---

Bang!

I followed Lee Kwang’s instructions and headed to Hebei Province, then to a place called Langfang. In Langfang, there was a sect known as the Ghost Dragon Sect, notorious for being the overlord of the area. Without hesitation, Lee Kwang stormed right into their main gate.

Thud thud

“Kaaack!”

“Aagh, who’s there…”

We began to recklessly beat up the Ghost Dragon Sect members without even exchanging words. Moments later, the leader of the Ghost Dragon Sect appeared and charged at Lee Kwang, only to be knocked out in five seconds flat. Realizing he was facing experts who were beyond his capacity to resist, the sect leader shrank back and exclaimed,

“I… I haven’t done anything too wrong. Please spare me…”

“I know you’re the one funding Beom Kyun’s living expenses. Where is he?”

“Hik! If I tell you his whereabouts, I’ll be killed!”

“So, would you rather die now or later?”

“……”

With no choice, the sect leader divulged Beom Kyun’s location. We headed to the biggest manor in a nearby mid-sized village, where the spear master Beom Kyun was said to live. Sure enough, as we entered the manor, a middle-aged man with a distressed expression emerged, wielding a black spear.

“What’s the matter, Lee Kwang? Why are you acting like this?”

It seemed Beom Kyun was around the same age as Lee Kwang, casually dropping formalities. Lee Kwang responded nonchalantly,

“Spear Master Beom Kyun. Your days of seclusion are over. It’s time for the heirs of the Thunder God Lineage to gather.”

Beom Kyun’s expression twisted.

“Are you kidding? You wanna take on the White Lotus Sect? Don’t interrupt my peaceful retirement—just go away!”

“You’re known as the Spear Master and mentioned as the best spear wielder in the North, and you had quite the reputation in the martial world. And you expect to just enjoy your old age while being the backer for the Ghost Dragon Sect?”

Lee Kwang, who had been speaking softly, suddenly yelled,

“Aren’t you the one being ridiculous, Beom Kyun? Have you forgotten the humiliation of that day when the Thunder God Lineage was expelled? You were fleeing for your life just like the rest of us!”

“……!!”

Beom Kyun faltered before replying,

“I know! How could I forget that grudge? But… I’m too weak! So I’m just going to enjoy my life, what’s wrong with that?”

“……”

Lee Kwang, looking bewildered at Beom Kyun’s desperate outburst, became tense.

“Go ahead and kill me! But if it comes down to wasting time with foolishness, I’d rather just die!”

Lee Kwang’s face hardened. He turned to Jin So-cheong and said,

“So-cheong, you were right.”

“Master.”

“A human’s desire for revenge isn’t infinite…”

Lee Kwang seemed to give up, letting his shoulders slump as he turned away.

That scene felt inexplicably lonely.

Finally, we traveled to Luoyang and headed to Minister Eom Sung’s mansion. When we mentioned the name of the Azure Dragon, Lee Kwang, he demanded to see his guardian warrior, Jeong Yun-bo, and openly showed his displeasure.

“Lee Kwang. Didn’t we have a close relationship while we were at court? If you keep barging in like this, I have my own considerations.”

“Is that so?”

Without further ado, Lee Kwang brandished his spear and unleashed a lethal strike aimed at Eom Sung’s head. It was a vicious blow meant to explode Eom Sung’s skull in just a second. Moreover, it was so sudden that even the most skilled experts would struggle to react in time.

Crack!

In that moment, a fierce sound echoed, and suddenly, a black-robed phantom appeared. In a dark voice, the figure addressed Lee Kwang.

“You’ve even brought Dokgo Seong with you. But why are you suddenly using lethal strikes on Eom Sung?”

Eom Sung was fainted on the ground, foaming at the mouth, caught in the deadly aura smothering him. The black-robed figure casually released Lee Kwang’s menace.

“Jeong Yun-bo.”

It was Eom Sung’s guardian warrior, Jeong Yun-bo. He seemed to be around the same age as Lee Kwang and spoke without hesitation. I realized from the earlier clash that their skills were almost equal, causing me to think.

“Hmm.”

A master of fist techniques indeed. Even as a bodyguard of a minister, a talent like him should not settle for just that. He was a grandmaster capable of building an influence comparable to the Nine Great Sects on his own.

Lee Kwang quickly briefed Jeong Yun-bo on the events so far and the new plans of the Thunder God Lineage. After listening, Jeong Yun-bo coldly replied,

“Go away.”

“Why?”

“I have no interest in revenge or anything else. I’m surprised you’re still thinking about such things.”

Lee Kwang gnashed his teeth and said,

“Jeong Yun-bo! Don’t you want to avenge your master’s death?”

“My master was just weak enough to be killed. I’m already tired of the White Lotus Sect. Why do you think I’ve been a guardian warrior for decades?”

“I don’t quite understand. You’ve never said before.”

Jeong Yun-bo glared at Lee Kwang with cold eyes and replied,

“You, I, and Beom Kyun were once considered promising talents of the Thunder God Lineage. But that was over fifty years ago, Lee Kwang. No matter how much a direct descendant you are, isn’t it time to face reality? Our lives have already passed the halfway mark.”

“Half… what does that matter?”

“It matters a lot. Do you know that I’m already a grandfather?”

“……”

Lee Kwang’s face became one of shock at this unexpected comment.

“You wouldn’t have known, since you haven’t cared about my life at all.”

Jeong Yun-bo smiled slightly and added,

“Normally, we’d be the age of grandfathers who can watch their grandchildren’s growth. Pursuing only happiness within a family isn’t a short life. It’s weird that someone as handsome as you ended up as a lonely old man; meanwhile, I did my best in Luoyang to build a happy life with my partner.”

“You…”

“You’re out of your mind. Apart from the very idea of revenge, to us classmates, you’re just a madman.” Jeong Yun-bo hammered the point home.

“Lee Kwang. What’s left in your life? Do you really think avenging them will bring you happiness?”

“……”

Lee Kwang didn’t respond. He looked as if he had become blank for a moment, his eyes vacant. Then, Jin So-cheong, who had been standing beside him, stepped forward and spoke up.

“I don’t care about your pursuit of happiness. But your martial arts were received from the Thunder God Lineage. So shouldn’t you return what you owe them? Isn’t that the code of a martial artist?”

“So, you must be Jin So-cheong. I’ve heard a lot about you from Lee Kwang.”

Jeong Yun-bo observed him for a moment before responding,

“I’ve been repaying my debts to the merchant sect well enough.”

“On what basis?”

“By being Eom Sung’s guardian warrior, I absolutely protect his life. In return, Eom Sung uses his political influence to safeguard and support the personal information of Thunder God Lineage martial artists. This has been ongoing for several decades now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Eom Sung has provided funds to the Thunder God Lineage amounting to several tens of gold.”

“……”

“Compared to that, your master is just a flashy name, having fallen from grace now.” Jeong Yun-bo added, bringing up the point. “Who has contributed more to the Thunder God Lineage?”

This was unacceptable.

Jeong Yun-bo had lived his life unwaveringly for decades. Talking to him would be merely revisiting the futility of seeking vengeance. Regardless of how convincing the plan sounded, he seemed unshakeable.

‘So that’s why not a single classmate came to the faction battle, even when Lee Kwang held it.’

Beom Kyun chose a life of leisure, living off money he extorted from the heretical sects, while Jeong Yun-bo had, in his own way, compromised with reality, maintaining a sense of loyalty to the Thunder God Lineage. It was clear they wouldn’t come just because Lee Kwang beckoned.

Dokgo Seong said irritably,

“You and Lee Kwang were the greatest talents of the Thunder God Lineage, yet look at you now.”

“Eldest Dokgo. Everyone lives by their own means.”

“Enough! Live however you want. I won’t beg for your company.”

“I’ll see you off then.”

“Get lost.”

With that, a furious Dokgo Seong turned away, and we had no choice but to retreat. While it was possible to engage Jeong Yun-bo and kill him, it would yield no meaning. Moreover, causing chaos in Eom Sung’s mansion would certainly lead to massive repercussions in the long run.

Bang!

After returning, Lee Kwang was like a zombie, hiding away in Waryong Hall, while Jin So-cheong stayed by his side to comfort him. Dokgo Seong, upset, started drinking heavily in a nearby tavern.

Watching that scene with disappointment, Mangnyang sighed.

“The plan is falling apart.”

“I didn’t expect Lee Kwang to have such ambitions…”

“Beom Kyun or Jeong Yun-bo, both are talents who could lead a faction on their own. Lee Kwang likely hoped to call on them as a secret weapon when needed.”

“So what if he did? No one cares about revenge anymore.”

When I bluntly said this, Mangnyang smiled bitterly.

“That’s actually the norm. To quote Jeong Yun-bo, it’s been fifty years, right? It’s quite impressive that Lee Kwang still holds onto revenge against the White Lotus Sect.”

“Didn’t Jeong Yun-bo call Lee Kwang a madman?”

“Well, according to common standards, he is indeed mad. But looking at it another way, it’s rare to find someone as harsh as him. And harsh individuals can be useful in their own right.”

With that, Mangnyang glanced toward Waryong Hall and said,

“Lee Kwang isn’t going to crumble so easily. He’ll bounce back soon, so let’s save our time.”

“What should we do next?”

“The heirs Lee Kwang knows can’t be just those two. Let him handle the heirs; for now, let’s head to the ruins of Xuyou.”

The ruins of Xuyou?

Hearing this out of nowhere, I started to think. We had already acquired the wooden armor that held a treasure from Xuyou along with the spiritual liquid, and also the statue of Jeon Wook. But now, what else were we supposed to find?

Mangnyang chuckled and said,

“Free spiritual pills, of course we should collect them.”

“Ah.”

Eventually, I went to the ruins of Xuyou with Mangnyang, approaching the corpse of the Guardian Giant Spider that was stuck against a cliff.

“Bring me the suspicious fishhook.”

Whiiiiir…

As I held the fishhook close, it shone brightly, making the spider’s body twitch. Once the purifying energy flowed through, blue-green poison burst forth from the spider’s corpse, and after sidestepping the poison, I extracted the dried inner dan from the spider.

‘Just as expected.’

I remembered what Tang Mugyeok had once said while searching for Dongbang Mu-gyeol in Sichuan.

[Hmmm… If that’s the case, I would first drain the bodily fluids and then, when the inner dan reveals itself, I’d gear up with the antidote in advance and transfer it using special doujin techniques. Removing the excess poison by burying it away from sunlight in a cool place for thirty-three days will benefit the process, after which I’ll employ refining arts to precisely concoct it.]

[Sounds good. What about the corpse?]

[The corpse will also be a mass of qi, so it can be dried and eaten after the poison is extracted. According to legend, consuming the facial area grants immortality.]

After presenting the spider’s poison, Tang Mugyeok had immediately met my conditions. The inner dan from this spider was exceptionally valuable, even to someone like the leader of the Four Talents Sect, known as a master of poison techniques.

Normally, I would have to carefully extract it with the antidote, let the poison settle for days, and then undergo a tedious refinement process to achieve the spiritual pill. But since we now had the suspicious fishhook, we handled all the spider’s poison in one go!

A round pearl-like inner dan that could easily fit in the palm of my hand was admiringly observed by Mangnyang.

“The suspicious fishhook can indeed detoxify even the poison of great demons.”

“How effective will this spider’s inner dan be?”

“Try taking it once.”

“Ugh…”

I hesitated. No matter how much the suspicious fishhook had completely detoxified it, consuming an inner dan from a spider known for its extreme toxicity was daunting. But trusting Mangnyang that it wouldn’t harm me, I swallowed it anyway.

Crunch crunch

“Mmm… tastes like salt.”

I relished the crispy texture, savoring it slowly when I suddenly felt a surge of energy pouring into me. I realized a similar tremor to when I ingested sacred lotus hit me as strong pressure gushed through my Eight Extraordinary Vessels.

I quickly stabilized the energy within myself through the Greater Circulation. Moments later, I recognized that my body had undergone a transformation.

“Mmm…”

But I couldn’t identify what had changed.

As I tilted my head, Mangnyang chuckled and pointed out,

“Baek Woong, try putting your hand in here.”

Mangnyang had a small dish filled to the brim with a purplish liquid. The sight of it made my face scrunch up.

“Ugh… that’s the spider’s bodily fluid…”

“Correct. It’s extreme poison.”

“……”

“Go on, dip your hand.”

Reluctantly, I slightly dipped my finger in. When nothing went wrong, I slowly submerged my entire hand and, after a moment of hesitation, kept it there for a long time. After a whole meal’s duration, when I finally pulled my hand out, I was taken aback.

“No way!”

Nothing at all!

I had braced myself for a possible suicide, yet unexpectedly, my body was perfectly fine. No poison, necrosis, or corrosion; even my skin hadn’t wrinkled at all. Considering that the spider’s bodily fluid was potent enough to dissolve stone walls, this was utterly shocking.

Mangnyang chuckled loudly.

“Congratulations on achieving the Immortal Body of the Ten Thousand Poisons!”

Indeed.

Not only had my capacity for qi drastically increased from eating the spider’s inner dan, but I had also become immune to all poisons!

 

---