뇌령 splitting felt like the soul and body were officially separated, a sensation surely linked to the Soul Exchange Technique’s secret essence. The following understanding flowed from that, certainly a derivation from the Soul Exchange Technique.

Why on earth was the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique mixed with the Soul Exchange Technique for its training?

When I looked at Lee Seol-pyo with a questioning gaze, he said,

“Wow… it’s really impressive… so the tale of Zhuge Sa learning the Soul Exchange Technique was true.”

“Is it really fused into the training method?”

“Yes.”

Lee Seol-pyo continued nonchalantly.

“It’s said that a master of the Soul Exchange Technique intervened in the creation of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique to easily control the thunder energy.”

“…!!”

The moment I heard that, one name popped into my head.

‘Zhuge Sa!’

There’s no doubt about it. The Demon King Simon Magus wouldn’t have come all the way to our base and helped create the Nine Chambers of Thunder. So it had to be Zhuge Sa. As the master of the Soul Exchange Technique, Zhuge Sa could certainly integrate the Soul Exchange Technique naturally into other martial arts.

But why?

While I vaguely understood the situation, I still didn’t grasp the exact reason for the application of the Soul Exchange Technique.

“Hmmm.”

I tried to move the thunder energy again according to the secret technique. It felt like the thunder energy was splitting in half as it moved, the separated thunder energy resembling a visualization of the soul and body.

“Why are the thunder energies split like the soul and body…? And why does splitting them ease the physical burden on the caster…?”

What’s the principle behind it?

There must be a reason why Zhuge Sa set it up this way….

As I pondered and grunted in confusion, Lee Seol-pyo spoke up.

“Because the Soul Exchange Technique is also a forbidden top-secret, the difficulty of mastering it is immense. So formally learning the entire Soul Exchange Technique would be excessive training and a waste of talent. Thus, practitioners usually grasp the essence through a speed-up method before moving on.”

“What? There’s also a speed-up method?”

Lee Seol-pyo explained,

“Indeed. What you just performed with the splitting of the thunder energy’s soul and body. Mastering just that allows you to skip the deeper insights into the rest of the Soul Exchange Technique. From today onward, I plan to teach you that speed-up method.”

“Hmmm….”

“To be honest, I don’t entirely understand the true power of the Soul Exchange Technique myself. However, if it’s true that the master has formally passed it on to Zhuge Sa, I believe he will learn a lot during the process.”

“Got it. Let’s give it a try.”

This felt suspiciously like a riddle Zhuge Sa had posed to me.

Why is it necessary to separate the thunder energy like the soul and body? What’s the effect? I had a gut feeling that discovering the answers while training would lead to a significant advancement in my martial skills.

I began learning the speed-up method from Lee Seol-pyo while repeatedly activating the secret technique. Soon I realized that I didn’t even need the speed-up method.

‘I know this technique already.’

The speed-up method turned out to be nothing more than a guide set up for beginners of the Soul Exchange Technique to help them adapt. Being at the peak of mastery, I didn’t even need to bother repeating it.

Wooo

As the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art activated, the thunder energy started moving back and forth within my body. With the separation of the thunder energy, it increased its speed, and I felt my body gradually honing.

After a while, I asked Lee Seol-pyo,

“Hey Lee Seol-pyo. The split thunder energy is automatically moving and trying to perform a circular motion, why is that?”

“…!!”

Lee Seol-pyo was startled and replied,

“Y-you’ve already reached that stage? In less than a day, you’ve progressed to the third level of the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art… normally that would take at least two months.”

It was probably because I had originally practiced the Soul Exchange Technique to a high level. It was a world apart from starting without any background in it.

“Now tell me why.”

“Hmm… The soul energy, while technically lifeless, must be perceived as alive by the practitioner through intention. If you do that, the soul energy will behave as if it were truly alive, showing dynamic reactions. Once you overcome that step, the soul energy will constantly trace circles.”

“……”

“Once you surpass the circular tracing stage, you can create a physical manifestation of the thunder sphere, and that’s when we’ll fully begin to teach you the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique.”

The thunder energy is seen as alive?

‘How is that even possible?’

The thunder energy was, after all, a condensation of the thunder god lineage’s qi made through the practitioner’s internal power—it contained no elements that could be defined as alive. Yet if viewed as living, it reacts as such upon having intention infused into it!

What principle could this possibly follow?

“Ugh…”

As I mused over this more complicated issue than I’d anticipated, I retraced my thoughts on the Soul Exchange Technique.

‘Zhuge Sa is a genius. If a genius were to integrate the ultimate of demon techniques, the Soul Exchange Technique into martial arts, there had to be a reason for it. I think reading into his intentions might allow me to learn the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art more rapidly…’

I spent that day training the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art. Noticing that Zhu Xian’s progress was a bit slower, I returned to our lodging in Mo-gok and approached him.

“Even with the speed-up method, your achievements are bound to be slower compared to mine, given my mastery of the Soul Exchange Technique from the beginning. So I’ll teach you some of it.”

It felt like Lee Seol-pyo might try to chop Zhu Xian’s neck any moment.

“……!!”

Zhu Xian was shocked.

“Really? The top sorcery and demon path Soul Exchange Technique, you’re going to teach me…?”

“Don’t worry. I’m the master of the heretical sect.”

Having received the recognition through Zhuge Sa and benefiting from the special enhancement available only to the master of the heretical sect during my previous life, there was no reason for any issues regarding the transmission of the technique.

I spent all night teaching him the essence of the Soul Exchange Technique while interpreting its speed-up method included in the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art to the best of my ability. Zhu Xian, perhaps because he was also a genius, seemed to grasp the technique quite rapidly, a feat that would typically overwhelm most mere mortals.

The next day, practice resumed, and after around eight days of diligent training, it seemed like Zhu Xian had matched my progress, likely due to my secretive night teachings of the Soul Exchange Technique.

‘Now the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art is nearing level five….’

Lee Seol-pyo never failed to praise me for the astounding progression.

Then one night, as Zhu Xian was learning the Soul Exchange Technique from me, he suddenly mentioned.

“Your Majesty, I’ve been feeling a strange tingling in my forehead lately.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“…Also, it seems that as the tickling gets stronger, my telekinesis seems to be enhancing as well.”

“Enhancing? By how much?”

Kugugugu….

Before long, Zhu Xian reached out over a cliff outside, effortlessly lifting an entire section of it with a flourish. It was truly impressive telekinesis.

“Whoa…!!”

“My original telekinesis wasn’t anywhere near this strong. No matter how hard I tried, I could only manage about thirty percent of this current force, but through this training, my power has grown.”

“Why could that be?”

“I’m not sure. I thought perhaps Your Majesty might know…”

“Hmm.”

What could the connection be between the Soul Exchange Technique and telekinesis?

I had heard that Zhu Xian ranked among the top telekinetics across the Great Bear Empire, alongside figures like Sagong Lin and Professor Sima Ling. But telekinesis was inherently an innate power, while the Soul Exchange Technique fell into the sorcery category. It was unheard of for enhancement effects to arise from two distinct realms like this.

I pondered for a moment before saying,

“Hey, then teach me telekinesis too.”

“Pardon?”

“If I learn, I might figure out what’s going on.”

“I can teach you the basics of awakening telekinesis, but if you lack talent, it might not work at all.”

“Got it.”

I decided to learn the foundation of telekinesis from Zhu Xian. In the current era, there seemed to be an abundance of innate telekinetics, and for some reason, it seemed much easier for humans to awaken their potential compared to my previous life. Back where I came from, telekinesis was nearly impossible to awaken artificially—only those chosen by fate possessed it.

Even though awakening was now easier, it wasn’t trivial by any means, and without a master’s assistance, raising telekinetic abilities was still extremely difficult.

Suddenly

Zhu Xian placed his hand on my head. Then, channeling a powerful telekinetic wave, he said.

“This method artificially awakens an opponent’s telekinetic energy using telekinetic waves from a higher-level skilled practitioner. It’s the most certain and quickest way to awaken telekinesis.”

“What should I do?”

“Just stay still.”

“What are the odds of awakening?”

“…Generally, out of ten, six will fail. So about 40 percent.”

I nodded.

“That’s pretty good. Let’s start.”

Wooo!!

Shortly after, I felt telekinetic waves swirling around in my head, crashing into each other like flashes of lightning. Soon after, I could distinctly sense a singled-out thread of that wave resonating with my awareness.

‘Could it be this?’

I thought I’d give it a go and projected the telekinetic wave onto a nearby water bowl. To my surprise, without needing any intention, the bowl began to float in the air, resonating with the telekinetic force. Zhu Xian clapped his hands in approval.

“Great! With this, you’ve officially entered the realm of telekinesis. If you can maintain that sensation, you can continue to use telekinesis.”

Am I really able to use innate powers now? But somehow, I was feeling underwhelmed by its power, and I complained.

“Hmm… but it doesn’t seem stronger than intention.”

“Telekinesis and intention are different concepts. In fact, for someone like you, Your Majesty, telekinesis would be mere tricks.”

That’s true. When considering the might of absolute intention at the peak of cultivation, or even the intention a peak expert can infuse into martial techniques, such a level of telekinesis felt like child’s play. But I understood that innate powers demonstrate immense strength as they grow, so I planned to keep honing this ability.

Just then, I suddenly noticed something familiar.

‘Huh…? Could it be? Lightning? If it’s lightning—’

No way!

In an instant, I activated the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art again and sat cross-legged. I generated the thunder energy and infused it into my body, sensing how the divided thunder energies were smoothly controlling the movement of the thunder energy.

As I concentrated more, I observed that the thunder energy’s essence was bouncing around like lightning.

“…!!”

I was beginning to realize.

‘The thunder energy… intention… Exactly. By separating the thunder energy into the soul and body… the thunder energy acquires a soul!’

It was insane, but it was true.

The moment I infused intention into the thunder energy, which never had a soul before, it actually developed a soul! This phenomenon transcended commonly understood concepts of body and soul, leaving me in awe.

So would the thunder energy with a soul possess awareness? I couldn’t say for sure, but the training in the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art had already surpassed conventional internal power training.

‘And if a Soul Exchange Technique practitioner possesses innate powers, that soul in the thunder energy would resonate with the caster’s soul. The upper dantian’s abilities should respond acutely to the soul.’

Zhu Xian’s enhanced telekinesis must have stemmed from the lively activity of the thunder energy’s soul within him, resonating with the new soul formed in his upper dantian while reaching higher levels. It turns out the Soul Exchange Technique and telekinesis were not separate; if the thunder energy was truly alive, they could surely enhance one another!

‘But this is… entirely different from the traditional internal power training methods.’

I found myself questioning whether the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art even qualified as an internal training technique. By perceiving the thunder energy as a soul and nurturing another spiritual entity within my body, wasn’t I essentially cultivating a different being inside me? Would it even be okay to keep nurturing the thunder energy like this?

As I stood there in a daze, Zhu Xian called out to me.

“Your Majesty. Please, say something. I might be able to help.”

“Hmm, listen up.”

I shared my hypothesis with Zhu Xian. He listened attentively before responding.

“Your Majesty, if what you say is true, then the most efficient method to achieve the union of the thunder god and soul is indeed the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art. This is the result of genius-level crafting.”

“What do you mean?”

“Fundamentally, to generate the thunder god and soul, immense internal energy would need to be transformed along with superior techniques, creating a single giant container for it all. But crafting such a solid model right off the bat is unnecessary and limited because the parameters are predetermined from the start. Perhaps that’s why the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art was created.”

“Try breaking it down further.”

“In simpler terms… instead of building a giant, solid vessel from the get-go, it’s more of nurturing and perfecting the vessel from within.”

“Nurturing, huh?”

Zhu Xian nodded.

“By allowing the soul energy to independently exist and continuously supplying it strength… if that thunder energy eventually grows to fill the whole body… wouldn’t that effectively be a union of the thunder god and soul?”

“…!!”

“But it will take a considerable amount of time. At least several hundred years! It might be faster for a genius to grasp the technique of uniting the thunder god and soul, so why create such a convoluted essence…?”

“…No, wait. This is actually brilliant.”

“Pardon?”

I silently gazed up at the night sky.

‘This martial art was crafted for me.’

Crafted to gradually gain progress over multiple lifetimes, requiring mastery of the Soul Exchange Technique, which was no handicap since I had already learned it. It seemed evident that this world had molded an extraordinary martial art tailored specifically for me by my companions.

I longed to see them all again.

But even that thought seemed like a luxury.

I said to Zhu Xian,

“Starting tomorrow, let’s train even harder.”

“Yes!”

After more than a month of further training, my skill in the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art approached level seven, and I could visualize several thunder spheres rotating rapidly within my body. Every time the thunder spheres spun, I felt the powerful thunder soul consolidating and honing itself.

“Master, from today onward, I will begin formally teaching you the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique… Hehe…”

Lee Seol-pyo wiped away tears from his eyes as he spoke.

“The training up until now has been the most arduous and difficult, yet you’ve already come this far… Truly a master of the thunder god line!”

“Alright. How does one use the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique?”

“It’s very simple. Start with one white, two black, and then progress through the series of eight white and nine purple, executing continuous techniques. Whenever connecting techniques, instead of using intention, just consume the thunder energy you’ve gathered.”

“…Huh? Is that it?”

I was taken aback by how simple it was, prompting Lee Seol-pyo to say,

“That’s it. Just be aware that the consumption of thunder energy increases significantly as the number of connections grows.”

“By how much…?”

“You’ll find out once you try.”

Lee Seol-pyo soon explained the methods of connecting and the essence of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique to me. It was indeed relatively simple compared to all the complicated martial arts I had learned before, and it didn’t seem to require outstanding talent. It was practically straightforward.

Boom!

After deploying the first technique with one white and then following up with two black, I executed the Five Elements Energy. Just as I infused the thunder energy, I realized I could perform both without depleting my intention.

‘Oh! Then I can use the Seven Cuts Classic with three peaks…’

I aimed to unleash the powerful waves of the Seven Cuts Classic with both hands. However, in that moment, the thunder energy suddenly fizzled out, and I felt my intention drain.

“Hmm?!”

As I froze in shock, Lee Seol-pyo said,

“You still can’t connect beyond three peaks yet.”

“Suddenly, the thunder energy fizzled out. What happened?”

“The thunder energy simply ran out. Its consumption increases exponentially.”

“Even after reaching level seven of the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art, I only managed to connect three peaks before running out of energy?!”

“Even that level is considered a very powerful technique in the martial world. Being able to perform three consecutive full-force attacks is quite exceptional.”

“True, but this level won’t cut it against the overlay technique.”

To my words, Lee Seol-pyo responded seriously,

“You’ll need to perfect the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art before aiming for five yellow peaks. I was limited to only a few connections after mastering it due to insufficient internal power and intention, but for you… if you reach perfection, you should be able to execute the Nine Chambers of Thunder without issue!”

“Got it…”

I decided to practice the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique a bit more. So, after a day to recover the thunder energy, I planned to attempt a different combination.

Three peaks…

Eight Desolate Heavenly Demon…

Fog-shrouded Sky Royal Shadow 108 Techniques!

I wanted to recreate the splendid meteor-like attacks I had witnessed during my first clash with Lee Seol-pyo! Although I had practiced it plenty, this would be my first time integrating it with the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique. Just as my thunder energy peaked, it was the moment to unleash the essence of the Fog-shrouded Sky Royal Shadow 108 Techniques.

Sizzling…

‘What the?!’

Out of nowhere, a white phantom appeared in front of me. Following that, from a towering peak in Songshan, a massive white light erupted into the sky, and simultaneously, the phantom before me quickly materialized.

Swish, swish!!

Before I knew it, the solidified [something] in front of me unleashed the same technique I had performed.

Eight Desolate Heavenly Demon…

Fog-shrouded Sky Royal Shadow 108 Techniques…

Boom!!

The identical Fog-shrouded Sky Royal Shadow 108 Techniques collided in the air, sending shockwaves and vibrations exploding in all directions. In the blink of an eye, a small mountain crumbled away, triggering earthquakes, and even shaking the skies.

I was worried Lee Seol-pyo or Zhu Xian might get hurt in this collision, but it seemed they managed to evade it just fine for now.

Boom!

The 108 Techniques were far from over, and I established a heavenly realm of intent, launching an unrelenting series of clashes without giving my opponent a moment to breathe. I unleashed hundreds of strikes in a flash, and my opponent reciprocated just as fiercely, wielding their weapon.

Then it hit me in a moment of realization; my opponent’s weapon was a whip.

Sssshhhhhh!

The whip made a snake-like sound, filling the space around us. The massive whip coiled high into the sky, then suddenly shone with golden light, transforming into lightning, its countless tendrils striking toward me in a deluge.

Heavenly Realm…

Eight Desolate Heavenly Demon…

Pababababam…

“……!!”

Thousands of trajectories rained down on me, yet none of them overlapped or impeded one another! The precision matched that of the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique, causing goosebumps to rise through my body. Alongside such precision, the whip’s strikes bore immense power, making me feel like I could be torn apart.

Using the Three Treasure Technique, I initially dodged the golden whip, but in that instant, my opponent seemed to have accurately predicted my move, launching a counterattack that precisely pierced through my previously established Heaven and Earth.

So accurate was it that I couldn’t help but suspect if my opponent was aware of the Three Treasure Technique as I hastily switched my technique to defense and utilized the Soul Removal Technique to escape.

Whoosh!

Yet upon evading with the Soul Removal Technique, it felt as though a casually discarded technique had punctured my forearm deeply. I had no chance to evade or block; the phantom strike emerged out of nowhere like a specter.

“…?!”

What the heck is this?!

Is this the effect of the Heavenly Realm?!

Tydaht…

Only then did I face the unexpected challenger before me. The mysterious master hidden in the Heavenly Realm wore a celestial robe and sported a rather indifferent expression, revealing a young man with striking eyes.

He examined me closely and then said,

“I am the heavenly duelist, Cho Mu-rin. According to the law of cause and effect, I’ve come to test you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Now, let’s go.”

Heavenly Realm…

Eight Desolate Heavenly Demon…

Boom!!!

Before I even had time to catch my breath, I found myself locked in combat with the heavenly duelist, Cho Mu-rin.

And in that fleeting moment, I thought,

‘Why is…’

The ancient master of the thunder god lineage, who soared to the heavens over 1500 years ago, now standing before me?