Obtaining Heavenly Demon Martial Arts in the Magic Era - Chapter 19

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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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19
“What do you think Martial Arts is?”
Gwak Cheol posed the question. Cigarette smoke curled from his lips, drifting lazily through the dim underground space. Cheon Do-hyeon didn’t answer. His mind moved first, before his mouth could follow.
What is Martial Arts, then? A force that transcends human physical limits for a moment? That’s merely the phenomenon on the surface. How could such a miracle be possible?
“What’s the source of the power that Martial Arts wields?”
Do-hyeon closed his eyes and contemplated his Dantian. The Internal Energy refined by the Taeheohwonwon Shimgong appeared chaotic, yet within it a slow vortex churned according to its own law.
Martial Arts only reveals its true power when Internal Energy and External Technique unite. Focusing solely on the shell of Technique Form cannot hold the genuine essence of divine Martial Arts. Only when inner and outer align, when Internal and External achieve balance and harmony, does true Martial Arts become complete. That must have been why the very essence of Cheonma Shinggong was branded into his mind all at once.
But there was something more fundamental still. Heart Technique was ultimately nothing more than a conduit for transporting the Dantian’s internal force. What Do-hyeon truly needed to concentrate on wasn’t the conduit itself, but the vast current of Taeheohwonwon Shimgong itself.
Do-hyeon kept his eyes closed. Gwak Cheol’s question wasn’t mere dialogue. ‘Find the answer yourself.’ That heavy silence was the teaching itself. Gwak Cheol stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and rose from his seat.
“Good. In that state, look into your Dantian. Don’t get up until you can feel how the power within you flows, where it gathers and where it leaks.”
Days passed that way.
Do-hyeon spent most of his time in lotus position. He reduced meals to the minimum, and sought sleep while remaining seated. The first two days were grueling. Like chasing the trajectory of a single water droplet in the eye of a storm, sensing the flow of Internal Energy seemed impossible.
When he focused his consciousness, the vortex lurched violently. When he released his strength, sensation grew murky. The koan Gwak Cheol had thrown kept circling in his mind.
‘Don’t try to control it. Follow the flow, but don’t lose it.’
It took exactly three days to find that delicate boundary. At last, a sensation came—as though the grain of Internal Energy within his Dantian touched his fingertips. Like placing a hand in water and feeling the direction of the current, the grain of Qi began to become readable.
“Ha…… haha.”
As the wall that seemed insurmountable crumbled, growth accelerated. Do-hyeon sank deeper, below consciousness itself.
When the noisy outsider who’d made a commotion from the start grew quiet, someone found themselves bored.
“Hey, you not eating? Just sleeping?”
It was Park Cheol-ho. He kept hovering around Do-hyeon at all hours. When Cheol-ho, discouraged by the complete lack of movement, tried waving his hand, a low voice came from behind him.
“Don’t touch him.”
Gwak Cheol stood with his back against a pillar, arms crossed.
“He’s achieving Enlightenment. Waking him carelessly will cause him serious harm instead.”
“But it’s already been several days.”
“What’s two days or ten days? Wait until he comes out on his own. Under no circumstances wake him first. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”
Even as he spoke to Cheol-ho, Gwak Cheol’s gaze remained fixed on Do-hyeon. A Martial Artist’s instinct was warning him. That one is diving very deep right now. And when he surfaces again, he’ll soar higher than anyone.
The next dawn.
Do-hyeon’s consciousness had severed completely from the outside world. All sensation converged to a single point in his Dantian. The vortex of Taeheohwonwon Shimgong pulsed with a rhythm different from before. Like a great dragon writhing beneath still waters.
The Internal Energy flowed along its existing Meridian Channels, then struck a wall at a certain junction. Until now, he’d only traveled the open paths. Now suddenly, he began battering against that barrier.
Thud, thud, thud.
Ren Meridian Resonance.
Qi flowing from the Dantian struck back roughly. It stubbornly pounded against the sealed acupoint. At first, faint as a chick pecking at its shell, with each repetition the impact grew heavier.
Thud. Thud. Boom!
The instinctive struggle to break through the shell. Veins bulged across Do-hyeon’s forehead, cold sweat pouring down his brow like rain. Steam rose from clothes soaked in heat. Gwak Cheol’s eyes narrowed.
‘Ren Meridian Resonance…… at this age? With no master to guide, by himself?’
Ren Meridian Resonance was a natural phenomenon that arrived when Internal Energy reached a certain level, but it typically manifested as the fruit of decades of cultivation. It wasn’t something that should arrive in mere days. Was the Cheonmu Jiche, this unusual constitution, pushing the purity of Internal Energy to its absolute limit? Gwak Cheol suppressed his amazement and said nothing. A premonition whispered that this was merely a prelude.
#
Meanwhile, in a high-end officetel somewhere in downtown Seoul.
In a room where three monitors emitted blue light, a man tapped at his keyboard. CCTV footage and access logs from the police internal network overlaid the screens in layers.
“Found it.”
The man’s lips twisted. A faint silhouette caught on CCTV near Seoul Station. After scouring the database of state authority, he’d succeeded in backtracking the route.
“Seoul Station Underground. So the little rats did hide in their nest.”
The man tapped his earpiece.
“Yes, location confirmed. Seoul Station closed underground sector.”
— Seoul Station closed sector? Understood. Good work.
“When will I get the compensation….”
— Check now.
Before the words finished, his phone buzzed. The man checked the deposit and laughed obsequiously.
“Your service! If you need anything else in the future, please call on me anytime!”
Click.
The mysterious man who hung up rose from his chair. In the dark apartment with not a single light on, he made his way unhesitatingly to the dressing room. When he opened the door, black combat gear and meticulously arranged magical artifacts gleamed.
A blue-eyed man. The leader of the team known in this world as the Cleaners equipped himself skillfully. After fastening even the Gauntlet-type Magical Artifact as a final touch, he left the apartment.
“Target identification complete. Assemble at Seoul Station.”
At Seoul Station Underground, Gwak Cheol gazed at Do-hyeon while smoking. Then a member of Gaebang came rushing over.
“Lord Bunta! Unusual movement detected in the outer surveillance network. Three armed sorcerers!”
Gwak Cheol’s eyes turned cold.
“Which route?”
“The C-4 Ventilation Shaft. They’re pinpointing the location and closing in.”
Gwak Cheol let out a low curse through his teeth. He’d anticipated this from the moment he’d saved Do-hyeon, but it’d come faster than expected. He glanced briefly at Do-hyeon, who hadn’t moved. If he was in the midst of breaking through Ren Meridian Resonance, waking him now would be nothing short of destruction.
“I need to buy some time.”
Thud-thud-thud! Gwak Cheol drew a Samdan-bong from his pocket and extended it.
“Rats have infiltrated our sacred Gaebang territory. Don’t let a single ant past—seal this place down.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Gaebang disciples scattered. Gwak Cheol slung the Samdan-bong across his shoulders and strode toward the entrance. Before the ventilation shaft, his followers erected a barricade and dug in. Soon, rhythmic footsteps echoed from beyond.
Bang—!
The ventilation shaft cover exploded skyward. Three figures in black emerged from the smoke—Cleaners.
“Hold them!”
The Gaebang disciples rushed forward, swinging wooden poles and pipes. A burly man clapped his hands, and artificial darkness swallowed the space whole. As the disciples lost their sight in confusion, a torrent of malice-laden Air Bullets poured down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each round was powerful enough to bore through concrete walls.
“Ugh!”
“I can’t see! What’s happening?”
Homeless men who’d arrived late flailed uselessly behind the dark veil. The rate of fire accelerated, and casualties mounted. Just as their defenses were about to crumble—
Whoosh—!
Gwak Cheol’s form cut through the air like wind. His Samdan-bong spun, deflecting three Air Bullets in quick succession.
Clang, clang, clang!
He read invisible bullets by the flow of energy alone—a feat of subtle mastery.
“Master!”
Gwak Cheol answered not with words but with the Chwipalseonseo. His gait was bizarre—like a drunk old man stumbling—yet the killing intent he radiated pressed down on the entire corridor. The bullets that came in succession flew past his unpredictable movements.
“Hyah!”
With ranged attacks neutralized, the Cleaners’ wind mage cast Haste upon himself. The man, now moving beyond human speed, drew an Air Blade—a magical artifact that channeled even modest Mana into devastating cutting power. He bore down on Gwak Cheol, ready to sever his neck in a single stroke.
The man’s eyes found Gwak Cheol’s nape. He twisted his body’s axis and, with a sharp cry, swung the blade.
“Die!”
But what rang out was not the sound of a cut—it was the dull crack of displaced air.
Thud—!
Gwak Cheol’s Samdan-bong struck the wind mage’s chest squarely. Bone cracked, and the protective ward shattered into fragments.
“Hack!”
Without that ward, the man would have perished on the spot. The wind mage flew backward, coughing blood.
“This old fool—!”
Horror flashed across the faces of the two remaining Cleaners. That a mere homeless elder possessed such martial skill was outside their calculations. The barrier mage hastily recalibrated the seal’s range.
“I was careless. My apologies.”
Gwak Cheol pressed forward without pause, driving them back. He feinted at the leader with his staff’s tip and threw a kick. As he flew backward from the kick to his chest, the leader—true leader that he was—carved a deep wound across Gwak Cheol’s cheek.
Crackle—
Electricity coursed through him, and one side of his face blackened. With each exchange, he left his mark—a relentless persistence. Gwak Cheol touched his cheek and muttered softly.
“Entertaining.”
Unlike the grinning Gwak Cheol, the Cleaners’ leader kept an impassive face as he rolled up his sleeve. A Gauntlet-type Magical Artifact was revealed, its surface etched with intricate runes and a deep red Mana Stone set at its core.
“Originally, I meant to save this for Cheon Do-hyeon, but it seems necessary now.”
The leader activated the artifact. As the Mana Stone’s energy resonated with the rune circuits, his power amplified instantly.
[Water Bomb]
The deployment speed was different this time. In an instant, fist-sized water spheres packed the space around Gwak Cheol in all directions. At the leader’s signal, they detonated as one.
Boom, crash-boom! Boom!
Compressed water pressure tore through space. There was no escape from this omni-directional assault. Gwak Cheol shielded his vital points and fought with all his strength to break free.
“Ugh—!”
Blood sprayed from Gwak Cheol’s mouth. Yet he gripped his Samdan-bong, determined to take at least one of them with him. But—
[Paralyze]
A chained spell: electricity flowing through the water left wet beneath him. His fatal mistake had been ignoring the water at his feet.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
His body went rigid, refusing to move. In that instant, the Cleaners’ leader unleashed his final spell.
[Death Touch]
Black lightning sprang from the leader’s fingertips, piercing straight through Gwak Cheol’s chest.
“Gaaaack—!”
Gwak Cheol’s entire body convulsed abnormally.
#
Some distance away.
Flash—!
White light consumed the entire underground space. The fluorescent lights overhead burst in unison, and glass shards rained down like hail.
Where Cheon Do-hyeon sat. A tempestuous current of energy was erupting from his Dantian. He had opened his sealed Ren Meridian and reached a realm poised between first-rate and transcendence.
The vortex of his Taeheohwonwon Shimgong spun at more than twice its previous speed, and his Internal Energy flowed through every Meridian Channel like water. Cheon Do-hyeon opened his eyes.
Eyes so transparent they were almost chillingly clear.
The world looked different. The subtle flow of Qi drifting through the air, the echo of shockwaves reverberating through the walls, and——the smell of blood.
“Blood…smell?”
His transcendent sense of smell detected the crisis bearing down on Gaebang.
“Brother! Brother! Brother!”
It was then that Park Cheol-ho’s voice—raw with desperation—struck his ears. The boy rushed forward with tears threatening to spill, shaking Cheon Do-hyeon’s shoulders.
“Why are you only waking up now! Why!”
“What’s happened?”
“Master Bunta…… Master Bunta!”
Before the words were even finished, Cheon Do-hyeon vanished.
Whoosh—!
Where Cheon Do-hyeon had been sitting, a small crater now yawned open. Park Cheol-ho’s hair whipped wildly in the wind left in his wake.

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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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