The Heavenly Demon's Transformation
With the moment at hand.
In the master’s office of the Jeokpung Guild, Lee Myeong-won rose from his chair, graying hair catching the dim light.
The first sign was about to appear.
Where was his gaze fixed now?
A stage had been set for the completion of the Blood Heaven Demon Technique.
Jo Yong-hyeop, his closest aide, asked in a low voice.
Should I move?
The Jeokpung Guild does not need to act.
I understand.
Lee Myeong-won, clad in a tailored suit, stepped out of the office.
Over the world destroyed by the Great Calamity, a new order was about to arrive.
Was he referring to the Great Calamity from a hundred years ago?
Or…
And the one who would lead that order would be the Jeokpung Guild and Lee Myeong-won himself.
Bloodlight exploded in Lee Myeong-won’s eyes.
[Lee Myeong-won’s eyes glowed with blood-red light. The stage for the Blood Heaven Demon Technique had begun.]
***
Kwakkwakwak!
In the center of the personal training hall.
From the hovering figure in the air, terrifying mana began to whirl.
“Wow, woooah!”
“Dae-yeon-ah, you must stick right next to me!”
A little distance away stood Lee Da-yeon and Kim Na-yeon.
Kim Na-yeon held Lee Da-yeon tightly in her arms, eyes wide open, as if shielding her from the swirling mana.
Rebirth of Bone and Muscle.
The process of shedding the old body and transforming into a physique perfectly suited for martial arts practice.
A phenomenon that occurs when a supreme expert who has stacked inner energy to its limit breaks through the wall and reaches the Transcendental Realm, the Harmony Realm.
A rare sight that even money cannot buy. Lee Da-yeon and Kim Na-yeon would eventually have to go through this too, so they had better remember it well.
I watched the flow of inner energy behind Kim Do-yoon’s back and poured enlightenment directly into his ears through telepathy.
The flow of inner energy passed through Kim Do-yoon’s meridians and rose through the major channels. It soon reached the Gate of Celestial Communication. The energy in the Heart Guard Meridian, the Middle Guard Meridian, and the Brain Guard Meridian opened one after another. The previously blocked energy shook like a river just before a flood.
[The human body is one small universe. The small heavens are merely rivers and streams within that universe. When the small universe connects to the ethics of the great universe and the river overflows into the sea, it becomes the great heaven.]
Uuuuung!
Inner energy surged past Kim Do-yoon’s meridians and climbed up the central channels. It approached the Gate of Celestial Communication. The Heart Guard Meridian, the Middle Guard Meridian, and the Brain Guard Meridian opened one by one, and the blocked energy shook violently, like a river about to flood.
[The governing vessels and governing veins are the pillars of heaven and earth. When these pillars connect, humans touch the sky. In that state, without restraint, inner energy moves as one thinks. That is the Harmony Realm.]
Lower Danjeon, Middle Danjeon, Upper Danjeon.
Each governed sexuality, qi, and spirit.
Now it was simply the process of completely placing the Lower Danjeon under one’s will, reaching the body’s completion, the Harmony Realm. Yet this teaching would prove useful even later when looking toward higher realms.
When the Lower Danjeon is full, the roots do not tremble.
When the Middle Danjeon is perceived, the mystery of harmony is comprehended.
When the Upper Danjeon is clear, power flows as one thinks.
When the Lower and Middle Danjeons connect, true harmony begins.
The Harmony Realm.
When the three treasures are complete, its profundity surpasses heaven and earth.
Profound Realm.
Inner energy passes through the body and touches the realm of concepts and nature.
Natural Realm.
Kwack!
Kim Do-yoon’s body, immersed in the state of no-self, shook violently.
The phenomenon of the Birth-and-Death Pass had begun.
I continued the telepathy so it would reach his mind.
[When surrendering the body to the flow of inner energy, one must not lose focus. One might fall into the devil of aiding the path of cultivation.]
Kwack!
Blood flowed from Kim Do-yoon’s mouth and nose.
“Kyaaah…!”
Kim Na-yeon, startled out of her wits, almost shouted, but barely managed to cover her mouth. Her other hand covered Lee Da-yeon’s.
I frowned while focusing all my nerves on Kim Do-yoon.
I had already told him everything. Why was he reacting like this now?
Kwung! Waaruureu.
Like a dam bursting, inner energy that had been blocked broke through the Baihui Meridian and created a massive flow, wrapping around Kim Do-yoon’s entire body.
This was the great heaven.
Hwaaaaaa!
Instantly, brilliant light erupted from Kim Do-yoon’s body.
Simultaneously, terrifying heat began to burn his body.
Chejeok, chejeojeok.
His burnt skin cracked, and new skin sprouted from within.
“Hoo.”
Kim Do-yoon exhaled and slowly opened his eyes.
Profound qi emanated from those eyes.
I clapped my hands, overjoyed.
“Oh, success!”
“Now it’s done?”
“Yes. Kim Do-yoon has now stepped into the realm of super-transcendence.”
“Hmph.”
Kim Do-yoon moved his hands a few times, then casually raised inner energy.
Pa-ji-jik!
Ultra-pure azure lightning swept through the surroundings.
“Wow, even thinking about this makes mana move? And…”
Observing his own interior, Kim Do-yoon shouted in delight.
“…my usable mana capacity has increased several times. Is this possible?”
“The Lower and Middle Danjeons have harmonized. In an easy-to-understand way, the mana storage capacity has expanded dramatically through the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle.”
“This is the difference between A-class and S-class. Haa, with a gap this large, one S-class hunter is treated as an enormous power. …So, how strong have I become?”
“Hmph. Comparing myself to the people I’ve seen, with Kim Jin-seong around, Kim Do-yoon would have a fair fight against him.”
“Me? With that Kim Jin-seong hunter?”
Kim Do-yoon stood up and stared at his own hands in disbelief.
I smiled proudly, admiring the masterpiece I had created.
On Kim Do-yoon’s face, which could be called handsome, a vitality different from before shone.
Following the firm neckline downward, a strong chest appeared, and below that, well-defined abdominal muscles.
And looking a little lower…
“Um… hmph… oh?”
Pak-pak!
I smiled like a mischievous child and patted Kim Do-yoon’s back.
“Kihihi, Kim Do-yoon, unexpectedly…!”
“Huh? Why?”
Kim Do-yoon asked with a dazed expression.
At that moment.
“Oppa…!”
“Hiiik!”
Kim Na-yeon opened her mouth in shock, and Lee Da-yeon startled and covered her eyes with her tiny hands.
“N-no clothes!”
“Really? …After the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle and getting super hot, did everything burn away?”
“Kyaaak! Dae-yeon-ah, let go of oppa!”
“Just by seeing a guy’s bare body, you’re making such a fuss… eek!”
Kim Na-yeon, who had run in like a madwoman, lifted my body, and in an instant her hands covered my eyes.
Thud, thud!
In the darkness where even an inch was invisible, the sound of someone harshly kicking someone else’s foot echoed.
“Get out! Go get dressed!”
“Ow, ow. This is all my fault?”
“We saw them!”
After the storm passed, in the training hall, Kim Na-yeon sighed and set my body down.
Only Kim Na-yeon and I remained in the training hall.
Kim Do-yoon had probably gone to get clothes. Lee Da-yeon had fled with a scared look.
I muttered with a pout.
“My sister and brother said I am their family. It’s okay for family to see each other naked.”
Even though my current body was female, I had seen male naked bodies more times than I could count in my past life. I was no longer embarrassed by it.
“Ah, no! Even if they’re family, men and women are different!”
“I don’t mind.”
“It’s bad for emotional education, right?”
Kim Na-yeon sighed and soon began asking her questions.
“But, oppa’s face looks a bit firmer now?”
“Um. Upon success of the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle, the body is reconstructed into a state most suitable for using martial arts. My brother was about to turn thirty, right? Now the body is probably in the early twenties.”
“Haa… the body becomes younger? Really?”
“Younger? You can say that. The lifespan also increases, and it does not age in this state.”
“Dae-yeon-ah!”
“Huh?”
Whoosh!
Kim Na-yeon suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
In her eyes burned an enormous desire.
“Huh? Unnie also wants the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle!”
“Just train hard. The process of breaking through the wall, I’ll help with.”
“How long will it take?”
“If I devote myself to training day and night… from now, thirty or forty years should be enough to meet the minimum conditions?”
“Too long…! Unnie doesn’t want to get old, can’t you give me Level Uppers like oppa?”
“No. Kim Do-yoon is at the very end of the supreme realm, so it hasn’t been long, but to reach the super-transcendence level, unnie would need to consume twice as many elixirs as Kim Do-yoon. Plus, there’s no actual combat experience.”
“Uuu…”
Kim Na-yeon made a distressed face and tugged at her sleeves.
I scolded her and clicked my tongue.
“The Rebirth of Bone and Muscle comes with the path of cultivating martial arts. A martial artist should care more about the ashes of past lives than incense.”
“But… even though I’m a woman now, I still can’t fully understand a woman’s feelings.”
“Then, what happens if Dae-yeon undergoes the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle? You said it happens quickly, right?”
“Um…? Well…”
Thinking about it now, I had only thought of undergoing the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle to gain a strong body, but I had never considered what kind of flesh I would have after undergoing it myself.
A child reaching the super-transcendence realm and undergoing the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle?
A case without precedent in all of history.
“The most likely case is… the body might not grow.”
“Grow…?”
“That seems the most probable. The reconstructed body might become the same as that of an adult. If the body’s state is fixed, the child would have to live the rest of its life in a child’s body, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
“No growing!”
Poof.
Kim Na-yeon suddenly made a distressed face and hugged my body tightly.
“Huh? Why?”
“If Dae-yeon’s body grows, unnie won’t be able to hug her like this!”
“Uuu, what’s so important about that?!”
“And you, your breasts will get bigger too? You always said my body’s were uncomfortable when you saw them!”
“Haa.”
I looked down at my flat chest.
At my age, a flat chest was probably no different from a boy’s.
And shifting my gaze downward, I stared at the soft flesh on Kim Na-yeon’s firm chest. It was quite large.
It was soft to hug, but thinking that I would have to carry something like that myself…
“Uek.”
That was a bit unpleasant.