Chapter 26

Had he consumed the Gongcheongseokyu while still in the body of the King of Power, the backlash wouldn’t have been this immense. Fortunately, the century-old Polygonum multiflorum Guwoong had brought proved crucial.

The medicinal effects of the Gongcheongseokyu, spreading throughout his entire body, seemed to mock Danwooseong as they passed through him. They pierced his blood vessels, broke through blockages, and dissolved waste products.

The Gongcheong Oil was fierce, and Danwooseong’s response was equally fierce.

While the spirit essence known as the Gongcheongseoyu entered his body and ran rampant, the man called the Sword King pursued it, trying to capture the spirit essence.

Wherever the spirit and the martial king met, fierce battles inevitably erupted.

Pure power clashed with the Kwonwang’s martial arts.

But the space was cramped.

Merely regulating his breath and qi was insufficient to endure this fierce battle.

Surprisingly, Danwooseong opened his eyes, broke his lotus position, and stood up. As he continued to maintain the Five Elements Power of the Ten Thousand Battles Ten Thousand Deaths Art, intense heat surged from his entire body like a shimmering heat haze.

His hair was disheveled from the heat as he stepped out of the room. The waiting Ssangbo brothers looked at him in shock and said,

“Brother, are you all right?”

Dan Woosung replied, his face flushed.

“It’s hot.”

“Huh?”

It wasn’t a hot day at all. It was evening, with a cool breeze blowing.

Danwooseong told the Ssangbo brothers as if to reassure them.

“I’ll cool off and come back. Don’t wait for me.”

“Understood.”

The Ssangbo brothers stared at Dan Wooseong.

Then, after taking a few slow steps, Dan Wooseong, unable to contain the power boiling within him, unleashed the Five-Element Lightning Step and dashed forward like an arrow.

Reaching the wall in an instant, Dan Wooseong leapt upward with his Transcendent Light Body Technique. Enveloped in a white lightning aura, his figure shot away like an arrow fired from the Milky Way, vanishing completely from the Ssangbo brothers’ sight.

The Ssangbo brothers stood with their mouths slightly agape, staring at each other. Yuk Myeong-bo spoke.

“Are you all right?”

Yuk Jinbo replied.

“It’s better to guard the caravan. Let’s wait outside.”

The two walked out to the outer perimeter of the Galaxy Trading Company. They intended to wait there, braving the cold wind, until Dan Woo-sung returned.

Dan Wooseong deliberately raced toward the sparsely populated Ganeung Plains.

It was so hot he almost wished for a heavy downpour. He intended to push his physical exertion to the absolute limit to suppress Gongcheongseoyu’s counterattack while simultaneously expelling the rapidly increasing extreme yang energy from his body to alleviate the shock to his dantian.

Thanks to this, Dan Wooseong’s lightness technique grew increasingly faster.

Whenever he couldn’t perfectly control his power, his footfalls were so fierce they left marks on the ground with a sharp crack.

Had he mastered the power of Gongcheongseokyu at home in this state, his residence and annex might well have collapsed. It would have been a literal rampage.

Reaching the center of the dark, desolate plain, Dan Wooseong circled like a madman, accelerating until he gradually slowed down, regulating his breathing.

The thunderous energy of the Hundred Battles Ten-Fold Energy surged through his entire body. Annoyed by the sticky sweat dripping down, Dan Woo-sung stripped off his top and tossed it aside, then wrapped the thunderous energy around both arms.

Whoosh…!

The white aura coiled around his arms was now far more distinct than before. Clenching his fists as if gathering his inner energy once more, Dan Wooseong raised one hand toward the sky. He intended to vent any shock upward should the original energy within his dantian fail to harmonize with the newly infused energy.

But Dan Woosung, standing still, methodically subdued the events unfolding within his body. He operated his internal energy, sweeping up the power of the Gongcheongseokyu like gathering dust, then thrust it into his dantian.

Because he was rapidly growing stronger by abandoning the harmony of time, the backlash brought pain.

Dan Woo-sung clenched his teeth and looked up at the sky.

Suddenly recalling the most formidable organization that had ever existed, and dragging the memory of a defeat more shameful than death from his mind, the physical pain washed away as if it had never been there.

The dark night sky looked down upon the King of Power.

Yet despite having faced death once, the King of Power felt no fear.

His mind was filled only with thoughts of subduing and forcing others to kneel.

As the turmoil within his body subsided like a storm passing, Danwooseong lowered his arm and looked at his hand.

He then checked the Baekjeon Sipdan Gong.

The fifth and sixth Dan connected smoothly.

As he poured out his inner energy and unleashed the Seven Lightning Techniques, Dan Woosung’s hand became like a miniature sky, where large and small bolts of lightning repeatedly came into being and vanished.

Dan Wooseong concentrated his mind, then wrapped the signature technique of the Hundred Lightning Ten Dan Gong, the White Lightning, around his hand. As his entire hand turned white, confirming the efficacy of the Gongcheongseokyu had instantly reached his eighth dan, Dan Wooseong instantly withdrew his power.

Exhaling deeply, he knelt down to catch his breath.

His ragged breathing echoed briefly across the empty plains.

Gudan had no intention of attempting it. His physical level was somewhat lower than Baekjeon Sipdan Gong’s. It was only natural given his rapid growth. And in times like this, the true skill lay in suppressing one’s greed.

Dan Woo-sung spoke as if calming both body and mind.

“……It’s okay to stop growing stronger for today.”

Even after fully channeling the power of the Gongcheongseokyu into his dantian, Dan Woo-sung retained reserves without exhaustion.

It was a meticulous and cold-blooded approach.

Dan Woosung returned to the Galaxy Upper Division, his upper body exposed.

His appearance radiated such a fierce aura that no one could easily pretend to know him. His hair was disheveled, his eyebrows stood on end as if each strand pointed toward the heavens, and his upper body, honed by external cultivation, bore intricate, sculpted contours.

Rumors that the Great Prince of the Eunha Grand Clan had changed were already widespread…

As Danwooseong, who had stepped outside his home after a long time, walked through the night streets, passersby instinctively widened the distance between themselves and him.

To their eyes, it appeared as if a statue of the Four Heavenly Kings had come to life and was entering the Galaxy Trading Guild.

In truth, Dan Woo-sung had become the guardian deity of the Galaxy Group, so this appearance was hardly awkward. Yet he believed even this time was merely a period of lying on straw and tasting gall.

.

.

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As Lee Ja-eon briefly lowered his head, unable to overcome his drowsiness, Ju Ja-ryang struck his shoulder with the scholar’s fan beside him.

Thwack!

Ju Zaliang said.

“You brat, if you want to sleep, you should ask for permission first. Do you think you can ignore me just because I’m a private tutor who doesn’t know martial arts? Is that it?”

“No, sir.”

It’s still broad daylight with the sun shining brightly. You got up at dawn, yet you can’t even overcome that little bit of sleepiness? When you’re fighting someone in the martial world, do you think they’ll wait for you to take a quick nap just because you’re sleepy? Or do you think it’s something trivial just because it’s book learning?

“No.”

Zhu Ziliang said.

“You mustn’t just practice martial arts. This is what Senior Brother ordered. After lunch, you’ll face me like this every time. Do you think I enjoy sitting here teaching someone like you who has no interest in learning? You truly can’t fathom a person’s heart.”

Li Ziyan replied.

“Master, I do not think so.”

Zhu Ziliang struck Li Ziyan’s head with his scholar’s hat. This time, he couldn’t understand why his master was hitting him.

Zhu Ziliang said,

“There’s a story that Confucius once admonished someone defecating by the roadside. But do you know what Confucius did when he saw someone defecating right in the middle of the main road?”

“Well? He must have scolded him very severely.”

Zhu Xiangliang shook his head.

“No. He passed by without a word. The one who shits by the roadside at least knows shame, so he scolded him. But the one who shits right in the middle of the main road has no such shame—so he thought there was no need to scold him, nor was he worth scolding. He thought you were a man who couldn’t grasp the meaning of words.”

Lee Ja-eon stared blankly at Ju Ja-ryang.

“Hmm…”

“The reason I strike you is the same. If I don’t strike you, then know it means I consider you a man who defecates on the main road.”

Doesn’t that mean he intends to keep hitting me? Yi Ja-eon stared at Ju Ja-ryang with genuine shock.

He was someone who knew nothing of martial arts, yet he was terrifying people with his words. Yi Ja-eon couldn’t help but have his drowsiness vanish instantly.

“Yes, Master. I’ll stay alert.”

Lee Ja-eon was starting to fear Master Hakseon just as much as Master Geomseon, and he began to wonder if this was truly a divine encounter.

Zhu Ziliang uttered even more terrifying words.

“Jawon, if you find it unbearable, you may strike me dead with your fist anytime. After all, my master, myself, and you—these three are no great benefit to the world. If you kill me, my master will kill you. And he will regret slaying his disciple, taking his own life. We’re useless lives anyway. Even if we become a handful of dust together on Gu Huashan, there’ll be nothing to regret.”

What made Zhu Ziliang’s words terrifying was that he truly believed them. The identity of a failed scholar lay buried deep within his heart.

Lee Jae-eon also sensed an inexplicable pain emanating from his master, and replied in a subdued tone.

“Master, that won’t happen. If I make a mistake, please feel free to scold me anytime. I will improve from now on.”

Master Ju nodded.

“Martial arts are the power to kill. But the reason one kills is not the martial arts themselves, but the heart. Even if you learn powerful martial arts from your senior brother, you must never forget this. If you carelessly use that power to kill an innocent person, you become less than a beast.”

“Understood. I will keep this in mind.”

Jujaryang, sensing Lee Jae-eon’s response was perfunctory, spoke in a calm tone.

“You are stronger than I. But why do you think you do not strike me with that fist?”

“Because you are my senior.”

“Would you strike me if I were not your master?”

“Well…”

“You seem to have an older brother. Are you the youngest in your family?”

“Yes.”

“What a pity. I wish you had a younger brother. I wish that younger brother were stronger than you and would beat you up a bit. How do you think it would feel to be beaten by your younger brother?”

“I don’t know.”

Not hitting your younger brother. Not hitting me, your private tutor. It’s all the same. Martial arts weren’t meant to be learned for committing such unfilial acts in the first place. That’s also why I despise martial arts. When people like you learn martial arts, you fall into the path of Samadhi. That’s the look on your face right now. No. I will only strike my elder brother. I will not harm the rest. Can someone who strikes his own flesh and blood brother truly be like that? You, who announced you’d shit right here on the roadside.”

Lee Ja-eon’s face was also bright red.

“From now on, I’ll just take the beating.”

“No. If your elder brother is someone worthy of respect, then simply treat him as such. Unless he’s Sima Wudao, he wouldn’t treat you with contempt. So this comes down to a matter of the heart again. It’s not about who has stronger martial arts. Let’s leave it at that for today. Go rest for a while, then practice with your senior brother this afternoon.”

As Yi Zayan tried to rise, Zhu Ziliang struck his head with the Hwaseon sword.

“Whether it’s your elder brother, your master, your fellow disciple, or elders from outside, show proper respect when meeting and when parting!”

After bowing respectfully, Yi Ja-eon replied.

“I shall take my leave now, Master.”

Zhu Ziliang nodded with proper posture.

“Very well. What have you learned today?”

“I will engrave it upon my heart.”

“Was it worth hearing?”

“It was helpful.”

Ju Zaliang waved his hand dismissively with a stern expression.

“Leave.”

“Yes.”

As Lee Ja-eon stepped out of the shabby wooden hut where Gu Hwa-ssang was staying, Ju Ja-ryang roughly unfolded his fan with an unpleasant look on his face. Ju Ja-ryang slowly waved his fan as he thought.

‘You’ve still got a long way to go, you bastard.’

I was determined to shake that bastard’s resolve until he flew into a rage and swung his fist at me. As Zhu Ziliang had said, I could well end up dead by Lee Ja-eon’s hand.

What did it matter if he died?

As long as his friend’s younger brother didn’t become a man who shits on the roadside, Zhu Ziliang could handle that level of danger. And right now, he wasn’t his friend’s younger brother, but a worthless disciple Zhu Ziliang had to teach.

He wasn’t the kind of man who wouldn’t risk his life just because he didn’t know martial arts.

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong

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