Ultimate Martial Venerable - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9. The Iron Mask Master
A month had passed.
The Rear Courtyard behind O Jin’s tavern bore little resemblance to its former self. The ground lay thick with medicinal powder, and beneath the walls stood rows of bottles filled with failed decoctions.
At the center of it all, Yuk Beom drew in a slow breath.
Exhale.
A faint red light bloomed from his chest, spreading across his shoulders and arms with each breath. The crimson energy flowed just beneath his skin, then gathered back toward his chest as he exhaled.
The Blazing Gold Body

—its first stage was taking hold.
Without pausing his breathing, Yuk Beom reached for the medicinal herbs laid before him.
He ground the lantern herb into powder and mixed the red root and yellow ginseng in their prescribed proportions. When a violet flame kindled at his fingertips, wrapping around the dark-red liquid, the small vessel erupted with a succession of bubbles.
Sizzle.
Too weak a flame and the medicinal properties wouldn’t bind; too strong and the herbs would burn. It was a sense he’d learned through his body over the past month, through dozens of failures.
Yuk Beom drew the flame down to a thread-thin line. The heat that began at the vessel’s edge spread evenly to the center of the liquid.
Shortly after, the murky liquid transformed into a clear, dark-red hue.
Yuk Beom withdrew the flame and transferred the decoction into a small bottle.

“Master.”

O Jin, who had been dozing in the rocking chair, opened one eye.

“You didn’t burst it again, did you?”
“Not this time.”

Yuk Beom tossed the bottle.
Without even sitting up, O Jin flicked his finger. The bottle, which had been flying through the air, stopped in mid-space and settled gently onto his palm.
O Jin uncorked it, checked only the color and scent, and tossed it back.

“Serviceable.”

Yuk Beom’s eyebrows lifted.

“Only serviceable?”
“You could call it Superior Grade.”

At that, a smile finally spread across Yuk Beom’s face.
On the first day, he couldn’t even grind the herbs properly. The itching broke his concentration, and several times the decoction burst in front of his face.
O Jin never gave him the answer, even when he failed. If the herbs burned, he made Yuk Beom find the reason the flame had grown stronger; if the potency didn’t bind, he traced back the order in which things had been added.
By day he brewed Tempering Powder

and trained in the Blazing Gold Body. By night he catalogued the properties and ratios of failed herbs, and when morning came, he started again from scratch.
After a month of this, he’d managed, by his own hand, to produce a Superior Grade batch of Tempering Powder.

“Now you can finally make a single remedy properly.”

Yuk Beom released a long breath.

“Once you know how to make one thing right, the rest will come faster.”

O Jin sat up.

“And your martial arts?”

Yuk Beom set down the bottle and took a horse stance.
As his breathing shifted, the red light bloomed from his chest again. The glow that a month earlier had flickered and vanished now stretched clearly across both his arms.
Yuk Beom drove his fist forward.
Whoosh!
Scorching wind tore through the space where his fist had passed, drying and cracking the wooden barrel set at a distance.

“I haven’t reached the Solidification Stage yet.”

Yuk Beom clenched his fist.

“But I think I’m beginning to understand how to draw out the energy.”

O Jin nodded with satisfaction.

“That’s enough. The Blazing Gold Body is a martial art that refines flesh and bone with fire-energy. Combined with the Tempering Powder, you’ll progress several times faster than an ordinary person.”
“Several times faster, and this is only the first stage in a month?”
“Do you think Spirit-Tier martial arts are like fistfighting manuals they sell in the marketplace?”

O Jin clicked his tongue.

“If the elders of the Yuk Clan learned of your training pace, they’d lose sleep over it. Don’t grow impatient without reason.”

Yuk Beom nodded obediently.
Over the past month, what he’d gained wasn’t only mastery of the Blazing Gold Body. The thin thread of energy in his dantian had thickened several times over, allowing him to work with flame enough to produce an entire bottle of Tempering Powder.
Yuk Beom glanced around the courtyard.
Dozens of bottles, large and small, were stacked along the base of the wall. Most were near-failures, and several had lower quality than what he’d made today.
Yet even they retained their medicinal potency.

“Could these be sold as well?”

Yuk Beom gestured toward the bottles in better condition.

“I need money to buy more medicinal materials. I truly have nothing left now.”

O Jin answered without hesitation.

“Sell them.”
“Would people actually buy something like this?”
“In Ganglim Castle, even a glimpse of foundation-stage pills is rare. What looks like a failure to your eyes is a precious medicine to an ordinary martial artist.”

Yuk Beom began placing the bottles from the front row one by one into the Nine Heavens Ring.

“Then I’ll visit the auction house.”
“Wait.”

O Jin extended his hand.

“Before you go, there’s something I want to give you.”

He took back the bottle of Tempering Powder that Yuk Beom had just completed.
White flames bloomed from his palm.
Crack.
The bottle shattered into fragments, and the dark-red medicinal liquid inside rose into the empty air. As flame wrapped around it, the moisture evaporated rapidly, and the liquid began to clump together like a small pearl.
O Jin’s left hand closed around empty space.
A brilliant thread of light tore free from the void.
When he cast the light into the flames, golden patterns blazed across the surface of the dark-red bead.
A low hum emanated through the space.
The flames split apart as the sound resonated.
A single pill, infused with golden radiance, descended in a graceful arc and came to rest on Yuk Beom’s palm.
Yuk Beom couldn’t even blink. The skill of transforming raw medicinal liquid into a finished pill was on a completely different level from what he’d learned.

“The Extreme Light Pill,”

“he said.”

O Jin nodded.

“A Superior Grade pill. It’ll help temper your body and draw up your life force. Take it.”

Yuk Beom swallowed the pill without hesitation.
The dissolved medicine flowed down his throat like a stream of ice water.
In that instant, the maddening itch that had plagued his entire body vanished as if it had never been.

“Ah…….”

For the first time in a month, he felt at ease. A cool, refreshing energy flowed between his muscles and bones, as though his whole body had been plunged into icy water.
A crimson radiance spread from his chest, rushing rapidly down both arms and legs.
Unlike when he’d taken the Tempering Powder, this was not the sensation of forcibly breaking and remaking his body. The scattered medicinal strength was gathering into one, seeping deep into his flesh.
Crack-crack.
As Yuk Beom rose from his seat, his joints popped in rapid succession.
Even closing his fist, he felt a power entirely different from before. His life force moved through his body without resistance, and his hardened muscles felt so taut they might burst at any moment.
Yuk Beom immediately extended his fist toward the Test Stone in the courtyard.
Boom!
From his fist, which hadn’t even made contact, a scorching wind burst forth.
The surface of the Test Stone caved in deeply, and glowing red cracks spread in all directions.
Yuk Beom examined the state of his body.
The barrier that had been blocking him was gone.

“Yeonche Realm, Seventh Stage…….”

He had finally entered the higher reaches of the Yeonche Realm.
Just a month after reaching the Sixth Stage, he had broken through once more. The realm that had refused to shift despite years of effort now answered his cultivation with real progress.
O Jin picked up his wine bottle without concern.

“The Seoshan hunt tournament is in two months, you said?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to see you climb one more stage by then.”

Yuk Beom smiled, feeling the lingering heat in his palms.

“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Then go earn some money first.”

O Jin kicked aside the empty medicinal pouches scattered across the floor.

“Your next cultivation round will require several times more medicine than this.”
“Does Master spend nothing at all on teaching his disciples?”
“Teaching is worth more than gold.”
“I’ve often heard those words from people without any.”

O Jin hurled his wine bottle, and Yuk Beom sidestepped with a laugh.
* * *
After leaving the tavern, Yuk Beom headed straight for the market.
He bought a black Long Robe and an Iron Mask to cover his entire face, then changed clothes in a secluded alley.
He pulled the hood of the robe deep over his head and lowered and roughened his voice.
If rumors spread that a Flame Practitioner had appeared, those seeking to discover his identity would swarm. If the Yuk Clan found out, they would certainly interrogate him about where he’d learned to make medicine.
His destination was Ganglim Castle’s largest auction house, the Jeongseong Auction House.

When he arrived at its ornate front gate, a guard raised his hand to stop him.

“Sir, tonight’s auction will be held in the evening.”

A low voice emerged from behind the Iron Mask.

“I’m not here to buy anything.”
“Then what brings you here……?”
“I have items to sell.”

The guard’s demeanor shifted at once.
He led Yuk Beom to a small iron door beside the main entrance. After knocking a few times, a young man appeared from within.

“A guest has arrived. Please, come inside.”

The small reception room held a table, chairs, and simple refreshments laid out in readiness.
The man took his seat across from Yuk Beom and introduced himself.

I’m Sim Gye Myeong, an appraiser for the Jeongseong Auction House.

What items have you brought?”

Yuk Beom withdrew two small bottles from the Nine Heavens Ring.

“Tempering Powder. A medicament to aid the cultivation of Yeonche Realm martial artists.”

Sim Gye Myeong’s eyes brightened.
He took the bottles and examined their color and fragrance with meticulous care.

“Would you permit me to taste just a single drop? If the medicinal efficacy is sound, I shall calculate the full value for you right away.”

Yuk Beom nodded.
Sim Gye Myeong poured a single drop into a small cup and placed it on the tip of his tongue.
His expression shifted rapidly as he felt the medicinal effect, eyes closed in concentration.

“Superior Grade.”

Sim Gye Myeong set the bottle down with reverent care.

“The medicinal potency is remarkably dense yet perfectly stable. For Tempering Powder of this quality, we could begin at five hundred gold coins per bottle.”

Yuk Beom kept his expression hidden behind the mask.
Five hundred gold coins. Just selling a few bottles would recover every last coin he’d poured into ingredients over the past month.

‘So it’s no idle saying that Flame Practitioners don’t fret over money.’

Yuk Beom spoke quietly.

“I didn’t come here to sell just two bottles.”

The Nine Heavens Ring gleamed faintly.
Small bottles emerged one by one onto the table.
Five bottles.
Ten bottles.
When they surpassed twenty, even the broad table was filled without gap or space.
The smile vanished from Sim Gye Myeong’s face.
He alternated his gaze between the table laden with bottles and the Iron Mask.

“Might I ask……who are you, really?”

Yuk Beom did not answer.
A heavy silence settled over the reception room.
Only then did Sim Gye Myeong realize he had posed a question he ought not to have asked.
Between the Long Robe and Iron Mask, along with the capacity to produce such quantities of medicament at once, the odds were high that he was dealing with a Flame Practitioner.
Cold sweat beaded on Sim Gye Myeong’s brow.
At that moment, the inner door opened.
A middle-aged woman in a violet robe walked out with a gentle smile.

“I apologize, sir—my younger brother has behaved rudely. He’s still quite young.”

Sim Gye Myeong rose quickly from his seat.

“Sister.”

The woman gestured for him to step back, then took the seat across from Yuk Beom.

I am Sim Un of the Jeongseong Auction House.”

She glanced quickly over the vials on the table before speaking.

“We’ll handle all of the Tempering Powder you’ve brought. We’ll put it on the auction block tonight in a single lot, with an opening bid of five hundred gold coins per vial.”
“Some of the batches are lower quality.”
“Most are Superior Grade, and only a few fall short. If we bundle them together, the price you receive will be quite fair.”

Sim Un paused, then added:

“Since this is our first transaction, I’ll take only five percent of the hammer price as commission.”

It was far below the standard auction fee.
Yuk Beom nodded.

“Very well.”

Sim Un immediately drew up a contract and pressed the Jeongseong Auction House seal upon it.

“Bring this contract when you come tonight. I’ll have a private room prepared for you.”

Yuk Beom slipped the contract into his ring and rose.

“If more elixirs come my way, I’ll bring them here.”

Her smile deepened at those words.

“I’ll be waiting. May I ask your name?”

Yuk Beom considered for a moment.
He could not reveal his true name.
He tapped the Iron Mask lightly with his fingertip and answered in a low voice.

“You may call me Iron Mask.”

As Yuk Beom left the reception room, Sim Gye Myeong exhaled the breath he’d been holding.

“Sister, could that man really be a Flame Practitioner?”

Sim Un’s expression turned cool.

“Do not attempt to learn his identity.”
“But if someone like that were in Ganglim Castle—”
“That is precisely why we must leave him untouched.”

Sim Un gazed at the Tempering Powder that filled the table.

“He produced more than twenty vials of Superior Grade elixir without hesitation. Whether he made them himself or has someone behind him, he is not someone we can afford to trifle with.”

She summoned someone at once.

“Post notices throughout the city. The final lot of tonight’s auction is Tempering Powder, crafted by a Flame Practitioner. Make it clear we have more than twenty bottles.”

Sim Gye Myeong’s eyes widened.

“If that gets out, the auction house will burst at the seams tonight.”
“That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”

Sim Un watched the door through which the Iron Mask had vanished, a slow smile spreading across her face.

“Tonight, all of Ganglim Castle will be in upheaval.”

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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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