Possessing Nothing

Editor: Ytho, LaidBackGuy

“This… Crazy bastard… ”

Denir muttered as he stared at Lee Sungmin, who was sitting there absent-mindedly. Not much time had passed in reality since Lee Sungmin entered the world of his subconscious. It had only been about 5 minutes since the trial had begun.

But Lee Sungmin had already spent 2000 years in a different world. It was unbelievable and ridiculous.

Ten people had challenged Denir’s trial so far. Seven of them had failed to complete 500 years, and their minds collapsed. Because they were recognized as geniuses, they could not easily overcome the despair in their subconscious when growth was forcibly restrained. Those who had lost their minds in despair were unable to wake up when the sand of the hourglass ran out. Death in the world of the subconscious meant the death of the mind, meaning that they fell into a vegetative state. No cure or potion could revive a mental death.

Three people had overcome the trials. They spent different amounts of time, but the longest of them was 1000 years. He couldn’t stand the loneliness and insanity beyond that. That’s what the person who survived for a thousand years said.

However, this man had been practising in his subconscious for 2000 years. If it wasn’t sheer talent, then was it natural determination? Or sincerity? Desperation of that level? He couldn’t understand. The man named Lee Sungmin, in Denir’s eyes, was not so great. Rather, he thought that the mental power of that human was rather weak compared to other humans.

But how did he last going on for 2000 years?

‘His mind collapsed several times along the way and recovered again. This… This is impossible. How could he piece together such a broken mind?’

During the 2000 years, Lee Sungmin’s mind collapsed several times. Nevertheless, after reaching a certain point, he woke up again and continued to practice. Was he intentionally forgetting? No, that wasn’t possible. He could never forget the time he had spent. This trial was terrible.

Having a few hundred years of memory without forgetting anything at all. In a world where there was nothing, he could move and spend time practicing repeatedly. Alone. His growth was suppressed, so even if he practiced, again and again, he would not progress much. That was the trial. Denir’s ordeal was precisely that. The flow of time had stagnated in the world of his subconscious. It could be extended indefinitely, as long as one can endure it, advancing at a slow pace to obtain something. If Mush’s ordeals accelerated the overall growth through a series of restrictions, Denir’s trial brought spiritual attainment within hundreds of years of experience.

“Ah.”

Lee Sungmin’s closed mouth opened. When Denir heard Lee Sungmin speak out, he was frightened and stepped back a few steps in surprise. Lee Sungmin’s closed eyes opened, and he blinked, looking around with blank eyes.

“Aa… Aaa. Ah?”

Lee Sungmin struggled to speak. He staggered and tried to stand up, but his legs gave out, and he plopped down. Drip. Drip. Drip. Blood flowed out from Lee Sungmin’s nose like a dripping tap. He tilted his head as he looked down at his nose.

“This is only natural. You’ve lived in your subconscious for 2000- no, 2100 years. You should be thankful for my intervention to stop your brain from bursting.”

“Thank… Right. Thank. Thanks. Thank you.”

Lee Sungmin murmured through his lips. He rubbed the blood off his face with the back of his hand and raised his body while stumbling. Lee Sungmin looked down at his body, both eyes looking quite terrible.

“I feel heavy.”

“You’ve lost touch with your senses.”

“That’s… I-I’ve lived 2100 more years. It wasn’t not a dream. I’m sure of it.”

Lee Sungmin pressed down on his temples firmly while saying that.

“I never thought about it after reaching a certain point. I just practiced over and over again. Did I feel like a machine? No, being a machine might have been better.”

“You went crazy several times on the way.”

“I know. There were moments when I lost control occasionally. When I came to my senses again, quite a lot of time had passed.”

“You’re a monster.”

Denir said with a tired face.

“I still don’t know how you did it. The collapse of the mind is the death of the body…

“I’m not sure.”

Lee Sungmin said with a blank face.

“But I just did it. I thought I should try more… I thought I had reached my limit. I’d be completely crazy if I did more.”

He wasn’t sure how many times he had already gone crazy.

“I think my personality has changed a bit.”

“You’ve lived through 2100 years. That’s more than enough. The guy who went through 1000 years wasn’t able to talk properly for even a minute. It’s odd that you’ve still maintained your personality.”

“That… Is that so?”

Lee Sungmin replied like that, moving his body. He stretched his joints and looked around with wide eyes. He held his palms out and circulated his qi. Denir, who saw his movements, yelped out in fright.

“Wait, wait! You…you aren’t going to release your inner force here right?”

“Ah… right. This isn’t my subconscious. I can’t swing my spear here.”

With that, Lee Sungmin dragged his feet out of the room. Denir followed him with a face full of anxiety.

As he went out into the courtyard, he felt an intense sense of discomfort in his own body. It was a natural discomfort. Lee Sungmin had cultivated in seclusion within the world of his subconscious for 2100 years. On the other hand, his real body had only sat there for 5 minutes at best.

The gap of 2100 years existed as a grey area between his astral body and his physical body.

“Spear… Spear… ”

Lee Sungmin muttered in a small voice, clutched his hand and then released it. Usually, the Spear should have appeared in his grasp the moment he thought this way. When Denir saw Lee Sungmin, he sighed and spoke.

“This is not the world of your subconscious. First, understand that.”

“The discomfort is quite strong.”

“I know.”

When Denir moved his hand, a white sphere took form over his hand.

“This is a copy of your memory. When you left your subconscious, you left behind the memories you had from before. Take it.”

Denir threw the sphere. Lee Sungmin stared at the sphere approaching his head.

“Why aren’t you catching it?”

“What happens when I catch it?”

“The memory of your 2100 years and your memory from before that will be assimilated. It will help in relieving the discomfort.”

“Okay?”

The corners of Lee Sungmin’s lips turned up, and he laughed.

“It’s the memory of a pathetic time. Even so, I still need it. There are things I shouldn’t forget.”

With that said, Lee Sungmin grabbed the sphere. His mind felt a sharp sense of alertness. After a while, Lee Sungmin nodded.

“Huu.”

Just because the memories were added, the sense of discomfort did not reduce. However, it was clear that this world was not his subconscious. Lee Sungmin looked down at his hand holding nothing and pulled out the Spear from his interdimensional pocket.

He circulated his spear force right on the spot. He immediately tried out the Nine Heavenly Spears technique, followed by the Shadowless – Movement technique. After that, he put down his spear and circulated his inner force. Lee Sungmin examined his body in that way and laughed.

“I don’t like my body.”

“That’s right. The body that had trained for 2100 years was different from this body. You may remember, but it won’t be easy to get to the level you experienced with that body.”

“I have felt my lack of talent several thousand or even tens of thousands of times in this world. I can’t help it. That’s just who I am.”

He ended up giving his thanks with that statement.

Lee Sungmin looked at Denir.

“I want to relax here for the time being.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I don’t have any place to go. I don’t need to go inside the house. I’m good, even if you let me stay in the yard.”

“This… Uh … Huu!”

Denir, who was about to protest, eventually closed his eyes and sighed loudly.

“Do whatever you want.”

Lee Sungmin started sorting out the things he had to do.

Preventing Baek Sogo’s death was a must. The time remaining for it was 1 year. What all Lee Sungmin had to do during that year was engrave what he gained through training in his subconscious into his physical body.

‘I have an imbalance of heart, mind, and body.’

He knew for sure why. The enlightenment he gained in the battle with Aine had led Lee Sungmin to a high level, but his body had still not fully accepted it. Something similar happened in the fight against Ghost Blade. His body moved in the direction led by his subconscious, but it was just that.

It was his mind that was currently far ahead of his body. The heart and body were far behind. Although some of that was set right through his time at the Shaolin Temple, Denir’s trial had corrected the balance of the body best.

He had to do an overhaul.

The first goal was to break through his meridians and do an overhaul of them. He had the ‘experience’, even if it was nothing but an experience in the world of his subconscious. Even so, it was better than nothing.

‘It took about 1500 years in that world for me to reach the peak.’

However, even in reality, 1500 years wasn’t necessary to reach the peak. He had already reached it in his memory. He knew how to use the Nine Heavenly Spears technique, the No Shadowless – Movement technique, and how to circulate his inner strength.

Lee Sungmin put his spear down and sat on a chair. He laughed again while thinking. His mind was surprisingly refreshed. His body was still unfamiliar to him, but the process of filling this gap seemed quite enjoyable.

‘One year left. How far can I go?’

I should be able to go anywhere. Lee Sungmin thought.

It was spring.

He tilted his head to look at a man climbing up the entrance stairs. He had been watching the stairs for a while now, but it was like the man suddenly appeared in his sight. It was as if he had already been there from the beginning. He didn’t even have time to be surprised at it.

‘An expert!’

He could tell as the man approached. Internal force could not be detected, as if he had never practised martial arts: but a person who mastered the martial arts could tell at a glance that it was proof of his mastery.

“Who are you?”

He asked in a vigilant voice. The man lifted the gat he was wearing on his head and looked up at the gatekeeper.

(T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gat_(hat) )

“Seungjo.”

“Oh…”

When Lee Sungmin laughed and called out to him, Seungjo opened his lips with a look of recognition on his face.

“Lee Sungmin?”

A year passed, and he had returned to Shaolin.