It had already been a year since Gangchan started hunting in the mountains.
The Sayecheonryeong, which had remained at 3rd rank, was now surpassing the 4th rank and approaching the 5th rank.
Though he had yet to unleash the Yin Yang Arrow, he was able to adjust his bow somewhat according to his will by surrounding it with Jieugiseong.
Like lightning, he raised his bow and drew the string toward the rock on the right.
The arrow flew toward the rock but suddenly curved sharply to the left, bypassing the rock and embedding itself into a tree behind it.
Anyone who saw this would have been startled.
A chilling breeze blew.
Countless leaves rustled and fell from the sky.
At that moment, Gangchan shot another arrow.
The arrow shot forward like lightning, undulating like a serpent as it avoided the rock blocking the path and embedded itself into a large tree about 300 steps away.
‘Swoosh—thud!’
The sound was more like a spear striking than an arrow.
The arrow shot from the bow hit so powerfully that the large tree trembled, scattering leaves in all directions.
Examining the arrow stuck in the tree, it had pierced through ten leaves and was lodged firmly.
Gangchan let out a satisfied smile.
It wasn’t simply about hitting the target but the result of relentless effort to control the arrow’s trajectory and landing point as he desired.
This was the maximum level achievable with 6th rank Jieugiseong and 5th rank Cheonuigiseong.
Though still lacking finesse, having found a method meant that one day he would definitely succeed.
Likewise, when his Seungcheonmugukgiseong rose a bit more and his Sayecheonryeong reached 7th rank, he would soon be able to wield the Yin Yang Arrow.
As the stagnant martial arts began to change through hunting, Gangchan decided to try something else.
Instead of using a bow, he would hunt by combining Guihonbo and Cheonryeongchukji with Hyeolbu Cheollyeong.
His plan was to quickly close the distance to the prey with Cheonryeongchukji, approach stealthily using Guihonbo, and finish with either Hyeolbu Cheollyeong or Cheonryeongmu.
It was no easy challenge, but if successful, he would be able to control his body and energy several times more precisely than now.
Spotting a pheasant about 100 steps away, Gangchan sent half a dose of his Seungcheonmugukgiseong to his sole foot blood and explosively sent the remaining energy to his Yongcheon blood, activating Cheonryeongchukji.
In an instant, Gangchan closed in within ten steps of the pheasant, concealed his presence with Guihonbo, approached, and struck the pheasant’s body with the stabbing motion of Cheonryeongmu.
‘Bang!’
Like piercing water with a finger, Gangchan’s middle finger pierced the pheasant’s heart.
The pheasant, seemingly unaware of what had happened, fluttered its wings as if counting, hovering three steps in the air before falling lifelessly to the ground.
Only the heart had been precisely pierced, making it difficult from the outside to see why it died.
Previously, the target’s destruction from failed power control in the final strike of Seungcheonmugukgiseong was a problem, but now he could finally avoid bursting the target.
***
After two years of hunting, Gangchan had raised his martial arts to an even higher level.
He stood as still as a figure carved from stone, aiming his bow.
In an instant, the arrow shot forward like a ray of light.
Flying about 250 steps, the arrow suddenly appeared to stretch long back and forth.
A small insect crawling on the tree targeted was moving slowly, unaware it was being aimed at.
Although only one arrow had been shot, in midair it looked like two arrows separated front and back.
‘Thud—bang!’
The real arrow pierced the insect first, and at the same moment, a delayed qi arrow struck the real arrow with three powerful blows.
This was the Yin Yang Arrow.
When a single arrow flies toward the target, the qi arrow appears trailing behind like a shadow.
Even a master skilled enough to block incoming arrows would fall victim to the Yin Yang Arrow without understanding why.
In the martial world, large-scale battles were rare, and blocking arrows was relatively easy, so many warriors looked down on archery.
However, Gangchan’s archery was destined to become the most feared martial art by all martial artists in the future.
Gangchan’s Seungcheonmugukgiseong had reached 6th rank.
Sayecheonryeong archery could use Yin Yang Arrow at 7th rank, and Hyeolbu Cheollyeong could perform Jeonsamsik at 6th rank.
The problem was that, as two years ago, his progress had suddenly hit a wall and stalled again.
Growth of Jieugiseong and Cheonuigiseong was blocked by the growth of Inuigiseong.
How to resolve this was unclear.
In the end, Gangchan stopped hunting and dove deeply into studying the Eight Immortals’ Secret Record.
As expected, the answer lay within the Eight Immortals’ Secret Record.
Currently, Gangchan’s Seungcheonmugukgiseong was at 6th rank.
Inuigiseong was at 8th rank, Jieugiseong 7th, and Cheonuigiseong 6th.
For some reason, while Jieugiseong and Cheonuigiseong were growing, Inuigiseong had stopped.
He couldn’t think of an easy way to raise Inuigiseong.
Gangchan was lost in deep thought.
‘I need to find a method…’
The Eight Immortals’ Secret Record remained obscure and unhelpful.
‘Inuigiseong is the energy of humans. When did I first learn to feel human energy?’
Tracing his memories, he slowly turned toward a point in his past.
Wandering through memories, he finally arrived at the moment he first sensed Inuigiseong.
Back then, without suspicion, he tried to observe inside himself as if he were an outsider, creating a small light within and feeling the energy, following its path.
***
After awakening Inuigiseong for the first time, he naturally looked inward to govern his energy.
Inuigiseong gradually grew, leaving a deep mark within Gangchan’s heart.
But at some point, the growth stopped, and his cultivation no longer advanced.
Since that day, Gangchan stopped all training and entered a long meditation.
As time passed, he managed to control the greed and impatience that had settled within him, and a calm peace filled his heart.
And then, a sudden realization flashed through his mind.
‘That’s it. Until now, I’ve been looking inward to grow Inuigiseong. Now, I must look outward at others to grow further.’
How could the Eight Immortals’ Secret Record, which requires accepting countless energies, be completed by the energy of one person alone? How could he exclude the countless people existing outside himself?
After savoring this realization for some time, Gangchan quietly opened his eyes.
He might be wrong, and might waste time, but the Inuigiseong within him, now barely distinguishable from himself, seemed to urge him out into the world.
‘If I go out into the world, there must be at least one more method I don’t know yet.’
A few days later, before the sun had risen, at the early hour of Myosi.
***
Gangchan quietly left the village, taking with him the pelts he had gathered from hunting.
At this time, he was seventeen years old.
If Gangchan had fully understood his martial arts level, he would not have headed to the rivers and lakes but to the steppes seeking revenge.
By Central Plains standards, his martial arts level was above the pinnacle.
Moreover, he possessed the newly formed Samhonbu, and considering his martial arts had no origins in the Central Plains, he would have been a match for even the supreme martial artists without losing.
However, he had learned martial arts alone and had no experience against others, so it was natural he didn’t know his own level.
Coming out into the world, Gangchan first headed to the center of Jilin, Changchun.
In truth, he had only been spending the fortune his father had left him, but what once seemed ample was now almost gone.
Entering the market in Changchun, Gangchan slowly walked past countless shops.
Among them, a dry goods store displaying various pelts and products caught his eye.
He slowly moved toward it.
“Excuse me.”
“Welcome. What are you looking for…?”
A middle-aged man, after glancing at Gangchan, approached him.
“I’m not here to buy, but to sell these.”
Gangchan placed the pelts he had brought onto the counter.
“Let’s see… Did you catch these yourself?”
Knowing Gangchan was young, the owner immediately spoke casually.
“Yes, I hunted and skinned and dried them myself.”
“Rabbit pelts have become common these days, so they’re not worth much.”
“How much are they?”
“One hundred mun per rabbit pelt, the fox pelts are in good condition so one silver coin each. How does that sound?”
Not knowing the market price, Gangchan felt awkward.
Seeing this, the owner smiled knowingly.
“Never sold pelts before, have you? If you go elsewhere, you’ll probably get ripped off.”
Gangchan looked into the man’s eyes—eyes without greed, purely honest.
“Alright. Let’s do it that way.”
“Good choice. So, where are you coming from?”
“From Baekseong city today.”
Baekseong was a city just before crossing the steppes, right below Guihon Village.
“Coming from the north, huh. Here, 50 rabbit pelts and 6 fox pelts—11 silver coins total.”
“Thank you.”
Gangchan put the silver coins into a pouch at his waist.
Along with the twenty silver coins remaining from his father’s fortune, his total assets now amounted to thirty-one silver coins.
“So, where to next?”
“I don’t know how far, but I want to travel the Central Plains.”
He smiled as he answered.
“You don’t look very old, yet traveling the Central Plains… impressive. Your parents must be proud. But for traveling, you ought to have at least a horse, right?”
“Is that so? Since this is my first journey, I wasn’t sure what to prepare, so I set out light.”
“I see.”
***
After a moment’s thought, the owner continued,
“If you need a horse, there’s Jangchun Stable near the south gate. Just say Manpyeong sent you and ask for the old man Gu. They won’t cheat you.”
“Thank you for the tip.”
Gangchan bowed in gratitude.
“No need to thank me. I just paid you a fair price for your goods…”
Though a rare reunion, the atmosphere of the dry goods store still felt warm and familiar.
Gangchan thanked him once more and slowly made his way toward the south gate Manpyeong had mentioned.
Many things he had never seen before held his attention.
Not long after leaving the south gate, Jangchun Stable came into view on his left.
Entering the stable, Gangchan paused at the surprisingly large scale.
Within the fenced plain, countless horses ran freely, and on one side stood a large, long building resembling a silver warehouse.
He slowly walked along the fence.
***
After some time, he noticed a crowd gathered and murmuring.
They were pointing at a small black horse, not much bigger than others, whispering among themselves.
“Is that one any good?”
“Yeah, at first I thought it was a stroke of luck, but it hasn’t eaten for days. I’m worried it might die and we’ll have to clean it up.”
One onlooker shook his head.
“But why is it like that?”
Another asked curiously.
“When it was caught on the steppes, the mother was nearby, wild as could be. When they tried to rope it, it kicked and threw someone badly. It got a bad wound on its neck.”
“The mother died the next day or so. Since then, it hasn’t eaten, just stays in the corner without moving, refusing to be led.”
Hearing the story, Gangchan looked quietly at the black horse.
There was no will to live in its eyes.
A sharp pain struck a corner of Gangchan’s heart—just like his own childhood back then.