CHAPTER: Chapter 45
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Early dawn, in the front yard of the Demonic Physician's Hall.
Snow that had fallen overnight lay in a soft blanket, and the world was a chilling, silvery white.
Clank—.
A heavy metallic sound broke the silence.
Uncheon picked up the black iron shackles lying on the ground—the Blacksteel Cold Iron.
‘Just half a year ago, these were no different from instruments of torture.’
In the days when he had to endure with pure muscle, without a single wisp of internal energy, even walking had been an ordeal.
But now, it was different.
Click.
A cold sensation wrapped around his wrists and ankles.
The weight should have been the same, yet the load he felt was as light as a feather.
‘…It’s light.’
When he lightly clenched and unclenched his fist, instead of his muscles screaming, a pleasant tension filled them.
It was the result of his blocked Governing Vessel being cleared and his twisted qi and blood finding their proper paths.
It was a physical reconstruction akin to a complete rebirth.
“You are leaving.”
A calm voice came from behind him.
It was Seol-yeong.
Her skin was as white as a snow-covered mountain, and deep within her eyes, a subtle, vital glow had replaced the look of illness.
She handed him a thick book she had taken from her robes.
[Research Log on the Union of Two Poles]
“There is still dormant Yang Energy sleeping within your body. This will surely be of help.”
“This is a precious item… Thank you.”
As Uncheon tucked the research log into his robes, Seol-yeong smiled faintly.
“I did not create it alone. It is the result of our work.”
Just as a warm silence flowed between the two.
“Ahem! Hem!”
A loud, deliberate cough from inside the Demonic Physician's Hall shattered the quiet.
The eyes of the Life and Death Venerable, who walked out with his hands clasped behind his back, were filled with a clear sense of regret.
“Elder. I have been greatly in your debt.”
“Hmph, what debt? I was merely repaying what I owed. Take this.”
The Life and Death Venerable gruffly tossed a bundle at him.
Thwack.
A heavy weight was transmitted to the fingertips that caught it lightly.
“It was a hassle to throw away, so I kept it. Use it or toss it, do as you please.”
A quick glance inside the bundle revealed it was packed with various top-grade salves for external wounds, elixirs for internal injuries, and antidotes, all personally concocted by the Life and Death Venerable.
Beneath them lay a thick stack of silver notes.
They were far too precious to be things he had simply kept because they were a hassle to throw away.
“…I will use them gratefully.”
“Hmph. I just felt uneasy having done nothing after declaring myself your guardian.”
The Life and Death Venerable stroked his beard and stared at Uncheon.
It had started as a transaction, but the past half a year had been a time of shared joys and sorrows.
A bond forged by one who had overcome a heavenly punishment and pulled his granddaughter back from the brink of death.
“Due to the clan’s rules, I cannot pass down our secret arts… but my personal martial arts should be fine. I will call for you when Yeong-ah’s procedure is successful, so try not to die in a ditch before then.”
It was, in effect, a declaration that he would accept him as a disciple.
Knowing the weight of those words, Uncheon straightened his clothes and bowed deeply.
“I will not forget the grace you have both shown me.”
Uncheon gave a deep cupped-fist salute and turned without a trace of lingering attachment.
Crunch, crunch.
Leaving distinct footprints on the white snowfield, Uncheon headed toward the heart of the Demonic Cult.
The office of the Director of the Demonic Academy.
As Uncheon entered, Gal Muh-eun set down his teacup to greet him.
“You’ve come.”
Gal Muh-eun’s gaze swept over Uncheon.
A stable and deepened aura.
A subtle pressure, like that of a famed sword hidden within its sheath.
The precarious boy from half a year ago was nowhere to be seen.
“Your presence has changed. The phrase ‘to see someone in a new light’ is hardly enough to describe it.”
“It is thanks to the consideration you have shown me, Director.”
“Consideration? This is something you have earned.”
As Gal Muh-eun smiled with satisfaction, a man who had been waiting on the side took a step forward.
“Sir Warrior, it has been a while.”
Sa Domyeong.
Having saved his life thanks to Uncheon and made a grand return to the Inspectorate, he bowed with utmost courtesy.
“I was waiting to report something to you.”
Sa Domyeong lowered his voice.
“Mo Yeong-gi, who was imprisoned in the jail… has committed suicide.”
“…Suicide?”
Uncheon’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
‘Impossible.’
A bitter smile formed on Uncheon’s lips.
“What was the cause of death?”
Sa Domyeong lowered his voice and said.
“Officially, it’s suicide… but assassination by poison is the most likely cause.”
“Cutting their losses, just as I expected.”
Uncheon was unfazed.
It would have been more surprising if the Sand Scorpion Mo Clan had let Mo Yeong-gi live.
“To be silenced in prison is an act that scoffs at the security of the Inspectorate. The Director of the Inspectorate has no intention of overlooking the Sand Scorpion Mo Clan’s villainy.”
“Hoh….”
“In relation to that matter… the Vice-Director has sent a message for you, Sir Warrior. He says he would like to meet you and will arrange a formal meeting soon.”
Seeing him speak so freely in front of the Director of the Demonic Academy, Gal Muh-eun, it seemed they had coordinated beforehand.
“I understand… however.”
Uncheon nodded but did not give a hasty confirmation.
They were the ones in need, so there was no reason for him to rush.
“I have a mission assigned to me at the Inner Archives as a member of the Demonic Academy. Send word to me there.”
There was still something Uncheon needed to confirm.
While focusing on his treatment, he hadn't been able to check if the ‘martial arts of Kunlun’ had been stolen from the Inner Archives.
“Understood. Then, next time….”
After Sa Domyeong heard Uncheon’s reply and departed, Gal Muh-eun spoke.
“The Inspectorate came asking to borrow a blade.”
“You mean they asked to borrow me?”
“Indeed. Didn’t you strike down the Poison Fang Hall using your scheme last time? They owe a debt, so this time, they’re asking me to lend them a blade in return.”
Uncheon’s eyes narrowed.
The stratagem of killing with a borrowed blade.
He had struck down an enemy with a borrowed blade, and now it was his turn to become the ‘blade that is lent’.
“Those bastards at the Inspectorate, nothing is ever free. You’ve bought some time using the Inner Archives mission as an excuse, but you’ll have to lend them a hand at some point.”
“…I understand.”
“For the time being, stay in the Inner Archives. You’ve just begun to learn internal energy, so you’ll need time to study martial arts that suit you.”
It was a necessary suggestion for Uncheon, who had come to handle Yin-Cold Energy through the Supreme Ice Heart Art.
He needed time to redefine his existing martial arts to match the changed nature of his internal energy.
“I will do so.”
“And… it must be boring to be alone, so I’ll give you a traveling companion.”
An interested smile graced Gal Muh-eun’s lips.
“While you were recuperating, another interesting one came in.”
“Who is it?”
“You should know her.”
Creeak.
At Gal Muh-eun’s gesture, a door at the back of the office opened.
A figure walked out from the darkness.
A woman dressed not in a splendid silk uniform, but in practical, black light armor.
A plain, sharp saber with no decorations hung at her waist.
“It’s been a while, Uncheon.”
The daughter of the Gale Yayul Family, Yayul Hui.
But she was not the same person Uncheon had known.
‘Her atmosphere… has changed.’
She seemed to have grown taller, and more importantly, the presence emanating from her entire body was extraordinary.
‘It’s not just her appearance… her aura is different.’
The image of the haughty young lady who flaunted her family's prestige was nowhere to be seen.
Her gaze was calm and settled.
Within it, a starved wolf lay coiled.
‘Her eyes have improved.’
Uncheon smiled back at her.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“I’ve just come from being trained to death by Instructor Jeok Mugwang.”
Yayul Hui’s gaze swept over Uncheon’s entire body.
The signs of illness were gone, and she could feel a solid, refined aura.
“You’re the one who’s become a completely different person. You used to be like a twig that would snap with a single touch.”
Sshhh.
Her hand slowly moved toward the hilt of her saber.
“Why talk? It’ll be faster for us to check with our bodies, right?”
Gal Muh-eun didn’t intervene and simply crossed his arms.
He had the look of someone who had just found something entertaining to watch.
“That fellow Jeok Mugwang has forged a masterpiece. However, it’s inconvenient here, so share the joy of your reunion outside.”
The Demonic Academy training grounds.
Uncheon and Yayul Hui stood facing each other.
A taut tension filled the training grounds.
“Don’t hold back. I’ll be coming at you with everything I have.”
With Yayul Hui’s declaration.
Fwip—!
Her form vanished in an instant.
A surprise attack, rushing straight in.
The flashy, superficial style of the past was gone, leaving only a clean, swift saber.
Shwiik!
A sharp saber strike flew toward his neck.
In Uncheon’s eyes, the movement was crystal clear.
His senses, sharpened by the Heavenly Reversal Art, read its trajectory.
Sshhh.
Yayul Hui’s eyes widened.
In the moment she thought she had surely cut him, Uncheon’s form scattered like a mirage.
‘Shadowless Step? But it’s different from before!’
It was an incredibly natural evasion, as if he had never been there in the first place.
Uncheon’s footwork, imbued with internal energy, was on a different level.
‘Fast…! But!’
Yayul Hui gritted her teeth and twisted her saber’s momentum.
Kicking off the air, she spun and unleashed a flurry of Chain Saber Strikes.
Weaving through the blades raining down from all directions, Uncheon closed the distance.
Tang—!
“Ugh?!”
Yayul Hui staggered from a shock that felt like her wrist was breaking.
A saber was now in Uncheon’s hand.
‘…He even learned the saber arts in that time?’
Giving her no time to be surprised, Uncheon’s counterattack began.
Against her, who had trained in the saber her entire life, he was not being pushed back in armed combat at all.
‘This guy is… a monster…!’
On the other hand, Uncheon was also inwardly impressed.
Having broken free from the mold of her clan, Yayul Hui had grown much faster than he had expected.
‘At this level… she’ll be more than capable of pulling her weight in the Inner Archives.’
Uncheon decided it was about time to wrap up the spar.
Woooong—.
The Supreme Ice Heart Art began to revolve in his Dantian.
A cool chill enveloped Uncheon’s surroundings.
‘This energy… internal energy?!’
Yayul Hui’s pupils trembled.
A heavy, cold energy emanated from Uncheon, who was supposed to have no internal energy.
Kwwaaang!
Yayul Hui’s saber was sent flying as her body was pushed back.
But instead of being frustrated, her eyes sparkled as she charged in again.
‘You’ve recovered your body!’
Yayul Hui no longer held back, unleashing her full power without restraint.
Against the saber strikes that raged like a wild wind, Uncheon also continuously brandished his saber.
Clang—! Clang—! Claaang—!
Sparks flew and the sound of metal vibrated through the air. After dozens of exchanges, a blind spot began to appear in Yayul Hui’s saber arts.
‘Her footwork… is still lacking.’
A fatal weakness. The absence of the Gale Yayul Family’s secret art, the Wind Soul Steps.
Despite her outstanding talent, her achievements had stalled there.
‘Tsk… To let such talent go to waste simply because she is a woman.’
Uncheon pressed his attack on Yayul Hui, exploiting the opening.
While the gale began to subside, Uncheon’s saber showed no signs of tiring.
Finally, feeling the cold steel of the blade at her throat, Yayul Hui dropped her saber.
“I’ve lost….”
Only then did Uncheon take a step back and sheathe his weapon.
“I trained like my life depended on it for half a year, yet the gap between us has only widened… You really are a monster.”
“I’m surprised myself. It seems Instructor Jeok Mugwang taught you well.”
“Still… I won’t just be watching your back anymore. I’ve earned the right to stand beside you, haven’t I?”
“You’ve more than earned that right.”
Uncheon offered his hand, and an exhausted Yayul Hui took it to pull herself up.
“Hmph… Just you watch. I’ll catch up in no time.”
Just then, Gal Muh-eun, who had been watching the two from a distance, smiled and turned away.
‘Yayul Hui… That girl is no ordinary talent either. I can see why Jeok Mugwang took a liking to her.’
With skills like that, she should be able to grow even stronger in the Inner Archives.
‘Even Elder Cheon-gyeon… would surely be satisfied with those two.’
Deep within the Inner Archives, the Martial Arts Section.
An archive where the secret manuals plundered by the Demonic Cult from all over the Central Plains lay dormant.
The scent of old paper, the fragrance of ink, and an unknowable pressure filled the air.
“So this is the Martial Arts Section. It’s… not as well-maintained as I expected?”
Yayul Hui wrinkled her nose and brushed off some dust.
From the darkness at the top of a bookshelf, a pair of gleaming eyes watched her.
‘Hoh….’
An old man hung upside down like a bat from a beam shrouded in deep shadow.
A grotesque figure with disheveled white hair and eyes that shone with a hollow light.
He was the Guardian of the Inner Archives, Cheon-gyeon (千見).
‘That brat… has he learned internal energy already?’
Cheon-gyeon’s eyes scanned Uncheon.
‘But… his flow of energy is peculiar.’
It lacked the demonic energy or frenzied aura characteristic of the Demonic Cult.
Instead, it was a cool and clear Yin-Cold Energy.
‘Heh… It’s not like the internal energy of those Righteous Path bastards either… What is this strange feeling?’
His curiosity piqued, Cheon-gyeon dropped silently behind Uncheon.
Swoosh.
In that instant, Uncheon and Yayul Hui simultaneously grabbed the hilts of their sabers and spun around.
“Hoh, both of you reacted? Quite impressive.”
The old man’s presence washed over the two as he stepped out of the shadows.
“Now then, let’s see what you’re made of.”
The test of Cheon-gyeon, the Eccentric of the Inner Archives, was about to begin.
Author |
Chusang (秋霜)
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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