Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Pharmacy Class
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The pharmacy class covered building tolerance to poisons, crafting antidotes, and preparing various medicinal ingredients. These lessons typically took place in the herb fields near the medical institute or those on Mount Eocheon.
"...Therefore, take care not to tarnish the academy's prestige."
Today's session was held in the herb fields on Mount Eocheon. Before the class began, Professor Hwa In-ah, who oversaw pharmacy, slowly recounted yesterday's assembly speech to the lower-class students.
She placed particular emphasis on the word "prestige." That was because the students before her were from the lower class.
Entering the Eocheon Academy was proof enough of their talent, but talent levels still varied widely. With so many distinguished guests attending this year's Eocheon Festival, any subpar display from the lower-class students would blemish the academy's reputation.
"Ah, of course. There are exceptions."
Hwa In-ah glanced at Wi Sungcheon with a gentle smile. It wasn't mockery. She acknowledged his skills and spoke accordingly.
Her intent in addressing him directly was to urge the other lower-class students to emulate him and strive harder. Regrettably, her words only stirred resentment among the rest.
Regardless of the other students' darkening expressions,
Wi Sungcheon wandered the herb fields alongside Bang Jun. The fields on Mount Eocheon grew not just medicinal herbs but a variety of toxic plants as well. They featured common mountain herbs and poisons, mixed with rarer specimens.
Today's lesson focused on resisting the Qi Dispersion Poison that Hwa In-ah had prepared.
Qi Dispersion Poison was lethal to martial artists. It didn't kill outright, but infection rendered internal energy unusable at will.
Certain variants went further, disrupting qi circulation to cause internal injuries, shatter the dantian, or dissipate internal energy entirely.
Of course, producing or even obtaining such potent strains was no easy feat.
"Got it all memorized?"
"I memorized it, but I still don't get it even looking at it."
Bang Jun grimaced in response. Wi Sungcheon and Bang Jun were reaping the full benefits of their reliable friendship.
In pharmacy class—as might be expected—Dang Heeran always scored perfectly. Having grown up in the Tang Clan, the academy's lessons were a breeze for her, requiring no real study.
With semester-end evaluations approaching, she needed to focus on her grades. So, she had specially written a notebook for Wi Sungcheon and Bang Jun.
It detailed the herbs and toxic plants grown in the academy fields, along with the medicines and poisons they could produce. The problem was that her accompanying illustrations were atrocious.
She had put genuine effort into sketching the plants' forms, but to Wi Sungcheon, they looked like nothing more than messy ink scribbles.
"So... the antidote for Qi Dispersion Poison uses blackroot tubers, phoenix grass leaf buds, and teaweed stems?"
"Ants that live on the blackroot tubers. The ones with black abdomens."
"Ant abdomens are all black, damn it."
"There are red ones too."
"Then she'd have written 'fire ant,' you blockhead."
Bang Jun grumbled.
"There are a few other bugs besides ants."
"Beggars don't eat bugs much either."
"Sometimes they do, I hear."
"When famine hits and no one's handing out scraps, you grub for bugs and call it a feast."
With that, Bang Jun let out a deep sigh.
"Speaking of which, harvest season's coming up soon. Damn, back in the Beggar Clan, we'd gorge on rice cakes every harvest."
"They'll give us rice cakes at the academy too."
"We'll be out subjugating beasts before we can eat."
Beast subjugation doubled as community service alongside regular classes. Students were dispatched to areas plagued by beast outbreaks.
Third-years went to the front lines, while first- and second-years headed to the wild mountains near Zhongqing or beyond into Gansu and Sichuan.
"Probably next week for the subjugation schedule. We roamed Zhongqing's mountains this spring. Wonder where it'll be this time."
Beast subjugation frequency ramped up with each grade level. By third year, it was half-jokingly said that students spent more time in the wilds than at the academy.
First- and second-years didn't venture out as often. First-years only did it twice a year.
"How long will it last?"
"Depends on the spot. With the Eocheon Festival right around the corner, it won't be too long. A fortnight at most? Probably won't stretch a full month. You heard the announcement."
Bang Jun grumbled as he scraped at the soil. He was digging for blackroot tubers. Amid the wriggling ants in the dirt were some with unusually glossy black abdomens—the ones that had gnawed on the blackroot.
"This Eocheon Festival's drawing all kinds of big shots. Martial world dignitaries show up every year, but the Black Society Leader coming? That's a first. And even the Murim Alliance Leader!"
It had been five years since the Murim Alliance Leader last attended the Eocheon Festival. The current leader, White Lord Gam Taejun, had taken office eight years ago and attended steadily for the first three, but not since.
"They're expanding the lodgings for guests and even the sparring arena. Honestly, I'd rather be out on subjugation longer. All that construction noise'll be a headache."
"They won't make students help with construction, right?"
"As if. We're students, not laborers."
Bang Jun kept muttering as he unearthed a blackroot tuber. Wi Sungcheon squatted nearby and began digging one up himself.
His slow-moving hands parted the soil gently, exposing the root.
The festival's grandeur was good news for Wi Sungcheon. A bigger budget meant greater influence for the Reformists.
"I heard from the branch leader that the Eccentric Hero's coming for the festival too."
"Three of the Ten Heroes gathering. Whew, what a pressure cooker."
Even as he said it, Wi Sungcheon grinned. This Eocheon Festival would draw the eyes of the entire martial world. How he played it could elevate his name.
"Never thought the Black Demon King himself would show."
Black Demon King Baek Ri Mu-won.
Among the righteous faction's five Ten Heroes, picking the top was tough. But the evil faction's number one was clear.
Black Demon King Baek Ri Mu-won. He was the evil martial world's supreme master, rivaling the world's best.
"No way a figure like that travels alone. The Murim Alliance will send the Demon Extermination Righteous Heaven Corps... And to match, the Black Society's Black Wind Assassination Squad."
"You're hyped, huh."
"Of course. The Demon Extermination Righteous Heaven Corps and Black Wind Assassination Squad are their alliance's elite forces. Without the common enemy of the Demonic Cult, the martial world would've split into white and black paths, fighting tooth and nail. Hell, it still is. While the Demonic Cult's holed up in the Demonic Realm, the righteous and evil factions keep clashing steadily."
Naturally, the Murim Alliance and Black Society had never openly collided. But in righteous territories, evil factions were hounded; in evil territories, the righteous faced the same. It was inevitable, par for the course.
"Who'd have thought I'd look forward to the Eocheon Festival like this. No one in their right mind would openly provoke the Black Society led by the Black Demon King... But behind the scenes, it'll be a pride showdown. Might even have hot-blooded underlings sparking incidents, even if the King himself stays clear..."
Bang Jun's words cut off abruptly. He glared at Wi Sungcheon, eyes wide. Wi Sungcheon calmly crushed and mixed the ants and root Bang Jun had gathered.
"You thieving bastard, stealing from a beggar 'cause there's nothing else to take?!"
"Helping each other out."
"Scram! Hands off my stuff!"
"Don't wanna help each other?"
"Scram!"
"You'll regret it."
"Regret what? Talking nonsense."
Bang Jun's eyebrows shot up in fury.
But soon enough, he learned exactly what Wi Sungcheon meant by "regret."
He lay sprawled on the ground, lips quivering. He'd taken the antidote he'd prepared, but it did nothing. Hwa In-ah shook her head.
"You mistook the phoenix grass leaf buds. I mentioned last class how changseol flower resembles it in color and shape, making mix-ups common."
"Ugh... Ack..."
"Medicine with phoenix grass leaf buds is standard for Qi Dispersion Poison antidotes. But changseol flower leaf buds, when mixed with Qi Dispersion Poison, trigger intense abdominal pain."
"Bath... room..."
"Hold it a bit longer. Penalty for not paying attention."
Bang Jun rarely paid proper attention in class.
Wi Sungcheon, however, always did. Since arriving at the academy, he'd never skimped on lessons. He believed raw "strength" alone couldn't earn respect here.
Raised on Mount Sinryeong, home to the Heavenly Flower Sect, he could readily distinguish basic herbs and poisons. He still didn't know how to properly compound them into medicine.
That, combined with Heeran's notebook and attentive listening, made the difference.
Thus, Hwa In-ah favored him. She'd started with prejudice, naturally—being from the Heavenly Flower Sect.
Yet he was always diligent. He chatted with Bang Jun occasionally, but his eyes and ears stayed fixed on the lesson.
She wasn't alone. Professors teaching lower-class courses often praised Wi Sungcheon by name.
"Could I ask a favor?"
Wi Sungcheon knew several professors, Hwa In-ah included, held him in good regard. His attentiveness stemmed not just from interest but also from courting their favor.
Naturally, it was easier to stay on a professor's good side than not.
"What is it?"
"I've never actually experienced Qi Dispersion Poison."
He'd made the antidote but hadn't ingested it. Antidotes generally fell into two categories.
Preemptive ones for building resistance, or post-exposure ones to neutralize or fully cure. Hwa In-ah had tasked them with the preemptive resistance type.
"You want to experience it?"
"Yes."
Wi Sungcheon smiled as he spoke. To some ears, it might sound arrogant bravado. But fondness for a star pupil turned "bravado" into "enthusiasm."
"Very well. First, may I see your antidote?"
"Yes."
He'd ground and mashed the ingredients. Diluted some with water. Methods varied by material. The resulting lump of pill dough hadn't fully set.
It wasn't a proper antidote but an emergency ingestible, so consuming it like this was fine.
He'd made two.
"Two?"
"One follows the lesson formula from last time. The other is from a friend's recipe."
"Ah, this must be the Tang Clan's."
Hwa In-ah chuckled softly.
"Both resist Qi Dispersion Poison, but there's more. Know what?"
"The professor's uses readily available ingredients but has shorter duration."
"Yes. Resistance fades after half a day. The Tang Clan's is trickier to source but lasts a full day easily."
"No deduction for a different recipe, right?"
"I'd add points, not subtract. Absurd."
"And for not ingesting?"
"Same. You crafted it properly. Best not to get poisoned, but most do before countermeasures. Experience helps then—keeps panic at bay."
No one liked getting poisoned, though. Especially Qi Dispersion Poison, which crippled a martial artist's vital internal energy.
Volunteering for it made Hwa In-ah smile warmly. Such passion warranted bonus points on evaluations.
"There are many ways to administer poison. Mix into food, inhale via smoke. All sorts."
Hwa In-ah extended her fingertips. A faint flick, and fine powder scattered.
"If the air feels off, avoid downwind. Peak poison experts sense 'off' too late."
The drifting powder headed for Wi Sungcheon. He didn't dodge. Experiencing it earned bonus points and her favor, but that wasn't all.
When he first met the Life-Ending Sword Sek Yi-jin, the Geodeum Brothers who'd bound him swore he'd been poisoned with Qi Dispersion Poison.
But Sek Yi-jin hadn't succumbed—or if he had, his profound internal arts mastery expelled it. Theirs was a crude batch.
Theirs differed from Hwa In-ah's brew. Wi Sungcheon's internals did too. He wanted to test his reverse flow against it.
*Here it comes.*
The poison infiltrated via his airways, spreading through his body. Wi Sungcheon dropped to the ground and circulated the Heavenly Flower Sequential Arts. His meridians shifted to reverse flow, internal energy reversing with them.
*Indeed.*
He resisted the poison by redirecting his internal energy flow via reverse circulation. Sweeping it away without routing to the dantian. Still, operation felt awkward.
Then exclude the awkward flow entirely. Gather the poison in one spot via reverse flow's turbulence, reroute through alternate meridians. Uncomfortable, but less so.
He glanced at Hwa In-ah. She hadn't noticed the changes inside him.
Emitting qi would've tipped her off, but who could guess internal shifts? She did sense his resistance.
*Can't drag it out. This'll do.*
Wi Sungcheon halted the reverse flow. He accepted the inevitable poisoning. Unpleasant. Dantian grew heavy, then sank; meridians stung. Internal energy barely stirred.
"How is it?"
"Feels awful."
"That's Qi Dispersion Poison for you. It's common in the martial world precisely because it's so devastating to fighters."
Hwa In-ah smiled. Her esteem for him rose further. And she had a message to pass along.
*Pharmacy professors inevitably interact with Dang Seona.*
Dang Seona, head of the Youth Association, had Hwa In-ah as observer for the Poison Play.
*We might face off in the sparring matches.*
Fifty days remained until the Eocheon Festival.
But Wi Sungcheon was already preparing.