Chapter 957

"Everything, huh?"

The turtle laughed upon hearing my declaration.

It was not a laugh of admiration.

If anything, it was closer to mockery—or sheer disbelief.

"You’re certainly full of confidence. But do you truly believe that’s possible?"

"Whether it’s possible or not isn’t important. There’s something an old man I know once told me. Do you know what he said?"

"What did he say?"

"'Make the impossible possible.' That was one of the few things that idiot said that I actually liked."

"…"

There was no such thing as impossible.

I would make it possible.

If I needed something, I had to obtain it, no matter what it was.

That was the life I had to live now.

So—

"Teach me. I have to do everything I can."

"…"

The words left my mouth as simply as stating a fact.

The turtle, still expressionless, stared at me in silence.

He wasn’t about to refuse now, was he?

The thought made me slightly uneasy, but I waited.

And then—

"You," he finally spoke.

"What do you think sorcery is?"

Sorcery.

The word alone made my eyes twitch slightly.

‘So they call it sorcery here too.’

This was the first time the turtle had ever directly mentioned sorcery.

Or rather, this was the first time I’d even heard the word here.

It made me feel… slightly unsettled.

‘Is sorcery not just a term used in Zhongyuan?’

Or perhaps—

‘Is the turtle’s language simply being translated to something I can understand?’

That was possible.

Nothing in this world followed the logic I was used to.

And—

Sorcery itself was an enigma.

‘I was told sorcery is a power brought by dragons.’

A long time ago, it was said that dragons left behind the power of sorcery.

But the turtle didn’t feel like a dragon at all.

And yet, when it came to sorcery, he spoke as if he knew everything.

‘Maybe sorcery itself isn’t a power created by dragons…’

But rather, something they also acquired?

The thought lingered for a moment before I returned my focus to his question.

‘What do I think sorcery is?’

I gave it some thought.

I had already considered this before.

"It’s transformation."

"Transformation?"

The turtle reacted to my answer.

"Transformation, you say…? Why do you think that?"

"I don’t know. It just feels that way."

Turning falsehoods into reality.

Creating and altering things beyond normal comprehension.

That, to me, was sorcery.

‘Just look at what’s happening now.’

This very situation.

Standing in the middle of a vast plain out of nowhere.

The teahouse disappearing as if it never existed.

All the feats the turtle had shown me so far.

Everything was transformation.

And I needed that power.

‘Especially for mastering Cheonma Divine Art.’

The power to do the impossible.

There was nothing I needed more.

Combining two martial arts and forcing them to harmonize—

Normally, that would be unimaginable.

But sorcery could make the abnormal possible.

The only problem was—

‘It’s not perfect.’

No matter how many times I tried, my attempts were still incomplete.

Not only was I missing theoretical understanding—

My knowledge was far too shallow.

‘This isn’t enough.’

Not nearly enough.

To achieve my goal, I needed to go deeper. To reach higher.

Some might argue that a martial artist shouldn’t rely on something like sorcery.

I had considered that thought before, too.

‘Screw that.’

Since when was I just a martial artist?

Martial arts were nothing more than a means to an end.

Some might find enlightenment through it.

Some might find meaning in their pursuit of mastery.

But—

‘That’s not me.’

I wasn’t a martial artist.

That title was more fitting for someone like Paejon.

And now, more than ever, I was certain.

I was not a martial artist.

And I didn’t need to be.

‘If it helps me achieve my goal, I’ll do anything.’

Hesitating over meaningless titles would only hold me back.

I had people to protect.

I had things to accomplish.

And right now, this was just another step toward that goal.

"Transformation, huh… Not a bad answer."

"So it’s not the right answer?"

"Hmm."

The turtle moved his staff.

As its tip rippled through the air, the space itself seemed to stir like water.

"First, let’s correct that part."

"Huh?"

Tap.

The staff lightly struck the ground.

Whoooosh—!!

A strong gust of wind surged across the plains.

And suddenly—

Blossoms bloomed everywhere.

Flowers that hadn’t existed before now filled the sky.

Then—

"There is no ‘right answer’ in sorcery."

The turtle looked at me, his voice steady.

"If you believe sorcery is transformation, then that is true. If you come to believe something else in the future, then that is also true."

"…"

His words were vague.

No right answer?

"Then… what am I supposed to pursue?"

A martial artist pursued enlightenment.

They followed the path toward cultivation and mastery.

Then what was the path of sorcery?

It felt too uncertain to simply call it "transformation."

So I asked—

But his response was—

"That is for you to find out. Even the pursuit itself is something you must determine on your own."

"…"

I frowned.

I had enough things to figure out already.

This just made things even more complicated.

But at least—

"The things I’m about to teach you… They won’t show you a path. They’ll let you find your own."

At least he was willing to teach me.

"Show me your rings."

"My rings?"

"Yes, your rings."

By rings, he must mean—

‘The ones bound to my heart?’

The coils wrapped tightly around my heart.

That must be what he was referring to.

"…How do I show you that?"

How the hell was I supposed to do that?

I had no idea.

"…Huh?"

For the first time, the turtle looked genuinely baffled.

"Are you telling me… you’ve never done it before?"

"Nope."

"…"

He stared at me for a moment, sighed, then moved his staff.

And then—

Wooong.

Something emerged from his staff.

Rings.

Eight rings, glowing with a faint golden light.

They floated around his staff, shimmering softly.

I focused my gaze on them.

How had he done that?

‘What was the flow of energy?’

A strange sensation crept over me.

The world around me blurred, and I could see nothing except—

The turtle’s staff.

And the rings hovering above it.

The sensation and flow that accompanied their manifestation—

I observed it as clearly as I could.

And then—

Thump.

I focused my heart energy.

"…It’s not difficult. You just need to move your energy and—"

Flash.

"—guide it…"

"Done."

A brilliant glow erupted from my hand.

Unlike the turtle’s golden rings—

Mine shone with a deep blue light.

Four rings coiled around my arms.

"So this is how it works."

It was easier than I expected.

Why hadn’t I figured this out before?

I absorbed the sensation into my body and spoke to the turtle.

"…"

For some reason, he had gone completely silent.

His expression twisted into something oddly unreadable as he glanced between my arm and my face.

"…Damn it."

"Excuse me?"

"…Never mind. I’ve half given up at this point."

What?

Was I not supposed to do it like this?

No, that couldn’t be it. Judging by his reaction, I had done it correctly.

I moved my left hand experimentally.

The rings shifted along my arm, but they didn’t jingle or rattle.

The turtle observed them for a while before speaking.

"Four rings, huh? Not bad."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yes. The quality looks decent too. It seems like you put in some effort."

"I didn’t put in that much effort."

"Then… how long did it take you? Ten years, perhaps—"

"I don’t know. Less than a year, I think."

"…Oh, I see."

The turtle paused mid-sentence before simply accepting it.

He had clearly been about to say something else.

"Yeah, I’m not even surprised anymore. At this point, whatever."

"Elder?"

"It’s fine. You asked me to teach you everything, but let’s start with what you need most right now. What is it?"

What I needed most.

I answered without hesitation.

"I need a way to contain an explosion before it detonates."

This was related to Cheonma Divine Art.

I needed a method to control explosive energy and maintain stability.

Sorcery might have a solution for that.

That was my reasoning for coming to the turtle.

"Hmm… A power to prevent something from exploding."

The turtle fell into deep thought.

A brief moment passed.

"I see what you’re after. You want to use it for what you tried earlier, don’t you?"

"That’s right."

The power I had attempted to use at his teahouse.

He still remembered it.

"…Then."

Tap.

He lightly struck the ground with his staff.

Two books floated out of thin air.

One stopped in front of him.

The other flew toward me.

Thud.

The moment I caught it, the turtle spoke.

"You will learn Absolute Retention from now on."

"Absolute Retention?"

"Yes. The power to preserve form without allowing change."

Flip.

The book opened on its own.

Rustle—!

The pages turned by themselves before stopping at a specific section.

The sight alone made me frown.

The book was packed with dense text.

And the script…

It was completely unfamiliar.

But—

‘I can read it?’

Somehow, I understood it.

I had no idea what language it was, yet the meaning flowed naturally into my mind.

As I stared at the book, the turtle’s voice reached me.

"I will not repeat myself. You’d best pay attention."

He spoke with certainty.

"Don’t worry. Even if you don’t understand it immediately, it will make sense in time. This is a difficult concept."

He seemed completely confident about that.

Then, he began explaining the contents of the book.

Hearing that it was difficult worried me a little.

But I focused and listened carefully.

***********************

Some Time Later

As the sun began to set and the sky turned red—

"Whoa…"

A small breath of admiration escaped my lips.

The reason?

‘So this is how it works.’

After finishing the turtle’s lesson, I could feel a noticeable change in my heart.

The threads of sorcery that I had previously formed were now denser and far more numerous.

This meant they would hold much longer when I tried to bind energy.

I was still far from mastering it—

But the fact that there was already a change was satisfying enough.

"As expected…"

Coming here was the right decision.

The material had been complex.

The lessons had been difficult.

But where else would I find something like this?

Smirking, I spoke to the turtle.

"It’s definitely hard to grasp, but it’s worth trying. Maybe your teaching is just that good?"

Feeling good, I threw in some flattery.

But—

The turtle gave no reaction.

…Huh?

"Elder?"

I carefully called out to him.

That moment—

"…You damn brat…"

"Hm?"

"You… damn brat…"

The turtle muttered lowly.

Had I misheard?

I was about to call out to him again when—

"That—"

"You little—!"

Thud!

The turtle slammed his staff into the ground.

"At least struggle a little, will you?!"

"…What?"

"Do you have any idea how long this took me?! A year! I got beaten half to death learning this, and you— half a day?!"

"U-Uh… Calm down, Elder. Please take a deep breath—"

"Calm down?! Get out! Get out of my sight!"

"Wait, what? But I’ve only learned one thing—"

Wooong—!!

The air trembled, and a crushing force pressed down on me.

By the time I realized it—

I was already outside the teahouse.

Assessing the situation, I blinked in utter disbelief.

"What the hell…?"

He just randomly snapped and threw me out.

"…Seriously, what just happened?"

I stood there, staring blankly at the turtle’s teahouse.

Then—

I noticed something.

The four rings I had before—

Had now become five.

And they were shining brilliantly in my hand.