innate qi to use it.
His breathing was irregular and faint, far worse than Mu Hwi’s. The probability that he would never wake again and simply die was high.
“Master and disciple, both teetering on the brink of death, huh?”
Mu Hwi chuckled dryly to himself before pulling out a wooden box from his robes—one that was on the verge of breaking, its surface cracked. Miraculously, despite the fierce battle, the palm-sized box had survived intact.
When Mu Hwi opened it, a refreshingly clean fragrance instantly washed over him. Just inhaling its scent made his fading consciousness snap back into focus.
“So this is how it’s used.”
In Mu Hwi’s hand was one of the most priceless treasures in the martial world.
The Great Rejuvenation Pill (大還丹).
The Great Rejuvenation Pill he had obtained from the Martial Alliance now revealed its golden brilliance, freed from its suffocating container.
The Great Rejuvenation Pill was the finest elixir crafted through alchemy, hailed as the number one treasure under heaven. Legends said it could revive even the dead. Taking it would undoubtedly allow one to recover from severe injuries.
Mu Hwi alternated his gaze between the pill and Dokgo Yul.
The problem was that there was only one.
The Great Rejuvenation Pill was born from alchemy—a delicate and precise fusion of dozens of rare ingredients in exact proportions, creating a synergistic effect.
Splitting the pill in half didn’t guarantee that its efficacy would be evenly divided.
This was why, aside from the Great Rejuvenation Pill, the Shaolin Temple also produced the Small Rejuvenation Pill—a modified formula with adjusted ingredient quantities and types.
In fact, stories often circulated of martial artists with deep camaraderie splitting such elixirs, only for both to receive less than half the original potency.
‘If I greedily split the Great Rejuvenation Pill in half, something disastrous could happen.’
There was a martial world myth that falling off a cliff often led to fortuitous encounters. But right now, wandering around in search of such an opportunity would only ensure death.
Thus, Mu Hwi had to make a choice.
Who would take the Great Rejuvenation Pill?
“Heh.”
Mu Hwi let out a short, solitary laugh.
Though it was framed as a choice, Mu Hwi had already decided. There was no need to hesitate.
“In my past life, I never got to play the role of a master. Now, I finally have the chance.”
Slap!
“Wake up. Dokgo Yul. Dokgo Yul!”
Mu Hwi immediately struck Dokgo Yul’s cheek. Yet, Dokgo Yul showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
‘Tch. I wanted to avoid touching his pressure points if possible.’
After slapping him several times to no avail, Mu Hwi pressed on several of Dokgo Yul’s acupoints.
“Ghk—!”
Finally, Dokgo Yul exhaled roughly and opened his eyes.
“Where… Is this…?”
A faint, weak voice escaped his slightly parted lips.
Dokgo Yul barely managed to open his eyes halfway and tried to look around.
“Why did you block my path, even using your innate qi?”
In response to Mu Hwi’s question, Dokgo Yul only forced a foolish, empty smile, as if to say he was fine.
Mu Hwi sighed and grabbed Dokgo Yul’s body.
“No time to explain. Stay conscious. I’m guiding your qi.”
Dokgo Yul couldn’t even support his own body, so Mu Hwi had to help him into a cross-legged position for meditation.
Even as he did so, the vitality in Mu Hwi’s face continued to fade. Swallowing the blood rising in his throat, Mu Hwi pried open Dokgo Yul’s mouth and placed the Great Rejuvenation Pill inside.
“Mmph—!”
The moment the pill’s fragrance filled his mouth, Dokgo Yul’s half-lidded eyes shot open.
Confirming that the pill had dissolved and slid down his throat, Mu Hwi moved behind Dokgo Yul and placed both hands on his Myeongmun acupoint (命門穴, Gate of Life).
[Meditate. I’ll lend strength to your flow.]
Hearing Mu Hwi’s voice through sound transmission, Dokgo Yul began circulating the Dokgo Heart Method to control the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy. In sync, Mu Hwi channeled the last remnants of his Purple Sunset Divine Technique’s internal energy from his dantian.
The moment meditation began, Dokgo Yul started sweating profusely.
‘It’s a mess.’
As a True Qi Guide, Mu Hwi directly infused his internal energy into Dokgo Yul’s meridians, and the state of his internals was far worse than expected. Mu Hwi guided the Purple Sunset Energy even more gently.
The Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy surged endlessly through Dokgo Yul’s meridians like a vast ocean. Trying to control it with his weakened internal energy in such a battered state was naturally overwhelming.
The only reason Dokgo Yul could barely maintain the meditation was because Mu Hwi, as a True Qi Guide, was assisting him.
‘This feels like walking on thin ice.’
Since Mu Hwi fully understood the Dokgo Heart Method, he subtly guided Dokgo Yul toward a more efficient energy pathway while performing the True Qi Guidance.
It felt like barely managing to rein in a wild horse—the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy—and steering its head in the right direction.
As he gradually healed the torn meridians and treated the internal injuries, the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy clashed with the remnants of the Heaven-Shuddering Divine Palm’s violent force lingering deep in Dokgo Yul’s meridians.
Kooong!
A massive shockwave erupted inside Dokgo Yul. The collision of the two energies made his entire body tremble violently. The aftershocks spread through his meridians, tearing open the barely healed wounds.
Under normal circumstances, it might have been manageable—but in his precarious state, enduring such violent clashes in succession was too much.
[Stay awake!]
Dokgo Yul’s head drooped slightly. The relentless shocks had caused him to lose consciousness again.
Gritting his teeth, Mu Hwi immediately mobilized the Purple Sunset Energy to seize control of the Dokgo Heart Method’s lost internal energy and began redirecting it.
Normally, even for a True Qi Guide, the subject losing consciousness would be a major problem.
But for Mu Hwi, it was no issue at all.
Not only did he fully comprehend the Dokgo Heart Method, but the Purple Sunset Divine Technique itself was based on it, resulting in almost no internal energy conflict.
Beads of sweat formed on Mu Hwi’s forehead as he continued the True Qi Guidance.
Through it, he guided the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy while gradually dispersing the remnants of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Palm’s violent force—but it was agonizingly slow.
‘Not enough.’
While the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy and the Heaven-Shattering Divine Palm’s force clashed, Dokgo Yul’s own internal energy was supposed to anchor and endure between them. But the Dokgo Heart Method, which should have fulfilled that role, was too weak to function properly.
Having poured everything—including his innate qi—into blocking the Paewangseong Lord’s fatal strike, his dantian was completely drained.
Even Mu Hwi, with his exceptional internal energy control, found it difficult to manage.
‘At this rate, neither of us will make it.’
Mu Hwi’s brows, which had been raised in focus, lowered. He had made a decision.
Mu Hwi had reserved some strength even while performing True Qi Guidance—to save Dokgo Yul and, through the meditation, survive himself.
But the True Qi Guidance was becoming increasingly difficult, and the situation was dire. If this continued, both would die.
Half-hearted resolve wouldn’t save Dokgo Yul.
Having made up his mind, Mu Hwi scraped the very bottom of his dantian, pouring every last drop of his internal energy into Dokgo Yul. As he did, the faint purple sunset shimmering around Mu Hwi gradually faded and disappeared.
‘Huu. Good.’
With a more relaxed expression, Mu Hwi focused entirely on the True Qi Guidance.
When even the Purple Sunset Energy wasn’t enough, he naturally began channeling the natural qi he was absorbing through his body into Dokgo Yul’s.
[Disciple. Live. Live a life better than this master’s.]
Though Dokgo Yul wouldn’t hear it in his unconscious state, Mu Hwi sent him one last sound transmission.
Mu Hwi focused solely on saving Dokgo Yul.
He emptied his dantian completely, channeling every last bit of Purple Sunset Divine Technique, filling his entire being with the fierce determination to save Dokgo Yul while absorbing natural qi with his whole body.
And even that natural qi was used to save Dokgo Yul—so Mu Hwi’s body cycled between being filled and emptied.
In the process, Mu Hwi gradually forgot his own existence, leaving only the pure, intense will to save his disciple.
When his existence faded and only his will remained—
That will become one with nature, and all creation answered it.
And that will guide all creation.
Mu Hwi and Dokgo Yul, still in their meditation postures, floated into the air simultaneously.
Whooosh—!
The surrounding natural qi surged toward Mu Hwi in unison, then rushed into Dokgo Yul’s body, guided by that latent will.
If the natural qi that had flowed in earlier was like a stream, now it was a waterfall—endless and overwhelming.
The colossal amount of natural qi instantly seized the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy and the Heaven-Shattering Divine Palm’s remnants, then spread along the Dokgo Heart Method’s pathways.
The True Qi Guidance was completed in an instant.
The torn meridians healed rapidly, and part of the Great Rejuvenation Pill’s energy and natural qi replenished the innate qi Dokgo Yul had previously expended.
Beyond that, all the meridians Dokgo Yul had yet to unblock were cleared effortlessly.
As if undergoing a marrow-cleansing rebirth, the impurities in his meridians vanished entirely, and his meridians doubled in width.
Once the True Qi Guidance ended, the natural qi that had filled Dokgo Yul’s body rejuvenated to Mu Hwi.
Dokgo Yul, still in a cross-legged position, slowly descended and landed on the ground.
Mu Hwi remained floating in the air.
Having been completely emptied and then refilled with natural qi, Mu Hwi—
Even if it meant discarding himself, he would save his disciple.
This desperation will have dyed the natural qi deeply.
At the very moment Mu Hwi’s will and the natural qi became one, the wall of the Absolute Realm, which had been thinned to its limit during his life-and-death battle with the Paewangseong Lord, melted away without a trace.
In that instant, the energy waves radiating from Mu Hwi’s body gradually calmed before vanishing entirely.
Unlike the dazzling phenomena of the Three Flowers Gathering or the Five Qi Converging that accompanied previous breakthroughs, nothing spectacular occurred.
It was as if Mu Hwi himself had become a plum tree—luxuriant purple plum blossoms bloomed around him, petals dancing as they scattered a rich plum fragrance.
The plum petals swirling in the air overlapped again and again, eventually merging into a single, ethereal purple sunset that danced faintly in the sky.
When the plum-scented purple mist settled over Mu Hwi’s body, his eyes snapped open.
Landing lightly on the ground, Mu Hwi examined his body.
His broken bones had all healed, and his internal injuries were completely gone. Moreover, it felt as if he had undergone another marrow-cleansing rebirth—the state of his muscles, bones, and meridians was entirely different from before.
A completely transformed body.
But that wasn’t all.
Not only his energy perception, but even the slightest movement of a single finger now brought a flood of information far beyond what he had experienced in the Transcendent Realm.
This absolute sensation—as if he had become one with nature—made Mu Hwi perceive the world with entirely new eyes.
Just breathing allowed him to sense everything on Chamdan as if it were his own skin.
This was how an Absolute Realm master viewed the world.
To adjust to this sensation, Mu Hwi closed his eyes briefly.
“So this is the Absolute Realm…”
Muttering to himself, Mu Hwi smiled faintly.
He had staked his life, accepted death.
He had let go of everything, pouring all he had into saving his disciple.
The will to save his disciple had been that towering.
He had accepted death, relinquished all he possessed, and exerted a will stronger than ever before.
These three things had allowed Mu Hwi to cross the boundary of the Transcendent Realm and step into the Absolute Realm.
“To think one could reach it this way. Martial arts truly are unfathomable.”
As Mu Hwi let out a hollow laugh, Dokgo Yul also opened his eyes. Sensing the energy waves Dokgo Yul emitted, Mu Hwi’s eyes narrowed.
‘This disciple of mine really stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter after falling off a cliff.’
Having consumed the Great Rejuvenation Pill and personally experienced the Absolute Realm’s natural qi during the True Qi Guidance, Dokgo Yul’s energy was now close to the Transcendent Realm.
With the right conditions, he might even break through to the Transcendent Realm outright.
“Hmm.”
Perhaps surprised by his own transformation, Dokgo Yul let out a low hum before turning his head to look at Mu Hwi.
Silently staring at Mu Hwi, Dokgo Yul’s gaze was calm yet subtly trembling.
His lips moved several times before he finally forced out words with great difficulty.
“Who… Are you?”
When Mu Hwi didn’t answer, Dokgo Yul spoke again.
“I definitely lost consciousness during the meditation. I don’t know if it was subconscious, but I vaguely remember the True Qi Guidance. At that time, you were clearly performing the Dokgo Heart Method’s energy pathways in my place. How do you know the Dokgo Heart Method?”
As he spoke, Dokgo Yul’s voice grew increasingly unsteady, his words slurring. His eyes reddened as he unfolded his legs and slowly rose from his seated position.
“And that last sound transmission—what was that? Why did you call me your disciple? You referred to yourself as my master.”
At Dokgo Yul’s words, Mu Hwi closed his slightly parted mouth. He hadn’t expected him to hear that transmission.
After closing and reopening his eyes, Mu Hwi met Dokgo Yul’s gaze. He had intended to keep this hidden until the brink of death.
But seeing the transparency in Dokgo Yul’s eyes, Mu Hwi’s resolve wavered.
Mu Hwi had hesitated countless times, enduring the need to speak—but now, in this moment, he let out the long-withheld words.
“Disciple.”