Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: The Method to Master the Thunder Qi
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Yuseong harbored no doubts about me.
For whatever reason, he placed immense trust in my words.
'Well, he does call me "hyungnim" without the slightest hesitation.'
I entered an empty room in the annex of Hopyeon Manor and forbade anyone else from coming in.
"Is it alright if I teach you the incantation of the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations Heart Technique?"
"Of course. I've pondered and comprehended it for so long, yet I've never reached the tenth stage of the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations Heart Technique. I still don't know why."
First, I listened as Yuseong recited the incantation to me, then engaged him in conversation to gauge his understanding, all while expressing admiration.
His ability to interpret the incantation surpassed even Nangong Mubaek's.
"What remarkable insight. Young hero Yoo understands the incantation perfectly."
"You're calling me remarkable, but hyungnim is even more so. You grasped it all the moment you heard it."
"Well, I'm a special kind of person."
"That's exactly why this Yuseong serves you as hyungnim."
Yuseong continued.
"So, in hyungnim's view, what am I lacking that keeps me from fully mastering the Thunder Qi of the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations?"
Rather than answer his question directly, I said something rather off-topic.
"Young hero Yoo, if you complete the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations Heart Technique, there might not be a single master in the world capable of handling you."
Yuseong lowered his gaze and nodded.
"My family speaks of how mastering the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations Heart Technique could make one the supreme under heaven. But there's also the saying that no human can ever achieve it."
"So, you understand my concern?"
Yuseong was sharp. He grasped my meaning immediately.
"Yes. If I master the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations but fail to purge the energy of the Heavenly Killing Star, a great scourge will be born into the martial world."
"Exactly. You'd become an unprecedented great scourge, forever etched in history. That's why we need one more safeguard."
"Please, tell me."
"I intend to place a seal upon you, young hero Yoo."
Yuseong shook his head.
"No seal can withstand the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations once mastered. Nothing can oppose perfected Thunder Qi."
"The seal I'll place isn't made with internal energy, so even Thunder Qi can't break it."
By imprinting a seal on the soul with Seven Stars Primordial Qi, it bound the spirit itself—something no force could unravel.
I knew an exquisite sealing technique from the Ghost Immortal's arsenal of martial arts.
'Now that I think about it, the Ghost Immortal's techniques were practically made for me.'
Seals made with internal energy had one flaw.
If the recipient's internal energy grew stronger than the sealer's, they could trace the path of the sealer's energy and break it.
But spirit qi left no trace, revealing neither method nor pathway—not even to a Great Immortal.
"In that case, please place the seal on me."
Yuseong accepted it without a second thought.
"You know what this means, right?"
"Hyungnim, I don't want to explode with the Heavenly Killing Star's energy after becoming the supreme under heaven. I believe you can remove it for me. But we must prepare for the possibility that you can't."
"Young hero Yoo, why do you call me hyungnim? I heard your reason before, but I want to know the real one."
Yuseong grinned like a mischievous rascal.
"It started when hyungnim slapped Mak Jinyul across the face. No one in this world would dare even think of striking that bastard. Even when my Heavenly Killing Star energy surged, I never considered it. I just thought about killing him."
Yuseong flashed a deep smile.
"But seeing you slap that Mak Jinyul—it was utterly exhilarating. All the gloom in the world vanished. Right then, I swore to take you as my hyungnim. I realized you're the only one in this world worthy of my respect as such."
Those possessed by the Heavenly Killing Star or madness often fixated on one thing to the exclusion of all else.
Yuseong must have felt an affinity for the man who disciplined Mak Jinyul, who stirred murderous intent and irritation in him.
Having slapped Mak Jinyul over a dozen times, it seemed I'd earned more than mere goodwill from him.
And having him as my little brother once he mastered the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations? Not a bad deal.
'No—making the world's strongest my little brother is pure profit.'
I spoke gravely.
"Very well. Success or failure, from this day forward, Yuseong is my little brother."
"Hyungnim!"
Yuseong looked up at me, his face brimming with emotion.
"If you become the supreme under heaven, I'll be the one guarding your back. And if you don't, you'll still be the little brother I entrust my back to."
Yuseong dropped to his knees with a thud.
"What are you doing?"
"The world always called me a freak. I've always been alone. I said you're the only one I call hyungnim, but truthfully, I had no one worthy of the title."
Yuseong spoke with reddened eyes.
"I want to cry but can't. I don't know how to feel emotions like others do. That's why I want treatment—to cry when I'm sad, like normal people."
Born with the Heavenly Killing Star's energy, murderous intent and madness were etched into his mind, preventing him from empathizing with others' feelings.
That must have been unbearably painful.
Even enduring Mak Jinyul's antics until now was likely because irritation never escalated beyond that—no deeper emotions.
"Good. After I place the seal, I'll teach my little brother how to master the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations."
"Yes, hyungnim."
I smiled at his resolute expression.
With utmost care, I applied the Ghost Immortal's sealing technique to Yuseong.
It pained me to do this to him, but it was the best course.
Nearly half an hour later, after completing the seal, I infused my spirit qi into his body.
It would trigger the seal if the Heavenly Killing Star ever manifested.
Yuseong's eyes gleamed, as if determined not to miss a single word.
"The reason you can't advance beyond the seventh stage insight of the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations Heart Technique is that one thing is missing."
"My insight?"
"Your insight is already sufficient, little brother. You're just lacking one medium."
Yuseong waited for my explanation.
"The world's strongest energies are two. One is Thunder Qi—what's the other?"
"Fire Qi?"
"Can Fire Qi kill a person in an instant?"
"No. Then what?"
"Poison Qi. Thunder Qi and Poison Qi are the forces that can slay life in a flash. Your Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations lacks Poison Qi, so it remains incomplete."
"The incantation doesn't mention that."
"The incantation may not, but the technique's name does."
"Black Dragon?"
"Exactly. In the incantation, Poison Qi corresponds to Thunder Qi. For some reason, though, it avoids naming it outright. Likely, the creator feared it too—knowing this art transcended human limits."
"If that's the case, how could I have come this far?"
"Because you're the Heavenly Killing Star's vessel, little brother."
Yuseong frowned.
"Fine, I get it. But where do I get Poison Qi? Can I just use venom from poisonous creatures?"
"No. It must be refined and subtle enough for human absorption."
"Only places like the Sichuan Tang Clan or Jiangxi Gal Clan possess such poison. And they wouldn't share it."
Yuseong posed the obvious question, his eyes curious about my answer.
"Don't I have two Poison Humans? Their poison harbors the purest essence, yet refined enough for a living body."
"Ah, the Poison Humans."
Yuseong hadn't seen the Demonic Cultists and Poison Humans clash at Ilji Gate firsthand, but his ears were open—he must have heard the gist.
"Absorb the Poison Qi, then circulate it with the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations Heart Technique, and you'll achieve mastery. Poison Qi stabilizes and refines the Thunder Qi—it's the missing medium. Once its role is fulfilled, the poison will burn away in the Thunder Qi and vanish. That's how the incantation's principles dictate."
I paused briefly before adding,
"But there's a small chance of failure—you could succumb to the poison and die."
"I'll succeed without dying."
I promptly fetched the coffins holding the Poison Humans and brought them into the annex room myself.
No one else could handle it, so I did it personally.
"Start by absorbing just a little Poison Qi, then circulate the technique. Gradually increase as your body adapts."
Yuseong eyed the Poison Humans and asked,
"Hyungnim, if I absorb their Poison Qi, won't they become useless? They're valuable enough on their own."
I shook my head.
"You might not believe it, little brother, but lately I've started sensing their resentments."
"I believe you."
I smiled at his words.
Unconditional faith from the Heavenly Killing Star's vessel, no less.
"Especially today, with the rain strengthening the water energy— their resentments ring louder. Even now, they're begging to be put to death."
My words were true.
Lately, I'd been hearing faint whispers softer than a mosquito's buzz— I'd dismissed them as tinnitus at first.
But today, with the heavy rain amplifying water energy, they were crystal clear.
'Kill me. Please. Kill me. It hurts.'
Up close, their resentments tickled my ears.
I'd planned to grant their pleas anyway, so using them for the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations mastery added profound meaning.
'I'll send you to ascension. Just endure a little longer.'
At first, I'd seen the Poison Humans as fine weapons upon acquiring them.
With the cognition of infants, they seemed endlessly useful.
But hearing their resentments stirred pity I couldn't ignore.
For a life in eternal torment, easing that suffering was true mercy.
I watched as Yuseong absorbed the poison and entered meditative circulation.
Ready to intervene if anything went wrong, I stayed by his side.
After several cycles of absorption and circulation, he seemed to be doing it right.
An hour later, Yuseong had drained one Poison Human completely—and remained unharmed.
"Hyungnim, burning the Poison Qi with Thunder Qi prevents actual poisoning. And my body feels filled with Thunder Qi. You're right— no matter what I tried before, it never increased."
I replied,
"Probably no one else could master it. Who could procure refined Poison Qi like this?"
Yuseong completed a full great heavenly circuit, then began absorbing from the remaining Poison Human.
'It's even frightening me now. Fully absorbing both and completing the Black Dragon Myriad Tribulations... That's why I had to seal him.'
I reassured myself.
If successful, Yuseong would become the martial world's first wielder of unprecedented Thunder Qi, supreme under heaven a mere formality.
Finally, having absorbed both Poison Humans entirely, Yuseong entered circulation—visibly changed.
At some point, their resentments fell silent. I checked their blood flow.
The faint pulses I'd sensed in their brains and hearts were gone.
'Go to a good place.'
Discovered by me, freed from agony—it was fortunate.
Otherwise, who knew how much longer they'd have suffered.
Pajijijik!
While I'd glanced at the Poison Humans, my hair suddenly stood on end.
Blue Thunder Qi spiderwebbed across the room.
The web contracted, sucked into Yuseong's body.
Yuseong's face twisted.
Pain from excess Thunder Qi? His body trembled violently.
"Don't lose consciousness, Yuseong! Endure it! Only then can you see the world you desire!"
I cheered him on, even knowing he couldn't hear.
Patsutsutsutsu!
Blue flames now erupted from Yuseong's body, enveloping and flashing around him ceaselessly.
Like a spider spinning a cocoon—he became one of Thunder Qi.
About fifteen minutes later, the Thunder Qi faded.
Moments after, Yuseong opened his eyes.