Chapter [NaN] |
Even after achieving Bone-Reforging and Flesh-Transformation, his body felt oddly sluggish. With sleep still clouding his head, he blankly stared up at the ceiling and opened his mouth.
“This too feels like it’s been a while.”
It must have been from overusing his strength that he lost consciousness. He had already been driven to his mental limit, then forcibly squeezed out more willpower, and even exploded the last of his stamina and internal energy.
It was the first sleep he had since deciding to break free from Demon Bell. He wanted to sleep just a little longer, but that wasn’t possible.
“Why is the first face I see after waking up my father-in-law? Can I get a swap for your daughter?”
“Have you ever seen such a cheeky son-in-law? Even after I worried about you, this is how you respond?”
“Just a joke. I’m just a bit disappointed, no need to take it to heart.”
“Too late for that, you rascal. So it's true what they say about getting softer with age. I can’t take this sorrow.”
Laughing at the grumbling Tang Jincheon, he slowly lifted his body.
He had only sat up and leaned his back against the wall, but even that small motion brought an odd sense of dissonance.
A martial artist who has achieved Bone-Reforging and Flesh-Transformation has a body rebuilt to match their martial arts, meaning every movement and intention should be aligned.
In other words, they hold absolute control over their own body.
To feel such dissonance from this minimal movement meant something was seriously wrong.
He closed his eyes to examine his internal condition, worried.
“Don’t worry. It’s simply because you had such a sudden realization. It’s only natural that even a Flowering Stage martial artist’s body can’t keep up right away.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Put simply, your willpower became too strong too fast, and now your body can’t follow it.”
“Even with a body that’s undergone Bone-Reforging and Flesh-Transformation?”
“Precisely because it has. That’s the only reason it ended with just this. It’ll adapt on its own with time. Just be careful until then.”
“Understood. Have you experienced something similar yourself, Father-in-law?”
“Not to your extent, but I had a few comparable experiences when I created and absorbed new extreme poisons.”
“I see.”
He nodded and lightly clenched and opened his hand.
Maybe it was thanks to Tang Jincheon’s explanation, but he quickly grasped the source of the dissonance without needing deep meditation.
It felt like when you’re drunk, and your body holds too much tension. He thought he was putting in a level one effort, but the result came out like a three or four.
At the Flowering Stage, Body, qi, and soul are unified, and willpower is transmitted directly to the body as movement.
Unless his body was broken, then Tang Jincheon’s assessment—that it was caused by a sudden surge in his willpower—was likely accurate.
He could even guess why.
His physical body had been lying still, but in the dream crafted by Demon Bell, he’d gone through decades of hardship.
A gap in time, a gap in experience—this likely caused a temporary disharmony among his Body, qi, and soul, which were supposed to be unified.
“What exactly did you go through while unconscious? I asked Sowol, but she said she didn’t know for sure and couldn’t make guesses without your permission.”
“Ah, that’s…”
“Why are you trailing off mid-sentence?”
“You know, there are two ways to really piss someone off. One is to stop speaking mid-sentence, and the second is—"
“Ah... so it’s information restricted by the mental seal, huh?”
Tang Jincheon, who had looked quite annoyed, finally relaxed his brow as he seemed to realize it.
“Must’ve been a real pain.”
“Still, there are some things I can tell you.”
He couldn’t share the contents of Demon Bell’s dream directly, but more general information should be fine.
Like how Demon Bell showed him a blissful illusion, and he rejected that dream.
“But if I’m going to explain, I’d rather do it all at once. Let’s wait until everyone else is here.”
“In that case, I can call them now.”
“Eh? But judging by the dim light outside, it seems rather late…”
“The sun’s gone down, but it’s not that late. Besides, they all insisted I call them the moment you woke up.”
With a faint smile, Tang Jincheon called out loudly for the attendants, and as if they’d been waiting nearby, they quickly approached.
After some hushed murmuring, it wasn’t long before Tang Sowol, Seol Lihyang, and Seo Mun-Hwarin barged into the room.
The three stood frozen, worry and joy mixed in their faces, gazing at him as if time itself had stopped. Only when he gave a small wave did time begin to flow again.
The first to move was Seol Lihyang. She quickly approached, checked over his body with practiced hands, and handed him a cup of water she had cooled in advance.
“Here.”
“…I didn’t even say anything yet.”
“You’ve been unconscious for two days. You can endure hunger, but thirst is harder, right?”
“I was thirsty, so I’ll drink gratefully.”
The water Seol Lihyang gave him was indeed cool and refreshing.
As he finished the cup, Seo Mun-Hwarin took over as if on cue. She pressed firmly on his arms and legs with her small hands and began to speak.
“My dear, if what I saw was right, you overused Thunder Heaven Divine Art at the end. Is your body alright now? Poison King said rest would suffice, but I know the nature of that technique, so I can’t help but worry.”
“There’s no pain or anything. Just feels like I lost a bit of control over my body… but Father-in-law said that with time and caution, it’ll stabilize.”
“So in short, it’ll get better with rest. I’ll stay by your side and support you, so just leave it to me!”
She thumped her flat chest proudly. Watching her like that left him feeling conflicted.
Pungyuhwan… was that really just some dream elixir?
Did it really not exist in reality? No, even if it didn’t, maybe it could be created. He’d have to quietly ask Tang Sowol later. But first, there were more immediate matters.
“I do appreciate it, but… Senior Mun-Hwarin, Lady Lihyang—why do you both keep touching me…?”
“Ahem. We’re checking if there are any wounds you might’ve missed.”
“We’re just making sure you truly feel alive, Cheon Hwi.”
Is this right...?
It was absurd, but honestly, this sort of absurdity was something he hadn’t felt in Demon Bell’s dream. In a way, he welcomed it.
Well… there was the slight problem of Tang Sowol watching.
When he carefully looked up, Tang Sowol was smiling gently, as always.
Her expression was composed, as if she understood everything. But that was just an illusion.
“Sister Seo Mun. And Hyang-ah. Could you two step aside for a moment?”
Her tone was calm and gentle. Yet the moment they heard it, both flinched and immediately stepped away with swift movements.
And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Tang Sowol sat on his lap.
Her warmth and weight pressed down on his knees and thighs. Her scent hit him sharply as she leaned in. He shook his head and asked,
“What… are you doing right now?”
“I’m just sitting in my rightful spot.”
“Your… rightful spot…?”
Like a large cat, she nestled on top of him and claimed it as her place.
His chest felt oddly ticklish, and now, he was nervous for different reasons.
“Ahem!”
Tang Jincheon, who had been half ignored all this time, cleared his throat to make his presence known. However—
“I knew Brother Cheon would wake without serious injury, but seeing you this healthy puts me at ease.”
“Um, Sowol? I am still here, you know…”
“But you didn’t call us all here just to say you woke up, right?”
“Would you mind separating just a little now?”
“If my guess is correct… then whatever you experienced under that evil technique is likely related to all of us.”
“…They were right when they said raising a daughter is useless.”
Looking up at the ceiling with a wistful voice, Tang Jincheon let out a hollow laugh. At this point, you almost felt bad for him.
Perhaps it was some small show of restraint that Sowol sat not facing him, but leaning her back against him.
Tang Jincheon sighed repeatedly, but his eyes widened at what Tang Sowol said next.
“Brother Cheon, is the mental seal you’re under related to us?”
“So it was.”
Seeing how he couldn’t say anything when the topic came up, she nodded.
Tang Jincheon, and even Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin on either side, all gasped in surprise.
“Sister Tang? You’re saying Cheon Hwi’s mental seal is related to us… Is that even possible?”
“That’s strange. Didn’t the abbot of Shaolin say it was something he was born with? How could it be tied to us when we met him long after?”
“That, I don’t know. Perhaps Brother Cheon knows, but… hmm. As soon as the topic of the seal came up, his breathing, heartbeat, and even the tiniest muscle twitches all calmed unnaturally. So shortcuts won’t work, it seems.”
So that’s why she was clinging so close…?
“Oh? Are you a little disappointed? If Brother Cheon wants, I can stay this close anytime… just not while Father’s around, unfortunately.”
With a shrug, Tang Sowol stood from his lap. He knew she had somehow entered his Heartscape through Demon Bell’s illusion.
That’s why he’d assumed she had seen even his pre-regression self… but it seemed that part wasn’t clearly visible to her.
Still, she had clearly sensed what kind of situation he was in. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spoken the very words he had most wanted to hear.
Chewing on his lip in a mix of gratitude and embarrassment, he finally opened his mouth.
“Let’s start from the beginning. The one we fought that day… was not the Diamond Arhat.”
“…Pardon? He acted oddly, like he was a different person, but I didn’t think he was using a disguise technique.”
“Oh, it was the Diamond Arhat’s body, all right. But the mind inside was someone else’s. To be precise, the Diamond Arhat was the victim—his body was taken.”
“So that’s why you were wary of him from the start. You already knew.”
“I didn’t know he’d already been taken over, though.”
After all the madness Blood Demon had caused, and with him declaring himself as Maitreya, everyone had felt something was off.
This much he could say without triggering the seal.
And that meant he could probably also talk about Blood Demon and Demon Bell.
They had seen him collapse under Demon Bell’s power. Tang Sowol had even entered that world.
“Have you ever heard of Blood Demon?”
“Eh? This is my first time…”
While everyone tilted their heads in confusion, the previously sulking Tang Jincheon quietly spoke.
“Is this Blood Demon perhaps that old master of the Potala Palace?”
“So you knew, Father-in-law.”
“It was during my father’s time, but back then, the Tang Clan wanted to expand our merchant group. But the Central Plains was already saturated with existing powers, so we turned our eyes to Outer Murim. We figured that rather than the prideful North Sea Ice Palace or the violent Beast Palace, the monastic Potala Palace might be more cooperative.”
“…Prideful? North Sea Ice Palace…?”
Seol Lihyang blinked, unable to imagine such a thing. But back then, the Ice Palace was in its golden age, having just perfected the Ice White Divine Art—a very different time from now.
“We first sent an envoy to Potala Palace. Along with a letter detailing possible trade, what we could offer, and what we needed.”
“And what happened?”
“Well… they returned unharmed, thankfully. But there were no results.”
According to the returning merchant group, Blood Demon had begun a purge, and the internal atmosphere of the palace had become ominous. Those who survived seemed possessed, with strange eyes.
“So what did you do?”
“What else? We gave up on the expansion and moved on. I don’t know much about Blood Demon himself. Only that he was a former master of Potala Palace.”
“That’s more than enough to help. Do you all remember? When Venerable Gakjeong of the Jeomchang Sect sealed the murderous aura of Heaven-Slaughter Star, he also used esoteric Buddhist techniques. Blood Demon wasn’t just a martial master—he was essentially a patriarch of esoteric Buddhism.”
After a concise explanation, Tang Sowol nodded and summarized.
“So in short, you were nearly taken right before our eyes.”
“…That’s not wrong, but could you not phrase it like that?”
“Well done killing him.”
“Haa… If I’d known, I would’ve liked to kill him with poison.”
Tang Sowol’s eyes were a little scary.