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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The First Opportunity (4)
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Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jinmyeong silently watched the sword moving around him.
'So I can only manage two for now.'
At first glance, one might think it was Sword Control, but what Jinmyeong was doing was merely manipulating the sword through the air.
'It would be far more powerful if I could perform sword techniques with them.'
If he could attack with Sword Control from all directions while performing his own sword techniques, his opponent would surely be caught off guard.
Most would likely be unable to respond properly.
'A body abandoned by the heavens.'
Whenever he tried to perform martial arts, his feet would get tangled, and he would fall.
'The moment the footwork gets even slightly complicated, I fall over. I can't do anything.'
He could simply stand in place and throw a punch or swing a sword.
But that was truly all.
Even that, when combined with footwork, would cause his feet to tangle and make him fall.
The most advanced martial art he could perform was to simply run forward and thrust or swing his sword.
'Running straight ahead without any footwork, that is.'
In other words, it was a death wish.
'It's not that I can't fight, but I can't perform complex martial arts.'
It was a truly ambiguous condition.
He could handle a simple fight, but the moment footwork was involved, his body refused to obey.
'It's as if someone made my body this way.'
It felt like someone was preventing Jinmyeong from performing martial arts.
'If I don't improve at all even after performing the same technique tens, or hundreds of times, it can't just be a lack of coordination.'
The world Jinmyeong was in was certainly one of martial arts, but that didn't mean things like magic didn't exist.
After all, hadn't the door here opened in response to his blood?
He wondered if, similarly, someone had placed a spell on his body.
'It's frustrating that I have no way of finding out here.'
The problem was that since he was only training his martial arts here, he had no way to resolve his questions.
'Still, thanks to this, I was able to focus more on the Heavenly Demon Finger and the Heaven-Embroidering Sword Control Arts…'
Still, it wasn't all bad.
Because it was difficult for Jinmyeong to learn martial arts that required physical movement, he had no choice but to concentrate on three arts: the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame, the Heavenly Demon Finger, and the Heaven-Embroidering Sword Control Arts.
'More importantly, the internal energy consumption is truly severe.'
Jinmyeong sighed as he watched the flying swords.
It wasn't just the Sword Control Arts that consumed a lot of internal power.
The Heavenly Demon Finger was also a technique that required a significant amount of internal power.
'I don't think it was this severe in the novel.'
Jinmyeong extended his hand toward the secret passage door.
Thwack!
A small hole instantly appeared in the wall, created by the Heavenly Demon Finger shot from the tip of his index finger.
'Is it because the power has increased?'
The wall of the second secret passage, which even the original protagonist couldn't scratch.
But Jinmyeong's Heavenly Demon Finger pierced the wall, even though he hadn't been learning it for long.
Of course, it wasn't because Jinmyeong was stronger than the protagonist.
'It must be because of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame.'
There must be a reason the Heavenly Demon considered it the most perfect martial art.
'But the internal energy consumption is severe.'
Perhaps that was why the Heavenly Demon continuously compressed his internal energy to store a vast amount of power in his dantian.
Because even the Heavenly Demon couldn't handle this level of energy consumption.
'If I don't reduce the power, I'll run out of internal energy in no time.'
But if he were to reduce its power, there would be no reason to learn the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame.
'It's about time I take them.'
The various spiritual elixirs that Jinmyeong had been saving.
Since they were left behind by the first Heavenly Demon, their effects were sure to be extraordinary.
'I just have to hope I can absorb it all without any loss.'
In novels, when one takes a spiritual elixir, they usually receive help from their master.
The master guides them from the side to prevent any of the elixir's energy from being wasted.
'I can't keep putting it off.'
Without a master, Jinmyeong had planned to save them until he could handle his internal power better, but he felt he couldn't delay any longer.
Jinmyeong picked up one of the elixirs.
'What's important now is to get stronger quickly.'
He couldn't stay trapped in this place forever.
He had to master the martial arts quickly and get out.
If that was the case, he couldn't afford to keep delaying just because he might lose a bit of the elixir's energy.
'If worst comes to worst, I can just steal some of the protagonist's opportunities later.'
The protagonist had gained numerous opportunities, but he hadn't made proper use of many of them.
He could just take a few of the ones he needed for himself.
'Alright. Let's do this!'
Having made his decision, Jinmyeong immediately tossed the pill from the wooden box into his mouth.
'Mmm.'
Refreshing.
It was cool and refreshing, like moss, but with no trace of bitterness.
The pill dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, and Jinmyeong immediately sat down in a cross-legged position.
'The elixir's energy is stronger than I thought.'
It felt as if the elixir's energy would scatter at any moment if he didn't concentrate.
'I have to guide it.'
Jinmyeong immediately circulated the internal power of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame.
The energy of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame began to instantly suppress the elixir's energy, which was on the verge of running wild.
'How obedient.'
Was the energy of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame that powerful?
In an instant, the elixir's energy began to move just as Jinmyeong willed it.
'First, I need to get it into my dantian.'
Jinmyeong immediately directed the elixir's energy into his dantian.
It wasn't that the energy didn't resist before entering the dantian, but it couldn't withstand the pressure from the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame and docilely entered.
'Hmm. Is this good enough?'
The elixir's energy that entered his dantian was soon converted into the energy of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame, slightly increasing the size of his spiritual core.
'Opening the Conception and Governor Meridians.'
Greed stirred within Jinmyeong.
'The path to becoming a Transcendent Master. And the basic benchmark for the protagonist to become a master.'
It wasn't just in the novel Jinmyeong found himself in.
In most novels, the protagonist opened their Conception and Governor Meridians and became a master thereafter.
'But the problem is, it's dangerous.'
Opening the Conception and Governor Meridians was a different matter from consuming an elixir.
With an elixir, the worst that could happen was losing some internal power, but one's life wasn't at risk.
However, opening the Conception and Governor Meridians was something that could put one's life in danger.
'The Baihui point on the head is the main problem.'
The point where the Conception and Governor Meridians connect isn't the Baihui at the crown of the head, but rather below the lower lip.
'And yet, the Baihui point is said to be the most important.'
He didn't know why it was set up that way in the novel.
Perhaps each author had a different setting, or perhaps it was considered important simply because the crown of the head is closest to the heavens.
'In any case, in this novel too, the Baihui point is the most difficult to break through.'
Mishandling this point could lead to Qi Deviation.
Even if that didn't happen, one could become an imbecile or their head could explode, leading to death.
That was why Jinmyeong couldn't easily attempt it, even as he thought about opening his Conception and Governor Meridians.
'In any case, if I'm going to do it, I have to break through in one go with a massive amount of internal power.'
His current internal power might have been enough, but Jinmyeong shook his head.
He didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.
'The day I consume all those elixirs. On that day, I will open my Conception and Governor Meridians.'
And that time came sooner than Jinmyeong had expected.
'So I've finally finished them all.'
Jinmyeong gazed silently at the last remaining bottle.
'As wielding the swords became easier, I kept increasing my internal power, and in the end, I consumed them all.'
Thanks to the increased internal power from the elixirs, the burden of using his martial arts gradually disappeared.
Perhaps because he had become more adept at handling his internal power, he could now wield the Sword Control Arts more naturally than before.
'It still looks more like simple object manipulation than true Sword Control, though…'
To be called Sword Control, one naturally had to be able to perform sword techniques with the swords.
But Jinmyeong had not yet reached that stage.
'Still, I can attack enemies with them.'
The number of swords he could control had now increased, and five of them were flying around him.
'Now, if I can just create Sword Qi…'
Jinmyeong gazed silently at the sword floating before him.
Fwoosh!
Then, the sword before his eyes was engulfed in pure white flames.
'Only two of the swords can handle Sword Qi.'
He could move five swords at once, but only two of them could be imbued with Sword Qi.
'If I increase my internal power even more…'
And if he opened his Conception and Governor Meridians, he might be able to use Sword Qi with all five swords.
'I might even be able to reach the level of Sword Aura, but…'
Opening the Conception and Governor Meridians. In other words, opening the Gate of Life and Death.
It is the starting point of a Transcendent Master.
And upon becoming a Transcendent Master, one could use Sword Aura.
'Please, let's not get ahead of myself. Step by step…'
As he was getting stronger so quickly, he kept thinking hastily.
Jinmyeong shook his head and decided to take it easy.
'First, I need to take this last elixir.'
And today, he planned to absorb this entire elixir and open his Conception and Governor Meridians.
Jinmyeong immediately brought the bottle containing the elixir to his lips.
Unlike the pill, this elixir was a liquid.
'Mmph!'
And Jinmyeong couldn't help but be astonished by the energy contained within the elixir.
'The elixirs I've taken so far were incredible, but…'
This elixir he had just consumed contained an immense amount of energy, even compared to the others.
Jinmyeong absorbed the elixir's energy, steadily converting it into the energy of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame.
Having absorbed all the elixir's energy, Jinmyeong examined his dantian.
'The spiritual core has grown.'
At first, the spiritual core had been as small as a thumbnail, but now it seemed to have grown to the size of a child's fist.
'If I decompress it, the amount of internal power will be immense.'
Jinmyeong slowly began to release the internal power from within the spiritual core.
'Mmm.'
He hadn't realized it when it was compressed, but the amount of internal power was enormous.
He hadn't even fully released it, yet his dantian already felt full.
'Alright. Let's go.'
Jinmyeong began to move his internal power from his dantian.
Starting from the Huiyin point, he began moving it to open the acupoints of the Governor Meridian.
'It's certainly easy up to this point.'
The internal power of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame rushed toward the Baihui point at an incredible speed.
'Is this really okay?'
For a moment, Jinmyeong wondered if he should stop the flow of his internal power.
But the internal power of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame, having gained momentum while opening the Governor Meridian, did not obey Jinmyeong's control.
BOOM!
Jinmyeong felt as if his head was about to explode.
His mind went blank, and he couldn't think at all.
'Should I keep doing this?'
He thought the expression 'like being struck by lightning' was truly fitting, and at the same time, he never wanted to experience it again.
'Huh?'
But for some reason?
He was supposed to ram the blockage at the Baihui point a few more times to break through, but the energy was passing through it with incredible ease.
'It broke through? In a single attempt? Is this right?'
It wasn't even a tiny hole.
Making his nervousness seem foolish, the Baihui point was opened as easily as any other acupoint.
'I worried for nothing.'
Having opened all the points of the Conception and Governor Meridians with such ease, Jinmyeong continued to circulate the internal power of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame without rest.
He had opened the Gate of Life and Death, completed the true Lesser Heavenly Cycle, and reached the realm of a Transcendent Master.
This was around the time a year had passed since Jinmyeong had entered this place to learn martial arts.