The Three Mad Dog Brothers.
He had a light meal using the food he had stored in the subspace.
The two women, mentally exhausted after finishing the game, went to bed early once they were done eating.
Watching them sleep peacefully in the unfamiliar bedding of Wonju, Seowoon stepped outside into the pitch-dark night and climbed up to an open clearing.
"To freely manipulate one's inner energy means being able to move the qi stored in the body exactly as one wishes, with no blockages in the meridians throughout the body."
Handling the energy accumulated within the body without even the slightest hindrance meant it wasn't all that difficult to also control it freely outside the body.
However, many martial artists hit a wall at this stage because they are too bound by the nature of qi.
Qi, by nature, tends to disperse and be absorbed by greater energy. Martial artists, deeply aware of this trait, obsess over holding on to it, making it hard to progress in mastering Hard Qi Technique.
The key is simply to extract a qi so intense and solid that it never disperses.
The earth's energy is so strong that all beasts live tethered to it. Yet birds overcome that energy and soar through the sky.
If one can grasp this principle, the barrier of Hard Qi Technique would no longer seem so high.
Recalling the phrase that had awakened his understanding of Hard Qi Technique, Seowoon assumed the Bloodbone claw stance.
Unlike earlier, instead of faint flows of energy, fierce qi like sharp claws of a beast wrapped around his hands and shot up his fingers in five distinct streaks.
Compared to before, the qi was significantly larger, more stable, and consumed far less inner energy.
—Skrrk. Thud-thud-thud!
He casually slashed at a tree with his claw-like qi . The thick tree split cleanly, like slicing through tofu.
Watching the nearby trees fall as the slashed one collapsed against them, Seowoon withdrew his qi.
He took out the memoir again from his subspace. Even without a sliver of moonlight, the book began to emit a soft glow.
More precisely, the letters on the pages began to shine.
"Once hard qi technique is complete, you must discard your obsession with filling your Middle Danjeon with inner energy. For martial artists, inner energy is as vital as blood—something you cannot afford to lose. But only by giving it up can something else be gained. That something is Seon-gi—not human energy, but the energy of the heavens."
'Ah… I bypassed this part by using an item.'
"To acquire Seon-gi, you must first be able to sense it among the natural energies. Then, through training that opens all your pores, you must allow your entire body to accept it."
Most martial artists stall here, unable to progress.
Once you begin to sense Seon-gi and accumulate it in the body, it will naturally begin to flow into the Middle Danjeon. When about half a Gapja of Seon-gi is stored there, no more can be added.
That's when the real training toward the Natural Realm begins.
'Natural Realm…'
The moment Seowoon read the phrase "Natural Realm" in the memoir, chills ran down his spine.
He still vividly remembered the terrifying moment when, with a mere gesture, an invisible wind—stronger than any visible qi—swept past him.
Even the Dragon Armor, made from the scales of the Black Dragon famed for its durability and capable of withstanding even Namsagwang's qi multiple times, had been shredded like paper by that wind.
The overwhelming fear of facing nature's fury as a mere human—he could never forget that moment.
The Heavenly Demon, who denied that fear until the end and poured everything he had into his fight.
The realm he stood in—the Natural Realm—felt impossibly distant to Seowoon.
"If the inner energy in your body is like water, then Seon-gi is like smoke. Only by piercing the Baihui point with this infinitely free-flowing energy can you nurture the Seon-gi in the Middle Danjeon and conceive the Wonyoung-shin (Origin Spirit God)."
'The Baihui… if I mess that up, I could lose my mind.'
As if it knew Seowoon's fears, the memoir continued its explanation in the next line.
"Martial artists avoid touching the Baihui and treat it as taboo—but that's only when using inner energy. With stable Seon-gi, there's nothing to fear."
Once you open the Baihui, you can begin training in manipulating the qi of the great natural world.
Just as you control your own inner energy, being able to command the flow of natural energy under your will would naturally cause the Seon-gi in your Middle Danjeon to grow, eventually giving birth to the Wonyoung-shin.
'Wonyoung-shin…'
A term with deep ties to Seowoon.
He had absorbed a Wonyoung-shin that appeared as an epic monster to overturn a game before, and had accumulated Seon-gi through ancestral spirits as well.
Turning his gaze back to the quickly dwindling pages of the memoir, Seowoon focused on the text.
"The Wonyoung-shin reflects the true essence of a martial artist like a mirror. Someone's Wonyoung-shin may shine like the sun, another's may be as clear as water, and another's as dark as shadow. As it embodies even the subtlest behaviors, once you nurture your Wonyoung-shin into a Immortal Body and surpass the Natural Realm to reach Limitless Realm, your Wonyoung-shin will finally become a true Seon-che."
"Only then can you abandon the impure human body bound by its mortal constraints and ascend with your immortal body to become a true immortal."
There were even stories of masters who, upon reaching limitless realm, discarded their Wonyoung-shin and scattered into the cosmos.
Seowoon found it hard to relate to such a lofty choice—but he knew it deserved respect.
"From here on out…"
The memoir then went into elaborate detail about how the path of a martial artist could reach the very gates of immortality, explaining the training methods of each stage.
After finishing the book, Seowoon sat in meditation and drew out his Seon-magi, guiding it to gently knock on the tightly sealed Baihui point.
"Guhk!"
A splitting pain tore through his head, and nausea hit him hard.
Worse still, the shock sent his inner energy into a wild frenzy.
Like someone suffering internal damage, the turbulent energy forced him to immediately retract his Seon-magi and stabilize the Baihui's surrounding meridians through controlled breathing.
Only after a long period of focused healing did Seowoon open his eyes, just as the sun began to rise.
"Hoo… Why… Could it be the influence of the magi?"
He couldn't be certain of the cause, but one thing was clear—it wasn't the easy path the memoir made it seem to be.
'Well, the memoir did gloss over everything from to thehard qi technique Natural Realm and even limitless realm as if it were all so simple…'
Maybe it felt easy from the perspective of someone who had already reached limitless realm and become a Immortal, but reality was nothing like that.
Even Seowoon, who had learned martial arts effortlessly through Cloyd's system, felt how difficult it truly was.
If traditional martial artists heard this tale, they'd surely scoff at it as a fanciful martial myth and refuse to believe a word.
"Baekhwe is too much for now. Let's take the training step by step. If I push myself, something could really go wrong."
Seowoon stood up, thinking that since it involved Baekhwe (the topmost energy point), even a small misstep was unacceptable.
***
A large man with intense eyes and round tattoos on his wrists and neck entered South Korea through Incheon Airport.
With a short haircut, a tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt, and a suitcase in one hand, his foreign appearance drew the attention of everyone at the airport.
As soon as he stepped out of the gate, a group of men in black suits swarmed him, drawing even more attention.
Surrounded before he could even take a few steps out, the man twisted his lips into a grin.
"Oh! What a warm welcome. Thanks."
From within the cold-faced group, Jeong Suhwa emerged and held out a piece of paper.
"Valery Andrei, right? You'll need to come with us."
Hearing her fluent Russian, Andrei blatantly licked his upper lip.
"I've heard Korean women are especially fun to tame."
Suhwa's expression turned icy at his inappropriate remark.
"You'd better come quietly."
"A pretty woman asks me to follow her? I'll even follow you to your bedroom, if you want."
Despite Andrei's sleazy gaze roving over her, Suhwa ignored it and led him away.
The dark room was enclosed on all sides, lit only by a small ceiling lamp.
"What's the purpose of your visit?"
"Tourism."
Leaning back with fingers interlaced behind his head and feet on the table, Andrei answered briefly. Suhwa furrowed her brow.
"Isn't it strange that a former FSB agent from Russia is here for tourism?"
"Like I said, I just came to enjoy taming Korean women."
"We could deny you entry."
"Heh, Korea must be getting desperate. I heard the Department of Homeland Security got wrecked, and now field agents are being replaced by reserves. But trembling over one tourist? Didn't a single low-ranked ability user throw an entire city into chaos? If you're that desperate, just say the word—we can send you plenty of ability users. You people have always been good at leeching off powerful nations."
–Bang!
Suhwa, who rarely showed emotion, slammed the table. The table split in half, collapsing—but Andrei's feet remained suspended in midair.
–Tap.
He slowly lowered his legs, wiping the grin off his face.
"I came into Korea the proper way. But if I wanted, I could enter your country without anyone ever knowing."
Suhwa returned to her cold, unreadable expression.
Though he spoke of entering politely, she knew he was just probing to see how badly the Korean Department of Homeland Security had been shaken.
And she could more or less guess the reason why.
"I'll ask one last time. Why are you in Korea?"
"Tourism. Or maybe… a hunting trip?"
As he smirked again, Suhwa spoke.
"Entry denied. Go back."
"You'll regret this. You've just made an enemy of Russia."
"We'll see. One last warning—don't go near him."
"He's not even Korean anymore, is he? I don't see why you're making a fuss over him. Anyway, see you soon."
As Andrei was escorted out by the suited men to board a return flight, one of the agents carefully addressed Suhwa.
"As he said, he'll be back. And next time, we may not be able to monitor him. Wouldn't it be wiser to keep him under our watch?"
"His purpose is obvious. That group's been known to kill high-profile players regardless of nationality. If they're here before the Guild War has even started, there's only one reason—they want to draw him out."
"The Arseny Brothers are dangerous. All three were recently crowned as Crowns through the Ranked Game."
"I know. I've memorized the rankings. I also know quite a few new Crowns have appeared on Earth."
"If we leave this alone…"
"For now, we've bought some time. Send someone to inform him of what's happening. Be as respectful as possible."
***
"It's been a while."
Smiling brightly and bowing deeply, a man approached Seowoon, who had just finished sparring with kichan in an open field.
kichan was flat on the ground, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. He merely turned his gaze toward the new arrival.
Seowoon, in contrast, showed no signs of disturbance in his breathing as he faced the man.
"Bairun, wasn't it?"
"It's an honor you remember."
There was no way Seowoon could forget the Chinese player who had shared Japanese intel before the guild war.
"I appreciated your help back then. So, what brings you here this time?"
"Once again, I've come to offer my goodwill. But first, congratulations on your big deal with Sweden."
"The terms were good."
With a brief answer, Seowoon prompted him to get to the point.
"I came here because we've received intel that the Mad Dog Brothers from Russia are targeting you, Seowoon."
"Russia? Mad Dog Brothers?"
Seowoon tilted his head at the unfamiliar terms.
Bairun quickly pulled out some documents from a subspace and handed them to Seowoon.
Inside were photos of three men, their backgrounds, and their current Cloyd rankings.
"What are these guys doing, targeting me?"
"These men are players with unchecked power within Russia. Over the past year, they've killed countless promising players from other countries."
"Why?"
"They claim it's for national interest. Even before the Guild War system existed, they never hesitated to engage in battles with other players. Sweden, in particular, lost four promising players to them. The grudge must run deep."
"How are guys like that still alive? Sounds like more than one country's had enough of them."
Bairun frowned and nodded at Seowoon's remark.
"China, too, lost quite a few players to them early on. But they're professionals. As noted in the documents, these men were raised as killers by the Russian government. They used to carry out political assassinations, and now, with their powers, they've become formidable. No country has succeeded in capturing them, even after suffering at their hands."
Despite his composed tone, there was unmistakable bitterness behind Bairun's words.
"Take a look at the back pages."
Seowoon flipped through the documents.
There, the trio's various methods of ambushing players were detailed.
As Seowoon read one particular section, his brow furrowed.
"As you can see, they'll stop at nothing. To draw out a target, they'll readily go after friends or family. And their tactics are nothing short of vile."
"They're the kind of bastards who deserve worse than being torn to pieces."
ki-chan, who had quietly been reading the documents over Seowoon's shoulder, spoke with an uncharacteristically murderous tone.
The passage he read described a case in India: the Mad Dog Brothers had kidnapped a player's younger sister, tortured her, and recorded it on video to provoke their target. For ki-chan, who had a sister himself, even imagining it was enough to send chills down his spine.
"You're sure they're after me…? You'd better be."
As a heavy pressure emanated from Seowoon's cold stare, Bairun bowed his head.
"If there's even a shred of falsehood, I'll stake my life. We would never dare to make an enemy of Jin Seowoon."
At that moment, a man burst into the hall, clutching an envelope.
As everyone turned toward him, the slightly out-of-breath man gave a quick bow.
"I'm here under orders from Team Leader Jung Suhwa of the Homeland Security Department—"
"Just the point."
Seowoon, clearly not in a good mood, cut him off curtly.
Startled, the man quickly approached and handed over the document.
"This is urgent information I had to deliver personally. It concerns the Russian—"
"Mad Dog Brothers?"
"Y-yes! Ah, so you already know…"
Only then did the man notice Bairun and swallowed the rest of his words.
"Got it. You can go."
The man gave a regretful look but trudged down the mountain with no further protest.
Seowoon still held some lingering resentment toward Homeland Security personnel.
As Bairun observed the exchange, a glimmer lit up in his eyes.
"Thanks for the intel. I won't forget this favor."
"Thank you for saying that. I'll take my leave now."
When Seowoon nodded, the man turned and descended the mountain.
"Call Karina. Tell her I need a flight to Russia. As soon as possible."
Seowoon's final words drifted to Bairun's ears as he made his way down the slope.
And at those words, Bairun's eyes widened in shock.
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