A Regressor'S Tale of Cultivation

"In this situation, I'm not interested in that."

"Ah, yes..."

Young-hoon Hyung-nim seemed more concerned about our current situation than my breathing and health exercises and didn't show much interest in them.

'It can't be helped. There's plenty of time...'

The next day.

I encountered the fox, and as it happened, it bit off one of my arms.

The pain was still similar, but this time, with increased mental strength and the medical knowledge accumulated in my past life, I managed to stop the bleeding and pain by pressing on the acupoints and applying chewed herbs to the wound.

We were granted the right to reside on the land by the fox.

Jeon Myeong-hoon, as in the previous life, schemed and, after learning everything from me, proposed to offer me to the fox.

Like my previous life, I made Jeon Myeong-hoon work hard, and the next day, I made him offer blood to the snake, tormenting him diligently.

On the third day.

The same people as last time came and kidnapped Section Chief Oh Hyun-seok, Deputy Manager Kang Min-hee, and Section Chief Jeon Myeong-hoon.

On the fourth day.

"I will take this lady with me."

Sea Dragon King Seo Hweol arrived and picked up Deputy Manager Oh.

"May I ask a question to Sea Dragon King?"

[Hmm, what is it?]

Seo Hweol looked at me with interest and asked.

"It seems that you are taking our Deputy Manager Oh with you... However, she is a mortal without a spiritual root and cannot live more than 100 years. How do you intend to use her?"

[Ha-ha, you are quite knowledgeable about immortal cultivation for a mortal. But no worries. I shall give her my blood, transforming her into a member of the Sea Dragon clan. Once she accepts the blood of my clan, she will awaken a suitable Spiritual Quality. Then she too can walk the path of immortality.]

"…!"

Spiritual Quality!

Another term for Spiritual Root.

In other words, by accepting Sea Dragon King's blood, one could become a cultivator instantly.

"Perhaps... could you also give us a chance? She is from the same homeland as us. Maybe we too have unique abilities..."

[Ha-ha, your words have merit.]

Suddenly!

At my suggestion, Seo Hweol's eyes narrowed like those of a reptile.

[The Ascension Gate will open soon, and many high-level cultivators will pass through this Dangseonhyang region... Just a word of caution.]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Argh! Ugh!"

I collapsed, clutching my chest.

[It's best not to express your opinions carelessly before a high-level being like me. We live for hundreds and thousands of years, seeing things you cannot imagine, knowing things you cannot understand, and gaining wisdom you cannot achieve. I am lenient, but others with a temper might find even your mere gaze offensive and crush you like insects.]

"Heugh, huff..."

[My intention to take this lady is because I believe her abilities will be enormously beneficial to my clan. You lack Spiritual Roots and unique abilities, and even if not, they won't be as helpful as hers. Besides, carrying more people through the Ascension Gate increases its difficulty, so I won't take you. Know that it's a significant burden for me.]

Having finished speaking, he walked towards the cave entrance.

Crash! Boom!

With a thunderous noise and flash of lightning, he disappeared from the entrance.

Above the sky, a blue dragon pierced through the stormy clouds and flew leisurely.

"…What just happened?"

Young-hoon Hyung-nim and Manager Kim stared at the sky in dismay.

That evening, I picked some special mushrooms, roasted them over the fire, and enjoyed a last meal with Manager Kim.

Then, after she awakened her abilities, a ghastly figure arrived on a cloud, just like in my previous life.

As before, the figure decided to take Manager Kim with him.

I prostrated before the figure and asked.

"Respected Cultivator, our colleague Manager Kim is a mortal without a Spiritual Root. How can she become a disciple of a cultivator like you?"

The old man with a hunched back chuckled and replied.

[While rare in the secular world, there are spiritual medicines and artifacts that can open the Spiritual Channel (靈通) for a mortal. Even an ordinary mortal can embark on the path of immortality if they get hold of such an opportunity.]

"…!"

Shocked by the revelation, I trembled.

'There's another way to become a cultivator!'

[Well... Additionally, the martial arts practiced by you mortals can indeed awaken the Five Elements Spiritual Root if refined to the extreme, but... that path takes too much time. Even if you awaken your spiritual roots through this method, the result is not always satisfactory. So, I will seek a spiritual elixir to feed my disciple. You understand, don't you? Follow me, and you will become a cultivator!]

As he spoke, he naturally turned his gaze to Manager Kim, trying to entice her. However, being unaware of what a cultivator, spiritual root, or spiritual channel meant, she just stared blankly at him.

After a brief altercation, the hunchbacked old man pointed towards us.

Wooosh!

A dark rift opened in the space behind us, and it started pulling me and Young-hoon Hyung-nim in.

I gathered herbs, while Young-hoon Hyung-nim, attempting to escape, was eventually caught by the power of the ghastly figure and thrown beyond.

As the spatial rift closed, the last thing I saw was Manager Kim reaching out to us, before I lost consciousness, just like in my previous life.

When I became conscious, I was in a dark cave.

"This place is..."

It was the same as before.

Due to the ghastly figure's random teleportation, a minor butterfly effect had dropped us somewhere completely different.

I slowly walked towards the light at the end of the cave.

"...It's a forest."

Indeed, this time, we had landed in a dense forest.

But without the peculiar feeling of Dangseonhyang, I could tell we were definitely outside of it.

"Sigh..."

I sat down and practiced the Cheonji Heart Method I had used for the past three days.

Cheonji Heart Method is a fundamental method to activate the Dantian, and feel and control Qi. It's a basic practice that most martial artists learn before starting serious martial arts training.

'I don't know where this place is.'

It could be a completely different place, not Yanguo, and it might take days or even weeks to find a populated area.

"Chew, chew, chew..."

I chewed and swallowed an eight-hundred-year-old yellow bamboo root I had dug up in Dangseonhyang.

Wooosh...

Powerful energy surged through my Dantian.

In my past life, even though I had these roots, I couldn't consume them because the only internal energy method I knew was the Cheonji Heart Method.

But now, it's different.

'I have learned many useful internal energy methods as the chief strategist of the Wulin Alliance for decades.'

I practiced the internal energy method tailored for me by Young-hoon Hyung-nim in my past life, perfectly complementing the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

Dragon Vein Qi Method.

A majestic energy melded with my inner energy.

Controlling the powerful energy was challenging due to its intensity.

But I had practiced the same method for over 40 years.

I recreated the pathways of the Dragon Vein Qi Method, which I had used for more than forty years, through the meridians and acupoints.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I cleared the blocked channels, and the energy circulated through my body.

Although I had purified my body to some extent with the Cheonji Heart Method for over two days, my current body, tainted with instant food and nicotine, struggled to clear the channels.

"Sigh..."

After a moderate circulation, I broke off a suitable branch nearby and started sharpening it with a sharp rock infused with my internal energy.

As I infused the branch internal energy and executed the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship, it penetrated an old tree, cutting it in half.

'This should be enough to survive in the mountains for a few days.'

In a world not infested with monsters and spirits like Dangseonhyang, my swordsmanship, barely clinging to the second level, was enough for survival.

Then, Young-hoon Hyung-nim, or rather, Director Kim Young-hoon, approached me in a panic.

"Seo, Deputy Manager Seo... What was that just now? What happened...?"

"How did you cut the tree with a wooden sword... And that strength?"

"Ah... about that."

After a moment's thought, I gave him a plausible explanation.

"It's a stroke of fate."

"Fate?"

"Yes, inside that cave... I found a mysterious book. When I picked it up, it burned, and its contents and energy merged with me. It seems to be a strange object created by a martial artist using the power of a cultivator to pass on his martial arts to his successors. Thanks to that, I have become the successor of that martial art."

"Huh, wow!"

Though it was an unbelievable tale,

He seemed to accept it, having experienced too many unbelievable things in the last four days.

'In this situation, where we've fallen into another world, faced a fox as big as a house, been attacked by flying ghastly figures, and even fallen into a dark spatial rift, what's not to believe?'

I inwardly chuckled and explained the situation to Director Kim Young-hoon.

We were randomly transported by the hunchbacked old man to an entirely different place.

Since there were no houses nearby, we had to keep moving until we found a village.

There seems to be martial arts in this world, so I'll teach you, etc...

Director Kim Young-hoon didn't look too despairing, especially after hearing, 'I'll teach you martial arts.'

I taught him the Cheonji Heart Method, basic vocabulary of this world, primary acupoints, and left the forest together.

By observing the constellations in the night sky, I deduced our location and managed to reach a nearby city.

"It's Yanguo again..."

I arrived at one of Yanguo's cities, Yonghyul City (勇穴城), feeling a strange sensation.

'The ghastly figure randomly throws us around. But the randomness seems to be confined to Yanguo.'

There are many neighboring countries like Shengzi Kingdom, Byeokra Country, etc.

It didn't seem like the hunchbacked figure particularly cared about us.

'So why keep dropping us only within Yanguo?'

Is there a reason for this?

Or...

'Is it just chance?'

If this is just a coincidence,

'Fate...'

I somehow felt more inclined to believe in the word 'fate' than any specific reason.

'In my last life, I died on the exact same day and time as before my regression.'

Does that make sense?

I had lived a completely different life,

With completely different medical and nutritional standards.

Yet, I died at the exact same moment as before my regression.

'Was that my allotted lifespan?'

Maybe my fate was set to that point.

Fate.

It's a metaphysical concept, something I'd rather not think about...

But maybe, the concept of fate truly exists, driving all beings.

'For now, it's not something I can know.'

I shook my head and entered the city with Director Kim Young-hoon.

I sold the herbs at a nearby pharmacy, used the money to buy identification plaques, clothes, and a house.

'Now that I've settled the basics, it's time to set short-term goals again.'

Initially, I aimed for the Five Energies Converging to the Origin as a short-term goal.

Reaching that state is necessary to awaken the Five Elements Spiritual Root and learn cultivation methods to become a cultivator.

But...

'I might not reach that state in this life.'

In my past life.

Even though I had followed Young-hoon Hyung-nim and somewhat distorted my sense of power, reaching the peak stage was not easy.

The same was true for Three Flowers Gather at the Summit and Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

'It's challenging to cross each stage even within the peak, and...'

That was the general opinion of typical peak experts.

Moreover, I lack talent in martial arts.

Even with considerable effort, it might be difficult to reach even the first-rate expert level in this lifetime.

'So, the best course of action is...'

I watched Director Kim Young-hoon in the backyard of our new house, practicing a version of the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship he had modified into a sword dance.

If practiced correctly, the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship could reach the peak level within six months, according to Young-hoon Hyung-nim in my past life.

'Raise Kim Young-hoon Hyung-nim, no, Director Kim, to the peak level as quickly as possible.'

And then learn from him.

That was the fastest way for me to reach the peak.