Chapter 80: Peak

“Master, so what’s the method?”

The training ground under the starlit moon.

I asked the old man, who was swaying here and there, reeking of alcohol.

Then Hwang Geolgae tapped my calf and told me to sit cross-legged.

“Whether you realize it or not, you already possess the muscles, bones, internal energy, and qualities befitting the Peak, gained through great and small enlightenments.”

He pointed toward the vast internal energy gathered near my dantian as he spoke.

It was true—I had experienced several moments of enlightenment during the turbulent Dragon-Phoenix Tournament.

On top of that, I even committed acts of virtue I normally would never have done, like “Love your enemy.”

Thanks to that, an immeasurable amount of virtuous energy was now surging within me.

“So now, only one thing remains. To grasp the method of freely controlling that immense qi. Once you resolve this, you will ascend as a Peak master.”

What blocked my path now wasn’t internal energy or physical foundation, but enlightenment in qi manipulation—in other words, I lacked the fundamentals of handling qi.

Hwang Geolgae believed this was a side effect of my unorthodox, shortcut-driven training methods rather than orthodox ones.

“See? This is what happens when you called ‘training’ nothing but beating me up every day.”

“Don’t interrupt. Do you want another beating?”

“…No, sir.”

When he raised his fist, I immediately tucked my head in like a turtle.

Despite my skull hardening from countless beatings, that flick of his always rattled my brain unbearably.

“Then what do I need to do to grasp qi manipulation?”

I had witnessed others scatter qi along with killing intent many times. I had even imitated similar martial arts after seeing them once.

But that was only thanks to the Heaven-Slaying Star’s talent, copying them without knowing the reasons or principles behind it.

Even the martial arts I currently practiced only told me to circulate qi through this or that acupoint—I merely followed the instructions.

“I shall show you the flow of qi myself.”

“How?”

Qi was something you could neither see, nor touch, nor hear.

“I will use True Qi Guidance to directly guide your energy.”

“…!”

He sat heavily behind me as I sat cross-legged, then placed his hand firmly on my back.

“You always refused before, saying you feared coming face to face with ‘that thing’ inside me.”

“Yes, and I still do, you brat.”

Hwang Geolgae shuddered as he said it.

Damn it. If he put it that way, how much more frightening was it for me—the one who actually harbored ‘that thing’ inside my body?

“Then why now? Last time you said it wasn’t possible.”

I turned my head slightly to ask.

“You’ve accumulated an amount of virtuous energy in this Dragon-Phoenix Tournament unlike anything before. That makes it worth attempting at least once, hehe.”

He stroked his beard and looked at me with an expression of genuine approval.

It seemed he had secretly been worried I’d just cause trouble, but was pleased with the results of my performance.

“Heaven may have decreed you punish the world, but I hope you rise above that fate and bring benefit to it instead.”

An indescribable aura of virtue flowed from the old man’s gaze and voice.

Though he usually acted like a useless drunkard, at times like this, Hwang Geolgae radiated the air of a true Daoist.

“Can you do it? If so, I too will take the risk.”

The fate of the Evil Star, trying to devour my mind?

Of course I had to rise above that.

“To hell with it—let’s do it.”

I met his eyes and nodded confidently.

Then he grinned and pressed a finger into the Divine Pivot Acupoint on my back.

Qi that was foreign yet all the clearer because of it began seeping into me through my meridians.

Soon, with the same nature of cultivation method, Hwang Geolgae’s qi slowly began to guide the energy pooled in my dantian.

Like a tranquil stream flowing along the riverbank, it began circulating through the Great Heavenly Cycle.

But then, as soon as the foreign qi invaded, the Heaven-Slaying Star sensed it and began to rampage.

A mass of blood-red murderous will surged throughout my body.

Chzzzt—!

「Raise the virtuous energy…!」

A transmission directly into my inner ear, as if my eardrums were being struck.

I began reciting the incantations of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method with all my strength. At once, energy swirled wildly through my meridians.

‘Seongnyeong Hoilche, Sujeon Gipase… Suchojeokjugaejin…!’

Embrace the stars of the heavens and illuminate the world.

Then the realm will be stabilized, and you will be freed.

Swaaah—!

The virtuous energy surged forward like a tidal wave against the Evil Star.

Boom—!

Immediately, pure-white qi and blood-red qi clashed violently within my body.

Jolt!

Shock and pain clouded my mind.

My body jerked upward as if it would fly away, but fortunately Hwang Geolgae pressed down on my shoulders.

Yet the hammering inside my body was far from over.

Boom—!

A second collision of opposing energies. White and crimson qi fought to devour each other within me.

“Ghhhk.”

Blood trickled from my tightly clenched lips, the price of the shock.

「Focus your mind!」

Though no lips moved, I heard Hwang Geolgae’s voice in my ears.

As I faltered, the old man urged me to gather my energy and strike again.

But easier said than done. My thoughts blurred under the overwhelming impact, consciousness teetering.

「When this old man beat you up, you spat curses and fought back!」

Damn, he was right.

Even when I was on the verge of collapsing, my body shattered and battered, my defiance had boiled up—I’d rolled on the ground, bitten, clawed, and struck back no matter what.

‘Daaamn it!’

I mustered my energy and hurled it once more into the battlefield within.

The white qi slammed fiercely against the crimson mass.

Boom—!

Again, my body tried to spring upward, only to be pinned down by Hwang Geolgae.

My consciousness nearly slipped away, but I bit my lip until blood flowed to hold on.

「Once more!」

Pain that could not kill me would only make me stronger.

I clenched my fist so tightly that blood seeped out and once more hurled my energy upward.

Boom—!

“Khk!”

Blood burst through the gap of my lips. My whole body felt as if it were boiling over.

But it bore fruit. That strike, which wielded immense virtuous energy like a hammer, shattered the crimson mass of the Heaven-Slaying Star’s energy.

Then, as though a blocked meridian had burst open, the virtuous energy surged toward my upper dantian with unstoppable force.

I pushed the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method to its limits, extinguishing demonic energy while nourishing the stars’ qi.

The fierce white energy struck the star embedded in my head—the Heaven-Slaying Star—like a battering ram.

Bang!

It was as if a thunderous roar exploded inside my head.

The malignant star, once burning scarlet like the sun, rapidly dimmed as though struck by ice.

Crack—

With the sound of rupture, the fissures deepened, longer and thicker.

Fragments of starlight-like energy trickled away from the Evil Star.

The Starfall Heart Cultivation Method, a supreme cultivation that refined such incomprehensible fragments into understandable internal energy.

I felt vast internal energy surging within me, as though I had ingested a spiritual elixir.

“Hhhhp!”

Energy flooded my body like a mighty river stream.

And Hwang Geolgae began clearly guiding that wild stallion-like energy.

Following his lead, torrents of qi dug into meridians throughout my body.

Chzzzt—!

The white energy enveloped my whole body, rising like steam into the air.

After completing a full cycle of the Great Heavenly Circulation, an understanding of qi welled up in my mind.

‘Qi is the breath of heaven and earth, the primal force that permeates life itself.’

I had thought only what resided inside me was qi, but now I realized the entire world was made of qi.

At the same time, my eyes gleamed with radiant light. My fists instinctively lashed out, driven by the storming energy.

“Uaaah!”

Like a dormant fist stretching awake, my fist’s qi fiercely struck the very air of the world.

Boom—!

Breath cultivation continued for a long time.

After calming the turbulent insides and collecting the rampaging qi, dawn had already arrived with the sun rising round above the horizon.

“Phew.”

A deep exhale. I could still feel the lingering echo of the Peak trembling at my fingertips.

Perhaps because of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method, a vivid white fist qi was condensed before me. This was the very force said to crush iron and shatter stone.

When I raised the Dog-Beating Staff, white staff qi flared to life.

The energy condensed so powerfully that the rising white qi unfurled upward like silken threads.

This was the next realm beyond Sword Qi—Sword Threads.

Since I wielded a staff, strictly speaking, it was Staff Threads.

“Staff Qi, Staff Threads. Why do they all sound so lame?”

I had always felt it. Unlike swords or blades, this Dog-Beating Staff lacked grandeur.

What kind of weapon name was “dog-beating staff,” anyway? Other martial artists all gave their beloved weapons stylish titles.

“You’re brooding over pointless thoughts again, aren’t you?”

Hwang Geolgae, shaking his head, spoke as he saw me glaring at the staff with dissatisfaction.

Sometimes he seemed like he could read minds. Was this what being a Daoist sage did—reading people’s hearts?

“So, you’ve become a Peak master. What do you plan to do with that power?”

He asked again of my goal and resolve.

“Same as always. Do my troubleshooter work, pile up virtuous energy, and make money.”

Escaping the world’s chains binding me as the Heaven-Slaying Star still lay far ahead.

And I had another reason to reach the Flame Realm.

“Heheh, from the look on your face, your hands are itching after looking at me.”

Indeed, the thing I most wanted was to beat this old man down—to repay every blow he had dealt me.

“Ahem, I don’t know what you mean.”

“You brat, you think I don’t notice those eyes you sometimes throw at me?”

Always drinking, yet somehow sharp-eyed.

“I only feel gratitude for the boundless grace of my Master.”

“Heh, such words don’t suit you at all.”

Hwang Geolgae snorted at my reply.

Then he broke off a nearby branch, fashioning it into a crude club.

“You must be itching to release what you’ve just obtained. If you wish, I could humor you.”

He too seemed eager to witness firsthand the result he had helped me achieve.

With him laying the mat out this far, I couldn’t back out.

I stabbed the Dog-Beating Staff, radiating destructive energy, into the air and boldly declared:

“Then let’s have a match, old man.”

“Heh… Now that’s more like it.”

His lips curled into a mischievous grin at my provocation.

Now that I was a Peak master, even if I took a beating, I had to at least land one strike on that face of his.

I surged with internal energy, enough to shatter the training ground, and charged my master.

“It’s staff time—!”

“Boss, boss.”

Someone poked at me, sprawled like a beggar across the training ground.

Slender fingers jabbed my shoulder.

“Wow, boss. You look terrible.”

Seeing my face covered in bruises, she let out a short gasp.

“Who did this to you?”

“Who else could beat up a Peak master…?”

That wicked old man. Just because I bared a little of my teeth, he really had to beat me senseless.

I’d heard that once you reached the Peak and shed a layer of human limits, such wounds and pain healed quickly.

But after how viciously we’d fought, even an hour later my whole body still throbbed.

“…Wow, congratulations, boss. Looked like you were stuck, but you finally broke through?”

She had seen me struggle during late-night training, unable to draw out staff qi, so she immediately congratulated me.

Then she grabbed my sluggish arm and helped me to my feet.

“Ugh… So why did you come here?”

“On the way back, we took an extra escort request for Lord Jo of the Manor, remember? I went to the Wanderers’ Guild to settle it. Here.”

She pressed two silver coins into my hand. We had been promised silver as payment when we departed.

But it seemed Lord Jo wanted to maintain ties with me, now that I had entered the Peak, and had increased the payment.

“It was originally three, but one was taken as brokerage fee.”

Since I hadn’t yet renewed my rank, I was still a standard wanderer, so they skimmed off thirty percent.

Damn parasites—just like delivery apps that take fees for doing nothing.

“But you know, it’s really strange.”

“What is?”

“Back when we were beggars, scraping together even copper coins was tough, but these days, money just piles up.”

Ilhong giggled, rolling the silver between her fingers.

“That’s exactly when you need to be most careful. When fortune flows in.”

People always overestimated themselves and squandered everything, only to lose it all.

I had lost great sums that way in my childhood.

“So boss, you must have a good amount saved by now. What are you going to do with it?”

Bounties from felling bigshots, rewards from the Murim Alliance Leader, and payment from countless requests.

Ilhong, seeing me amass wealth, was curious about my plans.

“Time to do what I do best.”

When money piles up, it must be turned into business.

I had reached the Peak, gained fame under the alias Dog-Beating Dragon, and gathered vast funds—why should I still waste them on brokerage fees?

“I’m going to open a Troubleshooter Office right here in Beijing.”

The long-cherished dream of having my own office. A place for requests solely mine to handle.

At last, the time had come for me to paint my own colors across the vast Central Plains.

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