While the Stratosphere Bench Villain disappeared,
in the real-world training hall, one disciple visited the Master’s Room with a stomach burning with energy.
“Sister… my lower abdon feels strange…”
[It seems like the heat is high, is it okay?]
“My stomach is rumbling, and my body feels hot…”
Hae Eung-eung grabbed Ju Ah-young’s wrist for a mont, checking her pulse and projecting her energy to assess her condition.
After blinking her eyes a few tis,
she suddenly lifted Ju Ah-young’s top up to her chest and placed her hand on her abdon.
“Sister…?!”
[Stay still.]
Hae Eung-eung gently brushed around the solar plexus area, checking the rigidity and heat of her abdon, before nodding.
[Congratulations. You’ve made progress in your training.]
Ju Ah-young.
After long years of training, she had attained internal energy.
“Hahhh…”
Thanks to the internal energy incident last night, Ju Ah-young had a hard ti calming her unsettled mind.
She was startled when her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and was taken aback when her clothes were lifted and her abdon was touched.
Even though she knew there were no improper intentions, it made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
‘Who would have thought that attaining internal energy would make feel this way?’
It was supposed to be just admiration.
She thought that if she focused on training, she could suppress any improper feelings.
But unexpectedly, the physical closeness had made her heart race.
‘Does sister feel this way every ti she uses her internal energy?’
Every ti she practiced energy circulation, her lower abdon and dantian would hum and vibrate, and heat would flow through her body.
Enduring the gentle waves of heat and pushing the energy through its full circulation was incredibly difficult.
“How do you feel when you use your internal energy, sister?”
[It feels like pain for .]
“Huh?!”
[The body’s reaction to energy cultivation depends on the person’s constitution. The worse the compatibility, the more pain there is.]
“Then, does that an I have good compatibility?”
[...It could be considered excellent.]
Ju Ah-young’s health was not in danger.
But the reaction to the energy shouldn’t be this intense.
The martial technique she had been taught was a basic one, the Three Calamity Internal Energy (三灾气功),
a technique that was intended for stable energy circulation through basic ridians.
It had little practical effect but was stable enough that even those with serious illnesses like Energy Blockage Syndro wouldn’t experience much pain while practicing it.
Yet, Ju Ah-young, who was unable to sense any problems, showed hundreds of tis more sensitive reactions than expected.
It was clear that sothing abnormal was happening to her body.
[Would you like to bring up the status window?]
“Status window? Let try.”
Without thinking, Ju Ah-young ntally brought up the status window.
Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes darted nervously, and she swallowed dryly.
“Sister.”
[What has changed?]
“The status window has… two windows now.”
It seed like she had found the cause of the abnormal energy reaction.
[Status Window Selection]
① Awakened Status Window (Inactive)
② Martial Arts Almanac Status Window (Active)
With trembling hands, Ju Ah-young hesitantly scrolled through the Martial Arts Almanac status window.
[Status Window]
[Na] Ju Ah-young (Female, 25 years old)
[Level] Low-Class (Lv30)
[Occupation] Training Disciple
[Title] Master’s Best Disciple
[Muscle] 12
[ridian] 17
[Talent] 22
[Intelligence] 27
[Five Elents] 73 ( 5P)
[Charm] 65
[Energy Power] 1
▷ Remaining Points: 0
Energy Wasteland: Living in an area with a very low natural energy field, making energy cultivation extrely difficult.
Master’s Best Disciple: You are the best disciple of your master.
Master’s Best Disciple: You are the best disciple of your master.
Title Effect: 5 to Five Elents
Title Effect: 1 to Five Elents
Hae Eung-eung looked worriedly at the notebook.
[Can you write down everything that appears on the screen?]
“Of course!”
Ju Ah-young willingly transcribed the status window.
Hae Eung-eung’s lips tightened.
[It’s the sa status window as mine.]
“So you also have two windows, sister? I knew you were strong, but this is unbelievable!”
[Let show you more. I’ll teach you so other commands.]
Hae Eung-eung shared four commands.
Blessings.
Prohibitions.
Martial Arts Skills.
Level Status.
All were features she commonly used.
[Blessings]
[Jump Enthusiast] - You gain peace of mind while jumping.
[Sensory Assimilation] - You have a natural talent for sensory assimilation.
[Imitation] - You can imitate anything your favorite person does. Of course, if you try harder, you might do it even better.
[Sister Bond (Hae Eung-eung)] - The closer you beco physically and ntally to the designated target (Hae Eung-eung), the more your stats and effect modifiers increase.
[Slow Growth] - You gain a growth speed bonus proportional to how long you’ve been training.
[Prohibitions]
[Lock in the Heart] - You have a strong trauma associated with a specific emotion. Every ti that emotion surfaces, you suffer from intense guilt.
[Stop Fooling Around!] - You’re no longer a prankster. Every ti you realize you’ve unknowingly played a prank on soone, you beco lancholic.
[Wrongly Taken] - You took so of the prohibitions by mistake, desiring to resemble your sister too much. The power of the permanent tattoo seeps into your internal energy.
[Maiden’s Power] - While maintaining your maidenhood, your growth speed increases with the power of pure energy. This blessing disappears when you engage in a relationship with the opposite sex.
[???] - Your subconscious chose this prohibition. The full details are yet to be revealed.
[Martial Arts Skills]
[Heart Technique]
[Three Calamity Internal Energy] (3 Stars) (Low-Class)
[Fist Technique]
[Six Harmonies Fist] (4 Stars) (Low-Class)
[Footwork Technique]
[Golden Lotus] (3 Stars) (Low-Class)
[Sword Technique]
[Three Calamity Sword Technique] (10 Stars) (Great Success) (Low-Class)
[Movent Technique]
[Three Calamity Movent] (10 Stars) (Great Success) (Low-Class)
[Level Status]
[Level] Low-Class (Lv30)
[Promotion Conditions]
Defeat Low-Class Enemies (0/100)
Defeat Interdiate-Class Enemies (0/1)
Reach Level 50 (30/50)
Learn an Interdiate-Class Martial Art (0/1)
Achieve two or more of the above four conditions to promote at any ti.
If a Martial Art of Interdiate-Class or higher reaches 5 Stars, your level will automatically promote.
[Maintenance Conditions]
Your Qi level cannot exceed your current level.
Your internal energy must not beco contaminated with toxic energy.
Ju Ah-young felt like she could die from embarrassnt.
Imitation.
Sister Bond.
Lock in the Heart.
Each one felt like an embarrassing secret of hers being laid bare.
Her sister had asked her to reveal everything, but she couldn’t bear to do it.
Hae Eung-eung, seeing her downcast face, realized sothing was going on.
There was indeed sothing more to it.
[If it’s too hard to reveal everything, you can just tell what you’re comfortable with.]
Hae Eung-eung’s pure concern for Ju Ah-young’s wellbeing filled her heart with even more guilt.
Ju Ah-young, overwheld with embarrassnt, fell deeper into self-doubt.
‘What does this an, really? Is everything from that day, and today, nothing to you, sister?’
She felt like the only one conscious of their relationship.
Even though she knew she couldn’t, emotions continued to rise within her.
The mont she realized this, her heart raced with pain.
‘Ah.’
This was it.
The lock in her heart.
Ju Ah-young bit her lip to hold back the sharp pain in her chest.
“….”
Hae Eung-eung watched her silently.
Her handwriting was not beautiful.
Even though she could speak, there were things she couldn’t say.
With a slightly rebellious thought,
she beca absorbed not in her writing, but in Ju Ah-young’s profile.
‘She’s worked so hard.’
To awaken internal energy in such a barren world,
how difficult must it have been?
Even if there had been help, it wouldn’t have been easy.
The bandages on her cheek from her injuries during training,
the hardened calluses on her hands that seed more like those of a warrior than a woman’s,
all looked out of place on soone her age.
‘Ah-young wanted this path, so I can’t stop her.’
It was too late to turn back now.
Once she stepped onto this path, she would have to take full responsibility.
Hae Eung-eung carefully read the paper Ju Ah-young had written, determined not to miss a single word.
“How do you feel…? Am I okay?”
“……”
“Sister?”
Only then did Hae Eung-eung realize.
Her assumption had been right all along:
When one attains internal energy, they might awaken the Martial Arts Almanac’s status window.
She realized how much Ju Ah-young liked her, wanted to be like her, and was influenced by her.
She realized that her curiosity had inadvertently led her into the curse of the Lock in the Heart
and that she would forever be burdened by this curse.
[Lock in the Heart]
[You took part of the curse because your desire to resemble your sister was too strong. The power of the permanent tattoo is now embedded in your internal energy.]
It wasn’t just a compatibility effect.
It was a far more sinister force.
‘The permanent tattoo. At first, I just thought it was a botherso restriction that would make my internal energy glow while I practiced.’
But the tattoo had hidden effects.
[Blessing]
[Perfect Purity] - Your skin automatically stays clean without needing to wash, and it emits a feminine fragrance.
The Perfect Purity blessing purifies the surrounding air and generates clean oxygen, supplying your body with oxygen even without breathing.
[Blessing]
[Perverted Physics] - Your body possesses abnormal flexibility, pain relief, and healing abilities.
The effects of Perverted Physics influenced the recovery of her nervous system and ridians.
[Prohibition]
[Permanent Tattoo (Lower Abdon)] - You have a uterus tattoo with an automatic recovery function on your lower abdon.
The tattoo’s self-repair function uses internal energy to store energy within it and changes the nature of the Qi.
It’s as though the Qi is being manipulated, stimulating sexual energy.
‘Every ti I tried to tear away or extract the internal energy stored in the tattoo, I had to suffer from the cursed energy that tornted .’
The pain turned to pleasure, and the repeated urges to surrender myself were overwhelming.
As the energy surged through her body like a wave,
she clenched her fists until blood ca out, bit her lips, and scratched herself with a blade.
She wanted to beco a courtesan for the Heavenly Sect
or the emperor’s woman,
or a toy for the Blood Sect.
She was tornted by the impulse to fall into the role of a re female,
having to endure the curse of her own desires.
The internal energy stored in the tattoo was her backup energy and lifeline,
but at the sa ti, it was a constant reminder of the despairing impulses.
Anyone would do.
As long as they were close,
no matter who they were,
what they did,
she would want to embrace them and experience the joy of being a woman.
This disgusting impulse,
this unwanted curse,
was sothing Ju Ah-young had to face every ti she used her internal energy.
All because of her admiration for her sister.
Because of her, and only her.
“Sister, are you crying?”
If anyone was to bla, it should be herself for her carelessness, not the innocent Ah-young.
‘The curse is a form of ntal domination, almost like brainwashing or a curse. It’s hard to break, but it’s not impossible.’
Just like how Ju Ah-young had transford herself with confidence in her martial arts,
and overco her silent disorder,
she too could escape this curse if certain conditions were t.
The way to do so was very close.
[Stop learning martial arts.]
“Sister…?”
[To break the curse, you need to use the Awakened’s Qi, not the martial arts practitioner’s internal energy.]
If she stopped learning martial arts,
it would be like giving up on becoming a martial artist.
“That ans… I can’t be your disciple anymore.”
Ju Ah-young’s eyes lost focus.
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