9 The Secret of Mount Song

"Cough, cough... Urgggg...."

For the first time in over five millennia, I had thrown up because of training. Luckily the impurities I threw up had gone right off the edge of the mountain, instead of on my clothes.

Having cleansed my meridians of all impurities, I let the rest of the energy within my body flow out between breaths before standing up.

Now that I had undergone the first absolute cleanse of my training, I could enter the Foundation Establishment stage. The first part of which being the Bone Tempering step. But a few things had to be done before I could start that step.

The first of which was the event about to occur in front of me. For you see, there was one more part of the secret of Mount Song I forgot to tell you. The secret of the secret, known only to those who enter the Mount Song Sect.

As the evening sun sat cleanly on the horizon illuminating the evening sky in a gleaming mix of orange and red, I positioned myself into a simple palm fighting stance.

As I stood motionless atop the mountain peak in the palm fighting stance, the ground beneath me began to rumble. The wind began to roar, and the sky seemed to shake where the orange red of the sunset and the light blue of the sky met.

Then suddenly,

Silence.

And as that silence echoed throughout the mountain peak, I moved through the Golden Dragon's Claw arts. A martial art made by the Mount Song Sect leader that was passed down to the disciples of the sect. One step at a time I seamlessly and slowly moved through the martial art's movements.

And alas, as I finished the final formation of the Golden Dragon's Claw arts, the secret I had been trying to uncover revealed itself.

-You, someone who is not the sect leader or of the Mount Song Sect. Dances with martial arts the same way the sect leader does. Who are you?

The voice that spoke rang true through the air around me, yet no other being seemed to be around me.

This was the secret of Mount Song, sure the view before me was beautiful enough to bring anyone to their knees, but the true secret was not the beautiful sight.

"Great guardian, Jinlong." I replied, bowing deeply toward the setting sun. "My name is Ryu Il."

The great guardian Jinlong, not many in the world know about his existence, as dragons like him were hunted down by martial artists to gain the dragon's Spiritual Core*.

But this dragon survived with the help of the Mount Song Sect, and even thrived within the mountain's environment. And when the Mount Song Sect looked for inspiration to create their martial arts, the dragon gladly stepped up to repay its debt.

The dragon's voice would respond a moment later.

-Ryu Il. I know not of a person in this world who goes by such a name, so how do you, an unknown person, know how to call upon me during the sunset?

"Great guardian Jinlong, if you must know, I was a member of the Mount Song Sect in my previous life. But after reaching the Other Side, I returned to my younger self's body."

-You speak of the Other Side as if it is easy to reach, how can I know you're telling the truth?

Hehe, I've got him now.

"How about I tell you something that you've never told anyone?" I replied with a smirk.

-You presumptuous brat, you dare imply that you know something about me that I've never told anyone? I will show you a swift demise for impersonating the Mount Song Sect and luring me out with false statements!

The mountain beneath me began to rumble once more as the dragon's booming voice grew nearer. If I hadn't already known what I was getting into and how to persuade the dragon to help me, I would have been scared shitless right now.

"The truth is-"

-Quiet you insolent brat!

Jinlong roared as he flew upwards directly in front of me, anger clear in his booming voice. He didn't even know what secret I knew, and he got this flustered, I wonder what he would do if I told him about the biggest secret from his future.

"Your spiritual core was broken during the dragon hunt of Jianghu, so your lifespan isn't going to be that much longer if you don't get help."

Jinlong, despite the speed he was flying to strike me down, swerved back and forth through the air until his long golden body was at the same height as mine.

-You... how could you tell my spiritual core was damaged? Spiritual cores can't be sensed by martial artists unless they've reached the Natural State*.

"I told you, great guardian Jinlong, I'm from the future. Believe it or not, you and I became good friends after I helped fix your spiritual core in my previous life. I could go on and on about stories you haven't told to a single soul throughout Zhongyuan*."

Ahhh, knowing so many secrets about Jinlong for so long has been so helpful. I bet if I help fix his spiritual core, he'll help me get through the Foundation Establishment stage with ease.

-Ryu Il, was it? If you are from the future, would you be able to fix my spiritual core?

"Great guardian Jinlong, the process isn't that simple. A spiritual core isn't able to be fixed from the outside without cutting you open first. However, I can teach you to fix the core yourself. The future you took the latter, I assume you'll want to do the same?"

Well, that part wasn't the truth. In my previous life, Jinlong was a bit more stoic, claiming that a mere sword wouldn't be able to hurt him, and that he could handle any type of pain I could dish out. He handled being cut open well, but once I started to fix the cracks in his spiritual core from the outside, he started crying so loud you could hear his voice from the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

-I guess I should trust my future self's choice then. Very well, please teach me how to fix my spiritual core, Ryu Il.

Author's note:

Spiritual Core: A dantian for a non-human being who can channel qi through their bodies. Is only found in spiritual beasts like the Imoogi (Dragon), Feng Bo (White Tiger), Garuda (Great Peng/Bird), Flame Qilin, and Dragon Turtle.

Natural State: A state of martial arts for those outside of the Mount Song Sect, it is a state at the top of martial arts where one becomes totally aware of nature, it's laws, and how it works.

Zhongyuan: Means Central plains