Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 164

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 164. Galaxy Martial God Hall – Reward (3)

The Family Head regarded me with a sidelong gaze.
“I can see right through that smile of yours.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”
I asked with shameless politeness, and the Family Head let out a soft chuckle at the sight of me.
“You reckless thing. Is there no way to force an answer out of you?”
In response to the Family Head’s question, I picked up the hand bell and spoke.
“Please protect your body with your inner energy for a moment. It would be best if you especially protect your ears.”
The Family Head followed my instructions without hesitation.
I rang the bell slowly.
Ding—!
—Krrrraaaaaahhhhh!!
The soul screamed in agony as the Gwigok-seong rang out.
The Family Head seemed startled, as though hearing the Gwigok-seong for the first time.
“If you don’t answer truthfully, I’ll keep ringing the bell.”
Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!
—Krraaaaahhh! I, I can’t, I can’t, I caaaan’t saaay it! Kraaagh! I’ll tell you! Please stop!!
At the promise to speak, I set down the bell.
“Now you can ask freely. Oh, should I step outside?”
“Yes—there are some things in this world best left unknown. You may stay. Does it react like that whenever I ring the bell?”
“Ah, one moment. Originally, only a ritual master governing consciousness could ring it and get a reaction like that. But never mind—I’ve modified the ritual array, so it should respond now.”
As I added a few ritual patterns to the bell, the Family Head looked at me with wonder.
“Is it really this simple to do?”
“It shouldn’t be. Otherwise, the Leftist Path wouldn’t be so feared in practice. I’ll take my leave now.”
The Family Head stopped me as I turned to go.
“Ah, is there any way the family could use this tool itself? It’s quite convenient.”
“I’ll have a report ready by tomorrow. Should I send it to the Secretary Director?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
I left the torture chamber—or rather, the interrogation room.
For some ten minutes after I departed, the sound of the bell and the Gwigok-seong rang out several more times, but the Family Head emerged from the room looking satisfied.
“Did you get what you wanted?”
The Family Head nodded at my question.
“Yes, I asked thinking I’d lose nothing even if it didn’t work, but I never expected to solve it so cleanly. Are you truly unwilling to join the Military Affairs Division?”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. I’m not.”
For some reason, I felt that joining the Military Affairs Division would be a turning point in my life.
If I were to enter the Military Force Unit, so be it—but the Military Affairs Division was absolutely off the table.
“Pity. That’s a shame. I’ll see you receive a separate reward for this work.”
The Family Head and I returned to the reception room after leaving the interrogation chamber.
Soon after, the Family Head seated me on the sofa and opened a safe directly behind where he stood.
From the safe, the Family Head withdrew a thick hardcover martial arts manual and a pair of special lens glasses.
“Here. This is the martial art that will be granted to you.”
Byeokrye Pama Shingong.
A technique bearing the name “Shingong” was something most people had heard of at least once, yet I had never encountered Byeokrye Pama Shingong before.
But given that it came directly from the Cheon Family—the foremost clan in the Galaxy—and was bestowed as a reward by the Family Head himself, it was no ordinary martial art.
“Thank you.”
The manual, fitting for a Shingong, was printed on anti-counterfeiting paper, and furthermore bore classified security document printing.
Anti-counterfeiting printing made scanning itself impossible with current computer technology, while classified security printing made it impossible for the human eye to read the document at all.
The pages themselves appeared blank, but when viewed through a specially-made lens calibrated to the printing pattern, the contents of the book became visible.
The Jincheon Young Shingong that the Family Head had given Cheon So-yeon in first year had anti-counterfeiting measures, but not classified security printing.
For reference, I had read and memorized the Jincheon Young Shingong when Cheon So-yeon showed it to me, though I’d never actually trained in it. After all, my current body made cultivation of inner energy impossible.
“Take a look for yourself.”
At the Family Head’s words, I put on the special lens glasses he’d provided and read through the Byeokrye Pama Shingong.
The text was extraordinarily complex and abstruse, filled with difficult passages and annotations, yet something about it felt strangely familiar—so much so that it seemed I could learn and apply it immediately.
“What do you think? Do you believe you could learn it?”
At the Family Head’s question, I nodded.
“Yes, I’m not sure how to put it… but I feel as though this martial art was created specifically for me.”
“Ha ha ha! You flatter me.”
When the Family Head didn’t believe me and laughed, I channeled my Naegong according to the Gugyeol written in the martial arts manual.
Crack!
The moment lightning gathered at my fingertips, the Family Head jolted up from his seat in shock.
“Truly?! You achieved Entry upon seeing it?”
His sudden surprise startled me even more.
“…Wasn’t that the very purpose for which you gave it to me, to observe and learn?”
“Well, yes, I gave it to you to observe and learn, but I never expected you to master it right here in this room. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely confident you could actually learn it at all.”
No, if it’s a martial art like that, don’t give it as a reward!
If I couldn’t have mastered it, there’d be no meaning to it as a reward!
Apart from my indignation, as I continued reading the manual, one question arose in my mind.
“By the way, does an original version of this exist separately?”
At my question, the Family Head regarded me with interest.
“An original version, you say. What made you think of that?”
“Well… looking at this content, I can see the patterns of the clan’s martial arts and how the Naegong converts according to the Gugyeol, but regarding the movement of the Naegong, or what I should call the foundation of the martial art—I haven’t fully grasped it yet, so it’s difficult to explain in detail—but the roots seem to be entirely different.”
At my answer, the Family Head nodded.
“Correct. That martial art is one our clan’s elder combined from an external martial art obtained long ago with our family’s inherited martial art.”
An elder? Is there someone the Family Head calls elder?
Is it someone from very long ago?
Thinking thus, I turned the last page, and there I found the author’s name.
“…Family… Head, sir?”
“Ah, is the author’s name written there? Keep it secret. If word of this spreads outside unnecessarily, a Blood Calamity could arise.”
The author’s name on the last page was Cheon Seung.
One of the Ten Immortals Beyond Heaven, the Sword Sovereign Cheon Seung—a martial master of the Transcendent Realm.
There was a reason the Family Head was astonished when I mastered this art upon seeing it.
No wonder the martial art was so dreadfully difficult.
“I shall certainly keep it secret.”
There was no way I’d voluntarily entangle myself in a Blood Calamity.
“Yet regardless of whatever merit I may have earned, this martial art seems far too generous for me. Am I truly permitted to receive it?”
At my question, the Family Head nodded readily.
“It is a martial art that no one has been able to master since its creation. We gave it to you precisely because the original martial art it derives from is one meant for the Giryeong-jiche, so think nothing of it.”
No one could master it? Then even the Sword Sovereign who created this art couldn’t master it himself?
Is it really safe for me to learn this? Am I becoming an experiment?
“What exactly is the Giryeong-jiche….”
“The Giryeong-jiche is a physique spoken of in the Leftist Path Sects as a talent of the ages. The most famous person in history to possess the Giryeong-jiche is Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Tao.”
The Taiping Tao? You said it was famous, but what sect is it?
When I showed no recognition of who Zhang Jiao was, the Family Head laughed softly and asked.
“You don’t know the Yellow Scarves?”
“Ah! The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I do know of Zhang Jiao, who founded the Yellow Scarves.”
Most versions of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms begin not with Zhang Jiao who founded the Yellow Scarves, but from after their rebellion, with the Oath in the Peach Garden of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, so it was difficult to recall immediately.
By the standards of this world, the Three Kingdoms era was a time when numerous warriors bearing various legendary physiques appeared if even one example were mentioned.
The Cheongang-jiche of Lü Bu, the Cheonmu-jiche of Guan Yu, the Paeryeok Young-che of Ma Chao, the Yeolgang Hogoal of Lü Meng, the Seonpung Dogoal of Zhuge Liang, and so forth.
And among them would be Zhang Jiao of the Giryeong-jiche as well.
“Besides Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Tao, there is Wei Hua, a woman who founded the Moshan School.”
I had never heard of this Wei Hua before, but I had heard of the Moshan School.
Before the Leftist Path became defunct, it was a sect that primarily dealt with the Leftist Path, and around the 22nd century it engaged in heretical practices, was marked as a public enemy of the Martial Alliance, and was extinguished entirely.
“In any case, if you can master it, it is a supreme martial art than which you would find none better. Master it well. Before you become a Seong-in, if you master even the 1st Grade, I shall give you the corresponding Gwongak-beop; if you master the 2nd Grade, the Geombeop; and if you master up to the 3rd Grade, the Bobeop.”
“Isn’t the Bobeop usually learned first?”
“Not this Bobeop. This Bobeop is different.”
The Family Head chuckled to himself at his own joke.
“Then let us conclude for today. It was a pleasure to meet with you, and I thank you for your efforts. Give careful thought to the matter of entering the Military Department that I mentioned.”
“Yes, I shall give it full consideration and return with my answer.”
After I bowed and exited the Reception Room, the Secretary Director was waiting.
“Did you have an enjoyable time? Allow me to guide you to the waiting room.”
Now it was time to return home.

* * *

As Cheon Ji-woo withdrew, Family Head Cheon Ja-su brushed himself off and rose, returning to his office.
Seated at his desk, he contacted someone through a hotline connected across star systems.
While real-time calls were possible within the same star system in this age, real-time communication between star systems incurred enormous costs, so only the Sect Masters of Major Sects maintained hotlines.
He placed the call, and a middle-aged man answered via video.
“Still enjoying life, I see.”
The man’s clothes were plastered with idol merchandise.

-Heh heh heh, jealous? Then you hand over your So-gajuu duties and come down here. Ah—! You haven’t even chosen a So-gajuu yet, have you?

At the middle-aged man’s teasing, Cheon Ja-su clicked his tongue lightly.
“Even if a So-gajuu is chosen, the previous Family Head left a deathbed instruction that he would maintain the position for at least three hundred years, so retirement before then is impossible.”
At minimum, he’d have to hold the Family Head position for another two hundred fifty years.

-Puh heh heh heh! What a shame! That fellow has a good eye for people. A blessing to the clan, truly a blessing.

At the playful laughter, Cheon Ja-su pressed his fingers to his forehead.
He’d never wanted to become Family Head in the first place.
Circumstances had simply drifted in a direction contrary to his wishes, and before he knew it, he’d been appointed So-gajuu and had become Family Head.
Cheon Ja-su exhaled a deep sigh and spoke.
“Elder Geomjon.”
The middle-aged man’s true identity was Cheon Seung, the great-great-grandfather and former Family Head of the Cheon Family Clan.

-Why the sudden serious face?

“Because I’m about to discuss something serious.”

-Mm. I see.

Cheon Seung set aside the glittering merchandise and straightened his posture.
“I have two matters to report.”

-Go ahead.

“A Giryeong-jiche was born into our clan, and we granted him the Byeokrye Pama Shingong.”
At Cheon Ja-su’s words, Cheon Seung jolted upright in surprise.

-What?! A Cheonma-jiche was born in our family and you gave him the Cheonma Shingong?!

“No, no—it’s a Giryeong-jiche! A Giryeong-jiche!”

-Well, it’s just a different name for the same thing. A Giryeong-jiche is a Cheonma-jiche.

At Cheon Ja-su’s insistence, Cheon Seung nodded in agreement.
In the midst of an ongoing war between the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance, the last thing they needed was unnecessary turmoil.

Even the Martial God Cheon Yu had examined it and marveled at its structure.
Yet neither Cheon Seung, who created it, nor Cheon Yu, revered as a Martial God, could master it.
It felt as though the technique itself was rejecting anyone but its rightful owner.
“The moment he saw the manual, he took the first step immediately.”

The Martial God Cheon Yu had entered closed-door training, secluding himself on his personal planet and withdrawing from the world for several hundred years. Then, unwilling to forget the humiliation inflicted by Cheon Yu in the past, the Demonic Cult launched an attack on the Cheon Family Clan.
At that time, Cheon Seung, who happened to be the Family Head, was preoccupied with preparations for relocating the Capital Star’s government to a new location, and the clan’s military forces were scattered.
As a result, the Cheon Family Clan suffered catastrophic losses, and countless children, still mere minors, perished.
Enraged, Cheon Seung declared war against the Demonic Cult and began mobilizing for battle.
It was then that the Martial God Cheon Yu, hearing the news of the children’s deaths, broke his long seclusion in fury and emerged to begin slaughtering the Demonic Cult.
Exactly one week from the day Cheon Yu ended his isolation.

The Demonic Cult crumbled in a single week—nearly every sect and branch collapsed, pushing the organization to the brink of annihilation.
On the verge of total destruction, the then-Majon, known in the present age a thousand years later as Ma Seong-ho, had spent an entire day kneeling before the Family Head Pavilion—not yet even completed—his head bowed so low that blood ran down his face, offering up his left arm and the Cheonma Shingong technique while begging for mercy.
The martial god Cheon Yu, who had halted the assault on the Demonic Cult and returned to the capital, gazed at Ma Seong-ho’s remaining limbs and spoke.
“I suppose I could overlook it two or three more times. But next time—what will you offer besides the Cheonma Shingong? I’ve heard the Hyulma Shingong is inferior to it anyway. Ah, perhaps next time you’ll present both your legs in place of a technique?”
After that, the Demonic Cult swore never to encroach upon the Cheon Family Territory, and in the Galaxy Martial Arts World, violating that sacred boundary became the greatest of all taboos.
A thousand years passed before that taboo was finally broken.
The enemies who shattered it had certainly prepared their defenses well.
Even under the Cheon Family’s legendary interrogation techniques, they had taken their secrets to their graves without revealing who stood behind them.
Cheon Ja-su spoke to Cheon Seung.
“We’ve identified the hand behind those who attacked our children.”
At Cheon Ja-su’s words, Cheon Seung abandoned his playful demeanor and smiled with killing intent burning in his eyes.
“It’s time to draw the blade from its sheath again.”

(To be continued in the next episode)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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