Chapter 58: Above You, Below Me (3)

Yoo Hajin looked at the book he had taken out.The cover of the book read, "Qi Lian Gong."

Honestly, it was such a difficult book to understand that he hadn’t even read half of it.

According to the original owner of the book, Kirieon, her disciples had betrayed her, coveting this secret manual. 

Yoo Hajin remembered this fact vividly.

‘Now that I’ve seen this book, staying here for long is dangerous.’

He had to quickly acquire Yang stone, rescue Master Jin-yu, and escape. 

With this in mind, Yoo Hajin surveyed his surroundings.

There seemed to be quite a few people with bruises.

Most of them were young people.

Seeing this, Yoo Hajin couldn’t help but ponder for a moment.

‘Even so, I have to do what I must.’

Yoo Hajin looked at the Qigong Sect disciples who were bowing their heads. 

Honestly, he never thought they would bow their heads like this to a stranger just because of a book.

This bad culture needed to be utilized…

No, punished.

“From which rank does the officer or lower ranks start here?”

“From the 10th rank!!!”

“All those from the 10th rank and above, stand up.”

Yoo Hajin spoke, barely holding back a smile.

“Everyone, take out your wallets immediately and compensate for every hit you give to your juniors. Ten thousand won per punch. And I’ll collect all the remaining money as fines.”

“We obey!!!”

Why was Yoo Hajin taking the fines?

Some people wondered that.

But the word <2nd Generation> floating next to Yoo Hajin’s name silenced those thoughts.

The Second Generation, direct disciples of Kirieon.

They were the monsters who had created the current Qigong Gate and Qigong Sect. Such monsters could kill everyone here within an hour.

The Qigong disciples could only bow their heads.

“And one more thing. Vow not to hit your juniors in front of them anymore. Everyone does this. If anyone doesn’t, I’ll embed the Yin-Yang Qigong I learned from Master Kirieon in their solar plexus.”

“W-We obey.”

“Hurry up! Don’t you know what to do?!!”

Yoo Hajin mimicked Kirieon.

Then the Qigong sect people moved hurriedly.

***

I remembered the erotic dance that Kirieon used to perform.

Mimicking it, I shouted out.

“Hurry up! Don’t you know what to do?!!”

Tsk tsk, in sect life, speed is crucial.

And these guys, who don't even know that, are supposed to be officers.

The gymnasium was in an uproar. As some tried to sneak away, I assumed a stance to gather Qi, prompting the older ones to hastily make their vows.

It was heartwarming to see them empty their wallets and share the money with the juniors. 

They had beaten the juniors so much that hundreds of thousands of won were just disappearing.

One of the guys even showed his already empty wallet and bowed his head to the juniors. Most of them were in a similar situation.

Wait, this means there’s no money left for me?

I mean, it’s absurd that I, who have transformed this garbage Qigong Sect into a harmonious sect of seniors and juniors, won’t get a single penny...

At that moment, a few men and women approached. They were all quite elderly.

“This is the money left after compensating. Here you go.”

“Please accept it.”

They offered me about fifty thousand won. Pocketing the money right away, I spoke with a pleased smile.

“You guys didn’t hit the juniors much, huh? Did you make the vow?”

“O-Of course we did. How could we lie in front of you?”

Look at them trembling.

Do I look that scary?

Honestly, I wanted to extort more money for turning this place into a model sect, but I needed to move quickly since the real 2nd Generation could show up at any moment.

“You guys have Yang stone, right? I need to borrow it.”

“The sacred Yang stone? But to transport Yang stone, special barriers and manpower are needed.”

“Talking back to your superior?”

When I glared at them, they fell silent again.

Oh, right. There were other matters to settle too.

“And bring Kim Dogun and Master Lee Jin-yu here.”

“Kim Dogun? You mean the 11th-rank Kim Dogun? What did that lowlife do wrong?”

“Is there another person with the same name? If not, then it must be him. Hurry up. Do I have to spell everything out for you?!!”

When I shouted, the man ran off with a quick "Yes, sir." I then turned to the other officers.

“Where is Yang Stone?”

“We, we’ll show you.”

The officers hurriedly performed a group exercise.

Then, a mural depicting Kirieon began to open.

“We will guide you to the sanctuary.”

“Stop right there.”

It was at that moment.

A thick voice came from behind.

“It, it’s… It's the Third Generation Master.”

“T-Third Generation?”

Turning around, I saw a muscular old man, shirtless, staring at me. He looked at me suspiciously.

“I came after hearing the news. Are you really a direct disciple of Master?”

The Third Generation elder said, clenching his fist.

“I’ve never seen a Second Generation senior who looks like you.”

“Oh, I just joined recently. But why do you keep speaking so informally?”

I gulped. I didn't expect a true old master to show up so soon.

I fiddled with the box in my pocket.

It seems the moment to use this has finally arrived.

"Then prove it. Prove that you received the Master's teachings."

"I can prove it right away. Should I do it with a vow?"

I am, after all, a master of vows.

I'll vow to anything.

But the Third Generation elder shook his head.

"Nonsense. A master should be able to delay divine punishment or endure attacks. A vow alone isn’t enough to believe you."

It wasn't going to work.

I spoke with a bit of bravado.

"Then let's spar. But if people at our level fight seriously, it would be a nuisance to those around us. How about we gauge our skills with just one move?"

The Third Generation elder was silent for a moment before nodding.

"With one move, I will expose your lie."

"Give it a try."

I said confidently, but I was a bit scared. The gymnasium quickly turned into an impromptu battleground for a duel between the fake 2nd Generation and the real 3rd Generation.

Everyone else watched the clash of titans in silence, like low-ranking soldiers witnessing a battle of the stars.

"Shall we begin?"

"Let's."

The 3rd Generation elder said.

"Yang Qigong!!."

As I opened the box in my pocket, I said.

"Extreme Yin Qigong. Absolute Life and Death."

According to Kirieon, Absolute Life and Death was a technique that embodied the ultimate essence of death itself, reaching the pinnacle of Yin Qigong. She added that it was powerful enough to make even the leader of the Ilwol-Oakmoon sect retreat.

Embodying the ultimate essence of death itself?

Then fighting with Extreme Yin would make it Absolute Life and Death, right?

Feeling my hand growing cold, I said.

"Shall we?"

"No way. Extreme Yin Qigong is one of the Master's secret techniques. Did he really pass that on to someone else?"

"Let me ask again. Shall we?"

"I can't believe it-!!!"

The 3rd Generation elder shouted "Yang Qigong" as he charged. His shout alone made the roof shake and the arena begin to crack.

Damn, he really is a strong one.

It reminds me of Kirieon wrecking the research lab.

This is dangerous.

But I remained calm and took a pitcher's stance. Lifting my leg, I threw with all my strength. With my transcendent strength and flexibility, it easily exceeded 200 km/h.

-Thud 

The extreme yin shot out.

Of course, the 3rd Generation elder dodged it.

But the extreme yin struck the gym wall, creating a crack.

Something seeping out from the crack seemed to scare people. The Qigong Sect disciples were frantically trying to get away from it.

“E-Extreme Yin?! Is this really Extreme Yin Qigong?!! Only Master Kirieon could handle the energy of death that is Extreme Yin.”

Seeing this, the 3rd Generation elder suddenly bowed deeply.

“New Senior Master, please accept my bow.”

“W-Why are you doing this?”

As the 3rd Generation elder bowed, the rest of the Qigong Sect members started bowing too. But the elder, without caring about them, continued speaking tearfully.

“When Master returned and purged all the other 2nd Generation seniors and even punished my peers who tried to flee, I thought Master had given up on humanity.”

I see. The first thing Kirieon did after being freed was to deal with the Second Generation disciples and Third Generation apprentices who had betrayed her.

But why is this old man still alive?

The Third Generation elder answered that question.

“Only a few of us who were not involved in the betrayal survived, but seeing Master's hatred and madness, we had no choice but to flee. But now, to think that Master has trained a new disciple. And that this new disciple has come to reform our decayed sect culture.”

Wait, the old man’s words…

They’re starting to change in a strange way.

“To eradicate the foolish culture that oppressed disciples out of fear of betrayal, built on betrayal. That this is your will.”

The Third Generation elder’s face was already stained with tears.

“To think Master hasn’t abandoned us yet. Now I can die without regrets.”

Did Kirieon not abandon the Qigong Sect?

That’s something no one can know.

But after having a dance battle with me, where she said she wanted to kill everyone but didn’t, she let us all live.

That’s probably why this 3rd Generation elder is still alive.

But Kirieon was half-insane.

She didn’t seem to have forgiven the Qigong Sect.

She could come back and start a massacre at any time.

Thinking about that made me uncomfortable.

But the 3rd Generation elder didn’t know this.

So he kept talking like this.

“You are truly the second-in-command of our Qigong Sect. All factions of the sect will follow your orders.”

This is too much pressure. Damn.

If this goes on, my name will end up in the news.

Then Kirieon will recognize me?

That’s something I absolutely have to avoid.

If Kirieon returns, it’s all over.

So I decided to pass the buck immediately.

“No, I am not the one to reform the Qigong Sect.”

I looked around.

And I found Master Lee Jin-yu next to a beaten man.

Great. Master Lee Jin-yu is a good choice.

Please take over my position.

“Master Lee Jin-yu, come up here.”

“What? Yes, Senior Master.”

Master Lee Jin-yu came up, trembling.

I tried to smile as brightly as possible to ease her tension. Seeing my smile, Master Lee Jin-yu began to smile slightly as well.

"Everyone, listen up. From now on, this young woman will be my representative. Rebuild the Qigong Sect centered around her."

"Ha-Hajin..."

Master Lee Jin-yu looked at me with teary eyes.

I spoke as I saw her expression.

"Thanks to you, I was able to learn up to the 30th level of Qigong."

"No, I... someone like me... receiving such immense grace... I will definitely reform the Qigong Sect as you desire." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"I believe in you."

With that, I left the Qigong Sect’s gymnasium amid everyone’s farewells. Of course, I didn’t forget to retrieve Yang stone from the sanctuary.

Yang stone was a hot stone.

As I suspected, it took something like Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin for me to feel anything.

I had good luck today.

I made money, got Yang stone, and retrieved Extreme Yin.

Now it was time to awaken Enlightenment.

Awakening enlightenment should be easy... right?

Oh well, I’ll just relax today and start practicing tomorrow.

With a light heart, I stepped onto my electric scooter.

***

“The Qigong Sect is uniting again?”

In a dimly lit office, Nagu, the leader of the Heavenly Ordeal Sect, spoke. A teacup sat in front of her.

“Yes, the Qigong Sect is uniting under someone named Master Lee Jin-yu. Rumor has it that the Third Generation masters and numerous disciples of the Qigong Sect are passionately supporting her.”

Sip- it was the taste of instant coffee.

No, instant coffee.

‘Such cheap coffee sullying my palate.’

Nagu put down the teacup and murmured.

“Indeed, uniting the Qigong Sect would require power.”

She smiled with a vengeful expression.

“Finally, a force that can help us has emerged. Finally.”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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