Chapter 2
Connection (2)
Dawn light began to spread in the east.
Flash.
“Huh?!”
Kang Yong-un, who had been snoring away in a deep sleep all night, suddenly opened his eyes and shot up like a spring.
“I fell asleep? Me? In the middle of training?”
He was dumbfounded.
After working himself up with so much anticipation, he had started his training—only to nod off without even realizing it.
“No… wait.”
A faint voice surfaced in his mind, as if carried by an echo.
[Heh heh heh. Child. Do not forget…]
Dream or reality, he could have sworn he heard that voice.
“Something definitely happened to me. But what?”
Did he fail his training?
Had he just collapsed in sleep and wasted the night?
Yong-un hurriedly turned his focus inward, probing his dantian to check for changes.
“Phew… the same?”
All he could sense was his pitifully small amount of inner energy.
At best, he might be considered just barely out of the third-rate level, scraping into second-rate.
And yet…
“This feels… strange.”
It was the same, but not quite the same.
The sensation was unfamiliar, oddly refreshing.
“Has my inner power… always been this clear?”
His qi was pristine, crystalline.
Like scooping up a piece of the autumn sky and planting it in his core.
“It’s as if the murky, stagnant water has turned into a spring hidden deep in the mountains.”
Yes, that was exactly it.
He had no idea why.
“My body feels so light… like it could float away. Why?”
This wasn’t something possible with the meager qi of a barely second-rate martial artist.
“Then something must have happened before I drifted off…”
But what exactly?
And that mysterious voice echoing through his mind—what was it?
“…Forget it.”
Yong-un shook his head and blew out the frustration.
“I’ll find out when the time comes.”
The important thing now was this:
Be prepared.
“I need to recover the missing half of the Great Heavenly Divine Art—or, failing that, master another martial art to at least complete my body.”
Apart from that strange voice, he couldn’t remember anything that had happened the previous night.
But his instincts screamed that he had been in real danger during his training.
“The term qi deviation doesn’t exist for nothing.”
Rebuilding his clan—that immense burden rested on his shoulders.
He couldn’t afford to die meaninglessly.
“For now, I’ll just maintain the Great Heavenly Divine Art as it is. The priority is filling in the missing half, starting by strengthening this weak body.”
His flesh was far too feeble, a poor vessel to contain the heavens.
“I’ll need to find time to visit the bookshops.”
A fresh start.
Whenever he had free time, he would pore over martial manuals.
If he couldn’t yet solve his clan’s lost legacy, at least he could create a martial art strong enough to perfect his body.
“Even basic manuals will do—as long as I can extract the essence, like the Three Talent Mental Technique or Three Talent Swordplay.”
That was the reason he had come here—to trace his grandfather’s footsteps, recover the missing latter half of the Great Heavenly Divine Art, and complete his own martial way.
“I have to refine the best parts of each technique and rebirth them into something entirely my own.”
That was the supreme art—the Ultimate Method.
He had already finished about seventy percent of it.
With a bit more effort, and some luck, he could complete it.
“And once that happens, I’ll finally be free from the shackles of the Three Talent Sword and Mental Techniques.”
That day would come.
Without fail.
The rising sun blazed across his face, as if blessing his resolve.
“All right, let’s begin the day with strength!”
Brimming with hope, Kang Yong-un leapt to his feet—
—and at that exact moment, a foul stench invaded his nose.
“Ugh! What the hell is this smell?!”
He froze.
Something sticky clung to his entire body, reeking terribly.
“Damn it… what is this?”
Why was his body smeared with this foul filth?
“What the hell is this gunk…?”
He gagged from the stench. “I need to get ready for work… but this smell—ugh!”
Morning had come, and for now, he had to fulfill his duties as a tavern errand boy.
He needed money—both to trace his grandfather’s legacy and to cultivate his own martial arts.
“To hell with it. I’ll just wash up first. This smell is unbearable.”
He stripped off his clothes and dashed to the small washroom in the back.
***
An hour later,
Having finished preparations for the day’s business, Yong-un was tidying up when the mistress of Cheonhwa House, the proprietress herself, walked past.
“—?!”
Yong-un’s eyes widened. He froze on the spot, staring blankly at her abdomen.
‘What… is that?’
Something incomprehensible appeared before his eyes.
‘There’s… red energy gathered around her lower stomach!’
He wasn’t mistaken.
Faint, but unmistakable—the glow of red qi, visible even through her clothes, and in considerable volume.
‘Could that be… inner power?’
It was in the dantian region. It had to be.
His intuition screamed it was qi, pure and simple.
‘So… she’s trained in martial arts?’
He had always thought of her as a delicate, frail woman.
But within her, at her core, was a force so powerful it was visible at a glance.
‘But why can I suddenly see it?’
More than the fact that she possessed qi, what baffled him was how he could see it with his eyes.
‘What on earth happened to me last night?!’
While Yong-un reeled in confusion, the mistress too was startled.
‘What is this boy…?’
The errand boy, Kang Yong-un.
Barely two months at Cheonhwa House, a twenty-year-old greenhorn.
‘Until yesterday, wasn’t he utterly ordinary?’
Plain, unremarkable.
In an actual fight, he would have fared worse than a third-rate street thug. Even the cheap iron sword he carried when he first arrived proved as much.
‘And yet now…’
Now he gleamed—like a jewel, shining brilliantly.
A crane among chickens.
That phrase fit him perfectly.
If her eyes were not mistaken, he was someone who would stand out in any crowd.
‘Why didn’t I see it before?’
It baffled her.
Why had she failed to notice someone so radiant until now?
‘Well… I had thought to recruit him into our fold next year, since he had good bones and a gentle nature… but—’
An orphan, wasn’t he?
All the better.
‘No matter. Better late than never.’
It was settled.
She would accelerate her plans. After informing the sect headquarters, she would take him in as a full disciple of the Hao Sect.
While Mistress Ye Ryeong-hwa of Cheonhwa House entertained such thoughts, Yong-un made his own decision.
‘No. I need to set aside time today.’
He had to revisit what had happened that morning.
Simply maintaining the Great Heavenly Divine Art without delving deeper would not resolve this.
‘If something’s gone wrong, I need to know before it’s too late.’
Better safe than sorry.
“Madam!”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry, but… may I take the day off?”
“Why is that?”
Normally, she would have brusquely told him to ask the steward.
But without realizing it, her voice turned unusually kind.
“Is something the matter?”
“My head hurts terribly… I think I’ve caught a summer cold.”
“Oh, dear!”
Her response was gentle, eager not to cause him the slightest discomfort.
“You’ve been working hard lately, no wonder you’re exhausted.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
“Ho ho ho, you’ve been too diligent. Sometimes you must learn to pace yourself.”
“P-pace myself?”
“Go on, rest. I’ll explain everything to the steward.”
“Thank you, madam.”
As he turned to leave, her voice rang out warmly behind him:
“I’ll have the kitchen prepare something—don’t skip your meals, all right?”
Her care was almost stifling.
‘Why is everything so strange today?’
He had planned to leave Cheonhwa House at the end of the month and resume his wandering, but somehow… it didn’t seem so simple anymore.
Back in his room, Yong-un immediately sat cross-legged.
“Phew… let’s take a closer look.”
He calmed his breath and half-closed his eyes.
‘This morning I barely skimmed the surface. I was too distracted preparing for work.’
Now he carefully roused the Great Heavenly Divine Art, moving his qi with caution.
Instinct warned him to be careful.
Last night, he had been in real danger.
And yet—
‘Wow… so refreshing.’
His meridians were clear, his qi flowing crisp and smooth.
It was hard to believe he had ever been in danger.
‘There’s no blockage at all…’
Each channel was like a mighty river, flowing freely. Even with his limited power, he felt as though he could do anything.
‘Then why did my instincts insist last night was dangerous?’
And why had the mistress’s dantian and qi been visible to his eyes?
He murmured the familiar incantation of the Great Heavenly Divine Art.
“In accord with Heaven, by mandate of Heaven…”
Bzzzz—!
A sharp vibration pierced his brow, the same as when circulating qi at full force.
[Ah, brat. You’ve finally come back.]
[We’ve been waiting for you!]
[What took you so long, eh?]
Voices—unknown, yet resounding—filled his mind.
‘W-what?!’
He was shocked.
But then, he recalled the faint voice lingering in his dream.
Heh heh heh. Child. Do not forget…
‘No… this isn’t the same voice.’
The tone was different.
But there was no hostility. If anything, there was warmth—like voices filled with affection.
[Ah, the resonance—it feels so good to see the world through it again.]
[Of course! Looking from the highest heavens is nothing like seeing with our own eyes.]
[Hey, the light of Resonance has returned! Everyone, come quick!]
[Oh? Really? Has the newcomer begun training?]
[Not exactly. But he stirred his qi through the Sky Channel, and the light flared again.]
[No telling how long it will last—hurry!]
The voices were warm, but their words left him utterly lost.
Resonance? Light returning? Who are they calling to?
But then—
One word jolted his eyes wide open.
‘Sky Channel…?’
The sky beyond the heavens?
That mythical realm said to be reached only by those who shattered mortal limits and transcended reincarnation itself?
‘You mean… I… opened the Sky Channel?’
With only half of the Great Heavenly Divine Art?
[Wahaha! Kid! If you’re not going to train, at least stop rotting indoors—get out there and look around!]
[Yeah! It’s been ages. Let’s see the world again through Resonance! Ha ha ha!]
[What are you waiting for, brat? Can’t you hear us?]
*[Ha! The fool can clearly hear, but look at him just sitting there!]
Their demands rained down on him.
At last, Yong-un couldn’t hold back.
“Um…”
He spoke carefully.
Without realizing it, his qi, stirred by the incantation, carried his words into the unseen.
“Elders? Who… who are you?”
