The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 242

Lee Shin's cultivation method was based on moving three streams of energy—a fiercely burning fire ki, a ferociously flashing lightning ki, and a transparent ki that could mediate between the two—each with its own flow.

In other words, one could only operate the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art] when they could control three flows simultaneously within their body.

"What should I do with these kids..."

In other words, these two, who couldn't do that, hadn't even entered the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art].

"Ugh..."

"Huuuk..."

When Lee Shin first changed the magic power in their bodies into internal energy and accumulated it in their dantians, the two didn't worry much.

Seeing Lee Shin do it as easily as breathing, they thought they could do it easily too.

Grit-

But when they tried to reproduce the flow themselves, the two realized that it wasn't as easy as they thought.

It felt like their heads were running wild in all directions, as if trying to write three different texts with three hands at the same time.

'How did he do that so easily? Besides, that guy didn't just do it for me, but for Rwen at the same time. Is that even possible?!'

Even though she had just experienced it directly, it was hard to believe.

There was no problem in moving the magic power.

Thanks to the Dragon Heart that continuously spread magic power throughout their bodies, the magic power moved where Mio and Rwen wanted, in the way they wanted, like a well-trained hound.

There was no problem with their memory either.

Although they had only heard it once, they remembered the incantations of the cultivation method Lee Shin had told them correctly, and the flow of internal energy that had been flowing through their bodies until a moment ago was still vivid.

The confidence they had wasn't just because their hearts were lifted by the awakening.

The performance of their awakened bodies, which made confidence feel natural, was incomparably superior to their previous bodies.

In other words, the reason they couldn't operate the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art] right now was purely due to a lack of multitasking ability.

"Hmm..."

Lee Shin, who had been watching the two for a moment, placed his hands on their shoulders, observed and adjusted the flow within their bodies, and then said.

"I think we'll have to give up on teaching these kids the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art]."

Although Lee Shin and Irehgue now did it as naturally as breathing while doing other things, moving three flows simultaneously was originally a crazy act.

It wasn't something you could do just because you wanted to, and if the flows of internal energy, which had to constantly cross each other, collided even slightly, it was perfect for sending a person straight to the afterlife.

"Che..."

"Umm..."

At Lee Shin's words, the two bit their lips and looked at him.

Although he felt the two's blatant gazes on him, Lee Shin ignored them and spoke to Irehgue.

"You felt it just now too. If we had left them alone for a little longer, their individually moving internal energies would have collided, and they would have suffered from qi deviation. If that had happened, the minimum would have been hemiplegia."

-...I know.

At Irehgue's drained answer, the two, who had been quiet, lowered their heads.

Lee Shin watched the scene with his chin resting on his palm and then said.

"Then we'll have to teach them a different cultivation method, what are you thinking of teaching them? Since they've accepted my internal energy, it would be good for them to learn a cultivation method of the fire or lightning ki series..."

Lee Shin, who had opened his mouth to ask about the future, stopped speaking when he felt Irehgue's claws on his head digging deeper and deeper.

For a moment, he wondered what had gotten on his nerves this time to resort to such a novel form of torture, but it seemed the situation was not what Lee Shin was thinking.

Not only the claws, but also the wings and tail began to cling to his head, gradually enveloping it.

Only then could Lee Shin roughly understand why Irehgue was reacting this way.

"If you have something you're worried about, just say it. Stop tormenting my poor head."

-Huuung...

Lee Shin sighed softly at the sight of Irehgue hesitating to speak.

This kid wasn't originally like this, but it seemed that now that he had something in his hands for the first time, it had become too precious to him.

So much so that he couldn't even open his hand for fear of it breaking.

"I have a rough idea of what you're thinking. But no matter how much you and I rack our brains, there's only one conclusion, so there's no need to worry."

-...What do you mean by that?

Grin-

"It means to just follow your heart and make a choice you won't regret."

Lee Shin said with a smile.

"If there's something you want, you just have to have it all, and if there's a place you want to go, you just have to make a path and go, right?"

Lee Shin's words were filled with a greedy desire, like a child throwing a tantrum to get a toy.

"So just go for it. Was it just a bluff when you said you'd kill anything that gets in your way?"

But because of that, on the contrary, because of that, it was supremely honest and could accurately pierce Irehgue's wavering heart.

Grin-

-...I do not know what you take me for to say such things.

Irehgue, who had been pushed by Lee Shin, grumbled in a voice tinged with playful laughter and looked at the two who had dejected expressions.

Irehgue did not like their expressions.

And he did not like the current situation that had made them make such expressions.

Therefore, Irehgue furrowed his brow and desperately racked his brain.

Among what Lee Shin and Irehgue knew, the best cultivation method was by far the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art].

It had the disadvantage that if learned incorrectly, it was perfect for causing qi deviation, but aside from that, it had numerous advantages.

That was why Irehgue wanted to teach it to those two.

Because they were his first subordinates, he wanted to make them as strong as possible.

And there was also a personal desire to engrave his own mark on his subordinates.

To do that, he had to break through this frustrating situation right away.

-You there, do you have any ideas?

"Well, I wonder? Honestly, there's no special way. It's a situation where they can't eat the meal that's been prepared for them."

At Lee Shin's words, the expressions of the two, who had been quietly listening in with sparkling eyes, became dejected again.

Thwack-!

Seeing that, Irehgue hit the back of Lee Shin's head with his tail and snapped.

-Say such things in your mind! My subordinates are listening!

"When you're pondering something like this, it's better to say it out loud rather than in your mind. That's how you unexpectedly come up with good ideas."

-...So, do you think a good idea will pop out?

"No, not at all."

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue frowned sharply, then sighed and said.

-What if we first teach them the degraded version of the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art] that you learned before, which only dealt with [Flame] and [Lightning], and then have them learn the current cultivation method once they get used to it?

The method Irehgue suggested was to learn the cultivation method step by step from the bottom up, like climbing stairs.

It was a common method used in many schools, and its effectiveness was proven, but Lee Shin shook his head.

"You know that's impossible too."

The case Irehgue mentioned was a method used when the difficulty of simply learning a cultivation method was high, and it was not a suitable method to use now.

Of course, if they used Irehgue's method, they would get a little used to separating their thoughts.

Seeing the two of them now, it seemed possible for them to handle two flows somehow, so they would surely get better over time.

"But it takes too much time. In the time it would take to teach them that step by step, it's much more profitable to just teach them a different cultivation method."

The difficulty of handling two ki simultaneously and three ki simultaneously was on a different level, to the point that Lee Shin could declare it so cleanly.

"Even we had a hard time adapting when we first developed this cultivation method, so that says it all."

The two said that and fell silent for a moment.

Through the short conversation, they felt that the only way to solve the problem was to improve the fundamental abilities of those two.

Just teach them the degraded version of the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art] that Lee Shin was currently learning?

Then in the end, they would only become half-baked things that were neither here nor there.

It was a bit much for the creator to say this, but the initial [Flame Lightning Tree God Art] was close to a precarious defective product that only contained Lee Shin's desires.

It was Lee Shin's judgment that it would be much better to teach them another proper cultivation method rather than something like that.

-Umm, I do not know what to do. Unless one has two minds in one body like you and me, it is difficult to learn... huh?

"...Huh?"

Having said that, Lee Shin and Irehgue simultaneously stopped talking and fell into thought.

Wooooong--

The mental line connecting the two actively exchanged and shared consciousness and information, beginning to review one possibility.

Seeing that, Mio and Rwen, feeling a glimmer of hope, quietly closed their mouths and looked at the two with sparkling eyes.

And in the tense silence that filled the forest, the first one to open his mouth was Lee Shin.

"Hey kids. Try circulating your cultivation method one more time. Slowly, with as much concentration as possible."

"...Alright."

"...Yes."

The two, who had nodded at Lee Shin's words, took a deep breath to calm their nerves and then followed the flow Lee Shin had shown them a little while ago.

Lee Shin, who had been watching the scene for a moment, said.

"It might be possible."

-Really? You there?!

At Irehgue's words, Lee Shin nodded.

"Yeah, we'll have to change and improve the cultivation method a bit, but it seems possible to do it the same way we do. No..."

Lee Shin looked at the two with an amused expression and smiled.

"Perhaps, if we're just talking about the efficiency of the cultivation method, the way we're planning to do it for these kids might be better."

◎ ◎ ◎

"The pursuers didn't come, but three wild boars did. Well, thanks to them, we filled our stomachs, so it doesn't matter."

Muttering that, Lee Shin dusted off his hands and stood up.

Where Lee Shin had been sitting, there was a pile of wild boar bones.

"Now, you remember the basic terminology and concepts you heard while eating, right?"

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten."

"Yes, I remember."

Nod-

"Good, then I'll explain from now on, so you two get into position first."

At Lee Shin's words, the two nodded and got into position.

However, it wasn't grand enough to be called a position.

It was just them sitting cross-legged facing each other and holding hands.

"Now, let's get this straight. You two are not smart enough to move three ki at the same time."

At Lee Shin's words, Mio and Rwen looked at him with eyes that said they wanted to hit him.

"But it seemed like you could somehow manage about two. So the method I thought of is this."

Lee Shin made a 'V' shape with both hands and held it out towards the two.

"You two become one body and each operate half of the [Flame Lightning Tree God Art]."

One moves [Flame] and the transparent internal energy, and the other moves [Lightning] and the transparent internal energy.

To create a great circulation by exchanging internal energy with each other's bodies connected as one.

That was the solution Lee Shin and Irehgue had thought of.

-It is my and his judgment that it will be sufficiently possible since you will be moving only three flows with a source that can handle four flows.

Following Irehgue's words, Lee Shin placed his hands on Mio and Rwen's shoulders and said.

"There's a saying that twins are one body in two. Now it's time to prove that saying."

At Lee Shin's words, Rwen asked with a dazed face.

"But is that really possible?"

"It's not impossible. Although it's only in records, there were people who actually succeeded. For reference, those two were also twins."

At Lee Shin's words, the two showed slightly relieved expressions.

So Lee Shin decided not to mention that it was information he had gotten from a game community and that those two were the only ones in all of history who had succeeded.

He was just starting to get excited, and it would be a shame for Lee Shin in many ways if the two said they wouldn't do it now.

'Should I give them a little push?'

Having decided that, Lee Shin looked at the two with a wide, smiling face and said.

"Of course, we're not thoughtless enough to tell you to do it right away, so don't worry. We'll have you learn the respective cultivation methods that use [Flame] and [Lightning] first, and then we'll try."

-And when we try, I will act as a controller between you and help the flow of internal energy to be smooth, so do not worry.

At Irehgue's words, the two quietly nodded.

Judging that their anxiety had subsided, Lee Shin now decided to add some enthusiasm to the two.

"Well, there are certainly some uncertain aspects, but if you succeed, you'll be able to accumulate internal energy and become strong at an incredibly fast rate, incomparable to others."

-Since you both have Dragon Hearts, it will be even faster.

At the two's words, Mio and Rwen showed tempted expressions.

"On top of that, if you just decide on the weapons you'll use, I'll create martial arts forms for you, and I'll also create a formation that allows you to use your martial arts together. Then revenge will be simple."

Lee Shin thought of the words 'Down with the 108 Arhat Formation!' in his mind and smiled slyly, but on the outside, he only showed a pure smile to the two.

At that, Irehgue debated whether to stop this or not, but since it wasn't harmful to his disciples, he decided to just let it be.

-But leaving the formation aside, are you planning to create new forms as well?

"Of course. Even if they choose the spear as their weapon, I have to create forms for them. I can't just leave them without any forms like me."

At those words, Mio looked at Lee Shin with a strange expression.

"What, you don't have any forms?"

"Well, something like that. I only use basic spear techniques."

Lee Shin looked at the two for a moment and then said.

"Want me to show you?"

At Lee Shin's words, Mio and Rwen nodded slightly.

(End of Chapter)