Chapter 44 : Solving the Mystery (1)

Chapter 44: Solving the Mystery (1)

“They all had a common point — they practiced martial arts that involved splitting the mind in two. Regardless of the method, their techniques allowed them to divide their minds. Ha Cheolryeong went around these places and challenged them to duels to obtain these techniques. By winning the matches, he acquired the chants of their martial arts.”

Yong Hwarin’s mind spun at terrifying speed, rapidly piecing his thoughts together. He murmured as if trying to organize them out loud.

“The important question is why Ha Cheolryeong needed those martial arts in the first place.”

After pondering further, Yong Hwarin muttered with a look of certainty.

“The Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra requires two dantians, each containing a different kind of energy. If one tries to use internal energy with just a single mind, those energies would conflict and result in qi deviation. So he must’ve used a technique that splits the mind in two to create the two dantians required for the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra. That’s it. That’s how Ha Cheolryeong formed two dantians. Incredible. Absolutely incredible!”

The fact that he conceived and successfully executed that idea — Ha Cheolryeong was worthy of being recognized as the greatest martial artist in the world.

Martial arts always revealed their limits to those who dared to challenge them first.

Yong Hwarin’s joyful face darkened slightly.

Among all these techniques, he still didn’t know which one Ha Cheolryeong had used to form the two dantians.

“Think… there must be a clue.”

Yong Hwarin wrote down the corresponding martial arts next to the names of the martial families and spread the paper across the table.

His gaze stopped at one name.

“Chouhui of River Immortal Pavilion.”

He slapped the paper with “River Immortal Pavilion” written on it.

According to his memories from his past life, not long after Ha Cheolryeong visited River Immortal Pavilion, Chouhui disappeared from the place.

This caused a massive uproar at River Immortal Pavilion, which had issued a Gold Medal and had to reimburse all the money associated with it.

But wealthy merchants and powerful aristocrats, heartbroken over the disappearance of the unmatched beauty Chouhui, even formed search parties — a farcical situation.

Yong Hwarin had been one of the members, so he remembered it vividly. That was a time in his life with no joy, and participating in that farce had been one way to pass the days.

‘If any other martial family's technique had been enough to create two dantians, then Ha Cheolryeong wouldn’t have bothered visiting Chouhui. He must’ve acquired the technique that suited him from her, so he didn’t need to search further afterward. The fact that his trail ends after Chouhui proves it.’

Thinking his long-standing question was finally resolved, Yong Hwarin rubbed his palms together in delight.

“Now, all I have to do is make the old man’s soul mine. Maybe I really will take Ha Cheolryeong’s place someday.”

If he could obtain the old man’s vast inner energy and the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra, it wouldn’t just be wings on a tiger — it would be like mounting a dragon.

He suppressed the urge to rush off to River Immortal Pavilion immediately.

Right now, the most urgent task was dealing with the old man’s soul first.

And even if he went to River Immortal Pavilion now, Yong Hwarin couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to meet Chouhui.

Even with a Gold Medal, which granted the right to challenge the Five Martial Passes, his current level wasn’t enough to pass through them.

The first stage of the Five Martial Passes was defeating Chouhui’s bodyguard, Beom Yegok — a high-level expert who stood at the peak of first-class and was approaching transcendent level.

Most martial artists failed to even get past that first stage.

In truth, people like Gocheok or Jeok Gwang, though praised as late-stage first-class, were still green. Their lack of experience and foundation made them relatively easier opponents.

But Beom Yegok was in his forties and had earned the infamous title “Butterfly Sword Flower Guest” for his graceful swordsmanship that fluttered like a butterfly and plucked like a flower.

Though considered one of Chouhui’s followers, he served her with unwavering loyalty, making it hard to speak ill of him.

‘Yes, if I want to meet Chouhui, I must be able to fully harness the old man’s power first.’

Yong Hwarin’s renewed purpose filled him with vitality.

Without a guard watching over him, he jumped straight into energy circulation.

This showed that, despite having lived fifty years in his past life, Yong Hwarin still had traits of a martial arts newcomer.

He was so used to Mo Biyoung or the Two Wook Sword Demons standing guard for him that he’d unconsciously assumed someone would be doing the same now.

Jaegal Yohye, who had come with Shangguan Yuseol to find Yong Hwarin, was startled to see him circulating his energy without any protection.

“At times like this, he really does seem like a greenhorn... Cultivating just anywhere like that.”

Shangguan Yuseol, irritated by Jaegal Yohye’s remark, snapped back.

“That’s because he has absolute faith in the clan, doesn’t he? He believes no one will dare interrupt his energy circulation. You seem to lack trust in your allies.”

Jaegal Yohye blinked in surprise, watching how much Shangguan Yuseol had changed since meeting Yong Hwarin.

She couldn’t understand why Yuseol was defending him so strongly, especially when their relationship wasn’t particularly close.

It was bewildering.

Though love could spark overnight, this was a complete turnaround from how Shangguan Yuseol usually treated men.

Still, Jaegal Yohye smiled subtly at her friend’s reaction.

“Yuseol, when Young Masters Seomun Yuwon and Pang Giyok arrive tomorrow, it’ll be hard to see Young Master Yong for a while.”

At that, Shangguan Yuseol clapped her hands as if just remembering.

“That’s right! Pang Senior Brother is coming tomorrow!”

Her face lit up with delight at the thought.

Sometimes she seemed like a wise and mature woman, yet at moments like this, she was no more than an innocent young girl.

It was a side Jaegal Yohye found charming — perhaps because she didn’t have it herself. The two names she mentioned, Seomun Yuwon and Pang Giyok, were the young lords of two of the Three Great Martial Families.

They were also among the rising elites who had recently made their mark in the martial world.

Seomun Yuwon had the title “Light Trace Blade” and was one of the rare experts who wielded fast blades with unparalleled confidence, matching the prestige of the Pang Clan.

Meanwhile, Pang Giyok was known as “Lightning Pattern Blade.” His strikes, like blue lightning arcs, never rumbled like thunder — a signature trait of the Pang Clan’s secret technique, the Tyrant Severing Blade.

That technique was developed by Pang Clan warriors who had served in the military, refining it through brutal combat.

Even so, the best techniques of the Seomun Clan and Pang Clan were still considered inferior to the top-level sword arts of the Namgung, Danmok, and Jaegal Clans — collectively known as the Three Great Sword Clans.

Regardless, Shangguan Yuseol had long admired Pang Giyok.

A dashing man said to rival her own brother Shangguan Joyoung — the most handsome man in Henan — and blessed with a bold personality, he had captured her admiration for years.

But in truth, Pang Giyok had long harbored feelings for Jaegal Yohye.

Jaegal Yohye was now quite curious to see how Shangguan Yuseol would act between Yong Hwarin and Pang Giyok tomorrow.

Seomun Yuwon bore the nickname “Mad Silence Blade,” and was a rare practitioner of the swift Blade technique, brimming with such boldness that he rivaled the Pang Clan as one of the most prominent martial families.

Meanwhile, Pang Giyok was known by the alias “Thunder Mark Blade.” His Blade didn’t ring with thunder, but unleashed a blue blade light like streaks of lightning, hence the moniker.

It was a trait of the Dominating Severance Blade, a secret technique passed down through the Pang Clan. This Blade art was originally created by a Pang Clan master who had served in the military, refining it through real combat into an advanced martial art.

However, the Great Bell Flash Blade, the supreme technique of the Seomun Clan, and the *Dominating Severance Blade* of the Pang Clan were both considered inferior compared to the martial arts of the three great sword clans: the Namgung Clan, the Danmok Clan, and the Jaegal Clan.

Regardless, Shangguan Yuseol had admired Pang Giyok for a long time.

Not only was he as handsome as her brother, Shangguan Joyoung, who was known as the most handsome man in Henan, but he also had a bold and carefree personality. Her admiration had long since taken root.

However, Pang Giyok, in truth, held feelings for Jaegal Yohye.

Jaegal Yohye couldn’t help but be curious about how Shangguan Yuseol would react tomorrow when she stood between Yong Hwarin and Pang Giyok.

*

Yong Hwarin was immersed in his own world.

The power hidden within his body only activated when the dantian was sealed, serving to protect the soul’s master.

However, after One Who Connects All Lives partially awakened the soul of the Demonic Master residing in his upper dantian, Yong Hwarin could now draw on the Demonic Master’s power of his own will.

But that was only an extremely small portion.

While performing energy circulation, Yong Hwarin experienced self-observation for the first time.

Even though one might practice the Minor Celestial Cycle or Major Celestial Cycle, self-observation wasn’t easily attained.

It was said that humans possessed three dantians.

The Three Dantians were a foundational martial theory universally accepted across the martial world.

No one contested this idea.

When developing new martial arts, everyone naturally created formulas and techniques centered around these three dantians.

It was commonly believed that true self-observation began only after these three dantians were fully cultivated. However, even then, some might still not achieve it.

Because self-observation was a matter of enlightenment.

Achieving it without the development of the three dantians was extremely difficult. It was a realm only reachable through that process.

But Yong Hwarin had already lived fifty years in his previous life, and his level of insight was more than sufficient.

The soul of the Demonic Master had been parasitizing his upper dantian, and due to One Who Connects All Lives’s technique, that dantian had begun to develop.

When Yong Hwarin used the spell to save Shangguan Mijong, the unbearable pain in his head had come from the cracking of the protective shell around his upper dantian.

Peeling off the outer layer of the upper dantian was usually a grueling task that could take decades.

Yong Hwarin had accomplished that in an instant thanks to the spell and the Demonic Master’s soul.

In a way, this was a stroke of fate for Yong Hwarin.

‘I can only draw about half a cycle of the old man’s power... Who knows how much there is in total, but even this much is a blessing. There’s no reason to be disappointed.’

Soon, with One Who Connects All Lives’s help, he would confront the old man’s soul directly and take control. Then he would be able to use that power freely.

The Demonic Master’s energy would greatly aid in completing the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra.

‘If I can manage that, I’ll be able to stop the calamities that will strike my clan next year.’

In his past life, every time he watched his clan fall due to weakness, he vowed vengeance.

But vengeful thoughts without strength were meaningless.

When someone with power took revenge, it could be called justice.

But when the weak tried to take revenge, it was just foolishness, desperation, and a pitiful sight.

How could he ever forget the humiliation of being trampled even by the Dabie Sect?

They had been on equal footing, yet because of one or two peak or transcendence-level masters, the Heavenly Central Sect was utterly dismantled.

To prevent that, he needed to make others fear that attacking him might mean their own deaths.

But that wasn’t something that could be conveyed with words.

The only sect that had ever successfully demonstrated that principle was the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Their tenacity and ruthlessness in carrying out revenge until their enemies were dead was what protected the Tang Clan from being provoked.

That, more than any martial art, was their greatest strength.

‘If compassion is your core, then leave it to Shaolin or Mount Emei.’

Yong Hwarin resolved to acquire power like the Tang Clan’s—something no one would dare touch.

When he opened his eyes, it was already late into the night, with darkness having fully settled over the world.

‘With half a cycle of my true power and half a cycle of the old man’s, can I produce the effect of one full cycle?’

That was the first thing he wanted to check after emerging from meditation. Though he had succeeded in drawing out half a cycle of the old man’s energy, the biggest issue was whether it could harmonize with the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique without conflict.

By common logic, the two energies differed in nature and were bound to clash. If they did, the shock within Yong Hwarin’s body could be catastrophic.

That was why he couldn’t recklessly attempt fusion just yet.