The Making of a Hunting Party
Before dawn, in the gray hours before the sun rose, three shadows gathered before the main gate of Jigeom Sect. Seen by torchlight, their appearance was strikingly peculiar.
“Dasa-hyung, do we really have to wear this?”
Duseong asked as he fidgeted with the brown leather armor wrapped around his body. The armor, which protected his chest, arms, and legs, had been made from the hide of a beast.
“Of course. If you value your life, you’ll wear it.”
I answered evenly. Beside him, Hwaung was also shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.
“It’s easy enough to move in... but the smell...”
“You’ll get used to it. Besides, that smell can help confuse beasts.”
To be honest, the three of us looked rather ridiculous. Even the leatherworker who had made the armor had stared at my request in disbelief. As a result, the armor, hastily cut from leather that hadn’t been properly tanned, was as rough as it could be. On top of that, it carried the sharp, fishy stench unique to beasts.
“What are those? Beggars?”
“Aren’t those Jigeom Sect martial artists? They’ll do anything these days.”
Though it was still dawn, there were already passersby in the streets, and they whispered among themselves as they looked at us. Duseong and Hwaung flushed red with embarrassment.
“Embarrassed? Fine. Right now, you’ll look absurd.”
I swept a glance over the people laughing at us and said, “But this is what’s going to save your lives. Instead of worrying about appearances, you’d better start thinking about how you’ll make it back alive.”
At my blunt words, the two disciples fell silent. And I wasn’t wrong. In the early days of beast hunting, countless martial artists lost their lives. Most of them could have survived if they’d been wearing armor made from beast byproducts.
Just then, a small figure approached from the direction of the main gate.
“I-I’m not late, am I?”
It was Jinu, who had agreed to join us today. A large bundle was slung over his shoulder, and his face was pale with nerves. It looked as if he’d been running all the way here from first light. I’d honestly thought he might not show up, so seeing him here lifted my mood.
“No, you’re right on time. Are you ready?”
“Yes! Bandages, styptic medicine, hemostatic cloth. And I brought the antidotes I made too.”
Jinu answered while patting the bundle. His voice trembled, but his eyes were steady.
“Good. Today we’re just going to make a quick survey, so you don’t need to be too frightened.”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right. Then before we leave, let me give you a brief explanation.”
I looked at the three of them and said, “The place we’re headed for is Qinglin Valley, thirty li outside the city walls. Beast called Livestock Class beasts live there.”
Duseong raised a hand. “Dasa-hyung, what does Livestock Class mean?”
The system of beast classification still hadn’t been properly organized yet. So I gave them a simple explanation of how beasts were ranked according to strength.
God Class.
They were natural disasters made flesh. A single one could devastate an entire region; the Fire Dragon I met before my death was the perfect example. A disaster incarnate. The kind of existence that made even a united Murim uncertain of victory.
Heaven Class.
Calamity-class beasts of overwhelming destructive power. They possessed the force to wipe out a major fortress on their own. It would take ten or more Profound Realm experts, or a large number of Profound Realm masters, attacking together to have a chance.
Extreme Class.
Beasts capable of threatening a medium-sized city or an entire county. To deal with them, you’d need three to five Profound Realm experts, or more than fifty Transcendence Realm masters.
Profound Class.
High-tier beasts with mysterious abilities. They possessed special skills or high intelligence. They required at least five Transcendence Realm experts, or one to two Profound Realm masters, to defeat.
Earth Class.
Powerful beasts that could be hunted by a single fighter or a small force. It would take several Transcendence Realm experts working together to stand against them.
Human Class.
Beasts that could be challenged by a coordinated group of Peak Realm martial artists. They were dangerous, but a Transcendence Realm expert could usually handle one alone.
Livestock Class.
Small beasts that could be handled by multiple First-Class martial artists or a Peak Realm martial artist. If a group was trained and organized, even fighters below First-Class could take them on.
“The things that live in Qinglin Valley are mostly a livestock-class beast called earth foxes. They’re about twice the size of ordinary foxes, with sharp claws and teeth. But their attack pattern is simple. They just charge straight at you and bite or claw. Once you get used to them, even two people can handle them easily.”
The three of them nodded, their faces tense.
“Once we enter Qinglin Valley, we form the formation we practiced. Hwaung takes the front, Duseong the flank, and Jinu stays in the rear. I’ll be watching, so the three of you handle it yourselves.”
“What? You’re not going to fight, Dasa-hyung?” Hwaung asked in surprise.
“You need experience. If things get dangerous, I’ll step in. But livestock-class beasts are more than manageable for you.”
When we reached Qinglin Valley, a chilly atmosphere hung in the air. A sinister presence drifted between the dense trees.
Grrrrr...
As expected, a low growl soon answered from somewhere nearby.
“They’re here. Three of them.”
At my words, the others tensed. Hwaung stepped forward, and Duseong drew his sword. Jinu took cover behind me. I had already told him to hide behind me if fighting broke out.
Rustle. Rustle rustle.
The brush swayed, and creatures with red eyes emerged. They looked like foxes, but larger and far more feral.
“Kyaaaah!”
The earth fox in front charged straight at Hwaung.
“Aaaah!”
Hwaung shouted as he met it head-on. He took the beast’s first attack with his body.
Crack!
Sharp claws scraped across the beast-hide armor, but they didn’t break through.
“It’s really holding!”
At Hwaung’s shout, Duseong found courage too.
Whoosh!
Duseong swung his sword at an earth fox that leapt in from the side. It was the same movement he had repeated thousands of times over the past few days. Simple, but precise, and the blade cut through the fox’s flank in a clean line.
“Kiiik!”
The first battle went more smoothly than I’d expected. Hwaung held the center while Duseong attacked, simple but effective.
Within ten minutes, all three earth foxes were down.
“W-we did it!”
Duseong cried out in disbelief.
“We actually killed beasts!”
Hwaung looked exhilarated too. Though exhausted, he was brimming with accomplishment. I walked up to one of the fallen foxes and slit open its belly with practiced hands. A small jewel soon appeared from inside the torn flesh.
“This is an Illusion Stone.”
I held up the small, glowing stones before the two of them. As expected of Livestock Class beasts, they were small, but they gave off a faint radiance.
“Wow...”
“We also need the hide. And collect the claws and teeth too.”
After I demonstrated, Duseong and Hwaung clumsily followed suit.
“Dasa-hyung, we just keep fighting like this, right?”
Duseong asked in a voice full of confidence.
“Yes. Today we keep going until you’re thoroughly used to it.”
After that, we hunted earth foxes all around Qinglin Valley. At first the two disciples were awkward, but they gradually grew more skilled. Hwaung learned how to guard properly, while Duseong learned how to aim for vital points.
By the time the sun reached its peak, we had already hunted more than twenty earth foxes.
“Dasa-hyung! There are more over there! Let’s go catch them!”
Hwaung shouted excitedly. He was intoxicated by the success of his first hunt.
“Yeah, let’s do more! Let’s catch as many as we can today!”
Duseong was just as fired up. But I shook my head.
“That’s enough for today.”
Hwaung looked disappointed. “What? Why? We’re doing well!”
“You need to know when to stop. Too much greed brings disaster.”
Greed was forbidden.
That was something no beast hunter could ever forget. Had I not died once after following a greedy team leader, would I ever have met the Fire Dragon?
At my firm words, the two disciples looked regretful, but they nodded.
“We’ve gathered plenty today, and you’re both tired. Let’s head back.”
When we returned to Jigeom Sect, we went straight to my quarters. We needed to sort out the Illusion Stones and materials we had gathered.
“Twenty-three Illusion Stones in total... That’s a lot.”
Jinu murmured in admiration as he looked them over.
“We’re going to make elixirs out of these?”
“That’s right. You can’t just eat them raw. They need to be refined properly before they’re useful.”
I looked at Jinu and said, “All right, Jinu. From here on, I’m going to teach you something important.”
“M-me?”
“Yes. I’m going to show you how to turn Illusion Stones into elixirs.”
Jinu’s eyes went wide.
“You’d teach me such valuable knowledge?”
It was precious knowledge now, sure, but in the future it would be something every martial artist knew. That didn’t mean everyone could actually do it, of course.
“I’ll explain the theory, so listen carefully.”
I began explaining the basic principles of refining an Illusion Stone. I described in detail how to extract the energy from inside the stone, remove its toxicity, and blend it with medicinal herbs.
“First, you grind the Illusion Stone into a fine powder. Then you combine it with Heart-Calming Herb...”
To my astonishment, Jinu understood everything immediately. No, he did more than understand it—he put it into practice at once.
“Like... this?”
His hands were astonishingly precise. It was as if he had spent years doing this work.
An hour later.
“It’s done!”
Jinu lifted a small pill and held it out to me. I took it and examined it closely.
This is unbelievable.
It was perfect.
No, it was even more refined than the method I knew.
“We should give it a name. Jinu, you choose one.”
Jinu said shyly, “How about Cheonghwandan? It means the power of the Illusion Stone has been purified...”
“That’s a good name.”
I was genuinely impressed.
This boy’s talent was beyond anything I had imagined.
“Duseong, Hwaung. Come here.”
When the two disciples approached, I handed each of them a Cheonghwandan.
“Take this and circulate your energy the way I tell you.”
“This is... an elixir, right?”
“Yes. But if you don’t circulate it in a special way, the effect will be reduced.”
I taught the two of them a special method of energy circulation. It wasn’t the Kunlun Sect’s internal method, of course, but it was a way to absorb the power of the Illusion Stone efficiently.
“Take a deep breath, gather your energy in your dantian, and then...”
The two disciples followed my instructions and began to circulate their energy. Soon, their faces flushed red, and heat started to rise from all over their bodies.
Hummm. Hummmm.
“Ugh...”
“Hold on. This is normal.”
I wasn’t the one with the Dragon Pearl, so pain was unavoidable for them. Of course, this would only happen the first time; after that, they wouldn’t feel the same pain again.
After an hour, the energy of both disciples had noticeably risen.
When Duseong and Hwaung finished their breathing exercises, they could barely conceal their amazement.
“My body feels... light!”
“It’s like strength is surging through me!”
I nodded in satisfaction.
“This is only the beginning. Keep at it, and you’ll grow stronger.”
Over the next several days, we processed the materials we had gathered.
The earth fox hides were sold at the market to raise funds. We didn’t get as much as I’d hoped. People still didn’t understand the value of beast hides yet. But we sold everything for cash anyway. In the future, earth fox hides would be common enough that there was no point in hoarding them.
“Dasa-hyung, what should we do with these claws and teeth?”
“Those have a special use.”
I finely ground the earth fox claws and teeth into powder. Then I took it to the blacksmith.
“Can you mix this into a sword and forge it for me?”
At first the smith looked at me as if I were insane, but when I offered a generous payment, he agreed readily.
A few days later, two new swords were finished.
“What do you think?”
Shing.
Duseong drew his new sword. A faint pattern ran along the blade, and its edge gleamed with sharp light.
“It’s light... and it feels different.”
“Pour your inner energy into it.”
When Duseong channeled his inner energy, the sword gave off a faint glow. That was something Duseong, who was only at First-Class Realm, should never have been able to do.
“Whoa!”
“Because beast materials are mixed in, the flow of inner energy is much better. It’ll deal greater damage to beasts.”
For Hwaung, I had a specially treated shield made as well. That too had been forged with earth fox materials mixed in. One by one, we built up our equipment and prepared for the next stage.
“Dasa-hyung, what do we do now?”
Duseong asked as he stroked the new sword in his hands. With a calm expression, I replied, “Now we go to our first beast den.”
The expressions of the three of them stiffened with tension.
But there was excitement mixed in with it too.
The preparations are complete.
With our inner energy raised through Cheonghwandan and new equipment in hand, it was time to begin the hunt in earnest.