Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: It Has Been Too Quiet
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"Aaaaaah! Aah! Aah! Aaaaaah!"
At the sight of the Divine Doctor of the Ages abruptly shooting up and screaming in various ways, the One-Needle Eccentric scowled.
"Quiet!"
*Thwack!*
He smacked the back of his head with all his might, and only then did the screaming stop.
He'd been hit so hard that the Divine Doctor's eyes flew open, and his mouth clamped shut.
He then whipped his head around to glare at the One-Needle Eccentric.
"What? What are you going to do about it?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages stared at the One-Needle Eccentric for a long moment before cautiously asking.
"Is it really you, Brother?"
"Who else would I be?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages let out a deep sigh.
"Sigh, Brother, how did you end up dying and following me all the way to the afterlife?"
"What? You crazy bastard?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages glanced around. They were inside a carriage.
And it wasn't just the two of them; Yuk Taegu and Jang Gagu were there as well.
Only then did he feel that something was strange.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages sat blankly, retracing his memories. He was certain he had died. His head had been split open by the sword Byeok Taesan had swung.
"Wait, did I not confirm my head was split?"
He clearly remembered losing consciousness before that.
Of course, it was unlikely that a sword swung with such force would have stopped midway, but since the one who swung it was Byeok Taesan, nothing that happened would have been strange.
"Brother, am I not dead?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages asked, touching the top of his head as he looked at the One-Needle Eccentric.
The One-Needle Eccentric gave him an incredibly pathetic look.
"Brother, what's with that look? Are you thinking I'm pathetic or something? Honestly, do you think you wouldn't have been the same? The Young Master swung his sword with all his heart, you know?"
"Don't make pointless assumptions. The bizarre screams you just let out are still ringing in my ears."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages was about to flare up but quickly shut his mouth and grinned.
"Why are you smiling like that? It's creepy."
"Brother, choose your words more carefully. How can you still not have fixed that habit even after dying like that?"
The One-Needle Eccentric clenched his fist. It trembled with rage.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages quickly continued.
"Anyway, isn't it a relief that the Young Master has forgiven me now?"
The One-Needle Eccentric wore a sour expression.
"But will you be okay? You'll be experiencing death at all times again."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages grinned widely.
"The more I die, the stronger I'll get, so what's there to worry about? If anything, I should be worried the Young Master won't kill me like he used to."
The One-Needle Eccentric sighed and shook his head.
"Who's going to stop you?"
The grinning Divine Doctor of the Ages suddenly tilted his head.
"By the way, why am I so hungry? I feel like I could chew through iron. Brother, when are we eating?"
The One-Needle Eccentric looked at him pathetically and clicked his tongue.
***
Byeok Taesan was sitting in a spacious seat inside the carriage when his gaze flickered toward the carriage behind them, from which the Divine Doctor's screams had come.
"It seems he's finally awake."
Yeon Harin, sitting uncomfortably close, said while looking at Byeok Taesan.
"I was a little worried since he was out for so long."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages hadn't realized it yet, but two full days had passed since he had collapsed.
Everyone except Byeok Taesan had looked at the Divine Doctor with concern, wondering if he might actually die.
But Byeok Taesan knew his exact condition and wasn't particularly worried.
And thanks to the Divine Doctor, he had been able to devise a more effective training method.
What Byeok Taesan was doing for the group as they traveled was training to build up their spiritual energy.
He directly interfered with their souls through the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, allowing them to indirectly experience death.
The core of the training was to momentarily sever the connection between the soul and the body, tricking the soul into thinking it had died.
He had to sever it for a duration equivalent to a mere instant split into hundreds of pieces. If the disconnection lasted even a fraction longer, they would truly die.
It was a dangerous training method that no one but Byeok Taesan would even dare to attempt.
But the results were undeniable.
Although there were slight differences among them, they had all created their own spiritual energy, and it had properly settled within their bodies.
Spiritual energy was naturally connected to the soul, so each time they experienced death, new spiritual energy was generated and steadily accumulated.
The one with the fastest results and greatest talent was Yeon Harin.
Yeon Harin was a bit different from the others.
In any case, they all accumulated spiritual energy in this way and were now simultaneously training to control it.
Yeon Harin was also the best at controlling spiritual energy. Her skills were improving so rapidly it was visible to the naked eye.
The others, while not on Yeon Harin's level, were also making meaningful progress.
And the Divine Doctor of the Ages, who had been the slowest to progress, had made a huge leap forward after that single death.
By now, he would probably be able to feel the spiritual energy generated in his body.
And Byeok Taesan, who was helping the group with their spiritual energy training, was also gaining a lot.
Interfering with another's soul or spiritual energy was by no means an easy task.
Especially such delicate interference as this was truly tricky.
It would have been far simpler to just extract, crush, and burn the soul. Of course, that too was no ordinary feat without the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
In any case, by interfering with the souls and spiritual energy of others—a variety of others at that—his own ability to handle spiritual energy began to grow significantly.
Slicing the Divine Doctor of the Ages two days ago was one of the results of that growth.
He had become able to let him experience a more proper death.
And he planned to refine that even further to allow the others to experience a much deeper death as well.
As he was thinking about the training, Yeon Harin, sitting next to him, pressed her body slightly closer and slyly hugged his arm.
"By the way, Young Master. We've been camping out ever since we left Wuhan. Don't you think we should rest for a day at a proper inn soon?"
As she said this, a seductive charm and a sense of anticipation flickered in Yeon Harin's eyes as she looked at Byeok Taesan.
Byeok Taesan looked at her but spoke indifferently.
"We are not lacking in food or the means to wash, are we?"
It was true. They had brought a large supply of food ingredients, and Byeok Taesan's handmaidens were such skilled cooks that food was never an issue.
Furthermore, the Underworld Sect had provided for them so well that they had even prepared a carriage with water and a place to wash so the group would not be inconvenienced at all.
Sleeping was a bit uncomfortable, but for martial artists of their caliber, a few uncomfortable nights of sleep were no problem.
Moreover, most of the people here had gone through Byeok Taesan's hellish training.
Compared to that, their current situation was like frolicking in paradise, so there could be no complaints.
Of course, even if that were true, what Byeok Taesan had just said was not the answer Yeon Harin wanted.
Yeon Harin's lips pouted slightly.
But she quickly composed her expression and looked at Byeok Taesan again.
Her eyes now held a bit more sincerity—that is, more seductive charm and anticipation—than before.
"Do you think I'm saying this just so I can wash and sleep comfortably?"
Hwaok, Soso, Danyeong, and Chaewol, sitting across from Byeok Taesan and Yeon Harin, stared at the two with wide eyes.
Only then did Yeon Harin notice their gazes.
Yeon Harin's face turned beet red.
Silence hung in the carriage for a moment.
The one who broke the silence was Byeok Taesan.
"Starting today, we will be doing more in-depth training. So, we will not be staying at an inn for the time being."
He said it so calmly that Yeon Harin felt the strength drain from her body.
"Yes. Of course. Training is important. Yes, it is."
Byeok Taesan nodded.
"You're stating the obvious. In our current situation, nothing is more important than training."
Yeon Harin let out a quiet sigh.
***
Five days had passed since the Divine Doctor of the Ages had woken up.
During that time, the entire group felt like they were dying because of Byeok Taesan's new training method.
No, it felt like they were actually dying.
The only things that had changed were that it was now done one-on-one inside a carriage and that Byeok Taesan was using a real sword.
But with just those changes, they were able to experience a death so profound it was incomparable to what they had experienced before.
To what extent? Not a single person woke up without screaming.
Even Yeon Harin.
Byeok Taesan was very satisfied. After changing the training method, he could see everyone's spiritual energy growing by leaps and bounds.
It was then that Byeok Taesan thought it was time to start increasing their travel speed.
He intended to quickly wipe out the Nameless bases that the Underworld Sect had investigated in advance, just as he had initially planned. The starting point was Changsha, where they were currently headed.
There was much to do after that, so he decided to wrap up the new spiritual energy training here and leave the rest to each individual's ability and effort.
Of course, he planned to help them with their training every day until they reached Changsha.
With these thoughts, Byeok Taesan spoke to Hwaok, who was sitting in front of him.
"Tell them to increase the speed."
"Yes, Young Master."
Hwaok immediately gave the order to all the coachmen at once.
The speed of the running carriages increased significantly.
The atmosphere inside the carriage became subdued. It wasn't just this carriage; the others were the same.
Everyone began to focus not on training, but on the real task at hand: attacking the Nameless's bases.
As the carriage sped up, the shaking intensified.
But the coachmen's skills were considerable, so the shaking was much less severe than one would expect for the speed.
It was only natural for the coachmen, handpicked by the Underworld Sect, to possess such skill.
As they were racing along, Byeok Taesan suddenly spoke to Hwaok.
"Slow down."
"Pardon?"
Hwaok looked at Byeok Taesan with a slightly bewildered expression.
It hadn't been long since he had told her to speed up, and now he was telling her to slow down again.
But Hwaok decided to carry out the order first and immediately requested the coachmen to reduce their speed.
The coachmen, having experienced similar things many times, began to slow down right away.
As the carriage slowed, Hwaok cautiously asked Byeok Taesan.
"Young Master, may I ask the reason?"
Byeok Taesan raised his hand to stop Hwaok's words instead of answering.
Hwaok looked at Byeok Taesan with a puzzled expression.
Byeok Taesan waited for a moment as if expecting something, then looked at Hwaok and said.
"Stop the carriage."
"Yes."
Hwaok, sensing an unusual atmosphere, quickly relayed Byeok Taesan's order to the coachmen.
Soon, the carriages slowly reduced their speed and came to a halt.
"It has been too quiet for a while."
As Byeok Taesan said that, Hwaok's eyes widened slightly.
She had grasped the situation.
Hwaok quickly got out of the carriage. And she looked around.
The place where the carriage was currently stopped was in the middle of a wide field.
And the path the carriage had to take was through a vast reed bed.
The reeds had grown quite tall, so one could easily hide their presence just by crouching slightly.
A path ran straight through the reed bed, and if the carriage had kept going, it would have had to follow that path.
When the carriage stopped, people curious about what was happening began to get out one by one.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages quickly ran to Hwaok's side.
"What's going on?"
Hwaok turned her head slightly to look at the Divine Doctor.
Judging by his expression, it was clear he had come with a rough idea of what was happening.
And in his eyes, there was an unmistakable glimmer of anticipation.
It was obvious he was itching to try out the new power he had gained through the recent death-experiencing training.
Although Hwaok guessed all of this accurately, she answered kindly.
"The Young Master stopped us. It seems someone is preparing an ambush."
At Hwaok's words, the Divine Doctor of the Ages nodded his head vigorously.
"Is that so? It certainly is a good place to hide and attack from."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages grinned.
"Shall I give them a little poke?"
He kicked a stone on the ground into the air, then swung his arm and snatched it.
Then, he moved the spiritual energy in his hand and focused it on the stone.
An incredible sense of exhilaration and a feeling of power tightening around his entire body unfolded.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages threw the stone in his hand with all his might.
*Kwa-ja-ja-jak!*
The stone flew, wiping out a portion of the reeds. The surroundings swirled violently, caught in the stone's rotation.
*Kwang!*
A powerful explosion erupted, and a part of the reed forest blew up.
And from within, people began to rise up one after another.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages looked at the scene he had created with a pleased expression.
"How thrilling."
The One-Needle Eccentric, who had approached the Divine Doctor's side at some point, heard his words and said.
"Grow up. What do you think you're doing? If we had used the situation well, we could have dealt a proper blow to those guys, but you ruined it."
The One-Needle Eccentric's gaze was fixed on the man who had caught the stone the Divine Doctor had just thrown.
He was exuding a truly unusual aura.
It wasn't just that person; everyone who rose from the reed forest was extraordinary.
"Those guys are no ordinary thugs."
At those words, the Divine Doctor of the Ages grinned.
"Why are you getting so worked up over something like that? The Young Master will take care of guys like them in one blow anyway."
As if in response to those words, Byeok Taesan, who had dismounted from the carriage, said.
"That one blow, I have no intention of using it today."
"Whaat?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages turned around in surprise.
Byeok Taesan continued calmly.
"You should at least be able to stomp clumsy fools like those to death."
By now, the entire group had lined up around Byeok Taesan.
Fighting spirit blazed in everyone's eyes.