“You’re not complaining these days~? You don’t ask about outside matters either.”

“I’ve just decided to be that way.”

Since that day, Jin Cheonhee had been quietly, solely focused on his own treatment. He paid no mind to external affairs; recovery was his priority. To Sama Hyeon, it was a rather strange change of heart.

Time passed like that, and the day to remove the casts arrived. Although it was from a half-baked one, it was still the poison qi of a Profound Realm master. Even though he had been detoxified, he was a little worried about what color his poison-stained limbs would be.

“Hah… It’s not like scales have sprouted, right?”

“It’s okay, brother~ Even if you have scales, it’s okay with me. I’ll just split the heads of anyone who talks shit, so don’t worry.”

The way this guy talks about splitting heads sounds half-serious, which is worrying.

“If it’s just turned black, I can just cover it with clothes. Hmm… it would make me look a bit like I’m from the Unorthodox Faction, though.”

“That’s fine, too.”

Zhuge Rin said, “Hmm, even I cannot guarantee this one. It was a rampage from qi deviation on top of a combination of the Five Poisons Sect’s poison and demonic arts… To be hit directly by that poison, it is a miracle that you are even alive.”

A Senior Physician next to him held out a cast cutter. It was different from a modern plaster saw; it was more akin to scissors.

“What need is there for such a thing?” his master said, then swung the fan he was holding once.

Tak!

He didn’t even see it graze him. Just a silver line gracefully drawing through the air was all. There was no killing intent, no harshness, just a single, serene move. In that instant, the plaster cast lightly crumbled, and the various medicinal herbs inside spilled out in all directions along with the plaster. The spilled herbs all gave off a noxious smell, and as they spilled, they were caught in a prepared bowl.

“The medicinal herbs have absorbed the ultimate poison.”

“If you bury that in the ground, no grass will grow for at least fifty years. If you burn it, the livestock in the vicinity will perish from the poison mist.”

“Then how is it used?”

“It is sold at a high price to sorcerers or Feng Shui masters. They use it to curse others or to deliberately bring misfortune upon a piece of land.”

“I… see.”

“The Bloodborne Elder Eccentric said she wanted it, so I decided to give it to her. I received her help via letter when treating you. When it comes to demonic arts, there are few who surpass the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric, after all.”

Jin Cheonhee nodded.

And so, all the casts on his four limbs were removed, and the poison-soaked medicinal herbs were piled high in the bowl. The brassware bowl could not withstand the poison qi and rusted in a short time.

“The escorts will have a hard time transporting this.”

After saying that, his master wiped all of Jin Cheonhee’s limbs with a towel soaked in a medicinal solution. This process was done by his master and Sama Hyeon. It was because if someone with low internal energy were to be accidentally poisoned, it would be a headache. Instead, the other Senior Physicians replaced the used towels with new ones. The towels that had wiped away the poison were also placed in the brassware bowl.

Chijijik—

“It’s astounding that there is still poison qi left. Now, go take a bath.”

Following his master’s command, Jin Cheonhee headed for the bath. It had been a long time since he had moved, so the muscles in his limbs creaked. Was the influence of the poison still remaining? A sensation of heat and coolness came and went at the same time.

As he soaked his body in the prepared medicinal bath, Sama Hyeon came in. “The Divine Doctor White Dragon said to watch you so you don’t collapse in the bath.”

“I’m more okay than you think.”

“Instead of saying you’re okay, try complaining that it’s hard for once. Why do you hate worrying the people around you so much, brother~?”

“What do you mean, hate it? I caused a whole lot of worry this time.”

At those words, Sama Hyeon let out a smirk. “Still, it’s thanks to a brother like that that I’m alive~ Well, I’d prefer if you were merciless to everyone but me, but that would be difficult, I guess.”

Saying that, Sama Hyeon watched until Jin Cheonhee had safely finished his bath.

After finishing his bath and roughly wrapping a towel around his lower body, he came out to find that his master had prepared a large mirror in advance. It was quite a luxurious mirror, and at a glance, it looked extremely expensive.

Jin Cheonhee could see all the skin on his arms and legs that had been covered by the cast through the mirror.

“Hmm, no scales have sprouted.”

“No discoloration either~”

“And my muscles haven’t even atrophied.”

On the outside, they were the arms and legs of an ordinary man with firm muscles. On the contrary, they had a white sheen to them, to the point where the phrase “beauty under the moon”¹ came to mind.

As a test, Jin Cheonhee circulated his internal energy. In that moment.

Pasasak—

Just by circulating his internal energy, a cold chill spread to his fingertips and created a snowflake.

“What is this…”

A clear ice crystal had formed. But it wasn’t just ice. A jet-black snowflake. He could change it to white snow if he wished, but if he didn’t concentrate, poison seeped out into his ice art.

‘Did my Five Elements Mutual Conquest devour the poison of the Five Poisons Sect and the Demonic Cult and make it its own?’

The jewel inside his body must have resonated while he was unconscious. While he had been submerged in his unconsciousness, the jewel had circulated his internal energy, allowing the Five Elements Mutual Conquest to be maintained more smoothly. The result. Jin Cheonhee had made the poison art his enemy had used his own.

“Uh…?” Suddenly, he felt as if it might be possible. It was the call of instinct. He brought the poison qi that came from his finger to his mouth and swallowed it, as if licking it.

Gulp—

Everyone stared at Jin Cheonhee with surprised eyes. “Minor Pavilion Master, are you okay?”

“Yes. It has no effect on me.”

His master said, dumbfounded, “You must be somewhere between complete immunity to ten thousand poisons and immunity to a thousand poisons.”

Zhuge Rin stared at Jin Cheonhee like that for a while, then snatched his wrist. “…!”

“The arm that was struck by the hidden weapon while you were pushing yourself still seems to be in pain.”

How did he know? He had thought he had hidden it quite skillfully, but his master seemed to have noticed that his disciple’s movements were different from usual.

‘No, before that, I was lying down with all four limbs bound, so of course it’s awkward.’

He had just started moving after lying down for a long time. Naturally, all his limb movements were bound to be awkward. The fact that he could accurately pinpoint one arm out of that and find something wrong was even more terrifying.

‘I still don’t dare to try and deceive my master.’

His master had him sit down and performed a pulse diagnosis for a long time. Then, he said this: “If we look only at the functional aspect, it is incomparable to before. Not only is there no blockage in your blood points, allowing your internal energy to communicate smoothly, but your external fortitude has also greatly improved, and your resistance to poison arts and ice arts is outstanding. However, I cannot guarantee whether the pain will recover.”

“I see.”

“Some might rejoice that their accomplishments as a martial artist have risen, but as a master, I am worried.”

“I suppose I’ll have to practice life-nurturing arts for a while.”

“It’s the hand you don’t use as often, so should I say that’s a relief? Or should I say you reap what you sow, since it’s the part you consistently get shattered, from the Wudang Sect to the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering?” His master clicked his tongue, displeased.

Jin Cheonhee thought, ‘It’ll be good when I need to land a big one. Should I save it as a finisher?’

If the life-nurturing arts worked, he wouldn’t need to think about such variables, so if that was the case, it was good. In the end, he had become stronger. And that was a very important thing for survival.

With his uninjured hand, Jin Cheonhee began to circulate his internal energy once more.

‘I’ll have to see what kind of synergy it has with the other true qi of the Five-Elemental Divine Technique.’

Jin Cheonhee calmly focused his internal energy. Since it wasn’t the arm with the pain, he could gain insight into its enhanced state as it was. For a martial artist, inspecting oneself is an important task.

While he was lost in a state of no-self and concentrating, his master had all the other physicians leave. He wanted to have Sama Hyeon leave as well, but…

‘The possibility is low, but if the poison art were to run rampant while he’s circulating his energy, someone will have to become a shield.’

No matter how low the probability, one could not simply stand by and watch. The master, with a nonchalant expression, decided to use Sama Hyeon as a meat shield if that time came. That was why he tolerated his disciple’s sworn brothers to some extent. Yeo Ha-ryoon, due to his Heavenly Killing Star, couldn’t even have that barrier of human affection, which made him less useful and more of a bother.

In any case.

Jin Cheonhee fell into a state of no-self and focused the Five-Elemental Divine Technique in his right arm. Lightning qi, ice qi, water qi, wood qi, metal qi, and earth qi moved in succession along the handsome young man’s arm. With each one, lightning would coil around his arm, then frost would form, then water droplets would gather and float up, repeating the cycle.

“Fast.” Sama Hyeon exclaimed without realizing it. “The Five-Elemental Divine Technique can be circulated that quickly~?”

He muttered to himself while observing his brother’s state. The Five-Elemental Divine Technique was, in the end, based on using the true qi of five different attributes, combining them in the dantian to create or transform them into different attributes. Jin Cheonhee often compared it to cooking, but Sama Hyeon understood that it was not as easy as it sounded. Even within the same Transformation Realm, it wasn’t just that one’s power became stronger or their internal energy purer, but it branched out and grew in various ways. In Jin Cheonhee’s case, his application ability had been maximized.

‘It’s probably because of his medical arts~ In the end, for my brother, martial arts are nothing more or less than a way to save people.’

He didn’t know if this should even be counted as ‘martial arts’ (武), but since his brother was the first to cross over into the Transformation Realm, that path must not be the wrong one.

Jin Cheonhee’s accomplishments did not end there.

Fwoosh—

The fire qi of extreme yang gathered at his fingertips. The flame, which had grown large like a forest fire, was finally compressed, creating an Aura Sphere[1] like the sun.

“An Aura Sphere…?”

Jin Cheonhee slowly opened his eyes. “It’s not an Aura Sphere… it’s something similar.”

[By any chance… the Zhuge Clan’s martial arts aren’t the true ‘treading on snow without a trace’ realm, but an imitation… treading on snow, and not the Samadhi True Fire realm, but an imitation… Samadhi True Fire…]

Sama Hyeon, glancing at Zhuge Rin, quickly sent the telepathic message. His veteran skill in satisfying his curiosity while maintaining his social grace was admirable.

Jin Cheonhee said,

[Uh… that’s right. When I learned Generative Fire Qi… it wasn’t Samadhi True Fire, but… a similar… Samadhi True Fire. So this, too, strictly speaking, isn’t an Aura Sphere… but still… it can look like an Aura Sphere.]

Sama Hyeon nodded.

[I’m jealous, brother. I wish I could scatter around some imitation Aura Spheres and go around bluffing that I’m on the level of the Three Venerables~]

…Ah… Founding Ancestor Zhuge Liang.

***

After analyzing it, the ice qi would be his most prominent specialty, but the next easiest qi to circulate was fire qi. In the end, he had become able to use extreme yang and extreme yin without any blockage in his blood points. And the ultimate poison was a bonus.

[You’re not using your left arm?]

[It still hurts. If I use it recklessly, my master will knock me on the back of the head and drag me back to the Pavilion.]

As much as he had grown stronger, it had become a double-edged sword. As a test, he threw the imitation Aura Sphere.

Kwagagagwang–!

A giant crater formed in its place. Seeing it, his brother shouted… ‘Hiiik! TNT!’, and though he didn’t know what it meant, Sama Hyeon intuitively remembered that he used it as a metaphor for a loud, strong explosion.

“Shouldn’t you be resolving the Golden Blood Chamber’s matter soon?”

At the Divine Doctor White Dragon’s command to get lost, Sama Hyeon obediently nodded. “I will go and put in a few more letters~!”

In any case, he was his brother’s master. He himself had quite a personality, but the Divine Doctor White Dragon’s personality was on a level that would make you feel sorry for whatever you compared it to. In Sama Hyeon’s eyes, that man, in the end, was a human who had no joy in life without his brother. To set up an angle against such a person, he would be the one to lose. The profitability didn’t add up.

And so, Sama Hyeon went outside to wrap up the work here.