The funeral was modest.
After being cremated, Cheon Woo-hyeok returned home in a small urn containing his ashes.
'It's so light...'
His grandfather, who had once seemed as imposing as Mount Tai, had been reduced to a handful of ashes.
And as though to compensate for how terribly light his grandfather had become, a grief of unbearable weight threatened to swallow Cheon Do-hyeon whole.
That night, Do-hyeon fell asleep clutching the urn tightly in his arms.
The heat from the cremation should've long since faded, yet he could still feel a faint warmth.
Almost as though his grandfather were lying beside him.
Thinking of it that way made him feel considerably better.
The following dawn, Cheon Do-hyeon opened his eyes out of habit.
He was allowed to take a week off school to mourn his grandfather, but the routine he'd established with him was deeply ingrained.
Instead of lying back down, he got dressed and headed to the martial arts hall.
The empty training hall no longer echoed with his grandfather's spirited shouts.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Cheon Do-hyeon threw punches into the air.
He twisted his body and moved his legs, and before long, sweat began running down his skin.
As the sweat flowed, his mind felt a little clearer.
That's right. He couldn't spend all his time drowning in sorrow.
His grandfather had left him things he still needed to accomplish.
'Let's keep moving forward.'
Leave yesterday buried in yesterday and live each day to the fullest.
That was the attitude toward life Cheon Woo-hyeok had taught him.
After finishing his shower, he filled his stomach with a simple breakfast.
He even finished washing the dishes, yet it wasn't eight o'clock.
He had woken up far too early.
Cheon Do-hyeon headed toward the safe in the master bedroom.
There was no reason to delay fulfilling his grandfather's last wishes.
When he entered the study attached to the master bedroom, he noticed a small safe tucked away in a corner.
'There was a safe here?'
It was positioned somewhere he would've overlooked unless he'd been deliberately looking for it.
He'd lived with Cheon Woo-hyeok his entire life, yet he'd never imagined his grandfather had hidden something like this in his study.
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP—BEEP-BEEP!
When he entered his birthday, the door opened with a cheerful electronic chime.
CREEEAK—
With the grating sound of stiff hinges, the belongings that had been lying dormant inside the safe finally revealed themselves.
The first things he noticed were a bankbook and several bundles of cash.
RUSTLE—
As he rummaged farther inside, he discovered something at the very back that radiated a strange, unfamiliar aura.
An ancient book bound in worn black leather.
On its cover were several characters that appeared to be the book's title.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
"Heavenly Demon... Divine Art? That's quite a grandiose name."
If he were to interpret it literally, wouldn't it mean some mysterious technique belonging to a demon from the heavens?
Cheon Do-hyeon chuckled as he picked up the book.
But his amusement didn't last long.
The moment he turned a page, black energy surged from the paper.
SQUELCH—
"Gasp!"
The black mass writhed as though it were alive.
And before Cheon Do-hyeon could react, it was sucked straight into his body.
SHWOOOOOP!
"U-ugh?!"
Having been forced to absorb the energy, Cheon Do-hyeon immediately felt the pain that followed.
"Urgh... AAAAAARGH!"
It felt as though someone were gouging into his brain with an awl.
Then, characters began forcing their way into his mind.
O worthy one receive the teachings of the Heavenly Demon behold his omnipotent power worship him for this is the Divine Art he left behind
Every time another passage from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art entered his head, Cheon Do-hyeon writhed across the floor in agony.
He wasn't reading the book.
Rather, the book was reading him.
The pain was like having a red-hot iron skewer driven into his skull.
And amid that agony, the deep, resonant voice of an elderly man began reciting a particular passage.
"Uuuugh..."
At first, the pain prevented him from recognizing what he was hearing.
But as he listened more carefully, he realized the voice was repeatedly reciting the same incantation.
It was the martial arts incantation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Empty Heart Like a Valley: Empty the heart until it is as deep as a valley.
Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea: As a hundred rivers return to the sea.
Absorb Qi and Return to the Origin: Accept the energy and make it your source.
EmptyHeartLikeAValleyHundredRiversReturnToTheSeaAbsorbQiAndReturnToTheOriginEmptyHeartLikeAValleyHundredRiversReturnToTheSeaAbsorbQiAndReturnToTheOrigin
'Does it want me to repeat the incantation?'
Do-hyeon struggled to recite the words.
As he did, a cooling sensation spread through his head, and new knowledge was implanted into his mind.
It was knowledge concerning the meaning of the incantation and how it functioned.
The first incantation contained the essence of the martial art.
Empty oneself so that the energy of all things could flow through.
As though it had been waiting for him, the voice began reciting the next incantation.
My Body Is the Void: My body itself is the empty void.
Steal Heaven and Exchange the Sun: Steal the heavens and replace the sun.
Swallow Heaven and Devour Earth : Swallow the heavens and devour the earth.
For a brief moment, Do-hyeon had thought the disappearance of his headache meant he could finally endure the process.
But the instant the second incantation entered his mind, the characters began taking physical form.
And then they started tearing through his body.
"GRRRGH!"
The pain was as though knives were digging into his flesh.
The characters traveled through his blood vessels, thoroughly searching every corner of his body.
Before long, Do-hyeon realized what the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was trying to accomplish.
The characters discovered the energy of the Great Void Primordial Unity Heart Art residing within his dantian.
Upon confirming its presence, their ferocious energy subsided.
Apparently, the process had been intended to verify his qualifications.
Now he understood why Cheon Woo-hyeok had referred to the Great Void Primordial Unity Heart Art as a seed.
If he'd opened the Heavenly Demon Divine Art without first inheriting that cultivation art, the incantation he'd just experienced would've caused his body to explode, killing him.
"Uuugh... My Body Is the Void... Steal Heaven and Exchange the Sun... Swallow Heaven and Devour Earth..."
As Cheon Do-hyeon recited the second incantation, the final one immediately followed, as though it had been waiting.
Boundless Sea of Qi: The sea of Qi knows no bounds.
Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission: Ten thousand demons bow their heads in surrender.
Do not beg, but seize.
At last, the final incantation was complete.
HUMMMMM—
At that moment, the black energy that had been sleeping within Do-hyeon's dantian awakened independently of his will.
WHOOOOOOOSH—
The energy inside his dantian began spinning of its own accord.
A black hole possessing tremendous suction force appeared.
It was as though a black hole had formed inside his abdomen.
That black hole cried out with a maddening hunger, craving everything around it.
'Dangerous. It's sucking away my life force.'
An instinctive terror seized him.
'If I don't control this, it'll devour me.'
'No...!'
Just then, new knowledge was implanted into his mind.
'How to guide the energy.'
Without even stopping to consider the consequences, Do-hyeon immediately began guiding the energy according to the method taught by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
He directed the powerful energy along specific acupoints.
And when he finally drew the energy out through the Laogong Acupoint—
SHWOOOOOP!
The Laogong Acupoint seemed to tear open, producing an overwhelming suction force.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
Energy drifting through the air was sucked into his palm.
An extraordinarily powerful absorption phenomenon.
At the same time, all the energy being drawn in accumulated directly within his dantian.
Its efficiency was easily twice that of ordinary Qi Circulation.
However, there were side effects.
GRRRRRUMBLE—
The more energy it absorbed, the stronger the suction became.
And as the suction grew stronger, the hunger and pain intensified alongside it.
Furthermore, because the accumulating energy remained unrefined, his meridians began swelling as though they were about to burst.
POP! POP!
The blood vessels throughout his body bulged violently, and the weaker capillaries ruptured.
Pain spread throughout his entire body as his blood vessels stretched taut and burst.
'Stop... Stop!'
Do-hyeon sensed that his life was in danger.
Thinking quickly, he reversed the flow of Qi, directing it in the opposite direction.
'Please! Stop!'
Fortunately, the suction began to weaken, just as he'd hoped.
WHOOOOOSH—
After calming the overflowing energy, he slowly opened his eyes.
The air around him had changed.
"The Mana in this entire area has evaporated."
And that had happened after activating the technique for only a short time.
'So this is the first Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art...'
The Great Art of Star Absorption.
"This is... basically magic."
Once mastered, it would become a martial art known as the Heavenly Demon Star-Absorbing Divine Art.
This was power comparable to magic.
No.
It was something beyond magic.
It possessed enough power to drain the Mana from an entire area.
But it was equally dangerous.
Hadn't he nearly died several times while using the Great Art of Star Absorption?
Any ordinary person would've hesitated to use it again.
It wouldn't have been strange for someone to declare the Heavenly Demon Divine Art an ominous, cursed book and shove it right back into the safe.
But Cheon Do-hyeon's reaction was different.
"Ha... Hahahaha!"
Laughter burst from his mouth.
Cheon Do-hyeon had been born with the blood of a ferocious beast.
That was the nature of the Cheon family's bloodline.
However, because he'd been born in the wrong era, he'd spent his entire life in the position of the weaker party.
Again and again, he'd been stopped by the insurmountable wall called magic.
Yet he'd never given up, constantly pushing himself through relentless training.
That was how deeply obsessed Do-hyeon was with raw, primal strength.
And now, a power capable of overcoming that disparity had fallen into his hands.
How could he possibly keep himself from laughing?
"And this is only the first martial art."
Then what kind of martial art awaited him on the next page?
And just how powerful would he become if he mastered the entirety of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
However, the book was uncompromising.
[Warning: Do not covet the next page until Star Absorption reaches the Fifth Star.][Should an unqualified person turn the page, the Demon shall devour you.]
"How demanding..."
Cheon Do-hyeon closed the book and rose to his feet.
Fortunately, he still had some time before school.
His objective was clear.
Make the Great Art of Star Absorption his own.
Cheon Do-hyeon's confident expression had crumbled after just one day.
"COUGH!"
Dark-red clots of blood were scattered across the floor of the martial arts hall.
Amid them, Cheon Do-hyeon rolled across the ground, clutching his chest.
The pain felt as though his internal organs were being wrung out like wet laundry.
'Damn it. My balance is completely messed up.'
Until now, Cheon Do-hyeon's physique had been close to perfection.
The muscles and nerves developed through Cheon Woo-hyeok's hellish training were like a finely calibrated machine.
But when the foreign engine called internal energy was added to that machine, its precision became a curse.
The altered balance of strength resulting from the awakening of his dantian was holding him back.
Whenever he threw a punch, his center of gravity shifted too far forward.
Whenever he tried to lift his foot, the absorption force activated on its own and threw him off balance.
It felt as though an uncontrollable third arm had suddenly sprouted from his otherwise perfectly functioning body.
Given enough time, he could use the technique to devastating effect.
But the moment he tried to combine it with physical movement, his body creaked and stumbled like a malfunctioning robot.
"Ptui!"
He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.
It was a side effect of the disruption to his Qi and blood circulation.
"All I did was add some movement. I never thought it'd be this difficult."
Dodge the opponent's attack and slip into an opening.
Extend his hand and land the Great Art of Star Absorption.
In his head, it was a simple combination.
But his body refused to cooperate.
If his concentration wavered even slightly, the energy flowed backward, tearing through his blood vessels.
The pain was so horrific that it made him want to give up.
But Cheon Do-hyeon stood up again.
How had his grandfather, Cheon Woo-hyeok, always taught him?
—How long are you going to lie there? Get up!
He could almost hear his grandfather's voice echoing inside his head.
"Do-hyeon. When a new technique refuses to settle into your body, do not try to force it into place."
"Breathe. Match your breathing to the rhythm of your feet touching the ground. Martial arts are not performed through strength. They are performed through rhythm."
Was this a memory from the past?
Or was it a lingering remnant of his grandfather's consciousness, still residing within Do-hyeon?
Cheon Do-hyeon closed his eyes.
'That's right. Rhythm...'
He abandoned his impatience.
He also discarded his desire to forcefully draw out and wield his energy.
Instead, he listened to the beating of his own heart.
THUMP... THUMP... THUMP...
He took a step.
He inhaled.
The vortex inside his dantian expanded in time with his breathing.
He extended his fist.
He exhaled.
'Now!'
Cheon Do-hyeon's eyes snapped open.
His body glided forward like a ghost, slipping directly in front of the punching bag.
A seamless combination of movements, as natural as flowing water.
[Great Art of Star Absorption]
The instant his outstretched palm touched the punching bag—
CRRRUNCH—!
There was no dull thud of impact.
Instead, a chilling sound of something rupturing echoed throughout the martial arts hall.
The leather punching bag folded inward at its waist like a sheet of paper.
Then, unable to withstand the pressure inside, it burst apart.
SHHHHHHH—
Sand poured from the torn side of the punching bag.
"Huu..."
Cheon Do-hyeon looked down at his hand, breathing heavily.
His fingertips trembled slightly with excitement.
The power pulsing within them had become incomparably more precise than before.
Just then, the voice from the book echoed inside his head.
[The second star of Star Absorption begins to shine.]
The Great Art of Star Absorption had reached the Second Star.
"Did I... succeed?"
Cheon Do-hyeon brushed back his sweat-soaked hair and chuckled.
The bloodstains on the floor and the ruptured punching bag felt like medals of honor.
Failure was part of the process of achieving success.
Now that he'd experienced it firsthand, he felt he finally understood those words.
His grandfather's final wish came to mind.
—Do-hyeon. This is the selfish wish of an old man. I shall return to the earth, but my martial arts... my soul... I wish for them to continue living within you.
His grandfather's final words hadn't been a lie.
He might have departed from this world, but the teachings Cheon Woo-hyeok had left behind had become Do-hyeon's very flesh and bones, supporting him from within.
"So you really are still alive inside me, Grandpa."
'When I find myself struggling like this, please help me out more often, Grandpa.'
Swallowing those words, Cheon Do-hyeon took out his pen and added another line to his battered training journal.
[Key Principle: Synchronize breathing and footwork. Don't get greedy. Follow the rhythm.]
There wasn't much time left before he had to leave for school.
Cheon Do-hyeon looked toward his school uniform hanging in a corner of the martial arts hall.
It was clothing that had always felt like a prison uniform.
But now, it felt different.
"Just you wait."
For the first time, he was looking forward to going to school.