Chapter 405
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 405
Chapter Title: Eat
The flames that had been burning red soon shifted to a brilliant blue.
Ha Mu-baek had altered the circulation of his inner energy.
It was the new refining method his master had taught him upon their return to Cheongnando.
In the process, Ha Mu-baek's inner energy subtly seeped into the decoction cauldron.
If it had been actual pill refining, he would have directly infused his inner energy into the furnace once it had formed into a sticky paste.
But this wasn't pill refining—it was simply boiling the decoction in the cauldron.
So he stopped short of that.
He merely used the energy-infused flames to gently push his inner energy into the cauldron.
In truth, refining the Wuliang Pill involved transforming the liquid form of the Infinite Azure Flame Decoction within the furnace directly into pill paste, then into solid pills all at once.
There was no need to prepare the decoction separately like this.
Ha Mu-baek had chosen this method because he couldn't distribute full Wuliang Pills or even Half-Wuliang Pills to everyone.
Time passed.
And the decoction was complete.
A stench so foul it made one question whether such a thing could exist in the mortal world.
This was the smell signaling its completion.
Even Ha Mu-baek furrowed his brow at this level of pungency.
He had stood some distance from the cauldron, using Vacuum Palm and the flames to stir it.
But he still needed to check the smell, so he kept a certain distance.
The nose-piercing odor was utterly vicious.
Even Ha Mu-baek had never made enough for two hundred people at once before.
So this was a new stench even for him.
With it complete, he now surveyed his surroundings.
The instructors, led by Han Seol-bing, had already left the grand training grounds.
She had taken them away.
The stench was unbearable, after all.
Wi Ji-gun stood on the platform, his face as impassive as ever.
Ha Mu-baek gave a slight nod.
He knew why his master could remain so composed.
It was a pressure point technique that could selectively numb the human senses.
And who had taught it to Ha Mu-baek?
His master, Wi Ji-gun.
Right now, Wi Ji-gun had numbed his own sense of smell.
Ha Mu-baek scanned the cadets.
They had already pinched their noses and retreated to the edges of the grand training grounds.
It was a perfect time for a break, anyway.
Besides, proper training was impossible amid such a stench.
The cadets stared at the decoction cauldron with expressions of disbelief.
If the smell had come from somewhere else, it might have been different.
But it was emanating from the cauldron.
And what was inside the cauldron?
A decoction.
A decoction.
A decoction meant to be swallowed.
And the one boiling it was their chief instructor.
The chief instructor wouldn't go to the trouble of brewing a decoction just for the likes of cadets.
With such thoughts, they desperately denied it could be for them, pinching their noses while stealing glances at the source of the stench.
In contrast, the experienced seventh squad cadets gazed at Ha Mu-baek with faces full of dread.
Clinging to the vague hope that it wouldn't be them this time.
And who could blame them?
They had already consumed Wuliang Pills, and their inner energy was flawless.
Ha Mu-baek took in the sight of them, their faces brimming with all sorts of emotions.
When his gaze reached Ha Seol-ran, his expression twitched slightly.
She was grimacing from the stench like the others, but it was different.
She was only pretending to grimace—she couldn't smell it at all right now.
Her expression had barely changed since the stench first began to spread.
And the reason?
The master on the platform, no doubt.
He must have discreetly struck her pressure points.
Ha Mu-baek smoothly turned his head, pretending not to notice.
Seol-ran, too, seemed eager not to reveal she alone couldn't smell it, forcing her face into a grimace.
It could be seen as deceiving her comrades.
But it only underscored how vicious the stench was, driving her to such lengths.
Ha Mu-baek headed toward the platform.
Wi Ji-gun stepped aside.
People had gathered around the grand training grounds, drawn by the faint yet pervasive foul odor emanating from the Dragon Training Pavilion.
But as they approached, the smell intensified, so they dared not come closer, merely confirming the source from afar.
Ha Mu-baek looked at the cadets.
"This is the Half Azure Flame Decoction."
The moment Ha Mu-baek spoke those short words.
Despair washed over the cadets' faces.
If it had been brewed for some other purpose, there'd be no reason to tell them its name.
"Azure Flame refers to inner energy. This decoction will boost your inner energy."
In other words, it was an elixir.
An elixir.
The common term in the jianghu for medicines that increased one's inner energy.
Some wondrous ones granted over a hundred years' worth of cultivation, while others offered merely a year or so.
Regardless, since they increased inner energy simply by being consumed, they were all called elixirs.
Ha Mu-baek was now telling the ragtag bunch of the Fierce Dragon Corps—whose backgrounds were largely unknown—that he would give them elixirs.
Elixirs provided by the Dragon Training Pavilion?
This was a luxury even the Hidden Dragon Corps or Wa Dragon Corps didn't enjoy.
Of course, many of them might have already taken elixirs from their own clans or sects.
However.
Despite the extravagance.
Few rejoiced.
Most were plunged into despair.
Anyone smelling that stench.
Would naturally think it was poison, not an elixir.
"I made it in a hurry, so its effects might not be that potent."
Unlike his usual self, Ha Mu-baek spoke kindly.
And for good reason—the stench was enough to make even him grimace.
The cadets who had already smelled it didn't know better.
So he was soothing them even as he gave them something good.
In truth, even Ha Mu-baek himself lacked confidence in swallowing it willingly.
The stench was just the beginning.
The grotesquely vile taste would surely surpass it.
And moreover.
"You'll need to take it for at least seven days."
Kwarung!
A bolt from the blue crashed through the cadets' minds.
Take it.
Seven days.
Those two words echoed relentlessly in their ears.
With a flick of Ha Mu-baek's hand, the decoction rose from the cauldron, filling pre-prepared bowls with exactly equal amounts.
The bowls then floated through the air, landing one before each cadet.
Precisely one bowl each.
Even the seventh squad was no exception.
The seventh squad's faces turned pallid with nausea.
In truth, the inner energy boost from this decoction might be negligible for them.
But even that slight gain could make a world of difference in critical moments.
More importantly, they were all part of the same Fierce Dragon Corps.
Exempting the seventh squad from this ordeal just because they were stronger would breed resentment and division over their privileges.
Other things aside, this they had to endure together.
Sharing this excruciating pain alone would foster camaraderie.
He had considered everything.
The decoction bowls now right before them.
No one dared drink rashly.
They merely clutched their noses against the foul steam rising inches from their faces.
The seventh squad shot Ha Mu-baek resentful glances.
[Pain must be shared with comrades. And it will have some effect on you too.]
Ha Mu-baek's cold transmission echoed in every member of the seventh squad's minds.
"It's a decoction that boosts inner energy. Good for the body. I've explained this much, so drink up."
Ha Mu-baek spoke in a low voice to the hesitant cadets.
His words, carried by inner energy to their ears, were gravely heavy.
Yet in that frozen moment, no one moved.
The first to act.
Was Yeon Ha-min.
She swiftly lifted the bowl, slightly lifted her veil, and downed the entire contents in one go.
Her face twisted into such a grotesque mask that her beauty was utterly forgotten.
Everyone was stunned by her action.
No one had expected her to be the first.
Yeon Ha-min emptied the bowl completely.
Not a single drop fell from the upside-down bowl.
And immediately, she began circulating her energy.
Her face still contorted.
'Th-this... this...'
Her thoughts wouldn't connect. Yet she forced herself to circulate.
The Wuliang Pill.
She had wondered if anything could taste worse.
And seeing the Wa Dragon Corps twentieth squad cadets take Half-Wuliang Pills, she thought maybe something even viler existed.
But now, tasting this Half Azure Flame Decoction.
The world's most horrific, heinous flavor existed here.
Still, she circulated her energy.
She knew Ha Mu-baek's elixirs were genuine.
Otherwise, she felt she might vomit right there in front of everyone.
The next to move was Ha Seol-ran.
She quickly emptied her bowl, her face twisting grotesquely like Yeon Ha-min's.
There was awkwardness in the change of her expression, but no one noticed.
They were still dazed from Yeon Ha-min's display.
In that gap, Ha Seol-ran swiftly consumed it and began circulating.
Thanks to Master Wi Ji-gun numbing not just her smell but her taste as well.
The next was Dan Mok Un-roe.
The one among the seventh squad with the greatest thirst for strength.
Then Joo Woo-myeong.
Followed by Nak Woo-jin and Baek Ri-pyeong.
Dang Jin-san last.
Once the entire seventh squad had consumed the decoction, the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets finally began to follow suit.
Soon, some cadets recoiled in shock from the unimaginable taste, on the verge of retching.
"Urk. Blech. Blech."
But they couldn't.
Ha Mu-baek's Vacuum Palm forced their jaws shut.
The displaced decoction sometimes refluxed up their throats and out their noses.
But even that, Ha Mu-baek controlled with Vacuum Palm, forcing it down into their stomachs.
"Spit it out, and you die."
The grim warning struck their ears.
Tears, snot, decoction...
The three mingled and streamed down.
Yet they were made to consume it to the last drop.
It was utter pandemonium.
Who would believe they were taking an elixir?
It looked more like they were dying from poison.
"Wh-what is this...?"
Namgung Ji-hu muttered blankly from atop a tall tree.
The Namgung siblings had returned to the grand training grounds, drawn by the foul stench.
They had left knowing today's training was inner energy cultivation, not practical combat with jiangshi.
"That's... an elixir...?"
Namgung Ji-yu stared at the horror unfolding before her, incredulous.
Past memories resurfaced.
The pills Ha Mu-baek had given them, claiming they were good for the body.
They had consumed them.
That hellish taste back then.
Truly hell, as Silver Flower Pills were called.
But from the looks of it.
This seemed even worse.
She was certain, watching the seventh squad's reactions.
Even they, who had taken Wuliang Pills, reacted like that.
Suddenly, bowls of decoction appeared before the two.
Startled, they glanced at Ha Mu-baek.
"Good for the body. Eat it. I miscalculated—three bowls left over."
Indeed.
The second-year twentieth squad of the Fierce Dragon Corps had only two members.
Totaling one hundred ninety-seven people.
Yet Ha Mu-baek had made two hundred bowls.
So who got the last one?
As that question arose.
From somewhere.
An instructor floated in, limbs bound as if shackled.
One who had fled the grounds with Han Seol-bing...
Squad Leader Pyeong Deok-jo.
Bound by Ha Mu-baek's inner energy, he landed before Ha Mu-baek and regained his freedom.
A pure white bowl floated before him.
"Eat."
Ha Mu-baek said curtly, then looked at the Namgung siblings.
Regret flooded their faces.
Curiosity had led them to this self-inflicted ordeal.
They climbed down from the tree.
Eating up there would mean spilling it below, obviously.
Squeezing their eyes shut, they gulped it down.
From Ha Mu-baek's gaze, escape seemed impossible.
Hell unfolded in their mouths.
The most terrifying and vicious of the 1,128 hells: Avici Hell.
"Keurk."
"Urk."
Groans escaped involuntarily.
"Six more times to go."
Ha Mu-baek's calm voice reached the Namgung siblings' ears, Squad Leader Pyeong Deok-jo's ears, and the ears of every Fierce Dragon Corps cadet.