Chapter 136
Shortly after Jaseong returned to Ansun's headquarters.
A stillness, reminiscent of the calm before a storm, swept over the martial world.
No new Heaven's Mandate came down from the Celestial Realm, nor were there any forces threatening Scarlet Lotus Hall.
Yet, this was merely outward peace.
Beneath the surface of the martial world, the rift Jaseong had caused was spreading uncontrollably.
Zhongnan and the Murong Clan now called each other archenemies and exchanged blows, while the Murim Alliance was frantically trying to restore order amid the chaos.
Jaseong watched this turmoil as if viewing a fire across the river.
Now was not the time to step out. He was to store up strength and sharpen his blade for a greater storm.
The members of Scarlet Lotus Hall were the same. Each, from their respective positions, strove desperately in preparation for the war to come.
"Again!"
Underground training hall of Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Gu Janghu's sharp roar echoed throughout.
In front of him, a hundred men clad in black clothes stood in formation.
They were carefully selected for their martial talent from the Tianxia Association and Dark Path of Guangxi Province.
"With such sluggish movement, you'll lose your heads in an instant. Do you not care to live long?"
"We're sorry!"
The hundred assassins bowed their heads in unison.
Their entire bodies were covered in sweat and dirt.
Gu Janghu drilled them mercilessly, teaching them the dual wield swordsmanship honed in Killing Valley, silent movement using lightness skill, and even the handling of throwing weapons.
He poured all his assassin techniques into them, forging them into Scarlet Lotus Hall's ultimate force, 'Shadow Division (黑影隊)'.
Meanwhile, in the inner chambers of Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Lee Rin was immersed in the study of medicine.
She devoted herself to mastering the Eternal Medical Sutra, the legacy left by the Eternal Divine Physician.
"Hmm... Pressing this point relieves pain, and stimulating that one undoes paralysis...."
Lee Rin had only one reason for her focus on medicine: To never again lose a loved one before her eyes.
In truth, though she'd pretended to be calm, the Eternal Divine Physician's death left a deep wound in her.
Thus, alongside her martial arts, she committed herself to medical training.
'The medical arts left by Master... I will master every single one. So that no one will ever again die before my eyes.'
Jaseong too threw himself into making up for postponed training.
Each morning, as soon as he awoke, he cultivated the Heaven Evading Celestial Formula for three shijin straight.
Saaa—
Heaven and earth's energy surged into Jaseong's body.
True to its status as the highest-level cultivation method of the Heaven Evading Way, the speed at which his internal energy gathered was tremendous.
The accumulation was several times faster than the Heaven Evading Soul Transformation Formula he'd practiced before.
Thanks to this, Jaseong's lower dantian, which already held the internal energy of two 60-year cycles, grew even vaster and more solid.
That wasn't all.
The Heaven Evading Celestial Formula also built up innate true ki in his middle dantian.
Fwoosh!
Near his heart.
There, delicate pure-white energy began to bloom.
Innate True Ki (先天眞氣).
The source of life itself, and a force essential for wielding the Wicked Flame Sword.
'Only by gaining this innate true ki can I endure the curse of the Wicked Flame Sword. And... I might also minimize the side effects of the Celestial Gate Opening Art.'
Gathering innate true ki amidst the murky air of the world was as hard as finding a needle in a haystack, but Jaseong steadily persisted.
Once the cultivation was over, Jaseong began his martial practice.
He refined the movements of Heaven Evading Flash Sword and honed its ultimate move, the Heaven Evading Shadow Annihilation Sword.
And finally, he trained in the secret martial art of the Eternal Divine Physician: the Heavenly Physician's Needle Technique.
Click—
Jaseong stood at the center of the training yard. Thin silver needles were slotted between his fingers.
Saaa—
As he activated his Samadhi Eyes, the world slowed. He could see even tree rings on a post ten paces away with perfect clarity.
'Here I go.'
Shushushuk!!!!
Jaseong's hands moved so fast they blurred from sight. The silver needles sliced through the air.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The needles embedded into the exact same spot on the tree post every time.
Their precision was uncanny, as if measured.
Next—
CRASH!!!
The post was utterly obliterated, leaving no trace of its former shape.
It was thanks to the enhanced energy infused in the needles.
Although it looked simple, there were few in the Central Plains who could perform such a feat.
To hurl thin, light needles with enhanced energy required extremely precise internal power control.
Yet, Jaseong managed it after only a few attempts.
Thanks to his Samadhi Eyes, which could visually perceive true ki, ki control was remarkably easy.
Truly, he was worthy of his nickname, the Red Light Calamity.
'Now, if I push even more enhanced energy in... and extend it like this....'
Jaseong drew up his internal power again. This time, he wasn't just throwing needles.
It was the technique the Eternal Divine Physician had shown during battle with Zhong Yeob—
the secret move of the Heavenly Physician's Needle Technique, the Thousand Needle Sword(千鍼劍), which forged dozens of needles into a single blade using enhanced energy.
Shuaaaak!
After a few attempts, dozens of silver needles, gathered at Jaseong's fingertips, fused into one by a golden glow of enhanced energy—like a sword forged of light.
Jaseong gripped it and slashed at the boulder before him.
And then—
Slice! Crack!
Without any thunderous sound, the boulder was cleanly bisected.
The cut was so smooth it gleamed like a mirror.
'What an incredible martial art... Now I understand how Master was called one of the Ten Great Experts as a mere physician...'
Jaseong gazed down at the Thousand Needle Sword in his hand.
He couldn't handle it as freely yet as the Eternal Divine Physician, but its power was undeniable.
* * *
Even afterward, Jaseong continued to devote himself to the Heavenly Physician's Needle Technique.
The sharp sound of tearing air rang through the training yard behind Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
One day—
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Urgent footsteps shattered the yard's silence.
"Hall Lord, please forgive me for interrupting your training, but there is an urgent matter."
Jaseong halted and turned.
There stood a rugged-faced middle-aged man, breathing hard.
A broad scar across his face and a sturdy frame—
It was Hwang, leader of the Taiyuan branch in Shaanxi Province.
He had once ruled the back alleys of Taiyuan with his fists alone, but now, he bore deep confusion and resolve in his expression.
"What happened? For the Taiyuan branch leader himself to come here instead of sending a carrier pigeon..."
Jaseong asked calmly.
Hwang gulped and spoke.
"Hall Lord, a strange drug is spreading in the Red Light District of Taiyuan."
"A drug?"
"Yes. A powder known as Soul-Bewildering Powder. It's spreading like poisonous mushrooms among the courtesans and the dark elements."
Jaseong's gaze turned icy.
"A narcotic is spreading in the Red Light District?"
"Those posing as customers have been secretly slipping the drug into the courtesans' drinks. Once tasted, it is an addictive drug impossible to quit."
"......"
"If they don't take it, the victim feels pain as if their whole body is being torn apart, and eventually becomes a ruined husk. Their eyes glaze over, they drool, and all they crave is more of the drug, like a wild animal."
"......"
"The courtesans are collapsing, and the dark elements are so intoxicated that they're useless—the entire Red Light District is paralyzed. Because of this, our Taiyuan branch's intelligence network has become a complete mess."
At those words, Jaseong felt a strange sensation.
It was as if some external force was plotting to destroy the Red Light District, which was the foundation of the Hao Sect.
This intuition soon became reality.
After the Taiyuan branch leader left, more branch leaders came to Jaseong.
Hyang-I came rushing up and bowed deeply.
"Hall Lord, I have a report. The branch leaders of the lower branches urgently request an audience."
"Let them in."
With Jaseong's permission, Hyang-I cleared a path.
Rumble—
Following Hyang-I, the branch leaders from regions all over crowded into the chamber.
Luoyang, the capital, Xi'an... chiefs in charge of major strongholds of the Central Plains.
All had received support from Jaseong.
"We're sorry, hall lord! It's the same in our Luoyang branch. The streets are chaos because of that unidentified drug!"
"If you'd send a force to support the capital branch, we could arrest those mysterious dark elements selling drugs on the streets! Please, I beg you!"
"In the Xi'an branch as well, healthy youths have become ruined, crawling along the gutter overnight...!"
Across the entire Central Plains, a drug called Soul-Bewildering Powder was spreading synchronously in every Red Light District.
When all the branch leaders departed, Hyang-I spoke to Jaseong.
"It's strange for a drug to appear everywhere in the Central Plains at the same time. Even in our own Guizhou Province, which belongs to Scarlet Lotus Hall, the drug is being discreetly distributed."
"... You mean it's being spread even in our territory?"
"The situation isn't yet as bad as in other branches, but narcotics are like cockroaches—they spread so quickly they can't be ignored."
"What exactly is this drug?"
"Its name is Soul-Bewildering Powder—meaning 'bewildering the soul'. The enemy is meticulous. At first, they discreetly addict the courtesans; after they crave it, they sell the drug at an exorbitant price."
"The merchants?"
"Many, either out of curiosity or because they believed it would relieve their fatigue, fell into addiction themselves."
Jaseong's fingers tapped the table, tap, tap.
"The mastermind?"
"I'm sorry, we're still investigating."
"......"
"However, for it to spread throughout the Central Plains at once... It must be the work of a large organization."
At Hyang-I's words, Jaseong's eyes turned cold. Just then, the closed door burst open.
"Great Hero!"
It was Lee Rin.
Behind her, Gu Janghu came in with a limp courtesan slung over his back.
The courtesan's face was ashen, her lips flecked with foam. Her eyes were vacant, staring into nothing.
"We brought this courtesan who was found collapsed in the street. It seems she's under the influence of this Soul-Bewildering Powder everyone's talking about...."
Lee Rin seated the courtesan and checked her pulse, her expression grave.
Continuing the skills inherited from the Eternal Divine Physician, her eyes gleamed sharply.
"Upon examination, this... is no ordinary poison."
"What kind of poison?"
"It's not just a narcotic. It destroys the brain and twists the energy channels—a vicious, evil toxin is mixed in."
"......"
"Great Hero, having read the Eternal Medical Sutra left by Master, you'd know—compounding the ingredients to create such a highly addictive effect requires masterful poison arts."
"......"
"This isn't something made by just any back-alley physician or street thug. It's clear a professional poison sect or an organization of similar level is involved."
Jaseong's eyes grew frostier.
Red Light District.
That was his birthplace, his home.
Though people sneered at it as lowly and filthy, life there had its own fierce vitality and warmth, a sense of reliance among each other.
Above all, it was now the Hao Sect's and Scarlet Lotus Hall's headquarters—his to protect.
Someone was poisoning that very place with this filthy drug.
'... Looks like someone really does have a death wish.'
Cold fire flickered in Jaseong's eyes.
But even then, he did not yet know.
That this incident would be the prelude to a vast war.