Chapter 150

The training ground was so vast and empty that it looked desolate. Sweat trickled down the forehead of a young man sitting cross-legged.

What should I have done?

He closed his eyes and sank into thought. One person came to mind.

He recalled Cheongpung’s crude blue-steel sword and his footwork. The smile that had vanished the moment he began displaying his martial arts.

At last, from the pitch-black darkness, a figure wrapped in violet light-flames burst forth.

Cheongpung.

Grandson of the Sword God Mae Jonghak. His disciple. It didn’t matter what he called him.

What mattered was the fact that four days ago, he had exchanged martial arts with Cheongpung—and lost.

Jin Mukyung had shut himself away in the training ground and his quarters ever since. He staved off hunger with fasting pills and drove away sleep by training.

He had no need for warm food or honey-sweet rest.

I lost. Completely.

Barely three hundred exchanges. Even considering that his condition hadn’t been normal, he had fallen far too easily.

Who was he? A genius who had reached the Peak realm at barely twenty and set the Central Plains abuzz.

Heaven Shaking Sword. One of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes… What a joke. Was this all I amounted to?

The grand titles attached to someone as mediocre as himself seemed laughable, nothing more than empty reputations. And yet the way he had secretly held himself in high regard left him feeling hollow.

Wasn’t that the very definition of hypocrisy?

Who was it that said the world was vast?

The Nine Provinces and Eight Wastes. The Four Seas and Five Lakes.

How many masters lay hidden across this vast continent?

Only after meeting Cheongpung did Jin Mukyung understand what those words truly meant.

I was a frog in a well.

Heaven’s Gate Temple was undoubtedly the finest educational institution in the orthodox Murim, but not every genius under heaven became one of its students.

The direct descendants of the Five Great Families and the true-line disciples of the Nine Sects and One Gang were too busy inheriting their sects’ secret ultimate techniques.

Cheongpung was one of them. They had been born outside the well and had lived there all along.

Wait for me, Cheongpung. And all the rest of you.

The instant Jin Mukyung’s eyes opened halfway, his body shot upward like lightning and light burst from his waist.

Whoosh!

Sword Energy.

Silver Sword Energy slashed relentlessly in every direction, denser and clearer than it had been four days ago—no, than ever before.

His duel with Cheongpung had given him insight and fighting spirit. His vague goal of simply becoming stronger had finally gained focus.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Jin Mukyung’s sword did not stop after that, either.

Not until he was exhausted, utterly spent, and collapsed…

In Murim, the dantian is called the qi sea.

The qi sea. The sea of qi. The place where all the internal energy in the body begins and gathers. Whoever coined the term had chosen very well.

Ding!

System

Qi circulation has begun.

Follow the formula of the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique to circulate your internal energy.

The Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique had already reached the eighth stage. Following the path I had traveled hundreds—no, thousands—of times before, I sent forty-five years of internal energy coursing through it.

Hot.

The Scorching Yang Qi I had gained from taking the Blazing Flame Divine Pill amounted to a full half-jiazi.

That tremendous energy, boiling like lava, swept through the blood vessels throughout my body. Its unstoppable momentum filled me with anticipation.

Maybe I can do it now…

Whenever I circulated my qi, there was one place where I always got stuck.

Two acupoints, sealed tight as iron gates, refused to let my internal energy pass. I had only recently learned that they were called the Conception and Governor Vessels.

The Conception and Governor Vessels. I’ve seen those plenty of times in novels.

Wasn’t this a stage every protagonist in a martial arts novel passed through at least once?

In martial arts novels, opening the Conception and Governor Vessels was standard, and Bone Transformation was an optional extra. Of course, I wasn’t a protagonist or even a supporting character, so I had been forced to retreat every time.

That was then. Until now.

Fifteen years of internal energy hadn’t been enough. It was like ramming a compact car whose airbags didn’t even work straight into a boulder.

But things were different now. Add half a jiazi of Scorching Yang Qi, and that compact car turned into a military tank.

This is worth a shot.

No. I had to succeed.

It was a mountain I absolutely had to overcome if I wanted to advance to a higher realm.

I drew up my internal energy as its momentum reached its peak, split it into two streams, and launched them toward the Conception and Governor Vessels.

Boom!

The collision between my internal energy and the acupoints sounded like thunder. At the same time, a sharp, tingling pain reverberated through my spine and lower abdomen.

The stronger the impact, the more vicious the recoil. But I couldn’t give up now. Gritting my teeth, I rammed my internal energy against them again and again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

What the fuck is this?

I’d put my body through hell in my own way. Getting stabbed was practically routine, and I’d even had my internal organs damaged before.

But this was a completely different kind of pain.

Fine, my back hurts—but why does it hurt there?

A part of a man as important as his life throbbed painfully. It felt as if someone were repeatedly squeezing it with all their strength, then letting go.

Opening the Conception and Governor Vessels felt like it would earn me an incredible reward. Like enduring this would make me a Peak master…

But the more I battered the acupoints with my internal energy, the yellower my vision became.

“Ugh!”

Beep! Beep!

System

Qi circulation failed.

Your internal energy became disordered, causing slight damage to your acupoints.

Sinews and Meridians decreased by 1.

My balls already hurt enough to make me want to die, and now my Sinews and Meridians had dropped too.

Clutching the still-throbbing area, I collapsed facedown on the bed.

“Ugh! Uuugh!”

The riper the rice, the lower it bows its head. The more a man’s vital spot hurts, the lower he bends at the waist.

I stayed facedown for a long while as though praying, and the pain gradually subsided.

“Huff, huff.”

I’d almost ended up like Hong Jin.

I had just sprawled out on the bed, drenched in sweat, when hurried footsteps approached and uninvited guests burst in.

“Captain!”

“Benefactor!”

Hyuk Mujin and Cheongpung charged through the door, then stopped short when they saw me.

“What happened… Whoa.”

“Benefactor, what are you doing?”

“Huh? What about it?”

Only after asking did I realize what I looked like.

“Oh.”

A hot-blooded young man in his twenties, in a sealed room, soaked in sweat despite the middle of winter, lying on a bed with one hand clutching that particular spot.

Hmm. There was definitely room for misunderstanding.

I calmly opened my mouth.

“You’ve got it wrong.”

After a brief silence, Hyuk Mujin’s eyes curved into a smile.

“I know. I know all about it.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Oh, come on. Why are you acting like this? We’re both men of the world.”

“What do you mean, men of the world, you lunatic?”

“You’re still pretending you don’t know. Do I look that narrow-minded to you?”

“I’m telling you, it’s really not what you think!”

“Did it feel good? If you haven’t finished yet, should I step outside?”

“I haven’t even started!”

“Oh, then you were just about to start. Should I come back when you’re done?”

“I’m not doing it! I wasn’t planning to!”

“It’s all right. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I do it five times a day when I’m in good shape.”

“Is that actually true…? No, wait, you little—”

Chaos. Destruction. Ruin.

As the misunderstanding only deepened with every passing moment, Cheongpung tilted his head.

“What’s the misunderstanding? What do you know?”

“Young Hero Cheongpung, you really don’t know why the Captain is like that?”

“I don’t. Does he need to pee?”

“Good heavens, how can this be? I’ll explain it just once, so take it to heart. All of this becomes flesh and blood. I’m telling you, it’ll change your life.”

“Yes!”

“Where is the Captain’s hand right now? Answer me.”

“On his lower half.”

“That’s right. And what’s on his lower half?”

“Underclothes.”

“Underclothes! Good. You’re almost there. Now, what’s inside the underclothes?”

“Huh? But his hand isn’t on his lower half anymore.”

“What?”

“Benefactor’s hand is coming this way.”

“Gasp.”

Smack!

Thud.

It was a slap aimed precisely at his lower jaw. Hyuk Mujin crumpled with a peaceful expression, and Cheongpung caught him.

“I haven’t heard the whole thing yet.”

“…What would you do with the rest?”

“He said hearing it would become flesh and blood and change my life. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“…”

Come to think of it, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

Cheongpung gazed dejectedly at the unconscious sex-education teacher.

“But what were you doing while holding your lower half?”

“…”

Anyone overhearing this really would get the wrong idea.

“…And that’s what happened.”

By the time I finished my explanation, packed to the brim with facts, Hyuk Mujin had regained consciousness. He muttered sullenly, “Then you should’ve just said so from the start.”

“Whew. Do you really want me to beat you to death today?”

“Ah, I’ll pass. My head is still ringing.”

Hyuk Mujin winced and shook his head.

“But why did you suddenly try to open the Conception and Governor Vessels? You’re not a Peak internal-energy master, and you don’t have the guts to risk something like that.”

“…I just tried it once.”

“What?”

“Forget it. You’re annoying, so shut up.”

I waved dismissively at the wide-eyed Hyuk Mujin.

It was too embarrassing to admit that watching Jin Mukyung and Cheongpung’s duel four days ago had made me want to become far stronger than I was now.

“Anyway, just know that I failed spectacularly. I couldn’t do it properly because it hurt down there. Why is this happening?”

“How would I know? I’m not a physician, or a Peak master like a certain someone.”

Hyuk Mujin and I naturally turned our gazes to the side. The aforementioned “Peak master” blinked and opened his mouth.

“Hmm. I’ve heard something about it from my grandfather.”

Hyuk Mujin now knew Cheongpung’s identity too. We both exclaimed in anticipation.

“Ohhh.”

“Ooooooh.”

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak was one of the greatest masters under heaven. When it came to martial arts, we would believe him even if he claimed he could make fermented soybean blocks out of red beans.

“What did he say?”

“He said that if I mishandled the Conception Vessel, I might not be able to perform as a man, and that the same was true of the Governor Vessel. What else did he say? Oh, right!”

Cheongpung, who had been thinking hard, smacked his forehead.

“He told me to leave them alone because they’d open on their own with time. He said I’d become a cripple if I mishandled both of them.”

“…?”

“…?”

What the hell is he talking about?

Hyuk Mujin and I exchanged glances almost simultaneously.

“Do the Conception and Governor Vessels normally open with time?”

“I don’t know. That’s the first I’ve heard of it, too.”

“But it can’t be nonsense. The man’s the Sword Saint.”

“Right. Maybe it takes a very long time?”

“How long?”

“How would I know? My father is almost sixty. Should I ask him?”

“Oh, ask him whether his Conception and Governor Vessels have opened?”

“Yes.”

“Is he a martial artist?”

“He owns the Hyuk Family Textile Shop.”

“Try not to speak unless you have to. Listening to you is infuriating.”

“Yes.”

I pitied myself for taking someone like this around as my subordinate.

I heaved a deep sigh and spoke to Cheongpung.

“Could you explain in a little more detail? Surely your grandfather didn’t say only that…”

“He said exactly that.”

“…Really? Word for word?”

“I don’t lie to my Benefactor.”

That was true. Cheongpung wasn’t sly enough to lie.

Whether it was his nature or the environment in which he’d grown up, he was so honest and guileless that, to put it unkindly, he seemed stupid.

Cheongpung added with an aggrieved expression, “And my grandfather isn’t a liar either. I waited, too, and mine opened. Not both of them—only the Governor Vessel.”

“I’m not saying the Sword Saint lied… Wait. What did you just say?”

“Young Hero Cheongpung, what was that? You opened the Conception and Governor Vessels?”

“Oh, only the Governor Vessel for now. Maybe it’s because I’m still young.”

I stammered, “H-How did you open it?”

“Two years ago, I was just training when I suddenly felt strange, and then—bang!”

“Bang?”

“That’s how it opened.”

“…”

“…”

“I thought it was strange, so I asked my grandfather. He said it was enlightenment. Hehe.”

This was hopeless. We were far too different.

The Sword Saint had been right that the Conception and Governor Vessels would open naturally with time.

The problem was that it only applied to Cheongpung.

The guy smiling innocently in front of me was practically a new breed of human, fundamentally different from someone like me.

Genius. Talent bestowed by heaven. That’s what this is.

Cheongpung and Jin Mukyung had both been born with talent entirely unlike mine. There was nothing I could do about that.

When I remained silent for a while, Cheongpung cautiously watched my expression.

“Benefactor, did I do something wrong?”

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Watching Cheongpung sigh with relief, I licked my dry lips.

“But, um…”

“Yes?”

“Could I ask you for a favor?”

“Anything.”

Damn it. Now that I had to say it, the words wouldn’t come out.

I had thick skin. I’d been called brazen and shameless before.

But why was this one sentence so difficult?

“Benefactor?”

With great difficulty—truly, great difficulty—I forced out the words.

“Could you help me with my training?”

“Of course. Certainly.”

“What?”

“I’ll help you. With your training.”

The moment I looked into his clear eyes, I finally understood why I had hesitated.

It was competitive pride.

Competitive pride that made me unwilling to accept help from this guy, of all people.

Not because I disliked him, but because he was an opponent I wanted to defeat solely through my own strength.

I wanted to stand on equal footing with him.

But to do that…

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

I had to learn. What else could I do?

Turns out I had a thicker hide than I thought.