Chapter 10 – The Beginning of Infinite Internal Energy

Chapter 10 – The Beginning of Infinite Internal Energy

There was a saying: "mountains piled upon mountains."

That was exactly my situation right now.

At this point, I missed Torong and Yongyong. If it were my kids with their strong teeth, wouldn't they crunch and chew up a chest like this in a single bite?

Mumbling softly, I sighed and slid the puzzle box this way and that.

‘Is this even solvable?’

Just as I decided to stop counting how many attempts I had made, as counting only made me sadder—

Click.

Along with the sound of the locked interior releasing, I felt something click perfectly into place at my fingertips.

Letting out an exclamation of joy, I pushed the entire top surface of the chest.

“Finally…”

After thousands of attempts, I had finally succeeded in opening the chest. I was so deeply moved that a tear even welled up in the corner of my eye. It was truly nothing short of a human triumph.

Clack. Thud!

Finally, the top section opened completely, and the interior revealed itself.

Rustle.

Sweeping aside the silk that looked expensive at a glance with a fluttering heart, I soon froze with my eyes wide open.

“……!!”

Inside the chest, which had only opened after going through such an arduous process, lay a single book; on the cover of the book, which was neat and looked as good as new without a trace of age, the following was written in elegant handwriting:

Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art.

A profound high-level internal energy cultivation method and a divine art said to have no limit depending on the practitioner.

The identity of the secret manual, which was even greater than I had anticipated, made my inner thoughts slip out of my mouth.

"Why is such a crazy martial art coming out of here?"

In most of the martial arts novels I read in my past life, the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art always had the setting of being either already lost to time or transmitted to only one person in the family, and that person being the most profound martial artist.

It made sense. If multiple people were to learn this, the balance patch of the Central Plains martial world would be ruined that very day. It was that much of a cheat-like divine art.

‘No, wait, but if it's this, it makes sense.’

I picked up the book with a trembling heart.

High-level martial arts generally consume an extreme amount of internal energy. Therefore, the size of one's internal energy could be called the magnitude of one's power. Since accumulating one gapja of internal energy requires an average of about sixty years of cultivation, the saying that the most dangerous people in the Jianghu are the elderly and children did not come out of nowhere.

Even so, the limits were relatively clear. This was because a person's lifespan was finite and the size of their vessel was limited. The internal energy that one could breathe and store in the dantian was each person's limit.

However, the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art was different.

It literally had no limit. There was only one reason why this was possible. The Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art did not stop at accumulating internal energy in the dantian, but expanded the size of the dantian itself.

Of course, it was that much harder to learn, and achieving grand mastery was even more difficult… but how appealing was it that my internal energy would steadily increase as I consumed spirit medicines or cultivated?

“Still, isn't it a bit too much to present this as a test…”

My head tilted to the side involuntarily.

Even though my constitution had changed, it was clear that this was a stage I could not access, considering it had only been a year since I had properly learned martial arts. I had not even seen it in the 'list of martial arts books to learn in the future' that Tang Hae-soo, who loved advance preparation and reviewing to a tiresome degree, recited repeatedly.

“Well, I will think about it later.”

My hesitation was brief. In the end, curiosity won. The single answer that had been hidden most secretly among the three hundred martial arts manuals. I simply could not endure not looking at it right this moment.

“Whew…”

Calming my breathing, I began to turn the first page of the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art.

Rustle.

Along with a light sound, a pleasant friction lingered at my fingertips.

‘Let's focus.’

As I read the book, tracing word by word with my eyes, I felt a gentle and moderate teaching. The first page of the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art had this sentence written on it:

– I am the one and the all. The truth that originates from me returns to become a single world.

A single Dao that also resembled the principle of Yogacara .

The speed of turning the pages gradually increased, and before I knew it, I was frantically absorbed in the teachings.

‘One becomes all, and all returns to me. In that way, I become the me that I think of…’

The truth, which seemed like the cycle of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements and also like the laws of nature, awakened a new truth within me.

It was not simply circulating and balancing.

The true meaning taught by the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art.

That when the truth starting from me returned, with every step, I would become another world.

I mulled it over and over, not wanting to miss a single character.

As I read and absorbed the mnemonics written in print, my eyes closed before I knew it.

‘Everything returning is similar to a cycle, but it is different in that both the beginning and the end become me.’

My thoughts continued without stopping.

‘That is why what I experience and how I accept it is important. Because those things become me.’

The continuing thoughts finally reached enlightenment.

Sinking deep into myself, I felt energy stretching out from my dantian.

The energy starting from one began to flow without blockages through all the meridians of my body.

‘Wow…’

Soon, I quietly watched the energy, flowing like water, circulate through my body.

The energy that stretched out from the dantian traveled through ten thousand meridians and returned to the dantian to become one. Then, though faint, I could vaguely tell that the size of the dantian was expanding.

Flowing and returning along ten thousand paths.

I had directly experienced the true meaning of the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art. My heart fluttered at the unexpected enlightenment.

‘So circulating energy like this allows me to expand the dantian. It will take a lot of time, but the fact that there is no limit… Huh?’

It was the moment I, having attained great enlightenment, was trying to organize my thoughts.

Swoosh—

I felt the energy that had been staying in the dantian stretch out vigorously once again.

It was not that I had purposely circulated it again, nor had I attained another enlightenment. The energy simply moved on its own as if it had a will of its own.

‘What… is this? Is it originally like this?’

I momentarily became flustered. Energy that did not move according to my will could easily lead to qi deviation .

‘…Uh?’

When I chased after the flowing energy to hold it in my dantian even by force, I realized that an entirely new sensation was enveloping my body.

Even without trying to operate my internal energy along the path of the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art, wasn't the energy circulating naturally?

It was not that it did not move according to my will, but that there was no need to consciously do so. Just as blood circulated through the body, the energy was also circulating naturally.

‘Ah, right. I forgot about that.’

It was thanks to the constitution I had temporarily forgotten. The Heavenly Martial Body. A flawless body that satisfied all the requirements for learning high-level martial arts. On top of that, right now, having corrected what was twisted, I even possessed energy channels that were wide open without a single trace of turbid qi.

‘My goodness… It's a divine art perfectly suited for me.’

What did this mean?

It meant that even if I did not spend time cultivating, and just by breathing, not only my internal energy but also the capacity of my dantian would increase.

‘A walking macro, no… aren't I in a constant state of cultivating energy?’

Should I say it was like a bank account that never shrank no matter how much I spent, adding interest on its own?

The corners of my mouth curled up on their own as I realized that fact.

This was a special technique possible only for me, who had learned the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art with the constitution of the Heavenly Martial Body.

No longer chasing the naturally flowing energy, I slowly opened my eyes.

"…My internal energy will increase infinitely."

A complete sense of satisfaction filled my grinning face.

I put the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art back inside the chest and finally opened the door to finish the test.

***

The Great Training Ground of the Tang Clan Castle's Inner Castle.

"Ah, Young Clan Leader! It has been a long time."

The martial artists who were training in the training ground greeted Tang Hae-soo warmly upon seeing him.

This was because Tang Hae-soo had been staying indoors for a while due to Young Master Tang San-ho's training, making this his first appearance at the Great Training Ground in a long time.

"Are you planning to train here today?"

"We heard you are still overseeing the Young Master's training, is that true?"

"No, seeing that you came here, did he collapse again? Even if he has regained his health, he was always so weak after all."

The martial artists gathered around Tang Hae-soo and poured out questions inquisitively.

They all seemed curious about the situation, as the Young Clan Leader himself was teaching Tang San-ho, who had been far from being a martial artist.

'Far from collapsing, he is growing stronger day by day.'

Tang Hae-soo smiled faintly, thinking of San-ho who would be taking his test.

The martial artists of the branch lines did not yet know that San-ho's constitution had changed.

It had already been a year since he received treatment from the Divine Physician and learned martial arts. His younger brother's achievements were so fast as to be unpredictable, and Tang Hae-soo was very pleased with that fact.

However, because there was an order from Clan Leader Tang Hwa-seon to remain silent about it until he passed this test, he did not say it out loud.

'…I wonder what father's intentions are. I knew he was deeply worried, but…'

Tang Hae-soo murmured to himself, guessing Tang Hwa-seon's intentions.

Tang Hae-soo clasped his fists toward the martial artists waiting for an answer to show respect, and then spoke with a low laugh.

"Since San-ho has regained his health, he must be reborn as a martial artist of the Tang Clan. His achievements are still lacking, so I am overseeing his training."

At those words, one martial artist stepped forward with concern.

"Oh, isn't he just holding the Young Clan Leader back for no reason?"

What kind of person was Tang San-ho? Was he not the Dark Flower who had been weak since birth and had achievements that could not even be called those of a martial artist?

It seemed they were worried that Tang Hae-soo, who was in his prime, would waste his time teaching him now. Seeing that the expressions of the other martial artists were similar, most of them seemed to agree.

Tang Hae-soo lightly shook his head.

"I will train twice or thrice as hard in case I hold San-ho back, so please take good care of me."

Sincerity slipped out quietly.

"How! What do you mean by that? It is said that excessive courtesy is discourtesy."

As soon as those words were finished, wonder and disbelief were written on the face of the frowning martial artist.

Tang Hae-soo looked straight at him and continued in a low voice.

"It is not excessive courtesy. That child is different from me, no… different from anyone else."

"……?"

"What does that…"

A look of bewilderment crossed the martial artists' faces. This was because it was none other than Tang Hae-soo who had said such words about Tang San-ho.

Undoubtedly, Tang Hae-soo was the talent of the clan.

The next clan leader to succeed Clan Leader Tang Hwa-seon, who was known as the Ten Thousand Poisons Divine King.

A martial artist of outstanding talent in both poison arts and hidden weapon techniques, with no rival of a similar age within the Tang Clan Castle.

Tang Hae-soo, whose skills no one disputed, was saying that he was worried his own ability would be insufficient to teach Tang San-ho.

'Is this not like a tiger looking at a puppy and saying, "Soon, your bravery will surpass mine"?'

"One more year. After that, there will be few who can catch up to that child, so I must also work hard. Is everyone ready?"

As if he had heard their inner thoughts, Tang Hae-soo smiled, adding a final blow with his last words.

It was then.

The door of the Great Training Ground burst open, and a servant approached at a brisk pace. He spoke in an urgent voice to Tang Hae-soo, who was about to begin training.

"Young Clan Leader, the Clan Leader is looking for you urgently. Please enter the Family Head's Hall right away."

Tang Hae-soo asked back in a low voice, walking away without hesitation.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Well, that is…"

As the servant, whose face was already pale, trailed off and hesitated to answer, Tang Hae-soo nodded his head as if urging him. Glancing around, the servant whispered in a low voice into Tang Hae-soo's ear.

"The Young Master completed the test and opened the library door, but…"

"And?"

"…It seems he found a lost secret manual and walked out with it."

The moment the servant's last words ended, Tang Hae-soo shuddered greatly and stopped in his tracks.

"……What?"