Soared High
Before the sun rose, in the dim predawn light. Gang Ryong, who had followed the Third Young Master Yi Jinpyeong without knowing why, kept glancing around restlessly.
Yi Gajang even had a place like this.
Gang Ryong had frequented Yi Gajang often enough, always under the pretext of collecting debts. But the estate's grounds were far vaster than he'd ever realized—passing hall after hall, he still couldn't see the end. A fitting size for a clan once called the greatest under heaven.
They soon arrived at the deepest part of Yi Gajang's expansive domain. What he'd taken for just the boundary between forest and manor revealed a narrow path winding through. Pushing through tall, dense bamboo, they suddenly came upon a grand, imposing hall isolated from the others. It carried an inexplicably mystical air... and that was where Yi Jinpyeong finally stopped.
"Gang Dodu. I have another task for you."
Gang Ryong bowed deeply.
"Speak it."
"From now on, I'm going to circulate my qi here."
"Yes, sir."
"The problem is, powerful enemies are about to barge in. You have to stop them for me, no matter what."
Gang Ryong tensed up. Just how many enemies has this kid made? And for a master like Yi Jinpyeong to set the mood like this, they might truly be foes of a lifetime.
Gripping the sword at his waist firmly, he steeled himself.
"Who are they? I'll hold them off, come hell or high water."
"My brothers."
Gang Ryong blinked in confusion. Yi Jinpyeong continued in that same grave tone.
"They're still clueless, sleeping peacefully. But the moment they wake, they'll come straight for me. I can't have interruptions during qi circulation, so make sure they don't pass this path."
"Doesn't sound too hard. Just tell 'em you're circulating qi."
"They won't listen."
"...?"
Gang Ryong looked baffled. He knew Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun had their stubborn sides. But they weren't the type to ignore reason outright. Something was missing from the explanation, and Yi Jinpyeong seemed to realize it, adding,
"My brothers don't know I can cultivate martial arts yet."
Aha. Gang Ryong nodded at last. So that was it—just a lack of communication in the family.
"Young master. As the saying goes, secrets between family are never good. Better to have open talks as often as—"
"Hey. When did I ask for family counseling?"
"Ah. Right."
"Anyway, no matter what you say, they won't believe it till they see me themselves. And even then, they might not. So block them by force if you have to. Until I come out on my own."
"But young master, how could I dare block your brothers by force?"
"What's so hard about it? Just yesterday you barged in to seize the debt plaque without a second thought."
Gang Ryong flinched, scratching his head with an awkward grin.
"Heh heh. Why bring that up all of a sudden... The past is the past."
Truly, the world was unpredictable—one could never foresee even a step ahead. Who could've guessed that just yesterday, pressuring a clan for debts would lead to pledging himself to them? And to the Third Young Master, long thought a madman, no less.
"Anyway. You saying you can't do it?"
"I'll hold them off, no matter what!"
"Good. Get to it."
Yi Jinpyeong had given Gang Ryong yet another tough mission. Before entering the hall, he glanced back at the man standing rigidly to block the path.
The former Hwang Sabang leader had been beaten half to death, then dragged his battered body through the night with Gwak Yeonyong to procure the elixir. He looked ready to collapse any moment. Yet Gang Ryong showed no sign of complaint, simply carrying out orders as if he'd served him for decades.
Had unwavering loyalty bloomed in him overnight? Unlikely. It could be fear, or simply a lack of alternatives. He might even harbor dark thoughts beneath that compliant facade. Humans were like that.
It didn't matter. Yi Jinpyeong wouldn't dwell on it. Repay loyalty with trust, betrayal with punishment—that was all. Power gave one leeway in such relations.
He stepped into the hall.
Mugeukjeon. Grand, as its name implied. High ceilings, vast space. Shut the doors, and no sound from outside penetrated. Empty of furniture, filled only with emptiness and silence. In his past life, only Yi Gyeol had used it—for qi circulation or researching new arts. Who knew what fools had passed through in a century? Perhaps none dared touch it.
Pristine, not a speck of dust amid the void. His brothers lived simply in modest pavilions for ease, yet they'd maintained this place meticulously.
A faint smile of satisfaction crossed his face—then a scoff.
So what? The fools who offer withered jujubes on ancestral altars.
The founder's prickly nature surfaced. He sat cross-legged in the room's center.
Familiar seat. Familiar quiet. As if he'd returned to his days as the world's greatest.
But now he was a gaunt boy, a century skipped. From his bosom, he drew a wooden box and opened it.
True Origin Minor Qi Pill. An elixir condensing the qi a common warrior might build in ten years. Procuring it so swiftly was a boon—thanks largely to his new subordinates. Credit to the ex-Hwang Sabang leader, who'd unwittingly donated all his assets.
Now, absorbing it properly was up to him alone.
He gazed at the green-glowing pill, then swallowed it whole.
Bitter. Of course—nothing beneficial ever tasted sweet.
Regulating his breath, he waited for it to dissolve. Moments later,
...It's starting.
A massive blaze erupted in his gut. He swiftly recited the Gwi Hwa Yeon Cheon Gong formulas, confronting the devouring energy.
What Yi Jinpyeong attempted was mad—anyone versed in martial arts would call it suicide. Without inner power to control it, swallowing a potent pill like this on an empty dantian was poison. Especially to force meridians open with its power; one needed a master to suppress and guide it. A monk couldn't shave his own head.
But Yi Gyeol knew no such limits. Ignoring the searing agony, he tamed the wild flames directionless in his body. No foundation made it hard—like handling fire barehanded.
Yet with patience, he condensed the rampant energy into a round sphere. A fist-sized fireball formed. That was just the prelude.
Now, to scour the meridians properly.
He steeled himself and pushed. The monstrous thing rolled through his narrow meridians.
...Quite.
The former greatest under heaven found it quite painful. Beyond pain—like an elephant charging his acupoints. His body felt on the verge of bursting. His meridians were more clogged than expected after fifteen wasted years. For a moment, he wondered if he'd been too reckless.
But he endured. A chance to blast open the hardened channels at once. If not now, when? Fail today, and tomorrow's foes might claim him.
Yi Gyeol had grown strong with such resolve. Yi Jinpyeong would too.
Sweat beaded on his nose, forehead, everywhere. His recitation quickened.
Go among then like empty space, abandon the center yet not truly abandon...
*
How much time passed? The massive red energy shrank, spinning faster through his body. Faster, faster... Soon, it whirled so fiercely his form glowed as one crimson mass.
Drenched in sweat, Yi Jinpyeong's body shuddered violently. His hair stood on end; wind stirred in the silent room. It grew to a gale, a whirlwind around the boy.
The doors rattled as if to shatter—
Then, abruptly, the wind died. Silence descended.
Long after, the boy at the center snapped his eyes open. A clear, azure gleam flashed in them.
It's done.
A slight smile. He'd not only cleared his meridians. After achieving his goal, he'd contained the rampaging qi, using it as nourishment to sprout a tiny bud in his desert-dry dantian. Meek now, but with water and fertilizer, it would grow tall—into a tree overlooking the Central Plains.
He drew up a thread of qi experimentally. It surged fiercely from his dantian.
Pungsin Jigyeol.
Wind God Secret Art. Breaking through Geunlip, birthing wind qi. A mere gesture lifted a breeze that buoyed his body forward.
Aimed at the doors, they clicked open; he shot through like wind.
"Hahaha!"
He burst into laughter. Feeble compared to his past life, but the thrill of growth after so long filled him with joy.
Yi Jinpyeong, the reserve greatest under heaven, soared higher toward the sun.
Gang Ryong, who'd been dozing with a nod, gaped up at him in shock.