The broadcast that followed didn’t have much content.
It ended shortly after explaining what martial art Choa had learned and which one she would be taught next.
Of course, the viewers didn’t want the stream to end.
They begged, saying they’d be happy just watching Choa train, but the host of the broadcast turned it off without a care.
A move that made no sense by a streamer’s standard.
When Choa asked why he would end the stream just when he had everyone’s attention, Cheon Hwi replied like this.
“There’s no fun in doing Qi Circulation for hours and repeating basic movements thousands of times.”
Cheon Hwi’s martial arts training, to begin with, is far from flashy.
As someone who has already reached the peak as a martial artist, he avoids superficial showiness and focuses only on the essence of martial arts.
To a martial artist, what truly matters is inner energy and fundamentals.
He believes that only when those two are solid can one train without obstruction and fully make enlightenment their own.
But of course, basic training is boring.
Viewers would just get bored watching dull scenes and leave eventually, so it’s better to end it early and leave them wanting more for the next broadcast.
After explaining this, Cheon Hwi gestured toward the entrance of the training room.
“And besides, it’s about time we got ready.”
“R-Ready?”
When Choa turned to look at the entrance, a familiar person appeared through the door that opened at just the right moment.
“You arrived right on time.”
“P-President of the Association…?!”
Choa’s body froze stiff.
She looked the president up and down, then swallowed hard and trembled.
It wasn’t the suit she had seen him in earlier.
He was geared up with equipment that looked extraordinary at a glance.
Couldn’t you buy several buildings in Seoul just by selling that gear alone?
No, what mattered wasn’t the price of what he was wearing.
It was the atmosphere radiating from him, the presence of a Hunter hidden behind the title of Association President.
This was the moment Choa was overwhelmed by the aura of a top-class Hunter who stood at the very peak of the nation.
“Why did you show up decked out like that?”
“W-Well…?”
“What a martial artist needs is just their own body and one trusted weapon to wield. If you keep depending on external tools like that, isn’t it obvious why you’re not improving?”
With a hint of irritation, Cheon Hwi strode up to the Association President and tapped—tap, tap.
He rapped on the armor the President wore and the artifact accessories,
then started complaining with clear displeasure.
Caught off guard by the unexpected reaction, both Choa and the Association President were left speechless.
There’s a saying that a true craftsman doesn’t blame their tools, but in this day and age, that kind of thinking is considered outdated.
Any Hunter with a decent income tends to own at least one or two useful artifacts.
In fact, some even classify Hunters of the same rank based on the quality of their gear.
After all, the difference it makes is significant.
Good weapons and good armor have always been important, even before the Great Upheaval, but artifacts take that importance to an entirely different level.
They’re like materialized traits.
The power of artifacts is so remarkable that they’re often compared in that way.
A powerful artifact can drastically elevate a Hunter’s level, depending on how it’s used.
“At this rate, there’s no point in having taught a divine martial art to a mannequin.”
But Cheon Hwi thought differently.
“A person who relies on tools to avoid the wall they should break through with enlightenment, there’s no way they can truly raise their level.”
It’s not that he denied the usefulness of external tools.
Humans are special precisely because they can use tools, and using such tools doesn’t automatically cause any problems.
However, one should use the tool—not be controlled by it.
Especially when the item surpasses the user’s abilities, it must be treated with caution and kept at a distance.
“Go change into something simple. Since you’re a Qi Master, you won’t even need a weapon, right, President?”
“Ah, understood. I’ll go get changed right away, so please wait for me aboveground.”
After scolding and sending the Association President away, Cheon Hwi let out a sigh and called to Choa.
“Choa, you should be careful too. You must solve the problem right in front of you on your own, if you rely on external tools, you’ll never truly grow.”
“Y-Yes, sir…!”
Somehow, the atmosphere made it impossible not to nod, and Choa responded instinctively.
A little while later, the three of them gathered at the Association’s main gate.
The Association President, now back in his usual suit, had summoned a luxury sedan in advance and had Cheon Hwi and Choa, both in martial attire, get in.
“Still, this is truly astonishing… I never imagined your rank would increase by a full grade in just one week.”
While the car began to move, the Association President looked at Choa in amazement.
When he had first guided her to the basement training room, the power she gave off hadn’t felt that strong, but now, she had become a C-rank awakened, exuding an eerie kind of pressure.
Was she someone who had always possessed hidden potential?
No, it was clearly due to her rapid improvement through learning martial arts.
Deep in thought, the Association President swallowed nervously.
“Mr. Song Cheon Hwi, may I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the martial art you had the combat golem learn… I can’t quite grasp what kind of technique it is.”
In truth, the Association President hadn’t had high expectations when he lent out the combat golem.
Cheon Hwi had only said he would teach it a martial art, not what kind it would be.
Honestly, even if he had taught it a low-grade martial art, it wouldn’t have been a big issue.
Rather than expecting anything special, he had lent the mannequin simply to earn Cheon Hwi’s favor, but now, the issue he faced had come from a completely unexpected direction.
“I humbly ask for your guidance.”
Data analysis failure.
Neither the Association’s top experts nor even the President himself, who had lived as an S-rank Hunter for many years, could make sense of the martial art’s principles.
However, the root of the problem was soon revealed.
Lack of ability.
Surprisingly, the reason was the President’s own lack of capability.
“What on earth is that divine martial art?”
“Still, you managed to get that far in understanding it.”
It was a martial art that far surpassed his own ability.
After careful observation, the Association President realized that and didn’t miss the chance to ask Cheon Hwi for instruction.
If he could learn that martial art, he was sure he would far exceed even the standards that defined an S-rank.
That certainty struck him with incredible force.
“It’s a martial art called Heaven and Earth Great Shift. It’s a divine martial art that pierces through the fundamentals of martial arts.”
Cheon Hwi finally spoke.
The Association President sharpened his focus and concentrated on Cheon Hwi’s words.
“The details are only meaningful once you gain enlightenment yourself, but I can give you at least one piece of advice.”
Advice.
The Association President, well aware that a single word from Cheon Hwi in the realm of martial arts was worth its weight in gold, widened his eyes.
“What would that be?”
“While you concentrate on the flow, keep checking whether you’re using your power correctly.”
“…That’s vague.”
“Divine martial arts are always like that.”
If it were simple, it wouldn’t be called a divine martial art.
The results and logic of a divine martial art might be simple, but the profound principles needed to comprehend and grasp that logic are always refined and deep.
Especially Heaven and Earth Great Shift.
When you look only at the principle, you might even scoff, thinking, “Is this really a divine martial art?”
But because it’s so simple, the power it unfolds through deeper philosophy is terrifying.
Still, maybe he should offer a bit of insight.
Just as Cheon Hwi thought this, recalling their current destination.
“E-Excuse me… Where exactly are we going…?”
Choa, who had been glancing nervously the whole time, finally spoke in a tiny voice.
Her head was bowed, with only her eyes darting about, but Cheon Hwi calmly answered her question without concern.
“To a B-rank gate that appeared near the national highway.”
“W-What?!”
Choa screamed, her voice high-pitched and panicked.
Though her shriek was quite loud, both the Association President and Cheon Hwi simply nodded as if that reaction was understandable.
After all, a B-rank gate is never something to be taken lightly.
Just like the ranking system for awakened individuals, gates also range from S to E grade, and their danger level varies by rank.
Among them, a B-rank gate is considered quite dangerous.
An S-rank gate can completely destroy a nation, and even put the entire continent where that country resides in peril.
An A-rank gate, depending on the situation, can destroy the nation where it appeared and cause serious damage to neighboring countries.
So then, what about B-rank gates?
They can put a country in critical danger—barely allowing it to function as a nation.
“W-Wait… am I going in there too…?”
“You don’t have to join the battle directly, but there’s no harm in experiencing the environment of a high-level dungeon.”
“Th-That’s not something you can say so casually…!”
Now, all that destruction described earlier, those are worst-case scenarios, assuming the gate goes into a break state and is left completely unattended.
Or if several countermeasures were attempted and all of them failed.
But unless it were the Great Upheaval era, thankfully, no country faces that kind of collapse these days.
When an S-rank gate appears, the entire world still goes into a frenzy, but A-rank gates are now within the control limits of modern civilization.
“Th-Then why are we suddenly heading to a gate…?”
Choa, having finally calmed down, asked while taking a deep breath.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out why they were suddenly heading to a B-rank gate, and even bringing the Association President along.
If it were an A-rank gate suffering from a shortage of personnel, maybe she could understand, but this was a B-rank gate not far from Seoul.
While it was certainly dangerous enough to require a response, it didn’t seem urgent enough for Korea’s strongest S-rank Hunter—the President himself—to step in.
And on top of that, bringing her along?
There had to be a purpose.
“Hmm… Choa, do you know what a spiritual tonic is?”
“I-I kind of know… I’ve never seen one in person because they’re super expensive,
but aren’t they supposed to be good for your body when you eat them…?”
“Close enough. They’re tonics filled with dense energy, and if you take one and perform Qi Circulation, you can rapidly absorb its properties and increase your internal energy.”
Increase internal energy.
Choa’s eyes widened.
She already knew that when people talked about internal energy or spiritual power, they were referring to magic power.
“But in your case, Choa, there’s a more efficient method than using spiritual tonics.”
“Yes…?”
Cheon Hwi looked at her with a sly grin, the corners of his mouth curving into something vaguely menacing.
“That’s what makes the Bloodborne Physique so terrifying.”
Bloodborne Physique gains strength by absorbing blood.
Rather than taking a carefully refined tonic, absorbing the blood of a martial artist with high cultivation is even more effective in boosting one’s internal strength.
The higher the level of the martial artist, the better.
It sounds obvious, but the reason is clear.
A master’s internal energy is much denser and more vast than a novice’s.
But Bloodborne Physique doesn’t only accept human blood.
Because of the Blood Demon who consumed humans, people came to assume it only worked with human blood, but in truth, it can draw power from non-human beings as well.
“Two weeks.”
Aside from the time needed to teach you Body Meditation and swordsmanship, that timeframe should be just right.
Cheon Hwi finished his calculations and spoke.
“In two weeks, I’ll raise your level to First-rate.”
The mark of a First-rate martial artist is the Qi-Infused Blade.
To achieve that, one must reach the realm of Sword and Mind as One, and that realm gets closer the more you use both sword and internal energy through repeated experience.
What’s needed is internal energy that doesn’t run out, no matter how much you use it.
The Blood Demon was a perfectly balanced martial artist, a hexagon maxed out on every front, but the true strength of the Bloodborne Physique lies in its rapid growth and sustained combat ability.
Through simple blood absorption and high-level techniques, you can gain tremendous internal energy and power in a short time.
The Blood Heaven Blood Refinement Method was never made for slow cultivation through Qi Circulation like typical methods.
It was designed to dominate and control massive quantities of blood energy.
“You asked why we’re going to a B-rank gate?”
Rapid internal energy gain through blood absorption and martial arts techniques.
The Blood Demon used humans as material, but this way, there’s no need to grind up people for growth.
Monsters are excellent substitutes, in fact, they’re even better materials than humans.
“We’re going to gather materials for the great technique.”
As he said this, Cheon Hwi turned his gaze out the window.
Toward the giant, glowing blue gate in the distance.
The moment monsters—once called humanity’s disaster, would meet an even greater disaster.