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"What nonsense! Regardless, you have invaded the land of Yanguo, belonging to Jin and Makli clans! I will personally judge you!"

"Judge..? How dare a mere child try to judge... Did I not tell you? As long as the dragon vein encompasses this area, it is the land of the Three Clans.

In terms of dragon veins, formations, and basic spells, there's no one in Byeokra, Yanguo, and Shengzhi who can match me, Cheongmun Ryeong. What do you know to speak so foolishly?"

"Ha! Nonsense... Well, Cheongmun Ryeong. I have heard of that name."

Makli Jun sneered as he continued.

"Among the Qi Building cultivators, there are three great figures: Makli Yun-ryeon in alchemy, Gongmyo Cheon-saek in artifact refining, and you, Cheongmun Ryeong, in formations and basic spells. I once researched who these revered individuals were.

I wondered how dare anyone compare themselves to our Yun-ryeon of the Makli clan. Gongmyo Cheon-saek may be a vulgar man, but his skills are undoubtedly strong.

As for you, you have trained for hundreds of years and yet are still at the early stage of Qi Building. Even that at the tail (尾) and not the winnowing basket (箕)? How dull, stupid, and lazy must one be to not even fully reach the early stage of Qi Building?"

He laughed mockingly, revealing his murderous intent.

"Such a master, such a disciple. I heard that in the main house of Cheongmun Clan, there's a useless creature that just consumes food and does nothing, studying basic spells, understanding before breakthrough, sitting idly. That fool over there who sought teachings from such trash must be as stupid, dull, lazy, and as worthless as that trash.This place is now the land of the Three Clans? Then if I kill you, the dragon vein will recede, and it will become our land again."

Kugugugugu!

Dark clouds writhed above his head.

Yin energy surged from him, coloring the surroundings.

I looked at those dark clouds.

Clouds blocking the sky.

The will of the heavens rejecting me.

"...Master."

"Speak."

"Disciple...has lived a life achieving nothing. It's shameful."

Master clenched his fist.

But he paused for a moment, as if to listen to what I had to say.

"But... Master. I know your strength. After clashing with that Qi Building cultivator this time, I am even more certain of it."

Staggering, I stood up and approached my master.

"Although you are at the early stage of Qi Building, I have realized that you can definitely defeat that man. Doesn't that mean... everything you have done has meaning? That the years of your efforts have value? Master. I feel that my life is nearly spent and I humbly ask you."

I knelt behind him and made my request.

"The teachings you have given me... all the hardships you have endured in your life, they have meaning... I wish to see it with my own eyes. Please make that rude man regret his words. You should not be subjected to such disrespect."

"...Alright."

Master finally turned around to face me.

He hugged me once and then held my hand.

Rough and calloused.

The skin of a life spent in hard training.

"Of course, I was planning to do so. My disciple."

Kuuuuu!

A cloud dragon descended upon us from the sky.

"Save your melodrama for after you're dead!"

Flash!

Boom!

As Master raised his hand, the cloud dragon exploded.

Master turned his back again and glared at Makli Jun, speaking.

"First, there are a few things in your nonsense that need correcting."

Kugugugugu!

Green spiritual energy once again burst forth from around Master.

Wood (木) element spiritual energy.

"First, as you said, I am indeed a dull, stupid, lazy trash. However...My disciple is not dull. The dull ones are those stupid fools who rely on their innate qualities and are lazy in their efforts."

The spiritual energy of wood moved, drawing a formation diagram around Master.

"Second, my disciple is not stupid. He may lack talent, but how could a stupid person learn martial arts and break through the cultivation barrier?"

The ground filled with green burst with light.

"Third, my disciple is not lazy. He practiced incantations until his throat was sore, practiced hand seals until his hands bled, and continuously practiced his unique swordplay amidst all this. He is definitely not lazy."

The green spiritual energy converged from various places, and sprouts of energy began to emerge from the ground.

Within a radius of 10 zhang (approximately 30 meters), Master's domain spread, with countless sprouts of spiritual energy bursting forth.

The darkness in the sky seemed to be pushed back by the light emerging from the earth.

"Fourth, my disciple is not trash. He has worked harder and respected me more than the naturally talented but undisciplined scions of the main family. If such a person is trash, then who in this world is not?"

"Ha, as if to prove you're not an insect, you’re ardently defending your insect-like disciple."

"Fifth..."

Paaah!

Green trees of spiritual energy grew around Master.

A forest formed entirely of spiritual power emerged.

"You may dismiss me as an insect... But the Cheongmun Clan does not solely base its hierarchy on inherited bloodlines.

Cheongmun Clan venerates the Dao of Combat. Our ranks are determined by the Immortal Combat Meeting held every few years. Those with low ranks are pushed to the outer domains, while those with high ranks are granted the right to stay in the main house. And I... have been researching and developing techniques in the main house for nearly 150 years."

"So what? You're still just at the first stage Qi Building. I am at the second stage. With the assistance of the third stage Qi Building cultivator who is about to suppress that external elder from Jin Clan, you have no chance of winning!"

"Sixth."

Flash!

The forest of spiritual energy suddenly grew massive.

Kugugugugu!

"My lifetime of dedication to Understanding before Breakthrough…The teachings I have given my disciple...were never wrong!"

Countless trees combined to form a giant tree, reaching towards the sky.

"Disciple, I am an incapable master. Thus, I could neither do anything for you nor could I give you anything. But... the teachings I taught you, everything you've learned..."

Kuoooo!

Cloud dragons converged and roared towards the giant tree.

"That they were never wrong, that they were not meaningless... that's all I can show you.

Disciple... You and I.

We were never wrong."

Then, the giant tree began to move.

"Starting now, I'll prove it."

Kwagwagwagwa!

The branches of the giant tree extended.

Suddenly, thorny branches shot towards the sky, trapping the cloud dragons.

'Is this the principle of the Earthly Imprisonment Incantation? No, that's...'

I was shocked as I closely observed the giant tree.

It wasn’t just a mass of spiritual energy.

Hundreds, thousands, millions, even billions of incantations and spells composed the giant tree.

Innumerable incantations and magical runes formed the giant tree.

And simultaneously, spells began to shoot from the giant tree.

Kwagwagwang!

A cascade of light surged.

Thousands of spells fired from the giant tree began to puncture holes in the sky.

The dark clouds tore apart, revealing the starry night sky.

"What is this..."

"Understanding before Breakthrough, Breakthrough followed by Understanding... Many talk about them as if they are equivalent... Breakthrough followed by Understanding sounds grand, but isn't it just a fancy way to describe relying on innate talent to easily ascend in realms?"

Makli Jun hastily employed spells and magical abilities.

Yin energy gathered, and rain began to fall.

But the giant tree radiated light.

My master, atop the giant tree, formed seals at an unseen speed and shouted,

"To reach ascendence through endless practice of incantations, spells, and hand seals. That, is Understanding before Breakthrough. Those who use spells relying solely on instinct, without any understanding. Compared to us who master all spells and ascend based on them, how can we be on the same level!!!"

The giant tree's spells clashed with the cloud dragon's magical abilities numerous times.

Each time, the air vibrated, and waves of spiritual energy swept through heaven and earth.

"When I ascend to a realm through Understanding before Breakthrough, I am confident to overpower anyone in the same realm!"

Each time the giant tree collided with the cloud dragon, the appearance of the giant tree began to change.

The tree gradually transformed into a human figure.

The wooden figure swung its arms.

The cloud dragon’s Yin energy descended from the sky.

Zzeeeong!

Whirlwinds howled, and the clouds formed circular ripples.

Makli Jun's cloud dragon was torn apart, and the wooden figure became more distinct.

The wooden figure, resembling Master's appearance, took the form of a towering giant.

Rooted deep in the earth, reaching towards the sky.

That, was Master.

Master was the giant tree.

Thump, thump...

Ah…It’s beautiful.

At the same time, I felt my heart strangely pounding.

The day I was to die.

The time of my death was approaching.

"Can't I live?"

I hadn't fully grasped what Master was showing me.

How could it be time to die already?

It felt so unfair.

"Heaven above, you gave me nothing, and yet, why do you so cruelly take my life away..."

Thump, thump...

I suddenly realized my heart was exhibiting abnormal symptoms.

"Heart attack...!"

Though my body was injured in battle, it still had plenty of vitality.

My internal organs were slightly damaged but not fatally.

I wondered how the heavens would take my life.

It seems like it would be a sudden death.

"Is this how it ends?"

I tried to focus on Master's battle as my vision blurred.

"Master, this unworthy disciple..."

I felt indignant.

Master was fighting so hard for me.

And what about me?

A mere decree of fate.

Was I to leave without fully receiving Master's final gift because of that?

Can humans truly not defy their fate?

'No, it can't be!'

What about cultivation?

What about the elixirs made by the Makli Clan?

'Can I defy my fate with such elixirs...?'

I refused to accept it.

Even if it meant dying, I wanted to imprint this scene in my memory.

My master's final battle!

I channeled spiritual power into my hand.

The power that Qi Building cultivators call Pure Spiritual Force.

I pressed my hand, filled with force, against my heart, forcibly pushing the force into it.

"Ughhh!"

It was excruciating!

My heart felt like it was about to burst!

Yet, stimulated by the energy, my heart started beating again.

Thump, thump, thump...

"Heavens above, what will you do now? My heart beats again!"

I wouldn't die just yet!

Kugugugugu!

Suddenly, a tree behind me broke and fell towards me.

"Ugh..!"

Ignoring the pain in my heart, I rolled away, narrowly avoiding the tree.

Crash!

"...!"

As I touched the ground, a venomous snake emerged from a hole and bit my fingertips.

A powerful poison, judging by the snake's pattern.

"Is it fated that a dying man must die?"

Nonsense.

I won't die like this!

Shiiiek!

I manipulated my internal energy to expel the venom infiltrating my bloodstream, expelling it through my fingertips.

Thump, thump, thump!

And when heavens above couldn't kill me in several ways,

It stopped my heart again.

But I kept stimulating it with energy.

"My heart... will not obey..!"

Without the painful stimulation of energy, my heart would stop instantly.

But!

"Now is the time!"

Thump!

My heart beats.

On this day, at this time, at this moment!

I was supposed to be dead!

But!

"I am... alive!"

Forcibly stimulating my heart with energy!

Though I would die when my spiritual power is exhausted...

I am still, still alive for now.

"Heavens above... I am alive. Though I may die soon... I will embrace this moment!"

Despite the excruciating pain, I continued to watch Master's battle.

The giant tree increasingly resembled Master.

Finally.

Flash!

The tree completely transformed into Master's image.

"My formation is complete."

My giant tree akin master began to form seals.

Paaah!

The master-like tree, disproportionate in size, also formed seals at an astonishing speed.

Just like Master's usual speed.

Around the wooden giant, even larger spells began to appear.

"What, what is this... It's not over...!"

Kugugugugu!

Again, thousands of spells.

This time in an enlarged state, headed towards Makli Jun.

The cloud dragon he released was barely a match for the basic spells used by the wooden giant.

There was more.

Bright light flashed, and a formation diagram spread around the master resembling wooden giant.

The nearby mountain range fell within its influence.

"Isn’t..Isn’t this the formation range of a Core Formation cultivator…?!"

"Activate!"

As Master formed a seal, so did the wooden giant.

Simultaneously, sprouts around it grew into trees.

Then, the trees combined, soaring into the sky.

The giant tree pierced the clouds.

"Disperse!"

With the massive force from the giant tree, it seemed to tear apart Makli Jun's dark clouds in a circular motion.

The beautiful starry night sky, hidden behind the clouds, was revealed.

"Conclude!"

Simultaneously, buds sprouted, flowers bloomed, and fruits formed on the ends of the branches of the giant tree.

The fruits shone like stars.

The little sprouts that had grown from the earth now shone like stars in the sky.

"Go!"

The fruits fell.

I knew.

Each of these fruits was a concentration of uncountable spells!

"Aah, aahhh..."

Makli Jun, with a stunned expression, watched the shower of fruits falling toward him, uttering incoherent sounds.

Kwagwagwang!!

A storm of light swept over.

A massive spherical explosion occurred, and that was the end.

Inside the explosion, there was no trace of Makli Jun, not even his clothes or belongings.

"Go!"

However, that wasn't the end.

The remaining fruits, floating gently, flew towards the late Qi Building cultivator of the Makli clan, who was fighting in the distance.

"What, what...!"

Kwaaaaang!

As Makli Goon made a gesture, a massive wave of green water rose, seemingly blocking the fruits.

But seizing the opportunity, Kim Young-hoon, who had flown towards him, unleashed a barrage of Gang Spheres.

"Ah, no..."

In an instant.

Kim Young-hoon's strand of Gang Qi pierced Makli Goon's heart, causing him to fall to the ground.

A few remaining fruits also fell towards where he lay.

Kwaaaaang!

Another massive explosion enveloped the area.

Thump, thump...

As Master's spell-formed body, towering high into the sky, began to crumble.

Thump, thump...

Simultaneously, I realized my spiritual power was nearly depleted.

"Just a little more... just a bit more..."

I had to bid farewell to Master.

Converting all my internal and spiritual energy into force, I forced my heart to keep beating.

My meridians tangled, and my body was in shambles, but even as I coughed up blood, I greeted Master.

Returning to the ground, Master looked pale.

"...I may have overexerted myself a bit. But I have shown you everything."

I saw his complexion and asked.

"You've depleted your vital energy."

"Hmph! I could have defeated that guy in a war of attrition, drying up his blood. Using the Wooden Man technique to its completion and then attempting a second transformation would have been enough to win comfortably. I only ended it quickly because it seems like you couldn't hold on much longer."

"Haha... Thank you, Master."

"......"

Thump, thump...

"...My disciple, you are my pride. The scions of the clan came to me for teachings, but not one of them could withstand my harsh words and critiques.

But you... you stubbornly stayed until the end and received all the teachings of my Understanding before Breakthrough..."

Master walked over to me, held my shoulder, and placed a hand on my forehead.

"This is all I can do for you. All I can give you is the knowledge you couldn't learn..."

Wooong!

Knowledge started flowing into my mind.

A technique to directly infuse knowledge into consciousness.

I received the spells Master just used and the Qi Building techniques he had mastered.

"It may seem useless to a disciple about to die... but this is my heart. If it's not a burden, take it."

"...Master's grace."

I smiled, stood up, and faced the dawn.

In the background, daybreak was coloring the sky.

Despite forcing my heart to beat, I survived a whole day longer than my fated lifespan!

However, this seem to be the end.

My internal and spiritual energy were all depleted.

This was it.

The morning sun shone over the mountains.

Thump...

Now truly the end.

'But as a disciple, I cannot end it like this.'

If I only receive from Master without even expressing gratitude, how can I be a true disciple!

Boom!

My internal energy was completely exhausted, but I punched my chest fiercely.

My chest bore the imprint of my fist.

With my punches, my heart was forced to beat again.

Boom, boom, boom!

'If I'm going to die, let it be more painful.'

Master, realizing what I was doing, trembled his lips, made a decision, and sat down in a meditative posture.

I prostrated before Master, who was sitting cross-legged.

Once, twice, thrice...

My heart stopped again, but I kept beating my chest to force it to beat.

Four, five, six times...

Drip, drip...

Why was it still dark blue around me even though the dark clouds had cleared?

Why was it still raining?

'Ah, it's not dark clouds.'

It was Master's sorrow and tears.

Seven, eight, nine times…

I performed the nine prostrations.

The nine prostrations are not simply bowing nine times to one’s master. They represent nine different ways of prostrating.

A tradition that originated in martial arts and became distorted.

But even if the tradition was distorted, it was insufficient to express my feelings.

What's important in a ritual is not its origin, but whether it suffices to express one's heart.

For the last time, once more.

After offering ten prostrations, I addressed Master with a hoarse voice.

"I have received immeasurable grace from Master. Thank you, and farewell."

"Go on then. Farewell."

Tears fell.

I thought they were from Master's face, but they were falling from my eyes as well.

"Rest, my beloved disciple."

With those final words, I closed my eyes.

As dawn painted the sky,

A master, having received his disciple's prostrations, shed tears over the now cold body of his disciple.

"You were the giant tree in my heart."

Initially, a bothersome little sprout,

But as ten, twenty years passed,

The sprout grew into a tree.

Growing and growing,

Becoming an irreplaceable giant tree,

A pillar supporting the heart of Cheongmun Ryeong.

But now, that giant tree was no more.

"Rest in peace."

A disciple who has strived all his life.

Cheongmun Ryeong wished for his disciple's posthumous peace, laying the body that had died while prostrating properly.

Cheongmun Ryeong took a seed from his pouch and placed it on the disciple's chest.

As he infused wood element spiritual energy into it, the seed began to react.

Paaah!

Kugugugugu!

The seed sprouted rapidly, covering the disciple's body, growing into a giant tree.

Soon, the tree grew so large that it surpassed any in the nearby forest, and only then did Cheongmun Ryeong withdraw his hand.

The tree was a quince tree.

Cheongmun Ryeong, caressing the tree that resembled his disciple, spoke.

"I will not forget you."

Whoosh!

As if the soul of Seo Eun-hyun was ascending, a strong wind blew from the base of the quince tree up into the heavens.

Cheongmun Ryeong looked up through the branches of the quince tree into the sky.

This was Seo Eun-hyun's seventh return.