Chapter 519: Just Let Me Hold It Once (26)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 519: Just Let Me Hold It Once (26)
A memory from an unknown time.
A strange red light flowed. The air was thick and damp, and my body was so cold it felt like frost was forming on my skin.
A violent shiver wracked my frame, my breath catching in my throat and seizing my entire being.
Amidst that discomfort…
“Not bad.”
A voice.
A cold voice, laced with an indecipherable laugh.
Within it, the metallic scent of blood. I wanted to see what was happening, but my head, bowed low, refused to lift.
It was as if I didn't dare to look upon his face.
As I remained frozen, staring fixedly at the floor…
The voice came again.
“Yes, you will do. Child of the Thunderous Heaven.”
A hand touched my neck.
“From this moment on, you are my servant. Rejoice.”
Heh, heh.
With that cold laugh, the consciousness I had been barely clinging to snapped.
And then…
My closed eyes opened.
“…!…”
I bolted upright.
The withered old man shot up the moment he regained consciousness.
He scrambled to his feet, staggering, and frantically scanned his surroundings.
“…Where is this…?”
He flinched.
Just as panic began to rise at the unfamiliar space, a wave of pain crashed over him, and he clutched his head.
What is this?
Why did his head hurt so much?
He forced himself to swallow a groan, but even that was difficult.
“Urgh…”
As the old man endured the pain, the people around him finally reacted.
“The Heavenly Venerable has awoken…!”
“…I will report to the Lord!”
“The physician! Bring the physician!”
It’s so loud.
The old man broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the murmuring crowd.
Normally, their voices wouldn't have sounded so overwhelming.
But for some reason, today they felt exceptionally sharp.
“Hoo… hoo…”
He gasped for breath.
The pain persisted.
As his head throbbed as if ready to split open, the Heavenly Venerable wondered.
Where am I?
Why am I here?
He couldn’t figure anything out.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he clutched his head tighter.
He could feel that his memory was full of holes.
How had this happened?
Just as the Heavenly Venerable was grappling with pain and confusion…
“You’ve awoken.”
A familiar voice reached him.
The Heavenly Venerable barely managed to lift his head toward the sound.
“After making such a scene. Tsk, tsk. You’re a complete mess.”
“…You.”
Another old man was looking down at the suffering Heavenly Venerable with a gaze full of pity.
It was none other than…
The Immortal Healer.
* * *
Right after I made Na-hi realize she had no choice…
I left her there, trembling, and continued on my way.
If it were up to me, I would have fed her the jewel right then and there, but…
The situation isn’t quite right.
I had only informed her of the circumstances. I needed her to understand precisely. To know she had a role to play.
Because it’d be a waste to just throw her away.
Tang Duk’s role was already set.
For now, I was focused on keeping him by my side and taming him, but he too would have a part to play later.
Compared to him, Na-hi wasn’t very useful.
She could be used as an informant, but with the Tang Clan in its current state, there was no particular need.
So where could she be used?
There’s no need to use her at all.
She wasn’t really necessary.
Her level? Na-hi was at the Peak Realm. With a little more progress, she might reach the Mature Peak, but there were plenty of martial artists at that level in the Central Plains.
Well, maybe not ‘plenty,’ but there are many.
Using her skills as an assassin might make her more useful, but…
If I had to find a use for her, nothing came to mind right now.
Because I’ve already thought of someone else for that kind of role.
Even without Na-hi, I had someone else in mind, so there was no need to keep her around.
As such, originally…
I was planning to use her and get rid of her.
I never intended to keep Na-hi alive for long.
Meaning, I was going to dispose of her as soon as my business with the Tang Clan was finished.
Even if I didn’t kill her myself, I had no intention of giving her a significant role.
But if things turn out this way, she has her uses.
The jewel still rattled in my hand.
A use for it, a subject for an experiment.
If it works out, great. If it fails, so be it.
If Na-hi successfully absorbs this jewel with my help and thus becomes useful, that would be a good thing.
But even if the experiment fails, it wouldn’t matter.
That was Na-hi’s current position.
Even if she succeeds, I’ll have to see what happens next.
If her realm rises, how high will it go?
If her body changes, how much will it change? I needed to see that.
Now that I think about it, it’s a bit of a hassle.
Having to check every little thing. That was what I found annoying.
Should I just consume it myself and be done with it?
If my energy increased, the effort to manage it would also grow, but I could just cut down on my rest time.
I really wanted to do just that, but…
“Ah, this is so irritating.”
The fact that I couldn’t just do as I pleased was grating.
There was a reason for my hesitation.
“Why did I have to find this damn thing?”
Besides the jewel, there was one other thing cluttering my robes.
Another item I had obtained by interrogating the First Elder with demonic qi.
Rustle.
I reached into my robes and pulled out a piece of paper.
It was an old letter, neither large nor thick.
The problem was its contents.
“…Hmph.”
The Celestial Martial Body Plan. The decades spent on it, the most suitable ingredients and ratios discovered through that effort.
Even the instructions for creating the essence.
The secret manual containing all those explanations was now in my hand.
[Are you thinking of using it?]
For some reason, a sharp edge was woven into the Elder’s questioning voice.
I knew what his tone implied.
“Are you insane…? For me to use this.”
The Elder was afraid I would use it.
Judging by its contents, this manual described something far too cruel for any human to employ.
Just gathering the ingredients was difficult to begin with.
Let alone collecting demonic beasts with poisonous properties…
‘You have to gather over a hundred humans.’
And they all had to be humans who had not yet come of age.
It described a method of refining and purifying them to bring about a change in one’s vessel and body.
The key ingredients were their blood and innate vital energy.
It was amazing enough that they could extract such things, but to mix them again with the poison-laced blood of demonic beasts?
It was nothing short of an insane method.
I frowned, looking at the jewel in my other hand.
“Those bastards who call themselves the Orthodox Faction, just to make a piece of trash like this.”
Even as I called it trash, a different thought surfaced.
An elixir that could turn one into a Celestial Martial Body just by consuming it.
This was undoubtedly an item of immense historical value.
It was just that its production method was too far removed from human ethics.
‘…If I were to spread this secret manual to the world, it would be enough to cause utter chaos.’
This world was full of people who had long since abandoned such morals.
Knowing that full well, this was not something to be lightly released.
[Is that truly the only reason?]
‘…Of course not.’
I shook my head at the Elder’s mocking words.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
Since when did I possess such a sense of chivalry to care about something like that?
There was only one reason I cared.
Whatever it was, if it could transform the body of a mediocre talent into the unbelievable vessel of a Celestial Martial Body, it was of immense value.
Therefore.
‘If I could use it, I’d want to.’
Rather than giving it away or burning it, I wanted to find a way to use it myself.
[…Kid.]
‘I know.’
I let out a small laugh at the Elder’s deeply darkened voice.
‘Don’t worry. I have no intention of doing what you’re worried about.’
He must be worried that I might employ the method described in this manual.
It felt a bit strange to be seen as that much of a monster, but…
From the Elder’s perspective, it was a reasonable concern, so I decided not to comment further.
In reality…
‘It’s not like I didn’t consider it.’
I did think that if I made several of these and fed them to trustworthy people to strengthen them, it would be helpful for the future Blood Calamity.
‘But this is crossing a line.’
I didn’t want to go that far.
That was an act that crossed the ‘line’ I had set for myself. I couldn’t go there.
That line was the boundary that allowed me to still recognize myself as human.
‘Even if my body is already not.’
Even if my body had changed, even if my situation was different.
The line that barely allowed me to think of myself as human—this act would cross it.
‘So, I’ll have to find another way.’
I couldn’t use the manual exactly as written.
The addition of poison was solely for the Tang Clan’s bloodline, so I could exclude that.
And if I could find a substitute for human blood and innate vital energy…
‘…I might be able to use it a little differently.’
Even if the resulting elixir was less potent than the original.
I might be able to create something with a similar effect.
That was the thought I was mulling over.
If I could pull it off, it would surely be a boon for the coming Blood Calamity.
[That is a dangerous thought.]
‘Yes, I know that as well.’
I nodded at the Elder’s warning.
I knew. I knew how dangerous this line of thinking was.
Still.
‘Isn’t it worth a try?’
[…]
‘I think it’s better than not trying at all. It’s always better to try everything you can before giving up, isn’t it?’
[Yes…. That conviction is both your weakness and your strength.]
To try until you can’t, and only then let go.
I couldn’t do that in my past life, so it was a conviction I had resolved to live by in this one.
‘I’m not saying I’ll try this right away.’
Setting aside the gathering of humans and demonic beasts…
There were a considerable number of other ingredients.
Countless herbs that cost a fortune.
Acquiring all of them would undoubtedly take time.
‘Even if I gather the herbs, there’s still the matter of refining them, of course…’
I needed ingredients to replace the humans and demonic beasts. Not herbs, but figuring out if such substitutes even existed would be the priority.
‘I don’t know if they do, though.’
But if I could find them, it would be a significant advantage for my future plans.
‘Because it would be a product far superior to the elixirs of Shaolin or Mount Hua.’
If I could make it, it would surpass items like the Daehwandan, the Jasodan, or even the Dokcheondan.
As something that could transform the human body itself and expand its vessel, it would be incredible.
And on top of that.
‘…It’s just a guess, but.’
I didn’t know about a substitute for human blood, but as for something to replace innate vital energy…
Something did come to mind.
Though I had no idea if it would work.
‘First, I’ll deal with Na-hi.’
After confirming whether this jewel truly works, and if so, what state it induces…
If I judge it to be useful, I’ll begin the undertaking then.
‘…Before I come of age, I have to decide on a path.’
There wasn’t much time.
Three years until I come of age.
Within that time, I had to establish a direction for the future and formulate a solid plan.
This was also related to that.
“Hoo…”
Lost in complex thoughts, I arrived at my residence before I knew it.
My father was probably handling the Poison King’s request, and the entire Tang Clan would be in an uproar.
So my residence should be relatively quiet.
‘Then, what I need to do inside is…’
Today’s task.
‘…What to do about the Thunder Fang.’
The Thunder Fang, which I had shoved into a drawer because it was so noisy. The figure presumed to be Namgung Myung inside it.
I hadn’t finished my conversation about him yet.
I needed to finish that before my father returned.
Just as I thought that and stepped into my residence…
“…Huh?”
The supposedly quiet residence was filled with the presence of people.
“No! You crazy bastard!”
Along with that, a loud voice rang out without restraint.
This sharp voice is…?
‘Sounds like the White Ripple Sword.’
It was that lady, the White Ripple Sword’s voice.
…Why would her voice be coming from my residence?
‘What is she planning now?’
I was already apprehensive.
Every time that woman came here, she spouted some bizarre nonsense, making me incredibly anxious.
“Sigh…”
After letting out a deep sigh, I entered the residence.
And, as expected, I had to let out a gasp at the absurd words I heard this time as well.
“…What did you say?”
The problem was, the one who had uttered those absurd words wasn’t the White Ripple Sword.
“You’re going where…?”
“...”
At my question, my eyes wide, the woman before me answered.
“…The North Sea…”
Long, pale blue hair.
A woman with fine, beautiful white skin.
My fiancée, and the person who died for me in my past life.
Namgung Bi-ah looked at me and said it again.
“…I’m going to the North Sea…”
She said she was going to the North Sea.