Chapter 71

"No. It is the speed of the soul. You can think of it simply as the speed of thought. When the senses and mind of the whole body are trained to the extreme, the inner and outer self of a human being have different times. In other words, thought precedes the action of the body. The wave of thought grasps this world at a speed faster than light and transmits that information to our brain, and our brain analyzes and judges it and decides on future actions. I call that realm the absolute domain, the super sense, or the Heavenly Gaze."

At Tang Pyeong's explanation, even they, who had gone through numerous trainings, had an attitude of not being able to believe it. But Tang Pyeong was not frustrated by the students' disbelief.

"When you reach this realm, you get the illusion that the time of the world slows down when you use this sense. It is a sense of discrepancy that arises because our mind moves at a speed faster than light. Our body feels as heavy and weighty as if it were moving hundreds of meters under water. Only a person who has reached this absolute domain, the super sense realm, can act like the great hero Moyong Jeong-cheon in the story I gave as an example earlier. Ultimately, one can have a superhuman reaction speed."

"Then are you saying, Old Master, that you have already reached that realm?"

Hyo-ryong, who had been listening to the lecture intently, raised his hand and asked a bold question. He had guessed it because Tang Pyeong's story was full of conviction, as if he were telling a personal experience.

"No. I have not yet reached the complete realm of the absolute domain. Unfortunately, it is only the beginning. But I know that the Three Sages of Cheonmu, the Heavenly Master, and the Alliance Leader have already reached this realm a long time ago. Of course, there are individual differences."

Even if it is the beginning of the absolute sense, the skill is a world of difference from ordinary people. Once you have this ability, you will not be injured by any ordinary attack. Besides, you will also have a superhuman reaction speed.

"Also, a useful point of this realm is that it has no great relationship with the level of internal energy. In other words, it is a realm that can be reached only by training the senses, without a great increase in internal energy."

That was a story that could not help but be tempting. How could it not be tempting when it was a realm that could be reached without the increase in internal energy that was essential with the increase in martial arts?

"There is a point to be careful of before reaching this realm. That is, when you enter this state of the Heavenly Gaze, the super sense, the nerves of the whole body become sharp to the extreme, so if you make a mistake, you can go crazy. That is why even absolute masters cannot always maintain this Heavenly Gaze state. Because there is a risk that the mind can collapse... up to here is all good..."

"But... Hah!"

A bunch of flying needles were scattered from the hand of the Soul-Stealing Hand, Tang Pyeong, at a fast speed. The target was none other than Bi Ryu-yeon.

At this time, Bi Ryu-yeon was moved by the amazing harmony of nature with its mild temperature, refreshing wind, and pleasant humidity, and had entered a half-asleep state of meditation. Since Bi Ryu-yeon was not so harsh as to boldly go against the will of the great universe and the physiological activities of the human body, he had obediently decided to follow the principles and laws of nature and was sleeping according to the desires of his body.

It goes without saying that the sight of Bi Ryu-yeon, who was following the will of the great universe and seeking harmony with the bright nature, was seen as an outrageous act in the eyes of Old Master Tang Pyeong. Thus, Old Master Tang Pyeong decided to give him a taste of why he was called the Soul-Stealing Hand and immediately put it into action. It was a ruthless punishment for a student who had been fooling around while listening to his passionate lecture, which was like vomiting blood. In the Cheonmu Academy, there were people like Ok-hyeon Jin-in, who were the epitome of gentleness, but there were also old masters like Tang Pyeong, who had a radical and fiery temper.

Anyway, it was dangerous. Even if no poison was applied, it was a hidden weapon thrown by the Soul-Stealing Hand, Tang Pyeong, who was second to none when it came to hidden weapons. Paradoxically, if Tang Pyeong had not been a master of hidden weapons, he would not have thrown the flying needles as a punishment. Because he had confidence in the hidden weapon he had thrown, Tang Pyeong had scattered the flying needles without hesitation. He had adjusted the target and strength so that Bi Ryu-yeon would not die even if he was hit.

But Bi Ryu-yeon, the intended target of the dozens of flying needles, had no intention of staying still. He refused to sit still and become a hedgehog. The hand of Bi Ryu-yeon, who seemed to be writing a travelogue of his visit to dreamland, oblivious to the world, moved like flowing water. Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes were already open.

"How can this be!"

Not only Tang Pyeong, but all the students in the classroom were surprised together. Because Bi Ryu-yeon's hand had split into dozens in the air and had snatched all the hidden weapons that had flown in close. It was an unbelievable feat.

Because he had the convenient Command Thunder Hand, which was not scratched by any ordinary impact, Bi Ryu-yeon moved his hand without hesitation. Old Master Tang Pyeong, who had not known that the delinquent student Bi Ryu-yeon, who had been dozing off in his class, would block his technique so perfectly and easily, was very surprised.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

Bi Ryu-yeon asked shamelessly without batting an eye, achieving the feat of greatly raising Old Master Tang Pyeong's blood pressure. But Tang Pyeong, for the sake of his face, could not reveal his embarrassment.

"Ahem, you. How many flying needles did I just throw in total?"

Tang Pyeong asked, calming his surprised heart, which was pounding like a pestle in the autumn harvest season. He had asked with the intention of finding something to pick on.

"64."

Bi Ryu-yeon answered without hesitation. But it was wrong.

"What are you talking about? 64? I have no memory of throwing so many flying needles. Who are you trying to fool now?"

Old Master Tang Pyeong, who remembered that the number of flying needles he had thrown was exactly 32, thought to himself that he had caught him well and pressed Bi Ryu-yeon.

"But 64 is correct. Please check."

Saying so, Bi Ryu-yeon held out his hand. There was not a single scratch on his hand, and seeing that, Old Master Tang Pyeong was greatly surprised once again.

Tang Pyeong immediately ran to check. Thinking that he would not let him go if it was a lie... But Old Master Tang Pyeong's eyes, who had received the object in Bi Ryu-yeon's hand, were colored with unexpected astonishment.

"H-how can this be..."

Old Master Tang Pyeong's head snapped towards Bi Ryu-yeon.

'A detestable punk!'

When he received the flying needles he had thrown from Bi Ryu-yeon, the number was surprisingly exactly 64. Bi Ryu-yeon's calculation was correct. The problem was that the length of all the flying needles he had thrown had been reduced by half.

"Th-this punk! My precious Flying Bee Needles..."

The Soul-Stealing Hand, Tang Pyeong, was at a loss for words. His Flying Bee Needles were made by mixing pure silver, and he had put a lot of effort into the sharpness of the needle tip. As the Flying Bee Needles were small, countless detailed works were required to make a good product. But to have broken as many as 32 of them...

Old Master Tang Pyeong was silent for a while, at a loss for words, mixed with a sense of futility, anger, and surprise. Although the end of his precious Flying Bee Needles was heartbreaking, he was also honestly impressed. He had not imagined that he would read and receive the Flying Bee Needles he had thrown so accurately. Seeing Bi Ryu-yeon's skill, he had no words to reprimand him.

In the end, Old Master Tang Pyeong, while boiling inside about Bi Ryu-yeon's nap, continued the class without being able to say a word. The flow of the class, which had been briefly interrupted due to Bi Ryu-yeon's fooling around, continued again. In order to compose himself, who had been flustered because of Bi Ryu-yeon, Old Master Tang Pyeong hurriedly resumed the class.

"The class was delayed due to an unfortunate incident. Unlike this absolute domain, the super sense, there is also something called the Dragon's Eye in the world."

"What on earth is the Dragon's Eye?"

The students raised their hands and asked.

"It is a kind of eye of foresight. You might think it's similar to the absolute domain, but its nature is completely different."

"Eye of foresight?"

"That's right. Or you can think of it as an eye of mind-reading. If this absolute domain, the Heavenly Gaze, the super sense, is something that can be ultimately obtained through specific acquired training, the Dragon's Eye can be said to be based on an innate ability. There are people in the world who are born with a special ability to read the minds or actions of others. There are actually people who can unconsciously interpret the energies and information that fill the world, predict the short future, even if it's just for a brief moment, and look into a person's mind without their permission."

Old Master Tang Pyeong's voice was full of conviction.

"Are there really such people?"

It was hard to believe that there were people who had the ability to predict the future of a moment. If there really were such people, they would never lose to others.

"Are you saying you doubt me now?"

Old Master Tang Pyeong's eyes shone sharply and glared at Yun Jun-ho. His eyes were as sharp as a viper that had its lunch in front of it.

"N-no, sir."

His gaze was too much for the timid Yun Jun-ho. Yun Jun-ho immediately shook his head from side to side and expressed his denial. Old Master Tang Pyeong's sharp gaze finally lowered its intensity a little.

"Then that's a relief."

If it hadn't been a relief, what would he have done? He might have thrown an iron needle at Yun Jun-ho's nose in a surprise attack, just like in Bi Ryu-yeon's case. Fortunately, such a thing did not happen. Yun Jun-ho had to let out a sigh of relief. And he resolved never to argue with Old Master Tang Pyeong's words again. It was a precious lesson learned through a direct experience of life.

"Although the probability is one in millions, the owner of the Dragon's Eye definitely exists in this world. Although they are a very small number, if their ability is combined with martial arts, the result is expected to be truly terrifying. What would be the power of a person who has the ability to read the technique that the opponent will use next, if they hold a sword? The Dragon's Eye is just such an ability."

The Old Master in charge of the hidden weapon lecture, the Soul-Stealing Hand, Tang Pyeong, was convinced of the existence of the Dragon's Eye. It was an ability that could be seen frequently in legends or folk tales, but it was still doubtful whether such a lie-like ability actually existed. But seeing that a person of that level was convinced, it seemed that it really did exist in this world. Old Master Tang Pyeong's lecture ended with a repeated warning to be careful and careful again if he happened to meet the owner of the Dragon's Eye by chance in the future.

• Almost Died While Kissing

The first class of the Soul-Stealing Hand, Old Master Tang Pyeong's
'A Contemplation on the 108 Hidden Weapons Existing in the Jianghu'
was an excellent class with a lot to learn
for many students.

But unlike the other disciples who were concentrating hard and taking it to heart, for Bi Ryu-yeon, it was a boring class that only made him yawn.

'Why is that person teaching a natural thing as if he were vomiting blood? Isn't that natural? But why is he talking about it as if it's new? Besides, there's no need to throw an iron needle just because I yawned at a story that everyone knows. If you want to make the opponent a hedgehog, shouldn't you first politely ask for their consent? Of course, it's not like I would give permission.'

Unlike the incarnation of gentleness, the Heaven character group's Old Master, Ok-hyeon Jin-in, it seemed that there were many owners of a fiery temper like Yeomdo in this academy. The vigor of an old man who was counting 90 years of age was admirable.

'Come to think of it, it's been a few days since I've seen Yeomdo too.'

Since he had entered the Cheonmu Academy, he had not had a chance to run into Yeomdo for the past few days. Thinking of Yeomdo, who would be inwardly rejoicing that he was not seeing him, he resolved to visit him soon.

To soothe the inescapable boredom, Bi Ryu-yeon decided to look around the Cheonmu Academy for a change of pace. It had already been almost a week since he had come here, but in the meantime, he had been busy with applying for classes, looking around clubs, and various other things, so he had not even been able to look around properly.

Although he was not yet familiar with the geography of the buildings constructed by the formation of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, it was no problem for Bi Ryu-yeon, who was taking a walk for sightseeing. If you don't know, there is the joy of finding out and discovering new things. Bi Ryu-yeon's steps, which had started with that purpose, led him to one place by the law of the Eight Trigrams and Five Elements. A place he had arrived at unconsciously.

A beautiful, picture-like pavilion that exists in harmony with nature. A picture-like artificial lake, beautifully landscaped greenery, and harmoniously arranged stalagmites. The elegant pavilion was showing off its figure on the surface of the water, which was shining like a mirror.

The name of the pavilion was Unhyangjeong. It was a restricted area where only those above the Five Sword Dragons could use it in the academy, and new disciples could not enter. But Bi Ryu-yeon ignored the sign that said 'Entry Forbidden' and moved his steps. Bi Ryu-yeon's gaze turned to the inside of the pavilion. It was a shift of gaze that would draw a big line in his destiny.

Boom! It was a shock. A shock that felt as if his soul had turned pure white and become empty. How could she be so beautiful and noble? The ultimate beauty that made all the surrounding objects fade. The elegance of the picture-like pavilion was just a simple object next to her.

A pure beauty that made the stars of the night sky pale, a noble grace that made one's head bow and face blush. But for some reason, Bi Ryu-yeon thought that her eyes looked as lonely as to make even the stars of the night sky cry.

A captivating figure that captures a man in an instant, an elegant gesture, an overflowing grace. Holiness, nobility, elegance, integrity... no word was suitable to express her. Giving up the reckless courage of trying to express something that could not be expressed in words, Bi Ryu-yeon approached her.

To be honest, Bi Ryu-yeon had no idea how to deal with her. He just moved his steps faithfully as his heart and soul led him. Because dealing with women was not in his mental schedule. He was also a dud when it came to women's problems. Well, since he had lived as if he were cooped up in the deep mountains of Mount Emei, where there were few people, it could be said to be a natural thing.

Bi Ryu-yeon's steps crossed the stairs of the Unhyangjeong, and now the distance between Bi Ryu-yeon and her was only about two steps. Her gaze, which seemed to contain the night sky, turned to this rude man who had stepped on the Unhyangjeong without permission. Her eyes were too deep to read the change in her emotions. She looked at Bi Ryu-yeon blankly.

So, sometimes ignorance is strength, and Bi Ryu-yeon committed an act that would get him struck by lightning without hesitation.

When people usually fall in love, they often become timid. On the contrary, there are also cases where they run wild, not caring about water or fire, but statistically, such cases are extremely rare. On average, a man in love cannot use his strength in front of the woman he adores, and he becomes timid whenever he stands in front of her. So there are many cases where they hesitate and miss the opportunity. And then they beat the ground and wail, but that is already too late.

But this general application did not apply to Bi Ryu-yeon at all. He had an absurd lack of hesitation, and no reluctance. He only moved as his purpose and emotions desired. It might have been according to instinct. It cannot be said that Bi Ryu-yeon should be blamed for his firmness going too far and for him temporarily forgetting her existence.

Originally, when people fall in love, isn't it common for something to creak as if by promise? Love is the greatest emotion that changes a person the most. If there is no change even after falling in love, it is clearly a false love, so it is recommended to reconsider the relationship with the other person.

Without a moment's hesitation, boldly and daringly, Bi Ryu-yeon acted. His action was truly an unbelievably unconventional and daring thing.

He thought it was too sweet and ecstatic. He fell into a state of ecstasy, feeling his consciousness fade with the illusion that his head was being colored in a milky white. A lightning-like thrill that penetrated his whole body, a faint and sweet fragrance that stimulated the tip of his nose.

Bi Ryu-yeon, without fear, had committed an act that would get him struck by lightning, without any qualms of conscience, by illegally bringing his lips to the lips of the heavenly, noble, fairy-like girl with a sacred beauty, who existed like a mirage in front of his eyes, without asking for permission.

His lips touched her moist, red, jewel-like lips. Since that kiss was the first kiss he had had with a woman, Bi Ryu-yeon was puzzled why a non-existent bell was ringing loudly in his head. For him, and also for her, it was all their first kiss. The sweetness and mellowness passed in an instant.

Shing!

A silver flash appeared like a phantom between him and her and disappeared in a flash. A strange light appeared in her eyes. The person who had split the space between the two with a single silver light was the woman who existed in front of Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes. Despite having her lips forcibly—the surprising thing was that there was no particular resistance—stolen by a man she had never seen before, there was no particular change in her expression, which was like a carving of the moonlight. No anger, no shame, no embarrassment. She just silently drew her sword and swung it with her deep, abyss-like black eyes.

But the moment her silver, flash-like sword ki cut him, Bi Ryu-yeon had avoided her sword ki with a small movement that was almost invisible to the eye. Of course, if Bi Ryu-yeon had been even a little late in taking a step back, Bi Ryu-yeon's body would probably not have been able to avoid being separated into upper and lower halves.

A sword drawn without any presence. The eeriness was even thrilling. It was a frighteningly fast and smooth sword strike. It probably had the meaning of a punishment. There was strangely no killing intent in her sword ki, but it seemed that one's life could not be guaranteed if it had hit directly. If Bi Ryu-yeon had been mesmerized by the magic-like sweetness and had just stood there like a wooden post, he would not have been able to avoid a setback.

But as if he had not been able to completely avoid her sharp sword ki, the front of his clothes was cut, and his bare skin was visible behind it. Bi Ryu-yeon smiled faintly and said to her, who was sitting like a statue.

"You made a mistake. You should have swung deeper to cut my bones. This time, it was a little shallow."

A strange light like a gentle ripple appeared in her eyes, which were like a collection of a million drops of morning dew. Bi Ryu-yeon did not know that that degree of emotional change was a very unusual and surprising reaction for her. Her beauty, which was as if it had been molded by mixing the freshness of the morning dew, could not be expressed in words.