Chapter 60: The Grandmaster's Teachings

When I opened my eyes, Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha was sitting cross-legged beside me.

“You're awake?”

The Emperor Breaker's voice was languid.

As I quietly got up and looked around, I had the thought that a very long time had passed.

It wasn't just a feeling; there was also the evidence that the cave had cooled down.

The heat that had made it barely possible to breathe even with the help of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng's yin energy was nowhere to be found, and the unique chill of a cave dominated the space.

Even though I had taken the essence of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure, it must have taken quite some time for the space to cool down this much.

“How long was I unconscious?”

My voice as I asked this was hoarse, and a slightly raspy sound came out. This too would be evidence that a not insignificant amount of time had passed.

“I don't know for sure.”

This was a cave without a single ray of light.

Even for the Emperor Breaker, who had reached the supreme realm, it would have been difficult to accurately grasp the flow of time in a place like this.

“Probably three days, or maybe four.”

However, an estimation like this would be possible.

“Hmm.”

I knew that enough, no, a much longer time than I thought had passed.

The Emperor Breaker had been standing guard for me, who had been unconscious, in this place without a single ray of light for at least three days.

“Why didn't you just carry me out?”

My question was reasonable, but…….

“You were in a state of enlightenment.”

“Ah.”

The Emperor Breaker's answer was much more reasonable.

Enlightenment. Sudden awakening. Shedding one's skin.

There was a state called by various names.

It was a state that usually came when a martial artist who had reached a certain realm broke their shell and moved towards a new era, and since the number of martial artists who had reached such a realm was rare, it was not something that happened often.

The important thing was that martial artists had learned through experience and rumor that if one were to awaken from that state in vain, what they held in their hands would vanish like a mirage.

It meant that the Emperor Breaker had not touched me at all, fearing that my enlightenment might fly away.

It also meant that he had been watching over me for a good three days without rest.

“Thank you.”

It was not a grace that could be expressed with a clasped-hand salute, so I bowed my head to the Emperor Breaker.

Come to think of it, it seemed this was the first time I had bowed my head to him, who was at the pinnacle of the righteous Murim.

“I declared I would take you as my successor, so I should at least do this much, shouldn't I?”

I was pleased with the sight of Yeom Gi-ha, who didn't bother to take credit for it even while snorting.

I suddenly remembered the image of the Healing Sage I had met in what I thought was a dream.

Considering my current realm, I knew it was difficult to consider that memory entirely a dream.

-That is enough.

The Healing Sage had said that to me.

-I should at least do this much, shouldn't I?

Emperor Breaker Yeom Gi-ha said this.

The images of the two, who were completely different in temperament, disposition, and appearance, slightly overlapped, which must have been because I was still not fully awake.

Anyway, I thought that there were truly many people to be thankful for in this life.

* * *

“The Fifth Stage, have you achieved it?”

Yeom Gi-ha asked subtly.

Although asking about another's realm in the Jianghu Murim was a taboo, since the situation was what it was, it could not be called impolite.

“Yes.”

Since the Emperor Breaker must have witnessed me reaching the Five Qis Courting the Origin right away, this was merely a confirmation process.

“That's great.”

Yeom Gi-ha said so, laughing cheerfully.

It was a normal conversation, but my intuition, sharpened by reaching the Five Qis Courting the Origin, sounded an alarm.

It meant that the feeling that the 'that's great' was not for me, but for Yeom Gi-ha, had struck my mind.

“If that's the case……”

“Let's get out of this cave first.”

Before Yeom Gi-ha could continue, I quickly cut him off.

“Hmm. Right.”

Fortunately, Yeom Gi-ha agreed.

I would say I had avoided the crisis of being crushed to death in the cave.

“We have to go that way.”

“That should work.”

Since no other exit was visible, my gaze turned to the entrance of the cave through which we had descended.

That place where we had fallen for more than twenty breaths.

Tat!

I unfolded the Stepping on Clouds Gait and lightly kicked off the wall.

The Dancheon Myeong who had struggled to climb the cliffs of Mount Tianzhong in his attempt to achieve the First Stage was no more.

But…….

“Hold on.”

Yeom Gi-ha, who had leaped up, blocked my path, and we fell back into the cave.

Before I could even express my question, Yeom Gi-ha continued.

“Watch carefully.”

Saying so, Yeom Gi-ha unfolded a divine skill rarely seen in the human world.

Jeobeok.

Yeom Gi-ha, with his hands behind his back, stood firmly, treading on empty air.

How could I not know that?

It was the Void-Stepping Gait, the divine lightness skill considered the best in the Jianghu Murim.

The Grandmaster, floating in the air, opened his mouth with a solemn demeanor.

“You too have achieved the Five Qis Courting the Origin and have set foot on the threshold of the Profound Realm, so you must have gained an understanding of intent.”

Yeom Gi-ha was right.

At the same time as the name of the Five Qis Courting the Origin, I had naturally understood what intent was.

“What is the power of intent? It would be right to think that opinions are still divided on this part. It is because the form of intent that manifests varies depending on the characteristics of the martial art and the disposition of the practitioner.”

Yeom Gi-ha, unlike his usual self, began to explain things logically and calmly.

Even his tone was quite different from his usual self, so I knew how serious he was about martial arts.

“However, no martial artist can deny that the most basic stage of intent is to materialize internal energy and manifest it in the world.”

This was a fact I was also well aware of.

It was because in the current martial arts system, which equates Sword Qi with the Peak, Sword Thread with the Transcendent Peak, and Sword Flux with the State of Harmony, the Profound Realm was equated with the Formless Sword or Formless Sword Flux.

Formless.

Without relying on the physical object of a sword, one gives form to one's own internal energy; this would be the Formless Sword.

It meant it was a martial art of intent.

“The Void-Stepping Gait would not be different from the Formless Sword. Materializing an intent in the shape of a sword in my hand is the Formless Sword, and materializing the shape of the ground under my feet and stepping on it is the Void-Stepping Gait.”

Jeobeok. Jeobeok.

After finishing his words, Yeom Gi-ha walked on the air, and thanks to the wave of qi he unfolded, I was able to roughly understand the mechanism.

It was said that you see as much as you know, so it was because I, who had entered the realm of intent, was finally able to get a glimpse, albeit faintly, of Yeom Gi-ha’s true self.

Yeom Gi-ha grinned upon seeing my serious expression.

The Grandmaster from just before was gone, and a mischievous old man had returned.

“Kicking off the wall is forbidden. Try to get out with the Void-Stepping Gait.”

Saying so, Yeom Gi-ha walked on the air and reached the entrance at the ceiling of the cave.

“Ah, since you're still a novice, I'll let you off with the Heavenly Ladder.”

Leaving those words behind, Yeom Gi-ha’s figure vanished.

“I will also try to exit this place with the Void-Stepping Gait.”

I thought he probably heard my words.

“Wait.”

It was a word to him, and a word to myself.

* * *

Lightness skill, or lightness and movement skill.

In the process of the martial arts of the Jianghu Murim being established, what had been divided into lightness methods and footwork methods was combined and established as lightness skills.

Lightness methods basically pursue the ability to run fast, over long distances, without getting tired.

And footwork methods pursue moving stably and at the same time unpredictably.

But the two were ultimately the same, because the foundation of their subtlety lay in lightness.

Although there were cases like the firm step for putting force or Namgung's lightness skill that took heaviness as its subtlety instead of lightness, this too could be said to have its foundation in lightness.

It meant that one could realize heaviness because one knew lightness.

Although the subtlety and stages would differ according to the martial art learned, there were typically stages that corresponded to realms in lightness skills as well.

Leaping into the air with qi.

It referred to the realm where one could leap high using the power of internal energy. It was the beginning of lightness skills.

Grass-Stepping Flight.

It referred to the realm where the grass one steps on while running does not bend.

Stepping on Snow without a Trace.

It referred to the realm where no footprints are left even when stepping on and jumping on snow.

Stepping on Duckweed to Cross Water.

It was the technique that Yeom Gi-ha and I had used when crossing the Yangtze River. It was the beginning of the realm that could be called a miracle, walking on water.

Typically, up to this point would be the stages of lightness skills that could be performed using internal energy.

It meant that the stages after that required the use of intent, or a peerless lightness skill corresponding to it.

Its beginning was the Heavenly Ladder that Yeom Gi-ha had mentioned.

If leaping into the air with qi was a skill of kicking off the ground, it would be right to describe the Heavenly Ladder as a skill of kicking off the empty air.

The lightness method of Kunlun, the Eight Forms of the Cloud Dragon, had melted the subtlety of this Heavenly Ladder into the martial art itself, which was why it was rightly called a masterpiece of Jianghu.

Next would be the Void-Stepping Gait. Literally, it was the skill of walking, running, or standing on empty air.

It was typically a realm equivalent to the Profound Realm, and what I was trying to achieve now.

Of course, the Void-Stepping Gait was not the end.

Although there was no one in the current Murim who could perform it, there was a realm called the art of flying with internal energy or treading the void.

The Healing Sage had said in his mind cultivation art that if one achieved the Sixth Stage, one could surely achieve treading the void, so it was right to see it as an existing realm.

Since I was a body that had not achieved the Sixth Stage, I could not hope for treading the void, but to be satisfied with a mere Heavenly Ladder was a waste of the Fifth Stage.

Therefore, I was not trying to get out of the cave with the Heavenly Ladder, but was striving tirelessly to leisurely exit the cave with the Void-Stepping Gait.

Materialize the intent.

Teobeok.

Step on it.

Make the body light to minimize the burden on the ground materialized by internal energy.

Again, materialize the next stage of the ground with intent.

Teobeok.

Step on it.

‘Oops.’

As my concentration wavered, the materialized ground instantly disappeared.

Hwicheong.

Kwadang.

“Aigo.”

A martial artist who had reached the Five Qis Courting the Origin suffered the humiliation of falling on his butt.

It was because I had used all my concentration on materializing the intent, and as a result, I could not even perform the light action of landing.

“Again.”

But my will had not diminished in the slightest, so I immediately took a step towards the empty air again.

Hwicheong.

Losing the intent.

Kwadang.

Falling on my butt.

“Ohh My.”

Letting out a groan and again.

Hwicheong.

Losing the intent.

Chak.

But succeeding in landing.

“Oh.”

Admiring myself and again.

After hundreds of repetitions, I barely managed to imitate the Void-Stepping Gait.

“I've arrived.”

I was finally able to face Yeom Gi-ha outside the cave.

It had taken more than half a day, and perhaps bored of waiting, Yeom Gi-ha was eating grilled meat of unknown origin.

“You're here early.”

Yeom Gi-ha said, his eyes shining with interest.

I thought it had taken me a long time, but it seemed his thoughts were quite different.

Thinking back, Yeom Gi-ha was right.

Wasn't it like someone who had just learned to walk for the first time coming out into the world in half a day?

“I have learned a great lesson.”

I knew that supreme martial arts was a process of breaking the frame of perception.

Although I had reached the realm of intent on my own, I realized thanks to Yeom Gi-ha that my perception was still stuck in the State of Harmony.

It meant that he had bestowed a great grace upon me, and that I had received a great miraculous encounter.

“Since I have bestowed my teachings, I must receive a reward.”

He, who had not even coveted the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng, mentioned a reward.

I knew what he wanted.

Since he had endured it from the cave, I thought his patience must be near its limit now.

“Let's have a bout.”

On Yeom Gi-ha’s face as he said that was the innocence of a child anticipating a great gift.

I chuckled.

It was because I had anticipated this all along.

Since I had prepared my mind long ago.

“Come at me.”

I stood with my hands behind my back and beckoned at Yeom Gi-ha with my fingers, provoking him.

Now I too knew a little of what the aloofness of an absolute one was.

“Quite something.”

“I learned well from my master.”

“Puhat.”

Realizing that the 'master' I mentioned was himself, Yeom Gi-ha burst out laughing.

“A beating is the medicine for a disciple who defies his master.”

“No, the one who asked to fight first was you……”

Kwaang!

My words could not be finished, because Yeom Gi-ha’s Formless Sword had rushed at me in the blink of an eye.

“You brat! I'll give you a good scolding!”

“No……!”

Kwaang!

It seemed the master was very excited, so I would have to do my best to survive.