I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 16

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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 17
Admiral Lee’s supplementary explanation followed.
“The Cloud Dragon Eight Forms focuses more on moving freely in midair, moving leisurely and subtly as if a dragon were playing in the clouds.”
“What about the Zhuyu Tianxia Bu?”
“Advancing and retreating quickly to assess the situation is akin to how Jin Wengong deployed his army, so it places greater emphasis on the principles of speed than the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms.”
“Speed, huh….”
Advancing and retreating quickly.
‘Hmm, the wording sounds plausible, but doesn’t that just mean running away well if worst comes to worst?’
However, considering what a rough life Jin Wengong led before reversing his fortune later in life as a Late Bloomer Type, it made sense that a footwork technique would possess excellent escaping capabilities.
‘And it’s an ability I need as well.’
Of course, if one were truly the world’s best, peerless, and invincible master, there would be no need to run away.
Dreams are dreams, and reality is reality.
If one encounters a crisis while wandering the Jianghu, isn’t it necessary to step back and look forward to the future?
In that respect, Jin Wengong’s Zhuyu Tianxia Bu also appealed to him.
‘My assumption that it would be the Overlord’s Monarch Footwork was shortsighted.’
This was a poignant footwork born from hardship, reflecting someone who barely became an overlord in the second half of his life after suffering for decades.
Hmm.
Of course, it was excellent.
Running away when things go wrong?
It wasn’t particularly shameful.
After all, he wasn’t the world’s strongest person, just an eight-year-old aspiring to be.
* * *
From that day on, based on his High-Ascending Realm Internal Energy, Seonwu also raised the level of his martial arts training.
Moving beyond the basics, he began to practice High-Ascending techniques.
Even if he couldn’t shroud his blade in Sword Gang, he practiced his Sword Technique using Sword Qi.
Similarly, though he lacked Fist Astral, he emitted Fist Qi while training his Fist Technique.
He also enhanced his movements with the Lightness Technique.
In addition, he began to practice proper Divine Arts for his Internal Energy.
“While the focus up until now has been on helping you familiarize yourself with the basic Qi Circulation Method, from now on you will be operating according to the Divine Arts, so you must focus and be cautious.”
“Mm, I suppose so.”
Confronted with the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art and the Peerless Prajna Divine Art, Seonwu grew tense.
When people talk about Divine Arts, they say the power is immense and growth is rapid, but isn’t the general risk that a single misstep can lead to Qi Deviation or something?
High risk, high return.
‘Like ten-times leverage, perhaps?’
“Still, this is the orthodox Internal Cultivation Method of Shaolin, so it should offer some stability, right? It won’t easily cause Qi Deviation, will it?”
“That is correct. However, the difficulty of these two Divine Arts does not lie in the issue of Qi Deviation. In fact, even within Shaolin, though these two Divine Arts are treasures, not many have mastered them.”
Seonwu blinked.
What did that mean?
Shaolin monks rarely practiced these two Divine Arts?
Why?
For what reason?
Did the state persecute or seal them?
Because the power was too great, did they limit how many people could learn them?
“First of all, the Peerless Prajna Divine Art is too subtle and difficult. Thus, unless one is truly a genius, proper achievement is highly unlikely.”
“Because it’s difficult?”
“Yes, which is why Shaolin forbids anyone from even looking at it before reaching the Peak Realm. Furthermore, even if they reach the Peak Realm, they usually learn the Beomcheon Hangma Singong instead of the Peerless Prajna Divine Art.”
It really was just because it was difficult.
Not that he hadn’t seen the setting of something being difficult once or twice before.
“Is it that difficult? Come to think of it, Father classified the Beomcheon Hangma Singong into the second rank of the Earth Pavilion.”
Even though it was called the second rank, it still bore the name of a Divine Art.
In fact, many of the other Divine Arts of the Nine Great Sects were in the second or third rank.
This meant that even martial arts of the second or third rank were fully capable of allowing one to glimpse the Realm of Creation and rank among the top ten masters.
“The Peerless Prajna Divine Art has a higher ceiling, but since it is hard to get that far, the Beomcheon Hangma Singong is also a martial arts that allows one to sufficiently see the Realm of Creation…”
“That is correct. Therefore, even in Shaolin, they only allow one or two individuals who are deemed the absolute greatest geniuses to learn it.”
A high-difficulty martial art that possessed a high ceiling but could conversely leave one stranded at a low point if not mastered.
If that were the only thing available in the sect, one would still have to cling to it, but there were plenty of attractive alternatives.
Even in Seonwu’s opinion, in a matter involving one’s entire life, he didn’t think he would blindly charge toward the absolute best out of sheer romance.
Protagonists in novels proudly chose the ultimate path, but even he, when choosing a job, had tried to avoid becoming unemployed by only staring at the highest peaks.
‘Of course, it would also be a problem if the compromised baseline was too low….’
But the Beomcheon Hangma Singong was by no means weak, considering it was classified into the second rank of the Earth Pavilion.
“Then what about the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art? Is this also too difficult?”
“The process of mastering it is painful. However, if that were all, why would there be so few monks in Shaolin willing to endure it? The real problem is that it requires a lot of Spiritual Medicine.”
“Spiritual… Medicine? Money?”
Seonwu blinked.
“It is not a problem that can be solved with money alone. Spiritual Medicine is managed by the state even more strictly than iron, salt, and gunpowder, so even for Shaolin, the supply is limited.”
Even if one had money, it could not be obtained anymore.
Spiritual Medicine was a restricted resource.
“To master the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, there is also the method of enduring hardships for a very long time, but because this path takes too long, it has no practical significance.”
That made sense.
Even if an old man on the verge of death finally reached the realm, where would he use it?
From the perspective of a sect or a faction, one had to reach the Peak Realm at an age where a sufficient amount of active years remained.
It was commonly said.
Unorthodox Faction martial arts are fast but impure, so their limits arrive quickly.
Orthodox Faction martial arts are slow but pure, so their ceilings are high.
That held true even in this world where Seonwu had been reincarnated.
But if so, how could the prominent Rising Stars of prestigious Orthodox Factions, such as the Nine Great Sects and the Great Families, active at a young age?
Even if they comprehended the forms quickly due to talent, Inner Energy had to be accumulated over time.
The answer was Spiritual Medicine.
The weakness of being slow was covered by Spiritual Medicine, allowing them to surge straight toward a high ceiling.
“It must require a lot.”
“Because there is a process of reconstructing the physical body into Vajra, it ultimately requires three times as much as other Divine Arts. Therefore, even in Shaolin, they cannot usually afford to raise one practitioner of the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art with the Spiritual Medicine that could raise three masters of the Beomcheon Hangma Singong.”
Of course, if there was a reason worth investing in despite that sacrifice, it might be different….
‘Even Shaolin cannot escape the limitations of resources.’
Is this another victory for the invisible hand here too?
Mr. Adam Smith.
You are great.
“There is a reason why high monks who have mastered the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art are rare even in Shaolin.”
“That is correct.”
“But it means I am in a position to learn it, right?”
The Imperial Prince can raise three members of the Golden Dragon Guard with the Spiritual Medicine used to learn that.
No official would say such a thing.
If they wanted to die, they could just go home and quietly commit suicide; why would they court a path of hardship?
“Yes, of course, the painful process cannot be avoided, but if treacherous crowds attempt to harm Your Highness in the future, the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art is the supreme defensive art to protect Your Highness.”
Simply put, it meant that among the Divine Arts belonging to the Earth Pavilion, its defensive power was the absolute best.
And the position of an Imperial Prince was absolutely not that of a dealer.
Nor was it a tanker.
Because a perfectly fitting concept in the vocabulary of this world didn’t come to mind, Seonwu thought in the terminology of his past life.
No matter how much he claimed he would go out and roam the Wulin himself, the reality was that he was like the king in chess who must not get hurt.
Since he intended to go out and personally active in the Wulin, how could he avoid fights? However, having higher defensive power than offensive power was primary.
That way, even if he suffered a sneak attack, he would at least be safe for the time being.
‘Considering the standpoint of those who have to protect me, this is correct. How difficult would it be for them if I had a fragile body?’
The status of an Imperial Prince was synonymous with being a high-value target for enemies.
“Then should I master the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art first?”
“Your Highness will continue to grow for a long time. Therefore, if you begin to forge the Vajra body from this period, it will be much easier than mastering it after you are fully grown.”
It meant that was the right path.
‘Ugh, looks like I’ll be doing painful training at the age of eight.’
Of course, if he said he didn’t want to do it, who could force him?
If he said he wouldn’t do it and told them to guard him more thoroughly, they would do so.
Precisely because of that, Seonwu didn’t want to give up even more.
‘It’s grit to do it when you don’t have to!’
It was romance, and a dream.
Even if it was hard while learning, how reassuring would it be once he mastered it?
To think it was the Vajra Indestructible body.
‘Of course, it almost always gets broken by some other means though.’
No wonder that bastard Jun mocked him, asking if it wasn’t actually the Vajra-Will-Be-Broken Art.
‘That twisted jerk.’
What did he know about romance?
However, even if Seonwu mastered the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, he didn’t expect a true invulnerability that could absolutely never be damaged.
Wasn’t everything in the world relative?
If he encountered an enemy with stronger offensive power, it could be pierced.
Originally, even the Imperial Sword Form could have its neck severed like a king facing a revolution.
Even the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms becomes the Earth Worm Eight Forms when thrashed by the Heavenly Demon.
However, the fact that a near-absolute defense was possible as long as he mastered it properly was quite attractive.
‘It feels like having nine hundred ninety-nine defense.’
“The fact that stories circulate about how the Vajra Indestructible body was broken in this way or that means, conversely, that it is a Divine Art significant enough that breaking it becomes a story in itself.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Even castles called impregnable are sometimes fallen. But would anyone say such castles are useless?”
It was an appropriate explanation.
“I will master the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art in accordance with my growth.”
“His Majesty is also anticipating that.”
If even his father felt that way, it was a definitive recommendation.
“Then what should we do about the Peerless Prajna Divine Art?”
“Practice it in tandem. If the Vajra is the defense of indestructibility, the Prajna is truly the subtlety of peerlessness. It is proper to possess both and use them appropriately according to the situation.”
“Isn’t there a saying that if you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both?”
Seonwu was also greedy.
But was there any Shaolin monk who mastered all Seventy-Two Supreme Arts just because they existed?
Was it for nothing that people said it was better to properly master even one rather than a hundred martial arts of mediocre proficiency?
While it sounded good to master various things evenly and use the best one at any given time, it was highly likely to become messy.
Of course, he knew it could be better to learn a few things with quite different purposes.
There was also a saying that only with a wide foundation could one build high.
That was why he learned Sword Techniques, Fist Techniques, and Lightness Techniques.
But to master two Internal Energy cultivation methods?
‘My father did say that if I master those two and unite them again, the Tianzi Realm would be possible….’
To be precise, he said that was the Divine Art of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and told him to add his own enlightenment to it to recreate his own Divine Art.
Because it was too grand a goal, it rather failed to feel real.
Of course, if he were a protagonist, he would aim beyond the world’s best to become the greatest master of all time in the Wulin.
For now, it felt too distant from immediate, realistic goals.
Wasn’t it also foolish to trip over a stone while walking with one’s eyes fixed only on the sky?
“Doing even one properly is…”
“In fact, if I were teaching someone else, I would have done so. I would tell them to choose only one and master it properly. Even the warriors of the Golden Dragon Guard focus on the Geumryong 호국신공 and do not touch other internal energies.”
When spoken to this extent, Seonwu could also read between the lines.
“But you mean it is good for me to practice both in tandem?”
Both of the advanced Divine Arts that even Shaolin, which possessed them, found burdensome and didn’t touch properly?
“There was a decree from His Majesty that it would be fine if it were Your Highness.”
“If that is my father’s will….”
‘Does it mean I have that much talent?’
Or perhaps the power of this Cintamani that was said to be empty?
The Cintamani could also be considered his own talent, though.
‘If I can do it, that’s great!’
If he was a vessel that could hold both, there was no reason not to be greedy.

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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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