After the meal, the two headed to Zhuge Rin’s office for tea. Amidst the mountain-like stacks of documents and letters, they sat facing each other at a small table. Yoo Ho brought in jujube tea, carrying the scent of the now-passed autumn.

“What is it you wanted to talk about? You didn’t mention it in the communal hall, so it must be important.”

Jin Cheon-hee nodded. “I am thinking of going out into the Murim.”

His Master’s expression froze, but only for an instant. It quickly melted back into his usual, gentle smile. “I see. For your level of achievement, you’re actually a bit late. I assume you’re not just wandering around to find another Ten Thousands Years Fire Carp this time…”

Zhuge Rin’s eyes half-closed as he finished his thought. “Is this because of the five spiritual beasts and seven spiritual herbs you mentioned before?”

Jin Cheon-hee was slightly startled. In the past, when explaining how he knew the Ten Thousands Years Fire Carp’s location, he had added just that.

“And how did you know it was there?”

“The truth is… I know the locations of at least five spiritual beasts. And the locations of seven spiritual herbs.”

Zhuge Rin, naturally, had not forgotten a single word. And once again, he had struck at the heart of the matter, asking before Jin Cheon-hee could even bring it up.

Jin Cheon-hee nodded obediently. “I will retrieve them before someone else does.”

“I suspect that is not all.”

“…”

There was, in fact, another reason. The protagonist of The Supreme Heavenly Demon was Yeo Ha-ryoon. That man, despite suffering under the karma of the Star of Heavenly Slaughter, didn’t actively go out and commit evil acts. Furthermore, when he eventually ascended to the throne of the Heavenly Demon, he would naturally reform the Demonic Cult in his own way. In the ‘might makes right’ Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon was the law. When Yeo Ha-ryoon took charge, the cult’s entire system would be revolutionized.

The true enemy of the novel, on the other hand, was the Blood Immortal Cult.

The Blood Immortal Cult. The absolute evil of The Supreme Heavenly Demon. The Demonic Cult’s true name was the Divine Demonic Cult, a religious group that revered both the sacred and the demonic. It was similar to how Wudang or Huashan revered the Primeval Heavenly Lord within Daoism.

The Blood Immortal Cult was… stranger. It was an offshoot of Daoism, but it didn’t worship the Primeval Heavenly Lord. It worshipped the Heavenly-Reaching Cult Leader. In short, it was a religion that idolized the Golden Turtle Island, the legendary sect of Monstrous Immortals. And those bastards were one of the main antagonists of the story.

Above all, their reverence for these ancient, monstrous immortals came with a problem: their favorite offering was living human beings.

‘Of course, there are plenty of other enemies besides them.’

But thinking of the future, it was the right move to disrupt the Blood Immortal Cult’s plans at this stage.

However, if he told Zhuge Rin this, he’d be imprisoned for sure. It wasn’t just ‘going out into the Murim’; it was ‘going out to fight a group even worse than the Demonic Cult.’

His Master would probably say, ‘Hee-ya, it’s alright if your leg is broken. It will heal in two months, so why don’t you ask this Master again then? It won’t hinder your life as a physician,’ and then snap Jin Cheon-hee’s leg with a gentle smile. He’d probably even use his Fire Qi to sear the break, just to make sure the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art‘s regeneration didn’t work properly.

‘Nope. Can’t tell him that, even if my mouth is ripped open. No way.’

Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes darted around. “That’s all, Master.”

He had to stick to telling Zhuge Rin the truth. He might not tell the whole truth, but he would never lie. If he were caught, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Is that your primary objective?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t a lie. Two of the five spiritual beasts would be taken by the Blood Immortal Cult. Four of the seven spiritual herbs would be taken by others who were also Yeo Ha-ryoon’s enemies.

‘Ha-ryoon, my man. Your hyung is working this hard for you. You just wait. I’m paving a highway for you!’

Now that he had saved his Master’s life, it was time to clear the thorny path that lay before Yeo Ha-ryoon! If Jin Cheon-hee “intercepted” those two spiritual beasts and four spiritual herbs… then, naturally, his enemies’ power would be diminished.

‘And… I’ll get to nourish my own body in the process.’

It was a win-win. Why let his enemies eat them when he could?

Besides, there were other things to take care of. The Blood Immortal Cult, true to its name, was committing atrocities even as they spoke. It was impossible to stop them all, but he could certainly sprinkle some tacks on their path. If he dealt with those issues in advance, the future would be much brighter.

“…”

His Master was lost in thought. Jin Cheon-hee swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Finally, his Master spoke.

“On one condition. You will master one more martial art before you leave. If you learn it within the time limit, I will permit you to go. If you fail, you will wait quietly in the pavilion until after the Dragon Phoenix Assembly is over. Yoo Ho! Bring it!”

Yoo Ho, looking like he’d just bitten into a lemon, brought over an item.

Shackles.

“These are special-made shackles, crafted from Ten Thousand Years Cold Iron. Hee-ya, since you are hiding things from your Master, I, too, must be strict. Are you prepared?”

Yoo Ho had told him about this in the past.

“Huhu. As a matter of fact, he was recently acquiring Ten Thousand Years Cold Iron. From the way he was eyeing your ankle size, it’ll probably be finished soon.”

‘You’re kidding me! I thought that was a joke! It was real?!’

Ten Thousand Years Cold Iron. The legendary metal used to forge the greatest swords under heaven, a material so durable it was said to be indestructible. It was a priceless treasure you couldn’t get even if you piled up a mountain of gold.

What kind of lunatic gets their hands on Ten Thousand Years Cold Iron and forges shackles?

Jin Cheon-hee realized. His Master was that lunatic. And he… was the other lunatic, trying to sneak away from that Master to go fight the Blood Immortal Cult.

His Master smiled gently. “No need to be frightened, Hee-ya. If you win this bet against your Master, this will not happen.”

“What martial art must I learn?”

“Poison Art.”

“And the time limit…?”

His Master’s eyes curved into a soft, pleasant crescent. “One week. If you dislike the terms, we can forget this talk of leaving. You can simply accompany this Master after the Dragon Phoenix Assembly is over.”

That was not an option. If they traveled together, his plan to secretly sabotage the Blood Immortal Cult would be impossible. His most important objective would vanish.

Jin Cheon-hee’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line.

‘To master poison arts in one week… Normally, that’s impossible.’

Even he knew that was insane. But he felt a strange confidence rising from deep within him. It was the solid self-esteem he had built through countless trials.

“I will do it.”

‘What’s the worst that can happen? I’ll just wear the shackles!’

At his determined expression, his Master gave a chilling smile. “It seems my disciple really wants to do something he can’t tell me about. Very well. Let’s make a bet.”

***

The next day. The training hall.

The Five-Elemental Cultivation Art naturally provided a high resistance to poisons. The five energies would burn, neutralize, expel, or absorb toxins. However, as he’d learned, there was a limit to that resistance when facing the orthodox poison arts of the Tang Clan. If it hadn’t been for that duel, he never would have realized. To truly stand against poisons of that caliber, he needed to learn poison arts himself.

Poison Art contained a paradox: to use them, one had to be able to detoxify oneself. A snake doesn’t die from its own venom, and the Tang Clan isn’t poisoned by their own toxins. One who learns poison arts naturally becomes resistant to the poisons of others. It was a fascinating concept.

Among the various arts, Jin Cheon-hee chose only one. Five-Elemental Poison Art.

It was a poison art that only one who had mastered the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art could learn. It worked by infusing the Five-Elemental True Qi with the energy of poison. It was originally created by the Yunnan Five Poisons Sect after researching the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art.

However, to learn it, one’s mastery of the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art had to be at a high level, and learning that art itself required extreme self-discipline. Naturally, almost no one in the Five Poisons Sect ever managed to learn it. Eventually, the manual for the Five-Elemental Poison Art found its way to the Zhuge Clan.

The Zhuge Clan, in turn, had modified it, seeking to use it as a defense against assassination. They had no desire to professionally train in poison arts, which wasn’t their specialty. They were already kept at arm’s length due to their intellect; if they started using poison, their reputation in the Murim would be obvious.

Thus, the Five-Elemental Poison Art had some minor offensive applications, but the vast majority of it was now focused on poison resistance.

Jin Cheon-hee spent the first day memorizing the incantations his Master had taught him. On the second day, he began his training by ingesting the Five-Elemental Mutual Overcoming Poison.

Jin Cheon-hee accepted the vial from Yoo Ho. “It doesn’t smell like anything.”

“It may be for training, but it is still a poison. What would you expect, Young Master?”

“If I take this wrong… will I die?”

“You will not die. However, I am told you will suffer a great deal.”

“Suffer?”

“There is an antidote, but I hear its side effect is that you will shit blood for a month.”

So much for ‘human rights in education’ in this era. It was just as he thought: they didn’t exist.

“…”

So, even if he failed, he’d be stuck in the pavilion with intestinal problems. ‘This is a “win-win” for my Master, isn’t it?’

Just thinking about what would happen if he lost the bet was terrifying.

‘Cheon-hee, don’t psyche yourself out. You can do this. A week is enough time to create the heavens and the earth. You can do anything.’

Steeling himself, Jin Cheon-hee gulped down the poison.

“This… is actually pretty sweet?”

“It is a poison well-suited for mixing into refreshments. It seeps directly into your internal energy, so it will have an effect similar to, yet the opposite of, an elixir.”

He was right. Before he had even finished swallowing, he could feel it dissolving rapidly. At the same time, it became harder and harder to breathe.

‘Definitely poison. Damn it.’

His body alternated between burning hot and freezing cold. His lungs felt like they were hardening into stone.

‘Shitting blood isn’t the problem. This…’

He sat in the lotus position and recited the incantations.

Yoo Ho said, “Stage one is identifying the poison. Stage two is gathering it. I am told most people suffer at stage two.”

There were five stages in total. Jin Cheon-hee began to identify the five-element poison that had entered his body.

‘It’s a long way to ‘gathering’ it.’

He had to be able to collect it all in one place, whether to expel it or assimilate it.

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t answer Yoo Ho. It wasn’t that he was ignoring him; he simply didn’t have the energy to spare.