## Chapter 266 – 266. Transcendence
#266. Transcendence
Thud-
The orc champion’s massive body split in two and collapsed.
I breathed heavily amidst the dust swirling around me.
Ding-
[Special Mission, ‘Berserker,’ successfully completed.]
[‘Rage’ skill evolves.]
[Extreme Blood (極血)
Rank: Epic (Growth Type)
Temporarily and drastically increases strength.
Temporarily eliminates the sensation of pain.
Greatly increases stamina consumption.]
I had no time to pay attention to the screen that appeared before my eyes. The ultimate technique I had unleashed kept replaying in my mind.
It was a perfect single strike.
Even if I tried again, I wasn’t confident I could pull it off. The probability of success would be, at best, around 10%.
Moreover, at the final moment, the flames of the fiercely burning sword energy took on a definite form.
That was the mark of warriors who had reached transcendence, the Strong Qi (罡氣) known as the king of all energies.
I was briefly filled with the expectation that I might have reached transcendence, but as I observed my dantian, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
My Qi and blood were a mess, and my dantian was nearly empty. Aside from my body being in terrible condition, there wasn’t even a hint of change.
I had merely created Strong Qi by sheer luck; I hadn’t actually reached transcendence.
A heavy sigh escaped my lips without my realizing it.
Hoping against hope, I gathered the remaining internal energy, recalling the sensation I had felt when I split the orc champion in two.
But all that bloomed on the sword was sword energy.
It was a disappointing result, but it wasn’t without its gains. At least I knew what I was lacking.
I loosened my stiff neck and readjusted my grip on the sword hilt.
My body was a mess, but not to the point where I couldn’t move. I swung my sword towards the dozens of high orcs still remaining.
After about ten minutes, I was the only one left standing.
[Kang Hyun-woo
Age: 21
Title: Virgin Killer
Race: Human
Affiliation: Earth
Occupation: Magician (5th Circle)
Sub-Occupation: Martial Artist (Peak)
Skills: Transcendental Thought, Weakness Detection, Expert in Sexual Intercourse, Extreme Blood…
Coins Held: 16,800 coins]
Some of the orcs had their magic stones shattered in the process of fighting, but that day I obtained a considerable sum of about 16,000 coins, along with dozens of magic stones. Overall, it was a satisfactory haul.
Of course, high orc testicles were expensive because they were a high-quality ingredient for stamina boosters, but I didn’t want to fondle monster testicles just to earn a few bucks.
***
After exiting the gate, I didn’t return home but headed to the Seongbuk Choi Clan’s mansion.
Choi Hye-na was waiting in front of the gate, having received my call.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Lend me a room.”
“…A room?”
To suddenly come and ask to borrow a room, anyone other than Choi Hye-na would have thought, ‘What is this crazy guy doing?’
But Choi Hye-na’s reaction was completely different from what I expected.
Her eyes widened as she looked at me, trembling slightly, and her face looked like it was about to explode.
Surprise, bewilderment, anticipation, and more.
Various emotions crossed her gaze.
“…Really?”
Choi Hye-na rushed over and clasped my hands tightly with both of hers.
Seeing her staring at me as if possessed, I finally realized something was wrong.
“But I heard guys don’t like living with their in-laws. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“…?”
In-laws?
“Um, I think you’ve misunderstood something…”
I tried to resolve the situation before the misunderstanding deepened.
“If it’s really too hard, you can move out, so don’t worry too much. It’s different from what we promised, but Grandma will actually be happy. She’s been regretting setting the engagement after graduation. We can just ban Grandpa from entering the country.”
“…”
But my attempt to correct the misunderstanding was blocked by Choi Hye-na’s bright smile. It was the first time I’d seen her so happy.
‘Hoo…’
I wanted to play along for a bit, but I didn’t have the time.
Shaking off the pangs of conscience, I explained the situation. I said I needed a large, safe place where I could meditate without being disturbed, and Choi Hye-na couldn’t hide her disappointment.
Afterward, it was my turn to hear the whole story from Choi Hye-na.
“You thought I was proposing?”
“…Yeah.”
I was so dumbfounded that a laugh leaked out.
How could she possibly have such a ridiculous misunderstanding?
Combining the words that came out of Choi Hye-na’s mouth as she rambled on in embarrassment, it seemed that dramas were the problem.
The way I had asked for a room was a line from the male lead in a drama that was popular among women these days.
It was a famous scene where the male lead, who had run away from his wealthy family to marry a poor woman, volunteered to live with his in-laws.
‘I think the drama Noel and Seo-ha were watching was something like that too.’
I wasn’t interested in dramas, but I remembered the general plot because I sometimes held the two of them when they were engrossed in them.
Anyway, I comforted Choi Hye-na, who was writhing in shame for being so immersed in dramas and having such a strange misunderstanding, and headed inside the mansion.
Choi Hye-na gave me an entire training room in the basement.
It was sturdier than most underground bunkers, so it wouldn’t even feel vibrations from earthquakes below 5.5 on the Richter scale. Not to mention the soundproofing.
Moreover, it wasn’t a place made for sparring, as there were three of those expensive mana trees planted there.
I cheered inwardly. There was no better place to train than a place with a high concentration of mana.
I heard it was Duke Rutland’s personal training room.
That made me wonder if I could really use it, but fortunately, the duke was away.
There was a problem in England, so he wouldn’t be able to return for a while, apparently.
“Please.”
Before locking the door to the training room, I made one request to Choi Hye-na: not to let anyone in until I opened the door and came out.
Choi Hye-na didn’t ask why. She simply hugged me and quietly saw me off.
Thud.
Left alone in the training room, I sat down in a lotus position.
I could have meditated in the apartment next door as usual, but this time I didn’t want to be disturbed by even the slightest noise.
I took out a small jewelry box from my inventory. Inside the jewelry box was a smooth pearl that looked like obsidian.
[Essence of Biresiel
Rank: Epic
Contains a large amount of demonic energy.
Successfully consuming it will grant the Demonic Eye.
※Warning! Consumption may damage the body.]
It was a mystical medicine I had taken from the underground vault after dealing with Roman Hessler, the lord of Wavele.
Actually, I didn’t know if it was a proper mystical medicine. I was just trusting the app’s description.
I hadn’t consumed it because I was worried about the phrase ‘may damage the body,’ but now that I had reached the 4th level of the Supreme Diamond Body and my body had grown even stronger due to the effects of the Supreme Body, it was worth a try.
Moreover, I had become accustomed to the flow of internal energy by repeating the Microcosmic Orbit day and night, and even if the demonic energy caused problems, I could resolve it with the divine power of the Black Flame.
There was no more reason to hesitate.
Above all, the key to reaching transcendence was this black pearl.
The Supreme Diamond Body was a martial art of harmony.
Until now, the Diamond Qi had been forcibly harmonizing with a tiny amount of demonic energy.
Because of that, I hadn’t been able to accumulate internal energy. If I accumulated more internal energy here, the balance would be broken, and the harmony would be disrupted.
So what I needed now was demonic energy.
Of course, even if the demonic energy increased, I wouldn’t be able to use it because I didn’t have a suitable internal energy cultivation method, but my aim was to unlock the upper limit of the Diamond Qi’s allowance.
I was going to use a massive amount of internal energy to open a passage to the middle dantian.
I took out a small wooden box from my inventory.
[Prajna Divine Pill (般若神丹)
Rank: Unique
A divine pill containing the truth of the universe. It will dispel the darkness of ignorance and lead to the light of enlightenment.]
The Prajna Divine Pill, a mystical medicine I had obtained along with the Supreme Diamond Body.
I had once tried to suppress the side effects of Biresiel with the Prajna Divine Pill. But if I did that, the internal energy I could obtain from the Prajna Divine Pill would be cut in half.
No, maybe even more than that.
I had kept it in my inventory because I didn’t want to waste it like that, but now the situation had changed.
“Hoo…”
I took a breath and swallowed the Essence of Biresiel. Next, I threw the Prajna Divine Pill into my mouth.
I couldn’t taste anything.
It simply melted away in my mouth.
I closed my eyes and focused on the energy entering my body.
The first thing I felt was an overbearing energy that seemed like it would destroy everything. That was the demon.
The energy, which was much purer and more full of malice than the demonic energy I possessed, struggled as if trying to spread throughout my body.
I hurriedly suppressed the energy.
Only then did I realize the meaning of the phrase ‘may damage the body.’
This wasn’t a mystical medicine. It was a poison that could cause the body of an unprepared mortal to explode.
‘It’s just demonic energy.’
I had nothing to worry about.
I could just suppress it with the Diamond Qi.
-Kieeeek!!
The demonic energy, captured by the Diamond Qi and absorbed into the dantian, screamed. Instinctively, it must have felt that once it was dragged in, it would never escape.
I was slightly surprised.
Was energy originally able to move so fluidly?
It looked like a living creature.
But I didn’t have the energy to focus on that. The real ambush was something else.
Thud!
‘Kuh?!’
The energy contained in the Prajna Divine Pill far exceeded my expectations. It was practically double the internal energy I had accumulated so far.
No, maybe even more than that.
I gritted my teeth and guided the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill to my dantian. Fortunately, unlike the struggling demonic energy, the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill followed obediently.
Unlike spiritual herbs that condense the energy of nature, mystical medicines are basically made for specific purposes, whether it’s to increase internal energy or to fight off diseases.
In other words, since it was made for a specific purpose, there was no need to worry unnecessarily.
But even an elephant that is docile and follows people well can kill someone with a single mistake.
The Prajna Divine Pill was like that.
An overwhelming energy pressed down on my entire body.
The meridians through which Qi was supposed to flow screamed that they had reached their limit. The dantian was the same.
At first, I had planned to use the demonic energy obtained through the Essence of Biresiel to increase the limit of the Diamond Qi and open a passage to the middle dantian.
But the energy contained in the Prajna Divine Pill far exceeded my expectations.
If I continued like this, my body could literally explode.
Then there was only one way.
‘Open a passage with the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill that hasn’t been absorbed into the dantian.’
Anyone who heard that would call it crazy.
That’s because even though I had swallowed a mystical medicine, the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill wasn’t completely mine yet. It was practically the same as gambling with someone else’s money and saying you’ll pay it back if you win.
Moreover, it hadn’t harmonized with the demonic energy yet.
Suppress the demonic energy and open a passage with the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill?
‘…I was trying to take the easy way out.’
Swoosh-
The massive energy swirling around the dantian began to flow somewhere according to my guidance. Beyond that, I could see a blocked meridian.
The Ren and Du meridians, the places where human impurities accumulate most densely.
I struck that place with the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill.
Thud!
Despite the fierce collision, there was no change in the blocked meridian. But I didn’t stop and continued to strike. There is no wall in this world that will never collapse.
There are only walls that haven’t collapsed yet.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Blood flowed down from between my lips. It was evidence of internal injury.
But I actually drew the Diamond Qi from my dantian and used it as a detonator. It was like using dynamite at a construction site where a landslide could occur at any moment.
But I didn’t care.
I could just pay it back by doubling it.
Taking advantage of the weakened restraint, I dragged the demonic energy that was trying to run wild again and used that as a detonator as well.
Bang!!
“Cough.”
With a strong shock, blood gushed out from between my lips. Despite the excruciating pain that felt like my internal organs were twisted, I raised the corners of my mouth.
Crack-
The passage that hadn’t reacted no matter how much I struck it cracked.
I took advantage of that momentum and struck the meridian even more forcefully.
Woo-oong!!
Even in a situation where I was using the energy of the two mystical medicines like disposable cards, only a small portion of the energy was being consumed.
No, rather, in the midst of the violent explosion, the Prajna Divine Pill and the demonic energy began to mix together like a single energy.
The harmony of yin and yang.
The demonic energy, which was trying to repel, and the energy of the Prajna Divine Pill, which was trying to embrace all things, merged together and even created the strange phenomenon of amplifying each other’s energy.
But the current Kang Hyun-woo didn’t have the leisure to notice such a thing.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!!
I can see it.
A new light is entering the passage that had been firmly blocked for 21 years.
-!!
At that moment, the energy that had been filling Kang Hyun-woo’s body began to gather in one place.
This was not Kang Hyun-woo’s will.
It was the will of the Supreme Diamond Body, which craved more internal energy under the name of harmony.
The formidable energy of the Prajna Divine Pill naturally flowed through the passage, filling the lower and middle dantians. Although it didn’t reach that level, the demonic energy, which was by no means ordinary, also seeped into the lower dantian, quietly taking its place while swallowing the existing demonic energy.
And the amount of internal energy, which was too much for a martial artist who had just reached transcendence to handle, brought about another change.
Creak-
While Kang Hyun-woo, who had fallen into a state of selflessness, didn’t notice, his bones and muscles began to twist slightly, moving as if finding their place.
As he had experienced something similar before, the change didn’t last long.
Ding-
[You have met the requirements for the 2nd job advancement.]
[The job, Martial Artist, has been promoted to Martial Daoist (武道家).]
