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Chapter 1
A lone orphan.
He worked day and night, buying martial arts manuals off the streets, one by one.
Heaven gave Cheong-un talent, but took away everything else that could allow it to bloom.
Starting his training at a late age, he shone all the brighter, able to grow stronger faster than anyone else.
But the accident that shattered his dantian (energy center) took away his life’s possibilities.
With his extraordinary talent, he succeeded in creating martial arts he could use himself—but that was all.
A broken dantian doesn’t heal by itself.
He never forgot what he had once seen. He could understand it as if he had seen it many times.
Yet, the moment his dantian broke, it became a curse instead.
A curse that came close to omniscience, but could never reach omnipotence.
In the end, he had wanted to finish as a martial artist, but before the great tide of the righteous-and-demonic war, a grain of sand could become nothing.
It wasn’t a great attack—he just got caught up in a battle between the titans of the demonic sects and the righteous factions and died.
How unfair life could be.
As his consciousness drifted away and his vision blurred, Cheong-un felt even the pain becoming familiar.
Then, a voice came.
“If you could be reborn, what would you want the most?”
Or… was it? Not someone else’s voice, but his own?
It didn’t really matter.
He knew answering was meaningless, but Cheong-un, staring at the blood-tinted sky and clouds, spoke softly, contrary to his name:
“…A wealthy home.”
A wealthy home.
Not just any home, but one that had everything, and if it didn’t, could have anything.
Perhaps “family” would be a more fitting word.
This was Cheong-un’s last wish.
Just a wealthy home.
He felt someone stepping over his body.
They were probably people in situations similar to his, participating in the righteous-and-demonic war.
The footsteps of those who had long since lost comradeship seemed to stir his fading consciousness, but by now he had already lost too much blood.
Sigh…
So peaceful.
If he had known it would feel like this, he might have let go of everything sooner.
“….”
Though his consciousness had drifted far away and he no longer felt his body,
the realm beyond death was something no one had ever experienced, and Cheong-un felt a twinge of curiosity.
Is this what awaits beyond death?
There’s nothing here.
He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn’t open properly.
“Why isn’t our young master crying?”
A strange voice.
One he had never heard before.
“…I’m sorry, young master!”
Who was apologizing to whom?
Before he could even think, his buttocks burned.
“Waaah! Waaaah!!”
The apology had been directed at him.
Before he could comprehend anything, Cheong-un lost consciousness.
After that, he seemed to fall into a deep sleep.
Finally, when he was able to open his eyes, his mind returned as well.
He’s… become a child.
Strangely, it wasn’t surprising.
Adapting wasn’t difficult either.
When a person dies, they simply become someone else and are reborn.
That’s all he thought.
However, Cheong-un suspected a problem: what if he retained memories of his past life?
He could only speculate.
He didn’t long for his previous life, nor did he want to remember it.
He would have preferred to erase the memories completely, but the knowledge he had gained wandering from place to place might come in handy someday.
“Son, you need to eat, right?”
The only difficulty now was that, with his old consciousness intact, he still had to nurse.
“Madam, it’s time.”
“Already? Wait a moment. Cheong-un should eat first.”
It was the first time this had happened since regaining consciousness.
Curious, he closed his eyes and finished his meal, then followed the maids who guided him to meet his mother.
There, he saw a man who must have been his father and three elderly men.
“Oh… that child…”
“Though a newborn, his eyes are so alive.”
“Thank you. Hearing that from elders makes it even more delightful.”
What was this?
He didn’t fully understand, but these elders were far from ordinary.
“Now, let’s lay him down here.”
Alone, Cheong-un looked at the elders and his father with bright, alert eyes.
“Let’s begin.”
The elders exchanged glances, then extended their hands and began manipulating internal energy.
The energy flowed in.
This is… Beolmose-su?
Beolmose-su, said to optimize the body for martial arts.
He had never dreamed of this before, yet here it was, beginning already.
“Hmm?”
“Oh-ho…”
“Ah, what is this…”
The elders’ faces were filled with intense interest, almost obsessive.
They had never seen such clean and expansive qi and blood channels.
No impurities could be felt, even though newborns naturally accumulate some energy just by breathing.
“What is happening…?”
“Hehe, nothing at all.”
“You needn’t worry, master.”
Even the masters capable of Beolmose-su deferred slightly to Cheong-un’s father.
He didn’t know much about his father yet, but what kind of person could he be?
The manor is so vast it seems endless…
The heights of the estate and the gold decorations suggested it was no ordinary family.
“Master, there seems no need for Beolmose-su at the moment.”
“Indeed. Timing is key in all things. When the time comes, you may receive it again.”
“Is that so? Hehe…”
A smile that carried both worry and joy.
After ten years, seeing his son’s considerable talent must be the source of happiness.
“Feed him nourishing things. But balance yin and yang.”
“Please advise us.”
“First…”
The elders began listing various herbs and elixirs.
Though Cheong-un knew little, he recognized some names like the ten-thousand-year snow ginseng.
One of two things, I guess…
Either they practiced medicine or made poisons.
In any case, elixirs—before, he hadn’t even had proper meals.
“Thank you. I will not forget this kindness.”
“Hehe, we’ve hardly done anything, no need for thanks.”
“Yes. Being connected so closely to the master of Cheong-un’s family is enough to satisfy me.”
Cheong-un family?
He had heard of it before he died.
It was a place no one didn’t know of.
Half the wealth of the vast lands was said to be in their hands.
And surprisingly, that wasn’t entirely untrue.
The “Cheon” in Cheong-un family isn’t “thousand (千)”, it’s “heaven (天).”
“Does our eldest son have martial talent…?”
“Dear, is it over?”
“Yes. Our Cheong-un has a very clean body.”
“It’s because we feed him only good things.”
“Haha. The body follows the heart. Your proper heart has shaped Cheong-un so.”
It was remarkable.
A loving couple.
The memory of the father who had killed his mother and tried to kill Cheong-un flitted briefly, then was gone.
No vengeance stirred.
He had heard the story: lived miserably, died miserably.
“Look at Cheong-un’s expression. He resembles you.”
“Hahaha. He seems to have calm, deep eyes.”
Receiving the first smiles from parents, Cheong-un smiled slightly in return.
“Oh! Cheong-un!”
“He seems to understand our words.”
Such pride made him feel good just by receiving it.
From that day, Cheong-un received constant attention and love.
From bitter medicines brewed from rare herbs to Beolmose-su treatments delayed by the elders.
Tasks that would be hard for ordinary children were effortless for Cheong-un.
Every moment was happiness.
An environment where the effort that once nearly killed him could be utilized far more efficiently.
Combined with his parents’ unconditional love.
His previous life left him with nothing but his body.
Now, he had so much more.
If you have much…
You also have many enemies.
And this is the Cheong-un family.
Ten years of effort to produce a single son.
That son was to lead the Cheong-un family.
Having lived one life, Cheong-un understood how hard it was to protect something.
So he would reach a level beyond anyone’s reach. In every way.
To do so, forming his dantian was crucial.
At his age, forming it now meant he could accumulate the power of the precious herbs he was eating.
Hoo…
Time was limited.
His father was busy, rarely around, and his mother wanted him by her side constantly.
Only after his mother slept, when disputes were quiet, was training possible.
Focus.
Here, he was confident.
He remembered the effort it had taken to form a single dantian.
Even during his parents’ training, Cheong-un stuck close.
The Cheonui Simgong (Heaven’s Will Mind Technique), the secret martial method of the Cheong-un family.
Even the name was arrogant.
The will of heaven, indeed.
Cheong-un had seen nothing in the world more remarkable than this mind technique.
The key was extending a single breath to a full moment.
Impossible? Cheong-un thought nothing was impossible.
He started with shorter breaths and gradually lengthened them.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t succeed today. Even the effort itself was part of the training.
Inhaling without relaxing, he naturally gathered internal energy in the dantian.
Not easy—extremely difficult.
Typically, steady and comfortable breathing was necessary for proper energy control.
Training that began at Zi hour (11 pm–1 am) ended only at Yin hour (3–5 am).
Though his dantian was only half-formed, the result of his first session was excellent.
No need to rush. He had started years ahead of others.
Three years passed.
Cheong-un trained daily without fail, and finally formed a dantian the size of a fingernail.
“Hah, such pure and gentle internal energy…”
Untouched by impurities. The occasional Beolmose-su treatments helped immensely.
At only five years old, he succeeded in forming a dantian.
By now, he also knew the basic layout of the Cheong-un estate.
Still too young to go far, he had counted everyone present.
“Young master– are you awake?”
Sowoon, his personal maid, spoke.
He had been caught once before but had faked sleep to avoid trouble.
“Yes. Come in.”
He had grown accustomed to children’s speech, so it flowed naturally.
“You always wake up before everyone, young master?”
“Yes. Today, I think I came a bit early.”
“Right! Today’s an important day. You heard about it before, right?”
“Yes. I did.”
The day to meet the previous master of Cheong-un family.
The grandfather who had turned the ordinary Cheong-un estate into its current glory, a historical figure.
“You’ve never met the previous master, right?”
“Yes. What kind of person is he?”
“…An incredible person. Practically greater than the former emperor…”
Remarkable stories flowed endlessly.
Names he had only heard, glimpses from afar, today he would meet not as a distant observer, but as the heir to lead the Cheong-un family.
