Chapter 4

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Translated by Seoulbound

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

It was around late afternoon when Gangwon met Myeong-cheol.

“The youngest junior brother seems to be a genius.”

That was the first word he blurted out upon visiting.

And the subsequent words were the anecdote from the Push Hands sparring that took place during the afternoon.

Immortal Gangwon, who heard it all, was not surprised.

Because it was something he had already seen yesterday.

“Baek-jung planted the secret of speed in Tai Chi Chuan?”

“Yes, Martial Uncle! This martial nephew has never seen such a thing. If he only supplements the mnemonic formula for the Release of Force, it would be to the extent of being usable in real combat immediately. Moreover, the mnemonic formula expressing that routine, Cycloid, is in itself a phrase containing the teachings that Lord Lao the Most High bestowed upon Taoists. Perhaps junior brother… was born not just with simple Heaven-born Divine Strength, but even with the qualities of a Grandmaster.”

The Myeong-cheol that Immortal Gangwon knew was not of a personality to make such a fuss.

As he belonged to the elders among the Myeong generation, he was of a quiet and dignified personality. Even so, he did not even think of hiding his excitement, and was praising the disciple before Immortal Gangwon with sparkling eyes.

Embarrassingly using even the word Grandmaster for a fifteen-year-old boy.

Of course, he did not particularly dislike it.

Rather, since he was incomparably pleased, Immortal Gangwon pulled down the corners of his mouth that were trying to rise and deliberately lowered his voice.

“He is a fellow who still lacks cultivation. If you praise him repeatedly, his shoulders will grow stiff with pride, so exercise restraint.”

“Ah, I apologize. I acted frivolously.”

“It is fine.”

“Then, I shall take my leave now. Please attend to your business.”

When Myeong-cheol left the office and completely departed from the Sea Fog Pavilion where Immortal Gangwon resided,

no one remained in Immortal Gangwon’s office.

Only an energy like a hazy cloud remained.

**

The place where Immortal Gangwon showed himself again was?

The Library Pavilion of Wudang Sect.

‘Is this rascal doing well?’

Although leaving his post like this during office hours was not the right thing to do, he could not help it.

Because if he skipped his Library Pavilion reading time out of a proud heart, it was the duty of a master to give him a harsh scolding.

Just as rice bows its head as it ripens, the higher one rises, the more one must know how to be humble.

It was a step taken purely out of the desire for his disciple not to forget that truth.

It was absolutely not the foolish doting mind of wanting to see the disciple who had bloomed his talent. Absolutely.

As he carefully peeked through the gap in the window of the Library Pavilion out of a heart solely for his disciple,

‘Are those Lesser Cleansing Pills?’

He saw the figure of his disciple staying still with pills placed on his hand. The problem was that there were two of those pills. Since the standard dosage of the Lesser Cleansing Pill for a disciple before capping age was one pill.

He tried to stop his disciple, but

‘That rascal!’

the time was already too late.

At the sight of the two Lesser Cleansing Pills disappearing down Yeon Baek-jung’s throat all at once, Gangwon hastily approached the back of his disciple. He did so to place his hand on the Gate of Life acupoint to prepare for danger if need be, while also observing the surroundings to act as a protector.

However.

His disciple’s condition was unusual.

Something strange, something unheard of, was happening.

**

The Lesser Cleansing Pill was made with one pill as the standard dosage based on a young disciple’s body.

As such, the amount of internal force contained in two Lesser Cleansing Pills was an excessive amount to receive with a body that had not yet fully grown. Just like a river swollen during the rainy season.

‘Mmh.’

The more I controlled it, the more pain was felt.

The overflowing flow of internal force pressed down as if it would burst the meridians and acupoints, and scratched through the delicate meridians and acupoints like a raging river scraping the riverbed.

‘At this rate, I will suffer internal injuries.’

Is there no way?

No.

Internal force is like water.

If you try to hold and govern it, it moves violently, but if you leave it to its natural course, it scatters naturally.

Just as a river flows into the sea and becomes a cloud.

If I stop the Primal Chaos Light Skill’s true Qi guidance mnemonic formulas and let the internal force flow as it wishes, internal injuries can be avoided. Of course, a significant portion of the internal force contained in the spiritual medicine would be lost.

Ultimately, it was a choice.

Whether to give up accumulating energy through the spiritual medicine and avoid internal injuries.

Or to push through.

My choice was the latter.

Why?

It was because of the realization obtained over the past few days, and the rise in skill experienced through that realization.

‘Let us think. Think.’

Did they not say that even if you are dragged away by a tiger, you can live if you only keep your senses? I thought while pulling the reins of the wild internal force precariously like a beast.

‘Flowing internal force possesses a physical form. That means.’

Simultaneously with the thought, the principles of force exerted by a shapelessly flowing entity (fluid mechanics) were engraved in my head.

-The pressure combined with density times speed squared times two is constant.

‘As the speed and density of the internal force increase, the repulsive force (pressure) with which the internal force bursts the acupoints and Qi vessels can be reduced.’

The principle where water flowing fast inside a thin pipe exerts lower pressure on the pipe than water flowing slowly inside a wide pipe.

I applied the realization called physics, fluid mechanics, to my body.

Like that, thoughts and intent moved the acupoints, meridians, and the internal force flowing inside them.

I pressed the internal force compressing the meridians even harder with the meridians to compress and condense it. The rough flow gathered into a single grain.

Additionally, I doubled the speed of the internal force’s flow following the Primal Chaos Light Skill mnemonic formulas of the lower dantian.

The speed of the orbit of heaven, which was fast to begin with, began to double. The flow of internal force that was precariously within the scope of control now completely escapes control.

The Conception and Governing Vessels, connected from the lower dantian and the Sea of Qi to the Hundred Convergences, bulged out.

It was a premonitory symptom of deviation into heresy due to internal force runaway.

However, I did not give up. The sense of crisis that it would truly be the end if I gave up now made me calm instead.

I endured the pain and did not lose the reins of the internal force I held precariously. And finally, like a lie.

‘It works.’

As the force with which the running-away internal force pressed the meridians weakened, the bulging Conception and Governing Vessels gradually regained stability. At the same time, the internal force of the Lesser Cleansing Pills began to fill the well of the Sea of Qi acupoint in the lower dantian.

As that level rose, the flow of internal force became calmer.

Only then did I open my mouth and exhale a long breath.

And I realized.

‘Turbid Qi is swept away.’

Along with the exhaled breath, all the miscellaneous energy accumulated inside the body was discharged.

‘Did the running-away internal force clean the turbid Qi stuck to the meridians and acupoints?’

Regulating my breath, I calmly inspected the changes that occurred in my body. Along with the stale smell rising from discharging the turbid Qi.

‘The acupoints and meridians have also widened.’

It was not only turbid Qi that was discharged.

Adapting to the internal force contained in the two Lesser Cleansing Pills, the narrow and thin Qi vessels became a level wider and tougher.

In a very short span of time.

Originally, the human body changes gradually through training over a long period. In other words, what happened to my body was close to a miracle.

However, I was able to recall the cause of this miracle quickly.

‘Heaven-born Divine Strength.’

Only then did those burdensome gazes that the elders of the sect had sent me begin to make sense.

In addition, I could feel that this event was a considerable serendipitous opportunity.

An innately gifted body.

And if not for the mnemonic formula of Bernoulli, the scholar of the Netherlands I studied in the Library Pavilion dream, I might have helplessly fallen into deviation into heresy and ended my life.

But they say the fruit obtained by overcoming great danger is sweeter, is it not?

‘I fully absorbed the two Lesser Cleansing Pills without any internal force overflowing and being lost.’

Generally, one would say they absorbed a sufficient amount even if they only absorbed fifty percent of the internal force possessed by a spiritual medicine, but judged by the amount of internal force accumulated in the Sea of Qi acupoint, I absorbed nearly ninety percent.

The remainder, excluding the amount discharged to exhale the turbid Qi, was almost fully accumulated in the lower dantian.

I opened my eyes with incomparable satisfaction and fullness.

Darkness was heavily cast all around. Even so, my vision was bright.

Thanks to the discharge of turbid Qi and deepened internal energy, my senses also became a level sharper.

As if the touch of sensing Qi also developed along with my vision, a cloud-like sign of Qi hovered behind my back.

Previously I would have had to confirm it with my eyes to know, but now I could instinctively tell who the person standing behind my back was.

I turned around and looked at Master.

“You mischievous rascal. I sent you to read books, yet you commit such a bizarre act.”

Master, who was standing awkwardly, began to pour out the words he had held back as soon as I turned to look at him.

“Do you have thoughts, or do you not? While digesting spiritual medicine, one is most vulnerable to external threats, so what on earth were you thinking, taking spiritual medicine in the empty Library Pavilion and—”

Although it was an act committed because I felt safe within Wudang Sect’s boundaries, Master’s words were correct a hundred times in principle. Because one cannot know what will happen while consuming spiritual medicine.

“—If such a thing were to happen, you should have called me instantly. Or you should have taken it when I was present. Do you know or do you not know how dangerous it is to consume spiritual medicine above the standard dosage by yourself? If something truly grave had happened…”

“I am sorry, Master.”

I had never seen Master this excited. Moreover, within the scolding poured out quickly, I could feel Master’s deep worry. Besides, because I knew he had acted as a protector for me starting from a moment I could not determine.

“And thank you.”

I held my clasped hands and bowed my head deeply.

At my apology and gratitude, Master stopped the words he was pouring out quickly for a moment.

Soon, Master grabbed my shoulders, made me raise my head, and spoke.

“Even so, you have achieved great success in a short time.”

At Master’s praise, I raised my head, which had been gloomy, with a jerk.

Master was a person dotingly stingy with praise.

To the point that the first time I was praised was when my realization in Tai Chi Chuan was recognized not long ago.

A warm silence followed between us for a moment.

Of course, the one who broke that silence first was me.

“Master, you aren’t perhaps a fake disguised with disguise techniques, are you?”

“This rascal?!”

The price of doubt was a single blow of a solitary fist falling onto my Hundred Convergences acupoint.

**

“You rascal, you must not boast as if you have obtained the world just because your internal energy has increased a bit.”

I nodded my head while trying to lower my shoulders, which felt as if wings would sprout.

“Yes.”

“Since at times like that, one must devote oneself further, and further.”

“Master, you are saying the same thing for the tenth time now.”

“Compared to what you committed, this is nothing, you rascal.”

“…Yes.”

“So if you are to commit such an act in the future, be sure to call me…”

Repeated and emphasized nagging was bound to tire out a disciple.

I let Master’s words flow out from one ear to the other, just like Xu You when he met Sage King Yao in the ancient past, engraving Master’s worry deep in my heart.

Like that, by the time darkness vanished and dawn broke.

Master and I arrived at the Purple Yang Hermitage.

The twilight was clearing over Heaven Pillar Peak.

“The day is breaking.”

“Indeed.”

Unlike the sunset that wraps up the day, the morning sun of sunrise had another taste.

If under the sunset I organized my thoughts, under the morning sun, it felt as if thoughts welled up.

‘Since internal energy has increased, I should be able to load the Release of Force onto Tai Chi Chuan?’

Once it began to move, the thoughts started playing tag.

‘Releasing the internal force of the Sea of Qi through the Great Emptiness Form to relax it throughout the body, and at the moment of Advancing into Emptiness, Leaving the Temple, maintaining the center as if Yin and Yang intersect.’

Following the gradually deepening concentration, the body naturally reacted. And that movement was aligned with the mnemonic formula for the Release of Force in Tai Chi Chuan that Senior Brother Myeong-cheol was pondering.

**

Immortal Gangwon watched his disciple who moved his hands and feet with dazed eyes, and recalled the words of Myeong-cheol, who was unusually excited yesterday afternoon.

-The youngest junior brother… might have been born with the qualities of a Grandmaster.

With the thought that perhaps, just perhaps, his nephew Myeong-cheol’s words might be correct, Gangwon, the master, could not take his eyes off his disciple.

Although he was a disciple who could not even express the subtleties of Tai Chi Chuan stances until a few days ago.

‘Following the increased internal energy, he is properly loading the Release of Force.’

Upon the Tai Chi Chuan routine that added the subtle truth of speed, the internal Release of Force was being added.

Only.

‘It is still unstable.’

As it was Tai Chi Chuan with a routine different from the original, it was a matter of course that he could not follow the original mnemonic formulas for the Release of Force.

Therefore, it is unstable and incomplete.

However, as the number of repetitions of the nine Tai Chi Chuan stances added up to once, twice, three times.

‘Yes. Only when internal force is fully loaded onto the Houxi and Shaoze acupoints does the point of impact live. That is it, that is it!’

The Release of Force and the routine began to interlock.

Upon the light routine seen previously, Wudang’s unique soft internal Release of Force’s charm slowly revived, adding completion as the principles of Silk Reeling and Striking Second to Control First were added.

It seemed he could beat down any average unorthodox master with the Tai Chi Chuan his disciple displayed, even right now.

Meanwhile.

“Phew.”

The light in his disciple’s eyes returned as he halted the deployment of the fist method.

And Immortal Gangwon could feel.

‘You mean it is not the end yet?’

Even though he transformed Wudang Sect’s basic skill into a martial art that would not look pale even in the eyes of a master of the Jianghu, his disciple was frowning, not knowing what was so unsatisfactory.

“The flow of natural energy… it seems response is needed…”

Immortal Gangwon could not help but be startled.

Because his disciple’s murmuring was aligned with the principles of Wudang Sect’s high-level martial arts.