Chapter 96: Another Realization (3)
By the time the group reached Imyeong County after riding through the night, the dawn light was beginning to break.
They had ridden hard through the night, yet none of them showed any signs of fatigue.
'They really are well-trained escorts.'
If these escorts had been personally brought by Hoi Unkyung, they could be called the elite of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.
In fact, some of those escorts looked familiar.
They had once served as head escorts in the merchant union he used to manage.
Though they now pledged loyalty to Hoi Unkyung, their skills alone were not inferior to any first-rate martial artist from a Martial Household.
Even so, they were now serving as escorts.
"It would be best to stop by an inn and rest for a moment before heading to the government office."
After riding all night, the group was in no condition to be presentable.
"The banquet starts this evening, so we still have plenty of time. It’d be wise to circulate qi and prepare for any unexpected combat."
Perhaps due to her long experience running a merchant union, Hoi Unkyung led the group naturally and without hesitation.
'Honestly, it was that side of her that made me like her back then.'
Back in those days, Yong Hwarin had been weak and sickly, and somewhat indecisive.
So it was natural he’d been drawn to Hoi Unkyung’s decisiveness and leadership.
Yong Hwarin immediately took a bath, entered his room, and began qi circulation training. As he began circulating his qi through the Tai Chi Dantian, his fatigue faded instantly.
Then, as vast amounts of true energy flowed in through the Laogong Point and Yongcheon Point, his Yin Dantian grew denser.
Now that his dantian was fully stabilized, true energy was being stored there.
While circulating qi, Yong Hwarin’s body shuddered.
He had once again attained a realization through the Tai Chi Dantian.
'Ah, the Tai Chi Dantian really is profound. I think I now understand why it produces such vast true energy. The more I learn, the more mysterious it becomes! The world isn’t made of only good things. This world isn’t built solely on kindness or only on good things. Just as there are good people and evil people, the world inherently contains both yin and yang. But martial arts techniques in the murim try to absorb only one kind of energy, so of course the progress in true energy would be slow.'
However, in truth, that realization wasn’t all that complex.
'On the other hand, the Tai Chi Dantian absorbs both energies and forms true energy from them, so naturally it accumulates qi several times faster than ordinary techniques. Isn’t this truly the perfect martial art? Demonic arts absorb only evil energy for accumulation, so while they progress faster than orthodox methods, once the demonic qi becomes unmanageable, the practitioner inevitably falls into qi deviation. In contrast, the Tai Chi Dantian balances good and evil, allowing true energy to grow explosively while remaining stable.'
The Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra, which constituted the Tai Chi Dantian, might well be the most perfect martial art among all that existed in the world.
Even so, the amount of true energy being accumulated in his dantian through qi circulation was very small.
In truth, to take in the energy of goodness present in nature only through breathing and refine it into one’s own optimized true energy, one would have to train tirelessly for sixty years to barely acquire a single cycle’s worth of power.
Only those who had mastered exceptional martial arts techniques could slightly escape that limitation and accumulate qi about twice as fast.
That was why the prodigies of prestigious orthodox sects could achieve twice the quality and quantity of inner strength as ordinary martial artists even with the same time spent training.
For this reason, without mastering a superior advanced-level martial art, one could never surpass the prodigies of the prestigious orthodox sects.
'If I trained with the Tai Chi Dantian for just a year, I could accumulate qi ten times faster than others.'
By that calculation, six years of training would yield a cycle’s worth of power.
But Yong Hwarin had no need to spend time on such accumulation.
'I already possess three cycle’s worth of inner strength from the Demonic Master. Of course, since that power mostly lies dormant within my skin, I can’t exactly call it my own. I must draw it into my dantian to control it as I wish. As the Demonic Master said, the first step is to construct a network of blood channels capable of accepting that three cycle’s worth of power.'
As he thought this, Yong Hwarin’s body shuddered again.
Another realization had struck his mind like lightning.
‘The Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra says that if the inner strength drawn from two dantians is made to clash, its power triples. In that case, if I make the energies from both the Yang Dantian and Yin Dantian clash, I’ll produce triple the strength, and using that to circulate qi would give the same effect as doing it with three cycle of power. Even with just half a cycle from each, I’d be getting the effect of three cycle.’
Yong Hwarin had never dared to attempt clashing the inner strength in his two dantians.
That was because he hadn’t yet fully grasped the realization of the Tai Chi Dantian.
However, lately, every time he entered meditation for qi circulation training, fragments of its ultimate truths began surfacing in his mind.
Since it had come to this, Yong Hwarin decided he would try forcing the two energies drawn from both dantians to clash.
When the two streams of true energy drawn from the Qi Sea Point and Saman Point collided, a stabbing pain shot through his abdomen as though pierced by an awl.
Yet Yong Hwarin endured the pain and slowly guided the true energy.
The pain was intense, but he bore it, continuing to guide it through the next blood channel.
A line from the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra came to mind.
‘Even if the true energies of the Tai Chi Dantian clash, they do not go berserk because both dantians belong to oneself. If either of the two energies wasn’t formed within a dantian and instead came from an external source, there is a high chance the true energy would clash and rampage.’
The explosive power that came from clashing the two streams of true energy was nearly equivalent to three cycle.
In other words, at this moment, Yong Hwarin was circulating qi with the same effect as having three cycle of inner strength. So it was only natural that his blood channels were crying out as if about to burst.
‘I need to circulate qi until every blood channel can withstand this force. Only then will I be able to use the Demonic Master's three cycle freely.’
Yong Hwarin devoted all his time to running a Small Heavenly Cycle with the energy formed from the Tai Chi Dantian.
Just as he completed the Small Heavenly Cycle, a sound came from outside.
“Young Master Yong, everyone is waiting in the common room.”
At the escort’s voice, Yong Hwarin slowly opened his eyes.
Having just finished a grueling qi circulation, his clothes were drenched in sweat.
‘Still, I should find comfort in the fact that I completed a Small Heavenly Cycle using the Tai Chi Dantian. Even if it's difficult at first, I’ll get used to it.’
If only he could use the Demonic Master’s three cycle properly, there would be nothing to fear.
Yong Hwarin bathed once more and then put on a martial arts uniform that the inn kept for emergencies.
Seeing him come out in the shabby martial arts uniform, everyone looked at him with puzzled eyes.
“Your clothes changed?”
Yong Hwarin replied with a smile.
“Unless I’m advertising that I’m the Young Master of the Heavenly Central Sect, it’s better to wear plain clothes like these.”
The clothes he had on before were made of fabric that, to anyone’s eyes, clearly belonged to a scion of a noble house.
“You’ve made a good decision.”
Hoi Unkyung looked at Yong Hwarin with eyes full of pride at his attention to detail.
Hoi Unkyung was five years older than Yong Hwarin.
Because of that, she had a slight tendency to see him as a younger person.
But through a few experiences, she came to realize that Yong Hwarin’s thoughts ran far deeper than those of his fellow prodigies. Since then, she no longer looked at him that way.
‘Ah, that kind of gaze really makes me uncomfortable.’
Having seen that gaze countless times in his previous life, Yong Hwarin felt uneasy.
“We’re ready too. Let’s go.”
When the Three Chivalrous Sisters spoke, Hoi Unkyung nodded toward the escorts.
Five of them stayed behind at the inn, and only five followed along.
Jeong Minji saw that and asked,
“Why are you splitting the escorts?”
Just as Hoi Unkyung was about to answer, Yong Hwarin casually spoke first.
"That must be the personnel kept in reserve in case we lose the target."
"How did you know what I was thinking?"
Right after speaking, Yong Hwarin realized he had once again spoken thoughtlessly. It had slipped out because he knew well how Hoi Unkyung handled things.
"Because there’s no other reason."
But Yong Hwarin answered casually, without showing any sign of fluster.
At that answer, Hoi Unkyung smiled with her characteristic expression.
When she was pleased, the right corner of her lips would lift. When she wasn’t, only her eyes would show a faint smile.
To someone unfamiliar, that one-sided smile might appear mocking, but it was actually the expression she made when she was most delighted.
"They say you’re the one who discerned the intentions of Jegal Yohye, one of the New Triple Thunders of the Jaegal Clan. It seems Young Master Yong’s insight is no ordinary thing."
"Anyone could have predicted this much."
At that, the gazes of the Three Chivalrous Sisters flew toward Yong Hwarin like daggers.
"Ah, let’s just go quickly."
Feeling uneasy under the women’s stares, Yong Hwarin stepped outside the inn.
He hadn’t expected to return to the government office of Imyeong County.
Since it was time for the celebratory banquet, the government office was crowded with guests who had come to congratulate the newly appointed Ji Hyeon.
Only select individuals were allowed to enter the government office.
Traditional retainers, merchant clans, merchant unions, and heads of martial arts academies from Imyeong County came bearing gifts and entered the office.
"Where are you from?"
At the gate, a government guard asked, and Hoi Unkyung presented her identity plaque and merchant union token.
"I am Hoi Unkyung, Vice President of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union."
In Henan, the Sky Ocean Merchant Union was so well known that even low-ranking officials and guards recognized it.
"Ah, Lady Hoi. My apologies. Please sign the guestbook here before entering. Also, weapons must be left behind. You can deposit them over there."
Even martial artists were not allowed to bring weapons into such banquets.
Yong Hwarin’s party handed over their weapons and, under the guidance of another government guard, entered the government office.
"We’ll search for the Black Kill Sword. The three of you should locate Lady Mae Yeongyeong. Since the Black Kill Sword is targeting her, he’s bound to make a move toward her sooner or later."
Jeong Daji, the third daughter of Jeong Family Manor, asked,
"Hoi Unnie, wouldn’t it be better to inform Ji Hyeon about this?"
Though the question was directed at Hoi Unkyung, Jeong Suji answered instead.
"You’re saying that because you don’t know. If we tell Ji Hyeon, she’ll assign guards to Mae Yeongyeong. And if the Black Kill Sword notices that, would he show himself?"
"Then isn’t that the same as using someone named Mae Yeongyeong as bait?"
"We have no choice if we want to catch him. Don’t worry. If we keep watch, she won’t be in any real danger."
Jeong Daji asked again,
"Then why not use the dog that was tracking the Black Kill Sword’s scent to continue the pursuit?"
"We can’t bring animals into a celebratory banquet. We have no choice but to find him ourselves."
Hoi Unkyung spoke.
"What will you do, Young Master Yong?"
"If he intends to approach Lady Mae Yeongyeong, he’ll surely disguise himself as a descendant of one of Imyeong County’s retainers or merchant clans. I’ll investigate them closely."