전생검신 94권18화

I pondered the direction of the ‘power’ flowing from inside me.

“Wow, there are way more directions than I thought!”

I originally believed the power would simply extend from my heart to my fingertips, but in the realm of magical energy, physical distance didn’t matter much. After all, the speed of the mana surpasses human perception, making the path that the mana traverses far more significant. And since Suin could create these pathways, I had to invent a suitable path for the power among the many possible options.

Woooooo

Uuuuu

I formed various Suin, mulling over what would be the most fitting direction for the power. I tried thousands of times at that spot, but soon realized one undeniable fact.

“I really have no clue what the rules are…”

Indeed, with almost infinite possible directions, I was utterly lost on what criteria to use for forming the Suin.

Of course, Zhuge Sa’s special techniques and the Maoshan Sect’s ten techniques were brilliant, but what I needed to do was create a third path that transcended conventional understanding! Once I broke free from the usual martial arts limits, I discovered that almost infinite laws and creations could emerge.

I realized it would be impossible to verify every single option.

“Hmm. This soft and fuzzy new realm of insight in my head… I need to make it clearer!”

I set up two axes of knowledge based on my new realizations.

While I didn’t quite understand the specifics of that insight, I instinctively felt I could only move forward by leaning on this intangible brainwave. So I decided to delve deeper.

“Yeah. Instead of fixating on just what I just realized, let’s pull everything I’ve ever remembered and think it through… who knows, maybe I’ll find something new.”

Woooooo

I assumed a comfortable lotus position, halfway closing my eyes to concentrate. Even though being in a spirit state didn’t require this posture, it felt right to my psyche. While I was lost in thought, a sudden idea flashed through my mind.

Hadn’t I created my own martial arts style not in the realm of magical power, but martial arts?

“Infinitesimal Slash was not so much a creation as it was the essence of slicing perfected, while the Thunder God Sword Name was like drawing out the inner sword… What if I think of the true martial art I’ve actually created…?”

One Two Three Four Five Six Seven (一二三四五六七)!

My own Absolute Slash, adapted from the Eight Immortals Divine Art and Seven Star Thunderbolt Technique!

“…”

Hmm… upon reflection, it kinda feels like I just hastily threw together a name for my martial art…

Sure, the name might have been a bit thrown together, but the power of One Two Three Four Five Six Seven was pretty solid. The Absolute Slash I crafted from the essence of the Seven Star Thunderbolt Technique was enough to embarrass the Dharma Guardian Dokgo Jun.

“The way I made One Two Three Four Five Six Seven was simple. I just rearranged the sequence of the basic moves in the Seven Star Thunderbolt Technique and altered the linkage method… That alone turned it into a completely different martial art…”

…Wait a second…

Rearranging the order?

In that moment, a sharp inspiration sparked in my mind. An ingenious method to break free from my current predicament just popped into my head.

“Right…! The essence of the Maoshan Sect’s ten techniques is sealing! Their Taoists face monsters and don’t know what to seal, so they have prepared ten effective sealing methods. Zhuge Sa’s special technique is great for separating the essence, so if I combine the two…”

Could I create a new sealing method good for sealing the soul?

“…But what do I do with the sealed essence? The important one is the soul, and sealing the essence… will…”

Even though a thought crossed my mind that this idea might be pointless, I felt a hunch that I shouldn’t ignore this inspiration if I wanted to find an answer. So, since I had time to spare, I decided to give it a shot and began merging two types of insights.

Goooooo

“The Soul Exchange Technique and the Maoshan techniques… it might seem tough to combine, but each of their insights is ultimately about ‘direction’. As long as I keep the fundamental direction, the forms of the other Suin won’t really matter.”

With a bright light in my eyes, I committed to my will.

“I’ll leave the direction in place, rearranging the chain of the ten techniques to create a conduit for power to burst forth…!”

Direction.

Strangely enough, I noticed how crucial the concept of direction became when entering this understanding of Suin. When I thought of insight, I used to picture it as a wave reverberating in my head, yet I realized direction was the core essence of insight. It felt like I now had to choose one from infinite directions.

Pavababat

For the first time, I switched the order of the ten techniques, placing the ninth technique, Hong Long Feng Sha (紅龍封邪), at the front. After that, I adjusted the sixth, Huang Dou Feng Qi (黃斗封氣), to match the flow, modifying the finger movements while maintaining the direction of my index and ring fingers, symbols of the Soul Exchange Technique. The step felt complex, but in practice, it wasn’t overly challenging.

“967138245… 189623547… No, 587219346…!”

Pavababat!

I scrambled through the sequence of the ten techniques in my brain, continuously switching the types of Suin. The last tenth, Taishan Feng Ya (泰山封岳), held a certain immovability, so I left it unchanged. As the order of the Suin changed, I felt how the essence and direction of the Soul Exchange Technique transformed the very nature of the ten techniques.

Time passed by effortlessly while I kept tying together the Suin without giving up.

Guooooo……!

“Power suddenly surges!”

I suddenly felt a connecting point in the passage of power emanating from within. Out of all the possible options, a path was opening toward the outside. I understood that this was not just luck; I had been continuously sensing an intangible law and crafting it through intuition, and now I realized I had finally forged a path outward.

“It’s happening! This will work! Let’s remember the order… 751492368… and the last 10…”

Pavababat

This time, I tried to execute the sequence of the ten techniques as I discovered it, trying to adjust it. Strangely enough, even though I felt like I’d done it countless times, it was not boring or painful; it was pretty fun. Because throughout the process, a faint thread of a path began to appear, and I was tracking it down.

Is this what creative joy feels like?

Now, I was sure that the Suin I discovered had the potential to seal the essence. Yet I also sensed it might be too lengthy.

“Hmmm… tying ten techniques is a bit cumbersome and long… This technique might allow even those with almost no magical ability to activate power, but still, it’s too lengthy… Can I shorten it a bit?”

I pondered this when the realization hit me.

“Ah… that’s it! The five elements of magic! That’s why Demon Sorcerers use the other four elements to shorten their methods! Command, offering, incantation…!”

If I used incantations, wishes, offerings, and calling, along with the Suin, perhaps I could manage with just one Suin!

In other words, if I tried to activate magic using only the Suin, I had to form it ten times.

It wasn’t crucial to shorten the Suin itself; rather, understanding the role of Suin in magic clearly seemed to be what mattered.

“This is fun… my skills are improving!”

I had the feel of enjoying the direct interpretation and research over merely gleaning what others taught me, and it hit me hard even in martial arts. The saying from the Necronomicon that at higher levels, martial arts and magic share similar traits seems true.

“Alright, I’ve understood the Suin to some extent, and I’m getting the hang of the technique for expelling power outward… Now, all I need to do is create a Suin to expel the Spirit Poison originating from the realization derived from the training!”

This task, which once felt vague, now seemed to be stepping towards reality.

I ruminated, immersed in thought.

“First, what exactly is this Spirit Poison? I know it tends to consume my spirit and eventually erase it, but… is the Spirit Poison a mass of magical energy?”

No, no. If it were a mass of magical energy, I could have manipulated it and expelled it long ago.

This didn’t feel like a mass; instead, it seemed to be something occupying a different dimension from magical energy. I sensed a need to first find out what this Spirit Poison truly was, so I cautiously directed my intent to probe the vicinity of the Spirit Poison.

Twitch!

“Gah!”

Pain surged through me! The moment I reached out with intent, a vivid sense of suffering struck me, which reacted to nothing but the Spirit Poison itself.

“But the Spirit Poison itself doesn’t seem to be intent…”

While I pondered the essence of the Spirit Poison, a bright idea occurred to me.

“That’s it! There’s information about it in the resources of the Great Bear Empire that resides in my memory! Those documents might contain insights on this Spirit Poison!”

Thinking so, I began sifting through my memories, starting to extract the data from the Great Bear Empire injected into me through Cheon Woo-jin. The volume was vast, but since I could read it a thousand times faster than actually reading a book, it wasn’t impossible.

How long did I sit like that, crossed legs, and deep in thought?

“What… what’s happening?”

I couldn’t help but gasp.

“Is it the Divine Blood surfacing?”

Indeed!

After plenty of searching in the Great Bear Empire, the keyword that suddenly appeared was ‘Divine Blood’!

A mysterious metal lurking in Mount Ye, and the crafting material for the Portrait Immortal was linked to the Spirit Poison.

“Divine Blood also has the property of consuming spirit and causing erasure…?! That’s just like my current condition!”

Of course, I was referring to unprocessed Divine Blood. Processed Divine Blood didn’t exhibit the spirit-consuming effects, and the artificial treasure given to me by my comrades during the Great Bear Empire era was already made from processed Divine Blood. As I pondered this, a sharp intuition zipped through my mind.

“…Artificial treasure? Why does the Spirit Poison vanish when Divine Blood is processed into an artificial treasure?”

As I probed through my mental data, I managed to read a few lines of an officially recorded thesis.

[ The resonance phenomena caused by the Material Wave hypothesis propelled all scientific advancements of the Great Bear Empire, contributing significantly to the development of artificial treasure creation technology. Particularly, the shape memory technology derived from Thought Power resonating with Quantum is undoubtedly the most remarkable transformation.]

…

Thought Power…!

As soon as I saw the term ‘Thought Power,’ my mind jumped back to Professor Sima Ling, who taught me the principles of the Great Bear Empire.

[ According to the Material Wave hypothesis, when resonating the wave power with Divine Blood, one can physically materialize the form desired by the user through Thought Power. The armor shape I manifested a moment ago was literally a reflection of the shape depicted on the artificial treasure, brought forth by my imagination. The initial practical application of Quantum mechanics is the cherished child of modern science, known as Quantum Craft.]

[ To put it simply, artificial treasures can change their appearance based on the user’s imagination. By ignoring the limits imposed by conventional physical laws, they can increase mass or enhance power. The power of recognition can alter the inherent state of matter, and this capacity for change is amplified by the scientific apparatus known as Quantum Craft.]

Back then, I hadn’t understood a word of Professor Sima Ling’s ramblings.

But for some reason, I now realized her words were closely connected to my current dilemma. It was likely due to the major epiphany I had thanks to training.

“Right… according to these records, processing Divine Blood doesn’t entirely eliminate the spirit-consuming effects… There were cases of artificial treasure users being consumed by evil spirits, but through the application of Thought Power in processing Divine Blood, the spirit-consuming effect disappeared completely. That means…”

I clenched my fist.

“Thought Power! That’s the answer to nullifying the Spirit Poison!”

Thought Power!

It was a force similar yet distinct from intent, known for resonating with quantum energy to produce a new property. Of course, it shared the same core function as intent — [manifesting imagination into reality] — but it differed fundamentally in being heavily influenced by wave energy.

And at the moment when Thought Power is affected by quantum waves, the spirit-consuming phenomena inherent in Divine Blood would be vanquished.

While I repeated the verified knowledge of the Great Bear Empire, I muttered.

“Recognitional power… that has to be the essence of Thought Power, but how is intent different from Thought Power?”

At the very least, the fundamental difference appears to be that it relies on wave energy and doesn’t.

Waves!

This scientific concept originated from the Great Bear Empire, resembling the phenomenon that occurs when light passes through two holes. I reflected on the scientific records of the Great Bear Empire.

“The essence of waves must be diffraction and interference… huh… I might not get this at all… but in any case, when observing waves, what I perceive influences them? Is that it?”

Simply observing changes the waves?

So, something doesn’t change if I don’t look?

“That’s a bit off. Intent exists regardless of whether I recognize it or not… this is probably the fundamental difference…”

After contemplating Thought Power and waves for a while, a feeling of overwhelming pressure bore down on my consciousness. Although the surface explanation seemed straightforward, digging deeper unveiled a convoluted mess of challenging equations and spell details. It was the kind of complex problems that only an extraordinarily clever person would be able to solve.

“Ugh! I can’t handle this…! Do I really need to learn all this to understand Thought Power and waves?!”

…

No way! I detest this kind of studying more than anything in the world!

The moment I saw the equations, my body began to tremble with anxiety. I have never been the brightest, so that paralyzing dread washed over me the moment I was confronted with math. Sure, I could learn from a great master, but the thought of being scolded for being stupid while studying made it excruciatingly dreadful.

So instead, I focused hard on memorizing the described properties of waves until my head nearly split. It seemed establishing the fundamental concepts meant I could study the rest later. I earnestly concentrated on waves and suddenly had a revelation.

“Ultimately… it seems waves are like the tides? The waves crashing at the beach…”

Alright.

Let’s try it for real.

Half-closing my eyes, I freed my imagination in my mind.

“I’m now standing on a beach…”

Swoooosh…

Before I knew it, I envisioned myself standing on the beach wielding a sword. Though it wasn’t real, it felt a reality forged from my immovable mind! While I didn’t actually stand on the beach or wield a sword, acknowledging it as such made it vividly real.

And the scent of the ocean wafted to my nose as a vast ocean with colossal waves unfolded before me.

Kuuuuu

Gazing straight at the waves, I crouched and let out a battle cry.

“Ha!”

Thunder God Sword Dance

One Slash!

Flash!

In that instant, I perfectly sliced through dozens of oncoming waves, and the severed currents hung momentarily in mid-air, showcasing a sharp edge. The tide of thunder glimmered across the briefly illuminated sea.

A master of the Absolute Realm would undoubtedly be capable of executing a single strike to cut through waves! Although this was merely in my imagination, the power would likely be no different in reality.

Chaaarrrk

The crashing sound of waves hitting the sandy shore resonated almost like an echo in my head. With heightened focus, I murmured within my imaginary state.

“I have made my choice.”

From there, the understanding of how recognition influences waves emerged in clarity.

“I can pick the specific waves I want to slice amid countless waves on the beach. I recognize the waves to be slashed and ‘choose’ among infinite possibilities. This entire process of recognition and choice… is that what Thought Power is?”

Tzzzzzz!

Suddenly breaking out of the illusion, I returned to my spirit state, eyes wide open as I processed my latest realization.

“Hmm… now I see…”

I felt an electrifying thrill coming from a newly acknowledged truth that had eluded me back during the Great Bear Empire.

“The fundamental principle of this world is Thought Power… so perhaps ‘intent’ is what makes it unique.”

Even those who can’t use intent can engage with artificial treasures, thanks to Thought Power.

What that implies is that even those who can’t wield intent may still harness Thought Power!

In fact, Thought Power belongs to the underlying mechanics of this world, while intent serves as an advanced manifestation of that Thought Power.

‘……’

I glanced silently at the Spirit Poison seeping into me, channeling my intent with greater force.

Creeeak!

“Gah!”

Once again, extreme pain washed over me. In that throbbing agony, I realized the section afflicted by the Spirit Poison remained utterly unyielding.

“To combat the very nature of Spirit Poison and wave, I need to manipulate recognition itself… Sure, it’s possible to utilize intent, but that’s exceedingly burdensome…”

While the performance of the intent allows a master to unveil their heart, it remains limited to their own realm. Thus, for someone whose entire existence has been honed solely for battle, modifying or creating something new in reality becomes exceedingly challenging.

On the flip side, however, though Thought Power lacks the limits of intent, being a universal law, it permits easier manipulation of recognition and waves with less energy.

In essence, while opting for lower skills over superior techniques, I hadn’t yet practiced the Thought Power enough to fully comprehend it.

Kachunk

Once again, I formed the Suin. Then I smiled.

“Finally, I see a path!”

I would refine the method for sealing the essence, crafting a channel for manipulating Thought Power itself.

Additionally, using the feature of the Soul Exchange Technique to siphon out the Spirit Poison clinging to my soul through that channel.

Pavababat

Immediately upon realizing the path, without taking a breath, I tirelessly continued forming Suin. As I did so, I sought to move the underlying Thought Power and waves through my recognition. Yet, handling Thought Power directly was far trickier than I anticipated, as I sensed that the movement of waves wouldn’t budge as I wished.

Reflections of this fact came into my mind as well.

“Back in the Great Bear Empire, using processed Divine Blood had been essential for controlling Thought Power. Attempting to handle it directly without any medium is no wonder why it’s so tough…”

Essentially, intent reflects actions from my inner realm onto the world while Thought Power operates indiscriminately outside of intent. Naturally, although they bear similarities, they demand a different approach for manipulation.

Ideally, I should have created a metal out of Divine Blood via Trimurti, then produced artificial treasures to ease the journey, for artificial treasures undoubtedly possess the ability to control Spirit Poison.

However…

“So I want to solve this purely with Suin all the more!”

After all, artificial treasures are merely Otherworldly Items too. It wouldn’t be a good thing to say I solved a problem merely by summoning an Otherworldly Item. I sensed that it was vital for my growth to be able to extract the Spirit Poison using only Suin.

Wooooooo!

I suddenly found myself engrossed. Rarely had I ever had an epiphany and genuinely enjoyed the process like this, almost as if I were racing through the forest of understanding. While I was busy tying the Suin together, a voice suddenly reached my ears.

“Looks like the Heavenly Quality is about to awaken.”

I turned my gaze toward the source of the voice.

There stood the Necronomicon, holding a snack to squeeze with one hand.