Chapter 91
Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Limits of the Heavenly Martial Body
Actually, there was a perfectly valid reason why Cheon Woojin could make such a mistake.
After all, the guy hadn't ascended to the Fusion Realm yet.
'Is the kid twenty-six now?'
Even after a lifetime of training in martial arts, he was still teetering on the edge of the Peak Realm.
Not to mention, he had no clue when he might even reach the Fusion Realm.
That was why he seemed to place such immense value on the Heavenly Martial Body...
'Even thirty years from now, Cheon Woojin was stronger than Baek Rihyeon.'
In my memories, Baek Rihyeon was ultimately just a greenhorn.
What might happen after another thirty years? Who knows...
'That doesn't guarantee Baek Rihyeon will reach the Profound Realm, though.'
Baek Rihyeon was one of those pegged as a future World's Greatest Martial Artist.
I myself had rated his talent pretty highly, but learning it was all thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body somehow took the shine off it.
Physical factors like the breadth of one's channels or the impurities in the body matter up to the Fusion Realm.
The talent needed to break past the Profound Realm barrier is something entirely different.
'Insight.'
Of course, that didn't mean Insight wasn't needed to reach the Fusion Realm.
It just carried less weight than for the Profound Realm.
What was required to advance from Peak to Fusion?
Balancing the imbalances within one's body.
Humans are born from the essence of father and mother, inherently discordant and thus imperfect.
By taking in energy into the dantian and cultivating martial arts, one must fully realize this disharmony and use their inner power and will to harmonize bones, muscles, and meridians. The difficulty varies based on how imbalanced the body is.
In that sense, the Heavenly Martial Body was the ideal physique for ascending to the Fusion Realm.
So, what was needed for the Profound Realm?
'Communion with heaven and earth.'
No longer limiting qi to the body alone—one had to perceive the energies scattered throughout heaven and earth.
It might seem similar to meditation techniques that draw ambient qi from the air and convert it to inner power, but...
'It's completely different from energy gathering.'
It was better viewed as awakening an entirely new sense.
This was an intuitive realm humans weren't naturally endowed with, which was why Insight was paramount.
'Thanks to the Blissful Creation Art, I grasped it easily.'
As I kept building inner power, it eventually overflowed beyond what my body could handle, which greatly aided in developing that sense of communion with heaven and earth.
Of course, my body—reborn through complete marrow cleansing—was like a microcosm, impervious to ordinary inner power.
In simple terms, the Fusion Realm was the stage of perfectly controlling the inner power within one's body, while the Profound Realm allowed treating the scattered energies of heaven and earth like one's own limbs.
Thus, from the perspective of someone who'd reached the Profound Realm like me, the physical talent of the Heavenly Martial Body held no appeal.
'The Martial Emperor probably thinks the same.'
When Cheon Seonwu had tried to take me as a disciple before, it wasn't because I was at the Fusion Realm.
Only after confirming I'd transcended rote forms and shown exceptional talent (a fabricated one, really) did he decide to accept me.
But Cheon Woojin, still very much a novice, shook his head enthusiastically in denial of my view.
"Of course it is. My father would have taken that little kid as a disciple on the spot if he'd seen him."
Watching his reaction, I got too lazy to even respond.
I didn't need to convince him anyway.
I nodded vaguely, then a good idea suddenly struck me.
"Then why not just take the kid as your father's disciple?"
"Pardon?"
I kindly explained again to the baffled guy.
"Like you said, that old man would want him as a disciple anyway. So teach the kid some martial arts ahead of time, then introduce him as one when you meet later."
"...Pardon?"
Cheon Woojin still wasn't getting it.
I clicked my tongue and spelled it out.
"You teach him. But you're not quite ready to play master yet, right? So have him call you senior brother, and later get the old man to formally accept him as a disciple."
"Is that even possible...?"
Appointing someone as a master without the person's consent?
Obviously not.
But the reason I was pushing this so hard was simple:
'I have to teach Cheon Woojin the Heavenly Apex Sword Art anyway—might as well teach the kid at the same time for convenience.'
It was purely for my own convenience.
Even though I'd already taught it freely to Jang-ga, I couldn't exactly teach it to someone else right in front of Cheon Woojin.
The Heavenly Apex Sword Art was, after all, created by his father.
Likewise, Cheon Woojin couldn't teach martial arts or take disciples without Cheon Seonwu's permission...
'What's the problem with that?'
Would his own father beat him to death just for teaching someone a bit of martial arts?
So I pushed harder.
"The old man will accept him as a disciple the moment he sees him, right? Then let's speed things up."
"Even so, shouldn't we get permission from Father...?"
"Man, you're such a pain. If you're that worried, I'll teach him. It's the improved version I refined anyway, so what's the issue?"
There was, of course, an issue.
But it would lighten Cheon Woojin's mind hearing that.
'It's a martial art even I—a total outsider—know.'
"Still..."
His uncharacteristic hesitation made me thump my chest in frustration.
"Argh, kid. You're driving me nuts. Do you want to hear 'senior brother' from him? Or keep getting called 'young master' by him?"
If I took Baek Rihyeon as my disciple, Cheon Woojin would have to speak politely to the kid for the rest of his life.
Sure, I could allow casual speech if I permitted it,
'But no way in hell.'
I planned to make him treat the kid with full respect.
Seeming to sense my resolve, Cheon Woojin wore a crestfallen expression.
"Hmm... Then, hypothetically speaking, if—just if—that kid became my father's disciple, what relation would that make him to you, my lord?"
"What relation? I'd use him as a subordinate like you."
"...And we'd be senior brothers?"
"Yeah. You'd get a new errand boy."
His expression showed he was nearly convinced.
From his perspective, having someone to boss around beat having another superior any day.
'Plus, his misconception that his father would want Baek Rihyeon as a disciple is playing a big role...'
I had no intention of correcting that.
My goal was to dump Baek Rihyeon on Cheon Woojin anyway.
Cheon Woojin pondered for quite a while.
I considered waiting for his decision, but then remembered why I'd come.
"Hey, where's the treasure pouch?"
"The treasure pouch?"
"Yeah, the one I left with you earlier."
"It's in the storeroom. Shall I fetch it?"
I nodded, and he went into the storeroom, emerging with a pouch.
Then he asked,
"But why do you need it at this hour?"
Acting before questioning was commendable.
He was starting to develop the right mindset as a subordinate.
"Picking one to gift to Hui-ah. What do you think would suit her?"
"...Suddenly?"
Showing up in the dead of night to pick out jewelry for a woman wasn't exactly normal.
But what could he do?
I wanted to.
As I sifted through for accessories that would suit Moyong Hui, I suddenly felt an odd gaze.
Wondering what it was, I looked at Cheon Woojin—his eyes were unusual.
"What."
"That thing I said as a joke earlier... You weren't actually kicked out, were you?"
For a moment, I had no idea what he meant.
As I tried to process it without responding, Cheon Woojin sighed deeply.
"Why on earth did you pull such a crazy stunt? I know you like women, my lord, but you should've at least waited until Lady Moyong wasn't around."
I could only snort in disbelief.
'What does he think I, Mok Jimyeong, am...'
It was true I was picking accessories to soothe Moyong Hui, but the process was the exact opposite of what he imagined.
I wondered if he'd react the same after seeing the changed state of Yanghwa Pavilion.
'Ah...! Come to think of it, Cheon Woojin doesn't know about the Blissful Creation Art!'
I had no intention of hiding it from the women I'd slept with, but I never planned to tell the guys about it.
That included my subordinate Cheon Woojin.
'Especially since he's the Martial Emperor's son.'
Even if Cheon Seonwu was orthodox, you never knew.
If the Martial Emperor coveted the Blissful Creation Art and tried to take it, I wasn't strong enough to defend it yet.
That's why I'd kept it secret...
'Guess I need to align our stories separately.'
Playing dumb wouldn't work anymore, so I'd claim I fed them the spirit elixirs I had on hand.
The silver lining was that Cheon Woojin didn't know the details of my finances.
Even if I said I'd shared priceless elixirs with the women of Yanghwa Pavilion, all he could do was envy me.
"My lord, is Lady Moyong very angry?"
Even as I mulled over excuses, Cheon Woojin kept blabbering cluelessly.
It looked like concern from his side, but...
'What am I supposed to do with this guy?'
I couldn't decide whether to find it endearing or smack him to shut him up.