Chapter 38: 38

Pyo-wol opened his eyes.

He was still stuck in a snake’s den. His body was still swollen. This was because the snake venom that entered the body has not yet been eliminated. 

His body still couldn’t move, but there was one piece of good news.

After imitating the breathing of a snake, he was no longer bitten by a snake. The snakes seemed to recognize Pyo-wol as one of them. 

After getting used to the snake’s breath to some extent, Pyo-wol began to have other ideas. 

‘Isn’t it possible to combine the snake’s breath with the Thunder-Splitting technique?’

It was a crazy idea, but he didn’t think it was impossible. 

The essence of the Thunder-Splitting Cultivation technique was accelerating his speed of the thoughts. Thus, the increase in the speed of the thinking naturally increases the speed of the body’s reaction.

He thought that if he could combine it with the snake’s breathing, he might discover a new breakthrough.

Those were Pyo-wol’s thoughts.

In anyways, all he could do right now was think because his body was not capable of moving. 

Thinking, analyzing, reasoning, and calculating were all he could do.

Pyo-wol thought about how to effectively merge the snake’s breathing using the Thunder-Splitting method. 

He fell asleep thinking about it, and when he opened his eyes, he repeated his routine of brainstorming. And from a certain moment on, Pyo-wol began to combine the snake’s breathing little by little with the Thunder-Splitting technique. 

With his mind, he was using the Thunder-Splitting method, and with his body, he breathed like a snake.

In the beginning, the two breathing methods started to mix little by little. 

It is as if ink was dropped into a basin full of clear water.

Pyo-wol did not know how dangerous his actions were now. He didn’t even know that it was an attempt that went against the general principles of Martial Arts.

If he had great knowledge about martial arts, he would never have attempted this.

If the man who had abandoned him here could see what he was doing, he would have been immediately furious thinking that Pyo-wol was crazy. 

To a great extent, what Pyo-wol was doing now completely goes against common sense.

But paradoxically, he was able to try new things because he was not bound by stereotypes. Pyo-wol had no preconceived notions about martial arts.There was no stereotype that stops him from doing something because of a particular reason. 

He thought freely and tried everything he could imagine.

Pyo-wol forgot the passage of time and immersed himself in the breath he created.

At some point, Pyo-wol’s pain began to subside little by little. The poison that used to accumulate in his body was now either neutralized or melted into his blood. 

The only reason why that became possible was because of his newly created cultivation method. 

It was the so-called Sub-Thunder Snake Cultivation Method [분뢰사혼심법(分雷蛇魂心法)].

This new cultivation technique, created by Pyo-wol in the snake pit, was effective in controlling the poison that had penetrated into the body.

The more he used the Sub-Thunder Snake Cultivation Method, the more snake venom naturally fused with his internal energy. 

Now snake venom was no longer his object of fear.

When the snake venom was absorbed, the swelling in Pyo-wol’s body had noticeably been reduced. Finally, when all of the poison was gone, his physical body was able to move.

Pyo-wol moved his finger.

When the strange movement was felt, the snakes went mad.

Snakes nearby immediately bit Pyo-wol with their fangs. Pyo-wol did not resist and accepted the venom of the snakes. Then, when he felt hungry, he reached out and grabbed a snake nearby.

Pyo-wol caught a small snake that bit the back of his hand. He then took a bite of the snake’s head with his mouth.

Wagzak!

The snake’s head shattered in Pyo-wol’s mouth.

The flesh he chewed came with a fishy smell.

He didn’t know how long it had been since he had last tasted food. He didn’t think it was disgusting. He even felt ecstatic about the flesh that he ate after such a long time.

The snakes here also ate each other to survive until now. The strong have endured for a long time by eating the weak.  It was not a sin to eat other creatures here.

The same was true for Pyo-wol. 

He survived by imitating snakes, so there was no reason to feel guilty about eating them. 

Living with snakes, the snake’s survival instinct naturally melted into Pyo-wol.

As Pyo-wol lived in a snake pit, whenever he became hungry, he would eat the snakes. Although his body recovered to some extent and he was able to climb out of the snake pit on his own, Pyo-wol chose not to. 

Because there was so much more to be gained here than trying to go out.

An animal such as the snake made Pyo-wol experienced many things.

Their bodies and developed senses, which were focused on survival, were something Pyo-wol still have to learn.

So Pyo-wol continued to willingly live with snakes to observe their behavior. 

As a result, he noticed that the eyesight of snakes was different from that of other animals. The vertically split eyes of the snakes could see into areas that humans and other animals could not see.

One of the things Pyo-wol discovered was that snakes were excellent at detecting body temperature given their particularly sensitive senses. Rather than relying on their eyes to see the shape of the living creature, they used it to sense and distinguish a creature’s body temperature.1 

Pyo-wol came to know this fact while learning the Sub-Thunder Snake Cultivation method. 

If he looked at an object while using the Sub-Thunder Snake Cultivation method, he could see its temperature with his eyes. At first he didn’t know what the change in his perspective meant, but as time went on, he realized that it was how a snake’s vision works. 

Seeing the world through the eyes of a snake was different. 

Pyo-wol has already adapted to the darkness to the point that it was like daytime even in places without a single light.

The expansion of his field of vision also came with  the expansion of his senses.

Pyo-wol opened his senses as he assimilated with the snakes.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

It was almost impossible to capture the flow of time in a place where not a single point of light could enter. Because of that, Pyo-wol didn’t even know how long he had been trapped in the snake pit.

He could only guess that he had spent quite a long time with the snakes because his hair and beard had grown quite long.

“Huuu–!”

Pyo-wol slowly exhaled and moved his body. The snakes went mad. However, Pyo-wol continued to writhe around without hesitation.

His physical condition was perfect.

He delivered power to his arms and legs. The swelling of his body completely disappeared, and all of the wounds that were once so severe were now healed.

Pyo-wol slowly moved his body. His movements were awkward at first, but later on, he naturally swam among the snakes.

His movement without using his arms and legs was similar to a snake moving in the water.

Although Pyo-wol was moving around, the snakes did not attack Pyo-wol. He was being mistaken for a fellow snake.

After swimming for a while, Pyo-wol stuck his head out of the snake pit.

“Haa…!”

Pyo-wol took a moment to breathe in some fresh air.

In the serpent pit he had never once been able to breathe freely. This was because the air was thin. In order to live, the use of the Sub-Thunder Snake Cultivation method must not be stopped even for a moment.

Tuck!

Pyo-wol got out of the snake pit using both of his arms as support. It’s been a long time since he had stood with his feet on the ground, so he felt strange.

He had a feeling that his legs were definitely alright, but at the same time it wasn’t. But the foreign feeling quickly disappeared.

Pyo-wol looked around for a moment.

Lim Sayeol’s residence, seen through the wall, had not changed at all from when he was thrown into a snake pit.

Pyo-wol came out of the hole where the snake pit was. The underground cave, with all of the torches extinguished, was darkness itself.

The underground cave was eerily quiet that he couldn’t even hear insects crawling, let alone sensing a presence. 

Neither the warriors of the Qingcheng sect nor the disciples of the Emei sect could be seen.

Everyone had already left this place.

“I am alone again.”

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Pyo-wol’s voice echoed in the darkness.

Even though he was alone, Pyo-wol didn’t feel lonely. Maybe he had already forgotten the feeling of loneliness.

Pyo-wol sat on a large rock and looked at the space above him. The rope he used to come down here disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the warriors of those two sects took it.

Even though the only exit to the outside was blocked, Pyo-wol was not disheartened. 

Because he already expected that to happen. 

As long as the rope was gone, it was impossible to go outside.

At least with his current martial arts level. 

“I have to grow stronger.”

When he bumped into Mu Jeong-jin, he became certain. 

How insignificant his martial arts level is.

Even if he tried a sneak attack, there was nothing that could kill Mu Jeong-jin. The odds of killing him were extremely slim.

He had to be stronger.

That even if he cannot carry out a sneak attack, he would be able to face his opponents confidently. 

He already knew how to become stronger.

“I have to utilize and develop everything I have.”

He was now the owner of this space that was completely cut off from the outside. He didn’t expect to eat delicious food, but by eating snakes, he can satisfy his hunger.

That was enough.

After thinking about something for a moment, Pyo-wol began to move.

The place he was headed to was where he had previously attacked and fought the Emei disciples. The Emei sect was unable to retrieve the bodies of the disciples because they had to flee. So the bodies of the Emei disciples still remained in various places.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the only thing that remained from the corpses of the Emei disciples were clothes and bones.

The worms ate up all the flesh.

Pyo-wol searched their arms without aversion. After searching dozens of bodies, Pyo-wol was able to find a booklet.

The booklet was the Pyoseol Cheonunjang [표설천운장(脳雪穿雲掌)]2.

It was a copy, not an original.

The Pyoseol Cheonunjang was the strong fighting method that the Emei sect was proud of.

The person who carried the booklet in his arms was a martial artist named Gong-un, who lost his life to Pyo-Wol. Gong-un was a  second generation disciple of the Emei sect, and was allowed to learn Pyoseol Cheonunjan so he carried a copy.

He originally would have left the manuscript at his sect, but he had carried it with him because he left so hastily.

Gong-un did not think that he would not be able to return to his sect until he died.

Pyoseol Cheonunjang was one of the highest ranked martial arts that the Emei faction was proud of. It was a technique not leaked to the public.

“I’m lucky.”

Pyo-wol mumbled. 

Although he was not formally taught, he learned the Seventy-Two Sword Wave of the Qingcheng sect. And this time, he also obtained the Emei sect’s Pyoseol Cheonunjang. There is also the assassination methods he learned from the Blood Shadow Group. 

So he wasn’t entirely without basics. 

Pyo-wol was going to see the end up here.

The end of the Seventy-Two Sword Waves and the end of the Pyoseol Cheonunjang.

And he will combine the essence of the two martial arts into his own method of assassination.

Maybe it was impossible. That only a true master of martial arts can fuse three martial arts of completely different natures into one.

But he didn’t even think it would be impossible at all.

He had already created a new kind of technique called the Sub-Thunder Snake method. 

It was also because of luck, but it would have been impossible if it wasn’t supported by Pyo-wol’s talent and effort in the first place.

Pyo-wol sat down and began to examine the contents of the secret technique. He forgot the passage of time as he dug deep into the martial arts.

* * *

Something came into the darkness.

A beast with wings too large for its small body. 

It was a bat hanging from the ceiling. It looked around for a moment.

It was a pitch-black space with no light coming in. It can grasp a space that the human eye could never see using its other senses.

The bat pricked its ears for a moment and then started flying in one direction.

Neither the protruding stalactites nor the bulging roof of the pavilion could hinder the bat.

The bat flew into the dark hallway, avoiding all the obstacles.

Without even paying attention to the rooms on the left and right of the hallway, the bat headed towards the deepest room.

Entering through the cracks in the broken door, a strange noise was heard.

Susuc!

Any sane person who hears the sound would not be able to help but feel frightened. 

But bats were not human. 

The bat knew that the sound it heard was the characteristic breathing sound of a snake moving.

The bat looked down as it flew through the rectangular underground space. There was a large snake pit where the bat’s gaze was directed.

Numerous snakes were wriggling together.

Snakes were good food for bats.

In particular, small ones like snakes were a staple food for bats. Those tiny snakes were intermingled among the big ones.

The bat descended into the snake pit without making a sound.

It was planning to snatch just one snake.

When the bat was almost approaching the snake pit. 

A white hand suddenly protruded from among the snakes. 

But the bat remained completely unaware of that fact.

The bat’s nerves were so concentrated on the snake, and most of all, the movement of the hand was so stealthy that the bat could not detect it.

Bats were particularly sensitive to changes in the air.

It used sound to identify the terrain, so even if there was a slight change in the air, the bat should have been able to immediately sense and avoid the hand. 

But at that moment, it didn’t feel any change in the environment at all.

The pure white hand grabbed the bat without making a sound.

It was only then that the bat realized the existence of the hand and began to rage, but to no avail. 

The pure white hand held the bat tightly and did not let go.

In an instant, the owner of the hand appeared through numerous snakes.

The snakes swayed desperately away from the owner of the hands, as if they were confronted with a dreadful being.

A man with long hair down to his waist and a beard covering his chest.

He was naked, not a single thread in sight.

His naked body was beautiful, as if he had no muscles at all.  If a snake would take off all its skin and transform, a person would wonder if it would look like this. 

The man with the pair of red eyes glowing in the dark was Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol muttered as he watched the bat flapping in his hand.

“Is the road to the outside open?”

Editor’s Notes

OMGGG~ is Pyo-wol about to go the outside world?!?! I’m so hyped!! I also can’t wait to translate the next chapter and know what’s going to happen next (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

I’ve searched about this one and apparently snakes can indeed detect infrared radiation using their unique sensory system. This would enable snakes to generate a ‘thermal image’ of predators or prey (NCBI). Pyoseol Cheonunjang. 표설천운장(脳雪穿雲掌). The Chinese characters translate to ‘the snow wears the palm of the cloud’.  It is a technique of inflicting a surprise blow by disturbing the opponent’s eyes as if piercing through the clouds in a field of scattered snow. It is a technique that is the purification of martial arts by drawing out the opponent’s inner strength to the maximum with the first tension, and then pouring out the second tension that was left over once (Namu Wiki).

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