Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114. Compression of Genuine Qi
Dam Jeok-san guided the rampant energy raging inside his body firmly toward his Dantian.
Since he had already subdued Reverse-Blood Heaven Fiend’s thoughts, there was no particular difficulty.
However, the moment the suppressed energy reached the Dantian, the situation began to change abruptly.
RUMBLEEEEE!!
His Dantian, already close to saturation with genuine qi, was now being flooded with an enormous additional amount. Dam Jeok-san felt the genuine qi inside his Dantian boil violently, as though it might burst at any moment.
‘This is more dangerous than I expected.’
If he relaxed even slightly, the genuine qi would tear through the Dantian and surge upward, shredding every acupoint into rags.
This was not a premonition but a certainty. A certainty only Dam Jeok-san—someone who had once lost his Dantian—could possess.
Even so, he did not panic or flail in fear.
‘As long as I do not lose control completely, it will be fine.’
The Dantian he had forged this time was far sturdier than the one he had lost before. Building an unshakable foundation had been the core principle from the start.
‘If it were a Dantian that could collapse just because genuine qi raged inside it, I would never have rebuilt it in the first place!’
His expectations were not wrong.
The genuine qi surged with thunderous booms, as though trying to shatter the Dantian, yet the Dantian did not budge.
That did not mean there was no impact at all.
Tearing pain flared up from the Dantian, and blood surged up his throat.
Even so, it was pain he could endure. Instead of focusing on the agony, Dam Jeok-san devoted all his effort to analyzing the surging energy.
‘Its nature is violent, but it is clearly refined energy. This is not demonic energy.’
Then it could be suppressed. If it could be suppressed, it could be compressed.
Such a vague conviction—or rather, a sharp instinct—flashed through his mind.
PRESS!
Dam Jeok-san’s formidable will crushed down upon the violently rampaging energy. The surging genuine qi was pressed and pressed again under his will.
The waves of genuine qi that had been on the verge of bursting through the Dantian began to settle, little by little.
Its ferocity had not diminished. Its volume had.
Compression. The genuine qi was being forced down and compacted by an overwhelming will.
‘I need to remember this sensation.’
The feeling of compressing genuine qi by crushing it down. The sensation of flattening it with sheer will.
It felt as though he were subjugating another will with his own.
Since genuine qi also possessed a kind of will, it might even be an accurate description.
BOOM! BOOM!
Once he grasped the sensation, Dam Jeok-san fell into a half-trance, pressing down the genuine qi again and again.
***
“A truly extraordinary sight.”
A voice bordering on awe escaped Kwon Gi-il’s lips as he watched Dam Jeok-san circulate his energy.
Unbelievably intense waves of qi burst forth from Dam Jeok-san’s body, only to be crushed back down by his terrifying will, over and over again.
It was impossible.
That a mere human will could pin down wildly rampaging genuine qi. If such a thing were possible, countless martial artists would not have ruined their lives by falling into qi deviation.
As he was thinking that, realization suddenly dawned on Kwon Gi-il.
Third Young Master Dam Jeok-san.
He was someone who had personally experienced qi deviation after failing to control rampaging genuine qi.
And more than that—he was a living witness to the miracle of overcoming it.
“……”
The eyes of Bukgung Wan, who stood silently nearby, reflected a similar sentiment.
It made no sense. Bukgung Wan was not stronger than Kwon Gi-il. But he was a sorcerer who had mastered innumerable forms of knowledge within the Ming Cult’s thousand-year legacy.
And even by Bukgung Wan’s understanding,
“Compressing genuine qi using nothing but will?”
What Dam Jeok-san was doing defied logic.
Compression of genuine qi was a technique meaningful only to supreme experts who had already reached the Entering Transformation Realm and filled their Dantian to the brim.
Even consuming peerless elixirs as though they were meals made it nearly impossible to fill a Dantian completely.
And even if it were possible, compressing genuine qi required the will—no, the intent—of someone at the Entering Transformation Realm.
That was what every secret manuscript and forbidden tome of the Ming Cult would say.
Will was the blade honed by the pure spirit of a human. A deficiency in will could not be compensated for by human sacrifice or rituals fueled by demonic energy.
Which meant—
Even if Dam Jeok-san’s martial arts were not yet technically perfected, his obsession and will alone had already gone off the conventional path and were advancing toward some transcendent realm.
Bukgung Wan, as a sorcerer, understood this logically.
“This is… exhilarating.”
A feeling akin to what one felt upon encountering a fated rival or a worthy nemesis surged within him.
Of course, it did not mean the Third Young Master was that strong yet. Still, after compressing his genuine qi like this, he would hardly be an easy opponent.
Especially when Bukgung Wan imagined trying to kill the Third Young Master with his full strength…
‘Could I really do it?’
He was still confident he could win in a fight. No matter how much stronger Dam Jeok-san became, he would not suddenly cross the wall of the Entering Transformation Realm.
But if asked whether he could kill him, he found himself shaking his head.
Even Kwon Gi-il could not fully grasp the depth of Dam Jeok-san’s hidden reserves.
Those thoughts were broken when—
“I am finished.”
Dam Jeok-san rose after completing his breathing exercises.
***
‘I nearly died.’
Compressing his genuine qi had been far more dangerous than he expected.
He had thought it would be enough to simply press it down, but the more he compressed it, the more violently the genuine qi resisted.
At first, he believed he could suppress it with moderate effort. But as it became more compressed, its nature began to change.
Denser. Harder. That was undeniably a positive transformation. It meant he had succeeded in compressing his genuine qi, and that releasing the same amount would yield far greater destructive power.
But the problem was that the backlash had strengthened as well. When he compressed the genuine qi to his desired level, the rebound force nearly felt strong enough to burst out of his Dantian.
‘Still, I managed somehow.’
Dam Jeok-san thought as he sensed the genuine qi now calmly contained within his Dantian.
The string of experiences no one else could possibly have had proved immensely helpful.
For example, he recalled suppressing Wi Cheon-rak—an expert far beyond him—within his mental image world.
‘That gave me confidence.’
This level of genuine qi was something he could suppress. After all, it was something he himself had accumulated.
With that belief, he did not stop.
And finally—
BOOM!!
His will completely crushed the genuine qi that was about to surge upward.
He had succeeded in compressing it.
The moment Dam Jeok-san opened his eyes, he let out a startled breath.
“Hah.”
The speed at which genuine qi coursed through his body had nearly doubled.
That meant he could deploy all of his martial arts far more quickly.
And it was not as though their power had diminished.
Since the same amount of genuine qi now possessed greater density, it was more accurate to say their power had increased.
HUUUM!
When Dam Jeok-san lightly thrust out his fist, the air convulsed violently with a sharp tearing sound.
‘Light.’
That was his first impression.
But when he saw the aftershock produced by the punch, his thoughts shifted.
It was not merely lighter. He was stronger. Moreover, his lower body had naturally stepped into footwork aligned with the trajectory of the punch.
The ascending synergy the Martial Sovereign had emphasized so heavily was now manifesting at a partially instinctive level.
‘That is enough.’
He wanted to try out every form he knew, but this was not the right place.
Kwon Gi-il and Bukgung Wan could not be considered entirely trustworthy allies.
“I am finished.”
Dam Jeok-san said calmly to Kwon Gi-il as he steadied his breathing.
“It seems the longer one lives, the more absurd things one ends up witnessing.”
Kwon Gi-il clicked his tongue as he replied.
Even within the Elder Council, there existed elders set apart as a category unto themselves.
Elders over a hundred years old. Calling them experts of a previous generation was meaningless—they were living history.
Kwon Gi-il had heard them reminisce about the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord’s youth more than once.
—Man Su-geuk… He was a madman.
—But he was not just mad, was he?
—True enough. Even when he had only just passed his youth, I felt it. Because of him, the Martial Sovereign Castle would be shaken to its core. Within twenty years, it would either be annihilated—or flourish for centuries to come.
Those words spoke volumes about how domineering the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord’s path had been in his youth.
And now, as Kwon Gi-il looked at Dam Jeok-san, he felt he could understand those elders’ sentiments, if only a little.
The Third Young Master’s potential was utterly unfathomable.
Even if the Eldest Young Master Jeok Yeon-jun became the next Castle Lord, if Dam Jeok-san opposed him with his life on the line, it felt as though he could split the Martial Sovereign Castle in half.
“Regardless, you have done well. You have successfully completed the Castle Lord’s command.”
Kwon Gi-il said as he looked at the grotesque corpse of the old man lying there with his head severed.
“Though his exact identity is unclear, he was likely Reverse-Blood Heaven Fiend, a Blood Palace officer.”
He nudged the corpse lightly with his foot.
Considering the martial arts he used, the waves of qi he emitted, and the highly unusual history of a fallen Entering Transformation Realm expert, no other candidate came to mind.
It was common knowledge in the martial world that Reverse-Blood Heaven Fiend had lost all of his subordinates to the Spirit River Sword Immortal of Wudang and fled in humiliation.
“That is likely correct.”
Dam Jeok-san calmly affirmed the guess.
Within the thoughts he had devoured, there lingered an extreme terror toward the endlessly rotating Taeguk sword.
Even though Dam Jeok-san had faced him head-on and taken his life, the fear of Wudang’s Taeguk Sword engraved into the man’s instincts was greater than his fear of Dam Jeok-san.
Of course, such paltry residual thoughts would never make Dam Jeok-san shrink before the Taeguk Sword.
“It seems he killed several of Wudang’s younger disciples before being hunted by the Spirit River Sword Immortal. We should contact Hubei as well.”
Dam Jeok-san said with a faint smile.
He did not expect Wudang’s support simply because he had resolved a grievance on their behalf.
Unlike the Five Great Families, the mountain-dwelling Nine Sects rarely involved themselves in worldly conflicts.
But Dam Jeok-san had never wanted anything so grand.
‘If I can carve the name Sword Dragon Dam Jeok-san into the minds of those proud Wudang Daoists, that will be enough.’
“If they hear this news, even among the elders of the Main Castle, there will be those who reconsider their stance.”
Kwon Gi-il said cautiously. He could not be certain.
The neutral elders, including himself, were mostly contrarians who never followed the tide, acting solely according to their own firm standards and beliefs.
Unless they saw something with their own eyes, mere news would not easily sway them.
‘Still, it should serve as a trigger.’
A trigger to look once more at the Third Young Master, who had been overshadowed by the Eldest.
“There are Hidden Heaven Guard warriors who followed us. They will likely handle the cleanup. Let us go eat first.”
Dam Jeok-san said, glancing faintly into the distant air.
From far away, he sensed them flinch. Their stealth was impressive, but not enough to escape his perception.
“Very well.”
“Sounds good.”
Kwon Gi-il and Bukgung Wan nodded easily, as though they had known all along.
***
Silver Tear Pavilion was an inn located on the northwestern outskirts of Shanxi Province.
Despite being in a quiet area, it was quite large and luxurious, making it well known as a place frequented by martial artists and high-ranking officials traveling toward the northern regions.
“Bring another bottle of wine!”
A man who had practically taken over half of Silver Tear Pavilion while indulging in drink and revelry shouted.
He was Geum Ja-gyeong, the Young Family Head of the Geum Clan—one of the Ten Great Martial Families of neighboring Hebei Province.
Geum Ja-gyeong was thirty-nine years old this year. He was a mediocre talent who had only recently stepped into the Peak Realm, and he had been placed in charge of escorting regular merchant caravans traveling between Shanxi and Hebei.
This was the first independent mission of his life.
To celebrate its successful completion, he had settled into Silver Tear Pavilion and begun drinking himself senseless.
“Young Family Head… it has already been two days. Should you not moderate yourself and return to the clan?”
Heo Ja-gyeom spoke with visible anxiety.
He was the Deputy Steward of the Geum Clan, assigned by the Clan Head to act as an advisor to Geum Ja-gyeong—someone thoroughly versed in both the clan’s internal and external affairs.
In truth, it was Heo Ja-gyeom who had effectively overseen this merchant escort mission.
‘This will not do if he keeps causing trouble here.’
Silver Tear Pavilion was a high-class inn, with ties not only to martial sects but also to government offices.
They had paid generously, so there was no immediate issue, but…
‘Our funds are running dry.’
He could request more money from the main house, but that would severely damage Geum Ja-gyeong’s reputation.
It would erase the significance of successfully escorting the merchants.
But that was not even the worst possibility.
‘If some renowned martial artist happens to arrive here….’
If Geum Ja-gyeong were to clash with someone like that—
Heo Ja-gyeom did not even want to imagine it.
As he struggled to suppress his ominous thoughts,
Dam Jeok-san’s group was heading toward Silver Tear Pavilion, following Kwon Gi-il’s recommendation.