Bu Eunseol wore a blank expression for a moment.
He could seek teachings from anyone, but there was no guarantee he would learn?
“The masters of our pavilion hone their unique martial arts through real combat. Aside from the Beast Way, there are no secret manuals or standardized foundational martial arts.” Dan Cheong spoke with a serious expression. “But since you’ve been selected as a Ten Demon Successor, we’ll grant you a significant privilege this time.”
“Thank you.”
“What you need most right now is a superior internal energy technique.” Bu Eunseol nodded.
Having never trained in martial arts from a young age, he lacked not only martial skills but also the foundation of internal energy. Dan Cheong turned and pointed to a distant mountain peak.
“That is Iron Staff Peak.”
“Iron Staff Peak…”
“Indeed. Rest today and climb Iron Staff Peak tomorrow.” Looking at Bu Eunseol, Dan Cheong spoke in a solemn voice. “A master who will teach you the finest internal energy technique awaits you there.”
***
After resting at his lodging, Bu Eunseol set out for Iron Staff Peak at dawn. Though he prided himself on having gained steel-like stamina through relentless martial training, the terrain of Iron Staff Peak was unimaginably treacherous.
“Hoo. Hoo.” After climbing for over two hours, his breath rose to his throat.
Yet Bu Eunseol never paused, ascending the mountain without rest.
Step.
Finally reaching the summit, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened. At the peak’s edge stood a small thatched hut, and in front of it was a towering man in tattered monk’s robes, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Excuse me.” Approaching the man in robes, Bu Eunseol bowed deeply. “I come at the behest of Deputy Sect Leader Dan…”
“You must be the one chosen as a Ten Demon Successor of Nangyang Pavilion.” With a low voice, the man at the peak’s edge turned around.
In that moment, Bu Eunseol’s eyebrows slightly twitched. The man’s face, neck, arms—every exposed part of his body was densely covered with scars. At a glance, he looked less like a human and more like a monster cloaked in wounds.
“Hmm.” The man in robes looked at Bu Eunseol, who seemed startled.
Whenever people saw his appearance, they invariably showed great agitation, regardless of age or gender. Yet this youth, barely in his twenties, merely raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
“Should I be?” The man’s eyes gleamed as he met Bu Eunseol’s calm gaze.
“You must have seen many horrors at your age.” He could tell at a glance that Bu Eunseol had endured a harsh life since childhood.
“Being a mortician means seeing plenty of horrors.”
“You were a mortician?”
“Yes.” At Bu Eunseol’s response, the man in robes asked quietly.
“Your name?”
“Bu Eunseol.”
“Bu Eunseol.” Repeating the name softly, the man spoke again. “Have you come to learn an internal energy technique?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not unusual, but…” Turning his gaze to the distant sky, the man muttered in a bitter tone. “Why are the people of Nangyang Pavilion so greedy?”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems you’ve already learned a technique, yet you seek to learn another internal energy technique from this poor monk?”
‘Poor monk?’ The term “poor monk” was how monks humbly referred to themselves. Was this man in robes truly a monk?
“I’ve never learned an internal energy technique.” At Bu Eunseol’s reply, the man’s expression turned scornful.
“You’re lying.” He pressed his finger firmly near Bu Eunseol’s lower dantian.
A repelling force rose from the area, pushing the man’s hand away.
“With this level, you’ve systematically cultivated internal energy since childhood. And you say you’ve never learned an internal energy technique?”
“Why would I lie?” Despite the man’s piercing gaze, Bu Eunseol’s eyes remained unshaken.
“Then it’s one of two things.” Scanning Bu Eunseol’s gaze, the man spat coldly. “Either you’re a liar of unparalleled skill, or you learned an internal energy technique in your dreams.”
Bu Eunseol said nothing. That was the strongest protest he could muster.
“Hmm.” Detecting no flicker of wavering in Bu Eunseol’s eyes, a glint of brilliance flashed in the man’s gaze.
“This poor monk is called Blood Vajra.”
Blood Vajra.
A master from the sacred Tianlong Temple in Yunnan, he was falsely accused of breaking the precept against killing, had his internal energy crippled, and was excommunicated. Years later, by some unknown method, he fully restored his internal energy and reentered the martial world. He dealt with the fellow disciples who had framed him and slaughtered those who attacked him for revenge. Despite numerous righteous sects attempting to kill him, Blood Vajra, who had mastered all of Tianlong Temple’s secret martial arts, killed countless assailants in return.
‘Why does a monk’s dharma name include the ominous word “blood”?’ Though Blood Vajra was a demonic monk who had eliminated many righteous martial artists, Bu Eunseol thought of him merely as a monk with an unusual dharma name.
“You don’t seem to know me.” Staring at Bu Eunseol, Blood Vajra bared his fangs in a grin. "The reason I’m called Blood Vajra is because I kill anyone who offends me on the spot. Understood?”
“Understood.” Though he answered, Bu Eunseol’s eyes were filled with skepticism.
Blood Vajra’s gaze was as clear as an autumn sky reflected in a well. He didn’t seem like someone tainted by evil or prone to killing.
Grab.
Suddenly, Blood Vajra seized Bu Eunseol’s pulse with lightning speed.
“Since you claim you’ve never learned an internal energy technique, it’s fine if I destroy all your internal energy, right?”
‘Was I mistaken?’ Blood Vajra seemed to have no qualms about killing Bu Eunseol, a Ten Demon Successor of Nangyang Pavilion.
“Of course.” As Bu Eunseol nodded, Blood Vajra, still gripping his pulse, sensed something odd.
Though Bu Eunseol’s body was filled with energy, there was no flow of energy circulation within him.
‘Could it be…’ Releasing Bu Eunseol’s pulse, Blood Vajra took a deep breath.
“Have you learned anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“Something like a method to calm the mind or a specific way of breathing.”
“I learned it from my grandfather.”
“Show me.” Blood Vajra said with a solemn gaze. “Do it right now, in front of me.”
“Understood.” Taking a deep breath, Bu Eunseol focused his mind.
Standing still, he began the breathing technique his grandfather had taught him.
“You’re performing energy circulation while standing?”
“Does breathing have anything to do with standing?” Blood Vajra wore a dumbfounded expression.
Even a basic breathing technique typically required sitting in a lotus position. ‘If he can circulate energy while standing… doesn’t that mean he can do it in any posture?’
“Hoo.” At that moment, Bu Eunseol began focusing and breathing.
What started as ordinary breathing grew increasingly calm and prolonged. Before long, the time it took Bu Eunseol to inhale and exhale exceeded a quarter of an hour.
‘This is…’ Blood Vajra’s eyes widened.
‘A single breath lasting a quarter of an hour?’ Wasn’t the breathing technique Bu Eunseol was performing akin to the energy circulation of the Muscle-Changing Sutra, which only the abbot of Shaolin could master?
“Is something wrong?” Now Bu Eunseol was even blinking and speaking while performing the technique.
‘It’s the Muscle-Changing Sutra.’ Among the myriad internal energy techniques in the martial world, only the Muscle-Changing Sutra allowed one to open their eyes and speak during energy circulation. Suppressing his complex emotions, Blood Vajra extended two fingers to grasp Bu Eunseol’s pulse again.
“Don’t mind me and continue.”
“Yes.” Bu Eunseol focused again and resumed the breathing technique.
‘This is…’ As Blood Vajra stood silently, observing the flow of Bu Eunseol’s energy circulation, his eyes trembled slightly. ‘Did someone only teach him the method to accumulate energy?’ What Bu Eunseol was doing wasn’t the free manipulation of energy through circulation but a nurturing secret method to amass energy in his lower dantian.
‘This is absurd.’ Blood Vajra let out a turbid grunt and shook his head. ‘Could it be that they taught only the nurturing method to avoid revealing the full Muscle-Changing Sutra?’ For this to be possible, only one scenario made sense. A Shaolin master had deliberately taught Bu Eunseol only the nurturing method of the Muscle-Changing Sutra, separated from the full technique.
No other explanation sufficed.
“Stop.” At Blood Vajra’s command, Bu Eunseol halted the breathing technique.
Seeing Bu Eunseol’s concerned expression, Blood Vajra let out a hollow sound.
“Your grandfather taught you this breathing technique?”
“Yes.”
“What you learned wasn’t a breathing technique but a method to build immense internal energy.” At Blood Vajra’s words, Bu Eunseol couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“What I learned… was an internal energy technique?”
“An internal energy technique and a breathing method are different. What you learned is a method to accumulate energy in your dantian.” Blood Vajra’s expression grew solemn. “An internal energy technique not only nurtures energy within the body but also includes the secret to wielding it freely.”
Bu Eunseol’s expression turned peculiar. ‘Sometimes I felt great strength when I focused power in my lower abdomen… was that internal energy?’ According to Blood Vajra, Bu Eunseol had learned only how to hoard internal energy like a miser, not how to use it. As Bu Eunseol sank into thought, Blood Vajra’s explanation continued.
“Right now, your dantian holds internal energy that would take a martial artist over a decade of rigorous training to achieve.”
“Over a decade…”
“And since it’s pure energy, if your latent meridians are activated, your power will surge in an instant.” Finally, one of Bu Eunseol’s longstanding questions was resolved.
His superior stamina and swift running compared to ordinary people. His ability to wield the basic sword techniques of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect with great power. It was all because he had some degree of internal energy in his dantian.
“Can a breathing technique build internal energy?”
“It’s not just any breathing technique.” Blood Vajra glared at Bu Eunseol with gleaming eyes. “The breathing method you learned stems from one of the pinnacle internal energy techniques of the martial world. Otherwise, you couldn’t have amassed such potent energy in so short a time.”
Staring intently at Bu Eunseol, Blood Vajra asked again.
“What was your late grandfather’s name?” After a moment’s hesitation, Bu Eunseol said quietly.
“He bore the surname Bu and the name Zhanyang.”
“Bu Zhanyang.” As Blood Vajra repeated the name, his eyes darkened like a setting sun. “To my knowledge, only one person in the martial world used the name Bu Zhanyang.”
“Who was he?” A profound, unfathomable radiance burst from Blood Vajra’s subsiding gaze.
“The Seven-Finger Demon Blade, the second-in-command of Majeon, known as the greatest blade master of the demonic path—Bu Zhanyang.”
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