The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 213

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 213. What a Funny Thing

 

 

Despite the sunlight streaming down, it was dim and gloomy.

Dense trees.

Though sunlight occasionally filtered through the trees, even that light seemed ominous in this place.

Sanwol Demon Forest.

This was the day Gwan Ha-gyeong first set foot in this place for a mission after being assigned to the Demon Suppression Corps.

His entire body was tense with nervousness.

“Hey. Rookie. Relax. Just follow orders well and nothing bad will happen. Well, even if something does happen, those guys will buy us time.”

A member of the Demon Suppression Corps who entered with Gwan Ha-gyeong glanced at the Maengryong Corps and spoke.

At those words, Gwan Ha-gyeong’s gaze turned to the backs of the Maengryong Corps.

Those walking ahead of them.

The sight of them holding large shields and walking while guarding all directions made them look like elite soldiers who had accumulated experience in Sanwol Demon Forest.

And that was indeed the truth.

Those who came out with Gwan Ha-gyeong’s group were four or five-year veterans of the Maengryong Corps.

They were those whose service in Sanwol Demon Forest was almost complete.

‘I heard the survival rate was fifty percent…’

But there were more four or five-year veterans than expected.

This was the change brought about by shields.

As experience using Shield Technique was passed down among the Maengryong Corps warriors, the survival rate gradually increased.

By now, so many had survived that the fifty percent survival rate seemed meaningless.

The small seed that Zhuge Ming had planted had finally sprouted.

The current five-year veterans were the crystallization of that.

When their service period ended, the Maengryong Corps’ survival rate would dramatically increase.

And it would continue to rise even more after that.

“Grooooooar.”

Then came the cry of a Jiangshi from somewhere.

The Maengryong Corps warriors immediately took defensive positions.

The eyes of the Demon Suppression Corps warriors also gleamed sharply.

Gwan Ha-gyeong swallowed dry saliva, placed his hand on his blade weapon, and slowly moved following his seniors.

“Graaaah!”

Two Blood Jiangshi suddenly burst out.

However, those two were blocked by the shields of ten Maengryong Corps warriors.

At the same time, four Demon Suppression Corps warriors went around back and severed the Blood Jiangshi’s necks.

The Blood Jiangshi heads fell powerlessly to the ground.

Gwan Ha-gyeong stared blankly at that sight.

Ten from the Maengryong Corps and five from the Demon Suppression Corps.

This was the most basic group formation.

“Hey. Rookie. Snap out of it. What are you going to do standing there so dazed? Over just this much.”

At the words of a senior who approached while sheathing his sword, Gwan Ha-gyeong snapped to attention.

“We still have a long way to go to reach the target point. It’ll be troublesome if you keep acting like this.”

“Yes. I’ll correct it.”

Gwan Ha-gyeong answered firmly in a quiet voice.

Resolving that he would absolutely never space out like this again.

“Then let’s start the work quickly.”

Gwan Ha-gyeong’s eyes widened at the word “work.”

What did this mean?

Wasn’t it finished since they eliminated the Jiangshi?

It wasn’t.

A Demon Suppression Corps member drew a short straight blade from his waist, cut open the Blood Jiangshi’s belly, and began rummaging through the stomach with the blade tip.

The completely rotten and decomposed stomach contents.

He was searching for something there.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you get educated? We need to collect achievements. These Jiangshi bastards have inner cores despite being monsters. They’re completely useless trash though. Achievements are recorded by recovering the inner cores.”

Thus, two inner cores came out from the two Blood Jiangshi corpses.

“Then let’s search the area.”

While the Maengryong Corps warriors held their shields and stood guard around the perimeter, the Demon Suppression Corps members thoroughly searched the surroundings.

“What a funny thing. That this hellish land produces not only poisonous herbs but also medicinal herbs and spiritual herbs in abundance.”

Demon Suppression Corps member Yang Yeop-myeong.

He who was assigned as Gwan Ha-gyeong’s mentor spoke with an incredulous laugh.

Gwan Ha-gyeong nodded slightly while surveying the surroundings.

He never imagined he’d come to Sanwol Demon Forest to gather medicinal herbs.

“This is all money. The high-ups are grinding people up like this because of that. The justification is rooting out Blood Cult remnants, but…”

“Don’t they do that?”

At Gwan Ha-gyeong’s question, Yang Yeop-myeong shook his head.

“They do it. But it’s extremely slow. The justification is that maximum safety must be secured, but… Well. I don’t know.”

Gwan Ha-gyeong couldn’t say anything.

He just looked around to find the medicinal herbs he had learned about during training.

 

***

 

Jeongcheon Alliance.

A secret chamber located in the Elder Council.

Three people were gathered there.

Hubei Yeon Family Head, Yeon Ja-gyeong.

Gongdong Sect Leader, Cheon Gi-buk.

Valley Master of Cheondok Valley, Yeo Hong-gi.

These were the members gathered in this place.

Yeon Ja-gyeong was leading this meeting.

“Valley Master Yeo. How is the progress?”

“The poison’s performance itself has been verified, so it seems about thirty percent complete.”

At Yeon Ja-gyeong’s question, Yeo Hong-gi answered with a calm face.

“Will that really be effective against that monster?”

Cheon Gi-buk asked with apparent curiosity.

“It will be. No matter how much that bastard claims Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity. I also have a body close to Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity. However, when I first encountered it, I felt my Internal Energy scatter slightly from the poison’s invasion. With this, I should be able to create an Internal Energy Scattering Poison that works on that bastard too.”

Yeo Hong-gi answered with a confident face.

“How much have you collected?”

Yeon Ja-gyeong’s question turned to the Gongdong Sect Leader, Cheon Gi-buk.

“It’s still far from enough. It’s rare, and the places where it grows naturally are so deep inside. It’s not easy for the Demon Suppression Corps members to collect either.”

The current Demon Suppression Corps leader was from the Gongdong Sect.

That’s why Cheon Gi-buk was well-versed in the Demon Suppression Corps’ situation.

“I never knew such poisonous herbs existed in Sanwol Demon Forest. It was worth building the Great Wall and preserving it.”

Cheon Gi-buk added with admiration.

Sanwol Demon Forest was a place with utility value, contrary to its name as a demon forest.

Of course, many sacrifices were needed for that, but most of those sacrifices were being borne by the Maengryong Corps.

“Even poison can become medicine depending on how it’s used.”

Yeo Hong-gi said with a pleased smile.

“Indeed, we’re even utilizing jiangshi inner cores. Who would have thought of such a thing?”

Yeon Ja-gyeong looked at Yeo Hong-gi.

Yeo Hong-gi was the first to discover that jiangshi from the Blood Jiangshi level onwards had inner cores within their bodies.

It was an accidental discovery.

He was originally someone who researched corpse poison.

The optimal materials were the jiangshi of the Blood Cult.

Particularly, the corpse poison in the fangs of Death Jiangshi was a subject of research.

To think that being bitten would turn one into a jiangshi.

However, only a very few knew that he conducted such research.

Top secret among top secrets.

It was only natural.

For a righteous sect of Murim to research the Blood Cult’s jiangshi poison.

It would have been cause for ostracism.

However, Yeo Hong-gi, the Valley Master of Cheondok Valley, was seeking a path to surpass the Tang Family through corpse poison.

In that process, he accidentally discovered jiangshi inner cores.

Terribly contaminated and murky inner cores.

He speculated that the dantian from their lifetime had transformed into inner cores upon becoming jiangshi.

As a result of researching with the thought that new poison could be extracted from them.

The inner cores were refined.

The extracted poison was disappointing, but the inner cores remaining after poison extraction became useful.

Though they couldn’t compare to supreme elixirs, when properly mixed, pills that could grant internal energy could be made.

This fact was conveyed only to Yeon Ja-gyeong.

After all, Yeo Hong-gi was originally Yeon Ja-gyeong’s person.

Yeon Ja-gyeong concealed this fact and used the White Path Alliance’s influence to advocate for preserving Sanwol Demon Forest.

He revealed the unexpected utility value of Sanwol Demon Forest that Yeo Hong-gi had discovered and promised those interests to the White Path Alliance.

Even without jiangshi inner cores, Sanwol Demon Forest was profitable.

There were many things Yeo Hong-gi had discovered while frequenting the surroundings of Sanwol Demon Forest to research corpse poison.

That’s why the White Path Alliance agreed with Yeon Ja-gyeong’s argument to preserve Sanwol Demon Forest.

Of course, Yeon Ja-gyeong hid the facts about the inner cores.

That way, Yeon Ja-gyeong could obtain the inner cores.

Even the Blood Cult didn’t know about jiangshi inner cores. If they had known, they wouldn’t have left the jiangshi like that.

For Yeon Ja-gyeong, this was an opportunity.

That’s why he placed the Demon Sealing Corps under the Elder Council. And he recruited the Sect Leader of Gongdong Sect, the home sect of the Demon Sealing Corps leader.

His recruitment was easy.

Though they were part of the Nine Sects and One Alliance, they were treated as a lower sect.

The accumulated resentment and anger there was considerable.

Thanks to this, Yeon Ja-gyeong established a foundation to thoroughly place Sanwol Demon Forest under the White Path Alliance’s management while secretly collecting inner cores.

In fact, even the Demon Sealing Corps members didn’t know why they were collecting jiangshi inner cores.

The official justification was collecting evidence of jiangshi kills for performance evaluation.

It was cleaner to extract and bring inner cores rather than carrying around jiangshi heads.

The Demon Sealing Corps members accepted this reasoning.

No one had doubts.

And for good reason.

If you extract a jiangshi’s inner core, you’d understand.

Seeing that filthy energy, one couldn’t possibly understand why they’d be asked to bring such trash.

“Right now, Internal Energy Scattering Poison is more important than inner cores.”

Yeo Hong-gi said, shaking his head.

Inner cores were something they’d been secretly doing since building Sanwol Great Wall until now.

A new task was added to that.

Collecting a certain herb, or rather, poison herb.

A plant that grew wild only in places where jiangshi corpses gathered and rotted, accumulating corpse poison.

White Flower Purple Light Grass.

When refined and concentrated, this created powerful Internal Energy Scattering Poison.

Though it had no killing power, it completely scattered internal energy during poisoning.

They also discovered the possibility of bypassing poison-blocking artifacts like poison-repelling beads or constitutions like Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity to scatter internal energy.

Yeo Hong-gi discovered this by chance and informed Yeon Ja-gyeong of the fact.

Yeon Ja-gyeong was Cheondok Valley’s greatest patron and backer.

Yeo Hong-gi devoted his loyalty to Yeon Ja-gyeong.

He chose the Yeon Family to surpass the Tang Family.

His ability to enter the Elder Council as Valley Master of Cheondok Valley was also thanks to Yeon Ja-gyeong’s help.

Upon hearing of that poison’s existence, Yeon Ja-gyeong thought of only one possibility.

Could Ha Mu-baek be poisoned? Could his internal energy be completely scattered?

To that question, Yeo Hong-gi answered that it might be possible.

As a result, the Demon Sealing Corps also began collecting White Flower Purple Light Grass.

Of course, they didn’t know such purposes. They simply thought one more type was added to the many spiritual herbs and poison herbs they collected.

“How is the antidote?”

“It’s not easy. We’re stuck at that point.”

At Yeo Hong-gi’s answer, Yeon Ja-gyeong nodded slightly.

Poison without an antidote should not be made. They had to prepare for the possibility of poisoning themselves.

“Anyway, continue researching. There’s no rush.”

A gentleman’s revenge is not late even if it takes ten years.

“The Alliance Leader we temporarily put up as a scapegoat to weather the storm during chaotic times has grown too big now.”

At Yeon Ja-gyeong’s words, Cheon Gi-buk and Yeo Hong-gi nodded.

“His role was supposed to end with mutual destruction against the Demonic Cult Leader, but he even defeated the Demonic Cult Leader. The reason for that is…”

Though Yeon Ja-gyeong didn’t finish his words, the two could understand what followed.

It was because of Ha Mu-baek.

They had already discovered what kind of end the Blood Cult Leader and Demonic Cult Leader met.

If not for that bastard Ha Mu-baek, So Hwi-ung would have met his end at the hands of the Blood Cult Leader, let alone the Demonic Cult Leader.

“The Rising Eight Sects are ridiculous fellows.”

Cheon Gi-buk said with a mocking expression.

Yeon Ja-gyeong nodded.

The righteous Murim belongs to the White Path Alliance.

And Yeon Ja-gyeong was trying to place such a White Path Alliance under his feet.

But eight sects that rose against that order.

The Rising Eight Sects.

Some called them the Rising Eight Great Sects, and their power had grown immensely.

All of this was due to the war with the Blood Cult and Demonic Cult.

They had tried to drive them into war to eliminate them, but instead made their power grow even more.

Ha Mu-baek, that stumbling stone, diverted the water’s flow. To straighten the flow even now, that stone must be removed.

Yeon Ja-gyeong’s eyes flashed fiercely.

“And the leadership position of the Nine Sects and One Alliance belongs to Gongdong Sect.”

At those words, Cheon Gi-buk smiled slightly and nodded.

The humiliation and resentment of being treated as the lowest among the Nine Sects and One Alliance by the White Path Alliance.

That made him harbor resentment against the White Path Alliance despite being part of it.

“Cheondok Valley should also become the foremost poison sect of the righteous path. We can’t be treated like unorthodox sects forever despite being righteous.”

At those words, Yeo Hong-gi’s eyes lit up.

The righteous path fundamentally despised poison as a means.

Only the Sichuan Tang Family was recognized despite using poison.

There was also the necessity for the orthodox faction to have a sect well-versed in poison to prepare against the poisons of the unorthodox faction and the dark path.

But since two weren’t needed.

Cheondok Valley was looked down upon by the orthodox faction despite being orthodox themselves.

The one who extended a hand to them was Yeon Ja-gyeong.

The Sichuan Tang Family was also part of the White Path Alliance, but Yeon Ja-gyeong was drawing a picture of inserting Cheondok Valley into the Sichuan Tang Family’s position.

They were ones who couldn’t be controlled, as if they weren’t part of the White Path Alliance despite being members.

“So even if it’s slow, it must be perfect. Ha Mu-baek. To completely uproot and eliminate that stumbling block.”

With Yeon Ja-gyeong’s final words, their secret meeting came to an end.

Yeon Ja-gyeong slowly returned to his office.

What greeted him was a single message bird secretly placed on his desk.

 

***

 

The Maengryong Corps’ training continued.

However, strangely, the intensity was weaker than the previous day.

No, they had expected the intensity to increase, but it wasn’t so.

The fact that the cadets had gained even a small amount of internal energy with Ha Mu-baek’s help played a part.

Another reason lay with Ha Mu-baek.

Even while continuously calling out commands, Ha Mu-baek kept glancing around, watching someone’s mood.

Others couldn’t sense such signs.

Only the six cadets noticed such behavior.

They struggled to suppress their laughter.

Where those six’s gazes were directed, there was the expressionless Ha Seol-ran.

Ha Seol-ran’s restriction technique was eventually released by Wi Ji-gun.

Her friends tried to teach her the Three Talents Heart Method, but learning a new mind technique, even a basic one, while internal energy was restricted was difficult.

The most reliable method was to directly inject internal energy and guide it, but their level hadn’t reached that point yet.

Unable to do this or that, just when they were thinking they should visit Ha Mu-baek’s dormitory.

Wi Ji-gun appeared.

Then he easily released the restriction technique and also taught her the Three Talents Heart Method.

“Hehe. Ran-i’s natural talent was outstanding, so I skipped the Three Talents Heart Method when teaching her, but it seems that boy Mu-baek didn’t know that fact.”

Wi Ji-gun let out a hearty laugh.

However, Ha Seol-ran became thoroughly sulky with her elder brother for the first time in her life.

Ha Mu-baek only heard this story from Wi Ji-gun in the morning and appeared at the training ground in the afternoon with an awkward expression.

Constantly watching Ha Seol-ran’s mood, the Maengryong Corps’ training was bound to be different from yesterday.

Thanks to this, the Maengryong Corps cadets were able to adapt to the training quickly.

‘What should I do about this…’

Ha Mu-baek only kept glancing at Ha Seol-ran while struggling to hide his troubled expression.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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