I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 10

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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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Chapter 11
When dividing the levels of Martial Arts into realms, Inner Energy is not everything.
Only when one possesses other qualities that match that Inner Energy can they truly be said to have reached that realm.
However, it was generally accepted that one must have a certain level of Inner Energy to qualify for a specific realm, a standard that had been in common use ever since Jiang Taigong established the criteria for classifying realms of Inner Energy.
‘To discuss the realms of Martial Arts based on Jiang Taigong’s Six Secret Teachings and Three Strategies, this really is the Wulin.’
First, the Third-Class is the stage where one barely learns the basics of feeling Qi, allowing it to enter and leave the body through breathing techniques, and making it stay.
As Qi gradually accumulates in the body, the physical form becomes much sturdier compared to those who know nothing of Martial Arts, but that is all.
It is a stage where the dantian is not even properly formed.
In the military, this stage is considered that of a trainee, not an elite soldier.
In the Wulin as well, this stage is viewed merely as a training phase, not considered a force to be used in fights between sects.
To put it nicely, they were Third-Class warriors; quite literally, they had only just tasted Martial Arts.
Yet, even this was a stage that a person of ordinary talent, who knew nothing of Martial Arts, would need about half a year of proper training to reach.
Seonwu had already felt what Qi was when Tianlong Dadi awakened the Cintamani, and he had immersed his body in that massive current once before.
Since he had also experienced the flow of a colossal Qi that could not even be compared to the minuscule Qi an ordinary Third-Class warrior feels after repeated breathing exercises, he had already passed this stage.
* * *
Moving a step further from here, it is called Second-Class.
A Second-Class warrior has a properly formed dantian and can manage Qi well enough to load specific power into a strike or manifest Qi onto a weapon.
If they are a swordsman, they can wrap their blade in a small amount of sword-Qi; if they are a fist-fighter, they can gather Qi in their fists to the point where their hands will not be injured even if they strike an iron sword unwrapped in Qi.
If the Third-Class stage could be compared to someone on Seonwu’s former Earth being described as having a good physique, from the Second-Class stage onward, one lightly hovers near the world’s greatest athletic records.
From this point on, they are viewed as elite soldiers in the military and recognized as martial artists who possess the basic foundations in the Wulin.
To even work as an escort warrior in an escort agency, one had to reach this level.
If a person of ordinary talent focused purely on proper training and consumed Spiritual Medicine appropriately, it took about three years to arrive here.
In other words, for ordinary commoners who could not afford to just train and had to make a living, it was a realm difficult to reach in a lifetime without an extraordinary will.
However, Seonwu had consumed a Spiritual Pill selected with utmost care by the Imperial Court and had it gathered and settled through the Grand Ritual of a master of the Realm of Creation.
So, he reached it in just a single day.
Since he already possessed the Cintamani, a vessel incomparably larger than a human dantian, the energy of the Spiritual Pill was entirely absorbed.
Though, unlike a normal human, it was the Cintamani that performed that role instead of a dantian.
* * *
“Oh, so this is what Qi is.”
Seonwu delighted in the mysterious experience while handling the Qi himself.
‘Wow, I’m controlling Inner Energy!’
He had truly learned Martial Arts.
Even though it was only Second-Class Inner Energy.
In truth, even that was a realm that an ordinary soldier would have to train for three years to reach, yet he had achieved it in a single day.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t go beyond this, but Admiral Lee had advised him to firmly try managing Second-Class Inner Energy first.
Even if it had been under the influence of alcohol, Seonwu was someone who had yearned for this so much that he had prayed to be reincarnated into a wuxia world.
Even if no one had advised him, he would have tried using Inner Energy.
A tiny, haze-like Qi wavered at the tips of his fingers.
He drew out the Inner Energy contained within the Cintamani and gathered it at his fingertips.
Then he sent it to his legs.
Then to his shoulders.
Circulating it as he pleased along the pathways of his entire body’s meridians felt as natural as breathing.
In fact, this would have been bizarre for an ordinary Second-Class warrior.
Even though a Second-Class warrior forms a dantian and handles the accumulated Qi as Inner Energy, they are only capable of moving it along a few specific, stylized pathways through repeated training.
They could not circulate and handle Qi completely at will like this.
There was a reason people learned forms and simultaneously learned the methods of Inner Energy cultivation that matched those forms.
Only a flow forged through such a repeated framework could be controlled at this level.
Yet Seonwu could freely roll the Qi contained within his Cintamani exactly as he intended.
It was literally at his whim.
Seonwu did not realize that, in terms of freely controlling Qi, this was a realm far exceeding a conventional Second-Class warrior.
To him, it was as natural as breathing, and he had no standard of comparison.
* * *
“Now Your Highness’s Inner Energy has reached the Second-Class. However, since you are also taking a Spiritual Pill that strengthens the body alongside accumulating Inner Energy, your foundation will be even more solid.”
“That’s good.”
Seonwu was simply pleased with Admiral Lee’s explanation.
He understood that while accumulating Inner Energy was important, strengthening the bones and muscles was also crucial.
“There would be no difficulty in advancing straight to the First-Class right now using the proper Spiritual Pill and Grand Ritual, but as I mentioned, I do not recommend it.”
“You mean I should steadily build a firm foundation at the Second-Class level first, right?”
“That is correct. Even if it feels tedious, please spend about half a year as a Second-Class warrior. After that, spend another half a year at the First-Class, and then spend two years in the High-Ascending Realm.”
“So after spending three years like that, I am to acquire Peak Realm Inner Energy.”
“Indeed.”
Seonwu nodded.
If he had to do it, he would.
In any case, Admiral Lee’s educational policy was undoubtedly being monitored by his father, Tianlong Dadi.
This was the opinion of the foremost experts among experts, so who was he to throw a tantrum?
“Let’s do that. Then, what shall I do during that period?”
“Sword techniques and fist techniques. In addition, the Lightness Technique. You will build your foundation in Martial Arts while mastering these three.”
“Oh! Am I going to learn the Martial Arts that Imperial Father chose?”
“Forgive me, but that is still premature.”
“I see.”
Seonwu was slightly crestfallen but recovered quickly.
Come to think of it, those were the Martial Arts of the greatest conquerors of the era, whose reputations shook the entire Zhongyuan.
Even if they didn’t rank among the top ten of all time, they were individuals who had been the absolute best of their generation.
It was not strange for them to possess a profundity that a Second-Class martial artist could not possibly comprehend yet.
“Instead, you will start by learning the Martial Arts that will serve as the foundation for mastering those arts in the future, so do not neglect them.”
“Of course I’ll work hard!”
* * *
Six months passed like that.
During that time, Seonwu practiced things like the Three Talents Sword Technique and the Horse Stance.
At any rate, he underwent various training courses to solidify his foundation.
Of course, he didn’t just practice Martial Arts; he also learned academics from the Grand Scholar.
Taught by two dedicated private tutors, he absorbed everything rapidly.
Fortunately, not only his mind but also his reborn body was magnificent.
It meant he mastered things immediately as they were taught.
‘Whew, I was worried I might lack talent.’
It was a relief for Seonwu.
Even when he looked at himself swinging a sword or throwing a punch.
His movements had taken on quite a decent form.
Though in the eyes of masters it might look like a mere child barely mimicking the shell of the movements, compared to his past life as a pot-bellied middle-aged man, it was a truly splendid body.
* * *
“Since you now appear ready, we shall raise the realm of your Inner Energy. This time, you will ingest Shaolin’s Lesser Rejuvenating Pill and absorb its energy according to the Peerless Prajna Divine Art.”
“Ohhh, then will I finally obtain First-Class Inner Energy?”
“That is correct.”
As the half-year mark approached, Seonwu’s eyes sparkled at the Admiral’s words to raise the realm according to plan.
‘First-Class!’
Fulfilling his training was good, but as expected, the growth of one’s realm was something to look forward to.
Then, what exactly was First-Class Inner Energy?
It is a realm where a large amount of Qi is properly accumulated in the formed dantian, and the handling of that Qi goes beyond the level of focusing on a single spot along the body’s meridians, allowing it to be used in much more diverse forms.
Both the quantity of Inner Energy and its control would be on a completely different level compared to the Second-Class.
Upon reaching this stage, one could finally form a very distinct Qi, rather than a haze-like one.
Of course, there were types of Inner Energy that purposely hid that appearance, but that was the baseline.
The next day, Seonwu consumed the second Spiritual Pill and cradled its energy inside his Cintamani.
When he tried manipulating it afterward, there was indeed not a single error in Admiral Lee’s explanation.
“Ohhh.”
Seonwu immediately gathered the newly obtained Inner Energy into his hand.
Yesterday’s Qi had been at a level barely visible like a heat haze, but now a completely solid shape was properly formed.
He could tell right away that its density and strength were entirely different.
From the First-Class realm onward, if one moved their body using Inner Energy, movements that lightly surpassed the Olympic world records of his past life became possible.
It was truly the domain of a superhuman, incomparable to a world devoid of Qi or Inner Energy.
Once a person became a First-Class martial artist—though to be a proper First-Class one had to be First-Class in forms and various other aspects, not just Inner Energy—they began to receive decent treatment.
In the army, they would be a decurion commanding ten soldiers.
In the Wulin, they could receive a title like a squad leader, leading Second-Class warriors under their command.
Of course, in prestigious orthodox sects, the First-Class was sometimes set as the absolute baseline just to be called a warrior.
Regardless, it had been half a year since Seonwu properly learned Martial Arts.
At seven and a half years old, he had risen to First-Class Inner Energy.
Now he had to train his other Martial Arts to match it.
* * *
The sword and fist techniques Seonwu was learning also began to move past the basics into more complex Martial Arts.
However, he still hadn’t been able to even unfold the secret manuals of the Earth Pavilion’s Martial Arts that he was looking forward to.
Though he wanted to check them out in advance out of curiosity, Seonwu endured.
He believed that his instructors had a purpose.
Still, escaping the Three Talents Sword and learning more intricate movements kept him from being bored.
He could also feel his skills improving day by day.
“Am I considered fast for my age?”
“You are extremely fast. Your Highness’s martial talent is truly outstanding.”
“But I’m still nothing compared to my older brothers, right?”
“Ahem, they call it a Late Bloomer Type.”
Seonwu smiled as he watched Admiral Lee smoothly shift the topic.
‘My brothers are the ones who are truly bizarre. No, should I say this Imperial Family bloodline that I belong to is bizarre?’
Reaching the Realm of Creation at seven years old?
It was understandable why supreme masters like Admiral Lee and grand scholars like Grand Scholar Jin seriously believed the founding myth that the blood and power of a dragon flowed within the current Imperial Family’s bloodline.
Even Seonwu himself felt like it was real.
How else could one explain this transparent bead resting in his chest right now?
Even though it didn’t radiate a massive energy like his brothers’ beads and had been empty.
‘Still, it’s filled up a little bit now.’
Granted, it was only the Inner Energy he had accumulated over time.
‘To think that accumulating Inner Energy in the Cintamani instead of a dantian is a unique constitution exclusive to the imperial clan…’
The fascinating thing was that despite the accumulation point being different, circulating the Qi according to the mnemonic of the Peerless Prajna Divine Art wasn’t particularly tangled or difficult.
In the end, whether it was the Small Heavenly Circulation or the Great Heavenly Circulation drawing a single wheel, the starting and ending point was just the Cintamani instead of the dantian.
Just because you start drawing a circle from the right side instead of the very top doesn’t mean you can’t complete the full rotation, right?
* * *
Another half a year passed like that.
Knowing he would receive the gift of ascending to the High-Ascending Realm on his eighth birthday, Seonwu was extremely excited.
It was three days before the feast began when an ominous rumor reached his ears.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
He asked again to the court ladies who were whispering, thinking they were completely alone.
“Why is the General Dan Clan on the verge of ruin?”
Just as the Five Great Noble Families existed in the Wulin along with several other noble clans, the families serving the Imperial Court were far more numerous.
Among them, there were naturally outstanding martial families that produced generals, and the court ladies had been whispering among themselves that the General Dan Clan, bearing the surname Dan, was on the verge of ruin.

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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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