The Essence of Lightning
The family members, who had been cheering for the birth of a new Golden Core cultivator, were suddenly rooted to the spot by the bizarre phenomenon unfolding before their eyes. The lingering image of the Lightning Qi that had bloomed from Baek Cheong’s entire body and then vanished refused to leave their minds. No one dared to open their mouths; they simply exchanged glances, surrounding the scene in silence. Amidst this mysterious atmosphere, only Baek Cheong, cradled in her father's arms, smiled brightly with a face that knew nothing of the world.
“Brother!”
Baek Muyeong stepped forward into the profound silence. He walked with long strides, stepping over the debris of the eastern wing. “I offer my sincere congratulations!” Though cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his voice was loud and clear. “A new Golden Core cultivator has been born to the Yeonha Baek Clan!”
His intentionally raised voice shattered the silence among the family members.
“Lon-long live the Clan Head!”
“Congratulations!”
The family members, finally snapping out of their stupor, erupted into cheers. The shock from moments ago was buried under the celebration, and a festive atmosphere spread throughout the entire estate. Baek Muyeong approached Baek Mujin and whispered in a low voice.
“Brother, your physical condition is the priority. Since you have just reached the Golden Core stage, you must take deep rest immediately.”
Baek Mujin nodded silently. His robes were in tatters, but his eyes were clear. Then, Baek Muyeong lowered his gaze toward his niece. The image of the strange Lightning Qi from earlier flickered in his mind, but she was, for now, just a young child clinging tightly to her father.
“Cheong.”
“Yes.”
“Your father must take deep rest for the time being as he has just reached the Golden Core stage. Let us save our conversation for later.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Baek Cheong obediently stepped back from her father's arms. She looked up at her father’s safe face one more time and said softly, “Father, congratulations.”
Baek Mujin was about to answer, but he paused, gazing down at his daughter’s face for a fleeting moment. A complex emotion, far deeper than the lingering resonance of his Golden Core breakthrough, flickered in the depths of his eyes.
“...Thank you.”
It was a short reply, but Baek Cheong felt the warmth in it. She bowed her head lightly and turned away.
Returning to her quarters, Baek Cheong laid her body, exhausted by tension, onto the bed. Outside the window, the dark clouds from earlier had vanished without a trace, revealing a clear, bright sky. The fact that her father had become a Golden Core cultivator was a joyous occasion. A sense of pride filled her small chest, but it did not linger for long. Something else was occupying her mind.
‘Thunder...’
She ruminated on the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern she had realized while watching the Heavenly Tribulation. The principles of the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern, which she had struggled with in the Formation Atlas only to give up in exhaustion, had finally clicked into place when combined with the Lightning Tribulation she had witnessed.
‘To implement this...’
Baek Cheong sat up on her bed and crossed her legs in a meditative posture, closing her eyes. She drew the shape of the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern she had etched into her mind from the Formation Atlas. A structure that spread out in all directions, then sharply dove inward at the ends to converge into a single point. She intended to draw up the energy from her Dantian and implement only the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern.
“Hmm?”
However, there was no reaction. She had clearly realized and understood the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern, but it would not manifest. ‘Again.’ Baek Cheong closed her eyes and focused harder. She recalled every line of the Character-pattern, the angle of its bends, and the direction of its convergence in minute detail. She even tried mixing different combinations of the five elemental energies. But the elemental energy only hesitated before scattering.
“...Why on earth isn’t it working?”
She was certain she had realized the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern, but whenever she tried to implement it consciously, it was strangely blocked. It felt as if she were reaching out to grab something, only to grasp at an illusion. ‘In times like this.’ Baek Cheong kicked the headache-inducing problem aside. There was no need to pull her hair out alone. She immediately logged into Moomyeongbang and wrote a post full of bait.
To claim she had realized Lightning Qi from a Lightning Tribulation—a Heavenly Tribulation—was an arrogant and insolent statement. Who would dare peek at the Heavenly Dao and realize Lightning Qi?
It was the reply from Dou(33.3), who always arrived first. Baek Cheong scoffed, ignored it, and waited for other replies. Before long, Dous who had been hooked by the title swarmed in.
As expected, the mockery and cynicism of angry Dous followed one after another.
She scanned the miscellaneous replies, looking for useful information. But it was just mockery or the repetition of common sense that it was impossible. ‘As expected, asking these commoner Dous is...’ She stopped as she scrolled down. Her gaze fixed on a one-line reply.
The reply from an unfamiliar Dou was unusual. Baek Cheong immediately left a reply.
A moment later, Dou(7.7)’s reply updated.
There was no trivial explanation, just eight concise characters. Other Dous swarmed this reply as well.
The Dous tried to interpret the meaning of the eight characters, but no one reached a satisfying conclusion. Baek Cheong, however, did not see the Dous’ commotion. ‘Lightning burns the illusory form; only the essence remains.’ Lightning burns the illusion and leaves only the essence. The moment the eight characters settled in her mind, a realization came, as if the missing half of a mirror had perfectly clicked into place.
‘Lightning Tribulation, Lightning Qi, and Lightning QiCharacter-pattern are different.’
Lightning Tribulation was a judgment sent by the Heavenly Dao, Lightning Qi was a type of energy, and the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern was a script recorded in the Formation Atlas, a symbol that embodied the principles of Lightning Qi. The three shared the same root, but their essence, form, and shell were placed on different layers.
‘What I was trying to implement had to be the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern in its entirety, not the Lightning Qi itself.’
The reason she had poured energy into it for half a shichen while recalling the lines, dots, and bends of the Character-pattern she had read and etched into her mind from the Formation Atlas, only to get no results—it was because the form was an illusion.
‘The Character-pattern is a vessel that holds Lightning Qi, it is different from Lightning Qi.’
The essence that the Character-pattern held was what mattered. The principle of gathering energy scattered in all directions, compressing it to the limit, and releasing it into a single point in an instant. The primordial law that pierces the atmosphere just before a lightning strike. The essence of Lightning Qi was precisely this principle. The Character-pattern was nothing more than a shell that recorded the essence.
‘If you burn the illusion, only the essence remains.’
Baek Cheong closed her eyes, ruminating on the meaning. She erased the shape of the Lightning QiCharacter-pattern from her mind. She stripped away the geometric lines, the angles of the bends, and the direction of convergence one by one, peeling away the shell. And she left only one thing behind.
The primordial principle that spreads in all directions in an instant, only to be compressed into a single point and explode. Once she realized this fact, she instinctively manipulated her Metal and Water spiritual roots to draw up the energy.
Zzzzt.
And a faint current sparked from her fingertips.
“...!”
Baek Cheong opened her eyes wide and raised her hand. She could clearly see the bluish light flowing along her fingertips.
Zzzzzzt!
Every time she adjusted her energy, the Lightning Qi flickered and reacted. It was incredibly faint, but as she repeated the process, the Lightning Qi stabilized.
“Aha...”
Her mouth fell open, and a bright smile spread across her face. It felt as if a blocked homework assignment had been solved, and her chest felt clear. She stared blankly at the Lightning Qi flickering at her fingertips for a while, then suddenly Dou(7.7)’s reply came to mind.
Below it, the bickering of Dous who still didn't understand continued, and Dou(33.3)’s sarcastic reply was attached as always. Baek Cheong looked at it for a moment, then left a new reply.
Since she had logged into Moomyeongbang, she had never once left a word of thanks to a Dou. She had trolled, stirred up chaos, left useless posts, and occasionally thrown out strategy guides. But this was the first time she had left a reply thanking someone. She felt an awkward, ticklish sensation herself.
“Ugh.”
Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Baek Cheong logged out of Moomyeongbang. And once again, she sparked Lightning Qi at her fingertips, gazing at it with satisfaction. It felt different from the moment she had realized it while watching the Lightning Tribulation. But at the time, she hadn't even realized she was sparking Lightning Qi, so she hadn't noticed the difference.