NOVEL NEXT Chapter 234
Chapter 234: Grown Man
The Hyulma’s Body soared into the sky, crossing its legs in a meditative posture. A golden light burst into a halo behind his head. A ring of light appeared above Hyulma’s head.
He spoke.
[I have witnessed the ultimate of all martial arts that diverged into countless paths, the very end of the world. I realized that every mystery of martial arts existing in Guju Palhwang converges into one point.]
The ominous symbol hovering above Hyulma’s head glowed menacingly.
As the mountains, rivers, and skies synchronized with his words.
Hyulma’s gaze fixed on me. He raised his weapon, and the ominous symbol fell from the heavens. A surging, overwhelming wave of energy rushed toward me.
It was incredibly slow, approaching in a leisurely manner, yet an unavoidable doom was nearing.
Thwack, shift, dull, phantom, dominate, fly, sharp, heavy, flow, strong, absorb, cut…
Swords, daggers, spears, axes, martial arts, techniques, hidden skills, archery…
Cold ice, yin and yang, thunder, divine arts, demon sect martial arts, unorthodox martial arts, blood techniques…
Every principle of martial arts existing in this world poured out like a tidal wave. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, sometimes heavy, sometimes soft, sometimes fierce…
Cutting like a sword, slicing like a dagger, shooting discreetly like a hidden skill, every methodology of martial arts was there.
Sometimes intertwined while being astonishingly straightforward, all energies felt hot yet cold at the same time.
[I have grasped the beginning and end of martial arts.]
Hyulma’s words were not an exaggeration.
He was truly unfolding the ultimate of all martial arts.
The slowly approaching wave of martial arts condensed into one point. All martial arts ultimately reached a single ultimate.
One ultimate beyond a myriad of ultimates.
The ultimate of ultimates.
Literally, Manryu Gwijong unfolded right before my eyes.
I instinctively realized. I couldn’t stop that now.
“Grown… Man…! I will protect… the Grown Man…”
Geumhu’s voice dragged slowly through the air. It was as if only time between me and Hyulma flowed slowly. Her voice echoed like stretched taffy. Against a backdrop of time seeming to halt, Geumhu was shedding tears.
The flower blooming from her sword and the pure energy of the lotus clashed with Hyulma’s Manryu Gwijong. However, the momentum of Manryu Gwijong only faltered slightly, not stopping.
“…No… It can’t… be…! Didn’t we… make a promise…? I haven’t even… confessed yet…”
Next came Jeoksawol’s voice. Jeoksawol was also shedding tears. The world’s most beautiful woman looked stunning even when crying.
As she swung her iron blade lazily, a serpent and dragon emerged, striking the wave of Manryu Gwijong with their forms.
Graaargh!
But it only chipped away at the momentum; the wave of Manryu Gwijong remained unharmed.
“Ah… don’t… die… here!”
Finally, Sosumahu’s voice chimed in. She swung her staff. A blizzard accompanied her white energy, colliding fiercely with the wave of Manryu Gwijong.
Boom!
With a thundering roar, the wave of Manryu Gwijong swallowed the blizzard.
It slowed slightly, but the wave of absolute death did not halt.
Hyulma.
The Manryu Gwijong he unleashed was beautiful. For me, martial arts were a means, but that didn’t mean I neglected them.
Wujik (martial extreme).
The ultimate martial arts that all martial artists yearn for blossomed at his fingertips.
A beautiful death stretched out before me.
Even the combined strike of three Hyeongyeong’s Masters couldn’t chip away at the wave of Manryu Gwijong.
But should I simply accept this beautiful death?
‘That can’t happen.’
I couldn’t accept that.
I hadn’t even indulged in cloud and rain pleasure, or color spectrum.
My robust… equipment, fortified through Kegel Exercise, Jerk Exercise, and Hanging Exercise, had never even been used once.
Everything beneficial to vigor and vitality, combined with my martial arts, still had yet to be employed.
Dying here would mean leaving this world without ever knowing the joys of men and women.
‘No way.’
How could I have gotten a second chance?
I couldn’t die without even being able to do this. Just because I was an inconspicuous loser in a corner, I couldn’t.
Was my hero-statistic ten years of polished one sword going to be thwarted?
I gritted my teeth.
[Oh?]
Hyulma’s consciousness resonated throughout the world. A smirk appeared on his face. I closed my eyes, gazing at the wave of Manryu Gwijong.
Then I sank my mind into Mind’s World. In an instant, the surroundings turned dark. Before my eyes stood a transparent wall.
Beyond the wall lay the vastness of the universe.
It was Hyeongyeong’s Wall.
Hyeongyeong’s Wall was solid; it wouldn’t shatter. I caressed Hyeongyeong’s Wall.
To break through Hyeongyeong’s Wall, a completely new understanding was required.
‘I am…’
I recalled my first life.
Originally, I was a modern-day Korean. A lonely orphan without family, but I somehow managed to make it to college.
Yes, that was right. Until I was hit by a truck while crossing the street and found myself abandoned in the Central Martial World, in the body of a child.
The one who picked me up was the merchant Wang Sam, who conspired with the notorious Jang Ihyeon to turn me into a eunuch and sold me to the imperial palace.
Thus, I did whatever it took to regain my cut-off goods.
Bringing the emperor to the throne, I became the hidden power of the Ming Empire. I ascended to a position where I oversaw the 24 divisions of the eunuch organization and became the most notorious villain in history.
Even the likes of Maktaekjo and Jogo with the Ten Chamber were less powerful than me. I had heard only the gods saying that transformation was needed to reclaim my goods, and so I practiced Gyuhwabojeon until I reached Hyeongyeong’s realm.
‘Ilpyeon Bingsim.’
The Mind’s Martial Arts of my past life.
Ilpyeon Bingsim was the moment of my relentless belief in reclaiming my goods that transformed into profound understanding. In this life, I also employed the Mind’s Martial Arts when cornered.
But in the Secret Cave, Honwon Geomje told me.
I had to abandon the martial arts of my past life.
I opened my eyes.
Before me was myself.
Not the alpha male I am now, but the boy I was during my eunuch days. A tiny figure in official robes with a face that resembled a giggling younger brother.
“Now, have you realized?”
I spoke to myself.
I laughed at his question.
Hahaha!
Yes.
I had realized.
Perhaps I was awakening to something I had forgotten.
“I kept saying I was a grown man, but I was never a grown man.”
That’s right.
I wasn’t a Grown Man. Whenever things got tough, I dragged out the gay martial arts of my previous life. I couldn’t fully reject the boy I was; I was like a water-logged lump.
Just like earlier.
If I were a true grown man, I should have protected my women.
Yet, I couldn’t do that.
I allowed them to protect me. The words spoken by Geumhu, Sosumahu, and Jeoksawol echoed in my head.
Their desperate voices and tear-streaked faces came to mind.
As a man, how could I have made my women shed tears?
No man acted that way. Such a man was just like a eunuch.
“Only eunuchs act like that.”
Indeed. Until now, I had been a eunuch.
Claiming to be a Grown Man, an alpha male, I did Kegel, Jerk, Hanging Exercises every day, consuming foods that boosted my vigor, wielding martial arts to train both my vitality and muscles.
I believed this was how to become a Grown Man. Yet I had only gotten closer to the outward appearance of being one.
My heart still remained a boy.
The past me as a eunuch and the current me hadn’t fundamentally changed at all.
Thus,
I couldn’t break through Hyeongyeong’s Wall.
To transcend Hyeongyeong’s Wall, I had to shed the boy I was. I had to be reborn entirely as a true alpha male.
Simply possessing male equipment wouldn’t make one a Grown Man. One’s heart must also be steadfast to truly become a Grown Man.
The moment I gained this awakening.
Consciousness expanded endlessly. An exhilarating feeling coursed through my entire body. Crack! The solid Hyeongyeong’s Wall cracked.
“Once you’ve realized, start now.”
The boy from my first life looked at me. I reached out. A sword floated in the air and landed in my grip.
Black energy settled on the blade. With that, I swung my sword and cleaved the boy from my first life.
“Rest well. My past self.”
I rid myself of my past as a eunuch.
From now on, I would be reborn as a Grown Man from the heart. My past self smiled away, transforming into light and disappearing.
Boom!
Along with that, the cracked Hyeongyeong’s Wall collapsed with a thunderous roar. Bang! The Upper Dantian whirred with power. The cosmic scenery beyond the fallen Hyeongyeong’s Wall enveloped me.
It was thrilling.
My whole body vibrated with ecstasy. I was reborn as a true Grown Man. Realizing this, I felt exhilarated.
I had experienced this realm in my previous life, but the difference between then and now was vast. The past me had died.
From now on, I was Lee Cheol-soo, the New Grown Man, the absolute master of Hyeongyeong.
I opened my eyes, grinning.
Boooom!
With a loud explosion, the internal energy across my body surged, sending my energy soaring into the sky. Hyulma’s brows twitched.
With the resonance of my Upper Dantian, I awakened the privilege of Hyeongyeong, the Eye of Spiritual Perception, revealing it before me.
Hyulma.
His Demon Body was incomplete. Not only had the last sacrifice, the Jiyagi, fallen to the emperor’s vision talisman, but it also dealt a blow to the Great Method.
Thus, the Manryu Gwijong he unfolded was imperfect. It was originally meant to be flawless, but with the final puzzle piece, Sosumahu, missing, it became flawed.
Amidst the wave of Manryu Gwijong that appeared perfect during the Hwakyung era, I found a faint opening.
And beyond that, I also saw a translucent long thread connecting Hyulma’s Demon Body and his main body. That was presumably the thread linking the two.
‘I’ve awakened the Eye of Spiritual Perception.’
The Upper Dantian symbolizes the divine. Therefore, upon energizing the Upper Dantian, one could gain supernatural abilities, as the martial arts, defined clearly, also became part of this.
The Mind’s Martial Arts and the Eye of Spiritual Perception were part of those supernatural abilities as well.
Additionally, awakening the Eye of Spiritual Perception allowed one to see what had been invisible until now. The Eye of Spiritual Perception also varied in types, depending on the understanding gained through one’s martial skills and experiences.
The Eye I had awakened was the Eye of Spiritual Perception. Unlike the previous life where one could see energy flow, it allowed me to perceive the essence of this world, including the power of sorcery.
And so, I could see it.
A way to reverse this situation.
A flaw in Hyulma that should have never existed, created through a talisman given by the emperor.
If I aimed for that weak flaw and severed the connection between Hyulma’s Demon Body and his main body…
Then this battle would be ours.
“You!”
Surprise flickered across Hyulma’s face. His visage twisted like a demonic beast.
“Right, I see it now! You were that eunuch brat from the Secret Cave, weren’t you?”
It seemed he finally remembered our encounter in the Secret Cave. I looked at him and smiled.
“No, the eunuch I was is already dead. The small-minded eunuch with a small heart perished.”
I lifted my sword.
Yes, the ‘yesterday’ me had died.
What stood here was the new me, born afresh as an alpha male today.
As I thought that, I recited the incantation of the Mind’s Martial Arts I had earned in this second life.
[Ten Years Polished One Sword]
With that, the world warped.
The reversal began now.