Starry Sky, Divine Lotus, Fear of Death
It meant he had been about to begin internal energy training.
“So he’s that desperate?”
Otherwise, the dunce Dan Yeop—who feared qi deviation more than anything—would never have chosen to train his inner power.
“Tsk. With a head like that, how much could he possibly gain from training anyway…”
Dan Yeop shook his head slowly, then rose from his seat.
Training could wait. First, he needed to understand the current situation.
He raced toward the Amun training hall like a gust of wind to meet Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi.
Amun Training Hall.
Afternoon training session.
Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi’s eyes sparkled with interest the moment he spotted Dan Yeop. The unhesitating stride and self-assured gaze made it clear who he was dealing with without a single word.
It was the unparalleled genius, Dan Yeop.
Dan Bul-wi left the fourth-generation students he had been instructing and walked straight over.
“What brings you here?”
“Father, how many days has it been since I left?”
“Twenty days.”
“Ha! That long already? This won’t do…”
Dan Yeop let out a long, frustrated sigh.
At this rate, absorbing the Qi Condensation Pill alone would take an eternity, never mind achieving any real greatness.
“Don’t worry too much. That fellow knows he must train his internal energy if he wants to overcome qi deviation. I gave him the Shaolin Temple’s Prajna Mind Method. Since he harbors fantasies about Shaolin martial arts, he’ll throw himself into it with everything he has.”
“You handled it well. Please tell the dunce Dan Yeop that he must train his internal energy on a strict schedule. He cannot continue as he has been.”
“Understood. By the way, is there any form of communion between you and the dunce Dan Yeop?”
“None. Why do you ask?”
“Three days after the exit examination—right after you fell asleep and the dunce Dan Yeop awakened…”
Dan Bul-wi explained how the dunce Dan Yeop had instantly grasped the first two forms of the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique.
“…And in the twenty days since, he has mastered two more movements. When you consider that the dunce Dan Yeop once spent thirteen years stuck on a single form, it is nothing short of a miracle.”
“I have no knowledge of that either. When the dunce Dan Yeop awakens this time, please verify it yourself. If there has been significant progress, then it would be reasonable to assume there is some connection between us.”
“Is your memory still completely blocked? You recall none of the dunce Dan Yeop’s memories at all?”
“Correct. Not even the slightest fragment. It feels as if I’m listening to someone else’s story.”
“Truly a bizarre affair. It seems as though something flows between the two of you, yet you share no memories? The heavens themselves must be laughing.”
“There are countless mysteries in this world that we simply don’t understand. Please don’t dwell on it.”
At Dan Yeop’s composed reply, Dan Bul-wi could not suppress a quiet chuckle.
‘Indeed, this one is very different from Dan Yeop.’
As Dan Bul-wi regarded him with renewed curiosity, Dan Yeop spoke again.
“Father, could you prepare some Wall Grain Pills for me?”
Dan Bul-wi immediately pulled a pouch from his desk drawer.
“Here. I prepared it in advance, anticipating your return. It’s a fifteen-day supply, so be sure to ration it properly this time.”
“Oh! Thank you, Father. Once I succeed, I will repay you with proper filial duty.”
“Haha! Even if they’re empty words, I’m grateful. Oh, and as I already told the dunce Dan Yeop, the situation within Guannei Circuit is not favorable for Haomun. The fourth-generation students’ exit examination may be moved forward.”
“Ah!”
“At his current rate of progress, it may even be possible for him to exit alongside the fourth-generation students. Keep that in mind.”
“The Byeongmachong would have been the perfect training ground, but it can’t be helped.”
Dan Yeop accepted the reality without complaint.
He was still a mere foot soldier within Haomun; he had no choice but to follow orders.
Quietly illuminating the dantian, a starry sky reflects within.
In the midst of emptiness, fire arises and transforms into a divine lotus.
Once the genius Dan Yeop accepted the early exit as inevitable, Dan Bul-wi asked casually, “That fellow wanted to be assigned to Jeommun. Is there any branch you prefer?”
“Jeommun means working at an inn, correct?”
“There are shops as well, but Haomun’s primary business has always been inns.”
“Anywhere is fine as long as it isn’t Gimun.”
“You don’t wish to enter the pleasure houses?”
“No. My chastity is quite precious to me.”
“Pfft! In that regard, it seems you and that fellow think alike. Very well. I will do my best to keep you away from Gimun.”
“Thank you. Then I shall begin closed-door training.”
After parting with Dan Bul-wi, Dan Yeop gathered his travel bag and water bottle from his quarters and headed to his personal training ground.
He began by executing the Six Gates martial arts in full.
Fist techniques, palm techniques, grappling hands, kicking techniques, then the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique, Hundred Flow Blade Technique, and Seven Injury Blade Technique. Only after completing them all did he release a long sigh.
“Haa…”
Reproducing the Six Gates arts faithfully only filled him with emptiness.
There was a saying that all paths return to one.
His perspective—having mastered not only Haomun techniques but even the celestial Taego Sect’s profound methods—had already surpassed the mortal realm.
To him, the Six Gates martial arts felt worse than useless.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to make minor improvements to them.
These were arts he would use for the rest of his life; he had no desire to practice them while cursing their flaws.
“I’ll simply correct the idiotic movements in the ones that are somewhat usable.”
On the spot, he selected the Sky Collapsing Fist, Heaven Turning Palm, Lightning Flash Kick, Falling Flower Mountain Palm, Heaven and Earth Blade Technique, Hundred Flow Blade Technique, and Seven Injury Blade Technique, then subtly revised the unnecessary motions.
Merely adjusting certain sections gave the forms a noticeably more profound quality.
“This should spare me from being called a fool.”
As soon as he finished, his stomach let out a loud growl.
Only then noticing his hunger, Dan Yeop swallowed a Wall Grain Pill.
After rinsing his mouth with water, he began training the Taego Sect techniques.
The first he attempted was the Taeheo Muyeonggeom.
First form—Formless Trace. The sword intent rises like mist, without a single mark.
Second form—Empty Step Flowing Shadow. It moves as mysteriously as a shadow gliding across the void.
Third form—Great Void Reflection. All phenomena are empty, yet a single sword returns.
Even renowned martial artists would need a lifetime of bitter contemplation to barely grasp such a sword art, yet Dan Yeop felt no difficulty whatsoever.
Compared to Muaegeom or the Primordial Chaos Sword, the Taeheo Muyeonggeom flowed without obstruction.
After performing all three forms, his breathing remained perfectly calm.
“This is how it should be.”
Merely thinking about Muaegeom already made his chest feel tight. Actually executing it caused his breath to catch in his throat.
Dan Yeop trained the Taeheo Muyeonggeom until exhaustion.
During brief rests, he chewed Wall Grain Pills thoroughly and drank water.
After spending an entire day like this, he moved on to Muaegeom.
His elevated martial comprehension had expanded his insight into Muaegeom as well.
How much time had passed?
With both body and mind drained, he collapsed to the ground and crunched noisily on more Wall Grain Pills.
“Oh no! I wasn’t supposed to eat them like this.”
Dan Yeop was startled to see how much the supply had dwindled.
Whenever he trained Muaegeom, he always ended up mismanaging his consumption of the pills.
He tied the pouch tightly and stored it back in his bag.
“Even a flea has its pride. This is unacceptable.”
He sat motionless for a moment, then sprang to his feet and began practicing the Primordial Chaos Sword.
Not to train it, but simply to keep it from being forgotten.
As expected, the more he performed it, the more distant he felt from its true sword intent—an eerie sensation.
“Ah, I shouldn’t have practiced it.”
Each execution pushed him one step further away.
Did that mean refraining from practice would bring him closer?
With such idle thoughts swirling in his mind, he pulled the Seong-jin-geum-ru-ok-ui from his bag, put it on, and lay down.
It was now time to cultivate the Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol.
Dan Yeop stared into empty space with half-lidded eyes.
As he focused his consciousness on his dantian, stars began to appear one by one.
This was the harmony of Tae-eul Qi that Red Pine had instilled in him.
Had Dan Yeop not possessed Tae-eul Qi, he might never have seen the starry sky within his dantian no matter how long he trained.
Fortunately, the Qi Condensation Pill had granted him Tae-eul Qi, allowing him to witness it directly.
The stars seemed to turn into flames, then coalesced into lotus buds.
Dan Yeop gazed at the Divine Lotus with a calm expression.
He had reached this stage before, so there was nothing new about it.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, the closed Divine Lotus began to slowly unfurl, blooming in full.
As Dan Yeop furrowed his brow at the unexpected change and focused harder, the radiant lotus scattered like mist.
Two pale hands emerged from the void and mercilessly seized his throat.
‘Guh!’
Dan Yeop screamed inwardly.
‘I… I can’t breathe…’
He thrashed desperately, but his body refused to move.
‘S-Save me…’
Just before he lost consciousness, the hands slipped back into darkness.
“Uwaaaaah—!”
With a scream, Dan Yeop bolted upright.
“Huk! Huk! Huk! Huk!”
Gasping violently, his hand slowly rose to his neck.
His fingers traced the uneven scar tissue.
“……”
For the first time, his previously untroubled face twisted in anguish.
In that instant, he realized it.
Deep in his bones, the terror of death had been branded into him.
Until he overcame that fear, even cultivating the Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol would prove nearly impossible.
Dan Yeop raised both hands before his eyes.
Completely beyond his control, they were trembling violently.
“Ha… I’m screwed.”
After the starry sky came the blooming of the divine lotus—and with it, the fear of death awakened.
He had been consumed by that terror.
At this rate, absorbing the Qi Condensation Pill would be difficult, let alone achieving great success in the Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol.
Once his body calmed somewhat, he attempted the technique once more.
Yet the moment the Divine Lotus bloomed fully, the pale hands appeared again and strangled him.
Once more he awoke screaming. He removed the Seong-jin-geum-ru-ok-ui and placed it back in his bag.
“I need to speak with Father.”
Afternoon training session.
Amun Training Hall.
Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi smiled inwardly when he saw Dan Yeop return after only three days.
If he simply avoided sleep, he might have lasted longer, but physical training inevitably shortened the time he could endure.
In Dan Yeop’s case, three days seemed to be the limit.
“You’re back?”
“Yes. There is something I need to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Do you happen to know anything about the scar on my neck?”
As he spoke, Dan Yeop revealed the area around his throat.
Seeing the heavily scarred neck, Dan Bul-wi answered with an awkward expression.
“I don’t. When I first met you fourteen years ago in the marketplace, it was already there.”
“Fourteen years ago… that would have been when I was about four?”
“Correct.”
“How did you know I was four?”
“When I asked your age, you held up four fingers.”
“The dunce Dan Yeop did?”
“Yes.”
“He was sharper than I thought?”
“Back then, yes.”
“Did the dunce Dan Yeop never speak about the scar on his neck?”
“Never.”
“Do you have any guess who might have done it?”
“Whenever I mentioned his mother or father, the child would react with disgust. I assumed he had suffered terribly at their hands and chose not to press further.”
“Please look into who did this to the dunce Dan Yeop.”
“Why investigate it now, after all this time?”
“When I train my mind method, the scar keeps bothering me.”
“What does a mind method have to do with that?”
Dan Bul-wi looked at him in bewilderment.
“You asked me before, didn’t you? Whether there was any communion between the dunce Dan Yeop and me.”
“I did.”
“It seems communion occurs when I train the mind method. The sensation of being strangled to death is so intense… it interferes with my training to a severe degree.”
“Hoh! How astonishing.”
“The dunce Dan Yeop’s terrifying memories are holding me back.”
“Do you believe learning who tried to kill you will change anything?”
“I don’t know. I only know that the identity of the one who—”