CH 39

Pyo-wol looked at the bat.

It was his first time seeing a creature other than snakes here. He found it mysterious. 

The bat flapped its wings, trying to get out of Pyo-wol’s hand. However, no matter how much the bat shook, it could not escape Pyo-wol’s hand.

As if trapped in an invisible, intangible membrane, the bat floundered on Pyo-wol’s palm.

Pyo-wol gently reached out his other hand and caressed the bat. Then it trembled as if a bat had met its natural enemy.

“Ssss!”

Pyo-wol made a strange sound as he touched the bat as if it were his child. The bat was frozen like ice and couldn’t move.

Pyo-wol smirked lightly.

His white teeth were revealed in the dark.

His appearance was surprisingly friendly.

He had no idea how many years he had been here.

He could only guess at the fact that he had stayed there for quite some time with his long hair and shaggy beard.

A normal person would have gone crazy staying in a place like this for a few days. However, Pyo-wol managed to keep his mind intact.

No, maybe he became crazy, but he was just not aware of it.

It didn’t matter either way.

All he had done in the meantime was to practice the Sub-Thunder Snake method, assimilate himself with snakes, and learn martial arts.

His life, which repeated every day like a treadmill, was too monotonous for a sane person to handle.

As the Sub-Thunder Snake method reached a certain level, it was now difficult to distinguish whether Pyo-wol was a snake or a human being.

He breathed like a snake and looked at the world through the eyes of a snake. And from a certain moment, he reached the point of breathing through his skin like some of the snakes.

This wasn’t what he intended. 

The changes just happened naturally, like breathing.

After learning the snake’s habits, he made no sound even while walking. No matter how narrow the opening, if his head was inserted in, his entire body could pass through.

The function of the Sub-Thunder Snake method was not limited to that.

The acceleration and expansion of thinking became possible. He can think more broadly and make decisions faster. And his body can immediately respond given those brain changes.

He has had reflexes and physical abilities that transcend ordinary humans.

But Pyo-wol was still not satisfied with that level.

So he practiced the Seventy-Two Swords Waves while operating the Sub-Thunder Snake method.

Before returning to the underground cave for the second time, his understanding of the Seventy-Two Sword Waves was only about one fourth. However, his understanding increased by breaking through the inescapable net. 

The Seventy-Two Sword Wave was a skill made in the early days of the Qingcheng sect. Although it was pushed aside by the other skills created after that, it was never a martial art that can be taken lightly.

Pyo-wol insistently studied the Seventy-Two Sword Wave.

As he learned and endured, his understanding deepened.

When the Seventy-Two Sword Wave reached a certain level, he studied how to activate it with his bare hands. He broke down the technique and tried to rebuild it again to fit his bare hands.

His attempts have failed dozens of times. However, Pyo-wol did not become frustrated nor did he despair.

If he failed, he just thought of going back from the beginning. 

All the useless parts were cut off, leaving only the core parts. He then reassembled it to his own taste.

Thanks to the Sub-Thunder Snake method, his intellectual powers increased dramatically, making Pyo-wol’s plan possible. 

Pyo-wol learned the Seventy-Two Sword Waves to the extreme. After mastering all of the Seventy-Two Swords, he then spent time comprehending the Emei sect’s Pyoseol Cheonunjang.

Although both sects were in the same province which was Sichuan, there was a big difference in the nature of the Qingcheng sect and the Emei sect’s martial arts.

The two sects differed from their origins.

The Qingcheng sect had its origins in Taoism, while the Emei school had its origins in Buddhism. There would obviously be a stark difference from their cultivation methods to their philosophy.

It was a very dangerous thing to learn two completely different martial arts simultaneously. However, Pyo-wol did not care and still studied the Pyo-seol Cheonunjang.

The characteristic feature of Pyoseol Cheonunjang was that it was like snow blowing in the wind. It is a martial art who shares the same box with the shaman’s myeonjang [면장(綿掌)].

The technique was much more difficult to learn than other strong martial arts. This was because, without proper operation and power control, the person cannot exert its actual power. 

For that reason, even Gong-un, who had obtained a copy of Pyoseol Cheonunjang, did not dare to learn it easily.

In order to exert the full power of the Pyoseol Cheonunjang, it is necessary to have a great understanding of the philosophy of the Emei sect. 

Without understanding the context and meaning behind the text, it would be near impossible to bring out its original power. 

Pyo-wol, unaware of that fact, learned Pyo-seol Cheonunjang based on the Sub-Thunder Snake method.

Of course, he couldn’t draw out the skill’s actual power.

His learning speed was also slow.

Still, Pyo-wol did not give up.

All he had left was time.

There are only a few things that could be done in a place where there was no distinction between day and night.

Even if he fails, he can always try again.

There was no need to worry about unsuccessful attempts.

Pyo-wol’s body, which has adopted the snake’s habits and characteristics, was tougher and more flexible than any other martial arts masters, so he can easily handle any shock.

Just as he disassembled the Seventy-Two Sword Waves, Pyo-wol broke down the Pyoseol Cheonunjang into pieces and reassembled it to suit himself.

In this way, Pyoseol Cheonunjang was recreated by Pyo-wol.

But Pyo-wol was still not satisfied with that level.

So he attempted to combine the Seventy-Two Sword Waves and the essence of Pyo Seol Cheonunjang into an entirely new method.

Naturally, his attempts were unsuccessful.

There were times when he would struggle with qi deviation, and there were times when his heart would burst due to the regurgitation of the internal organs. 

He had fallen into a moribund state and visited the threshold of death dozens of times.

And each time, Pyo-wol would go back and visit the snake pit.

He would regain his vitality and stamping by meditating among the snakes, and eating them.

Every time he would overcome the crisis of death, he would shed his skin. With each layer of skin removed, his body grew tougher and stronger.

Pyo-wol would constantly overcome death and become strong.

Now the bat stopped flapping its wings. It sat quietly on Pyo-wol’s palm and waited. 

Pyo-wol had no intention of killing the bat.

This was because bats were the evidence that a passage to the outside had been opened.

This was the first time Pyo-wol had seen a bat in an underground cave. If the bat had really managed to come in from the outside, there must be a passage.

“Good!”

He was thinking about going out now.

Because he realized that further training was meaningless.

Pyo-wol didn’t know exactly how much time he spent. 

However, he was confident that he would not be easily pushed back if faces the other martial artists of Jianghu.  

Pyo-wol took a step forward.

Passing through the corridors where the instructor’s live, he headed into a huge underground cave. 

The buildings, which had been built in the underground cavity, could not withstand the passage of time and collapsed, leaving only ruins.

Pyo-wol searched through the ruins.

Moments later, a torn garment was in his hand.

It was the clothes of the Emei disciples who died here. Pyo-wol had taken off the clothes of the male disciples and kept them here.

It was only here in the underground that he could stay naked since he was alone. But he couldn’t do that outside.

Pyo-wol wore the clothes that looked most intact.

It’s been a while since he has worn clothes, so the feeling was unfamiliar. But he thought he’d get used to it soon.

Just like it has been so far.

His preparation to leave was over.

There was no excitement.

His heart was so calm that it was strange.

Maybe  after being with the snakes for a long time, his heart had also become as cold as a snake. 

Pyo-wol spread his palms wide. Still, the bat didn’t even try to fly. Pyo-wol thought that the bat should be set free. 

Later on, the bat flapped its wings vigorously.

The bat fluttered in place for a moment, then began to soar vigorously into the air.

Pyo-wol looked carefully at the direction the bat was heading.

The bat soared towards the ceiling, changed direction and then headed towards a particular wall. And after a while, it disappeared. 

Pyo-wol moved in the direction the bat disappeared.

It was a wall that was located a dozen or so high above the ground. When he touched the wall, he felt a small crack.

The space was small enough for Pyo-wol’s head to fit in. 

Inside the wall was a pile of broken stones. It seems that the wall has recently weakened and collapsed.

Pyo-wol brought his face near the crack. 

He felt a cold wind. Air is coming in from the outside.

“Hou–eup!”

Pyo-wol inhaled the fresh air coming in from the outside, deep in his lungs.

There was nothing special about the air as it entered through the underground passage, but the feeling was different.

Pyo-wol’s heart was beating faster than usual just because the air had flown in from the outside, and not simply from the underground cavity.

This crack was another uncharted space for Pyo-Wol.

Little bats were small enough to crawl in there, but no one can guarantee if there was room for a person to pass through.

If one would make a mistake, they could get stuck in the middle and be unable to continue or go back. No matter how good a person’s martial arts were, any normal person couldn’t help but feel fear. 

But Pyo-wol was different.

After living in harmony with the darkness and snakes for a long time, he could no longer feel the emotion called fear.

Pyo-wol shoved his head into a small crack.

It was only large enough to fit a single head, but miraculously, Pyo-wol’s shoulders and body glided through the cramped space.

Inside the crack, it was truly a dark place. 

It was so dark that he couldn’t even see his hand. However, Pyo-wol did not make a fearful expression and crawled forward without hesitation.

The darkness was familiar to him.

Others may fear it, but to him it felt as comfortable as a mother’s womb.

Pyo-wol has adapted to the darkness perfectly. 

A darkness of this degree was still bright like broad daylight.

Pyo-wol crawled non-stop.

There were sharp pieces of stone and unidentified ores protruding here and there, but none of it did any harm to Pyo-wol’s body.

Pyo-wol moved like a snake, gliding gently.

Srreuk!

Only the rustling of his clothes echoed in the darkness.

Pyo-wol so crawled in the dark without rest.

It was impossible to guess where the end of the crack was.

Sometimes he would go down, and at other times, he would pass through a near-vertical passage. However, Pyo-wol crawled and crawled without any sign of exhaustion.

He didn’t know how long he crawled. 

A faint light was seen in the distance.

In an instant, a turbulent expression appeared on Pyo-wol’s face.

No matter how cold his emotions were, his emotions were bound to stir in front of the light he had not seen for such a long time.

He wanted to go to the place where the light was right away, but Pyo-wol stopped moving.

His eyes were perfectly adapted to the darkness. If he goes out into the bright world in this state, his eyes will not be able to bear it and he will die or become blind.

His heart was in a hurry, but he had to stop and rest so his eyes had to adjust to the light. 

Pyo-wol crouched down and looked at the dim light in the distance. That alone felt like having his eyeball burst in pain.

Pyo-wol quickly turned his head and looked at the other side. The pain subsided a little.

Pyo-wol approached the entrance little by little every day. Inching closer to the light already made him feel a burning pain in his eyes and skin.

It was as if thousands of needles were stabbing his whole body. However, Pyo-wol did not give up and adapted little by little to the light.

It took him ten days to fully adapt to the light. 

Then Pyo-wol went out.

It was the cramped space between the large rocks where Pyo-wol had squeezed out.

The gap between the rocks was so narrow that no one dared to imagine that it would lead deep underground.

A raccoon or a weasel crawled through the crevice of the rock.

Pyo-wol did not raise his head for a moment.

Although he tried as much as possible to adapt to the light in the cave entrance, facing the sun directly would bring him a different kind of pain.

He felt pain and thirst as if his whole body was burning. 

This was why he needed to adapt as much as he could. 

Pyo-wol did not avoid the pain.

Later on, he looked straight up at the blazing sun.

As time passed, the pain gradually subsided.

As time passed, the pain gradually subsided.

His reddened skin calmed down, and his tears slowly stopped. Later on, the redness completely disappeared.

“Phew…”

Pyo-wol sighed and turned his head to look around.

He saw an unfamiliar landscape.

He previously entered a vertical opening at the top of the mountain to enter the underground cave usually. But now, the hole he exited from lead to the bottom of the mountain. Thanks to this, he was able to avoid the trouble of coming down the mountain.

Pyo-wol looked at the top of the mountain for a moment and then moved on.

He had no regrets.

He wanted to get out of this damn place quickly.

Pyo-wol walked without looking back.

The smell of the forest tickled the tip of his nose. A gentle breeze blew past his body.

It was a feeling he could never feel in the underground cave where everything including time seemed to have stopped.

It felt like the sensations in his body were coming back to life.

It was only now that he truly felt that he was alive.

After walking for a while, a fairly large stream appeared. In the water, Pyo-wol looked at his face.

A strange man was staring right back at him in the water. Long hair down to his waist and a beard covering his chest. 

He expected his appearance to be something like this, but seeing it with own eyes, he still felt like it was someone else’s face.

Pyo-wol jumped straight into the water.

He swam in the water, removing all the dirt.

After brushing off all the unique underground smells from his body, he pulled out a small dagger from his waist.

It was the only tool he had brought from the underground cave. 

Pyo-wol looked at his own face reflected in the water and roughly cut his hair and beard. 

His face was revealed.

He had not seen the sun for a long time so his skin had turned white. It contrasted well with his dark hair and soft red eyes. 

His features resembled a person full of decadence, close to royalty. He had a strange atmosphere and a beautiful face that seemed not to be a person in this world.

Pyo-wol stood blankly for a long time and stared at his reflection on the surface of the water.