novelraw Chapter 136 : Five Elements Qi (5)
Chapter 136 : Five Elements Qi (5)
Chapter 136: Five Elements Qi (5)
Ten days had passed.
Jang Woo-hyun still couldn't grasp anything.
"……Uh, um. Mm. That……."
In this dire situation, Lee Ga-hang was at a loss for words. She hadn’t expected him to lack this much talent.
Even martial artists without talent could sense qi within three or four days, but Jang Woo-hyun hadn’t felt anything after ten days.
She briefly wondered, ‘Does he not have any affinity with the Five Elements at all?’ But that couldn't be true for a human.
This simply meant he had no talent. No talent in learning the Five Elements Qi.
"Um… shall we try again?"
"No. Rather than this, I think it’d be better to find a qi that suits me. I can’t keep holding onto this rock forever."
"Ah, right. You’re right. Let’s change directions and try a different qi. That might be better. If it’s not Fire Qi, I won’t be able to help, but maybe it’s something completely incompatible with Fire Qi."
Reaching that conclusion, they prepared a bit more this time and brought back the Five Elements Stone imbued with all five types of qi.
A month passed.
After testing each of the Five Elements in rotation, they ended up back at square one. The only qi Jang Woo-hyun could slightly sense among the Five Elements was Fire Qi.
After spending a month, Jang Woo-hyun changed his thinking.
At first, he had felt impatient, but he resolved not to grow anxious.
Even though he had reached the Realm of Transcendence and ascended, the Five Elements Qi he was now learning was something entirely new. It was a martial art that operated on a completely different principle from anything he knew.
Even back when he first began building Internal Energy through Qi Circulation Breathing Technique at the White Tiger Martial Hall, it had taken quite some time.
With a beginner’s mindset, he decided to approach it as if starting from scratch once more.
When Jang Woo-hyun regained his composure, Lee Ga-hang, on the other hand, began to feel pressed.
She was the Palace Head of Vermilion Bird Palace, one of the Five Pillars of the Martial World.
She couldn’t stay here indefinitely to help. No matter how terrifying Jang Woo-hyun was, she had duties to attend to.
So, she decided to return to Vermilion Bird Palace.
"Master Jang, may I take my leave now? I’m still the head of a faction and can’t remain absent for too long. I also have to consider relations with other sects, and there’s no telling what disputes might arise within our territory."
"Go ahead. I’ve been thoughtlessly taking up your time. I’ll try the rest on my own."
Jang Woo-hyun gave his permission without hesitation. Since he had already learned the basics, he had no intention of holding onto Lee Ga-hang any longer.
"But… would there be any issues with the other sects?"
"Of course. Even though we moved together, we’re still factions dividing up the Martial World. We're also competitors."
Black Tortoise Sect, White Tiger Mountain Manor, Azure Dragon Alliance, Vermilion Bird Palace.
Though they had cooperated at times, just as she said, the four sects were in competition. There were no eternal friends or allies.
"But there’s no one left now."
"Sorry? What do you mean…… Ah!"
As she spoke, Lee Ga-hang realized something. No one else in the Martial World was in any shape to function.
The Thunder Sect Leader Ma Moon-gi, arguably the strongest in the world, had been killed by Jang Woo-hyun, and Azure Dragon Alliance had lost both of its leaders.
Yellow Dragon Temple had already closed its doors, and Black Tortoise Sect Leader No Yuk and White Tiger Mountain Manor’s Naeng Namcheon were severely wounded.
"Huh?"
Following her train of thought, Lee Ga-hang realized one thing.
The only remaining intact expert of the Five-Wheel level was herself.
‘Am I the strongest in the world?’
Lee Ga-hang had done nothing, yet somehow became the strongest in the world.
She looked at Jang Woo-hyun in disbelief.
Because of that strange man who couldn't even properly learn the Five Elements Qi, she had become the strongest in the world.
Even if she went around claiming to be the strongest, no one could dispute it now.
The two surviving masters—one had lost an arm, and the other suffered from severe internal injuries.
‘At this rate, I might be able to unify the Martial World too?’
"If you have matters to attend to, you can go. If I have any questions, I’ll come find you."
Jang Woo-hyun spoke casually, with no real intention behind his words. But to the listener, it sounded very different.
‘No!’
She had to stay here. No matter how strong she was, that only applied if that person wasn’t involved.
That person—no, that being—must not move. Even if she couldn’t seal him, she couldn’t allow him to leave the White Forest. If anyone crossed him the wrong way, it would be a disaster.
"Come to think of it, I don’t have anything urgent. I’ll help with Master Jang’s training here."
Lee Ga-hang smiled brightly.
To commemorate her new status as the strongest in the world, she decided to sacrifice herself for the sake of the Martial World.
She would block that monster’s actions and protect the peace of the Martial World.
‘Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?’
Seeing Lee Ga-hang stare at him with a firm expression and intense eyes, Jang Woo-hyun thought she had suddenly gone weird.
Jang Woo-hyun and Lee Ga-hang were always together. One day, a projection of Kim Min-soo asked,
"Are you dating that woman?"
Only after half his arm was severed did Kim Min-soo never ask that question again.
While learning the Five Elements Qi, Jang Woo-hyun also continued to train in his martial arts. Since the moment he entered the martial path, training had become second nature to him.
Watching him, Lee Ga-hang couldn’t help but be moved.
‘He’s that strong, yet he trains like this every day?’
What Jang Woo-hyun was doing was close to basic training.
He breathed, moved his body, and swung his sword. This repeated every single day.
In the mornings, he trained his martial arts. In the afternoons, he learned the Five Elements Qi from Lee Ga-hang. In the evenings, he assisted the White Horn Tribe with their training.
His life was so repetitive it made one wonder if he was a martial arts maniac.
Influenced by him, Lee Ga-hang also began to train and occasionally sought advice from Jang Woo-hyun.
Though they practiced martial arts of different nature, the words of a martial artist at Jang Woo-hyun’s level were of great help to her.
Lee Ga-hang improved, and the White Horn Tribe also advanced rapidly, thanks to the improvements Jang Woo-hyun made to their martial arts.
In the midst of this, Jang Woo-hyun learned something new.
It wasn’t about the Five Elements Qi. He still hadn’t gotten a grasp on that.
What he learned was the breathing technique of the giants he encountered in the Giant Tree Grove.
A unique method of absorbing surrounding qi at an overwhelming speed through rotation.
Though Jang Woo-hyun absorbed surrounding qi faster than most martial artists, it was nothing compared to the giants.
After continuous analysis during his training, he finally managed to mimic their unique method.
By rotating the qi within his Dantian and body, he created a vortex of qi, allowing him to absorb surrounding qi even faster than before.
There was one small issue.
‘It’s a little unstable.’
In the Lower Realm, there was a lack of natural qi, so it wasn’t perfect. It needed further refinement, something that would likely have to be done in the Central Heavens Realm, not the Dawn Continent.
After completing the unique breathing technique of the giants, he returned to his usual repetitive training. Then, Jang Woo-hyun suddenly felt the urge to give his Black Sword a name.
When Cho-yul and Cho-su had first handed him the sword, it didn’t have a name, and they told him not to name it. It was a sword filled with intense resentment, grudge, and curse—naming it might bind him to its fate.
The Black Sword hadn’t been given to him for combat, but to suppress the power of Windstorm Great Saint’s brand.
But now, things had changed significantly.
He realized that he had formed a bond with the Black Sword through some kind of fate.
And the Black Sword had even helped him when he faced the fragment of a True Immortal.
If the Black Sword hadn’t helped at that moment, everything might have ended without him being able to do anything.
Jang Woo-hyun drew the Black Sword and gazed at it silently.
A sword that showed him mysterious memories and accompanied him on his path.
At this point, it could rightfully be called a companion.
‘Feels a bit late.’
Life had moved quickly here, and he hadn’t paid proper attention. Without Yongwangrin and the Black Sword, he might not even be standing here now.
Jang Woo-hyun stared at the blade of the Black Sword, pondering what name he should give it.
After thinking for a while, one name came to mind.
"I thought of a name for you."
Anyone seeing him talk to a sword might think he was insane, but Jang Woo-hyun didn’t care. He already knew that Yongwangrin and the Black Sword had their own will.
"How about Mukya? It wasn’t a long time, but it was the name of a friend who used to be with me."
Mukya, the first sword he had ever commissioned.
It had broken during the battle with the Usawa of the Demon Cult, Gi Il-gwang, but until he met Cho-su and Cho-yul, it had always been with him.
It was Mukya that served as the hilt when he first met Yongwangrin.
The Black Sword gave no response.
It neither emitted black smoke like before, nor trembled or wailed.
Jang Woo-hyun smiled as he tapped the silent blade of the Black Sword.
"Let’s go with that. From now on, your name is Mukya."
Jang Woo-hyun drew Yongwangrin.
Mukya in his right hand. Yongwangrin in his left.
Holding swords in both hands, he spent the entire day swinging them.
Days of repetition passed. Snow fell and turned the entire White Forest into a world of white, then the seasons changed again and it became a green forest.
About a year had passed.
At last, Jang Woo-hyun infused the Fire Qi into his heart. He had reached the stage referred to here as Il-wheel.
‘Is this even martial arts?’
And then Jang Woo-hyun realized why he had struggled.
This was completely different from the martial arts he knew.
Martial arts that used the Lower Dantian operated by moving Internal Energy through the body, from the Dantian, through the arms and hands, and into the sword. But the Five Elements Qi was not like that.
When the Qi created near the heart surged, Fire Qi formed in his palm directly, without any intermediary stage.
It didn’t seem to utilize Qi already within the body, but rather as if it had suddenly emerged.
‘This is closer to magic or sorcery, isn’t it?’
It felt like drawing in the ambient Qi scattered throughout the world.
Martial arts using the Middle Dantian were called 'sorcery' martial arts, and now he understood why.
"……You’ve done it. Then I’ll teach you the next stage."
After spending over a year together, the two had grown quite close.
While Jang Woo-hyun treated her casually, Lee Ga-hang couldn’t do the same. The more she got to know him, the more of a monster he seemed, making it impossible for her to act comfortably.
"What’s next?"
At Jang Woo-hyun’s question, Lee Ga-hang explained the next phase of training.
Thus, training began anew, and two months later—
Jang Woo-hyun had built power in his Middle Dantian strong enough to be considered a Five-Wheel master in this land.
Lee Ga-hang’s gaze was fixed on Jang Woo-hyun’s chest.
‘Is this even possible?’
Was he really the same man who had been so frustrating and talentless?
He had spent more than half a year just trying to grasp the sense of Five Elements Qi and reached the Il-wheel after a year.
Lee Ga-hang had thought it would take Jang Woo-hyun a long time to reach the next stage. The higher the level, the harder it was to master the Five Elements Qi.
But after he had completed the Fire Qi in his Middle Dantian, Jang Woo-hyun gained power equal to hers in just two months.
‘Freaking monster.’
"Your expression."
At Jang Woo-hyun’s remark, Lee Ga-hang, who had been staring at him like a monster, quickly shook her head.
"Ah! No! It’s nothing! I wasn’t thinking anything!"
Jang Woo-hyun looked at her with pity as she frantically shook her head side to side.
Though she was now arguably the strongest in the Dawn Continent, to Jang Woo-hyun, she still seemed a bit lacking.
Turning his gaze from the awkwardly grinning Lee Ga-hang, Jang Woo-hyun focused on the power settled in his Middle Dantian.
‘Once you get the feel for it, it’s manageable.’
It had been hard to find direction at first because it was completely different from the martial arts he had learned. As the name ‘sorcery’ martial arts suggested, it was closer to spells or magic than martial arts.
But once he completed the first Qi in his Middle Dantian, things changed. Though it resembled sorcery or magic, it also had a common thread with martial arts.
Unlike the general methods used in this land, Jang Woo-hyun trained by using the Qi in his Middle Dantian like Internal Energy in the Lower Dantian.
From that point on, his progress was seamless.
Jang Woo-hyun’s talent in martial arts made it possible. The Five Elements Qi may have been ‘sorcery’ martial arts, but it was still ‘martial arts’ in the end.
Having found his path, Jang Woo-hyun spent the next two months and finally reached a realm worthy of being called a Five-Wheel master.