Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 542



The Realm of Talent

The Earth Mother gives birth, and the Sky God cares for the child. The child born from the earth grows while gazing at the sky. All things in the universe are born and perish through the grace of the two gods, continuing a vast cycle. That must be the way of all things flowing.

However, they say there’s always a finger among five that hurts less. The Sky God may be a stern father, but he is not a fair one, and the Earth Mother may be a loving mother, but she is not a meticulous one. Among children, some grow particularly well, while others remain small.

The children of the Engor Plains tended to grow rather excessively well.

“Oh. It’s opened, it’s opened.”

Standing on a small hill, I clicked my tongue at the sight of the black river winding and flowing.

The black fur fluttering in the wind looked just like black ink flowing like a river. Hundreds, thousands of water buffalo with such fur marched, shaking the ground in one direction.

The great river of beasts flowing along the grass path was not just grand; it was destructive. If I threw a stone into its path, it would turn to fine sand in mere seconds. The herd of beasts, with their twisted horns raised high, set off in search of prey, carrying the primal power within them.

I could cross if I wanted, but I decided to wait until the river of beasts ended. Bored, I asked the regressor.

“Can you win if you fight that?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? A few wouldn’t be hard to hunt, but there’s no reason to face the whole herd. Who would do something so foolish?”

“So you’d lose?”

“If it’s about hunting, then yes, it’s possible to kill them all. But of course, I wouldn’t do that. If I used my powers for such pointless mass slaughter, I’d just end up hated again. It’s hard enough to keep them calm as it is.”

You don’t seem to notice people’s gazes, but you sure notice the regressor’s. Just live with the regressor.

“Ajia, do you win?”

Ajia raised her head and shouted.

“I lose!”

“How bold. Don’t you have any pride as a king?”

—

“Self-esteem won’t feed you!”

“Wise words.”

“You can’t win either!”

Hmph. It seems like you’re trying to provoke me, but not a chance. I have no regrets about being weak. What can I do about being born this way? Instead of blaming the world, my job is to find a way to survive.

“Of course. I’m weak. I have to resolve things through conversation if possible. If I can’t resolve it through conversation, I won’t fight at all.”

“Huh? Conversation? Can’t do it?”

“That’s not the king of beasts, so how can we have a conversation?”

“You can do it!”

“What?”

Aji suddenly dashed down towards the herd of buffalo.

He seems confident, but it’s strange, isn’t it? The reason kings of beasts can communicate is that they take on human forms. Just because you’re the king of dogs doesn’t mean you can understand the language of buffalo. You can convey emotions through general atmosphere or expressions, but there’s a huge difference compared to communication between beings of the same kind.

“Don’t provoke too much and come back!”

If you provoke and come back, it becomes dangerous for the whole group. Not for you, but for me.

Taking a moment to rest, the Regressor raised the Cheon-aeng high above his head. It looked ridiculous, but there was a rational reason for the Regressor to strike that pose. The essence of Cheon-aeng is compressed space. It must hold the power of wind to unleash its formidable authority.

The heavenly sword Cheon-aeng contains an almost limitless amount of wind, but when facing the mountain lord, I had drawn too much power from Cheon-aeng, nearly exhausting it. If I don’t gather wind along the journey, I will run out of strength midway.

“If only I had enough wind, I could have just let it go.”

The grumbling Regressor suddenly seemed to remember something and asked me.

“Huh? Come to think of it, Hughes. Did you take the elixir?”

“Yes. I did.”

“How is it?”

“The efficiency isn’t great. For having taken three elixirs, the effect is minimal.”

The Regressor nodded as if he expected that and comforted me.

“Everyone has different abilities to absorb elixirs. You almost threw away the ivory pill last time, right? The absorption rate varies depending on talent or constitution, and above all, the younger you are, the better you can retain energy. Don’t be too disappointed.”

While telling me not to be disappointed, I strangely feel good? Sorry, but I’m on the ordinary side, not a dullard. I pulled out a card and infused it with energy.

“With basic energy manipulation, this is about it.”

I stuck a card to my index finger and flicked it. The card moved as if it had become one with my finger.

Even a magician of my caliber can’t stick a card to a finger without any special device. I have to subtly hold it with my palm or secretly wedge it between my fingers, or else there’s no way but to use energy manipulation.

“Just one card? You’re skilled, but anyone who knows the basics of energy manipulation can do that. Didn’t you do it in the Abyss?”

“Well, that’s true. This doesn’t even count as magic.”

Originally, my meager energy manipulation would have limited me here. But now, I am in a state of digesting the elixir. I focused my strength into my finger and infused it with energy.

Vroom. A gray halo rose along the edge of the card. The spreading light gradually merged with the card, flashing with a sharp brilliance.

“Uh? Is that a sword aura?”

“It’s not as impressive as a sword aura. I just wrapped it thinly around the card with ki manipulation.”

Ki manipulation is the technique of controlling all things in the world through the medium of ki.

The first step is moving objects that come into contact with my body, like adhesion or repulsion.

The second step is changing the properties of an object with the infused ki.

The third step is forming a shape with pure ki to expand the object.

And the fourth step is using ki manipulation with that pure ki. At this point, one can create a blade with ki even without a physical weapon, which is why it’s sometimes called a sword aura or blade aura.

To claim mastery of ki manipulation, one must be able to reach this fourth step. Some might argue that one must also be able to grasp wind or flowing water with ki to be considered a master, but that’s merely a difference in technique and ki quantity, not a difference in level.

“That’s at least the third level, the ‘release’ stage, right?”

“I knew the technique. I just couldn’t do it because I lacked ki.”

Those who practice ki manipulation talk about enlightenment or gaining insight, but to be honest, it’s just a matter of technique. Just like shuffling cards or pulling a card from the bottom can be clumsy at first but becomes second nature with practice, ki manipulation is the same.

How many thoughts have I read with my mind-reading ability? I can’t be unaware of the techniques. I just struggled because I didn’t have the strength to even lift the cards.

“It seems your level is higher than I thought. Oh? This should work.”

The reincarnator, recalling something, made several slicing motions in the air with the fabric. A hazy something rippled through the cut space, and a cloud that emerged from the fabric was neatly sliced into a square.

The reincarnator offered the cloud stairs to me.

“Here, Huze. Step on it.”

“On what?”

“This. Until now, I’ve been wrapping you in wind to move, but I don’t think that’s necessary anymore. With ki manipulation, you can stand on the cloud stairs.”

If there’s one good thing about traveling with the reincarnator, it’s that I can walk without much effort. Aji walks fast even without trying, and the reincarnator flies around on the fabric. That leaves me, slow and alone, but I can’t be left behind, so I’m held by the wind as we move.

It was nice to be comfortable. I hesitated, dragging my feet.

“I’m fine, really.”

“I’m not fine! It slows us down. Try standing on the cloud stairs with ki manipulation. If you can move while standing on the cloud stairs, it’ll be much faster and last longer.”

“If you only look for the easy way, you won’t develop your abilities.”

“That’s your line! Just hold on a bit!”

It’s not okay to just blurt out the truth. Do you know what defamation by factual assertion is? And you might not know, but I had a glass ceiling! No matter how hard I tried, I was just ordinary!

I grumbled and stepped onto the cloud stairs. The stairs made of hazy clouds felt soft, as if my feet would sink, but focusing my mind and pouring out my ki made them solid enough to stand on.

“Ugh, this is a bit difficult.”

“You need to maintain your balance while standing on the cloud stairs by channeling your ki. It requires a sense of balance and precise ki control. It won’t be easy to master in a short time, but anyway, you won’t die if you fall, right? Let’s learn by falling in practice.”

“I don’t want to. It hurts when I fall.”

“Then do your best not to fall. If you can stand for even a minute, I’ll start.”

“A minute?”

“Yeah, a minute. Technique is important. You’ll need to exert more energy on the parts where you want to push harder. Give it your all. This will help you too. It’s a training method that develops both your body and your qi at the same time. How great is it that you can train while moving?”

“I’m not so sure.”

“I don’t know the detailed principles, but if you’ve learned qi, you should try to master it completely. If necessary, I can give you some elixirs or manuals. For now, just hold on for one minute…”

From noble mtl dot com

“Ms. Shay.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s already been over a minute.”

“Huh?”

The reincarnator suddenly looked at me again. Standing on the cloud stairs, I waved my hand nonchalantly. The sight of the reincarnator standing on the ground surprised me a little.

“Is it possible?”

“I’m good with techniques.”

If it’s something an ordinary human can do, I can do it too. What I can’t do is either physically impossible due to limitations or too personal for me to achieve. For example, like logic or unique magic.

Until now, I had barely been able to use qi and magic due to a lack of energy and magical power, but now that I’ve overcome that, I’ve achieved something like the basic level.

“No, no matter how good your technique is, standing on a cloud with qi from the start…?”

‘I took a whole month to stand properly…! How much did I struggle when I first learned how to use the celestial essence! What’s this? Just because you’re the king of humans, you’re automatically a genius?’

I’m not an ordinary fool, you know? Compared to you, I’m a bit different. And as the king of ordinary humans, I can do most things that an ordinary human can do. Just as the saying goes, I’m good with techniques.

“…Tch. Tch. Tch. Tch.”

However, the reincarnator was sneering at me, clicking their tongue repeatedly.

“Ms. Shay, you’re spitting. Are you marking your territory or something? Spreading bodily fluids everywhere.”

“I didn’t spit! Don’t get cocky just because you’re a bit talented!”

“Cocky? That’s the one thing I’m the worst at! Have I ever boasted about being strong or let my guard down? If we’re talking about who’s been the most careless, it’s definitely you, Ms. Shay.”

“Get ready to start! From now on, we’re going to ride the cloud stairs!”

At that moment, my body suddenly lost strength, and my feet sank through the cloud stairs. At the same time, the gray clouds filled with energy returned to their original white before they could gather again.

“Oh, I’ve run out of energy.”

“What?! Already?”

“Even if I took an elixir, there’s a limit to how much energy a man my age can absorb. I guess this is my limit.”

“No way!… Wait, that’s not it? Energy depletion? Why is there no energy left?”

The reincarnator’s eyes briefly turned yellow before returning to normal. In that brief moment, they gauged my energy with their seven-colored eyes and looked puzzled.

“Why can you use qi well but can’t make it your own?”

—

“Well, is it because it’s not my body?”

It’s because I’m a spirit. There’s still a disconnect between the body I perceive and the body inhabited by the spirit. Even if I drink the elixir like water, the amount absorbed is minimal.

“If that’s not your body, then what is it? No, more importantly, are you okay with your energy being depleted? When your energy runs out, you should feel so weak that moving even a single limb becomes difficult.”

“Oh, is this what weakness feels like? I feel just like my usual self.”

Having lived without energy cultivation all this time, I’m not quite sure. I don’t know for certain, but I can definitely feel my motivation waning. I let my arms and legs droop and said,

“I think I need to rely on you a bit. Please move me with the wind again.”

“No way! I just gathered all the wind to create the stair-cloud!”

“Then why did you do something so pointless?”

“That’s rich coming from you! What do you think would happen if I exhausted all my strength while practicing?”

“Ugh!”

It was while I was bickering with the reincarnator that Aji, with a bright expression, ran up the hill where I was.

“What’s up? Where have you been all this time….”

Behind Aji, two large buffalo with massive horns followed, wearing grumpy expressions.

Curved, towering horns. Fur so dense that skin was barely visible. And muscles that even that fur couldn’t hide. A human who hasn’t mastered energy cultivation could never stand against them, and even if they did, without the right weapons and detailed strategies, victory would be far-fetched.

A buffalo, taller than me, snorted as it looked at me. Aji, I told you not to provoke them, and yet you brought buffaloes. To you, they might be just beasts, but to me, they’re a disaster.

As I stepped back cautiously, Aji shook his head vigorously.

“Hey! Ride!”

“What?”

“They’re offering a ride!”

Turning my head, I saw the buffalo snorting and presenting its back.