The Fortunate Sword God of the Zhuge Clan - Chapter 33

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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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Episode 33.
“Damn it all!”
Dok Go Hyeon cursed as he entered the cave’s passage, a massive roasted wild boar clenched in one hand.
“First-Rate would’ve been enough! I told you not to overdo it!”
As Dok Go Hyeon returned to the cave from grilling the boar, he felt Moo Hun’s aura rise to First-Rate level and was seized by shock.
He marveled at how extraordinary the Gongcheong Stone Oil truly was, wondering what words of congratulation he should offer.
But then Moo Hun’s aura surged again, climbing higher and higher—and suddenly vanished altogether.
There was no doubt about it: he had attempted to reach Peak Realm and fallen into Demonic Cultivation Deviation.
‘It’s fine. I can save him. I’ve never practiced the Doyein technique, but… I can keep him alive!’
Dok Go Hyeon felt certain of this.
Though his Internal Energy remained at First-Rate level—and was growing weaker by the day since he’d deliberately dispersed it—he was the one who had perfected the Dokgo Sword Technique.
He dimly sensed that his own body had already reached Peak Realm.
Apart from mastering martial arts that didn’t rely on Internal Energy Flow, he could read the flow of Qi itself far more keenly than before.
Dok Go Hyeon pushed every dark thought from his mind and tore through the passage at lightning speed.
Then he found Moo Hun collapsed on the ground.
“Moo Hun!”
Foul-smelling black sweat lay scattered all around, but Dok Go Hyeon’s eyes scarcely registered it.
The viscous black blood pooled before him—unmistakably the mark of Demonic Cultivation Deviation—left no room to notice anything else.
“Damn it!”
Dok Go Hyeon flung the roasted boar aside and quickly pressed his hand to Moo Hun’s shoulder.
He had to stabilize his energy, preserve his life at all costs.
‘Thank goodness—he’s still breathing. And his Internal Energy Flow is steady, so… wait?’
Why was his Internal Energy Flow running smoothly?
The moment that question crossed his mind, a hand seized Dok Go Hyeon’s arm.
Snap!
Dok Go Hyeon started slightly.
He couldn’t sense who the hand’s owner was.
Who had entered this deep cave?
And someone with such extraordinary grip strength, no less?
But Dok Go Hyeon soon realized their identity.
And his shock only deepened.
“You… you… could it be…?”
Dok Go Hyeon’s mind and spirit were certainly at Peak Realm.
But his Internal Energy remained at First-Rate level.
And with Energy Sense using Internal Energy Flow, one fundamentally cannot clearly detect Internal Energy of a higher realm than one’s own.
What these facts meant was simple and singular.
“So… Hyeon…”
Moo Hun called out to Dok Go Hyeon in a voice utterly raw and torn.
“The… meat… bring me…”
Dok Go Hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha, what…”
So, he had made a private vow never to marvel again at Moo Hun’s miraculous conduct.
But wasn’t this crossing every line?
Dok Go Hyeon retrieved the roasted boar he’d carelessly flung down and spoke in a tone of utter disbelief.
“You’ve reached Peak Realm in a single day.”
Moo Hun couldn’t even answer, only smiled as he watched Dok Go Hyeon bring the boar.
***
Four days passed after that.
The cave where Moo Hun and Dok Go Hyeon stayed was now filled entirely with animal bones.
What was remarkable was that they were almost all from wild boars or beasts of similar size.
The quantity seemed impossible for two people to have consumed in just four days.
And it was Moo Hun who had devoured the vast majority of these creatures.
Dok Go Hyeon stared intently at Moo Hun once he finished eating.
“You must be over eighty kilograms by now.”
“Oh, does it look like I’ve already reached that?”
“Given how much you’ve eaten, it’s no wonder. For your height, you’re not quite heavy yet, but you’re really beginning to look like a martial artist now.”
At the comment that he looked like a martial artist, Moo Hun smiled with satisfaction.
His body had transformed completely from what it had been before reaching Peak Realm.
The frame that had weighed less than fifty kilograms had now exceeded eighty, and clothes that had once hung loosely now fit snugly against him.
What was remarkable was that this weight consisted not of soft flesh, but of solid, defined muscle.
It was an incredible result born from the fusion of Gongcheong Stone Oil’s essence and Cheonsan Yeongong’s prowess.
“All right, I’ll accept that everything I eat turns to muscle. But everything else too, because of Gongcheong Stone Oil? At this point, isn’t this Complete Bone Replacement?”
Moo Hun shook his head.
“It’s not like that, sir. No matter how potent Gongcheong Stone Oil is, Complete Bone Replacement isn’t something to speak of lightly. That’s a realm one can only glimpse after surpassing the Peak Realm.”
“Is that so? Still, you’ve changed far too much.”
“To be somewhat embarrassed about it, these changes must stem from my inborn constitution, no?”
It was entirely understandable that Dok Go Hyeon thought Moo Hun’s body had undergone Complete Bone Replacement.
His shoulders were far broader than those of any ordinary martial artist, and his hands and feet were enormous, like cauldron lids.
His limbs were proportionately elongated and slender, lending him an open, refined appearance.
This was no frame that mere height alone could produce.
And that was merely the skeletal structure.
His face, which had once been so gaunt that one might mistake him for a woman, now bore fullness, and his eyes had grown clear and bright.
The sharp line of his jaw remained unchanged, and he possessed a beauty that might be called extraordinary.
“Then you’re saying your skeleton was always like this? I find it hard to believe I never noticed.”
“Well, when I suffered from Severed Meridians, I couldn’t keep my body upright as I moved about. From that state, anyone would have failed to notice.”
“Even so, your current form seems to possess some Heavenly Martial Constitution or another. Or is that what it is?”
Moo Hun smiled faintly at Dok Go Hyeon’s question.
“It’s not Heavenly Martial Constitution. The cultivation method I employ simply seems to aid in transforming one’s constitution.”
Dok Go Hyeon’s eyes widened noticeably.
“…I try my hardest not to be astonished, yet I find I cannot help myself. Didn’t you say you created that cultivation method yourself?”
“How could genuine originality truly exist in this present age? I drew upon numerous martial texts and secret manuals, so perhaps this is simply a beneficial effect born from their convergence.”
“Unforeseen fortune, then.”
Dok Go Hyeon shrugged as if he’d accepted the explanation readily enough.
“Fortune is a good thing, at any rate. Besides, I rather like it. There’s much I place my trust in you for—Cheon Eung Dan or otherwise.”
“Heh, perhaps I’ve spent my entire lifetime’s fortune all in one place.”
“A single stroke of luck is enough to count oneself fortunate. Most people never experience even that in all their days.”
Moo Hun nodded in agreement.
The prowess of Cheonsan Yeongong was not luck.
Yet from the moment of regression to this present day, seeing how smoothly matters had unfolded, it was undeniably true that fortune had favored him.
“You speak truth. I shall not forget it.”
Dok Go Hyeon let out a short laugh.
“Don’t speak obvious things as if they were sage wisdom. It’s embarrassing. Anyway….”
Dok Go Hyeon scratched his head and shifted the subject.
“Today’s the day we scout the surroundings. Are you confident?”
“Reasonably so, I’d say.”
There was reason he had remained in the cave for four days despite having fully absorbed the Gongcheong Stone Oil.
Moo Hun’s internal energy had certainly reached the Peak Realm.
But his body had failed to keep pace with such sudden growth.
More precisely, Moo Hun had not yet learned to command that body.
To illustrate: when he’d tried to rise from his seat, he’d launched himself upward and struck his head against the cave ceiling.
As a result, for those four days past, he’d had to practice rising from the ground before he could even attempt walking.
Dok Go Hyeon had laughed at the sight while procuring all their provisions from outside.
He’d also revealed that he seemed to have reached the Peak Realm himself, and helped Moo Hun acclimate.
He taught him how to prevent his internal energy from leaking outward.
How to sense the presence of beings around him through Energy Sense.
How to transmit Jeoneum, and much else besides.
“I see… your learning speed is extraordinary. In merely four days, you’ve managed all this?”
“It’s thanks to your excellent instruction, is it not? Moreover, I’m still far from perfect, so I hesitate to accept such praise.”
Moo Hun’s speed of learning was astonishing.
Yet this was partly because Dok Go Hyeon possessed a gift for teaching others.
And Moo Hun, for his part, already understood these things in theory, so within four days—though not perfectly—he’d managed to execute them adequately.
“Still, it took me a month.”
“That’s because you started from nothing, whereas I’m simply learning what you’ve already accomplished, no?”
And now, today had arrived—the day to verify whether his body had successfully adapted.
“If today’s walk is successful, that too shall be thanks to you.”
Moo Hun rose slowly from his seat.
“Ah, no launch this time?”
“That hasn’t happened since yesterday. Now the real test begins.”
Moo Hun exhaled a gentle breath and took a step forward.
Tap.
Moo Hun succeeded in taking a light step forward, lifting the corners of his mouth into a smile as he continued walking.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Mmm….”
Dok Go Hyeon followed with a tense expression, as though watching an infant take its first steps.
Gaining confidence in his gait, Moo Hun began to accelerate.
“Wait, whoa—hey! Hold on!”
Dok Go Hyeon pushed off from the ground and gave chase.
Moo Hun paid no mind and rushed through the passage he had opened.
“Ha-ha.”
With each bound, his pace quickened.
The muscles forged by the Gongcheong Stone Oil and four days of consuming wild beasts had finally begun to earn their keep.
“Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha!”
Moving at a speed that would be hard to believe of a prisoner, Moo Hun felt an intoxicating sense of liberation.
“You’ll fall on your face if you’re not careful! …Though I suppose you won’t get hurt.”
Dok Go Hyeon followed behind with an air of indifference.
Having grown even faster, Moo Hun burst from the cave passage and, for the first time in four days, met the vista of the outside world and breathed in its crisp air.
Moo Hun found himself facing the sheer, precipitous slope of Cheongseong Mountain.
And without hesitation, he charged down the steep incline.
“I can run down a slope without any trouble! Better still, I think I’m getting faster!”
At Moo Hun’s words, Dok Go Hyeon’s expression grew blank for a moment before breaking into a slight smile.
“You just don’t know how to control it yet. With a body like yours, this is hardly running at all!”
Dok Go Hyeon pulled up beside Moo Hun as they ran, offering guidance.
“You’re a martial artist now. Don’t just run—surrender your body to the sensation of the wind and the earth beneath your feet. That’s the fastest way to move.”
Moo Hun nodded and did as Dok Go Hyeon instructed.
He did not resist the wind that howled to block his path.
Concentrating on the sensation of his feet striking the ground, he pushed off with his entire sole.
Then.
“Ah….”
In that instant, Moo Hun’s body seemed to merge with the landscape around him.
“Is this… the world as a martial artist sees it?”
Moo Hun’s body soared through the sky.
Of course, it was only a high jump.
But his Peak Realm vision allowed him to savor that fleeting moment slowly.
Between the mists that blanketed Cheongseong Mountain, a deep green announced the tail end of spring.
As though refusing to yield to this verdant assault, scattered flowers still bloomed, adding color to the world.
The sight of the sky layering above it all stirred a feeling that surpassed any artwork he had ever witnessed.
‘Surely I must not be content with this alone.’
Moo Hun broke into a broad grin.
‘I’ve already achieved one of the things I most wanted to accomplish upon my return.’
As that moment passed, Moo Hun’s body descended onto the jagged rocks of the steep slope.
But for Moo Hun, such things were no longer an obstacle.
He landed lightly, his feet touching down with perfect control.
Dok Go Hyeon descended beside him, settling down to face him.
“So, what do you think? How does it feel to be a true martial artist—or even more than that?”
Moo Hun did not answer at length.
“There’s nothing more to say but that it’s the best.”
***
Because Moo Hun’s progress had exceeded expectations, the hunt that was originally planned for the next day took place that same day.
Using his Energy Sense for the first time, Moo Hun found a wild boar and pondered how best to hunt it.
The deliberation did not last long.
“A punch should do it, shouldn’t it?”
“I have Internal Energy and a strong body, but I haven’t learned any martial techniques. Would that even work?”
“You’re at the Peak Realm. A wild boar is something even a Third-Rate martial artist with good training can catch bare-handed.”
Sure enough, when Moo Hun casually approached and threw a punch, the wild boar collapsed without even feeling pain.
It seemed not to have even realized its own death.
“…So this is what it means to be a martial artist.”
Keenly feeling how much stronger he had become, Moo Hun roasted the boar and returned to the cave.
“So what now? We’re supposed to meet him tomorrow. Should we head down early?”
Moo Hun shook his head.
“The sun has already set. We’ll head down tomorrow.”
“At our level, such things don’t matter. Look here—the darkness inside feels no different from before, does it?”
Indeed, as Dok Go Hyeon said, Moo Hun could now see clearly even in the pitch-black cave.
With his Energy Sense besides, there was no danger in traveling the mountain at night.
“I understand, but I wish to organize the sensations I felt today in my mind. If possible, I’d prefer to do so in this quiet place.”
At Moo Hun’s words, Dok Go Hyeon shrugged.
“Fair enough—you tried so much for the first time today. Alright then, let’s head down tomorrow. I should get some sleep.”
Dok Go Hyeon folded his arms and sprawled out flat on his back.
“If we’d had more time, I would’ve taught you some martial techniques too. You remember the Dokgo Sword Technique, right? You couldn’t have forgotten.”
“Of course. We can go over it again on the way back to the main family residence, can we not?”
“Hmm? Well, actually….”
Dok Go Hyeon hesitated before answering.
“I’m thinking of heading to Sichuan instead.”
“What? Why would you do that?”
“Since I’ve decided to establish the Cheon Eung Dan, I’m not going off to die alone. But I want to test my current skills by facing martial artists from a major city like Sichuan. That way I’ll know exactly where I stand.”
“If that’s your concern, there are plenty of masters even in Hubei….”
“I can’t keep imposing on your family. Besides, if word gets out that I’m staying with the Je Gal Family, neighboring sects might grow wary and keep their distance.”
Moo Hun nodded with a warm smile, moved by Dok Go Hyeon’s consideration for the Je Gal Family.
“If that is your wish, then we shall meet again at the Yongbong Gathering.”
“Right…. Oh, but can I even participate? Won’t they kick me out for not being from a renowned family?”
Moo Hun let out a wry laugh.
“That is not the case. The Yongbong Gathering typically accepts participants in three ways: from those aged fifteen to thirty, disciples of Orthodox Sects who have made a name for themselves, those who receive a recommendation letter from a master of high repute, or those who pass the preliminary rounds.”
“I see.”
“If you wish, I could speak to my father and obtain a recommendation letter for you….”
“No, I’d rather start with the preliminaries. That sounds more fun.”
“Heh. I thought you would say as much.”
The two continued to discuss the Yongbong Gathering and the Cheon Eung Dan for some time after.
As their conversation drew to a close, Dok Go Hyeon, who had been lying on his back, yawned and sought sleep.
“Aah~ I’ll get some rest then. Tomorrow we descend the mountain, so you should sleep well too.”
“I will. Sleep soundly yourself.”
Before long, Dok Go Hyeon fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly.
Once Moo Hun confirmed that Dok Go Hyeon had fallen asleep, he retrieved from his garments the Ancient Scroll he had received from Hyeong Sang.
For the past four days, his body had been too weak to move, and he had been unable to examine it until now.
‘At last, I can read it.’
Moo Hun opened the first page of the scroll, a mixture of tension and anticipation washing over him.
With the scent of aged ink came peculiar traces of power woven into the characters before his eyes.
Since Hyeong Sang had erased the cipher and minor seals, Moo Hun could receive only the essential content.
[I trust you have glimpsed the Celestial Omen as I have. I have not many days left.]
It began with words from Je Gal Moo Hu, Moo Hun’s ancestor.
[Of course, I will not abandon this pursuit for the restoration of Han. Yet what I convey to you today bears no relation to this.]
[Perhaps it is because my days grow short—recently, my Baihui Acupoint has opened, and I can read Celestial Omens far more vividly than before.]
[Yet I could not accept all of them, and so I shall find a way to twist them. If such a path does not exist in this world, I will create it myself.]
[This is no easy task, and so, should I fail, I entrust this letter to you. You may find it difficult to understand at first, but I beg you to send a reply.]
A way to twist the Celestial Omen.
Moo Hun immediately understood that this referred to the Chilseong Won.
How could he not recognize it, having used it himself?
‘The Baihui Acupoint has opened….’
To say that the Baihui Acupoint, located at the crown of the head, had opened meant that an Upper Dantian had formed—in modern terms.
In other words, it could be said that enlightenment had been reached.
‘Back then, the concept of accumulating Internal Energy in the Dantian did not exist.’
Of course, this did not mean the martial artists of that era were weak.
They had not accumulated knowledge of Cultivation Methods, yet they possessed far greater freedom in wielding natural energy.
However, handling vast and pure natural energy carried corresponding danger; because reaching great heights was difficult, Cultivation Methods were created to allow safer accumulation.
‘One cannot compare heights, but if the Upper Dantian had opened without the foundation-building process we now undergo….’
It would have been a catastrophe.
Moo Hun himself had nearly died when opening his Middle Dantian, and the Upper Dantian was a realm beyond that.
A gateway to the highest realm opens without any foundation?
He had never even heard of such a case, and there was no way an ordinary person could bear the overwhelming information and Internal Energy Flow that the Upper Dantian would pour forth.
‘The fact that his mind did not shatter is a miracle in itself.’
Moo Hun did not think his ancestor’s mind had broken at this point.
After all, he had created the Chilseong Won.
The Ancestor endured it through spiritual power that transcended the human realm, and in that state, read the Celestial Omen as well.
Moo Hun turned the page of the Ancient Scroll and found Hyeong Sang’s response written below.
[I fear the Baihui Acupoint has opened and the spirit has collapsed.]
[Do you not understand that Celestial Omen is the fate Heaven has decreed?]
[Accept it. I have nothing more to say to you beyond this.]
Indeed, Hyeong Sang’s original text also harbored doubt about the Ancestor’s mental state.
Yet the Ancestor’s subsequent response was calm.
[I understand your disbelief. I too lack the time to spend on persuasion.]
[Only look at this design. It remains merely foundational and may change, but I am certain it is the best countermeasure I have found to alter the ominous Celestial Omen I perceive.]
Moo Hun turned another page of the Ancient Scroll.
Upon seeing the next page, Moo Hun nodded in recognition of the familiar form.
‘The formation diagram of the Chilseong Won.’
Though slightly different, it was clearly the foundational design that had become the basis of the Chilseong Won that he himself had reverse-engineered in his previous life.
Familiar as it was to Moo Hun, Hyeong Sang must have been struck with the thrill of encountering something miraculous.
It was not a matter of ability—the very conception itself was different.
And this design was more than enough to inspire the conviction that such a conception might indeed be realized.
Perhaps by this design alone, the Ancestor’s unbroken spirit had already been proven.
Yet what followed written below gave even Moo Hun cause for alarm.
[According to the Celestial Omen, approximately 1,300 years hence, the Central Plains shall fall into ruin. This is not the fate of a single nation. The very world itself shall crumble.]

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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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