TOTMO 13

Chapter 13

It felt similar to that time.

To be precise, it was the exact moment from ten years ago.

Though I had trained myself to not remember, the memories from my previous life remained fully imprinted, as if engraved into my mind.

I didn’t force them to surface.

If I did, I felt I would face the same ending as back then.

Does thinking like this now mean I’ve already lost my mind?

What is happening to my body at this moment?

“If I’m curious… I need to see it myself.”

Hadn’t I always been like this?

I never easily believed anything I hadn’t seen or experienced firsthand.

Although I had Master Jang’s assistance, the battlefield where the energy of the elixir and Master Jang’s inner power clashed was none other than Cheongwoon’s body itself.

Thinking of the Great Purge of Demons taking place inside my own body, I suddenly felt a spark of clarity.

And Cheongwoon didn’t miss it.

This was a single, fleeting opportunity.

If I failed now, I would fall into demonic frenzy.

Swish!

It was a sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time.

The cold blade slicing through hot flesh.

As that sensation traveled along my fingertips, pain flared in my thigh.

Then, my previously dark vision brightened in an instant.

“W-what…?”

Even Master Jang, who had been assisting with my energy, was startled.

It’s more common than one might think for someone to lose consciousness from being unable to handle such enormous energy.

Usually, it’s caused by excessive greed, or by ordinary people who don’t understand their own limits.

Cheongwoon wasn’t like that, but the energy of the elixir itself was overwhelmingly vast.

A master like Jang could stabilize Cheongwoon’s energy even if he lost consciousness, preventing him from falling into demonic frenzy—but the effect would be significantly reduced.

“Does this mean having two minds at once?”

I could feel him attempting to control his inner power himself. The moment he lost consciousness, he drew the sword he had placed beside him from its sheath—and cut his own thigh.

“Focus.”

“Yes.”

Despite the intense pain, Cheongwoon refocused without making a sound.

The wound in his thigh could have disrupted his breathing, but it remained unusually steady.

It was the influence of Cheonyeo Simgong—a cultivation method that deliberately extends breathing, allowing stable respiration in any circumstance.

“Do not forget this process.”

There were various ways to absorb the elixir’s energy, but Master Jang’s method was truly aggressive, even reckless.

Normally, even if one ingested an elixir, it was nearly impossible to fully integrate its power into oneself.

But with Master Jang’s method, nearly all of it could be absorbed.

To put it nicely, it’s an aggressive approach; to put it harshly, it’s a blunt, almost foolish method.

One surrounds the dantian completely with inner power, and waits for the stimulated energy to descend into the dantian.

Then, one simultaneously seizes all of it, winning the tug-of-war of energy.

Only a master of Master Jang’s caliber could employ such a method.

If Cheongwoon had attempted it alone, his dantian might have shattered again.

“Phew… It’s my elixir, yet the quantity is enormous.”

Sweating, Master Jang immediately checked Cheongwoon’s state.

He had been silent for some time, appearing almost unconscious.

“The mental consolidation is also necessary.”

With that, his work was done.

Cheongwoon’s debt to the Kunlun Sect had been erased.

As the eldest son of the greatest merchant family, he would understand that better than anyone.

“I look forward to seeing you again, young dragon of Cheongeum Hall.”

Thunk. Something dropped beside Cheongwoon.

It wasn’t repayment of a debt, but a gift to be given before the young dragon matured enough to take it lightly.

It was a placard declaring he would always be treated as a distinguished guest of Kunlun.

After that, Master Jang returned to Kunlun immediately.

He had finished the immediate work, but there was still more to be done.

“The demonic sect bastards…”

His eyes now glimmered a sharp blue, fiercer than the elixir’s energy earlier.

Even after Master Jang left, Cheongwoon maintained the same posture for some time.

Day broke, then night fell again.

When the next day dawned, only then did he finally open his eyes.

“Cheongsong Elixir…”

It exceeded imagination.

Cheongwoon had consumed all the finest substances from Cheongeum Hall, yet even combined, they didn’t compare to a single Cheongsong Elixir.

“I understand now why Grandfather personally intervened.”

He came himself to obtain this elixir—now that made perfect sense.

“It’s a strange sensation.”

Peak? Not yet, of course.

Ascending from peak to ultra-peak is no simple feat.

The land is vast, and while it seems that many have achieved greatness, each of them was once hailed as a genius in their youth.

Among those geniuses, Master Jang was one of the most outstanding.

“I barely reached the beginning of the peak, and now I am a true master of the peak.”

A satisfying result.

For others, such a journey might take years, even decades.

He could feel his inner power flowing with far greater natural ease.

To reach such a peak at the age of ten?

Even Cheongwoon thought it ridiculous.

“Master…”

At that moment, Hyeokjeon’s voice was heard from outside.

He had been worried, unable to come out for a long time, unsure of what to do.

“Come in.”

“Master!”

Hyeokjeon entered immediately, pausing at the changed aura around Cheongwoon.

“What on earth happened? I had no sense of your condition all day, and didn’t know what to do.”

“The Kunlun Sect’s Master Jang gave me the Cheongsong Elixir.”

“The… Cheongsong Elixir?”

Such a precious elixir… only the most gifted in the Kunlun Sect would ever see it.

“Yes. Do you feel more like a peak martial artist now?”

Revealing his energy fully, without concealment, left Hyeokjeon speechless.

“Huh…”

“How long has passed?”

“A day and a half.”

“The return journey won’t be late then.”

“Shall we have a meal first?”

“Order as you see fit. The ones I said were delicious last time.”

“Yes, understood.”

Two days remained before the return journey.

That was more than enough.

It wasn’t as if he had unrealistically jumped from peak to ultra-peak.

Even if such a thing had occurred, with his current child body, he could not have controlled that power.

After sending Hyeokjeon away briefly, Cheongwoon slowly circulated his energy.

Every point of his meridians felt alive.

In truth, he had walked this path before.

Talent to invent new martial arts is exceedingly rare.

Founders, grandmasters—titles that would earn eternal reverence.

Cheongwoon had possessed that talent.

Had things gone differently back then, he might still be alive at the center of the Great Purge of Demons.

“This… feels entirely different from before.”

It was not merely a different level.

He even wondered if this was truly the peak.

Yet in terms of the quantity of inner power, it was undeniably mastery at the peak.

Even his current inner power would have been impossible without Cheongeum Hall’s endless wealth.

And now, he had absorbed the Cheongsong Elixir as well.

Phew…

He exhaled without inhaling again.

Maintaining a single breath was the essence of Cheonyeo Simgong.

But Cheongwoon was not satisfied there.

What is breathing?

It is not merely inhaling and exhaling.

Through breathing, one accumulates inner power in the dantian and brings stability to body and mind.

Extending this process required extreme focus.

Yet it felt effortless.

As he gradually exceeded the limits of a single breath, it felt as if he were breathing normally.

Then, inner power began rapidly accumulating in the dantian, and stabilizing.

“So this is it.”

Cheongwoon finally grasped the true nature of Cheonyeo Simgong.

Speculation and certainty were entirely different.

Perhaps no one else knew this secret—except the original creator of the technique.

By withholding breaths, one could fully realize the Cheonyeo Simgong.

“A matter of time.”

Earlier, Cheongwoon had been indifferent to time.

Time had been his ally.

Now, he wished for time to pass quickly.

“Master, the meal is ready.”

“Let’s go.”

Cheongwoon spent the remaining two days before returning very satisfactorily.

He could feel how his body had changed, and how efficiently he could now use his inner power.

For someone who always valued delicate inner power control, it felt like wings on a tiger’s back.

The return journey was quiet and calm.

Everyone had achieved their initial goals, and some had gained far more than expected.

Of course, Cheongwoon had gained more than he had anticipated.

Cheongeum Hall was unusually excited upon hearing the initial news.

They had received every report about how he had handled Hyeokdan’s disciples.

Thus, they waited for Cheongwoon’s return, but when he finally came back, no one could speak.

The reason was simple.

From departure to return…

He had changed so completely that he seemed an entirely different person.

From his aura to the energy he emitted.

“I’m back.”

Still, his tone remained curt.

It seemed only his personality had remained unchanged.

“Ha… I really don’t know what our grandson got up to.”

Cheongin could see how much Cheongwoon had changed.

“You’ve worked hard. You must be tired, so rest today. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Our son… grew up so much in such a short time?”

Pride shone in his father’s eyes.

About fifteen days passed since Cheongwoon returned.

He had fully adapted to his transformed body and energy, but this was far from the end.

Having consumed the Cheongsong Elixir, he needed more time before taking any other elixirs.

For now, his body remained coiled, waiting to bloom.

Within Cheongeum Hall’s vast, secure protection, he waited for the right moment.

Cheongwoon returned to his room, and the three received a separate report from Hyeokjeon.

They knew what had happened on the way, but that was no longer important.

It had already occurred, and they had witnessed it.

Above all, no one could ignore Cheongwoon’s clearly transformed energy.

“Yes. What happened?”

To the former master’s question, Hyeokjeon reported everything he had seen, step by step, without omission.

Everyone listened without interruption.