Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Taking the Bones Without Giving the Flesh (1)
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Even after being chased off by the old geezer buzzcut's hand gesture.
I didn't wake up right away. Instead, I floated aimlessly through the depths of my consciousness.
Was it because I'd heard that koan about the path?
In the middle of a vast ocean, clinging to a single tiny boat, I drifted along, watching fragments of the past bubble up like foam.
Past life and present overlapping, weaving a chaotic scene.
Opening my eyes in bed amid searing pain, the monitor gone, hurled into primitive, ancient, uncivilized China—that memory.
In an unwinnable 1v5 skirmish, pulling off a pentakill and vowing at the funeral home to win no matter what—the bittersweet Yasuo memory.
Seeing sauce oozing from tanghulu skewers and yelling, "Devil food!" only to meet strange stares—that memory.
During my server admin part-time gig, too hungry to hold out, ordering tteokbokki as a midnight snack and spilling it all over the server computer—that memory.
The first time I grabbed a sword and swung it, fumbling the hilt like an idiot so it stabbed into my foot, making me wail—that memory.
Attending the temple kindergarten, mindlessly reciting the Heart Sutra while playing with my childhood friend, molding mud marbles—that memory.
Even perfect recall couldn't handle them; I'd snuck them into a corner. Now they bubbled and swirled around me.
No sail, no oars—just drifting with the waves, confronting countless memories.
But in none of them.
Did any reveal where I should head.
Or what the right path was.
Was it because I'd recalled a Heart Sutra remix beat during the reminiscence?
Suddenly, the Buddhist concept of emptiness from lecture class brushed my mind.
All things, humans included, lack any fixed, unchanging essence.
Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form—so the Hulligans are definitely linked by color, no doubt...
:: You lunatic. Live right. ::
The instant my thoughts tangled like yarn, the old geezer buzzcut's voice thundered through the entire space.
Right after.
"Squid rice bowl...!"
Like an empty drifting boat lost in a stormy sea, my aimless mind swam back to reality.
I propped myself up and sat on the edge of the bed.
Moonlight draped the window outside, revealing the full view of my room—the same one I'd entered with Seo Shifu earlier.
Checking the time on my smartphone, it was well past midnight, nearing 1 a.m.
I must've been out cold for a solid three hours.
Hmm.
Truly the trustworthy Seo Shifu.
If it'd been Old Man Seo, he'd probably have me slung over his shoulder by now, hustling off to the Demonic Cult.
If Sword Master, he'd be groping me all over by this point, committing sexual harassment under the guise of opportunity.
For now, I sat cross-legged on the bed and turned inward.
"Oh..."
Truly the Great Return Pill.
Performance guaranteed.
Not just my dantian—my meridians throughout my body brimmed with the Buddha's compassion.
My internal energy, already nearing Lady Seol's level, had swelled even fuller.
However.
Instinct told me no further gains were coming anytime soon.
I'd thought my dantian had become a vast sea, rebuilt on the Northern Bright Divine Art.
But overwhelming influx revealed I was just a Peak-level pond.
"Hmm..."
Geum Sihyeon needs Transcendent Realm.
This genius has no time for wall-facing meditation...
I want rapid shedding of bones and marrow through sudden enlightenment.
Better than Peak.
This Transcendent Realm? Free upgrade. Probably.
But even after a grueling 2.2-second Sihyeon=Marathon council, no method sparked for instant enlightenment to Transcendent Realm breakthrough.
The truth in times like these?
If you don't know, ask.
I got up, gathered the neatly folded clothes from the corner, and dressed.
"Hmm..."
I'd stripped carelessly and tossed them aside.
A maid must've come and gone in between.
Once my attire was straight, I stepped outside.
"Awake, are you?"
"Ah, Shifu."
Another victim of Madam's doll play today, it seemed.
Seo Shifu greeted me in elegant, youthful palace robes that suited her looks but not her age—light and maidenly.
"You look so young in that... Ow! Why, why hit me...!"
"You get hit for not knowing...!"
Her sleek forearm, rippling with subtle muscle, whipped my clothes around as Chicken Dad pummeled me for a while.
Then, suddenly.
"...This is part of the Pursuit Seal too."
Arguing would've meant a fist to the solar plexus or face, so I invoked the right to remain silent.
A slightly awkward silence fell.
"Ahem, Shifu. How, uh, did you reach the Transcendent Realm, if I may ask?"
Chicken Dad, glaring with an age-mismatched scowl, tilted her head at my question.
"Long ago... No, fresh as yesterday. Why? Internal energy growing, so the next realm's teasing you?"
"Isn't it natural for a martial artist to press forward?"
"Hmm..."
Chicken Dad narrowed her eyes, scanning me top to bottom.
"Not the time yet. I'd love to advise, but nothing I can tell you now. If that day comes, I'll be thrilled... No, someday I surely will explain."
Why'd she suddenly evolve into Kelsi?
Seeing my frown, Chicken Dad sighed.
"A martial artist's enlightenment isn't plucked from someone else's koan. Our paths differ, our arts' origins too. Mine might not fit you—likely won't. It could lead you astray, so don't rush. Set your heart straight, and you'll reach it naturally."
"Mm... I see..."
It rhymed almost exactly with the old geezer buzzcut's words.
"Well, gotta live diligently, then."
"You do. Even sun and moon circle tirelessly to their places."
With that.
We gazed at the moon together for a while.
A bright full moon scattered its glow serenely.
Too late to return to the academy, so I stayed the night at the main house and, next morning.
"Belly full already? How was the Great Return Pill?"
Spotting Old Man Seo wandering in search of chores, I asked him about the path to Transcendent Realm too.
"Transcendent? That trash realm? Learn Purple Lightning Demonic Art, and you're there now. Want the incantation?"
"Go wash your feet and sleep... Gah!"
The heavy thud of a sword scabbard on his skull brought lightning realization that asking Seo Shifu first was wise.
* * *
A week passed.
Despite the month's break, my body readjusted to the academy's busy routine in no time.
And now.
"Victory to Jang Chaseon of the supervision!"
"Woooah!"
"Knew it!"
"Third-Rate Fist! Third-Rate Fist!"
"Morning sun shreds the mist over Lake Dongting..."
The First-Rate clowns' circus was in full swing.
The pity?
I had to join the stage soon.
Don't linger where crows play, lest white heron get tainted.
Thankfully, Instructor Nangong Baek must've rigged the bracket—prelims paired me with Nangong Sang before finals.
Quick win, then forfeit the rest.
"Victory to Ha Yeongun of the supervision!"
"Seven-Second Invincible! Seven-Second Invincible!"
"Always a ferocious punch!"
"Chain Six Thunderclap, right? That fist art's tricky for sure..."
Invincible for 7 seconds was straight OP.
No weapons, monkey brawls—and winners so far had solid martial arts.
In my absence, they'd be strong contenders.
Sorry. I'm strong.
Supreme Under Heaven is mine. Probably.
"Next: Geum Sihyeon of Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress versus Nangong Sang of Nangong Family!"
Flutter!
For this big stage, I donned my prized #0 attachment robe, the Heaven-Silk Black Dragon Cloak, and strode onto the platform majestically.
Sparring or not, fights were prime entertainment—the stands were packed.
"Young lord── fighting!"
Queen of First-Rate pockets, top-tier First-Rater.
Me and Sojeo with Luri on her lap, waving wildly—her cheer brought a smile.
Luri looked poutier than usual.
Last time, teased for entering as a Peak, she'd secretly canceled her prelim entry.
Hearing I joined, she'd flown in, puffing cheeks, flapping and landing Heaven Demon Punches playfully.
Savoring a twinge of guilt.
"Palace Trash, go easy."
"...Shut it."
Tongue-click opener for the skirmish.
No need for even Psychological Warfare.
Frankly, Nangong Sang was one-second kill.
Mundane enough for instant cut.
Relied on family arts and elixirs gulped down—no real training, just coasting on clan halo.
Moyong Wicheon types at least trained diligently, could spin "defending borders" for PR. This guy? Hopeless.
Almost sorry comparing to Moyong Wicheon.
Well.
Perfect disposable card.
His healthy color and steady qi-blood suggested no Rage Pill yet.
Glancing up, eyes met Nangong Baek's at judges' table.
Stoic face, but snake coiled inside.
But I'm top alpha male.
Grinned broadly, heartily.
"Begin!"
Then.
Time to toy lightly.