Chapter 141. The Yu-Mu Heart Method
“Aigoo, Elder. I get it—you don’t want to rot in the underground dungeon eating bean porridge... or whatever they call it here, bean bread? Anyway, no cold winds and hard floors for you. But come on, at least make some sense.”
“Hah! Nonsense, you say! Me, Minsia, the Supreme Matriarch of the Hoblood Clan, offering to personally teach you our martial arts! After mastering our Hoblood Clan's inner family qi cultivation method—”
“Inner family qi cultivation... that stuff's utterly useless to me.”
“You brat! Useless? Do you even know what you're dismissing—the martial arts of the Hoblood Clan!”
Minsia was practically bulging veins in her neck, insisting on passing down the Hoblood Clan's martial arts and inner family qi cultivation method, but I just gave her a cold, appraising stare.
No matter how powerful the martial arts or that inner family qi method is, what does it have to do with me? I can't even use it anyway. Tch.
It was obvious: someone without a speck of mana like me could learn all the Hoblood Clan martial arts or inner family qi cultivation in the world, but I'd never leap through the air, split the earth, or unleash palm winds like Minsia could. Self-evident fact.
Two years ago now, when I first got isekai'd here—on Friday, July 22, 561 by the Ailene calendar. I remember it crystal clear. My memory's always been sharp, but pinning down the exact date and day of the week? That's because it was the day I first ran into those mages... from the Wind Tower, no less.
Those hack butchers who only knew amputation tried to scout me. Still ridiculous thinking about it.
That day Wind Tower Master Servius tried headhunting me, we did a mana measurement in his 56th-floor office. I'd briefly dreamed of a glamorous isekai life back then, but it was just a midsummer night's fantasy.
Even Emily from the grocery store and the neighborhood kids had at least a tiny bit of mana. Me? Zero. Not a single speck.
Mana or qi—same invisible energy that powers magic, just different names. So learning martial arts or qi? Might as well be one of those folks gathering in the park every morning and evening, flailing limbs for health exercises. No real difference.
Health aerobics for 2,835 gold, 9 silver, 7 copper? Where does she get off with this senile nonsense?
A real trade means giving what the other side wants. No matter how I sliced it, Minsia's "health aerobics" felt like a hard sell, not a deal.
“Heh heh, you just don't understand yet, child. Even without mana, qi—”
“Walter, still no word from the territory office? We've got someone itching for the express dungeon wagon, and those bureaucrats are dragging their feet. Tch.”
“The tone's longer than expected. Should I head to the office first...? Yes, this is the Beauty Tower at old Frederik Territory plot 46-01894-925. About the underground dungeon transfer—”
“W-Wait! Stop! Qi is different from mana! Even if you have no mana at all, you can master the inner family qi cultivation method!”
Her pupils dilated like they might pop, sweat trickled down her temples, fists clenched white-knuckled. Scanning her micro-expressions, she didn't seem to be lying.
“Walter, hang up the crystal orb for a sec. Let's hear the elder out first.”
“I'll call back.”
Walter nodded and cut the crystal orb call. Confirming it, Minsia let out a relieved sigh and plunged right back in.
“Listen well, child. Both mana and qi are powers borrowed from nature. They're the same force... yet different.”
“Keep it simple. I'm a busy man.”
Old sages say those with silver tongues are all con artists. Minsia cleared her throat a few times at my skeptical glare and pressed on.
“You know the most vital thing for building a house is the land, right? Without solid ground, even the finest materials mean nothing.”
Her explanation was starting to ramble again, but on a whim, I let her continue.
“A house on shaky ground crumbles just like a sandcastle on the beach, no matter the materials.”
As she spoke, Minsia's gaze shifted to Walter.
“It's not wrong for West Continent warriors to borrow mana like that fool over there. But it only shines in mana-rich atmospheres like the West Continent. Our East Continent warriors, using the dantian? We wield full power anywhere, even mana-scarce spots.”
She looked every bit the twenty-something woman on the outside, but inside was a seventy-year-old sage. Her lecture on qi droned on like some elder quoting Confucius and Mencius.
“With vast, sturdy land, you can build anything—from a humble hut to a grand castle. Cultivating inner power is the same.”
Yet amid the boredom, a faint hope flickered: maybe I could gain some magical strength too? Like getting soaked in a drizzle, I found myself drawn in.
“Yin-yang, taiji, three powers, four images, five elements—or mana, as it's called. The world is made of qi. An invisible but real force. Accumulating it in the body is inner family qi cultivation, commonly called inner power. To build that, you need the dantian—the storage for qi.”
“So the dantian is the foundation land for stacking inner power?”
“Heh heh, exactly. Quick on the uptake, child.”
Minsia nodded approvingly at my response, but Walter beside me let out a bitter scoff.
“Sounds like dementia to me. No need to listen further, Director.”
“Walter?”
“You worm! What did you just say!”
“Those narrow-minded East Continent types hoard what they call martial arts like misers. Inner family qi methods are secret manuals passed only to select direct descendants. The notoriously insular Hoblood Clan wouldn't share with an outsider.”
“Hm...”
Walter's words rang true, and I found myself nodding. With Tolstoy flaunting that massive sword tattoo—the clan heirloom and symbol—they were stingy enough. Handing over a secret manual? Unlikely.
“Heh heh, child, that young fool's too narrow-minded. True, inner family qi methods shouldn't leak out lightly, but the Hoblood Clan isn't that rigid.”
Minsia shook her head urgently, but her micro-expressions betrayed churning deceit in her chest.
“Nothing valuable in the clan except those manuals, huh?”
“Well...”
“For real?”
“...”
My hunch hit home—the Hoblood Clan's finances were worse than I'd guessed. Even in the modern world, raw power didn't guarantee wealth. I tsked and fixed her with an icy stare; she fidgeted like I'd struck a nerve.
How much had they blown on magic stones to be strapped for less than 300 million won in liquid assets? I'd seen crumbling noble houses since coming here, but this was unheard of. Mind-blowing.
“Ahem... Anyway, as Supreme Matriarch, I offer to teach you the Hoblood Clan's inner power method: the Yu-Mu Heart Method.”
“Yu-Mu Heart Method?”
“Heh heh, yes. Now you're interested. Plain name, but its hidden profundities put me among the Continent's Ten Swords. I use a sword, but those idiot West Continent fools call it that.”
Supreme Matriarch Minsia beamed, assuming I'd grasped its depth. But my feelings? Far from it.
The name's just... plain and lame.
No wuxia flair like Heavenly Palace Infinite Heart Method or Jade Mystic Ultimate Truth. And as a veteran webnovel reader, I knew heart methods weren't universal cheat keys.
“So, how strong do I get from it?”
“Heh heh, depends on your talent and effort. Even without much, it'll let you protect yourself in a pinch.”
“...”
Wait—so Hoblood Clan folks with this profound method still got wrecked by black mages? Elder turns herself into a twenty-something via gender-swap youth serum, granddaughter kidnapped in brutal fashion. But I couldn't say that outright—things might flip, with her flipping out over "how dare you touch my family."
“Dunno your exact 'protect yourself' benchmark, but how long to get there?”
“Varies by talent. Quick? Five years. Less gifted? Thirty or so—”
“Walter, call the territory office.”
“Yes.”
“Why, why! Mastering inner family qi and fully grasping it takes time—unavoidable!”
“Walter, still connecting?”
“Tone's going.”
The old lady had big dreams. Sure, some surgeries fix in one go, others need years of monitoring. But five years? Thirty? Talk sense.
“Not just you—I'll teach that subordinate of yours the Yu-Mu Heart Method too!”
“Director, don't fall for word games. I get stronger my way without it.”
“Tone status?”
“Connecting soon... Hello?”
“W-Wait! The Hoblood Pill! With it, you skyrocket inner power! I'll teach you our lightness skill too!”
“Lightness skill?”
I nodded slightly; Walter caught my eye and set the crystal orb aside.
“Y-Yes! Lightness boosts reflexes and agility. At mastery, leap trees taller than a man, and—”
“Elder, that's enough talk. How long for that one?”
“...A fortnight. Just give me a fortnight. I'll make your body lighter than anyone's.”
A fortnight... Not bad.
Her micro-expressions screamed truth—those burning eyes held no deception.
Handy to learn. Sneak up like the wind, jab propofol, and bolt.
Two weeks wasn't a huge loss. Even if not tree-leaping mastery, in this unpredictable isekai, lightness could help me escape anytime, anywhere.
“Fine. Elder... no, Supreme Matriarch. Deal. Haha, I was worried about you catching that cold wind anyway.”
“Heh heh heh. Good choice.”
And it didn't take long to grasp the chill behind her grin's true meaning.