Ким захирал бол тулааны суут ухаантан (2)

Achieving mastery in martial arts means fully embodying the true essence of those arts.

Depending on a martial artist's skill, applying the essence of martial arts in real combat earns them recognition as a formidable warrior.

Even if it's a third-rate martial art from the streets, understanding and embodying its essence can elevate one to the status of a second-rate martial artist.

Naturally, as one practices higher-level martial arts, the essence embedded in each move requires the enlightenment equivalent to several third-rate arts, making it a hallmark of first or second-rate martial arts

The Demon Slaying Sect was one of those sects with high-level martial arts, a well-established sect in the city of Seokyung.

And,

Someone had mastered their martial arts in just seven months.

Swoosh, swoosh!

Kim Young-hoon's blade sliced through the air.

Absolute Dragon Saber Technique (絶龍刀法) of the Demon Slaying Sect.A blade technique reputed to even cut down flying dragons. It was a foundation martial art for inner disciples of the Demon Slaying Sect.

Of course, being a foundation art for inner disciples meant it was on a different level than common third-rate martial arts, equivalent to second-rate martial arts.

Despite being called 'second-rate,' these martial arts were far from weak.

As a fundamental art taught to the inner disciples of a large sect, its ferocity was formidable.

Mastering its true essence meant,

"...He's reached first-rate."

Kim Young-hoon had just managed to achieve the status of a first-rate warrior.

I was astonished, watching him perform the blade technique.

First-rate.

The significance of that title was immense.

In any field, those labeled as 'first-rate' signify the masters of that industry.

Even within the martial world, a first-rate warrior holds positions like an elder or even hall master of a large sect.

For a small to mid-sized sect, they might even be the sect leader.

'To become first-rate in just half a year.'

Many warriors train rigorously and achieve enlightenment to barely reach this level.

But Kim Young-hoon, defying all norms, had boldly reached first-rate in just half a year.

'No wonder the Demon Slaying Sect is upside down.'

Rumor had it that the sect was in chaos because an outer disciple had achieved the skill level of an elder in just seven months, leading to suspicions of him being a spy from another sect.

Eventually, due to this, Kim Young-hoon, along with another suspected spy (me), was confined to our residence.

'I don't even know martial arts, why am I suspected of being a spy?'

But, of course, it made sense.

A middle-aged man with a bulging belly comes to learn martial arts, and after being taught, he becomes a first-rate expert in just half a year.

It's understandably suspicious since it defies all logic.

"Mr. Kim, aren't you worried?"

"Ha, what do you mean?"

"If they suspect us of being spies, aren't they likely to block our meridians or destroy our Dantian? It's not uncommon in these kinds of martial arts settings."

"That is true."

Buzz!

He swung his sword one last time and wiped off his sweat.

"But somehow, I feel like I can see the next 'barrier.' If I overcome it, I believe I'll reach the next level."

"..."

He's a monster.

How long has it been since you've become a first-class warrior, and you're already feeling the next level?

'After first-class is a peak master .'

From peak master, one can be the sect leader of a major sect, or a grand elder-level strength.

In Yanguo, this level is also called the Pinnacle Realm, and just being a peak master puts one in the fearsome position of being within the top 1000 in Yanguo.

In fact, within the martial arts world, there is hardly any discussion about a level beyond the peak. Thus, it’s essentially the final reach a martial artist can attain through their martial arts training.

'To think…Just mastering some high-level martial arts and in seven months, a peak master...'

My expectations were wrong.

With this momentum, the return of the world's greatest swordsman could be accelerated by not 30 years, but 50 years.

'No, 50 years might be too much, let's say 40 years.'

Such was the insane level of growth of Director Kim.

"Haha, if you're a first-class warrior, you might be treated as a spy, but once you surpass the wall into the peak, even if you're suspicious, they have to accept you. Besides, Seo Eun-hyun still has a ginseng root from what he dug up, right?"

He continued practicing his swordsmanship while talking.

Indeed, I had left a root of the yellow bamboo that I had dug up in Ascension Path .

The yellow bamboo root was prepared for when Director Kim grew enough, to increase his inner energy...

'It won't be long before I give it to him.'

By then, Director Kim's inner energy would also match that of a peak master.

"...But Director, your sword technique seems completely different from just before..."

"Haha, it's Hall Master Heo Baek’s sword technique. Was it the True Demon Slaying Sword Technique? I saw it once, unfolded it, and learned it. Now, I'm trying to adapt it into my swordsmanship."

''...''

'Truly a heavenly martial talent.'

It was truly terrifying.

Come to think of it, from the beginning, Director Kim had an unusual stamina for hiking and incredibly fast footwork when playing foot volleyball.

Whenever he did something physical at work, he always came in first, which was suspicious.

'Was this talent always there? Then, maybe our qualities and abilities weren't awakened in this world but were already present from our original world? Then, my regression ability too?'

It was a conjecture.

I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts that had risen in my mind.

Soon, seven days and nights passed.

Paat!

Director Kim had become a peak master.

"The [Wall] has been overcome."

"..."

I handed Director Kim the last 900-year-old yellow bamboo root, astonished.

"You have an unexpectedly incredible talent."

"I'm surprised myself. I never knew I had such a talent for martial arts... Maybe it was for this reason that I liked martial arts since I was young."

While exchanging such trivial jokes, Director Kim chewed and swallowed the yellow bamboo root I handed him, then began internal energy cultivation in a sitting posture.

Kuuuu...

Shortly after, three flowers of qi formed above Director Kim's head and scattered into his nose and mouth.

'That's Three Flowers Gather at the Summit (삼화취정)..'

Suaa...

Director Kim's eyes sparkled.

He stood up with a confident expression.

"Now, even the Hall Master is not so scary."

"..."

"By the way, when will this house arrest be lifted?"

He approached one of the elders who was supervising our house.

"Excuse me, when will this house arrest be lifted?"

"Until your suspicion of being a spy is cleared."

"Hmm... Alright then."

Three more days passed.

People from the sect came.

"Hear this! The hall master of the Demon Slaying Hall orders to sever ties with Yoon Young-hoon (Yoon because there is no Kim surname Yanguo), a spy from another sect trying to steal our martial arts, and cut the meridians of his limbs!"

"..."

Three elders from the Demon Slaying Hall surrounded Director Kim, and a second-class warrior, a law enforcer, approached me.

"Didn't I say I'm really not a spy? I'm just..."

"Shut up! Tie him up!"

"Hoo..."

What happened wasn't clear.

Just that Director Kim Young-hoon unsheathed his sword at a fast speed.

Shuk!

"Ahh... Aaaaah!"

One elder's wrist was slightly cut.

That elder won't be able to use that hand for life.

Director Kim held the sword with a gloomy face.

Unlike seven months ago, his body, now lean and filled with muscles, naturally assumed the posture of the sword stance he had practiced thousands, if not millions, of times.

‘'It was my first martial arts school...'’

‘'What on earth...!'’

The two startled elders rushed at him, but again, Kim's sword moved too fast for the eye to see, lightly slicing the wrists of the elders.

‘'Oh, oh...'’

Thud!

The guardian who was approaching me also panicked. As Kim quickly approached and delivered a wrist strike, the guardian collapsed unconscious.

‘'Ugh, aghhhh!'’

'’Damn! He's a peak master! Run away!'’

‘'Inform the Sect Leader!’'

Several disciples of the Demon Slaying Sect, who had come with their elders, panicked and ran away. Kim Young-hoon, with a stern face, spoke to me.

‘'Eun-hyun, I'm thinking of going to the Dragon Fighting Stronghold. What do you think?'’

‘'Dragon Fighting Stronghold, while being a faction of the unorthodox sect, isn't one known for great misdeeds. It's just a faction known for its strong martial spirit, so it doesn't seem bad.'’

‘'Ha ha ha, good. Then, you go ahead to the Dragon Fighting Stronghold. I'll follow after dealing with the elders of the Demon Slaying Sect and... the Sect Leader.'’

Kim Young-hoon and I left the house, going in opposite directions.

I hurriedly headed to the southern part of Seokyung City, where the Dragon Fighting Stronghold was located, and only reached there by evening.

‘'Seo Eun-hyun, why are you so late?'’

‘'Ha ha. You are just too fast, Director.'’

Kim Young-hoon had already arrived at the Dragon Fighting Stronghold faster than me.

I sighed softly as I looked at the bloodstains on his sword.

Director Kim, who used to be shocked by my violence, now carried a sword stained with blood.

Although it's for survival in this world, it is inevitable that we are changed by this world.

How nice it would be if we could return.

To our ordinary lives on Earth, not this martial world.

Suddenly, I felt the ability to return to the past was a rather useless gift.

'If I had to return... why not send me back to that time on Earth...'

It can't be helped since it's come to this.

Anyway, we have to live.

I smiled at Director Kim, his sword stained with blood.

'’I'm glad you're safe, Director.”

Ten years passed.

Kim Young-hoon, who had been betrayed by the Demon Slaying Sect, devoted himself to the Dragon Fighting Stronghold, and was appointed as an official elder of Dragon Fighting Stronghold.

Becoming an official elder, he collected even more advanced martial arts, and soon became a powerful warrior, surpassing even peak masters.

Now, he had earned the seat of one of the three great swordsmen of the world in just ten years.

However, in reality, he always concealed more than 40% of his abilities.

If he fully revealed his strength, he would become the unrivaled number one in the world, the foremost person in Yanguo, and I had no doubt about that.

Ignoring our age difference, I decided to address him as Hyung-nim.

He created a martial arts technique that suited me perfectly and taught it to me.

'’This is the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship (斷岳劍法). It's named for its intent of slicing even the giant mountain. If you master it, you too can become a peak master.'’

Along with the sword technique, he also created Dragon Vein Qi Method (龍脈氣功), an advanced internal energy method.

It was a first-class martial art, different from the simple third or second class ones.

The problem was...

'’But Eunhyeon. You are really... a bit dull.'’

My terrible martial talent.

Even though he, the greatest martial artist, personally created a technique suited for me and taught it in detail, I was still barely hanging onto third class even after a year.

'‘...I can't help it. Everyone has talents in different fields.'’

Over the past ten years, Kim Young-hoon practiced martial arts, and I studied medicine.

I studied acupuncture points, acupuncture methods, and medical treatments in addition to the herbal medicine I had learned earlier.

Thanks to this, I was able to set up an official medical hall and act as a doctor.

Maybe it was due to the herbal knowledge I had previously learned, I was able to progress much faster in the field of medicine than in martial arts.

'’By the way, aren't you going to marry?'’

‘'Well, I have to wait for the opportunity.'’

The rough atmosphere of Dragon Fighting Stronghold made marriage an undesirable option.

There were even young ladies who ran away pale-faced when they heard I worked in the medical hall of Dragon Fighting Stronghold.

‘'Ha ha ha, I might have to leave Dragon Fighting Stronghold for the sake of my brother's marriage.'’

‘'Are you really leaving because of me?'’

‘'Just joking. Rather, Dragon Fighting Stronghold feels too cramped.'’

Indeed. Having achieved the title of one of the three great swordsmen of the world within ten years and possessing the hidden strength of the number one in the world, his words made sense.

‘'I'm thinking of leaving Dragon Fighting Stronghold to establish a new organization. What do you think?'’

‘'A new organization?'’

‘'Yes, the Wulin Alliance (武林盟)! A group that will unite the many factions of Yanguo and mediate the complicated political situations. What do you think? Will you join me?'’

‘'Of course, I will. We are from the same hometown.'’

‘'That's right, people from the same hometown... We shouldn't part ways.'’

Thus, Kim Young-hoon and I, having been in this world for ten years, left Dragon Fighting Stronghold to establish the Wulin Alliance.

Kim Young-hoon left Dragon Fighting Stronghold and for two years, he traveled around Yanguo, challenging and breaking the signboards of major factions in each area.

In the third year.

He finally succeeded in taking down the signboards of all the factions.

He truly earned the title of the number one person in the world and established the Wulin Alliance with the fame of number one, uniting the factions of the martial world.

Naturally, he was the first leader of the Wulin Alliance, and I assisted him as the chief strategist.

Seven years passed after the establishment of the Wulin Alliance.

It had been twenty years since we landed in this world.

My martial arts skill had progressed from barely hanging onto third class to comfortably being at that level.

Although I had first-class inner energy due to consuming many medicinal herbs in my position as strategist, my actual skill was still just at the fringe of third class.

However, Kim Young-hoon was different.

Kuuuuu―

In the dark secret room.

I stood as Kim Young-hoon's protector, waiting for him to finish his energy circulation.

That's when it happened.

Woo-woong!

A light shone, and above his head, five circles of energy gathered.

After a while, the five spheres of energy were inhaled through his nose and mouth.

The realm of Five Energies Converging to the Origin!

Tuk, Wuduk tuk tuk!

Soon after, his body began to twist significantly, and his bones and flesh started to contort.

"That is..."

Wuduk Duk Duk!

His body transformed into an ideal form.

A complete transformation!

Paaaat!

For a moment, there's a bright light, and then a completely different person stood before me.

All wrinkles and white hair were gone, and the bald head had grown lush hair.

The owner of that vibrant body, brimming with vitality, was completely different from the person I knew.

"Hyung-nim...?"

"Ha, haha... Hahahaha!"

Kim Young-hoon, having undergone a complete transformation, seemed to have successfully rejuvenated.

Now, he looked much younger than even me.

"Truly the best! Look at you, brother! You seem to be brimming with vitality! It feels like you can do anything!"

"...Haha, you’ll probably get married before me, Hyun-nim."

That was true.

Ever since I was appointed as a chief strategist in the Wulin Alliance, I had been insanely busy, not even having the time for dating, let alone marriage.

"Hey, what are you talking about? Me, get married..."

But it seemed like he had no thoughts about marriage either.

"I've been married on Earth, and the first three years were good, but after that, it was really... No, I better not talk about it."

Kim Young-hoon was a married man who had been a director on Earth.

It seemed he had no intention of ever marrying again, even after becoming the number one person in the world, given his past experiences with his wife.

"But Hyung-nim, the world will be shocked to know you've undergone a complete transformation."

"Haha, indeed. But now, it's time to gradually pass on the leadership of the Wulin Alliance to the next leader..."

"There’s no one who meets your standards, Hyung-nim?"

"To be the leader of the Wulin Alliance, one must have a certain level of martial arts, but there isn’t a single person who understands the way of martial arts!"

"You're just too much of a genius, Hyung-nim. It's not that other people are stupid."

"Still..."

One year after Kim Young-hoon's complete transformation.

Hyung-nim passed on the position of the leader of the Wulin Alliance to the next generation.

I too wanted to retire with Hyung-nim, but since the second leader of the Wulin Alliance was facing difficulties in managing the alliance, I ended up being forced to continue to sit as the chief strategist.

And so, another 10 years passed.

It has been 30 years since I arrived in this world.

My age was now approaching sixty.

As for my martial arts skills, while my internal strength was abundant, my actual skill level had barely reached the very end of the third-rate."

The Wulin Alliance went through the second leader and reached the time of the third leader, and I finally managed to retire after frantically training a successor and passing the position to the second strategist.

After Kim Young-hoon retired from his position as the leader of the Wulin Alliance and travelled around Yanguo, often disappearing for months.

Because of this, he did not even attend my retirement ceremony.

I saw Kim Young-hoon's face again a year after retiring as a strategist.

I bought a manor in Seokyung City and was leisurely reading medical books there.

Trudge, trudge...

‘'What's this? Who's there... Ugh! Hyung-nim!’'

''...''

‘'Why do you look like a beggar? And why didn't you come to my retirement ceremony? Were you enjoying your travels around the world so much... Hyung-nim?'’

The man I saw after a long time was in a beggar's appearance, pale-faced, and had lost all his overwhelming self-confidence.

‘'What happened, Hyung-nim!'’

Thump!

He lay down on the floor of my manor, looking up at the sky, and spoke.

‘'Eun-hyun, I thought I was truly blessed with the talents of martial arts.'’

'’But you are a genius, aren't you?'’

‘'...Yes. I'm definitely a martial arts genius. There probably isn't a single person in Yanguo, no, among ordinary mortals, who can match my martial talents.'’

"Ordinary mortals? How is Hyung-nim an ordinary mortal? You are the number one in the world...'’

‘'I encountered cultivators. Don't you remember? Thirty years ago. Those monsters who flew in the sky and kidnapped our companions.'’

‘'...'’

I fell silent.

The cultivators.

Working as the chief strategist of the Wulin Alliance, I had met them a few times.

They were lurking in Yanguo's political and even royal circles, manipulating the entire country of Yanguo.

After the establishment of the Wulin Alliance to control the martial world, they wanted to get their hands on the Wulin Alliance as well.

Unwilling to oppose them, knowing that it would mean fighting the entire country of Yanguo, I agreed to join hands with them.

With their indirect support, we were able to significantly expand the power of the Wulin Alliance.

However, they demanded that martial artists should not be able to harm cultivators, and because of this decree, members of the Wulin Alliance never had the chance to confront them.

And,

After stepping down as the leader of the Wulin Alliance, Kim Young-hoon went in search of cultivators.

"Those cultivators are really hard to find. Even if I do manage to find one and try to engage them in combat, they use annoying techniques like illusions or flying to escape, preventing a proper fight.

But this time, I finally succeeded in facing them head on."

"So, did you win?"

"...I won."

"If you had said that during your time as the leader of the Wulin Alliance, I would have grabbed the back of my neck in disbelief."

Kim Young-hoon chuckled bitterly, sticking out his tongue.

"In a life-or-death struggle against a cultivator who had reached the stage of Qi Building, I barely managed to inflict a scratch on his fingertip... He said that even a mere touch on his body would count as my victory... so I guess it was a win, in a way."

"...Was this cultivator one of the ten greatest masters among the cultivators?"

"...No."

He got up and looked dejected.

"He said that the Qi Building stage is considered the second-lowest level in the cultivation world. For a martial artist, it's equivalent to a second-tier fighter."

"...What? That's unbelievable."

In both my past and present lives.

I knew that cultivators were formidable beings.

Above the martial artists, there existed these incredibly powerful cultivators.

But having seen his martial prowess for 30 years, I knew.

His martial arts truly reached the heavens!

Not just as a figure of speech. Kim Young-hoon could literally perform martial arts in the sky using levitation.

He could slice through solid iron as if it were tofu.

Yet, such a martial arts genius!

He only managed to scratch a cultivator who was at the second-lowest level in their hierarchy!

'I knew this world was like a xianxia novel.'

I knew about the genre of xianxia,

But I only knew it as a genre, not the details.

I called this world a xianxia-like world because of the existence of cultivators.

But I hadn't thought much about how strong they really were.

The monsters who kidnapped our colleagues 30 years ago, I had considered them as divine beings rather than cultivators.

"It's unbelievable that a human can be strong enough to toy with you, Hyung-nim."

"I thought so too. But, I was just a frog in the well... The cultivators we've seen lurking around in Yanguo are the lowest in the cultivation hierarchy. Those at the very bottom, ironically, meddle with the mundane world."

"..."

He sighed deeply.

"I will continue to confront these cultivators and I will create a martial art that can face them. I must...! I have the talent of a 'Heavenly Martial Artist' like no other in this world, after all!"

With that, Kim Young-hoon left, his eyes blazing with determination.

I was so shocked by his words that I didn't step outside for a while.

And from that day on, I began to investigate these cultivators with all my might.

Using my connections, I met with cultivators lurking within the Wulin Alliance, in politics, business, and even the royal family. Learning about their world and their ways.

The more I learned about cultivators, the more I realized that the extent of their realm was beyond my imagination.

Cultivators.

Unlike martial artists who focus on physical prowess and internal energy, their goal is to become immortals through cultivation.

Even the lowest cultivators were as strong as peak martial artists, meddling in various affairs.

As their cultivation level increased, they could control weather, natural disasters, and gradually become almost godlike.

Learning about these terrifying beings, I continued my martial arts training out of fear.

The dragon-like beings we saw 30 years ago.

They were not divine beings but humans who achieved such states through cultivation.

Even more unbelievable was that these beings are still struggling to ascend to higher realms, where even more terrifying beings exist.

However,

I was a witness to such unbelievable tales myself, so I couldn't simply dismiss it as a joke.

I knew my colleagues had become formidable beings, but I hadn't realized the extent.

They were becoming truly terrifying entities.

"Haha..."

The more I learned about cultivators, the more I realized how insignificant the power we had acquired was.

No matter how high our martial arts become, cultivators were monsters who could move mountains and alter landscapes.

No matter how many times I undergo regression,

I could never reach the level of a cultivator.

Cultivators require a 'spiritual root' to begin their journey, something those without it can never achieve.

'Regression might not end with this life, but I don't know.'

I just thought of it as another chance at life and lived my best.

Even if there's another life after this,

'We can never stand against cultivators...'

The more I interacted with cultivators and delved into ancient texts about them, the more powerless I felt.

Amidst the feelings of powerlessness and pressure, I continued to train in martial arts.

Swinging a sword with my aging body somehow cleared my mind a bit.

Thus, another 10 years passed.

"Sigh..."

As I performed the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship and regulated my breath, I had barely managed to reach the level of a second-tier martial artist.

Around that time, I encountered my changed brother again.

"Hyung-nim...?"

The man I met after a long time looked like a wild hermit, with long, unkempt hair and a bushy beard.

"It's been a while, Eun-hyun."

"Yes, it's been years since we last saw each other. We've only been in touch through letters... Did the information I sent about the cultivation world help you?"

"It did, somewhat."

"Were you able to develop a martial art to defeat the cultivators?"

"I've completed the martial art I had been conceptualizing."

"Wow...!"

I gasped in awe. If a martial arts genius like him said so, it meant his martial arts could definitely confront cultivators.

"Surely, your martial arts must have transcended the heavens..."

"No."

His face, however, bore an unusually somber look.

"My martial arts... can only go this far."

"What do you mean?"

"I've come to bid you farewell today."

"Hyung-nim?"

His face, once filled with pride and hope, was now completely shrouded in darkness.

"Today, I'm going to join a cultivation sect as a disciple. Probably starting from the very bottom. Haha..."

"No, what do you mean?"

"For the past 10 years, using information about cultivators, I sought them out, fought them, and developed martial arts to counter them. And then... I met a being known as a Core Formation Cultivator."

His story continued.

"After fighting him and unleashing all my insights, I managed to sever the Core Formation Cultivator's left hand. But he simply attached a talisman, and his hand regrew. Right after that, I was completely toyed with by him."

"..."

"He said that he admired my will and would accept me into his cultivation sect. After losing to him, I realized this is the limit of what martial arts can reach."

"..."

"Martial arts cannot take you any higher. Whether you practice for a hundred or a thousand years, it's all the same. So now, I've decided to become a cultivator and walk a new path."

Hearing his words, I felt my lips trembling.

There was so much I wanted to say, but nothing I could say.

Then, a rather foolish question escaped my lips.

"Isn't it impossible to become a cultivator without a spiritual root?"

"The Core Formation Cultivator said..."

To my foolish question, came a shocking reply.

"The stage of 'Five Energies Converging to the Origin' that martial artists achieve corresponds to the 'Five Elements Spiritual Root' that cultivators are born with. Precisely, when a mortal achieves the 'Five Energies Converging to the Origin' through martial arts, they awaken the spiritual root."

"Huh..."

"Qualities that cultivators are born with, mortals can only awaken through a lifetime of martial arts exploration."

He looked up at the sky with a bleak expression.

"I was a genius of martial arts, but only of martial arts."

After staring at the sky for a while, he got up.

"I must go now. To pursue a higher realm."

Having finished speaking, Young-hoon, my brother, vanished using a movement technique.

A book was left in his place.

I picked up the book he left behind with a dazed expression.

The title was ‘Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts.’ (越修窮武錄)

It was the martial art he developed while seeking out cultivators for the past decade.

As I read each page of his insights...

Frankly, to me, barely hanging on as a second-tier martial artist, it seemed like grasping at straws.

Yet, I could feel his emotions as he left this martial art, and his resolve to give up this path and become a cultivator.

The preface of the book contained his request to me.

"Junior brother Seo Eun-hyun, please pass on this martial art to future generations, making it a lifeline for them to survive in front of the natural disasters known as cultivators."

I read and reread his insights, engraving them in my mind.

Though I couldn't understand it no matter how many times I read it,

I did it to feel his last will.

"Hyung-nim... You left me behind, where are you going?"

At first, he was just my boss.

But over 40 years,

He had become my true brother.

From that day on, I continued my training even more diligently, desperately trying to understand even a bit of the knowledge he had left behind. However, my aging body gradually became weaker.

Over the years, I managed to reach the level of a second-tier martial artist, no longer just clinging to this rank by a thread. But from that point on, my body rapidly declined due to inevitable aging.

Coughing on my ornate bed, I thought, 'How ironic.'

It's been nearly 50 years since I came to this world. Similar to my past life, here I am lying in bed, dying of a similar illness. The only difference is the bed and the size of the house.

'It seems one's destiny cannot be changed.'

I'm going to die on the same day, from the same cause. As death draws near, I can feel it. This is fate.

No matter how hard a human being tries, they cannot escape their destiny. They can only comply.

Frantic struggles can make life a bit better, a bit more enjoyable. But one's innate fortune and destiny cannot be changed.

If being human means floundering between luck and destiny, then we can only gain something within that space.

Anything beyond that is unattainable.

'But was it really so?'

As I feel my life draining away, I slowly close my eyes.

I didn't want to feel the regrets of my past life. In this given time, I lived as hard as I could. But in retrospect, could I really not go beyond my destiny?

Sometimes, I wonder.

'Maybe if I had struggled a little more, pushed a little harder, I could have reached further...'

I spent a lifetime with Young-hoon Hyung-nim reaching the position of the chief strategist of the Wulin Alliance. I grasped all the wealth and honor one could feel in the human world.

Now, all that’s left is my impending death.

'Do I regret it?'

This life was not regrettable. In fact, it was more than fulfilling.

If there was one thing I regret...

'It’s regrettable that I couldn't do anything when someone trying to leap to greater heights faced an even greater wall.'

I am utterly ordinary, except for having undergone one cycle of return. In terms of martial arts, I'm rather untalented.

An ordinary person like me, next to someone blessed with heavenly talent, couldn’t witness him surpassing the heavens...

Yes.

Not seeing what lies beyond the heavens was my only...

Regret.

On a cold but not too chilly winter day, I lay in bed, wrapping up a persistent life where I did everything I could for 50 years.

That was my second return.