Chapter 9: Qualities of a Martial God (2)
It was a dire situation where a raw, hastily assembled recruit unit had to face a veteran enemy force. With so little time, they had to undergo grueling training day and night. The daily schedule was packed with swordsmanship, footwork, formations, and light movement techniques.
And the one who consistently achieved the best results, standing out like a crane among a flock of chickens, was So-mu. With every passing day, he steadily and naturally displayed greater skill.
“Is anyone sleeping?” So-mu looked around the barracks, but no one answered.
Though it was the middle of the night, no one could sleep. The hundred recruits of Squad 16 were sitting cross-legged, fully immersed in cultivating the internal energy of the Vajra Scripture.
They are more determined than I expected.
It was a boring routine for So-mu. For someone whose Middle Dantian was already unsealed, such basic cultivation was meaningless.
To his left, Cheong-hae was focused on circulating his qi, and to his right, Il-gwang was doing the same. So-mu’s gaze settled on Il-gwang.
Il-gwang didn’t conquer the back alleys with his fierce looks alone. Watching him train, he clearly has a natural instinct for combat. Furthermore, he has an excellent physical frame. If he can cultivate enough internal energy, his progress will be limitless.
So-mu gently pressed his palm against Il-gwang’s back. He intended to guide the man’s qi. If someone who lacked a deep understanding of energy circulation attempted this, it could easily cause the recipient’s meridians to rupture, leading to qi deviation. It was a highly dangerous move, but So-mu did not hesitate.
Having just taken his first steps in internal cultivation, all of Il-gwang’s focus was on a single, faint thread of true qi in his dantian. The thread grew thinner and weaker with every acupoint it crossed, on the verge of dissipating completely after passing through dozens of pathways.
Please…
Il-gwang struggled with all his might to guide the thread back to his dantian. Finally, the microscopic thread of qi trickled back and settled into his dantian.
He had completed one heavenly cycle of qi circulation. Though he should have been pleased, his heart was heavy. After all that agonizing effort, he had only added a single drop of water to the vast jar of his dantian.
Damn it! At this rate, when will I ever…
He couldn’t begin to imagine how many years he would have to repeat this tedious process. Yet, he could not stop. He was a man of pure tenacity.
Generating another thread of true qi from his dantian, he was about to begin the cycle once more when—
W-What?
Il-gwang gasped. A massive wave of energy suddenly surged from his dantian. If his previous thread of qi was a mere needle, this new energy was a roaring pillar of fire.
What is this? Could it be that I, like So-mu, am a natural martial arts genius?
Though he had no idea what was happening, he could not let the opportunity slip. He quickly attempted to guide the surging qi toward the Simyu acupoint near his shoulder, following the path of the Vajra Scripture.
However, the explosive current of qi refused to obey his command. Breaking free of his control, the massive energy surged down toward his left hip.
Hey! Where are you going?
The qi was moving on its own. Panicking, he could do nothing but let it run its course.
The first gateway the qi encountered was the Jungryo acupoint. The surging energy tore through it instantly, clearing a wide pathway. This meant that from now on, his qi would flow through this acupoint without the slightest resistance. And that was only the beginning.
The massive current of qi swept down his left leg, tearing through the Seungbu, Eunmun, and Weijung acupoints before reaching the Yongcheon acupoint on the sole of his left foot. Yet, the volume of qi did not diminish in the slightest.
Il-gwang felt his left leg grow incredibly light. He rejoiced inwardly.
Haha! I don’t know what this is, but keep going!
The relentless qi swept through his right leg’s acupoints before rising to clear every pathway in his upper body. It was like a tour of his entire physical frame. After completing a violent cycle that felt like a volcanic eruption, the energy finally settled in his left arm.
Meanwhile, So-mu’s face was pale. Guiding such a massive flow of energy through another person’s body required an immense expenditure of his own mental and internal energy.
Should I clear his Governor and Conception vessels while I’m at it?
The Governor and Conception vessels, which connected the Baekhoe and Hoeum acupoints, were the final gateways of the body’s meridians. If he cleared them, it would trigger a physical transformation, starting the process of marrow cleansing.
After a brief hesitation, So-mu shook his head.
No. Il-gwang is not ready to handle that yet. If I push too hard, it could kill him. There is no need to take such a risk. This level is already enough to prevent any loss of true qi when he fights, and his rate of internal energy accumulation will be dozens of times faster.
So-mu gently guided the remaining qi in Il-gwang’s body back to his dantian, slowly dissolving it. The exhausting task was finally complete. Feeling completely drained, So-mu sat back to regulate his own breathing and replenish his energy.
I can’t do that twice. I’ll have to handle Cheong-hae all at once later.
As So-mu fell into a deep meditative state, the man next to him opened his eyes.
“Hey, So-mu! Wake up! Look at me! This is insane!”
Il-gwang was punching the air, grinning from ear to ear. His body felt as light as a feather.
“To think I had this kind of hidden talent all along!”
Because of his shouting, So-mu had to cut his meditation short.
Sigh. His head really is filled with nothing but muscle.
Il-gwang began jumping around the barracks, his massive frame shaking the entire structure. The commotion woke the other recruits one by one.
“What is going on?”
“Brother Il-gwang, what’s wrong?”
Il-gwang looked the strongest in the squad, and because of his age, many of the recruits looked up to him.
“Boys, watch this!”
Il-gwang moved with a fluid agility that left everyone gaping.
“Wow… how did you do that?”
“As expected of Brother Il-gwang!”
Il-gwang turned to Cheong-hae with a proud expression. “Cheong-hae! Did you see that?”
Being highly competitive, Il-gwang had harbored a secret inferiority complex toward the younger Cheong-hae, whose skills had felt like an insurmountable wall. But things were different now. Il-gwang felt as if he could take on the world.
“I can’t believe it. Let me check your pulse.”
Cheong-hae grabbed Il-gwang’s wrist, sending a thread of his own qi to examine his pathways.
The recruits watched Cheong-hae’s face shift from curiosity to utter shock. After a moment, he spoke in a serious tone.
“Sigh… I think I’ll have to yield the title of Great General to you, brother.”
Il-gwang narrowed his eyes, filled with anticipation. “What do you mean?”
“I think you possess the Heaven-Blessed Physique! It is a skeletal structure gifted by the heavens!”
The Heaven-Blessed Physique. It referred to a body born with fully cleared meridians, making it the perfect vessel for martial arts. It was said to occur in only one in a million people.
Il-gwang had no idea what that meant, but judging by Cheong-hae’s expression, he knew it was something legendary and began to dance.
“What? Is that true? Hahaha! I knew it! I was always told I had a strong frame since I was a kid!”
“It’s a shame you discovered your talent so late. If you had trained from childhood, you would be a peak expert by now.”
“Damn it! I should have joined some sect instead of running a gang!”
So-mu smiled to himself as he watched them. While Il-gwang indeed had an excellent frame, it was not quite at the level of a Heaven-Blessed Physique.
As the other recruits looked at Il-gwang with envy, someone asked, “So who is the strongest in our squad now?”
Il-gwang sighed. “What nonsense are you talking when a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect is standing right here? Don’t you know the Nine Great Sects? …But with my new physique, I think I’ll catch up to him soon.”
Though Cheong-hae was the youngest in Squad 16, his background and martial arts were an object of admiration for the other recruits.
“I only get by on hard work; I have no real talent,” Cheong-hae said. “If Brother So-mu trains a bit more, I won’t stand a chance against him.”
“What do you mean? A Mount Hua Sect disciple losing to a recruit?”
“You guys don’t understand, but being able to copy a form perfectly after seeing it just once is an incredible talent. In the martial world, I’ve only heard of one person who possessed such a gift.”
Il-gwang narrowed his eyes. “Who? What happened to him?”
“The Sword Saint.”
The barracks erupted in murmurs. Even the recruits who knew nothing of the Jianghu had heard that title. It belonged to the supreme expert who had led the Great War of Righteousness and Demonism to victory. And Cheong-hae was comparing So-mu to him.
As they stared at him in awe, So-mu looked away and muttered, “Sword Saint my foot. Go to sleep.”
Yet the recruits were no longer tired. In place of their fatigue was a burning desire for martial arts.
“Brother So-mu, you’re the only one who has mastered all eighteen forms of the Heavenly Martial Sword Technique. What’s the secret?”
“I’m stuck on the Third Form. Can you help me?”
“Brother So-mu! Please teach me too!”
So-mu, who was already exhausted from helping Il-gwang, felt a massive headache coming on.
This is getting ridiculous.
He looked around. The recruits were staring at him like eager puppies begging for food, and both Il-gwang and Cheong-hae were among them.
So-mu lay down and closed his eyes, ignoring them. But Il-gwang and Cheong-hae began shaking him from both sides.
“Come on, teach us.”
“Brother So-mu, we have to grow stronger together if we want to survive the battle.”
So-mu hesitated. Though he was tired, correcting their stances was easy. But it was already past the hour of the ox, the deepest part of the night.
“Are you telling me we should go to the training ground right now?”
He opened one eye. The recruits were all nodding eagerly, their eyes wide like rabbits.