Chapter 4
Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Let's Not Lose an Arm (4)
Do Mun-hyang scooped Mun Yoo into her arms and headed straight for the infirmary on Sea Severing Peak.
As a Direct Disciple of Sea Severing Peak and already at the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, Do Mun-hyang was also the personal disciple of the peak's elder, Geum So-ryeo. Leveraging that authority, she secured the best spot in the infirmary and laid Mun Yoo down there.
Mun Yoo's condition was dire.
He had taken a devastating blow while completely defenseless, his mind focused solely on attack. Fatal enough on its own, but Yong Yoo's spell was utterly unbelievable for something cast by a Refining Qi Realm third layer cultivator.
'The energy I sensed was definitely Refining Qi Realm third layer. So how did it produce power like that?'
As she flew, Do Mun-hyang's mind cooled, and she analyzed the anomaly with a calm expression.
The Blazing Palm Seal was a basic spell that simply expelled fire-attributed spiritual energy or spiritual power strongly through the palms or soles—something anyone with a fire spiritual root could master in a single day of dedicated practice.
Yet Yong Yoo's version had incinerated a range of ten zhang (about thirty meters) in one go, and that wasn't even the end of it—it had left Mun Yoo, who was at the fourth layer of Refining Qi, a charred wreck.
If not for that strange energy he'd been cultivating over the past ten months, he might have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
'If Yong Yoo breaks through to Foundation Establishment and refines his spiritual energy into spiritual power, that means he could incinerate a hundred zhang in one shot. How is that even possible?'
As one could tell from her becoming a personal disciple of an elder at the first layer of Foundation Establishment, Do Mun-hyang was a genius.
She possessed a single-element spiritual root of pure water affinity, and her aptitude for cultivation matched it perfectly, allowing her to reach the first layer of Foundation Establishment at the remarkably young age of twenty-one.
Even back in the Refining Qi Realm, she had learned numerous spells, but none could match the power Yong Yoo had unleashed.
"Disciple, what happened?"
At that moment, a gentle voice came from behind Do Mun-hyang.
Startled, she turned to see a beautiful woman in silvery-blue robes.
"Master!"
Do Mun-hyang hurriedly bowed to her master, Geum So-ryeo, who patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"I heard you'd come to the infirmary, so I got worried and came to check. Good thing you're not hurt."
"Thank you for your concern, Master. I'm fine. It's just... my Junior Brother..."
As Do Mun-hyang trailed off, Geum So-ryeo looked at Mun Yoo lying on the bed.
His state was pitiable.
His entire body was scorched bright red, with burned scraps of his robe melted into and clinging to his skin in places. Every hair on him had burned clean off, and the area around his solar plexus—where he'd taken Yong Yoo's Blazing Palm Seal at point-blank range—was deeply caved in, matching the shape of a palm.
If he weren't a cultivator, and if he hadn't cultivated the Dual Fate Scripture, it would have been a lethal wound long ago.
"Hmm. If he's your Junior Brother, then it must be that Mun Yoo boy. Which peak's disciple was bold enough to do this to one of our Sea Severing Peak's outer disciples?"
"Yong Yoo of Present Music Peak."
"Yong Yoo. Yong Yoo, you say. Was there a Foundation Establishment cultivator by that name on Present Music Peak?"
Naturally assuming the culprit was at Foundation Establishment, Geum So-ryeo showed her anger as she spoke, but Do Mun-hyang hurriedly corrected her.
"N-no, not Foundation Establishment. Refining Qi Realm."
"Hm? ...Refining Qi?"
"Yes."
At the revelation that a Refining Qi disciple had done this, Geum So-ryeo tamped down her anger and revealed keen interest instead.
"Tell me the details."
Do Mun-hyang wouldn't dare lie to her sky-like master, so she explained everything she knew: her relationship with Yong Yoo and Mun Yoo, why they'd engaged in the Dao Debate, and the full process and outcome of the debate.
"It's rare to find a child with such talent for Dao Combat... So Yong Yoo became an Inner Disciple thanks to his skill at brewing Spirit Liquor?"
Geum So-ryeo, who adored geniuses, took an immediate liking to Yong Yoo, and though Do Mun-hyang felt uneasy, she answered.
"Y-yes."
"Then the elder of Present Music Peak must not realize Yong Yoo's value yet. I see. Yes."
Geum So-ryeo tapped her lips thoughtfully with a slender finger, then spoke.
"In that case, we should bring that Yong Yoo boy to our peak."
"What?! Master, that's...!"
"A child with exceptional Dao Combat talent is precious. Very precious. Keeping him around will be a great help to you, Mun-hyang."
Geum So-ryeo said as much, then directed her divine sense toward Mun Yoo.
As Mun Yoo's body rapidly healed under Geum So-ryeo's divine sense, Do Mun-hyang's face visibly brightened—but her master paid no heed to her disciple's expression and continued.
"Then, I'll head to Present Music Peak now to transfer Yong Yoo's affiliation to our peak. You go to him first, Mun-hyang, and have a talk."
"Pardon?"
"He's the one you'll be using from now on, so it's best to get acquainted early."
With that, Geum So-ryeo dissolved into mist and vanished. Do Mun-hyang stared blankly at the spot where her master had disappeared, then turned to look at Mun Yoo, squeezed her eyes shut, and pictured Yong Yoo.
She hated Yong Yoo—the man who had done this to Mun Yoo.
She couldn't stand the sight of that cruel bastard who had swung his spells with no mercy, dead set on killing.
She wasn't confident she could hold back her anger if she saw him again.
But Geum So-ryeo was a master who, for all her love of geniuses, despised any disciple acting arrogant enough to defy her word—and Do Mun-hyang couldn't dream of disobeying such a master.
In the end, she had no choice but to leave Mun Yoo's side and go search for Yong Yoo.
I'm screwed.
Completely screwed.
I was supposed to just protect my arm and lose. That way, the protagonist could vent his grudge and forget all about me cleanly.
Instead of barely escaping with my arm intact and losing, I knocked him down in one shot right in front of Do Mun-hyang.
Do Mun-hyang is a heroine who appears steadily from the mid-arc all the way to the latter half, and she's the one Mun Yoo has harbored feelings for since the story's start...
And I made him look utterly pathetic and helpless in front of her? Against a guy who just stole his fortuitous encounter and was about to start a new life?
'No good. This grudge... he'll never forget it. With Mun Yoo's narrow-minded nature, he'll stew on it forever and come for revenge the moment he gets strong.'
In that case... I just need to fight him again and get utterly crushed. Force him to get his revenge and give him that satisfying payoff—wouldn't that dissolve the grudge?
"Is that even possible?"
I'm still at Refining Qi third layer plus one, while Mun Yoo's at fourth layer now.
Mun Yoo will grow at a terrifying pace from here, catch the eye of genius-lover Geum So-ryeo, get all the sect's support, snag various fortuitous encounters, and go on a meteoric rise.
'Stealing his fortuitous encounters myself... no way. I'm retiring later anyway—if I take cultivation methods or items from them, it'll just attract annoying cultivators.'
If possible, the best was to clash again as soon as Mun Yoo recovered and get thoroughly thrashed.
'Mun Yoo's patient by nature only because he's weak right now. He often nearly threw his merit force and karmic force out of balance by tormenting enemies or ignoring Do Mun-hyang's warnings, so he's hot-headed with short-sighted thinking. Provoke him right, and he'll bite. Yeah.'
Having sorted my thoughts, I felt a glimmer of hope amid the mess and took a swig of liquor.
I needed to build up a bit more cultivation to take the beating with less pain. The novel described getting hit by karmic force as soul-tearing agony.
'If I deepen my Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art even a little, it'll weaken the karmic force's power and hurt less.'
I resumed cultivation like that, when suddenly I recalled the Dao Debate with Mun Yoo.
The hot energy surging up fiercely from deep within my body. The auspicious energy that softly enveloped and guided it.
And the astonishing result when those two energies burst from my palm...
The most powerful weapon I'd ever handled in life was a grenade back in the military... but the Blazing Palm Seal was way more destructive, and it looked cool to boot.
Honestly, my heart was pounding.
But I know better.
Following this thrill leads to trouble and mistakes.
So I suppressed the excitement as best I could, stubbornly focusing on drinking and cultivation.
How much time passed in focused cultivation?
Suddenly, the formation around my cave abode deactivated, and an outsider entered.
"Who..."
I turned to check the visitor and widened my eyes in shock.
Beautiful black hair like the night sky. Clear, deep eyes like mirrors reflecting the world. A seductive figure draped in beautiful pink robes like a fairy's wing garments.
I'd thought it from the first meeting, but her beauty made sense of why Mun Yoo, despite being able to take a concubine, had waited decades for hers.
She was stunning.
"Junior Sister Do... what brings you all the way here?"
"So you've opened up a cave abode in a place like this."
Do Mun-hyang looked around my cave the moment she entered, then spoke in a prickly tone.
"Well... as you know, my skills are lacking, so I became an Inner Disciple thanks to my talent for brewing Spirit Liquor. A spot like this is more than I could ask for. It's really nice once you settle in."
"......"
Do Mun-hyang listened quietly, then fixed her gaze on one spot.
'What is she looking at?'
Her wandering eyes finally stopped, so I turned curiously—there, in one corner of the cave, was a mountain of books I'd piled up.
"Those are..."
"Books on Spirit Farming Techniques and Spirit Liquor Brewing. Ah, nothing to worry about."
"......"
Do Mun-hyang opened her mouth as if to speak, closed it, and only after a long pause managed to say,
"Mind if I take a look for a moment? Senior Brother Yong."
"Senior Brother? I'm from Present Music Peak, though?"
"In a few days, you'll probably be transferred to Sea Severing Peak."
"Pardon?"
Do Mun-hyang spoke with obvious reluctance, her face resigned as if she had no choice.
"My master learned about the Dao Debate between you and Senior Brother Mun, and she took a deep interest in your Dao Combat talent. She's decided to accept you as an Inner Disciple of Sea Severing Peak. She's discussing it with Elder Gung Kyung-seung of Present Music Peak right now, so in a few days, you'll be a Sea Severing Peak disciple."
She finished explaining briskly, let out a sigh, and added,
"Hoo... So it should be fine for me to call you Senior Brother Yong now."
"......Um."
Seeing Do Mun-hyang look so troubled, I wasn't sure what to say and cautiously offered her the gourd.
"For now... care for a drink?"