Chapter 139: Chapter 139
Dok-ra-su cursed inwardly.
In the meantime, he had trained constantly while wandering the world with the Divine Physician. It was to concoct a poison that would resolve the Poison King’s dementia.
Thanks to that, his ability to manipulate energy had become remarkably delicate, and he believed he might even be able to fool the Hall Masters of the Martial Alliance if things went well.
His prediction was correct. After all, he had succeeded in deceiving both the Courier Hall Master and the Disciplinary Hall Master.
‘Yet to think this beggar boss would be in the Martial Alliance…’
Dok-ra-su was not the type to ponder for long.
He grasped the situation and made a decision in an instant.
‘Let’s bolt.’
Just as Dok-ra-su gathered energy at the tips of his toes.
“Do you think I cannot pursue you? Sit down. Unless you want to get beaten to death today.”
“…”
Dok-ra-su quietly sat back down.
The Dragon Head Sect Leader was one of the few masters who could wager a contest against the likes of the Poison King and the Sword King.
“Back then, it wasn’t that you escaped. I let you go because I thought I had beaten you enough. Why did you come to the Martial Alliance?”
“I only intended to talk quietly and leave.”
“So, what kind of talk?”
The Sect Leader glared fixedly at Dok-ra-su. Although he usually lived in a drunken state, the Beggars’ Sect was nonetheless the most representative organization that revered chivalry even among the Righteous Path.
After seeking permission from the Divine Physician with a glance, Dok-ra-su explained that he was working to resolve the Poison King’s dementia.
A glint of curiosity passed through the Sect Leader’s eyes.
“Shouldn’t you hate the Poison King to death?”
“As one grows old, hatred also becomes diluted. Since we both have our dying days ahead of us, wouldn’t you understand?”
“Are you saying blood is thicker than water?”
The Sect Leader clicked his tongue and filled Dok-ra-su’s liquor cup. Even though this fellow had a past record of fearlessly releasing poison on the Beggars’ Sect, as Chief of the Beggars’ Sect, he knew the circumstances of the Tang Clan to some degree.
“Tsk, you are truly a pitiful bastard too. What is so lovely about that Poison King bastard who cast you out that you wander around suffering like this?”
“…Insolent words. Even if I cannot face you right now, do you think I can never unleash poison for the rest of my life? Could you stretch your legs and sleep peacefully after provoking me?”
Even as Dok-ra-su uttered this chilling warning, he filled the Sect Leader’s cup in return.
As a result, a drinking party naturally began.
Most of the conversation flowing over the dining table was related to medical arts. Surprisingly, the Sect Leader also had quite deep knowledge of medicine, so the conversation never ceased.
Though Cheon Woo-jin was sandwiched between three old men, perhaps because he had lived his entire life with two old men, he did not feel all that uncomfortable.
“The Divine Physician and I have traveled the world and opened the heads of old people who died suffering from dementia.”
“…”
The Dragon Head Sect Leader stared closely at Dok-ra-su. At that, Dok-ra-su was startled and hastily added.
“Naturally, it was done after obtaining permission from the bereaved families. Do you think I am still the scoundrel of my youth? At any rate, unlike those who lived and died normally, we discovered that strange things were lodged in their brains as a result.”
Those ‘strange things’ harbored a peculiar yin energy.
And they damaged the brain, inducing dementia.
“Now then, what must be done about this?”
Having said that, Dok-ra-su dumped the liquor in his cup onto the floor.
Only a few drops of liquor remained inside the cup.
Soon, Dok-ra-su held the cup and channeled poison qi possessing extreme yang properties.
Then, the water droplets inside the cup that came into contact with the poison qi instantly evaporated, giving off water vapor.
“You crazy bastard.”
Cursing, the Sect Leader hastily waved his hand to disperse the poison-laden vapor at once.
Dok-ra-su scratched his head in embarrassment, but continued speaking.
“Anyway. If one burns away those strange things by manipulating poison qi imbued with extreme yang energy with utmost delicacy, it will do. This is the conclusion the Divine Physician and I reached.”
The Dragon Head Sect Leader looked on with an intrigued face, while Cheon Woo-jin, who had been silent all along, tilted his head and asked.
“If you have reached a conclusion, can you not just carry it out immediately?”
“It is not that simple.”
Dok-ra-su gave a bitter smile. If it were something possible right away, why would he have come to the Martial Alliance instead of the Tang Clan?
“We must create a poison far hotter than this. It is only possible by utilizing an extreme yang energy on the level of at least a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp or a Sun-Rivaling Flower.”
The Dragon Head Sect Leader expressed difficulty.
Both of the mentioned spiritual creature and spiritual herb could not be obtained easily.
In particular, the Sun-Rivaling Flower was literally a flower that possessed energy hot enough to rival even the sun in the sky.
“The last time a Sun-Rivaling Flower was found was likely on Mount Emei in Sichuan. That was more than fifty years ago. If one intends to search for it, it must be a high mountain close to the sun, with few trees so that there is no shade, and the soil quality must be closer to heat-retaining rock rather than earth.”
Dok-ra-su and the Divine Physician groaned softly. Where in the world would there be only one or two such mountains? Even if one combed through all those mountains, there was no guarantee a Sun-Rivaling Flower would be there.
Moreover, that was not the only problem.
“Crucially, an immense degree of manipulation skill will be needed to handle such great energy delicately enough so as not to injure other parts of the brain. Because of that, I have been training intensely of late, but it is not easy.”
Having spoken so, Dok-ra-su tilted the cup slightly this time and poured a single drop of liquor onto the table.
“Just how much manipulation skill is needed? Because a person could die from the slightest mistake, I calculated it thoroughly. As a result, the conclusion was reached that one must be able to write at least five characters using this single drop of liquor through the subtleties of Telekinetic Attraction.”
Saying that, Dok-ra-su moved the water droplet through the subtleties of Telekinetic Attraction. However, far from five characters, he stopped at forming merely a single character, ‘Poison.’
Next, the Dragon Head Sect Leader stepped forward. Soon, the water droplet spread in all directions, creating the characters ‘Chivalrous Hero.’ Although it was twice the manipulation skill of Dok-ra-su, it was endlessly lacking compared to the goal of five characters.
Because water inherently tended to spread, maintaining the shape after forming the characters was also a difficult task.
Around the time the Dragon Head Sect Leader’s face had flushed deeply red, the characters formed from the water droplet finally scattered.
Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned toward Cheon Woo-jin.
“If even three or four characters were possible, it would be worth taking the risk to give it a try. Of course, if it fails, it won’t be a matter of curing dementia, but going straight to the next world. That fellow has lived long enough, so he won’t have much lingering attachment to life anyway.”
Of course, that was Dok-ra-su’s personal opinion, without considering the Poison King’s own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-jin lightly raised his hand.
When he channeled his energy, the round water droplet on the table trembled violently in place.
Everyone held their breath and observed. Could the disciple taught together by Black Elder and White Elder truly reach five characters?
Soon, the water droplet spread widely at tremendous speed.
Upon the table, characters were written as if with an extremely fine brush.
“…”
Everyone blinked their eyes.
Above the Heavens and Under Heaven, I Alone Am the Honored One.
Eight characters were written with utter clarity.
An awkward silence flowed.
Scattering the characters soon after, Cheon Woo-jin spoke as if feeling embarrassed.
“Because this was the only phrase that suddenly came to mind…”
* * *
After that, the drinking gathering could not continue for long.
Having witnessed those eight characters, Dok-ra-su and the Dragon Head Sect Leader abruptly announced they needed to train and hurriedly dispersed the gathering.
It was promised that if Dok-ra-su and the Divine Physician concocted the extreme yang poison, Cheon Woo-jin would personally perform the procedure.
Since the Poison King was a martial artist whom Master White Elder had also cherished, he was well worth the effort.
Thus, Cheon Woo-jin returned to the Hidden Dragon Squad.
It seemed that the Hidden Dragon Squad members had also spent a busy day. The training ground was hot with heat, and Jin Un and Namgung Jin were drenched in sweat, as if they had trained fiercely.
“Ah, Squad Leader Young Hero. Was your conversation with the elders enjoyable?”
Jin Un spoke using the strange title of ‘Squad Leader Young Hero,’ while Namgung Jin communicated with his eyes as usual.
“Phew, I will go wash up first. Having sweated so much, I feel sticky.”
Saying so, Jin Un was about to head to the bathhouse prepared within the Hidden Dragon Squad quarters. At that, Namgung Jin caught his shoulder and stopped him.
“I shall wash first. I also sweated a lot.”
“I mentioned it first.”
A staring contest erupted out of nowhere.
Originally, the Mount Hua Sect and the Namgung Clan were the representative sect and clan of the sword, so there was a discreet sense of rivalry.
Furthermore, having sparred all day, that sense of rivalry seemed to have caught fire even more.
Having no way of knowing this, Cheon Woo-jin spoke as if finding it absurd.
“The bathhouse is spacious, so can’t you two just bathe together?”
At that, a look of contempt flashed in Namgung Jin’s eyes.
“Me? With this fellow?”
“Ha, you must lack confidence? Well, a person cannot be perfect. Very well. Wash first. I have suddenly found myself at leisure.”
Jin Un spoke while sizing up Namgung Jin from head to toe. At that, Namgung Jin’s face flushed hot, and he jumped up in indignation.
In the end, the two headed to the bathhouse together.
It seemed their competition was far from over.
Thinking they were truly strange people, Cheon Woo-jin reviewed the conversation he had shared at the tavern earlier.
A Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp or a Sun-Rivaling Flower.
‘Both are spiritual medicines my masters once brought…’
Master Black Elder had sliced the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp into sashimi, while Master White Elder had seasoned the Sun-Rivaling Flower into seasoned greens.
If he had known this would happen, he would have saved them.
Around the time Cheon Woo-jin let out a regretful sigh.
Clack, slam!
The gate of the manor burst open quite violently.
Soon, Song Yi-yeon, who had been kidnapped by the Courier Hall Master, walked in looking half dead. That fair and smooth face of his had become exceedingly haggard.
“Just what did you do?”
“I went to the Wudang Sect.”
“…Why there?”
Cheon Woo-jin thought there were truly many absurd events today.
Sitting down beside Cheon Woo-jin, Song Yi-yeon continued speaking.
“The Courier Hall Master told me he would teach me his secret lightness art. It was not a proposal. I had no choice but to learn it forcibly. While running alongside him all the way to Mount Wudang, I vomited three times on the way. Yet, I could not stop. Why?”
“…”
“The Hall Master wagered money at regular distances. Whenever I crossed that distance, he would shove money into my pocket. He had analyzed me perfectly in advance. Although I hate to admit it, the merchant’s instinct engraved into my bones made my legs move. So, I earned a total of ten liang of gold.”
Saying so, Song Yi-yeon took out ten dirt-covered gold coins from his pocket and handed them to Cheon Woo-jin.
“Let us use this as operational funds during our next mission. As a Hidden Dragon Squad member, I have done my share.”
Saying that, Song Yi-yeon entered the bathhouse, mentioning he needed to wash. That night, Namgung Jin and Jin Un went to sleep feeling somewhat dejected for some reason.
* * *
Half a month out of the month passed.
Song Yi-yeon struggled less and less as time went on, and lately he had been quite lively. Naturally, thanks to a training method that broke through his limits dozens and hundreds of times, his lightness arts had become remarkably swift.
Namgung Jin and Jin Un’s skills also improved with each passing day through their emotion-filled sparring matches.
In any case, all three of them were individuals who had carried the modifier of ‘genius’ ever since the Martial Alliance entrance examination.
Clack, slam!
Song Yi-yeon returned, opening the gate violently as usual.
However, what differed from usual was that the sun had not yet set, and Song Yi-yeon’s expression was exceedingly dark.
Not only Namgung Jin and Jin Un, who were sparring, but even Cheon Woo-jin looked at Song Yi-yeon with puzzled eyes.
“…My training ended as of today.”
“There is still half a month left of vacation, is there not?”
“I heard the Courier Hall Master is heading to the Demonic Cult. From what I heard, three Courier Hall martial artists were gathering information in the territory of the Demonic Cult when they were trapped in the Inescapable Heavenly Net. Thus, the Hall Master said he would personally go to rescue them.”
Jin Un and Namgung Jin were startled.
The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Inescapable Heavenly Net was literally a containment net tight enough to cover the sky.
Consisting of hundreds of demonic martial artists, it was famous for being a net from which even ordinary high masters could never escape once trapped.
“I heard that even a few elders of the Demonic Cult were deployed into this Inescapable Heavenly Net.”
Only then could everyone understand Song Yi-yeon’s expression.
The Courier Hall Master who had even passed down his secret lightness art was heading to what might be a place of death, so how could he not worry?
.
.
.
Another half-month passed after that.
It was the point when the one-month vacation ended.
The atmosphere in the Martial Alliance was darker than ever before.
The three Courier Hall martial artists who had been trapped in the Inescapable Heavenly Net returned safely. Although all of them had major and minor injuries, returning alive was a miracle in itself.
However, the Courier Hall Master failed to return.
The Hall Master had sacrificed himself to send his subordinates ahead, ending up trapped in that dense and terrifying net himself.
Roars of anger erupted repeatedly in the Alliance Leader’s office.
“Why on earth can I not go! The Courier Hall Master is the fastest and most stealthy martial artist in the Martial Alliance. He is not someone who would be taken down easily. He must surely be alive, so even if I have to go personally, I must rescue him!”
“Naturally, that cannot be! The aftermath of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance has not fully cleared, and the movements of the Dark Emperor’s disciples are also unusual. Unless a Righteous-Demonic War breaks out, you must strictly remain in this position, Alliance Leader. Did you ask why it cannot be? It is because you, Alliance Leader, are the center of this Martial Alliance!”
Bang!
The Alliance Leader slammed the table roughly.
The Alliance Leader said he would personally go to rescue the Courier Hall Master.
But the Chief Strategist dissuaded the Alliance Leader, saying that if the Alliance Leader vacated his post, the entire orthodox martial world would be shaken.
The Alliance Leader clenched his fists tightly. He squeezed so hard that blood almost flowed from his palms.
“Damn it. I did not become the Alliance Leader for this. What kind of Alliance Leader cannot even rescue a single subordinate?”
Only then did the Alliance Leader seem to understand why Senior White Flower Sword Immortal had refused to become the Alliance Leader.
The fierce argument between Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon and Chief Strategist Sima Hwi ended, as usual, in Sima Hwi’s victory.
The Alliance Leader’s great cause of seeking to save his subordinate even at the cost of his own life.
The Chief Strategist’s great cause of seeking to preserve the stability of the orthodox martial world even by sacrificing lives likewise.
It was because the Chief Strategist’s great cause was larger and more desperate.
Faced with the Chief Strategist’s unyielding response that he would immediately retire if the Alliance Leader went, a rescue squad was ultimately formed with others instead of the Alliance Leader.
.
.
.
Ahead of their departure, the rescue squad gathered at the main gate of the Martial Alliance.
Alliance members gathered to watch.
Every single member of the rescue squad consisted of martial artists who held a lofty standing throughout the entire martial world.
The Beggars’ Sect’s Dragon Head Sect Leader, a martial artist who had reached the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
His disciple and Disciplinary Hall Master, Chu Pung-gae.
And even Sword Maiden Namgung Yi-hwa, the younger sister of the Sword King and the practical head of the Namgung Clan.
To breach the Inescapable Heavenly Net, an extremely small number of high masters had to be deployed. The moment a large number of martial artists participated, the risk of it escalating into a Righteous-Demonic War was great.
They were three martial artists drafted after being selected and re-selected.
Since a letter had also been sent to the Sword King, who always wandered leisurely, perhaps he might join midway as well.
As the rescue squad was about to depart.
Cheon Woo-jin glanced sideways at Song Yi-yeon.
Looking at him, he seemed to want to go together. Even if it was for only half a month, having learned the secret lightness art, the man was practically his master.
Yet he would not dare bring it up.
Because the rescue squad was assembled with experts who had reached at least the Transcendent Realm, no matter how much one was called a genius, how could a mere Alliance member dare ask to follow along?
Watching this for a moment, Cheon Woo-jin spoke.
“If you wish, I will go with you. However, you might die during the mission. I have never experienced the Inescapable Heavenly Net either.”
Of course, it was a warning that Song Yi-yeon might die, not Cheon Woo-jin.
When he said that, everyone’s gaze instantly turned toward Cheon Woo-jin.
The Martial Alliance had not dared to add Cheon Woo-jin to the rescue squad. Not because he was the Grand Preceptor, the Emperor’s master, but because after the missions he had resolved recently, they lacked the shamelessness to ask for more.
Yet Cheon Woo-jin stepped forward first.
Everyone merely waited for Song Yi-yeon’s answer.
“…In truth, I wish to go. Dying while trying to rescue my master is a hundred times better than turning away from the situation and living long.”
“With that kind of resolve, you should go.”
Cheon Woo-jin shrugged his shoulders.
Soon, he made a unilateral decision to join. It was an act beyond a Squad Leader’s authority, but far from calling him arrogant, everyone kept their mouths shut for fear he might change his mind.
Such was the standing of a master of the Realm Beyond the Heavens in the martial world.
Suddenly, Jin Un said he could not send Young Hero Song to a place of death alone, so he would go together.
At that, Namgung Jin told them to have a safe trip.
“…”
The Sword Maiden’s gaze turned toward Namgung Jin.
At times, scarier and harder to deal with than his father, the Sword King, was his aunt, the Sword Maiden.
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin’s gaze also turned toward Namgung Jin.
Harder to deal with than that Sword Maiden was Cheon Woo-jin.
Soon, Namgung Jin scowled fiercely.
“Damn it, I’ll go too, all right?”