Chapter 48: Chunbong’s Fierce Battle (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: Chunbong’s Fierce Battle (2)
The Plum Blossom Pill.
The name didn't give much away, but it was undoubtedly a spirit medicine possessing the properties of Extreme Yang.
The moment it touched his tongue, the pill melted smoothly and slid down Seo-jun’s throat.
‘It’s hot.’
It felt as though he had downed a cup of boiling water in a single gulp. The searing heat traced the exact shape of his throat, esophagus, and stomach.
Eyes closed, Seo-jun stirred the internal energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art dwelling in his dantian.
Rumble—!
His internal energy roared to life like a wildfire, racing through his acupoints.
The medicinal efficacy of the Plum Blossom Pill was already surging throughout his body. The Primordial Unity Divine Art chased right after it, greedily devouring any energy that had not yet been dyed in its own color.
The assimilation process was much simpler than expected.
After sweeping through the acupoints across his entire body, the energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art returned to his dantian, having absorbed every last drop of the Plum Blossom Pill’s essence. It thrummed warmly, panting like a puppy begging for praise.
‘Hmm.’
Seo-jun cracked one eye open.
He saw Chun-bong standing guard with an unusually serious expression.
If he opened his eyes right now, she’d probably feel a bit embarrassed.
Closing his eyes again, Seo-jun decided that since he was already at it, he might as well refine his Primordial Unity Divine Art a little further.
‘Plum blossoms.’
He had used the concept reasonably well in his fight against Jong-in, but looking back, it had been nothing more than a crude imitation.
The plum blossoms of Un-jak, which he had only observed briefly, were entirely different.
Those plum blossoms were alive and breathing. They bloomed and withered, flaunting their brilliant vitality.
What was he lacking?
Seo-jun pondered for a moment before quickly giving up.
‘What’s the point of knowing what I lack?’
No matter how many flaws he found, more would just keep popping up.
In his current situation, rather than obsessing over weaknesses, he needed to identify his strengths and maximize them.
And he didn't have to look far to find it.
‘Qi.’
The answer was already decided.
If the Mount Hua Sect perfected the plum blossom through the sword, he would perfect it through Qi.
Thump—
Seo-jun’s lips curled into a smile at the pleasant pulsation.
* * *
It was quite some time later when Seo-jun finally opened his eyes.
The moment he did, Chun-bong scurried over and thrust her face toward him.
"Are you okay? That took longer than usual."
"Huh? Oh... yeah."
Seo-jun chuckled and stood up.
"Is it two days until the tournament resumes?"
"Huh? Oh, right."
"I should probably spend that time training."
Chun-bong followed closely behind Seo-jun, her short steps going pitter-patter as he strolled along.
"So, how is it? Does anything feel different?"
"Different? Well, I guess my internal energy increased?"
"Well, obviously," Chun-bong grumbled.
But it had likely increased far more than she could imagine.
While an ordinary martial artist would have absorbed fifty, or at most seventy percent of the spirit medicine’s energy, he had absorbed a full one hundred percent.
Seo-jun grinned at the grumbling girl.
"Actually, there’s one major gain."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Well, you see..."
Seo-jun leaned down.
Chun-bong held her breath, her eyes sparkling as she leaned her ear in closer.
"What is it?"
"Well, it’s..."
"Yeah?"
"Not gonna tell ya."
"Why, you little—!"
Smack!
* * *
The "gain" wasn't anything particularly complex, though it was highly significant.
The Plum Blossom Pill was the grand prize for the tournament.
The fact that Seo-jun had already consumed it was a massive advantage in itself.
"I’ve got the hang of it. Next time you take one, I’ll show you something incredible."
The Plum Blossom Pill contained Extreme Yang energy.
Since he wouldn't need to use Yin-Yang Reversal to process it for her, he would have much more focus to spare.
This time, Chun-bong’s severed meridians would surely show clear signs of improvement.
Humming a tune, Seo-jun suddenly froze in his tracks.
"Ah, shit."
"Wh-what is it?"
"Wait a second. I didn't think of this."
Chun-bong’s severed meridians being cured? Of course, that was a good thing. Nothing could be better.
But looking at it from another angle... once her meridians were cured, there was a high probability that her chubby cheeks would disappear.
Yes. One of life’s greatest joys would vanish forever.
"What is there left to live for?!"
"...You idiot."
"Hmph."
* * *
Two days passed, and the tournament resumed.
However, they only finished the remaining matches of the Round of 128 that day. The Round of 64 wasn't scheduled until the following day.
In the end, after watching Chun-bong overwhelmingly crush her opponent, Seo-jun had to wait another day for his duel.
The next day.
Having achieved reasonably satisfying results from his training, Seo-jun walked toward the arena, slowly opening and closing his fists.
"They’re all dead meat."
He hummed as he pulled his bamboo hat down low.
The way people had buzzed and pointed when they recognized him at the arena yesterday had been incredibly annoying.
After slipping into the tournament grounds quietly and chatting with Chun-bong, he finally stood up when he heard his number being called: seventy-eight.
"I’ll be back."
"Finish it quickly."
"Roger that."
Seo-jun stepped onto the arena stage and looked around.
It had only been a few days since he had caused that massive scene, yet somehow, nothing seemed to have changed.
He wasn't sure if the Mount Hua Sect was just that impressive, or if this was simply how the Murim operated.
Shaking his head, Seo-jun looked at the opponent who had stepped onto the stage.
The man possessed solid, well-defined muscles, and his primary weapon appeared to be a sword. But for some reason, the look in the man’s eyes was incredibly strange.
"The Mad Starving Wolf...!"
"It’s the Mad Starving Wolf!"
"Kill him!"
The crowd below the stage was in an uproar.
‘There they go again.’
Gwang-a-rang. It meant a "Mad Starving Wolf."
What else was there to say? It was the title the public had attached to him.
‘Who gives a person a title like that…?’
Seo-jun clicked his tongue and rested his hand on his sword hilt.
Catching his gaze, the referee nodded and raised his hand.
"Now then..."
"Wait a moment!" Seo-jun’s opponent suddenly shouted.
The muscular man squeezed his eyes shut as if violently conflicted, then finally slumped his head.
"...I forfeit."
"What?"
Seo-jun’s jaw dropped.
Forfeit?
Then what about his unfulfilled desire for a fight? Was he just supposed to stand down with this pent-up energy?
"No, wait! I don’t kill people that often!"
Well, I do kill them occasionally.
"Eek...!"
His opponent’s face turned deathly pale, and he immediately turned tail and ran off the stage.
The referee and Seo-jun just blinked at each other for a moment before the referee finally cleared his throat and made the announcement.
"Winner, Lee Seo-jun!"
* * *
Were the people of the Murim always this timid?
Following the Round of 64, Seo-jun also won by forfeit in the Round of 32. He walked toward the arena the next day with his shoulders slumped in defeat.
It was finally the Round of 16... but he couldn't help feeling entirely drained.
"This is so annoying..."
"Whoa...!? No you don't, you jerk!"
He hadn't actually planned on doing anything, but a startled Chun-bong proactively surrendered her cheeks to his hands.
Squish, squish.
His frustration melted away in real-time.
"This is the life..."
Suddenly, he felt the urge for a cigarette. This must be the feeling people talked about when they needed a smoke after a good time.
"Surely no one will forfeit today, right?"
"Well, there are only sixteen people left, so the cowards should have been filtered out by now. At the very least, they won't forfeit without even trying to fight."
"Yeah. They better not."
"...Don't you dare do anything weird out there, okay?"
"Heh heh, if you don't want to see blood, quietly hand over those cheeks!"
"Ugh...! Just kill me!"
He arrived at the tournament grounds while sharing meaningless banter with Chun-bong.
As they were chatting and waiting for their turns as usual, a Mount Hua martial artist shouted.
"Number one hundred twenty-five!"
Today, unlike before, it was Chun-bong’s turn before Seo-jun’s.
"Hmm. Go and crush them, Geum Chun-bong."
"Obviously."
"Number thirty-three!"
Chun-bong froze in her tracks.
"What’s wrong? Who’s number thirty-three?"
"...Namgung."
"Oh."
Now that was a big match.
Seo-jun scratched his chin and patted Chun-bong on the head.
"Go wipe the floor with them."
"...Obviously."
Chun-bong walked toward the arena with a grim expression.
Seo-jun scratched his chin as he watched her back.
The sensation of his smooth chin, without a single whisker, felt strangely peculiar today.
‘Will Chun-bong win?’
There was no way to know.
But even if she lost, it wasn't a big deal.
He could just get revenge for her.
The only problem would be if Chun-bong got hurt during the duel.
"Tsk..."
He knew he should hold back, but would he be able to?
He wasn't sure.
* * *
Stepping onto the arena stage, Chun-bong pointlessly adjusted the bamboo hat on her head.
Thump— Thump—
Her heart was racing.
Unlike her previous opponents, this time, her adversary was also from a Great Clan.
Her relatively young age, the restrictions on her martial arts, her uncured severed meridians, and the gap of several years in her training.
She mentally recited her disadvantages to herself, then let out a hollow laugh and brushed them all aside.
Slap, slap!
She slapped her own cheeks hard, and her mind instantly cleared.
‘Lee Seo-jun charges headfirst at Mount Hua elders, so what’s one child of the Namgung Clan?’
Thinking of her "brother," Chun-bong let out a chuckle. Thinking about it again, he really was an absolute madman.
"Is there something pleasant on your mind?"
Namgung Su-ah stood opposite her, cradling a long sword in her arms.
Chun-bong shook her head and rested her hand on her own sword.
"Not really."
"Oh my... Did I perhaps do something wrong?"
"Not really."
"My, it would be nice if you could be even half as friendly to me as you are to that young hero."
Chun-bong tilted her bamboo hat up slightly to look at Namgung Su-ah.
This was a woman she had been running into frequently lately. For reasons she couldn't quite pin down, Chun-bong didn't like her very much.
She didn't like how the woman kept acting so overly friendly, nor did she like how she had sent a secret Voice Transmission to Lee Seo-jun last time.
‘If he knows, I’m going to find out anyway, so why send it to him separately?’
Of course, she knew it was the logical thing to do. If you’re going to talk behind someone’s back while they’re standing right there, you have to use Voice Transmission; you can’t exactly say it out loud.
Especially if that person is an elder of the Mount Hua Sect.
So, in truth, those were all just excuses. She simply didn't like the woman.
If she had to give a real reason... right.
It was instinct.
"Hmph."
"Um... What could it be, I wonder...?"
"Your chest is too big."
"Pardon?"
"Begin!"
At the referee’s signal, Chun-bong drew her sword and charged.
"Die—!"
‘I must have caught something from that idiot Lee Seo-jun.’
That was the thought that suddenly crossed Chun-bong’s mind.