Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: crow
Chapter 20: Hastening
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Moyong Rim's level of martial prowess was that of a Peak Realm expert.
However, what he was most confident in was not his martial arts, but his political maneuvering.
He was the type who schemed meticulously and was always ready to mercilessly sink his teeth into an opponent's weakness the moment he spotted it.
But.
Faced with the hostility pouring from a Transformation Realm master who had devoted himself solely to martial arts without building any faction, Moyong Rim's mind went blank.
"W-Why are you suddenly persecuting me like this?"
"Everyone said my illness was incurable. Yet only the White-Clothed Physician saved me when I was on the brink of death. Do you still think he lacks the skill?"
The surroundings fell silent.
He had received a death sentence.
Everyone could imagine the Demon Subduing Division Leader's state of mind and came to understand his feelings.
At the very least, they knew not to disparage Baek Yuseong in his presence.
"I-I'm sorry, Demon Subduing Division Leader. I spoke out of turn. I had no intention of insulting Physician Baek Yuseong."
Once Moyong Rim apologized, the Demon Subduing Division Leader's gaze turned to Jegal Yeongyeong.
"Chief Strategist, are all the rumors Elder Moyong mentioned true?"
"Absolutely not. They're groundless rumors. The reason I visit Physician Baek Yuseong periodically is purely for treatment."
"That's good enough. Elder Moyong Rim, do not speak such nonsense again. This is your final warning."
"Y-Yes, understood."
A person who is usually quiet but explodes with power exactly when needed is the most terrifying.
In an instant, Moyong Rim lost the weapon he had prepared to attack Jegal Yeongyeong.
Seeing Moyong Rim tuck tail, Jegal Yeongyeong thought amid her headache.
'Good for you. Maybe I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight?'
***
At the same time.
Perched on a rock beside the Shaolin Temple's preparatory herb garden, Yuseong picked at his ear and grumbled.
"My ear itches. Someone must be badmouthing me... No matter how I look at it, Jo Physician is the prime suspect. Isn't that too much? It's all self-inflicted karma, yet he's trying to blame me and sabotage me."
Though his intentions included recovering his martial arts, Yuseong felt wronged.
He had treated a patient he could heal, and when Jo Physician threw a tantrum claiming it was his patient first, Yuseong had pushed back a bit—and now the man held a grudge.
Of course, the one hiring people to dig into his background might not be Jo Physician.
Still, he didn't like the man who picked fights at every turn.
'It'll be fine while I'm here, but once I go out, I'll have to stay on high alert. If he's sending assassins, I won't even be able to relax in the bathroom or sleep properly. No, better to set a trap while I have the chance.'
There's the eternal truth that striking first ensures victory.
No matter what he pondered inwardly, Yuseong mechanically applied the Haste skill to the Fire Spirit Herb every set interval.
It was a grind he was familiar with from his low-rank priest days, when he repeated it endlessly to cover the temple's expenses.
He looked around, confirmed no one was nearby, and his hand glowed with golden light.
Shrr-
The Fire Spirit Herb grew again.
By the trend, it seemed he could barely meet the deadline.
***
At the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader's request, a meeting was convened with the Shaolin Temple Abbot and elders.
"What is it, Pill Refining Pavilion Leader?"
In response to Jeonghae Abbot's question, the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader spoke with slightly excited voice.
"Abbot, I've found a way to salvage part of the efficacy from the Great Returning Pill currently under refinement!"
"Is that true?"
Though the report was directed at Jeonghae Abbot, a nearby elder was quicker to ask in surprise.
The Shaolin Temple elders were all senior brothers to one another, and with Jeonghae Abbot not being authoritarian, such a meeting culture was possible.
"I've completed experiments with the minute amounts of materials left from making the Great Returning Pill, so it's certain."
"Then what portion of the efficacy can we recover?"
"Don't be surprised. A full three-tenths!"
The elders exclaimed as the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader proudly held up three fingers.
"Three-tenths!"
"Incredible! How could such an astonishing result come about!"
"Does that mean we could gain twenty years of internal energy?"
The Fire Spirit Herb needed to be added tomorrow, yet there was still no news.
The chance of the Fire Spirit Herb, which they hadn't found for months, suddenly sprouting from the ground was extremely low.
By now, the elders all had a gut feeling.
This Great Returning Pill refinement would end in failure.
Amid that, the news that they could salvage even a portion of the efficacy without discarding the failed pill naturally excited all the elders.
They wouldn't have to let thirty years of effort go to waste!
The Pill Refining Pavilion Leader puffed out his chest.
"It's nothing special. Since there's no history of Great Returning Pill failures, no one thought of it, but this junior monk found the method."
Even as he spoke in a way that seemed boastful yet not, the elders praised the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader's achievement.
Jeonghae Abbot spoke.
"Truly an outstanding accomplishment. No one else would have discovered it without you, Pill Refining Pavilion Leader. But how do we obtain that partial efficacy?"
"That's why I've called this meeting. We must halt the Great Returning Pill refinement today and apply the method I've found. Please permit it, Abbot."
Once more, the elders chimed in eagerly.
"Then we must stop it immediately. Isn't that obvious? Securing the Fire Spirit Herb is too late. Even other herbs are scarce these days, making it extremely unlikely."
"Indeed. My cultivation must be lacking, but after being thrown to the bottom once, I've realized even three-tenths is truly grateful. This must be another trial from Buddha to teach us."
Now all eyes turned to Jeonghae Abbot.
Shaolin Temple did not decide by majority vote.
Jeonghae Abbot closed his eyes gently.
'Is it really possible? What should I do... Amitabha...'
There were reasons for his anguish.
In the past, Jeonghae Abbot had been arrogant.
He had assumed this Great Returning Pill refinement would succeed without fail.
In truth, since they had always refined it the same way, everyone at Shaolin Temple was arrogant—but was he not the abbot of this era?
He could not escape responsibility.
Yet he could not simply despair over failure.
Humans learn from failure.
So what if it's not perfect? He had to lay the foundation for future generations.
Thus, yesterday he had gone to inspect the newly prepared herb garden.
A site for directly cultivating the herbs needed for Great Returning Pill refinement, still just tilled soil for now.
Compared to herbs blooming naturally in rugged mountains, their efficacy might be slightly lesser, but if herbs couldn't be obtained in time, substitutes could be used.
And there, Jeonghae Abbot spotted Yuseong doing something.
'Isn't that Lay Disciple Baek? What is he doing?'
It was from afar, but no different from close range to a Peak Realm expert. Jeonghae Abbot spotted the Fire Spirit Herb planted alone in the middle of the herb garden.
'Did he plant the Fire Spirit Herb we gave him to honor Elder Chosan's spirit? What a unique person.'
He seemed to have some bond with Elder Chosan, so it must be his way of commemorating him.
It didn't seem like anything bad, so as he turned to leave—
Yuseong's hand glowed golden?
Jeonghae Abbot was startled.
'No warning at all, yet Lay Disciple Baek has martial arts enough to fool my eyes? And that's sword energy!'
Sword energy, usable only by Fusion Realm experts at least.
And manifesting it bare-handed without a sword—hand energy.
Considering Baek Yuseong's young age, it was astonishing.
But.
Jeonghae Abbot soon realized no energy emanated from the golden light from Baek Yuseong's hand.
'It doesn't seem like martial arts, yet it's wondrous. Could Physician Baek be from that place?'
Calming his inner turmoil in an instant, Jeonghae Abbot was about to leave without disturbing him, but what happened next shocked him so much his eyes nearly popped out.
Had he not been a Peak Realm expert, he might have lost balance and fallen.
It was that astonishing a sight.
The Fire Spirit Herb suddenly growing!
'Could that be why he asked for the Fire Spirit Herb?'
To sort his complicated thoughts and avoid disturbing Yuseong, Jeonghae Abbot departed—and the next day, attended this meeting at the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader's request.
Now his dilemmas were two.
Whether Yuseong had truly requested the three days to grow the Fire Spirit Herb for the Great Returning Pill refinement.
If so, whether the Fire Spirit Herb grown by Yuseong's mysterious method would cause any issues in making the Great Returning Pill.
'This isn't something I can resolve agonizing alone.'
He opened his eyes to find all the elders staring at him.
"Give this junior monk some time. We'll reconvene the meeting this afternoon."
***
After awakening his divinity, Yuseong had continued using the Healing skill.
At the same time, lacking the strength to protect himself, Yuseong had tried his utmost to hide the existence of his divine power.
The dilemma of accumulating divine power through miracle-like healing effects while concealing his identity.
Fortunately, fooling those ignorant of medicine was not difficult.
There was no one eager to gut the goose that laid golden eggs anyway.
For trauma patients, heal internals with Healing skill but leave external wounds; avert eyes and use Healing skill to avoid showing real-time recovery.
All were tricks born from such dilemmas.
Thus, Yuseong found the current situation deeply disconcerting.
"Lay Disciple Baek, this is important, so please be honest. Just what method did you use to make the Fire Spirit Herb grow? Your hand glowed golden—was it related? And does the Fire Spirit Herb grown that way retain full efficacy?"
Yuseong's gaze turned to the Fire Spirit Herb planted in the middle of the herb garden.
It had noticeably grown since Jeonghae Abbot had seen it.
Jeonghae Abbot, who had peeked inside the wooden box, couldn't fail to recognize it.
The problem was getting caught before fully growing it to the target size.
All the excuses he had prepared to spin after full growth were now useless.
'Troublesome. Caught in the middle.'
Seeing his expression, Jeonghae Abbot hurriedly apologized.
"Ah, forgive me. Truth be told, I visited the herb garden yesterday and happened to see you, Lay Disciple Baek. I left without disturbing you, but circumstances force me to ask."
Jeonghae Abbot frankly revealed the method he had heard from the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader.
To seek voluntary cooperation, honesty was key.
Having heard the full story, Yuseong sighed inwardly.
'As expected, without martial arts, it's inconvenient in many ways. I was so vigilant, yet I didn't notice a murim expert of his realm watching.'
The fortunate part was Jeonghae Abbot's extremely favorable attitude.
Had it been someone with ill intent, the reaction would have been different.
Resolving to be more cautious using divine power, Yuseong spoke.
"The growing method is my personal secret technique, so I ask for your understanding in not disclosing it."
"Of course, I understand. Then allow me a few questions. Does the lay disciple have any connection to the mysterious Mosan Sect, by chance?"
Jeonghae Abbot had likely guessed it was Mosan Sect's divine arts from the sight of the golden light and the herb growing.
It made evasion without lying easier.
"I have ties to the Mosan Sect."
"As I thought!"
Seeing the satisfaction on his face, it seemed he had convinced himself.
Now, Yuseong just needed to tell him what he wanted to hear.
"As you may have guessed, I stayed here to grow the Fire Spirit Herb by tomorrow. No need to worry about efficacy. It should be at least as potent, if not more."
In all his Virtual Fantasy Real Mode experience so far, outcomes had never deviated.
This time would be the same.
Though it was his first time using divine power-grown herbs for pill refinement, it might even yield better results.
Jeonghae Abbot grasped Yuseong's hand.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
Divine power surged.
If just this much for now—what if he succeeded in growing the Fire Spirit Herb and provided crucial aid to the Great Returning Pill refinement? How much more divine power would come?
'This is exciting.'