Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Nine Yin Blocked Meridians
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Checking and examining the body's condition was no difficult task.
He had wandered the world, acquiring countless martial arts, comprehending them, and mastering them through practice.
As long as he could breathe, tracing the flow of qi through his body was child's play.
'The weakness of the flesh has nothing to do with it. Anyone can breathe, after all.'
Everything between heaven and earth breathes.
Unless it was a corpse, even a body as fragile as pottery would breathe properly.
Suuuup! Hooo! Suuuup! Hooo!
Namgung Hyuk's breaths lengthened and shortened in cycles.
He drew in the external qi and pushed it deep into his body.
Immediately spreading the qi, he checked his physical state.
'Better than I thought?'
His expectations had been so low that the condition far exceeded his worries.
He had fretted over the porcelain-like fragility of the body, but the qi and blood circulation was surprisingly sturdy.
It was only a bit better than an ordinary person's, but not completely obstructed.
'Is this the effect of the medicine?'
Of course. With all the premium elixirs he had consumed, his channels should have been somewhat cleared.
'But there's hardly any internal energy. Is this really a Namgung family bastard?'
A true warrior trains even when in pain. What a slacker this guy was.
'At this level... Wait, what's this?'
Namgung Hyuk, about to wrap up his breathing exercise in quiet satisfaction, furrowed his brow.
A strange mass of qi had formed near his heart.
'Why is it blocked here?'
It was clogged tight, like a toilet stuffed to the brim.
Wait, not just one or two spots?
How many were there?
'One, two, three... nine?'
Counting them, there were exactly nine.
Precisely nine acupoints around the heart area were blocked.
'Nine... nine blocked acupoints.'
Muttering to himself, Namgung Hyuk's eyes widened in shock.
"Nine?!"
He frantically groped his chest.
At the exact spots where the acupoints were blocked, the qi failed to connect and bounced back.
Horror washed over Namgung Hyuk's face.
"This crazy bastard had Blocked Meridians?!"
Blocked Meridians referred to acupoints where qi flow was obstructed.
Even a single blockage disrupted the body's balance, but this body had nine.
It was a body that could drop dead any moment without surprise.
'In the world, Nine Yang Blocked Meridians, of all things.'
Nine Yang Blocked Meridians was a condition typically afflicting men with excessively strong yang energy, where the body filled with blazing hot qi.
Those with it brimmed with vitality, boasted superior physical abilities, and displayed monstrous talent in martial arts.
But the excess yang shortened their lifespan, usually dying before thirty.
"No, hold on."
Recalling details of Nine Yang Blocked Meridians, Namgung Hyuk frowned.
"...Nine Yang Blocked Meridians should burn like fire, so why is this body so cold?"
Pondering it, this flesh was far from the robust physique of Nine Yang Blocked Meridians.
The pale face and frail, limp body lacked any traits of that condition.
Yet, exactly like Nine Yang, nine acupoints were blocked.
If nine acupoints were blocked like Nine Yang, but the body wasn't hot?
Bam.
It felt like a sledgehammer to the head.
Groping again, the cold qi near the heart transmitted through his fingertips.
"...A man with Nine Yin Blocked Meridians?"
The polar opposite of Nine Yang Blocked Meridians, yet equally dubbed a heavenly punishment.
Nine Yin Blocked Meridians made surviving past thirty arduous due to vicious yin energy.
The body was weak, but intellect was peerless—something like that.
It was a chronic ailment usually suffered by women.
Yet this body clearly suffered from Nine Yin Blocked Meridians.
His mind snapped alert.
"Does this make any sense?"
It didn't.
Namgung Hyuk was too stunned to speak.
A man wasting away from a woman's disease.
Where else could such a wretched soul exist?
"Wow..."
Sighs poured from Namgung Hyuk's mouth.
"Wow, fuck."
He picked up the bronze mirror in his room and closely examined the unfamiliar reflection of himself.
Knowing it was Nine Yin Blocked Meridians made the pallor stand out even more.
It looked like it had been soaked in ice water for three days.
"Something's wrong. Unless something is seriously off, this doesn't make sense."
A body that shattered like pottery, with Nine Yin Blocked Meridians rotting it from inside?
Better to say he'd been struck by demonic arts.
That would be infuriating and filthy, but understandable. Not this.
Heavenly punishment, born this way.
Unless his ancestors piled up mountains of karma and cursed him, no explanation fit.
And Namgung Hyuk knew this guy's ancestors—they were no villains.
So how could a body be this disastrously unlucky?
'And the one who ended up in this damned body is me.'
Of all people, me, the Unrivaled Hahu Young!
His face twisted slowly.
The anger he had suppressed boiled up again.
"You fucking immortal bastards!"
What horrific deed had he committed?!
He who possessed a Heavenly Bone body surpassing Indestructible Diamond, the world's finest.
To end up in this Namgung-whatever's body, which could keel over anytime?
"You dogs...! *Cough, cough!*"
Trying to curse again, a coughing fit made Namgung Hyuk stagger.
He barely steadied himself and glared at the ceiling—not the sky—with bloodshot eyes.
"You toss me into this trash heap and call it a 'chance'?!"
More cruel than the Demonic Path, more vile than the Orthodox Heaven Alliance!
Was this any way to treat a person?
'Ah, those bastards aren't human. You damned immortals. Even dogs have compassion!'
Namgung Hyuk ground his teeth.
Revenge.
He would have revenge.
Somehow, he would ascend again and pay them back in kind.
Griiind...
"...Ah, damn. That hurts."
Namgung Hyuk hurriedly relaxed his clenched jaw.
He regulated his breathing and calmed his mind.
"I'm Unrivaled Hahu Young. I never give up. You picked the wrong guy."
It would be hellishly tough, but Nine Yin Blocked Meridians could be overcome.
Difficult to overcome, but surmount it and one gained absurd power—that defined Nine Yang or Nine Yin Blocked Meridians.
Perhaps he could obtain a body rivaling or surpassing his past one.
"The blocked acupoints just need smashing open one by one."
It would take time, but not impossible.
Originally, after assessing the body, he planned to cultivate his signature ultimate technique.
But with this situation, he had to revise plans.
From what those immortals blabbered, they wouldn't tolerate internal energy built the old way.
He needed a new internal energy method.
And a temporary breathing technique to hold out until then.
Mainly because without internal energy, he might die any moment.
'First, build a foundation with Azure Clarity Profound Heart Technique. Then refine the body with Muscle and Bone Internal Equilibrium Technique.'
Good, decided.
Nothing compared to his past arts, but sufficient for basics.
He recalled the incantation in his mind.
[Azure Clarity Profound Heart Technique]
A Taoist art sought for ascension.
It expelled impurities, building clear, solid qi for an internal energy foundation.
Unrivaled for boosting qi and purging filth.
Woooo!
Regulating his breath, he circulated the Azure Clarity Profound Heart Technique.
Reciting the incantation, he drew in external qi and stimulated his lower abdomen.
Doooong!
Namgung Hyuk let out a hollow chuckle.
'...Really nothing there. Is this even a handful?'
Like parched earth, barely any qi in his lower abdomen.
Seeing the empty dantian, despair brought a sigh.
'Don't mind it. Build internal energy first.'
Following the incantation again, he gathered qi bit by bit through breaths.
Once some accumulated, he slowly circulated it.
By his will, the qi flowed through his body, growing stronger.
Namgung Hyuk felt it spread throughout, filling even his fingertips.
Sizzle!
'Hm?'
Something felt off.
Rather than filling his fingertips, qi seemed to leak out.
'Circulation not working right? Nine Yin might have tangled other areas too. But no way.'
He pulled the qi and pushed once more.
Rip!
Hearing something tear, Namgung Hyuk urgently halted circulation and opened his eyes.
"What the hell... Do I have to remake this body from scratch?"
Namgung Hyuk clenched and unclenched his fist with a queasy expression.
Pfft.
"Hm?"
A leaking sound again.
Psshht!
Blood spurted from a tendon on the back of his hand.
"...Huh?"
Why was blood suddenly gushing from a perfectly fine hand?
Namgung Hyuk hurriedly pressed the still-bleeding back of his hand with the other.
Then.
Pshaaaa!
"...What?"
Now blood fountained from his wrist.
Staring at the spraying blood, Namgung Hyuk was dumbfounded.
"What kind of body is this, not even worth a thousand coins..."
Pssshhh!
Rising blood pressure made the sprays fiercer.
Slap.
Namgung Hyuk blocked the geyser with his palm.
Ping!
Dizziness hit suddenly.
From blood loss? Or the body's nature? He couldn't tell anymore.
Or maybe mental shock from the absurdity.
Somehow, he felt all were causes.
"Y-yeah. Wrong order. Build the body first."
Steeling himself, Namgung Hyuk moved to the next step.
[Muscle and Bone Internal Equilibrium Technique]
Unlike storing qi in the dantian, this art infused qi into every muscle and bone.
Created by the Iron Man Sect founder, a cripple with a shattered dantian.
Namgung Hyuk adapted it as a foundational body-tempering method.
Following the incantation, he twisted muscles and shifted bones with qi.
To hold qi, muscles and skeleton parted, creating space.
It excelled at expelling impurities and strengthening channels.
Plus, it grew muscles and bones—perfect.
Crack! Crackle!
Muscles twisted, skeleton spread.
Channels surged, drawing external qi inward.
Crack!
Clunk.
A foreboding sensation made Namgung Hyuk halt the natural flow, staring at his shoulder with shaky eyes.
"..."
Brief silence.
Namgung Hyuk slowly raised his arm.
Dangle, dangle.
"Wow..."
An exclamation escaped him.
"Shoulder dislocated?"
Now he was impressed despite himself.
Absurdity peaked, laughter bubbled up.
"Hahaha, hahahaha!"
As he laughed, his shoulder jolted, sending shocks.
"...Why have a technique if I can't use it."
Ah, why.
Whyyyy!
Namgung Hyuk's body trembled.
A minimal quiver, restrained to avoid strain.
Even that timid shake risked blood sprays, leaving him to exhale in futility.
"You dogshit immortals."
They really stuck me in a hopeless body.
He grabbed the dislocated shoulder with the other hand and popped it back.
Pain brought intense emptiness.
"Hahaha, with this body, meeting the Jade Emperor in death might be faster than ascension."
No, it seemed certain.
"Damn it all."
Was I always this foul-mouthed?
Reflecting, Namgung Hyuk blankly stared at the now-familiar ceiling.
He could almost hear the immortals' mocking laughter.
"Don't get worked up. Think about it—nothing bad. Actually, a great opportunity."
Feeling his blood pressure rise, he forced his head cool.
"Overcome the Blocked Meridians, and I'll have the world's finest body. No—a man with Nine Yin means balancing yin and yang for perfection."
That would grant a body beyond his past.
Rage subsided, a smirk tugged his lips.
"Yeah, just break the Blocked Meridians somehow. Then I'll crack those immortal skulls."
Time was the issue.
Nine Yin Blocked Meridians killed when all nine acupoints fully blocked.
Still breathing meant not completely sealed.
"So how much life do I have left?"
Groping near his heart, he projected qi.
"So my remaining lifespan is... lifespan..."
Uh...
Huh? Wait, did I see wrong?
Namgung Hyuk tilted his head, probing the heart area more carefully.
Tap, tap tap, tap.
Confirmation after confirmation yielded the same result.
"...Half a month?"
His eyes bulged like they might pop.
"Dead in half a month?!"
What fresh hell was this?
How long since reincarnation, and dead in half a month?!
Namgung Hyuk's pupils quaked.
"Y-you dogs! Planned this from the start...!"
Pshaaaa!
Blood pressure surged, a crimson fountain erupted from his crown.
Thud.
Namgung Hyuk's eyes rolled back as he collapsed.