Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Treasures of the Secret Armory
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Namgung Hyeok leaped into the newly revealed space.
The secret armory was packed with debris, but Namgung Hyeok paid it no mind.
His eyes flashed as he swung his pickaxe toward where the armory's treasures lay.
"Hyah!"
The pickaxe swept away the piled-up rubble in one go.
Once the debris cleared, a new space opened up inside.
Amid the mix of dirt mounds and stalactite fragments, the items once hidden in the armory protruded jaggedly.
Namgung Hyeok's lips twitched.
"Heh, heh heh heh."
A thrill shot through his crown as he gazed upon these colossal relics that had leaped across a full Jiazi cycle of years.
"Uahahaahaha!"
It was a shiver far beyond what he'd felt seeing Shaolin's long-lost pavilion or the Demonic Path's secret archives.
How could one even compare those trifles to the colossal secret armory before his eyes!
How much hell had he endured digging for this armory!
That suffering was indescribably immense.
Climbing over the Hebei Peng family's walls multiple times a day with his wretched body was no simple task.
Memories flashed like a lantern show: enduring Hebei's biting winds to dig at Heaven-Sky Mountain.
Having endured that agony and countless twists of fate to finally reach this place, the overwhelming emotion and ecstasy were beyond imagination.
"Kuhahaha! Found it, I found it! Uahaha!"
He felt like he could ascend to immortality right then!
Namgung Hyeok's laughter echoed thunderously through the armory.
Namgung Ryong, who had followed him in, flinched.
The sight of Namgung Hyeok throwing his head back in raucous guffaws felt utterly alien.
What on earth could make him laugh like that?
Geon Cheon-hwi, arriving behind him, stared blankly at Namgung Hyeok's back.
"……Young master?"
"Kuhahaha!"
"Young master?"
"Uahaha!"
"……"
Whatever it was, one thing was clear: no more digging.
From the moment they'd started tearing up Heaven-Sky Mountain's foothills, he'd wondered when this madness would end. Finally, it had.
Namgung Hyeok's wild cackles gradually subsided.
"Huuuuh!"
Exhaling deeply, he gazed at the armory's treasures with a still-flushed face.
Geon Cheon-hwi narrowed his eyes at the objects buried in one corner.
"……Is this what you've been searching for all this time?"
"See it?"
"Yes, clear as day."
"Then what are you staring at? Dig 'em out quick. Get to it!"
Namgung Hyeok chuckled and charged toward the treasures.
"Pill Refining Arts, Pill Refining Arts!"
Geon Cheon-hwi's jaw dropped at Namgung Hyeok humming a tune while dreaming of his rewards.
What the hell was this stuff to make Namgung Hyeok so giddy?
Bewildered, Geon Cheon-hwi joined him in the armory space.
Thud thud thud thud!
Namgung Hyeok's hands moved busily.
He swiftly cleared the stalactite debris and dirt from the items.
Geon Cheon-hwi, Namgung Ryong, and the Thunder Dragon Squad all rushed in to shovel away the mounds.
Their hands dug frantically, but their eyes stayed fixed on Namgung Hyeok.
What the heck was this all about?
Clatter clatter!
Geon Cheon-hwi let out a hollow laugh at the weapons embedded in the dirt.
"……These are swords?"
He groaned at the chipped blades caked in thick rust.
Couldn't even melt these down for scrap.
"Huh? What's this?"
He chuckled dryly at the snapped green staff.
So grimy from use, no beggar would touch it.
The Thunder Dragon Squad sighed from various spots as they unearthed more.
Realizing all this suffering was for junk like this left them hollow.
Yet doubt crept in: would Namgung Hyeok really go through hell for trash like this?
"Books this time."
They'd stuffed every manner of junk in here.
Weapons on top, scriptures underneath?
Geon Cheon-hwi chuckled, then stared at the book's cover.
Moldy and yellowed, yet the title stood out clearly.
"Purple Dawn Divine Art?"
……Where'd he heard that name before?
Purple Dawn Divine Art.
Purple Dawn……
Huh?
And what's that below?
"Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, huh."
Unbelievable.
Lost in the war against the Demonic Path—Purple Dawn Divine Art and Plum Blossom Swordsmanship popping up here?
Purple Dawn Divine Art? Plum Blossom Swordsmanship?
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes trembled and widened as he muttered blankly at them.
"Y-Y-Young m-m-master! H-H-Here's Purple Dawn Divine Art and Pl-Plum Blossom Swordsmanship! H-Huh?!"
What in the world?!
Why are these here?!
"H-How did you know they were here? D-Did you target these……?"
Geon Cheon-hwi turned to Namgung Hyeok and froze.
Namgung Hyeok stared wide-eyed at the book in Geon Cheon-hwi's hands.
His face full of bewilderment, he gaped.
"Huh? Why's Plum Blossom Swordsmanship here?"
"……Pardon?"
"Why's that showing up here?"
"B-But you knew……"
"How would I know? Did Mount Hua go mad?"
You didn't know?
Geon Cheon-hwi stared blankly at Namgung Hyeok.
If not Mount Hua's arts, what was he after?
Then, Namgung Ryong, who had been digging vigorously beside Namgung Hyeok, snapped his head up.
In his hand was another yellowed book.
[Two Forms Divine Art.]
Namgung Ryong looked at Namgung Hyeok with sparkling eyes.
This must be it, right?
Namgung Hyeok's mouth fell open again.
"Why's Two Forms Divine Art here too?"
Did Wudang lose it too?
No, this wasn't madness.
This was the Righteous Alliance's outpost.
What did it mean for Mount Hua and Wudang's divine arts to be in the colossal one's armory?
Namgung Hyeok's eyes gleamed as he yanked a buried scripture from the dirt.
[Blade King Chronicles.]
Blade King Chronicles.
The alliance's Blade King was only one man.
"Huh."
Peng Tian.
Peng Yeonhwa's alliance leader had left his mark here!
Namgung Hyeok's gaze shifted to the rusted weapons on the floor.
The Blade King's sword, the Beggars' Sect's sacred Emerald Jade Staff……
These were unmistakably the alliance's relics.
"……Talk about a windfall."
And not just any—it was a jackpot.
The alliance members were all top figures from their sects back then.
Their possessions couldn't be ordinary.
Just Purple Dawn Divine Art, Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, Two Forms Divine Art—these alone would cause a stir if released into the martial world.
"No wonder the armory was ridiculously huge."
When the alliance braced for total war, they'd buried their manuals here with the colossal one's aid.
That explained how they'd dug such a massive armory mid-war.
Blue flames blazed in Namgung Hyeok's eyes.
"The Pill Refining Arts secrets are definitely down here too."
No time to get distracted by alliance goodies.
They were a bonus gift; above all, the colossal one's secrets came first.
Digging vigorously, his hand hit something heavy.
His eyes lit up as he gripped carefully.
Clunk!
Namgung Hyeok yanked out the object with force.
A rosewood box emerged from the dirt like a radish.
Thud!
His gaze wavered lightly at the box hitting the ground heavily.
This was it.
Who but the colossal one would bury a rosewood box underground!
Excitement pounded in his chest.
Click!
The moment Namgung Hyeok opened the lid.
Whoosh!
A rich, clear fragrance filled the musty armory.
"Eh?!"
"Sniff sniff! What's this?"
"Young master?"
The Thunder Dragon Squad gathered around Namgung Hyeok, entranced by the unfamiliar, heavenly scent.
Ignoring them, Namgung Hyeok's eyes locked on the box's contents.
A single book inside the rosewood.
The colossal one's cursed scrawl adorned the title.
[Zen.]
Namgung Hyeok scanned the Grand Monk's pill refining secret manual with trembling eyes.
Its condition was pristine, as if made yesterday.
Buried for ages, yet no decay or smudged characters.
Just the Grand Monk's awful handwriting filling the pages densely.
The pill refining arts he'd devoted his life to were detailed exhaustively, like a tight net.
Explanations simple enough for a three-year-old, complete with illustrations.
At the book's end, a short letter.
*I hope the one reading this is a Shaolin brother. If not, may the reader be benevolent. This belongs to Shaolin, left for Shaolin, for Shaolin's sake……*
Right. I'm no Shaolin brother, but I am benevolent.
So I'll use it first and return it later.
Much later.
*……Think of this as Buddha's will. Reader, I leave my final insights on pill refining—please use it for Shaolin……*
Yes, good intentions. Good ones, heh heh.
Namgung Hyeok gazed down at the rosewood box with a soft smile.
The piercing, profound aroma.
Familiar from old memories, yet thicker and deeper than before.
He felt the box's inner lining.
Clunk.
The double bottom opened, revealing a neatly placed golden elixir.
Radiant.
No—its brilliance defied mere words.
Thumb-sized, inscribed with "Zen" in the center, the Grand Monk's elixir gleamed as if carved from pure gold.
An immense fragrance emanated from it.
Even the Great Returning Pill he'd once received paled before this golden elixir.
The Grand Monk's pill refining had clearly reached perfection.
*……Thus, I leave this Golden Zen Pill.*
Namgung Hyeok's eyes snapped wide as he mulled the name Golden Zen Pill.
"Huh?"
Roll roll……
Another golden pill rolled from the box's inner compartment, bumping the Golden Zen Pill.
Namgung Hyeok gawked at the cluster of elixirs beside it.
Various sizes, but all unmistakably from the Grand Monk's hand.
From the thumb-sized one to lumps as big as large potatoes.
Failures from the Golden Zen Pill production.
Kept as references, these "failures" still outclassed most elixirs.
Thirteen in total.
"Talk about a packed gift box."
Namgung Hyeok's lips quivered.
"Heh, heh heh heh heh!"
The Thunder Dragon Squad around him flinched at his sinister chuckle.
Undeterred, his grin widened, laughter growing louder.
Namgung Hyeok finally burst into guffaws.
"Puhahaha! Good deeds do bring blessings!"
"……Pardon?"
"Yeah, this is more like it!"
"Y-Young master?"
Clutching the box, Namgung Hyeok roared with laughter.
"Kuhahaha!"
Examining the Golden Zen Pill amid his mania, he noted the note: smaller ones had greater potency.
The near-perfect one, thumb-sized, surpassed the Great Returning Pill.
Namgung Hyeok sorted the elixirs swiftly.
Four near-perfect.
The other nine failures held no use for him.
He glanced back.
*……Yeah, they suffered too.*
He picked the best failure and offered it to Namgung Ryong, standing awkwardly aside.
"Eat it."
Namgung Ryong's pupils flickered blue as the whole pill filled his hand.
……As expected of my brother.
Just the scent eased his fatigue.
Namgung Ryong quietly accepted the Golden Zen Pill.
Namgung Hyeok turned.
The Thunder Dragon Squad had been staring holes through him.
They too sensed the Golden Zen Pill's extraordinary nature from the fragrance.
"……Slurp."
Tak Hyeok-dong wiped drool and cleared his throat awkwardly.
Namgung Hyeok narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, right, you lot."
Yeah, they'd burned energy digging too.
*……Can't just toss 'em since it'd make me feel guilty eating alone.*
Lowest-grade Golden Zen Pills gave him pause, but whatever.
He handed eight lowest-grade ones to Geon Cheon-hwi.
"Divide 'em up yourselves."
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes bulged.
Eat these?
Elixirs?
Even he, no expert, knew these were exceptional.
Just the scent cleared fatigue and sharpened the mind—hardly ordinary.
"……For real?"
"You lived getting scammed or what?"
"N-No, but……"
"Then don't eat."
Geon Cheon-hwi leaped as Namgung Hyeok waved toward Tak Hyeok-dong.
"I-I'll distribute fairly! Evenly!"
"Do what you want."
"……B-But can we split the elixirs?"
"Better than the ones I ate."
Geon Cheon-hwi gaped, eyes shining.
Gulping, he sidled to the Thunder Dragon Squad.
They watched him like fledglings awaiting food, eyes sparkling.
After heated discussion, they headed to a corner.
Namgung Hyeok, who had tossed them scraps, eyed the premium Golden Zen Pill.
Heh heh.
*Heh heh, time to try one?*
The moment he'd awaited.
Licking his lips, he opened wide.
Lick!
It melted on his tongue, vanishing smoothly.
Namgung Hyeok sat cross-legged.
Namgung Ryong stood guard beside him; the Thunder Dragon Squad hotly debated dividing the pills in the corner.
Outside the armory, dawn was breaking.
The Hebei Peng family's banquet had vanished utterly from their minds.