Chapter 20
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: A Talent for the Ages
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“You spend every bit of money you get on medicinal herbs.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled sheepishly at Cho Ak-ryang's lament.
“That's because expensive herbs are that much more effective. If I could, I'd even want to get some Azure Jade Nectar, but they say none is for sale.”
“If you could buy it at an apothecary, it wouldn't be Azure Jade Nectar. Even if you found some, it would undoubtedly be a fake. So if someone claims to be selling it, you must verify it multiple times.”
Beom Gye-wi interjected.
“How?”
“Hmm?”
“Brother Cho, have you ever seen Azure Jade Nectar?”
For a moment, Cho Ak-ryang was at a loss for words.
He had never even smelled it, let alone seen it. That's how legendary the Azure Jade Nectar was, known as an elixir for the ages.
As if he had expected as much, Beom Gye-wi chided him.
“How on earth would you tell if it's real or fake?”
“Well… maybe you could tell by tasting a little?”
After wracking his brain, Cho Ak-ryang offered a lame excuse.
Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa.
Cho Ak-ryang flared up at their pitying gazes.
“Well, do you two have a better idea?”
“Couldn't you just not eat it?”
“What?”
“If you're not greedy, you won't get scammed.”
While Cho Ak-ryang was flustered by Beom Gye-wi's unexpected response.
—*Even an idiot like that knows this…*
The ensuing telepathic message infuriated Cho Ak-ryang.
Dan Ak-seon smiled and stopped the three of them.
“Don't worry. I can tell whether it's genuine or not.”
The gazes of all three fell on Dan Ak-seon. In response to the question in their eyes, he spoke nonchalantly.
“I've had it a few times when I was young.”
Surprise flickered in their eyes.
Just then, Dan Ak-seon wrapped the wild ginseng in the silk cloth again and headed for the pavilion.
“It'll take a while to decoct, so I should hurry. Please, continue your conversation.”
After Dan Ak-seon left.
Cho Ak-ryang, who had been lost in deep thought, spoke to the other two.
“There is something we need to discuss.”
Han Seol-hwa and Beom Gye-wi looked at Cho Ak-ryang with interest.
“It's about Doctor Dan…”
After a brief pause, Cho Ak-ryang nodded as if he had made a decision.
“I think we need to teach him martial arts.”
Beom Gye-wi immediately agreed.
“Right. We can't let him be threatened by weaklings like them.”
Beom Gye-wi pounded his chest with his fist.
“If that's the case, leave it to me! I'll pass on all my martial arts to him.”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned.
“Martial arts from someone who's merely third among the Ten Great Villains? Forget it. I will teach Doctor Dan.”
“Then what about me?”
“You can cheer us on or something.”
“Doctor Dan can solve the weakness in my martial arts! In terms of the art itself, my Three Yang… whatever-it-is is the best!”
Han Seol-hwa scoffed telepathically.
—*Can you even teach properly? It's the perfect way to fall into Qi deviation.*
Beom Gye-wi growled at Han Seol-hwa.
“What? You want him too, witch?”
—*Nonsense. I have no intention of joining you in your foolishness.*
The gazes of Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi softened slightly as they looked at Han Seol-hwa.
With that, one formidable competitor was out of the running.
But soon after, their gazes clashed fiercely.
“Why don't you give up?”
Beom Gye-wi retorted without backing down.
“Why should I?”
“Are you trying to make Doctor Dan sterile? He's the only descendant of the Divine and Demonic Physicians; he needs to continue the family line.”
Beom Gye-wi shouted, his face flushed red.
“And what about you, Brother Cho! What use is a martial art that almost got you killed by a few nobodies?”
Han Seol-hwa watched the two bicker back and forth with a pathetic look.
How much time had passed?
“Fine. Let's have Doctor Dan decide for himself!”
“Agreed!”
After agreeing not to complain once Dan Ak-seon made his decision, the two men exchanged confident smiles.
‘I'm not one of the Five Absolutes Under Heaven for nothing!’
‘He's closest to me, so he'll choose me!’
With these different thoughts, the two waited for Dan Ak-seon.
A short while later, Dan Ak-seon returned.
“Martial arts?”
“Yes. Whose martial arts will you learn?”
As Dan Ak-seon pondered, Beom Gye-wi spoke up.
“You've seen my movement technique, right? If you learn from me, you'll be able to fly yourself!”
Seeing Dan Ak-seon's expression brighten, Cho Ak-ryang hastily interjected.
“If you learn my Grappling Hand, you can subdue opponents without having to injure them. Isn't it ridiculous for a physician to hurt people? That fellow Beom's martial art is too steeped in killing intent.”
“What? Too steeped in killing intent? You, of all people, are saying that to me, Brother Cho?”
The two vied to persuade him to learn their respective arts. Watching them, Dan Ak-seon spoke cautiously.
“But I heard that aptitude is important for martial arts, isn't it?”
Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi nodded simultaneously.
“And that one must start learning from a young age…”
Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi paused.
Come to think of it, he was indeed a bit old to begin his martial arts journey.
Typically, one begins training around the age of seven. It's difficult to expect rapid progress after the muscles and meridians have started to stiffen.
“Then we must check first.”
Cho Ak-ryang asked Dan Ak-seon.
“May I examine your body?”
“Yes.”
Approaching Dan Ak-seon, Cho Ak-ryang began to check his bone structure and muscles, kneading his limbs and entire body.
But his expression was incredibly grave.
“I'm going to circulate my true energy into you now. Don't be alarmed.”
Grasping Dan Ak-seon's wrist pulse, Cho Ak-ryang bit his lip. A moment later, he released his hand and let out a heavy sigh, as if the ground would collapse.
“As I thought, it's a bit late.”
“Why? What's the problem?”
To Beom Gye-wi's question, Cho Ak-ryang shook his head with a grim face.
“It would be difficult for him to learn superior martial arts.”
“Is Doctor Dan's aptitude that ordinary?”
“Yes. There's no need to look further.”
Leaving behind a disappointed Beom Gye-wi, Cho Ak-ryang looked at Dan Ak-seon and said.
“It's alright. The saying 'a slow horse can cover a ten-day journey' exists for a reason. Natural talent can be overcome with effort. Of course, that's assuming you learn proper martial arts from an excellent master.”
Then he smiled quietly.
“I was the same, so you can trust me.”
“Your aptitude was ordinary, Uncle Cho?”
“Yes. That's why you must learn from me. I, too, became the greatest master under heaven with ordinary aptitude, so I know the way better than anyone.”
Cho Ak-ryang continued with a serious gaze.
“If you do, you too can one day follow in my footsteps and become the greatest master under heaven.”
Just as Cho Ak-ryang was offering hope with a smile, Han Seol-hwa, who had been watching silently, stepped forward.
Cho Ak-ryang blocked her.
“Why?”
“You're suspicious.”
Cho Ak-ryang flinched at her answer.
“Suspicious? About what?”
“You're talking too much.”
“I told you there's no need to look further.”
“For someone who believes that, you're being overly desperate.”
While Cho Ak-ryang hesitated, pondering a reply, Han Seol-hwa's figure flickered. Cho Ak-ryang hastily reached out to stop her, but she had already grasped Dan Ak-seon's wrist.
Han Seol-hwa stared blankly at Cho Ak-ryang.
But the atmosphere was unusual.
Her eyes, usually cold and detached, were now shimmering with a strange heat.
It lasted for a moment.
*Thump.*
Han Seol-hwa suddenly pulled Dan Ak-seon into an embrace.
“He's mine.”
Cho Ak-ryang flared up and shouted.
“Didn't you say you wouldn't join in this foolishness?”
“I've changed my mind.”
Han Seol-hwa replied nonchalantly and looked at Dan Ak-seon.
“I can't possibly entrust a martial talent like this to you people.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? He said he was ordinary.”
“…”
Beom Gye-wi grew furious at the sight of Cho Ak-ryang stealthily avoiding his gaze.
“You tricked me, didn't you?”
Embarrassed by the situation, Cho Ak-ryang cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Then let's go back to the beginning and let Doctor Dan decide which of the three he will learn from…”
“You should be out, Brother Cho.”
“Why me?”
“The moment you tried to deceive us, you were disqualified.”
Leaving the flinching Cho Ak-ryang behind, Beom Gye-wi shouted at Han Seol-hwa.
“You're disqualified too, witch!”
“Why?”
“You gave up from the start!”
But Han Seol-hwa was unfazed.
“I'll take some criticism. It's better than committing a sin.”
“What sin?”
“If I didn't know, it would be one thing, but to entrust this child's talent to you after knowing about it would be irresponsible. My conscience as a martial artist wouldn't allow it.”
“You talk of conscience after that lie? Hand over Doctor Dan this instant!”
“Try and take him from me.”
“Hmph! You want to settle this with force? Fine! Let's decide who's superior once and for all. The winner gets to teach Doctor Dan.”
Cho Ak-ryang hastily shouted.
“Let's fight with forms only!”
As if the suggestion wasn't even worth considering, Han Seol-hwa and Beom Gye-wi scoffed simultaneously.
Because right now, they needed to reduce the competition by any means necessary.
“Are these two for real?”
At this point, Cho Ak-ryang seemed to have lost his temper, his eyes also glinting with killing intent. In an instant, the menacing gazes of the three became entangled in a chaotic mess.
It was a truly explosive situation.
What loosened the taut string of tension was a soft sigh.
“You can let go of me now.”
It was Dan Ak-seon.
Slipping out of Han Seol-hwa's embrace, Dan Ak-seon looked at Cho Ak-ryang.
“Do I really have an aptitude for martial arts?”
Cho Ak-ryang smiled bitterly and nodded.
“The bone and muscle structure you possess is so remarkable that the word 'unprecedented' doesn't do it justice. None of the talents from the Nine Great Sects, famous for being picky about their disciples, could dare compare to you.”
Han Seol-hwa also agreed.
“Not to mention your Conception and Governor Vessels, even your Gate of Life and Death is already open. Your Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Main Meridians are also well-cultivated.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded.
“I see.”
The gazes of the three gathered on Dan Ak-seon.
“Did you know?”
Dan Ak-seon smiled faintly at Cho Ak-ryang's question.
“To some extent.”
And he continued.
“My mother told me she deliberately took elixirs while I was in her womb. Right after I was born, I underwent Bone Marrow Cleansing.”
The three stared at Dan Ak-seon with astonished eyes.
A type of body modification technique, Bone Marrow Cleansing was a secret, supreme art of the Buddhist sect that refined a person's body to make it suitable for martial arts.
However, it came with a significant problem.
First, the practitioner had to expend an immense amount of internal energy.
It was common for practitioners to pour out even their fundamental life energy while performing it, often losing their lives. That was why even Shaolin, the home of Buddhist martial arts, did not attempt it lightly.
But if the Bone Marrow Cleansing was successful, its effects were truly extraordinary.
Take, for example, Beobryo, the head of the Disciplinary Hall, known as one of the Five Absolutes Under Heaven and Shaolin's greatest master.
A martial arts genius who began his training at five and, by the time he came of age, had perfectly mastered more than half of Shaolin's seventy-two supreme arts.
This was why connoisseurs called him the 'Walking Sutra Repository'.
His divine feat of defeating the Demonic Cult's elite who had invaded Shaolin long ago with nothing but a fire poker had long since become a legend on Mount Song.
He, too, was known to have undergone Bone Marrow Cleansing at a young age.
“I also took many precious elixirs when I was young. My father and mother would often give me acupuncture, telling me it was to make me healthy.”
The three became even more eager.
They rolled up their sleeves and began to argue in earnest about why Dan Ak-seon should learn their respective martial arts.
The atmosphere began to overheat once more.
Eventually, killing intent swirled around them.
In the end, Dan Ak-seon stopped them.
“Do I absolutely have to choose just one of you?”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded.
“They are exclusive martial arts, so it can't be helped.”
“Hmm…”
Dan Ak-seon fell into thought with a serious expression. The other three could only wait with bated breath for his decision.
How much time had passed?
“Alright. I've decided.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the three moved closer to him.
Dan Ak-seon grinned at them.
“I've decided not to learn martial arts at all.”