The Life-and-Death Struggle in Blackstone Gorge
Three days after we were outfitted with our new gear, we set out for a more dangerous hunting ground: Blackstone Valley, in the western mountain range.
"This place has a mix of Earth Class and Profound Class beasts. The one you need to watch most carefully is a Profound Class beast called the Twin-Headed Wolf."
I switched on the detection crystal and explained.
Twin-Headed Wolf.
A massive wolf-shaped beast with two heads, it ranked among the stronger Profound Class beasts.
"Dasa-hyung, something's coming in!"
Duseong said in a tense voice. The Heavenly Thunder Sword in his hands trembled faintly.
Grrrrr...
A low growl rolled in from all sides. We were surrounded.
"Stay calm. Back to back and form a rotating circle."
Duseong, Hwaung, and I formed a triangular formation. Then a huge shape emerged from the brush.
It was the Twin-Headed Wolf.
The beast was nearly thirty feet long, and its two heads stared in different directions.
"Kraaaah!"
The Twin-Headed Wolf roared. It was a sonic attack. Duseong and Hwaung clapped their hands over their ears and staggered. In that instant, the beast lunged.
"Move!"
At my shout, Hwaung and Duseong leapt in different directions.
Bang!
The rocks where the Twin-Headed Wolf had just been standing shattered to pieces.
"Duseong, attack!"
"Yes, Dasa-hyung!"
Duseong swung the Heavenly Thunder Sword.
Crackle!
Blue lightning shot toward the Twin-Headed Wolf. But the beast dodged with ease.
"Damn it, it's fast!"
The wolf's left head charged at Duseong, while its right head kept Hwaung in check. Each head was fighting a separate battle.
"Hwaung, focus on defense!"
I gave the order and moved around to the beast's flank.
Slash!
My blade skimmed the Twin-Headed Wolf's side, but the wound was shallow.
Graaah!
The enraged beast whipped around with its tail.
Bang!
I raised my sword to block, but the impact drove me back.
"Dasa-hyung!"
Duseong tried to help, but the left head snapped at him, jaws gaping wide.
Shhk!
He barely evaded it, but a deep wound opened across his shoulder. Blood streamed down.
"Duseong!"
Hwaung charged in. Thanks to the Iron Wall Armor, he took the beast's attack head-on.
Thoooom!
The impact was tremendous, but the armor held perfectly.
"Now!"
Hwaung swung his dao and smashed into the Twin-Headed Wolf's foreleg.
Kwahk!
For the first time, the wolf let out a pained groan.
"Good. Let's keep this up!"
I changed tactics.
"Hwaung handles defense, and Duseong and I attack!"
The new strategy began to work. While Hwaung absorbed the wolf's attacks with the Iron Wall Armor, Duseong and I struck from the sides and rear.
Crackle!
When Duseong's Heavenly Thunder Sword brushed the wolf's hind leg, the shock of lightning made it stiffen for a moment.
"Now!"
I didn't waste the opening and drove my sword in deep.
Kraaaah-!
The Twin-Headed Wolf screamed and staggered back. But the battle was far from over. If anything, the beast only grew more frenzied, unleashing a barrage of indiscriminate attacks.
"This won't do!"
I made my decision.
"Duseong, Hwaung! Use the Three Talents Formation!"
The Three Talents Formation.
A formation in which three people formed a triangle and alternated between offense and defense. It might sound simple, but it was surprisingly effective for hunting beasts.
Duseong and Hwaung moved with perfect coordination.
When one attacked, another defended, and the third prepared the next strike. The Twin-Headed Wolf grew confused. Even with two heads, it couldn't block attacks coming from three directions at once.
"This is the last one!"
I drew a little on the power of the Dragon Pearl. Its energy coiled around my blade.
Whoosh-!
I moved with such speed it was almost like teleportation, closing in on the wolf's side and aiming for its neck.
Thud-!
The sword, wrapped in the Dragon Pearl's energy, buried itself deep into the beast's body.
Grrrr...
The Twin-Headed Wolf staggered, then collapsed.
"We did it!"
Duseong cheered, but then he winced, clutching his shoulder.
"Take a recovery pill."
I handed one over. As Duseong swallowed it, the wound began to heal rapidly.
"For a Profound Class beast... it was really strong," Hwaung said, breathing hard.
"But we won. And in perfect coordination, too."
Of course, that had only been possible because I'd used the Dragon Pearl's power. I pulled a Profound Class Illusion Stone from the wolf's corpse. It was a beautiful stone with a clear blue sheen.
"Today's harvest is very satisfying."
Back at Cheongongbang, I made an important decision. If we wanted to handle Profound Class beasts regularly, I needed to raise Duseong and Hwaung's abilities even further. It wasn't enough to boost my own inner energy by consuming Illusion Stones; it was more important to improve the quality of their martial arts.
The next morning, I went to Zhuge Hyeonggeon.
"Young Master Zhuge, I have a request."
"Please, speak freely."
I placed three thousand taels of silver on his desk. It was a significant portion of Cheongongbang's recent income.
"With this, I'd like to find some useful martial manuals. Ones for Duseong and Hwaung."
Zhuge Hyeonggeon's eyes shone.
"At last, you're moving into full-scale reinforcement."
"Yes. Equipment alone has its limits. It needs proper martial arts to back it up."
He thought for a moment, then said, "The Zhuge Clan's library has some martial manuals that can be sold to outsiders. Three thousand taels... should be enough to obtain some very good ones."
I looked at Zhuge Hyeonggeon and smiled softly. To think he was offering to buy martial arts manuals from the Zhuge Clan's library with silver. That was nonsense. He was trying to find martial manuals for me and for Cheongongbang, and he was probably speaking this way so I wouldn't feel burdened by it.
"Then I'd appreciate your help. We need a sword art, a dao art, and also a movement art."
"Understood. Please follow me."
I followed Zhuge Hyeonggeon to the Zhuge Clan estate. Its library was enormous. Tens of thousands of books were packed tightly on the shelves, and a separate section held martial manuals.
"This way."
The place he led me to held dozens of wooden cases.
"For sword arts, we have these. Falling Star Sword Art, which emphasizes speed and change. And Thunderbolt Sword Art, which focuses on forceful, crushing strikes."
Had he prepared them in advance?
The manuals had clearly been chosen to fit Duseong and Hwaung perfectly.
"May I take a look?"
"Of course."
I examined the two sword arts. Falling Star Sword Art seemed to suit Duseong as expected. Its swift footwork and sudden changes would pair beautifully with the lightning attribute of the Heavenly Thunder Sword. Splitting Heaven Dao Art was a dao technique that overpowered enemies with heavy, crushing blows. It was, just as expected, a perfect fit for Hwaung. Combined with Hwaung's build and the Iron Wall Armor's defensive power, it would be an ideal match.
I nodded with satisfaction.
"These are really excellent sword arts. But we still need a movement art."
"A movement art... ah, I have one."
Zhuge Hyeonggeon pulled a dust-covered wooden case from a corner.
"It's called Step on Willow. It's basic, but practical. It should be good for the two of them to learn together."
After checking the manual for Step on Willow, I said, "This is good too."
Then Zhuge Hyeonggeon took a small booklet from his robes.
"This wasn't part of the request, but... this is Basic Qi-Absorption Method. It's not a full inner-cultivation art, but it explains how to draw Illusion Stone energy into the body. If you're using a lot of Illusion Stones, it should help."
"Oh, so such a method exists?"
"No. I made it myself recently while studying Illusion Stones. Ah... of course, this one is free."
I laughed with satisfaction.
"Good. I'll take them all."
Back at Cheongongbang, I called Duseong and Hwaung over.
"What is this, Dasa-hyung?"
"Martial manuals. They're for the two of you."
Their eyes widened.
"M-martial manuals?"
"That's right. Duseong, learn the Falling Star Sword Art. It should work well with your Heavenly Thunder Sword."
I handed the Falling Star Sword Art manual to Duseong.
"Hwaung, you'll take Splitting Heaven Dao Art. You can make the most of your strength and the Iron Wall Armor's defense."
"Dasa-hyung... something this valuable..."
Hwaung accepted the manual with a moved expression.
"And this Step on Willow art is for both of you. Movement arts are all about the basics, after all."
"Thank you, Dasa-hyung!"
Both of them bowed deeply.
"And take a look at this too."
I pulled out the Basic Qi-Absorption Method.
"This is a way to absorb the energy of Illusion Stones efficiently. We have plenty of them, so if you use this, your inner energy should grow much faster."
Duseong opened the booklet and exclaimed in admiration.
"Oh... this is a method for guiding the Illusion Stone's energy directly into the dantian!"
"Exactly. It says the absorption rate is more than three times higher than with ordinary methods."
Hwaung's face lit up with excitement.
"If we master this properly, our strength will grow by a huge margin!"
"Starting today, we'll begin training at once. I'll help you myself."
I patted both of them on the shoulders.
"If we focus hard for one month, you'll be able to handle Profound Class beasts without trouble."
"Yes, Dasa-hyung! We'll do our best!"
From that day on, the back courtyard of Cheongongbang became a training ground. Duseong honed the swift sword forms of the Falling Star Sword Art, while Hwaung learned the heavy, forceful stance of Splitting Heaven Dao Art. From dawn until late at night, the two of them practiced their forms.
I personally served as their sparring partner and instructed them in detail.
"Duseong, loosen your grip. Lightning has to be supple as well as fast."
"Hwaung, heavier. A mountain doesn't shake."
In just a few days, the two of them had completed the basics of the martial arts I gave them. They weren't geniuses, but they had diligence and passion.
Good. At this pace... the next time we hunt a Profound Class beast, it'll be much easier.
I smiled as I watched them train. Cheongongbang's power was steadily growing. After several days of training Duseong and Hwaung and watching their martial arts settle into place, I finally decided the time had come to carry out what I'd been putting off.
"Duseong, Hwaung. Rest early tonight."
"Huh? Dasa-hyung, is something wrong?"
Duseong asked, looking surprised. It was natural for him to find it odd; we'd trained together late into the night so often that this kind of order was unusual.
"I have something important to do. Don't come into my room, and tell anyone who comes that I can't be seen."
Hwaung looked worried.
"It's not dangerous, is it?"
"Don't worry. It's just something that absolutely can't be interrupted."
As the two junior brothers nodded and withdrew, I returned to my room and locked the door firmly.
"Hoo... I'm nervous."
Sitting in the middle of the room, I closed my eyes and gathered my thoughts with a deep breath. Tonight, I intended to absorb the special-class Illusion Stones.
The special Illusion Stones from the Shadow Leopard...
I opened the box and set the two stones before me. The special Illusion Stones I had taken from the Shadow Leopard radiated energy that was on a completely different level from ordinary stones. The special Illusion Stone taken from the black-and-red Specter Hound was about the size of a fist, its faint light flickering within.
"This will be dangerous."
I had never heard of anyone absorbing a special beast's Illusion Stone before. It was probably information I could never have accessed under my old identity before regression. But instinct told me something else.
"It doesn't mean it's impossible."
The Dragon Pearl in my dantian was already exuding a greedy pressure. That was the same reaction it always showed whenever it saw a special Illusion Stone. The moment I picked up the Shadow Leopard's stone, the Dragon Pearl responded at once.
Wuuuum-
Deep inside my dantian, the Dragon Pearl vibrated. The sensation was definitely different from when I had absorbed ordinary Illusion Stones.
As expected... a special beast's stone is different.
I carefully placed the Shadow Leopard's stone in my mouth and slowly swallowed it.
Grrr-!
The instant the stone passed down my throat and into my dantian, the room was suddenly swallowed by darkness.