Time passed.
Perhaps it was thanks to the grueling training.
Jin Chunhee began cultivating his inner energy earlier than expected.
"I am fine, but you must not speak or move at all. Do you understand?"
Master sat behind Jin Chunhee, who was seated in a lotus position.
He placed his hand on Jin Chunhee's back and infused his energy into him.
The Great Circulation.
It refers to the energy circulating through the body's meridians in one complete cycle.
Jin Chunhee felt something entering and swirling inside his body.
'This is Master's energy.'
Unlike last time, when he merely observed his body, this was a full-fledged Great Circulation.
He could feel Master's energy surging into him more clearly.
Was it the influence of the Nine Yin Meridian? When he felt it properly, it was cold and heavy.
Starting from his back, it swirled through every corner of Jin Chunhee's body.
'This is Master's inner energy...'
It was on a different level than when he examined it for diagnostic purposes in the past.
Eventually, Jegal Rin's inner energy reached somewhere within Jin Chunhee.
The dantian.
Inside the dantian, something was hardened, and Jin Chunhee realized belatedly that it was the inner energy contained in the White Pine Pill.
Gently, yet firmly, Jegal Rin's inner energy awakened the pill's energy and began to circulate it.
Master spoke.
"The energy you absorbed from the pill is all yours now. This should be enough to establish inner energy in your dantian, equivalent to at least five years of cultivation."
The awakened inner energy followed Master's guidance and completed the Great Circulation.
The White Pine Pill settled in Jin Chunhee's dantian, no longer in a hardened form.
It felt sticky, like resin with strong vitality.
"Thanks to your diligent training, the pill's original nature is well-preserved. Let's leave the White Pine Pill as it is and consume the Heavenly Pine Pill later."
It seems that consuming too much at once is not necessarily good.
At that moment, Master added a word.
"First, after laying the foundation. I have some elixirs I made separately, so start with those."
Forget what I just said.
It seems there are beginner-level ones.
Master withdrew his energy and removed his hand.
"Now open your eyes. It's time to learn the basic mental cultivation method."
He began to talk about the basic mental cultivation method of the Jegal family.
The Five Elements Method.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth.
It refers to the five energies that make up the world.
Jin Chunhee began to breathe as Master taught him.
Now it was time to move his inner energy with his own strength, not Master's.
'This is surprisingly... fun?'
Water nourishes wood, wood nourishes fire.
Fire creates earth, earth becomes metal.
And metal purifies water.
"The basic principle is mutual generation. The reason the Jegal family's Five Elements Method is suitable for medicine is that it can harmonize without conflicting with other inner energies. There's no better inner energy for healing internal injuries and boosting vitality."
"What happens if you operate it oppositely?"
"It's called mutual overcoming. Water clashes with fire and extinguishes it, fire clashes with metal and melts it. Metal cuts wood, and wood returns to earth."
"Is that a bad thing?"
At those words, Master shook his head.
"That is also necessary at times. It's used to suppress energy when it runs rampant, like in a qi deviation."
Mutual generation and mutual overcoming.
'In a way, it's like the boundary between medicine and poison.'
Modern medicine is the same.
Every medicine has side effects.
Here, side effects refer to effects other than the intended efficacy.
Medicine is both a field of biology and chemistry.
You can't extract only the desired effects.
Sildenafil citrate.
Known to people as Viagra.
This drug was originally developed as a treatment for heart disease.
The problem was the side effect revealed during clinical trials.
That side effect was aiding male erection.
So it eventually became a treatment for erectile dysfunction.
There were many alternative heart medications, but there weren't many alternatives for erectile dysfunction at the time.
'There are cases where a diabetes medication becomes a treatment for obesity, and conversely, a poison that shouldn't be consumed acts as medicine for certain patients.'
Jin Chunhee quickly absorbed this by comparing it to modern examples.
'Side effects aren't necessarily bad.
The same goes for mutual overcoming.
There's no good or evil in medicine.
It depends on how you use it.
The same goes for the Five Elements that make up this world.'
As he interpreted and realized this, Jin Chunhee's dantian began to move vigorously.
'Then the White Pine Pill I received must contain the energy of wood.
If I ever need to treat internal injuries of the Gongson family, I can use the properties of water for mutual generation or the properties of earth for mutual overcoming.'
Realization led to further realization.
Jegal Rin watched the immersed Jin Chunhee with astonished eyes.
'I knew he was talented, but to teach him one thing and have him understand ten...'
Jegal Rin watched such a disciple and stood guard.
'Of course.
Whose disciple is he?'
Jegal Rin thought.
A prodigy has been born in the Central Plains, and he must quickly inform all the physicians of the martial world.
What could be more important than this?
Jin Chunhee's meditation continued for quite a long time.
Jin Chunhee felt the energy of wood in his dantian.
It symbolized life.
It changed yet remained unchanged, growing in response to water, offering everything to fire.
Yet it never perished.
Like sprouts that grow faster in a burned forest.
When Jin Chunhee opened his eyes in the cultivation room after finishing his practice, it was dawn.
The amount of inner energy he had gathered seemed to have increased by at least 50% compared to when he had fully absorbed the White Pine Pill.
'Is this equivalent to seven years of cultivation? I've already gained what others would need seven years of consistent training to achieve.
Just because my inner energy has increased doesn't mean I can neglect basic training.'
As Jin Chunhee thought this, a voice came from behind.
"Your first practice was quite noisy. Very."
It was Yoo Ho.
"Oh, where is Master?"
"I told him I would stand guard in his place and sent him to his quarters. He was so delighted that you had a realization from your first practice, saying that usually, even when the basic method is taught, it takes a long time to understand its meaning. He was so happy, calling you a genius."
The Jegal Rin Yoo Ho saw had a smile reaching his ears.
Even as he went to his quarters, he was grinning so much it was almost frightening.
There was even a servant who hiccupped at the sight of the suddenly overjoyed master.
'He is happier about his disciple's success than his own.'
Yoo Ho was already dreading what would be written in next week's medical report.
'Even if he has a disciple he cherishes more than anything,'
Yoo Ho said.
"I brought the next elixir for you to take."
Yoo Ho opened a box.
It was strange.
Normally, when an elixir box is opened, a refreshing fragrance would waft out, but there was no scent.
There were five elixirs.
"Fire Elixir, Water Elixir, Wood Elixir, Earth Elixir, Metal Elixir. Five types."
"Do I take them all at once?"
"No, you can choose which one you want to take."
It meant he had to choose.
'It's a test.
To see if I've truly understood.'
As expected of Jegal Rin.
Despite his love for his disciple, there was no gap in his teaching.
'The first one I took was the White Pine Pill.
An elixir belonging to wood.
Normally, one would take an elixir of the same attribute.
That's the basic principle of inner energy cultivation.'
The principle was to choose one and make it stronger.
Jin Chunhee changed his thinking.
'If I go that way, there's no point in learning the Five Elements Method.
It's mutual generation.'
Jin Chunhee said.
"Give me the Fire Elixir."
The energy of wood enhances fire.
Since the first one was wood, it's now time to take fire.
Yoo Ho said.
"You chose that one."
Yoo Ho handed the Fire Elixir to Jin Chunhee.
Jin Chunhee received it and realized.
'It has a sharp scent? Strange.
Just a moment ago, there was no scent at all...'
At that moment, Jin Chunhee suddenly realized.
"... I'll take the remaining four in order as well."
"All of them?"
"Yes. I need all of them."
The Five Elements Elixirs function as one complete elixir.
Each elixir alone doesn't provide much inner energy.
When all five elixirs are consumed in the correct order, they form a complete circle through mutual generation.
A large amount of inner energy isn't necessary.
What's important is establishing a foundation with the purest five elements.
Yoo Ho replied.
"You truly are not easily deceived."
"Who was it that cleverly suggested only giving one?"
What starts with wood must complete a cycle and end with wood again.
Yoo Ho realized that Jin Chunhee's understanding was much deeper than he had anticipated.
"I'm sorry. I meant no harm. I was just told to test you."
Jin Chunhee had expected that.
Yoo Ho said.
"Even if you had only chosen the Fire Elixir, Master would have considered it the correct answer. How did you come to that conclusion?"
"The scent."
The scent of the Fire Elixir.
When he first saw the elixirs, he found it strange that there was no scent.
But that wasn't the case.
Each elixir had its unique scent.
When the five scents combined harmoniously, they became almost scentless.
Jin Chunhee sensed something strange within that.
'No matter how you look at it, it seems like a set of five sold at a large supermarket, doesn't it?'
Of course, that realization stemmed from his experiences on modern Earth.
Once his thoughts reached that point, he reconsidered the basic principles of the Five Elements that Master had taught him, eventually reaching a conclusion.
Yoo Ho was genuinely impressed.
"You are truly perceptive, young master."
And he added a word.
"It's worth having the great Jegal Rin stand guard all night."
"... I didn't ask for that. But are you going to tell Master everything about my answer?"
Jin Chunhee slowly realized.
A disciple suffers from a master's excessive pride.
"I have to tell him. That's what I was instructed to do."
"Ugh..."
Jin Chunhee swallowed his frustration and picked up the Fire Elixir, biting into it with a crunch.
As expected of the Fire Elixir, it had a spicy aftertaste.
He felt a sensation of flames rising within him.
It was truly an elixir containing the energy of fire.
Jin Chunhee quickly immersed himself inwardly.
'Use the energy of wood to enhance the energy of fire, and then use the energy of fire to enhance the energy of earth.
After nurturing this energy, I must immediately take the Earth Elixir.'
The energy swirled inside him.
Jin Chunhee began to consume the elixirs one by one.
The five energies grew one by one.
Though his eyes were closed, Jin Chunhee was captivated by the sensations occurring within his body.
'The world...'
A world was being born and growing within him, a world named the Five Elements, dancing.
Meanwhile, it began to draw in the surrounding energy with terrifying momentum.
The energy from the elixirs themselves was less intense than this energy.
Even in a state of selflessness, Jin Chunhee felt joy and pleasure from this sensation.
Despite experiencing this feeling for the first time in his life, there was no confusion.
'This is the world within me.'
Amidst the delightful sensation, the Five Elements Method's Five Elemental True Qi began to take root properly.
In an instant, five years of cultivation power began to increase.
In the midst of this, Jin Chunhee focused his mind.