〈 Episode 633 〉 Flame Jade Saint Spear (炎玉聖槍).
The first time I gained inspiration for it.
It was right after the duel with Baekcheon Geomju, during a brief conversation with my father.
Father had clearly told me to figure out what rotation meant in the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Art, not compression.
What did wheel (輪) signify?
Furthermore.
What was the meaning contained within the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Art itself?
A fire art that purely ignited flames.
A life lived thinking so.
That had passed; now it was my second life.
With just those words Father had shared, a different world was being drawn in my mind.
Perhaps.
The Nine Flames Fire Wheel Art wasn't simply about igniting flames.
Rather, its focus might be on rotating them rapidly.
Instead of forming flames into a ring and emitting heat from within.
Perhaps the flames came as a bonus from rapidly rotating the ring.
As the center of my thoughts shifted, my attitude toward learning and expressing the martial art also changed.
Rotation.
That was why it was a wheel (輪).
Taking that thought as my starting point, I advanced step by step.
I strived to use rotating flames rather than simply unleashing massive flames.
Whatever martial art of the Gu Family I used, I tried to incorporate rotation into it.
Several years passed living like that.
It was a thought that came to me while training to use Yeomok a bit more intensely.
The Yeomok rotating with compressed flames in my hand.
I stared at it quietly and then hurled it into the air with a swing.
Kwaang—!
Watching the Yeomok explode in midair, a peculiar feeling came over me.
The difference between the Yeomok Father threw and the Yeomok I made and threw.
It wasn't merely a difference in power.
There was clearly something different about Father's martial art.
Surely, part of it was a difference in realm, but there was also likely a difference in the rate of rotation contained within.
‘Hmm.’
The compression I had learned from Shin Noya.
And the rotation of Yeomok.
As I quietly observed them, something I wanted to try came to mind.
It was a fundamental question.
Yeomok was a martial art designed with explosion in mind, but if I increased its rotation, its power grew stronger.
Because it was a simple sphere, it was easy to grab and throw.
Here.
Here, I conceived a hypothesis.
A martial art thrown after increasing its rotation.
A spherical shape made that easy, but what if—
‘I made the shape a bit sharper. And what if I increased the rotation even more?’
Couldn't that generate tremendous destructive power on its own?
That was the thought.
It was a crazy thought.
Yeomok was already a completed martial art, and one of considerable difficulty at that.
The requirement to be in the Fire Realm was one thing.
You had to compress heat and keep it rotating endlessly, requiring incredibly delicate internal energy manipulation to maintain it.
That was why it took the simplest shape: a sphere.
Maintaining that alone was overwhelming.
Not only deforming it, but adding more rotation on top of that?
There was no way Yeomok could endure that. If I tried, the heat inside would obviously explode along with the recoil.
How did I know in such detail?
I hadn't wanted to know either.
Kwaaaaaaah---!!
‘Y-young master—!!’
‘Kyaaaaak—!’
Shit.
******************
I barely survived.
That would be the right thing to say.
The cause of the failure was trying to forcibly change Yeomok's shape.
Yeomok possessed tremendous firepower and rotated based on countless revolutions.
Trying to forcibly twist its shape, it couldn't endure and exploded.
Thanks to that, the arm I used to execute it was wrapped in flames and the skin burned.
My body, hit directly by the explosion, had its internal organs and bones shattered.
If I hadn't possessed the body of a dragon.
And if the Divine Physician hadn't been in the Gu Family at the time?
It was a conclusion I didn't really want to imagine.
By the time I barely returned my body to normal based on tremendous regenerative power.
[You crazy bastard.]
It was what Paejon said looking at me.
[You keep saying crazy crazy, but have you truly gone mad?]
[...]
Even looking at Paejon spitting out words as if I were pathetic, I had nothing to say.
[You dare try to arbitrarily modify a martial art? And an ultimate-grade martial art at that? You should have just said you wanted to die!]
At his cold, bone-chilling outburst, I had to hang my head even lower like a sinner.
[I didn't know it would turn out like this either....]
[That someone of your level didn't know that? It would look better if you called yourself a cripple yourself.]
Though I had let out what barely counted as an excuse, I was immediately pummeled by words.
Someone who had reached the Fire Realm claiming he didn't know how dangerous this was.
That alone was humiliating.
No, honestly, I had known.
I knew it was dangerous. I knew how big of a problem this could cause.
I still tried it.
Perhaps that was why Paejon was angry.
[It wasn't even a normal modification; you tried to overturn the framework itself. Did you truly not know how grave that is?]
[...Kkheu.]
The Nine Flames Grand Wheel Fang that ignited flames greatly on the body.
There was also a modified martial art, the Nine Flames Grand Wheel Transformation, that used it.
This was merely a slight application within a similar framework, so it wasn't that difficult.
But what I tried to do was a matter far more problematic than that.
Because I had tried to change the form itself.
The martial art had rebelled and exploded. The explosion was so severe. I really almost died.
[You surpassed the level you could handle. Even if you wagered your life. You crossed that line.]
[...Yes.]
I nodded my head like a criminal. To think I almost died while training in a martial art.
I had so much to do; such a death would truly be a dog's death.
I definitely shouldn't do it a second time.
The moment I thought so.
[However.]
Paejon said, looking at me.
[I don't think the attempt itself was bad.]
[...Excuse me?]
At his words, I had to tilt my head.
After nagging to his heart's content, it wasn't bad?
[It might be worth trying. It's just that your level fell far short of being able to handle it.]
[...Does that mean, if my realm rises, it would be worth trying?]
[I don't know that either. I'm not versed in that martial art. Ask your father for the details.]
[A-ah, Father is currently a bit...]
I had already been scolded by Father to the point of dying just before Paejon.
I had never seen Father so angry since the regression.
I was so scared I almost pissed myself.
If Lady Mi hadn't appeared and stopped him just as his voice was about to rise, I might really have pissed myself.
At my words, Paejon looked at me as if I were the most pathetic thing in the world.
[I won't tell you not to do it. I'm telling you to be careful.]
[...Even though I might die doing it, you won't stop me?]
[If you were someone who wouldn't do it just because I told you not to, you wouldn't have done such a thing in the first place.]
That, too, was correct.
[If you were such a person, I wouldn't have tried to teach you in the first place because you'd be boring. And.]
Paejon, who had been continuing, let out a short laugh.
[A martial artist needs to nearly die learning martial arts to grow.]
I didn't think I needed such a frightening kind of growth.
It was a thought that suddenly occurred to me, but I didn't say it out loud.
Paejon, who had spoken with a smile, turned serious again and spoke to me.
[One thing. At least for this martial art, do not attempt it until you reach the realm of mental image.]
At Paejon's warning, I nodded without a word.
For Paejon, who usually told me to try most things, to give a warning not to do it.
Those words meant that I shouldn't attempt it unless I was truly at that level.
[If you die doing that, wouldn't your life be a waste?]
At those words, I couldn't help but be moved.
Was he worried about my life?
Yes, even though he always acted gruff, a teacher was a teacher.
Thinking so, I was going to say some flattering words I didn't usually say.
[You have a mountain of martial arts left to learn, after all.]
[...]
At Paejon's words, my expression crumpled.
Something about what he said was strange.
[Uh, Elder.]
[What.]
[I'm asking just in case.]
I asked meaning, could it be that he was angry because if I got hurt, I couldn't learn martial arts?
[What nonsense are you spouting.]
At Paejon's dumbfounded words, I breathed a sigh of relief internally.
Yes, no matter how crazy a person, his disciple getting hurt couldn't be less important than martial arts...?
[Of course I'm angry because if you get hurt, you can't learn martial arts. Do you know how many things I have left to teach you?]
[...]
[Take care of your body accordingly. You still have a long way to—]
Damn it.
It was the day the tiny shred of respect I had left for Paejon completely crumbled.
Anyway, to speak of the result.
Hwarururuk—!
Most of what Paejon had said at the time was the truth.
If I wished to modify the ultimate technique, Yeomok, I had to at least reach the domain of mental image.
Now I felt like I understood the meaning of those words.
The moment I entered this domain, I could see things I couldn't see before.
Wuuuung—!
Enormous heat gathered in my eyes.
I felt pain, but before that, joy welled up.
I could see.
The countless lines radiating from Yeomok.
The flow of my internal energy poured into forming this small bead.
The endless rotation maintained to preserve this shape.
I was seeing the martial art.
Not using it, but seeing it.
An attempt I had never made before became possible the moment my eyes opened and my body could feel it.
It was the first time.
The first moment I had admired a martial art so much while seeing it.
And to think I was amazed seeing a martial art of my own that I had used countless times.
‘Amazing.’
The martial art called Yeomok was far more difficult than I had thought.
And complex.
To use Yeomok, one had to reach the Fire Realm.
I felt like I now knew the reason for sure.
Until now, I had simply thought it was just a requirement.
But digging deeper, it wasn't such a simple reason.
Yeomok devoured a lot of internal energy.
However, it wasn't to the point of being unusable.
Then why was the Fire Realm set as the standard?
It was because a body capable of withstanding Yeomok was needed.
And the internal energy control needed to gather and rotate Yeomok.
That standard was precisely the Fire Realm.
One had to be at the Fire Realm to use it.
I felt like I now clearly understood the reason.
‘So I tried to use it straight away without going through that.’
Back when I was at the peak of complete mastery.
The time when I repeatedly suffered recoil trying to use Yeomok.
‘...It was half force.’
Looking at it now, it was forceful.
Because I had the experience from before the regression, I could use it to some extent.
But there had never been such forceful use.
Now that I understood and saw it, it was even more so.
‘I see.’
Realizations stacked up one by one.
Martial arts were about understanding.
It wasn't about merely using internal energy and revolving mental arts, but understanding why you could use it.
What kind of power this was.
I had to understand them one by one.
My heart trembled at this realization.
The gradually rising vibration tore down the faint wall that had been inside me.
Waruru.
I felt the sensation of debris falling from within.
‘To have an enlightenment in the middle of a fight. How absurd.’
For something I had wished for so badly normally to come during a life-or-death struggle—
it was laughable.
Moreover.
‘It's a fortunate thing.’
A peculiar gratitude brushed past me. It was a clean emotion for a worthless guy.
I swung my hand.
Hwarurururuk—!!!
The rotation of Yeomok intensified.
However, it wasn't the thought of strengthening the rotation.
I thickened the flow of internal energy.
I changed the approach.
That trivial difference brought much more than I had thought.
Hwaaaak—!
The surrounding air was drawn into Yeomok.
Once it permeated a certain space, flames ignited upon meeting my heat.
The problem was that the flames being sucked in were stronger than I had thought.
My legs nearly buckled.
I endured it.
If I let go now.
‘I die.’
I really die.
The pressure gathering in Yeomok was immense. It wasn't simply adding more energy.
It was spinning much faster.
In truth, Yeomok was already complete. And even stronger.
If I just threw it at him like this, it would be over.
But end it here?
Not a chance.
‘That wouldn't satisfy me.’
I hadn't tried this just for that.
Looking at the Yeomok rotating like mad, I thought.
If I changed the form now, the rotating structure would twist and explode.
Then I would have to slowly change it while controlling all this complex internal energy.
But even slowly, the question was whether I could endure this right now or not.
Don't get drunk on enlightenment; look at it objectively.
Am I someone who can endure this?
‘No.’
Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
Then what should I do.
If I can't move it while it's bound, what should I do.
Should I give up like this or just let it explode?
‘Mm.’
If I had to choose, the latter.
There's no giving up.
Since I had resolved to live such a life. It was time to achieve it.
Besides.
‘Letting it explode.’
It didn't seem like such a bad idea in its own way.
If maintaining rotation while changing the form was impossible.
Then let it go and make it explode.
However.
By creating a frame and placing it inside.
Thinking so, I grasped Yeomok.
Kwak—!
Kwaaaaaaaah--!!
Yeomok exploded, and tremendous heat burst forth.
Fortunately, I didn't feel any damage.
On the surface, that is.
‘Kkeu.’
My insides screamed from the impact, but.
I could endure it.
The energy I felt in my hand was enough to endure the pain.
"This...."
I muttered while examining my right hand.
"It's not as bad as I thought?"
In my hand was a spear covered in flames.
A spear created by modifying Yeomok.
As for a name...hm.
‘Roughly.’
Flame Jade Saint Spear (炎玉聖槍).
That should do for a name.
Simply a long rod with a sharp tip.
An enormous flame was rotating in such a shape.
Overwhelming heat and overwhelming energy.
At a glance, it felt like it possessed tremendous explosive force.
Even.
‘This is still incomplete.’
My level was insufficient to achieve a perfect form.
Because I couldn't form the shape by controlling the rotation, I created a frame.
‘With mental image.’
As if using mental authority, I used my soul as a frame and placed flames inside.
It was correct to say I was forcibly suppressing what was trying to explode.
In a way, it was merely stretching Yeomok longer and adding more rotational force.
But even that alone possessed tremendous power.
As proof.
Tuk...tuk tuk.
While attempting the Flame Jade Saint Spear, his hastily swung attack cut my chest, and blood was soaking my chest.
Jjeojeojeok—!
Ice formed on the wound, inflicting secondary damage.
‘It hurts like hell.’
I had struggled to avoid this expecting it.
It couldn't be helped if I was trying to execute a technique.
But thanks to that, I succeeded.
"...You...!"
Mang's voice was heard.
He was looking at me, greatly surprised with an arrogant face.
"That is... What in the world is it. What in the world. What have you created."
"This?"
I didn't take action to show it off.
Just holding and moving it was somewhat difficult.
I had to be careful because it might explode if I mishandled it.
"Can't you tell? It's a spear."
"...Ha."
Tension appeared on the guy's face.
Was it that much of a threat?
‘Isn't it something similar?’
The spear he held too.
In the end, it was something made by condensing cold energy. So I didn't think he'd be so surprised looking at mine.
Ah, of course.
‘But I didn't make this to swing or thrust.’
If I did such a thing, I wouldn't be able to maintain it and would die in the explosion.
Yet the reason I deliberately took the form of a spear was for exactly one reason.
Sweuk.
I took a low stance.
And slightly raised the hand holding the spear back.
"...!"
Seeing that, the guy flinched and tried to move.
He seemed to realize what I was trying to do.
Yes.
The reason I took the form of a spear.
And put more rotation inside it.
Was solely for this.
To throw it.
A bit faster.
A bit stronger.
Though the name attached was Flame Jade Saint Spear.
‘Its reason for existence is to be a thrown spear (投槍).’
Pierce through quickly.
Leave nothing behind.
Kkuuuuuk--!!
I set my center and focused all my strength in my right hand.
And said.
"Dodge if you can."
"Wha--?"
Finishing the warning.
I threw the spear I was holding directly at him.
Shiik—!
The sound of the spear cutting through the wind briefly.
Next.
Tuk—! I retracted the spear-shaped mental image vessel that had been enveloping the flame.
At that instant.
Uung—! The air twisted.
Kuaaaaaaaaaah----!!!!
An enormous flame caused an explosion.
It was an absurd level for something made from a small spear.
Huaaaaaah--.
My body wavered from the wind pressure caused by the explosion.
That was how tremendous the attack was.
Kkeudeudeudeuk—!!
I heard the sound of something breaking and debris settling.
As time passed and the smoke clearing the front disappeared.
‘Wow.’
I had to let out an exclamation at the scene created before me.
A hole was pierced in the space filled with ice crystals.
A huge spiral-shaped hole.
Jigiljigil.
The walls were gradually melting and collapsing from the heat.
It was a horrifying sight.
‘...It's stronger than I thought.’
I thought as I watched the gradually melting wall.
A level incomparable to simple Yeomok.
‘No matter how I look at it.’
Even I felt like I had created something absurd.
‘The problem is.’
Setting aside the situation created by the Flame Jade Saint Spear, I shifted my gaze.
‘Where did he go?’
Mang was nowhere to be seen.
He didn't seem to have been hit by the spear.
It wasn't a range easy to avoid, so where could he have gone?
Just as such questions arose.
Sweuk.
Sensing a presence, I turned around. Then.
Puuk--!!
"...!"
A sharp object pierced my stomach.
Upon checking, it was Mang.
He had approached and stuck a sword in my stomach.
The sensation of flesh being torn.
As I felt this and frowned.
"That was surprising."
Mang spoke to me.
"It was a might enough to make one hesitate for a moment. To think it even made me flee disgracefully."
I examined the guy who kept spitting out words.
Except for the arm that had thrust the sword, his left arm was gone.
It seemed he hadn't avoided it properly.
"It is tremendous power. However."
An unpleasant smile formed on the guy's face.
"If you don't hit, it ends up completely meaningless, does it not?"
"..."
At the sneering words, I nodded.
"Right."
"...Hm?"
As I admitted so nonchalantly, the guy reacted with doubt.
"It's true."
If you don't hit, it's meaningless.
That had been the biggest problem, even in my opinion.
That was this martial art's problem.
The execution time was long, and it took a while to make, so it was a martial art with great penalties for a single failure.
"But."
Kkwak.
As I spoke, I grasped his hand.
The hand that had thrust the sword into my stomach.
"...!?"
"Once the situation becomes one where I can hit, it doesn't matter, right?"
"...You bastard!?"
Mang's eyes shook greatly at my words.
"Could it be...!"
Only then did the guy seem to catch my intention.
Yes, if I couldn't hit properly anyway, I'd just create a situation where I could hit.
That was the thought.
And the guy had fallen for it beautifully.
So I smiled too.
"You should have aimed for the neck. Why did you stab my stomach."
Dragons are arrogant by nature.
So he must have had to give me that sneer.
That's why he approached me and thrust his sword into my stomach.
Ah, of course.
If he had aimed for the neck, I wouldn't have let him.
Holding his hand to prevent him from escaping, I said.
"Caught you."
"Kkeuk-!"
Deolgeureok—!
The sword stuck in my stomach moved.
He seemed to be trying desperately to pull it out. Pain rose in the process, but I could endure it.
How absurd. How many times had my stomach been stabbed in just a few days?
Jjeojeojeok.
I felt it from my stomach where the sword was lodged.
Gradually, the cold energy was freezing my flesh.
I suppressed it with heat.
Judging by the creeping cold.
‘Approximately seven seconds.’
My limit to endure.
Exactly that much. It was a short time.
However.
That was enough.
Hwaaak—!
I immediately wrapped flames around my hand.
Since I had done it once, it was faster this time.
Kuuuuuuu—!!
While impaled by the sword, I created the Flame Jade Saint Spear.
My hand trembled.
Is two times in a row the limit?
"Let go! Let go right now!"
The guy raised his voice repeatedly, flustered.
"You! Are you saying you don't care what happens to this body!"
Was he threatening me with Uhyeok's body? It was laughable.
"That's his responsibility."
"...!"
"And."
My smiling face twisted fiercely.
"That bastard, if I hadn't stabbed him here, he'd fucking curse me out later."
If he'd gotten hurt trying to protect him when it wasn't even necessary, he would have cursed at that.
It would have been worse the other way around.
I grasped the spear.
Seeing this, Mang shouted.
"I-if you use that at this distance. You won't be safe either!"
"Yeah, but so what."
I didn't care.
I could endure that much.
As no words got through, the guy's expression gradually crumbled.
"Yo—!"
He seemed about to say something more.
But I didn't listen to him barking noisily anymore.
I thrust the spear I held directly into his abdomen.
Puk—!
And.
Kuaaaaaah-!
The explosion swept through the surroundings.