Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Hang in There!
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Baekri Jangcheon was dumbfounded, even as he fought.
In fact, the fight had now turned in his favor. His opponent's sword had begun to waver.
It wasn't a matter of physical strength or internal energy, but of the mind.
With all his comrades defeated and him left alone, it would have been strange for him not to be shaken.
Moreover, the pressure intensified with others watching the fight from a distance.
But his opponent was still a considerable master, not someone to be easily defeated.
When the others just watched without helping, Baekri Jangcheon grew anxious.
And that anxiety was reflected in his sword, causing it to tremble.
In the end, he had fallen into the same state as his opponent.
Objectively, Baekri Jangcheon's skill was just a hair's breadth inferior.
But in a real battle, that hair's breadth of difference could often decide life and death.
Baekri Jangcheon began to be pushed back.
'What in the world are they doing! Why are they just watching!'
Even if the One-Needle Eccentric had just thrown a single needle, it could have drastically changed the situation.
But did it make any sense for them to do nothing and just watch?
Baekri Jangcheon was so focused on the fight that he couldn't tell exactly what the others were doing.
That made him even more frustrated.
In truth, not everyone was just watching.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric were treating Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon, whose bodies were beginning to break down.
Their conditions were quite serious, and if not treated promptly, they would likely suffer for a long time.
So, they were focusing all their efforts on treating the two.
The others were mostly unharmed.
For one, Yeon Harin's skills were more impressive than expected, allowing her to hold her own.
Additionally, the Divine Doctor of the Ages had improved since he first met Byeok Taesan, and the Master of the Golden Jade Pavilion and the Underworld Sect member showed flashes of wit that were a great help in dangerous moments.
Thanks to them, the only ones injured in the group were Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon.
And since those two were quite used to getting hurt, they received their treatment calmly.
The only worry on their minds was what would become of their training today.
So, at that moment, the only person paying attention to Baekri Jangcheon's fight was Yeon Harin.
Yeon Harin wanted to help, but the skill level of Baekri Jangcheon and his opponent was so high that she feared she would only be a hindrance if she intervened, so she stayed put.
Meanwhile, the treatment for Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon was finished.
"If you're done, let's head back. There's a live one over there, go bring him here."
At Byeok Taesan's words, Cheon Gyeongwan moved reflexively, but the Underworld Sect member stopped him with a start and ran off himself.
He returned, carrying a man on his shoulder—a man who was sitting slumped, bleeding, with his vital acupoints sealed.
"I've brought him."
Byeok Taesan nodded and said.
"Let's go."
Everyone began to walk without a hint of hesitation.
Yeon Harin was greatly flustered by this.
"W-we're leaving? Just like this?"
She said, looking back and forth between Byeok Taesan and Baekri Jangcheon.
She never imagined they would actually just leave.
Seeing her, Byeok Taesan wore an expression as if he had just remembered something.
He then looked toward Baekri Jangcheon and said.
"Hang in there!"
Then, without hesitation, he turned and walked away.
As the rest of the group followed Byeok Taesan without a backward glance, Yeon Harin fidgeted, unsure of what to do, before finally looking at Baekri Jangcheon one last time and following Byeok Taesan.
Baekri Jangcheon was dumbfounded. What in the world was going on?
If he ended up dying, how were they going to deal with the aftermath?
Besides, in his current state, his chances of winning were steadily decreasing.
Baekri Jangcheon was desperate, but he forced himself to calm down. Impatience leads to death.
At that moment, his opponent's balance suddenly faltered.
Baekri Jangcheon didn't miss the opening and thrust his sword.
Shunk!
Baekri Jangcheon's sword pierced his opponent's shoulder and thigh.
He had seized the advantage. From now on, he only needed to endure to win.
As his opponent stumbled, Baekri Jangcheon saw the glint of a needle.
It was the One-Needle Eccentric's needle.
One way or another, he had helped him.
As Baekri Jangcheon swung his sword with all his might, Byeok Taesan's final words echoed in his mind.
'Hang in there!'
He nearly coughed up blood.
* * *
"Young Master, will he be alright?"
Byeok Taesan didn't answer Yeon Harin's question, instead looking at the One-Needle Eccentric.
"You did something unnecessary."
The One-Needle Eccentric quickly bowed his head.
"My apologies. But if that man dies, it will become very troublesome."
"Well, that might be true."
Listening to the exchange between the two, Yeon Harin realized that the One-Needle Eccentric had done something for Baekri Jangcheon.
Yeon Harin had many questions, but she held them back.
A brief silence followed. It was broken by the Master of the Golden Jade Pavilion.
"I will send people to that place later to investigate."
"Do as you wish."
It would probably be difficult to find any significant traces, but even finding something trivial could be a great help for future investigations.
Silence fell again.
The group was lost in their own thoughts.
Byeok Taesan was busy absorbing the spiritual energy he had gained today. It was so well-refined that he didn't need to concentrate separately.
Simply circulating the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts was enough.
He first accumulated it in his weaker energy channels. There was no need to use it for healing; just leaving it there would produce excellent results.
"Spiritual medicine really is the best."
This was the power of spiritual medicine.
Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon were replaying today's battle in their minds.
The enlightenment gained through real combat always presents a new path.
Perhaps it would be better to direct their training toward internalizing those lessons for the time being.
The gazes of the two simultaneously fell on Byeok Taesan, then shifted away.
Once they returned, they would have to start that hellish training all over again.
They wanted to go back in time to when they begged to learn the Limitless Steps and slap their own mouths.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric were thinking about the Half-Jiangshi.
A way to deal with that creature seemed to be just on the tip of their tongues.
They used most of their concentration to grasp that sliver of enlightenment.
The two simply walked by instinct, sinking deeper into the swamp of contemplation.
The Master of the Golden Jade Pavilion and the Underworld Sect member were discussing their future plans.
From the way they conversed, it seemed the Underworld Sect member's status was not low.
Indeed, someone of low status would have found it difficult to survive that earlier fight unscathed.
After all, the roles of the Master of the Golden Jade Pavilion and the Underworld Sect member had been quite significant.
And finally, Yeon Harin had a very complicated expression.
Her thoughts were just as complex as her expression.
First, she hadn't known Byeok Taesan was this strong.
She knew he had treated his illness to some extent. She also knew that his knowledge of martial arts was incredibly vast.
And she had recently learned that he had mastered a fair amount of martial arts based on that knowledge, and that those arts were not weak.
But she had never imagined he was this powerful.
The display Byeok Taesan had shown today had completely shattered Yeon Harin's common sense and expectations.
The man Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon had faced earlier was a truly formidable master.
To what extent? He was a master stronger than Baekri Jangcheon.
It was a shock that Yu Seoyeon was so strong, but the shock of Byeok Taesan easily dispatching such a master was truly immense.
A determined gleam appeared in Yeon Harin's eyes.
'I can't go on like this.'
This wouldn't do. She didn't want to be a burden to Byeok Taesan.
She had to stand proudly by his side.
Yeon Harin glanced over at Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon.
She had often seen the two shuddering at the thought of their training.
That was probably how they had become so strong.
'Should I ask to join them?'
Yeon Harin was lost in thought.
As they walked, each lost in their own thoughts, they were nearing their starting point.
Just then, someone came rushing furiously from behind.
It was so loud that it shattered the group's reverie, even from a considerable distance.
A few of them turned to look back.
"It's that old man from before."
At the Divine Doctor of the Ages' words, the others also turned around.
In the distance, Baekri Jangcheon was running toward them, the ground thudding with his steps.
With each step, Baekri Jangcheon slammed his internal energy into the ground as if to shatter it.
His speed was faster than usual, but the consumption of internal energy was immense.
But Baekri Jangcheon paid no mind to the energy consumption and just ran.
It was partly to announce his approach, and partly because he wanted to catch up to Byeok Taesan as quickly as possible.
And there was a slight hint of a threat mixed in.
It was tantamount to him running while screaming at the top of his lungs that he was angry.
"Honestly, one should age gracefully."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages said this and glanced at the One-Needle Eccentric.
"Why are you looking at me while saying something like that?"
"Can't I even look at my brother's face? I just looked because I wanted to."
"I'm asking why you had to look at me right when you were talking about aging gracefully."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages looked back and forth between the One-Needle Eccentric and Baekri Jangcheon.
"That old fellow, isn't he about the same age as you, brother?"
"I'm older."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages' eyes widened as he looked again between Baekri Jangcheon and the One-Needle Eccentric.
"That one looks at least ten years older, though. Wow, my brother, you must have eaten a lot of good things for your body, eh?"
"Could I have eaten more than you?"
"Hey, I've never eaten anything like spiritual medicine."
"Not medicine. Haven't you been consuming something as good as spiritual medicine through the secrets of yin and yang?"
"Oh, you're making false accusations. People will misunderstand if they hear you."
The One-Needle Eccentric grinned, thinking he had finally landed a hit after a long time.
By then, Baekri Jangcheon had arrived where the group was.
"You...!"
Just as Baekri Jangcheon was about to say something, the One-Needle Eccentric stepped forward.
"Was my help of any use?"
For a moment, he was at a loss for words. Come to think of it, if it weren't for the One-Needle Eccentric, he would already be dead.
Baekri Jangcheon first cupped his fist to the One-Needle Eccentric.
"Thank you for your help. I survived thanks to you."
"If you survived, that's all that matters. A physician simply did his duty."
Then the Divine Doctor of the Ages smoothly interjected.
"Well, since everything ended well, let's get going. Shouldn't we hurry back, wrap things up properly, and get some rest?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric steered the mood and dragged Baekri Jangcheon along, and before he could protest, they were already on the move.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric, who were leading the way, glanced back.
When their eyes met Byeok Taesan's, they grinned.
They didn't forget to give him a sparkling look, as if asking for a word of praise later.
The three of them continued to lead the way before turning into a nearby tavern.
Yeon Harin watched the scene with admiration.
To diffuse such a tense atmosphere with just a few words and bring everyone together like that. It was something not just anyone could do.
Her gaze immediately turned to Byeok Taesan.
'Our Young Master is truly amazing.'
No wonder such incredible people served him.
Strength entered Yeon Harin's steps.
Seeing this from behind, Yu Seoyeon covered her mouth with her hand and smiled faintly.
It had been a long time since she had seen such a triumphant look.
The fight had been hard, and the rest of today's training would be even harder, but she still felt good.
A faint smile played on Yu Seoyeon's lips.
And seeing that, the corners of Cheon Gyeongwan's mouth lifted slightly before falling again.
Byeok Taesan stood still amidst it all, watching Baekri Jangcheon enter the tavern, and muttered.
"I suppose... I'll have to draw it out once."
* * *
A lavish room, and in it, a bed as lavish and grand as the room itself.
On the bed, three naked women were entangled with a man.
The women's faces were colored with ecstasy, but the man's expression was impassive, almost cold.
A voice came from outside the door.
"The operation in Uichang has ended in failure."
"Failure?"
The man sat up and waved his hand. The women on the bed tumbled to the floor.
Even on the floor, the women continued to writhe.
"You need to tell me exactly how far you got and where it failed."
"We succeeded in taking over the Black Iron Gang, but everything after that failed."
The man wore a look of disbelief.
"You spent all that money just to take over a single Black Iron Gang? What about the jiangshi we sent in?"
"We lost all of them."
"Fools."
The man said this, then stood up and began to dress as he asked.
"Any loose ends?"
"They've been cut off completely. They'll never be able to track us."
"Find out the exact cause. And review the second plan from the very beginning. One failure is enough."
"I will see to it at once."
With that answer, the presence outside the door vanished.
The man, now fully dressed, waved his hand toward the floor.
Fssshhh!
The three women writhing on the floor instantly melted into pools of blood.
The pools of blood seeped continuously into the soles of the man's feet.
As the man absorbed the blood, a red glow flickered in his eyes.