Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 7
>Chapter Title: The Adhesion Form (2)
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-Do you feel it? That's the妙用 of the Adhesion Form. It can pull and attach anything. Even qi is no exception.
"Qi?"
Was this the internal energy that martial artists talked about?
Cheongnyeong stared at Mok Kyung-un with a look of utter disbelief.
"You didn't even know this?"
At her reaction, Mok Kyung-un shrugged.
Until just a few days ago, he hadn't even known what martial arts were.
'So this is it.'
This was the first time he had truly learned about it.
Yet somehow, it didn't feel entirely new.
When he had first been poisoned by the toxic herb, Grandfather had gently stroked his back and stomach.
'......It felt just as warm back then.'
It wasn't just the warmth of Grandfather's palm—it had warmed him from the inside, like now.
Could Grandfather have cultivated internal energy too?
A small doubt arose in his mind.
As he pondered, the warm energy—no, the qi—flowing in through his palm suddenly turned cold.
Unlike before, it felt chilling and alien.
"It just got cold."
-Cold?
At Mok Kyung-un's words, Cheongnyeong tilted her head.
"Why is that?"
-Cold? Hmm. That shouldn't be possible.
"It's cold. It feels just like..."
The distinct deathly aura or yin energy emanating from the dead.
Mok Kyung-un had spent time close to death, killing countless people in his search for Grandfather's murderer.
That's why this unique sensation felt familiar.
But soon, it stopped.
-Bulge!
Veins bulged on the back of Mok Kyung-un's hand.
Seeing this, Cheongnyeong nodded as if she understood.
-It must be that the energy is depleting. Stop your breathing and release the Adhesion Form.
"Got it."
Recalling the sensation he had stopped, Mok Kyung-un held his breath and focused.
The pull into his palm ceased, and the bulging veins subsided.
"Hoo."
As he calmed the Adhesion Form, Mok Kyung-un sensed something else.
The qi that had entered his body was scattering at a rapid pace.
"The warm qi is scattering?"
-Qi's fundamental nature is to disperse. It's like the air you breathe in.
"Oh? Is that so?"
-Why do martial artists obsess over breathing techniques, or rather, qi gathering methods? To collect the dispersed qi in the air they inhale through breathing.
"Ah!"
Mok Kyung-un's face lit up with interest at this basic knowledge of internal energy.
Martial arts weren't just about moving the body like ordinary techniques.
Sensing some realization, Mok Kyung-un asked Cheongnyeong.
"Then, can the Adhesion Form pull and gather qi like a qi gathering method?"
-No.
"Yes?"
-Even if you suck in someone else's qi with the Adhesion Form, you can't make it your own.
"Can't make it your own? What does that mean?"
-Qi seems formless when oxidized like this, but depending on each sect's qi gathering methods, heart arts, or circulation systems, it takes on unique properties.
"Properties?"
-It develops distinct qualities. But once it does, unless you're adapted or trained for it, your dantian can't handle it.
"So that means..."
-Yes. Sucking in others' internal energy won't make it yours.
"Ahh. That's a shame. I thought it might be a quick way to build up qi."
-Do you think becoming a master is that easy? Don't be too disappointed. The Adhesion Form has endless applications.
Puzzled, Mok Kyung-un asked back.
"But if the sucked-in qi just scatters, isn't it pointless?"
-Even if it scatters, you can still use it temporarily since the Adhesion Form keeps it flowing. For example, concentrate that scattering energy into your fist.
"How do I do that?"
-Circulate it with qi... Ah.
Cheongnyeong took a long drag from her pipe, looking exasperated.
It seemed frustrating that Mok Kyung-un knew so little about martial arts.
Exhaling thick smoke, she said.
-Hoo. To think this seat is teaching you something like this.
"......"
Mok Kyung-un scratched his head silently.
-Tsk tsk. Let's skip the difficult stuff like qi circulation formulas. The key is visualization.
"Visualization?"
-Yes. If you remember how the qi moved when you took it in with the Adhesion Form earlier, focus on shifting that sensation to the part you want.
Visualization.
Cheongnyeong spoke casually, but this was a method used by masters at a certain level to pursue higher realms.
It involved contemplating the mind.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't something a complete novice without any martial arts training could do.
But Mok Kyung-un was different from ordinary people.
'Extreme concentration.'
Cheongnyeong judged that he possessed it.
Whether he was talented or not was unknown since he hadn't started martial arts, but his focus was absurdly sharp.
That's why she suggested trying visualization.
'I wonder if it'll work?'
He didn't even know acupoints or qi circulation formulas.
Guiding true qi to a desired spot with just visualization was unprecedented.
It could lead to qi deviation if mishandled, but since it wasn't fixed in the dantian and was just scattering qi anyway, it was worth a try.
'Hmm.'
Mok Kyung-un closed his eyes and focused on the scattering qi.
He recalled the sensation of how the qi had flowed into his body when first drawn by the Adhesion Form.
In his mind's eye, blood vessels appeared along his palm and wrist.
'Inner Pass... Warm Valley... Great Mound... Palace Fountain... Three Li on the Arm... Small Sea... Conjoin...'
Surprisingly, Mok Kyung-un knew the acupoints and meridians.
He had learned them from Grandfather along with herbology, so he could recall them even with eyes closed.
Thus, he could visualize the path the true qi from the Adhesion Form had taken to flood his dantian.
'Then, in reverse...'
The warm qi moved along Sea of Qi, Yin Mound, Yellow Shrine, Great Pivot, Belly Gate, Front Valley, and Heavenly Chimney.
The remaining qi flowed back from Conjoin and Great Mound toward his wrist.
The qi that reached Inner Pass on the wrist gathered in his fist.
-Grip!
Mok Kyung-un clenched his fist.
It felt charged with power.
'With this kind of power...'
Mok Kyung-un approached the cave wall.
He slammed his fist, brimming with warm qi, into the wall.
-Thud! Crack!
The spot where his fist struck sank in about two finger widths, cracks spiderwebbing out around it.
'Ho.'
Was this the power of internal energy?
-!?
Cheongnyeong's eyes flashed at the sight.
She hadn't expected him to succeed on the first try.
Visualization or not, without knowing circulation paths, moving internal energy was nearly impossible.
Yet he had done it.
'......What the hell is this guy?'
Cheongnyeong felt genuine doubt.
In her lifetime, she had seen countless prodigies, but she'd never encountered someone with such sharp instincts who hadn't touched martial arts until sixteen or seventeen.
-Hah...
What if this kid had started martial arts young?
The thought crossed her mind.
Then Mok Kyung-un turned to her and said.
"Now I get why everyone obsesses over martial arts. With this, killing people would be so much easier."
Cheongnyeong's lips twitched at his casual words.
This guy knew the true essence of martial arts.
All that talk of achieving the Dao through martial prowess was nonsense.
Martial arts' essence was how efficiently you could kill your opponent.
Cheongnyeong took her pipe, crossed her arms, and said.
-The Adhesion Form, my first technique, is just the foundation of the Eight Shattered Thought Forms. Master even one properly, and its subtleties are endless.
"Impressive. I'd love to learn the full extent of these endless applications, but can you teach me like this?"
Cheongnyeong's expression hardened at his words.
She had never intended to teach him.
But his absurd concentration and innate talent had sparked her interest, and she'd gotten carried away.
-Hah, I almost fell for it, you brat. Trying to fool this seat.
"Yes?"
-Do you think this seat will do you any favors? No way.
"......But we'll have to stick together, so wouldn't cooperation be better?"
-That won't happen.
She turned her head away sharply.
Mok Kyung-un shook his head at her sudden change.
"Cheongnyeong?"
-......
She ignored him completely.
No choice.
Never one to coax others, Mok Kyung-un stopped calling her.
He was more interested in the Eight Shattered Thought Forms.
If what she said was true, there were seven more forms like the Adhesion Form—how could thirty characters encompass all that?
Whoever created it was undoubtedly a genius.
But even with Mok Kyung-un's brilliant mind, lacking deep martial arts knowledge, crafting other formulas from those thirty characters was beyond him now.
'What a shame.'
For now, he'd have to settle for the Adhesion Form.
It wasn't fully mastered yet, but with practice, it had potential in many ways.
Organizing his thoughts, Mok Kyung-un moved to dispose of Jo Il-sang's corpse.
But,
'!?'
Mok Kyung-un frowned and looked below his navel.
'What is this?'
He hadn't noticed amid the warm qi—or the internal energy absorbed from Jo Il-sang—but that chilling energy remained intact.
'Why is this?'
The internal energy had clearly scattered without a trace.
Yet this cold qi lingered.
Far less than what he'd absorbed, but pooled right below his navel.
'Strange.'
Even Cheongnyeong hadn't noticed this cold qi properly.
He considered asking, then decided against it.
She probably wouldn't respond anyway.
'Figuring it out myself isn't bad.'
Such challenges were intriguing.
Mok Kyung-un's lips curved up.
* * *
A dimly lit empty room with a single lantern.
-Clink!
The one-eyed female warrior placed a pouch full of silver coins on the table.
She was Ho-ang, the guard of Great Madam Seok from Timber Sword Manor.
"This is consolation money from the Great Madam."
"......"
"As we discussed, if you handle the task, she'll pay four hundred silver coins."
With that, she glanced at the lantern on the table.
It showed no reaction yet.
Perhaps because her comrade Myo-sin had died.
Finally, she spoke as she waited.
"If that's not enough..."
-Swish!
Before she finished, the lantern suddenly went out.
Ho-ang swallowed hard and rose, heading outside.
An extinguished lantern signaled acceptance of the request.
No reason to stay.
-Tat tat tat!
She hurried out and glanced back at the dilapidated building on the verge of collapse.
This was Guiyeong Pavilion, the base of the Release Sorcerers in Mongseong.
She always felt chills and unease here.
She mounted her horse quickly.
Soon after she left, a voice echoed from within Guiyeong Pavilion.
"It's definitely 'Kill.'"
An old man's voice first.
Then a middle-aged man's.
"It's certain, Pavilion Lord."
"Go Chan thinks so, but what about you, Sak?"
A woman's voice responded.
"If it's definitely 'Kill,' then Brother Myo-sin must have been consumed by a demon. But the Third Young Master bothers me."
"I feel the same. 'Kill' is fundamentally a curse or resentful spirit possession. Yet a servant appeared at the Third Young Master's call. That means..."
"He's controlling resentful spirits?"
"Hmm. No ordinary matter."
This was why they were grave.
"To feed 'Kill' by summoning a servant means at least a Yellow Spirit-grade resentful spirit. Can someone wield that level as a shikigami?"
Resentful spirits couldn't be used as shikigami.
That was the Release Sorcerers' creed.
Shikigami could be made from imps or pure beasts' benevolent souls, but fallen resentful spirits were to be exorcised or sealed.
"Resentful spirits can't be commanded from the start. The Third Young Master may have had his po stolen by one."
-Bang!
"If so, we can't leave him be. Leave it to me, Pavilion Lord."
"You'll go, Sak?"
"Yes. I'll soothe Brother Myo-sin's resentful spirit and deal with the Third Young Master."
The Pavilion Lord issued the order.
"Very well. With your shikigami Armadillo, exorcising should be easy. Go."
"Under your command."
With her response, a beautiful woman with one white eye emerged from the darkness.
She naturally pocketed the silver pouch from the table.
* * *
-Thud!
Go Chan, the sleepy escort, brought a small brazier to Mok Kyung-un's bedside.
Having stood watch nearly all night, he was exhausted.
Dawn was near, so he'd asked to rest a bit, but this order irked him.
Puzzled, Go Chan asked.
"Why did you want this?"
"Something to burn."
"To burn? If you had something, you could've just told me..."
"I want to make sure it burns properly."
"What are you burning...!?"
Go Chan's eyes widened.
What Mok Kyung-un pulled out was none other than,
[Timber Forming Sword Art]
'It... it's real.'
Through the demon, he'd learned the manual's location from the Clan Head—and it was true.
The Timber Forming Sword Art exclusive to the Clan Head was in Mok Kyung-un's hands.
Go Chan swallowed dryly, frowning.
"No, Young Master. You're not thinking of burning that, are you?"
At his anxious plea, Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly.
"I am."
Go Chan jumped in shock, trying to stop him.
"B-Burn it? That's the Clan Head's exclusive manual. How can you..."
"If I need to burn it, I will."
-Snap!
With that, Mok Kyung-un left the cover and first two pages of the Timber Forming Sword Art, tossing the rest into the brazier.
It happened before he could protest.
-Whoosh!
Go Chan stared at Mok Kyung-un in disbelief.
Did this madman truly not grasp the manual's value?
To his bewilderment, Mok Kyung-un said casually.
"Why stare like that? I don't like that look in your eyes."
"......Young Master. Even if you're unfit for martial arts, having that could still be useful somehow."
"That's why I must burn it."
"Once burned, how will..."
"It's right here."
Mok Kyung-un smiled, tapping his temple.
'!?'
Go Chan's eyes widened in shock.
He'd memorized the entire manual before burning it?
Why hadn't he said so earlier?
He'd been terrified of wasting such a precious text.
As he opened his mouth, Mok Kyung-un pulled out the Timber Transforming Heart Method manual, tore off everything but the cover and first two pages like before, and tossed it into the brazier.
-Whoosh!
Go Chan, utterly baffled, asked.
"What on earth are you doing?"
Mok Kyung-un handed him the remnants: the covers and two pages each of the Timber Forming Sword Art and Timber Transforming Heart Method.
"What is this?"
"Take these to the Great Madam and Second Young Master, one each. After dawn."
"Yes?"
"Just deliver them. Say nothing."
Go Chan furrowed his brow.
What was this guy scheming?
He couldn't fathom it.
But with his life on the line, he had no choice.
"......Understood. Before I go, may I rest until morning?"
"Go ahead."
"Thank you."
"Oh, I forgot. I killed the escort sent by the Second Young Master."
"........."
Go Chan's sleepiness vanished.
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