Chapter 122: Question of the Twelve Hours
After resting well until the next morning, my messed-up body recovered to some extent. Most fortunately, I was able to move my body faster than Baek Mu-ho.
‘What a relief.’
However, if there was one disappointing thing.
“You’re awake?”
“Of course!”
Although my recovery ability was at a level that transcended imagination, that guy Baek Mu-ho was not to be underestimated either.
Looking at the stories I heard while lying down, it was said that after I collapsed, Baek Mu-ho requested a spar with Senior Jang Mun-gyeong.
They said he fought quite well.
In a word, it meant he attacked like crazy as long as he remained conscious.
It seemed Senior Jang Mun-gyeong also enjoyed it considerably.
He deserved to end up in that state.
‘The divine power of earth is indeed good.’
Although I had felt it before, the power called divine power definitely set itself apart from ordinary internal energy.
Even if one pushed oneself to the point where the body broke down, it restored it to normal.
It was a tremendous advantage for a martial artist.
It was an ability hard to find in any divine martial art.
It was safe to say it was an anomaly.
If this power reached the limit, even if my arm got cut off, it would not regenerate like a lizard, right? Surely?
The fact that I could not guarantee it was scary in a sense.
‘It would be a bit scary if it regenerated in real-time right before my eyes.’
If it went to that extent, it would really not be human.
“…Let’s think about the things right in front of me first.”
The masters had said.
Always ponder.
Find what is lacking and question it.
What is lacking?
Why is it lacking?
Even if it was a natural outcome considering the gap, a defeat is a defeat.
Replaying what I felt while facing Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, something quickly came to mind.
‘The masters’ martial arts are less compatible with the powers I currently have than I thought.’
Without exception, the divine powers possess great power.
It was also clear that they were powers far beyond my station.
They were also the greatest driving force behind my martial arts developing this much in a short period.
However, if I could not use that power as intended, it was meaningless.
Unlike when I lightly added power in Sichuan, I experienced with my body that when I maximized the divine power of fire, the worst clash occurred with the Ultimate Extreme Strike.
The side effect where the arm holding that power felt like it was going to burst due to the mismatch between the actively wild divine power of fire and the Ultimate Extreme Strike, which had to be executed in a tightly compressed extreme, was still vivid in my memory.
‘If I focus on the divine power of fire, I can utilize other divine powers, but the side effects are also severe. To cover this, I either need to raise my achievement in the Three Talents Unified Qi Art, which mediates energy and martial arts, or I need the strength to do something about the divine power of fire that acts on its own…’
According to the principle of the Five Elements’ generation, if the divine power of wood is added, it will become very troublesome. As a result, the divine power of fire itself will become stronger, but the outcome will surely be more terrible than now.
‘I need the divine power of water. No, going further, I must complete the Five Elements Divine Power.’
The power coming from incomplete mutual generation and overcoming is already at this level. If I achieve the complete harmony of mutual generation and overcoming, the power will transcend imagination.
Looking at it from a long-term perspective, it is the most ideal goal.
However, the only thing I can lean on right now is the Three Talents Unified Qi Art.
“Say what I will, I must raise my achievement in the Three Talents Unified Qi Art.”
[Correct.]
Master Zhang Sanfeng gave high marks to the answer I came up with after pondering.
[You gained many things while wandering around for a while, but you lacked the time to organize them. In short, as your level has risen, you need to rebuild your foundation anew.]
“Yes…”
The easy path I thought of was to complete the Five Elements Divine Power…
Just like when I obtained the other divine powers, how easy would it be to just go to where the divine power was and swallow it whole?
But it seemed Master Zhang Sanfeng was not pleased with me taking the easy way.
[As you know from having experienced it once, the answer to this kind of thing just comes if you roll around.]
“…”
What would foundation be if expressed in other words?
It is effort.
Eeeeeeffort.
[What did you say not long ago? Did you say you do the master job for this taste?]
This is why a person should live carefully with their mouth.
Perhaps because I suddenly recalled the days when I first learned martial arts from the masters, my chest naturally shrank.
One might say I was making a fuss, but I felt a serious sense of crisis in that part about ‘needing to rebuild the foundation anew.’
“…What… should I do?”
[The Sixteen Stances you taught to the ducks. It will do if you execute them with the flow of the Three Talents Unified Qi Art loaded.]
“…Oh? Is that enough?”
If it was just that much, it would be quite worth a try…
[Let’s do just ten thousand times a day with that.]
“…”
‘Masters, do you happen to know how many shijin a day consists of?’
A day consists of twelve shijin, of which four shijin are usually sleeping time. The time awake and moving is roughly eight shijin, which divided into sikgyeong (eating time: about 30 minutes) is thirty-two sikgyeong.
Asking me to perform the Sixteen Stances ten thousand times during thirty-two sikgyeong means performing it about three hundred twelve times per sikgyeong, and in terms of movements, it means moving roughly five thousand times.
Move five thousand times during the time it takes to eat a single meal?
[With your current self, you can do about that much, right?]
“Uh, yeah…”
‘…Can I do it?’
Thinking it over, it seemed like it was ‘possible.’
For the ducks, three thousand times a day would be tight, but my level of training is different. If I squeeze it out, I think I ‘can do it.’
If it is not enough, I can just reduce my sleeping time…
For an ordinary person, it would be an overwork of the level that would cause illnesses midway and make them a cripple, but this body of mine that the masters built was so sturdy that it was clear it could fully endure it.
Terribly.
‘Is this… what the masters felt when working overtime…’
A struggle to fill the quota…
No, even so, isn’t ten thousand times a bit too severe?
‘Master Bodhidharma?’
So I tried moving my head in a gesture of subtly shifting my gaze to another direction.
Seeing my head movement, Master Bodhidharma also chimed in.
[If you show an example, won’t the other kids work even harder? Hoho.]
Indeed. There was no ally of mine here.
‘Cheong-u, I miss you. I need healing…’
Mother, you are doing well, right?
Father, I miss you.
Grandfather, please save me!
***
As I trudged out like a cow being dragged to a slaughterhouse, I saw the family members of the Bright Fate Escort Agency practicing the training method of the Sixteen Stances with powerful shouts from the morning in the wide front yard.
Beads of sweat were forming on the foreheads of those who were training with heat and sincerity.
‘Is this… what they call karma…’
Terrifying, karma.
While recalling the lesson that I should live nicely once again, the members of the Bright Fate Escort Agency stopped training and flocked to me.
“Are you awake?”
“Is your body alright?”
Amidst the overall worry, I could feel a deep respect for me permeating.
It seemed to be the influence of showing myself proudly standing against Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, one of the Ten Swords of Heaven.
Now they looked like they would follow without a second word no matter what I said.
Well, now it did not matter anyway.
‘Ten thousand times… Ahahaha… They said ten thousand times, ten thousand!’
Even thinking about it again, only laughter came out.
However, a disciple must do whatever the master orders.
“My body is fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
Ju So-ran swept her chest as if relieved.
The other family members of the Bright Fate Escort Agency also showed signs of relief.
“The problem is that I am too perfectly fine. Somewhere should have been broken…”
“…?”
I muttered in a small voice, but they seemed to have heard. Everyone’s face turned strange. A few even dug their ears as if they thought they had misheard.
Passing by them, I announced the crazy thing I had to do from now on.
“Starting today, I will perform the Sixteen Stances I taught you ten thousand times a day.”
“…Pardon?”
The gazes of the people who had been looking at me with respectful eyes shifted stealthily.
It was a gaze that seemed to say, ‘What is this crazy guy?’
“You all work hard too.”
“…”
It felt like the sound of blood draining from the faces of the Bright Fate Escort Agency’s family members could be heard.
Having acquired faces similar to mine, the family members of the Bright Fate Escort Agency entered training with tense expressions.
Senior Jang Mun-gyeong approached stealthily and asked.
“Did I happen to hit your head during the spar?”
Apparently, the number of ten thousand times did not seem normal to Senior Jang Mun-gyeong either.
If one thought about it common-sensically, that was natural.
“I have merely realized my own shortcomings.”
“Hmm…”
“Well then, I am busy, so excuse me.”
At least at this moment, I did not care about the fame of the Ten Swords of Heaven or whatever.
“Hahaha…”
I had to fill a count that brought out nothing but dry laughter, so how could I have the leisure to watch someone’s mood?
For reference, this is absolutely not an insult directed at the masters.
…Damn it.
***
After Yeon Cheong-un’s activity, Sichuan returned to a state of lull.
Although a major clash was avoided, it was the usual Sichuan where distrust and hard feelings toward each other still remained.
In such a situation, Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong welcomed a strange guest.
“Are you asking me to kill Teacher Emerald Bamboo?”
“That is a matter for later, and for now, just keep watch. Seeing that old man move this time, it seemed like he had a solid backer, didn’t he?”
Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong stared intently at the person in front of him.
With a mask making his affiliation unknown and releasing a murderous momentum throughout his body, he was a person in whom the characteristics of a typical unorthodox master could be seen.
Even in his own introduction, he said he was a person from the Black Abyss Heaven.
“How much have we suffered at the hands of the orthodox bastards, so there is no way we can just pass over it like this! In this kind of situation, even unknown elements have joined in and muddied the waters. We must grasp it properly, pull it out by the roots, and open a true unorthodox world in Sichuan!”
The sight of him hitting the table in resentment over the fact that what happened in Sichuan this time was swept under the rug was that of an unorthodox martial artist through and through.
Gwak Dae-pyeong, who was looking at the masked man with a strange gaze, took out a die from his chest and threw it onto the table.
The number of the rolling die was two.
An even number came out.
Whether he had heard the rumors of Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong, the opponent flashed his eyes under the mask.
“What does this mean?”
“It means you should throw it once too.”
Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong handed the die to the opponent.
The number shown by the die thrown from the masked man’s hand was five.
An odd number.
Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong smiled broadly.
“It means I heard your story well.”
“Which means?”
“That I will keep watch for now.”
“Hahaha! Indeed! That’s right! That’s how the unorthodox path should be!”
Thinking that he accepted the request, the masked man laughed loudly and stood up from his seat.
Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong chuckled as he watched the back of the masked man leaving triumphantly.
“Unorthodox path, my foot. Looking at his gait, he is definitely a guy from the Tang Clan.”
The sharp observation skills of Evil-Deed Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong, who was crazy about gambling, pierced the opponent’s identity.
“Wasn’t the Demonic Cult behind this incident?”
Inside his head, various thoughts became tangled.
“This is also fun, but… where are you planning to take me, die?”
Contrary to the words coming from his mouth, Gwak Dae-pyeong, who was wearing an intrigued expression, moved to look for Ghost Hand Baek Pung-rip after a while.
While Yeon Cheong-un stopped at the Bright Fate Escort Agency for a moment, the flow of the world was moving grandly like the flow of a river.