Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Sweet and Tasty Great Reversion Pill (3)
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The First Form of Waking from a Dream.
Self-slap!
*SMACK!*
“Argh!”
This wasn’t a dream.
No way it could be.
My life couldn’t end here—not when I hadn’t even raised an army of forty Little Geum Sihyeon Juniors, let alone built a spawning pool!
“Quit your blubbering and come sit down.”
“……?”
I whipped my head toward the voice.
There sat...
“I knew it—the moment I saw you, I thought, ‘What a foul-tempered little bald bastard.’”
A high monk, brimming with transcendent aura and proficient in mind-reading, was seated on the grand wooden floor.
“Come here.”
“Pardon?”
“I said come here.”
There was no doubt now—the Great Reversion Pill definitely contained da ma cao or some equivalent narcotic.
Following the instructions of this monk—no, this enlightened master—who freely mixed Western Region tongue with modern slang, I awkwardly knelt beside him.
“Do you know where this is?”
“No, sir.”
“Can’t you think before you speak?”
“Hm...... It’s a temple.”
*THWACK!*
“Argh!”
I had no idea why old fogeys treated my face like their personal punching bag...
“You’re the one who summoned me while I was resting peacefully.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“You, monk?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Why? Why do those Dong Young guys sing ‘Why’?”
*THWACK!*
“Urk.”
......Okay, that one I deserved.
But seriously, the ‘Why’ drip? Couldn’t complain—it was pure Dad-era humor.
The high monk let out a deep sigh.
Even that reminded me of my father’s pitiful gaze when I spouted nonsense, which made me a little sad.
“Didn’t you eat the Great Reversion Pill? It’s made from the sarira relics of transcendent powerhouses like myself. You gobbled down something that precious, so here you are, meeting me.”
“Aha......”
Sarira as an ingredient...
No wonder no elixir in the world could match it—this was peak primitive Central Plains savagery, where food hygiene laws were but a dream.
“So why’d you eat it so soon? You haven’t even found your own path yet.”
“An elixir was right in front of me, so I ate it. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Tch. That’s why you’re suffering now.”
The old—er, high monk furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“Even without the pill, your internal energy rivals the Supreme Peak. I don’t know what tricks you pulled, but at this absorption rate, you’ll fully take in the pill’s energy too. But do you think just opening your eyes gets you to the Supreme Peak?”
“......Is there a problem?”
“If martial arts were just about crushing with raw power, wouldn’t Shaolin Temple have been Supreme Under Heaven for a thousand years? Oh, by the way, I’m a former Supreme Under Heaven. Feel honored.”
What was that?
Self-aggrandizing?
“A true master has to boast a little—that way, the juniors get jealous, fired up, and train harder.”
“That... actually makes sense. Heh.”
“Peak punk...... talking back?”
“......”
I swear I won’t grow old like that.
Resolved to treat the beggar punk and that sleazy Taek a bit better from now on.
“Anyone can grind their way to Peak with enough training and accumulated qi. But even past fifty, some warriors never reach Supreme Peak. They haven’t forged their true path.”
With one sentence, he’d demoted most of Hundred Flowers Academy’s disciples to dogs and pigs.
“Tell me, why do you pursue martial arts?”
“Hm...... To become Supreme Under Heaven?”
“That’s the result, not the process.”
“To have like forty kids?”
“That’s a whole different path from martial arts.”
“......To stay alive?”
“That’s at least somewhat satisfying.”
The monk let out a sly cackle.
“But it’s not enough. You need a will so strong that even in utter despair, you grip your sword and rise again. A goal that lets you swing your best strike with death staring you down. Forge that clearly, and your path will open. From there, you’ll reach the sublime realms.”
“......”
I didn’t fully grasp it, but...
Boils down to: Establish a clear goal for what you want from martial arts, and that unlocks the way to Supreme Peak.
“That’ll do. Not a total idiot after all.”
As the monk waved his palm gently, a warm spring breeze-like energy enveloped me.
My Buddhist faith swelled.
“Were you Supreme Under Heaven?”
Curiosity spilled out, and the monk grinned, nodding.
“I was heaven itself.”
“Can I become Supreme Under Heaven?”
“Up to you. Hm, want a faster path? Since we’ve met, it’s fate—I could teach you a technique.”
“Oho.”
The Great Reversion Pill’s triple effect wasn’t the end!
“Ever heard of Tongzi Gong?”
“Absolutely not learning that.”
“Still trapped in worldly desires and delusions, eh? Tch tch. Listen close—I’ll say it once.”
Suddenly, the monk mumbled in dialect. Strangely, I could almost understand.
Didn’t sound like Tongzi Gong, so I memorized it once, twice, three times—
Without thinking...
“Rebuke the heretics—!”
I recited it aloud.
A majestic roar, impossible from my body or throat, rippled out with qi waves, shaking everything around.
“You look dumb, but you’ve got talent. That’s the Lion’s Roar.”
Not just loud noise, huh.
“Infused with demon-banishing qi—perfect against evil like jiangshi.”
Definitely useful later.
Nothing beats a shout for aggro pulling.
Could’ve ended up kowtowing only to get a precept seal on my forehead and critical-ringed to death, so I bowed deeply in thanks.
“Polite one, at least.”
“Heh, strip away manners, and I’m just a corpse.”
Ignoring my drivel, the monk beckoned me closer.
“Aren’t you curious why sarira come from enlightened bodies like mine?”
“Never thought about it... Wait, yeah, kinda curious now.”
“I followed the Buddha’s will my whole life, never breaking a precept. My life had its loneliness, but entering nirvana? A fine existence.”
“Impressive.”
Unsatisfied with my soulless reaction, he scowled.
“Sarira are the purest yang essence, formed only by great men who live nobly, embracing no women their entire lives.”
“......?”
The words that brushed my ear—I hadn’t quite caught... Wait, no way, does that mean...
Seeing my horror, the old monk just grinned.
“Urk, blech, eeech—!”
I dry-heaved desperately, knowing nothing would come up.
This damn red pill.
I didn’t want to know...!
*THWACK!*
“Argh!”
“Idiot. You believed that straight up? Sarira can form in monks, Taoists, nuns—even brothel ladies.”
“......For real? Swear on the Buddha? Argh! Ow!”
Earned a few more for daring to weigh the Buddha on my scales.
“If spirit beasts have spirit pills, why wouldn’t humans? But only with utterly pure qi.”
“Ugh, should’ve said that first......”
The old baldy—
“Urp!”
......The monk smirked mischievously.
“Sarira generation: 100% chance. Tongzi Gong—start now? Wanna learn?”
“Please use language befitting your looks and dignity...... And I said no to Tongzi Gong already......”
“Dog of a man.”
“Pardon?”
*TWANG.* “We’re done. Get lost.”
The monk waved dismissively, annoyed.
My vision flickered.
Seo Dohee worked her hands with utmost care for her sole disciple.
She’d bragged that Interrogation Acupoint Seal was no big deal, but it was an exquisite technique she couldn’t have dreamed of without Peak Realm mastery.
Yet...
To sense qi flow and observe the body’s responses, her eyes kept landing on Geum Sihyeon’s firm back muscles.
To steady her wavering mind...
Seo Dohee recalled her distant past.
Before ascending to Supreme Peak, to survive the bandit dens crawling with rough men, she’d disguised herself as one.
In those turbulent times, being the bandit chief’s daughter could be a liability.
So she’d lived for years as a man, chest bound so tight it choked her—sharing beds and baths, but not quite.
Thus, she knew men’s ways all too well.
And kept her distance.
Why else vow to marry only a man stronger than herself?
However...
“No, focus... Focus......”
She couldn’t risk ending this promising man—no, disciple’s life.
Nearly two hours later...
“Huuuu......”
Seo Dohee pulled her hands from Geum Sihyeon’s back, her body slick and sticky with sweat.
With nearly half her internal energy drained, exhaustion washed over her—she’d need a week of quiet recovery to reset her frame.
“Wake up.”
But Geum Sihyeon sat cross-legged, utterly still.
“I said wake up......”
Staring at his unmoving back, unease crept in—could it be?—as she crept closer and held a finger under his nose.
*Fweee......*
Breathing fine, pulse normal.
He’d probably exhausted himself during the circulation and dozed off sitting up.
“Sigh, what a hopeless disciple.”
Making his master work to the end, she muttered, grabbing him under the arms, hauling him up, and dragging him to the bed.
He’d sleep for hours like this, she thought—then glanced down at his lower body.
And saw it again.
Something on another level from anything before—like his forearm grafted on, standing proud.
*Gulp.*
She swallowed unconsciously.
Her palm pressed to her abdomen.
One thought:
“......How does that even fit?”
The faint curiosity she’d harbored before reared its head once more.