Chapter 30

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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**

My Upper Dantian cooled down coldly.

The surrounding scenery and time returned to normal.

At that moment, the first thing I heard was Senior Brother Myeong-jin’s grave voice.

“Congratulations, junior brother. You have put out something amazing again.”

I nodded in a daze. It was because the new step felt like a dream.

‘Slender Willow Flutter…’

It was a name I liked.

It was because the willow leaves tickling my hair had formed one pillar of my inspiration.

Along with my awareness, my senses returned.

Feeling as if wings were about to unfold from under my shoulders and armpits, I spoke while struggling to cross my arms.

“Ahem. It is all thanks to the help of my senior brothers and sisters.”

“Saying such words while swaggering like that makes them unconvincing, junior brother.”

At Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang’s laugh-tinted point, I smiled broadly and clasped my hands in a martial salute.

“It is all thanks to my senior brothers and sisters discussing it together. Had it not been so, had we not walked upon this path, the movement skill named Slender Willow Flutter could not have been created.”

At my words, the twin brothers, Senior Brothers Myeong-heon and Myeong-ryu, shook their heads.

“Sincerity.”

“None.”

Contrary to their blaming words, the senior brothers’ laugh-tinted tone of voice caused the affection in my Middle Dantian to move busily like pollen. It felt as if the bowl of water filling my heart was growing hot.

That I felt a different sensation from when I had created the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art was for no other reason.

A new movement skill.

On top of the satisfaction of having created a movement skill satisfying enough to fulfill my heart, the fact that it was not an achievement accomplished alone, but rather an achievement accomplished together with the senior brothers and sisters of the Greedy Wolf Unit, was the essence of this emotion—I could clearly tell.

Therefore, properly forming the martial salute I had held playfully, I first bowed my head to Senior Brother Myeong-jin.

“Thank you, senior brother. If you had not helped me, I would not have been able to complete the first step of the Slender Willow Flutter so quickly.”

Then, I clasped my hands toward the remaining senior brothers and sisters as well.

“Thank you for guarding me while I took my steps.”

The two senior brothers, Myeong-heon and Myeong-ryu, crossed their arms and shook their heads in unison.

“Sincerity.”

“Present.”

Beside them, Senior Brother Myeong-hun chuckled and added his words.

“There is no need for such thanks between fellow senior and junior brothers. We did what was natural.”

I struggled to calm my stirring heart and cooled my head.

-It is at times like these that one must devote oneself further to practice, and practice again.

It was because the words my master had once said to me came to mind.

The words that it was precisely at times like these, immediately after achieving success, that one had to practice even harder.

‘Let us not get drunk on the sense of achievement.’

Struggling to make that resolution, I took a deep breath.

‘Even so, it is just one step.’

Even if the single step that evaded Senior Brother Myeong-jin’s sword was new, it was nothing more than a single step.

Could I evade the attacks of the Six Great Evils, the Six Mighties of the Demonic Path, whom I had set as my targets, with this single step? Could I block their oppressive force with a palm force that could not even break the breastplate worn by a mere Beast Sage-class mask?

‘Not yet.’

I still had a long way to go before stopping.

Still.

‘Since I took a single step.’

That was what mattered.

One step.

When one step expanded into the next step, and I took the step after that?

One step would not end as just one step.

The steps taken like that would gather and gather, and someday they would be able to reach a high peak.

And when I finally stood at the summit,

‘I should even try attaching wings.’

I would fly in the sky.

I took a step.

Beside me, Senior Brother Myeong-hun and Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang stood shoulder to shoulder.

In that way, we began to walk in step with each other.

Clouds floating in the clear sky.

Below them, the willow leaves lined along the riverbank were slowly waving their hands as if seeing us off.

**

Late at night, beneath the cluster of stars embroidering the sky, Myeong-jin was poking at the firewood with a tree branch. Beside him, Yo Yeon-myeong, a disciple of the Wudang Sect’s Greedy Wolf Unit, approached and sat down.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Can one easily fall asleep after seeing that step?”

At his words, Myeong-jin laughed silently.

Then, he turned his head to scan the culprit who made them unable to sleep. The culprit, Yeon Baek-jung, was sleeping soundly, lying between Yi Chae-yang and Yoon Heun.

“The young grandmaster of ours who actually created the Slender Willow Flutter is sleeping quite well indeed.”

At Myeong-jin’s playful words, Yo Yeon-myeong also wore a smile at the corners of his mouth and looked at Yeon Baek-jung.

“Whether looking at his appearance or his status as a disciple of the prestigious Wudang Sect, even though the moniker of Bringer of Chaos shouldn’t suit him…”

Bringer of Chaos.

It was a term referring to a strange degree of physical strength and divine ability that threw natural order into chaos.

“…It is hard to find a moniker that suits him better than this.”

At Yo Yeon-myeong’s words, Myeong-jin nodded his head.

Both when he twisted the existing Tai Chi Chuan through a breakthrough to create a new form of Tai Chi Chuan, and when he completed the incomplete Primal Chaos One Qi Art with wisdom unbefitting of his age to create internal moving cultivation—to be honest, he thought Taoist Uncle Gangwon had helped significantly—Myeong-jin had watched Yeon Baek-jung. It was surprising, and an affectionate heart developed. It was because he was deeply glad to see the rear wave of the Yangtze River that appeared just when he was starting to feel that the current Wudang Sect was gradually growing stagnant.

However, a rear wave was only a rear wave. Although welcoming, it had not drawn out a stirring in his heart.

But today was different.

At the youngest junior brother’s steps, Myeong-jin felt as if his blood was boiling.

“Since entering the Wudang Sect, I don’t think I have ever learned martial arts while purely enjoying myself like Junior Brother Yeon.”

At Myeong-jin’s words, Yo Yeon-myeong also nodded his head.

“It is just as you said. I even felt a sense of self-reflection.”

They were people who had entered the Wudang Sect for their own reasons. They too once had hot hearts, but as time passed and they rose to higher stages, that heat gradually cooled.

There were many reasons, but what was the biggest?

It was because on the path of transitioning from the Elixir Condensation Stage to the Nascent Soul Stage, they were blocked by a wall and their martial arts stagnated.

In the midst of that, Yeon Baek-jung’s steps lit a fire in their cooled hearts. Like a campfire burning until the deep night ended, a long and intensely drawn fire was transferred.

Both of them were anxious.

“When we return, I should at least apply for secluded cultivation.”

At Yo Yeon-myeong’s resolute words, Myeong-jin nodded his head and then grabbed his shoulder as he spoke.

“It is a good idea, but.”

“Hmm?”

“Junior Brother Yeon said earlier. He asked if he could enter secluded cultivation.”

At Myeong-jin’s words, Yo Yeon-myeong’s shoulders shook for a moment.

And then, he scanned the figure of Yeon Baek-jung sleeping soundly once again.

“That kid? What is he trying to show us again…”

“He said he wants to organize the insights he has gained so far.”

“He wants to organize his insights. Haha.”

This was only the second time Yeon Baek-jung had been deployed on an actual mission since entering the True Martial Pavilion. To enter secluded cultivation after a mere two missions? Bypassing his senior brothers? If it had been anyone else, the desire to yield would not have arisen, but.

“If it is Junior Brother Yeon, well.”

“Indeed. You should enter next time.”

Yo Yeon-myeong was understanding.

**

Immediately after returning to the mountain, I visited my master’s office.

There, a new sense of respect for my master bubbled up within me.

“Are you reading all of this?”

The bamboo scrolls piled up like a tower on the table looked precarious. I tried to touch one of the bamboo scrolls, but under my master’s gaze, I quietly put it down.

“Of course I piled them up to read them all. Why else would I pile them up if I weren’t going to read them?”

Then, my master’s gaze returned to the bamboo scrolls once again. I calmly sat in a chair and watched my master work. Since it was the first time I had actually seen my master working, it was fascinating and also looked grand.

Then, my master, who rolled up the last bamboo scroll and pushed it to one side, rubbed his eyes and turned his eyes to me.

“Right. If you came all the way to the Sea Fog Pavilion, you must have some business. What is it?”

At my master’s characteristically blunt tone, I chuckled and replied.

“Well, it is nothing grand. I will be entering secluded cultivation this time.”

At my words, my master scanned me with his eyes for a moment and then nodded.

“The acupoints of your Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang and Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin have become solid.”

For a moment, I flinched.

It was because the Girdling Vessel of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, which was mainly utilized in the steps of the Slender Willow Flutter, consisted of the acupoints on the Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang and the Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin.

From there, master went one step further.

“Slender Willow Flutter. The name is good.”

I said with a sigh.

“I was planning to surprise you, but the steam is gone.”

“To surprise me, you are still ten years too early.”

“To say such words, you seemed to have been very surprised in the past though?”

I quickly avoided my master’s knocking fist strike and dodged next to the precariously piled bamboo scrolls. Although my master’s face was expressionless, his eyes were shaking like dust inside the office.

Only one thing.

The fact that my master’s shaking eyes were bloodshot weighed on my mind, so I stopped playing around.

“…What are you plotting?”

“I just came to greet you. Do you think I only cause trouble all the time?”

“That is not what was written in the report though?”

“Mmh.”

Suddenly, I recalled the thrill of the moment I glided.

However, we did not have much time to enjoy such leisure. It was because my master raised a bamboo scroll again and issued an order to leave.

“You rascal. If the greeting is done, go now. I am busy to death because of the business you brought.”

The business master spoke of.

It must be referring to the fact that the manufacturing method of the Tang Clan’s imitation Immortal Ruiner had passed over to the Chaotic Heaven Green Forest.

I decided not to take up any more of my master’s time.

“I have something to say, Master.”

At my words, the gaze he was casting on the bamboo scroll directed toward me once again. I brought up the main point of my visit to my master.

“I applied for the Xuanwu Cave secluded cultivation this time.”

At my words, my master cast a brief glance at me, nodded, and then turned his gaze back to the bamboo scroll.

“Aren’t you going to ask for the reason?”

“It is a decision you made. Do I have to ask for the reason?”

I could catch a glimpse of deep trust in that blunt tone. With a sensation different from the expectant gazes I had received from the senior brothers and sisters of the Greedy Wolf Unit, my heart felt light and floated up.

Still, since I had to say what needed to be said, I spoke as calmly as possible.

“I think I will enter tomorrow right away. Do not skip meals just because I am not around for a while, and eat well.”

At my words, master snorted and spoke.

“I eat better when you are not here.”

Then, master picked up a new bamboo scroll and spoke.

“You are the one who shouldn’t cry because I am not here when you come out of secluded cultivation.”

“Yes? Is something happening?”

“Yes.”

As my eyes widened, the corners of my master’s mouth curved strangely. Then, with a gaze that seemed to say ‘I won!’, master spoke.

“Thanks to the information you brought, I have to go out into the Jianghu after a long time.”

“Ah.”

“So do not be gloomy like a child who lost his parents because I am not here.”

“Master. I am fifteen. Commoners down the mountain marry when they are fifteen.”

“But why are you like that?”

Left speechless, I let out a sigh.

Master covered the curving corners of his mouth with the bamboo scroll.

After smiling silently at my master, I slowly bowed my body and began to perform bows.

Once, twice, thrice… and nine times.

Having finished the ritual of nine bows, I clasped my hands and spoke.

“Please travel safely.”

Making eye contact with me, my master nodded.

“Indeed.”

The next day.

I entered secluded cultivation.

**

Inside secluded cultivation, there was a lot to organize.

Not only did I have to organize the formulas of the Slender Willow Flutter, but I also desperately needed a closed space to focus on the inspiration stimulating my mind.

Although there were many parts to work on, such as fist techniques and movement skills, the top priority among them was.

‘The Elixir Condensation Stage.’

It was because I had obtained the beginning of the realization to transition from the Resonance Stage to the Elixir Condensation Stage.

Synthesizing the facts confirmed so far, they were as follows.

1. Natural qi that fully fills the space between heaven and earth exists in a state like a kind of gas.

2. On the other hand, the cultivation force accumulated through breathing shows a dense and condensed form like a liquid as its density increases.

As I drew closer to the end of the Resonance Stage, the nature shown by my internal energy was closer to 2. It was different from before when the accumulated foundation energy was insufficient.

Since gas had become liquid, there was no law saying liquid could not become solid. The reasoning that, through building the foundation, the liquid-state cultivation force could transform into a solid-like, elixir-pellet form was quite rational.

However, at the level of the Resonance Stage, even if I repeated building the foundation, phase transition did not occur. It was so even though I had consumed the Supreme Clarity Pill and accumulated energy no less than Senior Brother Myeong-hun and Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang.

Just as the senior brothers and sisters had said, building the foundation without a special realization did not cause a phase transition.

‘Then all I need to do is obtain a special realization.’

To me, realization was none other than.

‘Experimenting. An experiment to form the conditions under which the phase transition of cultivation force occurs.’

In a phase transition changing from gas to liquid, and from liquid to solid, two major conditions are required.

One is temperature.

The other is pressure.

‘Since gas and liquid become solid when low temperature and high pressure are preceded.’

However, because the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art I mastered mainly took the energy of the Primal Chaos of One Qi as its base, it was not a cultivation force with a strong Yin-cold supporting force. Moreover, if Yin energy became excessive, the acupoints would freeze and lose vital energy, ultimately putting my life in danger.

The extremely rare individuals under heaven who possessed bodies called so-called ‘Severed Meridians’ were of a constitution where, as mentioned before, the energy contained in their bodies leaned to one side, endangering their lives.

In other words, reaching the Elixir Condensation Stage through only Yin energy was difficult.

If so, it meant I had to apply strong pressure to the inside of my body, but this was also a dangerous thing. Just like when I digested two Lesser Cleansing Pills in the past, excessive pressure applied to the acupoints could easily damage my body and become a cause of deviation into heresy.

‘Which means both this method and that method are difficult.’

That was also why I could not easily reach the Elixir Condensation Stage. Because whether through Yin energy or through pressure, reaching the Elixir Condensation Stage seemed like it would endanger my life.

But what if I mixed the two conditions appropriately?

I thought it might be possible.

In the midst of that, I obtained a single inspiration from this mission.

‘The heartbeat.’

The beating of the heart I had felt when I exploded the palm force of the Four Symbols Wind and Thunder Palm onto the chest of the Changyou mask brought me a single inspiration.

‘Periodic pressure changes. Through this, maintaining the phase-transitioned Elixir Condensation Stage cultivation force.’

Of course, phase transitions would occur moment by moment, but this could be replenished by building the foundation through breathing.

In addition, what about the utilization of the Yin-cold supporting force?

The formula of detoxification added to the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art.

If I utilized the principle of centrifugal separation, it seemed I could filter out the pure Yin-cold supporting force from the energy of the Primal Chaos of One Qi.

It was because Yin energy was more subtle, profound, and heavy compared to other energies.

Moreover, Wudang Mountain is a holy mountain of Taoism whose mountain energy is strong enough to stand against the True Martial Great Emperor of the North.

The Xuanwu Cave, formed for secluded cultivation, was a space with strong Yin-cold energy equipped to maintain balance and help the accumulated energy of those who mainly handled Yang-strong energy.

The theory was perfect.