Chapter 406
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 406
Chapter Title: This is the Last One
Won Pyeong-sam.
It had already been about ten days since he arrived in Lanzhou.
In that time, he had grown even more accustomed to the ways of the Central Plains.
The fact that he could adapt so easily in such a short span owed much to Kang Hyo-wol's help.
He called himself a beggar.
But he was no ordinary beggar.
Won Pyeong-sam quickly realized this as they spent time together.
And Kang Hyo-wol was the same.
'He's no simple country bumpkin.'
Kang Hyo-wol glanced at Won Pyeong-sam, who was eating on the roadside with him again today, and thought to himself.
"Hm? What's wrong, Brother Kang?"
"Nothing at all, Brother Won. I thought something was stuck to you, but it wasn't."
Won Pyeong-sam chuckled at Kang Hyo-wol's silly response.
In those ten days, even their forms of address had changed.
Their bond had deepened that much.
At the same time,
rumors had quietly spread in the areas where they mainly roamed that they were a beggar and a bumpkin.
That was why
passersby paid no mind as they walked past Won Pyeong-sam eating on the roadside.
'A beggar who's reached the pinnacle of martial arts... Must be from the Beggars' Sect, right?'
Won Pyeong-sam glanced at Kang Hyo-wol and thought.
On the day they first met,
he had been so dazed by the scale of Lanzhou that he hadn't properly assessed him.
But once he pulled himself together, he realized it right away.
That Kang Hyo-wol had trained in martial arts.
And to a level approaching the pinnacle, no less.
The reason he could tell was simple.
Won Pyeong-sam's own realm was far higher, so he naturally saw through Kang Hyo-wol's skills.
Kang Hyo-wol was the same.
Won Pyeong-sam appeared utterly ordinary even to his pinnacle-level eyes.
But there was an aura he subtly emanated.
Kang Hyo-wol had met someone like that before.
'Half-Step Transcendent... maybe even full Transcendent.'
Those who had reached Half-Step Transcendent and stepped into the Transcendent realm.
They seemed ordinary.
Yet their aura differed from that of true mortals.
A normal pinnacle expert might not sense it.
But Kang Hyo-wol was different.
He had experienced it before, so he could feel it.
That was why, instead of scouting the Kongtong Sect, he had spent these ten days with Won Pyeong-sam.
Such a master had suddenly appeared beyond Jade Gate Pass.
"But Brother Won, you must know by now that only beggars eat on the roadside like this. Is it really alright?"
Whenever Won Pyeong-sam ate with Kang Hyo-wol, they came out to the street together.
He ate at inns or restaurants when alone.
"What matters is sharing a meal with the benefactor who helped me. Who cares about others' stares? Without you, Brother Kang, how could I have adapted to the Central Plains so quickly?"
Won Pyeong-sam smiled warmly in response.
"Well said, but ordinary folk can't do that even knowing it's right. Pride gets in the way."
"True pride comes from being honest with oneself."
Won Pyeong-sam replied nonchalantly to Kang Hyo-wol's words.
Admiration appeared on Kang Hyo-wol's face upon hearing that.
It rang true to him as well.
But how many in the world could truly be honest with themselves?
As he thought that, one person suddenly came to mind.
That man was honest with himself no matter where he was in the world.
Some called him arrogant.
But in Kang Hyo-wol's eyes, it was simply pride.
He was undoubtedly a powerhouse.
A powerhouse without equal under heaven.
'Do you need to reach that level to be so proud?'
And now he had met another.
'No way Brother Won is at that level...'
Kang Hyo-wol quickly dismissed the thought.
There was no way another monster like that existed in the world.
Kang Hyo-wol still couldn't forget that overwhelming sight.
During the Upright-Demonic Great War.
Few volunteered to head into Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, called the worst death trap.
Kang Hyo-wol had been one of them.
And thanks to that, he witnessed the monster's true face.
As reward, he was now quietly scouting the Kongtong Sect's movements in peaceful Lanzhou.
"What's wrong, Brother Kang?"
Won Pyeong-sam asked worriedly, seeing Kang Hyo-wol suddenly lost in thought.
"Ah, nothing. Just reminiscing. Does everyone in your homeland live with that mindset, Brother Won?"
Won Pyeong-sam nodded at the question.
"It's a harsh, barren land. You can't survive without being honest with yourself."
"In a harsh, barren place... wouldn't you have to bow to the strong?"
Won Pyeong-sam shook his head at Kang Hyo-wol's puzzled question.
"Otherwise, you'd live your whole life as the weak."
Kang Hyo-wol's eyes gleamed subtly at the response.
There was the answer in those words.
Won Pyeong-sam must have been a considerable powerhouse where he came from.
That's why he said you live as the weak otherwise.
What corner of the outer world could produce such a powerhouse who suddenly appeared in the Central Plains?
The world was the Central Plains, but
Kang Hyo-wol knew well.
Beyond the Central Plains, in the outer world,
lay an even vaster world.
In the meantime, their bowls had emptied.
Won Pyeong-sam looked regretfully at his empty bowl.
"Thank you for everything these past days, Brother Kang."
Kang Hyo-wol read the meaning behind those words.
"Are you leaving, Brother Won?"
Won Pyeong-sam nodded.
"I came to see and learn the Central Plains' ways, so I should head elsewhere, no? You said so yourself. Lanzhou is a frontier even in the Central Plains. The heart of the Central Plains is filled with far more prosperous and splendid places."
"True. Any man who sets foot in the Central Plains must visit Suzhou and Hangzhou."
Won Pyeong-sam smiled faintly at Kang Hyo-wol's words.
"'Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below.' As you say, Brother Kang, I'll make sure to go."
Kang Hyo-wol nodded.
"So, where to next?"
"Thinking of heading to Chang'an first."
"That's a grand metropolis incomparable to Lanzhou. Keep your wits about you this time, don't act like you did when you first arrived."
"Hahaha. Don't worry, Brother Kang. This Won Pyeong-sam is no longer that bumpkin."
Won Pyeong-sam stood up.
Kang Hyo-wol rose as well.
The two faced each other, then cupped their fists in salute.
"Thanks to Brother Kang's guidance and teachings, this Won Pyeong-sam adapted to the Central Plains quickly. Truly grateful."
"Thanks to Brother Won, this beggar Kang Hyo-wol ate his fill of hot meals for ten days. Truly grateful."
After exchanging heartfelt farewells,
Won Pyeong-sam departed.
He left through Lanzhou's east gate, heading toward Chang'an in Shaanxi Province.
After he left,
three carrier pigeons took to the sky.
They were the ones Kang Hyo-wol sent to report on Won Pyeong-sam.
As he walked, Won Pyeong-sam spotted the pigeons flying overhead.
"Carrier pigeons."
He knew who sent them.
He had met someone suspicious from the Beggars' Sect.
Won Pyeong-sam smiled faintly.
A murderous glint had risen on his face.
"This prosperity will soon be ours. Looks like those Buddhist fools failed. But our Yuan Clan won't go down easily."
For a brief moment, the mask he wore to gauge the Central Plains' situation slipped.
It was hell.
Buddhist scriptures say there are 1,127 hells in total.
Among them, the worst is Avici Hell.
A name meaning no interval in suffering.
In other words, the hell of eternal, ceaseless agony.
And to the Fierce Dragon Corps trainees, the past seven weeks had felt exactly like living in Avici Hell.
The decoction's foul stench was nothing compared to its horrific taste.
And the stench and bitterness lingered in their noses and mouths all day after consumption.
By the time it faded,
a fresh batch appeared before them.
Yet the trainees, including the Namgung siblings and Pyeong Deok-jo, took it again.
They grew more haggard day by day.
And from yesterday, most wore faces of utter resignation.
As if they had achieved enlightenment.
The Namgung siblings were the same.
The stench emanating from their bodies
kept them from entering the dorms.
It was a clear nuisance.
Fierce Dragon Dormitory housed only Fierce Dragon Corps trainees, so it would have been fine.
But they couldn't go to Hidden Dragon Dormitory.
Namgung Ji-hu had to impose on Dan Mok Un-roe and Dang Jin-san.
Graceful Dragon Dormitory for female trainees was divided by affiliation.
Namgung Ji-yu, unable to enter Hidden Dragon Corps' section, had no choice but to stay with Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran.
One wrong peek,
and the siblings had spent the past seven days separated from Hidden Dragon Corps, bunking with Fierce Dragon Corps.
The rumor of their stench had spread throughout Dragon Training Pavilion, so no one approached the Grand Training Grounds.
Yet they couldn't stop taking it.
Circulating their qi, they distinctly felt changes, however subtle.
To a martial artist, such sensations were addictive.
They could clearly feel themselves growing stronger.
And now,
the final bowl lay before them.
"Ugh... This is the last one."
Dang Jin-san's eyes turned red.
All emotions swirled at the thought of it finally ending.
In the end, everyone emptied the final decoction
and entered meditation.
Ha Mu-baek watched silently.
'Not bad.'
He had thought some would refuse and force-feeding would be needed.
No.
After the first day,
they suffered but none refused.
The Half-Dose Azure Spirit Decoction was less potent than Infinite Pills but took effect faster.
The trainees felt it.
Having taken seven doses, they had at least doubled their previous internal energy.
A small gain for the seven squad trainees and Namgung siblings with vast reserves already,
but not for the other Fierce Dragon Corps trainees.
Moreover, its quality booster would accelerate internal energy growth by fifty percent faster than before.
This would last about a month.
Combined,
by the Summer Combat Festival,
they would all have enough internal energy for sword aura.
Of course, sword aura required more than sufficient internal energy.
A martial artist's own insight was needed.
Ha Mu-baek didn't see that as difficult.
Sword beam was another story.
But sword aura?
He could drill insight into them through training.
Of course,
that training would be grueling and arduous.
"Devote the next seven days purely to meditation. No group training during that time."
The next seven days were when the Half-Dose Azure Spirit Decoction's effects peaked.
Ha Mu-baek ordered nothing but qi circulation.
[Something come up?]
Wi Ji-gun sent a transmission.
[Need to head to Luoyang briefly.]
He had given them time.
Now, it was time to check.
Hidden Blood Poison Cadavers.
Whether the Righteous Heaven Alliance had properly received word of their existence.
Thus, Ha Mu-baek decided to visit Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong.
Visiting the Righteous Heaven Alliance headquarters was a hassle,
but he couldn't summon Gong Son Dan-gyeong to Dragon Training Pavilion, so he had to go himself.
[Got it. Don't worry about this place.]
After a slight bow to his master's response, Ha Mu-baek approached the baggage carriage.
A wooden box protruded from it.
Ha Mu-baek levitated it into the air with Object Control and kicked off the ground, dashing away.
He vanished from the Grand Training Grounds amid fierce winds, but none of the trainees noticed.
They were all deep in meditative trance.
Including the Namgung siblings.
Bang!
A harsh sound rang from the shield.
The blow from the Bloodsteel Cadaver.
Slice.
But soon, the cadaver's head was severed.
Gwan Ha-kyeong's crimson sword beam had swept through.
The fallen head was crushed under Pung Geon's foot.
Yu Gwi-gwang deftly extracted the inner core from the cadaver's body.
It had been two days since they arrived south of Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
They were swiftly mapping the surrounding cadavers' territories.
Thanks to experience with Ha Mu-baek,
their speed was incomparable to before.
"Doesn't something feel off?"
Yu Gwi-gwang, pocketing the core, scanned the surroundings and asked.
"Yeah, something does... but..."
Pung Geon replied.
He couldn't pinpoint what.
Territory scouting proceeded smoothly,
yet an inexplicable foreboding lingered.
"Is there a Dark Blood Cadaver territory nearby?"
Gwan Ha-kyeong asked.
Definitely,
it resembled the dread felt entering a Dark Blood Cadaver territory.
Thanks to Ha Mu-baek.
Precisely, the aura of the Decapitated Dark Blood Ghost,
but Dark Blood Cadaver territories encompassed all of Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, they heard.
Naturally, the closer to them, the thicker the aura.
Demon-Sealing Corps and Fierce Dragon Corps members couldn't sense it precisely.
Just vague unease or discomfort.
"But... from what we've confirmed, no active Dark Blood Cadavers nearby..."
Pung Geon muttered with a baffled expression.
They found two Ink Iron Cadavers, but no Dark Blood Cadavers.
"Finish territory scouting as fast as possible and withdraw. Something feels ominous."
At Pung Geon's words, all nodded and moved swiftly.