novelraw Chapter 216 : Hell-Piercing Demon-Slaying Staff
Chapter 216 : Hell-Piercing Demon-Slaying Staff
Chapter 216: Hell-Piercing Demon-Slaying Staff
Before I knew it, I realized there was no longer any need to train under the moonlit night.
Because I had come to understand that the largest and most intense star now resided within me.
By the time a chilling cold began to settle over the solid stone floor, I stood at the corner of the training ground, gripping the black staff.
A tremendous amount of gongryeok flowed through my fingertips. A fierce and domineering staff qi, as if it could shatter boulders, coiled around the black staff and made the very air tremble.
Tssss—
Due to the influence of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method, the energy shimmered like pure white starlight.
In battles between masters, internal energy was consumed violently. Especially for Peak Master Level martial artists, if they drew out sword qi during a life-and-death duel, their Dantian would often run dry before even half a shik had passed.
That was how difficult it was to manifest internal energy outside the body.
Though it granted immense power, abilities like sword qi or staff qi were ultimate killing techniques with atrociously poor efficiency.
Thus, in prolonged battles, one did not maintain sword qi continuously, but rather summoned it only when needed.
Yet today, in the training ground of the Eunseong Trading Company, there was a peculiar individual who had maintained a brilliantly condensed white staff qi for over two shik.
“Dog-Beating Dragon Master… you’ve been maintaining that staff qi for over two shik now, haven’t you?”
“Well, he started forming it when training began, so basically…”
“That’s insane. What on earth did he eat growing up to have that much internal energy?”
The escorts training in the center of the ground kept glancing over at me, murmuring in admiration.
It was a phenomenon that began after I shifted my training time from dawn to midday.
If possible, I hoped they’d spread some favorable rumors—like how exceptional my martial arts were.
“Honestly, you’re not even human, Captain.”
It was Ilhong, speaking with a tired expression as I continued maintaining the staff qi for over two shik, with some internal energy still left.
She said that even training under Hwang Geolgae for just one shik left her completely exhausted, and asked what I could possibly have done to accumulate so much internal energy in my Dantian.
At this point, my internal energy had already reached an abnormal level.
‘Hmph… meaningless…’
And the Salseong, whose power had weakened due to good karma, twisted in irritation each time I siphoned its strength.
The red letters sneered, as if mocking me for being ridiculous.
It was annoying how it clung to me every time, but I had begun to take it as a form of praise.
“Mujin, did you secretly take some kind of spiritual elixir without me knowing?”
Jo Harang, who followed me around during training because she said our training styles matched well, sent me a disbelieving look from beside me.
“Spiritual elixir? Yeah right…”
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head. Even as a member of a prestigious clan, I hadn’t taken a single spiritual elixir—it was almost depressing.
Well, I did currently have one from the Murong Clan resting in my possession.
But I hadn’t obtained it for free—I had earned it through rightful compensation after saving my own sister’s life and putting in tremendous effort.
“Heh heh, if you were them, would you give you an elixir?”
As if reading my thoughts, Hwang Geolgae shook his liquor gourd and grinned.
Strangely enough, he had begun overseeing not only Ilhong’s training, but also that of the Purple Tenuity Star, whose relationship with him had initially been awkward.
And when Jo Harang heard he was the one who trained me, she lit up and started tagging along eagerly to train in martial arts.
In Murim, such etiquette was strict—wasn’t it disrespectful for a disciple to serve two masters without permission?
“Hehe, my Master doesn’t care about things like that.”
Rather than a strict master-disciple relationship, it was more like a parent-child bond, and she said her Master would be happy as long as this training helped her.
Well, Jo Harang did seem like someone raised in a warm environment. She had a bright personality, trusted people easily, and was even a bit naïve at times.
On the other hand, my master-disciple relationship was a complete mess. My so-called Master was a drunk who threw punches first and thought later.
There was a reason my personality had become rougher than in my previous life.
“You brat, that look in your eyes is suspicious. You’re definitely cursing this old man in your head, aren’t you?”
It seemed he had read something from my glance.
“As expected of the Divine Wind Daoist, truly perceptive.”
Thwack!
The bottom of his gourd struck the crown of my head.
My head swelled red as I rubbed the spot and pointed it out to Jo Harang.
“Harang, see this? This is how I live.”
Even though he gave advice and taught martial arts, making him seem like a good person at first, the reality was far from it.
He was definitely up to something by teaching her as well.
“Uh… Mujin… maybe it’s because you were being rude first?”
Raised in a good environment, she seemed clueless and said something completely backwards.
“Hey, I act rude because he hits me like that.”
If someone hit me first every time, how could I bow and scrape?
Even I, Dan Mujin, had my pride.
“Heh heh, I hit you because you lack discipline, you brat.”
Hwang Geolgae smirked as he gulped from his gourd.
This constant blaming of each other—that was our master-disciple relationship.
I tossed aside the pointless question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, and asked what I had been curious about.
“By the way, Master. What made you decide to teach Harang too?”
She used to linger near the trading company or wait endlessly at the office until my training ended.
Then one day, Hwang Geolgae suddenly called her into the training ground.
“It’s because your growth is absurdly fast, you brat.”
At his exasperated expression, I shrugged.
It was true—charging into an imperial inspection office just to save a courtesan was insane.
On top of that, I had rescued Juwol-a from a Yin Fiend and even rejected her confession out of concern for her safety… a truly regrettable act.
Because of that, the internal energy in my Dantian had long surpassed one gapja, and now it had reached a terrifying level comparable to a Transformation Realm master.
“Isn’t it a good thing for a disciple to grow quickly? What does that have to do with it?”
It didn’t make sense no matter how I thought about it, so I asked again.
“Heh heh, there should be someone to check you… no, to compete with you, shouldn’t there?”
As I grew and learned more martial arts, it seemed his sense of responsibility had also increased.
“…Honestly, what a troublesome old man.”
Instead of being happy about his disciple’s rapid growth, he was wary of it.
He should be worrying about me, not the Central Plains.
I felt like I had wasted time talking to him.
Shaking my head, I focused on training again.
The sunlight warming my crown, the gazes of the astonished escorts, Jo Harang, Ilhong—I forgot them all and concentrated entirely on the staff.
Tssssss—
The staff qi, denser than ever, formed more clearly.
Though it seemed ready to burst outward at any moment, it clung stubbornly to the black staff.
Even though I thought I had become familiar with sword qi and energy, it seemed I was still far from reaching the level of “Sword Flux” used by Transformation Realm masters.
“How do they even do it?”
No matter how much I pondered or trained day and night, I made no progress—as if blocked by an enormous wall.
“What’s the principle?”
Sword Flux, Fist Flux—the abilities that had threatened my life countless times.
No matter how much internal energy I had, even if I could briefly produce such power, it was far less efficient than sword qi.
In the end, only a Transformation Realm martial artist could stand against another of the same level.
And my path ahead was clearly filled with such enemies. I wanted to obtain that power somehow.
At last, my internal energy ran dry, and the black staff returned to its original color.
I looked at it with regret.
“At your age, you aim for the Transformation Realm? How arrogant.”
My Master scoffed at my failure.
As if it were something that could be achieved just by gathering internal energy, he laughed drunkenly.
“Then how do you reach the Transformation Realm?”
I planted the staff on the ground and asked.
“Hah, your attitude in seeking knowledge is terrible.”
Damn it.
I respectfully offered him some snacks from my pocket and asked again.
He chewed on a honey-filled wheat pancake and replied,
“I don’t know. Everyone’s path is different.”
“…What?”
“However, from what I’ve seen, those who wander the world and accumulate many experiences tend to reach it.”
He added that he himself had achieved great progress after leaving behind the constraints of his position as Dragon Head Sect Leader.
It wasn’t very helpful for now, but at least it gave me direction.
I just had to keep doing my Troubleshooter work.
“I’ve already experienced quite a lot though.”
Hadn’t I gone through things no ordinary martial artist or wanderer would?
“Well, you’ve experienced too much, if anything. Especially getting entangled with the Son of Heaven multiple times.”
He tapped my black staff—the one gifted by Hongnakje—with a strange expression.
He warned that there was surely some hidden intent behind that gift.
Still, I figured I deserved at least a decent weapon after everything I’d been through.
I didn’t want to hear that from someone who gifted me a crudely carved wooden staff or a cheap iron sword.
“Anyway, why are you so obsessed with the Transformation Realm?”
He said he himself had once fallen into inner demons over it and asked for my reason.
I glanced at him briefly, then looked away.
“Ah, you want to pay me back for hitting you?”
Even though I said nothing, he saw right through me and laughed.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I can see it all, you unruly colt.”
After talking with him for over ten minutes, my chest already felt stifled.
As I focused on the tip of the staff again, refining my movements—
At some point, my movements became clearer and sharper than before.
Until now, I had been pouring strength into it, but when I emptied my internal energy, I felt something new.
Watching this, Hwang Geolgae spoke with slight surprise.
“Oh? It seems your Dog-Beating Staff Technique has already reached the 6th stage.”
The realm I wanted hadn’t come, but my staff technique had improved instead.
Unsatisfied, I swung the staff harder, slicing through the wind.
Even without white internal energy, the black staff emitted powerful sounds.
Then Hwang Geolgae suddenly pointed at my staff.
“By the way, what’s the name of that black staff?”
Since it was a gift from the Emperor’s Martial Arts Repository, it should have a proper name.
But I had no answer.
“He didn’t tell me.”
It had been hidden deep within the repository—perhaps its name had been forgotten.
As I explained, Hwang Geolgae tilted his head, examining the staff.
“Hm… how peculiar.”
“Captain, then why don’t you name it yourself?”
I liked Ilhong’s suggestion.
Calling it just “black staff” felt a bit pitiful.
Famous martial artists usually had named weapons, after all.
“Ilhong, lend me your carving knife.”
Borrowing her sharp human-skin mask carving knife, I began engraving a name onto the staff.
“Captain, what did you write?”
With a single flowing stroke, five characters were completed.
“Hell-Piercing Demon-Slaying Staff.”
A staff that would guide evil men to hell.
“Ugh.”
Ihong shook her head, calling it tacky.
“Oh… it might actually be cool…”
Jo Harang, whose nature was to cut down evil, seemed to like it very much.
As expected, only she understood my sense.
“Roar, my black staff.”
A weapon to crush the skulls of all evildoers had just been born.
Its name—
The Hell-Piercing Demon-Slaying Staff.