Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Awakening (1)
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It had surely been autumn then, but seeing the trees now bare of all their leaves, Ha Jin-ak sighed.
‘So much time has passed.’
Was it because he had been bedridden for so long?
He couldn't muster any strength in his body. Even what little he had was swayed by the late winter wind.
“Hah, huff…”
Just sitting up left him breathless, his breath catching in his throat. His legs were already trembling uncontrollably.
A sense of powerlessness washed over him as he wondered if he was now a body that couldn't survive without someone's care.
A flicker of fear passed through him—the fear that the ill-fated connections he had made through his righteous deeds would come to find him.
On the other hand, he also felt a sense of relief that this was Mount Hua.
Moment by moment, emotions suppressed over long years swirled chaotically in Ha Jin-ak's mind.
But there was one thing that brought order to it all.
“No matter how powerless my body has become, even if I have lost all my internal energy.”
Ha Jin-ak looked down at the back of his hand, now completely gaunt. His forearms, once covered in sturdy muscle, now looked as if they could snap at any moment.
He could no longer live as a martial artist.
The cruelty of it all seemed to suffocate him. The fact that everything he had built up was gone felt heartless.
However, at Ha Jin-ak's core, a pillar that supported him remained.
“I am a Daoist of the Mount Hua Sect.”
That much had not changed.
Unconsciously, Ha Jin-ak felt for his waist.
It was a motion to find his beloved sword, lost while protecting Ouyang Jue in the fight against the Black Dragon Gang.
But no one would give a sword to a bedridden patient. It was also Cheong Ho-won's judgment that he might take his own life out of unbearable loss.
‘...It's gone.’
Even as he touched his empty waist, Ha Jin-ak did not shake his head or resent the world.
He could simply set down his sword and turn to the Daoist scriptures. That, too, was a teaching of Mount Hua.
Instead, he only hoped that Ouyang Jue, who had received all his internal energy, had escaped safely.
“...Jin-ak! You!”
*Clatter.*
Ha Jin-ak turned his head at the sound of bedding tumbling to the floor.
He briefly wondered what expression he should use to greet him. But the thought didn't last long.
Now was the time to enjoy a long-awaited reunion.
“Elder Cheong. No, Martial Uncle Cheong.”
Ha Jin-ak offered a bright smile, like plum blossoms in full bloom.
“I am sorry to have troubled you all this time.”
At those words, Cheong Ho-won's tears fell.
* * *
Upon hearing that Ha Jin-ak had awakened, Bai Duanxian put everything aside and immediately went to the Plum Blossom Clinic.
“Sect Leader, this unworthy disciple offers you his respects.”
“There is no need for that.”
Bai Duanxian looked at Ha Jin-ak with sad eyes.
“You can lie down comfortably.”
His gaunt cheeks were still filled with malevolent energy, and his intermittently trembling arm suggested that Ha Jin-ak's illness was not yet cured.
Cheong Ho-won had also informed him beforehand via voice transmission.
That his physical body was barely holding onto his soul, that this was a miracle.
Nothing about the situation was hopeful.
Having already transferred all his vital energy to Ouyang Jue, his was a body that fundamentally could not live for long.
A body drained of its vital energy could not possibly endure.
What was even sadder was that Ha Jin-ak himself was faintly aware of this.
Bai Duanxian gently stroked each of Ha Jin-ak's knuckles.
“…”
“…”
A moment of silence passed. It was understandable; in a situation like this, it was awkward to know how to continue the conversation.
He could no longer recover as a martial artist, and the title of Senior-most Brother had already been half-passed to Liu Zhangming.
Bai Duanxian couldn't offer any rash words of comfort.
He simply.
Smiled while looking at Ha Jin-ak's face.
“You have endured well.”
He was simply grateful for the fact that Ha Jin-ak had risen from his sickbed and was able to converse with him now.
“From now on, this master will lighten your burdens.”
Seeing Bai Duanxian's unwavering demeanor, Ha Jin-ak's eyes widened in momentary surprise.
But the shock was brief. As the surprise subsided, a faint hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
“You’ve changed, Master.”
“It was something that had to be done.”
Bai Duanxian wore a bitter smile. Then, sensing a presence that had arrived late, he turned his head.
The corners of Ha Jin-ak's eyes curved into a smile.
“Junior Brother Liu, you're here.”
Before he could even finish his words, Liu Zhangming fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
“Senior-most Brother!”
“What Senior-most Brother? Just call me Senior Brother from now on. As Master said, I have now laid down all my burdens.”
As he said this, Ha Jin-ak let out an unreserved laugh.
A metallic rasp mixed with the sound, making his already gaunt body seem even thinner.
“I heard from Elder Cheong. He said your skills and Jue's have improved tremendously these days.”
“You praise us too much, Senior-most Brother.”
“Stop with the false modesty. Elder Cheong is not one to speak idly. And I told you not to call me that… also.”
*Cough, hack.*
In the middle of speaking, Ha Jin-ak covered his mouth and coughed. Blood seemed to spatter between his fingers.
Despite this, Ha Jin-ak's expression was bright.
“It's been a while... I want to see the swords of my junior brothers. The swords of my proud junior brothers.”
“...*Sniff*!”
Was he suddenly overcome with emotion?
Sniffling, Liu Zhangming went outside, drew his sword, and traced a single, fine line.
But paradoxically, it was not a single, unified strike.
It was a sword polished through countless hours of training, and an intent born from a momentarily elevated spirit.
On top of that, a terrifyingly clear Purple Mist True Energy was condensed at the sword's tip.
The martial art he displayed was, as expected, the Plum Blossom Sword Arts, the foundation of Mount Hua.
After watching Liu Zhangming's Plum Blossom Sword Arts to the end, Ha Jin-ak looked at the Daoists who had gathered.
Then, as if spotting a familiar face, a light flickered in his eyes.
Ik Hyeon, whom he had chided for not improving the last time he was at the Mount Hua Sect, was also there.
A sudden feeling of warmth spread through Ha Jin-ak's chest.
“Ik Hyeon, I'd like to see your skills.”
At those words, Ik Hyeon, who had been sobbing silently beside him, drew his sword.
A single draw of the sword, and that was all.
“Incredible. You’ve grasped the essence of the sword arts in such a short time.”
Ha Jin-ak realized that Ik Hyeon's skills had advanced even further than before. If only his body were well, he felt he would have slapped his knee in admiration without even realizing it.
‘Yes, if only my body were well.’
Ha Jin-ak wore a bitter smile. The despair and fear he had felt upon waking up resurfaced, tormenting him.
His junior brothers were growing day by day, and the Mount Hua Sect was becoming stronger.
Why was it that he alone had to remain stagnant like this?
He felt a little sad. He wondered if this was what Buddhists called delusion.
Regardless, starting with Ik Hyeon, the other disciples continued to demonstrate their martial arts.
“Hah!”
Some were solemn and powerful.
“...Hup!”
Others were fluid, each displaying the path of the sword they were carving out for themselves. Among them was even a disciple who had independently interpreted Ha Jin-ak's own martial art, the Heavenly Flow Fire Cloud Sword.
Watching them, Ha Jin-ak gradually mended his heart. He slowly calmed his spirit, which could have easily gone astray.
‘I was not wrong.’
Ha Jin-ak's expression hardened for a moment, then gradually softened into a gentle smile.
If he had fled the scene back then, valuing his own life, what would have happened?
It was a question he didn't even want to consider, but he could roughly guess.
Ouyang Jue would have died on the spot, and the remaining men would have rushed to subdue him, who was already severely injured.
Gwak Un-pae had been there, but the danger would have remained the same.
Perhaps he would have lost his reason and tried to fight, only to die himself.
‘I heard that Jue's contribution to the current Mount Hua is great.’
Ha Jin-ak recalled what Cheong Ho-won had told him about the past events.
He had thought he was extraordinary in some way, but this was beyond imagination. That's why he could smile.
“This is good.”
Ha Jin-ak looked into the face of each Daoist, committing them to memory.
His life might not last much longer, but no... that was precisely why he cherished the present moment.
Bai Duanxian, the three elders excluding Dan U-ryeong, and the two Grand Protectors who arrived late—all were immersed in various emotions as they watched Ha Jin-ak.
It was then.
“Senior-most Brother.”
“...Jue.”
Ouyang Jue, who appeared last, was damp with the morning dew.
He seemed to have just returned from somewhere, tightly clutching a leather pouch in his hand.
In a way, it meant he had secretly left Mount Hua early in the morning, which caused the eyes of Gwak Un-pae, the Master of the Reception Hall, to narrow.
The expression of Song Muk, the Master of the Disciplinary Hall, was not pleased either.
As if sensing the atmosphere, Ha Jin-ak made an uncharacteristic joke.
“It looks like you've been training somewhere. You seem to have become much more diligent while I was asleep.”
“…”
“And I am no longer the Senior-most Brother. You must have heard from Master as well.”
Ha Jin-ak calmly revealed his condition, stating that he could no longer function as a martial artist.
“Because of the fire energy that has seeped into my very marrow, I can no longer perform the Heavenly Flow Fire Cloud Sword, let alone any basic sword arts. So wouldn't a quiet life of reading Daoist scriptures be more comfortable?”
His words were cheerful and simple, but Ouyang Jue knew how heavy the situation was.
It was a future that would drive any martial artist to despair.
A shattered dantian would have been more hopeful.
How could one survive in the martial world with a body that couldn't even hold a brush properly?
Especially a martial artist who had once reached the peak!
Ouyang Jue bit his lower lip hard. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
“I am sorry.”
“No.”
Ha Jin-ak said without any pretense.
“Before you arrived, I watched the martial arts of many junior brothers, martial uncles, and senior martial uncles.”
They've improved a lot, Ha Jin-ak said with a smile.
“That is enough. That is all that matters.”
“...But!”
“Or was my path wrong?”
At those words, Ouyang Jue's throat tightened, and unable to speak, he simply shook his head.
Ouyang Jue saw the heroic side of Ha Jin-ak.
Because of his courageous act, he learned of the mastermind he never knew in his past life and annihilated them. He was also able to discover the existence of the Demonic Doctor, Heavenly Dragon, something he had never even considered.
Ouyang Jue forced himself to speak.
“It was not wrong.”
“Good.”
Ha Jin-ak looked at Ouyang Jue's expression and spoke with confidence.
“Wouldn't you say I've done an excellent job?”
“…”
“Just the tears shed for me by my junior brothers would fill two large gourds. So smile. And stand tall.”
*Pat.*
Ha Jin-ak patted Ouyang Jue's shoulder with his bony hand.
“For you are my junior brother, and the successor who inherited my internal energy.”
Seeing Ha Jin-ak's appearance, as if he had transcended everything, Ouyang Jue clenched his fists tightly.
‘...Damn it.’
The leather pouch in his hand felt exceptionally heavy. With this alone, he could break free from his stagnant body.
He might even reach the realm he had achieved in his past life around the age of twenty-four. The elixir in the pouch was that special.
The Small Purple Spirit Elixir.
An elixir that could only be obtained by spending several times more effort than the Purple Spirit Elixir, mixing it with rare herbs that grew only on Mount Hua.
Even the Purple Spirit Elixir was a precious item of which only a few existed, but compared to the Small Purple Spirit Elixir, it was nothing.
It possessed not only enough powerful internal energy to replace his depleted True Origin Energy, but also the strength to drive out the fire energy that had seeped deep into his marrow.
It would also be a great help in strengthening the soul that had been tethered by the divine arts of the Maoshan Sect.
‘Even if it means I will die when my internal energy runs out, I cannot let Senior-most Brother live as a cripple.’
Ouyang Jue's deliberation was not very long.
-Sect Leader.
-What is it?
-I have the Small Purple Spirit Elixir.
At that voice transmission, Bai Duanxian was utterly stunned.
-What?!
But Ouyang Jue only took in Ha Jin-ak's haggard appearance.
“…”
Ouyang Jue, who as the Bloodhound of his past life would have taken it without a moment's hesitation, was slowly drawing closer to a divine destiny.