Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Another World
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Yuseong's eyes flickered with a blue energy that gathered and then faded away.
"How does it feel?"
I asked, and Yuseong gave a faint smile.
"As I said before, once the Black Dragon Endless Tribulation is perfected, lightning energy fills not just the lower dantian but the middle and upper dantians as well. Previously, it only resided in the lower dantian."
Yuseong extended his hand.
Crackle!
A thick bolt of lightning shot out through the window and struck a tree in the garden.
Boom! Crack!
The tree burst into flames and split wide open with a resounding tear.
"I had learned the Thunderclap Palm before but never even thought to use it. Now that the lightning energy has fully taken over the upper dantian, it's finally possible."
I knew exactly what that meant.
"If the lightning energy has filled even the upper dantian, what about the Heavenly Slaughter Star?"
"You were right, brother. I can no longer sense the energy of the Heavenly Slaughter Star. It seems to have burned away as the upper dantian filled with lightning."
"Good. That's excellent. I'll lift the seal when we have time next."
"No need. Let's leave the seal as is. The Heavenly Slaughter Star's energy may be gone now, but who knows if it might return? I'll carry this seal with me for life."
"You're fine with that?"
"It's you, of all people, who placed the seal. That's why I trust it."
"I'm relieved. Truly relieved."
He could have died if things had gone wrong.
Looking back, both Yuseong and I had gambled with our lives.
"What was that! What's going on!"
Ho Hyeonbyeok's voice came from outside.
"Taesan! You okay? What happened? Didn't I tell you not to let anyone in!"
Ho Hyeonbyeok's shouts carried genuine worry.
I stepped outside.
As Yuseong and I opened the door and emerged, Ho Hyeonbyeok let out a sigh of relief.
"Lightning suddenly struck the garden out of nowhere. You two are alright?"
Mak Jinyul stood beside Ho Hyeonbyeok.
Her guard held an umbrella over her.
"Yeah, we're fine. I was standing guard while Yuseong circulated his qi."
"Standing guard? Looks like Young Master Yu gained some insight."
I nodded, and Mak Jinyul spoke up.
"He gained insight? Really? I can tell just by looking. Come here, Seong."
Yuseong replied indifferently.
"Why?"
"Why? Did you just say 'why' to me?"
"Yes. What if you tell me to come with no reason?"
"Huh? Did you gain insight or just some cheek?"
"It's not that. Do you think I'm a dog, coming when called and going when told?"
I glanced at Yuseong in surprise at his unexpected retort.
Until now, Yuseong had never refused Mak Jinyul anything.
Even when he could have won the martial tournament at Lady Mak's sixtieth birthday, he abandoned the victory to follow her invitation.
"Don't treat me so casually. Even if I'm your little brother-in-arms, we should show each other respect."
Did those words shock her?
Mak Jinyul staggered in astonishment.
"Lady Mak."
Ho Hyeonbyeok steadied her.
"This bastard must be suicidal. Are you refusing me right now?"
"It's not a refusal. You're calling me out in the rain, that's all."
"Look at you, talking back like that. Get over here!"
"Say what you want from there, or come inside yourself."
With that, Yuseong returned to the room.
"Hey! What? You! Come back...!"
As Mak Jinyul seemed about to explode, Ho Hyeonbyeok interjected.
"Lady Mak, as you know, warriors often feel mentally unstable after gaining insight, right?"
"Is that so? Never happened to me."
"That's because you're a genius, Lady Mak. For ordinary warriors like us, it's utter chaos. Young Master Yu must be going through that."
"Hmm, now that Young Master Ho mentions it, that makes sense."
While listening to their exchange, I received a greater shock than Yuseong's rebellion.
Mak Jinyul was holding a normal conversation.
"Hey, Scholar Cheon. Explain to me later what happened with Yuseong."
Ho Hyeonbyeok spoke soothingly, like coaxing a child.
"Lady Mak, Cheon Taesan is my friend. Treat him as you would me, and I'd be deeply moved."
"Ah, is that right?"
It was getting more absurd by the minute.
"Scholar Cheon, I must have been too rude. Seems I still harbor resentment from that slap you gave me."
Ho Hyeonbyeok gently coaxed Mak Jinyul away.
As they left, he waved goodbye behind his back.
He truly lives diligently. No wonder—the only way his clan survives. Life in the world is no easy feat.
Just catering to Mak Jinyul's whims was enough to earn Ho Hyeonbyeok praise.
"You did something utterly pointless. You should have at least told me—I could have arranged another way."
Gal Woheon scolded the man before him.
"Still, the only way to settle the grudge was hiring assassins."
"Tsk tsk. Scholar Cheon isn't someone you can kill with third-rate assassins."
Gu Jinha hadn't realized Scholar Cheon was such a master.
He had invested half his savings to hire assassins against Scholar Cheon.
But they all ended up dead.
Having come down to Jiangxi only for the plan to fail, his stomach churned with regret.
"Now both you and I will be chased out of the Murim Alliance because of him."
Gu Jinha bit his lip at Gal Woheon's wry words.
"Captain Wang exposed my crimes in his report, forcing me to step down."
"From my view, you're lucky not to be in prison."
"The new Inspection Unit Leader showed mercy, so it ended with expulsion."
"If he were still in the Alliance, you'd be rotting in a cell."
Gu Jinha shuddered at those words.
"So, what now?"
"What else? I have to get revenge on him, no matter what."
"Revenge..."
Gal Woheon narrowed his eyes at Gu Jinha.
"Is that even possible?"
"Pardon?"
"Scholar Cheon isn't the same scholar you knew before."
"I've heard. Apparently, he's now tutoring the son of a Sapa overlord."
"That's not all. Somehow, that Scholar Cheon gained some fateful encounter and reached peak mastery. Even I wouldn't dare underestimate him."
Gu Jinha shook his head.
"How could a scholar become a master? Back in the Alliance, he buried himself in books day and night. He dabbled in music and medicine occasionally, but never touched martial arts."
"That's why it's terrifying. To become such a master from just a little learning. Do you grasp what that implies?"
As Gu Jinha stared blankly, Gal Woheon murmured lowly.
"In the martial world, they call such a person a once-in-a-century prodigy. From what I gathered, he learned his arts while at the Nangong Family. The techniques he uses are the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique. It's bizarre enough that they passed a direct lineage secret to a scholar, but even more so that he mastered it to perfection."
"He must have used some demonic sorcery. How could someone past their prime perfect a technique they learned late? I've never heard of such a thing."
"One thing's certain: he overwhelmed Demonic Cultists with sheer power. That's why I'm being extra cautious now."
"There is a way."
Gu Jinha's eyes gleamed murderously, refusing to abandon revenge. Gal Woheon asked,
"What way?"
"I heard he's recruiting people for the land he got from the Sapa overlord. I'll infiltrate an assassin among them. Then, when the chance comes, kill him. If not, incite murders there to ruin his reputation."
It was a method even Gal Woheon hadn't considered.
"Hahaha, that's a clever plan. Fitting for a scholar's mind—quite ingenious."
Gal Woheon approved wholeheartedly.
Who would suspect assassination from someone entering one's own territory?
"Go ahead with it. I'll assist from the side."
Removing the parasitic dantian and examining Mak Jimong's condition, the blockages in his meridians were finally starting to clear.
By today, all the congealed energy from the spirit medicines blocking his meridians should dissolve.
I reinserted the parasitic dantian, fed him medicinal soup as a formality, and performed acupuncture.
"This is the final stage. Don't circulate your qi yet—absolutely do not move your inner energy until I say it's done."
"Of course. A single misstep ruins a hundred days' work. I'm staying vigilant every moment."
Mak Jimong seemed convinced this was his last chance.
He looked desperate and earnest.
The parasitic dantian absorbed ten years' worth of cultivation. In total, that's twenty years from him—ten from Present Heaven Sect and ten from Ho Hyeonjang. No wonder his meridians were completely blocked with so much spirit medicine energy packed in.
Even so, back at the Present Heaven Sect library, he'd eagerly devoured my dantian thinking it a spirit medicine. He was practically suicidal.
I grinned, feeling pleased.
Now, with Mak Jinyul's portion added, my parasitic dantian's power is just shy of thirty years.
This much cultivation rivaled what prestigious family heirs accumulated from childhood.
Should I take my last Dragon Blood Pill and push past thirty-five years?
But I shook my head soon after.
The reason I'd saved my last Dragon Blood Pill without consuming it was to give it to my mother when we met.
Having achieved Soul Transmigration through spirit energy, I wasn't overly greedy for inner power.
Of course, accumulating power in the parasitic dantian had stirred some desire.
But since my parasitic dantian can absorb others' power, there's no need to chase spirit medicines.
Suddenly thinking of my mother reminded me I hadn't sent a letter recently. I felt guilty.
While at the Nangong Family, I'd sent frequent letters inquiring after her.
The Nangong Family Head said he'd send people to bring her from the Nangong Family, so I'll wait.
Still, knowing Nangong Hak was handling it eased my mind.
Feeling restless, I stepped outside.
There stood Yuseong, motionless.
He was gazing at the room storing the poison human's coffin.
Yuseong said to me,
"Brother, wouldn't it be better to burn the poison human now? I absorbed the poison qi, but some remains—burying it in the ground is still dangerous."
"No. The Sichuan Tang Clan might demand it back later."
"Is that necessary?"
"They know I have it. By now, rumors must have spread that I took it from Gal Woheon. If I dispose of it arbitrarily, they won't forgive me."
"Even if we hand over a poisonless poison human, I doubt they'd forgive us."
"They won't know why the poison's gone. We can say it had no poison when we seized it from Gal Woheon."
"Whoa, brother. You're terrifying. Pinning all the blame on Gal Woheon?"
Since I'd told him where I got the poison human, Yuseong knew about Gal Woheon too.
I smirked.
"I'm no Buddha. I don't extend mercy to those trying to kill me."
"Hahaha! As expected of you, brother. A man needs some poison in him."
Mid-laugh, Yuseong tilted his head and looked at me.
His eyes held the gleam of discovering something strange.
"What's up?"
"Brother! Did I just laugh?"
I could guess why Yuseong was so startled.
"I always laughed along when others did, to avoid seeming odd. But this time, the laughter came naturally. It's the first time I've ever laughed alone like this."
This alone showed much of the Heavenly Slaughter Star's energy was gone.
Still, we'd need to observe further.
"So smiling moves the face muscles like this."
Still amazed, Yuseong poked at his smiling face.
"Brother, smiling makes the world look so different."
"Little brother, they say when I smile, all creation smiles with me."