Chapter 216

The tensile strength of steel per unit area is about twenty to sixty kun, even considering the primitive iron-smelting processes of the Central Plains.

However, steel with a tensile strength close to sixty kun is so rare that even the blacksmiths have no clue how it’s made and simply thank their lucky stars for it.

Usually, decent steel has a strength of about forty kun, so if you reverse-engineer the unit area of the steel restraining device filled with Qing’s finger, it requires about ninety kun of force.

But, since the device bends the joints in a reverse direction, each joint has one of those restraining devices placed above and below it.

Even the arms are rigged up with these at every finger joint, at the palm’s upper side and the cheek, one in the center of the forearm, one below and above the elbow, one in the center of the upper arm, and it wraps around the shoulders just like a backpack strap.

Qing lifted a steel block weighing two hundred fifty kun with one hand without flinching; that’s some superhuman strength, yet it barely comes close to breaking free.

Furthermore, with the body squeezed in so tightly against the contraption that the fat was aching, there was no way to exert full strength anyway.

Ah. This isn’t going to work with strength alone.

Qing reflected deeply.

Thinking one could break free if things went south, he had carelessly leaned into the constraining device, which led to this predicament.

There are limits to what one can achieve with brute force, and he realized he needed to be careful moving forward.

Who knew if another contraption that wrapped steel around the whole body existed in the Central Plains?

Nevertheless, the creaking and protesting sounds from the device were unsettling.

Leaving aside the overall shackles, the finely crafted contraption designed to bend outward was taking quite a toll.

At this rate, they might end up creating a monster wrapped in steel bindings like the ones back in Qing’s hometown.

Cheon Yu-hak was startled and stopped Qing.

“Oh dear, child. I was just having a little fun. What kind of girl would have the strength to flatten a giant like Xiang Yu with a single slap?”

At Cheon Yu-hak’s words, Qing stopped thrashing and blinked in confusion.

Cheon Yu-hak untied Qing’s gag again and was dismayed by the thick drool that stretched out from her mouth and splattered everywhere.

“Hey, does it hurt?”

“It hurts. Like, really, seriously hurts. I’ve fainted and woken up several times along the way.”

“Hm. Is it really necessary to go through this?”

“Sigh. Listen, Shintu isn’t some martial arts group that spends all day training in martial arts and, haha, merrily advancing towards completion.”

When it comes to single-legacy transmission, it sounds great in theory, but it’s essentially a species on the brink of extinction, facing the possibility of losing its lineage at any moment.

Regular martial arts groups take in talented disciples who accomplish achievements, supplementing existing skills or creating new ones (or stealing them), and gradually evolve the level of their martial arts.

But what about single-legacy transmission?

If they don’t find a proper heir, instead of advancing, they might actually regress.

Moreover, those Shintu are busy maintaining peace in the world as a side job. With separate main jobs, how can they find the time to develop their martial arts?

“So?”

“That’s why our training is like this. Is it a trick? Using a sword instead of a hand and absorbing medicinal baths made of melted gold to twist the joints; there’s even a separate concoction called Hell Fire Decoction for Awakening Skill. You’re currently assembling new shoes for Gyeokgong Sunshin training.”

The right path originally takes time.

But with no time, shortcuts must be taken. If you want to move quickly with good methods, you have to endure some pain yourself.

If you want to hurry through evil means, then others must endure the pain. This is known as Demonic Arts or sorcery.

“…But that much pain is a bit much.”

“Well, from what I can see, you seem pretty eager to rush things. Am I wrong?”

“That is true, but still.”

Indeed, the reason Qing had been running around lately was due to impatience.

At some point, whether it was the nth crisis or a cosmic joke, everything seemed fated to lead to some inevitable development.

“Besides, do you think you’re the only one hurting? Do you have any clue how tough this is? Just crying and snotting won’t make it all go away.”

He joked about inherited hatred.

But in reality, it was a meticulous job of bending the joints, tendons, and muscles at their precise limit with highly accurate figures.

If strength is insufficient, it only causes pain with minimal effect, while too much strength leads to injuries that require long-term rehabilitation.

It’s truly a job that requires the transcendent sensitivity of Shintu, demanding utmost concentration and precision.

“Already feeling weak from practicing True Energy, and here you are complaining. If you don’t want to do it, that lofty golden medicinal bath of three hundred is wasted. Tsk tsk.”

Seeing Cheon Yu-hak clearly upset, he began clattering and unlocking the restraints.

Qing wore a guilty expression, gauging the situation.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m just scared of being in pain…”

“Is there really someone not scared of pain? You’ve been suffering for twenty years while mastering external arts, just to cut it down to a mere year, of course it’s going to be a rush of agony. Without this, harshly applying soothing ointment to stretch the joints for about twenty years works, but if you can’t handle that, what can I say?”

“No, I’ll do it faster!”

“Hmph. Is it enough for just you to speed things up? I’d rather teach you some breathing techniques and go enjoy myself. It would be quite delightful to hear the screams of my disciple while I, the master, enjoy the moment, wouldn’t it?”

Qing’s expression turned even more apologetic.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Enough already. The medicine is beneficial for your body, it’ll all be fine after a week; the swelling will go down. Then we should focus on Gyeonggong training.”

“Hey, Master, I didn’t realize that was what you meant. I know you’re doing this to help me, so I’ll ask you to do as you initially planned, okay?”

“Only when it’s convenient for you do you sweetly smile. What a convenient little charm, tsk tsk.”

Cheon Yu-hak grumbled as he began to lock the restraints back on.

At this, Qing felt a sense of relief.

And Cheon Yu-hak chuckled internally.

What a naive little thing.

Shintu are the world’s thieves, and thieves tend to be good at cheating others as well.

“All right. Get ready.”

“Ah.”

Qing had the gag put back in his mouth.

Cheon Yu-hak donned a serious expression as he declared, “Keep your eyes shut tight, and if it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to; just know that if you tear a blood vessel, you’ll probably end up crying red tears.”

At this, Qing clenched his eyes shut.

But really, even when he was warned, the terrifying description naturally made him want to scream!

“Mmm!!! Gahhhhh!!!”

Suddenly, his elbow bent outward, involuntarily letting out a scream.

It was truly a pain beyond this world.

My arm, my arm! It’s breaking!

In fact, with the pain pushing down from the outside, it felt like something inside his body snapped.

In that instant, strength vanished like a lie.

Without realizing it, Qing let his head, which was raised in struggle, droop helplessly against the backrest.

Three breaths later.

Qing’s body had slumped back to its original form, the waist and limbs only a bit skinny. The rest was above average compared to others, not just in the Central Plains but anywhere beneath the sky.

Qing’s appearance was quite the sight.

With disheveled hair, his eyes rolled back, unfocused, his eye area swollen, tear-streaked, and snot dripping down his nose, causing it to puff up here and there.

The moment the gag was taken off, a massive drool pooled out, flowing liberally. Even his lips, which were usually moist, appeared dry and cracked.

“You said it’d take one shijin, right… *sniff*.”

Qing wailed out, resentfully.

Cheon Yu-hak replied, looking weary, “Didn’t you swallow up all the medicinal effects of the concoction? With the medicine still in your body, you shouldn’t have to stop halfway through. Still, you went through three doses all at once, so it’s better off this way. Aish, I can’t even stand anymore.”

Saying this, Cheon Yu-hak sprawled on the bathhouse floor.

Truthfully, Cheon Yu-hak was drenched in sweat, looking like someone who had just emerged from a bath.

“Originally, it was supposed to be once every five days, so about sixty sessions in total, but now, since you’ve consumed all the medicinal effects and done three times the work, it’d be about twenty sessions, though we can increase the rest time, so in half a year, you might finish your training in the Martial Art of Body Refinement.”

“I have to do this twenty more times…?”

“You can choose. Either reduce the medicine and go for sixty sessions, or do nineteen sessions in sets of three shijin.”

“Then I’ll increase the medicine to ten…”

“You’ve already maxed out the joints, increasing the medicine wouldn’t help anymore. Originally, they were meant to go from lower to upper parts of the body, but at this point, everything’s already wrecked.”

“Don’t say wrecked…”

Qing weakly retorted.

Had it not been for Daejeong Seongong, he could’ve been in serious trouble. Each time the pain shot through him, the transcendent technique of non-attachment calmed him enough to keep his sanity intact.

That was only until a shijin had passed, however; Cheon Yu-hak visibly aged, and this was the only reason Qing managed to endure.

Seeing the one torturing him appear exhausted and drained, Qing couldn’t even be angry about it.

In this pain that couldn’t be expressed with words, he had no one to blame but himself, so all he could do was cry out in sorrow.

Thinking of what Cheon Yu-hak once said about how even he couldn’t hold back and cried made Qing rethink whether he needed to endure.

Tears streamed down Qing’s eyes.

Crying requires stamina, so it became merely a flood of tears overflowing.

“Aiyah. I’m really gonna die. After focusing on True Energy for three shijin since morning, dear lord, oh dear…”

Cheon Yu-hak himself was completely exhausted, moaning about in a simpler way, soon snoring rhythmically.

Since snoring generally correlates with tiredness, one could tell immediately how dead asleep he was from the way the echoes bounced around the bathhouse.

“Master…? If you’re going to sleep, at least loosen me up some more…”

Even though Qing tried to speak loudly, his voice was so hoarse that it barely reached above Cheon Yu-hak’s snoring.

“Ah…”

Qing gave up and let his head droop down.