Martial Arts Ain’t That Big of a Deal

After returning from the Imperial Palace, Seo-jun focused on finalizing Namgung Ilmaek before his departure to North Sea Ice Palace.

Days passed, and by the time he completed it, the structure had become much simpler than originally planned.

"A 10-star or 12-star system would’ve been neat."

That had been the initial idea. But after refining it, he had ended up with even fewer levels than before—only five manuals remained in total.

The first manual, representing the 1-star level, was Lightning Pierces the Heart Divine Art (Seomjeon Changroe Shimgong).

This was an auxiliary technique layered on top of the Seomjeon Shimgong foundation, designed to increase qi cultivation speed and allow for faster progress.

At the 2-star level, there was no new manual. Instead, disciples would master martial arts specific to their respective divisions.

Each division would train in different sword techniques, footwork, and inner energy cultivation methods. Once they reached a certain level of proficiency, they would advance.

Thus came 3-star, Thirteen Lightning Sword Strikes (Seomjeon Sibsam Geomroe).

At this stage, all they had to do was follow the training. This was the process of refining sword ki and getting accustomed to lightning-based techniques.

Once they succeeded in manifesting their own sword ki, they would move to the 4-star level.

And that was Celestial Thunder Qi (Cheonroe Sogi).

The new technique he had created was called Celestial Thunder Qi, so he simply named this stage after it.

As the name suggested, it served as the foundation for the Celestial Thunder Demon Art (Cheonroe Myeolmagong), which they would eventually learn. It contained advanced sword ki techniques and internal energy manipulation methods.

"This is where most people will struggle."

To reach the 5-star level, where they would be able to use Life and Death Qi Circulation (Saengsa Tatonggong), they would need to be fully prepared.

Most would spend a long time at the 4-star level. If they grew impatient and attempted Saengsa Tatonggong too early, disaster would be inevitable.

But this was the Namgung Clan—they wouldn’t be so reckless.

Seo-jun had no intention of revealing Saengsa Tatonggong to anyone who wasn’t ready.

And finally, after all the hard work, they would reach 6-star—the Celestial Thunder Demon Art (Cheonroe Myeolmagong).

Even if they didn’t fully master energy techniques, this would still be an exceptionally valuable martial art.

By the time they reached this stage, they would already be somewhat accustomed to Celestial Thunder Qi, making further progress much easier.

For those who made it this far…

"Congratulations, you’ve graduated~."

Seo-jun clapped his hands.

"This is the final version?"

At Chun-bong’s question, Seo-jun nodded.

• 3 standard-issue techniques
• 2 high-level techniques