Reconstructing the Shattered
There are many ways a person can die.
Drowning in water.
Starving to death.
Dying of thirst in the scorching heat.
Humans can perish in countless other ways.
But if one were to choose the most painful method among them, it would undoubtedly be burning to death.
Fwoosh!
‘……!’
A horrific, burning pain surged through his nerves, jolting Jeok-un back to consciousness.
An ordinary person would have fainted or died from the sheer agony.
‘Where am I?’
Yet Jeok-un regained his senses instantly, without so much as a flinch.
Pain of this caliber was as familiar to him as breathing.
He blinked a few times. Slowly, his blurry vision cleared, allowing him to make out his surroundings.
Solid granite behind him, iron bars in front.
Clang!
His limbs were bound tight by thick iron chains.
Only then did Jeok-un realize exactly where he was.
‘The underground dungeon.’
It was the notorious prison of Sadocheon, from which not a single soul had ever escaped.
Seeing that there was no one else around, it seemed he had been thrown into a solitary cell.
‘Hmm. Actually, this is for the best.’
Surprisingly, Jeok-un welcomed the situation.
It made sense. Why wouldn't he be glad that there were no annoying pests to disturb him?
Closing his eyes once more, he slowly examined his condition.
The state of his inner body was...
‘Utterly ruined.’
His qi and blood were torn to shreds, and his meridians were shattered as if an explosion had gone off inside them.
It was no wonder he felt like he was burning alive.
The cause of this disaster was, of course, his life-and-death duel with the Lion Blade Emperor, Dok-go Cheon.
Yet, Jeok-un did not regret it in the slightest.
‘Even if I went back in time, I would make the same choice.’
Though he had sustained horrific injuries, they paled in comparison to the insights and enlightenment he had gained.
The insights he had acquired slowly drifted through his mind.
Even the Hegemon's Path can embrace the wind.
The realization he had attained in his battle with Dok-go Cheon was undoubtedly the key to transcending the peak of the Profound Realm and stepping into the Life and Death Realm.
If his current cultivation had been at the level of his past life—the fifth star, Yeom-jeong—he would have immediately broken through his limits and reached the sixth star, Mu-gok.
Still, his gains even now were monumental.
As the enlightenment integrated into him, all the martial arts he had learned would undergo a cataclysmic transformation, as if heaven and earth were being remade.
‘Tsk. It is a crying shame that I cannot test them out one by one because of this broken body.’
In light of that, what did a little pain and some shattered meridians matter?
‘Well, it is not like my head was cut off. This is nothing.’
Harboring thoughts that would make any physician under heaven faint from shock, he focused inward once more.
Not only were his qi, blood, and meridians damaged, but his dantian was also severely injured.
Any other martial artist would have fallen into deep despair.
After all, it was common knowledge in the Jianghu that once a dantian was damaged, it was nearly impossible to restore it to its original state.
But that common sense did not apply to Jeok-un.
‘Now, shall we begin?’
Sssss...
Without a shred of hesitation, Jeok-un forcibly drew up the last remaining trace of internal energy in his dantian.
Though it was an action that would worsen his damaged dantian, he recklessly channeled the energy into his meridians.
Crack!
Fwoosh!
The burning pain intensified every time he moved the energy.
The pain he was currently experiencing was a backlash from his Eight Extraordinary Meridians rupturing.
Poking at those wounds again only served to multiply the agony.
Yet, Jeok-un did not let out a single groan.
As mentioned before, he was "used" to this process.
‘Found it.’
Through a process akin to digging through an open wound with his bare hands, Jeok-un managed to locate a single meridian that was relatively intact.
Even then, it was only "intact" compared to the others; it was far from normal.
Consequently, only a minuscule thread of energy could flow through it.
Nevertheless, Jeok-un did not care. He poured his internal energy into it like pouring water into a bottomless pot.
And finally...
Shhhhh!
A miraculous change began to take place.
The damaged meridian began to heal slowly, as if a miraculous salve had been applied directly to the wound.
A signature ability of the Heavenly Overlord Art. Maximizes the body's natural healing capabilities to restore internal and external wounds, meridians, and the dantian.
In his past life, this was one of the driving forces that had kept him alive through countless battlefields.
His earlier thought—that he would be fine as long as his head wasn't severed—was by no means an exaggeration.
Crack! Snap!
Torn muscles knit back together, and fractured bones fused.
His meridians healed, and his damaged dantian reformed, becoming even sturdier than before, like new flesh growing over a wound.
Severe injuries that would have required at least half a year of bed rest and treatment under a divine physician were mending effortlessly.
But the one most surprised by this turn of events was...
‘Wait. Was the recovery speed always this fast?’
Jeok-un himself.
It had never been this potent before.
There was only one explanation for this change.
‘Could it be the result of the insights I gained?’
The insights he had obtained from Dok-go Cheon seemed to have integrated into his being, enhancing the efficacy of the Heavenly Overlord Art.
Cheering inwardly, Jeok-un pushed his power to the absolute limit.
Rumble!
Sizzle!
Suddenly, a black liquid resembling rotten blood began to ooze from his pores.
A horrific stench filled the air.
It smelled like rotten cheese mixed with sewer water.
‘Good. The turbid qi and impurities have been completely expelled!’
As his self-healing reached its peak, the impurities accumulated in his meridians and blood vessels were entirely purged.
Although it did not go as far as the restructuring of bones and muscles that occurred during the Rebirth of the Profound Realm, his body would undoubtedly operate with incomparable efficiency now.
Normally, he would have stopped here, but Jeok-un pushed one step further.
‘Now that my meridians and dantian are fully restored, I will integrate the principles of the Great Heavenly Star Art and complete a full circulation!’
He decided to elevate his mastery of the Great Heavenly Star Art, which was currently at only twenty percent.
Jeok-un guided the internal energy lingering in one meridian into the second.
Hummmmm...
A noble resonance echoed deep within him.
Rumble!
It was an internal sound that only Jeok-un could hear.
It was like the Yellow River.
Like an unstoppable, majestic torrent, the internal energy conquered the second meridian in an instant.
Jeok-un then guided this river of inner force into the third meridian.
Having grown sturdier than before his injuries, the energy did not leak or stray, rushing forward along the correct path.
The third, the fourth, the fifth...
And finally, the eighth.
At last, Jeok-un succeeded in circulating his energy through all of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
The circulation continued to flow in reverse.
Crack!
Flash!
‘Ah!’
In that moment, Jeok-un felt as though he were gazing upon a blindingly beautiful light.
A galaxy rising in the night sky.
This was no mere illusion or hallucination.
The human body was a microcosm, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians within it were the galaxy itself.
The infinite universe and the stars scattered across it were one and the same as Jeok-un.
He was staring directly at the universe within himself, witnessing the flow of his own galaxy.
‘Beautiful.’
The universe, embodying the profound truths of all creation, was truly wondrous and majestic.
It embraced all things and measured all existence.
This was a part of the martial path he had established in his past life.
At the same time, it was a new universe, infused with the enlightenment of his present life.
‘Yes, that is it.’
A universe that was similar, yet different.
Even if no one else knew, Jeok-un could tell.
That was the new horizon he had realized, the line that lay beyond.
Not orthodox, but unorthodox.
Not natural, but reverse.
Such was the profound truth of defying heaven.
Swimming in the overwhelming presence of this immeasurable universe, Jeok-un savored it to his heart's content.
For this was the way to absorb enlightenment, the moment of internalizing it.
Through this, Jeok-un could leap to greater heights, and the universe gladly blew a wind to serve as his stepping stone.
...
......
How long had he spent wandering in that state?
*Pop!*
*Burst!*
A series of rupturing sounds echoed within him.
Like a dam bursting under a raging flood, a spine-chilling explosion resounded.
Soon, an energy as vast as the great ocean began to flood and overflow throughout Jeok-un's entire body.
The earlier metaphor had become reality.
Just as a broken dam unleashes a flood that swallows levees, roads, fields, and forests in turn...
The moment the wall of the Peak Realm crumbled, the thresholds of the Transcendence Realm fell one after another.
In short, the divisions commonly called the Initial Stage, Mastery Stage, and Peak Stage were mere thresholds.
Had he not been held back by the sheer volume of his internal energy, even the wall of the Peak Stage would have crumbled.
However, for the same reason as before, his breakthrough halted at the Peak Stage.
‘No one would believe this. Reaching the peak of the Transcendence Realm the very moment I entered it.’
In all the history of the Jianghu, there had likely never been anyone who achieved such rapid progress.
‘At this rate, once I break through the wall of the Master Realm, awakening Nok-jon won't be far off.’
The awakening of the third star.
It felt so close, almost within reach.
But it was still a story for the future.
He had to transcend the Transcendence Realm and achieve the Master Realm first.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't a little disappointed.
But it was a realm he had already trodden before.
And as he had just experienced, there was room for even greater improvement.
Jeok-un set his regrets aside and slowly composed his inner energy.
Just as the state of oneness with nature began to fade and his surroundings came back into focus...
He sensed a movement accompanied by an unpleasant presence.
"Is... this guy dead...?"
"You fool! Don't touch him recklessly..."
Someone's hand reached out toward him.
‘What insolent bastard...’
How dare they disturb his moment of solitary satisfaction?
The moment that thought crossed Jeok-un's mind, something cold touched his neck.
‘...A blade?’
It was a sword.
Someone had pressed a blade against his throat.
The instant he realized this, Jeok-un yanked his arms.
*Boom!*
With a thunderous crash, the iron chains embedded in the granite walls were ripped out entirely.
"...!"
His next move was lightning fast.
Infused with a massive amount of internal energy, the iron chain flew straight like a spear.
But as it reached its target, the flow of his energy shifted.
*Clatter!*
It began to move like a chain once more.
In other words, it began to writhe like a living serpent.
Jeok-un whipped the chain to wrap around the intruder's neck and yanked it back.
*Rattle!*
The chain pulled taut.
Naturally, no one would willingly let themselves be dragged by the throat.
The resistance was fierce, but Jeok-un's strength was far superior, and his control of energy was incomparable.
He adjusted his tempo perfectly, matching the intruder's struggles and letting the chain flow with the resistance.
His openings closed, and his offensive only grew stronger.
"Urgh...!"
The intruder's head was caught like a bull led by a nose ring.
The chain pulled even tighter.
Whether the intruder refused to accept defeat...
Or simply refused to give up...
Jeok-un manipulated the chain like an experienced angler, forcing an opening.
*Smash!*
And slammed the intruder's head straight into the stone floor.
