Chapter 200: A Statement Unbefitting the Title of National Scholar
On the bed, Yeop Hyeon lay utterly still. Ah Ryeong's hands moved ceaselessly in a flurry of activity, while Cheok Bal-eon watched the scene with unblinking curiosity, her eyes glued to every moment.
Just then, Ah Ryeong's gaze met Cheok Bal-eon's. Cheok Bal-eon flushed slightly, quickly masking it with a nonchalant expression as if she'd witnessed such sights countless times before.
Ah Ryeong pointed to Yeop Hyeon's lower body and said,
"This is a man's most vulnerable spot. If you ever fight a man in the future, strike here, and he'll lose all his fighting power in an instant."
Cheok Bal-eon nodded solemnly, her eyes gleaming with a firm resolve to test it someday.
About half a shichen later, Ah Ryeong suddenly shook off her hands, rose from her seat, and went to one side to wash them. This hand-washing continued for a full half shichen. Throughout it, Ah Ryeong muttered unintelligible words under her breath.
Meanwhile, Cheok Bal-eon kept her curious gaze fixed on Yeop Hyeon's lower body.
Without a word, Yeop Hyeon draped his clothes over it.
Cheok Bal-eon narrowed her eyes.
"Stingy!"
Yeop Hyeon turned his head away delicately. He no longer had the energy to meet the eyes of this childish girl and converse with her.
At that moment, Ah Ryeong returned after finishing her washing and spoke in a cold voice.
"In about one shichen, sensation will return to your wound. Be mindful, as there may be side effects then."
With that curt remark, Ah Ryeong left the room.
"Side effects?"
Yeop Hyeon shot up, shouting.
"Hey, what kind of side effects? Don't just leave—explain it properly!"
Despite his raised voice, Ah Ryeong had already vanished from his sight.
Yeop Hyeon's face darkened in an instant.
Side effects? What kind?
He couldn't help but worry. This was his precious manhood, after all!
Yeop Hyeon found this physician Ah Ryeong utterly untrustworthy.
Just then, Cheok Bal-eon plopped down right in front of him, flashing a sly grin as she dangled a storage ring before his eyes.
"Sword cultivator, guess what's inside this?"
"What is it?"
Cheok Bal-eon's face lit up with excitement as she cried out.
"Thirty million taels of gold! And 2.6 million top-grade spirit stones! Four Heavenly Realm weapons, two Heavenly Realm manuals, Earth Realm weapons too many to count, and—and! Five True Realm spirit artifacts, eleven Mystic Realm ones, and ninety-six top-grade spirit artifacts!"
The corners of Cheok Bal-eon's mouth twitched upward.
"Plus thirteen hundred Jade Realm spirit stones! And more besides…"
Cheok Bal-eon glanced around the empty room before leaning in to whisper in Yeop Hyeon's ear.
"And I hid an Extreme-grade spirit vein in the heaven-earth pouch! Don't tell a soul!"
Extreme-grade spirit vein!
Yeop Hyeon's expression turned deadly serious the moment he heard it.
The most common resource in Qingzhou was gold veins, from which the gold coins circulating across the entire continent were minted. Next in importance were spirit veins. Land with a spirit vein brimmed with spiritual energy, aiding martial artists' cultivation immensely, and beneath them grew spirit stones—a nation's vast wealth.
Spirit veins were classified as Low, Mid, High, Extreme, Jade, Earth, and Heavenly grades.
Legendary Heavenly-grade spirit veins were said to possess consciousness and alter their form at will. Even in Central Divine Continent, they appeared exceedingly rarely.
In Qingzhou, the most valuable discovered had been a Jade-grade one. Jiang Kingdom once held one in Yangjie Mountains, but it had been seized by others.
Thus, spirit veins sparked fierce, life-or-death struggles among factions whenever one surfaced.
An Extreme-grade spirit vein, as Cheok Bal-eon described, was an unimaginable treasure.
Yeop Hyeon pondered briefly before speaking gravely.
"Soyo, that spirit vein means a great deal to me. Hand it over, and I'll yield everything else to you."
Cheok Bal-eon shook her head firmly.
"Fine, you take the spirit vein. We'll split the rest evenly. Our house has plenty of such things anyway, and we wouldn't have gotten them without you."
With that, she handed over half the spoils from Changmok Academy.
Yeop Hyeon's share: twenty million taels of gold, 1.3 million top-grade spirit stones, two Heavenly Realm weapons, one Heavenly Realm manual, eight Earth Realm weapons, and two True Realm spirit artifacts—spears and sabers, regrettably, not swords.
Plus six Mystic Realm artifacts, fifty top-grade ones, and twenty sets of gear from the Black Flame Cavalry.
Yeop Hyeon was now filthy rich. With these alone, he could easily reach the Law Realm and beyond.
Cheok Bal-eon's face bloomed with a radiant smile. Her family wasn't strapped for cash, but amassing such treasures at once was no small feat even for them. Returning home with these, she'd hold her head high.
She had left home because her father often chided her as a money-devouring ghost.
Now, she had enough wealth to avoid asking him for more until she reached the Law Realm.
Cheok Bal-eon basked in her sense of accomplishment.
As the elated Cheok Bal-eon left the room, Yeop Hyeon, alone now, began inspecting his body.
When his Spirit Water Sword shattered against the Left Venerable, leaving him crippled, Yeop Hyeon had gained one realization.
'Does the absence of a sword make one not a sword cultivator?'
The Heavenly Maiden's words had jolted him awake.
Simple on the surface, they hid profound secrets.
Anyone could see she was incomparably strong. Yet without a sword, she was no weaker.
What Yeop Hyeon grasped: when the person is strong, so is the sword. Even a single strand of hair could surpass a Heavenly sword. But if the person is weak, even the world's finest blade posed no threat.
In truth, any Dao cultivated refined the heart.
To comprehend one's heart, follow it, submit to it.
Easy to say, impossibly hard to achieve.
Lying on the bed, Yeop Hyeon shook his head with a sigh. The sword path was far more complex than he'd imagined.
For him now, crafting grand future visions mattered less than taking this one step precisely.
Just then, Yeon Man Ri poked her head in and, seeing Yeop Hyeon on the bed, smiled and approached.
"National Scholar Yeop, feeling better?"
Yeop Hyeon sat up, rubbing his still-numb lower body, and replied.
"Lady Yeon, if you have something to say, come here and speak plainly."
Yeon Man Ri walked over slowly, pulled up a chair, and sat before him. Her posture, hands neatly on her knees, exuded elegance.
She beamed fully and said,
"National Scholar Yeop, how does it feel?"
"Lady Yeon, out with it."
Yeop Hyeon knew the woman before him was no pushover. She smiled brightly now, but she could devour a man bones and all.
At his words, Yeon Man Ri's face hardened.
"National Scholar Yeop, have I done something to earn your suspicion?"
"N-no! That's not…!"
Yeop Hyeon waved his hands.
"Why would I suspect a righteous soul like you, Lady Yeon? I just asked if you had something to say."
Yeon Man Ri chuckled lightly.
"Good, then no time wasted. While you were comatose these two days, Qingzhou has changed drastically. Since the core was damaged, spiritual energy is vanishing across the continent. It's happening so fast some areas are already depleted. Even in your Jiang Kingdom, rumors say several cities have lost theirs, sparking frequent riots."
Yeop Hyeon listened silently.
The core's damage surely stemmed from the Heavenly Maiden's single strike.
Her threat to end the world was no jest.
He shuddered, shaking his head. He'd stopped her thoughtlessly then, but one slip and Qingzhou might have ceased to exist.
Yeon Man Ri rose and approached the bed.
"National Scholar Yeop, Qingzhou is in great turmoil. If this continues, chaos will engulf it. In this time, we hope you'll step forward to save countless lives. On behalf of all living things in Qingzhou, allow me to express our gratitude…"
"W-wait!"
Yeop Hyeon lifted his head, cutting her off.
"When did I promise to save Qingzhou's lives? In a dream?"
Yeon Man Ri blinked.
"So you won't?"
Yeop Hyeon shook his head.
"Lady Yeon, I'm just a Penetrating Nether Realm sword cultivator. Saving the world doesn't make sense for someone like me. Once recovered, I'll quell Jiang Kingdom's chaos, so no need to worry on that score."
Yeon Man Ri fell silent briefly, then returned to her chair. She reached out, and an apple from a nearby table flew into her hand.
She took a bite and said,
"National Scholar Yeop, a statement unbefitting the title!"
"Haha… I'm Jiang Kingdom's National Scholar, not Daeun Empire's. What can I do?"
Yeon Man Ri stared straight into his eyes.
"Qingzhou's in this mess because of you, yet you feel no pang of conscience?"
"Haha… If we pin blame precisely, it's Changmok Academy and the Dark Realm's doing. Why not seek them out, Lady Yeon?"
As Yeon Man Ri opened her mouth to retort, Yeop Hyeon waved her off.
"Lady Yeon, I'm no fool. Don't disappoint me with the same lines."
Yeon Man Ri stood and approached him.
"It's not just Qingzhou in uproar. Riots rage across Qingcang Realm, and reports say Central Divine Continent's mercenaries and factions are flooding here. Why? Plunder!"
She placed her hands on his shoulders, exclaiming excitedly.
"Since they've come this far, we strike back! You and I join forces, crush Central Divine Continent, unify Qingcang Realm! What do you think?"
As Yeop Hyeon opened his mouth to reply, suddenly every vein in his body swelled as if about to burst.
In an instant, his skin turned crimson.
His mind went blank, a vacuum of white, and the scorching heat from his body incinerated his clothes to ash.