WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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Chapter 90: Growth (2)

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Mumu placed the Little Return Pill in his mouth while sitting cross-legged.

Jin-hyeok, seated behind him, spoke.

"Don't swallow it yet. Listen first."

"Okay."

"Elixirs are, as the name suggests, made to increase internal energy more quickly."

"Okay."

"From what I know, Shaolin's Little Return Pill has the best stability and absorption rate of all the ones made by the various martial clans and factions."

As Jin-hyeok said, Shaolin's Little Return Pill was famous for being among the most stable Elixirs made by any martial clan or faction.

The more stable an Elixir's effects, the higher its absorption rate in the body.

Ordinary Elixirs could only be absorbed at around forty to sixty percent efficiency through ki circulation, but the Little Return Pill could reach sixty to eighty percent.

Perhaps that was only possible because it was Shaolin's pill, from the orthodox origin of Central Plains Martial Arts.

[Elixirs of the Buddhist and Daoist traditions, such as the Little Return Pill, Purple Nascence Pill, and Grand Purity Divine Pill, possess the finest stability and absorption rates. Still, it is difficult to draw out their maximum absorption rate alone.]

It was something Mak Il-woong, the first master of the Three Heroes of Jiangsu, had told him while using the Meridian Opening Technique.

Jin-hyeok could not use the Meridian Opening Technique as his master did.

Still, he could help Mumu's ki circulation become more active.

"I'll help circulate your ki, so don't think of it as interference. Use that as momentum to absorb the Elixir's energy."

"Okay, I understand."

"If I help, you should be able to absorb more than seventy percent."

That part was a little regrettable.

With the Meridian Opening Technique, he could probably bring out nearly eighty percent of its effects.

Even without it, though, the Little Return Pill should easily grant more than six years of internal energy.

That alone would count as a success.

"You can use the divine art circulation method of the Four Divine Origin Fist now, instead of the Three breathing techniques."

"The Four Divine Origin Fist's divine art circulation method?"

"Yes. The Three breathing techniques are stable, but their efficiency falls short of a high-level Martial Arts circulation method."

"Okay. Got it."

Once Mumu answered, Jin-hyeok placed his palms over Mumu's Central Pivot Point and Life Gate Point on his back.

It was to help his ki circulate smoothly.

"Even if it's bitter, chew it thoroughly. Swallow it once it's completely crushed."

"Okay."

Following Jin-hyeok's advice, Mumu bit into the Little Return Pill.

'Ugh. Bitter.'

The instant he bit down, a bitter taste flooded his mouth, making him want to spit it out.

Mumu scrunched up his face, then chewed it carefully.

Once it had been completely crushed, he swallowed.

'Ah!'

The moment he swallowed the Little Return Pill, a warm energy strangely spread from his throat down his esophagus.

It was fascinating.

While it had been in his mouth, all he could taste was bitterness.

"Circulate your ki!"

At Jin-hyeok's words, Mumu immediately began his ki circulation.

Yet the circulation method he used was not the one from the Four Divine Origin Fist. It was the same verse he had seen on the cave ceiling on the third floor of the Underground Martial Archive.

Mumu had realized long ago that it was far more effective than ordinary ki circulation.

'The abyss's name... cross the sea of spirits... the true heart is grand and bright... weakness never declines... earth unfolds and heaven becomes whole...'

The moment he recited the verse, his breathing became steady.

At the same time, the energy produced by swallowing the Little Return Pill began to resonate together.

Jin-hyeok matched that rhythm and helped Mumu circulate his ki.

-Woooooo!

As the verse, the Little Return Pill, and Jin-hyeok's support came together, heat and a thin mist began flowing from Mumu's entire body.

Jin-hyeok frowned at the sight.

'What is this?'

Something was wrong.

This should not happen from simply taking a Little Return Pill and circulating ki.

With his palms against Mumu's back, Jin-hyeok could clearly feel life energy stirring inside Mumu and spreading through the acupoints throughout his entire body.

'What in the world...'

Most circulation methods only passed through the Governing and Conception meridians or the major ki gateways.

Yet energy was flowing through every path in Mumu's body. Even the Central Pivot Point and Life Gate Point where Jin-hyeok's palms rested were no exception.

'How am I supposed to help with this?'

Since ki circulation was taking place throughout Mumu's entire body, there was no concept of sequence.

Ki entered the airway through breathing and circulated through the major meridians in order.

This, though, was like breathing through his whole body, drawing energy in through his skin and spreading it everywhere.

It resembled the way amphibians breathed.

'Did the Elixir's energy intertwine with the energy entering through his skin and create that mist?'

That was the only conclusion he could reach.

Jin-hyeok worried that something might go wrong.

Then the mist flowing from Mumu's body stopped, and Mumu's complexion gradually brightened.

'Did the energies blend together?'

That seemed to be the case.

Jin-hyeok removed his palms and watched Mumu.

This was completely different from ordinary circulation methods, so there was no way he could help.

All he could do was stand guard and watch.

'Did a circulation method like this really exist in the world?'

Jin-hyeok was astonished by Mumu, who seemed to be breathing through his skin.

'Did he call it the Four Divine Origin Fist?'

Mumu had only told him what techniques the Four Divine Origin Fist possessed, never mentioning its circulation method. Jin-hyeok had assumed it was high-level Martial Arts like the others.

He never imagined it would use such an extraordinary circulation method.

With a circulation method like this, it seemed one could circulate ki in any form, without even needing to sit cross-legged.

'...I can't predict anything.'

Its circulation method was so unlike ordinary ones that it was impossible to know what result it would produce.

About two hours passed.

Jin-hyeok had thought it would not take long because it was the Little Return Pill, but it took longer than expected.

Mumu opened his eyes.

His eyes shone with more vitality than before.

"How is it? Did your internal energy increase?"

At Jin-hyeok's question, Mumu nodded.

"Yeah! I don't think it increased that much, but I think it went up a little."

"A little?"

Jin-hyeok let out a quiet breath.

Perhaps the absorption rate had fallen because he had to remove his hands partway through due to that strange circulation method.

Even so, absorbing the equivalent of five or six years of training would still mean the Elixir had worked to some degree.

'If he's saying that, did he absorb around six years' worth?'

"Let me take a look."

Jin-hyeok placed his palm on Mumu's abdomen.

He sent life energy into him and checked how much of the pill's effects Mumu had absorbed.

Then,

'!?'

Jin-hyeok's eyes widened.

Mumu had said it had not increased by much, so he had not expected much.

But...

'Hah...'

A dantian this large had easily surpassed ten years.

It would not be an exaggeration to call it the equivalent of twelve years.

'...A little?'

A third-rate warrior possessed around five years of internal energy.

A second-rate warrior possessed about ten years, while an Advanced master possessed around twenty.

Naturally, several other factors were needed, but in terms of internal energy alone, Mumu had reached the second-rate.

'This is...'

It went beyond the Elixir's effects.

He had gained more internal energy than the Little Return Pill should have provided.

'How did this happen?'

"Did it increase a lot?"

Jin-hyeok could not answer Mumu's question.

Only about two hours after forming his dantian, Mumu now possessed the internal energy of a second-rate warrior.

It was an absurd rate of growth.

Even with an Elixir's help, Jin-hyeok himself had trained tirelessly for five years before his internal energy reached the second-rate.

'...Am I supposed to keep teaching him?'

From the Advanced stage onward, growth rates differed because talent and enlightenment came into play.

Still, Mumu's upward climb was so fast that it frightened him.

Would Mumu surpass Jin-hyeok's own growth rate and catch up to him in Martial Arts within a few years?

[Your older brother is outstanding, but you possess remarkable martial talent as well.]

The three masters of the Kangxi Three Heroes often told him that.

Yet seeing this guy's absurd growth rate made Jin-hyeok feel like an ordinary person.

'Just what is this guy?'

He truly wondered.

* * *

Early the next morning.

Mumu was eating breakfast with his friends in the dormitory dining hall.

As Mo Il-hwa listened to what had happened the night before, she stabbed her chopsticks into a side dish and vented her anger.

"I knew it! That Ha Ryun bastard was suspicious as hell from the start."

Hae Ryang agreed.

"Certainly, if the powder Ha Ryun possessed was the same as the one used by the arsonists, there may be a connection."

"That's terrifying. It means there were people among us who tried to massacre the academy cadets."

"The question is how many there are."

They still did not know whether there was one or several.

Mo Il-hwa spoke to Mumu, who was focused on eating.

"But how are you going to find out that he's part of them?"

"Huh?"

"That guy was acting strange, remember? He pretended to be crazy and rambled nonsense, so we sent him to the academy's Discipline Bureau."

Jin-hyeok nodded as he recalled that time.

Ha Ryun had behaved strangely, even banging his head against the floor.

If it had all been an act to deceive them, there was no way he would readily confess.

"Do you have some way to make him confess?"

Mumu answered.

"Won't he talk if we beat him until he wants to?"

"......"

Mo Il-hwa stared at Mumu.

"What if he keeps claiming he knows nothing no matter how much you beat him?"

"Um..."

Mumu tilted his head.

From his past experience, most people seemed to open their mouths when pain was involved.

Mo Il-hwa clicked her tongue at him.

"You need to use your head. Your head."

"My head?"

"Yes. If the other side is using their head, you have to make them reveal the truth without realizing it. Instead of immediately thinking about beating them up."

"You're saying I should trick them too?"

"Oh, Mumu understands things pretty well these days. Noona gives you high praise."

As she said that, Mo Il-hwa vigorously ruffled Mumu's hair.

His hair became a mess, making him look ridiculous.

"Ha ha ha!"

Just as the mood had become cheerful again, Jin-hyeok, who had been shaking his head, happened to spot someone entering the dining hall.

"Mumu, look over there."

"Huh?"

It was Ha Ryun.

Ha Ryun entered the dining hall with a somewhat dark expression, then met Jin-hyeok's eyes as Jin-hyeok pointed at him.

Ha Ryun clenched his lips, then immediately turned around and left the dining hall.

His instincts for danger were incredibly sharp.

'What is this?'

Ha Ryun was unsettled by Jin-hyeok pointing at him.

It was as though they had been looking for him.

Feeling something ominous, he hurried out of the dining hall and used a movement skill to get as far from the dormitory grounds as possible.

'Why does everything keep going wrong?'

A member of the same House of the Eight Villains had put his life in their hands, and Ha Ryun had spent the entire night consumed by anger, unable to sleep.

He had no idea why those people were acting that way.

Ha Ryun's thoughts raced.

'Could it be the Ja Hyun Powder again?'

He came to one conclusion.

It had to be the Ja Hyun Powder.

Thinking back, Jin-hyeok, Hae Ryang, and Mumu had stopped the fire attack that marked the beginning of the Grand Plan.

That meant they might have caught on to the secret of the Ja Hyun Powder.

'Damn it!'

Ha Ryun truly felt as though he had been driven to the edge of a cliff.

The Ja Hyun Powder he had painstakingly created in the Valley of White Death was tightening around his own neck.

He had fallen out of favor with his allies, and if Changcheon Martial Academy learned he was connected to the failed fire attack, his life would be over.

'What should I do?'

He had escaped for now, but it was only a temporary measure.

They would try to interrogate him.

Then it would be over.

'Should I just kill myself?'

Running away from the academy was an option, but that would mean denying his entire life.

He had been raised to avenge the grudge from seventeen years ago.

To avoid holding back the one he served, suicide was his only option.

'Suicide...'

It was clearly the answer, yet he could not bring himself to act.

Taking one's own life was not as easy as it sounded.

Then,

-Kwakwakwakwang!

With the sound of the ground shattering, someone suddenly blocked his path.

It was Mumu.

'Urk!'

Ha Ryun had used his movement skill with all his strength, yet Mumu had caught up to him.

Mumu spoke to the flustered Ha Ryun.

"Don't run away."

"......"

Ha Ryun stared at Mumu's face.

He was confused because of what that bastard had said last night.

He clearly possessed the token, yet that man had called Mumu an enemy the one he served needed to beware of.

It was far too contradictory.

Ha Ryun's mind raced as he decided to take a gamble.

Fortunately, he had fled somewhere isolated, and no one was nearby.

There were only Mumu and himself.

That meant if Mumu truly was the one destined to be his master, there was no need to keep acting.

Ha Ryun dropped to one knee before Mumu and showed his respect.

"O one destined to be my master."

Mumu could not hide his confusion at this attitude.

Come to think of it, this guy had prostrated himself before Mumu before and said things like he wanted a chance to prove his loyalty.

'Hm.'

Mo Il-hwa's words suddenly came to mind.

[You need to use your head. Your head.]

Remembering that, Mumu stared at the kneeling Ha Ryun.

Then he stepped closer and spoke.

"That's right. I'm your master."

'Ah!'

The moment he heard those words, Ha Ryun let out a sigh of relief, and his eyes filled with joy.

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