Chapter 11 The Unshakable Foundation
The Unshakable Foundation
Chapter 11 – The Unshakable Foundation
Thankfully, beyond this door there wasn’t another fiery abyss waiting for him.
It seemed there would be no more trials.
Muk Yeojin cautiously took a step forward.
To his surprise, a large martial training ground stretched out before him.
He realized it instinctively.
This is it… The place where Father used to train when I was a child.
The secluded training hall of Sadocheon Lord Muk Umyung.
At the center of the martial yard stood a duel platform.
Weapons lined the walls — from common blades and sabers to bizarre instruments he had never seen before.
Then his gaze caught something resting alone on the platform.
A wooden case?
What was a wooden case doing in a place like this?
He walked up slowly and opened it — and gasped.
Inside was a pill box, but not an ordinary one.
On the surface were the words:
“Baeksoo Shindan” – The Divine Pill of a Hundred Beasts.
Baeksoo Shindan — one of the ultimate divine elixirs created by the Medicine Immortal, one of the five eccentric masters of the Central Plains known as the “Five Thrones of the Strange Heavens.”
It was said that only three of these pills had ever been refined in history — and one of them was here.
He opened the box carefully. Inside lay a single golden pill radiating a mysterious fragrance that made his danjeon (energy core) tremble just by inhaling.
There’s no doubt — this is the real Baeksoo Shindan.
According to his sister, Muk Iyeon, four of his half-siblings had previously taken the same trial within this secret ground.
If any of them had succeeded, this pill wouldn’t still be here.
That means… they all failed to pass.
Of course, that made sense. Though those brothers now held grand titles in the martial world, back then they had been little more than brash youths.
Given how brutal the previous trials had been, their failure was only natural.
Still, this was a rare blessing.
For Muk Yeojin, who urgently needed to regain his cultivation, this divine pill was the perfect reward — one that could shorten the years of rebuilding his inner energy by tens of steps in an instant.
He couldn’t help but smile.
I’ll make good use of this gift.
He wasn’t one to hesitate.
Sitting here, there’s no need to worry about anyone interrupting me.
He sat down right where he stood and swallowed the Baeksoo Shindan whole.
The moment the pill touched his tongue, it melted away like dew.
Normally, one would refine an elixir slowly — letting its medicinal energy dissolve over days or even months, converting it into inner strength and condensing it within the danjeon.
But with something as powerful as the Baeksoo Shindan, even months might not be enough.
No need to rush. I’ll take this year inside Biyundong to refine it slowly.
The road ahead was long.
Speed mattered — but not if haste led to ruin.
Fast, but steady.
That was the martial path Muk Yeojin would walk.
As the pill dissolved, its essence began to surge through his body like a raging tide.
Focus…
Elixirs and poisons were two sides of the same coin — one mistake, and the results could be disastrous.
Sweat poured down his face, soaking his upper body.
The raw power within the pill was fiercer than he had imagined, draining his mental strength rapidly.
Feels like trying to rein in a wild warhorse.
Every time he tried to direct the energy, it thrashed violently and slipped from his grasp, only to taunt him from afar.
A vein bulged on his forehead.
You arrogant thing… Let’s see who wins this.
He steadied his breath and dove back in, gripping the reins of the Baeksoo Shindan’s power once more.
After three full hours of battle — or rather, a long game of cat and mouse — he finally opened his eyes.
Haa!
He clenched and unclenched his fists, exhaling deeply.
Barely a tenth…
All that effort had only absorbed a fraction of the pill’s energy.
The first round against the Baeksoo Shindan ended in total defeat.
Yet even the remaining energy, now scattered throughout his body, had quieted down — as if the pill itself was resting after exhaustion.
He laughed softly.
Next time, I won’t lose.
After a short rest, he circulated his qi again.
The inner energy in his danjeon spread through his body like a tide, and faint waves of aura shimmered around him.
Indeed — a divine elixir.
Even that small amount of energy had significantly deepened his inner strength.
Once I fully refine this, no one my age will be able to match me.
Though he had lost this round, time was on his side.
Satisfied, he nodded and continued circulating his qi to adapt to the new energy.
As he prepared to stand, a thought struck him.
What exactly did Father train for in this place?
He had nearly forgotten his original purpose, distracted by the discovery of the divine pill.
This was the very hall that held his father’s childhood traces — yet there were no manuals, no scrolls, nothing special except for countless sword marks on the walls.
Then it hit him.
Those marks — they’re all part of a sword form!
He examined them closely, awe dawning in his eyes.
Perfection itself.
Balanced, fluid, powerful — not a single flaw in sight.
But something was off.
His father, Sadocheon Lord Muk Umyung, was famous for his overwhelmingly aggressive sword style — not for this kind of orthodox, balanced form.
So… Father mastered the fundamentals here.
A tree with deep roots will not fall, even in a storm.
Martial arts are the same — those who master the fundamentals will always surpass those who do not.
In his previous life, Muk Yeojin had plunged into battle too soon, never given time to strengthen his foundation.
Now, with this treasure before him, joy swelled in his chest.
I’ll use the time I have left here to lay unshakable roots — like a great tree that can weather any storm.
But as he studied further, he noticed something strange.
Along the right wall and across the dueling platform, there were irregular markings — not sword traces, but… claw-like gouges.
These look like the aftermath of fierce battles — dozens, maybe hundreds of duels with the same opponent.
Could his father have sparred with someone?
If so, that rival must have been extraordinary — yet Muk Yeojin could recall no one known to have matched his father, even in youth.
The sword marks are definitely Father’s… but those other traces—?
They weren’t from a sword or a fist technique — they resembled the talon marks of a beast.
Then—
Creak…
A door on the opposite wall slowly opened, revealing a large figure stepping into view.
Muk Yeojin blinked, then laughed aloud.
“So it was you, Cheongbi — you were Father’s sparring partner.”
It was none other than Cheongbi, the massive hawk that had been delivering his meals all this time.
Time flowed like water.
A year of seclusion passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, as always, Muk Yeojin sat cross-legged at the center of the dueling platform — before slowly opening his eyes.
A white breath escaped his lips.
His blue eyes gleamed with quiet joy.
At last — I’ve fully absorbed the Baeksoo Shindan.
After a year of daily struggle, he had finally tamed and refined every drop of its vast power.
He stood and threw a punch.
Whoosh—BOOM!
The air rippled with a powerful shockwave.
The strength was incomparable to a year ago.
Now then…
He whistled sharply — a familiar signal.
Moments later, a gust of wind heralded Cheongbi’s arrival as the great hawk landed gently on the platform.
“Piiik!”
Muk Yeojin smiled grimly, tension filling the air.
For the past year, he had sparred with Cheongbi hundreds of times.
The record: 336 matches, zero victories.
Utter humiliation.
But this time would be different.
“Cheongbi… today, I’ll pluck every last feather from that arrogant head of yours.”
“Piiiiiik!”
Cheongbi screeched mockingly.
Muk Yeojin gripped his wooden sword and took a middle stance. Cheongbi spread its massive wings, ready to charge.
He knew all too well how fearsome the bird’s attacks were.
Even most martial masters of the Fourth Heaven wouldn’t get close to it.
Half-hearted moves would be useless.
I’ll finish this in one strike.
He crouched, muscles coiling with explosive tension. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
His thighs swelled like drawn bows — the effect of the Mountain King Technique he’d honed.
His inner power, bolstered by the Baeksoo Shindan, surged forth in a torrent.
“Piiik!”
Cheongbi’s eyes flashed — intrigued by the new, overwhelming aura radiating from its partner.
Spiritual energy flooded the air between them.
Then Muk Yeojin’s figure vanished forward.
“Die, Cheongbi!!”
“PIIIIIIK!!”
BOOOOOOM!!
The shock shook the entire platform.
…
…
Days later, when Muk Yeojin finally left his year-long confinement, escorted by the White Wolf Guards —
his left pocket was filled with a handful of dark-blue feathers,
>plucked from a very certain hawk.