The first thing that met his eyes was the foul-smelling black mud.
It was the waste expelled from his body.
The second thing was, surprisingly, his neatly trimmed nails.
His hands, tinged with a peach-like hue, were so delicate that it seemed he had never done any rough work in his life.
Yet, his joints were thick and long, making him suitable as a martial artist.
"What is this...?" Jin Cheon-hee sat up.
His muscular upper body remained the same.
His perfectly symmetrical physique looked as if it had been carved out of stone.
Beneath his smooth, scar-free skin, his waist, pelvis, and thighs filled with muscles were visible.
His calves were equally robust.
Jin Cheon-hee, surprised, looked at his reflection in the pond.
His face appeared to be that of someone in their late teens.
His eyes were large and gave off a strong impression, but when his eyelashes fluttered, there was a strangely drowsy feeling about him.
His lips, neither too thin nor too thick, were red and vivid.
The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, making it seem as if he was always smiling, even when he wasn't.
He resembled a cat.
'Handsome,' he thought.
His face had perfectly retained the best features of his original self.
Anyone who saw him would recognize him as Jin Cheon-hee, but there was an undeniable beauty about him that could make one's heart skip a beat.
His physique was no different.
Each part of his body was that of a martial artist, yet there was an air of elegance about him, as if he had never done anything rough in his life.
'I've read countless stories about "Hwan-gol-tal-tae" in martial arts novels...' Hwan-gol-tal-tae.
He didn't know exactly how it was triggered.
He only knew that it was a phenomenon that occurred when the heart (心), energy (氣), and body (體) harmoniously aligned with a stroke of fate.
When Hwan-gol-tal-tae occurred, the meridians throughout the body would transform, reshaping the body into the ideal form for martial arts.
If one was old, they would become young again; if one was young, their body would be reconstructed to suit martial arts.
All impurities and waste in the body would be completely removed, signifying a rebirth.
Any illness could be cured with just one Hwan-gol-tal-tae.
'This is the state our master should have reached...' As the Blood Demon Elder had mentioned in the past, the only thing preventing this was the master's constitution.
The heart (心) and energy (氣) were already superior, but the body (體) couldn't keep up.
Ironically, Hwan-gol-tal-tae, which could cure the severed meridians, was a state that couldn't be achieved unless the severed meridians were healed.
Jin Cheon-hee washed his body with the cold pond water, completely removing the waste.
"Why was the Baihui point open?" The Baihui point.
It referred to the acupoint at the center of the crown of the head.
It was open at birth but gradually closed over time.
It was a place that had to be handled with extreme care when opening the upper dantian, as mishandling it could easily lead to becoming a cripple.
It had definitely been closed all this time.
Jin Cheon-hee was not just a martial artist but also a physician who knew how to diagnose meridians, so there was no mistake.
Yet, this time, his body had opened the Baihui point on its own, as if it had been waiting for this moment, allowing him to absorb internal energy.
'This is strange.' Jin Cheon-hee looked down at his hands. 'A body with unknown parents, an unknown age, and according to Yu Ho's investigation, even my hometown is unknown.' He had thought of himself as nothing more than an extra who died early in the original story.
This was strange. 'This time, my internal energy...' Jin Cheon-hee searched for the internal energy in his dantian. 'Huh? It's gone...? Where did it all go?' This was strange.
He had calculated that the internal energy he should have gained from consuming the elixir would be roughly equivalent to one Jiazi.
Originally, consuming the Xianyuan Five Elements Divine Pill according to the standard method would grant one Jiazi of energy.
However, if one consumed it all at once and managed to control it, they would gain at least two Jiazi of energy.
A century's worth of cultivation in one go! The internal energy that should have been there was now gone.
'No... it has increased, but...' Jin Cheon-hee frowned.
Upon closer inspection, his internal energy had indeed increased.
The internal energy he originally possessed was equivalent to about ten years of cultivation.
One Jiazi represented sixty years of internal energy, so one-sixth of a Jiazi would be about ten years.
That alone was already fast, considering how little time had passed since Jin Cheon-hee had fallen into this martial world.
But now, that internal energy had doubled.
About twenty years' worth! 'Did I use it all up during the Hwan-gol-tal-tae?'
It didn't matter.
He had gained something more important than one Jiazi of internal energy.
Jin Cheon-hee circulated his fire energy to dry the moisture from his body.
Now, without any preparatory movements, just his will alone could move the fire and wind energy to blow away the moisture.
The realm of Yi Qi Shang Ren (意氣傷人)! The realm where one could harm others with just their will and energy.
It was said that one had to reach the Hua Jing realm to achieve this.
But Jin Cheon-hee had achieved it after opening his upper dantian.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't the Hua Jing realm.
More like a half-baked version? It was partly because his internal energy was insufficient and partly because he lacked real combat experience.
'Good.
With this...
I should be able to catch that spirit carp.
The preparations are complete.' After drying his body, he looked for spare clothes.
"Damn... there's nothing."
The last set of clothes had become a sacrifice to the Hwan-gol-tal-tae along with the waste.
What little remained was more like rags than clothes, and now they were completely ruined.
He let out a hollow laugh.
"I have nothing to wear."
Jin Cheon-hee unconsciously tried to tie up his hair.
"No hair tie either. Hahaha."
The face that had undergone Hwan-gol-tal-tae looked so desolate that even a bitter smile was devastating.
"Well. It's time to really leave this place."
Of course, he had no intention of leaving through the main gate.
If he did, his master would surely notice.
Outside, Jin Cheon-hee was supposed to be in seclusion for training.
He planned to sneak out through a hidden exit in the training cave and catch the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Carp.
Only Jin Cheon-hee and Chief Steward Yu Ho knew of this plan.
As long as Yu Ho kept his mouth shut, there was no chance of being discovered.
Jin Cheon-hee gathered the money pouch and various miscellaneous items he had prepared in advance and stood in front of the pond.
"Let's see where this water leads."
It was a secret briefly mentioned in the novel.
The pond in the training cave was connected to somewhere in the valley through underground water.
However, the water veins were like a spider's web, and if one got lost, they would surely die.
Normally, one would drown before even reaching the valley.
But for Jin Cheon-hee, who had mastered the Five Elements Divine Art to its limits and completed Hwan-gol-tal-tae, it was no problem.
Moreover...
"Finally, I get to use this."
One of the miscellaneous books he had brought when he first entered seclusion.
Jin Cheon-hee reached out and caught a fish.
It was a large, fat fish that had been living in this pond for a long time.
Jin Cheon-hee forcibly injected internal energy into the fish.
It wasn't a powerful martial art.
Xiao Zhao Chi Gong (小召遲攻).
A minor technique that involved injecting internal energy into small animals to control them.
It didn't work on highly intelligent animals, and only simple commands could be given.
The command Jin Cheon-hee gave was simple: 'Escape as far as you can.'
The fish thrashed.
Jin Cheon-hee took a few additional precautions to ensure he wouldn't lose it, then released the fish.
The fish flapped its tail fin vigorously and swam deep into the pond.
Jin Cheon-hee followed it into the water. 'If I go out like this, I'll definitely be called a pervert.' He had prepared the money pouch in advance, so that wasn't a problem.
The problem was going out to buy clothes.
014. The Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Carp
The water continued.
Even though it was underground water, the stream twisted and turned.
Jin Cheon-hee used the sensation in his fingertips to track the fish. 'I never thought I'd use the Black Heaven Blood Thread that Little Heavenly Demon gave me like this.' The fish's tail was tied with the Black Heaven Blood Thread.
It was so thin and transparent that one wouldn't notice it unless they looked closely, but its tensile strength was such that even an elephant could step on it without breaking.
It was the lifeline connecting Jin Cheon-hee and the fish.
The pond's old-timer fish swam wildly, driven by the fear of a predator it had never felt before.
It led Jin Cheon-hee through the fastest route it knew.
Jin Cheon-hee was careful not to be swept away by the whirlpools created by the underground water.
But what was more terrifying was the heat from the hot spring water.
The fish living in this volcanic area had adapted to the rough whirlpools and hot water temperatures, but Jin Cheon-hee, being human, was different.
'But if I can't survive here, I won't even make it to where the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Carp is.' Jin Cheon-hee circulated the Five Elements Divine Art to protect his body.
And finally, light began to appear above the water surface.
It seemed to be connected to the upper part of the valley.
Jin Cheon-hee swam with all his might to break through the water surface.
"Pfft!" The deep valley where his feet couldn't touch the bottom.
And directly below, a waterfall came into view.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-- Jin Cheon-hee quickly untied the thread from the fish.
Then he applied one of the miscellaneous techniques he had learned, the Ten-Thousand-Thousand-Jin Hammer (萬萬千斤錘).
Kwoong! The Thousand-Jin Hammer was a basic technique that temporarily increased the weight of the body.
The Ten-Thousand-Thousand-Jin Hammer consumed several times more internal energy than the regular Thousand-Jin Hammer but increased the weight faster and more powerfully.
Moreover, it temporarily hardened the body like steel, allowing it to deflect even hidden weapons at its peak.
However, it was difficult to master and had poor internal energy efficiency.
In other words, it was an inefficient technique.
That's why it had been neglected in the miscellaneous books for a long time.
But there was nothing better for maintaining balance in the water.
Jin Cheon-hee planted his feet firmly on the valley floor.
Then he walked out of the valley.
Thud, thud, thud.
"This is why I learned this technique."
Jin Cheon-hee took a deep breath of the valley's fresh air.
The outside air he hadn't breathed in so long was incredibly sweet.
But only for a moment.
He wrung out his long, wet hair like a rag.
"Now, what to do next."
Jin Cheon-hee opened the bundle he had brought.
"I have quite a bit of money, the preparations for the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Carp I brought when I entered seclusion, and the White Scale Token to prove my identity..."
Jin Cheon-hee paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"Hmm, but if I misuse it, it might reach Master's ears, so I should only use it when absolutely necessary. I also requested a fake identity token from the Open Faction in advance, so I can use that instead. The distance to the destination is roughly a month's round trip on foot."
At least it's a neighboring region, so it's only a month's round trip.
A bigger problem remained.
He had read about the characteristics of the place where the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Carp lived, but it was only a literary description.
The author hadn't included a map with illustrations, so he needed a guide to narrow down the search range.
"I need someone to narrow down the range. I'll have to hire a guide."
After sorting that out, there was one last thing to assess.
"How much stronger have I become?" The Ten-Step Divine Spear, or Mi Ri Nao Chang, had already reached a high level.
It wasn't at its peak, but it was enough to be considered top-tier in the martial world.
The Three Talents Fist Technique, footwork, and sword techniques were tedious, but once mastered, the speed of learning the Ten-Step Divine Spear would increase exponentially.
He thought he was strong enough to catch the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Carp, but he wasn't entirely sure.
Jin Cheon-hee lightly tapped a nearby tree with his palm.