novelraw Chapter 17 : Why Am I the One Getting Pierced? (2)
Chapter 17 : Why Am I the One Getting Pierced? (2)
The Heavenly Demon Cult, since ancient times, was a religious group that revered fire.
Therefore, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the representative martial art of the Heavenly Demon Cult, also symbolized fire.
An internal energy of extreme yang, enough to burn everything that exists in this world.
That was the true nature of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
For that reason, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art could, in reverse, also burn the practitioner's own body.
That was why, before learning the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, one would learn the Ten Demon Heart Method, a derivative of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, so that the body could adapt to the yang energy.
My hyung-nim gathered his energy.
A faint heat from the Ten Demon Heart Method could be felt from him.
As the internal energy filled the great meridians, the heat grew even stronger.
When one masters the Ten Demon Heart Method, this heat can be perfectly concealed, which means the body can fully withstand the heat of the Ten Demon Heart Method and, at the same time, is a sign that one is ready to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
In other words, this heat felt from my hyung-nim was also proof that he had not yet mastered the Ten Demon Heart Method.
Well, that was now just a matter of time.
My hyung-nim, who had been wearing a comfortable expression, frowned for the first time.
It seemed he was attempting to pierce the minor meridian connected to the first great meridian.
I spoke to my hyung-nim in a low, quiet voice.
"You must not let your concentration waver. Let the internal energy of the Ten Demon Heart Method flow slowly into the minor meridian without breaking!"
The most important thing when piercing the minor meridians is patience. Unlike the wide and sturdy great meridians, the minor meridians are narrow and thin. Piercing them consumes an enormous amount of mental energy.
However, once this process was over, my hyung-nim would be able to learn how to completely control his internal energy.
Sweat was continuously pouring down my hyung-nim's face. This was proof that the internal energy of the Ten Demon Heart Method was excessive.
"The internal energy you're sending is too strong! Reduce the amount a little more. The key is thin and long!"
My hyung-nim's expression relaxed slightly.
It was proof that my words were reaching him, and evidence that his concentration had not wavered.
Soon, the heat felt from my hyung-nim diminished in an instant.
He had pierced the minor meridian connected to the first great meridian.
From here on was very crucial.
The part where most people make a mistake when piercing the minor meridians is right after piercing the first one; their concentration wavers with a sense of relief from success, and they lose control of their internal energy and fail.
I quickly said.
"You've only taken the first step! Maintain your concentration! This is just the beginning!"
Fortunately, my hyung-nim did not make such a mistake. I could see him focusing his mind again and raising his internal energy.
"The minor meridian of the second great meridian will be twice as difficult as the first!"
To pierce the minor meridian of the second great meridian, one had to control the internal energy of the first great meridian and its minor meridian while also piercing the second minor meridian.
The mental energy required was at least double that of before.
The perceived effort would probably be three or four times as much!
Twice as much sweat as before was pouring down my hyung-nim's face.
The heat leaking from his body had also doubled.
The time it took to pierce the first minor meridian was about half an hour.
In that case, the time it would normally take to pierce the second minor meridian would be double that, one hour!
But even though an hour had passed since he started trying to pierce the second minor meridian, there was no reaction from my hyung-nim.
'He's sweated too much so far. At this rate, he might show symptoms of dehydration.'
It seemed we would have to be satisfied with just the first minor meridian for today.
It was a bit disappointing that we couldn't reach the original goal of the second minor meridian, but today's achievement was by no means slow.
'It's only because I'm the standard; by the standards of ordinary people, this is a sufficiently fast pace.'
"Hyung-nim, I think it would be best to withdraw your energy now. If you continue any longer, you might lose consciousness from exhaustion."
If he were to faint here, the uncontrolled internal energy could run rampant and cause internal injuries instead.
Fortunately, I could feel the energy from my hyung-nim gradually decreasing.
It was then. Suddenly, my hyung-nim's face contorted sharply. Then, a groan of pain escaped, and his body began to tremble violently.
I knew instantly that this was a symptom of internal energy going out of control.
In the end, what I had feared had happened.
But there was no need to worry too much. Because I, the top instructor, was right here, prepared for such a situation.
I immediately placed both my palms on my hyung-nim's back and drew up my internal energy to control the rampaging energy.
And then, something unexpected happened.
* * *
The Heavenly Demon, Hyeok Sa-wol, watched the scene unfolding in his home's training ground from the roof of the Heavenly Demon Hall with an interested gaze.
"Now! What will you do?"
If his current guess was correct!
If that child was the child he thought he was!
The current situation happening over there would be nothing more than turning over in one's sleep.
Because demonic energy always bows its head to stronger demonic energy.
The Ten Demon Heart Method is a derivative of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
To subordinate the Ten Demon Heart Method, one must either possess a greater amount of demonic energy.
Or possess a stronger demonic energy.
The amount of demonic energy that child possessed was less than his son's. So, there was only one thing left.
At the scene that unfolded at that moment, the Heavenly Demon smiled more brightly than ever.
"Kuhahahaha! As expected!"
Just then, two elders were passing by the Heavenly Demon Hall. The two looked up at the sound suddenly coming from the roof of the Heavenly Demon Hall and froze on the spot.
The Heavenly Demon was laughing uproariously by himself.
"Did, did you see that? Sword Demon!"
The Spear Demon frantically slapped the Sword Demon's back and whispered in a low voice, even spreading a qi barrier around them.
The Sword Demon, having used a concealment technique, was staring blankly at the roof.
"The, the Lord is laughing?"
In the Heavenly Demon Cult, there was a top-secret piece of information that only those of the grand commander level or higher knew.
It was an anecdote related to the Lord.
Since that day, the Lord had never once laughed. Everyone knew the reason.
Because it was an unforgettable memory for those who had shared in the glory of that day.
How could one forget the thrill of when the flag of the Heavenly Demon Cult was proudly planted in the heart of the Central Plains?
The current Lord was also there as the Young Lord.
The previous Lord was like a great sun to all the people of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
For such a person to have disappeared without a trace, one could not even imagine how much the Lord's heart must have burned.
Nevertheless, the person who overcame that and opened the current Great Demonic Era was the current Lord.
And yet...
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Not just once, but twice!
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Not just twice, but three times!
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Crazy...
The Sword Demon was seriously considering calling a council of elders.
"Spear Demon! We need to convene everyone without the Lord knowing."
"So you think so too!"
"Yes. It seems the Lord is..."
The two spoke at the same time.
"Finally seems to have lost his mind!"
"Finally seems to have gone mad!"
To suddenly laugh out loud by oneself for no reason? It was one of two things.
Either he was already mad, or he was going mad.
The Sword Demon and the Spear Demon looked at each other with more determined eyes than ever and immediately dispersed to convene the council of elders.
It was a very important matter on which the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult depended.
* * *
Gulp!
Did the energies suddenly go crazy?
No! They must have gone crazy. Otherwise, why would someone else's energy be relentlessly flowing into me?
I tried my best to block it from the palm connected to my hyung-nim, but it was useless because the amount of energy my hyung-nim possessed was greater than mine.
So now, the one in a dangerous situation was me.
'Shit! I'm so fucked!'
It was literally true.
The total amount of energy I could handle was fixed. Since I had pierced up to the fifth great meridian, about one cycle was the limit.
But on top of that, about one cycle's worth of energy from my hyung-nim was suddenly flowing in, so there was no place for the energy to go. At this rate, it wouldn't be strange if my body exploded.
I could already feel parts of my body swelling up.
Moreover, the energy my hyung-nim possessed was the Ten Demon Divine Art.
It's inferior to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, but it's an energy that boasts its own yang qi.
It was one of two things: either my body would swell and explode, or I would burn to death from the inside.
There were only two ways for me to survive here.
Either I send the suddenly entered energy of the Ten Demon Heart Method back to my hyung-nim.
Or I create a space for this energy of the Ten Demon Heart Method to stay.
I had tried the first one, but since the energy I possessed was weaker than the Ten Demon Heart Method, pushing it back was impossible from the start.
So, the only remaining option was the second one.
Fortunately, I knew how to do this second method.
'Piercing the great meridians right now is impossible!'
Because it required enormous power to pierce the great meridians. In other words, I had to be able to control all the internal energy in my body. Of course, that was impossible in the current situation.
'If the great meridians are impossible, then it's the minor meridians!'
The minor meridians could be pierced without such strong power. Besides, I currently had one cycle of energy playing around.
And I even had the experience of piercing the minor meridians before my regression.
Once the method was decided, I immediately put it into action.
Because I didn't have much time left.
'At most, one hour!'
The time my body could endure.
If I failed, not only would I die alone, but my hyung-nim would also suffer great internal injuries.
Then, a future like the one before my regression might unfold.
'I can't kill my hyung-nim because of me twice! This time, I will definitely save him!'
I pierced the minor meridian through the energy that filled the first great meridian.
The strange thing was that my hyung-nim's energy from the Ten Demon Heart Method was listening to my words better than I thought.
As if it were originally mine.
Swoosh!
I succeeded in piercing the first minor meridian. As the blocked energy was released at once, the pressure and heat I felt in my body subsided a little.
But the situation was still serious.
I pierced up to the second minor meridian.
Swoosh!
I felt a refreshing sensation twice as strong as before for a very brief moment. It soon disappeared as the heat rose, but I saw a small glimmer of hope.
And the moment I pierced up to the third minor meridian, I could breathe a sigh of relief.
'The pressure and heat have significantly decreased! And I've bought half a quarter-hour more time!'
After that, I carefully pierced up to the fourth and fifth minor meridians, and only then was I able to completely escape the crisis situation.
And with the energy left over after piercing all the minor meridians, I was able to pierce about half of the sixth great meridian.
And the energy that had come over from my hyung-nim, as if its role was done, returned on its own.
'What on earth just happened?'
I couldn't know the cause, but fortunately, I had passed the brink of death.
As a result, I had experienced a fateful encounter of sorts, piercing all the minor meridians up to the fifth great meridian, but this wasn't entirely a good thing.
Because the energy in the great meridians had escaped to the minor meridians, the energy that had originally filled up to the fifth great meridian was now only filled up to about half of the third great meridian.
However, the purity of the internal energy had increased significantly compared to before, and perhaps because I had pierced the minor meridians using the energy of the Ten Demon Heart Method, my internal energy now contained a faint heat that it didn't have before.
And in the process of piercing the minor meridians, the impurities in my body were all discharged as sweat, and the flow of energy in the great meridians became smoother than before.
To sum it up, the internal energy that was originally about one cycle had been reduced to a quarter of a cycle, but the efficiency of the internal energy was much better than before.
In other words, the internal energy that was '3' before was now the same as '1' of internal energy.
A situation where the efficiency had become a whopping 3 times better.
It was then.
"Little brother! Are you conscious?"
My hyung-nim seemed to have woken up.
"Hyung-nim! Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Hurt? I just feel refreshed. And my control over my energy has increased much more than before. This is all thanks to you, little brother!"
Fortunately, my hyung-nim seemed fine. However, I didn't know. My hyung-nim was suddenly moving far away from me.
"Um... little brother."
"Yes?"
"You smell a bit. There's a hot spring in the back over there, how about you go wash up? Of course, it's not that you smell, little brother, it's that I smell."
Ah! I had forgotten for a moment that my body was reeking of a rotten smell due to the impurities that had come out from piercing the minor meridians. And my hyung-nim was saying it was because of him instead.
'My hyung-ah!'
"Your little brother will lead the way."
"N-no! I'll lead the way! The wind is blowing from the back to the front!"
Just how much more radiant can you get!
I resolved on this day.
That no matter what, I would make my hyung-nim the winner of the Divine Demon Great War.
And that evening, at the dinner table.
* * *
"Eat."
Usually, my hyung-nim puts the side dishes on my rice. And I accepted it without hesitation. Because even before my regression, my hyung-nim often did.
I stared blankly at the meat on my rice and then ate it.
"You eat well."
I have to. If I refuse, my head will fly off.
"Then try this too."
I think I'm going to get indigestion.
I don't know why the Heavenly Demon is like this.
'Is he crazy?'
(End of Chapter)