The Weight of the Crown
After finishing the last patient, Baek Yuseong was tidying up his workstation in the clinic when a voice from outside called out unexpectedly.
“Doctor, do you have a moment?”
“Physician Cha?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Yuseong tilted his head. Normally Cha would have come by by now, but why was heavy-set Physician Yang visiting?
“Please come in.”
The door opened, and Physician Yang entered. “What brings you here?”
Before Yang could open his mouth again, the door swung open once more.
“Oh? I see you’re in the middle of a conversation. You’ve been working hard today, Doctor.”
Physician Cha peeked in belatedly, greeted them, and left.
Casting a quick glance after him, Physician Yang finally got to the point.
“Usually it’s only a short while before your master’s letter arrives, but the news has been delayed. I came to let you know because I was worried you might be waiting.”
Though Yuseong had suggested waiting, Yang’s expression was full of concern.
The Divine Physician, Yang’s master, regularly kept in touch with him.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. Probably just a slight delay because of something with the letter or other matters. There’s no big problem, right? You don’t need to worry too much.”
“Hmm, I suppose so. Calling you in when you’re busy is my fault.”
“No, of course not. You’re always welcome here, Physician Yang.”
Yuseong’s daily routine had grown busier.
He assisted Tang Harin with her antidote research, trained Namgung Yurin, and helped Jegal Yeong-yeong with her array studies.
The pure water he’d accumulated, in case he had to leave the Murim Alliance again, was now joined by a way to build divine power as well.
When he was with Tang Harin, he built divine power using the Detoxification skill while healing her body. During array research, he had her demonstrate formations.
“By the way, Jegal Family’s formations… would it be alright if I shared them with outsiders?”
“It’s fine. These aren’t formations that would make adults panic if they saw them… This family does have that level of strength.”
Jegal Yeong-yeong formed a fist with one arm, eyes sparkling.
‘She’s adorable…’
Yuseong smiled and replied, “Then what should I start with?”
“Doctor…”
Jegal Yeong-yeong handed him a clean book. “These are the formations from the Jegal Family. I wrote them myself. If you have any questions while studying, feel free to ask.”
Yuseong already knew he had the ability to learn formations on his own after receiving the basic ones directly from her.
“Thank you. I’ve always been interested in formations, and they’re really amazing…”
After providing her with the reward she’d requested, she pulled out Cheonmun Jinbeop Chonghae from her sleeve.
“Doctor, you’ll help me just like always.”
“Treating your headaches with this book, I see.”
“Yes. This is…”
Jegal Yeong-yeong let out a long sigh. Even though it helped, the headaches were truly unbearable.
Yuseong was the only reason she managed to endure them at all.
“Shall we begin?”
Although they set up a research space in the military department, they hadn’t done anything improper—other than the headache treatment, of course.
Jegal Yeong-yeong was satisfied just spending time with Yuseong.
They didn’t need to force small talk to fill busy moments; they could naturally exchange opinions on formations and talk freely.
Yet Yuseong felt a new surprise.
‘Even though the basic formations are difficult, he’s understanding this advanced one far too easily right now…’
Should he really teach her the secrets that outsiders couldn’t see? He even began to worry about that.
Over the course of a month, meaningful progress was made.
First, the joint research with Tang Harin produced a mysterious antidote for unknown poisons after repeated testing. They no longer needed to send Yuseong far away for the same problems.
“So the research is finished now that the antidote is complete?”
“No, not yet.”
Tang Harin flicked her fingers at Yuseong’s words.
“There’s more? Don’t we just send the antidote to each branch of the Murim Alliance?”
“There’s a lot more research I’ve been commissioned by the General Commander. If you agree this time, we can do it together.”
“...General Commander?”
“Yeah, he kept reminding me to ask you.”
The truth was that Tang Harin had gone to Jegal Yeong-yeong and asked her to handle the matter. Jegal Yeong-yeong had hesitated because she didn’t like Yuseong and her working together, but it was better than leaving the rare Poison Human alone and not contributing to the Murim Alliance. So she had accepted it.
‘That means I can keep building divine power while researching with Harin.’
Fortunately, her efforts aligned perfectly with Yuseong’s interests.
Next came Namgung Yurin’s training. They had practiced together every day for the past month.
It was still impossible to spread divine power evenly across her whole body with the distant healing skill, but Yuseong could now apply continuous healing effects without breaking the seal.
This was both his accomplishment and Namgung Yurin’s as well.
“Hah… hah…”
Namgung Yurin panted with sweat on her forehead. “Are you alright?”
“J-just a little longer…”
Yuseong waited with his palm on her vital point, ready to use the healing skill at any moment.
As time passed, pain twisted Namgung Yurin’s face.
“Not yet?”
Namgung Yurin shook her head.
Yuseong waited quietly for her signal.
Namgung Yurin was holding back the pain of her body collapsing. She had said that the more she trained, the stronger she became, and after using the latter half of the Emperor’s Sword Form, she could endure longer before her body shattered.
Right now she was pushing her limit to the brink.
Yuseong had already spread divine power across her entire body through her vital point so he could heal her instantly.
‘If I keep watching, I might learn something…’
The energy rising from her dantian felt like it was tearing apart the pathways.
They were widely spread through her whole body, but before she started healing, traces remained.
Looking at the traces of martial arts from other families made him feel a slight pang of conscience, but…
‘It’s not exactly copying. I’m just taking some inspiration. It should be fine.’
After all, he was someone who had inherited the protagonist’s fate in this world.
As long as no one discovered him, he would grow without caring about the methods or morality.
While trying to erase his guilt and find a path to growth, Namgung Yurin’s thin voice suddenly cried out.
“Now!”
The moment the signal came, Yuseong immediately activated his skill.
[Healing]
The divine power that had been spread throughout her body transformed into the healing skill.
Her body returned to normal in an instant.
“Hah… thank you.”
Finally, there was Jegal Yeong-yeong.
On the day she met Yuseong, she had devoted herself entirely to studying formations.
“How close are we to the next stage?”
“Almost the fourth stage now. Because we have dedicated research time, the progress is fast. I should have made time back then.”
“You must have been busy at the time.”
“Hah… yes, that’s right.”
Yuseong’s words made Jegal Yeong-yeong nod.
The current free time was possible only because the Murim Alliance had grown a little quieter.
The Heavenly Demon Cult had fallen silent, and incidents in the region south of the Yangtze River had suddenly stopped.
It was the territory of the heretical sects, yet the rough, wild men there had become strangely quiet.
During one of those busy days, while Yuseong was resting after treating patients in the clinic, Jang Chil rushed in in a panic.
“Doctor, do you happen to know who just came?”
“Who could it be?”
What could make him so surprised?
“It’s Jeong Rip, sir—”
Jeong Rip!
Yuseong’s face lit up.
A Transcendent Realm Grandmaster who had left the Haomen to assist him and stayed away from the Murim Alliance for months.
The man who had said he would search out other masters and challenge them in sparring was finally back?
He felt warm inside just knowing someone from the same Murim Alliance was here.
But as Jang Chil continued, Yuseong’s expression changed.
“...He brought Lord Gwonwang, but his condition is quite poor!”
Before he finished speaking, the outside became noisy.
“Please enter first!”
From outside came Jeong Rip’s shout, and the long-awaited Jeong Rip carried someone inside.
Although Jeong Rip’s frame was sturdy, the man he carried was even larger—an old man with a wide face whose consciousness was fading as he collapsed.
‘That’s the Gwonwang…’
But…
Gwonwang’s right arm was completely torn off, and his left wrist was missing, leaving the scene terrible enough to make recovery impossible.
Jeong Rip, who hadn’t even greeted him properly yet, said, “Doctor, please take a look at him!”
Yuseong quickly checked his condition.
Apart from the obvious arm injuries, his entire body was covered in blood.
One cheek was sunken, and the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest were soaked red with blood.
Whether it was Jeong Rip’s skill or not, some hemostasis had been applied, but his complexion was so pale it was a wonder he wasn’t dead.
A Grandmaster of the Transcendent Realm called Gwonwang should not have ended up like this…
If he weren’t such an outstanding expert, he would have died long before reaching here, and the condition was critical enough to worry about.
There was no time to think about anything else.
He immediately used his skill to heal the body.
[Healing]
The wounds sealed.
However, the healing skill could not regenerate the missing shoulder joint or wrist that had already been torn away. Until he obtained a complete healing skill that could treat his own dantian, he would not be able to fix them.
‘Gwonwang is lucky, though. Everyone who couldn’t endure the journey from outside to the Murim Alliance on a mission died.’