Kwakwakwakwa—!
“...!”
An amount of Namgung Mucheon's inner energy, incomparable to before, poured into her body. It felt like a great storm was rushing in. Her mind gradually submerged in the pouring energy.
She even felt the urge to let go and be swept away by the flow of energy.
“Breathe!”
“...!”
At Namgung Mucheon's shout, Seolhwa belatedly realized she wasn't breathing. Very slowly, she exhaled, trying to feel Namgung Mucheon's energy.
Kwaaaa—!
She knew Namgung Mucheon's inner energy, which had reached the Transformation Realm, was immense, but the rushing energy was of such a staggering amount that its end could not be seen. In an instant, sixty years' worth of Inner Energy flooded Seolhwa's Dantian. The inner energy from Namgung Mucheon that filled her Dantian churned as if to shake it apart.
The Blood Energy that had muddled Seolhwa's Dantian had long since vanished like melting snow. The inner energy from the Great Rebirth Pill that Seolhwa had not yet absorbed was also quickly assimilated by Namgung Mucheon's energy. The energy, having finished organizing her Dantian in an instant, soon began to surge through her meridians, coursing throughout her entire body.
Kuuuuu—!
‘A Blue Dragon!’
What stirred within her body was truly a dragon. The very same Blue Dragon she had seen in her dreams. The Blue Dragon glided unimpeded through her Ren and Du meridians, and with every meridian the Blue Dragon passed, impurities vanished and the pathways widened.
“...!”
Seolhwa was dull to pain, but even she could not escape the sensation of her meridians being forcibly widened. Every time the Blue Dragon struck and pierced a major meridian, extreme pain engulfed her entire body. Seolhwa clenched her fists and endured the pain.
‘Heo…!’
Namgung Mucheon's expression, as he circulated energy to open Seolhwa's meridians, filled with astonishment and admiration.
‘Is this even possible!’
Originally, he had intended to use thirty years' worth of inner energy to perform the Bone Marrow Cleansing. But, even as he poured and poured, the energy entered endlessly. It was as if the child's body was accepting and coveting the energy on its own, pulling his energy in.
And so, the inner energy he poured in reached a full sixty years' worth. No, what was sixty years? It was about to reach sixty years and another thirty on top of that.
Was that all? The meridians opened up as if they had been waiting, widening as he circulated the energy. The circulation through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, which he had expected to take at least half a day, was about to finish in less than an hour.
‘At this rate….’
It might even be possible to circulate energy through the Twelve Meridians and achieve the Great Heavenly Circulation! If he just used another thirty years' worth of inner energy. Then, a child who was merely second-rate would instantly reach the Supreme Realm.
‘No, I must not. It is said that too much is as bad as too little. Let's not ruin things by overdoing it.’
Namgung Mucheon swallowed dryly. His head told him no, but a warrior's instinct could not abandon the greed. He had trained in martial arts and accumulated inner energy his entire life, and had met countless martial talents, but this was the first time he had seen a body so in harmony with energy.
The fact that this body belonged to his granddaughter stimulated Namgung Mucheon's greed.
‘Alright. Let's give it a try.’
In the end, Namgung Mucheon drew upon even more inner energy. A more intense blue light emanated from his hands where they touched the child.
“...!”
Seolhwa felt something strange. Namgung Mucheon's energy, which had circulated through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in an instant, did not stop and began to enter her minor meridians.
‘Is he trying to open the Twelve Meridians?’
To open the path for the Great Heavenly Circulation, beyond the Small Heavenly Circulation? Before driving out the Blood Energy, Seolhwa's realm had been at the supreme level. But that was only in terms of the amount of forcibly stuffed inner energy; circulating inner energy through the body's minor meridians had been overwhelming for her.
In terms of realm, she was at the supreme level, but since she couldn't circulate her energy freely, she was, in a sense, a half-baked supreme master. Namgung Mucheon was now trying to open those minor meridians. With his immense power.
Kuuuuu….
The energy that had been surging unimpeded began to slowly lose its momentum. Then, at the entrance to the minor meridians, it began to swirl slowly. As if asking for her consent.
‘If I can get my minor meridians opened at this opportunity, it will be a great help for what's to come.’
She would be able to raise her realm faster, and by that much, she could stand against the Blood Demon one step sooner. She wouldn't need to be anxious about raising her realm and could use that time more productively.
But.
‘Is it possible?’
To raise a second-rate realm to the supreme level in a single stroke, is that really possible? However, Seolhwa's hesitation was not long.
‘The Heavenly Dragon Sword Sovereign has made his choice. I will not doubt it.’
Namgung Mucheon had chosen to move forward. Seolhwa decided to trust his choice. Seolhwa relaxed her body.
At that, Namgung Mucheon's energy, which had been lingering at the entrance of the minor meridians, began to flow into them very slowly, deliberately. The Blue Dragon's energy would now spread to her fingertips, to her toes, throughout Seolhwa's entire body. Seolhwa completely entrusted herself to that energy, which flowed slowly, yet surely.
She opened her eyes to a refreshing breeze and clear air. A sky filled only with blueness filled her vision. She lowered her gaze and looked down.
Chal-lang— The place where she stepped rippled.
‘The sea?’
She was standing in a place like a calm sea. A transparent, clear sea without a single ripple. No, it wasn't the sea.
‘The sky.’
Whether she looked up or down, only the sky filled her view. White clouds drifted lazily above her head and below her feet. Without any sound or noisy disturbance.
Just serene.
‘The sky already fills the land upon which we stand, so our breathing and the wind we feel can all be called the sky.’
The words of Namgung Cheongun came to mind. Feeling the quietly calling wind, Seolhwa thought.
‘Everything is the sky. It's all the sky.’
All who stand on the land have reached the sky, so it is as if we are already living in the sky. Breathing in the sky, feeling the sky as we live, the energy of the heavens already fills our bodies.
Even without reaching out to grasp it, the energy of the heavens is abundant; this must be the energy given equally to all.
Seolhwa opened her eyes. Soon, she felt her body sink, as if falling. She had been floating buoyantly, entrusting her body to the energy in a state of selflessness, and had fallen as she regained her senses.
Lifting her gaze, she found she was once again in Namgung Mucheon's arms.
“You have achieved great success.”
He looked a little tired. But his expression was brighter than ever.
‘Truly a child of the Heavens.’
He had only intended to open her minor meridians. But, at some point, she began to move the energy on her own, and soon, inner energy began to gather at a frightening speed. Then, the child's body suddenly floated up.
It was as if she were moving her own body through Remote Object Manipulation. After that, he didn't even need to lend a hand. The child was finding the answers on her own.
“Did you attain Enlightenment?”
“I'm not sure.”
She wasn't sure what she had realized. It was just... all sky.
“I think I understand where the spirit of Namgung's honesty and integrity comes from.”
“Hahahahahaha!”
Namgung Mucheon burst into laughter more heartily than ever before.
“You have realized what even those who have lived in Namgung for decades could not. This is truly a great achievement!”
And then he burst into laughter once more. Having witnessed his granddaughter attain Enlightenment right before his eyes, his overwhelming emotion was, needless to say, immense. Seolhwa was just as surprised.
‘... The Supreme Realm. Already.’
It hadn't been long since she drove out the supreme-level Blood Energy and returned to being second-rate. The realm she thought would rise to first-rate after receiving the Bone Marrow Cleansing had reached the supreme level. And it wasn't a realm forcibly raised, but one obtained along with Enlightenment.
Seolhwa placed a hand on her Dantian. Sixty years' worth of energy filled her Dantian. It wasn't someone else's energy, nor was it forcibly drawn in; it was purely her own Inner Energy.
“I never expected to use three times the inner energy I had anticipated.”
“Three times?”
“I poured in a whole three sixty-year cycles of inner energy.”
“...!”
“It was almost not enough, which could have been dangerous.”
Namgung Mucheon possessed four sixty-year cycles of inner energy. Having used three-fourths of it, his expenditure was not insignificant.
“Are you alright?”
“I'll have to rest for a while, but I can recover this much quickly, so do not worry. Increasing it is difficult, but replenishing it is not.”
His Dantian wasn't damaged or shrunk, after all.
“You have achieved an astonishing feat. I reached the Supreme Realm at the age of twenty. You are thirteen, so you are seven years faster than me.”
An achievement seven years faster than the Heavenly Dragon Sword Sovereign, one of the ten great masters under the heavens. He said it lightly, but it was truly an astounding accomplishment. Among the ten great masters, excluding himself, none had reached the Supreme Realm at the age of thirteen.
Seolhwa's achievement was such that it surpassed genius and could be called monstrous. How was that possible. Namgung Mucheon came to one conclusion.