I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 6
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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 6
A world that revolves around martial arts.
The history Seonwu studied clearly demonstrated this fact, showing that past events were similar to yet different from his past life’s world.
The historical fact that King Jie of the Xia Dynasty was destroyed by King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty was the same.
However, that decisive battle had not been a clash between massive armies.
It was recorded that King Jie, who had achieved great mastery in the Honseoseophonmagong, fought King Wu of Zhou, who had achieved great mastery in the Honwontaegukshingong, for seven days and seven nights before King Wu barely gained the upper hand and struck him down, ushering in a new era.
‘Deciding the ruler of the world through a duel between two peerless masters—is this actual history? Well, I suppose it makes sense if a peerless master is stronger than an entire army.’
The phrase “culture shock” from his past life naturally came to mind.
That wasn’t all.
At the end of the chaotic Warring States period, after a long time had passed without a master of the Tianzi Realm appearing.
Finally, a new master of the Tianzi Realm emerged once more, and he was none other than Qin Shi Huang.
It was said that before Qin Shi Huang, who had achieved great mastery in the Cheongwanbojeonshingong to reach the Tianzi Realm, the remaining Six States were subdued in an instant.
‘Uh, so it wasn’t that he used spies to eliminate Li Mu and destroyed the Zhao State with a massive army?’
The history books simply stated that Qin Shi Huang, having reached the Tianzi Realm, personally led his forces from the front and unleashed his peerless internal energy to strike down the masters of the Six States.
‘Good grief… Where did Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Lian Po, and Li Mu go?’
While it was somewhat similar to the history of Zhongyuan in his past life, it was completely styled like the Wulin, wasn’t it?
Though, considering this was the Wulin, it was only natural for it to be Wulin-style.
‘The same goes for what came after.’
The Chu-Han Contention was a duel between Liu Bang, who had learned the Cheoneuigunlimshingong, and Xiang Yu, who had learned the Geukloebaeteonshingong.
The part where Xiang Yu, who had reached the higher realm first, looked down on Liu Bang and ignored Fan Zeng’s advice to spare his life—thus sowing the seeds of his own ruin—remained the same.
However, Liu Bang later achieved great mastery in the Cheoneuigunlimshingong to challenge Xiang Yu to a rematch, and Han Xin led the ten greatest masters to assist Liu Bang in a coordinated attack, finally striking down Xiang Yu and founding the Han Dynasty.
‘Every single one of them conquered the world through martial arts.’
The Ten Great Heavenly Emperor Martial Arts.
The ten greatest martial arts of all time, held in the highest regard throughout the history of Zhongyuan.
They didn’t belong to Shaolin, Wandal, or the Demonic Cult.
They were the martial arts of the absolute sovereigns who succeeded in dominating the entirety of Zhongyuan.
The remaining Ten Great Heavenly Emperor Martial Arts that emerged after the Chu-Han Contention.
Emperor Yang of Sui’s Cheonmaheolseomagong.
Emperor Taizong of Tang’s Geumgangbanyashingong.
Emperor Taizu of Song’s Hoyeonineuishingong.
Emperor Taizu of Yuan’s 천랑멸세마공.
And finally, the current Emperor’s Cheonlyongjeseeshingong.
‘But looking at it without any prejudice, this actually makes sense.’
In his past life on Earth where martial arts didn’t exist, people fought with armies, but here, even being in the Realm of Creation is said to be better than an entire legion, so what more needs to be said about the Tianzi Realm?
It’s just that the Tianzi Realm is a distant, lofty boundary where there are far more eras without it than with it.
Once a master of the Tianzi Realm appears, their martial arts overwhelm vast armies.
In that case, the master who wins the duel takes the world, so why bother having armies fight each other?
It only results in casualties.
However, because it was such an incredibly high realm, not many emperors had actually reached the Tianzi Realm.
It was truly a world by martial arts, for martial arts, and of martial arts.
‘And as long as Father remains healthy and well, the Imperial Family will hold absolute authority.’
I don’t know how much of that aura will carry over to the next emperor after his passing.
In any case, it was a very good thing that the last of the Ten Great Heavenly Emperors, who ranked among the greatest in the history of Zhongyuan, was his own father.
Since he would be learning it too.
If he was going to learn one anyway, wouldn’t one of the ten greatest martial arts of all time be better than the current ten greatest divine arts of the world?
Especially one that was fully proven and currently ruling the world.
‘Hmm, except if I venture out into the Wulin and others recognize Father’s Cheonlyongjeseeshingong, that could be troublesome.’
Let’s look into specific methods of hiding it when the time comes.
Surely the Imperial Family would have at least one trick like that up their sleeve.
* * *
And finally, his seventh birthday arrived.
Just like his birthdays from the year before last and last year, it was extravagantly luxurious beyond measure.
However, one thing was different.
It was the fact that once this birthday passed, he too would awaken his Yeouiju to arouse the Longshen Zhili and enter into serious martial arts training.
How long had he waited for this day while throwing himself into ordinary studies!
‘Of course, since I learned about the history of martial arts and the state of the Wulin from time to time, it wasn’t completely boring.’
Still, only knowing about it without being able to practice it himself had been incredibly tantalizing all this time.
But it wasn’t like that anymore.
Starting tomorrow, he would be able to learn martial arts.
Hurrah!
‘Hehe, once I master martial arts to a certain degree, I can immediately head out into the Jianghu and roam around freely.’
If I say I have no interest in inheriting the throne, wouldn’t my four older brothers like it even more?
I’ll need the Imperial Father’s permission, but wouldn’t he let his cute youngest son live freely in the Wulin?
This wasn’t a martial arts game.
It was the real Wulin.
He would be interacting with genuine, living martial artists.
Of course, it wouldn’t all be good things.
He would have to punish the wicked and uphold righteousness and chivalry.
“A society where private punishment overwhelms public law is practically a jungle ruled by power…”
Be gone, heresy.
Seonwu shook off the words of his friend Jun, which automatically replayed in his head.
At any rate, since it was said that the rule of national law didn’t properly reach the grassroots level of the provinces, a Chivalrous Xia like himself would surely be needed.
Already, Seonwu was completely puffed up with dreams of living as a chivalrous hero rather than a prince.
An unchangeably splendid banquet took place, but Seonwu no longer had any interest in the feast.
Gifts poured in just like any other time, but what he looked at with keen interest was the Spiritual Medicine offered by the Wulin sects.
Since he hadn’t said anything different since then, this time too, without fail, Spiritual Medicine was included among the countless gifts.
‘Now I can finally eat it.’
Lesser Rejuvenating Pill.
Lesser Clear Pill.
And so on and so forth.
If I eat them all at once, I’ll probably get indigestion, right?
I wonder what they taste like.
Seonwu simply waited for the banquet to quickly come to an end.
Today, the performers putting on the congratulatory show boasted truly magnificent skills, but they didn’t properly catch his eye.
And once the banquet ended, he was able to grant an audience with his Imperial Father.
“Since you have also turned seven, it is now time to awaken the power of your Yeouiju.”
“Yes, Imperial Father.”
“Haha, are you no longer calling me Father?”
“Since I am seven years old and about to enter the path of martial arts, I must become a bit more mature.”
He answered in that manner, but in reality, he wasn’t mature at all.
‘It’s martial arts. Finally, I will gain internal energy and learn martial arts!’
Looking at Seonwu, whose entire body expressed his excitement, the Emperor laughed.
“You rascal, you are only seven, there is no need to be mature already. You may be cuter.”
Seonwu also stopped pretending to be dignified and smiled.
“Hehe, we’re awakening the Yeouiju, right?”
“Yes, as I will personally awaken your power, leave it to me without any worries.”
“Of course!”
If you can’t trust your father, who can you trust?
Especially one who is one of the ten greatest masters of all time.
A peerless master of the Tianzi Realm, a level that only ten people in the entire history of Zhongyuan have ever reached until now.
Since it was a kind of Grand Ritual personally performed by such an Imperial Father, he should naturally accept it with full trust.
Swelling with anticipation, Seonwu’s heart pounded wildly.
Just what attribute would his Yeouiju awaken with?
This was a part that Seonwu himself was immensely curious about.
‘My brothers have Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind.’
Counting from the eldest son, that wasn’t the exact order, but that sequence rolled off Seonwu’s tongue much better.
An attribute belonging only to the four princes, unrelated to the Five Elements.
‘And His Majesty the Imperial Father has the Heaven attribute.’
It didn’t match up with the Five Elements.
But looking at it through the Eight Trigrams, the Qian trigram represents Heaven and the Kun trigram represents Earth.
On top of that, there are the Li, Kan, and Xun trigrams representing Fire, Water, and Wind.
In a way, it did make up five out of the Eight Trigrams.
Since the Longshen Zhili was different from the Five Elements to begin with, he just accepted it as it was.
But what about himself?
Would it overlap?
Or would it catch him completely off guard with Light or Darkness?
Though Light and Darkness weren’t even part of the Eight Trigrams.
‘Hmm, I hope it’s not Darkness.’
An attribute of darkness—while it tickled his inner chuunibyou tendencies—wouldn’t it be quite troublesome for a prince?
Amid half anticipation and half anxiety, the Emperor personally placed his imperial hand upon his body.
What kind of power would well up?
What kind of energy would follow his command?
He had been taught beforehand that the Yeouiju was an incredible privilege that allowed one to control their own attribute the moment it awakened, even without separately training in martial arts.
‘My four older brothers were also able to control energy equivalent to the Realm of Creation the moment they awakened, so that says it all.’
Strictly speaking, there were parts where his four older brothers differed from the Realm of Creation that a martial arts master reaches through enlightenment, but even so, there was a good reason why it was roughly considered equivalent to the Realm of Creation.
Of course, even if they could control that energy, there would need to be deliberate training in how to use it, but to be able to immediately handle a massive amount of energy on par with the Realm of Creation—a level that others find difficult to reach even after repeatedly gaining enlightenment—at the age of seven.
One couldn’t help but think that even for someone born with a silver spoon in martial arts, this was way too massive of a spoon.
‘A privilege is something that gives you a stomachache when someone else receives it, but it’s wonderful when you get it yourself.’
They call it double standards.
If the Yeouiju possessed this level of efficacy, it could be said that whether it was a dragon’s descendant or a monkey’s paw, it had properly granted every single wish.
To think that at seven years old, one is immediately halfway to being a top ten master of the world?
Is this a life born on third base?
No. It’s a life born just one step away from home plate.
‘Even for a handout, it’s way too much.’
This isn’t a golden spoon; is it something like a ten-thousand-year cold iron spoon?
* * *
As the Emperor’s hand touched his head, a colossal energy swept down from there.
As the tremendous energy swept through his entire body, Seonwu felt as though his consciousness might be instantly blown away.
However, the Yeouiju nestled inside him responded to that massive energy, absorbing it and sending it flowing back out.
Because he had received an explanation beforehand, he did not panic.
However, hearing it in words and experiencing it with his body were two different things, so despite everything, he was quite shocked.
A sensation as if becoming one with heaven and earth.
The sky, the earth, and the sea became connected and intertwined.
An boundless energy was circulating through the world, and that energy entered and exited through him.
Since the energy between heaven and earth was entirely contained here, what could possibly not be within it?
Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, Taiji, and the Eight Trigrams.
What short-sighted metaphors those were.
In truth, the world was far grander and incomparably more complex.
Whether it was such an enlightenment or merely a stray thought, these impressions floated around inside Seonwu.
* * *
He thought he was holding onto his consciousness, but before he knew it, he had blacked out.
“Are you awake?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Snapping out of it, Seonwu focused inside himself with a racing heart.
Just what was his Yeouiju?
‘Huh? This is strange.’
Didn’t they say I would be able to freely handle a massive energy comparable to the Realm of Creation?
Forget about some massive energy, I can’t really feel anything resembling internal energy at all?
“Imperial Father, by any chance, what is my attribute?”
“Mm, listen closely.”
“Yes.”
“Your Yeouiju is empty. Therefore, there is no separate energy that has awakened.”
“Pardon?”
What on earth did that mean?
If the person in front of him wasn’t his Imperial Father but his friend Jun, he would have shaken him, telling him to stop talking nonsense.
“Thus, for the time being, you will not feel as though you have gained anything in particular.”
“Then… Then…”
“It is fine. Great talents mature late, and because the Dao is empty, it can be filled.”
He recognized those as the words of Laozi.
Seonwu also knew it was a phrase that frequently appeared in all sorts of martial arts novels.
He knew it, but…
Since it’s empty, forget about filling it or whatever.
Isn’t it just better to have it completely full?
It’s better to have a bank account completely full.
It’s also better to have a vast amount of internal energy that one can command.
Saying it can be filled because it’s empty.
Doesn’t that just mean since I have absolutely nothing, I can put in as much effort as I want from now on?
A phrase that a certain silver-spoon individual once said to a dirt-spoon individual crossed his mind.
“Since you inherited nothing, it must be nice that you can achieve everything on your own.”
If you like it so much, why don’t you just donate all your inherited wealth and try standing on your own two feet as well?
It was a statement that made those kinds of words burst out.
‘Ugh, I prefer full possession over non-possession.’
Of course, his current situation wasn’t exactly like that.
Even if he excluded the Yeouiju from his thoughts, having been born as the Fifth Prince of the Imperial Family, what he had enjoyed until now and what he would enjoy in the future was immense.
Where else could one find this kind of status and this kind of backing?
However, it’s human nature to feel regret when you expect something and it’s not there.
It’s bound to feel hollow when something you naturally thought was yours disappears.
He had been fully expecting that once he turned seven, whether it was one of the same Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind attributes as his brothers.
Or something else entirely.
He would naturally possess an immense amount of internal energy!
His seven-year-old Realm of Creation had flown far, far away.
“Then, what should I do?”
“Mm, like ordinary people who do not possess a Yeouiju, you may simply learn martial arts normally. Spiritual Medicine, Grand Rituals, secret manuals, and masters—I will provide as many as you need.”
“Ah…”
“Of course, I will also keep an eye on you whenever I find the time, so even if the beginning is full of regret, the end will be sufficiently lofty.”
“Yes.”
Seonwu still smacked his lips in great disappointment.
Looking at his youngest child endearingly, the Emperor smiled warmly.
In truth, the youngest was still too young to realize that great talents mature late and that because something is empty, it can be filled.
He had gained a young child after a long time, and it would be nice to have him stay this cute for a while.
The Emperor simply looked on with a gratified expression.
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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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