Ten days had passed since Baek Mu-Gun awakened his reincarnation. During that time, he shut himself in his residence and focused on healing his qi deviation with the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art’s Qi Transfer Healing Technique.

He had also changed his diet, ate healthy instead of greasy foods, and decocted and drank medicinal ingredients that could strengthen his body. Diet control and health care through the use of medicinal ingredients helped in unclogging the toxic energy that had accumulated in his blood vessels and in fattening him up since he was skin and bones. Eventually, his somber and pale complexion brightened up and became filled with vitality.

The servants watching from the sidelines were astonished beyond belief. Loose-lipped, they began to spread word about Mu-Gun's change. Soon, rumors about it spread like wildfire until it reached the ears of Baek Cheon-Sang, the patriarch of the Baek Sword Sect.

When he heard about it, Cheon-Sang asked for Lee Jin-Chung, the steward of the Baek Sword Sect, to confirm its credibility.

"My eldest son hasn’t left his room in ten days?"

"Yes, sir. He had shut himself inside and strictly prohibited anyone from entering.”

"Have you found out what he was doing in there?"

"Nobody was allowed to enter, so I couldn’t see what he was doing. However, he has changed his diet and has been consistently drinking medicinal concoctions that were meant for healing. Considering the fact that he gained weight and the color of his complexion improved, I believe he is aiming to recover from his condition.”

"Recovery, huh… Considering he is suffering from qi deviation and his eight major meridians are tangled together, do you think it’s still possible for him to gain weight and improve his complexion in ten days?"

"I honestly think achieving such a feat would be difficult. How about checking on him personally if you’re curious, sir?”

"Observe him a little longer."

"Understood."

Cheon-Sang had long since given up all expectations for Mu-Gun and was no longer interested in what he was doing as long as he didn’t cause harm to the family's reputation.

But Baek Mu-Ok was different. Mu-Ok immediately visited Mu-Gun's residence after hearing the rumors about his change.

"Greetings, Second Young Master."

Upon noticing Mu-Ok, the servant in charge of Mu-Gun’s residence quickly ran toward him to greet him.

"Is my elder brother inside?"

"Yes, he is."

"I'd like to go in."

"I can't let you pass. First Young Master has strictly forbidden us from letting anyone in."

"Then how long do I have to wait?"

"He'll be having lunch soon, so it won't take long."

"Okay. I'll wait here, then."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"What are you apologizing for? You’re just following elder brother's orders."

"Should I at least bring you a cup of tea?"

"It's fine. Don't mind me and go back to what you were doing."

Mu-Ok reassured the servant and waited for Mu-Gun to come out. He was extremely curious why Mu-Gun had shut himself inside his residence for ten days. It was great that his brother stopped visiting the brothel he had frequented every day, but he couldn’t feel relieved until he knew exactly what Mu-Gun was up to.

Mu-Ok recalled his memories of Mu-Gun, his elder brother that shone like a star in the sky when he was young. Back then, he was an object of envy to young Mu-Ok. Everything about his elder brother was amazing, so he wanted to be like him.

However, everything changed when Mu-Gun suffered qi deviation. Mu-Ok shouldered the burden of being the Baek Sword Sect successor in Mu-Gun’s stead, which he never once desired. The position was simply too much for Mu-Ok to handle.

To shake off the burden, he clenched his teeth and trained in martial arts. Even so, Mu-Ok realized his own inadequacy the more he trained. And through his own incompetence, he understood how great Mu-Gun's talent was.

Their current situation was certainly unfortunate. If Mu-Gun didn’t suffer from qi deviation, he would’ve succeeded the Baek Sword Sect, ultimately making their sect’s status incomparably higher. In retrospect, Mu-Ok didn’t have the ability to do so.

"What are you thinking about with such a dark expression?"

Before Mu-Ok knew it, Mu-Gun was already standing in front of him. As he buried his thoughts, Mu-Ok's eyes widened in surprise when he looked up at Mu-Gun. Mu-Gun's stature was completely different from ten days ago. He used to be skinny, but he had now gained weight, and his complexion was bright and flushed red with exuberance.

Mu-Ok couldn’t keep his mouth closed. Seeing Mu-Gun's drastic transformation had stunned him so much that he doubted whether the person before him really was his brother.

"You look like you saw a ghost," Mu-Gun chuckled.

"Elder brother! What happened? Are you really my elder brother?"

"Why are you so surprised? Didn't I say that I would change?"

"That's true, but what method did you use to attain such remarkable progress in just ten days?"

"I just put extra care into physical recuperation. On a different note, have you had lunch?"

"I haven't."

"Let's have lunch together, then. It's been a long time."

"I would love to."

Mu-Gun called for a servant and ordered her to prepare lunch. The servant quickly set up the table as if she had prepared it in advance, and they ate together.

Mu-Ok asked cautiously, "What were you doing in your room that required strictly prohibiting anyone from entering?"

"Like I said, I was taking care of my body."

"Have you perhaps recovered your cultivation?"

"Why do you think so?"

"I can’t think of any other way that would explain your transformation, elder brother."

"This qi deviation of mine isn’t something that could be fixed so easily. Your expectations are too high."

Mu-Gun hid the fact that he could restore his martial arts since there could be people within the Baek Sword Sect that didn’t want him to regain his abilities. It was better to be as cautious as possible until he had fully recovered his martial arts.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. By the way, what's the situation of the sect?"

Mu-Gun was hooked on debauchery, so he had no idea what was going on in the family. More accurately, he just didn’t pay any interest in familial matters since his cultivation went berserk. He figured there was nothing he could do even if he knew anyway.

"To be perfectly honest, it's not going well."

"Why’s that?"

"Our first uncle's faction is growing within the sect."

Cheon-Sang had three siblings, and his younger brother, Baek Cheon-Gi, was strengthening his faction while looking for a chance to aim for Cheon-Sang's position. However, Cheon-Sang's status in the sect was so firm that it was difficult to replace him immediately.

"He’s increasing his power within the sect to make Yong-Hwan the successor, huh?"

Mu-Gun easily deduced Cheon-Gi's intention. Cheon-Sang was an insurmountable wall. However, the story was different for the next generation. If Mu-Gun grew up properly, they would’ve proclaimed him the successor. Instead, a chance appeared when Mu-Gun fell into depravity and was removed from the list of heir candidates.

Mu-Ok had less talent compared to Mu-Gun, and Cheon-Gi had a son whose talent was inferior to Mu-Gun’s but superior to Mu-Ok’s. His name was Baek Yong-Hwan.

Cheon-Gi increased the power of his faction, determined to use it to name Yong-Hwan as the Baek Sword Sect’s successor.

"This all happened because of my inadequacy. Elder brother, if you were around, Uncle wouldn’t have dared reveal his ambition."

"You don't have to blame yourself. I know how hard you tried. How can you be blamed for your lack of ability? The only thing worth insulting is your foolish brother, who abandoned himself in despair instead of putting in any effort to recover."

"Who dares insult you, elder brother!"

"Who else? Most of the people in the family do."

"No, I'm sure everyone in the family is hoping for you to make a comeback."

"It's fine. You don't have to comfort me. I am not weak enough for that to hurt me. And you don't have to worry too much about Uncle. I have a plan."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Just keep that in mind for now. Are there any problems other than that?"

"Besides the Sea Dragon Gang's intensifying invasion, there are no other major issues."

The Sea Dragon Gang was a group of pirates made up of fugitives and plunderers who fled after committing crimes in murim. The Sea Dragon Gang was a nuisance for the Baek Sword Sect, which was based in Wenzhou. Recently, the damage caused had been increasing as the power of the Sea Dragon Gang grew.

In Mu-Gun’s mind, the first thing he wanted to do once he had recovered his martial arts was deal with the Sea Dragon Gang, so he continued asking, "What about the situation with the Zhejiang Martial Alliance?"

The Zhejiang Martial Alliance was a federation established by the top ten forces of Zhejiang, including the Baek Sword Sect.

"The unity isn’t holding up well. However, the Cleave Sabre Hall is growing in power by riding the coattails of the Hangzhou Merchant Company through marriage, so they could be a potential risk factor."

"That's true. We've been in the same boat for too long."

The Zhejiang Martial Alliance joined forces to fight against the Seven Great Clans, and their unity initially prospered since they had a common enemy. However, as time passed, and the threat of the Seven Great Clans gradually diminished, the forces within the Zhejiang Martial Alliance began to harbor a desire to become the alliance leader, which would give them power comparable to that of the Seven Great Clans.

There hadn’t been any problems yet since none of them had the power to overwhelm the other forces. But if the Cleave Sabre Hall became more powerful by riding on the coattails of the Hangzhou Merchant Company, they would most likely challenge for the leadership.

Mu-Gun had no intention of forgiving those who betrayed him, namely the patriarchs of the Seven Great Clans. However, killing them meant making an enemy out of the Seven Great Clans. To face off against them, Mu-Gun needed power as well. The Zhejiang Martial Alliance was perfect for that.

‘I'm going to nab the Zhejiang Martial Alliance for myself.'

Mu-Gun made up his mind to become the leader of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance, but his immediate priority was to reorganize the factional strife of the Baek Sword Sect and strengthen their sect.

Mu-Ok returned to his residence after lunch, and Mu-Gun continued treating his condition.

***

It had been 15 days since Mu-Gun awakened his reincarnation. He continued to confine himself in his residence and devote his energy to treating his qi deviation. As a result, his eight major meridians, which were tangled up and had stiffened due to his condition, recovered to a certain extent, and his clogged blood vessels gradually began working again.

In addition, he also ingested nourishing food and medicinal concoction, leading to muscle gain and stamina improvement. As his body recovered to a certain extent, Mu-Gun began to train.

Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation was a qigong[1] that stimulated the latent human potential to build and train bones and blood vessels. Moreover, in the event of polarity, it enabled the cultivator to attain the Adamant Vajra Body State.

Cheol Woo-Saeng, who was known throughout murim as a member of the Shaolin Temple’s inner circle, invented the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation in his later years. Mu-Gun obtained that martial arts in his fourth reincarnation.

However, Mu-Gun hadn’t reached the end of this martial art, so he was uncertain whether he could achieve the Adamant Vajra Body State. What was clear was that, as far as he was concerned, there was no external qigong superior to the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation when it came to physical strengthening.

Mu-Gun treated his qi deviation in his residence with the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art’s Qi Transfer Healing Technique in the morning. In the afternoon, he performed the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation in the training hall of his residence.

The Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation was a cultivation technique that would basically overwork the body by building up dynamic energy, through which the technique would stimulate the small veins in his body and strengthen his physique by accumulating the iron blood vajra qi. Doing intense training even though he hadn’t completely recovered from qi deviation yet could backfire. However, Mu-Gun had the Qi Transfer Healing Technique of the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art.

Mu-Gun trained by overworking himself through the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation, then healing himself with the Qi Transfer Healing Technique of the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art.

He spent fifteen days that way. It had been a month since Mu-Gun reincarnated.

‘I did it!'

After applying the Qi Transfer Healing Technique for a month without break, Mu-Gun finally fixed his eight major meridians, which the qi deviation had damaged.

He also reached the 3-star realm as a result of training through the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation.

It was impossible even for Cheol Woo-Saeng, the creator of the Blood Vajra Body Cultivation Technique, to reach the 3-star realm in just fifteen days.

It was a feat that was only possible because of the enlightenment he had gained through repeated training in his previous lives. As he attained the 3-star realm of the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation, Mu-Gun's muscular strength and flexibility increased significantly. Moreover, his skin, which had begun to harden due to the iron blood vajra qi, could now weaken the impact of sword attacks, even if it couldn’t completely block them.

He learned and demonstrated both internal and external martial arts. However, that wasn’t enough to satisfy Mu-Gun. While he was at it, he aimed to unclog the conception and governing vessels[2]too.

The conception and governing vessels were like the gateways to the ascension realm. Hence, there was a world of difference between a martial artist that could unclog their conception and governing vessels and a martial artist that couldn’t. Naturally, connecting the conception and governing vessels was no simple matter. If it went wrong, one could suffer qi deviation.

There was no need to search far and wide. The previous Mu-Gun was a great example of it, at least he was until he awakened his reincarnation. Mu-Gun forcibly attempted to open the conception and governing vessels, and, as a result, fell into qi deviation. Unblocking the conception and governing vessels was that dangerous.

However, the story would be different for the current Mu-Gun, considering he had been reincarnated. Throughout his previous lives, he had opened his conception and governing vessels multiple times.

With the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art’s effect and thirty years' worth of internal energy that he obtained through the Soul Power Transfer Spell, unblocking his conception and governing vessels would be a piece of cake for him.

Nevertheless, he didn’t let his guard down. Mu-Gun concentrated and circulated his internal energy with the Direct Circulation Method.

His blood vessels had become quite sturdy since he had trained and honed them for the past month as he unclogged them. Without delay, Mu-Gun immediately attempted to open his conception and governing vessels after circulating his internal energy with the Direct Circulation Method.

Thuck! Starting with the hoe-eum point, he unblocked the gok-gol, jung-geuk, gi-hae, jung-wan and ok-dang points of the conception vessel. Last but not least, he also opened up the seung-jang point in one fell swoop.

It probably looked like a simple task because Mu-Gun released it with ease, but many martial artists had failed to open up their conception vessel. It wasn’t easy to release the conception vessel. Mu-Gun was just ridiculously good at it.

Mu-Gun then immediately proceeded to break through his governing vessel without taking the time to catch his breath. The governing vessel was no different from the conception vessel. Starting from the jang-gang point, he broke through the myeong-mun, jung-chu, sin-ju, noe-ho, and baek-hoe points without hesitation.

Considerable amount of pain accompanied every blood vessel release. Even so, Mu-Gun didn’t even flinch.

Mu-Gun had been through eight reincarnations and had gone through much greater pain than this. This kind of pain wasn’t a big deal for him.

Disregarding the pain caused by the blood vessels being released, Mu-Gun continued to circulate his internal energy. Following that, the jeon-jeong, sin-jeong, as well as the tae-dan points opened up without a hitch. Finally, he broke through the long-awaited final acupoint—the eun-gyo point.

Booom! At that moment, an incomparably intense pain surged through his head, making even the unrivalled Mu-Gun show a distorted frown. However, the pain was only temporary. As it died down, indescribable vitality spread throughout his body. Mu-Gun knew at that moment that he had broken through the conception and governing vessels due to the overflowing vitality coursing through him. Upon checking his internal body, he noticed the internal energy flowing through his blood vessels had become faster and stronger than before. That was extremely important. The force of a martial art was proportional to the quality of one’s internal energy.

With his internal energy functioning smoother, he could exert a much greater force. Likewise, the power of his martial art would increase as well. Combined with the fact that there was no longer any blockage in his internal energy, it meant that his martial prowess was no longer blocked, too. It was now possible for him to freely execute his martial arts techniques and movements without any hindrances.

"I should be able to protect myself with this much."

He’d still find it difficult to deal with an ascended expert if he were to meet one, but he would at least be able to protect himself.