Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Chapter 32: Intensive Training Week (4)
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Thinking about it, it was only natural.
There was no other faction that could secretly harbor such a terrifying supreme expert.
Gon Ya-pyeong, who had once brushed against a fragment of the Fallen Heaven Society, felt cold sweat trickling down his back.
"...What business do you have with me?"
"You shouldn't have to ask. You knew that if you rejected our society's offer, a death envoy would come for you."
Whoosh.
The flames dancing on the man's palm blazed brighter, scattering pure white light as if manifesting his rage.
"Did you think you could steal our society's goods and just run away?"
"Wait! There's some misunderstanding here!"
"Misunderstanding? A misunderstanding, huh. Well, I dream of perfection."
Whoosh!
"Urk!"
The moment he stumbled back from the erupting flames, Gon Ya-pyeong realized he was trapped within a wall of fire.
"If there's a flaw, I just burn it away."
It was hot. He couldn't breathe.
The air, heated to scorching levels, seared his lungs and organs with every breath.
Hoooong.
He tried to counter with his Iron Skin technique, but it was no easy feat.
"So, what'll it be? Hand over the item and turn into charcoal comfortably? Or stubbornly resist and watch your limbs burn away in agony?"
Either way was fine, so just give him an answer.
Gon Ya-pyeong gritted his teeth against the intense pressure.
Sizzle.
'Escape is impossible. I'll die like this.'
The Heat Wave Palm was so powerful that even his Iron Skin, which could block ordinary sword qi, was burning away.
In this state, floating away with Flight Step seemed impossible.
Driven to his limit, Gon Ya-pyeong began to beg.
"S-Spare me!"
"Where is our society's spirit pill?"
"Th-That..."
"Your answer is too slow. I'll assume you chose the agonizing burn."
Fsssh.
As the flames intensified further, Gon Ya-pyeong finally confessed.
"I don't have it! I don't have it anymore."
"What nonsense is that? We were told we handed it over to you. Do you take our society for fools?"
"It's true that someone from your group came to me and handed over a few pills."
But.
Gon Ya-pyeong continued weakly.
"My hideout collapsed, and everything was buried. While I was being chased by the Murim Alliance."
Even after explaining his circumstances, all he got back was a cold retort.
"You're more useless than I thought."
Contempt layered over the killing intent.
Gon Ya-pyeong's heart sank as he hurriedly shouted.
"W-Wait! I'll do whatever you want!"
"Hmph. We wouldn't entrust anything to a fool who can't even keep hold of his own goods."
"I'm a master thief! This time was just bad luck, but there's nothing under heaven I can't steal."
The man replied crookedly.
"You don't look the part."
Unable to bear the ongoing scornful gaze, Gon Ya-pyeong had no choice but to reveal his trump card.
'Urk. I went through so much trouble to get this.'
But there was no other way to beg for his life.
In the end, Gon Ya-pyeong pulled out a small bundle of thread from deep within his robes.
"What's that?"
"Invisible Thread."
"...Hoh. Invisible Thread?"
For the first time, an expression appeared on the man's face.
"...Getting this is what took all my effort. I didn't even have time to seriously consider your offer."
"It's genuine Invisible Thread. Even I've never seen the real thing before. It's not something you acquire easily."
Fortunately for Gon Ya-pyeong, the flames surrounding him began to weaken.
"If you can steal Invisible Thread, you're not entirely useless."
The man said.
"Fine. I'll trust you once."
"R-Really?"
"But we can't just let someone who ran away once go free."
Soon, the man pulled a small wooden box from his sleeve and tossed it over.
Gon Ya-pyeong picked up the box rolling at his feet and opened it. Inside was a sinister dark-red pill.
"Eat it. Then I'll spare you."
"Wh-What is this?"
"Gu poison."
Gon Ya-pyeong gritted his teeth at the man's answer.
'Gu poison.'
Gu poison was a special parasitic venom bred in the Heavenly Mountains. Hundreds of these parasites were placed in a jar and fed small amounts of poison. They fought each other viciously for food, cannibalizing their kin until only the most venomous male and female remained. A spiritual seal was then placed on them to create gu poison.
This pair was spiritually linked; if one died, the other would rampage, killing the host as well.
'If I don't obey orders, they'll detonate the gu poison and kill me.'
This was basically a declaration that they could kill him anytime.
'A mistake! To think they could even produce gu poison.'
It was so rare and difficult to obtain or create that few even knew of its existence.
"This isn't ordinary gu poison."
"What do you mean it's not ordinary?"
"Do you think something made with our society's special secret arts would be common?"
The man continued in a subtly confident tone.
"This gu poison helps you surpass human limits."
Gon Ya-pyeong's eyes widened.
"You mean..."
"The limits humans can reach through effort alone. A shortcut beyond peak realm, old thief."
A shortcut past the wall of peak realm into superhuman realm.
Since so few ever crossed it—earning it the name Wailing Wall—surpassing peak realm would be...
Gon Ya-pyeong's gaze flew wide in shock.
"What do you say? Will you accept the offer?"
Unbeknownst to himself, Gon Ya-pyeong's jaw trembled faintly.
So he didn't hear it.
- There will be some minor side effects, though.
The man's sinister mutter.
After Gon Ya-pyeong left.
A red-robed figure dropped down beside the man, who stood with hands behind his back gazing over the cliff.
"I greet the Eighth Apostle."
The one who plummeted from the air prostrated fully, forehead to the ground.
Even receiving the courtesy of an Extreme Realm master, the man didn't twitch.
He merely gazed at the distant clouds gathering and scattering.
Only after a long while did he speak.
"Have you found the Awakening Stone?"
"We have."
"Tch."
The man clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Meddlers show up when it's almost done. Now it's a hassle."
"My apologies. We didn't expect the Murim Alliance to have pinned down Zhangshan Hall."
"Guess they're not to be taken lightly. The Beggars' Sect's noses are sharper than expected, huh?"
Anyway.
"What of the other apostles?"
"They say they've built a new altar."
"Tell them to make this one bigger and more secretive."
No repeats of this incident.
"Of course, before that."
The man smirked.
"This apostle will awaken first, though."
Whoosh.
Heat rippled as the man's form vanished from the cliff.
Peace had returned to the marsh.
Life was as idle as ever, matching Wang Wu's temperament.
Visitors were few and always quick, rarely lingering.
The 'popular mock training ground' Jegal Tan mentioned had long transformed into a 'special training ground only for the privileged elite' thanks to Wang Wu's involvement.
That was why he could leisurely fish like this from midday.
"It's nice being idle, but boring."
With his debut in the jianghu imminent, even the assistants rarely came now.
"They said they had preparations to make."
They dashed off whispering about some 'secret'. No idea what that's about.
'Annoying pests gone is nice, though.'
Even Wang Wu, who usually loitered around with some excuse, was absent.
- I'll be busy for a while.
When asked why, it was something Beggars' Sect-related.
As they left one by one.
Splash!
Days began of fishing all day long.
"Master Mu Yeon-seong shouldn't have let that guy go."
Chu Un-hwi sighed, staring at his empty hook.
If Mu Yeon-seong were here, there'd be no blank catches like this.
"Sneaky fish bastard. Just you wait!"
After venting by hurling stones splash splash into the water, Chu Un-hwi reached into his bait basket again.
"What? It's all gone?"
Today's fish were especially rude, snatching bait and fleeing.
"Tch."
Grumbling, Chu Un-hwi stood up.
"Guess the bait's the problem."
He acknowledged the earthworm bed was well-made.
Dug earth covered with fine silt from the marsh, topped with precious Sichuan moss, and even shaded.
Perfect conditions for earthworms, no doubt.
"They've grown too comfy, breeding lazy worms without grit."
No spirit. No spirit at all.
Muttering to himself, Chu Un-hwi glared beyond the marsh.
"Maybe switch to wild earthworms raised rough in the marsh?"
A solid idea. Without delay, he headed into the marsh.
He always thought so, but the mock training ground's size was insanely vast.
A massive marsh in prime Murim Alliance territory.
"Well, keeps things from getting dull."
An area that would take ordinary folk all day to traverse was already fully mapped by Chu Un-hwi.
His lightfoot skill skipped over land, puddles, or swamps effortlessly, reaching the innermost depths quickly.
"Tough earthworms come from wild ones raised in swamps. Yeah, that's it."
As he muttered to himself, he sensed faint energy ahead.
"Huh? Someone else here?"
Occasionally, people wandered in lost or snuck in out of curiosity without permission.
No one should come this deep into the marsh even if lost.
"Must be sneaking in."
He'd guide the lost ones out politely, but intruders got dunked in the swamps repeatedly.
"Even two of them? Jackpot."
The worst were pairs sneaking in for secret trysts.
He understood seeking hidden spots since men and women rarely met, but...
Unfortunately, the marsh had a lonely marriageable-age demon beast.
"Dump them in the swamp five times each, nice and cozy."
Nah, bad mood today—maybe a dozen times?
Dunk the girl first and gauge the guy's reaction. Or vice versa.
Both sound fun.
As he schemed darkly and approached the rude intruders.
"Eh?"
Chu Un-hwi spotted someone waving at him.
A familiar face.
"Instructor."
Actually, familiar faces.
"Didn't expect you all the way out here."
One clueless loudmouth.
And.
"Hello."
A pale-faced woman with sharp eyes.
Unfazed by his approach, she set down the Manchurian centipede she'd been fiddling with and spoke.
"First time meeting like this."
A faint butterfly ornament stood out against her light-colored hair.
'Why is she here?'
As his gaze wavered, the woman placed a hand on her chest and said.
"I'm Tang Ae-hui of the Sacheon Tang Clan."
Bound by old grudges in the past.
"I've heard much about Temporary Instructor Chu Un-hwi."
A comrade who survived to the bloody end.
The Poison Butterfly of Sacheon Tang Clan greeted him lightly in her youthful form.