“Is it because of his constitution, or perhaps a sickness of the heart? He told me he had lost his sense of taste.”

“But now, he even enjoys snacks…”

“Yes. Now he eats them, remarking on how delicious they are. It is because of you, Young Master. But I know that if you were not by his side, he would revert to his former self.”

A current of pain ran through Yoo Ho’s voice. “I do not care what becomes of me. I believed that the duty of a trusted confidant was simply to ensure the master lived a long life. But now… now I am no longer sure.”

“So you’re letting me live?”

“Let us just say that I will be watching.” With that, Yoo Ho turned his back. “Do you know what you call the feeling of being resentful, grateful, and joyful, all while feeling the urge to kill?”

A dry bamboo leaf drifted past, momentarily obscuring Jin Cheon-hee’s vision. When it was gone, Yoo Ho had vanished. It was a feat of movement that would have startled a ghost. In that moment, Jin Cheon-hee realized Yoo Ho’s realm was far higher than he had ever imagined. And his master, too, was far more than the man portrayed in the novel.

Into the empty air, Jin Cheon-hee whispered the answer, a phrase taken from the very story he knew.

“…We call it Affliction.”

He then sat down and began to slowly circulate his Qi and regulate his breath, waiting for Phantom Archer’s enlightenment to conclude.

***

The awakening ended three hours later.

During that time, Jin Cheon-hee had circulated his Five-Elemental Cultivation Art. To his surprise, the energy he gathered was far purer than what he normally drew from nature. It was because the wind of Shattering the Evil, had continued to gather around him as Phantom Archer was lost in his state of Levitation Samadhi.

Shattering the Evil.

Literally, ‘to shatter the wicked,’ it was a form of Buddhist debate meant to dismantle false doctrines. The belief was that by shattering falsehood after falsehood, one would eventually arrive at the truth of emptiness.

The Evil-Shattering Divine Bow was the same. To reach enlightenment, one had to continuously empty and shatter the wickedness within oneself.

The way this world blends philosophy with martial arts is one of its most fascinating aspects.

The Buddhist way preached non-violence, yet their martial studies were profound, and in the great wars between the Righteous and Unorthodox, they often shed much blood to protect the common people. The Daoists were the same. One does not kill people to become a Divine Immortal; in fact, like the Buddhists, they were to shun the taking of life. And yet, their martial arts were just as deep, and they too were inevitably drawn into the web of sects and grudges, their hands forced to draw the sword.

Both sides clearly emphasize the sanctity of life, even that of a villain, but human affairs rarely unfold as they should.

Jin Cheon-hee loved this contradiction. Countless characters who practiced the esoteric arts of Buddhism or Daoism were tormented by this very problem. He especially loved the scenes where a hero would exploit this conflict, provoking a Daoist master until he had no choice but to draw his sword.

—Amitabha Buddha, oh, the tragedy! Because of you, wretch, I must break my vow of non-violence this day and stain my hands with blood!

It was a line that appeared in almost every Wuxia novel, and he had always loved it.

To struggle with these questions is to be human, and it is because there are no easy answers that these stories are so compelling.

He had always been fond of the character of Phantom Archer, a man who, despite having learned a Buddhist art, was ultimately fated to become a villain. He loved his anguish. He loved his rage. He loved the bitter, clinging end of his ill-fated relationships. He even loved his miserable end.

You put on a good show, old man. You were well worth the price of the book.

The wind slowly began to subside. Jin Cheon-hee felt his Five-Elemental Cultivation Art break through to the third stage. He had already tempered his Water, Metal, and Wood Qi through healing the tree and the girl. But Earth Qi and Fire Qi had proven more difficult. As for Wind Qi, it was an energy he should not have been able to handle until the third stage of his art. The five elements were Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. Wind was not among them. It was a secondary element, created by combining Fire, Wood, and Water Qi according to a specific incantation. It should have been impossible for him to accumulate it yet.

‘So this is what they call a low-level getting a bus ride from a high-level’s power-up.’

Jin Cheon-hee gathered his energy.

Thanks for the ride, old man.

His master would be shocked if he saw this. And then, he would be as happy as if he had been given the entire world. With that thought, Jin Cheon-hee slowly opened his eyes.

Phantom Archer’s body, which had been floating in the air, gently descended to the ground. His hair, which had been weathered to a stark white, shone with its original color. That was not all. The aged skin of his face had regained its elasticity.

Uncle Phantom Archer… he’s gotten younger.

He had always been what one might call a handsome middle-aged man, but after his enlightenment, he possessed the vibrant energy of his late twenties blended with the mature grace of his early thirties.

His Innate True Qi is replenished, and even his True Origin Qi has returned. This is beyond anything I could have imagined. What a weed villain he is!

Not only was his energy fully restored, but he had ascended to a realm far beyond his original peak. Even after landing, he remained with his eyes closed, organizing the insights he had gained. After a moment, he slowly opened them. His gaze was deep and profound.

Jin Cheon-hee performed a fist-and-palm salute. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks to you, Young Hero, this humble man has reached the Transformation Realm.”

The Transformation Realm!

Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened. It was a realm all martial artists desperately yearned for, yet it was said that fewer than thirty people in the entire Central Plains had ever reached it.

He’s already at the Transformation Realm? I would have been grateful if he’d just healed the damage to his Innate Qi…!

In that moment, Phantom Archer dropped to one knee before Jin Cheon-hee.

“In my most difficult moment, I remember that you were the only one who extended a hand to me, Young Hero. I was already indebted to you for my daughter’s life, a grace I can hardly repay, and now I have reached a realm I have sought my entire life. I know there is nothing I can do to ever repay this grace.”

Jin Cheon-hee swallowed hard.

Here it comes!

A thrill ran down his fingertips. It was the feeling a fisherman gets as he prepares for the final tug on the line. There was only one thing to say at a time like this. But his opponent was Phantom Archer, a man who had seen all the treachery the Gangho had to offer. He couldn’t afford to be careless.

Humility? No. The right reaction in this situation is…

Jin Cheon-hee rushed forward and grabbed Phantom Archer’s arm. “Mister, please get up! I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

Confusion.

“My benefactor,” Phantom Archer said, his form of address shifting. “If there is anything you desire, please tell me. I will spend my entire life repaying you if I must.”

From ‘Young Hero’ to ‘Benefactor.’ For a man like Phantom Archer, this was a monumental change.

Jin Cheon-hee shook his head. “The Medical Pavilion has already received payment through my master. I just wanted to see your dynamic meditation…”

“No. Benefactor, I implore you, tell me what you wish for.”

“Even if you say that, I…” Jin Cheon-hee’s shoulders began to tremble. It was the perfect picture of a flustered child. The sight made Phantom Archer’s heart waver.

He saved my daughter with such a divine technique and guided me to the path of enlightenment, but he is still just a child. How foolish I have been.

In Jin Cheon-hee’s flustered state, he saw a reflection of his own daughter, Gak-yeon. His decision was swift and heavy.

“Though I am unworthy, I wish to spend my life by your side, serving you with loyalty and righteousness, to repay even a fraction of this debt. Will you permit me?”

A blush of pure innocence spread across Jin Cheon-hee’s face. “Uh, um… actually, I was going to suggest to my master that we offer you a job at the Medical Pavilion. If you work for the Pavilion, your martial arts problem will be solved, and since the work involves transporting herbs and medical dispatches, it would be safer than your previous life. Oh! And the pay is good, too.”

The job would also involve transporting patients tangled in the bloody grudges of the Gangho, but Jin Cheon-hee conveniently left that part out.

“Ah,” Phantom Archer said, a look of understanding on his face. “So that is why you wished to see my martial art.”

Jin Cheon-hee nodded. “Yes.”

The sight made Phantom Archer’s eyes tremble with emotion.

To think he was such a pure and deeply considerate person.

“I wish to serve you with all my heart,” Phantom Archer declared. “This is not simply to repay a debt. I am deeply moved by your benevolence and virtue.”

Jin Cheon-hee gave a shy, small smile. “If you put it that way… alright. I am still lacking, but I will be in your care.”

“My lord!”

“Hahaha, that’s a bit embarrassing, so please don’t say that.”

Jin Cheon-hee laughed with pure innocence, while thinking to himself:

Master, I’ve scouted Phantom Archer for the Pavilion after reforming him to the Transformation Realm. His daughter Wang Gak-yeon also came with all her minor meridians opened, so it’s a one-plus-one deal.

He suggested they head back together, a new thought occurring to him.

The Evil-Shattering Divine Bow is the perfect antidote to demonic arts. There’s a reason it has ‘shattering evil’ in its name.

There was a reason the Heavenly Demon had such a hard time with this old man. The very foundation of his art was the annihilation of that which was wicked.

In the coming war between the junior cult leaders of the Demonic Cult, our Medical Pavilion must be kept safe.

Soon, Little Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryoon would ascend to the rank of Junior Cult Leader, heralding the commencement of the Heavenly Demon’s Path of Blood—a brutal war of succession where candidates would resort to killing one another. How many sects of the Righteous and Unorthodox, how many medical pavilions, had been swept up in that tempestuous storm?

I will protect my people.

The preparations were proceeding smoothly.

***

After returning to the pavilion, Phantom Archer had a long, private meeting with his master. Jin Cheon-hee, meanwhile, returned to his room to circulate the Wind Qi he had just obtained, slowly making it his own. Normally, it would have taken him at least half a year to reach the third stage of the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art. To have jumped ahead so suddenly was bound to have side effects. He would have to be even more careful and diligent to fully assimilate the power. Recalling the incantations for Wind Qi he had learned in advance, he continued his meditation.

The Five-Elemental Cultivation Art really is good for the brain. In my old life, I would have forgotten an incantation after hearing it once, but now I can recall it as clearly as if I heard it yesterday. And I can even think about other things while circulating my Qi.

The legacy of the Zhuge Clan was terrifying. At the same time, he grew curious about the assailants who had managed to annihilate such a powerful clan.

The novel only said that he got his revenge.

His master, as great as he was, was a supporting character who disappeared early in the story due to his illness. He didn’t have the same page time as persistent antagonists like Phantom Archer or Gongsun Hyeon.

And Yoo Ho, a supporting character’s supporting character, had even less.

Life was a funny thing. In a novel, they were just side characters meant to make the protagonist shine, but in reality, each one was a person with their own life, their own story. Their page time was simply cut short depending on how much they interacted with the main character.

I remember my master once mentioned in passing that Yoo Ho’s body was unable to learn the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art.

He had said it during the meeting before the surgery.

Is he learning a different martial art?

A martial art that could manipulate human blood and bodily fluids. It was not something a practitioner of the Righteous Faction would use. Typically, such arts were demonic. And the interesting thing about demonic arts was that the more one practiced them, the more their mind became clouded, and the more their killing intent would surge. The Little Heavenly Demon, Yeo Ha-ryoon, had the power of his Star of Heavenly Slaughter amplify this effect, creating an even bloodier path to the throne. It was only after he became the Demonic Cult Leader that he was finally able to control his murderous urges completely.