Foundational Steps

A day later…

Inside the cave of the Golden Flower Clan Ancestor, a small child suddenly sprung out of sleep. The events he had experienced over the last few days flooded back into his mind once again causing him to scream in anger.

He then regained a bit of his consciousness as he looked around "Uncle? Uncle, where are you?"

At that moment, three memories flooded into his mind: first was the Poison Dragon Divine Body, the second was the Thousand Poison Violet Tree Ki Art, and the third was what had truly occurred over the last few days with one last message from Jong Ji-Tae. 

"Jong In-Su. If you are seeing this message I have likely passed away. I have brought you to the Golden Flower Clan to hopefully hide you from the Tang Clan. I hope you can become one of them. Our clan is no more so I hope you can learn from them. Become a famous Doctor. From there you can choose your path, you can either live your life as a doctor earning lots of wealth and living in luxury or you can attempt to get revenge and risk losing your life. But listen carefully, only get revenge when you are strong. Don't throw your life away. This is your choice to make. You will be responsible enough to make this decision when you are an adult so work hard and live a good childhood!"

Jong Ji-Tae's image slowly disappeared. Jong In-Su started to cry. His family. His friends. His clan. They were all gone. All he could feel in his heart was hatred. Hatred for the Tang Clan.

Before Jong In-Su left the cave he heard a voice behind him "Little one, what is your name?"

He turned around and saw an old man sitting on top of a large boulder. Jong In-Su wasn't dumb and he could tell this old man wasn't just any ordinary person. 

"Greetings Senior, my name is Jong In-Su."

The old man opened his eyes revealing a golden pair of eyes. 

"Young man. My name is Chi Ki-Nam. I am the Ancestor of the Golden Flower Clan. Do you accept me as your master?"

Jong In-Su was startled, but he remembered the message from Jong Ji-Tae. He wanted him to become a Doctor from the Golden Flower Clan. Although becoming the Ancestor's Disciple was out of his expectations he quickly adapted and kowtowed "I accept!"

Ancestor Ki-Nam laughed "I have received such a talented disciple at my old age! My will won't be forgotten."

Jong In-Su immediately sat down on his knees and respectfully asked "Ancestor, how can I become a doctor?"

Seeing Jong In-Su's willingness to learn, the Ancestor nodded his head with joy "Firstly you will have to cultivate my clan's Five Elemental Golden Flower Ki Art. I will then give you my Golden Heaven Body Art. Afterward, you will learn the way of medicine, the ways of alchemy, the way of constructs, the way of formations, and the way of needles."

Jong In-Su nodded his head. His mind was obviously able to comprehend and process things much faster due to the Empyrean Scholar Physique he has. 

The ancestor waved his hands and out of thin air two scrolls were placed in front of Jong In-Su "You shall stay with me in this cave. You are 10 years old, right? I am sure you will be able to learn all the medical knowledge you need. The second most important part of being a Doctor after your medical knowledge is your martial ascension. There are specific names for each stage of a martial artist's ascension."

"Apprentice, Practitioner, Martial Artist, Martial Adept, Martial Master, Martial Grandmaster, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Rebirth, Hegemon Who Comprehends Earth, and Sovereign Who Comprehends Heaven! Those who enter the Hegemon Who Comprehends Earth can leave the world and travel to the myriad worlds. Murim is just a small speck in the universe. I am just a step away from entering the Hegemon Who Comprehends Earth Realm which is why I wanted to make you my protege. To give you everything I have before I leave this world."

Jong In-Su's eyes shook. He began to realize that his understanding of everything was wrong. Was Murim just a speck of dust? A world to explore beyond? This caused his heart to move faster. Revenge? Of course, he would get it. But to go further? Of course, he would go forward. He would go further and further till all of life was in his hands. When he could revive the uncle who saved him and reestablish the Poison Dragon Clan!

From then 1 year went by, then 2 years, then 3, then 4…eventually 10 years went by!

Jong In-Su was a tall young man now. Very different from the scrawny young kid he used to be. The Tang Clan 10 years ago had come by as they saw traces of Jong Ji-Tae but the Golden Flower Clan denied any accusations allowing Jong In-Su to cultivate and study in peace.

Hiding under a mask, Jong In-Su used his medical knowledge to begin clinical studies in the Golden Flower Major Clinic. All the most serious medical cases go from the Golden Flower Minor Clinics that are spread around the Joseon Dynasty to the Major Clinic located in the Golden Flower Valley.

So Jong In-Su became quite famous within the clan as well as in the outside world. When the patients first saw him he was small making it obvious he was a child causing them to look down upon him, but as he began involving himself in procedures they knew he wasn't just any child.

Doing surgeries, doing examinations, providing medications, and even doing minor acupuncture treatments his name grew as many of the clans saw him as one of the newest talents within the League of Doctors in the Golden Flower Clan.

They called him the Masked Doctor. As time went on he became one of the leading doctors in the clan. The patients could tell he was of a younger age; yet he was treated on the same level as the Clan Elders.

He did major surgeries and he even was able to create minor pills right in front of the patients for their treatment. Jong In-Su even spent his time creating prosthetics and other mechanical devices that were able to help the quality of life for the patients.

His name spread further, even into the reaches of the other dynasties. The birth of another great doctor within the Golden Flower Clan caused their influence to expand even wider. 

He mastered the Heaven and Earth Medicinal Way allowing him to identify and treat almost all injuries and diseases as well as adapt if he finds any new ones. He mastered the Holy Immolation Alchemy Manual which depicted a myriad of pills, their recipes, and the flame formula used to perfect the pill. He mastered the Lord of Constructs Codex which taught him thousands of constructs as well as methods to create new constructs. He mastered the Heavenly Lotus Needle Art which taught him both a way to defend himself and the way to treat injuries through acupuncture. He mastered the Ancestral Formation Formula allowing him to create medical, attacking, and defensive formations.

Not even Ancestor Ki-Nam knew that Jong In-Su cultivated two Ki Techniques and two Body Techniques. The Five Elemental Golden Flower Ki Art, the Thousand Poison Violet Tree Art, the Golden Heaven Body Art, and the Poison Dragon Body Art. 

The Golden Flower Clan's techniques represented Yang and the Poison Techniques represented Yin. In Jong In-Su's body, a perfect harmony had been created. A small violet tree surrounded by tiny golden flowers appeared in his Ki Core. He had both the golden-colored Five Elements Ki and the violet-colored Poison Ki. Above the Tree and the Flowers, a taiji symbol appeared out of the two types of Ki.

On his body, the Golden Heaven Body Art and the Poison Dragon Body Art allowed him to form the Golden Heaven Divine Body and the Poison Dragon Divine Body. 

The Golden Heaven Divine Body had incredible healing properties and also had the ability to strengthen his eyes. Combined with his Empyrean Scholar Physique he created a new technique called the Empyrean's Eye Pierces the Heavens. As the name implies he is able to see through everything on both Heaven and Earth.

The Poison Dragon Divine Body was usually supplied through inserting hundreds of poisons in the body allowing a Poison Dragon Tattoo to form. But through the Thousand Poisons Violet Tree Ki Art and his Heaven Refinement Physique he was able to form the Poison Dragon Tattoo that is even more powerful than anything the Poison Dragon Clan had produced. This increases his body strength, allows his body to naturally produce pure poison, and makes him resistant to every single poison in the world. 

Through the Poison Dragon Divine Body he was also able to use the Nine Draconic Arts. The Nine Draconic Arts is represented by the Nine Forms: the Dragon Claw Punch, the Dragon Abyssal Wheel, Dragon Chaotic Finger, Dragon Tail Whip, Dragon Heavens Step, and Dragon Shadow Step. 

The Poison Dragon Divine Body forms a Dragon out of poison that surrounds his body which transforms as he uses the Nine Forms of the Nine Draconic Arts. 

The Poison Dragon Divine Body and the Golden Heaven Divine Body both combined creating a powerful martial arts body. 

He reached the Martial Adept Realm. Despite being so young he has reached a stage that many others don't reach in their entire life. But he knew this was just the beginning. Eventually he would have to comprehend the world itself like his master was right now. He hasn't even reached the surface of the true martial way.