Chapter 241 : Jaseung, Enhances
Chapter 241: Jaseung, Enhances
Lee Jaseung, who had returned to the Murim Alliance, gathered his subordinates.
Mujin, Ma Young-gi, Mook Young, and Dan Woobin were all present.
A box was placed in front of each of them.
“What is this? Is one a promotion ticket while the other three are empty boxes?”
Lee Jaseung laughed at Mujin’s joking and spoke.
“Open them and test your luck.”
Mujin clapped his hands vigorously and spoke.
“I’ll pass on the promotion ticket! As the saying goes, if you rise early, you must descend early. I’ll take the beautiful woman acquisition ticket!”
The four of them opened the boxes at the same time.
And the four of them were surprised at the same time. Even Mook Young, who rarely expressed emotion, widened his eyes.
Mujin asked with a trembling voice.
“Is this perhaps Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng?”
“Yes, it's Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.”
Lee Jaseung quickly spoke while looking at Dan Woobin.
“I'm sorry, but Woobin’s is Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. In terms of effectiveness, Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng is just too inefficient.”
He was someone who had only learned the basics of movement techniques and self-defense after being sent a transmission. While taking Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng would be good, his body couldn't absorb all its efficacy. In fact, he couldn't even fully absorb the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
Dan Woobin, who couldn't have been unaware of that fact, spoke with great joy.
“This is already more than I deserve.”
Mujin asked half-jokingly and half-seriously.
“Just how much are you planning to work us that you're giving us all this?”
Truly, Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was a supreme elixir that one would be lucky to even see once in a lifetime.
“I intend to work you to death. Don't you know my personality well?”
“I know, I know very well.”
However, the eyes of Mujin, Ma Young-gi, and Mook Young were all trembling. No matter how selfless a person might be, a person of Jianghu who practiced martial arts could not maintain serenity and a lack of desire in front of Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
“Take them right now.”
As soon as Lee Jaseung’s command fell, the four did not hesitate.
Each took their Snow Ginseng and sat down.
The feeling of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng melting in their mouths was something every person of Jianghu dreamed of feeling at least once in their life. It was a feeling where it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say one could die happy right then.
With pounding and ecstatic hearts, the four began their meditative breathing.
Thus, three of them absorbed the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, while Dan Woobin absorbed the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. That process took quite a long time.
Lee Jaseung watched over them until then.
They could fall into Qi deviation if they made a mistake during the process of absorbing the inner Qi. He was guarding them to ensure such a thing didn't happen.
Once the circulation stabilized to some degree, Lee Jaseung injected inner Qi into each person’s body one by one.
By providing a little help, he was trying to ensure the elixir was absorbed as much as possible.
Originally, the rate of absorbing elixirs differed according to innate talent and skill.
For example, if Lee Jaseung was a hundred, the three could absorb about seventy, and Dan Woobin could absorb about thirty.
However, because Lee Jaseung helped by injecting inner Qi, the three could absorb over ninety-five, and Dan Woobin could absorb over seventy-five of the elixir.
The four of them, having finished their meditation, had expressions as if they were walking on air.
One could tell their results just by looking at their faces.
Lee Jaseung asked with a smile.
“How much has it increased?”
Then the four took turns answering.
The first to answer was Mook Young.
“It's sixty years of inner Qi for me.”
Though he said sixty years, it was an amount of inner Qi that a martial artist would have to train for sixty years to obtain. Of course, for the same sixty years, inner Qi obtained through training was of higher quality and much more effective than inner Qi obtained through elixirs.
However, even inner Qi obtained through an elixir posed no hindrance to using martial arts. It literally exerted an effect equivalent to that amount.
Second, Ma Young-gi answered.
“It's eighty years of inner Qi for me.”
He originally had skill similar to Mook Young, but after his martial arts developed a stage further during the operation at the Baekseon Pavilion, the amount of inner Qi he could absorb had increased.
“Congratulations.”
Mook Young sincerely congratulated him. However, on one hand, he felt a bit bitter. It was because he felt like he was falling behind for some reason.
Naturally, the experience gained would be different between Ma Young-gi, who fought on the front lines, and himself, who hid to protect Baek Seolyoung.
‘I must train harder.’
Mook Young decided to overcome it through effort rather than jealousy.
This time, Dan Woobin answered.
“I've increased by thirty years.”
Considering it was Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and not Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, he had gained an enormous amount of inner Qi.
That was because the original amount of inner Qi Dan Woobin possessed wasn't very large. Compared to Dan Woobin, Ma Young-gi and Mook Young already possessed far more inner Qi, and the more inner Qi one had, the harder it became to increase it.
Of course, there was also the reason that he absorbed as much inner Qi as possible thanks to Lee Jaseung’s help.
The only person left was Mujin.
“I gained ninety years of inner Qi.”
Mujin also had a great realization this time. If Ma Young-gi’s was a physical realization connected to martial arts, Mujin’s was a mental realization.
That had allowed him to surpass Ma Young-gi’s results. Furthermore, Mujin’s martial arts skill was originally a step above Ma Young-gi’s or Mook Young’s.
Thus, all four of them gained an incredible opportunity. Having already increased their inner Qi once with the Taiyi's Divine Pill Lee Jaseung gave them previously, they saw even greater effects this time with the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
The four were young, but now they would never be pushed back in terms of inner Qi by any old masters of the Jianghu.
Lee Jaseung smiled and spoke to Dan Woobin.
“For Woobin, besides the inner Qi, your body will become healthy.”
“In the middle of winter, just not catching a cold would be enough, wouldn't it?”
“We survive only if you are healthy.”
At those words, a proud sense of pride bloomed on Dan Woobin’s face.
The moment Mujin was about to throw cold water on the mood, Dan Woobin quickly grabbed his lips tight. Of course, it was because Mujin allowed himself to be grabbed.
“Enough. Let's give a formal greeting.”
The four of them stood in a row and bowed formally.
“We sincerely thank you.”
“I'll be counting on you in the future as well.”
The four left the room with happy faces.
“Let's go drink!”
“Indeed, you must soak the new inner Qi in alcohol!”
“It's the process of finding our master’s identity.”
Ma Young-gi cut into the conversation between Mujin and Dan Woobin.
“Go with me.”
“Don't fall for the devil’s lure!”
At Dan Woobin’s stopping him, Mujin let out a sigh and spoke as if he had received that advice himself.
“Whew, there is indeed one devil with the surname Ma living around us.”
“Not you! Captain Ma!”
“Right, the Devil of Seduction!”
Lee Jaseung smiled as he heard their boisterous voices.
A huge amount of money had been invested, but he didn't regret it at all. He could spend much more money for them without hesitation.
Baek Seolyoung entered the room.
“You’re so cruel!”
She pouted with an expression as if she was sulking.
“Are you disappointed?”
“Of course I am.”
She spoke with a smile.
It was a joke she made expecting some banter, but Lee Jaseung took something out from his robe.
“They were selling this too.”
When he opened the wooden case, two pills were inside. The pills, from which an auspicious energy flowed, were emitting a refreshing fragrance.
“What is this?”
“Heavenly Yin Pill.”
It didn't reach the level of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, but it was famous as an elixir for women. If he helped with the absorption, she would likely be able to gain thirty years of inner Qi as well.
Considering she already possessed three hundred years of inner Qi from the Taiyi's Divine Pill, the Great Desert Divine Pill, and the Demon Restoration Pill, that amount was no ordinary feat.
Lee Jaseung smiled brightly and spoke.
“I have to take care of my wife after all.”
It was a sentence a hundred times better than the Heavenly Yin Pill.
That day, Baek Seolyoung also added thirty years of inner Qi.
* * *
The Murim Alliance declared the highest level of emergency to all its branches in the Central Plains and effectively entered war preparations.
With rumors circulating that the Demonic Cult would strike, this decision was only natural.
Of course, ordinary people of the Jianghu were thinking, ‘But surely, would a war actually happen?’
However, the situation was moving very urgently.
Martial artists were dispatched to inform the righteous sects in each region of the Central Plains of the situation.
The message was to be careful as a battle with the Demonic Cult might occur. It also included a request for support for the Murim Alliance if there were any available forces.
Many people of the righteous sects headed for the Murim Alliance. Some came sincerely for the Murim Alliance, while others came because they were forced, and some came for political reasons to show off to the outside world.
Of course, it wasn't limited to martial families. Murim Alliance martial artists were also dispatched to the important merchant groups of the Central Plains.
What was needed for war were martial artists, but just as important was money. If tens of thousands of martial artists gathered, the cost of feeding and housing them alone would reach an astronomical amount.
In addition, they had to operate horses and wagons, and support military supplies as well.
This was precisely why neither the Murim Alliance nor the Demonic Cult could easily start a war.
Astronomical war funds.
Lee Jaseung had already prepared an enormous amount of military funds, enough to conduct a war on his own.
Of course, he couldn't use those funds for the Murim Alliance. It was because he couldn't explain the source of that money.
When the Black Way Alliance moved in earnest, that money would be used.
When the emergency was declared in the Murim Alliance, an emergency was also declared in the Black Way Alliance.
The Black Way Alliance, which had been building its strength for a long time, possessed truly formidable martial power.
Thus, the situation was heading toward a point of immediate explosion.
* * *
Today, the inn was again noisy with talk of the war with the Demonic Cult.
“Rumors are widespread that the Demonic Cult will attack us first.”
“Those crazy Demonic Cult bastards! Don't we have to take refuge deep in the mountains?”
“Actually, some people I know have already left to take refuge.”
“The day the Demonic Cult happens to win the war, this Jianghu is finished.”
“Damn Demonic Cult bastards! We have to wipe them all out, from the Cult Leader to the gatekeeper!”
If they were to find out one fact, they would faint on the spot. If they were to find out the identity of the old man silently listening to their stories from a corner seat.
The old man was none other than Yao Hong.
Yao Hong was drinking alcohol here, from where the Murim Alliance buildings could be seen in the distance.
If someone pointed at Yao Hong and shouted, “The Demonic Cult Leader is here!”, everyone would burst into laughter. The current situation was that ridiculous.
At that moment, a voice sent a transmission.
— It seems it's not a rumor but a fact. The Murim Alliance is truly preparing to start a war.
— The Murim Alliance will move first?
— Wouldn't that be the natural choice? An alliance between the Murim Alliance and the Black Way Alliance is not something to take lightly. Especially after the mutual destruction of the young master Yeo and the Great Elder, the blow to our cult is significant.
— One must experience pain to grow.
Yao Hong’s reasons for killing the two were different.
The reason for the punishment of Yeo Su-in was ‘betrayal,’ and for the Great Demon, it was ‘incompetence.’
Both were things Yao Hong pathologically hated.
And there was an anger that wasn't even a quarter of those two combined.
The act of ignoring him.
‘How dare a mere Black Way Alliance riffraff try to strike me?’
Yao Hong’s rage was enormous.
— I also need a justification. To tear this arrogant bastard Lee Jaseung to pieces.
At those words, the owner of the voice was startled.
— Surely? Do you truly intend to fight them?
— Why not? They want to fight, and our cult’s face would be ruined if we stepped back.
Yao Hong’s next words were significant.
— Let's do exactly as the rumors say.
— And that means?
Yao Hong spoke as he set down his wine cup. He spoke the last words out loud like a monologue, not as a transmission.
“We strike the Murim Alliance first.”
Everyone was so absorbed in the talk of the Demonic Cult that no one paid attention to what the old man in the corner said. Even if someone had heard, or even if they had heard the transmission between the two from beginning to end, they would have just dismissed it as a conversation between madmen.
— It's impossible to make a preemptive strike because their surveillance network is spread in two and three layers.
No matter how secretly preparations were made, the movement to start a war could be detected in advance. It was the same for both sides.
Right now, only a scouting war while playing a game of wits was possible. In fact, the Murim Alliance, which started full-scale war preparations first, was in a position advantageous for a preemptive strike.
However, Yao Hong had a move prepared for just such a case.
“There is a way to make a preemptive strike without being caught by them.”
Yao Hong added as he emitted a cold gaze.
“Contact him... tell him I want to see him.”