Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: First, Secure the Opportunity (3)
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At long last, time for the harvest.
"Whoa."
True to its reputation as a place hiding a fateful encounter, night pearls were embedded throughout the cave, illuminating the space.
Those night pearls alone were worth a fortune, but...
I decided not to take them.
Life is precious.
How do night pearls glow without a light source?
According to an article I'd read in my previous life...
They're all powered by radiation.
The moment you grin like an idiot, thinking Jackpot, night pearls! I'm gonna be rich! and tuck one against your chest?
It's like pressing an X-ray machine to your heart and firing it off every 0.1 seconds.
In primitive ancient uncivilized China, getting cancer meant death.
And in some of the fictional works I'd seen, there was even something like dantian cancer.
Just imagining it made my navel area ache.
No way chemo or anything like that exists in this era, right?
The body is fleeting, but the spirit eternal, they say.
But I want to live a long time.
Money's already rotting away at home anyway.
I hurried my steps to escape this radioactive hell as quickly as possible.
At the end of the not-so-long cave...
There was a stone chamber that anyone could tell had been artificially carved.
A firmly shut door without even a handle.
Designed so meticulously that forcing it from outside would cause the whole thing to collapse.
The only clue related to entry was one.
On the stone slab in front of the entrance, the Four Symbols were drawn aligned to east, west, south, and north.
At the center was a cross-shaped groove, with a small dragon carving protruding in the middle.
As for me...
Though I'd only seen the Supreme Under Heaven ending once...
Through countless retries, I'd polished the early-game strategies and tactics to perfection.
And the hidden command to unlock this place's secret was something no gamer could forget.
With rock-solid conviction, I gripped the dragon carving like a joystick and moved it.
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right [↑↑↓↓←→←→].
After completing the simple yet hard-to-guess command for anyone not from the modern era...
Rumble...!
A massive vibration echoed as the stone door slowly began to open.
For a security procedure quite strict by ancient standards...
The interior of the stone chamber was more modest in size than expected.
"Huh."
What was surprising...
Was that it wasn't just made to hide treasures.
Natural spiritual energy was densely gathered—enough for even me to sense it clearly—and there was a perfect spot set up for cross-legged meditation.
A tingling sensation told me meditation here would be on another level entirely.
Since it's rarely frequented, I should memorize the path and use it as a training spot.
An unexpected bonus made a smile tug at my lips.
Yeah.
It worked out fine, but since the wolves tripled the event, the reward should be triple too.
...Come to think of it, there was something like Triple Opportunity Mode, right?
No way it's because of that.
Anyway.
"Whoa..."
The bow I'd been aiming for as the main reward was displayed in one corner.
Plain in appearance, but exuding elegance and dignity so profoundly it felt like a custom weapon made just for me.
No status window meant I couldn't see the exact value—the attack power, bonus stats, all those numbers.
But good is good.
I approached and gripped it by hand.
"Huh?"
A strange sensation hit me.
Without me infusing any qi, it felt like the bow was alive, slowly drawing qi from my body.
But it wasn't unpleasant.
On pure instinct, without even nocking an arrow, I drew the string and released.
For an instant, I felt my internal energy being sucked in with a whoosh.
Shoo—!
With a sharp whoosh, an invisible formless arrow left my fingertips, eventually gouging a mark in the wall before vanishing.
"Whoa, insane..."
An exclamation escaped me naturally.
Jackpot.
Mega jackpot.
It consumed quite a bit of internal energy, sure.
But I, who couldn't even easily emit sword qi...
With this bow, I can fire Magic Arrows?
Worth of the Supreme Under Heaven Archer indeed.
Without this level of item power, it wouldn't deserve the name.
A huge grin spread across my face.
Only then did I notice the small stele beneath the bow.
Reading it...
Roughly, Disciple! If you're reading this... and so on.
Typical fateful encounter explanation text, so I skimmed it...
But spotted something I couldn't overlook.
[...Shatter the stele, and a hidden compartment will appear. Inside is a poison pill crafted by this seat's beloved. It possesses poison qi so potent that only one at the Flower Realm or above can control it, but handed down through the Tang Family's secrets...]
Poison?
Poison's great.
Let's have a drink of poison.
Shelter, weapon, elixir—1+1+1 event.
How generous!
And it came sealed in a blood-red poison jar, looking expensive.
Probably to prevent the poison qi from leaking.
Even better.
The more unknown my Immunity to All Poisons trait stays, the better.
This poison jar will be my alibi.
[...Disciple, even if the Tang Family commits great sins, I beg you to show mercy once for my sake. That is why I left this message here—my final wish.]
Of course.
I shall do so.
I could call myself the most conscientious person of all.
Well.
Spare the good guys, kill the bad ones—isn't that mercy?
The Buddha himself would nod while chanting immeasurable life,
And Teacher Mao, burning in hell for doing the opposite, would acknowledge it while eating egg fried rice cooked by his son.
For the Supreme Under Heaven Archer who gave so freely...
I performed the three bows of discipleship.
Eh, no need for nine.
I don't know who the founder or great-grandmaster is.
"Geum Sihyeon the trainee still hasn't returned?"
Baek Cheonin, the dormitory supervisor of Azure Cloud Hall, wore a displeased expression.
It had only been five days since the semester started.
Already someone breaking curfew.
It wasn't even that late—around the hour of the hare.
Couldn't leave campus, so probably got smashed in Baekhwa Market and passed out.
"He's not the type..."
"Already covering for others, Huhwae candidate? Withdraw. I'll handle it."
Unhak, Geum Sihyeon's roommate and junior...
After sternly scolding and sending him away.
Baek Cheonin gripped his staff after a while and swung it—whoosh, whoosh.
For these kinds of infractions, setting a proper precedent is key.
Let it slide, and more will follow.
Once he returns, half-dead it'll be.
Moments later.
"With such strict discipline, how at this late hour...?"
Baek Cheonin trailed off at the sight of the man before him.
What the hell had he been doing?
Academy uniform sold off somewhere, shirtless,
A long scar like a river川 across his chest,
Mud and bloodstains everywhere, like he'd rolled in filth.
Swallowing the bile rising to his throat...
Baek Cheonin set aside his enthusiastic beating plans and first checked the trainee's condition.
Fortunately, no injuries severe enough for the medical hall at this hour. Visible wounds treated decently with golden sore medicine.
But he reeked like he'd fallen in a latrine.
No way he'd gained a fateful encounter and expelled impurities in that short time.
"Wh-what happened?"
Asking for the story, Geum Sihyeon looked sheepish and said,
"Got lost and entered the western woods—turns out there's a huge tiger. Couldn't catch it, but somehow chased it off."
"Huh..."
Baek Cheonin had heard rumors of the "western woods tiger."
House-sized, yet moving with Peak Realm agility.
Thought it was just talk, but it exists?
"Still, how'd you fight? You should've run! You got two lives?"
Improper for a newbie trainee.
Though ragged, Baek Cheonin meant to instruct anyway.
"Kyauu...?"
"Gasp."
Until, without warning...
A tiny creature suddenly poked its head from behind Geum Sihyeon.
The dog-beating staff in his hand felt awkward.
Baek Cheonin truly loved animals—especially puppies!
"I wanted to run too, but this little one was about to get eaten..."
In that instant, Baek Cheonin erased from his mind...
All thoughts of harsh precedents.
Instead,
"...Normally, unauthorized pets in dorms are forbidden, but given the circumstances... Tomorrow, register it as a pet and get vaccinations at the medical hall."
"...? Yes, sir."
Tsk tsk.
He doesn't know 'cause he's never raised one.
But Baek Cheonin forgave Geum Sihyeon's ignorance.
Because.
"Kyauung!"
It's cute...
Squirrel got full pet registration too!
Young master, you're raising a pet??? 😍😍
What is it?? Cat? Squirrel?
...Couldn't help sighing at this cultish martial world with its pet registration system.
Instead of a long reply...
I sent a pic of the wolf pup, bathed clean and fluffy.
This guy's a spirit beast through and through.
Definitely large-dog size at first meeting,
But now shrunken like it'd used Bone Shrinkage Art.
Size was a bit intimidating, but perfect now.
Soon, the one in my sent message vanished,
And I was bombarded with hearts—probably all I'd ever get in life.
Qi-draining, but not bad.
Would've been better if aimed at me, not the pup.
"Kyuuing..."
Seeing it abandoned, fire-attribute crybaby maybe?
Pup freaked during bath, then went limp after.
Roommates chimed in.
"Where'd the puppy come from? Raising it? Pretty cute."
Surprisingly tame Moyong Taek, and
"Ho. Grown up, it'll have some muscle."
This chair-eating mutt.
"Puppy, bite."
"Kyauu!"
"Gahk!"
Kicked the beggar spawn hit by First-Rate body slam,
"I'll apply the bean paste. Don't covet."
"Kyau?!"
Smart listener.
Back when I had a dog,
Wished it'd just say when sick.
No worries this life.
Dried the furball with silk, squeezing water out.
Exhausted, flopped onto bed.
Pup, eyeing slyly, naturally curled beside me.
Poison pill boosted my qi,
Arrow-refill bow ignited archery passion,
But the warm body heat felt like today's best opportunity.
With that thought, I closed my eyes.
About two hours later.
"Kyaaak!"
Until the thrashing pup's paw kicked my jewels mid-dream-talk.
Where's Bean Paste.