전생검신 80권 16화

When I hit the third rank, I couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

“Alright! I’ve officially surpassed the realm Chi You achieved!”

Ascending to the first or second rank seems tough, but I thought to myself that it was far from impossible. After all, this world has its own quirks that, when used right, made challenges a bit easier to tackle. Though, given the situation, I couldn’t just pull a shortcut right now, so I thought about what I should do next.

“Of course, it’s martial arts training.”

I had been completely absorbed in spear techniques for a while, training diligently, but I found myself stuck with no progress. Somehow, I had managed to free Lee Kwang and Lee Hwan-woong from wooden armor. I focused intently, getting into a stance to heavily strike down with my spear.

“If I’m gonna learn spear techniques from Lee Kwang, it’d be best once he grasps the basics of the Soul of the Evil God.”

In truth, the Soul of the Evil God was a different martial art altogether compared to the original version being practiced by Shim Su-ryeok back at the White Lotus Sect. It had evolved into a new martial art through the meticulous refining by me and Shim Su-ryeok! The difference in understanding this Soul of the Evil God would be huge, so I wanted to discuss spear principles with Lee Kwang once he got a good hang of it.

“Moreover, I never really wanted to learn from Lee Kwang in the first place.”

I wasn’t too keen on it, but Shim Su-ryeok insisted it was a two-for-one deal, so I begrudgingly agreed. Ultimately, all training must be done individually anyway, so obsessing over having to learn spear techniques from Lee Kwang just felt silly to me. That sparked a stubborn determination in me.

“Damn it! It’d be best to prove I don’t need to learn from that Lee Kwang!”

Bada-bing!

I dove back into my spear training like always. After four years of solely focusing on spear techniques, I had become quite proficient at it, not to mention I had practiced the basics of Ranna Chul so much that I no longer felt lacking in the fundamentals.

Fueled by enthusiasm, I threw myself into training over the next five months. But at some point, I hit a wall, slamming my spear into the ground with a sigh.

“Ah… this wall…”

The world of spear play is vast and deep, and every training session seemed to uncover another layer of complexity. Sometimes I spent thousands of attempts on precision parts without seeing improvement. Yet, what frustrated me even more was that despite my minuscule progress, it felt like I was just going around in circles.

[The next level] was nowhere to be seen.

This was the so-called martial arts wall I had often felt!

I could feel the wall more vividly than ever, showing my skills had become stronger, but at the same time, I required a tremendous amount of training and insight to break through it. While I had once felt a wall in swordsmanship, encountering it in spear techniques felt oddly fresh.

“Could the wisdom from my swordsmanship help me ascend over this spear wall?”

Swoosh!

Mesmerized, I unleashed the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear. As I did, I mixed in insights I’d gained from swordsmanship, causing various sword styles to intertwine, which made the tip of my spear dance with an elegance beyond normal comprehension. A regular person wouldn’t even detect the changes in my spear!

Wham!

But while trying to execute that nameless technique, I suddenly felt my strength drain away and withdrew my spear.

“…”

Surely, even this was superb compared to what one might find in mundane human spearplay. But no matter how I tried to apply my swordsmanship insights to the spear, they just didn’t mesh well. The discomfort was clear to me, even if my opponents wouldn’t notice—as the one executing it, I felt the dissonance deeply.

“No! No matter how renowned those sword techniques are… applying them perfectly to spearplay is impossible!”

I reaffirmed an old realization with yet another bout of despair.

I couldn’t just brush this off as a matter of attitude.

The ultimate principles demanded by spears were their own and no matter how high one climbed elsewhere, you couldn’t cheat and take shortcuts in this realm! That is, it required energy and fortuitous encounters that dwarfed the effort I needed in swordsmanship many times over.

Could this wall really be insurmountable for the untalented?

Was breaking through it impossible without outside help?

…No. It could be shattered.

In a haze of rigorous training, perhaps it was possible.

But that sounded just as absurd as the tale of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains. Sure, anyone can move a mountain if they dig with a shovel every day for long enough, but that’s a laughably impractical endeavor. No human could sustain the time required for such an effort nor guarantee that focus would remain intact throughout it.

Plop!

I collapsed on the training ground while gripping my spear. I stared blankly at the sky.

“Why am I doing this?”

I had enough on my plate just trying to glimpse the peak of swordsmanship, and here I was, attempting to master both fist techniques and spearplay! This was something only a transcendent genius could dare pursue, so why was I putting in all this effort? Sure, I’d given myself internal justifications for this before, but still, a lack of encouragement could quickly extinguish a flame of determination.

Honestly, I’d prefer to take the easy route. If there was a shortcut, I’d want to use it, because I never thought that achieving something had to be done solely through honorable means. But if I had to face everything head-on, I wouldn’t shy away from it either. I was pretty good at bravely facing challenges, and my current spear training was just part of that.

But.

Not avoiding doesn’t mean you’ll genuinely invest into facing the problem directly…

“……”

O Martial God.

I want to ask you a question.

“Why can’t martial arts be taken easy?!”

I unwittingly muttered my innermost thoughts, but, of course, there was no reply.

A moment of awkward silence passed, then I stood up with a wry smile on my face.

Even while I complained, the reality is that a regular guy like me could only conform to or clash against this world.

In this chaotic whirlwind, I would have to keep my eyes locked on this reality until I take my last breath.

For now, this is what the life I chase looks like.

Someday… I will find my way to the Martial God’s side.

And I’ll ask that question to him too.

“Damn it! I’ll do it a hundred thousand times!”

Boom!

I started repeating Ranna Chul again to unify my mind. I don’t know why, but this playful seriousness helped me relax. I used to be intense about it, but now that my physical strength and internal power had grown astronomically, it hardly felt difficult at all.

‘If I’m unsure, I might as well go crazy and just do it!’

Four years were just way too short.

I’d immerse myself even if it took forty years!!

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom!

…

So, about six years passed, I believe. From time to time, I pushed myself to perform Ranna Chul tens of thousands of times, aiming to polish all the spear techniques I knew from the Thunder God Lineage. My foundational spear training sometimes dragged on for months. Not seeing significant progress sent me into a frenzy, trying every trick in the book.

Then, at one point, it hit me.

‘…Is not finding Ranna Chul difficult the real issue?’

It sounded like madness, but lately, this idea has steadily gained traction.

I contemplated with my spear pointed downward.

‘Right… even if I do Ranna Chul a hundred thousand times, it doesn’t feel taxing. My regenerating internal power is now on par with the Dharma Guardians, and thus, I can withstand physical exhaustion and muscle fatigue using my internal power. Above all, my body has already adapted to such labor—I’m even starting to execute Ranna Chul a hundred thousand times faster…’

My physical strength and internal power had long surpassed that of an ordinary Peak Expert by hundreds of times. Actually, from a human’s perspective, there’s no way to measure my endurance. How could I doubt my strength, knowing that I could dominate even Great Demons?

However, not feeling exhausted meant that performing Ranna Chul a hundred thousand times had become, to me, a mere brisk walk after a meal. It’s obvious that with such a training intensity, I would gain nothing. Suddenly, I found my eyes widening.

‘…It has to be tough. Training must involve real struggle!!’

Until now, I had been somewhat okay with spinning my wheels in training, hoping that eventually, I’d reach a higher realm. But at some point, I grew nauseated with that very tread and realized I should willingly plunge into Hell Training myself.

Strongly gripping my spear, I steadied my stance. Then I shouted.

“I’m off… a hundred thousand Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear strikes!!”

Clang!

In the next moment, an instantaneous technique of the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear unfolded with precision and absolutely no mistakes.

A hundred thousand strikes of the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear!

It was something I had never dared attempt or even consider before. Sure, repeating it a hundred thousand times would certainly lead to significant fatigue and internal power drain, but each execution of Ranna Chul hadn’t felt too strenuous since it was a basic operation of spearplay.

However, the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear consisted of six forms, but that doesn’t mean six strikes of the basic moves. Each form is essentially a compilation of basic moves, with each form incorporating an average of eight basic strikes and an absolute slash. So, altogether, it culminated into over forty continuous maneuvers, with some requiring immense internal power and concentration that typical flexibility and reflexes couldn’t easily handle.

To attempt the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear a hundred thousand times was an arduous feat, unparalleled to the Ranna Chul’s hundred thousand!

I had previously hesitated to even try it, worrying that tackling the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear a hundred thousand times might either be too exhausting or that I could just collapse, but I finally made up my mind!

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Let’s go!

I aimed for a trance-like state where I would break my boundaries!

And I’d proceed to the next level of spearplay without the assistance of that useless Lee Kwang!

Boom-boom-boom!

I focused my mind and began executing the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear in perfect form, leaving no room for error. My physical output was cut to the bone, but I ignored it, gritting my teeth.

‘Dying would be fine! If I die, I’ll just collect all the world’s treasures to return to the Merchant rank!’

No, I’d rather die!

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I unleashed the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear five thousand times, tiring myself out, yet a laugh escaped my lips.

“Ha ha ha ha!!”

Great! If I die during training, so be it!!

*

Days turned into many weeks.

…

“……”

After unleashing the last form of the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear, I stood there in shock. Then, moments later, I staggered and muttered.

“Did… Did I really… do a hundred thousand…?”

I spoke with a shaky voice.

“Is… is it manageable…?!”

Did I slack off somewhere midway?

Did I take breaks because I was exhausted?

Thinking about that made me recall purposely doing extra several thousand strikes as I approached the hundred thousand mark. So I probably did a few more than a hundred thousand. But still, I was completely drenched in sweat and felt a hint of muscle soreness but wasn’t exhausted to a severe degree. Honestly, it felt like I’d merely burned about 40% of my energy.

What… what’s going on?

Surely, a hundred thousand Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear strikes should be far more exhausting than a hundred thousand Ranna Chul!

Stunned, I stood still before shaking my head.

“No way it could end this easily…”

I hadn’t even gained any true understanding of martial arts through it.

The fear that I might need to repeat this exact process dawned on me, and I felt like running away from reality.

But shortly after, reality struck me with a jolt.

“Aaaah! What on earth happened?!”

This is insanity!!

I actually pulled that off?! What sort of monstrous state is my body in right now?!

I wasn’t human anymore; I was practically a monster!

Did that mean Hell Training’s effects were wearing off?!

‘No! That can’t be it!!’

I took a little break and then swiftly attempted the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear a hundred thousand times again continuously.

Bang-bang-bang!

‘There’s no doubt I must have slacked off sometime during that!! Hitting a wall and dying is the normal outcome, right?!’

Bang-bang-bang!

‘…50,000 times…’

Bang!

“……I did it…”

After another long ordeal spanning weeks, I completed the Heavenly Thunder Infinite Spear a hundred thousand times, feeling dazed as all my energy drained away. This time, I counted more carefully and put in significant effort, yet I completed it. In fact, it felt like I had more energy left than before.

What on earth?!

“This is absurd!!”

Screaming in disbelief, I suddenly had a realization.

“Could it be…?”

Was rigorously training the Soul of the Evil God and overall spear techniques itself acting as Hell Training, so now regular training just didn’t impact me anymore?

Had the processes I went through brought my internal power and physical strength to unprecedented levels through repeated trials?!

No, that can’t be right?!

But that was the only interpretation that made sense in this situation.

If that was the case, it meant I could no longer expect to gain the next level from ordinary training!

“……”

I can’t accept that. The thought of being stuck unable to progress further would drive me insane.

Rather, it would be better to repeat training mindlessly until I became too fatigued to think—that wouldn’t feel so bad as being trapped in this cycle!

“Ugh… No matter how much effort is required, I have to… huh?”

In that moment, I caught a glimpse of a massive mountain near the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School.

At that same moment, the old idiom about the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains flashed through my mind.

“…Hmm.”

I sprinted toward the mountain. I aimed my spear at a hill nearby and unleashed an attack.

Thwack!

Boom!

Was it because I struck without infusing too much internal power or intent? The soil and space caved in, forming a hole big enough for one or two people as the dirt flowed outward. I gauged the technique’s impact while wiping the sweat from my brow, staring at the hill by the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School.

“If I can’t do it with ordinary skill, then there’s no choice.”

This training knows no limits.

It’s a challenge that truly demands more than a hundred thousand strikes.

“Here I go!!”

It’s time to move mountains!