Chapter 25: Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra (1)
My head was filled with a desperate yearning to return home and master the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra.
It felt like I truly needed to enter closed-door training.
With that mindset, I had lunch in Uihyeon and pushed forward on horseback without even taking a break.
Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons couldn’t understand why I, the Young Master, was suddenly in such a rush to return.
While we had been idly playing around with Ha Cheolryeong on Mount Wudang, now I was galloping as if my life depended on it.
“Young Master, please slow down. At this rate, the horses will collapse from exhaustion before we even reach the main estate.”
Mo Biyoung voiced her concern at how I was relentlessly pushing the horses.
I came to a halt and let out an awkward chuckle.
‘Ah, I’ve been so impatient that I didn’t realize how rushed I’ve been.’
Even though I knew martial arts couldn’t be mastered overnight, I still found myself hurrying, which made me feel pathetic.
It was that sense of urgency—needing to grow stronger within a year—that had me unconsciously rushing forward.
‘Relax. If I don’t stay calm, I might overlook something important.’
Once I allowed myself to settle down, the scenery around me finally came into focus.
Our group had crossed out of Uihyeon and now stood at the border entering Henan. Coincidentally, a mountain blocked the path here, making it a place travelers tread carefully.
In the past, bandits frequently showed up in this area, but since the authorities had recently conducted a major sweep, you rarely saw bandits or marauders anymore.
Also, with both the Jaegal Clan and the Wudang Sect located nearby, any resurgence of bandits would be swiftly crushed by those powerful sects.
Dismounting and climbing the mountain, I fell into thought.
‘If I could amplify my current internal energy using the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra, the result would be incredible. I’ll take this chance to review the sutra today.’
As I walked with that thought in mind, Mo Biyoung spoke up.
“Young Master, there’s a spring up ahead. We should water the horses.”
We hadn’t given the horses any water while riding, so they looked utterly spent. I nodded and handed my reins to Jungwook.
Before Jungwook could even say a word, I drew my sword and walked out into the clearing.
“Lately, the Young Master seems obsessed with martial arts.”
With their conversation partner gone, the two fell into silence.
I’d been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that even speaking to me had become difficult.
They didn’t want to interrupt my progress for no reason.
“It’s a good thing.”
“It’s just a phase—if you miss that window, breaking through a wall becomes nearly impossible.”
All of them had experienced this firsthand, so they understood just how crucial a time this was for me.
Since the spring was small, we first quenched our own thirst and then watered the horses.
Taking the opportunity to rest after dismounting, Mo Biyoung quietly stood up.
“Seems like we have uninvited guests.”
She had sensed the hostile energy of those surrounding us and drawing closer.
“I thought this mountain had been swept clean of bandits by the authorities not long ago.”
The Two Wook Sword Demons stood up as well.
Masked figures began emerging from the forest—more than ten of them.
“If you’re bandits, then turn back now. Otherwise, one of your limbs will be left behind.”
Mo Biyoung spoke kindly. After all, many bandits were just poor folks with no other options.
“Wahahaha! Then we’ll take a piece of you in return! Though, it’ll be your heads!”
Mo Biyoung caught the faint presence of internal energy in the bandit’s voice and narrowed her eyes.
“Who are you people?! Bandits shouldn’t possess such bold internal power!”
I watched the situation unfold and began to sense something familiar. Counting their numbers, they matched those of Jeok Gwang’s group.
And the weapons they carried confirmed my suspicion—it was definitely Jeok Gwang’s crew.
Disciples of Songcheongmun usually carried swords in scabbards adorned with jade engraved with blue clouds. I had seen that same pattern back in the Jaegal Clan.
“Hahaha! Young Master Jeok, is it not unbecoming for a man to be so petty? You’re seeking revenge for what happened at the Jaegal Clan—does that make you a proud man?”
I had only intended to provoke them, but Jeok Gwang exploded in anger at those words.
“Shut up! Did you think you could humiliate me and walk away unscathed?!”
So much for disguising himself—Jeok Gwang fell for my provocation and revealed his identity himself.
He then threw off his mask.
“All of you, remove your masks!”
His subordinates looked at him with exasperation before removing theirs as well.
Even in this situation, I spoke calmly.
“So you’ve been lying in wait just to get revenge?”
“That’s right, you dog! I’m here to repay you for the disgrace I suffered!”
My expression abruptly turned cold as I spoke.
“So this is how you treat someone who defeated you in a fair duel? And you call yourself a martial artist?”
Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons were shocked by the transformation. I had shifted from my usual friendly demeanor into a sharpened blade.
They were seeing a new side of me.
But I had already developed a cold and ruthless nature through my previous life.
“If you people intend to harm us, I guarantee none of you will leave here alive!”
At that, Jeok Gwang burst into laughter.
“Wahahahaha! You’re truly laughable. You don’t even realize your situation. You all drank from the spring, didn’t you? I poisoned it with Lord’s Umbrella. You won’t even be able to use your internal energy!”
Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons immediately tried to circulate their energy.
“What?! I really can’t move my energy!”
Their faces paled as they confirmed the truth.
“T-There’s definitely poison in our bodies too!”
I glared at Jeok Gwang.
“You poisoned us too?”
“Of course. I like things to be certain.”
I spoke in a cold tone.
“All this over a mere duel?”
“You think you know me? Do you have any idea how much I’ve suffered to train to this level? I endured ten years of painful training to attain my current strength. I didn’t do all that just to lose to the likes of you!”
“So why is that my fault? In a duel, a martial artist can win or lose. You lose once and now you want to kill me?”
“Wahahahaha! I didn’t train to lose! And I heard you were always weak and barely managed to learn martial arts. Yet, you beat me—someone who trained for over ten years! Do you know what they said when I left the Jaegal Clan? That if I lost to someone who trained less than a year, then my martial arts must be worthless! That our clan’s mighty Azure Cloud Sword was no match for your Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword! How could I just sit back and take that?!”
I scoffed at Jeok Gwang, who was raging in the wrong direction.
Then I called out to my guards.
“All of you, come over here.”
As Yong Hwarin stepped forward to protect his group, Mo Biyoung shook her head.
“Even without our internal energy, we are still your escorts, Young Master.”
At her words, something I used to say in my previous life slipped out of my mouth.
“You should really try listening to me. Why put on airs when you don’t even have any internal energy?”
Mo Biyoung gave me a baffled look.
“I’m not affected by the Lord’s Umbrella, so I still have my internal energy.”
She looked even more confused.
She had clearly drunk the spring water along with me, so it made no sense that she wouldn’t be poisoned by the Lord’s Umbrella.
The truth was, I was poisoned, but I could draw upon the Demonic Master’s internal energy, so I had lied.
Seeing us all trying to stand in front of each other, Jeok Gwang sneered.
“At this point, you must’ve exchanged your last words already. Let’s end this.”
As the Demonic Master’s internal energy, drawn from deep within my body, continued to writhe inside me, my insides churned uncomfortably.
When I only used about half a palm’s worth of the Demonic Master’s energy, I didn’t experience much resistance.
That was because the energy of the Demonic Master and the energy of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique were of equal quantity, which allowed a balance and harmony between them.
But now that the Demonic Master’s energy exceeded the other, it began to reveal the inherent nature of demonic energy, trying to overpower the orthodox technique.
‘Ironically, maybe I should thank that bastard Jeok Gwang. If the internal energy cultivated through the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique had moved, the two energies would have clashed, and I definitely would’ve gone into Qi Deviation.’
The Demonic Master’s internal energy was of the demonic path, and the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique was orthodox—they were destined to collide.
However, thanks to the poison of Lord’s Umbrella, the energy of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique in my dantian lay dormant, removing any risk of collision. I realized that we could only survive if I struck first.
Only a preemptive strike could overturn this disadvantage.
In that instant, a martial arts combination formed in my mind.
“You’re putting on quite a show.”
That was my signal.
With those words, I activated Bamboo Forest Flying Dragon Steps and charged toward the martial artists directly ahead of me.
At the same time, I launched a merciless attack with the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword.
Swish! Slash! Snap!
The sound of the blade cutting, slicing, and reversing rang out briefly, and in the wake of my movement, severed arms and forearms still gripping swords littered the ground.
“Gahhh!”
Three simultaneous cries rang out from the ones I had struck.
No one had expected me to launch a sudden assault, so they had all been staring at me blankly.
Jeok Gwang, having little real combat experience, froze in a moment of panic. Taking that opportunity, I used the Rising Dragon Across the Clouds movement technique to shift right and attack the trio trying to surround me.
And without hesitation, I unleashed one of the most murderous techniques of the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword—Severing the Sea with a Blade.
Sshhhaaaa!
With so much internal energy infused into the sword, it curved swiftly like a willow, sweeping around me.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The martial artists of Songcheongmun managed to block my sword, but the force of my energy-infused strikes sent them flying backward.
The three of them coughed blood and couldn’t get back up.
Their limbs trembled uncontrollably—clearly unconscious.
It was because the overwhelming energy of the Demonic Master, when forced into their bodies, had shaken their meridians violently.
“A-Attack him!”
Seeing six of his men taken out in the blink of an eye, Jeok Gwang screamed and charged toward me.
Unlike him, the remaining three martial artists hesitated.
I knew that killing enemies sometimes had the opposite effect—fueling the survivors with rage and stripping away their fear.
That kind of blood frenzy could easily turn the tide and push me into a corner. When people had nothing to lose, even the strongest could falter.
Better to wound than kill. I had learned this from experience in my past life—psychologically, it created more fear and hopelessness.
As expected, aside from Jeok Gwang, the rest of them stood there in stunned silence. I sidestepped Jeok Gwang’s incoming blade as if parrying it, letting it slide past me.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Mistaking it for an attempt to flee, Jeok Gwang shouted furiously, eyes wide.
But I had already slipped past him and was attacking the three guards behind.
Though startled, the martial artists of Songcheongmun realized my intent and launched a simultaneous counterattack.
From a glance, it might’ve seemed like I had recklessly exposed my back to Jeok Gwang—and was in grave danger.