Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
The moment one consumes a spirit elixir, sitting down to channel one’s qi is non-negotiable.
An unbridled flood of untamed energy threatens catastrophic internal trauma; even if one survives the physical backlash, neglecting to circulate qi guarantees that every trace of that precious power will evaporate into the void.
Across the entire martial sphere, no rule was more absolute.
And yet.
‘What in the world is happening?’
He had initiated his breathing cycle merely hoping to salvage a single tenth of the medicine’s bounty.
Yet as if mocking such humble expectations, virtually the entirety of the pill’s essence had descended straight into his dantian.
It settled so seamlessly, it felt as though that vast pool of power had resided within him from the dawn of time.
Such an impossibility flatly defied reason… Wait.
Ah. Now he understood.
‘The immortal core drank up every drop of immortal qi.’
It was not merely that the dantian had absorbed the elixir’s bounty.
Rather, the immortal core had drawn in all the sacred qi dormant within the pill.
The undeniable proof lay in the core itself, which had swollen nearly ten times its prior size.
‘Of course, I won’t be able to wield all that stored energy as raw internal power right away.’
Its consistency had shifted dramatically; the immortal core now felt as dense and unyielding as the inner core of a high-ranked spirit beast.
Until he could slowly unravel and refine that crystallized immortal qi, he would only ever be able to tap into a meager fraction of its true reserve.
‘Even so, my internal power has multiplied five- or sixfold.’
A sacred treasure said to be the ancient inheritance of a transcendent supreme master from centuries ago—the Greatest Under Heaven.
An immortal core, taking root inside his dantian the moment he severed the flow of time.
What mystery was orchestrating all of this?
The resounding decree that had shaken the heavens upon his reincarnation surfaced in his thoughts.
[Reversal of Heaven’s Mandate (逆天換命)]
[The flow defying heaven has altered the cycle,]
[Return to the Rightful Current (歸正順流)]
[Set it right and let it flow as it should.]
[Return and Fulfill Your Wish (回點行願)]
[Return and do as you desire.]
An instinct gripped him.
A colossal, unseen tide was shifting beyond his perception.
It was entirely possible that everything—his death, his second chance, all of it—was part of an elaborate scheme crafted by a supreme power.
‘…Whatever the truth may be, my path remains unchanged. I simply have to remain alert and proceed with caution.’
His vow to elevate the Baek clan into the supreme noble clan under the heavens was absolute.
Even if his return was the handiwork of another player, his determination would not waver.
Had the heavenly voice not commanded him from the very start?
Return and do as you desire.
“Phew…”
Releasing a deep, steady breath, Yanghwi brought his meditation to a close and raised his lids.
“Little Brother, how does your body feel? After swallowing that pill whole, you were bursting with so much wild energy that suffering severe internal damage wouldn’t have surprised me in the least.”
“Haven’t you realized it yet? Peerless genius has always defied worldly logic.”
Yanghwi offered an insolent grin, tongue darting cheekily.
Gu Ak instantly chided himself for having wasted a single shred of concern.
“Even granting that you swallowed a spirit pill, the combat prowess you unleashed makes no rational sense. What actually happened back there?”
“What else could have happened? An unprecedented genius crossed paths with a destined fortune, so this outcome was only natural.”
“…A third-rate brat wiping out more than a dozen second-rate masters is natural?”
“Whoa, hold on! Who are you calling third-rate?”
Yanghwi thrust his chest forward with utter pride.
Only then did Gu Ak take a proper look at him, his face slackening in disbelief.
“Don’t tell me… Wait, that presence of yours…!”
“Heh. Allow me to introduce myself: the heaven-gifted prodigy who broke into the second-rate realm at the tender age of eight, Baek Yanghwi.”
Gu Ak stood dumbfounded. He was celebrated across all of Ak’an County as its finest talent, yet he had only achieved the second-rate realm when he turned eighteen.
To think an eight-year-old shrimp had forced his way across that threshold!
The boy had reached the second-rate realm an entire decade ahead of him!
“How does that even make sense? Achieving sudden enlightenment and breaking through in the midst of a slaughter? N-No, it has to be the medicine. It’s solely because you swallowed that elixir!”
“Tsk, tsk. Stop running from reality. You ought to be showering my innate brilliance with heartfelt praise!”
“…….”
A surge of deep unfairness washed over Gu Ak.
“…If only I had an elixir of my own.”
“Do you honestly believe just anyone can leap across cultivation realms simply by stuffing their face with pills?”
“…….”
Gu Ak appeared on the verge of erupting in fury. Sensing it was time to redirect the conversation, Yanghwi pivoted.
“Regardless, let’s question the valley master. There are several answers I require from him.”
“…Fine. Let’s do that.”
Yanghwi pointed the tip of his blade at the throat of the Master of Nameless Killing Valley, who lay helpless on the dirt with his acupoints locked tight.
“Let us make this painless. Confess everything, and your end will be swift and clean.”
“…I will speak.”
Opting for an unagonized departure, the valley master laid bare every detail he possessed.
Having cultivated the Heartless Art, his choices were dictated purely by cold practicality, which proved remarkably convenient in a moment like this.
During the clash, that exact nature had been a nuisance since taunts failed to provoke any reaction from him whatsoever.
‘Nameless Killing Valley has essentially been eradicated. Not a soul remains with enough loyalty to pursue a blood vendetta, so there will be no lingering threats.’
Moreover, he had successfully verified the true origins of that pivotal medicine.
“A divine elixir left behind by the Sword Immortal… You truly swallowed something monstrous, Little Brother.”
“‘Swallowed’? Is that the tone you take with the eldest young master of the clan you just pledged your life to? Would you like me to mention this to my father?”
“…A slip of the tongue. Pure jealousy got the better of me.”
“Watch your mouth. Still, the Sword Immortal… I truly did end up consuming something extraordinary.”
“…….”
The Sword Immortal. To be fair, the moniker was not entirely unique in common parlance.
Within the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, every single one of the Nine Sects practiced the blade, and their venerable elders of high generation and peerless skill were frequently lauded as Sword Immortals.
Yet across the annals of time, only a single soul had ever been addressed purely by those two distinct characters—Sword Immortal—without any additional prefix or title.
Because in the purest, absolute sense, there was only ever one who truly held that title.
‘The founder of the Complete Reality Sect, the wellspring of nearly every Daoist tradition. Pure Yang Master, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoism.’
Lü Dongbin, the greatest swordsman to ever walk the earth who transcended mortality through the way of the sword, was the sole bearer of that name.
“I have never once heard of the Sword Immortal leaving behind an inheritance. Can we truly place our faith in the ramblings of an assassin?”
Gu Ak’s expression was steeped in suspicion. Outwardly, Yanghwi nodded along, though his inner thoughts drifted down an entirely different path.
‘The immortal core, and that immortal qi. It aligns far too well with the legacy of the Sword Immortal.’
Perhaps the ancient tales of Lü Dongbin ascending beyond the mortal coil were literal truth.
Regardless, fretting over it now would accomplish nothing.
The trail was far too faint.
‘The Sword Immortal is undeniably linked to my return. That much is certain.’
With the aftermath settled, it was time to proceed with their next task.
“Brother Gu, there is no point in lingering here. We should head out.”
He stepped toward the wall to fetch Chudal, who remained dead to the world on the ground.
Securing the iron container that had once housed the elixir inside his robes, Yanghwi hopped onto Gu Ak’s back, squeezing in right beside Chudal.
“…What exactly are you doing, Little Brother?”
“You certainly don’t expect a boy who was knocked unconscious to get up and march on his own feet, do you?”
“I’m not talking about that boy. I’m asking what you think you’re doing.”
Yanghwi released a theatrical, agonizing groan.
“While someone over here was struggling against a lone opponent, my fragile young frame had to fend off over a dozen grown killers all at once… Aaargh, I’m at death’s door! Is carrying me for a bit too much to ask?”
“…….”
Gu Ak could only muster a deep, resigned sigh.
And thus, their prolonged, turbulent trial in Jiujiang drew to a close.
A gentle, repetitive sway. From the cadence of the movement, he could tell he was being carried on someone’s back along a road.
“Brother Gu, my stomach is growling. Couldn’t you go snare a rabbit for us?”
“Catch one on your own.”
“Come now, your beloved little brother is pleading with you. Can’t you manage even a little task like that?”
“You aren’t a rabbit, you’re a walking catastrophe.”
“Should I have a word with Sister Rang?”
“…….”
Muffled voices drifted into his consciousness. While the man’s voice was unfamiliar, the child’s tone struck an immediate chord.
It belonged to that beggar boy who had relentlessly badgered him with unwanted friendliness.
‘What happened?’
His final recollection was vivid—perched on the mountain slope behind the Yu Estate, the exact instant he had steeled himself to end the life of the Master of Yu Estate.
Despite waking, Ihu kept his eyes firmly shut.
He had to assess his surroundings before making a move.
“Are you awake yet? Quit pretending to be dead and open your eyes.”
Snapping his eyes open, Ihu instantly attempted to spring backward and create distance, but—
Grab!
A hand clamped down onto the collar of his garment, leaving him dangling helplessly off the ground.
“You brat, the first thing you do upon waking is greet me properly. Just where do you think you’re scurrying off to?”
“Will both of you brats stop flailing around on my back!”
Paying their complaints no heed, Ihu immediately struck out with an attack.
And yet…
“Whoa! Hup! Whoa! Hup!”
No matter how sharply he targeted an opening, his strikes failed to graze the target.
Only then did Ihu let out a defeated gasp, his voice dropping.
“You were concealing your martial arts.”
“I never hid a thing. You were simply blind to it, Chudal.”
“Chudal? Who are you addressing? I am not Chudal.”
“No, your name is Chudal. Because I said so, Chudal.”
“…….”
Following a tense pause, Ihu shifted his gaze toward Yanghwi.
“I would be grateful if you could clarify the situation.”
Yanghwi considered it for a second.
Should he lay out the whole story, or gauge the waters first?
“Simply put, I picked you up after you collapsed.”
“I merely collapsed? Was there no one seeking my life?”
“Now that you mention it, there was a corpse nearby.”
Exercising a sharp intellect far beyond his years, Ihu began assembling the sequence of events.
“It seems someone delivered me from death. Could you… be my savior, Great Hero?”
Gu Ak scoffed openly at that.
“Not in the slightest, brat. But does it truly matter who pulled you out?”
“It matters a great deal. I must know the identity of my savior so that I may repay the debt.”
Looking to repay a life debt the second he opened his eyes, was he?
You stubborn brat. I always knew your heart was in the right place.
Yanghwi resolved not to disclose that he was the savior in question.
‘If we want to share the same camaraderie we had in the past, staying silent is best.’
In their previous lives, Chudal and he had stood shoulder to shoulder as sworn equals, calling each other brother.
He had no desire to be revered as a noble savior or benefactor.
Besides, keeping a ledger of debts was never their way.
‘Even if our dynamic doesn’t match our past exactly…’
Still, Yanghwi longed for a bond that echoed the spirited comrade he remembered.
“Your benefactor isn’t here, Chudal. We merely scooped you off the road, and that’s the end of it.”
“Beggar. Why do you insist on calling me Chudal?”
“…….”
Yanghwi’s irritation flared up instantly.
Wait a second, how much longer is this punk planning to speak down to me so casually?
Thump!
“AARGH!”
A vicious flick struck his forehead, sharpened with a needle of true qi. Chudal clutched his brow, writhing in pain.
Hanging helplessly by the collar while thrashing about, he looked precisely like a freshly caught fish squirming on an angler’s line.
“Hey. Say ‘Big Brother.'”
“…….”
Thump!
“AARGH! OW!”
“I will keep striking you until that mouth calls me ‘Big Brother.’ Clear?”
“B-Big Brother.”
“Good. You are Chudal, and I am your big brother. Understood?”
“…Understood.”
“Your manners still sound a bit too sharp, little brother.”
The moment Yanghwi cocked his hand back once more, Chudal frantically cried out,
“Y-Yes, understood!”
“Much better. You need to follow your big brother’s guidance, Chudal. Understood?”
“Yes…”
While Gu Ak simmered in silent frustration at the irony of possessing a younger brother who completely disregarded his elder’s words, Chudal spoke again.
“Where are we traveling to?”
“The Baek Estate. My clan’s home.”
“I see.”
“Do you object to coming along?”
“It makes no difference to me. I have no family left in this world. Though… I wish to find my benefactor, but I have no means of seeking them out.”
Yanghwi observed Chudal in silence.
Unlike the friend from his memories, the boy’s countenance remained eerily vacant, completely stripped of warmth or life.
…It rubbed him the wrong way.
“Chudal, tell me your story. How did you end up in the clutches of Nameless Killing Valley?”
“It is hardly a tale meant for other ears, but… very well.”
Chudal began unspooling his history.
A father who made his living through assassination. A mother slaughtered over lingering grudges and old debts.
A father left clinging to the edge of life after executing his vengeance.
And that father’s dying plea.
‘Do not live as I have lived, my child. Those were his parting words.’
Yet despite that wish, a cruel twist of fortune had seen him snatched away by an assassin order.
It was a tragedy far too bitter for a mere child to carry.
‘And he recounts it all without so much as a flicker of emotion.’
Just as he thought, leaving the boy like this was out of the question.
The current Chudal was far too numb.
Teasing him held no flavor at all.
It seemed he would have to fix the issue with his own two hands.
“Hey. Weep.”
“What are you saying all of a sudden? I am incapable of tears.”
“I don’t care about excuses. Cry.”
“…??”
Yanghwi channeled a thread of immortal qi from the core inside his dantian.
Prior to dispatching the Master of Nameless Killing Valley, he had pried the cultivation chants of the Heartless Art from the man’s lips.
According to those formulas, the Heartless Art was nothing more than an unrefined mental discipline that clumsily suppressed the upper dantian.
It was an inferior art, paling in comparison to grand methods like the Zhuge family’s Harmonious Heaven Primordial Art.
Naturally, had it been nurtured and refined across several centuries, it might have evolved into a formidable supreme art, but…
‘In its current crude state, its shortcomings are painfully obvious.’
“Cry.”
“I told you already, I cannot shed tears.”
Thump!
“GAAAH!”
With a broad grin, Yanghwi raised his fingers again.
This time, he infused an even heavier charge of energy.
Thump!
“ACK! OW!”
“Weep, hurry it up. I’ll continue hammering you until you do.”
Thump!
“It hurts! I said I can’t!”
Thump!
“GYAAAH!”
Right at that exact instant.
Yanghwi caught sight of moisture gathering at the fringes of Chudal’s eyelids.
The sharp jolts laced with immortal qi had finally shattered the mental shackles of the Heartless Art.
“Chudal.”
“H-Huh…?”
— Do not live as I have lived, my child.
His father’s parting words echoed through his skull like the tolling of a massive bronze bell.
Simultaneously, Yanghwi’s words pierced through the haze.
“Weep. Crying is a child’s rightful privilege.”
“Huh… Ah…?”
He had fled merely to survive, only to fall into the jaws of Nameless Killing Valley.
Subjected to brutal torment and constant threats of execution no young mind should ever endure, he had been forged into a soulless weapon of slaughter.
“Sob… hic… uuuugh…”
‘Poor brat. It wasn’t that your heart was dead; you were merely buried beneath the Heartless Art.’
Yanghwi offered a soft, reassuring smile to Chudal’s crumpling face.
Then he whispered gently.
“It is all right. You are allowed to weep now, Chudal.”
“Uwaaagh… hic… uuuuugh!”
Like a reservoir shattering its walls, the young boy finally surrendered to a flood of unrestrained tears.
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