Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
I headed to the training ground prepared by the Zhongnan Sect alongside Yi Cheongun. First, I used the black obsidian to compile and transmit to him only the insights into martial arts I had gained up until now. Yi Cheongun seemed to savor the memories through the black obsidian for a moment before breaking into a pleased smile.
“Not to be underestimated. All I can do is give you a starting point…”
Muttering to himself like that, Yi Cheongun suddenly tossed me a spear that had been nearby in the training ground. As I caught it, he said,
“I’ll get straight to the point. Even with Jang Sambong’s martial arts, it wasn’t enough to glimpse the perfected form of the Thunder God Soul Fusion.”
“……?”
He’d already concluded?
I couldn’t figure out what Yi Cheongun meant by stating the ‘conclusion’ like that. As I looked at him, Yi Cheongun lowered his spear and continued,
“As you know, after being revived thanks to you, I started teaching the children at the Azure Dragon Martial Hall and interpreting and practicing Jang Sambong’s Seven Great Ultimate Arts in my own way. The memories of training in the Seven Great Ultimate Arts were subtly ingrained in your comprehensive recollections, so even without full details, I had no trouble acquiring them. That’s how I was able to grow stronger so quickly.”
“Jang Sambong’s martial arts are incredible. He is truly the greatest grandmaster the martial world has ever seen.”
Saying that, Yi Cheongun’s eyes gleamed.
“However… I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were distant from the Martial Ultimate pursued by the Thunder God Soul Fusion. To put it more precisely, it’s a matter of insufficient experience.”
“Experience?”
“Yes. It’s lacking.”
Yi Cheongun continued,
“It might sound ridiculous coming from someone who hasn’t even mastered the Invincible Tyrant, but I felt it wouldn’t be enough to reach the realm of the Martial Ultimate.”
I responded in bewilderment,
“As far as I know, Jang Sambong’s Seven Great Ultimate Arts are the pinnacle of the martial world. If even that isn’t enough, there’s no method…”
“Ah, I misspoke. That’s not what I meant.”
Yi Cheongun waved his hand.
“What I mean is… the Seven Great Ultimate Arts filled in part of the tremendous experience needed to step into the realm of the Martial Ultimate, but it’s still not enough on its own. To use an analogy, it’s like erecting one pillar when you need them all to support the ceiling?”
“……”
“To reach Martial Soul, you need ultimate arts on par or superior.”
I could understand what he meant. In other words, the Seven Great Ultimate Arts had provided overwhelming help in breaking through the limits that the Thunder God Style masters had researched. But even so, to the genius Yi Cheongun, they alone weren’t sufficient for the Martial Ultimate. That’s why he wanted to acquire and study ultimate arts equal to or surpassing the Seven Great Ultimate Arts.
But did that even make sense?
Jang Sambong’s Seven Great Ultimate Arts were the true ultimate arts and the pinnacle of enlightenment from the grandmaster who might be the strongest warrior in history, the Blade Immortal Jang Sambong. There might be a few martial arts comparable, but none came to mind that could match or surpass them.
If I had to pick likely candidates, it would be Sword Immortal Yeo Doubin’s Heavenly Escape Swordsmanship or the Twelve Rites Lord’s martial arts. However, the Heavenly Escape Swordsmanship was an immortal’s sword art without fixed forms, and even the Twelve Rites Lord’s martial arts were uncertain. Groaning, I said,
“Even if I reincarnate, finding something like that seems nearly impossible…”
“Haha… I brought it up out of the blue. Sorry about that.”
Yi Cheongun let out a hearty laugh and said,
“I’m not saying the Seven Great Ultimate Arts are insufficient. I fully acknowledge they could surpass our Thunder God Style martial arts. Mastering even one properly would allow you to conquer the world.”
“Hmm…”
“However… studying such tremendous ultimate arts stirred greater ambition. A desire welled up to step into an even higher… even greater realm of martial arts.”
“I see.”
“Just keep what I said in mind. I merely suggested one of your future goals.”
Brushing it off like that, Yi Cheongun nodded.
“Attack me with spear arts.”
“Got it.”
Whoosh!
I immediately unleashed the Strike technique to attack Yi Cheongun. Of course, I knew such an attack wouldn’t work on him with the Thunder God Soul Fusion complete, but I figured there was a reason he asked. Sure enough, Yi Cheongun effortlessly dodged my full-power Strike and stepped two paces to the side.
Yi Cheongun smiled contentedly.
“Good. You’re quite skilled with the spear too. An excellent thrust.”
Hearing praise from a Thunder God Style master lifted my spirits a bit. Trying not to show it, I replied,
“I’ve trained spear arts to death before.”
There had been a time when, feeling my martial arts were lacking, I made spear arts my main focus under relentless training from Lee Gwang. I’d raised my spear realm to the point it was etched into my soul by mastering Lan Nachal, so naturally, I handled the spear well. Even though swordsmanship was my main art now, what I’d learned didn’t vanish.
“Now, watch.”
Yi Cheongun raised his own spear and attacked me.
Whoosh!
Yi Cheongun deliberately used the Strike technique at a speed visible to my internal energy. The spear tip halted right before my heart. As I stared at it blankly, Yi Cheongun’s voice came,
“In this strike, your breathing became one, didn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“The Three Treasures Ultimate Technique is much like the basics of spear arts. Matching breath and rhythm is key.”
Yi Cheongun withdrew his spear and continued,
“Breathing. From your memories, the reason the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique confuses you is exactly that.”
“Hmm…”
I let out a groan. Progress on the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique had been stagnant, and I’d been fumbling without knowing why—now an unexpected answer emerged.
“The form of Seven Stars Phantom Shadow is easy to imitate, but delving into its subtleties for proper use requires considerable training time. In detail, every variation stemming from a single step of Seven Stars Phantom Shadow brings a change in breathing. You’ve been using Seven Stars Phantom Shadow by roughly following those changes with your expert senses, but you keep getting tangled because you can’t precisely capture the intervals in breathing.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
“Well, think of it as minute differences accumulating into errors. Seven Stars Phantom Shadow demands extreme precision as a movement art.”
“The Leader never mentioned anything like that…”
It’s true. The Leader just told me to practice diligently and reviewed my progress on the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique, never mentioning breathing. Then Yi Cheongun said,
“The Leader thought you’d naturally grasp the breathing and rhythm through bodily practice. And indeed, through nonstop training day and night, you’ve gradually made the rhythm more precise. After tens of thousands of repetitions, it’s only natural. At this rate, you’d master it sufficiently within three years.”
“Ooh!”
“But we don’t have time now. You might need to use the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique immediately. So I’ll inject the rhythm into you at an accelerated pace.”
“Inject?”
Yi Cheongun nodded and said,
“From now on, I’ll attack you relentlessly. With Lan Nachal.”
“……!?”
“Of course, I’ll use secret techniques and variations too. Apply the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique to evade them.”
“Can I counterattack?”
“Do as you like. If you can.”
Swoosh—
Two translucent spears appeared around Yi Cheongun’s body. Realizing they were blades formed from intent rather than qi, I swallowed hard.
‘Spear Control with Qi!’
Including the wooden spear in his hand, that made three spears attacking me. Normally, just creating and maintaining Spear Control with Qi would exhaust one, but I knew that wasn’t the case for him. As my expression hardened, Yi Cheongun chuckled.
“You’ve realized it.”
“Hell training?”
“Exactly. As you know, with the Heavenly Spirit Pill, I have effectively infinite stamina. And you, though not from the pill, have tremendous internal energy. If stamina runs low, convert internal energy—perfect conditions for hell training.”
My face twisted.
“Ugh… But then… no eating, drinking, sleeping, or resting…?”
“Heh. You’ll have to keep dodging.”
Yi Cheongun’s smile was ominous.
Hell training!
I’d done it once before while training to acquire sword aura, so I knew how utterly hellish it was. I even doubted how I’d succeeded back then. And Yi Cheongun could drill me as harshly as the Dragon Lord. I looked at him anxiously.
“Listen… Wouldn’t it be better to just go find tribute for the Supreme Void Heavenly Lord? No matter how much I grow, it won’t help the overall situation much…”
“No. The opposite. Even if we all die, you must gain something.”
Yi Cheongun declared firmly and aimed his spear at me.
“After imprinting the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique’s rhythm, I’ll teach you the combinations from our Thunder God Style’s research on the Seven Great Ultimate Arts. You must learn them. That’s how you’ll grow faster.”
“Combinations…? You mean…”
“Naturally, we’ve uncovered more than just the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique.”
Yi Cheongun grinned.
“Earth Holder Wisdom King and Three Treasures Ultimate Technique are just part of the Seven Great Ultimate Arts’ possibilities. Knowing them will serve you tremendous time ahead.”
“Hmm…!”
“No time for chit-chat. Here I come.”
I realized I had no choice. I hadn’t expected hell training out of nowhere here, but it had to be done. Steeling myself, I replied.
“Yes!”
Boom!
The air tore as Yi Cheongun’s Strike flew at me.
‘I can dodge this speed.’
I evaded the spear strike with the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique. The follow-up Lan Nachal variation came, but that was dodgeable too. Yi Cheongun was attacking at an appropriate level without accelerating via Thunder God Soul Fusion. He could use Thunder Command if he wanted but wasn’t.
But my sense of leisure lasted only 20 seconds. The moment it passed, Yi Cheongun suddenly launched the nearly summoned Spear Control with Qi, mixing in feints. In an instant, the entire space felt filled with spear shadows.
Boom boom boom!
“Kahk?!”
I let out a short scream and staggered back. The Spear Control with Qi had flown from an undodgeable angle, piercing my forearm. Hurriedly checking, there was no wound.
“What?”
Yi Cheongun grinned and said,
“It’s made of intent, so it only inflicts pain on your mind and nerves. But too many hits could kill you from the shock.”
Thud!
“Khek?!”
I screamed again as a spear hit my heart. The pain felt real, like a long needle piercing my body. Not as bad as a real spear, but plenty painful.
Regaining my wits, I started evading with the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique again, but Yi Cheongun came at me with continuous thrusts like an asura.
Pabababam!
“Lan! Na! Chal!”
Piping!
Tremendous spear strikes flooded in like a deluge.
By the time Yi Cheongun’s attacks reached two hundred exchanges from one hundred, I realized I was dodging about sixty percent. The remaining forty percent hit fully. The agony made me stumble, and Yi Cheongun bellowed,
“Get it together! You already have the proficiency to dodge all this with the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique!”
“Ugh…”
“Feel the precise rhythm and focus all your mind on it! Pierce the needle’s eye with precision and meticulousness to achieve selflessness!”
“……!”
“Precision! That’s the essence of the Three Treasures Ultimate Technique!”
Thud thunk!
Of course, if I could grasp it from that advice alone, I wouldn’t be suffering like this. For the next thousand seconds or so, I flailed in pain like I was on fire. Yi Cheongun lowered his spear briefly, as if giving a rest, and said,
“Up! No time.”
Spitting blood, I said,
“Hack… Just a moment… Too painful to focus on footwork…”
“Since when does a Thunder God Style warrior whine like that? Gonna make excuses in real combat too?”
Yi Cheongun sneered, then closed the distance and punched me.
Boom!
“Kuhk…”
I flew back a sang and staggered. I’d barely activated protective qi to avoid injury, but chills ran down my spine. What kind of demon was this?
“Couldn’t dodge again. Use Three Treasures Ultimate Technique.”
I spat blood from my mouth.
“Ugh… Easier said than done…”
“You’re trying to consciously think it through. The precise timing and changes in breathing are already etched into your body from tens of thousands of practices. Don’t resist the flow—accept it like water.”
Yi Cheongun’s eyes gleamed like a tiger’s.
“No rest, convert internal energy to stamina! No more warnings.”
“Understood!!”
I gritted my teeth and replied urgently.
‘I get it.’
In this reincarnation, Lee Gwang crumbled without resistance before Yi Cheongun, his spirit broken. Even recently at Zhongnan Sect, he just served the master. I’d wondered why that foul-tempered guy acted that way.
But now I understood. Thunder God Style master Yi Cheongun! Gentle and refined normally, but in training or handling disciples, he became a fiercely tiger-like being. He’d surely show ruthless, domineering hands against Thunder God Style’s enemies. Lee Gwang had learned under such a man, becoming extremely harsh.
‘No choice!’
Excruciatingly tough and painful, but unavoidable! Lacking talent, I needed this hell training to advance to the next realm.
Thud!
Boom boom!
I finished the endless evasion training about seven days later. For that time, I dodged Yi Cheongun’s continuous spear strikes without eating, drinking, sleeping. He gave brief rests for efficiency, but they were absurdly short. Exhausted of all stamina and energy, I panted, barely standing.
Stamina overuse made my vision blur. I wanted to collapse and sleep. My body was soaked in sweat, reeking. Staring dully at the sweat puddle on the ground, Yi Cheongun struck suddenly.
Boom!
Not a simple Strike. Linked with Spear Control with Qi, an unexpected three-strike from an unforeseen angle! Ordinary martial artists would fail to read it, a vital spot pierced, instant death.
But at that moment, I used Three Treasures Ultimate Technique to evade Yi Cheongun’s attack. Seeing me dodge, Yi Cheongun finally lowered his spear and said,
“This saves at least a year. Now you can use it.”
“……”
No strength to reply. Yi Cheongun had given me immense training value, but the seven days of hell were no joke. Only someone with Heavenly Spirit Pill like him could do this.
“Go wash up.”
Yi Cheongun tossed his spear aside and said,
“Rest a bit, then I’ll teach you the Thunder God Style’s research results. That’ll take about two days too.”
“…Why?”
“What?”
Panting with depleted stamina, I gritted my teeth and said,
“I’m only learning martial arts out of necessity. Unlike White Lotus Leader or you, I have no goal of reaching martial arts supreme. No matter how genius you are, why walk this endless path of mad ordeals? You, and all past Thunder God Style masters…”
It didn’t make sense.
At my question, Yi Cheongun smiled faintly.
“I’m curious what the pinnacle is.”
“……”
“I truly hate the Leader and still want to kill him for revenge… but on that point, I agree with him. Thunder God Style masters across generations pursued Martial Soul out of curiosity about what the absolute invincible supreme realm of Martial Ultimate would reveal.”
“What if that realm doesn’t even touch the hem of divine power?”
“Well, that could be…”
Yi Cheongun replied nonchalantly.
“Surpassing gods, conquering nature… Pursuing Martial Ultimate for such reasons is mere wordplay. As the Leader said, it’s the curse of Martial Intent—a contradiction you can’t abandon before reaching it. Pondering why forfeits the race.”
“Just give up? Why can’t you?”
“Heh. I’ll ask back. You could abandon reincarnation and live easy—why suffer this?”
“……”
“Same thing. Whether me or you… Reject flat existence believing something better lies beyond the visible. Various reasons lurk beneath. Can’t define it in a phrase.”
Yi Cheongun turned his head and continued,
“Only oneself can define it! That’s why you and I live here now.”
Yi Cheongun headed beyond the bamboo grove for a break too. I stared at his receding back for a while, then clenched my fist tightly. Normally, surviving such hell training would bring relief or a sigh, shedding a layer. Not this time. Only a sense of continuation dominated my heart.
Continued life.
Was that the driving force sustaining me?
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