The RoFan Novel Fan Has Reincarnated Into A Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Center of the World

Cheon-gang was dreaming.

In his dream, he was a child again, running through the darkness.

“Huff... huff!”

He ran until his breath caught in his throat, reaching a dead end.

Now, it was time for the pursuer to appear—the horrific presence that had haunted him in this wretched nightmare, hundreds, no, thousands of times before.

Fwoosh!

From the empty void, flames erupted.

The fire was pitch black—so dark that it devoured the surrounding shadows entirely.

A suffocating fear gripped his body, sending uncontrollable tremors through him. His lips, still unsteady with youth, moved on their own.

“No... Don’t come closer!”

Cheon-gang was not someone who easily felt fear.

Not because he was fearless, but because he had already encountered something beyond comparison—the Black Flame, Darkfire (암화, 暗火).

"You will never escape."

As the whisper of a demon echoed in his memory, the fire spread.

The young Cheon-gang let out a shrill scream.

The flames of Darkfire began to consume his body.

No matter what he did, they wouldn’t go out. He thrashed in agony, burning alive, knowing that eventually, he would succumb to death.

Just as he was about to die once more—

BOOM!

A bolt of blue lightning crashed down from nowhere, striking the ground with a deafening explosion.

The crackling energy split through the darkness, forming a barrier against the encroaching Darkfire.

The nightmare’s ending had changed.

And Cheon-gang suddenly became aware—it was just a dream.

"This is...?"

Before he could process his surprise, the lightning flared even brighter.

It was so brilliant that it illuminated even the impenetrable darkness of the Darkfire.

A strangely familiar energy radiated from the divine glow.

"Miss Yeon?"

Before he could wonder why she had come to mind, memories flooded his thoughts.

Arriving at the Hwang Bo Family with her, meeting the old master, climbing the cliff through the formation... and finally, taking a direct hit from a surge of electricity.

"That’s right. What did I say before I blacked out?"

"Miss Yeon... Go. And wipe that old man’s smug face clean..."

He couldn’t remember anything beyond that.

A faint awareness began to rise, pulling him out of the dreamscape.

His mind repeated his last words in a loop.

"Wipe his smug face clean... wipe his smug face clean... wipe..."

“You snore pretty loud, huh? So, even you snore, Cheon-gang. Hehe.”

His eyes snapped open.

Yeon was watching him with amusement, quickly schooling her expression the moment he woke up.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Cheon-gang swallowed dryly and asked,

“...Was I asleep?”

“Yeah, you were out cold. You looked so peaceful, I let you rest.”

He struggled to understand.

Had he passed out?

One thing was clear—his body felt amazing. His mind was sharper than ever, as if he had just experienced the deepest, most refreshing sleep of his life.

"When was the last time I rested like this?"

As Yeon’s words replayed in his mind, he hesitated before asking,

“...Did I snore?”

“A little.”

“Really...?” ƒreewebɳovel.com

“Hmm?”

“...Was it really just a little?”

Yeon burst into laughter.

Still embarrassed, Cheon-gang turned his attention to the sky.

It was completely clear.

The pain from the electric shock was gone, and even his burnt clothing had been restored.

The formation had been completely dispelled.

“Miss Yeon... You succeeded.”

“I think so? I mean, this seems like a success.”

In her hand, she held a single flower.

A strange, wooden-looking blossom.

Yeon twirled the stem between her fingers.

“This was definitely a living flower when I picked it, but after I pulled it out, it turned into this. And the formation disappeared too.”

“Then... what happened to me?”

“I was going to pull you up, but you climbed up just fine on your own. Then you collapsed and knocked out.”

“I see...”

Feeling awkward, Cheon-gang glanced down at the cliff they had climbed.

“...Getting down will be troublesome.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Yeon pointed behind the cliff.

There, a staircase led all the way down.

“This was here the whole time. Gramps really is something, isn’t he?”

Hwang Bo Gyeong sat alone in the pavilion, flipping through an old book.

Listening to the gentle flow of water as he read ancient texts was his only real hobby.

He had done it for so long that the fingerprint on his right index finger had completely worn away.

“Peaceful life has returned.”

He spoke aloud, despite there being no one around.

Leaning back against the wooden pillar, he stretched out his legs in comfort.

Just as he was about to relax, he sensed movement from afar.

He tensed slightly but didn’t make the mistake of fleeing.

"She’s still here? What excuse will she make now?"

If she hadn’t passed the trial, there was no reason for him to teach her.

In fact, he wouldn’t be able to teach her even if he wanted to.

Hwang Bo Gyeong remained completely still, waiting for the approaching footsteps.

Then, Yeon’s voice rang out.

“Grandfather!”

"Hmph, you still have business with me?"

Keeping his eyes fixed on the book, he didn’t even turn his head.

He barely restrained himself from smirking.

"Beg all you want. There’s no way I’ll teach you."

Then, something was shoved into his line of sight.

“Here.”

“What are you thrusting at me so rudely—”

Thud.

The old book slipped from his hands and hit the floor.

His carefully maintained composure shattered as his eyes went wide.

“T-This is...!”

“This is what you wanted, right?”

With trembling hands, Hwang Bo Gyeong took the Lightning Flower from her.

This was only [N O V E L I G H T] the second time he had ever held this flower.

The first had been when Jin Hwayoung brought it to him.

His face paled as he stared at the daughter of Jin Hwayoung—Hwang Bo Yeon.

“Y-You actually passed the trial? You climbed Thundercloud Cliff?”

“Of course!”

"Impossible!"

Hwang Bo Gyeong wanted to deny it.

But he knew the truth.

There was no way to obtain the Lightning Flower without climbing the cliff.

There were stairs, yes—but they remained hidden until the formation was broken.

"Not bad, huh?"

Despite Yeon’s smug expression, Hwang Bo Gyeong felt no annoyance.

More than anything, he needed confirmation.

“How many times were you struck by lightning on the way up?”

“Why?”

“Just answer me!”

Frowning, she answered.

“Hmm... Three times? Maybe one more when I grabbed the flower?”

“...Hmmph!”

Veins bulged in Hwang Bo Gyeong’s eyes.

Three strikes—she had officially passed the trial.

And the fact that she felt something when she grabbed the Lightning Flower...

That meant she had absorbed all of its lightning energy.

"The natural energy stored in that flower was abnormal. And yet, she’s standing here like it was nothing?"

Even Jin Hwayoung hadn’t been like this.

When she plucked the Lightning Flower, she had passed out instantly—Hwang Bo Gyeong himself had to carry her back.

"Could this girl... be an even greater prodigy than Jin Hwayoung?"

Hwang Bo Gyeong’s tightly sealed lips finally parted with great difficulty.

"Right now..."

"Huh? What was that, Grandfather?"

"Right now, bow to me."

"A bow?"

"Hurry!"

He barely stopped himself from saying, Please!

Unaware of the desperation in his voice, Hwang Bo Yeon exchanged glances with the tall man beside her.

Cheon-gang smiled wordlessly and nodded.

After a brief hesitation, Yeon slowly bowed.

And with that, Hwang Bo Gyeong completed the Baesa Ritual, the ceremony in which a disciple is officially accepted by a master.

An outsider was watching, but he didn’t care in the slightest.

"From this moment on, you are officially my disciple, Hwang Bo Gyeong’s personal disciple. Understand?"

"Just like that?"

Still bewildered, Yeon barely had time to react before Hwang Bo Gyeong abruptly seized her hands.

His voice boomed through the forest.

"No take-backs, ever!"

And just like that, Yeon had become his disciple.

She now sat cross-legged in the pavilion, beginning her first lesson.

"He acted so high and mighty, and now he's in such a hurry?"

"Close your eyes," Hwang Bo Gyeong instructed.

"I will take my leave, then," came Cheon-gang’s voice.

But Hwang Bo Gyeong waved him off with irritation.

"Do you think I’m passing down some secret art? And you, there's no reason for you to leave—you already know this."

"Then may I train alongside Miss Yeon?"

"Do whatever you want."

At those words, Cheon-gang sat beside Yeon and crossed his legs.

Just his presence alone made her feel oddly motivated.

"Now, begin circulating your internal energy. You do know the Sumicheonwang Divine Art (수미천왕신공, 須彌天王神功), don’t you?"

"Of course."

Yeon confidently activated her inner energy.

The soft sounds of nature created a tranquil atmosphere, perfect for focusing.

Or so she thought—until Hwang Bo Gyeong suddenly barked,

"Wrong! Completely wrong! What have you even learned in the family?!"

Yeon blinked.

She had followed the technique precisely—what was wrong?

Still, she knew exactly what to do in moments like this.

Her grandfather was stronger than her.

A master was giving instructions.

The best thing to do?

Shut up and listen.

If she wanted to learn, arguing or questioning was pointless. She had chosen to be a disciple, so she would follow accordingly.

Seeing her quietly listen without protest, Hwang Bo Gyeong softened—just a little.

"Hmph... Simply reciting formulas without understanding them is useless. Don’t just memorize the verses, interpret them in your own way. Imagine them so vividly that they come alive in your mind."

As he spoke, Hwang Bo Gyeong glanced at Cheon-gang.

"That brat has already grasped it. Still, he has a long way to go."

Yeon briefly glanced at Cheon-gang before refocusing.

"Interpret the verses?"

The verses (구결, 口訣) were poetic formulas that encapsulated the principles of martial arts. The more powerful the technique, the more cryptic the verses.

She had memorized them.

But did she understand them?

"The verses of Sumicheonwang Divine Art..."

The literal meaning described Mount Sumeru at the center of the world, where divine beings resided. A single movement of their hands could split the heavens.

"How am I supposed to interpret this differently?"

Yeon had always hated classical Chinese.

Thanks to her reincarnation, she could read it fine—but that didn’t mean she liked it.

"You’re not grasping it at all. Creativity is also a form of talent! Hmph!"

Hearing that, Yeon had a thought.

"Imagination?"

She repeated the first verse in her mind.

"The mountain at the center of the world..."

Whoever created this martial art—how had they imagined the world?

This era had not yet developed science.

Forget space—people didn’t even fully understand their own planet yet.

Yeon mentally reached out to that unknown ancient master.

"What did you think the world looked like?"

At minimum, they must have envisioned all of Zhongyuan and the distant lands beyond it.

With religion and mythology, they might have imagined even more.

But their concept of the world must have been vague at best.

"Compared to them..."

Yeon was different.

She knew things they couldn’t even imagine.

Ancient people believed the world was small—but she knew the truth.

"No... The world isn’t small at all..."

And at that moment—

A vision of the universe unfolded in her mind.

Beyond Earth.

Beyond the billions of planets.

The vast, spiraling galaxies.

Clusters of stars stretching across 90 billion light-years of ever-expanding space.

In that infinite cosmos, Yeon’s consciousness soared.

Faster than the speed of light, she rushed toward the center of her own world.

It was like watching a high-speed video of space unfolding.

The verses of Sumicheonwang Divine Art echoed relentlessly in her mind.

Flying freely through the boundless expanse, she finally reached her destination.

"Ahhh..."

At the heart of the universe, a golden pillar blazed with radiance.

It stretched infinitely, upwards and downwards.

Around it, seven planets revolved in perfect harmony.

"This is..."

As understanding struck her like a hammer, Yeon’s consciousness was suddenly pulled toward the first planet.