Episode 216

The Sect Leader of the Southern Edge Sect, Yu Jin-san, couldn’t hide his look of dumbfoundedness when he came to pay his morning respects to Yang So-bang.

Sitting on the foundation stone of the pavilion, Yang So-bang was leaning against a pillar.

His cheeks were hollow and his eyes dim. He almost mistook this man for someone else.

Until the day before he had maintained the youthfulness of middle-age, even though he was 70 years old, but now he seemed to have aged in one night? Displaying such a weakened state. What could be the reason behind this?

Could it be that there was a problem with the meat prepared by the chef, Mok Chun? Did that cause him to visit the outhouse countless times throughout the night?

It’s a shame to make him suffer like this when it would be insufficient to serve him the best during his stay.

What if he harbors bad memories about Southern Edge?

Yu Jin-San, who had decided to give Mok Chun a stern talking to, approached Yang So-bang anxiously.

“E-Elder?”

“Ah, you’ve arrived?”

“Did something happen last night…?”

“Hm? Nothing. No.”

Yang So-bang struggled to smile and wave his hand dismissively.

“Maybe something was wrong with the food last night…?”

“Hmm? No, I ate well. The chef’s skills were amazing.”

Relieved by the words of Yang So-bang, Yu Jin-san relaxed.

But if it wasn’t the food, then what had happened to make him like this?

“And where is the Sword of Wudang?”

“That child… he is in the middle of the cultivation.”

“Cultivation?”

“Yes.”

Hearing the words of Yang So-bang, Yu Jin-san glanced at the guest hall.

Now that he thought about it, he did feel a strange qi. It isn’t the qi of Taoism but something bad… Perhaps evil?

Why? Is that evil qi being cultivated?

“Then, why are you guarding?”

“……”

“Elder, this is Southern Edge. What could happen here? If you’re anxious, it’s better to call the disciples and have them….”

Hearing the words of Yu Jin-san, Yang So-bang glared at him.

Is it because his eyes weren’t as lively as usual?

It felt like ghost qi was moving in those eyes.

“Forget it! Don’t approach him and don’t even try to find out! You too! The Southern Edge disciples too! Never!”

“……”

No, is it really something to be this angry about?

“Stop! I need some time to rest.”

An incomprehensible order has been issued by a guest, but how can anyone question Yang So-bang, one of the leading warriors of the Alliance?

Yu Jin-san politely stepped back with doubts.

“Sigh…”

A deep sigh of feeling relieved.

Yang So-bang, left alone, recalled the events of last night.

He really got sucked.

Yang So-bang, who had lost his internal qi to the point where his dantian felt vacuous, was only able to regain the qi after taking the pill which Jinmu gave him.

And so far, he was still protecting him, to prevent anything from happening to Jinmu who went into his room, saying he needed to practice the newly learned technique.

He was the one who lost his strength. Unable to even cry…

As long as the original internal qi in the body was untouched, it will gradually recover over time.

The problem was that too much had been taken. And that too quickly…

It was so hard on the body that even walking felt like a trouble, but he had no choice but to stand up for defense.

He had to be himself unconditionally.

What Jinmu is learning now was promised in his own name and the Beggars Union… and it is a secret that he had to risk everything for, even if it brought death.

No one should know. No one.

Ugh!

In the room of the guesthouse where Jinmu and Yang So-bang were staying, this evil qi which felt so oppressive was moving around.

Amazing.

Even though Jinmu was cultivating, he couldn’t hold back his joy.

Yang So-bang, he truly had great enormous qi. Didn’t he feel like his body would explode at the pace in which the internal qi was coming in?

As soon as Jinmu absorbed Yang So-bang’s internal qi, he returned to the guest hall and began to cultivate.

He worked too hard to refine the internal qi he had absorbed all night, but it still remained.

If the internal qi from Jeong So and Oh Kyung was a part of a cow butchered, then Yang So-bang’s was like eating the whole cow.

It was good to inform Yang So-bang about how he obtained the absorption technique.

With his help, Jinmu completed in one go, what would have taken a hundred people to absorb.

With the training of the Shadow Dragon Elemental Assimilation Arts, unneeded waste qi is pushed out with just pure qi contained in. But more is overflowing to the point of reaching triumph at once.

Even though it is a martial art in which it is impossible to achieve more than Enhanced qi using the original one.

Well, if one thought about it, it didn’t have to be impossible.

In my previous life, I had never even had to use a sword technique against a warrior of master level, and by the time I had the skills to fight one, I could already use the Shadow Dragon Elemental Assimilation technique and there was no need for a sword technique.

But, that is probably the limit.

It is possible to take away internal qi with the Absorption technique, but it is unnecessary. It will most likely be scattered rather than accumulated too.

And that would put a strain on the body.

Yang So-bang, that guy, he is one to thank. And I apologize for treating him like a beggar.

It was very disrespectful of me to degrade a spiritual being as nothing more than that.

“Woah…”

After taking a long breath and praying, Jinmu’s eyes shone with a darkness.

Dull eyes which gave a gloomy feeling and not a glow.

The eyes of Jinmu, who used the Shadow Dragon Elemental Assimilation Arts, were a glimmering black.

Kiiik.

Jinmu got up from his spot and opened the door to the guesthouse, refreshed.

The sunlight pouring in was so dazzling that it hurt.

It felt like he had turned into someone else and wasn’t the person he was yesterday.

It felt refreshing.

It felt like he was finally back in the world again.

Now he felt like he was back to his old life, his original self.

The Shadow Dragon qi which filled his dantian and swirls around in his veins which hold the impure qi, boils as if it wanted to spread out, and this strong qi bloomed with every step he took.

“Done?”

I slowly turned to look at the helpless voice… ack, that shocked me!

I knew it!

“The results? Got any?”

“……”

Yang So-bang spoke with much difficulty.

A little… pitiful.

“Yes. Thanks to our Elder, I achieved great results. Thank you.”

Right, isn’t this kind of greeting nice?

Even when he found wild ginseng in the mountains, he confessed to the Gods of Heaven and land that he would plant and thank them.

This level of gratitude wasn’t surprising since I had gained this great chance thanks to this human spiritual being.

“Hehe, thanks for….”

Yang So-bang waved his hand and looked at Jinmu and sighed.

He did give permission, but there was no change in the opinion that this wasn’t an art of the Justice Faction.

The Demonic arts of a warrior who will rise as a hero of the Justice Faction.

Still, Yang So-bang was glad.

The qi radiating on the outside was enough to make him want to fight for his life at any moment, but it didn’t seem like the personality had changed.

The atmosphere… Although things have changed, the child was still polite.

But aren’t they in Southern Edge?

“Could it be that you cannot use the pure qi of Taoism?”

“N-no. I can use the Dual Internal Qi arts….”

“Then hurry up and change your qi, or someone might see.”

“……”

As Yang So-bang turned his head and looked around, Jinmu chuckled.

Jerk, he is already trying to keep it a secret.

Jinmu happily used the Dual Internal Qi Arts for dual internal qi.

After some time, this sticky qi dissipated with a refreshing one incoming.

“Phew… I feel more at ease now.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Now I will stand up to protect the guardian and you can cultivate. I am worried about your body weakening.”

“……”

Look at this one who thinks of others, but who is the one that turned him like this!

But Yang So-bang couldn’t say it, he just found Jinmu admirable for thinking so.

“How can you think so much about others? I am worried for you.”

“…?”

He could be crazy, but his eyes were sincere.

Normally, once a person gets obsessed with something, it can get scary.

This was even more true for the elders and skilled ones.

Isn’t it true that once a mind is stuck on something, it rarely changes?

The idea that Jinmu is a righteous person, that he is a Taoist who cares for the future of the Justice Faction, and that he lives by the Justice Faction more diligently than anyone else is already firmly embedded in his mind.

“Hurry up and regain your qi. Wouldn’t that help us find and eliminate the spy bastards who are disrupting the Alliance?”

“Ah, right. I always feel embarrassed when I see you worrying about the Justice Faction.”

“……”

Yang So-bang continued to praise Jinmu to the point where Jinmu felt taken aback.

It felt like he took advantage of him… sorry…

“Now, come on in.”

Jinmu forced Yang So-bang into the guest hall.

“Haha. This man.”

Yang So-bang burst into laughter at the sight of Jinmu taking care of him and went inside, pretending not to resist.

After he went inside, he felt some qi, so it meant that Yang So-bang was beginning to cultivate.

He will probably recover the qi soon. In about three months?

That’s pretty fast.

Even though time doesn’t seem to pass right away, isn’t it so fast that one doesn’t known when it passed?

Jinmu, who took it upon himself to protect the hall for Yang So-bang, looked at the Southern Edge Sect with satisfaction.

A nice place.

No, everything seemed nice to Jinmu now.

It felt like he was flying.

Now there is no need to even look for something like this.

The purpose was to absorb internal qi, but it was already obtained…

But he was concerned about Yang So-bang, who was looking like a corpse now.

There must be a strong desire to catch the three people and kill them right away.

But didn’t Yang So-bang believe in Jinmu’s luck and run all the way to Southern Edge, and even let him pursue his dream?

Maybe help him back a little?

If he hadn’t absorbed Yang So-bang’s internal qi, he might have had to travel around for another six months chasing after people, but all that ended in one day.

If it went according to plan, he would head back to the Heavenly Strong Clan and take over the Evil Sect’s Heaven….

Right, let’s just help him find the spy in Southern Edge.

Well, it’s not like the world is going to end tomorrow.

Well, Jinmu rested his chin on his hand and began to think about locating the spy in Southern Edge, when someone approached the guest hall.

Evil qi?

Is it because his sensing of qi has expanded further than before due to the Cultivation of the Shadow Dragon arts?

He felt the qi more clearly than before.

Who is that person?

Jinmu looked at one spot with eyes narrowed and concentrated there.

Since it is Southern Edge and not another place, it wasn’t strange to feel evil qi.

But he felt more than necessary.

Like a predator approaching their prey, they muffled their footsteps and hid their presence… is this the real spy? Already?

No.

Suddenly the sect had the Sword of Wudang and Yang So-bang appear, so wouldn’t anyone want to peek?

He was concentrating on the qi for a while, but the qi stopped getting closer at some point and the presence turned weaker.

It was clearly a stealth technique.

“This bastard!”

Pak!
Jinmu, who was sitting with a cold smile on his face, kicked off the ground, and his form flew up instantly to the guest hall.

“Spy bastard… uh?”

Jinmu, who was about to hit the opponent with a fist, made eye contact.

Blinking and looking at….

In his hand was a kitchen knife and a poor chicken with its head cut and blood was dripping down.

Southern Edge’s chef Mok Chun?

“Why are you here?”

“……”

When Jinmu asked, looking cold, the chef blinked in fear and slowly raised his hand.

“Sect Leader said that it looked like Windless Beggar had a bad time last night with diarrhea, probably because the meat wasn’t enjoyed… so he ordered me to make some healthy food…”

“……”

Diarrhea all night long?

Ah, it could have seemed that way.

“So, that?”

“Yes. Caught a chicken and added tuber fleeceflower.”

Tuber fleeceflower in it?

“And how long ago was the herb from?”

“…Ten years.”

Uh, insane bastards!

Are they making the chicken stew, but adding fleeceflower instead of ginseng?

Although it couldn’t be compared to the millennial ginseng and its effects, it is still a herb with a fairly high efficiency.

There are those who only indulge in extravagance everywhere.

Jinmu’s face contorted and he raised his hand to Mok Chun with all his might and spread out his fingers.

“Two!”

“…Uh?”

“There are two people!”

“……”

“Of course you have to cook 2 bowls!”

“O-of course…”

“Right! There are two people!”

Mok Chun, who was shocked at Jinmu’s words, exclaimed.

“Ah! For two?”

Nod nod.

Isn’t it obvious?

The great master also taught that each person should have one chicken.

“I understand. I will prepare it quickly.”

“Hehehe.”

When Mok Chun seemed to get it, Jinmu nodded and smiled happily.

The day passed like that.

Yang So-bang ended his cultivation and they had chicken stew… no, they had tuber fleeceflower stew.