Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel)

Note: As promised, here is the extra chapter; compensation for the missed chapter yesterday. I intend to release 1 chapter a day, so in another month or so we will catch up to the manhwa. Then, we can go full speed ahead with the rest of the chapters. Apparently, the manhwa is around chapter 70 or something of the novel, so we got 50 chapter to go…

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Guard Go Chan stared intently at Mok Gyeongwoon and soon steadied his breathing. Everything this fellow said sounded like a lie.

It was impossible for someone who didn't even know the precise definition of martial arts, no, internal energy, to read a secret manual alone and feel qi through self-study in less than half a day.

Well, perhaps it was possible. But it would require a talent for martial arts that could be called a once-in-a-millennium prodigy.

"Even those born with a keen sense of qi find the beginning difficult."

Yet Mok Gyeongwoon claimed to have done it. Although he honestly found it unbelievable, there was no reason for this devilish fellow to lie about such a thing. Then it was a simple matter. He just needed to verify it; whether it was true or not.

"Young master, may this subordinate directly confirm it?"

"How so?"

"Since you said you absorbed qi through the breathing technique, you can just do that. I will check if you are circulating qi during the process."

"I suppose that's possible."

"Verifying to that extent is not a difficult task."

"I see. Then I'll leave it to you."

"Understood."

Mok Gyeongwoon sat cross-legged on the bed. Well, this part wasn't too difficult, so nothing could go wrong. Mok Gyeongwoon, having taken this posture, closed his eyes and slowly breathed.

"Hoo…"

Go Chan closely observed this. Then he stepped down from the bed and approached Mok Gyeongwoon.

"This is to check, so don't mind it and just keep focusing on the breathing technique."

With those words, he brought his two fingers together and placed them on one of the acupoints on Mok Gyeongwoon's neck. Even a faint qi could be felt if it was being circulated through the breathing technique.

He didn't have high expectations, but just in case…

'!?'

Go Chan furrowed his brows. What was this? Surely it couldn't be.

'…Ha.'

Qi was truly flowing through the meridians. This meant that he was properly detecting and absorbing qi. Go Chan was utterly astonished. Even for 3 to 4-year-olds, known to have the most sensitive qi sense, detecting qi in less than half a day was truly a difficult feat.

No matter how outstanding, a fortnight was the norm, and without luck, it could take months. Yet Mok Gyeongwoon's meridians had considerable impurities and his qi sense should be diminished at this age, but he felt qi in just a day.

'Does this fellow really have martial talent?'

Go Chan's gaze changed. Until just now, he had been doubtful, but now he thought it might be possible. There are no absolutes in all matters. Exceptions do exist. Mok Gyeongwoon could be such an existence.

'Let's examine it.'

Since he said the qi was dissipating, directly checking was the only way to find the cause.

Go Chan quietly spoke to Mok Gyeongwoon, "I will infuse internal energy to examine it once. Please endure even if it's uncomfortable."

"…"

As he was in the midst of practicing the breathing technique, Mok Gyeongwoon nodded his head very slightly.

*Shoo*

Go Chan focused and infused true qi into Mok Gyeongwoon's Gimun (Liver) acupoint.

He guided the true qi through the Yangmun (Liver) and Jungwan (Ren) acupoints to the lower Danjeon area to trace Mok Gyeongwoon's circulation path.

In that process, Go Chan couldn't help but be surprised again, '…What's with this fellow?'

Impurities don't accumulate in the meridians only if one practices the breathing technique from a young age. But right now, there were barely any impurities in Mok Gyeongwoon's meridians. It was like looking at a 3 or 4-year-old child.

'How can this be? He definitely wouldn't have cultivated internal energy before, right?'

It was truly a bizarre phenomenon. For the meridians to be this clean at this age without practicing the breathing technique, one would have to receive 'Clearing the Passage Point' for a long time from a profound internal expert. Otherwise, it was impossible.

Go Chan looked at the back of Mok Gyeongwoon's head with a puzzled expression, 'Didn't he say he lived with his grandfather in the mountains?'

What was this about?

Go Chan, who had been filled with doubts, shook his head and for now, sent true qi to the area around the lower Danjeon. It was almost there. For now, there was one speculation.

'The reason it's dissipating is probably because he just started absorbing qi.'

Usually, that was the case. At most, it hadn't even been half a day since Mok Gyeongwoon started practicing the breathing technique. No matter how much qi he gathered, the amount would be too small, and since he hadn't properly formed the lower Danjeon, it was likely to dissipate.

*Startled*

In an instant, Go Chan got goosebumps. He felt something cold and spine-chilling.

'Huh?'

He hadn't removed his palm, but the true qi that had been connected was cut off. What was this phenomenon? Go Chan, who was furrowing his brows, once again infused true qi into the Liver (Gimun) acupoint out of curiosity.

And again, he sent it to the area around the lower Danjeon.

*Startled*

Once more, along with that bizarre sensation, the true qi he sent was cut off. No, to be precise, it dissipated. Go Chan was momentarily dumbfounded.

'What?'

It was hard to understand this phenomenon. It wasn't the qi that Mok Gyeongwoon himself had absorbed, but his own true qi. Yet the moment it reached the area around the lower Danjeon, he lost control over it and it dissipated and vanished.

Why was this happening? Unless one directly cut off the true qi, this shouldn't be possible.

As he struggled to understand, Mok Gyeongwoon's voice was heard, "Guard Go Chan's qi also dissipated?"

"…You felt that too?"

"Yes."

'This is unbelievable. This fellow's qi sense is truly unparalleled.'

At this point, it could only be seen as an innate instinct. To be able to perceive another person's qi when he had just started absorbing qi himself. It was tongue-twisting. If this fellow had learned martial arts from a young age, how would it have been?

'He might have had talent on par with the youngest young master.'

The youngest son of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor, Mok Yucheon.

His talent was so overwhelming that it might appear only once in three generations of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor. A monster who reached the realm of a first-class master at the age of fourteen and reached the beginning of the peak stage just two years later at sixteen.

It was truly a dominating talent. But it seemed that if this fellow had also started early, he might have approached that level. However, there was one problem.

'Why is it dissipating?'

He had tried sending it once more just now. But the result was the same. If the faint qi he had gathered through the breathing technique dissipated, the reason would be obvious, but for this, he couldn't figure out the cause at all.

"Young master…"

"Do you know why?"

"I am ashamed to say that with this subordinate's skill, it is difficult to know the reason."

His pride was hurt, but Go Chan was merely a second-rate expert. Martial artists referred to those at the first-rate stage and above as masters. That's how second-rate experts, while stronger than ordinary people, couldn't be said to have reached the realm of masters or grandmasters.

"Unless an expert of a higher level than this subordinate examines it, it seems it will be hard to know."

"But since you've trained in martial arts, don't you have any speculations?"

"…I don't know. I feel some unusual qi around the young master's lower Danjeon, but it's hard to discern what it is."

It was completely different from internal energy. It was so cold and unpleasant that Go Chan wasn't even sure if it should be called qi.

To Go Chan, who was like this, Mok Gyeongwoon asked in a low voice, "Then, I won't beat around the bush and ask directly. If it continues like this, will I be unable to form a Danjeon?"

A straightforward question. At this, Go Chan replied with difficulty,

"…To be honest, that's right. If the qi gathered through the breathing technique keeps dissipating, you won't be able to form a Danjeon."

"In the end, 'that' becomes the problem."

"Pardon?"

"No, no. Just talking to myself."

With those words, Mok Gyeongwoon stroked his chin. While Go Chan couldn't pinpoint it exactly, the cause seemed to have become clear. The death qi near the lower Danjeon seemed to be the cause.

'Hmm… What to do about this?'

The qi absorbed through the breathing technique doesn't match with this and dissipates. And with this breathing technique or circulation method, the death qi couldn't be moved. No solution came to mind for this method.

'This is troublesome.'

The original purpose was to learn martial arts. That monstrous man he had met back then.

When he tried to revive that sensation, he still didn't dare to think of defeating that man, no, he didn't even dare to confront him.

'Am I unable to learn martial arts?'

If that was the case, there was no reason to stay here. Mok Gyeongwoon's mind became complicated for a moment. It was still too early to definitely feel discouraged.

As Go Chan said, he was merely a second-rate expert, so he might not have been able to grasp the exact cause. Would getting help from a proper master be the answer?

As he was pondering,

"How peculiar. Seeing how it dissipates the true qi, it seems completely opposite to the qi generated through normal circulation…"

"Opposite?"

At Mok Gyeongwoon's question, Go Chan waved his hands and said,

"It, it's just my guess. You don't need to take it too seriously…"

"Opposite… opposite…"

Mok Gyeongwoon furrowed his brows and became lost in thought. The moment he heard the word "opposite," he recalled having a similar feeling when he first absorbed this cold and yin-death qi.

If the qi absorbed through breathing is considered life qi, in other words, living qi, then this is literally death qi. Then perhaps the method was wrong from the beginning?

Mok Gyeongwoon reached his own conclusion and said, "Go Chan, your words are correct. I should try reversing the qi circulation method and breathing technique."

With those words, Mok Gyeongwoon closed his eyes. It was to directly attempt what he had realized.

'What?'

For a moment, Go Chan couldn't hide his bewilderment. Did he just say he would reverse the qi circulation method and breathing technique? For an instant, he doubted his own ears. The breathing technique was originally a type of cultivation method derived from Taoism that boosted life qi and yang qi.

But reversing it meant literally accepting death and yin qi. Moreover, reversing the qi circulation was called the great method of reverse meridians, leading oneself to fall into the demonic path.

"Yo- Young master! Stop! You may fall into a qi-deviation!"

This was a phenomenon that occurred even if the qi inside the body was slightly distorted. But if it was like this with just a slight distortion, completely reversing the qi circulation direction was no different from choosing self-destruction.

*Phew*

Watching this scene, the corners of Cheongryeong's mouth curled up.

'That foolish fellow was doing something stupid with shallow knowledge. How can he think of such a thing?'

Even the reverse meridian method developed by the main sect after long research often led to the destruction of the Danjeon or severe side effects that turned people into cripples or corpses. Yet a greenhorn who hadn't even formed a Danjeon was reversing the qi circulation on his own.

It was literally a suicidal act.

'If it goes well, I may find freedom.'

Cheongryeong smirked and said to the Demon Monk, 'If harm was inflicted from the outside or the Evil Spirit tried to cause harm, it would eventually return as retribution. But if one took their own life, it is a different story.'

If that happened, they too might be freed from the shackles.

"Don't interfere, mortal."

*Swish*

Cheongryeong lightly swung her pipe. Then, Go Chan, who was trying to stop Mok Gyeongwoon, was pushed back by an invisible force and laid down on the bed he had been lying on, stuck to it.

*Ack*

"Th- This is?"

The startled Go Chan tried to gather internal energy to sit up. But he couldn't move an inch.

"Yo- Young mas…mmph!"

"Shh. You need to be quiet."

With a single gesture from Cheongryeong, Go Chan couldn't even move his lips.

In the meantime, Mok Gyeongwoon was already reversing the breathing technique and qi circulation. Seeing this, Cheongryeong's red lips twitched.

'If you die on your own, I'll personally dismember your soul.'

She was truly looking forward to it.

*Swooosh*

White breath flowed out from Mok Gyeongwoon, who was circulating qi.

'!?'

That breath was not warm energy but extremely cold and yin. Until just now, Cheongryeong had thought that Mok Gyeongwoon would fall into a devilish state and die from recklessly reversing the qi circulation.

But as things flowed in an unexpected direction, one of her eyebrows raised involuntarily.

'What is this?'

She had never seen such a sight before, even when she was alive. Why were yin qi gathering around him as he reversed the qi circulation? It was clearly visible to Cheongryeong's ghost eyes. In the world, not only life qi and yang qi were spread. Naturally, as yin and yang energies maintained balance, death qi and yin qi were also evenly distributed in corresponding amounts.

But there was an important fact here. It was that living beings could neither sense nor feel these opposite energies. Yet what was happening?

'How? How was Mok Gyeongwoon, a living being, attracting death qi?'

It was something she couldn't understand at all.