Reincarnation of the Martial Emperor

Chapter 24: It’s about time to pull another one out.

The Blood Demon was looking at Jaegal Hwi, who was facing the earthen wall, absorbed in meditation, with an unreadable expression.

Seven days and nights had already passed.

For that long period, he had been absorbed in meditation without changing his posture even once.

‘Is he really widening his fine meridians?’

The process of training the fine meridians never allowed for shortcuts.

It was merely a tedious repetition of meticulously flowing ki to stimulate and expand the fine meridians.

The problem was that the task of finding and expanding each of the microscopic fine meridians was extremely inefficient.

If one were to intensively repeat a full circulation, at least their internal energy would increase, but training the fine meridians had no relation to the absolute amount of such internal energy.

That was why most martial artists would select and train only the fine meridians that were helpful for the circulation of their Ki Art.

It wasn't called the Thousand Fine Meridians because there were actually a thousand of them.

That was merely a figurative meaning.

It was impossible to know exactly how many fine meridians were in the human body, and the number also varied with each person's constitution.

To find and tame all those fine meridians was a task far beyond a person's lifespan.

‘Is he crazy?’

As the Blood Demon was grimacing, Jaegal Hwi suddenly let out a murky breath and went limp.

In that moment, an unimaginably foul stench assailed the Blood Demon’s nostrils.

“What is this? This foul smell?”

In the spot illuminated by the flickering torch.

The Blood Demon was staring blankly at Jaegal Hwi’s right arm, from which a blackish mucus was flowing.

“Hoo… I’ve finished one arm now.”

“W-what did you say?”

Jaegal Hwi was smiling faintly with his eyes half-closed.

The Blood Demon simply could not believe the words that had come from his mouth.

“What does that mean? To have finished one arm? Do you mean you’ve opened all the fine meridians intertwined in that right arm?”

“Why ask such a thing. You can tell just by looking.”

“C-crazy!”

The process of shedding the turbid energy accumulated since birth and being reborn with a new body was called Body Reformation.

But to complete Body Reformation for just one right arm like that was something he had never heard of or seen before.

But still.

Was Body Reformation that easy?

“What kind of creation have you wrought? Is it possible for a human to shed their skin just by training the fine meridians in their body?”

“You’re speaking too carelessly. Just by training? Didn’t you see me suffer like hell?”

“N-no……”

He said it was true.

It was simply unbelievable.

Even setting aside the unconventional Body Reformation, to do it for just one arm, and in only seven days and nights?

Of course, he himself had once trained only his fine meridians for a while to complete the Mad Rain Red Mist.

It had taken him half a year just to control a little over ten fine meridians.

The fine meridians intertwined in one arm numbered at least in the hundreds.

Goosebumps rose on his skin.

To think that such a feat was actually possible.

‘Hah…’

The internal art of a martial artist who controlled all the fine meridians of their entire body.

In that moment, the Blood Demon recalled what Jaegal Hwi had said.

If it were possible to operate the Conception and Governing Vessels separately as that man had said, he couldn't even begin to imagine its efficiency.

‘The process of condensing internal energy would be drastically reduced!’

To display advanced martial arts, a powerful explosive internal energy force was necessary.

This inevitably meant that the starting stance would take longer.

Operating the Conception and Governing Vessels separately meant that the process of condensing internal energy would be shortened.

So, that man’s starting stance was twice as fast as that of an ordinary martial artist.

The Blood Demon couldn't hold back and opened his mouth.

“But how can you continuously flow the same amount of internal energy through both the Conception and Governing Vessels?”

It might be possible in an environment where one could concentrate their mind to a high degree, like in meditation.

However, the situations in which a martial artist displayed their techniques were mostly in combat.

Just occupying space and predicting the opponent's movements would be mentally taxing enough, but to exquisitely operate the Conception and Governing Vessels separately in the midst of that?

One would surely fall into qi deviation as their ki and blood would immediately run rampant.

“Are you a goldfish? I told you, I circulate it roughly and let whatever’s left flow into the fine meridians.”

Ah, right. That man had mentioned Uniting the Husks.

“But if you continuously display techniques, that energy will accumulate indefinitely in the thousand fine meridians. Even if you can truly control all the fine meridians, you would still feel pain, wouldn’t you? Are you saying you can endure that continuously?”

No matter how vast the fine meridians in the body were, they were not an infinite warehouse, and thus could not store energy forever.

“Ha, did you also learn martial arts only from books?”

“What did you say?”

“So, have you tried it?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m asking if you’ve opened all your fine meridians and accumulated the leftover energy in them.”

“C-crazy bastard. Why would I do something so foolish……”

Jaegal Hwi leaned against the earthen wall and started shaking his leg again.

“The great Blood Demon is just like the idiots of the Jaegal Clan. I won’t say it again, so listen carefully. Opening the fine meridians means that they are now also ki channels. What are ki channels? Aren’t they passages through which ki flows?”

“……”

In an instant, a great shock wave surged through the Blood Demon’s mind.

“Don’t tell me……?”

“I can gather and release the energy accumulated in those fine meridians whenever I wish.”

The Blood Demon’s back was becoming damp with sweat.

He didn't know the limit to how much energy could be accumulated in the fine meridians of the entire body.

But if he took those words at face value……

“Do you mean you can release the energy infinitely accumulated in the fine meridians without any starting stance?”

“Yes, that’s it. And I can release it from anywhere there are fine meridians, be it the head or the fist.”

“Madness Annihilation Soul Force!” Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel·fıre·net

“Ha, Yang Gyu, oh Yang Gyu. Just how much did you blabber?”

“Ha, Yang Gyu, oh Yang Gyu. Just how much did you blabber?”

“……Yang Gyu? Who is that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Compared to the weight of the fame of being one of the Seven Revered of Jianghu, not much was known about the Martial Emperor's martial arts.

But the Blood Demon had surely seen it.

The reports from the Dark Demon Ghosts sent secretly from the Great Murim Alliance.

The ultimate technique with no starting stance, Madness Annihilation Soul Force.

According to the description in the report, its power was comparable to the Sword Saint’s Purple Mist Under Heaven.

“Alright then, shall we start again.”

Jaegal Hwi, who had scooped up a handful of anthill and was chewing on it, took his stance again.

The Blood Demon was staring blankly at Jaegal Hwi.

“You’re doing that again?”

“Are you telling me to live as a one-armed warrior? Now that I’ve drawn the sword, I have to finish the left hand too.”

The Blood Demon, who had been watching Jaegal Hwi intently, soon showed astonishment on his face.

“Y-you’re planning to draw on your Innate True Ki now?”

The man's pupils had clearly contracted rapidly, and a warm energy emanated from around his Baihui acupoint.

A typical phenomenon that appeared when one drew on their Innate True Ki.

The man had just wasted the pure life force of a human being, which could never be easily recovered once used.

Jaegal Hwi was smiling brightly, revealing his perfectly white teeth.

“So you thought I could open my fine meridians this quickly without any price?”

“C-crazy bastard! You will surely die before you even reach thirty!”

“Hoo, now the great Blood Demon is even thinking about other people’s lives. The Demonic Cult has become nice after its fall.”

“Shut up!”

It was incomprehensible.

Although internal energy was the most important thing for a martial artist, achieving great mastery by sacrificing one's life force was truly a horrifying idea.

Of course, in the history of the Divine Cult, there had been heretical ki arts that squeezed human potential to its limits.

However, due to severe side effects, they had recently been improved in a safer direction.

“Crazy bastard! An internal art training that gnaws away at the lifespan given by the heavens! Now I see, the Martial Emperor's divine art is a Heaven-defying Demonic Art even more so than our cult's demonic arts!”

“That can’t be. I have something to rely on.”

“Something to rely on……?”

“I’m scheduled to receive a gift filled with my grandfather’s love soon.”

He was about to receive his grandfather’s love?

Listening to him, there was simply no context to this man's words.

If he was truly the clan head’s son, then his grandfather was the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom.

Wait a minute?

A gift from the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom?

There was only one thing that a junior of the Jaegal Clan who had entered the Nine Phoenix Gates could receive from the family.

The Blood Demon suddenly rummaged through his robes.

The Demon Soul Pill he had received from the Jaegal Clan two days ago.

The Blood Demon, who had opened the wooden box, soon opened his eyes wide enough to tear.

“W-what is this……!”

An inexpressibly profound Zen fragrance spread in all directions.

A mysterious pill that was emitting a brilliant radiance.

Just by inhaling the scent of the pill, the internal energy in his body was stirring.

“Th-this piece of sh*t! Why do you have that? And what the hell is my father thinking, handling things this way!”

Jaegal Hwi, who had hastily gotten up, ground his teeth with his eyes full of killing intent.

“D-don’t move! I told you not to move a single step!”

The Blood Demon, frozen with a dumbfounded look, pointed at the wooden box with his eyes.

“What is the identity of this pill?”

“None of your business! Hand it over now! If things go wrong, I’ll go back right now and have Jin Gang-cheon kill you!”

The Blood Demon’s complexion turned pale.

For him, not being able to meet Jin Gang-cheon meant the true demise of the Divine Cult.

“The medicinal energy is fading, so close the lid first! Close it quickly!”

The Blood Demon closed the wooden box with a serious gaze and put it back in his robes.

“Now I must hear it. What did you mean when you said Jin Gang-cheon is neither dead nor alive.”

For that young man to speak so carelessly about killing Jin Gang-cheon meant that the Martial Emperor was not in a normal state.

If he was in a state where he couldn't even communicate properly, then there was no point in meeting him.

“Jin Gang-cheon is in a state of suspended animation!”

As expected!

There was no longer any reason to be dragged along.

The Blood Demon shot a venomous glare at Jaegal Hwi.

“Your words about letting me meet Jin Gang-cheon were a lie from the start.”

“W-wait! But his consciousness returns intermittently! No, it’s true! How else would I know the One Ki Divine Origin Art in such detail!”

“Hmph, he could have finally lost his mind after passing everything on to you, couldn't he?”

“You son of a bi— Have you only ever been deceived?”

“Either use honorifics or speak informally. Pick one.”

Jaegal Hwi, who had kept his mouth tightly shut for a while, flickered his eyes sharply.

“What do you want to say to Jin Gang-cheon when you meet him?”

The Blood Demon smirked.

“What business is it of yours to know that?”

However.

At Jaegal Hwi’s following words, the Blood Demon’s entire body froze.

“If the Heavenly Demon is dead, then you must now find the Divine Woman. She’s the only one who can open the Myriad Demon Tomb. Well, since you can’t move, do you need the Mad Ninja Heretics that Jin Gang-cheon used like his own limbs?”

“H-how do you know of the Divine Woman's existence……!”

“Do you think only the Demonic Cult plants straws?”

Jaegal Hwi extended his arm straight out.

“So, go ahead and give me that first. I’ll cooperate with you. You can meet the Mad Ninja Heretics through me as much as you want.”

The Blood Demon couldn't believe it.

Had Jin Gang-cheon truly told that man everything?

That man clearly knew that the Martial Emperor's Mad Ninja Heretics were continuing their intelligence activities in the Hundred Thousand Mountains area.

He also knew that the Mad Ninja Heretics, who had been spying on the Divine Cult for a long time, had a high probability of knowing the Divine Woman’s hiding place.

That was why he had brought up the Mad Ninja Heretics first. To shake his heart once again.

The Blood Demon took the wooden box from his robes again.

The moment he was about to hand over the wooden box, a strong light flowed from his eyes.

“If what you’ve just said is a lie… I promise you. You will surely die.”

“I’m already dead.”

The Blood Demon’s face contorted.

Everything about this man named Jaegal Hwi was a complete mystery.