Chapter 64
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Greatest Sword is a Weakling (4)
Kang Moo-jin followed the elders' guidance to the sect leader's office.
The Cloud Sword Immortal's office reflected his usual frugal personality, containing only a folding screen painted with plum blossoms and a simple table.
There were no ornate swords or treasures displaying the grandeur of the mighty Mount Hua Sect.
'So where exactly does all that money go?'
The tea business made from steeping Mount Hua's plum leaves was so famous that there wasn't a soul in the Central Plains who didn't know of it.
Not only commoners but even high officials and nobles favored the Mount Hua Sect's Plum Cloud Merchant Group, which had become Shaanxi Province's top trading house with nothing but tea.
"Tsk tsk. Does the office seem too sparse? Everyone says that."
"No. I was just wondering where the money from the tea leaves went."
"...? Anyway, congratulations on your victory in the spar."
The bewildered Cloud Sword Immortal changed the subject.
A sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect naturally developed the talent to let strange remarks slide.
"Splendid. It's been ages since I last saw such straightforward martial arts."
"...?"
The elders Yun-mok and Un-sang, seated on either side of the sect leader, tilted their heads with odd expressions.
They wouldn't call slamming someone into the ground by grabbing their ankle martial arts.
"I apologize on his behalf for deploying killing intent. The young one's blood still runs hot despite his age."
"It's fine. Things like that can happen when men trade blows."
The sect leader and some elders felt ashamed that Un-cheon had unleashed killing moves during the spar, but surprisingly, Moo-jin didn't mind much.
Killing intent or not, it meant little to him. His clothes were in tatters, but he hadn't sustained a single injury.
"Haha. Your martial prowess is as impressive as your magnanimity. The Golden Ghost Indestructible's reputation isn't just hot air in the Central Plains."
The Cloud Sword Immortal smiled contentedly at Moo-jin's broad-minded demeanor.
It was joyful to see such an outstanding younger generation, even if from outside the sect.
"But how exactly did you do it?"
"Pardon?"
"I know your martial arts are extraordinary. I can say with certainty that no one your age has achieved such mastery."
Kang Moo-jin's martial arts had long surpassed his peers' level.
That lofty attainment was comparable even to old monsters who had lived decades longer than him.
"But one thing baffles me. How did you evade the Plum Blossom Blood Rain forms and the Heaven-Severing Blazing Fire Sword?"
Elders Yun-mok and Un-sang's eyes gleamed at the Cloud Sword Immortal's question.
They had been dying to know the same thing.
The Plum Blossom Blood Rain forms consisted of sword petals formed from sword energy, while the Heaven-Severing Blazing Fire Sword unleashed extreme yang true energy.
These two techniques were the Mount Hua Sword Demon's signature moves—supreme swift swords that no one could easily dodge.
"I didn't evade them."
"...?"
The elders and sect leader thought they'd misheard.
"You didn't... evade them?"
"Yes."
"So you're saying you took both ultimate techniques with your body?"
"Precisely."
"...!"
The elders' and sect leader's mouths gaped wide open once more.
He withstood the Plum Blossom Blood Rain with his body?
He blocked the Heaven-Severing Blazing Fire Sword barehanded?!
And he was unscathed?
"... ."
Unable to comprehend with their existing knowledge, the elders and sect leader were dumbstruck.
"...There were rumors that the Golden Ghost Indestructible had reached the Diamond Indestructible realm."
Unlike the stunned elders, the sect leader recovered first and gazed at Moo-jin with shining eyes.
"Rumors are always exaggerated, so I thought this one was too. It seems I was mistaken."
The Cloud Sword Immortal bowed his head slightly and raised his hands in a formal clasped salute toward Moo-jin.
A sect leader rarely bowed to anyone.
Yet here he was, head lowered in salute to Moo-jin.
It was an apology for underestimating him and an acknowledgment of his worth.
"Sect Leader."
"We must acknowledge what deserves it. This young man before us is no ordinary fellow."
To the Cloud Sword Immortal's eyes, Kang Moo-jin standing before him was no longer just a twenty-five-year-old novice warrior.
He was a monster that devoured veteran experts of the martial world.
"Tsk tsk. Truly remarkable. Such a prodigy emerging in this world. The next generation's supreme under the heavens is as good as decided."
"...!"
The elders' eyes widened again.
Unlike his gentle appearance and warm speech, the Cloud Sword Immortal was infamous for his harsh standards in judging warriors.
"Care to join the Mount Hua Sect? I could even offer you the successor's seat."
"Sect Leader!"
He silenced the elders with a wave and fixed Moo-jin with a serious gaze.
"That's a cruel joke."
"No joke—I'm serious. What wouldn't I do for a once-in-a-generation prodigy like you?"
"I am the leader of the Diamond Escort Agency."
Moo-jin conveyed his intent softly but firmly.
"Aw, what a shame."
The Cloud Sword Immortal, who had leaned forward in persuasion, clicked his tongue.
"If a talent like you dropped into our Mount Hua, we'd be the supreme sword sect under the heavens."
He clicked his tongue once more in regret and asked,
"Is there anything else you need? I'll provide whatever I can."
"That won't change my mind."
"I know. I'm just trying to leave a good impression. No harm in befriending a rising dragon."
"This battle robe you gave me in place of my torn clothes is more than enough."
Moo-jin wore cheap wind-resistant robes for escort missions or requests.
They might get ruined anytime, so he chose affordable, cost-effective ones.
"The material suits me well."
Moo-jin brushed the black battle robe from Mount Hua. Its texture was remarkably soft, like damp silk.
"Haha. There's a tailor in Xi'an who makes excellent clothes. A lay disciple connected to Mount Hua runs the place."
"I see. Do you get them for free, then?"
"...?"
The Cloud Sword Immortal felt slightly flustered by the unusual question most warriors wouldn't ask.
"Not quite. But the price is discounted."
"As expected."
Moo-jin nodded, enlightened.
It hit him anew: only a major sect with influence and power like Mount Hua could get discounts from merchant groups.
'To get cheap clothes, we need to be among the Five Great Escort Agencies at least.'
As Moo-jin made his somewhat peculiar resolution, the Cloud Sword Immortal placed a small wooden box on the table.
"As promised, your reward—the Purple Sky Pill."
A gentle fragrance wafted from the oak box.
A harmonious blend of floral and herbal scents.
Just the aroma cleared stray thoughts and brought peace.
"So this is the Purple Sky Pill."
Moo-jin opened the oak box.
Inside lay a small elixir glowing with a delicate purple hue like dawn skies. Its potent spiritual energy was evident at a glance.
'About thirty years' worth of cultivation.'
He didn't show it, but Moo-jin was inwardly amazed.
This rivaled the elixirs he'd consumed in the Linked Qi Realm.
"Tsk tsk. Yes, this is the Purple Sky Pill. Mount Hua's pride."
"The energy within is no joke."
"Indeed."
Moo-jin, who had shown little reaction even after defeating the Mount Hua Sword Demon, now displayed interest, deepening the Cloud Sword Immortal's smile.
It felt gratifying to see this man—who seemed to have lived two lives—slightly surprised.
"The Purple Sky Pill isn't just packed with dense energy. It has unique effects other elixirs lack."
"Effects?"
"Purple Sky refers to the violet heavens at dusk."
The Purple Sky Pill was created by a Mount Hua predecessor whose dantian was shattered in a brutal fight against an evil faction's outsider, costing him his inner energy.
That senior, living out his days like a sunset after losing his martial prowess, didn't want his descendants to suffer the same dark twilight of life.
"He hoped the ominous purple sky he saw would appear differently to those who came after."
The same sky, but with different hearts. A sunset of endings for him should be one of anticipation for tomorrow's dawn for them.
"Infused with that predecessor's earnest wish, the Purple Sky Pill aids recovery. It helps reclaim lost power."
Gazing fondly at the pill, the Cloud Sword Immortal shrugged.
"Of course, a hale warrior like you has no 'lost power' to recover."
"...!"
Moo-jin's gaze toward the Purple Sky Pill shifted.
An effect that helps reclaim lost power.
Didn't that mean it could restore what he'd lost crossing from the Linked Qi Realm back here?!
Wrapping up his conversation with the sect leader, Kang Moo-jin hurried to his assigned quarters in Mount Hua.
The sect leader and elders seemed to have more to say, but that wasn't important now.
The prospect of recovering his lost power set his heart racing.
He hadn't faced a situation desperate enough to need his past strength yet, but regaining what was lost was an incredible opportunity.
"Whew."
Moo-jin pushed the bed aside, sat cross-legged.
Snap!
In his excitement, he tore open the box instead of just opening it and popped the Purple Sky Pill into his mouth.
The pill, blending floral and herbal notes, melted on his tongue and vanished.
The dormant energy slid down his throat, settled in his chest, then evenly spread throughout his body.
"...!"
This wasn't Moo-jin's first elixir. He'd consumed countless in the Linked Qi Realm for survival, though he hadn't needed them lately.
'This is different!'
The Purple Sky Pill felt fundamentally unlike the others.
As the sect leader said, its restorative effect gave an entirely new sensation.
"Mm..."
Moo-jin felt as if he'd surrendered to gentle blue waves.
The pill's energy softly enveloped his internals.
'Recovery... it's real!'
He'd been skeptical even after hearing it.
No pill could fully restore energy spent crossing dimensions, no matter how potent.
Yet the Purple Sky Pill was genuinely mending his lost power bit by bit.
Warriors' power is often likened to water in a vessel.
Moo-jin's body had been like a large jar with cracks everywhere, holding only half its capacity.
Now, empowered by the pill, the cracks were gone.
More than that—his power, previously at about fifty percent, had surged to eighty percent.
A single elixir had restored thirty percent of his strength!
"...An absurd effect."
Moo-jin stared at his body in disbelief.
Power brimmed within him. Strength incomparable to before raged through his meridians like a flood.
"Eighty percent... eighty percent."
To recover to this level in one go—what he'd thought would take years.
Now, compared to his peak as the Linked Qi Realm's top master, only twenty percent separated them.
'At this rate, I'll regain everything soon.'
Unable to hide his elation, Moo-jin clenched his fist.
Crack!
The wooden box in his grip pulverized to dust.
His grip strength had grown far stronger with the recovery.
"Once I recover fully, I'll cultivate the Marrow Cleansing Scripture."
Last time at Shaolin Temple, he'd memorized their supreme art, the Muscle-Tendon Transformation and Marrow Cleansing Scripture.
Mastering both the Muscle-Tendon Transformation and Marrow Cleansing Scriptures could elevate one to Buddhahood—or true immortality.
For Kang Moo-jin, already at his peak, this was the sole path to greater power.
Unlike arts that merely forged stronger humans, it focused on transcending humanity toward true immortality.
'I can become far stronger than now...'
Moo-jin brushed off the box remnants from his hand, his grin stretching ear to ear.
He'd thought he couldn't grow stronger.
At the highest seat, with no equals, he'd even felt boredom.
Yet in this weaker, safer world than the Linked Qi Realm, he now had a chance to grow further.
Excitement like a beast before the hunt wouldn't fade.
"This'll be fun."