Circulating qi.
It was a method of regulating one’s energy by steadying one’s breathing: drawing qi from outside the body, circulating it within, and accumulating it.
Right now, I was circulating qi using the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.
This still feels incredible every time.
I had never realized there were so many acupoints in my body.
I had once heard that the human body contained more than three hundred and sixty acupoints, but based on what I could feel while circulating qi through the cultivation technique, there were even more than that.
Is it because I’m a virtual game character?
Whatever.
The ten years of internal energy I drew up from my dantian circulated through my body. If internal energy was a car, then my acupoints were the highway. All I had to do was sit behind the wheel and press the accelerator.
The internal energy raced through the straight and curving pathways connecting the acupoints throughout my body before returning to my dantian.
And this is where the real problem starts.
I took a long, deep breath. Then I felt it.
Another mass of internal energy occupied my dantian like an enormous boulder, refusing to budge no matter how hard I willed it to.
What the hell are you?
It had been a mystery ever since I first circulated my qi—an unidentified energy that had settled in like it owned the place.
I didn’t know where it had come from, how it had formed, or why I couldn’t use it, but one thing was certain. This unidentified energy contained even more power than the ten years of internal energy I possessed.
Until now, I hadn’t even dared touch it.
To be more precise, I hadn’t intended to. Until a few days ago, I had been waiting for rescue while doing just enough to stay alive.
But things were different now.
I need more internal energy.
If I wanted to escape on my own, I had to fulfill the Logout Quest’s condition: reaching the First Rate realm.
I also knew that I needed about as much internal energy as Lee Seogeun had to become First Rate.
I’ll make it mine.
I cautiously began moving my internal energy.
The moment I sent it toward the unidentified energy, half anxious and half expectant, I realized something.
Not even close.
Internal energy was, strictly speaking, qi itself—something without a physical form. And yet the instant the two energies touched, I felt powerful rejection and resistance.
No. It was even pulling my energy in. At this rate, it was going to swallow mine instead.
Hey, hey, hey! Wait a second!
I hurriedly withdrew my internal energy and shook off the unidentified energy, which clung to me until the very end. At the same time, a System notification rang out.
Ding.
System
You have trained the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique. Internal energy has risen slightly.
As a result of repeated training, Sinews and Meridians and Muscles and Bones have each increased by 1.
“What the hell was that?”
I calmed myself after the scare and opened my Status Window.
System
Status Window
Lv. 17 Jin Taekyung
Occupation: Second Rate Martial Artist
Fame: 70
Titles: 4 (Title effects active)
- Scion of a Prestigious Family — All stats +5, Fame +50
- Family’s Shame — All stats –5, Fame –50
- Novice Trainee — Training speed +10%
- Gambler — Combat-related stats +10% in one-on-one contests
Strength: 65 Stamina: 65
Agility: 75 Intelligence: 10
Charm: 10 Internal Energy: 10 yearsRemaining Points: 0
The numbers in my Status Window were fairly impressive by now.
I had gained three levels all at once through the Duel Quest, then distributed the thirty points equally among Strength, Stamina, and Agility.
But looking at the Status Window still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
My internal energy is the only thing that hasn’t changed.
This damn System kept saying that my internal energy had risen, but the amount displayed in the Status Window remained exactly the same.
Do I need to take a spirit pill, an elixir, or something?
I thought of Jin Wikyung. If I screwed up my courage and said, Hyung, give me one spirit pill,1 I didn’t think he would refuse me outright.
I’d ask him the next time I saw him. I would also ask about the unidentified energy inside my dantian.
Krrrummble.
At that moment, the entrance to the training hall opened, and two people stepped inside.
“Um, Young Master Jin?”
It was Han Yeop. Behind him stood a martial artist I had never seen before. The man spoke in a blunt tone that matched his appearance.
“The Lesser Family Head commands you to attend the family council.”
“The Lesser Family Head?”
That worked out perfectly. There was something I wanted to ask him about.
“It is beyond doubt. A few bones were broken, and there was some minor internal damage, but that level of injury could never—”
“Are you sure? Will you stake your name as the Medicine King Hall Master on it?”
“I said it’s true! I examined him myself!”
“Then that settles it. Why are you talking down to me? I treat you with respect because you’re a fellow Hall Master, and now you think I’m a joke!”
“You were the one who started talking down to me, White Tiger Hall Master!”
I stared blankly at the ceiling of the meeting room. The shouts and curses flying from every direction made my ears ring.
What the hell is this?
This wasn’t what I had imagined a family council would be like. I had pictured a quiet, orderly atmosphere where everyone exchanged opinions and searched for common ground…
“You think all Hall Masters are equal? You’re nothing but a mere physician!”
“Listen to this young bastard. I ought to shove a large needle straight into your Huiyin Acupoint!”2
Two men in their forties or fifties, both with receding, M-shaped hairlines, were grabbing each other by the collars and shaking one another. Just watching them made my head hurt.
The problem was that scenes like this were unfolding all over the room.
Maybe that was why most of the people there didn’t seem to notice me opening the door and taking my seat.
—You’re here?
The voice seemed to enter through my head rather than my ears. It was Sound Transmission.
I turned my head and met Jin Wikyung’s gaze from the seat of honor. He gave me a tired smile.
—It’s a madhouse, isn’t it?
No kidding. Why did you call me into this madhouse, man?
When I shot him a reproachful look, Jin Wikyung sent another message through Sound Transmission, his expression turning sheepish.
—I couldn’t help it. The Council of Elders demanded your attendance. In any case… you are involved in this matter.
The Council of Elders? I’m involved in this matter?
What matter am I involved in…? Oh. The Mount Heng Sword Sect?
I quickly pieced things together amid the shouting and cursing.
If there was one recent incident connected to me, it was the Mount Heng Sword Sect. And because of that incident, this Council of Elders or whatever it was had summoned me.
That had to be it.
Come to think of it, there are some old men here I’ve never seen before.
There were four of them. Every one had a face covered in age spots and hair that had gone completely white.
They watched the men with the M-shaped hairlines grab each other by the collars with cold eyes. Anyone could see it was a nursing home—or rather, the Council of Elders.
—And… the Head Elder is here.
I turned toward Jin Wikyung without thinking, then flinched.
What the hell? Where did that old man come from?
When had he gotten there? I had only just noticed that there were two seats of honor today. An old man was sitting to Jin Wikyung’s right, staring at me. His gaze made my face prickle.
Is that old man the Head Elder?
White hair, a white beard, and white eyebrows. He looked like an immortal who had stepped out of an old painting. His back was straight, his shoulders broad, and his skin so taut that he hardly seemed old at all.
But why is he staring at me so intently?
I narrowed my eyes and started to glare back at the Head Elder…
Then I quietly looked away.
Not because I thought I would lose if we locked eyes. It was respect for my elders. Respect for my elders. Really.
I’ll just keep my head down.
Jin Wikyung’s Sound Transmission continued in the meantime.
—You may not know this because you lost your memory, but the Head Elder is your great-uncle and the highest-ranking elder in the family. Be especially careful with your words and actions.
I hadn’t even seen my father’s face, and now I had a great-uncle.
Maybe this place had relatives by marriage, distant cousins, and every kind of obscure uncle, too.
I gave Jin Wikyung a small nod.
—And… you must not be flustered by anything that happens from this point onward. Calmly tell them only the truth. Do you understand?
I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but one thing was certain: Jin Wikyung was on my side.
I nodded again, and Jin Wikyung rose with a faint smile.
“Silence, everyone.”
His voice, infused with internal energy, swept across the meeting hall.
“This is a family council of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, and we have gathered to discuss a grave matter. Since our witness has arrived, I intend to begin the interrogation.”
The meeting hall had gone quiet without me noticing. With everyone’s attention focused on him, Jin Wikyung spoke.
“By the authority of the Lesser Family Head and current acting Family Head, I begin this interrogation. Third Young Master Jin Taekyung, step forward.”
I felt everyone’s eyes on me as I walked forward. I had expected this much. They hadn’t summoned me for no reason.
But…
“I ask you this. Were you the one who poisoned Lee Seogeun of the Mount Heng Sword Sect to death?”
That was something I hadn’t expected.
“No.”
I barely managed to force the word out. My thoughts were a mess from the sudden question.
Lee Seogeun was dead? Poisoned, at that?
“Tell us the truth. If it turns out to be a lie…”
“I have nothing to do with Lee Seogeun’s poisoning.”
My answer was as sharp as a blade. Jin Wikyung let out a sigh of relief.
—Keep doing exactly this.
The interrogation proceeded quickly. They asked questions, and I answered them.
Starting with Jin Wikyung, they fired one question after another at me.
About half of the questions concerned whether I had been involved in poisoning Lee Seogeun, and I continued to deny it.
Because it was true.
Just in case, I secretly opened my System Window to check. I was certain of it. None of my martial arts or abilities had anything to do with poison. I didn’t have any such Items, either.
That was why I could answer without hesitation.
“No.”
The problem was that, at some point, the atmosphere in the meeting hall began to take a strange turn.
“Do you have any evidence to prove it?”
“Evidence?”
White Tiger Hall Master, was it? The man whose name I didn’t even know stared at me with obvious displeasure.
“That is correct. Evidence. I mean evidence that would prove the Third Young Master’s innocence.”
What the hell is this bastard talking about?
“Why do I have to prove it?”
“What?”
“Don’t talk down to me.”
“Listen here, Third Young Master!”
“You’re free to suspect me, but shouldn’t you be the ones looking for evidence? Am I wrong?”
I’d been letting it slide, and now these bastards thought I was some kind of wrapping cloth?3
Fuming, I glared at the White Tiger Hall Master as he sat down, then noticed something strange.
Well, well. Look at this.
The White Tiger Hall Master kept stealing glances at the old men of the Council of Elders.
Curiously, everyone who had been pressing and interrogating me was doing something similar.
Nearly half the people in attendance were acting this way. It was getting difficult to pretend I hadn’t noticed.
So this is a factional struggle.
The Council of Elders and Jin Wikyung.
Even now, a power struggle was taking place between the elders of the family and a Lesser Family Head young enough to be their grandson.
What a family.
Only a few people remained to question me. The problem was who those people were.
Faces covered in age spots. Canny, experienced eyes.
The old men of the Council of Elders.
The oldest and fattest of them opened his mouth.
“Enough of these pointless questions and answers. There is only one thing this old man wishes to ask. Where did this matter begin?”
The senior members allied with the Council of Elders answered as if they had been waiting for the question.
“The Third Young Master.”
“Who was it that dragged our family’s reputation through the mud with his dissolute words and conduct?”
“The Third Young Master.”
The same answer came from several places around the room.
“Then who was it that laid a hand on the treasured jewel the Mount Heng Sword Sect held in its palm and brought us to this crisis?”
“…”
Just kill me already, you bastards.
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