Chapter 11. Ren and Du Meridians Connected!
Dok Sabu seemed to view the Blood Chain Mountain poisoning as nothing more than an opportunity for Won Seung to diligently study poison arts.
Won Seung now had no choice but to learn poison techniques earnestly if he wanted to survive. Fortunately, with thirty years of internal energy at his disposal, he could finally immerse himself in poison lessons without restraint.
His rage toward the assassin training camp had seeped into his very bones.
How should I get my revenge?
Won Seung began to dream of vengeance.
Spring, summer, and autumn flew by in a flash, and as the leaves began to fall, Jang Gyo-du summoned Won Seung separately.
Entering the head instructor's office for the second time, nothing had changed.
Jang Gyo-du handed over two pre-prepared manuals.
"These are the Tae-eul Sword Art and the Heavenly Middle Sword Art. While the Spectrum Sword Art is a peerless technique in the jianghu, it places too much emphasis on speed. The Tae-eul Sword Art will aid in mastering changes and illusions, and the Heavenly Middle Sword Art encapsulates the subtleties of heavy swords—both essential for achieving sword mastery."
Won Seung eyed the unexpected kindness with suspicion.
"I've been receiving regular reports on your progress. You've reached the eighth star in the Spectrum Sword Art, haven't you? And about the seventh star in the Blood Chain Escape Art and the Nine Palaces Linked Escape Art. You're truly a prodigy born to become a Ten Perfect Assassin. This bends the rules, but I can grant you these through my discretion, so study them diligently."
"Thank you. I will master them without fail."
Won Seung inwardly rejoiced while offering sincere gratitude laced with a touch of genuine feeling. At some point, he had begun plotting to kill Jang Gyo-du and a few of the vicious instructors. But gratitude was gratitude.
"Just don't forget this favor."
I won't forget my grudge either.
Won Seung replied silently with an innocent smile. As his mind sharpened and he grew better at hiding his thoughts, he realized he could extract far more from others.
Jang Gyo-du's voice turned secretive.
"How is Dok Sabu's health these days? With winter approaching, I can't help but worry a little."
"Indeed. He's such a master that there's no great cause for concern, but the mountain cold must be harsh on an elder."
"All the more reason for you to take good care of him."
Won Seung wondered why Jang Gyo-du was so concerned about Dok Sabu. The head instructor's next words revealed his true intentions.
"I hear he just sits and writes books. That must sap his vitality even more. Take him on walks from time to time."
Hmph! You're after Master's poison arts. Master is leagues above you.
Won Seung knew about Dok Sabu's writings. They appeared profound on the surface but were utter nonsense in reality. Few would see through the deception. Dok Sabu poured his heart into crafting those fake tomes.
Everything Dok Sabu knew resided in Won Seung's mind now, and through nightly practice, he was internalizing it all. Most of Dok Sabu's poison techniques had already transferred to him.
Curious by nature, Won Seung's experimental zeal was intense; he even created poisons Dok Sabu hadn't conceived. Dok Sabu would flash eerie smiles on those days. His weakening body, however, was beyond remedy.
Seven notches now marked the bedpost by Won Seung's bedding. The number of children had dwindled to forty-five. As their realms advanced, training grew harsher, making casualties inevitable.
Spring arrived, bringing the time to take the Fate Building Pill.
This time should be fine.
Won Seung hesitated but decided to swallow it. His internal energy cultivation had accelerated from ingesting poisons. It was faster than his peers', but his ambition knew no bounds. He craved a full century of internal energy as soon as possible.
Won Seung's drive to surpass a century was simple: the bulging Solar Meridian point and the ki leaking unconsciously from his body at random moments.
He constantly worried that Jang Gyo-du or the instructors might notice his progress. Messy hair, loose clothes, hunched shoulders—he couldn't live like that forever.
Dok Sabu had said that surpassing a century would enhance his ability to conceal his energy, making him appear ordinary. He aimed to achieve it without delay.
On the day of the Fate Building Pill consumption, Jang Gyo-du brought the wooden box as before. The oblivious children gazed at it eagerly.
Won Seung pretended to swallow the Fate Building Pill while taking his own prepared pellet alongside it. Having learned its composition from Dok Sabu, he had crafted a supplement to enhance it.
As the Fate Building Pill took effect, his chest cleared refreshingly. Warm energy flowed from his dantian, mingling with the pill's power. His pellet dissolved, unleashing intense fiery ki throughout his body.
The Blue Blood Rejuvenation Pill bore the earth element, benefiting any constitution by nourishing the body and boosting internal energy.
The Fate Building Pill carried the water attribute. Won Seung had added fire with his Fire Poison Pill.
As the fire poison spread, the pill's water energy intensified. Water and fire clashed violently, refusing to blend—until Won Seung enveloped them with his innate ki. His thirty years of internal energy, courtesy of the Blue Blood Rejuvenation Pill, was strongly earthen.
Water and fire merged within earth, forming a profound energy that entered his dantian and circulated through his primary meridians.
Oh!
It flowed as expected, drawing Won Seung's admiration.
Am I a genius after all?
But suddenly, his chest seized. Blood seemed to halt; his body stiffened, breath cut off.
"Gack, gack!"
Won Seung choked violently and toppled backward from his seated meditation pose.
Jang Gyo-du, overseeing the children's energy circulation from the platform, rushed over in alarm.
"What in the world happened?"
He questioned the instructor supporting Won Seung, but even the instructor was baffled.
Did something go wrong with the Blood Chain Mountain?
Jang Gyo-du knew the Fate Building Pill was laced with Blood Chain Mountain poison. The other children showed no issues.
Could it be?
Living with Dok Sabu, Won Seung might have been poisoned by something else, triggering an interaction with the Blood Chain Mountain.
"Carry him. We're going to Dok Sabu."
Won Seung, being groomed as a Ten Perfect Assassin, was his key to higher office. He had already hinted at it to the headquarters' elite, receiving assurances of promotion upon success.
Jang Gyo-du couldn't let Won Seung perish here. Hoping Dok Sabu would save his poison-attendant disciple out of obligation for years of service, he took him along.
Dok Sabu was startled to see Won Seung unconscious and carried in but feigned a scowl.
"What is this?"
"He took the Fate Building Pill and began circulating energy, but something seems wrong with the medicinal power."
Jang Gyo-du explained.
Dok Sabu fixed him with a cold glare.
"And? What do you expect me to do?"
"Isn't he your poison attendant who serves you? Bestow your grace."
Jang Gyo-du pleaded earnestly.
"Tch."
Dok Sabu hesitated theatrically, sighed in annoyance, and waved him off—meaning leave.
Jang Gyo-du departed the dwelling.
"That vicious old bastard. After years of service, shouldn't he save him as a matter of course?"
In his prime, Dokgoe—Dok Sabu—had once killed a man with poison for coughing while he ate; the tale was infamous. He treated human lives like fly lives, earning his moniker.
Fearing Dok Sabu might neglect Won Seung, Jang Gyo-du lingered outside.
Then Dok Sabu's voice rang out.
"If you keep eavesdropping, I'll kill him right now."
Jang Gyo-du startled and fled.
Dok Sabu looked down at Won Seung and lightly tapped his head with his staff.
"Jang Gyo-du's gone. No need to fake unconsciousness."
Won Seung slyly opened his eyes. As expected, Dok Sabu knew he was aware.
Won Seung made a pitiful face.
"I can't move my body. What happened?"
"How should I know? You tell me what you did."
Won Seung confessed to using a supplementary poison to amplify the Fate Building Pill's effects. Immobile, he could only turn his head.
Dok Sabu cackled, "Kekeke."
"You thought to clash water and fire energies and contain them in earth—yet ignored metal and wood?"
"I planned to substitute with my internal energy."
"If it were that simple, every deep internal energy master would be a poison grandmaster."
Dok Sabu clicked his tongue.
He went to the medicine room, crushed a red stone into powder, and ground gray tree roots.
Won Seung recognized them: Fireflame Stone and Dragonblood Tree roots—fiercely toxic materials.
His face paled.
"Master, are you going to kill me?"
Dok Sabu cackled again.
"You've learned a bit of poison and now act recklessly—how much grief will you cause me later? Might as well kill you now for peace of mind."
"Master, I was wrong. I won't do it again."
Master and disciple bantered with transparent jest. Won Seung trusted Dok Sabu would save him, and Dok Sabu knew he was play-acting.
The fun lay in the teasing. Dok Sabu mixed the Fireflame Stone and Dragonblood Tree roots with heavy water and poured it into Won Seung's mouth.
Soon, the stone's metal energy and the root's wood energy spread, slowly loosening the rigidly bound water-fire clump held by earth.
About an hour later, the five elements harmonized in mutual generation, forming supreme energy. The Fate Building Pill's power fully activated.
The energy surged like a mighty river, coursing through the twelve principal meridians and eight extraordinary vessels before gathering in the dantian and ascending the Governor Vessel.
Won Seung's facial skin trembled violently.
The energy struck the crown.
Boom!
Thunder roared in his mind. Won Seung thought his skull had exploded.
He instinctively tried to open his mouth, but Dok Sabu clamped it shut and shouted.
"Don't lose the energy flow!"
Realizing his disciple had stumbled into fortune, Dok Sabu grew excited too.
Amid the chaos, Won Seung clung to the Governor Vessel's energy. It pierced the crown unimpeded and descended, clashing with the Conception Vessel.
Boom!
Won Seung's forehead bulged.
Rumble!
The Governor Vessel energy clashed again. It roiled wildly.
Kaboom!
On the third impact, Won Seung felt the area above his neck vanish. Simultaneously, with a whoosh, the Governor Vessel energy flowed into the Conception Vessel.
The Ren and Du meridians had connected.
Won Seung lost consciousness and slumped.
Dok Sabu, sensing what had transpired in his body, rejoiced greatly. Connecting the Ren and Du wasn't achievable merely by deep internal energy.
His heart raced.
At his age, Ren and Du connected... In about ten years, he could rival the Poison King.