Chapter 9

Chapter 9: A Treasure Vault

A graveyard for discarded martial arts?

Trash left behind by past masters?

What the hell is he talking about?

When I tilted my head...

Jin Gwangung continued in a low voice.

"Since ancient times, Kunlun has fought endlessly against the nearby Demonic Cult."

"The Demonic Cult..."

"Those monsters wearing human skin."

"To stand against them, Kunlun had no choice but to become stronger."

His expression became strangely cold.

"We needed greater power."

"More complete martial arts."

"Naturally, research into martial arts also became active."

He turned toward the dusty shelves.

"There were countless attempts to improve our martial arts."

"As the years passed, the results accumulated."

"Some called it 'Kunlun's progress.'"

He gave a bitter smile.

"But to me, it was nothing more than a desperate struggle to survive."

I swallowed unconsciously.

Were all these books...

martial manuals containing the research of Kunlun's past experts?

If so...

If I properly learn even one of them, couldn't I become insanely strong?

I cautiously asked with a trembling voice.

"Master... are all the books here martial manuals left behind by Kunlun's past masters?"

Jin Gwangung immediately understood what I was thinking.

He snorted.

"Give it up."

"Don't start dreaming useless dreams."

He waved his hand.

"Everything left here is nothing more than the remains of failed ambitions."

"Terrible failures."

Jin Gwangung walked toward a bookshelf.

He pulled out one dusty book and tossed it toward me.

"See for yourself."

I instinctively caught it.

Faded writing appeared across the dusty cover.

[Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture]

The name alone sounded like some noble internal cultivation method containing the essence of Kunlun.

But the mocking smile on Jin Gwangung's face immediately destroyed that expectation.

"Don't get any foolish ideas."

"It might have an impressive name, but in reality, it's nothing more than a vicious internal cultivation method that destroys its practitioner."

"Destroys?"

"At first, it rapidly increases internal energy."

"But before long, the practitioner falls into qi deviation."

"Their dantian twists."

"Their mind becomes consumed by madness."

"Eventually, they become a crippled lunatic."

He gestured around the hall.

"Everything in here is like that."

"Incomplete failures that devour the people who practice them."

Just hearing it sent a chill through me.

A martial art that turned its practitioner into a cripple?

There was one thing I didn't understand.

"If they're that dangerous..."

"why did Kunlun keep them?"

Jin Gwangung's voice turned bitter.

"Useless hope."

Then he corrected himself.

"No."

"More precisely..."

"an impossible delusion."

"A delusion?"

"The martial manuals in the Abandoned Martial Hall still contain the research of Kunlun's past experts."

"So people kept imagining that perhaps, one day, someone in the future might complete these incomplete martial arts."

He sighed briefly.

"But nobody has managed it."

"Even so, we couldn't simply destroy them."

"Whatever their flaws, they're records of martial arts soaked in Kunlun's blood and history."

Only then did I understand.

The Abandoned Martial Hall was something Kunlun couldn't throw away...

but couldn't use either.

Too precious to discard.

Too poisonous to use.

The Abandoned Martial Hall.

A place filled with failures and legacies even Kunlun was reluctant to touch.

Too important to entrust to just anyone...

yet too dangerous for anyone to willingly stay near.

So that's why Jin Gwangung is here.

A First Elder of the highest generation.

One of Kunlun's strongest martial artists.

But also an eccentric nobody wanted to remain near because of his unpredictable temper.

In other words...

Jin Gwangung himself was basically a living Abandoned Martial Hall.

Kunlun dumped the troublesome Hall on Jin Gwangung.

And Jin Gwangung probably accepted it without hesitation.

Maybe he had even volunteered.

Someone like him probably preferred living freely in a gloomy place like this instead of dealing with other people.

I looked across the countless old books.

I couldn't stop myself from shaking my head.

And now I have to waste my precious regression time living among martial arts that kill their users....

Jin Gwangung noticed my expression and laughed.

"Hehehe."

"Your eyes are already dead."

"Excellent."

"That expression suits the Abandoned Martial Hall perfectly."

The serious expression he had worn moments ago disappeared.

His face was once again filled with mischievous amusement.

Apparently this old monster enjoyed other people's misery.

Before I could calm my irritation...

he spoke again.

"Good."

"Now it's time for you to fulfill your duty as a disciple."

"My duty?"

What was this bastard planning now?

Jin Gwangung's lips curved upward.

"What else could it be?"

"A faithful disciple must keep the place where his master lives clean as though it were his own body."

"That is the basic duty and first step of serving one's master."

He pointed with his chin.

I followed his gaze.

An old broom stood alone in a corner.

"Sweep and wipe everything."

"Clear every spiderweb."

"You're going to eat and sleep here from now on, so clean it properly."

"What?"

"I'm sleeping here?"

"I thought the building beside the Abandoned Martial Hall was your residence..."

"How dare you!"

Jin Gwangung's eyes widened.

"You already covet your master's residence?!"

"The place where this old man stays is practically a sacred land filled with the pure energy of the Dao!"

"Would you dare pollute the space where your master achieves enlightenment through facing the wall in meditation?!"

"What irreverence!"

He spoke absolute nonsense while raising his eyebrows.

I was speechless.

Pure energy of the Dao, my ass.

You just want the room to yourself.

I already knew the old man's personality was horrible.

Arguing would only give me a headache.

I reluctantly nodded.

"I apologize. I was thoughtless."

"I will quietly stay here so I don't disturb Master's cultivation."

"That's better!"

Jin Gwangung stroked his beard proudly.

"Now you finally understand how a disciple should behave."

"Then this old man will return to his wall-facing cultivation."

"Make sure you clean the Abandoned Martial Hall properly."

"I'll be watching to see how useful a disciple you are."

With that, Jin Gwangung clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely walked outside.

Soon...

he disappeared completely from sight.

"...Haa."

Left alone, I sighed deeply.

If I stay with that old monster too long, this life is going to be ruined too.

The Elders' Lecture Gathering and learning high-level martial arts from Jin Gwangung could wait.

First...

escaping from this place was my path to survival.

"I can't waste my entire life guarding garbage martial manuals like these."

I happened to glance down at the book still in my hands.

The very manual Jin Gwangung had given me.

[Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture]

"Azure Soul of Kunlun..."

I muttered.

"The name sure sounds impressive."

But in reality...

it was an incomplete failure that destroyed its practitioner.

What exactly is inside it that makes it so dangerous?

Without thinking too much, I opened the cover.

The first page revealed lines of clear brush-written characters across yellowed paper.

[The qi within the body is founded upon clarity. This flow of qi shall be called Azure Clarity. The deeper Azure Clarity becomes, the closer the practitioner's soul approaches Heavenly Qi. However, should even the slightest deviation appear within its flow, the meridians will collapse and the soul itself will shatter. Thus the practitioner must entrust both body and intention entirely to the flow.]

It was supposedly a failed internal cultivation method capable of twisting one's dantian.

Yet because it contained the research of a Kunlun master from the past...

the contents seemed extremely profound.

I considered reading more.

Then a strange feeling of danger appeared.

Better stop.

No reason to create trouble.

I was just about to close the book when...

What...?

The brush-written characters suddenly began trembling.

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

But they weren't.

The letters themselves were wriggling as though alive.

Startled, I dropped the book.

Thud.

The moment it hit the floor...

Flapflapflapflap!

The pages began turning violently on their own.

Then the written characters exploded outward.

Thousands...

tens of thousands of brush-strokes separated from the pages and flew through the air.

They emitted blue light like souls escaping from a broken seal.

The glowing characters connected into long bands.

Then those bands formed a massive circle above my head.

Countless sentences rotated through the air, shining with brilliant blue light.

"W-What is this?"

I unconsciously stepped backward.

Wooooong.

The circular band suddenly vibrated violently.

Its rotation became faster.

Then...

FLASH!

It burst apart.

Countless characters poured down through the air like rain.

They rushed toward me...

merged into a single beam of light...

and entered my head.

At the same time...

[New martial-art information has been transmitted to the Awakened One.]

[Martial Art: Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture]

[Analyzing internal cultivation method.]

The familiar voice echoed inside my mind.

I nearly panicked.

No!

The Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture was an incomplete internal cultivation method that destroyed anyone who practiced it.

Not merely damaged them.

It drove them into qi deviation and turned them into a mad cripple.

So why?!

Why was my body reacting to it?!

[Severe errors detected in portions of the internal formula.]

[Warning: Practicing in its current state carries an extremely high possibility of physical and mental damage.]

My breath stopped.

I needed this to end.

Right now.

If my body actually absorbed this cursed cultivation method...

Stop!

It's dangerous!

But despite my desperate resistance...

the process continued.

[Beginning detailed analysis of the Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture.]

"Stop!"

"Please stop!"

My desperate shout disappeared into the air.

More warnings echoed inside my head.

[Intermediate Analysis: This cultivation method will definitely cause fatal harm to the Awakened One.]

[If acquired in its current form, the Awakened One's mind and meridians will completely collapse.]

I felt like I was going insane.

Was my regressed life seriously going to end like this?

Was I going to die pointlessly because of qi deviation?

Then...

Ding!

[Structural errors within the "Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture" have been confirmed to be correctable.]

...Huh?

What?

Correctable?

[Cause of Error: Distorted meridian circulation causes the practitioner's blood and qi to become twisted.]

[Analysis Result: It is possible to modify the circulation method and reinforce stability.]

[Would you like to modify the cultivation method before acquiring it?]

I froze in place.

All I could do was blink at the floating blue letters.

This is... possible?

Kunlun's past experts themselves had abandoned this incomplete martial art.

And I...

could fix it?

Surprise.

Curiosity.

And overwhelming expectation flooded through me all at once.

If this really works...!

My chest began pounding.

I wanted to immediately accept and learn the completed Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture.

But one concern remained.

"Reinforced stability" was a relative expression.

If the probability of qi deviation dropped from one hundred percent to ninety percent...

technically, stability would still have improved.

For a moment, I considered stopping here.

Then another thought whispered from somewhere inside me.

No.

This is an opportunity nobody else has.

A special opportunity given only to me.

For some reason...

I had a strong feeling that this would be safe.

It came from a vague yet intense trust in the martial-art acquisition ability that had awakened after regression.

At the very least...

I believed this ability wouldn't deliberately lead me into death.

I swallowed.

Then made my decision.

"Acquire the Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture."

[The Awakened One's decision has been confirmed.]

[Beginning correction process for errors within the Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture.]

[Correction in progress...]

Unlike the Initial Heaven Breathing Method or Three Severing Palms...

acquisition didn't happen immediately.

The correction process apparently required additional time.

About the time it took an incense stick to burn...

the result finally appeared.

[Correction of errors within the Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture has been completed.]

[Danger Level changed from "Certain Blood-Qi Rampage" to "Safe for Practice."]

[Grade Evaluation changed from "Trash-Tier Qi-Deviation Art" to "High Grade."]

[Determined to be a high-grade internal cultivation method highly beneficial to the Awakened One's internal energy growth.]

[Difficulty is low enough for immediate acquisition.]

[Beginning automatic acquisition of the "Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture."]

"Yes!"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

A shout escaped me.

It proved my choice had been correct.

As excitement rose inside me...

another message appeared.

[The meridian circulation method of the previously acquired "Middle Heaven Breathing Method" conflicts with the "Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture."]

[For more efficient martial-art operation, all functions related to the "Middle Heaven Breathing Method" within the Awakened One's body will be temporarily sealed.]

[The sealed "Middle Heaven Breathing Method" may be released at any time through the Awakened One's will, but doing so may cause temporary disorder in blood and qi.]

Temporarily sealed?

I can release it?

Before I could process the unexpected information...

the next step began.

[The "Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture" will be optimized for the Awakened One and acquired.]

My brain suddenly felt as though it were burning.

Every meridian in my body began trembling.

Clear energy erupted from my dantian and rapidly spread throughout me.

This feeling...!

At that moment...

I understood.

My mind and body were absorbing everything about the Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture perfectly.

Not the incomplete failure that dragged practitioners into destruction.

The true Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture...

containing the clear spirit of Kunlun.

Its perfect essence was being engraved into me.

Optimized entirely for my body.

[The Awakened One has perfectly acquired the "Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture."]

I closed my eyes.

I could clearly feel the pure energy flowing throughout my body.

It was fundamentally different from the internal energy created through the Middle Heaven Breathing Method.

Firm, but never rough.

Calm, but never slow.

Clear azure energy carrying the spirit of Kunlun flowed through every meridian in my body.

It moved as naturally and steadily as a blue river.

So this is the true Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture.

For a while...

I simply enjoyed that pure azure energy.

Gentle.

Noble.

Containing the proud tradition of Kunlun.

Some unknown Kunlun master from the past had created this scripture and devoted his entire life to studying it.

There was an ideal he had tried to reach throughout his lifetime.

An ideal he had never managed to complete.

And now...

I, Han Mujin...

had reached it.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The books filling the Abandoned Martial Hall no longer looked the same.

Ideals.

Hundreds of ideals that nobody in the world had ever reached.

Those unknown possibilities...

were waiting for my hand.

My lips slowly curved upward.

"I found a treasure vault."

"A treasure vault Kunlun has left untouched for hundreds of years..."

"just for me."

I looked over the hall filled with failed martial arts.

No.

Treasures nobody else had recognized.

And I made a decision.

Good.

I'm taking everything in here.