Chapter 042. The Condition of Loyalty (2)
— You can look forward to it, I decorated it quite diligently. If you need training in the future, you may ask for my permission and use it.
Dam Jeok-san recalled the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable's words as he entered her training room.
The training room, prepared in a detached building away from the branch building, was a very spacious stone chamber.
"Well, one could even have a duel here."
It was wide enough for a dozen sturdy men to run around in.
However, what was more surprising was the presence of dense spiritual energy filling the entire stone chamber. If one performed breathing exercises in this training room, they would likely be able to accumulate genuine qi at a speed two or three times faster than almost anywhere else.
Training here was a facility that could be called a fortuitous encounter in itself.
Even this was not all.
Swords of various lengths and shapes hung in rows on the walls of the stone chamber. All of them seemed to be at least of the rank of famous swords. Among them, there were a few swords so precious that even Dam Jeok-san knew their names.
Although the sword he possessed, Sky Thunder, was also a famous sword that did not lag behind them…….
'I am a bit covetous of the Red Cloud Sword……?'
Because it is a treasured sword that would have good compatibility with his ability of Predation.
Furthermore.
— Ah, and there are some weapons that this Martial Aunt has personally collected in the training room. If you see something you want, speak up. I will give it to you if possible.
Un Wol-hyang seemed willing to give them away. It wasn't simply because she cherished her Martial Nephew, but also to commend his hard work.
"……."
Rarely, greed flashed in Dam Jeok-san's eyes.
But he soon shook his head.
Whether to accept a sword or not was not a problem to worry about right now. Of course, Dam Jeok-san did not consider non-possession a virtue. Rather, his wish was to greedily devour everything he could get his hands on and reach the pinnacle of the world.
But now was not the time to covet something new, but to properly refine what he possessed.
Dam Jeok-san erased his distracting thoughts and sat cross-legged in the center of the stone chamber.
He lightly observed his interior and began circulating his energy.
His internal energy rose to a level close to 70 percent of what it was before he lost his dantian.
It was an achievement that could be called a miracle, beyond merely looking at someone with new eyes.
Even throughout the long history of Murim, it would be hard to find someone who increased their amount of essence as quickly as Dam Jeok-san.
An achievement difficult to obtain even by consuming several of the spiritual elixirs considered the best in the Gangho Murim.
However, Dam Jeok-san shook his head as if something was unsatisfactory.
"Tsk……. As expected, it is a mess."
He had absorbed too much internal energy in a short period.
A situation similar to when he predated on the Blue-Scaled One-Horned Snake.
Right now, uncontrolled internal energy was raging like a whirlwind inside Dam Jeok-san's body.
The momentum was so violent that he thought he might fall into qi deviation again if he made the slightest mistake.
It feels like a typhoon is raging.
A typhoon intense enough to overturn the earth and shake the sky.
A mighty typhoon where a single person would be swept away like duckweed.
It was somewhat fine when he left it alone, but once he started to recognize the danger, it raged uncontrollably.
Dam Jeok-san clenched his back teeth.
That it feels like a typhoon is raging is merely an illusion he perceives.
In reality, everything is happening inside Dam Jeok-san's body.
That means he can control it.
Crunch.
He bit his back teeth hard enough to break them and began to operate the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique.
If the agitation of internal energy is a typhoon―
'It is merely a typhoon in a teacup.'
It means it is a power he can sufficiently control.
……As long as the teacup does not break.
What Dam Jeok-san had to do was simple.
Making the teacup as solid and large as possible so it does not break from this typhoon.
'For that, I must raise the stage of the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique to a level befitting the amount of essence I possess.'
Considering the violence of the genuine qi, it would have to be around the 4-star stage he had reached before losing his dantian.
'It's not easy…….'
Because he had to reach the 4-star stage through a realization completely different from that time.
But there is no other way.
Only to break through head-on.
His ability to handle internal arts is sufficient. The problem was how clearly he projected his mental image onto the world.
'The image I possess is on the distinct side.'
Cut.
Everything that goes against his will.
Regardless of whether the opponent is strong or weak.
From the Blue-Scaled One-Horned Snake to Woo Seo-gwang, The Butcher, and Murong Gang.
Not a single one was a weaker opponent than Dam Jeok-san.
But he fought without hesitation, and finally cut them down.
Those desperate struggles and the memories of brilliant victories transform into an image.
'I can do it.'
The moment he became certain, Dam Jeok-san's vessel slowly expanded.
At the same time, the genuine qi of the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique ran through the acupoints of his entire body at an abnormal speed.
A phenomenon occurring to clearly draw out the expanding image.
If one cannot control this speed due to a lack of stage in internal arts, there is a risk of falling into qi deviation.
However, for Dam Jeok-san, it was a speed with no strain at all. Even if the direction had changed, it was a path he had already walked once.
The path he had walked was engraved into his image, taking on a distinct form.
The shape of a swordsman holding a single sword and cutting through carnage.
Dam Jeok-san thought his image was quite exaggerated, but he liked it quite a bit.
At this rate, the stage of the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique would reach 4-star without any particular problems.
Despite it being a stage that some could not reach even after devoting their entire lives, no particular emotion was visible on Dam Jeok-san's face.
For him, this is the starting point.
The Eldest Young Master's achievement in the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique is publicly known to be 7-star.
Considering that from 6-star onwards is a stage that can only be reached by jumping over the wall of the Ultra-Peak, the Eldest Young Master is already far ahead.
Not only in influence, but also in individual martial power.
However, Dam Jeok-san did not feel despair at that fact.
Rather, he felt grateful that the enemy he had to deal with was not a pushover.
If the opponent who frustrated him once was a pathetic person, that would be shameful in its own way.
In the image of Dam Jeok-san sitting cross-legged, the form he dreams of is clearly engraved.
The flow of genuine qi, which had been soaring, plunging, and rampaging, also slowly subsided.
It was true that the internal energy was still bloated to a level difficult to handle, but it was clearly different from before when it seemed like it would burst out of the vessel at any moment.
The moment for the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique to reach 4-star was literally right before his eyes.
Thump.
Dam Jeok-san's heart beat heavily.
Now only the finish remains.
The moment he tried to paint his distinct image onto the world as if drawing a sword path―
'Huh?'
A large, unidentifiable void was felt.
A void deep and black like an abyss.
He couldn't even grasp what it was at all.
He certainly had never even detected it before losing his dantian.
'Ah.'
Then it was clear what the problem was.
A martial artist's image is ultimately determined by the life they have lived.
Originally, for Dam Jeok-san, his life was only about twenty-five years or so.
'But I touched the essence of the Six Paths of Reincarnation through the Prajna Heart Technique.'
And thus awakened his past life.
Predator, the strongest of a world, the one who watched the destruction of the world. Seo Woo-joo.
Since he had even temporarily grown the ability of Predation by drawing out his ego recently, Seo Woo-joo could also be called a part of Dam Jeok-san.
It is a difficult matter.
What must he do to know about him?
Dam Jeok-san did not ponder for long.
Instead, he activated the Predator's Eye while simultaneously operating the Prajna Heart Technique.
WOOWOOWOOWOO!!
One is the Buddhist mental art that reached Seo Woo-joo, and the other is the ability that originated from Seo Woo-joo.
There was nothing better than this to explore the existence called Seo Woo-joo.
Following the circulation path of the Prajna Heart Technique, genuine qi stretched out faintly yet magnificently.
Fragments of his memories and ego floated in Dam Jeok-san's mind.
Even if it is a past life, it is ultimately subordinate to his own life.
Dam Jeok-san had no intention of being swayed by Seo Woo-joo's life.
[Digging into me means approaching the Origin of Predation. It is not something the current you can handle.]
At that moment, a low and gloomy unidentifiable voice rang in his mind.
Full of words he couldn't understand.
But one thing was certain.
It was rejecting his approach.
Dam Jeok-san instinctively reacted against that voice.
"I hate that."
He muttered in a voice as if chewing on something.
Even if the opponent was his past life and at the same time an existence that reached the pinnacle of a world.
He cannot give up before even trying.
After all, what is the image he is trying to draw?
Did he not project his own figure of not getting scared and giving up, thinking it impossible in advance?
[Haha, are foolishness and ignorance a brand engraved on the soul? If you want it so much, I will show you.]
Since this is my life and at the same time your life.
Along with that voice.
FLASH!!
An intense light swallowed Dam Jeok-san's vision.
After some time.
Dam Jeok-san fell into a world completely different from the stone chamber he was staying in.
There stood a man covered in blood.
"Hello?"
He waved his hand and looked at Dam Jeok-san with a quite cheerful demeanor.
* * *
After Dam Jeok-san entered seclusion for training.
Namgung Yeon also headed to the branch of the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
Her purpose for leaving the clan was strictly for the transport of escort goods.
Although countless goods including the Heaven-Shaking Thunderbolt were lost, the Righteous Heaven Alliance did not hold her accountable.
Because the news she brought was huge enough to offset that crime.
The movements of the Yin God Cult and the conspiracy targeting the Namgung Clan.
And the death of the Half-Demon Murong Gang.
Finally, even the movements of the Third Young Master and the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable.
There was nothing that could be easily overlooked.
The leadership of the Northern Branch of the Righteous Heaven Alliance urgently went into a meeting.
Using that gap, Namgung Yeon was meeting with the young experts with whom she once shared friendship.
They were guys she didn't want to deal with because they were pathetic, but...
'Since Lord Dam said he needed an audience.'
She looked at the men with stupid faces while resting her chin on her hand at an angle.
"So, Sister. That Sword Dragon, no, he isn't even a Sword Dragon anymore. You're saying the Third Young Master of the Martial Sovereign Castle is fighting the Squad Leader of the Monster Repelling Squad?"
Hwangbo Gyeong, the third son of the Hwangbo Clan, one of the Five Great Families, babbled in an excited tone.
He is a guy who has a history of fainting from a single punch by Dam Jeok-san after rushing at him in the past.
Namgung Yeon looked at Hwangbo Gyeong as if he were pathetic, then slowly nodded.
"Yes. He said if there is anyone who wants to come watch, they should come to the branch of the Martial Sovereign Castle."
She continued speaking with a still chilly demeanor.
"This is great, I will finally be able to see that guy's fall clearly with these two eyes!"
This time, Peng Wu-yeol, a scion of the Hebei Peng Clan, another of the Five Great Families, spoke.
The same age as Namgung Yeon.
A man who came to the North as if chased away after being pushed out of the competition for the Young Family Head position by his younger brother.
He also possessed a record of being beaten soundly after rushing at Dam Jeok-san.
'How pathetic.'
To be bound by resentment towards Lord Dam instead of respecting him, when they lost because they were lacking themselves. That is why there is no improvement in their martial arts. After seeing Dam Jeok-san, looking at the young experts of the Five Great Families who are supposed to be the future of the Orthodox Murim, she felt a sigh coming out naturally.
Rather, Dam Jeok-san's escort, Gyeong-won, looked much more promising than them.
Of course, both of the two in front of her were nuisances who were completely pushed out of the succession structure.
Because the position of Young Family Head of the Five Great Families is not a seat that such idiots can occupy.
'Well, not that I am outstanding either…….'
At least she had the discernment to recognize the true value Dam Jeok-san possessed.
"Anyway, I am going to watch."
Namgung Yeon spoke in an indifferent voice, as if she wasn't very curious about their intentions. Then, Hwangbo Gyeong and Peng Wu-yeol scrambled to say they wanted to go too. Base anticipation lingered in their eyes. While feeling disgust from those eyes, Namgung Yeon also had a certain anticipation for what would happen in the future on the other hand.
The scene those pathetic things will see will not be what they expect.
The moment Dam Jeok-san's sword splits the sky.
'What kind of expression will you make?'
Even knowing that her own anticipation was also quite base.
Namgung Yeon found it hard to hold back her laughter. She looked at the two stupid men while trying hard to suppress her true feelings.
They were busy looking down on Dam Jeok-san with excited voices. Saying they knew it would be like this from the time he was called Sword Dragon undeservingly. Saying low blood shows like this. Sounds that were hard to listen to with open ears.
As the slander continued, the smile hanging on Namgung Yeon's lips also deepened.