Chapter 20 :

Chapter 20

Act 4: The Bamboo-Tube Beauty

Before even the bell announcing dawn had sounded, Yise’s eyes snapped open.

His body remembered when to wake up.

It was a habit he had maintained since early childhood.

Before the thought of sleeping longer could even cross his mind, his fingertips pushed away the blanket and his feet found the floor.

Today, he rose with even greater energy and enthusiasm than usual.

At last.

Finally.

He could begin cultivating.

It was the moment he had awaited for so long.

He sensed restless activity outside his private room.

Footsteps passing through the corridor, the sound of someone drawing water, and someone suppressing a yawn were all detected by his sensitive Dokkaebi Senses.

Yise quickly tidied his sleeping quarters, went outside, and headed directly up Azure Mountain.

Thus began the first day of his eagerly anticipated life in the Grand Martial Path.

He had received a general explanation of their daily routine during yesterday’s initiation ceremony.

The lives of first-year novice disciples in the Grand Martial Path were simple.

They independently acquired the knowledge required for cultivation from the Library Pavilion, which stored the secret manuals available to novice disciples.

They then continued cultivating at the training grounds scattered across Azure Mountain or inside private training rooms.

If they encountered difficulties in their cultivation, they could question their assigned cultivator.

They could also occasionally inspect the mission bulletin board and accept individual assignments through the training institute’s administrator.

Most were nearby, simple missions around Azure Mountain intended to provide experience.

Nevertheless, the contribution points, spirit stones, and other resources offered as rewards made many novice disciples salivate.

Of course, the training institute’s administrator had warned them that danger existed even in the easiest missions.

They were told not to accept missions recklessly before their first formal assignment and to focus on cultivating instead.

When Yise left the dormitory, he saw several other novice disciples heading in the same direction.

It was their first morning after entering the Grand Martial Path.

Although the sun had yet to rise above the mountainside, the atmosphere of Azure Mountain was strangely excited.

No one spoke, but everyone had the same destination.

They all shared the same feelings.

They eventually reached the highest point of Azure Mountain.

The training institute’s administrative office and Library Pavilion had been constructed there, where the most mystical energy was said to gather.

A long line of novice disciples stretched out in front of them.

Yise frowned in frustration.

He had thought he departed early after waking, but a considerable number of people had hurried even more than him.

His habit of strictly following his self-imposed routine had worked against him.

“You’re late.”

At the very front of the waiting line, Yise saw a disheveled Seol Ryeong sticking her head out and looking at him.

‘Cutting in line... probably wouldn’t be appropriate.’

Yise joined the back of the line and asked her,

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Since last night? My heart was pounding so much that I couldn’t sleep.”

Seol Ryeong answered with a long yawn.

Pi Garam stood around the middle of the line.

Yise greeted him with a slight nod.

Hae Unchan was nowhere to be seen.

Considering his enormous appetite, he had undoubtedly gone to eat first.

When it was time for the Library Pavilion to open, the cultivator managing it emerged and began helping the disciples enter one at a time with practiced ease.

They recorded their entries and received the precautions.

“No secret manual may be removed or copied. You may read only one volume at a time.”

The rules were simple.

When his turn arrived and Yise entered, he momentarily held his breath.

Countless books filled the walls.

Basic cultivation methods, secret spell manuals, attribute-based magic, pill refinement, puppetry, mechanism formations...

“Are... all of these intended for the Energy Refinement Realm?”

“Yes. They’re for beginners.”

“If the beginner collection is this extensive, what could possibly be stored above it...?”

Just as the disciples murmured, the Library Pavilion appeared to contain introductory texts for every kind of magic in existence.

Even the cultivation methods that formed the foundation for advancing a cultivator’s realm occupied an entire shelf.

However, there were only four different cultivation manuals:

The Demon Vanguard Volume, the Shaman Volume, the Healer Volume, and the Shadow Master Volume.

Numerous copies containing identical material had been arranged so several people could read them simultaneously.

There were still not enough for every disciple to read at once, but after today, a shortage of manuals was unlikely to be a problem.

The problem was that Yise wanted to read a cultivation manual immediately.

Ultimately, he stood behind an applicant who had entered before him and was already reading one.

Yise felt somewhat guilty about peeking, but he could not contain his curiosity.

At least he did not disturb the reader and only silently examined the secret manual’s contents over his shoulder.

“......?”

“Don’t mind me. Keep reading.”

Bu Chun, the disciple caught in Yise’s strange behavior, was horrified.

‘Why did it have to be me...?’

When Bu Chun kept glancing backward, clearly conscious of Yise standing behind him, Yise reassured him again.

“Seriously, don’t mind me.”

It was impossible not to mind him.

“Don’t feel pressured. Read it comfortably and give it to me when you’re finished.”

The pressure only intensified.

The person standing behind him as though staging a protest was none other than this year’s highest-ranked applicant.

He was the mad cultivator who had defeated even Hae Unchan, whose Heavenly Root Physique had made him the presumed first-place candidate.

He had also severed the Mokgwang’s head during the examination and raised it high as though proudly displaying it.

Bu Chun did not want to become involved with him, but neither did he want Yise to dislike him or become his enemy.

What if Yise developed a grudge because he took too long?

Should he simply hand over the manual and read it later?

The time he had spent waiting would be wasted, but that was still less valuable than his life.

Ultimately, Bu Chun decided to compromise with reality.

“Would you like to read it first...?”

“What? Really? I don’t mind waiting.”

His expression did not say that he was willing to wait.

It looked like the face of a malevolent spirit demanding that Bu Chun hand over the book immediately and disappear.

“I-I’m also interested in swordsmanship, so I can read a swordsmanship manual first...”

“Thank you. I’ll remember this.”

Bu Chun desperately hoped he would forget.

He fled from Yise as quickly as possible.

Moved by the kindness of his fellow disciple, Yise opened the book.

Demon-Extermination and Spirit-Purification Energy Refinement Art: Demon Vanguard Volume.

It was the foundation of the Grand Martial Path.

A basic cultivation method founded upon physical training.

The first page recorded the principles at the heart of the Demon-Extermination and Spirit-Purification Energy Refinement Art.

“Train the body.

“Hunt demons and accumulate the purified spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the trained body.

“Add enlightenment to the accumulated spiritual energy and advance to the next cultivation realm.”

The Energy Refinement Realm was a preparatory process during which novice cultivators became accustomed to controlling spiritual energy and prepared to reach a truly superhuman state.

“Stars One through Four—the early stage: sensing and controlling spiritual energy.

“Stars Five through Seven—the middle stage: assigning attributes to spiritual energy and using magic.

“Stars Eight and Nine—the late stage: transforming the body and internal organs one by one.

“Star Ten—Great Completion. Its formal name is Great Perfection, but the phrase ‘Great Perfection of the Energy Refinement Realm’ sounds so absurdly insignificant that it is normally called Great Completion instead.

“At this stage, all turbid energy is removed from the body, which is then reconstructed in preparation for the Foundation Establishment Realm.”

Upon finally reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm through this process, one’s spiritual energy would no longer flow like meridians.

Instead, it would be contained within a vessel known as the Dharma-Transformation Dantian, allowing the cultivator to accumulate a greater quantity of purer spiritual energy.

The cultivator would also undergo bodily rebirth.

Their aging would slow, and ordinary blades and poisons would no longer be able to harm their body.

‘Wait.’

As Yise continued reading, he suddenly stopped and frowned as though he had seen something he should not have.

“From the late stage onward, avoid worldly food to prevent turbid energy from accumulating directly within the body.”

The annotation forced a lament from him.

Was this how it felt to watch one’s country collapse?

However, Yise strengthened his unyielding resolve and painfully turned the page.

For each cultivation realm, the secret manual provided mnemonic formulas containing the necessary insights, along with extensive annotations intended to make the enlightenment easier to attain.

“The First Star of the Energy Refinement Realm is Meridian Awakening: becoming aware of the spiritual meridians, awakening spiritual energy, and sensing its flow.

“The Second Star is Spiritual Movement: controlling and moving the spiritual energy flowing through the spiritual meridians according to one’s will.

“The Third Star is Spiritual Emission: drawing out spiritual energy. In other words, extracting the spiritual energy flowing through the body, placing it into a ritual implement, infusing it into a weapon, or firing it outward.”

Therefore, Yise’s next stage required him to draw his spiritual energy outside his body.

Yise memorized as much of the cultivation manual as possible before closing it and standing so the next person could read it.

He could not memorize everything immediately anyway.

All he currently needed were the mnemonic formula and annotations for the next cultivation realm.

It appeared that he would spend a considerable amount of time visiting the Library Pavilion.

If time allowed, he also intended to learn as many technical manuals as possible.

Yise was particularly interested in the Immortal Cuisine Cooking Method.

It taught techniques for making food that did not cause the absorption of turbid energy, as well as dishes that assisted cultivation.

He had already been worried that he might have to abandon gourmet dining, which had practically become his only hobby.

It was a craft perfectly suited to him.

“What are you reading?”

Hae Unchan, who had arrived late, accepted the cultivation manual from Yise and glanced at the secret manual Yise was taking out.

“...You really are relentless.”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who arrived late because he was eating.”

Hae Unchan fell completely silent.

The contents of the Immortal Cuisine Cooking Method were even more interesting than the cultivation method.

It described numerous cooking methods that maximized spiritual-energy absorption by using spiritual objects and the corpses of spirit beasts.

Yise was not certain whether using them that way was acceptable.

Immortal cuisine was also rare and profitable.

He was not particularly greedy for wealth, but if delicious food could also aid his cultivation, it would be the best of both worlds.

“Is there another volume?”

After quickly reading through the material, Yise questioned the Library Pavilion’s administrator.

“The only volume here is an introductory manual intended for trial purposes. You must reach the main mountain to inspect the proper secret manual.”

“Ah...”

“Of course, you cannot read every manual merely because you want to. You must spend contribution points to obtain access to the main sect’s secret manuals. If there is a manual that interests you, complete missions and accumulate contribution points in advance.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Yise answered obediently, but he was honestly dissatisfied.

If they belonged to the same sect, should they not at least share their secret manuals?

It was not as though the books would wear out.

Of course, he understood that the restriction was intended to motivate disciples to undertake dangerous missions.

However, it was an unnecessary restriction for Yise, who would willingly hunt and kill every demon he encountered without being forced.

‘For now, I should focus on cultivating.’

The moment Yise left the Library Pavilion, he headed directly toward a private training room.

The training room was quiet.

When the barrier closed, all external energy was completely blocked.

Yise sat on the floor in the lotus position.

“Draw spiritual energy out of the body and retain it there.

“Release it outside without allowing it to disperse.”

As he repeated the mnemonic formula and closed his eyes, the familiar sensations arose.

Spiritual energy and demonic energy.

Two currents that rejected and snarled at each other.

Whenever the spiritual energy attempted to move, the demonic energy pushed it back from the opposite side.

The two currents constantly surged as they collided and attempted to consume each other.

A bitter taste filled Yise’s mouth, and nausea rose from his stomach.

He clenched his teeth at the sensation of something turning over inside his abdomen.

‘Draw the spiritual energy out of my body and make it remain there.’

Yise steadied his breathing and pushed the spiritual energy toward his fingertips.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, this time with greater force.

He failed again.

He repeated the attempt numerous times.

He gathered every trace of spiritual energy and demonic energy he possessed and repeatedly tried to force them outward.

Then, at a certain moment, his fingertips tingled, and the air trembled faintly.

It was extremely weak, but he could clearly feel that something had escaped his body.

A faint smile appeared on Yise’s lips.

This was easier than expected.

However, there was one problem.

‘It feels like I don’t possess enough energy overall.’

The principle of the Energy Refinement Realm was to accumulate first and attain enlightenment afterward.

In other words, advancing to the next cultivation realm required a certain amount of energy to have already accumulated within the body.

It did not appear possible to overcome the barrier of the Third Star using only the spiritual energy he had obtained from the Yakwhan Pill.

‘If I want to accumulate spiritual energy...’

There were three methods.

The first was to slowly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through meditation.

It was the orthodox method, but Yise did not want to cultivate so leisurely.

The second was to acquire and absorb a spiritual pill.

That was impossible because he had no resources.

Spiritual pills were difficult to obtain, and their prices soared without limit.

Furthermore, the Demon-Extermination and Spirit-Purification Cultivation Method had a particular characteristic.

The more easily one raised one’s cultivation realm using spiritual pills, the more medicinal toxicity accumulated within the body, increasing the intensity of the Heavenly Tribulation encountered at higher cultivation realms.

He had heard that this did not apply to his constitution, but there was no harm in remaining cautious.

‘It will be difficult inside the Grand Martial Path. I need to hunt more demons.’

Perhaps this was why novice disciples risked leaving for the mortal world even before receiving their first formal assignments.

It was another moment of enlightenment for Yise.