Master:
Is this information accurate?
:
Yes, it is, Master. We have confirmed it from him personally!
The room was filled with silence. The meeting momentarily paused, all minds collectively grappling with the same thought—"Giving the boy more power than planned was unavoidable, as was the execution of Project Busan at the end of the mission."
The fact of the matter is, the novel Iron and Ashes is not a normal one—not just because it's basically real, but because only a few people know about it.
The 149 million readers? Those mean nothing. Those aren't real. The real reader base was a part of Busan, the hometown of Jin-Hoo.
No one outside that restricted area has known of the novel's existence since its start three years ago.
How? Because no one can share this info outside that area.
The reader base—the people of Busan—all of them, except children under ten, knew of it without exception. Even those with no interest in novels knew every inch of the story.
But at this very moment, none of them would remember a single thing about that novel—for the rest of time.
They all forgot it the day Jin Hoo began his training.
The day Project Busan was EXECUTED!
Jin-Hoo:"A staff and… what again?"
Master:"Qi sense!Combat with a staff and qi sense—that's what you'll be learning.The original plan was to teach you hand-to-hand combat and a few weapons, but time isn't on our side."
Jin:"Don't we have close to a year?"
Master:"Which still isn't enough to master both!Qi sense alone takes years to truly grasp.Even to use it at a basic level, you'd need to cultivate for months.And this mission requires you to be more than just passable at it."
Master said this, and we left for the training ground.
Despite months of hard work and intense training…
This felt particularly rushed.
Three hours later, it was over.
We had a quick spar, and it was clear—I still had a long way to go.
Master:
"Take a quick break and meet me at the forest entrance."
Jin:
"Yes, Master."
After a five-minute break, I made my way to the forest entrance and saw Moon Soo waiting there as well.
I followed the river down to a waterfall.
Just like in martial arts movies, I was told to meditate beneath it—wearing nothing but my underwear.
Even though the waterfall wasn't especially strong, after a few hours, I could still feel the numbness setting in.
I was only told, "Focus on what's in front of you—to the point you forget you're under a waterfall."
A few more days passed, but it was no use. I couldn't calm myself—the droplets were too distracting.
I tried my hardest… but I failed.
But maybe asking what qi was would help me understand it better. If I could visualize it more clearly, it might improve my focus.
"What is qi?" I asked during dinner.
It seemed like an ordinary question—no different from others I'd asked before. Yet their reaction betrayed them. That split-second hesitation confirmed my suspicions.
Anyone who claims to know the future will ensure nothing changes—that's their advantage. But someone like me, given memories and training from masters... I'd become too powerful not to alter fate.
They'd told me "a person's future only changes through constant interference," but I couldn't ignore the possibility: They might kill me after the mission to preserve the novel's plot.
After a weighted pause, Moon Soo responded:
"Qi is the energy used to perceive the physical world.
Qi is sound—it is the ears.
Qi is light—it is the eyes.
Qi flows through all existence. To see it, you must first cultivate and master your own."
So qi is basically an OP radar system!. This is convenient, but "how can i use this info to better my training!"
That question was in my head for days. The biggest challenge was the irregularity of the water droplets and the sudden drops in temperature that I kept feeling.
Desensitizing myself to all of it—so I could focus solely on what was in front of me, a wooden statue—was incredibly difficult.
Days turned into weeks. I got better at it. Eventually, I could sit there for hours without being too affected by the changes in my environment.
The trick was to focus on the subtle changes that happened to the wooden statue. It could be a leaf passing by, a cockroach gliding across its surface, or even water droplets making parts of it damp.
By concentrating on these minor changes instead of the statue as a whole, I found that my focus became sharper and more precise.
"Focus on the change that matters to you the most"—that's what I came to understand from this training.
Master thought to himself, "I wasn't confident he'd be able to pull it off… but there's more to this kid than meets the eye. We might just make it in time, although the way he understood the essence of qi is flawed it will work"
Alongside my qi training was staff training. The goal was to master three techniques:
Overhead strikes
Arc strikes
Thrust
We had combat training with Master every day, and sometimes Baek would cover for him.
After a while, we started the main part of qi training: Absorption.
Master led me to an empty room with a small black box placed in the center.
Moon Soo used his own qi while I sat on the ground. He told me to focus, feel as if I was completely alone, and forget about everyone else.
I felt a sudden rush—warmth surged through me, starting from my spine and fingertips, flowing all the way down to my lower stomach.
"I should have read more of those "Wuxia stories"... they would've come in handy."
Moon Soo and Master then left me alone in the room—with just myself and the black box.
The task? To identify what was inside the box using Moon Soo's qi.
Every few hours, I would starve and grow exhaustingly tired. I'd recharge with qi and food, then try again.
The whole room was eerily silent. Nothing seemed to happen. That same day, the only thing I managed to do was hear my own heartbeat—which was natural in a room this quiet.
"What am I missing?"
That question haunts me even now, especially while bathing. I've grown used to being silent and still these past few weeks—even the water in the bath feels motionless.
While lost in thought, Baek threw the hexagonal stone, like every other day—but this time, I didn't even hear him give a heads-up!
The stone caused a ripple in the water. Somehow, I remained unfazed.
The ripple spread evenly across the huge bathtub, eventually reaching chest level before returning to the source. That sparked an idea.
"Ripples as radars?"
If I could emit the qi Moon Soo gave me, maybe I could detect what was inside the box, right?
It had to be a living organism—meaning more qi. More qi meant more dispersal. That had to be it.
For the next few weeks, this became my mission: emit qi in short pulses until I could sense what was inside. Use that frequency, maintain it, and form an image in my mind.
Easier said than done.
Focus, Jin. Focus. I felt the urge to say "inner peace," but that's for a later date.
This went on for hours until I came up with an idea I regretted not trying sooner.
"Use words to visualize what I'm doing."
So I came up with terms:
To absorb means: gather
To emit or use qi sense means: release!
I even used some hand signs I'd seen ninjas use in a certain anime.
And things started to feel... fun!
Just imagining how cool it all sounded made my stress melt away.
It pushed me to work even harder.
After days of trying, the waves of qi I emitted finally returned with a faint trace—like "words to describe ants walking."
I focused harder now that I had a lead, but picking up on it was harder than I thought.
I also got better at using qi—I didn't waste as much of it anymore.
"Hmm... what is that? It feels like tiny footsteps... and I hear snapping noises too."
Hours later:
Master:
"Have you managed to figure out what's in the box?"
Jin:
"I'm not sure, but I'd go with... ants?"
Master:
"Hmph. Not bad, kid. Not bad at all," he said with a smile.
This training continued for a long time, with other tests like:
"Which box has what animal in it?" "Dodge this—while your eyes are closed." And more like that.
Eventually, the big day came.
The day I would transmigrate.
Baek:
"It was nice being with you, kid. I wish you all the best."
Jin:
"Thanks, sir. God bless your hands for the meals you gave me!"
When people go on missions, they usually wear clothes and gear. But right now, I'm butt naked in the sun.
Master:
"I'll repeat your mission one last time.
You have five hours to complete the dungeon. That includes the time it takes to reach the place where you woke up, and the distance traveled, not to mention you would lose most of the strength and speed you achieved in this realm.
After all the strength that your soul acquired will be the only one that will go with you, but for the 5 hours, you will be strong as you are now.
Finish everything. At the end, you'll face seven rooms. Choose the largest door.
When you enter, activate qi sense with your eyes closed. Move toward the item with the least amount of qi inside—that's the one that'll take time and is the most dangerous.
Once you have it, go to the item with the most qi—which will appear as literal flames—and insert the first item inside as swiftly as possible.
At that moment, turn your head toward the door, open your eyes, and run—as fast as you can.
Do you understand?"
Jin:
"Yes, Master."
{Wow, this is literally the third time he's told me this!}
Master:
"And lastly—do not engage in any conversations. You are strictly forbidden from talking or replying to anyone until the mission ends. Got it?
"
Jin:
"Yes, Master."
{Wait, that's a new one.}
Master:
"Good luck."
Jin:
"Thank you so much, Master!"
My body disintegrated like dust. Everything went blank.
When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a ceiling I didn't recognize.
I looked around.
"Yup... this is definitely a carriage."
"A noble carriage at that"