Beyond Even My Imagination
'The young master has changed.'
Ella's mind was filled with that single thought as she walked down the corridor, tray of empty bowls in hand. Just yesterday, Kael had been so prickly. He'd fly into rages when she brought his food, hurling it across the room, and spew vicious insults demanding she leave him alone. The young master had been so frail, on the verge of death at any moment.
But then he'd stopped breathing for thirty whole minutes, only to miraculously revive—and scraped every last bit from a bowl of thin potage. And from the next meal onward, he'd bellowed—no, requested—that she bring double portions.
Did... did something happen to his head?
She'd heard a scary story once: if someone stops breathing for too long, their brain can get damaged. Clearly, young master Kael was suffering some horrific aftereffect. His speech had turned strangely like an old man's, and his eyes had grown terrifyingly sharp.
But...
Still... he's so much better now. Hehe...
A small smile crept across Ella's lips. She truly pitied and cherished Kael. The forsaken young master of the Restis family, abandoned in this remote annex on the fringes of the estate where no one ever visited. When Ella had first joined the household as a child, full of mistakes, Kael was the only one who'd offered her kind words.
—Don't cry, little one. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is resolving not to repeat them.
That warm phrase from his small frame, patting her shoulder—it was all that had let her endure this barren annex.
He called me little when he was just a kid himself...
Recalling that tender memory, Ella clenched her fists and pumped them in the air with a quiet shout.
"Alright, let's work harder! So the young master can really get healthy! You can do it, Ella!"
As she headed to the kitchen, someone called out from behind.
"Hey, Ella. Did the young master leave his meal untouched again today?"
Ella turned. There stood a brown-haired young man in worn leather armor—the guard of this annex, Weger.
This tiny annex sat in the most forgotten corner of the vast Restis estate. Only two people tended it and cared for Kael: Ella, the maid and housekeeper, and Weger, the guard who handled all the odd jobs.
Ella beamed at him.
"Nope! The young master finally ate everything today!"
"What? F-For real?"
Weger's eyes bulged.
"Totally! He even said to make lunch double hearty!"
"N-No way!? That young master Kael!?"
Weger stared in disbelief at the spotless empty bowls in her hands.
"Hehe, yep. So you better shape up too! He might spring up any minute and yell, 'Weger, you fool! Can't you stand guard properly?'"
Ella mimicked Kael with a mock stern face.
The two sole servants of the sickly young master shared a peculiar camaraderie, a tight bond. The news that Kael had finished his meal was worth more than any treasure to them.
Weger's steps suddenly quickened.
"I-I can't just stand here! Th-the garden! The front courtyard garden he loves most—it's not done yet!"
It was a tiny, humble garden, but on rare good days, Kael would wheel out in his chair to bask in the sun. Not that he'd even glanced at it these past few months as his illness worsened.
"What? You using the garden as an excuse to slack off?"
"No way! I'm going for real! I'll leave the main gate to Oliver!"
Oliver. The only other resident of this desolate annex alongside Weger and Ella—a big retriever dog.
"Yeah! Honestly, Oliver's a hundred times more reliable than you!"
Ella giggled at Weger's sturdy back as he dashed outside.
"Okay, then I'll whip up the daily report for the duke and get cooking. Oh, and air out the annex while I'm at it—time for a good cleaning!"
For the first time in ages, the annex buzzed with life.
"Urgh..."
A groan of agony slipped from Cheon Woo-jin's lips as he sat cross-legged on the bed. Taiji Mysterious Heaven Heart Method. The legendary Taoist martial art said to have been created by the founder of the Wudang Sect, Immortal Zhang Sanfeng, in his later years of enlightenment. By reputation alone, it rivaled the Heavenly Demon Divine Art as one of the world's supreme techniques.
Not just Wudang disciples, but martial artists across the righteous and demonic sects had scoured the land for this lost manual. Yet no one found it—buried in the deepest vaults of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Even circulating this supremely stable, side-effect-free pure energy, Woo-jin's body poured sweat like rain.
From the Sea of Qi acupoint... then Curved Pool, and... up to the Central Altar. Urgh!
Excruciatingly slow. Meticulous, imposing no strain whatsoever. Like handling a soaked, tear-prone sheet of tissue paper.
Cheon Woo-jin focused every ounce of will, guiding the faint energy through his body. Unblocking sealed meridians brought agony like ripping flesh. But he held on.
And amid the pain, he discovered something that brought a smile: This world's ambient energy... several times denser and purer than the Central Plains.
Natural spiritual energy, or mana as they called it here. The power drifting in this fantasy world's air differed qualitatively and quantitatively from his murim origins. Far richer, untainted purity.
With energy this dense, I'll recover my realm far faster than expected. Small mercy.
Even in torment, curiosity stirred in Woo-jin's mind. How strong were the knights and mages born and raised in such an environment?
He'd read that romance sword-and-magic novel, but its fights were no different from Heavenly Demon Lone Journey. Same author, same style. But after fifty years tumbling through the murim world, he knew words on a page weren't the same as clashing blades and spilling blood.
And one more thing that set his blood aflame: Dragons exist on this continent.
Unrivaled supreme beings beyond human reach. For the first time in decades, since growing bored at the pinnacle, Cheon Woo-jin's heart quickened.
First, recover my energy. Still not sure if I've truly landed in that swordsmanship duke's lineage from the novel.
Kael—a minor name, not the protagonist. He'd probe Ella about the family when she returned.
Shaking off distractions, Woo-jin opened paths for energy flow and fully engaged the Taiji Mysterious Heaven Heart Method.
Hummm—
The still air in the room grew heavy, swirling. Clear, nature-like energy, distinct from demonic qi, poured into his dantian via breaths. Like gentle drizzle over cracked earth, it dissolved clotted waste in his vessels, advancing steadily.
Sequentially unblocking sealed channels, energy completed a full-body circuit—the Lesser Heavenly Cycle. Warmth bloomed pleasantly from his torso.
Bone-deep screams faded, replaced by soothing pleasure. Five Lesser Cycles. Scattered wisps gathered like droplets, forming thicker streams.
Finally, piercing all meridians for the Greater Heavenly Cycle.
Boom—
A heavy rupture echoed within. One Greater and five Lesser Cycles. Enduring that grueling process birthed a tiny change in his empty lower dantian.
Faint heat gathered into a single, rice-grain-sized orb of transparent, pristine energy.
Dantian awakening. The foundational vessel for any martial artist, now forged.
Tiny, but its purity outshone any ordinary warrior's.
Impressive. Energy this pure...
The crystallized essence of the Heavenly Demon's ultimate insight and the heart method's purity.
Whew... fortunate. At least I won't drop dead just yet.
Cheon Woo-jin steadied his breath and snapped open his eyes.
The sight that greeted him nearly made Cheon Woo-jin gasp.
Ella's face, brimming with tears ready to burst into sobs. Beside her, a brown-haired man in shabby leather armor and soldier's garb, equally worried. And between their legs, a massive shaggy dog wagging its tail furiously.
"Hm?"
Woo-jin blinked at the odd trio.
The moment he spoke, Ella and the man shrieked in unison.
"Y-Y-Young master!! Are you okay!? You're conscious!?"
As Ella lunged in a frenzy, Woo-jin scowled and raised a hand to halt her.
"This one is unharmed. Cease this uproar. What in the world has happened?"
His calm query broke Ella's dam. She'd held back, but now...
"W-Waaah! Y-Young master, you're weird! You've really gone all weird!"
She collapsed, bawling with snot streaming.
Cheon Woo-jin, who'd reigned solitary for decades atop Shipman Mountain Range's Demon Tower, faced a scene unseen in half a century: a youth weeping uncontrollably.
His eyes darted in flustered panic.
"Wh-What is this, Ella? Why the sudden tears?"
The fidgeting Weger stepped up gravely.
"Young master. Are you truly alright? No discomfort anywhere?"
"This one told you, perfectly fine."
"But young master... you've sat in that pose for three days and nights without a bite or sip, not moving a muscle."
Woo-jin's brow twitched.
"What? Three days?"
"Woof! Woof! Pant pant!!"
Even Oliver, staring blankly, barked twice in agreement and wagged harder.
I've been in meditation for three days?
Woo-jin stared at his hands in disbelief. One Greater Cycle, five Lesser. Basic meditation he'd finished in a blink as Heavenly Demon.
Yet it took three days for that?
This wretched body...
Despair swallowed him wordless.
...truly eclipses even my wildest imaginings of trash.
The absolute Heavenly Demon's profound sigh weighed heavy in the invalid young master's room.
"That aside... who might you be?"
As Woo-jin eyed Weger, Ella's wails intensified.
"Our young master's done for! Now he doesn't even recognize Weger! Waaah!"
Cheon Woo-jin swallowed bitter regret inwardly.
Damn it all. What does one do in a situation like this?
The supreme lord of the world, undone by one girl's sobs.