Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown
The energy of the Golden Spirit Thread remaining in his minor meridians was about half of what he had originally consumed.
After Jeok-un absorbed it, the energy of the Golden Spirit Thread had lain quietly dormant in his minor meridians.
But now, it had awakened.
This was because the energy of the Ice Emperor had penetrated his entire body.
Moreover, it had not simply penetrated; it was attempting to overwrite and completely devour the energy of the Golden Spirit Thread. Naturally, the Golden Spirit Thread rebelled.
Rumble...!
A roaring sound echoed. It was not an actual physical explosion.
Rather, the two energies were locked in a fierce, titanic clash within Jeok-un's body, and the shockwaves shook his insides so violently that it sounded like an explosion to him.
The energies of the Golden Spirit Thread and the Ice Emperor were that massive, and their struggle was that desperate.
It was no exaggeration to call it a life-or-death duel between two master martial artists.
An ordinary martial artist would have first tried to pacify one of the two energies.
After all, the standard practice was to break a large mass into smaller pieces before swallowing it.
'These damn things.'
But Jeok-un was far from ordinary.
As the two forces began to run wild inside his body—
Whoosh!
Hummm!
Instead of splitting or calming one side first, Jeok-un did the exact opposite: he sought to suppress both of them at the same time.
'Whose permission do you think you have to run wild in my body?'
Exerting his sheer willpower, Jeok-un crushed both energies simultaneously.
The only thing that made this possible was—
Ssshh!
—the unique power of Jeok-un's Heaven-Defying Divine Art.
Shhh!
At the sudden appearance of this monstrous third force, the energies of the Golden Spirit Thread and the Ice Emperor shrank back.
No matter how potent they were, they did not dare resist.
The Heaven-Defying Divine Art was a power that literally defied the heavens. It belonged to an entirely different league.
At this moment, Jeok-un's will was absolute.
Kneel before me.
Bow your heads and submit.
There was no room for negotiation. Jeok-un's ultimatum was clear.
Whoosh!
Sss!
Finally, the two forces bowed their heads before the destructive power of the Heaven-Defying Divine Art.
Not a single trace of the Golden Spirit Thread's energy remained in his minor meridians.
But it had not been destroyed.
'Good. Both energies are moving toward the dantian.'
The place where the vanished energies had gathered was none other than his dantian.
The yang energy of the Golden Spirit Thread and the yin energy of the Ice Emperor met in the center of his dantian.
Perhaps because they had already clashed once, the two forces refused to blend easily.
However, the Heaven-Defying Divine Art stood right behind them like a warden holding a heavy club.
With nowhere to run, the energies of the Golden Spirit Thread and the Ice Emperor had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils.
At last, the two forces began to mingle in the dantian.
Whoosh!
A harmony of Yin and Yang occurred, establishing a delicate balance.
Jeok-un did not miss this opportunity.
'I will devour it all.'
He was like a hungry ghost devouring sinners in the depths of hell. Jeok-un greedily consumed the unified energy.
The harmonized energy he swallowed permeated every corner of his physical body.
Though the force was so massive it could only be described as violent, it did not bother Jeok-un in the slightest.
It was only natural.
'My vessel was completed long ago. This is merely the process of filling it with water.'
Based on the realizations and insights from his past life, Jeok-un had already reached the peak of the Transformation Realm.
The only thing he had lacked until now was the absolute quantity of internal energy.
To use an analogy, Jeok-un's dantian was like a well-tended field that had dried up due to a drought.
Now, the energies of the Golden Spirit Thread and the Ice Emperor—the great forces of Yin and Yang—poured into it like a torrential rain, instantly replenishing the parched dantian.
As the long-awaited rain poured down, Jeok-un smiled inwardly.
'To think it would resolve itself like this.'
It was a true stroke of fate.
Even Jeok-un, who had spent a lifetime weathering the storms of the Jianghu, could never have imagined that the yang energy of the Golden Spirit Thread and the yin energy left by the Ice Emperor would combine to create such perfect harmony.
'Heh, those bastards from the Ice Palace would weep tears of blood if they saw this.'
Furthermore, that was not all.
Normally, it would have taken at least half a year to fully melt the remaining energy of the Golden Spirit Thread in his minor meridians.
Yet now, it was dissolving perfectly into his body.
'Good. I will break through the barrier just like this.'
Only one barrier remained for Jeok-un.
The wall of lamentation, where countless martial artists had despaired.
It was the transition from the Transformation Realm to the Profound Realm.
Jeok-un immediately concentrated all his energy.
Shooooo...!
Accompanied by a strange sound that was half wind-shear and half resonance, a mysterious phenomenon began to manifest around him.
Jeok-un sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
As he focused inward, three distinct energies began to glow above his head.
The lights, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps, soon began to spin as if recognizing one another.
They repeatedly merged and separated, blending and dividing.
'Just a little more.'
This was the most critical moment.
In this fleeting instant of enlightenment, he could not allow a single stray thought or doubt to creep in.
A single misstep would plunge him straight into the abyss.
Yet Jeok-un walked his path steadily, without a single tremor.
Ssshh!
Whoosh!
Soon, the energies shone with distinct clarity, blooming into red, blue, and white flowers.
The three materialized flower buds represented the Golden Spirit Thread, the Ice Emperor, and the Heaven-Defying Divine Art.
Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
A magnificent sight that symbolized the Profound Realm itself had formed.
The formless, flowing energy had finally manifested in physical form.
'I have ascended. I am in the Profound Realm.'
Jeok-un had finally crossed the peak of the Transformation Realm and stepped into the threshold of the Profound Realm.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The world around him looked entirely different than before.
Every trace of energy dwelling in nature and objects shone in countless distinct colors.
Amidst this festival of colors, Jeok-un slowly gathered his power.
'If the symbol of the Transformation Realm is Sword Gang, then the symbol of the Profound Realm is Will.'
Will was the power of intent.
It was the sole source that allowed a martial artist of the Profound Realm to transcend the limits of martial arts.
'Shall I give it a try?'
Within his perfected vessel, Jeok-un summoned his Will.
His internal energy began to move according to his volition.
And within that movement, the Will he had established was infused.
This was fundamentally different from the likes of Dang Maeng or Seo Do-yeom.
They had stalled at the peak of the Transformation Realm because they failed to establish their own unique intent within their martial arts.
In particular, those who grew up under the shelter and support of a clan or faction, like Dang Maeng, had even fewer opportunities to forge such a Will.
One had to interpret and reconstruct the martial arts they had accumulated solely by their own standards.
For those who grew up relying on external power, simply observing their own inner self—let alone their martial arts—was a monumental hurdle.
In other words, one had to be prepared to discard everything they owned to cross from the Transformation Realm to the Profound Realm.
But Jeok-un was different.
'I have already walked this path. I cannot lose my way.'
Before his regression, Jeok-un had already awakened his Will. He had realized his own martial path.
Strength to pluck mountains, spirit to cover the world.
To pull up mountains and overshadow the earth. This was the Will Jeok-un had established in his past life.
It was the determination to reign supreme over all creation, born after he discovered he carried the blood of the Overlord, Xiang Yu.
But now...
'I will take it a step further.'
Since his regression, he had broadened the depth of his comprehension through his interactions with Dok-go Cheon.
The result of that growth was:
The four seas and eight wildernesses share the same wind.
The entire world is swept by the same wind.
Wind.
It is the wind that blankets the heavens and the earth. A wind that moves freely, bound by nothing.
Finally, Jeok-un had completed his new martial path.
Whoosh!
A magnificent radiance burst forth. It was the moment his Will finally communed with the physical world.
Soon, Jeok-un slowly opened his eyes, a broad smile spreading across his face.
"Finally, the fifth stage."
Jeok-un quietly assessed his gains.
The Heaven-Defying Divine Art had finally surpassed the fourth stage and reached the fifth.
He had been stuck at the fourth stage for quite some time, but now that he had reached the fifth, his control over his energy was incomparably more perfect than before.
The energies of the Golden Spirit Thread and the Ice Emperor had vanished without a trace.
It was only natural. They had not been destroyed; they had simply dissolved into the Heaven-Defying Divine Art and become one.
That unified energy now flowed majestically through his major and minor meridians like a great river.
As Jeok-un traced the flow of his energy, he noticed another change when he reached his dantian.
'The fourth star has also opened.'
Mungok — The Wen Qu Star
The fourth star of the Overlord's power has awakened, resonating with the user's Profound Realm cultivation.
The fourth star rising in his inner micro-cosmos.
The fourth star of the Big Dipper, Mungok, was faintly shimmering.
Jeok-un couldn't help but smile.
The power of the Mungok star was the one he had utilized the most in his past life.
Jeok-un slowly focused his consciousness on his fingertips.
Guided by his Will, energy gathered at his fingertips.
Ssshh!
The power of the Mungok star began to flicker at his fingertips like a firefly.
'As expected.'
Unfortunately, he had not yet obtained the full power of Mungok.
Had he unlocked its entirety, it would be shining brilliantly rather than merely flickering.
Because the power of Mungok was as dangerous as it was mighty, he would need to reach at least the mastery of the Profound Realm to control it perfectly.
Until then, he would have to be satisfied with this.
"Well, this is more than enough."
Extremely satisfied, Jeok-un smiled brightly and withdrew his energy.
Ssshh!
The flickering energy at his fingertips was reabsorbed into his body, vanishing as if nothing had ever happened.
Like a small ripple merging back into the main current, there was no trace or disturbance left behind.
With everything stabilized, Jeok-un grinned and lightly stood up.
At the same time, he lightly stretched his body.
He performed simple actions like clenching his fists and extending his legs.
Yet, through those simple movements, Jeok-un accurately grasped his current condition.
"Thirty percent."
With this, he had reclaimed roughly thirty percent of the achievements he had attained in his past life.
Which meant...
'I am that much closer to my revenge.'
Jeok-un clenched his fists as he pictured the Heavenly Demon.
A ferocious energy, incomparable to anything before, surged within him.
'They say even a slow cow can walk a thousand miles. If I walk without stopping, I will surely reach him.'
The path he walked now was the right one.
Therefore, he could tread firmly without a single doubt.
Along this path of vengeance toward the Heavenly Demon.
As Jeok-un reaffirmed his resolve, the faint light of dawn began to peek through the window.
The meditation he had begun at nightfall had lasted through the entire night.
Now that today's sun had risen, it was time to handle today's business.
"Well then, shall we go back and take a look at the face of that Vice Lord who has lost his backing?"
It was time to return to Changsha, the headquarters of Sadocheon.