Chapter 292

Ding.

System

A Sudden Quest, I’ll Take Only Half the Internal Energy I Digest., has been generated.

Will you accept it?

Y / N

Damn it. Why now?

I was dying to check the Quest window.

But I was in the middle of True Qi Guidance. Circulating my own qi would be one thing, but if I let go of control here, I could easily suffer an Internal Injury.

System

• If you do not answer within five seconds, the Quest will be canceled automatically.

• Five, four, three…

Do I go for it or not?

The Quest title made it sound as though I was supposed to try touching that thing in Team Leader Choi’s dantian. Even at a glance, it contained well over one jiazi’s worth of energy.

• Two, one…

Fuck it. I don’t know. It’s not like I’m going to die.

Accept!

Ding.

That had been close. Along with the notification that the Quest had been accepted, I realized what I had to do.

System

The mysterious qi has been dormant for a long time, and its owner lacks the power to control it. Now is the time for you to step forward!

Just as I thought.

I had experienced a situation like this once before in the Murim.

I dug up an old memory.

Snow ginseng.

From the moment I first opened my eyes in the Murim, the internal energy of a hundred-year-old snow ginseng had been curled up inside my dantian.

It was internal energy that the Third Rate wastrel Jin Taekyung—not me—had been unable to fully digest.

That was when I first learned that even if you consumed an elixir, you couldn’t make it your own if you lacked the ability to digest it.

Just like Team Leader Choi now.

Compared to a Third Rate wastrel, he was an outstanding talent. But Team Leader Choi didn’t know a Mana Cultivation Method, and therefore lacked the ability to control the massive energy equivalent to more than one jiazi.

The Quest had assigned me the role of a digestive aid.

But how does Team Leader Choi have that much energy in the first place?

Now that I thought about it, it pissed me off.

I had crawled through hell in the Murim, pushing myself like a dog, and had only barely accumulated a little more than one jiazi. Meanwhile, what had this guy done to have such monstrous energy stored in his dantian?

Ah, right. His maternal grandfather was Cheon Taemin.

Was this what they meant by being born with a hero’s silver spoon?

I gave up on thinking about it. Right now, I needed to focus on tackling that mysterious energy whose origins I couldn’t identify.

And this time, I was confident.

Shall we?

A bolt of Scorching Yang Qi shot forward like a spear and plunged into the solid mass of qi. A combined total of more than two jiazi’s worth of qi collided and tore into each other.

Rumble.

As the clash erupted inside his dantian, Team Leader Choi’s body began to shake violently.

The hospital room had become an impregnable fortress that no one could enter.

Butler Kim, Im Kkeokjeong, and Song Song watched the two young men with fascinated expressions.

“Hngh.”

“Hup.”

“Ugh.”

“Kk.”

Every time the veins bulged on Jin Taekyung’s forearm, Team Leader Choi’s body trembled.

Before long, his back arched, and a groan escaped through his clenched teeth.

“Haaagh!”

Watching the scene, Song Song muttered,

“His back arched like a bow…”

Im Kkeokjeong, who was lying on the bed, asked,

“What did you just say, Miss Song?”

“Nothing. I was just saying it was disgusting and fascinating.”

“Ah, you mean that black sweat?”

“…Yes.”

Song Song had a lot she wanted to say, but she held it in and nodded.

The black sweat pouring from Team Leader Choi’s entire body was just as disgusting and fascinating.

“My God, what is that supposed to be?”

As a Hunter, you saw all kinds of things. But this was the first time she had ever seen someone sweat black.

It was pitch-black and sticky. There wasn’t much of it, but it gave off an unbelievable stench.

“Ugh, it stinks.”

“Damn, that smell is awful.”

Just as the two of them covered their noses, Butler Kim spoke.

“That is waste that had accumulated inside his body being expelled through his sweat. It is one of the effects of a Mana Cultivation Method.”

“Waste?”

“Kim hyung, is that really so impressive?”

“Of course. Even healing magic cannot remove waste from inside the body.”

Song Song thought for a moment before answering.

“It’s possible. If you have a truly top-tier healer. But if what you’re saying is true… that’s amazing. Even the potions used for treatment retain a trace of Troll toxicity, so you’re saying this can wash even that away.”

“That is one of the remarkable aspects of a Mana Cultivation Method.”

“Who exactly created this Mana Cultivation Method, and how?”

Song Song had considerable experience as a Hunter, but she had never heard the term Mana Cultivation Method before. Im Kkeokjeong, who had been a Hunter for twenty years, found it just as unfamiliar.

“Exactly. I’ve spent my whole life as a Hunter, and this is the first I’ve heard of some kind of martial art—or sorcery, or whatever you want to call it.”

“During the Great Cataclysm, the Elder created the first Mana Cultivation Method. It has been treated as such a closely guarded secret that it is only natural for the two of you not to know about it.”

“When you say the Elder…”

“You are thinking of the right person.”

Cheon Taemin. The hero who had saved all of humanity, and the greatest Hunter in the world.

Butler Kim continued slowly.

“A Mana Cultivation Method is a powerful weapon in its own right. Many incidents have occurred because of it, and most of them have vanished from history. It truly was an age worthy of being called a cataclysm.”

What had happened? Why had Cheon Taemin’s Mana Cultivation Method fallen into the hands of an ambitious man like Lee Jungryong instead of his only flesh and blood?

Song Song and Im Kkeokjeong had many more questions, but they fell silent.

It wasn’t only because Butler Kim’s expression had become unbearably bitter. Something extraordinary happened at the very moment he finished speaking.

“Nggh!”

“Hup!”

Jin Taekyung and Team Leader Choi groaned at the same time.

Thick veins bulged across their exposed skin, and deep furrows formed between their brows.

Team Leader Choi’s reaction grew increasingly violent. His entire body trembled as if an earthquake were shaking it.

“Team Leader Choi!”

“Is something seriously wrong?”

Song Song and Im Kkeokjeong took an involuntary step forward, but Butler Kim reached out and stopped them.

“No. There can be no physical contact while practicing a Mana Cultivation Method.”

“But…”

“Hunter Jin Taekyung is not someone who would put the Young Master in danger.”

Butler Kim looked at the two of them with eyes filled with both concern and trust.

The trembling and pained groans grew stronger.

Before long, his faith became reality.

“Haaah…”

At some point, Team Leader Choi’s lips parted, and a calm breath escaped him.

It was the sign that his first complete circulation had just ended. It also meant that he had become a martial artist who had learned the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.

“Young Master?”

At Butler Kim’s call, the eyes that had been closed slowly opened. His pupils were filled with astonishment and joy.

“This is…”

Team Leader Choi—Choi Minwoo—clenched his fists tightly.

The massive energy surging from his dantian raced through him without resistance.

Normally, his mana should have been scattered throughout his body. Now he could move it freely.

Not only that, but the amount of mana he possessed had nearly doubled.

So this is a Mana Cultivation Method.

As Choi Minwoo calmly examined his condition, he reconsidered.

No. It isn’t the power of a Mana Cultivation Method. It’s the power of the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.

And it had only been possible because of one person’s ability.

“Mr. Jin.”

Choi Minwoo slowly turned around. Jin Taekyung was still sitting with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths.

He could feel the air trembling around him. There was an active volcano there, ready to explode at any moment.

He’s strong. Impossibly strong.

Was he always this strong?

Now that he could properly control his mana, Choi Minwoo could catch the faintest glimpse of Jin Taekyung’s power.

Every time Jin Taekyung exhaled, waves of fire qi poured out and heated the hospital room.

It was November. A week had passed since the first snow, yet people began to feel thirsty, and heat haze rose from the floor.

Just then, Choi Minwoo’s eyes slowly widened.

What… is that?

Was it an illusion created by the heat haze? Or was it real?

He didn’t know. Before he realized it, everyone in the hospital room was staring at the scene before them with their mouths hanging open.

Ssshhk.

Jin Taekyung, sitting cross-legged, was rising into the air.

Little by little. Slowly, without stopping.

Above his head, blazing blue flames formed the shape of flower petals.

One flower. Then two.

And just as the final, third flower was about to be completed, Jin Taekyung’s eyes flew open.

Whoosh! Thud!

Like a bird struck by an arrow, Jin Taekyung fell helplessly and slammed his butt onto the floor. A scream tore from his throat.

“Fuck! My tailbone!”

The air in the hospital room froze solid.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Aaaargh!”

It hurt. My tailbone hurt from slamming into the floor, but my heart hurt ten times more from losing the perfect opportunity.

“It was almost done! It was done!”

Damn it. With only one step left, the Supreme Peak realm had slipped far away.

I didn’t know whether it was because I lacked sufficient depth in martial arts or because there was some other reason.

Maybe it was both. But the important thing was that I had no idea when another opportunity like this would come.

“Damn iiiit!”

I could have achieved Three Flowers Gather at the Crown in one stroke and become a Supreme Peak master!

As I pounded the floor and wailed, System notifications pierced my ears.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

• Trance has been dispelled!

• Internal energy has risen to 100 years!

• You have achieved a great feat! You have acquired the Title I’m a Master!

• The Sudden Quest, I’ll Take Only Half the Internal Energy I Digest., has been successfully completed!

• The Repeat Quest, Back, Back—Let’s See Your Back!, has been successfully completed!

• The realm of Fire Gate Divine Technique has risen to Seven Stars!

• You have acquired a massive amount of EXP!

• Level Up!

…

…

…

“Leave me alone!”

Everything had been perfect. While melting the energy that had been solidified in Team Leader Choi’s dantian, I had absorbed half of it. My mind had gone blank, and I had momentarily slipped into a trance.

But…

“Why! Why can’t I be happy!”

Gaining nearly half a jiazi’s worth of internal energy? Great!

Acquiring a Title, completing Quests, raising the realm of the Fire Gate Divine Technique by one stage, and even leveling up—all of it was great. It was all good, so why!

“Why didn’t I reach the Supreme Peak realm!”

As I howled toward the ceiling, whispers reached my ears.

“What happened to Mr. Jin?”

“I’m not sure, but I heard that some people end up crippled while practicing a Mana Cultivation Method…”

“More importantly, did everyone see those flower petals just now? Was I the only one? Why is nobody saying anything?”

“Song-i, did you see them too? I thought I was at the Goyang flower exhibition.”

Hearing the worried and astonished voices, I suddenly came to my senses.

That’s right. It wasn’t over yet. If those three had even half as much as Team Leader Choi, I might still have a chance to advance to the Supreme Peak realm.

I still have three test subjects.

I spoke with the same resolve Admiral Yi Sun-sin had before the Battle of Myeongnyang.¹

“Everyone, pay attention.”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

“Take off your tops immediately. Do it.”

Ding.

System

• The Repeat Quest, Back, Back—Let’s See Your Back!, has been generated!

“Back, back—let’s see your back!”

The others retreated step by step, their faces pale with fear.