Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Purple Sky Pill
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Mount Hua Sect Elder Jayang stroked his white beard and chuckled as he watched the results of the spar between Jinwoo and So Hye-yeon.
“Heh heh heh, the Sword Pavilion’s swords are sharp as silk threads. If they hadn’t run into us Mount Hua folk, they might’ve fared even better.”
The elders of the Nine Great Sects’ faces stiffened slightly at his transparent words.
“But Jinwoo saved face for the Nine Great Sects, didn’t he? Half of the Final Four are ours.”
The Nine Great Sects’ plans had already crumbled.
Their scheme to flaunt their power and crush the Five Great Clans had devolved into mere face-saving, a truly pathetic outcome.
This was no longer a competition for the championship.
Forget vying for first place—most had already been eliminated in the preliminaries and main rounds.
The elders of the Nine Great Sects, who had posted the worst results, couldn’t be pleased with the other sects’ advances.
Even if it was a cousin buying land, their stomachs still ached—how could they bear to watch rival sects succeed?
Especially Jongbaek of the Jongnam Sect, eternal rivals to Mount Hua—his expression was rotting away.
He ground his teeth.
“With one of the Final Four being that Namgung Clan lad, are you really okay with that?”
Elder Jayang, who had been chuckling, calmly stroked his beard.
“What do you mean?”
“That kid Namgung-hyuk has impressive skills. I wonder if Jinwoo can handle him…”
“Heh heh heh heh!”
Elder Jayang suddenly burst into laughter.
Jongbaek narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
‘Has this old Daoist lost his mind?’
After laughing for a good while, he spoke.
“I know he’s no pushover, but that’s no reason to worry, is it?”
“…”
“Heh heh, that Namgung Clan boy’s sword lacks elegance. No philosophy, no conviction—just how could such a sword reach our Mount Hua blades? The loser’s the one in trouble, wouldn’t you say?”
At those words, Heo-won of the Wudang Sect and the others flushed red as if their faces might explode.
The elders trembled with rage, glaring murderously at Elder Jayang.
They were all sects that had been harshly defeated by the Namgung-hyuk and Namgung-ryong brothers.
Elder Cheonun of the Azure Cloud Sect chimed in.
“Elder Jayang is right. The Namgung Clan’s swords lack the Dao, don’t they?”
“Heh heh! Indeed, Elder Cheonun, you get it.”
“Of course. How could we not know?”
“There are those who don’t, though. Heh heh.”
Baekjong ground his teeth in fury.
‘Those damned long-nosed bastards…’
Words unfit even for fellow Daoists flooded his mind.
Amid the quaking elders of the Nine Great Sects, only Elder Jayang and Elder Cheonun laughed uproariously.
* * *
Ha-baek, the head physician of the Righteous Heaven Alliance’s medical ward, clicked his tongue as he examined So Hye-yeon’s condition.
“How do they fight in these spars that every patient comes in looking like this? A few days ago, some Daoist showed up with all his teeth knocked out. They’re not really trying to beat people to death…”
Sparring tournaments were for testing martial arts, not leaving people half-dead.
“Whew, this tournament is really…”
He wondered if there had ever been this many serious injuries in a sparring tournament’s history.
Sparring inherently produced big and small injuries, but this time, the patients’ conditions were especially dire.
The Wudang Sacred something-or-other had come in covered in blood, the Jeomchang Daoist from a few days ago had lost a bunch of teeth and suffered internal injuries…
“Martial artists, honestly.”
Grumbling, Ha-baek examined So Hye-yeon’s body.
‘Hmm! Internal injuries… Was this really done with wooden swords?’
He’d thought it was similar to the Wudang Daoist from days ago, but peering inside, it was completely different.
Unlike the Wudang Daoist, whose injuries were all external, So Hye-yeon had internal damage too.
The severity was incomparable to external wounds—without luck, she might suffer for years.
“What the…”
Ha-baek took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.
His grumbling eyes turned serious.
He carefully drew out acupuncture needles and began tapping them into So Hye-yeon’s body.
Treating the internal injuries came first.
Ha-baek’s hands moved slowly and steadily, inserting needles into her body.
Just as beads of sweat began forming on his forehead…
“Left side, that acupoint too. Two inches deep would be good.”
“Oh, right! Here as well…”
“Yeah, exactly. One half-inch to the right too. This time, deep—deep enough you wonder if it’s okay.”
“Hmm! Isn’t that spot a bit dangerous…?”
“Nah, it’s fine. She can circulate her qi. Doesn’t the Righteous Heaven Alliance physician know that?”
“Of course I do. But in her current state…”
Huh?
Ha-baek turned his head abruptly mid-reply.
Right beside him stood a skinny young man in black martial robes, arms crossed, leaning slightly as he eyed So Hye-yeon.
Even in his fluster, Ha-baek kept his needle hand steady and asked.
“…Wh-who are you?”
The black-robed youth, Namgung-hyuk, glanced at him and jerked his chin.
“What’re you doing? Keep needling.”
“…No, who are you!”
“Doc. Gonna block the patient’s meridians? Pull that one out if you’ve placed it.”
“…!”
“What.”
“…”
“Why?”
Namgung-hyuk stared blankly, making Ha-baek flinch.
‘Who’s this crazy bastard?’
A total stranger.
Face like he couldn’t be past twenty-something, with a bored, irritated vibe.
Slouched posture, almost thuggish.
But more than that…
‘He’s speaking informally?’
To me?
The seasoned head physician of the Righteous Heaven Alliance’s medical ward?
Where’d this guy come from?
What does he know to backseat drive?
If you know so much, do it yourself!
He looked around for someone to answer, but everyone was busy with their tasks.
Ha-baek scowled.
“…If you’re a guardian, wait over there. If not, get lost before I kick you out!”
“Hey, meridians! Meridians! Qi’s flowing. Wanna cripple the kid?”
He’d tried to intimidate, but it didn’t faze him.
Namgung-hyuk grabbed Ha-baek’s hand and yanked.
“Hup!”
“Needle first.”
“Wh-what is this?!”
“Let go.”
As Namgung-hyuk’s eyes darkened, Ha-baek flinched.
A gaze utterly different from his earlier frivolous air.
Pushing aside his questions, Ha-baek refocused with serious eyes, seeking acupoints and inserting needles.
In an instant, over a hundred needles dotted So Hye-yeon’s body.
“Whew!”
Wiping the beaded sweat, Ha-baek straightened his bent back.
“Huh, you’re pretty good with needles?”
“No, young hero! I’m the head physician of the Righteous Heaven Alliance’s medical ward! Of course I am!”
“You look young to be head physician already?”
“Won’t say it’s not rude, but I dedicated myself to medicine early… But why the informal speech since earlier!”
Had he oiled his tongue?
‘Why do I keep getting reeled in by this kid?’
He, nearing thirty, felt strangely deferential to this barely-twenty youth.
Namgung-hyuk grinned and waved it off.
“So, how’s her condition?”
“…The internal injuries are worse than the external. I’ve stabilized her qi and blood for now, and I’ll prescribe decoctions to treat the internals. Still, she’ll suffer for a while.”
“Good work.”
“It’s what a physician does… Why the informal speech again?”
“Whatever.”
No, you’re the problem, punk!
But Namgung-hyuk paid no mind to Ha-baek’s crumpled expression.
He pointed to Namgung-ryong sitting in a corner of the medical ward.
“Check my brother over there. All the docs are busy, huh?”
“Huh?”
“That tall, lanky one…”
“Hmm, quite stately.”
“Yeah, stately. Hurry and check him. He’s got some internal injuries.”
“Martial artists are all so impatient… Always ending up with internals, tsk tsk!”
Clicking his tongue, Ha-baek dashed toward Namgung-ryong.
His grumbling voice belied how his eyes lit up at the word “patient” and he bolted over…
‘Born physician.’
Namgung-hyuk let out a hollow chuckle, then glanced aside.
“Tenacious, huh.”
Namgung-hyuk lightly pressed So Hye-yeon’s hand.
Qi from the Creation Heaven Bright King Art flowed from his fingertips into her palm.
Peace settled on So Hye-yeon’s pain-twisted face.
Namgung-hyuk muttered.
“Weakness just packaged as tenacity. Same as always, back then and now.”
He withdrew the Creation Heaven Bright King Art qi from his fingertips.
A flush bloomed on So Hye-yeon’s pale face.
Namgung-hyuk let out a low “hmph,” exhaling softly.
“…”
After staring briefly at the lotus-shaped sword at So Hye-yeon’s waist, Namgung-hyuk turned away.
Ha-baek was carefully taking Namgung-ryong’s pulse with a grave expression.
Namgung-hyuk approached and asked.
“All done?”
“I’ll prescribe some special medicine—take it one hour after a meal.”
“It’s done, right?”
“Done…”
Snap.
Namgung-ryong grabbed Ha-baek’s wrist.
Ha-baek flinched, and Namgung-ryong shook his head ever so slightly.
“…?”
“…”
“…Y-you’re breaking a cold sweat… Are you okay?”
Namgung-ryong shook his head.
Ha-baek’s eyes slowly shifted sideways.
“Uh…”
“Heh heh, bro’s scheming again?”
“…”
Namgung-hyuk grinned.
He reached out and grabbed Namgung-ryong by the nape.
Namgung-ryong’s stoic pupils quivered.
“Spare…”
“Who’s killing you? I’ll adjust it right.”
“…If I die?”
“Tsk! Not satisfied with rolling? Wanna play go with the King of Hell?”
“…”
Namgung-ryong meekly yielded his nape to Namgung-hyuk.
Drag, drag…
Namgung-hyuk dragged Namgung-ryong away.
Ha-baek stared blankly at his hand. Red fingerprints marked his wrist clearly.
“Heh…”
Who the hell was that guy to make such a refined youth tremble like that?
‘…No idea.’
Stuck in the medical ward, he had no clue about that face.
They weren’t even in proper Namgung Clan uniforms, after all.
“Weird…”
Among the martial artists he’d met in the Righteous Heaven Alliance, this was the strangest, most eccentric.
“Definitely not from a righteous sect.”
No way such a guy was from the upright factions!
Ha-baek chuckled dryly and turned back to So Hye-yeon.
To check her pulse now that her qi had stabilized.
As he took her pulse, his eyes widened round.
“Huh?”
What?
“The internal injuries… are gone?”
They’d clearly been severe enough to cause suffering even with medicine.
For them to vanish in an instant—it was astonishing.
In his physician career, he’d never seen such a case.
He wondered if he’d misdiagnosed the internals.
But that couldn’t be.
‘Then?’
Ha-baek’s gaze turned to the door.
He spotted Namgung-hyuk’s receding figure far off.
‘…That guy?’
There were ways to heal internal injuries, but recovering them in the blink of an eye was rare.
Swallowing a spirit pill and circulating qi, or a third party aiding with true qi infusion…
None were easy.
To aid qi circulation for an unconscious patient—what level of inner power was that?
No ordinary cultivator would even attempt it.
“He looked barely twenty…”
Ha-baek groaned inwardly.
His demeanor was flippant—no, downright hoodlumish—but Namgung-hyuk’s inner power was clearly extraordinary.
The jianghu was said to be full of hidden masters, and this youth under twenty had reached such heights!
‘Who the hell is he?’
Ha-baek’s doubts only grew.
* * *
“Elder, you called for me?”
Jinwoo cautiously eyed Elder Jayang.
“Come sit.”
Elder Jayang called Jinwoo over in a solemn tone and had him sit.
Jinwoo looked at him puzzled.
But he held back his questions, waiting for the sect elder to speak first.
After a brief pause, Elder Jayang held out a wooden box.
Jinwoo eyed it curiously.
“Open it.”
“…Yes.”
Click!
As the box opened, a thick plum blossom scent filled the room.
Jinwoo stared in shock at the purple elixir atop the box.
“Th-this is?”
Elder Jayang nodded.
“It’s the Purple Sky Pill.”
“…!”
“Our headquarters has bet everything on you for this tournament.”
“Th-this precious thing…”
Only nine remained on Mount Hua.
Their sect’s supreme spirit pill.
One of the top ten elixirs in the jianghu for its effects—Jinwoo’s chest swelled at the thought of receiving it.
“You must win, uphold our sect’s honor, and claim the Publicly Graded Oil.”
“Yes, Elder!”
“Consume it and assume the lotus position. I’ll aid your qi circulation.”
“Yes!”
Jinwoo immediately swallowed the Purple Sky Pill and sat in lotus position.
As he breathed, purple qi flowed from his nose and mouth, undulating.
Elder Jayang regulated his breathing and placed his hands on Jinwoo’s waist.
Vast inner power arose, aiding Jinwoo’s qi circulation.
‘With the Purple Sky Pill consumed, we’re safe now.’
Even as sweat poured down, a faint smile tugged at Elder Jayang’s lips.