While Ichilbok was intensely training with Wolhyang, Dokgorin was not just idly sitting around.
In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was undergoing even harsher training than Ichilbok.
This was understandable, as she was currently challenging the pinnacle of mastery at a tender age, attempting to break through to the realm of transcendence.
Although she had previously walked this path before her regression, Dokgorin had reached the state of transcendence at the age of adulthood (30 years).
Now, being only fifteen years old, she had just caught up to half the age she had when she regressed, making it a daunting task to bridge a temporal gap of fifteen years in just two.
“So, we have to use shortcuts.”
Baek Yujin, who had decided to be Dokgorin’s mentor for the next two years, said this.
“A shortcut?”
“The process you went through before regression to reach transcendence was a kind of predestined harmony. You went up when it was time to go up, and you broke when it was time to break.”
Reaching transcendence is an occurrence that typically happens naturally, like a bird hatching from its egg, when one’s spiritual energy reaches a certain level.
“But how do we bring that timing forward?”
At Dokgorin’s question, Baek Yujin chuckled and said, “Generally, martial artists train primarily with essence and qi, so the development of spirit is usually the slowest. This is why it’s hard to reach transcendence, which is a realm considered to be among the elite masters of the current martial world. Why do you think skilled fighters go into caves to meditate when they reach a certain level? It’s all a process of honing their spirit.”
“…I see.”
“You, in your current state, have already achieved quite a high level of essence and qi. That’s probably because you still retain your memories from before your regression. If that’s the case, then simply raising your spirit to an adequate level should allow you to break through the wall, though the process of honing your spirit is more about mental discipline, so it could take years using conventional methods.”
In other words,
“Starting now, you need to train to become an immortal.”
“…Training to become an immortal?”
“Of course, I’m not asking you to become an immortal. Even if you train from now on, reaching the level of an immortal will probably take you at least several decades.”
However, the training to become an immortal is the very act of honing one’s spirit.
“To put it simply, it’s the quickest shortcut to refine what you currently need.”
“…I think I understand what you mean.”
Saying that, Dokgorin asked Baek Yujin, who was sitting on a rock.
“So, what should I do now?”
Baek Yujin replied in a calm voice.
“Practice the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword.”
That is the fastest way for you to reach transcendence.
*
The Nine Heavens Mystical Sword was a martial art that evoked a complex mix of emotions for Dokgorin.
This was understandable because her family, the Dokgo clan, had been annihilated by a vicious enemy targeting the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword.
In a sense, it was the reason her clan was destroyed and the cause of her unhappiness, so even though it was a martial art left behind by her ancestor, Dokgopa, she couldn’t help but hold some resentment.
Thus, knowing it was a good martial art, she had kept her distance, but ultimately found herself in a situation where she had no choice but to learn the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword again.
‘Did my brother anticipate this situation?’
Though she could not know the truth now, it was certain that the martial art was one that her father and brother had protected with their lives, so Dokgorin steeled herself and opened the manual for the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword.
“……”
Typically, every book has an author’s preface.
In the preface of the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword, the following was written:
究窮無敵 (Ultimate Without Equal)
得意心訣 (Secrets of Mastery)
天下獨孤 (Alone in the World)
‘…So it’s saying strong people are always alone, huh?’
It was a phrase that gave much to ponder, so Dokgorin reflected on the words written at the beginning of the book and opened to the middle of the manual.
‘Heart Techniques.’
As a direct descendant of the Dokgo clan, she was now venturing into an unknown realm, having only learned the sword techniques of the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword.
Flipping the page carefully, she found words densely packed together.
Unlike the sword techniques, which included detailed illustrations for clarity, the heart techniques were mostly related to mental discipline.
“The Three Flowers Converging is also known as the Three Yang Converging: Yin in the middle of Yang, Yang within Yang, Yang among Yin and Yang. These three Yang are what return to the heavens after turning inward.”
“The golden elixir is transformed within the Golden Elixir, and the Five Energies give birth to the Yang Spirit, transcending the Inner Source.”
‘Traditional Taoist-style meditation methods, huh.’
According to the heart techniques, the ultimate goal of mastering the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword was to become a Sword Immortal.
It seemed that her ancestor, Dokgopa, had dreamed of freely wielding nine swords, like the Nine Heavens Sword Woman she met in a dream.
Of course, no one knew if the author of this book truly reached the realm of Sword Immortal in his later years, but just reading it was enough to instill the conviction that the Nine Heavens Mystical Sword was indeed an incredible martial art.
“Transforming within the Golden Elixir…”
She began to slowly circulate her chi according to the method written in the book.
The Three Flowers Converging (三花聚頂) meant the most ideal form of the lower, middle, and upper dantians, closely related to the balance of essence, qi, and spirit that Baek Yujin had mentioned earlier.
‘The lower dantian gathers five disasters (厄), the middle dantian gathers five energies (氣), and the upper dantian gathers three Yang (陽).’
As she slowly circulated her chi according to the heart techniques, she felt an unknown power blooming from her upper dantian.
‘Is this the way of Taoism?’
When martial artists utilized martial arts, they made use of this very do power when Taoists invoked their spells.
At first, it was small, like a speck of dust, but as she began to earnestly operate the Taehuh Heart Techniques, it gradually began to expand.
‘Who would have thought the Taehuh Heart Techniques had this much ability?’
She was astonished internally, and just as she opened her eyes that were closed in concentration, she was greeted with a surprising sight.
“!”
To her astonishment, the stones that had surrounded her were floating in the air around her.
The moment she was taken aback and released the Taehuh Heart Techniques, the stones dropped to the ground, as if nothing had ever happened.
“What the…?”
The moment she muttered in disbelief, Baek Yujin, who had been watching her practice from the side, spoke up.
“It’s telekinesis.”
“Telekinesis?”
“It’s the power to move objects just by thinking about them. It seems you’ve successfully activated your upper dantian.”
Saying this with a rather amused smile, Baek Yujin then stated, “Now, as your teacher, I give you your first assignment: Move that rock over there using just your telekinesis.”
When Dokgorin turned to look where Baek Yujin pointed, she involuntarily took a deep breath.
The rock Baek Yujin indicated looked like it weighed over a hundred pounds by a glance.
“You want me to move that using just telekinesis without touching it?”
“Right. You need to output at least that much to advance to the next stage.”
“Can you do it?”
When Dokgorin asked with doubtful eyes, Baek Yujin shrugged and wiggled his finger.
Then, the rock that had just been sitting on the ground floated into the air.
“…….”
In an instant, Dokgorin went dumbfounded.
“Since I’ve shown you, you should do the same, right?”
Baek Yujin said this with a playful expression, smiling widely, as Dokgorin let out a deep sigh and said, “Fine, I’ll just do it. It’s not like I can’t do it.”
Thus, the training of their temporarily established master-disciple relationship began in discordant harmony.
*
Time flows like a river.
Especially if one is only doing monotonous, repetitive tasks; the pace of time passing becomes unimaginably fast. One might blink and find that spring, summer, autumn, and winter have gone by, only to see spring again.
Two years.
A time that can be short yet long.
While it’s just three months left after returning from military service in modern terms, in the world of martial arts, two years can pass in the blink of an eye.
This is because, when one practices diligently every single day, there comes a moment when they completely forget about the passage of time.
Training every day, honing oneself daily, and persevering constantly leads to a sudden realization at some point:
I have crossed another wall.
On precisely the 693rd day since she began secluding herself in the Myoseondong to practice, she was free sparring with Wolhyang when an enlightening moment struck her.
While they were mid-fight, she suddenly sat on the ground, crossed her legs, and started to regulate her breathing, prompting Wolhyang to look at her with an expression of pride.
“You have finally broken through a wall.”
Although personally, she felt it had taken too long, in this moment, she was immensely joyful.
Because she had finally reached the pinnacle of mastery she had long yearned for.
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