Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#069

 

Fear…?

 

Me?

 

…He surprises me in many ways.

 

There’s no way he could know about my past life, yet like a senior brother who has been watching me from right beside me all this time, each word he casually throws out pierces my heart.

 

But my response is already decided.

 

“Fear? What kind of nonsense is that?”

 

“Haha, well. I don’t know either? I just said what I felt.”

 

“…”

 

“Then let’s move right to the next topic, the second one. This is the most important.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok held up two fingers.

 

“I noticed this during the Entrance Competition too, but you usually move while suppressing all presence, then burst out with full potential when applying force. That pattern repeats. Very regularly and stably.”

 

“…That’s also basic.”

 

“It would only be basic in an assassin’s fight.”

 

My values are shaken.

 

Those words,

 

In other words, were also the sound of my world expanding.

 

Seo Ganghyeok said.

 

“For assassins, it doesn’t matter since life and death is decided quickly within five breaths. But close combat with high-level warriors tends to get longer as the level increases. So what happens if your type of combat with clearly visible regular cycles continues?”

 

He tapped my shoulder.

 

“You die.”

 

“…”

 

“In fights between top-level warriors, they read even the exhales and inhales of breathing. And they strike during those moments. But how big would the gap appear when you gather potential to burst, not even at the breathing level?”

 

“…”

 

“From the opponent’s perspective, they just think ‘ah, here it comes’ and wait. Once that becomes practiced through repetition, they’ll actually prepare their stance and counterattack the moment they see such signs. This habit could lead to instant death even against someone two levels below you.”

 

It was a cold diagnosis.

 

And it was accurate.

 

In my past life, I avoided close combat for that reason.

 

If I couldn’t finish within five breaths, I retreated.

 

Because that was the assassin’s way.

 

In other words, because I continued such fights, I failed to recognize this fatal problem.

 

I nodded slowly.

 

“Then I need to fix this from now on.”

 

“No.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok waved his hand.

 

“Why fix something so good?”

 

“You just said it was a problem.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok snapped his fingers.

 

“Trying to fix that by tampering with it is like filing down a gold nugget for processing and spilling all the gold dust on the street. You adjust your strength according to need, in the right place at the right time. Most warriors want to do that but can’t, so you should preserve it.”

 

Unexpected.

 

In my perception, I thought everything about assassins was an inferior version of warriors.

 

But having that acknowledged by none other than Seo Ganghyeok felt strange.

 

“Then what should I do? You pointed out that the cycle of applying and releasing force being read by opponents was a big problem.”

 

“It’s solved if you plan the overall situation.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok clenched and unclenched his fist.

 

“Look, what I pointed out earlier was that your periodic and regular sequence is the problem. Like how I’m clenching and unclenching now, like a heartbeat or waves coming at regular intervals.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok grinned.

 

“Keep that as is, but mix in off-beat rhythms.”

 

I looked up.

 

“Off-beat?”

 

“Coming at the same cycle once, twice, three times, then on the fourth time, half a beat faster. Or one beat slower. Sometimes two beats slower. Two beats faster.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok pointed at the air with his finger.

 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

 

And then.

 

Tap.

 

A slightly off rhythm.

 

“The opponent thinks. Huh? I can see the pattern? It’s bothering me? At first, they’ll see this as your clumsy novice habit. The more skilled they are, the more this will bother them. But what if you mix off-beats into that?”

 

“…”

 

“From then on, the clearly visible cycle starts becoming a hindrance instead. Even if they can see and feel the cycle, they can’t trust it. Is this real this time? Or fake? And that clear cycle becomes an obstacle they must consciously ignore while acting unconsciously. This is precisely psychological warfare.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok tapped my shoulder.

 

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Boatman? Did I explain it too complicatedly?”

 

I was speechless for a moment.

 

Planning the situation itself.

 

That was something I pursued, and also what the First Dark Emperor, my past life’s master, always said.

 

I looked at Seo Ganghyeok.

 

Could there be someone who organized it so clearly?

 

He seemed like someone who had watched me for half a lifetime, through my entire past life, giving advice.

 

‘…Is this truly human?’

 

“From your expression, it seems you understood.”

 

“Roughly. So is this the entirety of your teaching?”

 

“Yeah. For the rest, sit cross-legged and review it in your mind, absorbing it through mental imagery.”

 

He grinned.

 

“It would be impossible for others, but you seem capable. Right?”

 

I pondered briefly.

 

I answered.

 

“Of course.”

 

***

 

That night, and the next night too.

 

During daylight hours we continued traveling, and when the sun set and night came, I sat cross-legged and went through the process of incorporating the new teachings I had gained into my framework through mental imagery.

 

Once that was finished, I immediately continued with the Bone Pursuit Technique without rest.

 

Murky blood poured from my mouth.

 

In truth, that process was agonizingly painful every time, as if I might die.

 

Moreover, Seo Ganghyeok, who watched me collapse after finishing the Bone Pursuit Technique each time, always had an incredibly refreshed expression.

 

“Wow, today it was particularly thick. This is almost…”

 

“Don’t say such things.”

 

I grumbled as I finished a simple bath in the nearby lake and came out.

 

Not only the foreign substances from energy circulation and the Bone Pursuit Technique, but after walking dusty roads for four days, both of us had become completely covered as if we’d rolled in a dust pit.

 

So the lake we encountered was truly welcome.

 

Seo Ganghyeok said.

 

“Ah, I’m too lazy to wash.”

 

“You’re covered in dust. Go wash.”

 

He laughed and patted my back.

 

“Boatman. By the way, you really endure well.”

 

“Don’t try to sneakily avoid bathing while saying that.”

 

“Tch.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok clicked his tongue and stood up.

 

“Still, what I just said was sincere admiration.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok picked up a towel and stood tall in front of the water, then spun around to look at me.

 

“Most people cry on the second day. On the third day, they resent me. On the fourth day, they grind their teeth saying they’ll kill me.”

 

“I’m grinding my teeth too.”

 

“I’ll hunt for dinner tonight.”

 

“Got it, so go wash up.”

 

“…Tch.”

 

“…”

 

Though he said that, the meridian pressure treatment was definitely having an effect.

 

I felt something gradually changing inside me.

 

My breathing was a little less constricted.

 

Just a little.

 

But definitely.

 

‘To think this is actually working.’

 

The meridian pressure treatment that Sword Master Hwirong was performing on me was different from the method physicians used.

 

When there’s a painful area, there are two approaches.

 

Finding the root cause and completely curing it.

 

Or strengthening that area itself so it can somehow function while ignoring the existing painful parts.

 

What Seo Ganghyeok was doing daily was closer to the latter.

 

The final fifth day.

 

Seo Ganghyeok comprehensively spoke about my body that he had examined so far:

 

“Your blood vessels are like soft tofu overall. The elasticity of your meridians is dead, I’d say. Qi and blood do flow, but the vessels have hardened stiffly so circulation isn’t working properly.”

 

He pointed along my body’s meridians with his finger, reciting fluently without a single pause.

 

“So what I’m doing is like massage – stimulating the blood vessels and strengthening them by removing impurities. It’s an application of therapeutic massage, you could say. Stimulating the blood vessels to release blood stasis and revive the elasticity of the muscle meridians. In acupuncture terms, it’s similar to opening qi and blood circulation focusing mainly on the Four Gates points.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok pointed at the area near my danjeon with his finger.

 

“Fundamentally, it would be good to supplement the innate qi, improve the body’s constitution, and repair and change the very essence of the blood vessels, but that’s a realm only a very few physicians can handle, and it’s nearly impossible. So we have to do it this way. Don’t worry. If you keep doing this meridian pressure treatment, the qi mechanism of your meridians will definitely come alive, and the elasticity of your blood vessels will recover.”

 

…I’m amazed every time.

 

The words he casually spouts are definitely not at a knowledge level that ordinary martial artists would know.

 

This man has truly mastered the human body not only in martial arts but also academically.

 

Perhaps misinterpreting my admiring reaction, Seo Ganghyeok had an “oops” moment.

 

“Did I speak too difficultly? Should I explain it simply again? That’s possible too.”

 

I shook my head.

 

“No. I understood everything.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Seo Ganghyeok’s eyes widened.

 

“Really? Usually when I mention the Conception and Governing Vessels, people’s eyes glaze over… Anyway, since we’re talking about it, let me put it simply in one word.”

 

He swept his finger across my body.

 

“There are pathways in your body where blood flows. But those pathways have hardened so blood doesn’t circulate well. What I’m doing is kneading those pathways to make them soft again. The end. And for major improvement in blood vessel elasticity and such things, a physician’s help would also be needed, but ordinary martial artists who aren’t special cases don’t need it, so don’t feel too disappointed. There, got it?”

 

“What are those special cases?”

 

“Hmm. If I had to say.”

 

Sword Master Hwirong thought for a moment and said.

 

“Cases where internal energy discharge is handled very quickly and actively. But that’s only necessary for demonic sect members who handle absorption-type martial arts, or cheap bastards who use techniques like Donggwieojin that temporarily explode potential. It’s not really necessary for stable martial artists.”

 

“…Do those cheap, demonic sect martial artists stake their lives on blood vessel quality like that?”

 

“Exactly. In those types of sects, they value blood vessel elasticity and capacity as much as we martial artists value danjeon size.”

 

“Then I wouldn’t need it.”

 

“Right? So don’t have any regrets.”

 

“I learned something good.”

 

While responding to Seo Ganghyeok’s words, I firmly reached a conclusion.

 

‘I must meet Guiryeongseuui.’

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