Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Primordial Chaos of the Primordial Chaos Art
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“Urin, my son. I'll be waiting, putting all my faith in you. So train hard, but take care of yourself.”
Arriving before the secluded training chamber, Yeonhwa pushed Namgung Urin’s back, shoving him inside.
“Mother…”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll send in nutritious meals once a month.”
“…”
Didn’t this feel exactly like being thrown into an underground prison for some heinous crime?
“My son. You must come out stronger. You must!”
But what could he do?
His mother wasn’t the type to bend her will or change her mind.
“…Yes.”
*Creeeak.*
*Slam!*
The iron bars of the underground prison slammed shut.
That’s what I thought.
No, that’s what it was.
I was sure of it.
“…I’ve been had.”
The thought suddenly occurred to me that this must be how my grandfather and father felt when they fell into the Murong and Baekri families’ trap during the War of Orthodox and Demonic Factions.
While it was obviously different, I never dreamed I’d be tricked by my own mother, Yeonhwa, into spending five long years in this secluded training… no, not a chamber, but a prison like an underground dungeon.
My own mother, whom I trusted, had stabbed me in the back.
“How could I not have known?”
Just how strong and formidable a being a mother is.
The hearts of mothers who, despite the pain of carrying a child for ten months, consider that time a blessing for their unborn child.
“Then again, how would I know?”
I, who has never been a mother—no, who can never be one—could never understand.
That heart doesn't change even after the child is born.
They always watch from the side.
When they are newborns, when they take their first steps, when they start eating on their own, and when they begin to learn martial arts.
So there's no way they wouldn't know their own child.
No way.
So why didn't I know that?
My mother might not have known I was planning to undergo secluded training.
Even so, her mind wouldn't have changed.
In the end, I was destined to be dragged here and forced to train for five long years, a sentence no different from hard labor.
I'd witnessed my grandfather, father, and uncle suffer this fate a few times, but I never thought it would happen to me.
“I never imagined.”
However.
*Pfft.*
Namgung Urin liked it.
This side of his mother. He liked that his mother, who had always been warm and protective, was now forcing him to do something.
[You must be pleased, Master.]
The Primordial Chaos Art suddenly interjected.
‘What do you know?’
[I know nothing. But when it comes to the Primordial Chaos Art, there is nothing I do not know.]
‘Shut up.’
[Master. Five years is a very short time to learn the Primordial Chaos Art. The foundation you envisioned… even five years of training may be far from enough. The Primordial Chaos Art is something that may not be enough even if you invest a lifetime in it. That is why I say your mother's choice was an excellent one.]
‘I doubt it.’
[…What do you mean, you doubt it?]
‘It's because you don't know me well enough yet. On that note, want to make a bet?’
[Very well. A bet.]
‘Never mind. There's nothing to wager. Is there anything you can give me? It's not like I can kill you.’
The Primordial Chaos Art couldn't even bleed.
[…Uh, …I suppose not.]
It's not like the Primordial Chaos Art had money, or deeds to a house or land.
Nor could the Primordial Chaos Art use itself to satisfy my thirst for it.
Because the one learning the martial art was not the Primordial Chaos Art, but Namgung Urin himself.
‘Exactly.’
[It's sad. That I have nothing to give you, Master.]
‘No need to be sad. You are necessary to me just as you are. So don't try so hard.’
[Thank you, Master. But what is it that I don't know? I wish to know more about you as well.]
‘Well, you see.’
Everyone thinks I do nothing but cause trouble and neglect my training.
They're all wrong.
Well, it's true I cause trouble, but I've never neglected my training.
What I mean is…
As one's martial arts proficiency increases, if the Essence, Qi, and Spirit are unstable, one might later suffer from Qi deviation, or one's progress might slow down drastically or even stop altogether.
The biggest problem here is Essence.
Simply put, my body can't keep up with my martial arts achievements. In other words, my Qi and Spirit are advancing far too quickly.
Of course, my internal energy, which corresponds to Qi, is also lacking, but it's not a major issue when it comes to executing techniques.
The bottom line is, I'm still young.
Without understanding any of this, the family elders pointed their fingers at me.
How could they know?
They couldn't have imagined it. Not even my father, a renowned genius. Not even my grandfather, who holds the title of Sword Emperor.
[Ah. My master is truly remarkable.]
‘Not that remarkable.’
[No, you are. To possess such talent... No, even that expression seems inadequate. You possess the abilities of a god in a human body. That must be why, Master.]
‘A god's abilities in a human body? Sounds nice, but that kind of flattery won't work on me.’
[Flattery? Absolutely not. I am being sincere.]
‘Enough.’
Now that things have come to this, I have to stay locked up in here for five years and focus solely on training.
Namgung Urin scanned the secluded training chamber.
It was a place no one could enter without the Family Head's permission.
A place that held hundreds of years of Namgung history.
The walls on all four sides were made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Steel, said to be nearly impossible to scratch.
However, the walls of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Steel were covered in sword marks.
A sign that the greatest masters of the Namgung family had passed through this place.
My grandfather, and my father.
The ceiling was filled with luminous pearls, brightly illuminating the training chamber.
One could tell just how powerful the Namgung Family was just by looking at this.
‘Tell me. Where do I start?’
[Yes, Master.]
Thus began the secluded training of Namgung Urin, the man who would one day make Anhui weep, and the martial world tremble.
[First, the Primordial Chaos Art does not call its Qi internal energy. It is called Primordial Chaos.]
‘It's the same thing. Is there really a need for that?’
[No. There is no particular reason for it. However, please call it Primordial Chaos. You can think of it as the unique pride of the Primordial Chaos Art.]
‘It's not a difficult request. I’ll do it.’
[Thank you. Also, while the Primordial Chaos accumulates in the dantian like other cultivation arts, it also gathers in the fine meridians spread throughout the body. In essence, you should understand that your entire body becomes Primordial Chaos.]
The Primordial Chaos Art was certainly different from the very beginning.
Its difference from other martial arts further piqued Namgung Urin's curiosity.
‘And?’
[Other cultivation arts begin by sensing Qi through breathing and accumulating it internally, but the Primordial Chaos Art begins with seeing.]
‘Seeing? Seeing what?’
[Simply put, the air. Of course, Primordial Chaos is different from air. It is the same, yet different. You could say it is something more fundamental than air. In short, you must see the Primordial Chaos to begin your initiation into the art.]
‘What does it look like?’
[Even I do not know.]
‘Hey.’
How in the world am I supposed to see something when you don't even know what it looks like?
It was different from the start, but this was just difficult.
[Try to see it while circulating your energy according to the incantations of the Primordial Chaos Art. Then, someday, you will see it. You will know then.]
‘You said you don't know either, right? And what's this "someday"? What do you mean?’
[I predict it will take two years at the earliest, three at the latest, to see the Primordial Chaos. Of course, this is taking into account your remarkable talent, Master. And did I not tell you? That five years is not enough time to build the foundation.]
‘…’
Two years just to see the Primordial Chaos?
Are you insane?!
Namgung Urin had initially planned for a year, maybe a year and a half, when he first thought of secluded training.
‘Really?’
He had thought it would be similar to other martial arts.
He had expected the process of learning the Primordial Chaos Art to be more difficult than other arts, but this was on another level.
[If it were easy, anyone could have learned it.]
That's true. If it were easy, anyone could have learned it.
Even if the Primordial Chaos Art hadn't chosen a master.
Still, this felt like too much.
He had entered seclusion to master the Namgung swordsmanship.
But if he wasted two years just trying to see the Primordial Chaos…
The Primordial Chaos Art contained a considerable number of techniques.
So when would he build the foundation for all those techniques, and when would he ever learn the Namgung swordsmanship?
The techniques within the Primordial Chaos Art wouldn't be easy either.
Faced with this unexpected wall of reality, Namgung Urin tore at his hair.
[Master, c-calm down.]
‘Do I look like I can calm down right now?!’
[…]
‘Hey, come on, be reasonable. Isn't there an easier way?’
[You know as well as I do, Master. There are no shortcuts in martial arts.]
No, he didn't know.
Because even the advanced martial arts of the Namgung family, which were said to be plentiful, had been easy for him.
This wasn't the time for this.
‘Let's just try it first. I'll decide after I've tried.’
[Very well. The method is the same as sensing Qi. However, you must keep your eyes open and have the will to see the Primordial Chaos.]
‘Quiet. I'm already doing that.’
[…]
He took a deep, steady breath.
And his eyes searched for the Primordial Chaos as if to pierce through everything.
A quarter-hour passed.
A half-hour.
An entire day passed.
“This is driving me crazy.”
[Be patient, Master.]
This was no situation to be patient.
If his secluded training ended with him failing to build the foundation of the Primordial Chaos Art and master the Namgung martial arts…
“Ugh.”
The mere thought was horrifying.
The outcome was as clear as day.
He would surely be dragged back by his mother and locked up in this prison-like place again.
‘Absolutely not!’
Over my dead body!
With firm resolve, Namgung Urin opened his eyes wide again.
But as he did…
“My eyes hurt.”
It was from straining his eyes for a full day without sleep.
And Namgung Urin was only thirteen years old this year.
“I should get some shut-eye.”
[…You truly are lazy.]
‘Shut up! You need plenty of sleep to grow fast!’
He wasn't wrong.
At Namgung Urin's age, plenty of sleep was indeed necessary for growth.
But coming from Namgung Urin, the statement lacked all credibility.
To the Primordial Chaos Art, it sounded like nothing but an excuse.
And it understood.
Why adults inevitably become nagging old folks.
And so, the days repeated.
Ample sleep, rest, and in the remaining time, training to see the Primordial Chaos.
[At this rate, the years will fly by, Master. Do you intend to spend all five years just trying to see the Primordial Chaos, instead of two?]
‘Have you decided to become a nagging old man?’
[You are the one leading me down this path, Master.]
‘I'd appreciate it if you'd shut up. I have my own way of doing things.’
[Ah, yes. Of course you do.]
‘And stop being sarcastic.’
[Ah, yes.]
The Primordial Chaos Art had now adopted a "whatever happens, happens" attitude.
And it began to have doubts.
Doubts about whether Namgung Urin was truly worthy of being its master.
Again, time flowed by.
Ten days passed.
Twenty days passed.
A month also flew by. Like an arrow.
As if someone had nocked time on a bowstring, pulled it taut, and let it fly.
Namgung Urin's training methods remained unchanged.
Today, too, he woke up late, chewed on a grain pill with a grimace, and sat cross-legged as if it were a chore.
Had a quarter-hour passed?
As if even his concentration had grown lazy, Namgung Urin's lips parted.
“I see…”
The Primordial Chaos Art also spoke, annoyed.
[What is it? Not even a quarter-hour has passed. Don't you think you're taking this too far?]
The Primordial Chaos Art wished it could change its master right this instant, but that was beyond its power.
It was not that the art had chosen Namgung Urin, but that the art itself had been drawn into him.
“I… see it. The Primordial Chaos…”
For a moment, the Primordial Chaos Art was startled, but it soon scoffed.
Only a month had passed. What could he possibly have seen?
The Primordial Chaos Art was on the verge of going mad with disbelief.
There's a limit to how much one can joke around.