Chapter 43 : Upper Dantian

Chapter 43: Upper Dantian

After leaving Nanning in Guangxi Province and entering Guizhou, every inn they stopped at was buzzing with the same news.

The Asura Sword Sect had collapsed!

One of the ten pillars representing the Demonic Faction had fallen, and a new sect had taken its place.

Rumors of the new sect spread like wildfire.

The Conqueror King Sect.

A sect founded by martial artists who had split off from the Heaven-Dominating Sect.

Ruthless Sword Go Jin, Kang Pyo-seong and Jeon An-chu—two of the Heaven-Dominating's Ten Experts. These three formed the core of the Conqueror King Sect, which annihilated the Asura Sword Sect and claimed Guangxi Province as their territory.

The emergence of a new sect dominating a region drew the attention of the entire Martial World.

And tied to the story of the Conqueror King Sect was another man.

A man whom all martial artists had been watching even before the Conqueror King Sect emerged.

One Sword, One Kill, Jang Woo-hyun.

The man who had challenged the Asura Sword Sect alone.

Together with the Conqueror King Sect, he had wiped the Asura Sword Sect from the Martial World.

Additional rumors claimed that Jang Woo-hyun had captured Lee Doo-heung, the Rapid Sword King, following the capture of the Blood Sword King.

Although it was said that Go Jin of the Conqueror King Sect had defeated the Asura Sword Sovereign Yeo Gun-hwi, Jang Woo-hyun's name became far more famous. After all, he had faced a great sect single-handedly and annihilated it.

A rising master. A new hero.

Jang Woo-hyun, One Sword, One Kill, now bore another epithet.

The Asura-Annihilating Sword—the one who had destroyed the Asura Sword Sect.

And Invincible Divine Sword, for he had known no defeat.

Some said he would usher in a new era for the Martial World.

Jang Woo-hyun was instantly regarded as the greatest among all martial artists, and even among wandering warriors, factions began to form that followed him.

Moreover, Jang Woo-hyun wasn't traveling alone.

Jin Ha-un.

A young disciple from Blue Star Sect. An extraordinary master who had defeated one of the Asura Sword Sect’s Sword Yakshas.

Known as Jang Woo-hyun’s sworn brother, he had reached Master Level in his early twenties and was hailed as a genius, currently recognized as the most promising figure among the Orthodox Faction.

And then—

"This is seriously unfair."

There was just Hwang An.

A name that had yet to shine, overshadowed by the brilliance of Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un’s martial prowess.

"I mean, I did my part too, so how come no one even mentions my name?"

Though Hwang An raised a fuss, Jang Woo-hyun didn't pay him any mind.

"Brother Jang! Could you listen to me for a second? Is this really the time to be zoning out? Your friend has become a nameless extra, and you're fixated on those secret manuals?"

"Brother, you know how Woo-hyun is. When he’s like that, he doesn’t even glance elsewhere."

"Let go. Today I’m gonna break that concentration of his."

"Your name might become known later, you know..."

When Hwang An glared, Jin Ha-un fell silent.

"So now you’re saying you’re famous, huh? Huh? Right, of course the greatest hope of the Orthodox Faction wouldn’t understand how I feel. I regret this. I really do. I took in a bunch of clueless guys, taught them everything, and now that they’re doing well, they treat me like this."

"When did we ever treat you that way? It’s just that your contributions were a bit less prominent, so your name—"

"What? Less prominent?! Hey, you punk! I took down two Sword Yakshas, alright?! Those guys from the Asura Sword Sect get treated like royalty wherever they go!"

"I didn’t mean it like that... huh? Woo-hyun, where are you going?"

"Too noisy. I’m stepping out."

Leaving only those words behind, Jang Woo-hyun walked out.

"Let go! Don’t stop me! Did he just say I’m noisy? Let go of me! Jang Woo-hyun! One Sword, One Kill! Annihilating Sword! Get over here! Not letting go, huh? You punk!"

Ignoring Hwang An’s noisy shouting, Jang Woo-hyun walked to the garden and headed for a small pavilion beside a pond.

He had obtained five things from the battle with the Asura Sword Sect.

The Tang Family’s Secret Manual and a nameless book from Tang Ga-ryang.

The One Fist Annihilation from Hwi Jeon.

And from the Asura Sword Sect, the Six-Blade Asura Sword and Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique.

He had been too preoccupied for a while, so only now could he finally examine the secret manuals.

The first ones he looked at were the two he got from the Asura Sword Sect.

The sword technique: Six-Blade Asura Sword.

The internal cultivation technique: Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique.

The Six-Blade Asura Sword was based on the Swift Sword style and allowed the creation of invisible sword paths, as used by Lee Doo-heung and Yeo Gun-hwi.

As Jang Woo-hyun examined the manual carefully, he came to one conclusion.

'A shortcut.'

As expected of a Demonic Faction technique, its limits were clear. It might offer some short-term gains, but it couldn’t take him any higher. For someone like Jang Woo-hyun, it was ultimately useless.

The second one he looked at was the Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique.

Unlike the sword technique, this one proved helpful.

This cultivation method was unique in that it trained all three dantians—Lower, Middle, and Upper—simultaneously.

In the world of martial artists, most relied on the Lower Dantian, while the Middle Dantian was primarily used by spellcasters.

In contrast, the Upper Dantian belonged to the realm of supernatural abilities.

Seeing things hundreds of miles away, hearing sounds from far-off places, or reading the movements of Heaven—such abilities stemmed from the Upper Dantian.

There were even spellcasters who used the Upper Dantian, particularly the strange sorcerers of the Thousand Demon Sect, the archenemies of the Demon Extermination Sect.

‘Come to think of it, I never really thought much about the dantians.’

He had always found it easy to accumulate internal energy through Qi Circulation Breathing Technique, and relying solely on his Lower Dantian had never posed a problem.

There had never been a bottleneck.

He hadn’t needed any internal cultivation methods either.

Since the White Tiger Martial Hall, he hadn’t learned any new mental techniques, nor had he felt the desire to.

Even now, he had enormous internal energy stored in his dantian, and that alone had sufficed, so he’d never seriously considered the Middle or Upper Dantian.

Suddenly, he grew curious about the Six-Blade Asura Sword and the Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique, which made use of the Upper Dantian—something unlike ordinary martial arts.

The invisible sword path of the Six-Blade Asura Sword used the Upper Dantian.

Rather than typical internal energy-based martial arts, it resembled telekinesis or other supernatural powers.

Driven by curiosity, Jang Woo-hyun began training in the Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique.

For him, it was naturally not difficult. Learning martial arts was no different from walking or running.

The first stage was energy distribution.

It required dividing his internal energy equally among the three dantians—Lower, Middle, and Upper.

Though not a difficult task for Jang Woo-hyun, there was one problem.

‘Feels like I’m about to explode.’

He simply had too much internal energy. Moving and distributing it was easy, but if even a third of his internal energy entered his head, it felt like it might explode.

‘Let’s just try a little.’

With no other choice, he sent only a small amount of Qi into the Upper and Middle Dantian.

The second stage was resonance.

Using the energies stored in all three dantians simultaneously, combining them into one and amplifying the result.

From here, things became difficult even for Jang Woo-hyun.

The energy in his Lower Dantian was so overwhelming that the others were suppressed or flowed back down into the Lower Dantian.

‘This isn’t going to work.’

He tried a few more times and ultimately gave up. Still, he had grasped the basic structure of the Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique. His Middle and Upper Dantians had also received some basic tempering by now.

“Hooohhh…”

Exhaling a deep breath, Jang Woo-hyun opened his eyes, which he had kept closed to focus, and found the night sky had darkened. He had thought he’d only practiced breathing for a short while, but more time had passed than expected.

“You’re done now?”

Jin Ha-un, who had been standing guard beside him, asked.

“You stayed up and waited?”

“Just in case.”

Grateful for his thoughtfulness, Jang Woo-hyun gave a faint smile.

It was this considerate, polite, and kind personality that had made the people of the Conqueror King Sect fond of Jin Ha-un.

“Take a look at this.”

Jang Woo-hyun handed him the Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique that lay before him.

Jin Ha-un, though not an irregular like Jang Woo-hyun, was still considered a genius in this world.

He wanted to hear the thoughts of someone like that.

“This martial art is quite unusual. But as expected of a Demonic Faction technique, it seems rather unstable.”

Jin Ha-un commented, his eyes never leaving the manual.

“Really?”

“Yes. Do you know much about the Demonic Faction’s martial arts?”

“Roughly.”

Demonic Faction martial arts allowed for rapid growth in the early stages. But because they prioritized speed, they were less stable than Orthodox martial arts.

Moreover, instead of building from the basics step by step, they emphasized destructive power and combat efficiency. As a result, their techniques often consisted of one-shot moves rather than a series of fluid stances.

“Not all of them are like that, but generally, the Demonic Faction’s martial arts are more about killing opponents than proper cultivation. Instead of gradually progressing through levels, they aim for fast results. This technique is no different.”

Everything about it focused on rapid advancement rather than stability.

“I don’t think you should train in this one. If you mishandle the Upper Dantian, the damage could be incomparable to injuries in the Lower Dantian.”

It was the head, after all—far more dangerous than injuries to the body.

Jang Woo-hyun nodded in acknowledgment and handed him the Six-Blade Asura Sword next.

“This one too.”

Jin Ha-un received it and examined it carefully for a while.

“Ah… So that’s why the Three Dantians, Three Origins Technique uses the Upper Dantian. This isn’t your average martial art.”

After scanning through the manual, Jin Ha-un understood the general mechanism of the Six-Blade Asura Sword.

The method of creating invisible sword paths to increase sword speed was completely different from any sword technique he had encountered before.

“I didn’t know swordsmanship could be used like this… It’s fascinating.”

“That’s all?”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t see any flaws or areas where it seems lacking?”

“Flaws? Hmm… I can’t say for sure. It’s not conventional, but I think it’s an excellent technique. Do you see something wrong with it, brother?”

To that, Jang Woo-hyun shook his head. There wasn’t really a way to explain it. It was something he had sensed instinctively.

Unlike Jin Ha-un, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t possess the foundational knowledge or standard concepts of martial arts. He was someone from another world who didn’t really understand the theories behind martial arts.

He had simply accumulated internal energy through breathing and moved his body to unleash techniques.

To him, the Six-Blade Asura Sword had very clear limitations. Though he couldn’t explain exactly what was wrong, he could feel it.

“It’s getting late. Let’s call it a night.”

Unable to explain what he felt, Jang Woo-hyun got up. He decided to end his training for the day.

“By the way, where’s Hwang An?”

“He’s sleeping.”

“He’s sleeping while I’m out here doing this?”

“Yes. He said he never knows when you’ll get up once you start focusing…”

“He called me his friend when I didn’t listen to him earlier.”

Letting out a soft chuckle, Jang Woo-hyun started walking toward his room, only to stop in his tracks.

“Brother?”

Jin Ha-un called out, but Jang Woo-hyun didn’t move.

‘What is this?’

For a brief moment, a strange sensation washed over him. It felt like seeing the unseen.

Something unknown was approaching from afar.

He couldn’t tell whether it was targeting him or just passing by—but it was definitely coming this way.

“Hmm…”

As he debated whether to go check it out, the sensation vanished like a lie.

Even as he tried to focus again, the feeling never returned.

‘What the hell was that?’

He didn’t even know whether it had something to do with today’s training or something else entirely.

With a lingering unease, Jang Woo-hyun began walking again. For now, there was nothing more he could do.

The next morning, after breakfast, Jang Woo-hyun checked the secret manual left behind by Tang Ga-ryang.

“This one… Who was it that left it again?”

When he mentioned burning it after obtaining it, Hwang An had stopped him and mentioned some name.

“It’s the Dark Heaven Divine Sword.”

“Dark Heaven Divine Sword?”

It was a peculiar name, not something one would expect from a Tang Clan martial art, prompting Jang Woo-hyun to ask again.

“Dark Heaven” made some sense.

In the Tang Clan, the term “dark” didn’t mean darkness but referred to throwing weapons. Adding “heaven” likely meant it was someone skilled in handling hidden weapons.

But “Divine Sword” was the confusing part. Why would someone from a clan specializing in poison and hidden weapons be called a divine swordsman?

Sensing his curiosity, Hwang An offered an explanation.

“The Dark Heaven Divine Sword was once called the most talented genius in the history of the Tang Clan. He was so skilled in hidden weapons that he was referred to as ‘the heaven of concealed weapons.’ But it’s also said that his swordsmanship was unmatched at the time. That’s why he was called the Dark Heaven Divine Sword.”

“He used both hidden weapons and a sword?”

“That’s right.”

“He’s quite famous in Sichuan. Even one of the sayings he left behind is well known.”

“A saying? What did he say?”

“Brother Jang, have you heard of Ten Thousand Flowers Rain?”

“The Tang Clan’s martial art, Ten Thousand Flowers Rain?”

“So even a newborn in the Martial World knows that.”

He had expected Jang Woo-hyun to be clueless, but was surprised to find he knew the name.

“It’s symbolic of certain defeat, right?”

“Certain defeat? What do you mean by that?”

The Tang Clan’s ultimate art—Ten Thousand Flowers Rain, the pinnacle of hidden weapons.

Before he came to this world, Jang Woo-hyun had never seen that technique perform well in any story or comic, despite all its flashy praise.

So to him, Ten Thousand Flowers Rain was just another overhyped disappointment.

“It’s a long story. But why bring up Ten Thousand Flowers Rain all of a sudden?”

“The Dark Heaven Divine Sword, Tang Myung. Before his time, Ten Thousand Flowers Rain was regarded as the final, ultimate hidden weapon technique.”

Hwang An paused for a moment before continuing.

“But Tang Myung didn’t say that.”

“What did he say?”

“Ten Thousand Flowers Rain is only the beginning.’”

A sudden chill ran down Jang Woo-hyun’s spine at those words.

“That man… The Dark Heaven Divine Sword Tang Myung, he must have been an Absolute Master, right?”

“Of course. He’s considered the greatest expert in Tang Clan history.”

A master who had reached the Absolute Realm had declared that the clan’s ultimate martial art wasn’t the end—but the beginning.

That could only mean one thing:

There was something beyond what everyone believed to be the end.

Jang Woo-hyun instinctively felt it.

The Dark Heaven Divine Sword Tang Myung knew what lay Beyond the Absolute Realm.