Guard Go Chan, who had been staring intently at Mok Gyeong-un, soon steadied his breath. Everything this fellow said sounded like a lie. For someone who didn't even know the precise definition of martial arts, no, of internal energy, to feel qi in less than half a day by studying a secret manual on his own was an impossible feat.
No, perhaps it was possible. It would only be possible if his talent for martial arts was what one could call a heaven-defying talent.
‘Even for those born with spiritual sense, the beginning is difficult.’
And yet, Mok Gyeong-un claimed to have done it. In all honesty, it was utterly unbelievable, but there was also no reason for this demon of a fellow to lie about such a thing. Then it was a simple matter.
He just had to check. To see if it was true or not.
"Young Master. May this subordinate check for himself?"
"How?"
"Since you said you took in energy through the breathing technique, you just need to do that. This subordinate will check if you are circulating energy in the process."
"Is that possible?"
"Just checking is not a very difficult task."
"I see. Then I'll be in your care."
"Understood."
Mok Gyeong-un sat cross-legged on the bed. This much wasn't so difficult, so there was nothing that could go wrong. Having taken the posture, Mok Gyeong-un closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly.
"Hoo."
Go Chan watched him intently. Then he stepped down from the bed and approached Mok Gyeong-un's side. And, "This is for verification, so don't mind me and just continue to focus on the breathing technique."
With those words, he brought two fingers together and placed them on one of the vital points on Mok Gyeong-un's neck. Even if it was a faint energy, if it was being circulated through the breathing technique, he would be able to feel it. He didn't have high expectations, but just in case...
‘!?’
Go Chan furrowed his brow. What is this? He had thought there was no way it could be true.
And yet, '...
Ha.'
Energy was truly flowing through the meridians. This meant he was properly sensing and accepting qi. Go Chan was utterly flabbergasted.
Even for three or four-year-olds, whose spiritual sense was known to be at its most sensitive, sensing qi in less than half a day was a truly difficult feat. No matter how outstanding one was, a fortnight was the standard, and if one was unlucky, it could take several months.
And yet, Mok Gyeong-un, whose meridians should have accumulated a fair amount of impurities and whose spiritual sense should have dulled with age, had felt qi in just one day.
‘Does this fellow truly have martial talent?’
The look in Go Chan's eyes changed. Until a moment ago, he had been half in doubt, but now the thought of 'what if' crossed his mind. In all things, there are no absolutes.
Exceptions always exist. Mok Gyeong-un could be such an existence.
‘Let's take a look.’
Since he said the energy was scattering, he had to check for himself to find the cause. Go Chan quietly said to Mok Gyeong-un.
"I will infuse some internal energy to take a look. It may be uncomfortable, but please bear with it for a moment."
"........."
As he was in the middle of performing the heart technique, Mok Gyeong-un gave a very slight nod. -Swish! Go Chan focused and infused true energy into Mok Gyeong-un's Qi portal point. He passed it through the Bright Gate and Central Stomach, directing his true energy toward the dantian to trace Mok Gyeong-un's path of circulation.
In the process, Go Chan couldn't help but be astonished once again.
‘... What is this guy?’
One must practice the breathing technique from a young age to prevent impurities from accumulating in the path of circulation. But now, there were almost no impurities in Mok Gyeong-un's meridians. It was as if he were looking at a three or four-year-old child.
‘How can this be? He surely has never learned internal energy before?’
It was truly a bizarre phenomenon. To have such clean meridians at this age without practicing the breathing technique would be impossible unless one had long received meridian cleansing from a profound internal energy master. Go Chan looked at the back of Mok Gyeong-un's head with a quizzical expression.
'Didn't he say he lived in the mountains with just his grandfather?' What on earth? Filled with doubt, Go Chan soon shook his head and for now, sent his true energy toward the dantian.
It's almost there. He had one guess.
‘The reason it's scattering is likely because he just started accepting energy.’
That was usually the case. Mok Gyeong-un had been practicing the breathing technique for less than half a day at most. No matter how much energy he gathered, the amount was too small, and it was highly likely that it scattered because he hadn't properly formed a dantian... -Flinch!
In that moment, Go Chan got goosebumps. He felt something chilly and creepy.
But, 'Huh?'
He hadn't removed his palm, but the connected true energy was severed. What is this phenomenon? Frowning, Go Chan, on the off chance, infused true energy into the Qi portal point again.
And once again, he sent it toward the dantian. And yet, -Flinch! Once again, with that strange sensation, the true energy he had sent was severed.
No, to be precise, it scattered. For a moment, Go Chan was dazed.
‘What?’
It was difficult to understand what this phenomenon was. It wasn't the energy Mok Gyeong-un himself had absorbed, but his own true energy. But the moment it reached the dantian, he lost control of it, and it scattered and vanished.
Why is this happening? Unless the true energy was severed directly, this couldn't happen. As he struggled to understand, he heard Mok Gyeong-un's voice.
"Guard Go Chan's energy scattered too, didn't it?"
"...... You felt that as well?"
"Yes."
‘This is astounding. This fellow's spiritual sense is unbelievably innate.’
At this point, he had no choice but to see it as an innate instinct. To think he could observe another's energy when he had just begun to accept qi. It was simply astonishing.
What if this fellow had learned martial arts when he was young?
‘His martial talent might have rivaled the youngest Young Master's.’ The youngest Young Master of the Lotuswood Sword Manor, Mok Yu-cheon.
His talent was so overwhelming that it was said to be one that might appear once in three generations of the Lotuswood Sword Manor. He was a monster who reached the realm of a first-rate master at fourteen and, just two years later at the age of sixteen, reached the threshold of the Peak Realm.
It was truly an overwhelming talent. And yet, it seemed this fellow might have come close to him if he had started early. That is, if there wasn't one problem.
‘Why does it scatter?’
He had just sent it one more time. But it was the same. If the faint energy he gathered with the breathing technique scattered, the reason would have been clear, but for this, he couldn't figure out the reason at all.
"Young Master..."
"Do you know why it's happening?"
"My apologies, but with this subordinate's skills, it is difficult to know the reason."
His pride was wounded, but Go Chan was merely second-rate. Martial artists only called those at the first-rate realm and above masters. As such, while those up to the second-rate realm were stronger than ordinary people, they could not be said to have reached the domain of a master or an Expert.
"It seems it will be difficult to know unless a greater master than this subordinate examines you."
"Still, since you've learned martial arts, don't you have even a small guess?"
"... I do not know. I can feel a sort of foreign energy near your dantian, but it is difficult to grasp what it is."
It was on a completely different track from internal energy. It was something so cold and unpleasant that Go Chan wasn't even sure if it was right to call it energy. To this Go Chan, Mok Gyeong-un asked in a low voice.
"Then I won't beat around the bush. If this continues, can I not form a dantian?"
A direct question. To this, a troubled Go Chan replied.
"... To be honest, yes. If the energy you gather through the breathing technique continues to scatter, you will not be able to form a dantian."
"So in the end, 'that' is the problem."
"Pardon?"
"No, no. I was just talking to myself."
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin. Go Chan hadn't grasped it precisely, but the cause seemed to have become quite clear. The death energy near the dantian seemed to be the cause.
‘Hmm.’
What should I do about this? The energy absorbed through the breathing technique scatters, as if it's not compatible with this. And with this breathing technique and method of energy circulation, he couldn't move the death energy.
He couldn't think of a way to solve this.
‘This is troublesome.’
His purpose from the beginning was to learn martial arts. That monster of a man he had met then. When he vividly recalled that sensation, he still didn't have the courage to defeat that man, no, not even the courage to face him.
‘Am I unable to learn martial arts?’
If that were the case, there was no reason to stay here. For a moment, Mok Gyeong-un's mind became complicated. It was still too early to be completely discouraged.
As Go Chan said, he was merely second-rate, so it was possible he couldn't grasp the exact cause. Would getting help from a proper master be the answer? He was in the middle of contemplating.
"Well now, this is strange. Seeing how it scatters true energy, it seems to be completely opposite to the energy generated by normal circulation..."
"Opposite?"
At Mok Gyeong-un's question, Go Chan waved his hands and said.
"Th-that's just my guess. You don't need to pay it too much mind..."
"Opposite... Opposite..."
Mok Gyeong-un frowned and was lost in thought. The moment he heard the word 'opposite,' he recalled a similar feeling from when he first absorbed this cold, yin death energy. If the energy taken in through breathing is vitality—life-energy, that is, living energy, then this was literally death energy.
Then perhaps the method was wrong from the start? Mok Gyeong-un came to his own conclusion and spoke.
"Guard Go Chan's words are right. I should try doing the energy circulation techniques and the breathing technique in reverse."
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un closed his eyes. It was to act on what he had just realized.
'What?'
For a moment, Go Chan couldn't hide his bewilderment. Did he just say he would perform the energy circulation techniques and breathing technique in reverse? For a second, he doubted his own ears.
The breathing technique was originally a type of life-nurturing arts derived from the Daoist school, a method to foster vitality—life-energy and yang energy. But to reverse it was literally an act of taking in death and yin energy.
Moreover, if one also reversed energy circulation, it was called the Blood Reversal Grand Art, a way to plunge oneself into becoming a demon.
"Y-Young Master! Stop! You could suffer from qi deviation!"
Qi deviation.
It was a phenomenon that occurred even if the qi inside the body was only slightly distorted. And if it happened from just a slight distortion, completely reversing the direction of energy circulation was no different from choosing self-destruction. -Pfft! The corners of Blue Spirit's lips, who had been watching this scene, curled up.
He wondered what that foolish fellow was up to, and it turns out he was doing something stupid with his clumsy knowledge. -How can he even think of such a thing?
Even the Blood Reversal Grand Art, created by our sect after long research, often resulted in the user's dantian being destroyed, becoming a cripple from severe side effects, or dying after its use. And yet, a greenhorn who hasn't even formed a dantian is trying to reverse his energy circulation on his own.
It was literally an act of suicide. -If this goes well, I might be able to find freedom. Blue Spirit sneered and said to the Demonic Monk. If harm comes from the outside or if the Spirit Guardian tries to inflict harm, it will ultimately return as a killing curse.
However, if one takes one's own life, it's a different story. If that happened, they too might escape their shackles and regain their freedom. -Do not interfere, mortal. -Swish! Blue Spirit lightly swung its long pipe.
At that, Go Chan's body, which had been trying to stop Mok Gyeong-un, was pushed back on its own, and he was soon forced onto the bed where he had been lying, stuck to it. -Squeeze!
"Th-this is?"
Flustered, Go Chan tried to raise his internal energy to get up. But he couldn't budge at all.
"Y-Youn... Mmph!" -Shh.
You must be quiet. With a single gesture from Blue Spirit, Go Chan couldn't even move his lips. In the meantime, Mok Gyeong-un was already performing the breathing technique and energy circulation in reverse.
Watching this, Blue Spirit's red lips twitched. -If you die by your own hand, I'll personally dismember your soul into five pieces. It was truly something to look forward to.
However, -Swaaaaaaaah!
A white breath flowed from Mok Gyeong-un, who was circulating his energy.
‘!?’
That breath was not a warm energy, but was extremely cold and yin. Just a moment ago, Blue Spirit had thought that Mok Gyeong-un would die from qi deviation after recklessly reversing his energy circulation. But as things flowed in a different direction than expected, one of its eyebrows shot up on its own.
‘What is this?’
It was a sight it had never seen even in its past life. He is circulating energy in reverse, so why is yin energy gathering around him? In Blue Spirit's spirit eyes, it was clearly visible.
The world was not filled only with vitality—life-energy and yang energy. Naturally, as the forces of yin and yang were in balance, death energy and yin qi were also spread out evenly in correspondence. But there was an important fact here.
It was that living beings could neither detect nor feel this opposing energy. But what was this? -How? How is Mok Gyeong-un, a living being, drawing in the death energy?
It was something utterly incomprehensible.