Chapter 5 :

Chapter 5. The Third-Rate Warrior Who Gathers Elixirs (3)

Recently, Hong Saryeon had been in quite a good mood, but the character for “stream” was once again carved between her brows.

Gye Cheolyeong, who had kept quiet after Gye Yeonseung was driven out and a new hall master entered Busaeng Hall, had returned to his original self and begun showing off again.

“What is the Snow Plum Pill? Even within Mount Hua, it is second only to the Purple Cloud Pill in increasing internal energy, and in particular, in terms of its effectiveness in laying the foundation of the body, it far surpasses Shaolin’s Small Rejuvenation Pill. It is a precious spirit pill that even a true disciple of Mount Hua can barely obtain a single pill of.”

The next words would surely be, “My father and my uncle, who is a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, obtained that precious elixir for me.”

Hong Saryeon could predict it without even hearing the next words.

He had been saying the exact same thing in the exact same way for days now, so it felt as though a martial arts chant she had not even memorized was floating around inside her head.

“……Yes. That really is amazing.”

“Right? So, you see…….”

If she could speak her mind, she wanted to shout, “So what, you idiot!” at the top of her lungs, but the other party was the son of a precious family that provided sponsorship.

It was not as if Hong Saryeon was not envious of Gye Cheolyeong.

Since she was born a martial artist, her longing for spirit pills was no less than anyone else’s.

However, she had far too much on her shoulders as the sect leader’s only daughter to fall into gloom while feeling a sense of relative deprivation.

“Senior Sister! Senior Sister! Then what will happen to Senior Brother Jin?”

“Senior Sister! Senior Brother Sowoon won’t leave the sect, will he?”

“Senior Sister! If I only eat two meals…… will Senior Brother come back?”

The chick-like junior disciples were waiting only for their runaway senior brother to return, and when she asked the hall master of the External Hall what Senior Brother Jin, who was like a youngest sibling, was doing and where he was wandering around, there was no news at all.

‘That damned man.’

Saryeon was also just about reaching the limit of her patience with Gye Cheolyeong and Gye Yeonseung’s tyranny.

If Senior Brother Jin had not stepped forward anyway, she had been planning to step forward herself.

No, originally, it had been something she, not her senior brother, should have done.

In the end, the next Taeul Sect was something she had to shoulder.

Gye Cheolyeong was merely an opportunist who had entered only for the purpose of the Martial Academy, and half of the young junior disciples would eventually inherit their family businesses, or if they were lucky, find work as guards and consider that a success.

There was Senior Brother Jin Sowoon, but Saryeon was not shameless enough to push this burden onto him even while knowing Taeul Sect’s bleak future.

Saryeon had carried such a heavy heart since she was very young.

That was why she had been blaming herself for failing to step forward at the proper time because she feared Gye Yeonseung’s martial arts and Gye Yeonseok’s retaliation.

‘How in the world did he win?’

Leaving aside the question of how he had defeated the Mount Hua Sect’s Plum Blossom Sword Art, the fact that he had left Taeul Sect every day after that incident without being noticed by Gye Yeonseok, who fluttered his trouser hems around Taeul Sect every day, was probably Senior Brother’s consideration.

Everyone knew just how narrow-minded and persistent Gye Yeonseok was.

For that reason, Jin Sowoon had deliberately gone outside the sect.

“Senior Sister! Senior Sister! Please try this!”

“Senior Sister! This meat is really delicious!”

At the sight of the puppy-like young junior disciples holding out rice cakes and meat in front of her, Hong Saryeon forgot that she had been lost in deep thought and stroked their heads.

To commemorate the arrival of the Mount Hua Sect experts at the Gyeryong Merchant Guild, a small feast was also held at Taeul Sect.

Of course, Gye Yeonseok and Gye Yeonseung were busy entertaining the Mount Hua Sect experts and did not even have the leisure to stop by Taeul Sect. Thanks to that, the people of Taeul Sect could comfortably enjoy the food among themselves.

“But where did Senior Brother Jin really go? Senior Brother Jin really liked these rice cakes.”

“Senior Sister! Can I save this meat for Senior Brother Jin?”

A junior disciple, who kept swallowing saliva with sparkling eyes, asked in a voice full of patience.

How long had it been since that little one had last seen meat, and yet he was willing to give it up?

For some reason, Hong Saryeon felt a sting in her heart and ruffled his hair roughly.

“By the time he comes back, the meat will probably have gone bad and become inedible. So don’t save it. Eat as much as you want.”

“Then when will Senior Brother Jin come back?”

“He’ll be back soon.”

Pretending it was nothing, Hong Saryeon stole one piece each of meat and rice cake from the young junior disciples.

‘Seriously, where are you and what are you doing, you fool?’

#

“I’ll give you ten silver nyang.”

Although I had cursed this memory throughout my entire previous life, it was not all bad.

For example, it was quite useful at times like this, when I had to strike the back of a shameless merchant’s head for trying to beat down the price using changing market rates as an excuse.

“Huh, what are you talking about? I heard that in Zhejiang Province these days, people are desperate because they can’t get tiger pelts like this. Over there, the starting price is thirty silver nyang.”

Zhejiang Province, represented by Hangzhou, was a place where many goods gathered, so it also influenced the market prices of nearby provinces.

No matter what, it made no sense for there to be a difference of twenty silver nyang just by crossing one province.

“That is the price you get when it is a proper tiger pelt.”

“Look at this. There isn’t even a single common arrow mark on the tiger pelt, is there? Offering only ten silver nyang for an item like this is something you’d have no excuse for even if you were dragged to the government office.”

“Young man, are you blind? Does this look like a proper pelt to you?”

The man spread out the tiger pelt and said,

“What in the world did you do for the pelt to dry up and shrivel like this? It’s only because it’s me that I’m even offering ten nyang. If you go elsewhere, you won’t even get half that!”

“…….”

No matter how much I searched through the memories in my head, there was no method for restoring a dried and shriveled pelt.

I boldly accepted it and received ten silver nyang.

After all, obtaining the tiger pelt had not been part of the plan in the first place.

After absorbing the Human-Faced Earth Spider’s inner core, I had fallen into serious worry.

“If this goes wrong, I’m unquestionably a demonic practitioner.”

One of the Ten Great Forbidden Arts selected by the Martial Alliance was the Great Energy-Absorbing Art.

Even among the Ten Great Forbidden Arts, the Great Energy-Absorbing Art was classified separately as one of the Four Great Evil Arts, making it a demonic art that the Martial Alliance utterly detested.

Looking at the process by which this Azure Dragon Ring absorbed inner cores, it looked exactly like the Great Energy-Absorbing Art, so dealing with this was the most urgent priority above all else.

“As expected, there was no way a relic of that Bloodsucking Demon Fiend bastard would be normal.”

Should I call it fortunate? It did not recklessly absorb everything.

It could not absorb any energy from things like plants or rocks.

However, it did absorb energy from animals like deer and rabbits.

It was not merely absorbing energy, either. It transformed the life force of living beings into true energy and absorbed it.

This was on the same level as the Bloodsucking Demon Fiend, making me an undeniable target for elimination by the Martial Alliance.

Still, just in case, I went deep into the mountain where the great tiger had been found, risked my life, and tested the Azure Dragon Ring, but as you can see, the result was the birth of Jin Sowoon, Prince of the Energy-Absorbing Art.

Well done, Jin Sowoon. After finally regressing, what you gained was a demonic art.

In particular, the absorption ability of this Azure Dragon Ring completely surpassed imagination.

Because the great tiger charged ferociously, I failed to control my strength and activated the Azure Dragon Ring. It drained all the moisture from the great tiger and turned it into a crispy, dried state.

“Well done! Jin Sowoon. After finally regressing, what you gained was a demonic art. Well done indeed.”

My own life was not the only thing I had to worry about right now.

The moment this fact reached the Martial Alliance,

not only I, but also Father, the sect leader, the hall masters, and everyone else in Taeul Sect would be dragged to the Martial Alliance and subjected to brutal torture.

The Martial Alliance’s basement was a place where the torture was so cruel that it could make people confess even to crimes they had not committed.

The young junior disciples would be unable to endure even three days and would confess that they had learned the Great Energy-Absorbing Art after following me.

“If I die again this time, will there be another chance?”

Instead of placing hope in something vague, I began researching the Azure Dragon Ring.

First of all, the Azure Dragon Ring followed my will quite well.

I absolutely could not let it suddenly shine out of nowhere like last time and arouse people’s suspicion.

Because I could not even trust that, as soon as I entered the village, I went into a cloth shop and wrapped my wrist tightly with dark cloth.

And the decisive reason I did not cut off my perfectly fine left hand was that, whether it absorbed life force or internal energy and turned it into internal energy, the energy itself was exactly the same as the Taeul Heart Method I possessed.

To be precise, it was absorbed in a purer form and quickly merged with the Taeul Heart Method.

Considering that the separation of absorbed internal energy, one of the characteristics of the Great Energy-Absorbing Art, did not occur,

unless someone caught me in the act of absorbing another person’s energy right in front of their eyes, simply examining my dantian would leave no trace that I had learned the Great Energy-Absorbing Art.

In any case, as long as I could avoid being discovered, this was no different from possessing an incredible hidden card.

No, in truth, I simply decided to think of it that way.

Because the future of being dragged to the Martial Alliance’s basement was too horrifying to even imagine.

“Do you happen to sell traps as well?”

“Hm? Didn’t you come here knowing that in the first place? Aren’t we Hefei’s best hunter supply shop?”

“Then please give me some general-purpose traps and bear traps.”

“Huh? You’re planning to hunt with traps? Then the pelts will be badly damaged, and you won’t get proper prices for them. A shriveled one like this would be better.”

“I’m not trying to skin them.”

“Hmm. Well, bear gallbladders fetch a good price these days. How many should I give you?”

“About…… thirty, please.”

“Huh?”

“The ones I need to hunt are unusually cunning.”

#

The Gyeryong Merchant Guild held a banquet more boisterous than any seen in recent days.

Whatever the reason, the visit of Mount Hua Sect experts was a good opportunity to spread rumors of the relationship between the Gyeryong Merchant Guild and the Mount Hua Sect.

They even posted notices within ten Li in every direction, and without discriminating between guests, offered everyone alcohol and side dishes.

Those who usually traded with him were offended at seeing a man who had always been so stingy with them suddenly hold such a grand banquet and did not attend. However, the drinkers nearby brought each other along and attended the banquet. At the Gyeryong Merchant Guild, the lights did not go out, nor did the music stop, all night long.

The peak of the banquet was the song and dance of Wolhyang, the finest courtesan in Hefei.

Even the drinkers who had remained seated as long as possible so as not to lose their spots began gathering at the center of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild just to catch a glimpse of Wolhyang’s rarely seen face.

“Give them your greetings. They are the finest warriors of the Mount Hua Sect.”

As Gye Yeonseok put on airs and elevated the two Mount Hua Sect experts, Wolhyang slowly lowered her face veil and smiled faintly.

“I am called Wolhyang.”

Not only Gye Cheolyeong, who sat beside Gye Yeonseok, but even the Mount Hua Sect experts.

There were not many people who could keep their facial muscles under control.

In particular, every time white skin briefly showed between her skirt as she danced, an indescribable groan spread thickly throughout the venue.

And at the moment when everyone’s attention was focused entirely on Wolhyang, the Soul-Chasing Guest hid himself between the lanterns and slipped over the wall of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild without being noticed by anyone.

‘Success!’

The Soul-Chasing Guest thought,

With this, this tiresome life of thievery would finally be over.

Thrown into the murim world at the age of twenty, he had rolled around from place to place without receiving proper teachings, picking up a few talents on the side.

Among them, his fighting techniques were the best, which had led him to become a thief, but that was never the life the Soul-Chasing Guest had wanted.

Then, by chance, the secret manual of the Mad Heaven Divine Palm had fallen into his hands.

It was the final secret technique of the Mad Heaven Divine Lord, who was known to have disappeared without leaving behind a successor.

He had obtained the secret manual of the Mad Heaven Divine Palm, but the secret manual did not contain the crucial internal energy cultivation method, only the palm art.

However, this palm art called the Mad Heaven Divine Palm required an enormous amount of internal energy, befitting the destructive power passed down in legend, so to the Soul-Chasing Guest, it was no different from a useless ornament.

‘But now it’s different! The murim world will now witness the return of the Mad Heaven Divine Lord.’

The Snow Plum Pill in his possession, and the Mad Heaven Divine Palm.

With just these two things, he no longer needed to fear anyone.

“Hehehe.”

The moment he unconsciously let out that laugh,

“See? I told you he’d come here.”

“Haha. He really did steal it.”

At the sudden voices, the Soul-Chasing Guest felt as though his heart had dropped with a thud.

“…….”

The Soul-Chasing Guest quickly tried to use his movement technique and flee, but the range of killing intent being spread by the two people was far too wide, so he could not even get a sense of where he should run.

“Usually, in a situation like this, aren’t you supposed to say, ‘Who are you?’”

“Right? Looks like he’s a pretty tight-lipped fellow. It would be nice if he worked for our Martial Alliance.”

Two people appeared while exchanging words with no tension whatsoever.

A single sword, and cloud patterns drawn on their Taoist robes.

The Soul-Chasing Guest quickly realized that he could not deal with them.

‘Diancang Sect.’

The Soul-Chasing Guest’s mind began spinning rapidly.

Should he suggest splitting the spirit pill?

They had mentioned the Martial Alliance or something, so they probably would not kill him.

Should he swallow it quickly and run?

“Look at that fellow thinking.”

“Hey, the moment you move even a single finger, I’ll cut off your head, so keep that in mind.”

The moment he heard those words, the Soul-Chasing Guest immediately gave up everything.

‘Right, rather than die like a dog here, it’s better to aim for the next chance.’

The Soul-Chasing Guest quickly knelt.

“This fellow was blinded by wealth and did something foolish. Please just spare my life.”

The Soul-Chasing Guest took a small wooden box out of his clothes and prostrated himself flat.

Once they recovered the Snow Plum Pill, he would be imprisoned in the Martial Alliance, but he at least hoped that if these two men coveted the Snow Plum Pill, he might not have to rot in the Martial Alliance’s prison.

“Is this the Snow Plum Pill?”

“Check the contents. You can never trust a thief.”

“Let’s see.”

The man who took the Snow Plum Pill opened the wooden box.

Pop.

Along with the sound of air filling it, a refreshing fragrance seeped into the nose of the Soul-Chasing Guest, who was lying face down.

“It’s real.”

“Is it?”

“Great heroes, this lowly one would like to say something.”

“Hm?”

“How about we say I saw nothing?”

“What is he talking about?”

“I know the guildmaster of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild to be a greedy, arrogant man who does not know gratitude. Even if you great heroes find the Snow Plum Pill and return it to him, would he ever repay you? Rather, perhaps you great heroes should take the Snow Plum Pill……”

“Haha, look at this fellow.”

“Good grief. What does he take us for?”

They said that, but after seeing the look the two exchanged, the Soul-Chasing Guest was certain.

He could escape safely from here.

“Then this lowly one will be on his way……???”

As the Soul-Chasing Guest tried to rise, he somehow felt that his two feet would not listen.

“Fellow. Did you think we would leave a witness behind?”

“You’re quite naive even for a dark faction bastard. How did you ever make a name for yourself as the Soul-Chasing Guest?”

The Soul-Chasing Guest collapsed to the ground with the words “damn it” as his last.

“Let’s handle this quickly and go.”

“Wait. Guys like this usually carry their most precious treasure inside their clothes. Look at this.”

The man took a secret manual out from inside the Soul-Chasing Guest’s clothes.

“We’ll check it later. They’ll probably realize soon that the Snow Plum Pill is gone.”

Thud.

When the man shot palm force into the ground, a deep hole just large enough for one person appeared.

The men kicked the Soul-Chasing Guest’s corpse into the hole, roughly covered the body, and were about to leave.

Rustle.

At that moment, a noise neither of them had made rang in their ears.

“Who is it?”

“If you do not come out, I will cut off your head.”

Soon, a figure emerged from the forest. It was a young man who did not yet appear to be twenty.

“W-Who are you?”

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

Had he perhaps seen it?

But there was a gap in timing.

While the men’s gazes tangled in complicated ways,

“I heard the Gyeryong Merchant Guild was holding a banquet where I could drink free alcohol, so I was on my way there. But then I got lost……”

“Did you see anything?”

“What do you mean?”

“…….”

When the man who had asked the question looked at his companion, the companion gave a small shake of his head.

“Come here. I’ll show you the way to the Gyeryong Merchant Guild.”

“……Um, I’m sorry, but you seem suspicious, so could you just go on your way?”

“…….”

“…….”

There was no longer any need to hesitate.

He had definitely seen it.

The moment their eyes met, the two men kicked off the ground and appeared in front of the young man as if neither had moved first.

“You were unlucky. Don’t resent us.”

Just as they were about to swing their swords in a single stroke,

the young man, who had been wearing a flustered expression, changed his face into that of a yaksha.

“You shameless bastards. Is that how Diancang teaches you?”

“Hup!”

They had swung without hiding Diancang’s swordsmanship in order to cut him down in one go, but absurdly, their swords were blocked.

The moment their swords clashed, they felt intense pain in their joints and retreated a couple of steps.

Clack.

“Kuaaaagh!”

The sensation of sharp teeth biting into his ankle as if they would sever it.

Even though he knew secrecy was life itself, Gu Ilmu of the Diancang Five Swords could not help but scream.

“Who are you! Do you know who we are?”

He was pulling up all the internal energy in his body to block the trap digging into his ankle, but because the trap’s teeth had already begun biting in, he could not put strength into himself properly.

A sharp smile had formed at the mouth of the young man who had been speaking with an innocent face and voice.

“Who else would you be? Thieves of the Diancang Sect.”

“……What is your identity?”

“The new owner of the Snow Plum Pill.”

Jin Sowoon smiled broadly.