Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Studying Yin Essence and Lightning
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‘This isn't even one percent of the Yin Essence I possess.’
I could tell just by feeling it.
‘Let’s draw out a little more.’
Swoooosh…….
The bluish-white ice flower disc on my palm quickly tripled in size, and a bluish-white light spread through the room like a mist.
‘Magnificent!’
The sight drew a gasp of admiration from me.
“That’s enough……!”
Just then, Sang Gang-jo spoke in a strained voice.
I glanced at him casually, then flinched. His seated figure, both face and body, was covered in a layer of white frost.
It wasn't just Sang Gang-jo; the entire room had frozen over, turning completely white. Even Hwa U-gun, who was meditating, was covered in frost.
I quickly withdrew the Yin Essence.
Swoosh…….
The chill that had frozen Sang Gang-jo, Hwa U-gun, and the room vanished, seeping into my body.
What was strange was that it didn't seep into my palm, but into my entire body.
Even after I absorbed the Yin Essence, Sang Gang-jo shivered like a leaf in the wind, his whole body trembling from the extreme cold.
“Ugh! What was that just now?”
“Yin Essence.”
Sang Gang-jo’s eyes widened.
“Are you talking about the Yin Essence that’s said to be a thousand times colder than extreme yin energy?”
“That’s right.”
Sang Gang-jo didn't ask any more questions, and I didn't elaborate further.
In any case, I was immensely pleased. The ability to manifest Yin Essence without using internal energy was an incredible feat.
A quarter of an hour later, Hwa U-gun finished his meditation.
He stood up and gave a formal salute to me, who was sitting in a chair.
“Thank you very much.”
“How are you?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve made a full recovery.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
I nodded.
“Your companions must be worried, so you should be on your way.”
Hwa U-gun’s expression turned serious.
“All sorts of rumors about you are circulating in the martial world, Young Hero Ak, but I have personally experienced and confirmed that you are a righteous hero.”
‘Young Hero Ak?’
It was the first time someone had called me ‘Young Hero Ak,’ and it sounded good.
Hwa U-gun spoke with a gentle face.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I wanted to duel you, Young Hero Ak?”
“Everyone has their reasons, don’t they?”
“People will readily risk their lives for those reasons. Just like me.”
Hwa U-gun fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
“My duel with you was because of a mission.”
“What kind of mission?”
His words were entirely unexpected, and my curiosity was piqued.
Hwa U-gun was very serious and solemn.
“Do you know of the progenitor of all the world's ice arts?”
“Is there such a thing?”
“I can’t speak for other martial arts, but the ice arts have a progenitor, a root.”
“The root of the ice arts…”
Sang Gang-jo spoke cautiously.
“Isn’t it the Celestial Ice Palace of the North Sea?”
Hwa U-gun looked at Sang Gang-jo and nodded.
“As expected, Great Hero Sang, you know of it.”
Sang Gang-jo wore an awkward expression.
“You remember me?”
“I do.”
Exactly two years and three months ago, the Heavenly Jade Star, the Alliance Lord of the Martial Alliance, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, had personally visited the Snow Cloud Palace.
Her purpose was to persuade the Snow Cloud Palace to join the Martial Alliance, but she was refused. At the time, Sang Gang-jo and other close aides had accompanied Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo.
Sang Gang-jo hadn't said a word, staying in the background as if he weren't there, but he never imagined Hwa U-gun would remember him.
Sang Gang-jo was a bit flustered, but Hwa U-gun paid him no mind and spoke to me.
“The Snow Cloud Palace is like the Central Plains branch of the Celestial Ice Palace of the North Sea.”
“Ah! Is that so?”
“The Snow Cloud Palace has been responsible for gathering information about various events in the Central Plains and sending it to the Celestial Ice Palace, as well as investigating and reporting on the emergence of any yin or ice arts in the martial world.”
“Do they do anything else?”
“No. The strict order from the Celestial Ice Palace is to not interfere in the affairs of the martial world in any way.”
That was why the Snow Cloud Palace had refused Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo’s request to join the Martial Alliance.
The martial world was completely unaware that the Snow Cloud Palace was under the command of the Celestial Ice Palace of the North Sea. Hwa U-gun had just revealed a very important fact.
Hwa U-gun gave a formal salute.
“I would be grateful if you would understand my position and answer my questions, Young Hero Ak.”
Hwa U-gun had a duty to investigate any new yin or ice arts and report back to the Celestial Ice Palace.
I had no obligation to answer Hwa U-gun, but I wanted to.
“What is it you wish to know?”
“Young Hero Ak, what is your martial school?”
“I have no school.”
“Then from whom did you learn your ice arts?”
“I haven't learned ice arts from anyone.”
If Hwa U-gun didn't believe me, our conversation would end here.
“Then how are you able to use ice arts?”
“I have Yin Essence in my body. I manifest it using the Five Elements Divine Art.”
“Yin Essence? Surely you don’t mean the Yin Essence that is far colder than extreme yin energy?”
“I do.”
Hwa U-gun was half-convinced, half-skeptical.
I raised my right hand and smiled faintly.
“If you wish to see the Yin Essence again, you’ll have to offer your life this time.”
I was reminding him of his near-death experience earlier.
“Was that the Yin Essence?”
“It was.”
“Hmm! Indeed!”
Hwa U-gun stroked his chin.
“Pardon my rudeness, but how did you obtain this Yin Essence, Young Hero Ak?”
“Hahaha! Don’t you think you’re trying to learn too much for free?”
“My apologies.”
“With what you’ve learned, you should have enough information to report to the Celestial Ice Palace.”
“My apologies. I have been too shameless.”
He saluted again.
“I am deeply indebted to you, Young Hero Ak. If you ever need my help, please call on me. I will drop everything and come at once.”
“Thank you.”
Would I ever need Hwa U-gun's help? Still, the sentiment was appreciated.
As Hwa U-gun turned to leave, Sang Gang-jo called out to him.
“Palace Lord, please act as if you did not see me here.”
“I understand.”
I finally understood why Hwa U-gun had called me the Bluish-White Jade Hand. He was using the moniker I had earned through my ice arts.
* * *
Late at night, I went out alone to the riverbank. It was the same place where I had previously shattered boulders with the bluish-white ice flower.
My plan was to freely draw out and manifest the Yin Essence here without using internal energy.
And there was one more thing. It was a long shot, but I wanted to try and draw out the lightning contained within the Fire Dragon Sword.
If I could unleash the Fire Dragon Sword's lightning without internal energy, and if I could wield that lightning like Yin Essence, it would open up a whole new world.
The area had been devastated last time when I shattered dozens of rocks with the bluish-white ice flower.
I went to the center and sat cross-legged on the flat ground.
I had already succeeded in drawing out the bluish-white ice flower without internal energy while treating Hwa U-gun, so this time I would practice unleashing it.
Ssssss…….
A bluish-white, glowing disc the size of a plate formed on the palm of my right hand.
I decided to find out what fraction of my total Yin Essence one disc represented.
After struggling for about a quarter of an hour, I finally gave up. I could vaguely sense that the disc on my palm was just the tip of the iceberg of my total Yin Essence, but I couldn't determine the exact amount.
My target was a rock twenty feet in front of me. It had been cut in half last time and stood there misshapenly.
I extended my right hand forward, focused on the target, and thought about how to launch the bluish-white disc.
This, too, I gave up on after about fifteen minutes of thought.
There was simply no way to launch the bluish-white disc without using internal energy.
I tried several times to command it with my mind and fire it with my will, but the bluish-white disc didn't budge.
‘My arm hurts.’
Holding my right arm stretched out for so long made it ache and then go numb, a consequence of not having internal energy. Without it, even trivial things made me feel pathetic.
But giving up like this went against my nature.
‘What if I just throw it?’
The thought struck me like a bolt of lightning.
‘Yes! Throwing it is an option!’
Throwing was the most basic and fundamental method.
I pulled my right arm back and threw it with all my might toward the target.
Swish!
The bluish-white disc elongated as it flew, resembling an arrow.
Thwack!
The bluish-white disc—no, the bluish-white ice flower—flew at a modest speed, like a thrown stone, and hit the rock.
Craaaack!
The rock turned pure white, and the sound of shattering ice erupted, just like when I had fired it with internal energy.
Then, a moment later, the rock exploded with a loud noise, shattering into hundreds of pieces.
It was confirmed: whether fast or slow, as long as it hit the target, it would freeze and shatter.
‘Did it work?’
I wasn't happy with the slow speed of the bluish-white disc, but the rock had been destroyed nonetheless.
Just then, I felt a sudden chill. It was a cool sensation entering my body, and I realized it was the bluish-white ice flower I had just thrown.
The bluish-white ice flower must have returned to my body before, but I probably hadn't noticed amidst the chaos of the situation.
For the second attempt, I stood up and threw a bluish-white disc at a rock fifty feet away.
Whoosh!
‘It’s fast!’
I hadn't thrown it any harder than the first time, yet the disc flew much faster.
‘Why did it get faster?’
The rock struck by the bluish-white ice flower shattered.
After throwing the disc a few more times, I realized something.
‘It's getting faster and faster. It seems the bluish-white ice flower is adapting to being thrown!’
Although it couldn't compare to the speed when launched with the Five Elements Divine Art, after about an hour of practice, the bluish-white ice flower was as fast as a fired arrow.
It seemed it would get even faster with continued practice, but I decided to stop for now to try something else.
Grasping the Fire Dragon Sword in my right hand, I watched it and pondered how I could unleash its lightning without using internal energy.
‘This is different from creating the bluish-white ice flower with Yin Essence.’
The difference was that the Yin Essence was stored within my body, while the lightning was within the Fire Dragon Sword. Therefore, the method of unleashing it had to be different.
First, I tried striking a nearby rock with all my strength.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
The moment the Fire Dragon Sword hit the rock, my arm ached and went numb as if it were about to fall off. Still, I didn't let go of the sword.
Enduring the pain in my hand and arm, I struck the rock with the Fire Dragon Sword several more times.
However, contrary to my expectations, no lightning shot out from the sword, nor was there any sign of it.
All that happened was that the corner of the rock struck by the sword broke off. That was due to the power of the Fire Dragon Sword itself.
I stopped hitting the rock with the sword. There was no point in continuing a foolish act.
Instead, I thought of another method. I would try infusing Yin Essence into the Fire Dragon Sword. The logic was to use the Yin Essence to draw out and unleash the lightning.
I infused an amount of Yin Essence equivalent to one disc into the Fire Dragon Sword.
But there was no reaction or change.
This time, I tried swinging the Fire Dragon Sword through the air while shooting out Yin Essence.
Swish! Swoosh!
Neither lightning nor a bluish-white ice flower was unleashed from the sword.
‘Earlier, it worked when I threw the bluish-white disc by hand.’
In that case, I would need to throw the infused Yin Essence out of the Fire Dragon Sword to create a bluish-white ice flower, but throwing the sword itself would be foolish.
‘To replicate the function of throwing the bluish-white disc?’
I would just need to connect the Yin Essence in my body with the Yin Essence I infused into the Fire Dragon Sword, and then throw it.