The Genius Martial Artist Who Remembers Everything - Chapter 329: Spirit Hunt (4)
The Cheokgwanggeom clattered to the ground.
“……Y-you, you could talk!!!”
I had the Taeyanghu firmly in my grip, but the light of life was already fading from its eyes.
“Why…… why didn’t you say something sooner!!!”
Blood continued to pour from the hole in its chest. A massive wave of regret and self-reproach crashed over me.
If only I’d stabbed a little later…….
“My…… money…….”
The image of myself laughing heartily atop a mountain of gold and silver treasures slowly dissolved away. How could my luck be this shitty…….
As despair threatened to swallow me whole, a cold clarity suddenly settled in my mind.
But wait—this bastard’s dying words were ‘Cheonma,’ right?
“…….”
What were the odds of encountering a talking monkey in the first place? And the odds that its first words would be ‘Cheonma’? Hell, jumping off some random cliff for a lucky encounter seemed more plausible.
“And I, the idiot who killed it without realizing…….”
I berated myself endlessly before shaking my head to snap out of it.
A monkey tainted by ‘Cheonma’? Forget turning it into a sideshow attraction—this thing’s only destination was the Murim Alliance’s Execution Hall basement. And as its owner, I’d get dragged along for the ride.
Who wouldn’t be curious about a talking monkey’s master? I sure as hell was. I wanted to crack open that guy’s skull and see what the fuck he was thinking, teaching a monkey to say ‘Cheonma.’
“Yeah…… good kill. Well done, Jin Sowoon…… Huh? Why are my cheeks wet? Did it rain or something?”
I calmed my mind and picked up the Cheokgwanggeom again.
“What’s the point of a golden mountain anyway? An inner core’s way better. This one’s definitely gonna make me the best in the world.”
Damn right it would.
I comforted myself like that and sliced open the Taeyanghu’s chest.
Crack.
Blood gushed out as the chest split open. After waiting a moment, I pried it wide, revealing the organs. I dug out the ones around where the inner core should be, and something the size of a mung bean glowed faintly.
“……Does the Taeyanghu keep its inner core somewhere else? Yeah, that must be it.”
I rummaged through the organs again, but…….
“No way…….”
There was nothing even resembling an inner core anywhere.
For real?
“…….”
What kind of bullshit luck is this?
If I’d known, I would’ve trained the damn thing properly. Tangma-myeolsa—it sounds similar, so if I’d taught it that, no Execution Hall, and I could’ve made money as a sideshow…….
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
After venting like that for a while, my head finally cleared a bit.
“Ha…….”
I glanced at the Taeyanghu’s inner core on my fingertip—wait, no, that tiny thing wasn’t it—and popped it into my mouth anyway. Felt too unfair not to.
Calming down, I sorted my thoughts.
First. Spirits live in Mukrim.
Second. Academy students and instructors tried to hunt one of them—Sun Wukong…… no, the Taeyanghu—and failed.
Third. By sheer luck, I caught the Taeyanghu, and it talked.
Fourth. But its only words were ‘Cheonma’…….
What the fuck.
I scratched the back of my head furiously, but it brought no relief.
“Does this even make sense?”
I’d summarized it myself, but it was still a chain of utterly nonsensical events. If this report reached the Mantongbu, Jegal Somyeong would probably shred it and burn the pieces.
“Not like I planned to report it anyway.”
The real issue was the fourth point over the third. A talking monkey was shocking enough, but this Demon Wukong saying ‘Cheonma’? What the hell did Mukrim’s spirits have to do with the Heavenly Demon?
“These Demonic Cult bastards have their fingers in every pie.”
My grudge against them was already massive, but now it burned even hotter. If I met them, I’d smash their skulls and demand answers: How do you make a monkey talk?
Not for the money. Seriously.
“Whew…… time to head back.”
There was a handy pit nearby, so I dumped the Taeyanghu in and covered it with dirt. The burial was obvious, but the area was already a mess, so it didn’t stand out.
I clamped my mouth shut and turned to rejoin the squad—
Whoosh.
Flames erupted in my dantian.
I’d eaten plenty of poison pills and inner cores in Mukrim, but I’d never actually done a proper energy circulation meditation. My dantian’s internal energy was already vast enough that circulating it absorbed external qi just fine, and with the Azure Dragon Ring, I didn’t even need that.
But this time was different.
The small spark had grown, feeding on my dantian’s internal energy to blaze even hotter.
I was already heartbroken over losing the talking monkey, and now its inner core was devouring my qi.
“What the actual fuck…….”
I quickly sat cross-legged and began circulating, but the flames showed no sign of dying down. If anything, they sucked in more energy and burned wilder.
The heat from my dantian spread through my meridians, engulfing my body. Even with the wind spirit keeping things cool, the boiling heat wrapped around me like it would incinerate everything.
Oh, shit!
The biggest problem: my dantian’s internal energy was vanishing, consumed by the inner core.
How the hell did I even gather all this……!
I desperately gathered all my dantian’s qi and smothered the heat in one go. I figured a vast ocean like mine could easily crush a tiny spark.
But…….
Stop, you crazy bastard!
The heat kept boiling, expanding its reach. The more I squeezed, the more it spread.
If I screwed up, my body might turn into a human candle. I was going insane.
I had to control the heat somehow. Or expel it…….
Expel it?
Memories of the Taeyanghu’s actions flashed: burning its mane, spewing heat.
……But could a human even do that?
No time for second thoughts. My meridians were about to burn out.
“Hoo…….”
I shoved my internal energy to one side of the dantian and let the heat move freely. The Taeyanghu’s inner core, following the meridians, went berserk, racing through my body.
Heat surged along every meridian and collateral channel, leaving no spot from fingertips to toes untouched by agony. It felt like my whole body was melting in a furnace.
The moment I couldn’t endure it anymore—like spewing drunken haze all over—I exhaled the heat outward.
Whoosh!
Brilliant light pierced through my closed eyelids in the darkness.
Did it work?
The temperature in my meridians and collaterals had definitely dropped. But as the dantian heat flared again, I expelled it once more through my pores.
Whoosh!
Even brighter flames this time. Cracking my eyes open, I saw small fires igniting dry leaves around me.
Holy shit.
Not just expelling the heat, but actual fire from my mouth. Unreal.
Now that I knew it worked, no time to waste.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Each expulsion scattered the flames outward, and the blaze in my dantian gradually died down.
How much time passed? Snapping out of my trance, the scorching qi that had gnawed at my dantian was gone.
“Hoo…….”
The flames were out, but I didn’t feel the Taeyanghu’s inner core vanish. If anything, the opposite.
I raised my fist and channeled intent into it. It glowed red-hot.
“…….”
Probably the Taeyanghu’s ability. Checking my dantian, my internal energy hadn’t increased or decreased.
The inner core must’ve consumed what it took and replenished it.
“……So the Taeyanghu’s inner core had this kind of effect.”
Martial artists learning fire arts wasn’t rare, but if word got out I’d gained this power from one inner core, No Jinha and the instructors wouldn’t sit idle.
“Worthy of being called a spirit, huh.”
I wanted to study the inner core more, but no time.
“Sun’s not up yet, but if I keep this up……”
My clothes were burned to shit. I’d have to streak back naked.
I wove some grass into a crude outfit and headed back to the squad, sending a transmission for spare clothes. Moments later, footsteps approached—Geum Pyo.
“What the hell have you been…… Kyaaak!”
What? Why did Geum Pyo sound like that…….
“…….”
Hong Saryeon screamed and dropped the clothes. I’d called for Geum Pyo—why’d she come?
I fired the Flying Dragon Claw and snatched the clothes midair.
“I’m not buck naked or anything. Why the freakout?”
It was crude, sure, but it passed as clothing. If you had to nitpick…… maybe the primitive look.
“Th-that…… what happened to your clothes?”
Her face flushed beet red, eyes darting away awkwardly. Her acting weird made me feel weird.
“……Just, y’know, a little incident.”
“What kind…… sniff sniff, you’re really gonna wear that?”
“Why not?”
“Sniff sniff, can’t you smell that? Did you fall into a monster shit pit or something?”
She was right—sniffing my arm, a foul stench hit me. My skin had been clean till now, so I hadn’t noticed.
“…….”
I dove into a nearby pond I’d spotted on the way, scrubbing with a rock. Yellowish grime poured off.
“Euuugh…… How long have you gone without washing?”
Why’d she follow? I told her to go ahead.
“Anyway, I called for Geum Pyo. Why’d you come? Wasn’t it not your watch?”
Hong Saryeon looked incredulous.
“This is all your fault.”
“What now?”
Something happen while I was gone?
“Do you know how much of a fit Instructor No Jinha threw last night?”
“Huh?”
“He barged in at night screaming, ‘Where’s the senior brother? Did he go spirit hunting? Hand him over!’ Threw a total tantrum.”
Her eyes sharpened as she continued.
“Instructor’s causing chaos, and for some reason, senior brother’s nowhere to be found. So yeah, we thought you’d actually gone spirit hunting.”
Did he track the Taeyanghu and notice I was gone? Or did he see me chasing it?
Depending on which, my response had to change completely. Plus, if it came out I’d eaten the Taeyanghu’s spirit medicine, it’d spark massive trouble later.
It wouldn’t end at ‘who ate the inner core.’ It’d spiral from contributions in the hunt to ownership rights.
“Hm. We’re fucked.”
If caught, I’d owe insane compensation. For the Taeyanghu’s inner core? No way in hell that’d come from my pocket.
Tae-eul Gate didn’t have that kind of money anyway.
I splashed more water on myself and asked Hong Saryeon.
“Hmm…… exactly what did he say? ‘He didn’t go spirit hunting!’ or did he flip out like……”
“How should I remember that? I’m not you.”
“Think about it. It’s pretty important.”
“Why’s that important?”
“‘Didn’t he go spirit hunting?’ versus ‘He went spirit hunting!’ mean totally different things, and change how we respond.”
“……Senior Brother.”
A look of shock crossed her face.
“No way……”
She stepped toward the pond.
Why’s she grabbing a rock?
“You caught a spirit?”
Damn, why are my juniors so quick on the uptake? Can I even keep this secret?