Chapter 36
Chapter 36
36.
The First Night of Inauguration
The meeting concluded peacefully, just as I had hoped.
I am indeed someone who can conduct meetings effectively. After dismissing the executives and while So Gun-pyeong led the Golden Dragon Division in establishing an airtight security perimeter, I welcomed a serene and sacred night.
It was also a day when the power of the Celestial Jade within me was abundant.
As I sat alone in the main hall, wearing my mask and simply breathing, a maid approached and asked,
"Clan Leader, would you like to dine? Or shall I prepare your bath first?"
Did this maid know that the Clan Leader had changed? Or was she unaware? If she had been confined to menial tasks here, it was understandable that she wouldn't know. To let her hear my voice, I replied,
"No need for a bath, and I'm fine with food since I ate pork bone stew. It seems I have some blood on my face, so bring me some water for washing here."
"Understood."
The maid, without noticing anything unusual, scurried away. I pondered for a moment.
'Is my voice similar to a rabbit's?'
Both were low-pitched, but their characteristics were different.
As I watched the maid returning with a basin of water, I removed my mask.
The maid casually glanced at my face, which was now without the mask, and was so startled that she dropped the basin full of water onto the floor.
Her eyes widened to their fullest extent.
I stared at the spilled water and said in a subdued tone,
"Bring it again. And wipe the floor too. You really threw the washbasin with gusto."
"Ah, yes..."
"Don't be alarmed. Nothing harmful will come to you. I am the new Black Cat Clan Leader."
"Yes, Clan Leader. It's a pleasure to meet you."
I wiped the bloodstains from my face and cleaned the bloodied mask, then asked the maid,
"Is my voice similar to the previous Clan Leader's?"
"It's not similar now."
"Now?"
"Yes, when you wear the mask, your voice is usually slightly altered, so I didn't realize the difference."
"So it sounds similar when I speak with the mask on."
"Yes."
Upon closer inspection, the inside of the mask was made of a hard material, and the mouth area had tiny holes to allow air to escape, but the overall closed structure seemed to alter the voice. If the mask was like this, there was no need to worry about my identity being exposed because of my voice. And I could somewhat mimic the voice and tone of the previous Clan Leader.
Suddenly, I felt the maid glancing at me several times, so I asked,
"Why? Am I handsome? Can't you take your eyes off me?"
"I'm sorry."
"Hmm."
What did 'I'm sorry' mean? Did it mean I wasn't handsome, or was she sorry for daring to look at the Clan Leader? I couldn't tell.
"As you know, today is my first day as Clan Leader. You should guide me. Show me my residence, personal training room, and the Elixir storage, things like that. Lead the way."
"Yes, Clan Leader."
I followed the maid and examined the various places the Clan Leader used to use. It was quite a luxurious house, lacking nothing. There was even a place just for changing clothes, two bedrooms, a personal bathroom, and a place with only a strange wooden bed.
"What is this place for? There's only bedding here."
"When he did External Energy training, he would loosen his muscles here."
"Who would loosen them?"
"The maids would come and loosen them."
"No training, just useless acts..."
The next place she guided me to was a place that served as both a personal training room and an Elixir storage.
I ordered the maid,
"Gather the maids and tell them to scatter and wait a short distance away. If anyone approaches, there's no need to forcibly stop them. Just say, 'What brings you here?' and I'll take care of the rest. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Clan Leader."
I waved my hand to dismiss the maid and closed the door.
* * *
Some Elixirs are rare species that one might never see even after a lifetime in the Martial World, while others are common, mass-produced types.
Only a very few have consumed truly rare Elixirs.
Heirs of noble families, successors of sects, grand masters in their prime, or Martial artists who obtained rare Elixirs through incredible opportunities...
Even if you add them all up, there aren't many.
Therefore, most Martial artists spend their lives consuming mass-produced Elixirs until they die.
Mass-produced Elixirs are, simply put, high-quality medicines made by doctors. That's why the divine doctors that Martial artists speak of sometimes refer to people who are good at making mass-produced Elixirs.
I know one of these guys.
He's a very problematic person, and his end was very miserable, but he's also someone I must find before Gwangmyeong Jwasa.
I don't want him to face a miserable death again. Anyway, this guy is also involved with Daenachal, but not right now. What's clear is that the sooner I kill Daenachal, the lower the chance that this guy will live a miserable life. Of course, in terms of my past life, I'm still working as a Shop Assistant in Ilyang Prefecture, so I have plenty of time.
I opened each small drawer one by one and checked the mass-produced Elixirs.
There are various types of mass-produced Elixirs.
There were medicines for treating Internal Injury, antidotes, and wound medicines mixed together, so I couldn't just eat them recklessly. Elixirs can be broadly classified like this, and there are even more detailed classifications. Among them, the most representative is the Beast Spirit Pill.
Beasts are birds and animals.
Beast Spirit Pills are Elixirs made to feed Messenger Doves or to permanently increase the endurance or explosive power of horses, and the Black Cat Clan must have handled Messenger Doves because they had these in stock.
The reason why the Murim Alliance is so powerful is that it mass-produces these mass-produced Elixirs. Based on its solid financial power, it increases the number of Elixir-fed horses and uses them to unofficially operate a cavalry composed of Martial artists.
The Demonic Sect are even worse.
From the start, they don't see people as people, so they conducted various experiments with beasts. All these experiments were to counter the Murim Alliance's elite cavalry, and because of this, countless innocent beasts were sacrificed.
While searching through the drawers, I finally found three Heart Burning Pills, which were mass-produced Elixirs.
The reason why these were left was simple.
Usually, even taking just one Heart Burning Pill would cause fever and aftereffects similar to having the flu, befitting the term 'mass-produced'. I knew a lot about Heart Burning Pills because I had suffered from heat and Juhwa-ibma while learning Martial arts.
It's good to take these Heart Burning Pills when you have a solid foundation of extremely Yang Inner energy.
Surprisingly, that's my current state. I listened to my surroundings and swallowed all three Heart Burning Pills at once.
Soon, my whole body was filled with heat.
With a flushed face, I sat cross-legged to unleash the Golden Turtle Wandering Skill's Inner Art. Since I had already reached the Blazing Chicken realm, the heat from the Heart Burning Pills was gradually suppressed.
Suddenly, I was briefly captivated by a strange imagination while my eyes were closed.
Even before starting the Inner Art, the process of heat devouring heat was vividly depicted by my bizarre imagination.
It was a scene where the masters trapped in the Celestial Jade rushed out and pounced like beasts to devour the heat of the Heart Burning Pills.
I felt a slight chill.
'Oh, geez...'
Even before starting the Microcosmic Orbit, I felt the energy of the Celestial Jade become slightly more intense. It was as if the energy of the Elixir was absorbed into the Celestial Jade and merged instantly.
The feeling was truly strange, so I reached out and drew out the Golden Turtle Wandering Skill's True Energy, holding it in my hand.
I held the Wooden Chicken energy in my hand, then switched it to the Blazing Chicken energy. As the Blazing Chicken energy condensed in my palm, my palm gradually turned red.
'Something's strange today.'
I hadn't yet found a clue as to exactly what was strange.
The Celestial Jade must be an object that absorbs and accumulates the energy, life force, and essence of living Martial artists.
Suddenly, I had a doubt that a strange ability to absorb the energy or Inner energy of others had taken root in my body, or in the Celestial Jade that I had absorbed...
I muttered with a dazed expression.
"Surely not?"
I just want to live as a madman.
I didn't want to become a monster beyond a madman like the Cult Leader. I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and calmed my mind like a wooden chicken.
In the meantime, I hoped that nothing would happen to my body.
Because there are still too many monkeys to beat to death.
Still, just in case...
If I were to develop such an ability, I thought I would like to give it a name.
Absorption Art, Absorption Energy Art, Star Absorption Divine Art, Celestial Jade Absorption Art.
Celestial Jade Absorption Divine Art, Celestial Jade Absorption Demonic Art, Gwangma Celestial Jade Star Absorption Divine Art.
'Absorb... let's drop it.'
As expected, naming anything is the most difficult.
Somehow, anything with 'Absorb' in it felt right, but there was no name that stuck. I decided to decide later. It wasn't like I had accurately recognized the ability yet.
I didn't do Breath Regulation in the personal training room, but continued to repeat the process of drawing out the Blazing Chicken energy in my palm to check the ability. Judging that there would be no results this way, I sat cross-legged and quietly meditated.
Mixing Gwangmyeong Jwasa's words with my own conjectures.
Exploring the essence of the Celestial Jade by adding reasoning and imagination.
I also quietly observed the state of my body.
Then, I thought from the Cult Leader's perspective.
What would the Cult Leader have done as soon as he obtained the Celestial Jade? It must have been a critical matter of whether the Cult Leader would become The Greatest Under Heaven or not. The Demonic Sect would have been more thoroughly on high alert than ever before. The protectors would have been tense, holding their breath around the Cult Leader.
Would he have just done Breath Regulation...?
No. He would probably have simultaneously performed a Great Art that could turn him into a Demon God. This is because the trajectory of Demonic Art is significantly different from that of ordinary sects.
My free imagination restored the image of the Cult Leader. He probably applied a Great Art at the same time as obtaining the Celestial Jade, and if he succeeded, he would have become an unparalleled monster.
So, I was given the unbelievable opportunity of regression.
After finishing my meditation, I crossed my arms for a moment and pondered, then reached out towards the drawer containing the Elixirs, using the subtlety of 'Absorption', a supplementary technique used when competing with strength.
For a long time, nothing happened.
Even though nothing happened, I remained like a foolish man, reaching out my hand, modifying my strategy, and making my thoughts flexible to go through the process of confirming various insights.
After all, creating Martial arts that didn't exist in the world is the task of madmen.
Things that didn't exist in the world appear because you don't follow the thoughts of others.
Even though my current level of Martial arts and Inner energy was not at the point where I could perform Telekinesis, I remained like a stone statue, reaching out my hand and completely re-examining the world of Martial arts I had built up over a lifetime.
And I instantly discarded the theories of Martial arts I had built up.
In the realm of a blank sheet of paper, I used the brush of my mind to organize the power of the Celestial Jade and the subtlety of Absorption, engraving them into a formula, then drew out the fundamental power of the Celestial Jade to redden my palm again.
Then, with a clunk— a small drawer containing Elixirs hurtled through the air and slammed into my palm.
Thud!
I quickly grabbed the drawer and exhaled, calming my surprised heart.
"Hoo..."
Enlightenment came in an instant, like a whirlwind. At the same time, I immediately decided on the name of this ability.
Celestial Jade Star Absorption Great Art.
However, since the Celestial Jade is my own secret that I can't reveal to anyone, I was thinking of omitting those two words externally.
On the historic first night of my inauguration as the Black Cat Clan Leader, I thought only of Martial arts like this.