Chapter 147 |
Three.
Even that alone is an incredible level, isn’t it?
Jin Cheon-hee asked.
“Who are they?”
Zhuge Rin brushed back his hair.
The black color had already burned away and disappeared, and his hair had returned to its original pure silver color, shining even colder than before.
“Do you know that the top ten masters in the world are called Three Venerables[1], Two Emperors[2], Two Eccentrics[3], Two Kings[4], and One Marquis[5]?”
“Yes.”
“The Three Venerable are the strongest, followed by the Two Emperors and Two Eccentrics, while the Two Kings and One Marquis are at the bottom among the top ten masters. This master is also a doctor, but due to my heavenly punishment, I wasn’t even counted among the top ten masters in the world.”
“Still, as I am now, I should be able to compete with the Two Emperors or Two Eccentrics. As for the Three Venerable… there are rumors that they’ve reached the Profound Realm, so I can’t be sure. But they must be stronger than me, right?”
Zhuge Rin was calmly revealing incredible information.
“Able to compete.” That meant he was on par with them.
Jin Cheon-hee knew that since he wasn’t the type to exaggerate, those words would likely come true.
“Oh, by the way, one of the Two Eccentrics is someone you’ve met before. Can you guess who?”
“From Dark Palace Medical Pavilion…”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Bloodborne Elder Eccentric.
She appeared friendly in front of Jin Cheon-hee as someone his age, but in reality, she was an incredibly powerful person.
Although he knew this intellectually, hearing it from his master’s mouth made her strength seem even more unfathomable.
‘How strong is our master, really?’
His master stretched his body with a cracking sound.
“Anyway, when we get back, I’ll have to train more.”
“What? You’re going to train, Master?”
He was someone who had rarely shown himself training in front of Jin Cheon-hee until now.
“If my inner energy has increased rapidly, shouldn’t I learn to handle it properly? Otherwise, it would be like putting a knife in a child’s hand.”
That was true.
However, it was hard to imagine how his master, who had reached such a high level, would train.
‘I wonder how people in the realm beyond heaven train.’
While he still had a long way to go, his master had already become a master of his field and more.
“Hee. Now that your martial arts have greatly improved, you should train accordingly. The Taiji Immortal-Destruction Sword, Five-Elemental Cultivation Technique, and Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique are perfectly compatible supreme techniques. But it would be good to learn other types of martial arts to some extent as well.”
Those words meant hellish training to come.
Jin Cheon-hee gulped.
“Um, Master, there are still some elixirs I haven’t secured yet…”
“By when do you need to secure them?”
He calculated the time when the bad guys in the original work would consume them.
Due to the butterfly effect, he couldn’t guarantee they would eat them at exactly that time. But such small details were always in the realm of luck.
“I think it would be fine if I secure them within three years.”
“Then we can train for two years.”
“Ugh…”
“Hahaha, Hee. I’m no longer interested in what you’re hiding from me. I have some guesses, but I won’t ask you about them. However.”
His master lightly used Wind Cloud Technique[6].
Not-yet-decayed fallen leaves condensed following the wind his master created. Then they moved freely along his fingertips.
Fallen leaves that seemed like they would crumble at a child’s cough strangely rotated intact following the Wind Cloud Technique.
It was a marvelous principle close to divine skill.
His master continued speaking.
“However, I want to prevent you from getting hurt.”
“Master.”
“Yes, Hee. You are my disciple, not a doll, so I can’t raise you only according to my will. Then, at the very least, isn’t it a master’s duty to help ensure you don’t go around getting beaten up?”
The fallen leaves melted.
There was no other way to describe it.
The leaves didn’t crumble, but slowly turned into fine powder from the edges and scattered.
His master still trapped the powdered leaves within the Wind Cloud Technique.
“I thought a lot while seeing you injured. I wasn’t in my right mind while cutting open my disciple’s body, fixing broken bones and organs, and then sewing it all back together.”
That was a bit surprising.
‘No, how can someone not in their right mind sew such even stitches?’
For 3 seconds, he suspected that maybe his master had learned Yang Medical Qi Gong too.
Unaware of his disciple’s thoughts, Zhuge Rin continued speaking.
“While saving you like that, I had this thought. You are a righteous person, and if necessary, you’re the type to throw your body away. You would give your life for what you think is right, and if it was an unavoidable situation, you would accept that too. That’s a cruel thought.”
The Wind Cloud Technique compressed in his master’s hand.
The powdered leaves began to clump together, forming a circle.
“They say that if a person dies with resentment, they become a wandering ghost, but I felt that my disciple wouldn’t even do that. I thought that one day, you might suddenly say with a relieved expression, ‘I saved people, and I’ve done what I needed to do, so I’m going back now, Master.'”
“…I’m sorry, Master.”
There was nothing else to say besides that.
The master had almost sent off his disciple first.
In the martial world, it was like a child dying before their parents.
Because there was no way to repay this unfilial act, Jin Cheon-hee had no excuse to make other than saying he was sorry.
“As a master, I sewed you up hoping there would be no scars, but on the other hand, I also thought it might be good if some scars remained. I hope you’ll remember this incident when you see those scars, Hee.”
“Master.”
“Yes. Speak.”
Jin Cheon-hee barely managed to open his unmoving lips and speak.
“…I’ll become stronger.”
“You’re not saying you’ll live selfishly.”
“I’ll cherish my life.”
“That’s enough. Because that’s the kind of child my disciple is.”
Although he had now become a young man, it seemed he still looked like a child in his master’s eyes.
Zhuge Rin threw the Wind Cloud Technique to the side.
The Wind Cloud Technique, flying lightly, hit the cliff.
Kwagwagwagwak–
The huge cliff turned to powder and disappeared.
All that remained in its place was a massive circular ruin.
Zhuge Rin, who now ranked just below the Three Venerable, could now change the terrain.
“I’m not sure how strong you need to become to be safe.”
His master’s worry was deep.
***
When they arrived at White Dragon Medical Pavilion, Yoo Ho came out to greet them from the entrance.
“You’ve arrived, Master. The Namgoong Clan said to make sure to return the horses they lent in good health.”
In this era, horses are important assets.
Beyond being simple means of transportation, they were also a measure of a person’s position, wealth, and power.
Horses played the role of Roll*-Royces or Bent*eys in this world.
Moreover, while those two cars can be manufactured in factories and anyone with money can buy them, horses in this era weren’t like that.
You had to consider the bloodlines of both the stallion and mare, and even if you put them together, they wouldn’t produce offspring if they didn’t like each other.
In this Central Plains, great horses, while not spirit beast level, were fast and strong at just a couple levels below that.
Even that alone made them special and impressive.
These creatures not only had monstrous stamina but were also intelligent, so they wouldn’t fall for any tricks humans might try.
Even after several such matchmaking attempts, even if you got a foal, there was no guarantee that the foal’s personality and build would grow as desired.
That’s how it was.
The Ruling Black Horse that his master had ridden twice was equivalent to combining a Bentey, Roll-Royce, and unnamed cars of the modern world.
The head of the Namgoong Clan must be biting his nails waiting for this Ruling Black Horse to return.
“I understand the heart that loves horses with utmost care, but this is excessive. The Ruling Black Horse needs rest too, so let’s keep it in the stable for about two days before sending it back.”
Last time, the Ruling Black Horse had impregnated all the mares in the stable.
Although no horse born was of Ruling Black Horse caliber, they were still usable.
Having it stay for two days meant that his master also intended to roll the gacha while borrowing it.
It was uncertain whether a Ruling Black Horse Junior S-rank would appear, but he thought that if they kept borrowing like this, they might hit the jackpot once.
Yoo Ho sighed.
“Alright. Did you hear that, Ruling Black Horse? It means rest, not run wild. Don’t throw another party like last time…”
Neigh-!
“This is why stallions in their prime are…”
Yoo Ho grumbled and slapped the Ruling Black Horse’s behind.
Surprisingly, the Ruling Black Horse trotted to the stable on its own.
Even its steps were cheerful.
“It looks happy.”
“Why wouldn’t it be? That guy especially likes the mares of our pavilion. Plus, it’s handsome, so the mares are excited too.”
“We’ll have to restrict access except for mealtimes for a while.”
Yes, party! Feast and orgy!
It was the animal world. What he had seen in documentaries as a child now took on a different meaning.
‘Is this the great nature?’
It’s the Animal Kingdom of the martial world.
Jin Cheon-hee didn’t want to see it, so he closed his eyes and covered his ears.
After reporting to his master about what had happened at the pavilion in the meantime, Yoo Ho glanced at Jin Cheon-hee.
He looked at Jin Cheon-hee’s face once, then at Hwanggu who was as big as a pig, and finally at the Heavenly Thunder Hawk sitting on Jin Cheon-hee’s head.
Woof woof, Peep, Peep peep!
The furry friends barked simultaneously.
He activated the bracelet to understand what they were saying, but for some reason, he couldn’t hear what they were barking towards Yoo Ho.
Yoo Ho said.
“We’ve gained some freeloaders.”
“Yoo Ho, the bracelet isn’t working?”
“I guess it must be broken.”
Yoo Ho narrowed his eyes and answered like that.
“Can bracelets even break?”
“How should I know?”
Saying that, he turned around.
Behind Yoo Ho, the four generation pavilion masters and Phantom Archer bowed in greeting.
‘Ah, I’m home.’
Jin Cheon-hee said to Yoo Ho.
“Yoo Ho, I missed you.”
Yoo Ho responded with a horrified expression.
“Did you suffer from some poison technique? Your head…”
“And I missed everyone else too.”
Jin Cheon-hee said that with a happy smile.
Yoo Ho sighed and replied.
“Enough, just go eat. You have no idea how much the four generation masters have been preparing for your welcome party today.”
After saying that, he reluctantly added, as if spitting out the words.
“Still, it’s good that you returned safely.”
“Huh?”
When Jin Cheon-hee tried to ask him to repeat what he said, Yoo Ho had already walked far away.
Looking at the back of Yoo Ho’s head, Jin Cheon-hee said.
“Yoo Ho must have had it easy while I was away…”
That meant he could work him hard again with renewed spirit.
Jin Cheon-hee’s heart swelled with anticipation of being able to use Yoo Ho again.