Chapter 404
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 404
Chapter Title: We're Not, Right?
The place detected by Gae Se-aak's senses.
It was one wall of the cavern.
It was a power he hadn't been able to sense before.
A power that became perceptible after devouring a portion of the darkness.
"What is it?"
A voice rough like scraping metal leaked out once more.
And with a light wave of his hand.
Paasssshuk.
The darkness dug into the soil.
What revealed itself was something utterly unexpected.
A thick tree root.
A strange power emanated from it.
'What in the world.'
Could such a thick tree root exist in a place this deep underground?
That question arose first and foremost.
And as he rummaged through his memories.
The ancient tree Il-no had shown him came to mind.
A millennium-old giant tree, was it?
A colossal tree that had stood here even before the Blood Cult arrived.
They had left it untouched even when settling this land hundreds of years ago.
'Is this its root?'
Even so, doubts lingered.
No matter that it was the root of a millennium-old tree, could it really stretch this deep?
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that moment.
As Gae Se-aak continued examining the tree root, his heart began pounding wildly.
To be precise, the darkness he had voraciously devoured was hammering at his heart.
Gae Se-aak narrowed his eyes.
He could feel the emotions of the darkness striking his heart.
Hostility.
A mortal enemy.
An arch-nemesis demanding vengeance.
A surging hostility swept through Gae Se-aak's entire body, the kind shown only toward such foes.
His eyes flashed.
"Hoo?"
Such an intense reaction.
Gae Se-aak already knew well how powerful the darkness he had devoured was.
For such immense power to react like this?
Then there must surely be a power in that root rivaling the darkness he had consumed.
"I wonder what kind of power it is."
His voice, rough as scraping metal, carried exhilaration.
Gae Se-aak's pitch-black eyes gleamed with desire.
The Fierce Dragon Corps was truly throwing themselves into training.
And into their cultivation as well.
They scrimped on sleep and meals to focus on circulating their qi.
There was no choice but to do so.
After Ha Mu-baek corrected the paths of their inner energy.
They could feel their inner energy growing.
Feeling it accumulate at more than double the previous speed was like a drug; they couldn't stop cultivating.
Even so, the limits of the Three Talents Heart Method were clear.
But now it was double what it had been.
So then.
Just as the instructor had boldly declared.
By the time they graduated from the Dragon Training Pavilion, wouldn't they all be able to wield sword qi?
Such thoughts fueled their passion.
"They're desperate."
Wi Ji-gun, still disguised as Ji-gun-wi, murmured while watching them from beside Ha Mu-baek.
"They're earnest about it."
Ha Mu-baek replied calmly.
Hadn't he possessed that same earnestness?
Though the nature of it differed from the cadets' current fervor.
"Even so. Martial arts have clear limits. If those kids had a bit more time, maybe. But it's too late."
With a barrier of qi erected, those nearby couldn't hear their conversation.
Han Seol-bing tilted her head at the sight of the two suddenly enclosing themselves in a qi barrier to talk, but she turned her gaze back to the cadets.
She trusted Ha Mu-baek; there must be a reason for it.
Instead, she watched closely for any cadets entering qi deviation during cultivation or showing strange reactions.
It was impossible to enter qi deviation with the Three Talents Heart Method.
But contingencies existed.
So Han Seol-bing didn't slacken her vigilance over the cadets.
"I know."
Ha Mu-baek acknowledged Wi Ji-gun's point with a small nod.
"Probably about half of them won't reach the sword qi realm."
They each had varying talents.
No, since they were haphazardly gathered, most were ordinary.
For Ha Mu-baek and Wi Ji-gun to have forged them this far was impressive.
"And so?"
Ha Mu-baek could guess what he would do, but asked anyway.
"......"
Ha Mu-baek silently gazed at the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets immersed in cultivation.
Then he glanced briefly at the seven squads.
They too were deep in cultivation.
Having consumed the Infinite Pills, they were clearly different.
"You plan to give those Half Measure Pills to all of them?"
The spirit medicine Ha Mu-baek had given to the twenty squads of first-year Wa Dragon Corps cadets.
It had a more vile taste than the Infinite Pills, but effects just shy of half.
Ha Mu-baek shook his head.
"We don't have that quantity."
Even excluding the seven squads, there were still 190 cadets.
There was no way they had that many Half Measure Pills or even Infinite Pills.
"But you intend to use medicine regardless?"
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly at Wi Ji-gun's question.
"I think we have to."
"You're thinking of using decoctions, then."
Wi Ji-gun spoke as if grasping his intentions.
"Yes."
At the affirmative reply, Wi Ji-gun crossed his arms and pondered.
"Hmm. Nearly two hundred people..."
For decoctions to feed that many.
The required herbs would be immense.
"I don't plan to use the full Yielding Blue Phosphorus Decoction."
"So, something on the level of the herbs in the Half Measure Pills you made?"
"Yes."
"Then it would be the Half Measure Blue Phosphorus Decoction."
Wi Ji-gun stated, clearly understanding Ha Mu-baek's aim.
Yielding Blue Phosphorus Decoction.
It was essential for making Infinite Pills.
Additional herbs were added to this decoction, simmered down into a paste, then formed into Infinite Pills.
"Which herbs are you omitting?"
At Wi Ji-gun's question, Ha Mu-baek listed a few.
"That much... Hm. You're planning a trip to Cheongran Island."
Their hidden retreat, Cheongran Island.
There was a herb warehouse there.
Gathered to treat Ha Seol-ran and craft their sect's secret spirit medicines.
Most had been moved to underground storage before leaving.
The remaining stock differed from before, much having been used.
However.
For the amount Ha Mu-baek mentioned, there was plenty left.
Enough for all the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets.
But.
Those herbs belonged to Wi Ji-gun, not Ha Mu-baek.
His permission was ultimately needed.
Wi Ji-gun looked at the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets lost in cultivation.
His gaze finally stopped on Ha Seol-ran.
"Those kids will all have to head to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest together in the end. As Ran's comrades. Stronger comrades are a good thing. They'll be far greater help. Use them."
"Thank you."
Ha Mu-baek spoke with sincerity.
Mindful of onlookers, he didn't bow his head.
Wi Ji-gun currently appeared as Ji-gun-wi; it would look odd to anyone.
In truth.
The greatest reason Ha Mu-baek wanted to strengthen the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets was contained in Wi Ji-gun's words just now.
Stronger comrades meant greater help.
In the end, it was for Ha Seol-ran.
"I'll leave it to you."
"Right. You're busy, so hurry. It'll be tough work; good luck."
Ha Mu-baek's figure vanished in an instant.
He was dashing toward Dongjeong Lake with lightness skill.
It wasn't far.
At peak Lightning Across a Thousand Miles, he'd arrive in mere hours.
Whoooosh!
A fierce wind swirled through the grand training ground.
Ha Mu-baek, racing to Cheongran Island at such speed, gathered the needed herbs from the underground storage.
He took seven-tenths of what remained.
Loaded them onto his person and rented a cart.
Thus, Ha Mu-baek returned in just a day.
He piled the herbs high in one corner of the grand training ground and set up countless decoction cauldrons.
The cadets felt curiosity at the sight.
But they had no spare energy for it.
Thanks to Ji-gun-wi's relentless training driving them.
It was so brutal they thought facing poison ants or blood ants would be preferable.
Afterward came cultivation.
In the endless cycle of training and cultivation.
No one could spare attention to Ha Mu-baek's actions, despite their curiosity.
Once preparations were complete, Ha Mu-baek waved his hand, and the herbs floated up and flew toward him.
Sliced finely by his casually swung sword, they flowed into the cauldrons.
No need for chopping boards or such.
Another wave, and the prepared water surged into the air and into the cauldrons.
One more wave.
Vast flames erupted, enveloping the myriad cauldrons.
The water and herbs inside quickly boiled amid the roaring blaze.
Han Seol-bing watched the process intently.
Some herbs vanished in an instant.
She didn't recognize all of them, let alone the formula.
Yet here in the open grand training ground, she couldn't discern the recipe even as he brewed.
Knowing this about her allowed Ha Mu-baek to brew so casually.
How much time passed?
The aroma of the decoction began wafting faintly from the cauldrons.
Han Seol-bing, observing nearby, noticed it first.
"Ugh?"
Startled by the foul stench, she hurriedly stepped back.
Ha Mu-baek continued staring at the cauldrons expressionlessly.
No, his eyelids trembled faintly.
He too was suffering from the vile smell.
Han Seol-bing tilted her head at the sight.
'What a stubborn guy. Then why endure it?'
Han Seol-bing knew well that Ha Mu-baek had acupoint strikes to numb human senses.
Self-applying the one for smell would spare him this torment.
Yet Ha Mu-baek didn't.
He simply endured, staring at the cauldrons.
'Still so stubborn.'
His brows wanted to furrow, but superhuman patience held them back.
He wanted to numb his own sense of smell right then, but couldn't.
Because he could gauge the decoction's completion from this foul smell.
The sense of smell fatigues easily by nature.
The nose quickly adapts to odors.
But not this one.
The reason was simple.
As the decoction neared completion, the stench grew ever more intense.
During the final simmering and concentration, the smell transformed into its flavor.
Thus were born the bitter pills: Half Measure Pills and Infinite Pills.
The Half Measure Pills' smell and taste were far viler.
The odor scattered on the winds blowing from all directions, diluting as it spread wide.
'Good that it's the grand training ground, limiting it to this much.'
The reason for brewing in the vast open space.
This smell.
For small amounts, he could stir winds with inner energy to blast the stench far away, preventing others from noticing.
But for enough for two hundred people at once, it was different.
Even with winds, traces lingered and spread everywhere.
The first to react were, naturally, the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets.
The sudden assault on their noses by the stench.
Some had no choice but to halt cultivation.
Otherwise, the shock would drive them into qi deviation.
One by one they stopped, until all opened their eyes and pinched their noses.
Normally, Ji-gun-wi the instructor would roar in fury at such behavior.
But for some reason, he just watched silently.
He too smelled it.
But having seen Ha Mu-baek prepare the herbs, he had already sealed his own sense of smell.
Even so, knowing their suffering, he didn't reprimand them for stopping cultivation.
"What in the world... is the instructor making?"
Dang Jin-san gazed at Ha Mu-baek with eyes full of dread.
To feel this way after that vile taste that day.
"If it's this bad from here... what must the instructor be going through over there..."
Dan Mok Un-roe muttered with a pale face.
"Maybe he numbed his sense of smell? Like with taste?"
Nak Woo-jin said.
Ha Seol-ran recalled how Ha Mu-baek had numbed her taste before taking an Infinite Pill and spoke.
"No. His eyelids are trembling."
Yeon Ha-min's sharp eyes didn't miss Ha Mu-baek's condition.
Soon, they looked around at the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets clutching their noses.
"We're not, right?"
Baek Ri-pyeong murmured, his face tinged with slight fear.