Chapter 2: Magyo overthrow

Immense energy raged within his body, threatening to burst.

Then, the clashing energies, having lost control, tore through his blocked meridians and began to rampage throughout his entire body.

The rampant energy, branching out in all directions, broke through the Ren and Du meridians, which had been turbidly blocked by impurities.

In the human body, there are paths through which qi flows.

The Ren and Du meridians, combined as the Ren-Du Meridians, can be considered the highways among them.

The unblocking of the Ren-Du Meridians signifies that internal energy, originating from the Dantian, now circulates through the body.

This means the true qi accumulated in the Dantian will not dry up, and high-difficulty techniques can be easily executed.

Simultaneously, all the minor meridians throughout his body were also unblocked.

As the minor meridians opened, the surging innate qi began to be absorbed seamlessly into the minute blood vessels stretching to every corner.

The physical foundation of the Pure Spirit Body was complete.

Cheong-un’s senses were heightened to their extreme.

His body began to transform moment by moment.

The Natural Qi absorbed through the minor meridians steadily filled his Dantian.

If refined and processed natural energy is internal energy, then unprocessed, pure energy is called Natural Qi.

The Empty Spirit Body is a physique that absorbs Natural Qi.

With the Empty Spirit Body now activated, Cheong-un no longer needed to separately refine or process Natural Qi.

Since he could freely wield the Natural Qi spread throughout heaven and earth, there was no longer a reason to accumulate internal energy.

“Wow.”

Cheong-un genuinely marveled.

His body felt so light, as if it could fly.

His empty Dantian was flooded with Natural Qi, surging in like a tide.

The overflowing energy, beyond full, was emitted through the minor meridians throughout his body in the form of steam.

[ ‘Unique Trait: Annihilate the Demonic Cult!’ is active! ]

Words appeared before his eyes.

A faint smile played on Cheong-un’s lips.

No martial artist could transcend realms in such a manner.

But it was possible within a game.

Moreover, this was, coincidentally, the world within a game.

Therefore, Cheong-un quickly began to adapt to his transformation.

Grinning, Cheong-un swung the fishing line in his hand from side to side.

Kwagagagak—!

The fishing line, imbued with internal energy, emitted materialized sword qi, raking the ground.

Namgoong Yul’s mouth hung open as if she were dazed, and Sa Woon-cheon, having witnessed a realm he had only heard of, couldn’t even breathe loudly.

‘A disrespectful brat dressed like a beggar.’

Sa Woon-cheon’s first impression of Cheong-un was merely that.

‘Though he knew how to handle internal energy, he was at best a common street ruffian.’

‘The aura, the energy he exuded, all of it was insignificant.’

But now, that thought was uprooted entirely, heading towards a different possibility.

‘Shit! He’s a master!’

‘It’s astounding enough that he can make that thin fishing line stiff and wield it like a sword, but to even infuse and release such clear sword qi…!’

‘A master, and not just any master, but at least a Peak Master.’

‘Damn! Is this even possible?!’

‘A mere youth who just shed his boyish appearance, a Peak Master?!’

“Um, by any chance, are you a master from a certain school?”

“Why are you calling me a ‘departed one’? Do you want to die?”

“…”

Cheong-un scoffed and took a step forward.

Sa Woon-cheon stumbled backward, his face pale.

The killing intent emanating from the approaching absolute master pressed down on his heart.

Sa Woon-cheon finally stomped his foot and shouted.

“Attack!”

Simultaneously with his cry, five masked figures, who had arrived unnoticed, burst out from beyond the thickets.

Judging by the way they held their swords and attempted to form a formation to surround him, they seemed to be some sort of elite riff-raff.

Cheong-un casually swung the fishing rod in his hand.

The fishing line, flying with a flick, swirled through the air as if performing an art, then pierced through the foreheads of the masked figures one by one, as if stringing beads.

“Kuek!”

The masked figures, whose foreheads were suddenly pierced, made various gurgling sounds, lost their balance, and collapsed.

It wasn’t a sword, but a fishing line.

A mere fishing line sent five martial artists to the River Styx in a single move.

“Crazy!”

Sa Woon-cheon, disgusted by Cheong-un’s overwhelming martial prowess, executed his footwork.

Instantly, Cheong-un’s figure leaped a distance of about one *jang* (approx. 3 meters), appearing before Sa Woon-cheon.

Terrified by the movement technique that truly seemed to cross space, Sa Woon-cheon frantically tried to turn his body, tripped over his own feet, and fell.

“!!!”

‘I’m going to die.’

‘I’m really going to die!’

“P-Please spare me!”

“Why don’t you just die gracefully?”

‘Cruel handiwork, turning five people into skewers with a fishing line.’

‘An appearance so young, it felt almost childish.’

‘And even that eccentric personality and way of speaking.’

‘Surely, this man is a legendary heterodox master who has undergone bone-cleansing and marrow-changing!’

“Why are you doing this to a fellow heterodox practitioner?!”

“Damn it! Who are you calling heterodox?!”

“Keok!”

Cheong-un immediately began to beat Sa Woon-cheon.

Since beating him with full force would surely kill him, he adjusted his strength appropriately and pummeled his entire body.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

He just beat him, without regard for techniques or anything.

He beat him, beat him, and beat him again.

Because there was still something he needed to ask him.

“Mister.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You’re from the Demonic Cult, aren’t you?”

‘How did he know that?’

Sa Woon-cheon swallowed hard.

“Your answer?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right!”

“But why is someone from the Demonic Cult here?”

“Although I was once part of the Demonic Cult, that’s just the past. Now, I am with the Black Forest Gate…”

“So. You’re not affiliated with the Demonic Cult now?”

“T-That’s right.”

Cheong-un nodded.

‘So, even if they wash their past, a demonic practitioner is still a demonic practitioner.’

The system’s accuracy was, as expected, beyond doubt.

“So, among the many demonic practitioners, you’re just a nobody?”

“That’s right.”

“Since you have nothing, you probably don’t know anything either, right?”

“Th-That’s also right.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Cheong-un sighed and stood up.

“Tsk. What a bust.”

“P-Please, just spare my life…”

Before Sa Woon-cheon could finish his sentence, Cheong-un casually swung his fishing line.

At the same time, the fishing line, flying discreetly, pierced through Sa Woon-cheon’s forehead.

The sword qi imbued in the fishing line dug into his forehead, tearing apart all his nerves.

Cough, cough, Sa Woon-cheon spat out a mouthful of blood and then trembled.

The sharp glint in his eyes vanished, and he simply collapsed to the ground.

“…”

Namgoong Yul, who had been quietly watching, turned pale.

‘There were no special techniques involved.’

‘He merely swung the fishing rod casually, and martial artists lost consciousness and fell like autumn leaves.’

She swore she had never imagined encountering an absolute master of such a realm in this manner.

‘This is… a fortuitous encounter!’

‘Big fish swim in big waters.’

‘But sometimes in life, there exist eccentric individuals who seclude themselves, breaking away from the principles of the world and the rules of righteousness and heterodoxy.’

‘The man before her was clearly one such reclusive eccentric who had abandoned worldly affairs.’

‘His seemingly young appearance was probably the miraculous effect of the legendary Reverse Growth, a realm only heard of in tales.’

“Are you okay?”

Cheong-un bent at the waist and asked.

“My name is Namgoong Yul. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“May I ask for your esteemed name, Great Hero?”

“Cheong-un.”

“Great Hero Cheong.”

Namgoong Yul performed a fist-and-palm salute.

Cheong-un also casually returned the salute, then slowly began to get to the point.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes?”

“I’m in a bit of a hurry. I missed out on fishing today because I saved you, and now I’m targeted by this Black Forest Gate or whatever, so I need to move my residence, you see?”

Tilt.

Namgoong Yul couldn’t understand.

‘A martial artist of Great Hero Cheong’s caliber could easily handle the entire Black Forest Gate, couldn’t he?’

“So, I’ll be quite inconvenienced, won’t I?”

“Yes.”

“How did such a situation come about?”

“W-Well, by saving me from danger…”

“Exactly, that’s it.”

Only then did she realize the true intent of his question.

‘Martial artists do not forget favors or grudges.’

‘It is the way of the Murim to somehow repay even small favors, yet he is a life-saver.’

‘To simply accept help and then forget about it is a disgrace for a martial artist.’

‘Naturally, it is her duty to pay him the promised reward.’

‘No, it is the way of the Jianghu to express gratitude by adding even more.’

But.

“Great Hero Cheong.”

“Speak.”

Namgoong Yul said, carefully gauging Cheong-un’s expression.

“Um, I don’t have any money on me right now.”

Ppudeuk.

A thick vein throbbed on Cheong-un’s temple.

Namgoong Yul, in a flustered voice, hurriedly added.

“Th-There’s a branch of the Justice Alliance about a day’s travel from here! If you accompany me there, I will certainly pay you the promised reward.”

“Hmm…”

Cheong-un nodded vigorously.

‘Receiving a whole Gold Ingot, what’s a mere day’s travel?’

‘This much after-service is trivial, truly trivial.’

“Alright. I’ll accompany you.”

“Thank you very much, Great Hero Cheong.”

“Then let’s depart immediately.”

Namgoong Yul subtly glanced at Cheong-un’s face.

As soon as he heard the confirmation of payment, his face brightened, and a healthy color returned to his complexion.

Cheong-un moved forward, letting out his characteristic sly smile.

Namgoong Yul stared blankly at Cheong-un’s retreating figure, her eyes wide with confusion.

“…”

‘What is this?’

‘Wasn’t he a reclusive eccentric?’

‘For someone supposedly detached from worldly affairs, his greed for money seems excessively strong…’