Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Debt from 200 Years Ago (1)
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“To think you actually brought Physician Yu Cheon-baek, the Merciless Killer himself!”
The lord of Ghost Sword Manor, Shadowless Sword Yang Dae-un, was so shocked upon seeing Yu Cheon-baek that he couldn't close his mouth.
Dozens of years ago now.
Yang Dae-un remembered Yu Cheon-baek from his youth as a physician, before he became the merciless killer—back when he was full of dreams and kindness.
He had aged considerably since then, but those sharp eyes burning with the resolve to save every patient were unmistakably those of Yu Cheon-baek.
Even more astonishing was the sight of the prickly, fearsome Merciless Killer—who never killed a soul and vowed never to save certain patients—now pledging unwavering loyalty to the Heavenly Demon, his infamous reputation nowhere in sight.
'Just what did the Heavenly Demon do to the Merciless Killer?'
Yang Dae-un and many others harbored the same question, but no one had the courage to ask directly.
The situation was far too urgent for that.
Every moment counted if they were to treat Yang Hui-gun, who teetered on the brink of death.
“Dae-un! Are the preparations ready?”
The Heavenly Demon asked impatiently.
“Of course.”
Trusting the Heavenly Demon, Yang Dae-un had prepared all the basic herbs, spirit medicines, and decoction tools the moment he departed for the Hubei region.
“Good. Let's go right away.”
“Yes, Lord Gunryong!”
Yu Cheon-baek, who had sworn fealty to his new lord Gunryong during the journey from Hubei to Liaoning, followed nimbly behind.
'How serious can the injury really be?'
That was Yu Cheon-baek's honest thought as he traveled.
No matter how grave a warrior's wounds, he assumed they were mere external injuries.
But what he saw was far worse.
“This is the one.”
The Heavenly Demon led him to the room where Yang Hui-gun lay like a corpse and pointed.
“......”
Yu Cheon-baek examined Yang Hui-gun's pallid face and the long-faded vital energy, his shock evident.
Before seeing him, the Merciless Killer had been confident he could save any patient.
Even one with a pierced heart.
But Yang Hui-gun's condition was beyond that.
“If I may be so bold... this man has endured torment for over a year, losing much of his life force—his innate true energy.”
Yu Cheon-baek said gravely.
Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa paled in shock at the Merciless Killer—divine physician among divine physicians—speaking such feeble words.
“Then it's impossible to save him?”
Even the Heavenly Demon asked in surprise.
“No. I can save him. But... restoring his martial arts is impossible.”
Yu Cheon-baek replied, his initial confidence much diminished.
As he said, life could be preserved, but not his life as a warrior.
Reviving someone as good as dead was already a miracle only the Merciless Killer could achieve.
“Mm, then at least his life...”
Yang Dae-un, relieved to hear his son's life could be saved, nodded as the manor lord and father—
“Is there no way to restore his martial arts fully?”
The Heavenly Demon, having slowly taken in Yang Hui-gun's state, spoke with regret.
While everyone else had given up—even Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa, his own family, content with saving his life—the Heavenly Demon was different.
He was the sort who desired everything and sought to possess it all.
Moreover, his fixation on Yang Hui-gun's talent went beyond mere resemblance to Yang U-ryang.
“If my guess is right, Hui-gun was born with the Ultimate Martial Body. Just like the Loyal Ghost Sword, Yang U-ryang.”
The Ultimate Martial Body—a rare gift allowing one to reach the pinnacle of martial prowess, so elusive that even elite warriors and physicians struggled to detect it.
Its hallmark was a blue mongolian spot-like mark on the back of the neck, as with Yang U-ryang—and remarkably, Yang Hui-gun had one in the exact same spot.
Thus, the Heavenly Demon had intuited it the moment he saw the mark.
'If Hui-gun's talent matches U-ryang's, he could dominate as the greatest prodigy of our era.'
Raised properly, Yang Hui-gun could revive Ghost Sword Manor effortlessly—and perhaps fulfill the Heavenly Demon's long-unrealized dream.
The dream of reconquering the Central Plains alongside his most loyal retainer, Yang U-ryang.
“Ultimate Martial Body?”
“Is that real?”
As expected, even Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa were unaware.
It was that secretive and obscure a constitution.
“Yes. The Ultimate Martial Body grants innate martial bones and aptitude for cultivation, especially excelling in swift, powerful arts. But its potency makes it fragile and prone to shattering.”
Even Merciless Killer Yu Cheon-baek recognized Yang Hui-gun's constitution at a glance.
In fact, it was precisely because of the Ultimate Martial Body that treatment was trickier than expected, allowing only preservation of life.
“So Brother Hui-gun was born with such talent.”
“No wonder... Teach him one thing, and he'd grasp ten. I never knew my son's gift, crippling his wings instead of letting him soar.”
Yang Yeon-hwa and Yang Dae-un, belatedly realizing their son's talent, bowed their heads in guilt.
Had he been born into a finer martial house or sect, that unrivaled gift would have shone brightly without envy from others. Their failure as family tore at their hearts.
“It's a true shame. From ancient times, those with the Ultimate Martial Body became peerless swordsmen, generals, and commanders.”
Yu Cheon-baek shared the regret.
He believed true healing restored a patient's innate traits and talents fully—that was a physician's duty.
“We have plenty of rare herbs and spirit medicines. Could one of them work?”
The Heavenly Demon prodded hopefully.
“There's only one way to save a dying Ultimate Martial Body: cultivate an extreme yang inner cultivation method to reignite its parched innate true energy.”
“An extreme yang inner method?”
Everyone stared at Yu Cheon-baek in shock at the unheard-of solution.
Extreme yang meant arts brimming with yang energy, fiery and scorching.
And the most renowned practitioners of such extreme yang arts in the Central Plains were exactly two.
“The righteous Solar Gate and the unorthodox Inferno Gang.”
Yu Cheon-baek, well-versed in martial world and arts as both physician and warrior, explained.
As he said, for extreme yang arts, the Solar Gate of the righteous and the Inferno Gang of the unorthodox stood unrivaled.
Ooooh!
People groaned in dismay at the mention of Solar Gate and Inferno Gang.
The righteous Solar Gate, though not among the Nine Great Sects, was a famed house producing countless top-ten experts.
The unorthodox Inferno Gang, one of the Ten Powers dubbed the Nine Great Sects of Evil, prided itself on elite few.
“Solar Gate and Inferno Gang.”
“Neither is to be trifled with.”
“Indeed. Better to fetch spirit herbs than chase their inner methods—impossible, right?”
Ghost Sword Manor's people whispered lowly.
They weren't wrong.
Ghost Sword Manor lacked the power to topple either, and even if the Heavenly Demon alone could, Solar Gate had Nine Great Sects and Orthodox Alliance backing, while Inferno Gang had the Ten Powers and Unorthodox Alliance, the Black Heaven Pact.
For a fledgling Ghost Sword Manor, it was like inviting titans they couldn't handle.
“Ahem, that's why I hesitated to mention it. Why would they share their inner methods?”
Even Yu Cheon-baek, who proposed it, coughed awkwardly, face flushed.
To warriors and sects, their martial arts and signature techniques were life itself—never shared with outsiders.
Asking was tantamount to begging for death.
“Then... no hope.”
Yang Dae-un, who had briefly hoped, now resigned himself fully—
“Inferno Gang? You mean the unorthodox Inferno Gang?”
The Heavenly Demon suddenly spoke, his expression oddly amused, as if holding back laughter.
It stirred expectation and excitement in many.
“Cheon-baek.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Merciless Killer Yu Cheon-baek bowed respectfully.
“How long can you keep Hui-gun from dying?”
The Heavenly Demon was curious.
If time allowed, everything might work out.
“At least three months.”
Yu Cheon-baek answered confidently.
He was certain of maintaining the current state with gradual recovery for another hundred days.
“Good. That'll do.”
A grin spread across the Heavenly Demon's face.
The reason was simple.
“The Inferno Gang owes me a debt. One that's been brewing for 200 years.”
A debt from the unorthodox Inferno Gang, over 200 years old.
“Time to collect.”
In Henan Province, beneath Hubei Province.
What was Henan Province's most famous sect?
Ask anyone, all hundred would name one.
The North Star of the Nine Great Sects: Shaolin Temple.
Now, change the question: What was Henan Province's most infamous unorthodox sect?
Again, all hundred pointed to one.
The strongest unorthodox sect in Henan: the Inferno Gang, famed for its scorching extreme yang arts.
The Inferno Gang, one of the unorthodox Ten Powers, wielded uniquely powerful techniques fueled by blazing heat.
Unable to expand due to nearby Shaolin behemoth, they neither grew nor declined, basking in comfortable peace—until then.
“Gang Lord. A strange letter arrived for you.”
Inferno Gang's deputy lord, Flame Seal Blade Tae In-geol—who mastered extreme yang arts—sought the gang lord.
“A strange letter? Who sent it?”
Gang Lord Extreme Inferno Lord Chu Jeong-yong, renowned super-elite in the unorthodox world, asked curiously.
Did Shaolin-imposed peace breed sloth in Inferno Gang?
Chu Jeong-yong showed keen interest.
“Not sure... No sender or affiliation listed.”
“Some fool's prank? Why not toss it?”
“Too elaborate for a joke. Priciest silk wrapping, finest paper.”
Tae In-geol had reason not to discard it.
Inferno Gang, though overshadowed by Shaolin, rivaled thirty top sects in might; few would bother such effort for a prank.
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Yes. Checked for poison or hidden weapons. Safe. Shall I?”
Tae In-geol offered the letter.
Perhaps a covert missive from the Black Heaven Pact?
Chu Jeong-yong opened it with curiosity and anticipation.
The contents were astonishingly brief and intense.