The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

A martial arts manual is composed of form, the flow of true qi, the path of combat when using a technique, and the state of mind. The parts that clearly explain the movement of the body are quite few, and a considerable part focuses on explaining the state of mind and the flow of true qi. Since there are almost no people who can learn a martial art at once with just this, enlightenment was important. A martial artist could finally use a martial art when they could understand the flow of consciousness of the founder of the martial art who created the manual through meditation and enlightenment, and could catch up to it.

Jang So-gil, one had to look at a single manual until it was worn out, engrave it on one's body, and have the advice of many predecessors and time for meditation to be able to train properly and learn the correct martial art. It was a very difficult, long, and cumbersome task.

But the Sama Collection Record created by the Sama family was completely different from an ordinary manual.

In terms of form, it meticulously recorded the 206 bones and 320 pairs of muscles that make up the human body, how to move the muscles and bones when using a certain technique, the order of moving those bones, the distribution of force, and the state of mind to refer to. In the flow of true qi, it once again recorded the use of bones and muscles, including the eight extraordinary meridians. It was the same when it came to the path of combat, and when expressing the state of mind, it described in sickening detail why such a state of mind was necessary, and how the muscles, blood vessels, bones, and true qi reacted depending on the state of mind.

Jang So-gil, with a "kuuuung-," took out the thick, thick book.

"This is the Sama Collection Record."

"Is it a weapon?"

"To be honest, I think this is stronger than most iron maces."

"What kind of manual is so thick..."

"It's because the content is detailed."

This collection record was divided into a practical part, a statistical part, and a research part. What Jang So-gil had was only the practical part.

"They say the statistical part is ten times larger than the practical part, and the research part is ten times larger than the statistical part."

"You're saying it's over a hundred volumes."

"Yes. Anyway, because it's written in such detail, it was very convenient for me to learn. I thought that with this, martial arts training would be worth a try. They say that if you just keep a regular lifestyle, your internal energy will accumulate."

"A regular lifestyle?"

"For example, it's like this."

Jang So-gil pointed to a part of the Sama Collection Record.

It was written there.

[Internal energy is accumulated through qi circulation and meditation. One's qi starts from the Baihui point, circulates throughout the body, and then is gathered back to the Baihui point. This is called one heavenly cycle, and if repeated for a long time, internal energy will gather in the lower dantian. Even for other famous orthodox sects, supreme breathing methods, and internal energy cultivation methods, the foundation is the same. The only differences are the breathing method used in qi circulation, the knack of circulating the qi, the peculiarity of the state of mind, the mantra for concentrating the consciousness, and the differences in what one eats and what one wears on one's body. Therefore, we have meticulously grasped the benefits and losses that can be seen when performing all these actions, and we have made it our basic principle to increase the speed at which internal energy accumulates, increase its size, and improve its quality by reducing losses and adding benefits.]

Yang Gwan nodded his head.

"That's not wrong. Even for my Fire Wheel Art, the basics are the same. It was just about doing qi circulation on a hot rock and chanting Buddhist scriptures."

"The Sama Collection Record compared and contrasted the speed at which internal energy accumulates in the human body and conducted various experiments. And it came to the conclusion that to easily accumulate internal energy, one must have a regular lifestyle. So there are a lot of tips written like this that are helpful in real life."

[If you are going to do qi circulation, it is better to do it after a meal. A person's concentration drops on an empty stomach. The meal should be based on vegetables and meat, and the intake of water should be increased so that the blood can circulate smoothly. If the blood is sticky and sweet, one should stay away from sweets, and if there are symptoms of the corners of the eyes twitching, one should be close to fruits, but fruits with high sugar content should be avoided. For meat, the meat of birds such as ducks, sheep, and goats is better than that of cows or pigs. Fish must be consumed once every three days, and excessive intake of spiritual medicines is rather not good, so one must consume the appropriate amount according to the 10-stage classification method of spiritual medicines. The body must always be clean, so if you sweat in any process, you should take a bath. The bath should always be with hot water in both summer and winter, but it should not be too hot and the appropriate temperature must be maintained. The stomach should always be kept warm and the head cool. If the mind is disturbed by excessive training, one should meditate anytime, anywhere to control the mind. For internal energy, what you eat is one-third, the state of mind is one-third, and the body is one-third, so it is best to maintain that balance.]

Yang Gwan muttered blankly.

"Isn't this a life-nourishing method, not an internal energy cultivation method?"

"The Sama Divine Art originates from the art of life nourishment. So they saw internal energy as a means of life nourishment in the end."

Jang So-gil thoroughly followed the things written in this Sama Collection Record.

In the morning, he would eat a spoonful of the spiritual medicine sent by Sama Hwi and then eat a meal. After eating, he would do qi circulation for one mealtime and then take a bath in hot water. After taking a bath, he would briefly attend to his official duties and then slowly engrave the forms of the techniques on his body. Then he would eat lunch and do qi circulation again for one mealtime. He would take a clean bath again and repeat these things all day. When the moon rose, he would finally end the day with a breathing method to regulate his breathing and sleep soundly. It was a matter of course that he always wore the White-Clear Divine Sword and obtained its function in all these things.

"It's become a habit now, so my body moves without me even thinking about it."

He had been repeating only this for several days.

So he had no feeling at all that he was training in martial arts or getting stronger. And since he had no master, he had no way of knowing what his skills were like.

Yang Gwan looked down at his broken spear and said in a low voice.

"The effect seems to be sufficient."

"How was it?"

"I almost died."

The first form of the Soul-Stealing Ice Art that Jang So-gil had unfolded. The Soul-Stealing Flash was an enormous ice art. A light flashed from the White-Clear Divine Sword, and a formidable cold energy flew in a straight line, aiming for Yang Gwan's neck. There was no swinging motion, and the distance was more than one zhang away. Yang Gwan, who had not expected such an attack to come, was completely unprepared and was about to have his neck cut off while smiling and shaking his spear. If he hadn't urgently raised his Fire Wheel Art to its peak to protect his body and at the same time blocked it with his arm and spear strengthened with the Diamond Qi Art, Yang Gwan's neck would have been like the broken spear.

"But the attack just now didn't feel like your internal energy, Guild Master So."

"Yes. It's the power of the White-Clear Divine Sword. I still don't know how to use my own internal energy."

"A divine object is a divine object. To think that true qi is imbued in a sword..."

"If it were a person, what level do you think it would be?"

"At the very least, it would have been an attack from someone with twenty years of internal energy. Can you do it again?"

"I can't. If I use it like this once, the White-Clear Divine Sword becomes empty. It takes a day to recover."

"If you can only do it like that once, then in reality, it would be the power of less than three years."

The White-Clear Divine Sword, in terms of a martial artist, contained three years' worth of internal energy.

The reason he couldn't use it in parts was probably because Jang So-gil's skill in handling true qi and internal energy was still immature. Using all that power in one go would normally be a disadvantage, but in some ways, it was also an advantage.

"Normally, it's more difficult to gather and shoot it in one go like that. The amplification of internal energy is an intermediate technique. That's why the power of that one shot was so strong that I mistook it for twenty years of internal energy."

"Really?"

"As a result, you have reached the threshold of a first-rate master with just the first form, Guild Master So."

Yang Gwan grasped the value of Jang So-gil's Soul-Stealing Flash with his sharp insight.

In this wide martial world, ice arts belonged only to the North Sea Ice Palace. That's why ice arts were not something one could see easily, and there were few in the world who knew how to deal with them. The Soul-Stealing Flash was even a martial art with an unfamiliar form and style that was hard to recognize at a glance, to the point where one couldn't even tell if the attack was a sword qi, a sword wind, or a finger wind. If that were to be unfolded with twenty years' worth of internal energy in a surprise attack, the necks of second-rate warriors would be cut off in an instant.

Especially, the more one knew about Jang So-gil's career, the easier it was to be careless. Hadn't even a first-rate master like Yang Gwan been careless and seen the underworld in an instant? Even if an assassin were to approach, he would be able to deal with at least one of them with a surprise attack in the blink of an eye.

"Congratulations. You have obtained an excellent weapon. With this, you can boast about the first form of the Soul-Stealing Flash anywhere."

"R-really? So that's how it is."

At Yang Gwan's sincere congratulations, Jang So-gil was just bewildered. But as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, Yang Gwan smiled brightly.

"But it's no good if you can't control the force."

"Uh, why? Why?"

"First, let's say you have a duel with a third-generation disciple. In a duel, aiming for the neck and blowing it off right at the beginning is something only a vicious demon would do. You're about to kill someone in a duel. Do you even know the meaning of the word 'duel'? It's a 'biwu'. It's a place to compare martial arts. It's not a place to kill people."

"Ah."

"The reason you can't control the force is simple. You have no real combat experience, and you barely even move your body. I'll personally teach you how to control the force, so shall we train today?"

"I have my own schedule..."

"With that loose schedule, wouldn't it be alright to roll hard for a day?"

The training method recorded in the Sama Collection Record was originally the training method used by the Sama family. In other words, it was a training method created by lazy people with good heads who didn't want to move their bodies, to become stronger with minimal movement and effort. It was a very difficult task for Jang So-gil, who had lived his life neglecting exercise, but to the martial artist Yang Gwan, it was endlessly loose and peaceful, something he was embarrassed to even call training.

"It was like watching the qigong of old people. Adding a little training to that wouldn't be a problem at all."

"Ugh."

In fact, there was no problem. Rather, it was recommended. Jang So-gil recalled a passage in the Sama Collection Record that said, 'Sometimes, if you stimulate the body by exceeding the limits of the human body with excessive exercise, the body will improve rapidly when it recovers. This is called super-recovery, and it must be done once a month. Don't forget, a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. External and internal arts must be in harmony, so do not be afraid of training the body.' He dropped his shoulders and stuck out his lips.

"I'll do it, won't I?"

"Excellent."

The preparations for the duel were postponed for a few days. Before three days had passed, Jang So-gil had perfectly learned how to control the force and was able to use the Soul-Stealing Flash ten times in a row. But to learn how to control that force, his whole body was covered in bruises, he had cursed dozens of times, and the number of times he had been beaten with a staff by Yang Gwan was over a hundred.

In the end, he had learned it, but Jang So-gil swore that he would never learn anything from Yang Gwan again, and Yang Gwan felt that the worries that had been piling up, knowingly or unknowingly, had been completely resolved, so he eagerly awaited the day he could teach So again.

"I'm not learning again. Get lost, you bastard."

Jang So-gil grabbed a large handful of salt and threw it at Yang Gwan.

This time, it was imbued with internal energy, so it hurt a little.

* * *

A few days later, ominous news spread through Luoyang again. This time, another official had hanged himself and died. It was a suicide just ten days after Yu Heon's death. Anyone with eyes and ears would know that Yu Heon's death and this death were related.

A rumor spread through the marketplace that there was a serial killer in Luoyang, the headquarters of the Martial Alliance.

"A serial killer?"

The man who couldn't even rest comfortably because he was busy dealing with the work that Jang So-gil had piled up. Sama Hwi narrowed his eyes upon hearing the rumor.

(End of Chapter)