Chapter 42
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Samdocheon is Basically a Survival Flag
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I felt the hand of my kidnapper, gripping me, loosen. It seemed like he was ditching me now that I was useless and gauging his chance to escape.
Seizing the moment, I thrust my sword into his leg with all my strength. To keep him from fleeing, and so that even if he got away now, they could track him down using the mark I'd left.
'Tough bastard. Doesn't even scream after getting stabbed.'
I made a face of disgust at the kidnapper, who only breathed more heavily without making a sound. That meant he was used to pain.
I'd already figured he wasn't your average thug, considering he was trying to kidnap a Mount Hua Sect disciple right in Hwaeum, which was basically the sect's front yard.
Soon, a rough shove sent me crashing to the ground, the dagger still lodged in my side.
Uihyeon's sword came charging at the kidnapper, who was yanking my blade out of his leg to flee. He was clearly aiming to subdue rather than kill, avoiding vital points. At least we'd learn who was behind this. My relief was short-lived.
"Ugh!"
My vision spun. I retched up a gush of black blood from my throat. Every breath brought the fishy tang of iron to my tongue, my throat, my nose.
Looks like the dagger had been coated in poison.
'...He definitely said to dispose of me.'
If the kidnapping failed, kill me on the spot. Got it.
Whichever Black Faction group this was, they'd lost to an enraged Mount Hua Sect right here in Hwaeum—not anywhere else. Fucking Demonic Cult bastards... Wait, Demonic Cult?
'Lately, the Demonic Cult's been acting suspicious...'
Instructor Uijin's words from the Murim Alliance conference echoed faintly in my mind. Kidnapping kids for death matches to train them as Demonic Cultists was a pretty common trope in wuxia.
...So which novel was this again? I'd read at least five with that exact setup.
Ah, whatever. Doesn't matter now. I'm dying anyway.
The poison spread, and my vision blurred.
Whether they'd severed my tendons or not, Uihyeon rushed to me, leaving the writhing kidnapper behind. His anxious calls of my name faded. I vomited black blood once more and let my eyes flutter shut.
I hope Master doesn't grieve too much. And doesn't blame himself for my death.
Who could've imagined a kidnapping attempt in broad daylight on Hwaeum's streets? Not him, not me.
Muttering my last words in my head, I suddenly froze at a stray thought.
'Fuck, if I die like this, won't I trigger the Upright-Demonic Great War?'
Prime Heavenly Lord, I asked to be a slice-of-life protagonist in a family story, not the extra who kicks off the war by dying. Can I complain about this in person when we meet?
* * *
A chill breeze jolted my eyes open, and I stared in confusion at the scene before me.
Gone was the bustling Hwaeum town. Now I stood by a dark, misty riverbank.
I instinctively clutched my side. No wound, no pain—perfectly fine. My bewilderment lasted only a moment before the fog parted, revealing a familiar face that made my eyes widen.
"Whoa, Elder Mujin?"
Elder Mujin, who had ascended several years ago, stood across the water with his hands behind his back.
So this was the legendary Samdocheon?
Stunned for a beat, I slapped my cheeks to ward off any illusions. As long as I didn't cross the river, I could survive.
Rushing to greet a departed soul only to get told to fuck off, see light, and get dragged back—that was the classic Samdocheon cliché, right?
Oh, wait—this meant I had a survival flag. I'm alive! Hooray!
A faint voice rode the wind toward me, rejoicing.
"Come... over here..."
What? Hurry over here? Telling me to cross the Samdocheon? No way. Elder Mujin wouldn't do that.
So either an evil spirit trying to trick me, or I'd misheard.
"What? I can't hear you!"
My shout rang out, answered by a clear, annoyed bark.
"You little punk, don't come over yet! At least become Mount Hua's greatest swordsman first!"
It really was Elder Mujin! I'd butchered the interpretation! Overjoyed, I waved cheerfully—but stayed put, not daring to approach the water in case of tricks.
Elder Mujin remained distant, but his voice was crystal clear.
"If you don't want to fall into qi deviation, keep your wits about you. One slip, and you'll cross the river in an instant."
"Qi deviation? From a stab wound?"
Bewildered, I asked, and he sighed in response.
"It's not the injury. It's the spirit pill you ingested."
Spirit pill...? As I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, darkness swallowed my vision.
The scent of Samdocheon's waters faded from my nose, the cool mist from my skin. Instead, my veins burned like they were filled with boiling water, my body heating up rapidly.
It felt like I'd plunged into a vast ocean. An overwhelming energy surged through my meridians, too much for my body to handle.
I felt my veins bulging across my skin. The poison killing me was devoured by this energy and slowly vanished.
But the problem was, this energy was trying to devour not just the poison—but me too.
"Gah! Hack!"
My breath caught; I gasped and hacked dryly. My vision tinted red.
The energy swallowed the poison and impurities in my body, then burst through several blocked meridians on its own.
My qi and blood were churning. Instinctively, I knew: if I couldn't control this, I'd lose to madness, rampage, and die.
Yes, the fabled qi deviation. It loomed right before me.
I'm gonna die. Every moment I'd joked about qi deviation hit me with regret amid the agony.
Damn it—if I survive this, I'll never even joke about qi deviation again.
I desperately suppressed the energy rising to my crown. If that broke through, I'd really die. Instant qi deviation.
I soothed the rampaging foreign energies inside me as best I could and guided them toward my dantian.
But that was just a crutch. I had to control this energy myself.
"Yeon-ah, hang in there!"
"Keep circulating your qi!"
"Think of sending the energy to your dantian!"
"Don't try to take it all—just absorb what you can handle."
Different voices buzzed in my ears.
On the brink of qi deviation, a montage of my nine short years flashed before me. Gasping at the vivid recent memory of my defeat, I steeled myself.
No way I die with 0 wins, 1 loss against that Namgung Seheon jerk as my final record. Even in death, I need at least one win.
And I'd escaped Samdocheon fair and square—dying to qi deviation would be such bullshit!
Following the voices, I recited my heart method, circulating qi to shove the energy into my dantian bit by bit. After an eternity of torment, my body was soaked in cold sweat.
The raging energy calmed, gathering around my dantian.
Crisis averted—for now. The issue was absorbing this spirit energy as my own inner power...
Absorbing the massive amount at once was impossible. Following the advice, I took in only what I could handle into my dantian.
Leaving my growing inner power and the untapped potential behind, I gasped for breath and snapped my eyes open.
Not the Hwaeum street from my last moments, but the familiar sight of Mount Hua's upper palace infirmary.
Relief that I hadn't died drained the tension from my body.
"...I'm alive."
My cracked whisper was cut off as arms enveloped me fiercely.
My body was a mess of expelled impurities, poison, and cold sweat, but they didn't care, endlessly stroking the back of my drenched head.
"I wanna lie down..."
"Take your medicine first, then rest."
The familiar voice beside me made me turn my head—still hugged by Uihyeon.
"Sect Leader? And Grand Sect Leader Grandpa... Supreme Elder Muyeong?"
Their warm gazes confirmed it: they were the ones whose voices had guided me through the qi circulation, that foreign energy.
Emotion surged, but I squeezed my eyes shut and gulped down the medicine from the bowl at my lips. Bitter as expected.
Once finished, a damp cloth wiped me clean, and I was changed into fresh clothes. Still weak, a light qi circulation revealed my dantian brimming with far more inner power.
Though it was less than half a jia, and the unabsorbed potential was even greater.
Uihyeon hugged me again, tears streaming as he murmured shakily.
"I thought I'd lost you for good... If not for the Jaso Pill..."
"Jaso Pill? You mean *that* Jaso Pill?"
I gaped at the name from his lips.
Mount Hua's signature spirit pill, alongside Shaolin's Great Return Pill and Wudang's Taecheong Pill.
Wasn't that reserved for the elite? Only for those who'd made huge contributions or elevated the sect's name.
And they used it... on a mere third-generation disciple like me?
"Yes. Now train diligently, circulate qi steadily, and make the remaining spirit energy your own."
Grand Sect Leader's confirmation made cold sweat bead on my neck, stiffening it.
No—this means I basically have to cut off the Demonic Cult Leader's head or something.