Chapter 26: Chapter 26
Jang I-seo sat on the ground and nodded slowly. Mao exhaled in relief and flopped down across from him.
“You scared me, damn it. What the hell? You one-shot Mak-gwi and all those assassins, then collapse from using a little internal energy? That makes no sense. What is it? Did you practice demonic arts or something?”
Right. If he wanted to think that, great. Jang I-seo nodded dismissively and offered a vague explanation.
“How else would a commoner like me get strong easily? Swallow whatever poison, whatever drug comes your way, and this is what happens.”
“Back then you were shooting lightning from your hand. You’re strong.”
“It’s all a double-edged sword. The greater the power, the greater the side effect. So hurry up and get stronger, Seventh Young Master. No telling when or how I might go down.”
At Jang I-seo’s ominous words, Mao’s expression darkened rapidly. Like a trembling puppy. An unexpected sight.
Then again, the ones who spent their lives backing others into corners were always the weakest against genuine connection.
And what did he have to fear? It was all an act. He wasn’t even twenty yet.
‘Come to think of it, he’s the same age as Yun-i.’
Next year, his younger brother would turn twenty. Fourteen years since he’d last seen him. He remembered the winter dawn he’d left, his brother waking from sleep and running after him, sniffling, begging him not to go. Felt like yesterday.
‘Is he doing well?’
He’d heard his brother had entered a prestigious sect and was doing fine. By now, the boy had probably forgotten him.
After these wandering thoughts, Jang I-seo slowly rose.
“Hey, shouldn’t you rest more?”
“I’m fine. We don’t have much time, so listen carefully. The Seventh Young Master broke through the absolute realm long ago. But when it comes to controlling internal energy, you’re worse than a third-rate.”
“Come on, third-rate is… Ah, fine, I get it. So what. You want me to do that fa-gi thing like you?”
“I’m not telling a toddler who can’t even walk to climb a mountain.”
“What?”
“What the Seventh Young Master needs to master before we reach the Heavenly Demon Palace is this.”
Jang I-seo spoke with sharp eyes.
“Emission.”
Palm wind when fired from the palm. Finger wind from the fingertips. Sword wind from the blade.
Gathering internal qi to a single point, then releasing it like a flicked stone.
The first realm Mao needed to complete was emission, the threshold of the absolute realm.
“To do that, you first need to stop chasing your internal energy and make it follow you.”
“Make it follow…”
Mao muttered with a serious expression. Jang I-seo nodded with equal resolve.
“Yes. And to do that, start by breathing slowly. Very slowly.”
“Fine. Slowly.”
Mao nodded. His eyes looked more earnest than before. Was it because he’d watched someone cough blood and collapse? Even dog shit had its uses as medicine. Everything helped in its own way.
Jang I-seo smirked and looked down the forest path ahead.
“Let’s go.”
Mao strode forward and replied.
“Right!”
But Jang I-seo stood rooted in place, eyeing him up and down.
“Where are you going?”
“You said let’s go.”
“Carry me.”
“Huh?”
“Carry me. I’m tired right now.”
“I’m the Seventh Young Master. You’re my adjutant.”
“Noted. Now carry me.”
“What, guests overthrowing the host?!”
“I told you. Overthrowing.”
Grumbling all the while, Mao walked over and bent down. Jang I-seo climbed on his back like a collapsing man. The kid had broad shoulders.
“Circulate slowly. Slowly.”
“I said I got it!”
“Start with the Lesser Heavenly Circuit.”
“Ah, just shut up. I can’t focus. I’d rather sleep.”
“…”
‘Seventh Young Master. I’ll raise you into the Young Cult Leader. No matter what.’
First… a nap.
His eyes slid shut.
*
Thirteen days had passed since Mao and Jang I-seo set out.
The day of the private audience with the Cult Leader had arrived. This was the last opportunity to train.
Training was a generous word. Sitting cross-legged in an abandoned house, repeating deep breathing exercises. That was all.
This was the special measure Jang I-seo had prescribed for mastering emission.
One goal.
“Huuu…”
Circulate the Great Heavenly Circuit slowly.
Homework befitting a Shaolin Temple novice, but Mao was pouring everything into succeeding at it.
The floor was soaked with sweat. Dark circles hollowed his eyes.
Jang I-seo had simply said to focus the mind and circulate slowly. But Mao was the good-for-nothing Seventh Young Master. With his perpetually scattered attention, that was no easy feat.
Countless attempts. Countless failures.
But failure was simply stepping toward success one foot at a time.
‘Focus. Focus. Almost there. Almost.’
And on this thirteenth day, Mao finally.
VWOOM!
“It… it worked!”
With dawn breaking through the window, he succeeded in performing a slow Great Heavenly Circuit for the first time.
“It worked, right?”
Mao looked at Jang I-seo, who leaned against the doorframe, with trembling eyes. Jang I-seo nodded, acknowledging his success.
“Hah… haha…”
All strength drained from Mao’s body. He collapsed spread-eagle on the sweat-soaked floor.
Why was he this happy over something so small? A grin spread across his face, refreshing as an open window.
He tapped his brow, shook his head, and spoke.
“I really am a genius.”
From Jang I-seo’s perspective, who had succeeded on his very first attempt at learning a cultivation method, it was frankly absurd. But what could you do? Success was success.
“Do you understand now what I meant by making your internal energy follow?”
At Jang I-seo’s question, Mao bolted upright, sat back down, and nodded vigorously with confident eyes.
This time, he genuinely understood.
“Now that I’ve tried circulating slowly, I get it. Until now, whenever I got excited, my internal energy would just burst out on its own. Nasty little bastard.”
Right. Correct answer.
“Exactly. Internal energy is like an angry beast. Impatient, it tries to run ahead. Try to grab it, and it flees faster. So you must tame it through breath control. Train it to follow where you lead. That’s how you teach it.”
Jang I-seo glided his hand through the air as he spoke. Mao nodded repeatedly.
It wasn’t familiar yet, but he’d definitely felt the internal energy stirring in his dantian, and he’d made it follow his will slowly.
“Then can you now gather the energy where you want it?”
At Jang I-seo’s question, Mao swallowed dry. Honestly, he wasn’t sure. But if he could make it follow, then corral it into one place and hold it there, shouldn’t it be possible?
“I can do it.”
Good. Then all that remained was practical application.
“Step outside.”
Creeeak.
Jang I-seo walked out of the abandoned house. Mao followed. In the small clearing before the house sat a massive boulder shaped like a dragon’s egg.
Larger than two grown men combined, with a flat face perfect for inscribing characters.
Jang I-seo gestured at it with his chin.
“Begin.”
Emission. The threshold of the absolute realm.
Huuu… haaa…
Mao took a deep breath.
And,
“URYAAAAAH!”
FWAAASH!
With a battle cry, he thrust his palm forward without hesitation.
POP!
A crisp sound burst forth, like something rupturing.
But…
The boulder remained unchanged.
FWOOOSH…
Nothing but a refreshing breeze, like a sea wind in a coastal village, blowing past repeatedly.
Mao stood in his awkward palm-thrust posture and muttered.
“What… did it fail?”
He’d gathered the internal energy to his palm and fired it with everything he had. The boulder looked like a fly might have landed on it and left. Jang I-seo stared blankly at Mao and the boulder, then answered.
“Yes… a failure.”
“AAAAAAGH! WHY!”
Mao grabbed the boulder and screamed. No. Tell me it’s a dream. Tell me it hurts! He’d been certain he’d succeeded. And this was a failure? So he was supposed to stand there blankly in front of the Heavenly Demon Palace doors again and turn back?
And listen to Jang I-seo nagging the entire way back?!
“I’m not doing it. Can’t. I quit!”
Mao rolled on the ground, throwing a tantrum.
But Jang I-seo stared at the boulder like a man possessed. Not teasing, not scolding. Just staring blankly.
‘The emission failed. The internal energy condensed in his palm, but he couldn’t release it at the right moment. So the energy never left. It just pooled at his fingertips. A failure. But…’
Jang I-seo studied the thrashing Mao with grave eyes.
He’d felt it clearly.
The moment Mao thrust his palm. An overwhelming extreme yang energy erupting from within him like volcanic lava.
‘If that hand had touched the boulder. It wouldn’t have cracked. It would have been pulverized into dust and vanished.’
This was why Jang I-seo’s expression had turned so cold.
He already knew Mao possessed the Heaven-Yang Body, appearing perhaps once in a century. He’d experienced firsthand the explosive power behind even a casual punch.
But it seemed that had been merely the tip of the iceberg.
Mao’s internal energy might rival that of the righteous sect elders.
‘Is this the power of the Heaven-Yang Body, where internal energy accumulates with every breath? To think… I’d end up envying this bastard.’
“AAAAAAGH! I’m a genius. A genius! And I lost to a rock? Why? Why! WHY-! This is all your fault! You, you bastard!”
Watching him wail while clutching a rock made the absurdity even more overwhelming.
Huu. Jang I-seo shook his head, walked over, and spoke.
“It’s not a total failure, so stop. You gathered the energy, but you need to release it outward. What good is holding it all in?”
“Huh? Release it?”
When Mao asked back blankly, Jang I-seo stood sideways before the rock face and assumed a light stance. Feet shoulder-width apart. Right palm open, drawn back near the chest. Left hand extended forward.
“Watch. Don’t gather energy in your hand and then push. Push your hand out and send the energy simultaneously. And the moment you aim at the target.”
FWIIISH! Jang I-seo twisted his waist forward and fired his rear right palm at the rock face.
KWAANG!
A roar erupted. Stone dust billowed. A deep palm print was carved into the rock.
Mao stared, eyes round. Jang I-seo slowly turned back to him and finished.
“You release the thread of energy from inside. Let the force that was running through your palm extend straight out.”
“Oh… oh… OH-! Hey, why didn’t you say that before. I’ve got it now. I can feel it! This time for real.”
Sure you do. Jang I-seo smirked. Mao might look like an idiot, but he wasn’t a dullard. He only seemed inadequate compared to the Heaven-Yang Body. Having already learned to control his internal energy, cutting it loose wouldn’t be difficult.
“Try it.”
Jang I-seo stepped back three paces. Mao took his place.
“Feet about this wide, and hands around… here?”
He began clumsily mimicking the movements Jang I-seo had demonstrated.
Unbelievable…