The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 20

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 20

“Thank you.”

“Haha. This is just a small thing. I’ll get you many more spirit medicines and pills in the future, so keep working hard.”

“Yes, grandfather.”

“Today, you’ll consume the Purple Restoration Pill. The Huashan Taoists would be outraged to hear this, but unlike Shaolin’s Great Return Pill, making the spirit medicine’s energy your own is no easy task. So let’s do this together. I’ll help you absorb as much as possible.”

“I understand.”

“One last thing – don’t be disappointed if you can’t absorb all the energy. I’ll prepare another one for you soon.”

Ha Hyeon sat cross-legged while carefully holding the spirit pill, and Namgung Mu-ryong sat behind him with his hands on Ha Hyeon’s back.

“Should I take it right now?”

“Yes. The most important thing is to follow my guidance without resistance. Originally, the energy within spirit pills is difficult to absorb. If you try too hard to absorb all the energy at once, you’ll fall into qi deviation, so when I try to disperse the energy outside your body, don’t think it’s wasteful and just follow along. Understand?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then, continuously circulate your true qi throughout your entire body. From the Ren meridian to the Du meridian of course, and make sure your true qi reaches everywhere, down to your fingertips and toes. It will be difficult, but that will allow the Purple Restoration Pill’s energy to reach every corner of your body.”

Ha Hyeon carefully unwrapped the package and put the dark-colored spirit pill in his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, a fragrant flower scent burst forth.

‘This is the scent of plum blossoms.’

Though Ha Hyeon had never smelled plum blossoms before, he immediately knew this fragrance belonged to them.

Gulp-

The spirit pill went down his throat without any trouble. For a moment, nothing happened. Just as Ha Hyeon wondered if something had gone wrong.

WHOOSH-!

In Ha Hyeon’s body. More precisely, from his stomach, he felt a hot energy exploding.

‘What is this?’

Namgung Mu-ryong was almost startled for a moment. While Huashan’s Purple Restoration Pill is precious, it’s not extremely rare. In his eighty years of life, Namgung Mu-ryong had consumed at least five Purple Restoration Pills himself, and helped others consume at least five more. But this situation was a first. Originally, the method of consuming the Purple Restoration Pill was to circulate qi while absorbing the medicinal energy as if melting hard ice. That’s why it took a very long time and was difficult.

‘This is like… pouring oil into a fire pit!’

And the Purple Restoration Pill’s energy melted at a correspondingly rapid rate. Though Ha Hyeon was overcome with pain, he was circulating energy throughout his body as Namgung Mu-ryong advised. But with each circulation, the pain grew stronger.

‘This is impossible.’

Though one can’t see the true qi flowing through the body with the naked eye, Namgung Mu-ryong had always imagined qi as blue throughout his life. When circulating qi or performing martial arts, he had imagined a bluish energy flowing through his body. But now it was different.

‘It’s red… like burning fire.’

To his eyes, it looked like brilliantly burning flames.

“Urgh…” But even in that moment, Ha Hyeon was enduring the pain. Namgung Mu-ryong hastily checked Ha Hyeon’s condition. The Purple Restoration Pill’s energy, upon meeting Ha Hyeon’s energy, was growing stronger and stronger. And its magnitude was gradually becoming too much for Ha Hyeon to handle.

Click- Click-

Namgung Mu-ryong pressed various acupoints on Ha Hyeon’s body trying to control the pill’s energy, but even with his ability, all he could do was slow its speed.

Crunch-

The sound of grinding teeth burst forth as Ha Hyeon tried to endure the pain by clenching his teeth. The enormously expanded energy of the Purple Restoration Pill was forcibly squeezing into Ha Hyeon’s not yet fully trained meridians, causing tremendous pain.

“Hah…!” Namgung Mu-ryong drew in a breath and focused all his attention on controlling the pill’s energy. At this rate, some meridian might burst from being unable to withstand the energy. If unlucky, if a meridian near the head or heart burst, it could lead to death by qi deviation.

Swoosh- Namgung Mu-ryong used all the true qi he could muster to control Ha Hyeon’s energy. He concentrated so intensely that his clothes became soaked with sweat.

‘It’s working.’

And after a while. As the Purple Restoration Pill’s energy gradually lost its strength, Namgung Mu-ryong was able to control Ha Hyeon’s energy. He continuously circulated energy through Ha Hyeon’s already open Ren and Du meridians while continuing to help him absorb the pill’s energy.

‘But this…?!’

Despite being in a situation requiring extreme concentration, Namgung Mu-ryong gasped in surprise. Ha Hyeon’s energy pathways had become incomparably wider than before taking the Purple Restoration Pill. It was the result of the meridians being forcibly widened by the energy squeezing in, and then being protected as the energy was absorbed.

“Whew……”

After a while. Namgung Mu-ryong removed his hands from Ha Hyeon’s back and exhaled deeply. His clothes were already soaked with dripping sweat, even his beard was glistening.

‘How long has it been since I’ve sweated this refreshingly?’

But Namgung Mu-ryong even felt refreshed. Since reaching the realm of supreme masters, he hadn’t sweated from ordinary movement, and it had been twenty years since his last all-out fight.

“Well done. It must have been really painful… You did great.”

“Not at all. Thank you so much, grandfather.”

Ha Hyeon turned around and hugged Namgung Mu-ryong tightly as he spoke. Although Ha Hyeon had been writhing in terrible pain, he could feel that Namgung Mu-ryong had given it his all. He could also sense that his grandfather hadn’t hesitated even though he himself could have fallen into qi deviation.

“Yes… Congratulations. You’ve achieved a breakthrough.”

“A breakthrough?” Ha Hyeon examined his body. And he too couldn’t help but be very surprised.

‘Is this the effect of the Purple Restoration Pill?’

He could feel much more internal energy than before, incomparably so. If his previous internal energy was at the level of a stream, now it could be said to be at the level of a small river. But it wasn’t just the amount of internal energy. He could immediately notice that the pathways through which his internal energy flowed had widened.

“Grandfather!” Ha Hyeon’s voice calling his grandfather was clearly filled with joy.

“Amazing. You absorbed it without wasting a single bit.” Watching Ha Hyeon absorb all the pill’s energy like salt dissolving in hot water, the Sword Master couldn’t hide his surprised expression.

‘Did Ha Hyeon’s constitution create this result?’

Though this was a first-time experience for Namgung Mu-ryong, he didn’t show it to Ha Hyeon and spoke with a deliberately serious face.

“However, we’ll need to think more carefully about consuming other spirit medicines in the future.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ha Hyeon immediately nodded at Namgung Mu-ryong’s words, and Namgung Mu-ryong smiled gently at this.

‘I thought he would insist on wanting to become stronger faster.’

Ha Hyeon had also realized it immediately. Whether it was due to his constitution or just coincidence, if something like what just happened were to occur without Namgung Mu-ryong or a martial artist of his caliber nearby, he would inevitably die from qi deviation.

“Still, if you utilize well what you’ve gained now, you’ll show completely different achievements than before.”

“Yes. I’ll work even harder.”

Training internal energy is like rolling a snowball from a mountain peak. At first, it grows so slightly you can barely tell if it’s getting bigger, but the more it grows, the faster it continues to grow. In that sense, just gaining this much internal energy could be considered a remarkable breakthrough for Ha Hyeon.

“Today, let’s rest now. Shamefully, this old man seems to have exhausted his energy.”

“Yes. Thank you so much, grandfather.”

But Ha Hyeon’s face showed no intention of ending today’s training here. He looked eager to use what he had just gained to practice other techniques as soon as possible. Namgung Mu-ryong laughed and said.

“Well then, I’ll head in now, so use this place as much as you want. Just don’t forget to come for dinner.”

Namgung Mu-ryong left the training grounds in good spirits after seeing Ha Hyeon’s genuinely delighted face.

‘I too had such passion once.’

He recalled his past while looking at Ha Hyeon. The time when he felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t train for even a day, and when he found tremendous enjoyment in his daily progress. And for some reason, he felt his own passion rising again.

After Namgung Mu-ryong left, Ha Hyeon, alone in the training grounds, observed his body even more carefully than before. First, the energy that used to trickle now flowed abundantly, with perhaps a bit of exaggeration. With sufficient internal energy and widened pathways, Ha Hyeon thought of one thing.

‘Eight Directions Wind and Rain.’

He recalled the final move of the Three Elements Sword Technique, which he could never perform as intended due to lack of internal energy. Some might wonder why he continues to practice the Three Elements Sword Technique, which is considered the most basic of basics. But Ha Hyeon’s thoughts were firm. As he learned at the Blue dragon pavillion, the most important thing in learning martial arts is the basics. And the Three Elements Sword Technique is the ultimate basic sword technique. Because no matter what ascending sword technique it might be, it cannot escape the three basic movements of slashing, striking, and thrusting. Standing in the middle of the training grounds, Ha Hyeon raised his sword. The energy emanating from his small frame was by no means small. Just this morning it wasn’t at this level, but now he could fully feel the power of the spirit medicine.

Ha Hyeon recalled not just the Eight Directions Wind and Rain, but something more specific. It was Namgung Min’s Eight Directions Wind and Rain. Though it was just the ordinary Three Elements Sword Technique, that Eight Directions Wind and Rain was the most splendid and excellent martial art Ha Hyeon had ever seen.

Swoosh- Whish-!

Ha Hyeon’s sword moved like an arrow. Its path matched Namgung Min’s sword exactly.

Whoosh-!

The wind rose following the sword’s movement. Not just wind, but the storm he had felt before.

Whoosh!

And at the climactic moment when the sword shot out in eight directions, Ha Hyeon expelled his internal energy with all his might.

Whiiiish-!

The Eight Directions Wind and Rain, dismissed by everyone, unfolded as a storm from Ha Hyeon’s hands. This was the Three Elements Sword Technique that Namgung Min had shown Ha Hyeon. Namgung Min had gathered his sword and energy back at this point. But Ha Hyeon didn’t stop there. Rather, as if it would be a waste to gather the already unleashed energy, he began to spin his body.

“Keup…!”

Instantly, an incomparable amount of inner force began draining out, far more than what had been escaping until now. Ha Hyeon gritted his teeth and put even more power into the rotation.

Whiriririk-!

Soon Ha Hyeon’s body began spinning like a fan. The energy contained in the sword had such force it seemed it could cut anything it touched in half.

After ten more rotations like this.

Tak-

Ha Hyeon’s body slowly stopped spinning, and he stood proudly in the training ground. Though his body staggered from having all its energy drained.

“Hehe.”

Ha Hyeon smiled. He thought what he had just done was truly worthy of being called martial arts. Though his body had no strength left, that seemed to give him a sense of satisfaction instead.

“Let’s call this Storm Sword.”

Though he thought it was a bit childish, he couldn’t think of any other name. A moment later, Ha Hyeon squeezed out his remaining strength to tidy up the training ground and returned to his quarters. Perhaps because he was so tired, Ha Hyeon was able to go to bed right away without even circulating his qi. Thinking that tomorrow he would definitely show the Storm Sword to grandfather.

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