Reincarnated Sword Ghost-Chapter 39 : The Divine Physician's Tomb

The Divine Physician's Tomb
Countless figures were falling through the sunken ground.
Jeong-un was among them.
The only difference was that while most flailed helplessly in the air, unable to gain control, Jeong-un had centered his weight and was already bracing for impact.
Though he had mastered the body-strengthening art he'd devised himself, soaring effortlessly through the air was surely beyond him.
Only those top masters, who were like immortals, could accomplish such feats.
None of the surrounding martial artists could do so either.
If they could, they wouldn't have just obediently fallen alongside everyone else.
The moment the ground gave way, if they'd possessed such skills, they would have escaped immediately.
Jeong-un quickly scanned his surroundings. He glimpsed Tang Yerin, Baek Il-gang, and Jo Gwang nearby.
They, too, were flustered and falling with no way to avoid the situation.
In contrast, Yeom Baek and the woman known as the Lotus Blossom Divine Sword were nowhere in sight.
Jeong-un recalled the instant the ground had burst open and collapsed.
While most martial artists simply plummeted downward, a handful—including those two—had shot upward in an instant.
'So, absolute masters can react even in such situations.'
Jeong-un felt keenly the limits of his own martial skill.
What made one an "elite" or a "rising star," anyway?
In moments like these, when he could do nothing, he was no different from ordinary martial artists.
'... I have to do what I can.'
He focused his awareness inward, examining his own meridians.
Unlike the supreme masters who could vault through the air, he lacked such abilities.
However, his internal energy flowed vividly, almost alive, circulating steadily.
It meant there was something he still could do.
He gathered internal energy into his arms.
Jeong-un stretched out his right hand, reaching for the back of Tang Yerin, who was closest.
"......!"
Even in the chaos, Tang Yerin whipped her head around in shock.
It was a natural reaction—any martial artist would be startled by unexpected contact.
She was so flustered that even her face turned slightly red.
Jeong-un met her gaze, seeking understanding.
He was breaking etiquette, but surely she would understand given the situation.
Then, he pushed upward with his right hand with all his strength.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Tang Yerin shot up into the air.
Tang Yerin also didn't possess a body-strengthening art capable of stepping on empty air, but with her skill raised to that level, she would have been able to escape without much difficulty.
Jeong-un immediately moved to the next.
He stretched out his left arm, grabbing Baek Il-gang by the scruff of his neck.
"...... What?"
Baek Il-gang stared at Jeong-un, equally startled.
He had apparently been bracing himself for a fall, but with someone suddenly grabbing him so unexpectedly, he looked thoroughly confused.
Whoosh!
Without time for explanation, Jeong-un yanked and threw him upward.
Baek Il-gang, too, soared upward through the air.
Next was Jo Gwang.
He hovered slightly higher than Jeong-un, limbs flailing.
Jeong-un pulled his knees toward himself.
"......?"
For a brief instant, their eyes met.
Jo Gwang, seeing Jeong-un's footwork, realized what was coming, his eyes flickering with fear.
There was no other choice.
This moment was, to some, a mere split second.
It was unclear how far they were falling, but in the blink of an eye, they would crash into the ground.
"Brace yourself with your arms."
"W-wait...!"
Thunk!
Jeong-un kicked Jo Gwang upward.
With terrifying speed, Jo Gwang soared higher.
"Aaaah—!"
Taking his eyes off the rapidly retreating Jo Gwang, Jeong-un readied himself for the imminent impact with the ground.
'Internal energy generates recoil.'
He strengthened his grip with the hands he had used to propel his companions.
Once again, dense internal energy gathered in both hands.
He had already realized, from swinging a sword many times, that strong and elastic internal energy would produce recoil.
By bursting out vital ki momentarily, a repelling force would be generated.
He had only ever tried imbuing his attacks with internal energy through the sword, but he had a strange certainty that it would work with his hands too.
'Surely fist and palm techniques also employ the subtlety of internal energy control.'
By now, moving ki came naturally to him.
That was why, even in this dangerous moment, he didn't feel overly anxious.
Already the ground was looming before him.
He thrust out both arms as though swinging toward the ground.
A burst of vital ki exploded from his outstretched palms.
Pababat!
A blinding white light flashed between Jeong-un and the earth.
At the same moment, the ground cracked with a bang.
With that explosive burst of ki sending him upward, Jeong-un's body floated momentarily in the air.
He rotated smoothly, landing on his feet.
Tap!
Without missing a beat, he sprang forward and leapt away.
Crash!
Enormous boulders crashed down where Jeong-un had just been.
They were massive chunks of the earth that had exploded with a roar.
"Wah!"
"Kurk!"
Screams echoed from all directions.
Even seasoned martial artists would struggle after falling from such a height.
Without adequate protection, broken bones were likely.
Worse, the massive stones kept raining down.
Many martial artists were crushed beneath them.
"... Where is this?"
Jeong-un looked around.
It resembled a cavernous chamber.
The space had been divided by dozens of huge boulders that had fallen in the middle.
Jeong-un looked up at the collapsed ceiling.
Though the hole above was wide, it had now been blocked by the fallen rocks.
The stones were piled up in such a calculated manner that it looked almost architectural.
But that wasn't what mattered.
Quickly surveying his surroundings, Jeong-un closed his eyes in contemplation.
'I managed something like a palm technique.'
He had gained insight from the unexpected situation.
In that moment, internal energy had gathered vividly in his arms and hands, just as it had done in his sword before.
He had generated force sufficient to throw another person.
It was remarkable, considering he hadn't had solid footing.
'Especially...'
At the moment he'd kicked off the ground.
Harnessing the downward momentum of his fall, he had produced tremendous power.
It was different from simply imbuing internal energy into his fist and swinging.
'The key is in the center of gravity.'
The acceleration from falling had made his center of gravity shift downward, generating greater force.
If he could freely move his center of gravity while standing on solid ground...
He was reminded of Cheon Hwi, who had freely mixed feints and true attacks to unleash lightning sword strikes.
Cheon Hwi was the prodigy, adept at blending that subtlety into his martial arts.
He himself had merely swung his sword a little faster.
'How did he move?'
Jeong-un retraced the use of true ki when he thrust his hands toward the ground.
The movements he'd performed unconsciously now felt clearly organized.
Adjusting one's step while shifting the center of gravity, with internal energy following the meridian path—that was likely the core.
With enough skill, one might use the elastic flow of ki to create explosive footwork from the smallest motion.
'... Ah.'
The experience just now, combined with the lessons from his duel with Cheon Hwi, had created a new martial art within him.
Every experience was inspiration. Even past memories, mingling with new ones, became a source of further inspiration.
'Ah, this is fun.'
A lightning rush of exhilaration thrilled his mind.
For Jeong-un, these were the most exciting moments.
He had gained a natural understanding of using explosive footwork.
He opened his eyes.
"You have tremendous focus, even in this situation. Remarkable," said a man whose face suddenly came into view. He was about Jeong-un's age, with striking, almost sacrum-like features.
Behind him stood a large, rugged man, staring down at Jeong-un with a stern expression.
"Were you keeping guard over me?"
"Yes, I sensed you were at a crucial moment."
"Ah, thank you for your consideration."
Jeong-un politely made a warrior's salute.
'Though, I didn't really need it.'
He hadn't been sitting in meditation, after all.
He simply hadn't wanted to lose the clarity of the experience in his mind.
He already sensed several martial artists around him through his ki perception.
If someone had approached and swung a sword, he would have reacted quickly.
He might even have tried out his newly realized technique.
'Still...'
Jeong-un glanced over the man standing before him, hands in salute.
His clear gaze showed no malice; nurtured and refined, that much was clear.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Seonwoo Hak."
"I'm Yu Jeong-un of the Heavenly Martial Hall."
"Incredible, passing that notoriously difficult test..."
Seonwoo Hak swept his eyes admiringly over Jeong-un.
It was a look of awe at the perfectly honed internal energy.
"... Did you come from far away?"
Jeong-un, a bit embarrassed, asked.
Seonwoo Hak answered, his cheeks reddening slightly.
"Ah, you may not know of it. I'm from the Seonwoo Sword Clan in Shaanxi. I'm actually the young family head there..."
He muttered on for a while, but all he really meant was that he was the heir of a local power.
The stoic man behind him, his guard, was called Mu Cheol.
He said they could hardly ignore the news of the Immortal Spirit Pill appearing here.
"So the rumors were true in the end. Otherwise, how would...?"
He trailed off, scanning the surroundings with suspicious eyes.
This chamber seemed deliberately artificial.
Several narrow passages stretched out ahead; those were the only way forward.
'What was the purpose?'
He couldn't even begin to guess the mind of the martial artist said to have once been the World's Greatest.
What was the reason for creating such a space beneath his tomb?
At this point, Jeong-un wasn't sure anymore if that burial mound had even been a real tomb.
"This is bad. How are we going to get out...?"
Seonwoo Hak looked up helplessly.
The ceiling was blocked tight by the rubble that had fallen.
"It would take everyone here working together just to maybe break through."
His words were faint, powerless.
Even as he said it, he knew it was impossible.
'We won't be getting out the way we came.'
They had just entered a vast hidden cavern beneath the Divine Physician's tomb.
Did they "unluckily" fall through?
No martial artist would see it that way.
If anything, they were lucky to be among the first inside.
The others outside would surely find a way in soon enough.
Their minds were likely racing with the urgency of searching this place before anyone else.
Tat!
Sure enough, martial artists were already racing down the passageways ahead, employing lightness skill.
Even with their own companions trapped under rocks, they pressed on.
"At this rate..."
Seonwoo Hak glanced at his guard, his face dark.
He looked at a loss.
Jeong-un gave him a puzzled look.
"Isn't it your goal to obtain the Immortal Spirit Pill, young hero Seonwoo?"
"That could never be."
He waved his hands as if such an idea was absurd.
"There are so many masters of the martial world here—what chance would I have to even glimpse such a rare treasure?"
"Then why are you here?"
"I only came to show my face. As a martial clan, it wouldn't look good if rumors spread we got left out. But I didn't expect this..."
That made sense.
Many martial sects cared more about appearances than substance.
There were plenty that competed by boasting of how many disciples they sent to the Heavenly Martial Hall.
"Young hero Yu—if it's all right, would you consider accompanying us? With a master of the Heavenly Martial Hall by our side, we'd feel much safer... Oh, we're not saying we'll do nothing in return. My guard Mu Cheol is an exceptional swordsman. He can even imbue his sword with internal energy..."
Jeong-un simply stared at Seonwoo Hak.
The very person who had guarded him as he silently reviewed his realization.
He would be lying if he said he felt no favorable impression.
"Let's do that."
"Truly? Thank you so much!"
Seonwoo Hak bowed deeply in gratitude.
Jeong-un returned the salute lightly.
He glanced at the thick calluses on the man's fingertips.