Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Cultivation Through Copulation.

Episode 25: Martial Arts Tournament (3)

Haap!

Pyung pyu pyu pyung!

Pababak!

Water arrows sliced through the air, and Earth walls rose up. Flames consumed Wooden logs, and the roots of a tree that appeared from somewhere wrapped around the opponent’s ankles.

It was a spectacle of magical arts.

Indeed, the prowess of Qi Condensation 9-Star practitioners.

As spells flew and the components forming the magic shone brightly, people’s exclamations burst forth.

It was undoubtedly a visually pleasing stage. Even Yuk-gyeong, who had seen all kinds of dazzling graphics in his previous life, found it enjoyable.

Though it couldn’t be compared to the fireworks in Yeouido1, shooting flames from hands and spraying water streams was more fascinating than fireworks.

But something felt off.

Awaiting his turn for the next match beneath the stage, Yuk-gyeong tilted his head in puzzlement.

‘But why is everyone using magic like that?’

Yuk-gyeong was perplexed.

Using spells in such a crude manner, if the opponent interferes with the flow of Qi, everything scatters. If that happens, they’ll suffer the backlash of the magic; how do they plan to handle that?

The reason Yuk-gyeong, at Qi Condensation 8-Star, didn’t use magical arts was precisely that.

Magical arts inherently carries risks in its use. If something goes wrong in the entire process of completing a spell, one must take responsibility for the backlash of using that spell. This is called magic backlash.

Yuk-gyeong had pondered much about magic backlashes but found no way to counteract the opponent’s Qi interference at the Qi Condensation stage.

So, Yuk-gyeong could use magic if he wanted. He could use it. But it’s not practical for actual combat. That’s why Yuk-gyeong says he can’t use magic himself.

When Qi is twisted to use magic, it appears too transparent and easy to tamper with. Very easily countered.

So it could only be a showy spell technique.

But when he arrived at the competition, everyone was using showy spell techniques in actual combat.

Naturally, questions arose.

Wouldn’t that be disrupted with a little interference? Shouldn’t they be countered then? Why are they doing that?

That’s not how you’re supposed to use spell techniques.

“This match is between Bok Jae-seong and Lee Yuk-gyeong!”

They were under an illusion.

The illusion that they were controlling the flow of Spiritual Qi.

On the martial stage, Yuk-gyeong took a stance. One arm extended forward, the other held behind his head.

It was the starting position of the Foreseeing Fist.

Yuk-gyeong intended to win using martial techniques.

Bok Jae-seong sneered at Yuk-gyeong’s starting stance. What, this guy should be using spell techniques, but he’s posing like a martial artist? Is he really a cultivator?

“Haha, what kind of stance is that? A cultivator trying to fight with fists like a martial artist?”

No matter how much Bok Jae-seong sneered and mocked, Yuk-gyeong didn’t break his starting position.

Instead, he simply swung his arms and steadily moved to the next step.

Bok Jae-seong grew angry seeing Yuk-gyeong not reacting to his mockery. Is this guy ignoring him?

“Do you need to taste my spell technique before you stop this silly martial artist play?”

Bok Jae-seong yelled as he prepared his spell technique.

It was the basic spell technique of the Dark Moon Sect, the Fire Snake Technique, which created a snake made of flames.

Shaaah-!

Yuk-gyeong seized that moment.

The moment the man twisted the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth to use his spell technique!

Twisting the twist of Spiritual Qi!

To the owner of a Single Spiritual Root, Lee Yuk-gyeong, Spiritual Qi was as clear as if he could reach out and touch it! Its flow and operation were all within Yuk-gyeong’s grasp!

Under Yuk-gyeong’s new technique, the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth twisted and bent at will.

The control was a very powerful force that surpassed any Qi Condensation cultivator.

To use a technique, one must move their Qi, and if there are two people moving Qi, the Qi follows the stronger one. In a battle of strength and control, considering they were both Qi Condensation cultivators, no one could defeat Yuk-gyeong. Yuk-gyeong could probably even defeat a weaker Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Crack!

Yuk-gyeong seized the moment when Bok Jae-seong twisted the Qi and twisted it in the opposite direction himself. This canceled the technique Bok Jae-seong had created.

With the cancellation of the technique, the Heaven and Earth Qi that Bok Jae-seong had gathered poured directly into his body.

Rumble-!

“Ugh!”

Bok Jae-seong spat blood. The Heaven and Earth Qi pouring into his body violently bounced around, damaging his blood vessels and muscles.

The Heaven and Earth Qi rampaging due to the technique’s cancellation was something even a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn’t handle, so what could the Qi Condensation cultivator Bok Jae-seong do?

All he could do was kneel and back away, blood dripping from his mouth.

Bok Jae-seong was dazed by the powerful technique’s cancellation, and he was shocked internally.

‘What the hell! How did he nullify my technique? I’m the owner of a Two Spiritual Root, and yet my technique was undone so easily…!

Moreover, how can a Qi Condensation cultivator break the technique of another Qi Condensation cultivator…!’

Gush!

“Puh!”

Unable to calm the rampaging Heaven and Earth Qi within his body, Bok Jae-seong spewed blood again and collapsed on the spot.

His pitiful appearance looked as if he were dead, making Yuk-gyeong slightly uneasy until other disciples came to check on him.

He’s not dead, right? It doesn’t make sense to die just from a technique’s cancellation.

Yuk-gyeong, who didn’t know the pain of magic backlashes, casually worried about Jae-seong.

In the end, Jae-seong’s survival was confirmed, and the judgment was declared.

“Match over! The winner is Lee Yuk-gyeong!”

I think his name was Bok Jae-seong.

Contrary to his confident entrance, he exited pitifully, spewing a fountain of blood from his mouth.

It seems he used magical arts too confidently and, on top of that, incredibly transparently.

Yuk-gyeong couldn’t help but mess with the Spiritual Qi flow.

Spitting blood from the mouth like that must mean magic backlashes are unusually painful. Judging by his expression, it looked like he was hit right in the groin.

From then on, Yuk-gyeong continued to break his opponents’ magical arts in every match, easily securing victories.

Most of them were carried out, spewing blood from their mouths and wearing expressions like they had been kicked in the groin.

Yuk-gyeong’s matches were very bland due to the absence of magical arts.

To the spectators, it looked like whenever an opponent tried to use spell techniques, Yuk-gyeong would take a stance as if gripping something tightly, and the opponent would spontaneously vomit blood and collapse.

So even as Yuk-gyeong continued his winning streak, people only cheered lightly and didn’t particularly support or favor him.

“It’s boring! Why do his opponents just collapse?”

“Lee Yuk-gyeong, use spell techniques!”

“A martial arts competition without spell techniques! Does that make sense?”

Occasionally, such jeers and criticisms could be heard.

Meanwhile, on one side…

“He’s a disciple who just entered this time.”

When one of the outer disciples whispered this, a question immediately followed.

“This time? He’s at Qi Condensation 8-Star? Did he start cultivating before joining?”

“They say he was an ordinary person when he joined. An outer disciple who was supervising saw it personally.”

Upon hearing this, one of the outer sect disciples immediately refuted his words. An ordinary person reaching Qi Condensation 8-Star in less than a month?

“An ordinary person reached Qi Condensation 8-Star in just a month since joining? No, it hasn’t even been a month. Hasn’t it just been a week? Lies.”

“Why not? Qi Condensation is a stage where, if the body is ready, one can reach the Great Perfection.”

Another outer sect disciple chimed in from the side.

“That’s right. Didn’t Senior Brother Un from the inner sect also reach the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation in a month as an ordinary person?”

“How can you compare him to Senior Brother Un?”

“They say that guy is the owner of a Single Spiritual Root, a Single Spiritual Root.”

“Single Spiritual Root? Has there ever been a Single Spiritual Root holder in the Sect?”

“There was, wasn’t there? Was it two hundred years ago?”

Sometimes, such awe-filled conversations could be heard.

And Yuk-gyeong’s renowned technique of twisting Spiritual Qi and breaking it was notable enough to catch the attention of the Foundation Establishment cultivators sometimes present among the audience.

Indeed, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the inner sect disciple Yang Mun-gi, watched Yuk-gyeong’s match and exclaimed in admiration.

“Hmm, is that friend really in the Qi Condensation stage? To show such a level of Spiritual Qi control in Qi Condensation…”

“What? Lee Yuk-gyeong? He’s boring. He doesn’t even use spells and the opponent just coughs up blood and collapses.”

The girl in uniform next to him grumbled, pointing at Yuk-gyeong. Eun Seol-ah, who was now at Qi Condensation 5-Star, couldn’t recognize Yuk-gyeong’s methods at all.

To her eyes, it seemed like Yuk-gyeong just gestured and the opponents collapsed without anything happening. If she hadn’t known better, she might have thought it was all staged.

“That’s what’s amazing. The skill of breaking the opponent’s spells just by twisting Spiritual Qi without using spells is truly renowned. It’s a level of skill only Foundation Establishment cultivators can achieve.”

“No way, Foundation Establishment stage? How can a Qi Condensation stage cultivator imitate a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator? The difference between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment is like night and day.”

The difference between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment is immense.

For those in the Qi Condensation stage, one merely circulates spiritual Qi through the body, but Foundation Establishment cultivators can convert it into internal power. This difference is as significant as creating something from nothing.

The internal power of Foundation Establishment cultivators overwhelms the Qi of Qi Condensation cultivators. Just emitting internal power reduces Qi Condensation cultivators to the level of ordinary people.

Just as ordinary people are powerless before Qi Condensation cultivators, Qi Condensation cultivators are powerless before Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, Yang Mun-gi gave advice to the young girl who had just come of age.

“Junior Sister Eun, the world is vast, and there are many geniuses. Always remember that. Just because you’re the daughter of an Elder, don’t expect someone to always look out for you. Most of these geniuses are quirky and might just run into you.”

“Senior Brother! I’m not that kind of person! But does that mean this disciple named Yuk-gyeong is a genius?”

“Hahaha, yes. His excellent control over Spiritual Qi must come from his Spiritual Root. I heard that a Single Spiritual Root cultivator recently joined, and it must be him.”

“Oh, that Single Spiritual Root cultivator?”

Eun Seol-ah nodded, as if understanding Yuk-gyeong’s identity. Her father had briefly mentioned him. A Single Spiritual Root disciple whose fate was twisted as soon as he joined.

The interest of inner sect disciple Yang Mun-gi and the elder’s daughter Eun Seol-ah ended there.

They soon turned their attention to another match.

As the matches continued, the perceptive Qi Condensation 9-Star disciples saw through Yuk-gyeong’s methods and stopped using spells.

But if that’s the case, they had no choice but to fall to Yuk-gyeong’s Foreseeing Fist.

Qi Condensation disciples tended to look down on martial arts. This was because of the prevalent notion that martial arts were crude techniques used only by those in the Murim.

Why bother with dusty, ground-rolling martial arts when you can use sophisticated and grand spell techniques? This mindset was prevalent.

However, with their magical arts sealed, they had no choice but to get dusty and roll on the ground. Martial arts were all they had. Even if you were a cultivator, what can you do without magical arts? You have to resort to fists.

The opponents of Yuk-gyeong were shocked at the thought of having to resort to fistfighting like the Murim practitioners they so despised.

Yuk-gyeong continued to compete in several more matches.

Each time, Yuk-gyeong dismantled the opponent’s spell techniques and secured victory through martial arts.

Yuk-gyeong’s Foreseeing Fist shone each time, leaving opponents covered in dust and carried out of the arena.

Thus, Yuk-gyeong continued to triumph.

Victory after victory!

Even the people who paid no attention to him began to take notice of Yuk-gyeong’s undefeated streak. They realized it wasn’t luck or a prearranged outcome when opponents fell at a mere gesture.

One or two times could be dismissed as luck, but repeated occurrences proved otherwise. Of course, it couldn’t possibly be prearranged under the elders’ watchful eyes.

The spectators focused on Yuk-gyeong’s next match.

He was finally meeting a worthy opponent.

“Next match: Deung Sa-jin versus Lee Yuk-gyeong!”

TL/N: A neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea, that holds yearly firework shows ↩️