WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 52: Reunion (1)

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"You're even richer than I am!"

Cheon Geuk made a needless joke, but she was tense inside. Baek Socheon was placing his entire fortune before her. Her instincts told her this was another moment when their fates would change.

"Are you giving me this money because you might die anyway? Want me to spend it for you? I'm good at spending money."

"Something like that."

"What is it, then?"

"Use this money to acquire spiritual medicine."

"......!"

Cheon Geuk's eyes widened. Baek Socheon had surprised her many times since they met, but this was the greatest shock yet.

"You!"

Baek Socheon nodded.

She would have known even if he had not. The fact that Baek Socheon had withdrawn his entire fortune to buy spiritual medicine meant his dantian had been repaired.

"My goodness!"

Cheon Geuk was the one who shuddered. No one knew better than she did what it meant for Baek Socheon to have regained his internal energy.

Baek Socheon's recovery of his internal energy was the greatest variable to arise in the martial world's future. She was present for that historic, fateful moment.

"Try to find medicines with the strongest effects. I don't mind spiritual herbs with poisonous properties. If they have the same effect, prioritize those."

Spiritual medicines with poisonous properties were cheaper for the same effect. They were mainly used by those who practiced poison arts, so they offered better value than ordinary spiritual medicines, which had far more buyers.

He had created such pure internal energy even with a low-grade Hundred-Year Fleeceflower Root. If he absorbed the energy of a truly exceptional spiritual medicine, he could create internal energy that was even purer.

Now, he intended to gather internal energy properly through spiritual medicines.

The sum he had given her was a staggering one million four hundred thousand nyang, but the price of spiritual medicines was astronomical as well. Once they found a buyer, the owners of spiritual medicines and spiritual creatures named whatever price they pleased.

With bad luck, this money might not even buy a single Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. He could be overcharged, or there might be none available on the market.

In other words, buying one with money still required luck. If fortune favored him, he might even obtain a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng for the same amount.

Whether spiritual medicines were available while he searched, how urgently their sellers needed money, and what current market prices were like, all of it would come into play.

Lesser spiritual medicines could be bought with money. Greater spiritual medicines were bought with luck.

"What about your retirement if you spend your entire fortune like this? You're old, too."

What use would money sitting at the banking house be if he died? He had never imagined he would spend it like this, but gaining strength mattered more than money now.

"I'll live off you."

Cheon Geuk stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm the Assassin King, not the Sucker King!"

"By then, you'll be the former Assassin King."

"Hmm. A former War God and a former Assassin King... That doesn't sound too bad."

They looked at each other and smiled faintly.

The playfulness left Baek Socheon's face as he looked at the banknotes on the table.

"This money is my entire life, too."

He had never chased money, yet in the end, this was all he had left. Whenever he looked at it, he remembered everything he had accomplished in the past.

"If it's so important, why are you asking me?"

"Because you're the only person I can trust with it."

"You said I had terrible taste in men, but yours isn't much better."

Of course, he could trust Hwang Ilbi, Im Chung, and Beon Saeng. They were not the kind of people who would betray him for money. Still, they could not protect this much money. If someone tried to take it from them, they would be unable to stop them.

"The highest assassination commission ever placed on you was three million nyang. This is nearly half that amount. Listen, what if I pocket this money and kill you? It's enough to tempt anyone."

"Then I'll have to pay for my bad decision."

There were many times in life when one had to stake everything on a gamble. Seeking out Ban Yunsaeng for complete transformation had been one such gamble, and coming to Cheon Geuk was another.

Perhaps he would have to make many more gambles like this in the future. He could only hope his judgment was right.

"You won't handle it yourself?"

"There are people watching me."

He said people, not a person. He did not think the Black Heaven Alliance would be the only ones watching him. If word got out that he was seeking spiritual medicines, it would become truly dangerous. Besides, many people in the Central Plains knew his face.

"What do I get if I grant your request?"

"What do you want?"

After thinking for a moment, Cheon Geuk spoke.

"Grant me one request as well."

"If it's reasonable. As long as it is neither absurd nor unjust, I'll grant it."

"Good."

She raised her hand. Baek Socheon struck her palm three times with his own.

"By when do you need them?"

There was no guarantee that delaying and searching longer would get him better medicines. Baek Socheon knew it all depended on luck, so he answered without hesitation.

"As soon as possible."

* * *

After parting ways with Cheon Geuk, Baek Socheon returned to the Murim Alliance headquarters.

He felt uneasy about having left the Sage Heaven Corps for so long, but he decided to leave everything to fate.

If trouble had arisen, perhaps his presence would only have caused greater trouble. Maybe that was why there were no problems within the Sage Heaven Corps.

"Unit Commander! Welcome back!"

Beon Saeng greeted Baek Socheon with such enthusiasm that it was as though someone believed dead had returned alive.

"I was worried."

"Are you a child? Why were you worried?"

"You're not a child, Unit Commander, but I still am, aren't I? I meant I was worried about myself, not you. If you hadn't returned, how was I supposed to survive?"

Baek Socheon was glad to hear Beon Saeng's familiar joking again.

Both Im Chung and Beon Saeng had faithfully handled their duties in Baek Socheon's absence. They had worked twice as hard because they did not want Baek Socheon to be criticized for their incompetence.

Im Chung asked cautiously.

"Did things go well?"

The Sage Heaven Corps had been established, and Baek Socheon had been gone for nearly a month. That meant this was something very important to him.

Baek Socheon shook his head. He did not want to lie to these two, but he had no intention of telling anyone about his internal energy. With a secret this dangerous, keeping it to himself was better for them as well.

"But you're all right, aren't you?"

"Of course."

Was he all right? This was the most excited and happiest he had felt in the past three years. Just knowing he had internal energy in his body made him feel as though he could fly into the sky.

After leaving the Sage Heaven Corps, Baek Socheon went straight to the training grounds.

The twenty-five members of the Sage Heaven Corps were training diligently under Wang Ho's command.

"You're back."

The training paused briefly at Baek Socheon's arrival.

"Welcome back!"

Their voices rang out. Every one of them looked exhausted. Baek Socheon had given Wang Ho a harsh, grueling training plan.

At first, curses had naturally slipped from their mouths.

After a few days, though, they began to adapt to the training and realized that the regimen Baek Socheon had devised was more systematic than they expected. After being put through it for nearly a month, their eyes carried the same intensity seen only on fierce battlefields.

"You have all worked hard."

"No, sir!"

Baek Socheon smiled in satisfaction at their thunderous reply.

He turned to Wang Ho.

"How is your body?"

"I've completely recovered. Unbelievably, it took exactly one month. Did you plan that?"

"It was a coincidence. How could I have planned it?"

No one there believed him. Besides, though Baek Socheon had not intended it, his schedule had somehow taken exactly a month. To his subordinates, it looked as though he had timed everything perfectly. They felt as if every part of Baek Socheon's plan was falling into place.

"Would you like to see the results of the training?"

"All right."

Baek Socheon sat down nearby and watched them train.

A month of harsh training had brought everyone some improvement. Some had improved physically, while two or three had improved their swordsmanship as a result. The rest had at least hardened their resolve.

After having each of them demonstrate their sword techniques, Baek Socheon corrected their stances. They had suffered many disadvantages after coming to him, so they deserved some compensation.

Every one of them had at least one bad habit. Some knew about it, while others did not. Baek Socheon pointed out those habits and told them how to correct them.

He even reviewed the stance of Wang Ho, who had been directing the training.

Whether they were Unit Commanders, Squad Leaders, or ordinary martial artists, Baek Socheon treated them all the same. The volunteers and the Secret Pavilion martial artists who had merely been sent there were no exception. He corrected each person's stance and advised them on their future training.

That attitude changed the hearts of the martial artists who had not volunteered. When they first arrived, they had felt some lingering resentment, but it gradually disappeared. They were not so narrow-minded that they could continue harboring complaints against someone sincerely teaching for their benefit.

Once the instruction ended, everyone offered their heartfelt thanks.

"Thank you, Unit Commander."

Baek Socheon always gave the same answer when it came to training.

"Never leave regrets when it comes to your training."

* * *

The next place Baek Socheon visited was the Murim Alliance Underground Thunder Prison.

As he approached Gwoe Yeo's cell, he smelled alcohol. It seemed the liquor was being delivered properly every day.

Gwoe Yeo was startled to see Baek Socheon.

"You! You're back!"

"Have you been well?"

Gwoe Yeo looked Baek Socheon up and down. After confirming that nothing had changed, they burst into loud laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

They had dismissed Ban Yunsaeng's Complete Transformation Method as madness. Still, because the subject was Baek Socheon, they had held some small hope. Yet Baek Socheon had not changed at all.

"I didn't believe it in the first place."

Gwoe Yeo asked with interest.

"Did you meet him?"

"I did."

"What happened? Tell me everything!"

"The spiritual creature needed for the method did not come to the plant."

"The White-Horned Golden-Line Snake?"

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew. My ears nearly bled from hearing about it just to get a drink."

"Since the White-Horned Golden-Line Snake did not appear, I would have to wait another three years to perform the method. So I returned. Still, it wasn't a wasted trip for you, at least."

"What do you mean?"

Baek Socheon handed them the liquor.

"What is this?"

"This is liquor Elder Ban asked me to deliver."

"Oh!"

Gwoe Yeo happily accepted the liquor. They opened it and savored the scent before taking several large gulps. The liquor they drank one bottle of every day was good, but it could not compare to liquor brewed personally by Ban Yunsaeng.

Gwoe Yeo let out a cry of delight.

"Ah! As expected! That friend's skill at brewing liquor hasn't diminished. Would you like a drink as well?"

"I'll pass."

Baek Socheon did not tell them that Ban Yunsaeng had died, nor that the method had been carried out.

"Then take care."

"Don't stop bringing liquor just because the trip was a waste!"

"I'll keep bringing it."

As Baek Socheon turned to leave, Gwoe Yeo called out from behind him.

"If you see that friend again, tell him I enjoyed the liquor!"

"I will."

He answered, but his thoughts were different.

'I don't know whether either you or I will ever see that person again.'

When Baek Socheon returned to the Sage Heaven Corps after leaving the martial prison, Im Chung, who had been waiting for him, urgently delivered some news.

"What is it?"

"There is an urgent summons from the Alliance. They said the Unit Commander must go at once."

"From where? The Sage Heaven Pavilion?"

"No."

Im Chung took a deep breath before speaking.

"The Alliance Leader's Hall."

Footnotes:

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