What's Your Purpose?

Byeongmachong cafeteria.

After everyone had finished their meals and left, three third-generation disciples sat facing one another.

They were the representatives of the third generation: Baek Yu-hwa, Lee Poong, and Yu Ja-cho.

“……He claims he’s the ‘main’ personality and the other Dan Yeop is the ‘sub’? I’ve never heard such insane nonsense before.”

Yu Ja-cho shrugged with an awkward expression as he finished speaking.

Lee Poong, who had been listening with a furrowed brow, asked for confirmation.

“So Dan Yeop entered a state ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of qi deviation and went mad…… The one calling himself the ‘main’ is ridiculously strong, and the ‘sub’ is a stone monkey?”

“Exactly.”

“Damn it, is this some kind of joke? And why does he want us to torment the stone monkey?”

“I don’t know.”

“Whether he’s the main or the sub, they’re still the same body, right? Shouldn’t he have told us not to touch him?”

Lee Poong couldn’t accept that part.

People going mad from qi deviation was common enough, so he could overlook that.

But whether main or sub, they were the same person—so why bother tormenting himself?

“At first, he also told me not to touch Dan Yeop. But then he started muttering to himself and changed his mind, telling me to pick a fight. That’s when I felt it. Ah, this guy is truly insane.”

“But was the mad Dan Yeop really that strong?”

“Yeah. He toyed with me just like the instructors do. The moment his finger touched my body, it hurt like I’d been stabbed by a spear…… Haa! You really can’t understand until you experience it yourself.”

Lee Poong, who had been blinking in disbelief, turned to Baek Yu-hwa.

“What do you think, Baek Sa-mae? Does Dan Yeop seem truly mad? Or is he just pretending?”

After a moment of thought, Baek Yu-hwa spoke.

“There was a mad uncle in our Jeommun branch. He couldn’t speak coherently. Yu Sa-hyeong, when Dan Yeop spoke, did he ramble incoherently?”

“Not at all. He even recited difficult characters.”

“Is that so? Perhaps Dan Yeop has been deceiving all of us this whole time.”

Yu Ja-cho asked in surprise.

“Why? What would he gain by deceiving us?”

“We’ll have to find out from now on.”

“Baek Sa-mae, don’t tell me you’re planning to meet Dan Yeop?”

“If Yu Sa-hyeong was helpless against him, then Lee Sa-hyeong would struggle too. So in the end, I should at least confirm it myself. What scheme made him pretend to be a fool for thirteen years, and why is he now acting like a madman?”

Baek Yu-hwa’s eyes burned with a sense of duty—the top genius of Jeommun’s third generation.

***

While Yu Ja-cho and the others held their meeting, Dan Yeop was in his quarters, searching for his travel bag to sling over his shoulder as he looked for a place to train.

The martial arts of the Six Gates could be practiced anywhere, but refining Tae-eul Qi while wearing the Astral Gold-Threaded Jade Suit was something best kept hidden from prying eyes.

After wandering for a while, Dan Yeop stopped at a dead-end passage engraved with drawings and characters.

“No matter how much I look around, this is the best spot.”

It felt foreign, yet somehow familiar, and he liked it.

The only problem was that it was at the end of a passage, making it noticeable to others.

As he turned to leave, shaking off his lingering attachment, he suddenly paused.

“The writing is rather provocative.”

If the contents became known to the outside world through Haomun or tomb robbers, the descendants of Wind Earl or Rain Master might come to Byeongmachong.

“That won’t do.”

Muttering to himself, Dan Yeop picked up a stray piece of stone and stood before the stone wall.

“Since Master went to take revenge himself, it should be fine to erase them. The erased characters will remain etched in my heart forever.”

After making his vow, he chiseled away the three characters—Wind Earl, Rain Master, and Heavenly ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Realm—with the stone.

Once he finished, he left with a satisfied expression.

Beyond the open area around Byeongmachong, the outer sections were a maze of passages lined with stone chambers of various sizes.

Dan Yeop chose the stone chamber closest to the dead-end wall as his training spot.

Being closest to the dead-end wall also meant it was the most secluded.

He sat on the floor and raised his senses to scan the surroundings.

As expected of an underground tomb, he felt nothing.

It was so quiet that he thought he would hear footsteps if anyone approached.

Only then did he open his travel bag and look inside.

There was nothing in it.

He turned it inside out just in case, but the result was the same.

“Whoa! That’s amazing.”

After returning the bag to its original state, he channeled Tae-eul Qi into it.

Then he opened the bag and peered inside.

Still, he saw nothing.

‘Hah!’

Startled, he reached in and felt the cool yet warm touch of jade plates.

It was the Astral Gold-Threaded Jade Suit.

Though invisible to the naked eye, he could sense its presence through touch.

Dan Yeop slowly pulled out the jade suit.

Clink—.

The clear sound of jade plates striking each other echoed through the stone chamber.

As he draped the jade suit over his clothes, he muttered absentmindedly.

“The ‘sub’ personality won’t suddenly awaken while I’m training the mental technique, right?”

For a moment, his heart sank, but he soon shook his head.

He recalled performing the Great Circulation three times in front of his master.

With the Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol method, the sub personality would never awaken.

Dan Yeop began reciting the verses of the Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol in his mind.

His breathing followed the teachings of the Heart-Calming Pill Technique by default.

It was a breathing method he had practiced since childhood, so it had become ingrained in his body.

With half-closed eyes gazing at the tip of his nose, Dan Yeop breathed steadily, and a white mist began to form around him.

As time passed, the mist gradually thinned.

Finally, after two sijin (four hours), the mist vanished without a trace.

Dan Yeop’s half-closed eyelids slowly lifted.

“Phew—! Absorbing Master’s Qi Condensation Pill is no easy task.”

Had he absorbed even thirty percent of the pill?

He had thought wearing the jade suit would finish it in one go, but the road ahead still felt long.

If he could, he would have liked to enter a stone coffin like his master and train for ten years, but he knew he would starve to death if he tried.

The saying ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠“A sparrow trying to follow a stork will tear its legs” wasn’t for nothing.

With a sigh, Dan Yeop removed the jade suit, placed it in his travel bag, and left the stone chamber.

Shortly after arriving at his quarters, he began writing a long letter to the “sub” personality.

From the Divided Heart Technique and qi deviation to becoming smarter, the fight with Yu Ja-cho, and more……

However, he did not record anything about his master or the ancient Taego Sect.

Someone else might read the letter first, and it was information the sub personality didn’t need to know.

Finally, he added a warning: “The travel bag under the bed must not be lost, as it is necessary for treating qi deviation, and maintain purity until treatment is complete.”

The “travel bag” and “purity” were essential for Tae-eul Qi training.

As he finished writing, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over him.

“Aah, there’s still so far to go…… This is driving me crazy.”

Clutching the letter, he climbed onto his bed and fell asleep the moment he lay down.

***

“……”

When Dan Yeop woke up, he stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time.

He had clearly been called by Yu Ja-cho and beaten up, yet when he opened his eyes, he was on his bed?

‘Was it a dream?’

The fact that he had fought Yu Ja-cho on equal terms for quite a while felt like a dream.

‘I couldn’t even last against the Demoness……’

Strangely, fighting Yu Ja-cho, who was stronger than the Demoness, had been manageable.

He could see the punches coming, and even when hit, it didn’t hurt as much as before.

Of course, once Yu Ja-cho started using internal energy, it had been excruciatingly painful.

As he thought this far, Dan Yeop raised both arms to examine them.

He had expected them to be covered in bruises, but they were surprisingly fine.

‘But what’s this?’

In his right hand was a neatly folded piece of paper.

[I am Dan Yeop. While practicing the Divided Heart Technique, I fell into qi deviation and my personality split……]

The long letter ended with “Destroy after reading.”

Dan Yeop couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the contents written by his other self.

‘I’m in a state of qi deviation?’

He wanted to believe it was someone’s malicious prank, but considering the strange events that had happened to him, it was likely true.

After grasping the situation, Dan Yeop went to the outhouse and tore the letter into tiny pieces.

Still uneasy, he used a dung stick to push the scraps deep into the feces.

“Everything else is fine, but why does he call me the ‘sub’? Since this is originally my body, I should be the ‘main’.”

Dan Yeop didn’t like the split personality acting like the owner.

By any logic, it made no sense.

“Who does he think he is, calling himself the main? Ridiculous.”

As he grumbled and returned to his quarters, a clear voice called from behind.

“Dan Seonbae-nim.”

Startled, Dan Yeop turned around.

Baek Yu-hwa, the strongest among the third-generation disciples, stood there with a smile.

After confirming who it was, Dan Yeop subtly averted his gaze.

“Huh? Why?”

“I met Yu Sa-hyeong earlier. He said you’re a hidden expert?”

“……”

Dan Yeop neither denied nor confirmed it.

Though the letter had informed him of everything, it didn’t change anything.

He was still awkward with people and had no other skills.

Regardless, Baek Yu-hwa continued speaking.

“You’ve always seemed a bit strange, Dan Seonbae-nim. Your martial arts are absurdly weak, yet you don’t submit to the other trainees. It’s not easy to act that way in Haomun when you’re not from a prestigious sect, is it?”