novelraw Chapter 50 : The Liberation Pill (3)
Chapter 50 : The Liberation Pill (3)
Excluding the third-rate and second-rate, there are roughly three million martial artists in the Central Plains and beyond.
The one million guards of the Imperial Palace.
The five hundred thousand martial artists from the northern regions, Mongolia, the North Sea, the Southern Man, and the Western Regions.
The one and a half million martial artists of the Orthodox, Heretical, and Demonic factions.
Among the martial artists who have stepped on the realm of first-rate or higher, only about thirty have reached the Demonic Zenith or Transformation Realm, which is called the pinnacle of martial arts.
Based on the standard of first-rate or higher, the probability is one in a million.
Only thirty out of three million people can reach the realm called the Demonic Zenith or Transformation Realm.
And it was also the realm I was about to challenge.
If I were to fail this time, I had a feeling that I might never be able to reach the Demonic Zenith.
It could be said to be natural. Because if it were reality, I wouldn't have even thought of challenging it in the first place.
Because failure would lead directly to death.
To be honest, when I had imagined it in my head several times, it didn't make sense.
There are a total of nine great meridians in the body.
When all the great meridians are filled, it is called the Peak.
And when all the minor meridians connected to the great meridians are filled, it is called the Transcendent Peak.
Then, to put it simply, to reach the Demonic Zenith, wouldn't it be enough to fill the tenth great meridian?
Because until now, the standard for expressing the stages of martial arts had been the great meridians.
If you fill up to the first, you're third-rate.
If you fill up to the second, you're second-rate.
If you fill up to the third, you're first-rate.
If you fill up to the ninth, you're at the Peak.
If you fill up to the ninth and even the minor meridians, you're at the Transcendent Peak.
To put it simply, if you fill up to the tenth, you're at the Demonic Zenith.
What an easy calculation.
Then someone will ask this question.
You idiot! There are only nine great meridians, so doesn't the tenth great meridian not exist!
Isn't the thought you're having just the imagination of a delusional person with no basis!
Of course, that's right!
But what am I supposed to do when I can't think of any other way!
And if it doesn't exist, can't I just make it?
How?
What are you saving the minor meridians for!
In theory, if you combine the minor meridians attached to three great meridians, it becomes large enough to make one great meridian.
Of course, the idea of detaching minor meridians to make a great meridian is something that has never happened in history.
What kind of organ is a minor meridian?
Simply put, it is related to the senses, and deeply, it is related to the mind.
If this minor meridian is injured, not only will there be a problem with the function of the senses, but if it is severe, there will also be a problem with the mind.
And it is known that unlike the great meridians, the minor meridians are almost impossible to heal. Among the physicians, there were also people who called the minor meridians nerves.
Even if it were to recover, it could be said to be close to a miracle.
And now, I was trying to detach and attach such a thing at will. If a physician had heard this, they would have wondered if this was even a human being, but fortunately, I was not a physician.
The species called martial artists are those who live by their hearts, not their heads.
Until now, I had hesitated because of the fear of failure.
Because it didn't make sense, I couldn't even challenge it.
It wasn't much different even after I had regressed. And in the end, when I had reached the very end, I realized again.
That even after I had regressed, the being called me was still engulfed in fear.
In the end, the honey-sucking life I was pursuing could only be possible if I overcame the fear within me.
How long will I live while being mindful of others?
Is that life really a honey-sucking life?
I can affirm that it is 'not!'
Before my regression, how much had I been mindful of others?
I felt it every time I woke up in the morning, that there is no paradise in the place you run away to.
The act of saying you're happy while avoiding your junior sister or the Heavenly Demon is nothing more than the delusion of a fugitive.
What is a delusion! It meant that it does not exist in reality.
Life is nothing special! It's nothing, I say!
Even if I fail, I'll come back anyway!
It has been proven through ten experiments.
Crack.
I cut off all the minor meridians attached to the three great meridians. And with that, I began to create a new, tenth great meridian.
It was not as easy as I thought to create something new that did not exist before.
It felt as if several hours had passed. I was finally able to create the tenth great meridian.
I opened my eyes.
I felt a decrease in my senses.
My vision was also lowered, and I couldn't see well.
Damn it! Is it a failure?
Swish.
The me of Transcendent Peak (II) approaches.
Seeing that the sword qi was over a foot long, I could tell that the me of Transcendent Peak (II) had used all his strength.
With the thought that I had nothing to lose, I began to fill the great meridians with internal energy.
The internal energy filled up to the ninth great meridian. After that, the internal energy spread to the minor meridians. And yet, the sensation of the detached minor meridians did not return.
It feels like I'm wearing another thick membrane over my skin. I'm screwed.
The me of Transcendent Peak (II) swung his sword. A bundle of sword qi was shot at me.
I poured internal energy into the tenth great meridian.
At that moment.
The world changed.
The senses expand.
The vision becomes clear.
It goes even further than that.
And things that were not visible began to be seen.
It is said that sword qi is made by clumping together bundles of sword qi. That was both right and wrong.
It was true that bundles of sword qi were clumped together, but sword qi was a different kind of thing from sword qi.
If I were to compare their binding force, should I say it's the difference between paper and steel?
The structure that makes up the material was completely different.
But now, in my vision, which was filled with the tenth great meridian, I could see the grain that made up the sword qi.
It wasn't just the sword qi.
Everything in this world had a grain.
In the wind, and in the ground.
I, whose senses had become extremely detailed, could see. I could feel. I didn't know how, but I just saw and felt.
I thought I roughly knew what the effect of the tenth great meridian was.
I don't know if it's because I made it with minor meridians, but it was a breakthrough of the limits of the senses.
The senses, which had been enhanced to the extreme, showed me the future.
I knew what this was.
The future vision that is only shown when you reach the Demonic Zenith.
I had heard that those who had reached the Demonic Zenith had trained something of their own to the extreme, and based on that, it allowed them to predict the future.
I had thought it was just bullshit that the guys who had reached the Demonic Zenith were saying to look cool, but it was real.
That was what I was seeing now. It was completely crazy. It was at the level of a psycho.
The future vision was showing me things I hadn't been able to see before.
What I had thought was my full-powered attack was a lie. The me of Transcendent Peak (II) was preparing a second attack in case the attack failed.
A thrust.
Without even waiting for the second attack, I put my hand on the bundle of sword qi that was being shot at me.
When the finger covered in strong qi touched the bundle of sword qi, the sword qi scattered as it was.
It was the result of accurately touching the grain that existed between the sword qi and the sword qi.
And I lightly swung my sword.
The swinging sword had no special technique or skill.
I had just swung it along the grain that was visible in the air. But the me of Transcendent Peak (II) could not dodge it and was cut as he was.
The me of Transcendent Peak (II) died.
* * *
I opened my eyes.
"As expected, I knew you would succeed."
Yang So-pyeong was in front of me. I immediately drew my sword and swung it.
"Oops! I didn't know you would move as soon as you woke up."
Yang So-pyeong's collar was cut.
"It wasn't a dream?"
I examined my body, and I could feel the tenth great meridian.
"You must have had a dream that was like reality. How many times did it take you to succeed?"
It seemed that Yang So-pyeong knew what I had experienced.
"It was the tenth time... but what did you feed me?"
"Oh-ho! You're saying you're the same as me. Then it means there's no difference between you and me."
I couldn't understand what Yang So-pyeong was saying.
"Enough. For now, I've decided to subdue you and then think."
"If I kill you, can I become the real one?"
"Are you still talking about real and fake? Aren't you tired of it?"
"I see. You and I were not different after all. Now I can kill you with peace of mind."
He's a strange guy. If he had wanted to kill me, he could have killed me when I was sitting in the lotus position after feeding me the Liberation Pill. Before that, he had a chance when we first met.
When I looked up at the sky, it didn't seem like much time had passed.
I don't know why the tenth great meridian exists even in reality, but I filled up to the tenth great meridian with internal energy.
Yang So-pyeong swung his sword. An attack that I had thought I could never dodge before.
I raised my sword and blocked it.
"Hehehe. You've also crossed the wall."
"You've reached the Demonic Zenith yourself. Are you being condescending?"
"But it's surprising. That you can fight right away."
Yang So-pyeong had been lying down for over a month after crossing the wall. The Liberation Pill uses the body's true power. To put it simply, true power is the same as innate qi.
In other words, while you are in the dream that is like reality, which the Liberation Pill shows, your innate qi is consumed. If you reach the Demonic Zenith, you recover as much as you have consumed, but if you don't, you reach death.
However, the recovery does not happen immediately, but gradually through breathing with the heavens and the earth.
Therefore, a person who has woken up after taking the Liberation Pill must lie still for over a month, unable to even move a finger...
Yoo Jae-ha, on the contrary, was moving as usual. No! He was running wild.
The fight of those who have reached the Demonic Zenith can be said to be a fight with future vision.
They see each other's future.
They intervene in each other's future.
As a result, the future changes.
Then they see another future.
A ceaseless battle of wits.
Yoo Jae-ha swings his sword. Yang So-pyeong dodges and splits the space vertically. Thump! Yoo Jae-ha raises his sword blade and lightly pushes it. The sword blade bounces up. He performs a sword strike in the revealed space. Yang So-pyeong distances himself by moving back. Yoo Jae-ha stood still.
If he had entered that space just now, he would have been hit by the palm technique that Yang So-pyeong had prepared.
Just then, a presence was felt from all directions.
"You're finished now, So-pyeong."
Yoo Jae-ha's friendly call made him feel quite bad.
It seemed that it was impossible to maintain a qi barrier even in a fight with someone who had reached the Demonic Zenith.
The group of Heavenly Demon Cult warriors who had been spreading a net were now coming this way, feeling the qi wave of the fight just now.
Yang So-pyeong grinned.
"Are you laughing? So-pyeong. Have you lost your mind?"
"Hehehehe."
"He's a madman."
"Yoo Jae-ha, you are certainly special. But you've just awakened, so there's no way you don't have any aftereffects."
At that moment, Yoo Jae-ha's eyes widened.
Things that were not visible or felt before were now visible, having pierced the tenth great meridian and reached the Demonic Zenith.
"You bastard! You're really a madman."
Yoo Jae-ha could see how Yang So-pyeong had reached the Demonic Zenith.
Yang So-pyeong was originally a Six Yang Divine Meridian.
And now, Yang So-pyeong was not a Six Yang Divine Meridian.
"I realized through the fight with you. That there's no need to be bound by six."
The Nine Yang Divine Meridian.
The superior constitution of the Six Yang Divine Meridian.
Yang So-pyeong had reached the Demonic Zenith by making all nine great meridians into one.
If you were to ask, 'Is that possible?', I would of course say it's impossible. If someone were to see the method Yang So-pyeong had used and say, 'I want to try the Demonic Zenith too!' and challenge it, they would get a great meridian stenosis and their great meridians would tear or break, and they would die.
Of course, the method I used was also the same.
Perhaps it should be seen as a method that was possible because it was Yang So-pyeong, who was a Six Yang Divine Meridian.
And just like me, there must have been some effect.
I had also gained something beyond the senses, which I could never have had before, by creating the tenth great meridian.
What did Yang So-pyeong gain?
"Die, Yoo Jae-ha!"
Yang So-pyeong swung his sword.
A crescent-shaped sword qi flew at me. Seeing that, I could roughly guess what Yang So-pyeong had gained.
Yang So-pyeong, who was a Six Yang Divine Meridian, originally held yang energy. And Yang So-pyeong, who had become a Nine Yang Divine Meridian, had become able to hold more yang energy.
Should I say it's an extremely compressed, high-concentration yang energy?
If I were to give it a name, would it be something like True Yang Qi?
Anyway, what was flying at me now was a sword qi, and it could be said to be yang energy itself.
In fact, where the sword qi had passed, not a single blade of grass was left, and everything was burned, and the ground was on fire.
I read the future in an instant with my future vision.
If I were to give a shock to the grain of the sword qi, that True Yang Qi would not scatter, but would explode as it was.
In other words, that was Yang So-pyeong's countermeasure to the attack that scatters the grain, which I had learned after reaching the Demonic Zenith.
'This is the fight of the Demonic Zenith!'
The minor meridians are largely related to two things.
Senses and mind.
Until now, I had been fighting relying only on my senses. Because that was enough. But not now.
For the first time, I strengthened my mind.
Time flowed slowly.
In it, I also moved slowly.
Therefore, I could swing my sword more precisely than usual.
Swish.
I kicked off the ground.
I thrust my sword into the middle of the sword qi as it was.
The sword qi split in half along the grain. The sword qi, which should have exploded right away, was advancing as it was, split, without even knowing that it had been cut. A moment later, the sword qi explodes.
An impossible feat if the thrust had deviated even slightly from the grain.
My sword was touching the tip of Yang So-pyeong's throat.
At the same time, I released the strengthening of my mind. I felt a sharp consumption of my physical strength. It seemed that this technique should only be used in important moments.
"So-pyeong, it's really the end now."
The presence I had felt earlier had arrived. They were the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Cult. The 3rd rank of the 10th unit had come, leading his subordinates.
Yang So-pyeong was still smiling wryly.
"It's surprising. I didn't know you would counter it that way. Yes, it's the end now."
Stab!
A single sword thrust from behind.
When I turned around, the 3rd rank of the 10th unit and his party were grinning unpleasantly.
At this moment, I understood how the three brothers of the Orthodox Faction had stolen the secret manual from the Nine Demon Treasury.
And how Yang So-pyeong had appeared brazenly in a place where a net had been spread.
There was a traitor. The traitors were the 3rd rank of the 10th unit and his subordinates.
"Shall I kill him?"
"I'll finish it myself."
Yang So-pyeong shot a sword qi full of qi at me. I raised my sword and barely blocked it, but my body was falling off a cliff.
"Shall we follow and finish him?"
"It's fine. Another pursuit team will come soon. And since he was hit by my sword qi and fell from this height, he's either dead or at least crippled."
* * *
I opened my eyes.
My body wouldn't move.
I had twisted my body at the last moment and had been able to avoid a fatal wound.
"Seol-a! Hyung-a has opened his eyes!"
"It's true! Hwi-a! What do we do now!"
I could see a girl and a boy who looked to be about twelve years old. Seeing their similar faces, they seemed to be siblings. My body wouldn't move.
I said.
'Water!'
My voice wouldn't come out.
I felt like I was going to die of thirst.
"Seol-a! Hyung-a is cold! I think we need to raise the fire in the room! Noona said that when you're sick, being warm is the best!"
"Ung! I understand!"
In an instant, the temperature of the room rose.
Sweat poured down.
'Give me some water!'
Is this a new kind of torture?
If this is the case, just kill me