Chapter 55
Bone and Marrow Cleansing.
A dream realm that all martial artists wished for.
So-ah had already achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and the Five Qis Returning to the Origin in his youth, becoming a peerless master who had entered the realm of creation. But at that time, he was so young that his body could not follow his spiritual enlightenment, so he had not experienced Bone and Marrow Cleansing.
Conversely, there were masters who had experienced Bone and Marrow Cleansing and the Five Qis Returning to the Origin but had not achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, and there were also masters who had achieved Bone and Marrow Cleansing and the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown but had not achieved the Five Qis Returning to the Origin.
In this way, enlightenment was not standardized, and individual differences were stark. But the one who had surpassed all of this was Moyong Cheon’s Mysterious Realm. In other words, the stage of entering the divine, where one had achieved all accomplishments such as Returning to the Origin, Bone and Marrow Cleansing, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, and the Five Qis Returning to the Origin.
Of course, So-ah had not yet entered his grandfather’s stage.
To meet the Mysterious Realm, he would have to go through more fortuitous encounters, deeper enlightenment, and above all, arduous training.
But, paradoxically, So-ah had now completed all the preparatory processes to reach the Mysterious Realm.
Because he had experienced all the superhuman accomplishments that existed in the realm of creation.
‘Bone and Marrow Cleansing… Bone and Marrow Cleansing!’
So-ah felt an indescribable sense of elation and,
“I hit the jackpot!”
He shouted so loudly that the stone cave seemed to leave.
He couldn’t help but be happy.
Because now, the only Orthodox Path people who had achieved a higher realm than So-ah were the Grand Master Gong-seung of Shaolin and Master Yong-gak of Jongnam, who had entered the Mysterious Realm.
But that didn’t mean that So-ah was the third strongest master of the Orthodox Path.
Because throughout the Orthodox Martial Path, there were at least enough people to fill one’s fingers who had mastered all sections of the realm of creation like So-ah.
But if someone were to find out about today’s fortuitous encounter, they would not be able to avoid being utterly astonished…
So-ah was now twenty years old.
Not only in the present era, but also in the previous era, the only person who had achieved such an accomplishment at the age of twenty was the Heavenly Demon, Wi-ji Un. This proved that So-ah was at least the best prodigy of the present era, passing through the previous era, and a martial artist representing the new era.
‘Thank you, Grandpa. And Grandpa Wi-ji.’
He paid a silent tribute to the two deceased people in his heart.
He was grateful to Wi-ji Un, who had readily gifted him the peerless treasure, the <Map of the Ghost Valley Mountain Manor>, and he was grateful to his grandfather who had passed down the Great Whale Heart Law.
‘I’ll have to visit my grandfather’s grave once.’
Just then.
Sssss!
The white gas that had guided him to the stone cave billowed up again and wrapped around So-ah’s entire body.
[O chosen one. The second trial will one day manifest before you!]
With that short remark, the gas sent So-ah’s figure flying somewhere.
***
Pushaaaaak—!
“Oh my!”
The stream of water from the large lake soared up like a waterspout in the middle of the sea.
“So-ah!!”
Wang So-yeong, seeing So-ah appear through the water, was startled and shouted.
“It didn’t take long, did it?”
“Hey, Jin So-ah! What on earth is this? Huh?”
Wang So-yeong was still dumbfounded.
She had been wandering in the desert and suddenly he was talking nonsense to himself, and then he had guided her to a space that didn’t look like a desert at all and had jumped into the lake without a word. How could she understand So-ah’s actions?
Sssss…!
Even the last scene of the white gas disappearing did not seem to be visible to Wang So-yeong’s eyes.
So-ah, once again, clicked his tongue at this amazing fortuitous encounter, and then finally opened his mouth to Wang So-yeong.
“So-yeong-ah.”
“Yeah, say something.”
“Don’t take what I say… strangely.”
“Ah, so what is it! Hurry up and tell me. I’m dying of curiosity.”
“Excuse me…”
So-ah hesitated several times even as he was speaking.
He couldn’t even believe it himself, so would Wang So-yeong believe him?
What if she treated him like a madman and canceled the request?
All sorts of thoughts came to his mind.
But,
“You! You’ve obtained a great fortuitous encounter, haven’t you? Hey! Congratulations!”
Surprisingly, Wang So-yeong accepted So-ah’s words without any resistance.
“Huh? You believe this story?”
“What’s not to believe? Fortuitous encounters in the Jianghu don’t happen just once or twice. My father, for example, is said to have had a fortuitous encounter where he met the god of ice jade when he was young.”
“The god of ice jade?”
“Yeah.”
So-ah was bewildered.
‘What’s the god of ice jade… Bing-shin… really.’
Was his own absurd experience a fortuitous encounter, and another’s mysterious experience a lie?
“There’s no such thing in the world.”
“What are you talking about? It’s real. Don’t tell me you think my father… no, the lord of the great North Sea Ice Palace and the master of the North Sea, Great Hero Wang Bang-tae, would tell such a shabby lie?”
“What?”
“What?!”
“No, your father’s name is Wang Bang-tae?”
“So?”
“Puhuhup!”
So-ah quickly covered his mouth and swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out.
As expected, Wang So-yeong’s gaze turned menacing.
“What are you? What’s with that reaction?”
“Ah… it’s nothing. Nothing.”
“You… really…”
“I said it’s nothing!”
“What about you? Aren’t you also exaggerating a bit? At your age, what Five Qis Returning to the Origin, Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown… Bone and Marrow Cleansing?”
“What are you talking about, I don’t lie. No, I don’t. Why would I tell such a lie.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“But what? The realm of creation? You’re lying, really. Ugh. You’re strong, you’re strong, so you’re lying that you’re one of the ten great masters of the Orthodox Path. Do you think I’ll fall for that just because I’m from a sect outside the pass?”
So-ah frowned as if he was frustrated.
Then,
“Here! Look. Touch this hair. Look at my teeth. They’re brand new, right? Right? And what about my skin? Touch my face once. See if it’s a face that has undergone Bone and Marrow Cleansing or not.”
He pointed to various parts of his body and tried to prove the Bone and Marrow Cleansing.
‘Come to think of it… it really seems to have changed a bit… don’t tell me, did he really undergo Bone and Marrow Cleansing?!’
Wang So-yeong was inwardly astonished.
Because in Wang So-yeong’s common sense, Bone and Marrow Cleansing at the age of 20 was almost an unknown realm that could not be achieved even by a person who ate spiritual medicines as a side dish, received marrow washing instead of bathing, and swallowed spiritual dans on their birthday.
‘But… if it’s this monster… for some reason, it seems like it could be real…’
But Wang So-yeong did not show it.
Because it was clear that if she acknowledged it, the arrogant attitude of that Jin So-ah would become even more conceited.
“Enough! Why would I touch your face? How disgusting.”
“What? Disgusting? Wow! I’m not as pretty as you, but I’ve heard that I’m quite cute in my life.”
“Am I pretty?”
“Huh?”
“You just said it. ‘I’m not as pretty as you’!”
“Ah…”
‘Ah… really.’
So-ah’s face turned red for no reason.
This was the first time in his life that he had shown such a side.
“Let’s go! Wang Man-du. No, was it Wang So-yeong?”
“What?”
“Ah, I’m a bit confused. I don’t remember people’s names well. I called Namgung Mun ‘Namgung Dae-mun’ for years.”
“What are you talking about? What on earth?”
“I don’t know either, dammit.”
So-ah let out a complaint but snickered.
The treasure called the Great Purity Ultimate Divine Pill.
And the experience of Bone and Marrow Cleansing from it.
This journey was already a great harvest with just this.
And now,
“It’s time to mess them up. So-yeong-ah.”
“…”
“Now let’s go break the heads of the thieves and find the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade.”
So-ah was already overflowing with power as if it would explode.
The Great Desert Annihilation Formation?
He had no intention of being caught in it again.
Vowing to blow away such a thing with a single puff, So-ah once again wrapped his arm around Wang So-yeong’s waist.
“Oops! Hey… why are you so rough?”
Although Wang So-yeong protested, the figures of the two had already flown into the sky through the Swift Whale Steps.
***
“Fifth Protector. How much did you get hit?”
“Sob, sob… Chief… that bastard from the Central Plains… hit me… thousands of times… and insulted me… and despised me… and looked down on me…”
As the old woman, Black Rose, whose teeth were almost all gone due to So-ah’s ruthless massage technique, spoke with difficulty, the chief of the Mad Wind Sand, Yi Ga-don, who was frustrated because he couldn’t understand, let out a roar.
“Ah, what on earth are you saying? You old hag!”
‘Damn it, why are you getting angry when you were the one who asked!’
Black Rose was furious, but she could not disobey.
Anyway, it was Yi Ga-don and the Great Desert Annihilation Formation of the Mad Wind Sand that had saved her.
“Anyway, I have to find out that brat’s identity. My goodness, that young brat’s hands were so stinging. And what about his martial arts? He had almost reached the realm of entering the divine. Does that even make sense?”
As Yi Ga-don once again recalled So-ah’s martial prowess, his teeth chattered.
“That cunning bitch definitely recognized the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade! They must be the ones sent by the Liaoning Escort Agency. I’ll have to sell off the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade quickly.”
Yi Ga-don moved his gaze to the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade that was splendidly hung on the wall of the annex.
The heavenly mineral, the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, which shone brightly and emitted a cold ki.
If handled well, it would be worth more than a hundred gold ingots…
‘Keke. What a stroke of luck.’
His boiling insides cleared up brightly as he looked at the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade.
But.
As Yi Ga-don turned his head at the presence he felt at the entrance of the annex…
‘Th-Th-…’
The corners of his mouth that had been turned up and his curved eyebrows now drew a strange arc, and,
“You… you… you bastard!”
A curse came out of his mouth again.
“Yo! Friends of the Mad Wind Sand. Hello?”
Not even half a day had passed.
Still early in the morning.
Who would have thought that they would see the face of that vicious demon again at this time when the dawn had not yet broken?
“You… you… why did you come again?!”
Of course, the person who was struggling the most was the old woman, Black Rose.
“What are you talking about, you toothless old hag.”
Tuk, tuk!
Before he knew it, So-ah was holding a club and tapping it.
Black Rose, without realizing it, trembled as the ‘fear of the bloody stool’ came to her mind.
“Hee… eek!”
And,
“Ah! The guys who were on guard outside have already been swept away without a sound, so don’t have any false hopes.”
“…”
“From now on, prepare to shit blood.”
Tatatatatak!
So-ah’s figure headed towards the robbers like a water-filled swallow.
“Kill that crazy bastard!”
At Yi Ga-don’s command, the robbers once again formed the formation of the Great Desert Annihilation Formation.
—Kwagagaaaang!
The 1:100 fight began again like that.
***
“Uwaaaaaack!”
“Stop! Please… please stop!”
“He’s a demon, that brat is definitely a demon.”
“Buddha… Guan Yin Bodhisattva. Primordial Heavenly Venerable! I’ll live without murder, robbery, and rape from now on, so please show me mercy just once! Pleeeease!”
‘Are these guys completely crazy?’
It was ridiculous.
It was the way of the world for humans to pray to God when they became weak, but what on earth was this about showing mercy because they would live without murder, robbery, and rape?
So-ah, who was so dumbfounded that he had stopped the violence for a moment, snorted and scolded him.
“Hey. Thief.”
“Yes… yes?!”
“Are you saying that as if you mean it?”
“Ah… that’s…”
“According to your words, you didn’t hesitate to commit murder, robbery, and rape until now.”
“Gr-Great Hero!”
“You’re a bastard who deserves to go to the fires of hell a dozen times, but what? You’re asking Buddha and the Supreme Being for mercy?”
“Hah…”
“Tell me honestly. You’re Buddha, and you’re the Supreme Being. Then would you show mercy to yourself?”
“No…”
He was a naive brat, but his acknowledgment was as fast as a flash of lightning, so this was also a lamentable situation.
“Do you want to live?”
“Yes…”
“Alright. I won’t kill you.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll let you live.”
“Gr-Great Hero, long live!”
“Instead, I’ll beat you until you beg me to kill you.”
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
So-ah’s violence, which had undergone Bone and Marrow Cleansing, was much more marvelous than before.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
It was like a piece of art.
To the point where it was not inferior even when compared to a beautiful sword dance.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
The Great Desert Annihilation Formation had already been shattered, and the chief, Yi Ga-don, and the old woman, Black Rose, had been foaming at the mouth and had lost consciousness for a long time.
The remaining dregs were also falling like rotten old trees under So-ah’s club.
‘Now I’m scared… seriously…’
Wang So-yeong, who was watching the situation in the room from the entrance of the annex, held the retrieved Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade tightly and shook her head.
At this moment, was So-ah the god of violence, a vicious demon?
Or was he a hero who punished evil for the sake of justice?
Or was he the strongest escort in history who faithfully carried out his request?
‘No. So-ah, that kid, right now, he’s definitely…’
Wang So-yeong’s teeth chattered.
‘Enjoying it… crazy!’
But for some reason, a strange feeling arose, and it didn’t feel so bad.
The corners of her mouth were slightly turned up.
(End of Chapter)