The great path of Kung-Fu has no gate, but there are thousands of branches.

–Euclid

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“Interesting. At your age, no one has ever been able to ‘see’ this old master until now.”

Once again, an unseen voice spoke.

“I was bored staying still, but it wasn’t entirely without reward.”

The next moment, a strange phenomenon occurred in the sunlight streaming through the window.

The straight rays of light, as if a thin transparent prism had appeared in the air, diffracted into seven beams, and the space seemed to swirl and distort in a strange way.

-Spark!

Suddenly, sparks flew in the air.

This phenomenon occurs when dense Essence reacts with oxygen or hydrogen in the air.

And the next moment, the distorted false veil was cut in two by a dagger, revealing a veteran of the martial world from that place.

“…!”

It was true that the moment my minor meridians were opened, I sensed the old man’s presence.

Thanks to my expanded senses, I could hear the faint sounds of the old man’s heart and other organs, and I also noticed a subtle visual inconsistency I had not detected before.

Before I knew it, my mastery of Indra Net had advanced from the eighth stage to the ninth stage, allowing me to see the fishbowl and window reflected in the eyes of a palace maid hidden behind the wall.

The key was the subtle discrepancy between the corrected image of the curved surfaces of the two objects and the actual view of the window scenery seen by my eyes.

From this clue, my mind instantly concluded that someone was manipulating visible light with Essence to conceal their presence.

However, despite understanding the basic principle, I had no confidence to imitate it.

‘Whether it’s Father Brown or Louise, the martial artists I meet at the Palace are all on a different level. Each of them displayed insane Kung-Fu prowess one after another.’

It was truly a noble trick.

A divine Kung-Fu that changes the nature of one’s protective Qi, intertwines it with light, and blends with the surrounding scenery to hide one’s existence beyond the veil of Enhanced Energy.

A harmony impossible without mathematically flawless calculation of all human vision around and meticulous control of Essence.

Even after grasping this simple and clear Kung-Fu Principle intellectually, I had to doubt for a long time whether it was even possible for humans.

“Ha, you shabby old man! Miss Louise clearly told you not to interfere…!”

Meanwhile, perhaps displeased by his appearance, Louise, still in Watson’s form, stood with hands on her hips and protested to the old man.

There might have been some unknown promise or deal between the two that I was unaware of.

“Go! This old man said from the start he would go alone, but you barged in on your own!”

“Even so, how can you just pop out suddenly…!! Miss Louise alone was enough!”

“Do you think this old man wants to reveal himself? It was you, Dodgson1, who opened his minor meridians in the first place!”

“Wh-who is Dodgson anyway! You shabby man!”

“Who else but your name! How could I have known that guy would be able to see me just by having his minor meridians opened just once? Does that make any sense!”

“It’s not Dodgson!! If you don’t call me London’s most beautiful girl, Miss Louise, I won’t listen anymore!! Shabby old man, apologize to Miss Louise at once!!”

While the two masters bickered, I checked on the unconscious Watson’s condition.

I identified who the old man was and realized how formidable he was.

But more importantly, I needed to check Watson’s physical condition.

‘…For now, is there no major problem?’

Thanks to the opening of the minor meridians relieving the pressure point, I could move my entire body freely.

Now, I could tell the answer just by sound, but I deliberately placed my hand under Watson’s nose.

Her steady breath touched my skin.

It was the first time I felt a close friend’s breath so near.

‘If I wake her now, she might faint again from meeting that old master.’

Louise’s pressure point technique had reached an artistic level.

To strike a single pressure point and knock out a martial artist’s consciousness without harm.

“Ahem.”

While thinking this, Watson sneezed softly and squinted.

Through the gap of her open eyelids, her busily moving pupils seemed to struggle to understand the situation.

“…You’re awake, Watson.”

Without showing embarrassment, I quietly withdrew my hand from her face and supported her.

“I don’t know what happened, but the pressure point has been released.”

Watson nodded and replied in a tiny voice.

I roughly understood the reason the pressure point was released.

“It must be thanks to the energy of the Medicamentum Communionem.”

Vaguely, my master’s words came to mind.

‘Factor VIII? Whoever made or collected all of them would have become Saints. Whether it be the Heavenly Saints of common lore, or one of the other kind.’

A ridiculous story even my younger self would not have believed.

But experiencing the effects of the Medicamentum Communionem properly was astonishing.

Since no one in the martial world had collected the last seventh and eighth pills, it was natural that a legend arose that whoever took them all would gain an immortal body and ascend to heaven.

‘So it’s true what they say. There’s No Smoke Without Fire.’

Perhaps many rumors have some basis.

The eight pills of Factor VIII are made following a distinct mystical principle.

The method of blending elixirs and special essences differently into each of the eight pills is called the Eight Doctrines and is considered the highest teaching in medicine.

Recited in order: Concealment, Connection, Separation, Completion, Reinforcement, Gradual Progress, Secrecy, Inconsistency.

These correspond to the sacred powers represented by the numbers one through eight in Hebrew numerology, Gematria גימטריה.

Among them, the second pill, Medicamentum Communionem, contains the mystical principle of ‘union’ connecting the regular meridians and extraordinary meridians, likened to the Great Vehicle and Small Vehicle meridians Louise mentioned earlier.

It means a miracle that breaks blocked paths and unites the great and small, the Communio Sanctorum discussed in the Kung-Fu Christian doctrine.

What this pill, which governs the flow of internal energy, enables was just confirmed through Louise’s clearing of blocked meridians with internal energy.

The Medicamentum Communionem unites.

The natural energy embraced by all things and the energy possessed by humans.

The energy of masters and novices.

And the Twelve Primary Meridians, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and Extraordinary Points.

And the minor meridians connected to these, mostly blocked by Turbid Qi without special triggers, sealing 90% of their function.

‘I almost failed to recognize the treasure’s value and let it rot.’

I could easily imagine how Louise felt, unable to overlook me and Watson trying to use it without knowing its true value, coming to teach us.

If we had taken the pills without her help, the energy would have stayed briefly in my Elixir Field, only healing internal injuries and then dissipating. Seeing that, she couldn’t just ignore it.

“The moment the minor meridians were opened, the pill’s energy was released outside the body and reached you, temporarily unblocking the blocked meridian caused by the pressure point.”

I never dreamed that the high-quality energy in the pill could be used this way instead of just stored inside to increase internal energy.

If it were ordinary energy, compressing and exploding it would have damaged the meridians rather than clearing the Turbid Qi accumulated since birth.

I couldn’t imagine how delicate the process must be to make such a pill.

If the second pill is this effective, what about the much-rumored seventh and eighth pills in the martial world?

“…It’s frustrating, but I must admit it. I was arrogant thinking I had knowledge in this field. There’s a long way ahead. I must continue to strive.”

Watson clenched her small fist in frustration and ignited her Kung-Fu Spirit.

I worried she might blame herself or be disappointed, but it seemed her sense of duty as a doctor was positively motivated, so I was relieved.

“By the way, Holmes, won’t you tell me the honored name of our benefactor? I must express my gratitude… Wait, who’s that over there-”

Watson was speechless at the shocking sight.

I had already identified the visitor once, but following her gaze, I looked up at the old martial artist still arguing with Louise.

“You know well too. Among British university officials, there’s hardly a place without his portrait.”

Curly platinum hair flowing down to the shoulders.

A large, prominent nose in the center of the face.

The bright pale green eyes and white eyebrows I saw through the holes in the mask at the Debutante Ball.

They formed a strong contrast and harmony, like a sculptor’s chisel deeply engraving his presence on those who met him.

Dressed in a perfectly pressed formal Kung-Fu uniform, his figure boasted a skeletal structure and bearing worthy of the phrase “Saintly Aura, Cultivated Bones.”

A body standing at the pinnacle of possibility achievable through relentless training and Elixir consumption.

A master whose Essence, Energy, and Spirit perfectly unite without flaw, forming a flawless Social Facade that leaks not a shred of internal strength.

The strange sensation I had only felt when facing Her Majesty or my master now stimulated me even more intensely due to the opening of the three Meridians.

The owner of a strong body and mind maintaining a perfect balance of external and internal Kung-Fu at their peak.

The old man was a powerful being beyond such shallow descriptions.

A new creation holding endless strength within a human shell.

“Why is he here…”

Watson’s pupils trembled uncontrollably as if she had seen a ghost.

I hadn’t revealed the Archbishop’s identity even after the Debutante Ball, fearing this, but I never expected to face him directly like this.

“The pressure point has been released. There are few eyes here. Shall we talk comfortably, young ones?”

The old man, pushed back from arguing with Louise, changed the subject and turned his head toward me and Watson.

He pretended to just notice the pressure point was released, but I knew he had been sensing our physical conditions all along.

“Few can master such senses after opening the Conception Vessel, Yang Vessel, and minor meridians at a young age, yet you raised your realm immediately after opening the minor meridians at that age. Truly, the successor of the Heavenly Demon is different.”

The old man, who, like most old martial artists, if not for the wrinkles covering his face, could’ve been mistaken for a vigorous young man,looked at me with deep eyes and smiled.

Anyone living on the land of Great Britain, with a certain level of education, would have seen his distinctive face hundreds or thousands of times through portraits.

Even in pitch darkness or dim light, it would be impossible to fail to recognize the old man’s identity.

“Not at all.”

I slowly stood up and faced the old man.

The Omnipotence I felt at the moment of opening had long since vanished.

The moment I looked into his eyes, I realized.

The sensation that I could do anything was merely an illusion.

Now that the minor meridians were opened and all my senses sharpened, facing a martial artist who had stepped into the realm my master had reached, an unprecedented amount of information flowed into my mind.

And the depth of insight I could gain by introspection as well.

What I just experienced was one of the obstacles martial artists encounter during enlightenment.

It was called the False Radiance, one of the fifty Heart Demons commonly known as Demonic Distraction.

Demonic Distractions are illusions that deceive martial artists by what they see and hear, leading them away from the Essence.

When a martial artist climbs the steps of enlightenment, it tricks them into thinking they’ve stepped onto the next platform, causing them to stumble.

And just before hitting this obstacle, I encountered the presence of that old man.

Beyond the stairs halfway up the mountain I was crawling, the face of the Archbishop standing tall on a peak a thousand miles away.

He was telling me.

That the place I now stood was merely a checkpoint, and beyond it lay an endless path of Kung-Fu.

Thanks to that, I did not fall and could fully enjoy the blessing brought by the fortunate encounter.

“I wanted to pay my respects at least once.”

Instead of directing my clear senses outward, I turned them inward to observe the essential change within myself.

The minor meridians are thin meridians that directly manage internal energy through my limbs and skin connected to the world.

Now that they are opened, my energy moves more delicately and freely throughout my body, following only my will.

Intention is king.

It was the moment I fully mastered a line of teaching recorded in an ancient verse.

Through physical training, the abundant internal energy inherited from my master and my spirit drew one step closer.

Though I have not yet fully mastered it, I clearly understand and control more deeply the power received from all things and my master.

Facing an unsurpassable master, the illusion vanished instantly without a trace.

A pure feeling of gratitude welled up from deep within my heart.

“Please forgive my impudence at the Debutante Ball.”

I slowly walked forward to the old master and bowed respectfully.

Speaking of him—

A great founder who, during the dark era of no Kung-Fu knowledge, encountered the wisdom of the first generation martial artists from the East, the Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and established the foundation of modern Kung-Fu.

Master of astronomy, alchemy, science, Kung-fu, and even mysticism; a Renaissance Man who, after gaining infinite wisdom and knowledge across countless fields, illuminated dark Britain from the summit of Ben Nevis.

The standard-bearer who raised the banner of the Kung-Fual Revolution.

A nobleman of Great Britain praised as the Child of Kung-Fu Fortune in the Kung-Fu era.

The 2nd Cambridge University official, Lucas, the chair professor of numerology.

A member of the House of Commons under Her Majesty the Queen.

Director of the Mint.

The 12th president of The Royal Combat Society.

“Little Heavenly Demon of the Murim’s younger generation pays respects to the Archbishop.”

He is none other than the famous White Eyebrow Hermit, Sir Isaac Newton.

1. TL/N: ...Dodgson… Louise Dodgson…. Wait … Lewis Dodgson as in the scientist from Jurassic Park???? ️