Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 4

The dual spirit cores that entered Hwa-rin’s mouth melted like snow, flowing down his throat.

‘Ugh!’

The sudden, extreme pain nearly made him lose consciousness, but he barely managed to hold on.

The two cores, each with its own toxicity, churned inside him, threatening to burn and melt his internal organs.

Hwa-rin clenched the antidote bead in his mouth even harder, so hard that blue veins appeared on his neck and face, gradually turning red.

Even amidst this pain, Hwa-rin circulated the Gongmu Dowon Gong [a specific internal energy cultivation technique].

The energy that arose from his dantian [energy center located in the abdomen] flowed along his meridians [energy pathways in the body], meeting the energy of the two spirit cores that had passed into his throat.

As the energies clashed within Hwa-rin’s body, the pain became indescribable.

According to the Internal Energy section of the Martial Arts Compendium [a comprehensive guide to martial arts], the collision of different energies within the body expands the meridians and accelerates the flow of energy. Therefore, Hwa-rin believed that the current phenomenon was not harmful to him.

He divided his thoughts with the Dual Origin Skill [a technique for multitasking and mental focus], one to observe his internal state and the other to circulate the Gongmu Dowon Gong, striving to make the two spirit cores his own.

Even being able to use the Dual Origin Skill to examine his condition amidst such extreme pain demonstrated his remarkable mental fortitude.

Firm mental strength, perseverance, and tenacity were essential for mastering the secret arts of the Beggar Sect [a fictional martial arts sect known for its unique skills].

While martial arts also required these qualities, sorcery demanded even more mental strength than physical ability. Thus, it was perhaps natural for Hwa-rin, who had been learning the Beggar Sect’s sorcery, to possess such strong mental fortitude.

However, there was a clear limit to the range and extent of pain that Hwa-rin, who was not accustomed to suffering, could endure.

‘Ugh!’

The energy of the cores collided internally, and with the addition of the energy moving from Hwa-rin’s dantian, the pain exceeded Hwa-rin’s limit.

He lost consciousness due to the immense pain, but Hwa-rin maintained his posture, and his body continued to circulate the Gongmu Dowon Gong’s mind technique by instinct.

Starting with the Ren meridian [one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, associated with Yin energy], the primary of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, it sequentially traveled through the Du [associated with Yang energy], Chong, Dai, Yangqiao, Yinqiao, Yangwei, and Yinwei meridians, repeatedly colliding, exploding, and colliding again, widening the pathways of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians to facilitate the smooth circulation of energy.

Hwa-rin was unaware of this because he had lost consciousness, but if someone had witnessed this scene, they would have rejoiced, knowing he had obtained a rare opportunity.

While it was difficult for an ordinary martial artist to open the Ren meridian, Hwa-rin, thanks to the two spirit cores, opened all Eight Extraordinary Meridians at once, instantly reaching a stage where the flow of internal energy was unobstructed.

The energies of the two spirits, vying for dominance, collided and stirred within Hwa-rin’s body, now extending their battleground to the collateral meridians branching from the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Black liquid flowed from Hwa-rin’s unconscious body, filling the dwelling with a foul odor.

The black liquid was a type of human toxin, impurities that had accumulated in his blood due to the food he had consumed and bad habits he had developed over the years. These impurities were dissolved by the energy of the elixir and expelled from his body.

The more of these impurities accumulated in the body, the more they hindered the practice of martial arts and caused various diseases in ordinary people.

The impurities flowing from Hwa-rin’s body caused all the clothes he was wearing to burn away, indicating the potent toxicity of the impurities.

Once all the impurities had flowed out of Hwa-rin’s body, fine cracks appeared on his skin like a spiderweb, and then it split open with a tearing sound.

With the sound of bones cracking, the tendons and muscles transformed, regenerating to fit Hwa-rin’s changing body.

New skin grew where the old skin had fallen away, with a radiant glow like that of a baby.

This time, Hwa-rin’s hair fell out and regrew, similarly lustrous and long, so beautiful and abundant that one might believe he was a woman if his face were painted.

As Hwa-rin’s external transformation neared completion, a faint light emanated from his body, and he floated into the air.

His figure rose to just below the ceiling, and five shining orbs appeared above Hwa-rin’s head, while a lotus flower formed beneath his seated posture, supporting his body.

The previous pain had vanished, and Hwa-rin’s face appeared serene.

Hwa-rin was still circulating the Gongmu Dowon Gong when suddenly another strange incantation flowed from his mouth, like an ancient spell.

As the incantation flowing from his mouth intensified, the lotus flower supporting his figure rotated, and the five orbs above his head emitted their respective colors intensely.

While the five colors shone brilliantly, the flower made of energy rotated and was absorbed into his body through the Yongquan acupoint [a key acupuncture point on the sole of the foot] on the soles of Hwa-rin’s feet, and the orbs emitting the five colors were absorbed one by one through the Baihui acupoint [an acupuncture point on the crown of the head] on the top of Hwa-rin’s head.

At the same time, the powerful light emanating from Hwa-rin’s Mingmen acupoint [an acupuncture point on the lower back] filled the dwelling, trapping everything inside within the light.

An hour, half a day, a full day…

Time passed in this way, and the light that had filled the dwelling gradually faded, revealing Hwa-rin, naked and seated in a meditative posture.

He appeared not much different from before taking the elixir, but his physique seemed slightly larger due to the rebirth.

After a little more time, Hwa-rin slowly opened his eyes, his gaze containing a faintly shining essence that he quickly concealed.

As even the faintly shining essence disappeared, he returned to his usual appearance.

“Hoo…”

Hwa-rin took a long breath and then rose from his seat. At that moment, unable to control his newfound power, he leaped into the air and hit his head on the ceiling.

A ‘thud!’ sound echoed, and a groan escaped his lips. He fell to the floor, landing hard on his buttocks.

“Ugh!”

Hwa-rin, holding his head with one hand and his buttocks with the other, laughed aloud, finding his current situation amusing.

“I must focus on controlling this power first.”

Hwa-rin slowly and carefully rose from his seat.

“My body is overflowing with vitality. It seems I have properly absorbed the elixir, just as recorded in the Martial Arts Compendium.”

Then, Hwa-rin noticed the awkwardness of his hand touching his buttocks and looked down, discovering that he was naked, and became flustered.

“Oh, where did my clothes go? That was my only set.”

Hwa-rin, unaware that his clothes had burned away, searched for them but could not find them.

“Perhaps there is something I can wear in the armory.”

Hwa-rin went to the armory and examined the inventory. He found a few items that he could wear.

He obtained underwear made from silkworm silk from the Celestial Silkworm [a mythical creature], a white light armor made from the spider silk of the Human-Faced Spider [another mythical creature] and materials from a plant called White Jade Dormouse, and greaves to wear on his wrists and ankles.

“Underwear made from Celestial Silkworm silk is resistant to swords, as well as fire and water, and it is tough enough to withstand most internal energy.”

He slowly read the descriptions of the items he had chosen from the inventory.

“This armor made from the spider silk of the Human-Faced Spider and the materials of the White Jade Dormouse is also resistant to fire and water, and you can change the color of the clothes using internal energy?”

Hwa-rin read the description and tried circulating a little internal energy, and indeed, the color of the clothes changed.

The color of the clothes changed to white, red, yellow, blue, and black depending on the strength of his internal energy, which Hwa-rin quite liked.

The greaves worn on the wrists and ankles were also no ordinary items, made from the bones of the Fire Dragon Horned Lizard [a mythical creature], so their hardness was indescribable, and they were resistant to internal energy, so they would not be scratched easily, according to the description.

“Good.”

Hwa-rin smiled brightly and touched the clothes he had chosen to wear.

“Then, let’s start learning martial arts in earnest. If I can combine martial arts and sorcery after that, I can achieve great results.”

Hwa-rin was able to confirm that he could combine martial arts and sorcery while looking at the Martial Arts Compendium.

[The various things derived from one energy can be reunited into one by the user, which is also a form of the return of all things to their origin…….]

* * *

Hwa-rin was training martial arts in the training ground. Three years had passed since he had entered the Imperial Vault [a repository of martial arts knowledge], and he was now growing into a respectable martial artist.

The Imperial Vault contained martial arts that had once dominated the world and martial arts that had instilled fear. There were also martial arts that were so bizarre that they were mistaken for evil arts.

The Imperial Vault housed martial arts spanning the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic paths, and the ninety-nine volumes of advanced martial arts classified among them were so great that they were worthy of being called divine skill masterpieces.

Hwa-rin was learning the ninety-nine volumes of advanced martial arts in the Imperial Vault, focusing on learning as many forms and stances of the martial arts as possible, regardless of his mastery.

Fortunately, he had a knack for martial arts, and he had no major problems memorizing and learning the forms and stances of the martial arts.

Hwa-rin brought a sword from the armory and was practicing swordsmanship. When he moved the sword in the air, a faint blue light lingered in the path of the sword, leaving afterimages.

The Ren and Du meridians, as well as the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the collateral meridians connecting them, were all opened without obstruction, allowing him to freely control his internal energy and reach a level where he could imbue the sword with internal energy without having to deliberately generate it.

Martial artists used the word “Peak” to mean that internal energy had reached its extreme, and such martial artists were called “Peak Martial Artists.”

Hwa-rin was training martial arts and did not know what level he had reached, so he continued to train. His plan was to leave the Imperial Vault after learning all the forms and stances of the ninety-nine volumes of advanced martial arts.

As time passed, Hwa-rin learned the forms and stances of the advanced martial arts of the Imperial Vault more and more quickly.

“Taat!”

It might take a long time to realize the depth of martial arts, but it did not take long for Hwa-rin, who memorized and practiced the forms and stances of martial arts day and night.

After four years in the Imperial Vault, Hwa-rin was able to memorize and physically perform the forms and stances of all but one volume.

While training martial arts in the Imperial Vault, Hwa-rin had also become much healthier physically, and compared to before he entered, he now had a fairly masculine appearance.

Hwa-rin looked at the words written on the cover of the last book.

[Countering Martial Arts]

Hwa-rin turned the pages of the book with curiosity after seeing the words written on the cover.

[There are many worlds in the Central Plains [a region in Chinese mythology and wuxia fiction]. The Martial World where ruffians gather and show off their strength, the Literary World where moldy scholars live, the Commercial World where merchants live fiercely to make money, the Official World, including the Imperial Palace, is the world of officials…….]

Hwa-rin knew that the person who wrote Countering Martial Arts after reading the first chapter was the same person as the author of the Martial Arts Compendium he had read earlier.

[What is essential in living in these worlds is the monster called power.]

Although the first chapter explained something in a lengthy way, Hwa-rin did not get bored or read it carelessly, but carefully read each word aloud.

[Military power, political power, financial power, and human resources are essential for living in the world…….]

Hwa-rin nodded and sympathized with the writer’s thoughts. As he read each chapter, Hwa-rin thought a lot.

It was very helpful to Hwa-rin because it provided specific explanations of what kind of power he needed and how to obtain such power.

It was not until he turned ten pages that the content about Countering Martial Arts written on the cover of the book came out.

“Hmm…….”

Countering Martial Arts did not teach martial arts with forms and stances, but simply stated, ‘A certain martial art can counter this martial art.’

“That’s why the back of this book is also clean.”

Like the Martial Arts Compendium, the pages of Countering Martial Arts were also clean towards the end.

“I should try to combine the martial arts and sorcery I have learned while looking at this book. And if I can take a few more elixirs to increase my internal energy a little more, that would be the icing on the cake.”