Chapter 26

Ch. 26

King of Fist Creates Fortuitous Encounters 4

If he had consumed the Empty Clear Stone Milk in the King of Fist's body, the aftermath wouldn't have been this tremendously devastating. At least eating the Hundred-Year Rehmannia that Qiu Xiong had brought beforehand proved effective.

The medicinal effects of Empty Clear Stone Milk spreading throughout his entire body seemed to mock Dan Wooseong as they passed through. They pierced his blood vessels, broke through blocked areas, and dissolved waste matter.

The Empty Clear Stone Milk was rough, and Dan Wooseong's response was equally rough.

While the spirit creature called Empty Clear Stone Milk entered his body and rampaged about, the man called King of Fist chased after it to capture the spirit creature.

Whenever the spirit creature and King of Fist met, fierce battles inevitably erupted.

Pure power clashed with the King of Fist's martial arts.

However, the space was too cramped.

Qi Cultivation alone couldn't withstand this intense battle.

Surprisingly, Dan Wooseong opened his eyes, unfolded his lotus position, and stood up. Since he was continuously maintaining the five-stage power of White Lightning Ten-Stage Art, hot heat rose from his entire body like shimmering heat waves.

When he came out of the room with his hair disheveled from the heat, the waiting Twin Treasure Brothers spoke with surprised expressions.

"Elder Brother, are you alright?"

Dan Wooseong replied with a reddened face.

"It's hot."

"Pardon?"

It wasn't a hot day at all. It was an evening with cool breezes blowing.

Dan Wooseong spoke to the Twin Treasure Brothers as if telling them not to worry.

"I'll go cool down the heat and return. Don't wait for me."

"Understood."

The Twin Treasure Brothers stared intently at Dan Wooseong.

Then Dan Wooseong, who had been walking slowly for a few steps, unable to control the power boiling up from within his body, dashed forward like lightning while deploying Enlightenment Footwork.

When Dan Wooseong reached the wall in an instant and soared up with Teleportation Light Arts, his figure wrapped in white Lightning Qi flew like an arrow shot from the Galaxy Merchant Group before completely disappearing from the Twin Treasure Brothers' sight.

The Twin Treasure Brothers looked at each other's faces with their mouths slightly open. Yuk Myeongbo said.

"Is he alright?"

Yuk Jinbo replied.

"It would be better to guard the merchant group. Let's wait outside."

The two walked out to the outskirts of the Galaxy Merchant Group. They planned to wait in the cold wind until Dan Wooseong returned.

Dan Wooseong was deliberately running toward the sparsely populated Ganeung Plain.

It was so hot that he thought it would be good if rain poured down heavily. He planned to maximize his body's activity to suppress the Empty Clear Stone Milk's counterattack while simultaneously releasing the rapidly increasing extreme yang inner qi outside his body to alleviate the shock to his dantian.

Thanks to this, Dan Wooseong's lightness technique became increasingly faster.

It was such fierce footwork that whenever he couldn't perfectly control his strength, his footprints would be stamped into the ground with cracking sounds.

If he had managed the power of Empty Clear Stone Milk at home in this state, his residence and annex might have collapsed. He would have literally gone on a rampage.

Dan Wooseong, who had reached the center of the dark Ganeung Plain, ran in circles like a madman to increase his speed, then gradually controlled his breathing while reducing his speed.

The Lightning Qi of White Lightning Ten-Stage Art was swirling throughout his entire body. Dan Wooseong, displeased by the persistently flowing sweat, took off his upper garment and threw it away, then wrapped Lightning Qi around both arms.

Whoosh...!

The white Lightning Qi wrapped around both arms was much clearer than before. Dan Wooseong clenched his fists as if gathering his inner qi again and raised one hand to the sky. If the original qi in his dantian and the newly entered qi weren't harmonious, he planned to release that shock toward the sky.

However, Dan Wooseong systematically suppressed what was happening inside his body while standing. He operated his inner qi, embraced the power of Empty Clear Stone Milk as if sweeping it up, then thrust it into his dantian.

Since he was rapidly becoming stronger while abandoning the harmony called time, pain accompanied as the opposite aftermath.

Dan Wooseong looked up at the sky with gritted teeth.

Suddenly, when he recalled the organization that had been more powerful than any other force and pulled out the defeat more humiliating than death from his memory, the physical pain disappeared as if washed away.

The dark night sky was looking down at the King of Fist.

However, the King of Fist had no fear despite having experienced death once.

Only thoughts of suppressing and making kneel filled his head.

When the events happening inside his body calmed down like a storm had passed, Dan Wooseong lowered his arms and looked at his hands.

Then he examined White Lightning Ten-Stage Art.

From five stages to six stages connected smoothly.

When he deployed seven stages while pouring out inner qi, Dan Wooseong's hands became like small heavens where large and small lightning bolts repeated birth and extinction.

Dan Wooseong concentrated his mind and wrapped White Lightning, the representative technique of White Lightning Ten-Stage Art, around his hands. When his entire hands were dyed white, Dan Wooseong confirmed that the efficacy of Empty Clear Stone Milk had instantly reached eight stages and immediately withdrew his power.

He exhaled deeply and sat down on his knees to regulate his breathing for a moment.

Rough breathing sounds continued briefly in the empty Ganeung Plain.

He didn't plan to attempt nine stages. His body's level was somewhat lower compared to White Lightning Ten-Stage Art. It was natural since it was rapid growth. And at times like this, suppressing greed was skill.

Dan Wooseong spoke as if calming his body and mind.

"...It's enough to become strong for today."

Even after completely melting the power of Empty Clear Stone Milk into his dantian, Dan Wooseong remained in an unexhausted state with energy to spare.

It was meticulous and calm handling.

Dan Wooseong returned to the Galaxy Merchant Group with his upper body exposed.

His appearance was emitting such rough energy that no one could easily act familiar with him. His hair was disheveled, each strand of his eyebrows pointed toward the sky, and his upper body trained in external arts was carved with sculpture-like detailed curves.

Rumors that the Great Young Master of the Galaxy Merchant Group had changed were already widespread...

When Dan Wooseong, who had come out of the house after a long time, was walking the night path, passersby were widening the distance as if moving away.

To people's eyes, it looked like a Buddhist statue of the Four Heavenly Kings had come to life and was entering the Galaxy Merchant Group.

Since Dan Wooseong had actually become the guardian deity of the Galaxy Merchant Group, seeing him this way wasn't awkward. However, Dan Wooseong thought that even the current time was merely a period of enduring hardships for revenge.

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.

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When Lee Ja-eon couldn't overcome drowsiness and briefly dropped his head, Zhou Zi-liang struck Lee Ja-eon's shoulder with the scholar's fan beside him.

Thwack!

Zhou Zi-liang said.

"You brat, if you're going to sleep, you should ask for permission before sleeping. Are you disrespecting me because I'm a private teacher who doesn't know martial arts? Is that it?"

"No, sir."

"It's still broad daylight with the sun shining brightly. Just because you woke up at dawn, you can't overcome such drowsiness? Do you think someone will wait for you to sleep for a bit when you're fighting someone in the martial world if you get sleepy? Or are you taking it lightly because it's studying?"

"No, sir."

Zhou Zi-liang said.

"You must not only learn martial arts. It's an instruction from your senior brother. After eating lunch, you will face me like this every time. Do you think I enjoy sitting here teaching you when you have no interest in learning? You really don't understand people's hearts."

Lee Ja-eon answered.

"Private Teacher, I don't think that way."

Zhou Zi-liang struck Lee Ja-eon's head with the scholar's fan. This time, he couldn't understand at all why the private teacher was hitting him.

Zhou Zi-liang said.

"There's an anecdote that Confucius admonished someone who was defecating by the roadside not to do so. But do you know what Confucius did when he witnessed someone defecating in the middle of the main road?"

"Well? He must have scolded them very severely."

Zhou Zi-liang shook his head.

"No. He passed by silently. He scolded the one defecating by the roadside because that person at least knew shame, but he thought the one defecating in the center of the main road had no such shame, so there was no need to scold nor any value in scolding. He thought of them as a human who couldn't understand words."

Lee Ja-eon stared intently at Zhou Zi-liang.

"Hmm..."

"The reason I hit you is the same. If I don't hit you, know that it means I think of you as someone defecating in the middle of the main road."

Didn't that mean he would continue hitting him anyway? Lee Ja-eon looked at Zhou Zi-liang with a truly surprised expression.

He was a person who didn't know martial arts, yet he was making people afraid with words. Lee Ja-eon's drowsiness had no choice but to completely disappear.

"Yes, Private Teacher. I'll pull myself together."

Lee Ja-eon was becoming as afraid of the scholarly master as the Sword Immortal master, and he was starting to wonder if this was really a fortuitous encounter.

Zhou Zi-liang uttered even more frightening words.

"Ja-eon, if it becomes unbearable for you, you may kill me with those fists anytime. Anyway, your senior brother, me, and you too. These three people are not figures who would be of great help to the world. If you kill me, your senior brother will kill you. Your senior brother will regret killing his disciple and take his own life. Since they're useless lives, it wouldn't be regrettable at all if we became a handful of dirt together on Nine Flower Mountain."

Zhou Zi-liang's words were frightening because he actually thought that way. The identity of being a Failed Scholar was settled deep in his heart.

Lee Ja-eon also felt some unknown pain from his private teacher and replied in a subdued tone.

"Private Teacher, that won't happen. If I do wrong, please scold me anytime. I'll improve going forward."

Zhou Zi-liang nodded.

"Martial arts is the power to kill people. But what causes people to kill is not martial arts but the heart. Even if you learn strong martial arts from your senior brother, you must not forget this point. If you mistakenly use that power to kill innocent people, you become worse than a beast."

"I understand. I'll keep it in mind."

Zhou Zi-liang, feeling that Lee Ja-eon was answering carelessly, spoke in a calm tone.

"You are stronger than me. But what do you think is the reason you don't hit me with those fists?"

"Because you are my private teacher."

"Would you hit me if I weren't your private teacher?"

"That's..."

"You seem to have an older brother. Are you by any chance the youngest in your family?"

"Yes."

"That's unfortunate. It would have been good if you had a younger brother. I wish that younger brother was stronger than you and beat you up a bit. How do you think you'd feel if your younger brother hit you?"

"I don't know."

"A younger brother not hitting his older brother. You not hitting me, your private teacher. It's all the same. Martial arts aren't learned to commit such acts against moral order in the first place. This is also why I dislike martial arts. When such people learn martial arts, they fall into the demon path like Sima Weido. Your expression right now is like this: 'No, I'll only beat my older brother. I won't bother other people.' Would someone who beats his blood-related older brother really be like that? You brat who announced you'd defecate in the center of the main road."

Lee Ja-eon's face also turned bright red.

"From next time, I'll just take the beatings."

"No. If your older brother is someone worthy of respect, you just need to treat him as an older brother. Unless your older brother is on the demon path, he won't mistreat you. So this is again a matter of the heart. It's not a question of whose martial arts are stronger. Let's stop here for today. Go rest for a bit, then do afternoon training with your senior brother."

When Lee Ja-eon was about to get up, Zhou Zi-liang struck Lee Ja-eon's head with the scholar's fan.

"Whether it's your older brother, master, private teacher, or outside elders, show proper courtesy when meeting and when departing!"

Lee Ja-eon respectfully bowed and said.

"This student will now withdraw. Private Teacher."

Zhou Zi-liang nodded with proper posture.

"Good. What did you learn today?"

"I'll engrave it in my heart."

"Was it a story worth hearing?"

"It was helpful."

Zhou Zi-liang waved his hand with a stern expression.

"Withdraw."

"Yes."

When Lee Ja-eon left the shabby wooden house where the Twin Immortals of Nine Flower were staying, Zhou Zi-liang roughly opened his scholar's fan with an unpleasant expression. Zhou Zi-liang slowly waved the fan while thinking.

'Still far to go, you brat.'

He planned to shake that fellow's heart until Lee Ja-eon's anger exploded and he swung his fists at him. Just as Zhou Zi-liang said, he might actually die at Lee Ja-eon's hands.

What if he died?

If his friend's younger brother was reborn as a human who knew shame, Zhou Zi-liang could bear that level of risk. And now he wasn't his friend's younger brother but a pathetic disciple that Zhou Zi-liang had to teach.

Just because he was a man who didn't know martial arts didn't mean he wouldn't risk his life.

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