Woong.

Internal qi, like a river, flowed through the body.

The world’s purest, clearest, and cleanest internal qi flowed through the major veins, spreading out to the eight major veins, eventually filling each one in the entire body.

“Phew…”

Inhale, exhale.

Internal qi was the process of taking in external qi from nature through breathing, converting it into internal qi suitable for one’s own martial arts skills, and accumulating it.

The internal qi that filled Chung Myung’s body took advantage of the flow of cultivation and swirled through his entire being. This extremely clear internal qi was built up through breathing, and the external qi was absorbed through the Soul Vitality Pill and Purple Cloud Pill.

Even though he had been constantly purifying the qi, the qi that hadn’t yet fully mixed in the body was divided into three branches of flow and began to be absorbed little by little by the flow.

At first, it flowed like a small stream.

However, it was so clear and pure that just by flowing through the body, it seemed to purify all the dirt in the body and lead Chung Myung to a better level.

One round, then another.

As the internal qi flowed through the body, the stream grew more and more. Soon, the qi, which had turned into a large river, flowed freely.

The purple qi would grow even bigger in the future. One day, it would turn into a river, and one day, it would turn into a sea. Eventually, it would spread out across the world with a purple sunset.

“Phew.”

Finally, Chung Myung finished the cultivation and took a deep breath. The expression on his face as he wiped the sweat was a bit strange.

“This… is truly wonderful.”

He glanced up.

“No, I don’t get it, you have been learning such a thing on your own? Where did you even sell your conscience?”

-Yah! You bastard! Who let you learn? Uh? Oh my! Seriously….!

“Ahhh, shut up.”

Chung Myung waved his hand and rested his chin as he fell into thought.

‘Maybe I should have just learned it sooner.’

The powers of the Purple Cloud Divine Arts were truly amazing.

It was a technique that could achieve at least higher efficiency than the self-learning techniques that gave him the reputation of a sword master. It was worth trying to learn this.

It was said that Shaolin’s Muscle Clearing martial arts, Wudang’s Higher Sky’s Taiji Divine Arts, and Dual Internal Qi Divine Arts were competing for the best cultivation technique in the world. Still, the Purple Cloud Divine Arts were by no means inferior to any of them. It was clear that it would not lag behind any of the sect’s skills.

“ Right. The problem is….“

Chung Myung scratched his head and sighed.

All martial arts had their own features.

This was very natural. A divine art representing the sect tended to have a nature best suited for the sect’s martial arts.

So naturally, the Purple Cloud Divine Arts was also the form most suitable for unfolding the martial arts of Mount Hua. Just by changing the new skills that Mount Hua disciples were learning in their own way, they would be able to become at least half as strong as before, regardless of the skill level.

That’s how great the Purple Cloud Divine Arts was. He couldn’t help but wonder, like an old man, whether it was possible to unleash such powerful arts without restrictions.

The problem was… it wasn’t the Purple Cloud Divine Arts but Chung Myung himself.

“Ah, this is sad.”

The internal qi of Chung Myung was made up of the cleanest qi in the world. Although it could not be said to be completely pure as it hasn’t been united entirely with the qi of the two pills he took, it was clearly increasing the amount of clean internal qi.

Was he uniting the qi through his own efforts and the Purple Cloud Divine Arts?

“I will get incredibly strong right away.”

To be able to unite the internal qi, which cannot mix with one another, and utilize it was a significant feat. Moreover, there was no need to explain the efficiency since they would be able to use that internal qi for their own merit.

However, if that happened, the internal qi of Chung Myung would have some color in it. This meant that his internal qi, which had the nature of purity, was bound to become normal to an extent.

“Ughh… does it happen like this?”

There hadn’t been a single problem until now.

Only warriors whose skills were not complicated and who could use Plum Blossom Arts, Seven Sages Arts, and more could pressure Chung Myung. And so, Chung Myung could ensure they held their own characters while using the new arts each time.

But now, with Purple Cloud Divine Arts, it was different. No matter how good Chung Myung was, it was difficult to maintain the force of his martial arts and the purity of the qi at the same time. So, he had to choose.

‘What do I do?’

Chung Myung rested his chin on his hand and thought.

If he continued to increase the flame of his qi like this, one day, his entire qi would be stained with impurity.

Of course, that wasn’t so bad. In the past, Chung Myung had the title of Plum Blossom Sword Saint with just Purple Cloud Enhanced Qi and rose to the position of the best swordsman. If one took that into account, the experience he had so far and the foundation he built on, he could become twice as strong as he was in the past.

‘Twice as much as Plum Blossom Sword Saint.’

It would have been unimaginable in the past. It was clear evidence that everything he had done since being born was not wrong. So, it would be nice to say this was a satisfactory result.

But…

“But the problem is that I cannot defeat the Heavenly Demon.”

Chung Myung’s face contorted.

That one damn thing is the root of all problems. Even if he became twice as strong, there was no way he would win over that guy. Because that guy was no human.

‘What do I do?’

If he just kept learning skills like this, he could steadily get stronger. All this was about laying the right groundwork. No matter how wrong he was, he would definitely become twice as strong as he was in the past. Depending on the effort you made, you could aim for even more strength, too.

But… what if he moved in a direction where he could utilize the characters of the Purple Cloud Divine Arts?

In effect, it meant removing the groundwork again.

If one was fussy, one could lose the advantages they had built so far. If you were unlucky, you might never be able to even reach the level you touched in the past. That was how broken his martial arts was.

But…

“If only I can succeed…”

It was truly a dream state.

It might be a clue to catching the shadow of the Heavenly Demon, which was so far away that he couldn’t even dare see it now.

“Ughh. It can be a jackpot or the opposite….”

Chung Myung scratched his ruffled hair with an irritated hand.

“Ohh, damn it! Why does it have to be this confusing? Once there is a nice martial art, all I have to do is learn it and use it. Why do I have to think so much about this!”

Chung Myung, scratching his hair until he pulled some out, soon fell to the side.

Thud.

“Ugh.”

Chung Myung, who lay on his side with arms crossed, looked into the blank space and chuckled.

“I have grown a lot too.”

One could say that he was twice the size of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.

“If only I was twice as strong back in the day…”

Then Mount Hua might not have collapsed. It would have been possible to save more sahyungs, and there was a high chance he wouldn’t have died.

If that were the case, Mount Hua would have become the best sword clan in the world, surpassing Shaolin, and had a commanding position for blocking the Heavenly Demon, with Chung Myung being the best swordsman in the world.

Right… it wasn’t a bad result.

But…

Chung Myung, who was blankly picturing the scene, had a sad smile.

“Can that work?”

Die in moderation, live in moderation, and only those who remained enjoyed the glory of it? Who would be happy with such half-assed glory?

This time, he wouldn’t miss anything.

The sand held in his hand had no choice but to slip through his fingers?

‘Don’t make me laugh!’

If it could not be stopped with his hands, just wrap it in a cloth! And if that didn’t work, he didn’t intend to let go, even if it meant baking them by mixing them into mud.

“As if it is tough?”

There was no choice but to overdo the body a bit.

Chung Myung turned his gaze to look at the rising burial mound.

“What? Does it seem foolish?”

No answer came back.

“If I were like the old days, I wouldn’t do such things. Being uneducated isn’t gambling. I just need to build something steadily.”

If any of Mount Hua’s disciples other than him had made this choice, he would have cracked open their heads on the spot.

“However… I can do it now.”

Chung Myung caught sight of Mount Hua’s sect with his eyes.

Right now, it would be slower than steadily learning the Purple Cloud Divine Arts. But as time passed, they could step further. And the part which couldn’t be done as he wasn’t stronger…

His gaze turned to the Mount Hua disciples, who were sweating so much in the training hall. Even though no one had scolded them, they were not showing sloppiness in their movements.

This made Chung Myung smile.

“… those people who fill in the parts which I couldn’t. They might be unreliable but are totally worth it.”

-Don’t they seem a thousand times better than the past sahyung?

“This bastard!”

Chung Myung kicked the burial mound and raised his foot but then lowered it again.

“Right. Right, that’s not wrong.”

Chung Myung sat down again, straightening his form.

In the past, he didn’t trust his sajaes or sahyungs.

He never once thought that they would do anything for him or that he would want it. To him, sahyungs were people who had to be protected, not for his protection.

But now, Chung Myung was different. He could entrust his backs to the present-day sahyungs, who were incomparably weaker than the Chung disciples of his time.

“Therefore…”

A strong will appeared in his eyes.

“Let’s give it a try. Will ghosts come or monsters?”

Chung Myung slowly began to contemplate within himself.

The foundation was his own idea.

He had already changed the Plum Blossom Sword technique into his own and gave it to Mount Hua. But this was a different problem.

Unlike the Plum Blossom Sword arts, this should be a martial art solely for the sake of Chung Myung.

The other Mount Hua disciples could not and should not learn that.

As Chung Jin said, it was a skill that could not be passed down to future generations and was just for Chung Myung.

‘If I had to name it, it would be the Purple Cloud Chung Myung Divine Arts….’

-No!!!

-Do not do that! You bastard!

“Woah, shit.”

No, what were they saying now? Was a name so important?

‘… to be honest, it did sound lame.’

Let’s decide the name later.

Chung Myung took a deep breath.

‘It’s not something that can be done just by creating something.’

He had to minimize the losses that must be suffered right now and expand the possibilities for growth as much as possible.

There was no need to follow the perfectly done path. Because tomorrow’s Chung Myung would be better than today’s Chung Myung.

And so, the divine arts should also grow with Chung Myung.

‘Do not try to be perfect.’

Perfection was like the absence of future possibilities. What he had to choose wasn’t perfection but a future of infinite possibilities.

Slowly understanding.

Quietly and silently.

As he began to assimilate with nature, the birds that were flying over the shoulder landed and rested their wings.

Until the sun rose in the sky, the red sunset again, and the dark night colored the world, Chung Myung closed his eyes and didn’t know if he would open them again.