The Eunuch Regains His Manhood in the Second Round

19. The Basics of Charm

After consuming the Hongyangtai, I sat down cross-legged and closed my eyes, focusing on my energy cultivation.

Buzz.

Hongyangtai was an elixir infused with yang energy. Therefore, to absorb the yang energy, I had to utilize the So Yang Heart Method, a yang-strengthening technique.

Reciting the incantations of the So Yang Heart Method, I guided the absorbed yang energy of the Hongyangtai through my meridians.

Rumble!

The hot yang energy of the Hongyangtai flowed through my meridians like waves.

Twitch.

My body trembled.

My body temperature rose, and my whole body felt like it was on fire.

If I made even the slightest mistake, my eight extraordinary meridians could be eroded by the elixir’s yang energy, turning me into a cripple. But I remained calm.

Although I didn’t have the immense power I had in my previous life, I still retained the profound enlightenment I had achieved at the peak of my cultivation.

Moreover.

‘Yang energy! I finally absorbed yang energy!’

Since my regression, I had only absorbed small amounts of yang energy through herbs and vegetables. This was the first time I encountered proper yang energy, and I was cheering inwardly.

Yang energy was the energy that could be converted into a man’s strength and vitality.

Naturally, absorbing yang energy was important.

Of course, as the saying goes, “Too much is as bad as too little,” excessively accumulating yang energy was not good for the body.

Pure extreme yang energy could actually harm masculinity.

The congenital defect known as Taeyangjeolmaek, where yang energy accumulates in nine blocked meridians, leading to a short lifespan, was such a case. Men born with Taeyangjeolmaek had such strong yang energy that it caused erectile dysfunction.

Moderation in everything, balancing yin and yang, was crucial.

However, I didn’t have enough yang energy to disrupt the balance yet, so this amount of yang energy could be safely converted into vitality.

“Hoo…”

Slowly breathing, I circulated the yang energy of the Hongyangtai through the pathways of the So Yang Heart Method, navigating through my eight extraordinary meridians.

It felt as if molten lava was flowing through my meridians.

My whole body felt like it was burning, as if I had suffered severe burns.

—

“`

It hurts.

The saying that burning pain is the most terrible pain a human can feel was no exaggeration. It really hurt.

But at the same time, I was happy.

This pain, this agony, was vivid proof that I was absorbing yang energy and converting it into vitality, and it was growing pains.

When this pain passes, I will have even stronger vitality and muscles that have transformed into those of a real man.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The blazing yang energy of Hong Yang-tae flowed into my limbs and bones, burning away the impurities in my entire body’s meridians.

Although it wasn’t to the extent of achieving the Bone Cleansing and Marrow Washing that purges all impurities from the body like my senior brother, about half of the accumulated impurities were burned away by Hong Yang-tae’s yang energy.

The blood vessels through which Hong Yang-tae’s yang energy passed became stronger and more robust with the heat.

Along with that, I could feel the remaining impurities being expelled through the pores of my skin.

Even if it wasn’t as much as my senior brother, I felt that my body would emit a slight odor after finishing the energy circulation.

Having burned a significant amount of impurities within my body, my internal energy circulation would become more free.

But such effects were not important.

‘Although it’s not as much as Bone Cleansing and Marrow Washing, I succeeded in expelling some impurities from my body, so my skin must have improved.’

Hehehe.

I laughed inwardly.

Although I didn’t achieve the Bone Cleansing and Marrow Washing I had hoped for, I could expect an improvement in skin whitening due to the expulsion of some impurities.

At this rate, I wouldn’t have to worry about acne during puberty.

Considering that acne scars during puberty are difficult to completely treat even with expensive laser procedures, the elixir that creates healthy skin postnatally was a mystery of the Central Plains Murim that modern dermatology couldn’t replicate.

Of course, the absorption of the elixir didn’t end here.

From now on, it was important.

“Hoo.”

I exhaled a hot breath and continued to guide the yang energy.

Drip.

Sweat flowed down my forehead like rain due to the heat from the yang energy.

Buzz.

My dantian, filled with the yang energy of the Small Yang Heart Method, responded to it.

The yang energy that burned away impurities and cleansed the blood vessels headed towards my dantian while expelling impurities from my body.

During that process, the essence of the elixir spread through my entire body’s meridians, and the spiritual energy was absorbed into my body.

To minimize the loss of essence and fully convert it into internal energy, I couldn’t let the spiritual energy spread through my entire body’s meridians like this.

“`

—

I had to gather all the medicinal effects into my dantian and convert them into inner strength through my mental cultivation method.

The key to taking the elixir was how much of the elixir’s energy could be converted into inner strength.

The lower the energy loss rate and the higher the conversion rate to inner strength, the better, according to the common sense of the martial world.

But I was doing the opposite right now.

‘If you spread the elixir’s energy throughout your entire body instead of gathering it in the dantian, your body becomes healthier.’

Sometimes, ordinary people who were not martial artists would find and take elixirs in deep mountains and valleys.

The only internal energy technique they might have learned was the basic breathing method, and often they hadn’t even learned that.

So, when ordinary people took elixirs, the energy naturally spread throughout their entire body, embedding itself in their muscles and meridians instead of gathering in the dantian.

In that case, instead of gaining inner strength, they obtained a healthy and vigorous body that guaranteed longevity.

Vigorous enough to ensure longevity?

Vigorous means having good basic physical strength.

Good basic physical strength means good vitality.

That’s right. Spreading the elixir’s energy throughout the body and absorbing it meant improving vitality.

This was not theoretical. There were already proven cases.

‘Among the herbalists who took elixirs, there were men who fathered children even after ninety, and men who had such strong urine streams that they overturned chamber pots.’

These were all cases that had been verified in past lives.

Strong vitality that produced an abundance of male hormones even after ninety!

The secret was to absorb the elixir’s yang energy into the entire body and muscles.

Moreover, it wasn’t just physical strength.

Muscles imbued with yang energy transformed into a more masculine appearance.

In other words, I could take a step closer to the ultimate physique, the alpha male body I had always desired.

‘Indeed, vitality is much more important than inner strength.’

Inner strength and vitality, which is more important? There’s no need to even consider it.

Of course, vitality is much more important.

Anyway, absorbing the energy into my muscles had the additional effect of enhancing my body’s latent potential due to the increased energy in my meridians.

So, after this energy circulation practice, my latent martial talent, which had been mediocre, would also rise, making it easier to learn advanced martial arts.

If I was mediocre before taking the elixir, after taking it, my latent talent would rise to somewhere between mediocre and talented.

Of course, compared to the increase in vitality, the slight increase in latent potential was insignificant and not worth worrying about.

I pushed the energy to the limit into my muscles and meridians, then guided the remaining energy into my dantian.

Buzz.

—

—

According to the profound principles of the Soyang Mind Technique, the spiritual energy guided to the dantian was completely converted into inner strength.

“Hoo.”

Having absorbed the elixir, I let out a final hot sigh.

I could feel the hot yang energy filling my dantian.

The amount of inner strength dormant in my dantian, as I measured it, was fifteen years’ worth.

Compared to before taking the elixir, when I had less than a year’s worth of inner strength, it was a significant improvement.

I opened my eyes, gathering the remaining energy.

“Hehehe.”

The corners of my mouth naturally lifted.

My blurry vision gradually became clearer.

Along with it, the stench from the impurities that soaked my clothes reached my nose.

Though it wasn’t as pungent as when I washed a bear, it was still severe enough for my sensitive sense of smell.

And I had no intention of leaving this stench unattended.

‘Cleanliness is the foundation of charm.’

In the medieval murim, one’s face was a given and couldn’t be changed.

But everything else could be changed with effort.

So, to capture the hearts of women, a man had to cultivate his charm.

And I knew that the first step to charm was cleanliness.

Even in modern times, the first thing women noticed and were sensitive about in men was cleanliness.

Naturally, a clean man made a better first impression than a dirty one.

Unless one was as handsome as Song Ok or Ban An, no woman would like a man with greasy hair and a bad smell.

‘Damn it, my senior brother always smells like wildflowers even without washing.’

That was why I envied my senior brother.

With a perfect face and a body that smelled like wildflowers even without washing, he would have been a perfect cheat character if not for his gynecomastia.

But since I wasn’t a cheat character like my senior brother, maintaining cleanliness was the foundation of capturing women’s hearts and the key to leading an absolute beauty to the bed for the pleasures of cloud and rain.

Moreover, this was the medieval murim, where hygiene standards were lower than in modern times.

Just maintaining cleanliness with modern hygiene standards was a bonus in capturing women’s hearts.

Therefore, to always stay clean, I made sachets with dried herbs, crafted handmade soap with ash and oil, and bathed in the stream every day.

‘Anyway, I need to wash.’

—

I looked around, thinking that way.

This is the hidden retreat of the legendary Honwon Sword Master, the greatest of the world, in his later years.

According to legend, the martial prowess of Honwon Sword Master transcended the realm of the living and reached the realm of life and death.

However, no matter how much of a master he was in the realm of life and death, he was still human, and it was only natural that he would need to relieve himself and wash his body.

So, there must be some sort of bathing facility that the Honwon Sword Master had set up somewhere in this hidden retreat.

Seeing that my senior was not in the room, it was clear that he had already finished his morning routine and had gone off to find a bath to wash away the remnants of the night.

I sent my energy through my ears, utilizing the subtlety of the Thousand Li Clear Hearing Technique to amplify my hearing.

Drip, drip, drip.

From a distant passage next to a table, the sound of flowing water reached my ears.

There was a high possibility that a bath was located there.

Thinking this, I gathered the soap contained in my pouch and a cloth to use as a towel, heading towards the passage.

As I stood before the dimly lit passage illuminated by the faint glow of the night lantern, the sound of water grew louder.

It seemed that this was indeed a place similar to a bath.

But I did not rashly enter the bathing area, avoiding the folly of a reckless intrusion.

‘These are my senior’s footprints.’

Footprints were discovered at the entrance of the passage.

Since there were no signs of him coming out, it was clear that he was washing himself inside.

If I were to enter the bath like this, I would inevitably come face to face with my senior in the nude…

As I thought that, I felt a chill run down my spine.

‘Bathing with a man while seeing him naked? That cannot be allowed.’

Bathing naked with a man.

The thought, so horrifying and terrifying that it was beyond description, sent shivers down my spine, and cold sweat began to trickle down.

My innocence had already been sufficiently taken away.

In such a situation, I was not foolish enough to engage in a suicidal act of bathing with my male senior.

I did not want to suffer an accident while picking up soap in the bath.

“Senior! Are you bathing right now?”

My voice, filled with energy, echoed through the passage.

“Uh, yes! Junior! I’m bathing right now! So, d-don’t come in! Absolutely not!”

Immediately, my senior’s embarrassed voice echoed back from within.

He told me not to come in while bathing with someone of the same gender.

—

At first, I thought it was a bit unexpected, but upon reconsideration, it made sense.

‘I got caught with gynecomastia earlier.’

Even in modern times, gynecomastia is an embarrassing condition to show others.

Moreover, this is a medieval murim where the distinction between men and women is natural. There was no way to show gynecomastia to others.

Due to the extreme yin energy contained in the Mita Holy Water, my muscles and bones have changed like a woman’s, and my gynecomastia has worsened. Now, it is even more so.

Well, even without saying so, I had no intention of going in.

“Understood! Senior Brother! I, your foolish junior, will wait at the entrance, so please bathe first!”

“Got it! Junior Brother! Thank you!”

I leaned against the wall near the entrance, listening to Senior Brother’s response.

Swoosh.

Splash, splash.

I could hear the sound of water and Senior Brother washing beyond the entrance.

The sound of a man washing, how dreadful. It feels like my hearing is being tainted.

I immediately blocked my hearing with my inner strength.

A pleasant silence enveloped me.

Yes.

Now life feels a bit more bearable.