The Jade Ghost of the Jegal Family - Chapter 5

“Who is it?”

In the past forty years since he entered the martial world, he hadn’t seen another archer besides himself. Archers were looked down upon in the martial world because of their association with bows. Warriors, who enhanced their bodies’ strength and speed through martial arts, often disregarded bows as tools for commoners.

“Are they people who haven’t even earned the Cloud of Honor?”

These were people who hadn’t even attained their first red cloud, which meant they were in a limbo without any affiliation with a martial group. On rare occasions, some of these people tried to use a bow through deceitful means. However, they couldn’t even hit one out of five shots accurately and eventually gave up on archery.

“They belittle the bow.”

Training a qualified swordsman takes five years in the Imperial Army, but training a skilled archer takes a full ten years. Archery is that challenging and arduous in martial studies, yet it was underestimated in the martial world.

“Whoever it is, they need a good lesson.”

As a former number one archer of the Imperial Army, he couldn’t tolerate those who looked down on archery. Seeing such people infuriated him, disrupting his calm demeanor each time. Hence, he wouldn’t let it go this time, either.

Jin Won-pyeong, wearing an assertive expression below his square jaw, began walking briskly towards the training ground that came into view.

*Thunk*—

The sound of a bowstring resonated again.

“What’s this?”

It was the first time since entering the martial world that Jin Won-pyeong heard such a proper bowstring sound.

“The skill is not from just one or two shots.”

Just as a seasoned swordsman can judge another’s prowess through the sound of swinging a sword, Jin Won-pyeong could assess an archer’s skill through the sound of a bowstring. The unknown archer’s level, assessed through the bowstring sound, was…

“The basics are astounding. Is he an elderly person who has shot bows for decades?”

With growing curiosity, Jin Won-pyeong lightly jumped onto the rooftop. He aimed to watch the mysterious archer shoot without interference.

*Twank!—

The clear sound of a bowstring resonated throughout the training ground again.

“That is…”

Jin Won-pyeong’s eyes turned towards Sobek.

“Who is it?”

It was not someone Jin Won-pyeong knew. After all, he, as the head of the household, only remembered names of those eligible to receive at least three clouds of honor in martial merit. He had no reason to know the names of those without clouds.

“Interesting.”

Watching Sobek expertly shoot each arrow with perfect posture, which could be called the epitome of the basics, Jin Won-pyeong let out an expression of admiration.

“What a perfect archer!”

Sobek stood at one end of the training ground, aiming at a wooden mannequin placed at the other end. Every arrow he fired penetrated the mannequin’s head, with dozens of arrows embedded in its head, making it look like a porcupine.

Even more fascinating was that despite firing about thirty arrows, Sobek’s posture remained unwavering.

“Is he refining the basics without learning any archery technique?”

Top-tier archers of the Imperial Court learned various archery techniques, such as shooting while running, shooting while rotating, and shooting backward while leaping into the air. In contrast, what Sobek demonstrated was only the basic static shooting. Nevertheless, those basics were so precise and excellent that they sent shivers down the spine.

“At least the skill of shooting thousands of arrows.”

Sobek, having used up all the arrows he had stuck in the ground, took a deep breath and let his hand holding the bow hang downwards. The serious attitude towards archery presented in that gesture brought a smile to Jin Won-pyeong’s lips.

“He’s quite the archer with fair looks and blue eyes… I should ask the head steward who he is.”

After placing the bow back where it belonged, the boy leisurely left the training ground. Jin Won-pyeong never took his eyes off the boy until he closed the door behind him.

—

“Whew. That was a good sleep.”

Early the following morning, Hyun-woo, stretching with a big yawn, got out of bed. Despite having exerted himself quite a bit the previous day, his body didn’t feel heavy or stiff. This was thanks to the inner power filled within Sobek’s body aiding his recovery and invigorating him.

“Indeed. Inner power is the best in martial arts.”

In truth, Jin Sobek didn’t have a particularly large amount of inner power. Yet, Hyun-woo felt his energy was overflowing.

“So, how much inner power do you actually have compared to the other fourth disciple candidates?”

“Well, I’m at the bottom among the five candidates. The other boys receive support from their backers, but I don’t get any support at all.”

Currently, Sobek had about ten years’ worth of inner power. In contrast, other disciple candidates had about twenty to thirty years’ worth of inner power, making Sobek’s inner power relatively modest in comparison.

“Then it seems I definitely need to increase your inner power first.”

In the world where life is frequently in peril like the Blood-Heated Battle, the stronger one is, the higher their chances of survival. Therefore, it was crucial to find a way to make his inner power better than others, or at least on par with others.

“Fortunately, I know many ways to achieve this.”

As someone who had watched Blood-Heated Battle multiple times, Hyun-woo had at least thirty methods in mind to increase his inner power through spiritual herbs or pills. One method was to secretly consume the Millennial He Shou Wu that the protagonist Dokgo Muguk would obtain later on.

However, it was impossible to execute any of these methods right away due to the many eyes watching him.

“I will seek out encounters with spiritual medicine sleeping across the martial world after I become the junior master.”

Deciding to delay the encounter with the spiritual medicine for a while, Hyun-woo arrived at the training ground and opened the firmly closed door. It was to assimilate the Heaven-Splitting Fist Technique through training today, just like yesterday.

*Creak*—

With the sound of the old hinges groaning, Hyun-woo stepped into the training ground. As it was early enough that even the rooster announcing the morning hadn’t risen, Hyun-woo was the only one in the training ground.

Feeling a small sense of relief from the absence of those who would look at him disapprovingly, Hyun-woo began his martial arts training, just like yesterday. Even in the chilly dawn air, Hyun-woo’s uniform was soon soaked with sweat as time passed on for four hours.

“Huff… Huff…”

Hyun-woo lay flat on the ground, exhaling heavy, exhausted breaths.

“Oh, I’m dead tired.”

Hyun-woo engaged in the training with such tenacity that the term “harsh” came to mind. It was so severe that it even concerned Sobek.

“No need to rush for my revenge. I can wait, so don’t push yourself too hard.”

“It’s not for that reason I’m pushing myself so hard.”

“Then why do you torment yourself to this extent? As if someone is chasing you.”

At those words, Hyun-woo swallowed dryly, unable to answer truthfully.

“I can’t tell him.”

About a year later, a terrible disaster would occur where half of the Black Path in Gangseo would die. There was no way to inform anyone about his foreknowledge of this catastrophe, where countless in the Black Path, including the Hwayeon School, would perish.

Hyun-woo just kept silent.

“I must become as strong as possible before that day arrives.”

There were exactly twelve months left until the blood massacre orchestrated by the Baekbaek Cult. Hyun-woo’s goal was to reach the supreme level of Enlightenment before then.

“There is a long way to go. I must become the junior master as quickly as possible, learn archery, and find a way to increase my inner power.”

As Hyun-woo, who had momentarily indulged in a brief sweet rest, got up, someone called out,

“Sobek!”

The boy, wearing a white robe with narrow eyes reminiscent of a sparrow, approached Hyun-woo. It was Ah-jong, the traitor he briefly met the previous night.

“That damned jerk…!”

Ignoring the noisy voice within his mind, Hyun-woo faced Ah-jong.

“Here he comes again, as expected.”

He had predicted that Ah-jong would return soon after leaving in such a manner last night.

“Since he left like that yesterday, today, he’ll probably make his intentions even clearer.”

When provocation fails, the opponent grows impatient. And an impatient opponent tends to make rash decisions. That was why Hyun-woo had endured Ah-jong’s accusations last night.

“Well, I didn’t exactly feel bad about it, so enduring it wasn’t a big deal.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Hyun-woo looked at Ah-jong, who had hidden behind an amiable smile, and asked,

“What’s up?”

“Sorry about yesterday. I was just in a bit of a bad mood and said things harshly.”

“It’s okay.”

“Training so early in the morning? You’re real diligent, you know.”

Ah-jong made a face as he looked at Hyun-woo, who was soaking wet from sweat due to training.

“What is it?”

“What is it… I just came to see my friend’s face.”

Hyun-woo cut him off coldly and looked detached, causing Ah-jong to tweak his cheeks slightly. Although it was only for a moment, Hyun-woo didn’t miss this.

“Since you’ve seen it, you can leave now.”

Hyun-woo intentionally treated Ah-jong coldly. He aimed to prevent the situation from unfolding as the other had planned, making him impatient and triggering hasty decisions.

“Every mistake comes from impatience.”

Sure enough, Hyun-woo’s strategy worked, and Ah-jong revealed his intentions much faster than expected.

“It’s just that… I’m so sorry that you lost your dantian because of me.”

Ah-jong pulled out a small box hidden within his clothes and thrust it toward Hyun-woo.

“What’s this?”

“This is something very precious. I worked hard to get it for you. Open it once.”

Looking at him skeptically, Hyun-woo cautiously opened the wooden box. Having anticipated possible poison, he held his breath and focused inner power on his rear foot. Though unlikely, if Ah-jong tried to poison him at the cost of his own life, Hyun-woo was prepared to back away swiftly to avoid it.

“Hmm?”

Fortunately, there was nothing related to poison inside the box. Instead, there was a spiritual root that even Hyun-woo was familiar with.

“It’s a Linggen (Spirit Root).”

Seeing the three-fingered length of a thick tree root in the box, Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.

“You recognize it but of course.”

Ah-jong scratched his nose and smiled sunnily without feeling even a shred of guilt.

“As you know, the Linggen doesn’t increase inner power but is excellent for physical recovery.”

Sticking his tongue out to wet the dry lips that had cracked due to spitting falsehoods, Ah-jong continued,

“I’m really sorry your dantian got damaged because of me… I really went out of my way to get this. The Linggen, with its amazing recovery effects, might even revive your dantian.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hyun-woo stared at Ah-jong with a piercing gaze.

The Linggen, a precious root from the sacred trees of the southern wilderness, was indeed excellent for physical recovery. In the world of Blood-Heated Battle, it could heal abdominal wounds and reattach severed fingers, saving many warriors thanks to the Linggen.

But,

“The Linggen carries a toxicity more severe than most poisonous plants.”

Consuming it raw would cause a horrific death, bleeding from all seven orifices. This fact would be revealed in an incident occurring five years later, known presently only to the Sichuan Poison Clan and the Five Venom Sect, experts in poisons.

“You really intend to kill me.”

Hyun-woo glared at Ah-jong with a sharp gaze. Thinking his deception had worked, Ah-jong grinned with a relaxed expression.

“How is it? Aren’t you grateful? But no need to thank me. It’s only natural for friends to help each other.”

Actions that were extremely contrary and awkward compared to yesterday. Nonetheless, Hyun-woo, feigning ignorance, nodded.

“Right, thank you.”

Hyun-woo sincerely thanked Ah-jong, not out of affectation but honestly.

“Though you plan to use this Linggen to kill me…”

Unfortunately, such an event would not occur.

Within Hyun-woo’s mind, having read the Blood-Heated Battle several times, was a method to detoxify Linggen and transform it into a nourishing medicine providing twenty years’ worth of inner power.

“With this Linggen, I will become even stronger.”

Raising one corner of his lips, Hyun-woo sported a sly smile.