Domination and Embrace
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Domination and Embrace
The prince didn't step forward himself.
He simply tossed a casual remark to his attendant about how the Patent Office seemed a bit suspicious, and the attendant immediately relayed the prince's words to the Audit Office.
And so the investigation began.
The Audit Office was an agency that every imperial civil servant dreaded. Directly under the emperor, its audit scope was vast, and its authority was immense.
No matter the organization, any information requested by the Audit Office had to be prioritized above all else.
Thus, they had already dug up everything on Patent Examiner Son Donguk: his full personal information, including real estate holdings; his personal accounts; his family's accounts; and his call records.
The search and seizure at the Patent Office was also to check for other wrongdoers beyond Son Donguk.
Son Donguk was arrested on the spot by imperial police.
Audit Office Section Chief Pyo Seongtae met with Examiner Son Donguk in an interrogation room at the New Seoul Police Station, with police cooperation.
"You've amassed quite a fortune. Looks like you received a hefty sum. From whom?"
"Jeon Juhak, deputy director of Mirinae's Future Strategy Office."
"How?"
"In cash."
Son Donguk was already resigned to his fate.
Once promised a reduced sentence, his confession poured out.
"Not just once, right? You delayed patent reviews on Mirinae Pharma's orders."
"Yes, for the past three years straight. I had no choice. They threatened my family if I didn't comply..."
Threats, my ass.
As if anyone would believe it was anything but his own greed.
With the testimony secured, it was time to make the arrest.
Police mobilized and took Jeon Juhak, deputy director of Mirinae's Future Strategy Office, into emergency custody.
"I won't say a word until my lawyer arrives."
"Don't worry. I'm not police."
Pyo Seongtae handed Jeon Juhak his business card.
"...Audit Office?"
"Yes. Cameras are off right now, no recording either. Once the police come in, the real interrogation starts."
"Then what the hell do you want from me...?"
"Just curious. How deeply have the chaebols infiltrated the civil service?"
"How should I know? I'm not a chaebol."
"But you're a close aide. Examiner Son Donguk confessed everything."
Smoothly,
Pyo Seongtae slid Son Donguk's statement toward Jeon Juhak.
"Take a look."
Jeon Juhak skimmed the statement with his eyes and continued.
"All lies."
"Lies?"
"We don't even have each other's numbers. What calls?"
Pyo Seongtae was dumbfounded.
The man was lying so brazenly, so calmly.
"You think you're safe because you used burner phones?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You think Son Donguk didn't record your calls?"
"...Fuck."
Pyo Seongtae chuckled.
"Listen, Jeon Juhak, your arrest is a done deal. Don't dream of slipping away. What we're after is the man above you."
Jeon Juhak clamped his mouth shut.
"Did President Lee Dongwoo give the orders?"
"..."
"Not talking? Planning to take the fall alone?"
"..."
"Fine, we'll summon President Lee Dongwoo anyway. It'll all come out."
Only then did Jeon Juhak speak.
"...Summoning him won't be easy."
"Why? Because he's chaebol family?"
"President Lee Dongwoo... he's gone missing."
"Hahaha, so he's already been whisked away."
"No! He's really vanished without a trace. We're looking for him too."
"Don't bullshit me!"
Pyo Seongtae truly didn't know.
That Jeon Juhak was telling the truth this time.
Taeju received a call from Baek Seoyeonn in his hotel room.
"Good work."
"Knew it."
"Strange rumor?"
"..."
Taeju knew where Lee Dongwoo was.
He'd never be found.
"Anyway, now we just need Food and Drug Administration sales approval."
"Got it. Let's prepare thoroughly."
As Baek Seoyeonn said, the imperial Food and Drug Administration was stringent.
Not because they were honest, but due to their role in the empire.
If they let subpar food or drugs slip through and issues arose, it would be catastrophic.
The entire agency would be dismantled.
Thus, sales approvals for pharmaceuticals had to be rigorous.
'Patent issue is settled for now.'
Time for some training after a long while.
Taeju's daily routine always began with Hunwon Musang Dokryeong Gong cultivation.
But he'd neglected it lately due to busyness.
Now with some breathing room.
Having rushed to 7th stage, he needed to monitor changes in his poison essence closely.
Poison essence was purified poison.
Naturally, its nature wasn't gentle.
On the contrary, when it unleashed its power, it became fiercer and more violent than mana or internal energy.
Hence, stabilization was essential.
Stabilizing the poison essence was crucial.
It balanced poison and body.
What if stabilization failed, leading to qi deviation?
Unlike other arts, it wouldn't just destroy the dantian.
One would fall victim to their own accumulated poison.
Taeju awakened the dormant poison essence with Hunwon Musang Dokryeong Gong.
Ziiiiing...
The poison essence vibrated.
Very slowly.
And quietly.
'Hm?'
Something was off.
Extremely stable.
'Stabilized?'
Vibrating slowly, harmoniously, and softly as it exchanged energy with his body—this meant complete stabilization.
This quickly?
Only one cause for the change.
'The celestial peach.'
More precisely, the celestial energy that even embraced poison energy.
Just one peach, and the poison essence was perfectly stabilized.
Inevitable.
A celestial peach, edible only by celestials of the heavenly realm.
Taeju focused deeper.
Indeed, the poison essence was influenced by the celestial energy.
From rough and spicy to soft and mild.
'Too mild isn't good.'
It was poison, after all.
What good was softness?
Suddenly!
Ziiiiiing!
Fierce poison energy surged.
Like raging waves, like a savage beast's claws, devouring all around—it was now too ferocious.
'Whoa... can I control this?'
Calming his mind, the poison essence quieted instantly.
Ziiiiing...
Mild, then spicy, then mild again.
'I see. Got it... it was the celestial energy.'
Celestial energy was embracing.
Yet also dominating.
A ruler generously enticing and embracing the ruled.
The poison essence was no different.
Celestial energy had embraced it.
'Let's see.'
If the poison essence, infused with celestial energy, gained embracing and tolerant properties?
Could it embrace other energies too?
Like mana, say.
Taeju opened his infinite storage space.
Inside was an elixir made from elite giant half-moon bear gall.
Mana densely concentrated in the elixir.
Until now, elixirs had been useless to him.
He'd even tried leftovers from elixir production.
But the poison essence hadn't reacted.
Now, things had changed.
The poison essence, altered by celestial energy.
If it could dominate and embrace mana...
'Let's try.'
Taeju swallowed the elixir without hesitation.
Moments later.
Wooooong!
Whirling mana.
Mana flooded into Taeju.
Spreading through his veins to every corner of his body.
Naturally reaching the poison essence.
Ziiiiing!
The poison essence devoured the mana like a gift from heaven.
Mana flowed into the poison essence.
No clash whatsoever.
Absorbing mana just like poison energy.
'Ah...'
The poison essence embraced the mana.
And dominated it.
Thus, mana imprinted on the poison essence.
Propelling the poison essence to another level.
Wung!
Poison energy flowed through Taeju's meridians.
Mana followed the poison energy.
And a trance-like state began.
Taeju realized.
He had reached the 8th stage of Hunwon Musang Dokryeong Gong.
An achievement solely with mana, not new poison.
Moments later, Taeju opened his eyes.
A foreign power surging through his body.
Mana.
'Might even awaken at this rate.'
Hunwon Musang Dokryeong Gong 8th stage.
Unlike reaching 7th stage, he could now wield not just poison energy, but mana too.
But the elixir's effect ended here.
With mana imprinted on the poison essence, no further progress without new mana.
Still, 8th stage was something.
Completely unexpected.
All thanks to Dang Gunak's celestial peach.
How to repay him?
Want to give something, but the shared infinite storage warehouse showed no activity.
Yet every time he opened the infinite space, one thing kept catching his eye.
The corpses stored inside.
'Can't ignore it anymore.'
Time to dispose of them.
No monster hotspots around New Seoul, but a five-hour train ride would do.
Now aware that Mirinae's President Lee Dongwoo was missing.
Not in media yet, so internal probe underway—might go public soon.
Taeju messaged Baek Seoyeonn first: Planning New Seoul sightseeing tomorrow, no contact unless urgent.
That night, Taeju left the hotel.
In a secluded, dark spot, he pulled jeans, shirt, hat, sneakers from infinite space and changed.
Crack, shhh!
Altering his face with transformation arts,
Crunch!
Shrinking his height with bone compression.
At 8th stage, the changes were dramatic.
Even he wouldn't recognize himself.
All possessions except cash stowed in infinite space.
Taeju took a taxi to New Seoul Station, bought a late-night train ticket at the counter.
"Fastest ticket to Beijing Outpost, please."
Five hours to Beijing outpost city.
Finish business, back in New Seoul by late afternoon tomorrow at latest.
Beijing, once China's capital.
Now Samhan Empire's frontline monster defense outpost.
Human reconstruction began 200 years ago.
Over the next century, populous nations like India, China, America, Europe recovered quickly.
China especially hit 500 million population swiftly, reclaiming great power status.
But reconstruction hit a snag.
Monsters mutated by mana.
Monsters and humans couldn't coexist.
Territorial wars were inevitable, and China's New Communist government played a bad hand.
Wuhan's massive monster cluster.
Having restored nukes, they dumped over ten warheads on Wuhan, nearly wiping monsters out.
Success?
Illusion.
They got wiped.
Surviving elite monsters re-mutated.
Birth of Beyond Elite Monsters.
They immediately retaliated against humans.
No way to stop them.
Slaughtered, territories lost,
China collapsed, leaving the lesson: never use nukes on monsters.
Now Samhan territory, Beijing.
Far below: Beyond Elite Monster domain.
No monster waves south of Beijing outpost.
Vast area makes waves rare; contained if they occur.
Thus, active awakener hunting ground.
Unlike Gurye, taxes on monster byproducts, but diverse monsters keep raid teams flocking.
Taeju's night train arrived at Beijing Outpost Station at dawn.
'No time...'
Military stationed here too.
Two powerful imperial legions—six divisions—deployed everywhere.
And massive wall blocking south Beijing.
Some sections barbed wire, others stone—400km total, called Beijing's "Thousand-Li Great Wall."
Gates to monster areas around Beijing.
CCTV everywhere.
Taeju stared straight at a CCTV camera.
Not his real face anyway.
Dawn, few people.
Taeju passed the gate out of the city.
Most common monster here: "Mutant Fluffball Chow Chow."
Once China's proud large breed, mutated bigger with sharp teeth and claws.
Long fur makes them look like fluffballs—name stuck; fur prized for high-end fabrics, popular with raiders.
Fluffballs... cute?
Hell no!
Ferocious and cruel.
Biting power shreds average armor.
Taeju ran swiftly.
Mutant Fluffball Chow Chows everywhere.
Deeper in.
Using Pyoholjilpungbo.
Swoosh!
After a while, monster numbers increased.
Deeper still.
An hour of running.
Dodging attacking Fluffballs easily,
'This should do.'
Taeju pulled corpses from infinite space.
Spaced out one by one.
Thud, thud, thud, thud...
"Arf arf arf!"
"Grrrrr!"
"Kraaaang!"
Flocks of Mutant Fluffball Chow Chows swarmed the corpses.
Torn to shreds in under five minutes.
Taeju turned back to Beijing Outpost.
Never dropped transformation or compression.
Back to station, bought ticket, boarded train—another five hours, finally back in New Seoul.
Perfect crime complete.
End of Domination and Embrace
© Kkujikkuji