Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 14. Instructor from F-Rank Origins (4)
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They moved to a quieter spot.
Lee Soo-chan had something he wanted to say first, tied to his memories of Kang San.
"I'm truly sorry about that time. I shouldn't have overstepped with those words—I acted like I was someone important."
It had come from a good place, in his mind.
He'd spoken out of pity for the fate of F-Ranks, but as the years passed, he'd realized it was presumptuous regardless of Kang San's eventual success. There might be exceptions if he'd known how Kang San had lived, but for a stranger to casually comment on another's life out of so-called concern was irresponsible.
Kang San responded calmly.
"Do you know what people said to me as they passed by during all those raids I survived?"
"...Something as foolish as what I said?"
"It varied. Some offered advice about my future just like you, others hurled vicious insults. 'What's the point of dragging out a sewer-rat life like yours?' The one that sticks with me most was a kid—thirteen years old. He'd awakened as a C-Rank at birth and treated me like a slave, spouting off about how we were born different. You still see him on TV sometimes, that promising prodigy the world fawns over, still looking down on everyone."
Their eyes met.
Lee Soo-chan.
He was a good man.
Advice came in types.
The kind meant to show off, or the kind born from genuine worry.
At least Lee Soo-chan fell into the latter.
"I know you meant it out of concern for me. And do you remember your last words?"
Their final memories differed.
Lee Soo-chan just felt guilt over his overreach, but that's not how it had ended for Kang San.
"'If you're going to try, then make it happen. I don't want to see someone like you give up pointlessly like the rest.' Luckily, I didn't quit. Unlike most F-Ranks who crumbled, I got results—and now here we are, meeting again. You and me both, doing well. That's a relief."
He smiled.
Lee Soo-chan's heart melted.
It really was.
Only then could he smile back.
"Yeah. It really is."
The lecture ended.
Kang San visited a familiar place after a long time.
It was a columbarium.
Ironically, in this changed world, it was one of the most thriving businesses.
Even in the heart of the city, prime real estate was dedicated to them—people craved spaces to mourn those who'd departed. The one Kang San visited was far from downtown, though. Money was tight, and with so many to inter, he'd chosen the affordable option.
[C-18]
It was peaceful.
Kang San gazed at the lowest shelf.
Even in this budget columbarium, the cheapest bottom tier held familiar names. Familiar, but not deeply connected. Like with Lee Soo-chan, they were fleeting encounters, but he'd taken them in one by one upon learning they had no family to mourn them.
'I could have ended up like this too.'
His previous life.
It had been wretched.
Back then, he hadn't known his misfortune stemmed from his past life, and every desperate struggle ended in disaster. It felt like the world rejected him. Yet he'd pressed on stubbornly because he was alive. Born into this world as Kang San, he clung to the faint hope that his life could change someday.
Funny, thinking back.
He'd only been able to strive without knowing the cause. Now that he knew, hope drove him forward.
Countless raids.
Countless crises.
As an F-Rank Arrow Sponge enduring every trial, Kang San had witnessed comrades—temporary allies—die endlessly. Poison for some, heads severed by monsters for others, hearts ripped out by claws. His emotions had worn thin. After each raid, for those without family, he'd cremate and inter them himself.
He knew their names.
Just from party formations, but it was how he found solace in his miserable life.
This C-18.
Every urn in the cheapest bottom row here had been placed by Kang San. And not just here—C-19, C-20 too. Knowing the periodic fees, he'd still managed it despite his circumstances. It brought him peace. If he hadn't saved Kim Chun-sik, one of those spots might hold his name.
Thorough preparation.
It was only natural.
How could he live carelessly after witnessing so many deaths—so many pathetic ends?
"...You all said lives like ours held no hope. But that wasn't true. Sure, I got a lucky break, but I wouldn't have grown like this on luck alone. Our time wasn't meaningless."
The C-Rank exam.
And this lecture.
Proof that trials weren't his only weapon.
Kang San had advanced because his past efforts met rewards—not just by handouts. Meeting someone like Lee Soo-chan stirred memories of his pathetic Arrow Sponge days, drawing him back to this columbarium. In the silent hush, like time frozen, he sank into his own world.
"I won't yield to trials like I did before. I'll prove I'm different from my past life..."
Ping-.
Then it hit.
A sudden dizzy spell.
His vision spun, then blacked out.
And then.
"Disciple. You're heading into the martial world now."
A new scene unfolded.
Seasons passed many times over.
One day, the old man approached.
"Disciple. You're heading into the martial world now."
"Isn't it too early?"
As the man had said.
He hadn't achieved Great Completion in the Blood Demon Art.
He clearly hadn't met the old man's criteria, yet the old man suddenly declared his debut into the jianghu.
"True, you're not ready. At your level, you'd be hunted down by even one of the Nine Great Sects, let alone the Great Blood Tribulation. But to master the Blood Demon Art perfectly, you need a kill when unprepared. Rip out the heart of someone stronger, drink their blood—that's how you awaken the true art. Can you do it?"
No hesitation.
From the moment he'd accepted the Blood Demon Art, the man knew he had to do anything for its completion.
"I will."
Days later.
He entered the jianghu.
His target: Nangong Baek, the Clear Bright Sword renowned in Anhui.
Rumored just and righteous, with a fair character that won the people's hearts. Plus peak-level skill. An opponent the man could never beat head-on. And cruelly, the old man gave him ten days, even sending a warning note promising a fatal strike within that time.
This was bad.
Slim odds even in open combat, and assassination options were scarce.
The old man had said:
"Fail this, and I'll deem you lacking and discard you without mercy."
A dead end.
No room for scruples.
The man headed somewhere.
It was festival night, the world ablaze with light despite the hour. Anhui overflowed with revelers. Even the Nangong Clan's daughter followed suit. Despite warnings not to leave, Nangong Soso slipped out with escorts, unknown to her father.
He kidnapped her.
Then quietly sent a note to Nangong Baek.
Come alone to the specified place.
Bring others, and you'll never see your daughter alive.
Nangong Baek was formidable.
He came alone.
Radiating dignity, he faced the man with fury.
"I kept my promise. Now release Soso."
"Guh... guh."
Right before him.
Nangong Soso.
Bound limbs, mouth gagged, her eyes trembled with fear at her father.
The promise had to be kept. If the man could beat Nangong Baek, if he weren't some self-righteous righteous faction type.
Stab.
Spuuurt!
"You bastard!"
He thrust his sword through her throat.
Nangong Soso's eyes bulged as she clutched her neck and collapsed.
Nangong Baek exploded in rage.
His peak aura burst as he stamped the ground, unleashing the Celestial Vault Endless Sword Art like it would devour the world, ready to sever the man's head. Time slowed. The rage-twisted face, Soso's gurgling moans, blood spraying into the air.
In that instant.
Despair filled Nangong Baek's eyes.
Only then did he notice the anomaly.
His unstable aura flow faltered, the raging energy suddenly dissipating.
"...Qi Dispersing Poison?"
It had been wrong from the start.
This man before him.
Had no intention of sparing his daughter.
He'd even timed the poison release for when grief shattered his reason.
The man grinned twistedly.
"You shouldn't have come alone."
That day.
The Nangong father and daughter were found as cold corpses.
Nangong Baek's final embrace of his daughter drew pity, but the culprit was never caught.
Just another jianghu incident.
Everyone thought so then.
"Argh!"
Kang San clutched his head.
The pounding headache overwhelmed him; he couldn't think straight.
"Ugh... urgh."
Grind.
He gritted his teeth.
It was always like this.
Whenever he vowed to live unrelated to his past life, to walk the right path now, these memories flooded in. You're trash. You're tied to it. Your past wasn't some tragic villain origin—you're an unforgivable fiend who crushed countless lives.
It reversed.
Eyes bulging, veins popping.
An inescapable shackle gripped his ankle.
As guilt whipped him, something appeared in Kang San's blurring vision amid his struggle.
Clack, clack.
An alien sight.
In the distance.
Space warped as someone approached.
Luca Bellino.
She stopped right before him, squatting to meet his eyes with pity.
"You're holding up better than expected."
Different from before.
The stiff tone now carried a strangely soft edge.
"But your karma is too heavy to dissolve with trials like this. You saw it—how many your past self killed. A villain who slew that pitiful father and daughter to get his way. Isn't it strange, though? These so-called trials feel like benefits, letting you dream of a hopeful future."
She glanced at the columbarium.
Her smile deepened.
"That won't do."
She looked back at him.
"Starting from the tenth trial, it'll be different. Not just what you can bear—no, karma that'll crush you flat. Thrash all you want. Your innocence isn't up to your mindset; the trials you endure will decide."
She pushed his forehead.
The world crumbled.
As it shattered like sand, Luca Bellino vanished. When reality reformed, the skull-crushing pain was gone.
Then.
Bzzz.
His phone screamed wildly.
Kang San checked the screen like a man possessed.
There.
[Kim Myung-min]
This name, the last he wanted at this moment, blared insistently for him to answer.
Chapter 70