Meridians

"..." Scratching his neck while thinking, Seojun was silent for a good while and stared at his mother's face, then smiled broadly and spoke "If I absorb the internal energy, my vitality will be higher, that means I will be able to spend much more time with mom."

With a sudden sparkle in her eyes, Sujin raised her eyebrows and stared at the face of the boy in front of her, then laughed and nodded "You just convinced me."

"So how's it done?" Cocking his head excitedly, Seojun asked.

"Do you want to do it now?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Not if you do it right."

"How much does it hurt if I do it wrong?"

"You'll wish you were dead" Taking her son's head, Sujin gently cuddled him against her breasts and whispered "Now close your eyes and focus on your breathing."

"Mn" Nodding quickly, Seojun settled quietly on his mother's breasts and closed his eyes slowly, while focusing completely on his breathing.

"You don't know it now, but outside it is publicly known that the human body has 9 main meridians, of those 9 meridians, 5 are Yin meridians and 4 are Yang meridians" Gently stroking her son's small back, Sujin whispered softly "But the truth is that the human body has 14 main meridians and if you manage to open all of them, your energy absorption speed will be much faster"

"Why do you only know about 9 outside?"

"Every group or family has its secrets, it is obvious that people with more power and money will know much more than the common ones"

"So only the rich or powerful know that there are 14 main meridians?"

"Not at all, some may know that there are 10, others may know that there are 13 and perhaps some know that there are more than 14 meridians... I do not rule out that there are some poor families but lucky ones who have managed to discover the existence of a higher number of meridians".

"There are more than 14?"

"Not that I know of, but even I wouldn't be able to claim that I know everything in this world."

"I understand" Nodding gently as he assimilated the words, Seojun continued "We come from a rich family?"

"No, you and I are the only family in existence" Chuckling, Sujin continued "In fact in my youth I also thought that there were 9 meridians, but as I became the leader of this cult, I learned many secrets and that's where I discovered the truth"

"Do all the top leaders of the cult know that 14 meridians exist?"

"No, only the Heavenly Demon has the right to know, and that's because my absorption method needs to have all 14 meridians open" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "Most likely those below me know that there are 11 or 12"

"Your method?"

"The Heavenly Demon method, something that is inherited through the cult leaders of each generation."

"Is it okay for you to tell me all this?" widening his eyes with concern, Seojun asked.

"As long as no one knows" Shrugging indifferently, Sujin replied.

"Can't they sense what internal energy I have?"

"They can, and that's why I won't let you use the Heavenly Demon method" Sighing, Sujin continued "But don't worry, I'll give you a method that doesn't lag behind."

"Fine" Trusting his mother completely, Seojun continued "So what do I do now?"

"I will draw with my finger all the main meridian routes in your body, imagine them as long branches that serve to move the energy and vitality of your body" Gently stroking her son's hair, Sujin slowly lowered her hands and gently caressed her son's lower abdomen, then whispered "It all starts from here, where you must imagine that it is a small seed from which multiple branches spread out"

"..."

"I will trace with my fingers all the main meridians so that you will learn to recognize them and thus be able to guide the energy through them" Slowly moving her finger upwards, Sujin whispered "This small branch is called the Large Intestine Meridian."

Trembling slightly as he felt a slight shiver from the caress, Seojun refocused on the stroke of her finger and hummed in recognition.

Placing her hand back on Seojun's lower abdomen, Sujin slowly lifted it and whispered "This is the stomach meridian."

"This is the spleen-pancreas meridian... heart meridian... small intestine meridian... bladder meridian... kidney meridian... pericardium meridian... gall bladder meridian... liver meridian... triple heater meridian... lung meridian... brain meridian, and last but not least..." After tracing with her fingers on her son's skin showing him the path of each meridian, Sujin touched the lower part of his abdomen again and moved up towards the pit of his stomach "This meridian is the most important of all... it nourishes your other meridians and at the same time your internal organs. This meridian is deeply rooted in your imaginary seed. It is called the enlightenment point, and it is an absolute secret that should only be passed on to heavenly demons."

"I won't tell anyone about this" Nodding softly, Seojun continued with his eyes closed and continued "But I don't think I can remember everything, my memory is not that good..."

"Don't worry, the memory gets better as you get more internal energy" Gently rubbing Seojun's hair, Sujin smiled and continued "You have all the time in the world to memorize these meridians."

"Mn" Nodding, Seojun asked "But mother, how do I absorb the internal energy?"

"You can't learn that yet" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "First you need to know where the meridians are that you will use to cultivate your strength, after that you have to learn about the small branches of those meridians that extend through your body, and when you can just memorize all that, you can finally start absorbing the internal energy"

"So difficult?" Opening his eyes, Seojun sighed "It will take me a long time...does everyone have to go through the same thing?"

"No, most don't take the trouble to learn this" Laughing at the sight of her son's frustrated face, Sujin continued "That's why they usually end up with mediocre results, energy deviations, damage to their meridians and even getting crippled by their stupidity"

"C- crippled?"

"Having internal energy is the same as having fire inside you" Nodding, Sujin continued "Controlling fire can make you extremely powerful and will give you a myriad of advantages, but if you fail to control it or lose control for a moment... those flames will devour you at the first slip up and believe me when I tell you that you will die a painful death."

"*Gulp*" Noticing the seriousness in his mother's voice, Seojun swallowed saliva nervously and asked "H-how common is it for that to happen?"

"Don't worry, it's impossible for you to go through that" Laughing, Sujin gently squeezed her son's cheek and continued "For starters you have a body extremely receptive to internal energy, so you won't have any problems absorbing it. Your meridians are healthy, wide and hard, so you won't have any problem with that... but, although there is a small chance that you might not be able to control your energy, with me here it is impossible for me to let anything happen to you, after all it is very easy for me to do that"

"Good" Nodding with relief, Seojun was silent for a few seconds and asked "Mother, how powerful are you?"

"Didn't I tell you already? I'm the strongest in the world"

"But how strong is that?" widening his eyes, Seojun stared at his mother's smiling face and asked.

"Mmmmm... I could defeat thousands of people without even breaking a sweat."

"Wow."

"I could also split this big mountain in half."

Opening his eyes wide, Seojun the hard rock that forms the cave and mutters "Impossible..."

"It's no big deal when you get to my level" Chuckling, Sujin smiled proudly and continued "So rejoice, your great mother is the coolest."

"And you can be stronger?"

"Of course you can, there is no limit to your strength" Nodding, Sujin continued "Even I get stronger and stronger every day... practically the only limit is your talent and even someone with no talent will keep growing every day even if it's extremely slow."

"Before you there was someone stronger?"

"I wouldn't know" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "It is said that the first heavenly demon and the founder of the cult, was capable of splitting the moon and separating continents with her sword, but personally I have never experienced a strength greater than mine since I became cult leader and doing that is totally impossible for me"

"Until you met me" With an arrogant face, Seojun continued "I'll be sure to beat you in the future and split the moon."

"You plan to beat your own mother?"

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"You're forcing me to dirty my body" Looking at the dirty water surrounding him, Seojun's face wrinkled and he muttered "Are you done explaining? I really want to get out of this dirty water"

"You won't come out until I allow it" Snorting, Sujin firmly pressed Seojun's head against her breasts while slightly lifting her legs to press him from behind, making absolutely sure that her p ectly ensuring that her small but slippery son does not escape from her embrace.

"If the smell of blood permeates my body, I swear I will never hug again in my sleep."

Opening her eyes wide, Sujin quickly stood up and in a second appeared in front of the bed with Seojun in her arms, then sighed and muttered, "You are cruel."

Smiling instantly, Seojun nodded "I learned it from my mother."

***

"No matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed" Arriving at an elegant platform in the middle of an artificial lake, a woman in her 30's clicked her tongue and commented upon seeing a beautiful woman on the platform with a small smile on her face "That damn smile is so creepy."

Rolling her eyes, Sujin took a small bowl from the small table in front of her and reached out to her side, quickly causing a pair of servants to move over and pour her a luxurious liquor "You took your time."

"I had locked myself in my cave to conduct some experiments, I wasn't expecting you to call me" Reaching the platform, the woman took a chair and sat down, then lazily settled in and took the bowl in Sujin's hand "How's everything going with your puppy?"

"I can't complain."

"Tsk, you say that but your eyes sparkle" Drinking all the liquor in one sip, the woman wiped her mouth and sighed contentedly, then stared at Sujin's smiling face and asked "So... may I know what my dear sister needs my presence for? You finally deigned to let me meet my nephew?"

"..." Losing her smile as she remembered why she left the cave, Sujin was silent for a few seconds and frowned slightly, then sighed and stared at the woman in front of her.

Wu Dokuma, who was once her most trusted ally and later became his sworn sister.

Standing around 182 centimeters tall, Dokuma exhales an imposing presence along with an intense but amused gaze, with deep green eyes that seem to contain deep, dark secrets, while a wild dark mane falls over her shoulders.

However, what is most striking about this woman is not her beautiful face, but rather the visible scar that crosses her left eye, a mark that extends from her eyebrow to her cheekbone and has left a permanent imprint on her countenance. The patch covering her missing eye not only hides the wound, but also adds a touch of uniqueness to her appearance, making those who look at her can't help but feel slightly intimidated under the gaze of her one eye.

Wu Dokuma is a poison expert, a master in the sinister art of manipulating deadly substances for her own interests. Her ability to create lethal poisons and use them with precision is something rarely seen even within the history of the cult.

If Sujin were asked who is the one person she would prefer to never fight, it is undoubtedly this sworn sister of hers.