Chapter 542: The Realm of Talent
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 542: The Realm of Talent
Mother Earth gives birth to children, and the Sky God raises them. The children born of the earth grow up gazing at the sky. All of creation is born and dies by the grace of these two gods, continuing a great cycle. Such is the principle by which all things flow.
But as the saying goes, parents always have a favorite child. Though the Sky God is a stern father, he is not an impartial one, and though Mother Earth is a loving mother, she is not an attentive one. Among their children, some grow exceptionally well, while others are bound to be frail.
The children of the Enger Plains were the type to grow exceptionally—perhaps excessively—well.
“Well, look at that.”
Standing atop a small hill, I clicked my tongue at the sight of a winding black river.
Their black fur, fluttering in the wind, looked just like a river of black ink. Hundreds, no, thousands of water buffalo with such fur were marching in one direction, the earth trembling with their steps.
This great river of beasts, flowing not through water but through grass, was more than majestic—it was destructive. If you threw a single stone into their path, it felt like it would be ground into fine sand in seconds. The herd of beasts, with their twin curved horns held high, was moving on in search of prey, brimming with primal power.
We could have tried to cross, but I decided to wait until the river of beasts had passed. Growing bored, I asked the Regressor.
“Shei, do you think you could win a fight against that?”
“What a ridiculous question. I could hunt one or two without much trouble, but there's no reason to fight the entire herd. Who would do something so foolish?”
“So you'd lose?”
“If it wasn't about hunting but killing them all, it's possible. Of course, I wouldn't do it. If I used Jizan for such a pointless massacre, it would get angry with me again. I barely managed to coax it into letting me carry it as it is.”
You don't care what people think, but you're so concerned about Jizan. You should just go live with it.
“Azzy. Could you win?”
Azzy threw her head back and shouted.
“Lose!”
“So confident about it. Don't you have any pride as a king?”
“Pride doesn't feed you!”
“Wise.”
“You can't win either!”
Hmph. You're trying to provoke me, but it won't work. I have no regrets about being weak. What can I do? I was born this way. My job is to find ways to survive, not waste time resenting the world.
“Of course. I'm weak. I should resolve things with dialogue if possible. If dialogue doesn't work, I won't fight at all.”
“Woof? Dialogue? You can't?”
“It's not like that's the King of Oxen. How am I supposed to talk to them?”
“I can do it!”
“What?”
Azzy immediately dashed down toward the herd of water buffalo.
She looked so confident, but this was strange. Communication between the Beast Kings is possible because they take human form. Just because she's the Dog King doesn't mean she can understand the language of water buffalo. She can convey emotions through atmosphere or expression, but it's a far cry from the kind of communication we have in the East.
“Don't provoke them too much, and come back!”
Because if you provoke them and come back, we'll all be in danger. Not you, me.
Taking a short break, the Regressor raised Chun-aeng high above her head. It looked ridiculous, but there was a rational reason for her to take such a pose. Chun-aeng's essence was compressed space. It had to absorb wind, its source of power, to unleash its potent abilities.
Chun-aeng, the Sky Blade, could hold a nearly inexhaustible amount of wind, but she had drawn out too much of its power when facing the San'gun, leaving it almost depleted. If she didn't take every opportunity to gather wind during our journey, it would run out of power midway.
“If I had enough wind, we could have just crossed over,” the Regressor grumbled, then asked me as if she'd just remembered something.
“Hm? Come to think of it, Hughes. You took those elixirs, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How was it?”
“Not very effective. The results were minimal for having taken three elixirs.”
The Regressor nodded as if she had expected as much and comforted me.
“Everyone's ability to absorb elixirs is different. You practically wasted the Ivory Pill last time, didn't you? The absorption rate varies depending on talent and constitution, and most importantly, you need to be young for Qi to properly settle in your body. Don't be too disappointed.”
She tells me not to be disappointed, but she seems strangely pleased. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm on the average side, not a dunce. I took out a card and infused it with Qi.
“With Geon Qi Art, I can do this much.”
I stuck a single card to my index finger and wiggled it. The card moved as if it were one with my finger.
Even for a magician of my caliber, sticking a card to a single finger without any tricks is impossible. You'd have to subtly palm it or secretly wedge it between your fingers; otherwise, there's no way but Qi Art.
“Just one card? You're skilled, but anyone who knows the basics of Geon Qi Art can do that. Didn't you do it in the Abyss?”
“Well, yes. This barely even counts as a magic trick.”
Normally, this would have been the limit for my meager Qi. But now, I had digested the elixirs. I focused and channeled Qi into my finger.
Whoosh. A gray halo of light formed along the edge of the card. The light spread like a bleeding ink stain, gradually becoming one with the card before flashing with a sharp glint.
“Huh? A Qi blade?”
“It's nothing as grand as a Qi blade. I just coated the card with a thin layer of Geon Qi Art.”
Geon Qi Art is a Qi Art that extends to all things in the world. It is the technique of controlling all of creation through the medium of Qi.
The first stage is moving objects that are in contact with my body, like with adhesion or deflection.
The second stage is changing the properties of an object with infused Qi.
The third stage is forming a shape with pure Qi to extend an object.
And the fourth stage is using that pure Qi to perform the Qi Art itself. At this point, one can create a blade out of Qi without a physical weapon, which is why it's called a Sharp Edge or a Qi Blade.
Only when you can achieve this fourth stage can you be said to have mastered Geon Qi Art. Well, some people say you have to be able to grasp wind or flowing water with your Qi to be considered a master, but that's a difference in skill and the amount of Qi, not a difference in the stage of mastery.
“That's the third stage, the Stage of Emission, isn't it?”
“I already knew the trick to it. I just didn't have enough Qi to do it.”
People who learn Qi Arts talk about enlightenment or attaining a certain mindset, but honestly, it's just a knack. It's like shuffling cards or dealing from the bottom of the deck. You fumble at first, but once you get used to it, you can do it while thinking about other things. Qi Art is the same.
With my mind-reading ability, how many thoughts have I read? It's impossible for me not to know the knack. It's just that with my amount of Qi, I barely had the strength to even hold a card.
“Your level is higher than I thought. Huh? This might just work.”
As if struck by an idea, the Regressor swung Chun-aeng through the air five or six times. Something hazy shimmered in the sliced space, and then a cloud that rose from Chun-aeng was cut into a rectangular shape.
The Regressor offered the cloud step to me.
“Here, Hughes. Get on.”
“What for?”
“This. Until now, I've been wrapping you in wind to move you, but I don't think that'll be necessary anymore. If you have Qi, you can stand on a cloud step.”
If there was one good thing about traveling with the Regressor, it was that I could get around without much effort. Azzy is fast on her feet, and the Regressor flies around on Chun-aeng. That leaves slow old me behind, and since she can't just leave me, she carries me along with the wind.
It was nice and convenient. I hesitated, trying to stall for time.
“I'm fine, really.”
“Well, I'm not! It slows us down. Try standing on the cloud step by gripping it with your Qi. If you can move on it, we can travel much faster and for longer.”
“If you only look for the easy way, you'll never improve your own abilities.”
“You're talking about yourself! Just try to hold on!”
You can't just say things like that just because they're true. Ever heard of defamation by stating facts? And you might not know this, but I had a glass ceiling! No matter how hard I tried, average was my limit!
I grumbled and stepped onto the cloud step. The step, made of hazy cloud, was so soft it felt like my foot would sink right through, but when I focused and projected my Qi, it solidified enough for me to stand on.
“Whoa, this is a bit difficult.”
“You have to project your Qi to keep your balance while standing on the cloud step. It requires a sense of balance and delicate Qi control. It'll be hard to learn in a short time, but it's not like you'll die if you fall, right? Let's just learn by trial and error. By falling.”
“No, thanks. It hurts when I fall.”
“Then do your best not to fall. If you can stand on it properly for even one minute, we'll set off.”
“One minute?”
“Yes, one minute. The knack is important. You'll have to project more Qi where you want a firmer foothold. Give it your best shot. This will be good for you, too. It's a training method that hones both your body and your Qi at the same time. Isn't it great that you can train while on the move?”
“Not particularly.”
“I don't know the detailed principles, but if you're going to learn Qi Art, you might as well master it. If need be, I can give you some elixirs or manuals. Right, just hold on for one minute and…”
“Shei.”
“Yes?”
“It's already been a minute.”
“Huh?”
The Regressor took another look at me. I was standing on the cloud step, waving casually. She looked a little surprised to see me standing there as if I were on solid ground.
“You can do it?”
“I've got a good knack for things.”
If an ordinary human can do it, so can I. The only things I can't do are those that are impossible due to physical limitations, or things so personal that I can't achieve them. Like Axioms or Unique Magic, for example.
Until now, the physical limitation of my low Qi and mana meant I could barely use them, but having overcome that, I've at least achieved the level of Heaven and Earth.
“No, no matter how good your knack is… standing on a cloud with Qi from the very first try…?”
It took me a whole month to stand properly…! I was so self-conscious when I first learned how to use Chun-aeng! What is this? Does being the King of Humans automatically make you a genius?
Hey, I'm average, not a dunce, you know? Compared to you, maybe. And since I'm the king of ordinary humans, I can do most things an ordinary human can. It's just as I said, I have a good knack for things.
“…Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.”
But the Regressor kept glaring at me, clicking her tongue incessantly.
“Shei. You're spitting. Are you trying to mark your territory or something? Leaving your bodily fluids everywhere.”
“I wasn't clicking my tongue hard enough to spit! Don't get so conceited just because you're a little good at something!”
“Conceited? That's the one thing I'm worst at. Have I ever acted smug about being strong or let my guard down? If we're keeping score, you're the one who's been careless most often.”
“Just get ready to leave! We're traveling by cloud step from now on!”
Just then, the strength drained from my body in an instant, and my foot plunged through the cloud step. At the same time, the gray storm cloud that had been infused with Qi reverted to a pure white cloud before it could solidify again.
“Oh, I'm out of Qi.”
“What?! Already?”
“Even after taking elixirs, there's a limit to how much Qi a middle-aged man like me can absorb. It seems this was my limit.”
“You're lying!… No, you're not. Qi depletion? Why is there no Qi left?”
The Regressor's eyes momentarily flashed yellow before returning to normal. In that brief moment, she had gauged my Qi with her Seven Colored Eyes and was puzzled.
“You use Qi Art so well, so why can't you make the Qi your own?”
“I wonder. Maybe because this isn't my body?”
It's because of the Divine. There's still a disconnect between the body I perceive as my own and the body this Divine inhabits. Even if I drink elixirs like water, very little is absorbed.
“If that's not your body, then what is it? No, more importantly, are you okay with Qi depletion? When you run out of Qi, you should feel a sense of lethargy so strong it's hard to even move.”
“Ah, so this is lethargy? I feel the same as I always do.”
I've always lived without Qi, so I wouldn't know. I can't say for sure, but I definitely feel less motivated.
I let my arms and legs go limp and said, “Looks like I'll have to impose on you again. Please carry me with the wind.”
“No way! I haven't gathered enough wind because I just used it to make that cloud step!”
“Then why did you do something so pointless?”
“That's my line! What were you thinking, using up all your energy just for practice!”
“Woof!”
It was then, while I was bickering with the Regressor, that Azzy came bounding up the hill toward me with a bright expression.
“What is it? Where have you been…”
Behind her, two massive, horned water buffalo followed with blank expressions.
Curved, soaring horns. Fur so dense you couldn't see the skin. And muscles that even that fur couldn't hide. A human without Qi Art could never stand against them, and even one with Qi would find victory a distant prospect without the right weapon and a detailed strategy.
A water buffalo with a back taller than I was snorted at me. That Azzy. I told her not to provoke them, and she ends up bringing them here. To you, they might be fellow beasts, but to me, they're a disaster.
As I warily took a step back, Azzy jerked her head back and said, “Hey! Get on!”
“What?”
“They said they'll give us a ride!”
I turned my head to see the water buffalo snorting, offering me its back.