Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Radiant Ascension Path
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< Chapter 199 > 199. Radiant Ascension Path
199. Radiant Ascension Path
I never imagined Seong Do-chun would show up at the cave.
'Rumors said he was holed up in the elixir garden, not stepping out... guess they were wrong.'
Seong Do-chun must have been wandering the area every night, leading his spirit hound.
Finding this cave was either coincidence, the hound sniffing the lingering elixir scent, or catching the men's blood smell. Plenty of possibilities.
'What matters is he's here.'
I tensed my body. I couldn't let Ryu Yang-mi be taken by the likes of Seong Do-chun. I had to kill him here, using everything at my disposal.
"So it was you bastards! The ones who poisoned the well and stole the herbs and elixirs!"
The two men in sedge hats split to either side at Seong Do-chun's killing intent, spreading out into combat stances.
His suspicion was reasonable. The men's attire—sedge hats and dark clothes—hid their identities. Anyone would find them suspicious.
On top of that, the sedge hat men had been trying to rape the fallen woman. To any onlooker, they were clearly the villains.
"Stole elixirs? You're mistaken. We're not involved in whatever you're talking about. Leave. We don't want to fight you."
The sedge hat man with the back wound—the one called Boss—spoke up.
All the men, Seong Do-chun included, were at the Five Qi stage. But the sedge hat men weren't in top shape. If they fought, Seong Do-chun had the edge.
'Target Seong Do-chun. Kill him.'
"Grrrrrr."
The spirit hound beside Seong Do-chun bared its teeth and growled. The sedge hat men flinched.
"Lies! I'll capture you and interrogate you to learn your purpose and identity!"
Seong Do-chun looked like rage had overtaken him. Surviving poison and losing all his elixirs—naturally, he'd be furious. Even if he was directing it at the wrong people.
"Boss. That guy's... same Five Qi stage as us."
"Yeah. Can't underestimate him. And... he's seen us, so we have to kill him here."
"Damn it. Nothing's going right!"
The sedge hat men began circulating their qi.
Seong Do-chun didn't stand idle. He glared at them with bulging eyes, igniting his own qi.
"With that kind of power, you must've undone the elixir garden's poison and stolen the elixirs! Don't expect an easy death!"
Seong Do-chun, the spirit hound, and the sedge hat men clashed. Surprisingly, the hound fought well too. Bluish energy gathered on its forepaws.
'What the fuck. The mutt's using sword qi?'
I never thought I'd envy a damn dog.
Clang! Kaang! Kang! Chaeing!
The clash of swords filled the cave. They fought ferociously using qi strong enough to slice steel effortlessly.
Oddly, amid the fierce battle, not a ripple reached Ryu Yang-mi. As if by mutual agreement, they avoided touching her.
I saw through their intentions immediately.
'Yang-mi's the spoils of war.'
Ryu Yang-mi had a face and figure that could harden any man just by looking. And now she lay completely defenseless, unconscious. Unless one was a saint free of lust, desire would surge.
'Dream on, you greedy bastards. Yang-mi's mine!'
I watched for an opening, timing my intervention.
Illusioner's remaining time: about two minutes. I had to ambush Seong Do-chun within that.
"Urgh...! Die here, you say...!"
The sedge hat boss uttered a tragic last word and collapsed. The spirit hound pounced, tearing into his neck. Perfect kill confirmation.
"Damn it all!"
Seong Do-chun swiftly grabbed the hound's tail and yanked it back. He'd planned to capture and interrogate them alive, but it was too late. They were long dead.
"Hah... huff...!"
The lone one-armed man panted heavily, eyeing Seong Do-chun warily.
Seong Do-chun wasn't unscathed either. Cuts and tears bled across his body, soaking the floor. His thigh wound was especially bad—limping, barely mobile.
"W-wait! Hold on! You're misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?!"
"We're not thieves! We didn't poison the well or steal elixirs!"
"This is a spirit hound. It smelled the elixirs from here. Still denying it? Interrogation will tell if it's a misunderstanding."
"We were just chasing this woman!"
Seong Do-chun's gaze shifted to Ryu Yang-mi. He swallowed hard at her beautiful face and form.
"......That woman's up for interrogation too!"
"You know who she is and still say that?"
"We'll find out her identity through interrogation..."
"The Blood Flower of Hegemon Blood Castle! Ryu Yang-mi—that's her!"
"Hegemon Blood Castle...?!"
Seong Do-chun faltered.
Hegemon Blood Castle dwarfed Meteor Sword Sect. If they wanted, they could erase it overnight.
"Y-you expect me to believe that?"
"Can't believe it even after seeing her face?!"
"......"
Seong Do-chun glanced at Ryu Yang-mi and nodded.
"......Without you, no one would know."
Lust for her beauty had made him decide to kill the one-armed man.
"Damn it!"
Reading the mood, the one-armed man hurled his sedge hat at Seong Do-chun. It expanded like a wall, blocking his view. Seong Do-chun swung, but it bounced off.
"A magic tool! Hound, get him!"
"Grrrrrr!"
The spirit hound bit the one-armed man's right ankle.
"Aaaagh! You fucking mutt!"
The one-armed man toppled. He kicked at the hound.
"Kiiing..."
The hound flew back.
The one-armed man rose to flee the cave, but Seong Do-chun thrust his sword into his chest.
"I'll take the woman—you deliver my regards to Yama in the afterlife!"
"Y-you'll regret this...!"
"Regret? Heh... stupid nonsense... ugh...!"
Puuk.
In a flash, I closed in and plunged the Fire Lotus Sword into Seong Do-chun's back. He spat blood and turned.
"An-another one...!"
Seong Do-chun didn't recognize me. He rarely left the elixir garden, never crossing paths—not even at the initiation ceremony.
"First time meeting. Heard a lot about you. Elixir Garden Master. I'm Sung Yu-jin, newly joined Meteor Unit."
"Sung Yu-jin?! The sect master's son! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Seong Do-chun gripped his sword reverse to swing at me.
I twisted the blade in his back, blocking his counter.
"Grrrrgh!"
"Kekeke. How was the poison in the well?"
"...What!?"
"Elixir Garden Master. Your elixirs were delicious. Kekeke."
"You bastard! You were the thief!"
I gripped the Fire Lotus Sword and dragged it downward.
"I'll toss your head to my father, so die in peace."
"Aaaah! You heaven-defying traitor...!"
Hot blood sprayed. I withdrew the sword and severed the dead sedge hat man's head and Seong Do-chun's. Perfect confirmation—no repeats of past mistakes.
"Grrrrrr."
The spirit hound growled at me.
"Oh. Mutt. You were still around."
As I raised my sword into stance, the hound charged. Sensing I was weaker, as befits a spirit beast.
'This dog's at least Out志 stage. But realm isn't everything in battle.'
The hound was wounded from earlier; I was fine.
The hound lunged, claws gleaming blue.
'Instant.'
I sidestepped the attack and swung. Its tough hide prevented a deep cut, but it didn't matter.
'Thunderbolt.'
Bzzzt!
Dozens of crimson lightning bolts erupted from the blade, devouring the hound. The red lightning scorched its hide, burrowed inside, and wrecked its internals. Reaching the brain, it sealed its fate.
"Kyaang."
The hound collapsed. I decapitated it for good measure.
"Hoo..."
I glanced at Ryu Yang-mi lying aside and muttered.
"Miss. Rest easy. I've slain all the villains. No— not the time. I'll dispose of these bodies first. Hygiene is paramount for patients..."
Disposal was simple. Stuffed the corpses into boxes and into inventory. Later, dump the sedge hat men's bodies in some distant mountain, and toss Seong Do-chun's and the hound's heads at the Punishment Hall.
'Meteor Sword Sect will be in chaos, but I won't even be a suspect.'
Seong Do-chun was Five Qi stage. No way an Entry Form like me gets blamed.
'Punishment Hall will suspect outsiders. Or elders. Elders will suspect Punishment Hall—they never got along.'
Just suspicions, though. They couldn't act— no evidence, and stabilizing the sect came first.
I disinfected the cave thoroughly, then approached Ryu Yang-mi. She lay panting roughly, drenched in sweat.
"Miss. I'll administer emergency treatment. I'll have to remove your clothes unavoidably... but it's for healing."
I swallowed hard and stripped off her sweat-soaked red garments, leaving only the underwear covering her privates.
Beautiful.
Stunning enough to blank the mind.
Her F-cup breasts bore enticing pink nipples; her abdomen was flawless, no excess fat. Though a sword wound marred her side. Untreated, it'd fester and worsen.
"Serious wound. But no need to worry, miss. I have top-tier medicine from another world."
I pulled a potion from inventory. One pre-enhanced with Radiant Ascension Path. Poured it on her side—the wound healed instantly.
Over 1 billion won for top-grade recovery potion? Worth every penny.
'Fucking a woman like this for 1 billion? A steal.'
I left her internal injuries alone. Not life-threatening, and full recovery now would wake her—trouble.
I wiped the blood from her body with clean cloth, admiring her. Zero flaws.
"......Miss. Your underwear's soaked with sweat. Looks uncomfortable—I'll remove it."
As if entranced, I grasped and slid down her underwear.
Lush black pubic hair emerged. Beneath, tight pink folds. Pubic hair? Expected—this world skimped on grooming. At least armpits got waxed.
...Though older women often skipped that too. Seong Ji-gon claimed it turned him on anyway.
"...Hmm. Miss. Your pussy smells a bit strong."
Poisoned, fighting and fleeing for days—no proper wash.
I understood Ryu Yang-mi. Or rather, her beauty made me understand.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it."
I activated auto-camera first. Then used warm water and clean cloth to wipe her body.
Hands, feet, lifted her firm thighs, spread her cheeks slightly to clean even her anus.
"Much cleaner now. But..."
I grabbed a fistful of her thick pubic hair, rubbing.
"This much hair... not hygienic. Better to shave it off. Okay?"
Stared at her face. Eyes closed, just heavy breathing.
"No objection? Permission granted."
I fetched shaving tools from inventory and razed every hair.
Admired the now smooth, bald pussy and nodded.
"Pussy's clean now. No need for thanks. Next..."