The Galaxy Within
Judging solely by the momentum gathered at the tip of his father's sword, one would have thought he was truly trying to kill him.
But of course, that was impossible.
Jeok-un calmly faced Jegal Mun's overwhelming aura.
The proof lay right before him.
Look at his father's eyes. Did they not still hold the same deep worry and affection?
Those eyes were asking a silent question.
'Must you truly walk such a long and arduous path?'
Was it lingering regret? Or perhaps a final attempt to dissuade him?
Though the emotions swirling in his father's eyes were profound, they could not shake Jeok-un's resolve.
'If that is your choice...'
'Then watch and learn well.'
Jegal Mun repeated the words to himself as he drew upon his inner energy.
Sssss!
A vivid, azure energy surged.
It was the realm where formless energy manifested into a tangible shape.
'Sword gang...!'
It was not the mere haze of sword qi. It was a fully materialized force, the absolute symbol of the Transformation Realm.
"Watch closely. This is the sword of the Jegal Family."
Having offered these words of affection to the son about to embark on a long and difficult journey, Jegal Mun slowly began to dance with his sword.
The moment Jeok-un saw the first movement of the sword dance, he realized what parting gift his father was trying to bestow upon him.
The ultimate secret of the Jegal Family's martial lineage.
The essence of their martial arts, which Jeok-un had desperately craved in his past life but had been denied due to Jegal Wi-yeon's insidious schemes.
'The Great Heavenly Star Cultivation!'
It was the legendary technique passed down exclusively to the patriarch of the Jegal Family.
Jeok-un's heart pounded. And for good reason.
'I was planning to ask for this as my reward anyway!'
Indeed, Jeok-un had intended to demand the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation in exchange for correcting the family's formations.
Though he had outwardly refused any reward, he knew his father's personality too well to think he would let it slide. Since he was leaving for the Unorthodox faction bearing all the infamy, he figured he might as well secure the family's ultimate technique.
Of course, if his father hadn't offered it, he had fully intended to break into the secret vault and steal it anyway.
'Things worked out perfectly.'
Jeok-un smiled inwardly. He focused all his senses, determined not to miss a single detail of the technique.
Chwaaa!
Jegal Mun's sword forms unfolded, spreading wide as if painting a galaxy across the night sky.
"Have you gazed upon the infinite, pure galaxy in the midnight sky? The Great Heavenly Star Cultivation is a martial art that contains the galaxy itself."
At that moment, the mnemonic and commentary of the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation echoed in his ears. Jegal Mun was transmitting the secrets of the technique directly to his mind via telepathy.
Transmitting a technique's mnemonics and commentary while simultaneously demonstrating its forms was an incredibly difficult feat, but it was child's play for a genius like Jegal Mun.
And since Jeok-un was the son who had inherited that very genius...
'Ah!'
Absorbing everything through his eyes and ears, he organized the sudden rush of enlightenment in his mind.
In his past life, Jeok-un had never obtained the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation. He had been forced to bridge the gap using only the insights he gained from the Lesser Heavenly Star Cultivation.
Those were years filled with brutal experiences, venomous spite, and sheer tenacity.
Yet the authentic Great Heavenly Star Cultivation he was witnessing now... was both exactly as he had imagined and entirely different.
'First of all, the foundation of my Heaven-Dominated Qi was the Lesser Heavenly Star Cultivation.'
He had forged his Heaven-Dominated Qi while crawling up from the absolute bottom using the Lesser Heavenly Star Cultivation. Naturally, he had assumed the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation would simply be an extension of that single star.
'But if the Lesser Heavenly Star Cultivation is a single star, the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation is the universe itself, an infinite cluster of those stars...!'
An infinite universe. A count of stars as vast as the grains of sand on a beach—perhaps even vaster. With that number, his potential would expand and open up. It was, in hindsight, a remarkably simple truth.
The Lesser Heavenly Star Cultivation was derived from a single star. Its natural expansion could only be the universe and the galaxy. Simply by realizing and accepting this truth, Jeok-un's realm elevated, and his horizon widened and deepened.
Chwaaa!
Paaa!
Like countless streams leaving the river to merge into the vast ocean, the meridians within Jeok-un's body began to expand rapidly.
As if to confirm this, a brilliant starlight seemed to burst before his eyes.
In that instant, Jeok-un realized.
'I've unlocked it. The second star...!'
Jeok-un slowly closed his eyes.
Sss.
He could feel it. The flow of the air, the chirping of insects, even the texture of his clothes brushing against his skin. Everything felt vivid and entirely new.
He could feel his sensory perception expanding to an astonishing degree.
'The only pity is...'
Jeok-un lightly clenched his fist. Azure sparks crackled, illuminating his surroundings. Yet, the energy he felt was not entirely satisfying.
Just as unlocking Tam-rang had allowed him to break through the wall of the Peak Realm, unlocking Geom-un should have propelled him into the Master Realm. Yet, he was still only at the absolute peak of the Peak Realm. There was only one reason.
'I lack internal energy.'
His comprehension and realm were perfectly prepared, but the absolute volume of his internal energy fell short.
'Well, it hasn't been long since I regressed.'
It was merely a minor disappointment. His mind was already filled with memories of countless fortuitous encounters that could boost his internal energy.
Fwoosh.
Having organized his thoughts, Jeok-un stared at the sparks dancing on his fingertips. The energy he had called Heaven-Dominated Qi in his past life had shed its old skin through the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation and was completely reborn.
'Yes. From now on, I should call it Heaven-Dominated Divine Qi rather than just Heaven-Dominated Qi.'
He could not even begin to estimate how much more powerful his martial arts would be when executed with this new strength.
Jeok-un slowly withdrew his energy. Seeing the profound light shining in his son's eyes, Jegal Mun smiled gently.
"With that level of skill, you won't be getting beaten up out there."
"Of course, Father. If anything, your son will be the one doing the beating. I won't be getting hit."
Jegal Mun chuckled at Jeok-un's playful remark. But his expression soon turned solemn.
"...Should you not say your farewells to your mother?"
"Yes, I plan to pay her a visit before I leave."
"Go on, then."
"However, Father, there is one last thing I want before leaving the family."
"...!"
Having obtained the Great Heavenly Star Cultivation, he had acquired everything he needed from the manor. Now, only one task remained before his departure: eliminating any future trouble.
"I must ensure justice is served before I go."
Jeok-un's eyes flashed with a fierce light.
The Blood Dungeon.
No one in the family knew when or how it had been built. But there was one thing everyone knew: only the clan's worst criminals were imprisoned there.
In the deepest depths of this Blood Dungeon, Lady Oh was confined. Her limbs were bound in heavy chains, and she lay slumped like a heap of discarded trash.
The environment alone was harsh enough to kill an ordinary person, but the Blood Dungeon's horrors did not stop there. Dug deep into the earth, it was filled with damp moisture and a bone-chilling cold. Combined with the heavy chains wrapping around her body, it was pure torture.
"Ugh..."
Simply keeping someone locked here was no different from slowly drying them to death.
Yet, what tormented Lady Oh the most right now was not the chains, the biting cold, or the suffocating dampness. It was the pain.
'It hurts! It hurts so much...!'
The poison Jeok-un had forced down her throat. The poison that had temporarily subsided with the antidote had quickly flared up again. The toxins accumulated over more than a decade could not be purged by a simple antidote. The venom of the Black Lotus Poison was eating away at her body second by second.
'Kill me... Just kill me...!'
In a state of agony so intense that even losing consciousness was a luxury, Lady Oh wished for death. If her life could end right this moment, she felt she could die with a smile on her face.
Just as she was desperately craving death, a strange sound whispered in her ears.
Shhh. Along with it, she felt the agonizing poison draining from her body.
'The poison...?'
Had the venom completely destroyed her senses? No, that couldn't be. If her senses were entirely gone, she wouldn't have heard the sharp slice and the heavy clink of chains being severed, nor would she feel the sudden lightness of her body being freed from its bonds.
The situation was clear. Someone had cut her chains and absorbed the poison. Their purpose, without a doubt, was to rescue her.
'I knew it! My husband has come to save me...!'
As the poison left her body and her mind began to function again, Lady Oh concluded that the savior had to be the patriarch, Jegal Mun.
To enter the Blood Dungeon and bypass all protocols so easily—only Jegal Mun possessed the authority to pull off such a feat within the clan.
'Yes, there's no way the patriarch would abandon me. Not with who stands behind me!'
She was the precious, only daughter of the great Geumhwang Merchant Group. The Jegal Family would never abandon her. No, they couldn't. Just as the Geumhwang Merchant Group needed the Jegal Family, the Jegal Family needed them.
'Once I get out of here...!'
Lady Oh gnashed her teeth, her heart burning with hatred. Jegal Jeok-un, the bastard who killed her son and subjected her to such humiliation and disgrace! She would use the family's power to ensure her mortal enemy died a painful death.
Though she made a firm resolve, she did not let it show on her face. Showing her thirst for revenge right now would be foolish. Her murderous intent had to be hidden until the very end. For now, the most important thing was escaping this place.
Until then, she had to sway Jegal Mun's heart and secure her survival. Thus, Lady Oh forced her eyes open and spoke to the faint silhouette before her, making her voice sound as pitiful as possible.
"Oh, husband...!"
She expected him to say, You've suffered enough, everything will be fine now. But...
"Husband? Don't make me laugh."
"!?"
The voice that answered was the one she least wanted to hear.
'Je-Jegal Jeok-un...?!'
Chills ran down her spine.
"Aaaah! You—why are you here?!"
"Yeah, good to see you too, lady."
The mastermind behind everything, the very culprit who had reduced her to this miserable state, stood there with a cold, mocking smirk.
"Aaaah! Help! Is anyone there?! Help me!"
Lady Oh scrambled to the far corner of the iron bars and screamed, but her desperate cries only echoed hollowly through the dungeon. The surrounding cells were empty, and true to the Jegal Family's reputation for formations, the guards had been replaced by security arrays.
"Scream all you want. You can rave and shout all night, but not even an ant will step foot in here."
"?!"
A voice dripping with murderous intent echoed from behind the bars. Along with the grim, bloodthirsty tone came the slow, heavy sound of footsteps.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Jeok-un approached Lady Oh and spoke. "There are only two truths I learned while crawling through the depths of asura's hell. Do you know what they are?"
"Don't come near me! Stay away!"
"First, a villain who has gone all the way will never repent, so they must be killed without exception."
"...You, you bastard!"
"And second, never leave behind any loose ends that might point a blade at your back later."
"!!"
Sensing her impending doom, Lady Oh shrieked hysterically. "Aaaah! Do you think you can live as a member of the Orthodox faction if you kill me?!"
"Oh, how did you know? I was actually planning to turn Unorthodox anyway."
"!!"
"And from now on, I'm going to do things that no Orthodox martial artist would ever dare to do."
With those words, Jeok-un calmly thrust his sword forward.
"Yeah. Something like this, for starters."
Squeltch!
Accompanied by the sickening sound of tearing flesh, Jeok-un's sword pierced straight through Lady Oh's heart.
"-!!"
Lady Oh's mouth gaped open. She wanted to scream, curse, or struggle, but with her lungs pierced, no sound could escape her throat.
All she could do was glare at Jeok-un with eyes full of venomous hatred, cursing him silently. Jeok-un merely scoffed at her gaze and muttered indifferently.
"Go wait for them in the afterlife. Soon, your entire family and all your relatives on the mainland will join you in the depths of Avici Hell."
"...!"
"You can see for yourself if your family's precious gold can protect you there."
No, please!
Lady Oh opened her mouth, desperate to say something, but her drained body refused to respond. Or rather, it never stood a chance to respond. Before she could utter a single word, Jeok-un's hand moved.
Slash!
With a gruesome sound, Lady Oh's head severed and rolled onto the cold ground, her wide-open eyes frozen in a mixture of agony, resentment, and terror.