Chapter 31: When Fantasy Meets Fact
A suffocating silence hung over the heavy mahogany table.
Gathered in the grand meeting room were Baek Si-Jin’s core branch line—his three adult children and his two oldest grandchildren who were old enough to handle family affairs.
Si-Yeon, being the youngest of his four grandchildren, was conspicuously absent per his strict orders.
Every person in the room reflexively wanted to dismiss Si-Jin’s question as an absurd joke. But one look at the darkened, dead-serious expression on the head of their branch family choked the laughter right out of their throats.
After a tense silence, Si-Jin’s second son broke the quiet.
"If internal energy truly exists... then we must obtain it at all costs," he declared, his eyes burning with ambition. "No matter how much funding or manpower it requires, our branch family must immediately shift all primary operations toward securing it."
"I beg to differ," another sibling chimed in firmly. "While our Baek lineage possesses a proud martial heritage, pursuing something so unnatural without understanding the risks is reckless. If the danger outweighs the reward, we shouldn’t touch it."
As the elders argued, the two youngest grandchildren remained dead silent. They struggled to grasp the full gravity of what their grandfather was implying, but seeing their parents discuss it with such fierce, deadly seriousness, they dared not utter a single word, listening with bated breath.
However, Si-Jin’s youngest son finally dared to voice his skepticism, refusing to waste a top-secret family meeting on what he viewed as mere fantasy.
"Branch Head... I mean, Father. I understand you are serious about this topic," he began carefully. "But no matter how advanced technology becomes, or if some ancient, lost technique is uncovered, internal energy remains a myth. It is nothing more than entertainment propaganda designed to deceive those who blindly crave the pinnacle of martial strength."
Seeing their uncle speak up first, the two grandsons found the courage to chime in.
"Grandfather, Uncle is right," the older grandson agreed. "Discussing internal energy is completely absurd—especially convening a secret meeting like this, hiding from the eyes and ears of both the Main Family and our great-uncles’ and great-aunt’s branch lines."
"Exactly, Grandfather," the second grandson added. "Even the most technologically advanced nation, the Starfall Federation, possesses no such miraculous power. And the Sovereign State of Tang—the direct inheritor of martial tradition—only recognizes physical inner control, never true internal energy. It has always been a mystical fiction created for entertainment."
Listening to their unified opposition, Si-Jin slowly closed his eyes.
Instantly, the vivid memory of Donape casually slowing the fall of his smartphone flashed across his mind. No—that image had been living rent-free in his head ever since the moment he witnessed it.
Si-Jin remained absolute in his conviction that what he saw was Qi, completely unaware that Donape hadn’t used internal energy at all. Donape had simply manipulated the ambient energy flow in the air—he hadn’t actually unlocked Qi or internal energy himself yet.
But that was only true for now.
Once customers realized how important VR synchronization, internal energy, or Qi, or magic would become as common as cabbage in a market—no longer a myth that defied logic, but a tangible force in the real world.
Of course, that reality was still a ways off in the future.
Taking a deep breath, Si-Jin slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a heavy sigh.
"I know how absurd this sounds," Si-Jin spoke, his voice low and commanding. "But internal energy is not nonsense, and I certainly didn’t convene a top-secret meeting out of nowhere just to indulge in child’s play."
He leaned forward, resting his forearm heavily against the polished table.
"Internal energy—Qi—the force you see in the internet and cinematic fiction... it is real. Our family’s martial arts, and indeed the entire martial world, is not the pinnacle of human achievement. It is merely the starting line."
One of his sons opened his mouth, clearly intending to object once more. But before a word could escape, Si-Jin raised a single hand, cutting him off instantly.
He had no intention of shouting or forcing compliance through fear. He was going to convince them with absolute proof.
Reaching down, Si-Jin pressed a concealed red button beneath the edge of the table.
"Head Butler. Bring Si-Yeon inside."
A few moments later, the heavy double doors of the meeting hall glided open. The Head Butler escorted Si-Yeon into the room, bowing quietly before withdrawing as she took her designated seat at the far end of the table.
Si-Jin offered her a gentle wave of his hand, signaling her to speak. "Si-Yeon~ah. Tell your father, uncles, and cousins everything that happened at the shop. Leave out no details."
Although Si-Yeon lacked her grandfather’s refined martial insight and her perspective was far too inexperienced to fully dissect Donape’s high-level movements, her innocent, unfiltered account served as far stronger evidence than Si-Jin simply trying to convince his skeptical descendants on his own.
As Si-Yeon finished her recount—describing how the young shopkeeper had casually slowed down a falling smartphone, how a bodyguard was struck out of nowhere by a bolt of lightning, and the unbelievable realism of the VR capsule—a heavy silence blanketed the meeting room once more.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Even Si-Yeon’s father, Si-Jin’s youngest son, was having a hard time digesting such a bizarre story.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he cleared his throat, breaking the quiet with a troubled expression.
"Daughter," he began softly, looking at her with a mixture of concern and disbelief. "Are you sure you weren’t simply tricked? Sleight of hand, micro-magnets, or even a localized optical illusion projection... plenty of high-end entertainment venues use tricks like that to fool customers."
One of her uncles chimed in immediately. "Si-Yeon~ah, VR technology like that isn’t real. Even the most technologically advanced nation, the Starfall Federation, hasn’t developed something that looks like the movies. It was likely just a vivid illusion."
Sitting at the head of the table, Si-Jin was actually amused by their denial. He wasn’t the slightest bit angry. In fact, he appreciated that healthy skepticism—that calculated mindset was precisely how the Baek Family maintained its standing as the top family in the nation.
Logical doubts were fine.
However, blind rejection and ignorant denial were things Si-Jin would never tolerate.
As of now, everything was still in line with the purpose of the discussion. So, he didn’t intervene yet.
"I wasn’t tricked, Dad!" Si-Yeon protested, her cheeks flushing slightly as she sat up straight. "There were no wires, no gadgets, and no projections! The phone just... floated down into his hand like it was falling through thick oil! And the VR experience inside the capsule—it wasn’t just good graphics! My body felt light, my senses were razor-sharp, and—"
"Father, please," the second uncle interrupted, shaking his head with a sigh. "Si-Yeon is young and easily swept up by novelty. A street-side shop using clever street magic and high-tier haptic gear to impress a teenage girl is hardly evidence of internal energy."
"Uncle is right, Grandfather," one of the older cousins chimed in, casting a brief, pitying glance toward Si-Yeon. "If this shop owner truly possessed Qi, why would he be running a cheap VR parlor in the middle of the city? It makes no logical sense."
Si-Yeon bit her lower lip, utterly frustrated that her father, uncles, and cousins were dismissing her so easily.
Before she could argue further, a sharp TAP echoed across the room.
Si-Jin had lightly rapped his knuckles against the mahogany table. It wasn’t a loud strike, but the sheer weight behind it instantly froze every tongue in the hall.
Without a word, he placed his smartphone in the center of the table and tapped the speakerphone button.
"Give me his exact condition," Si-Jin commanded into the mic.
"Yes, sir," the voice of his subordinate at the hospital resonated clearly through the speaker. "According to the doctors, there are no broken bones, but he suffered severe internal and external trauma. Fortunately, it isn’t life-threatening—he should recover after about a month of treatment, though he’ll require reconstructive surgery for the severe skin burns. It’s just..."
"Speak freely," Si-Jin cut in coldly.
"Sir... the head surgeon confirmed it was a genuine, high-voltage lightning strike. Not a taser, and not an artificial electric shock. The doctor actually asked us how on earth he managed to get struck by a literal bolt of thunder out of nowhere."
"Understood. Ensure he receives the best care possible until he fully heals. Put the medical bills on my account."
With a swipe of his thumb, Si-Jin ended the call and picked up his phone. He let the heavy silence hang over the table for a few long seconds as his descendants sat frozen, their faces draining of color.
"Now... if any of you still refuse to believe it, I have an additional witness here, a bodyguard who saw what Si-Yeon also saw. Furthermore, I was standing right beside them and witnessed the entire event myself. So tell me—what do you think now?"
Si-Jin laid out his hand completely, leaving his descendants with zero room to refute or deny the truth any longer.
Leaning back into his chair, Si-Jin brought the secret meeting to its ultimate, high-stakes conclusion.
"Now... the real question is, what should our branch family do about that shop?"