The Reincarnated Hunter Sweeps Up All Fortunes - Chapter 27
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 27
27
The moment I opened my eyes, my body felt refreshed and light.
I’d collapsed yesterday in a state of complete exhaustion, yet somehow I felt renewed.
“……How many hours did I actually sleep?”
Judging by the angle of light streaming through the window, the sun had already climbed quite high.
It looked like I’d slept a good ten hours—though honestly, after fighting the Demonic Cultivator, plummeting off the Cliff, punching my way down the rock wall, and crawling back up like a lizard, even two days of sleep wouldn’t have been too much.
Im Gang scratched his matted hair vigorously.
Flick, flick, flick.
“…….”
Dandruff scattered down like snow.
Im Gang jolted upright in alarm. Whether in my past life or this one, cleanliness had always been a cornerstone of my self-discipline—what had I become?
He made straight for the bathing room.
He filled a tub with hot water and submerged himself completely.
He scrubbed his head thoroughly with soap-fruit, the cleaning agent and shampoo of this era.
Once his matted hair had stiffened back to life, he settled deeper into the tub and opened his system window.
Name: Im Gang (Lv. 26)
Class: Second-class Wanderer / Treasure Hunter
Inner Power: 40 years 0 days
Skills: Third-class Wind Fang Swordsmanship, Second-class Agile Body Technique… (view more)
Skill Points: 13
“……When did my level get this high?”
Twenty-six—when had that happened?
Thirteen Skill Points sitting unused.
Looking back over recent events, it wasn’t altogether surprising.
The war between the Red Stream Faction and Black Sword Faction, the consecutive victories in the Underground Arena, the battle at Hunmyeong Midojin, and my encounter with the Demonic Cultivator at the Cliff—it all added up.
My level had climbed steadily.
‘What should I do with these Skill Points……?’
Skill Points were precious. But there’s an old saying about hoarding until it spoils.
As I thought it through, the real shortage was in attack power.
Against Second-class masters, I could manage somehow. But from First-class onward, the gap became absolutely insurmountable.
Ever since I felt firsthand the overwhelming presence of Ho Muk and his Heartless Monologue, it was a reality I couldn’t deny.
‘It’s not that I was stingy with Skill Points toward martial arts…….’
It was because the rules of this world differed from my past life, and I didn’t know what effects they might have.
Besides, there was no immediate urgency.
Even just the Great Force Strike and Whirlwind Kick had shown steady progress through training and real combat.
If I suddenly grew dramatically stronger, it could invite unwanted complications.
If a Second-class novice suddenly became a Peak master overnight—
Unless someone was a fool, they’d find it suspicious. But with recent events and all the turmoil I’ve been caught up in, my thinking has shifted.
‘Suspicious growth spurts causing complications?’
There was something far more dangerous than that—unknown threats.
Between life and death, the priority was absurdly clear.
‘Besides, playing weak is hardly a current trend anyway.’
Im Gang muttered to himself as he scrolled through his skill list.
But when it came time to actually invest the Skill Points, he ran into a problem.
He didn’t have many offensive skills—martial techniques, that is.
Wind Fang Swordsmanship? Third-class, so I’d pass.
Agile Body Technique? It was an external discipline, far removed from raw attack power.
Whirlwind Kick? Good for support, but not suited as a primary technique.
Gouyuan Fist Technique? At least it was First-class…….
‘Spending precious Skill Points just to upgrade a mere First-class technique feels wasteful.’
That left only the Demon Slaying Blood Sutra Sword. It had particular devastating effects against those versed in Demonic Power, but even setting that aside, it would be worthwhile.
After all, it was an Ascending Level Skill.
Im Gang invested points into the Demon Slaying Blood Sutra Sword.
But then—
Beep!
[The Ascending Level Skill Demon Slaying Blood Sutra Sword cannot grow through Skill Points.]
“……What?”
Im Gang stared blankly at the system window.
Impossible?
Why?
“Ah… not this again.”
In my past life too, the system would occasionally demand that I satisfy special conditions or use a skill frequently if I wanted it to grow, and I’d always found it exasperating.
I just hadn’t expected it to happen this time.
‘If this keeps up, the whole plan falls apart.’
Investing in the Gouyuan Fist Technique — a mere Second-class skill — felt like such a waste.
Only Peak-level or higher skills justified spending Skill Points without regret.
If anyone had heard me say this, they’d have accused me of abandoning all conscience.
My mood cooled like bathwater growing stale — flat and bitter. One conclusion crystallized: I’d have to level the Demon Slaying Blood Sutra Sword through real combat against Demonic Cultivators.
“Damn… what do I do about this?”
Im Gang’s troubled expression deepened into genuine distress.
And then.
It was several hours later that the dilemma resolved itself cleanly.
* * *
Im Gang dressed and headed out into the street.
The Silver Shadow Silk’s durability had dropped to just 21, so if it broke mid-combat, I’d have no recourse — I needed to find a blacksmith to repair it.
After visiting three smithies, I found one that suited my needs.
A weathered sign read “Kim’s Iron Smithy.” Inside, a massive blacksmith — a man whose forearms alone were thicker than Im Gang’s thighs — swung a hammer over his anvil.
“Ah? A customer.”
“Could you take a look at this for me?”
Im Gang handed over the Silver Shadow Silk, and the blacksmith examined it carefully, turning it this way and that.
Then he opened the clasp and peered inside, clicking his tongue.
“Tsk. You’ve been using this hard, haven’t you? The internal components are badly worn.”
“Is the repair difficult?”
“Not at all. I just need to replace the internal parts.”
“Thank goodness. How long will it take?”
“Half a watch.”
“And the cost?”
“One silver tael.”
At the mention of silver, my body involuntarily tensed. In my past life, Im Gang had enjoyed considerable wealth, but in this incarnation, I was a humble Wanderer scraping by on meager means.
One silver tael… it was steep. Steep, yes, but reasonable enough given the value of the Silver Shadow Silk.
Im Gang nodded his assent and handed over the coin.
While the blacksmith swapped out the components, I settled onto a stool to wait.
Then a question struck me.
‘Now that I think about it… why is this a Non-equipment Item?’
Looking at the Silver Shadow Silk’s function alone, it barely seemed worth using up an equipment slot.
Fire silk threads from the wrist for mobility?
Practical, sure, but why would that make it Peak-level?
There had to be something hidden — some option I couldn’t see.
‘My Appraisal skill must be too low. That’s why I’m only seeing part of the picture.’
Im Gang invested 1 Skill Point into the Appraisal skill.
[Appraisal Lv. 1 → Appraisal Lv. 2]
I stepped closer to the blacksmith as he worked and activated Appraisal. But nothing had changed from before. Raising it by just one level wasn’t enough.
I spent more Skill Points.
[Appraisal Lv. 2 → Appraisal Lv. 3]
[Appraisal Lv. 3 → Appraisal Lv. 4]
Ding!
[Dragon Silk Armor]
⌞
Durability: 72 / 100
Defense: 30
Materials: Specially treated hide of the Earth Dragon, fine silken strands extracted from the whiskers of the Water Dragon
Additional Options: When Inner Power is channeled into the device, Dragon Silk threads are ejected. The ejected threads adhere to walls and surfaces, serving as a mobility aid and multipurpose tool. The tensile strength of the threads scales with the amount of Inner Power channeled.
“…….”
Im Gang clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle an exclamation.
It had a true name all along.
Earth Dragon hide?
Water Dragon whiskers?
‘Insane… so that’s why it looked useless but was still a Non-equipment Item.’
In the Martial World, dragons were treated as creatures of legend.
Whether they truly existed was a matter of debate, but items crafted from materials known to contain dragon essence had indeed been found in the world.
Yet here was something made from genuine dragon hide and whiskers.
It wasn’t the function that was extraordinary—it was the material itself that was remarkable.
‘What if the Blacksmith recognizes it?’
The thought arrived unbidden, and cold sweat beaded on Im Gang’s temple.
Im Gang stole a glance at the Blacksmith. The man worked in serious concentration, replacing components with methodical precision. No sign of suspicion—a relief. Still, one could never be too careful.
‘Be cautious.’
A short while later.
Im Gang left the smithy with the Dragon Silk Armor fastened around his wrist, his sleeve drawn down longer than usual to conceal it.
* * *
On the way home, he stopped at Market Street to grab a meal.
A line of wanderers stretched before his usual thin noodle cart.
As Im Gang took his place at the back, those ahead glanced at him dismissively.
They soon returned to their conversation.
“I heard there’ve been a lot of suspicious characters around Hangzhou lately?”
“Suspicious types? There’s no shortage of those.”
“Word is there are people wandering around with something off about their eyes. Like they’re on some kind of drug or something…….”
“…Now that you mention it, I’ve heard something about this.”
The wanderer in front lowered his voice.
“They say Demonic Cultivators have been lurking around Hangzhou.”
“What? Demonic Cultivators?!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. I’m not sure if it’s true or not. But with no commissions coming in lately and the brokers’ offices staying quiet, it does seem like it could be real…. Those weird-eyed types might be Demonic Cultivators.”
Im Gang listened to the wanderers’ exchange and muttered to himself.
‘They’re definitely Demonic Cultivators. I nearly died because of them, so I know.’
The description of eyes being “off” fit perfectly.
The Demonic Cultivators he’d encountered at the cliff had the same glazed, wild expression in their eyes.
The line moved quickly, and Im Gang soon sat down to order thin noodles.
He ate rapidly, slurped up the last of the broth, left coins on the table, and stood to leave.
The walk home was remarkably peaceful. The events at the cliff felt like a distant dream, so crowded were Market Street’s stalls with merchants and customers. Here, surrounded by the ordinary bustle of Hangzhou, talk of Demonic Cultivators and the Demonic Path seemed like gossip from another world entirely.
In this place, among these people, such things felt like stories from a different realm.
‘This peaceful place—this is true peace.’
His shoulders relaxed somewhat as he reached his front door.
“……?”
A figure stood before it.
The stranger wore a bamboo hat—a wide-brimmed, scholarly style—with a bundle slung across his back. His martial robes were immaculate white, unmarred by a speck of dust, and a sword hung at his waist.
A martial artist.
No—more than that. A martial artist of considerable skill. The spotless condition of his robes from toe to crown spoke volumes: true strength.
To move through Hangzhou without a single confrontation and maintain such pristine appearance required prowess that made others hesitate to challenge him.
“Ahem.”
Im Gang cleared his throat to announce his presence. The martial artist turned slowly.
Beneath the brim of his hat, a face appeared—somewhere between his late fifties and early sixties.
White whiskers were neatly groomed, and his eyes carried a gentle warmth.
Yet he said nothing.
‘…Who is this person?’
Im Gang’s mind raced with questions even as his mouth formed a polite response.
“This is my home. May I ask the purpose of your visit?”
Only then did the martial artist speak.
“So you are the one who discovered it.”
“Discovered……?”
Im Gang tilted his head in confusion, and the martial artist replied curtly.
“The Pine Gate Ancient Sword.”
The martial artist’s identity was revealed: a Wudang Sect Member.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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