Chapter 16. The Candidate to be Subjected to Gyo-ryeong

While it was admirable, he couldn’t help but frown.

He couldn’t help but think, ‘Why, of all things?’ His mouth felt like it would rot just from the smell of the Hexagonal Eel, and his head felt like it would explode. And now, a plant and an insect that were on par with the Hexagonal Eel.

But now that he knew of their immense efficacy, he couldn’t just let it go. He had no choice but to try as much as he could. If he could shorten the time it took to recover his level, what was a little stench? He was just worried about whether he could obtain the other two.

He immediately called for Yun.

Yun, who had run away, came in with a sullen face, as if he had been dragged to hell. Hugong handed him the skin of the Hexagonal Eel.

Yun was startled and stepped back.

“Brother, did I do something terribly wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why are you asking me to throw this away?”

The words, “Why don’t you call Songhwa,” trailed off faintly.

He thought that he couldn’t be doing this without some resentment. The Hexagonal Eel, having had its blood sucked out, was emitting a stench even worse than in the morning, and it was swirling around the Cheonhwa Library, and this place smelled the worst. But to ask him to throw away the skin, which was a lump of stench, was something that could only be done with a grudge.

“What are you talking about! Why would you throw away something so precious!”

“Pardon?”

“Dry this Hexagonal Eel skin carefully in the sun for four days and in the shade for seven days. After that, cut it into dozens of small pieces and store it in the treasury. It is recorded in ancient texts that there is no better special medicine than this when you have a cold or your energy is weak. It also has the effect of quickly boosting the energy of a martial artist when their energy is temporarily weakened. And if you consume it when you are poisoned, it neutralizes the poison, and if you crush the skin in water and apply it to a wound on your body, it will heal quickly and the scar will disappear without a trace. So how can it not be precious?”

“…Yes.”

All of this was contained in Beomhang’s memory. As expected of a guy who had researched and explored all sorts of things, his knowledge of even the Hexagonal Eel was overflowing.

Yun was on the verge of tears.

He felt that if it had that much efficacy, there were plenty of other alternatives, and he wondered if he really had to dry this.

As he watched him put the skin in a black sack and seal it with a sullen face, Hugong continued.

“And when you come out after stopping by the treasury, bring me five days’ worth of Bbyeokgokdan.”

“What will you use the Bbyeokgokdan for?”

“It is said in ancient texts that in order to maximize the effect of the Hexagonal Eel, one must limit food to a minimum and increase the medicinal effect until it is absorbed. I will not meet anyone for at least five days, so be aware of that.”

“Yes.”

He had just made that up.

Hugong just wanted to focus on circulating his energy so that the green blood of the Hexagonal Eel could settle well in his body.

After Yun left, he looked for Songhwa.

He also told Songhwa, who came in with her nose and mouth wrapped in layers of cloth, to refrain from visiting for five days, and added one more instruction.

“My body smells bad right now, so you tell my grandfather for me. And what did I ask you to get for me?”

“Yeongakcho and Dogyangchung.”

“Yes, if you tell my grandfather that, he will understand what it means. You may go now.”

The family head would also know the records of the ancient texts.

The moment he thought he heard Songhwa’s answer, Hugong’s hair fluttered. Songhwa had disappeared in a flash, creating a gust of wind.

“…”

Everyone was too fast.

***

On the fifth day, in his quarters.

Flash.

Hugong, who had been sitting in a cross-legged meditative posture, opened his eyes, and a divine light flashed from them.

‘I’ve reached the second level.’

It was worth enduring the stench. With the power of the Hexagonal Eel, he had achieved in one go what had taken him over four years in the past. Of course, it was also possible because it was a path he had already walked, and it was based on his martial enlightenment and sublime consciousness.

He focused his inner vision and looked at the wall in the distance. The detailed patterns embroidered on the wall expanded and were revealed in detail, and he could even see the shape of the dust nestled in the flaws in the wall.

His hearing had also improved, and the situation outside was as clear as if he were seeing it.

He could clearly hear a whispered conversation from a short distance away from the pavilion, and right now, Yun and Bumong were talking.

“Brother, I’m so hungry that my stomach is sticking to my back. Can’t I eat something?”

“Bumong, who told you not to eat?”

“That’s not it, but since you’re only eating Bbyeokgokdan because eldest brother is, how can I eat alone?”

“Then just bear with it a little longer. Today is the fifth day.”

‘Hehe, have you ever seen such foolish guys?’

Hugong was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. He was the one who had eaten the Hexagonal Eel, so why were the two of them, who hadn’t even consumed it, also enduring with only Bbyeokgokdan?

His newly acquired younger brothers in his later years had a strange and cute side to them the more he saw them.

After containing the divine light in his eyes, he found a mirror and looked at his whole body. The first thing he saw was his white clothes, which had been dyed black.

For five days, black water had flowed out from all the pores of his body, and his white clothes were dyed black each time. After achieving the union of essence, energy, and spirit through the transfer of memories, the toxins and waste products inherent in his blood vessels and internal organs were all being discharged, which was why the water was colored.

His physical condition had become impeccably clean. His body had become lighter, his mind had become clearer, and his skin had become more lustrous.

‘It’s strange.’

The figure reflected in the mirror was a young man in his twenties.

He was quite tall and had a handsome appearance.

He had thought it would always be unfamiliar, but now he was getting used to this appearance.

Of course, he wasn’t without complaints. He was still too thin.

Even though he had been eating well every day, because he had started as a skeleton, he still had a long way to go to become plump. Someone might be envious of how he had managed his body without any excess fat, but Hugong was quite displeased.

His hands also had no plumpness. They were just pretty, which he didn’t like.

How charming it is when your hands are thick when you extend your palm strength…

“Ahem.”

It would be nice if there was a subject to test it on. That thought suddenly came to his mind, but he quickly shook it off. It was obvious that everyone would be surprised and filled with questions. It didn’t really matter, but it was annoying to have to explain it one by one.

It wasn’t that there was no way to test it.

There was nothing better than ‘Gyo-ryeong’ to confirm his achievement.

He immediately recited the cultivation art of Gyo-ryeong and operated it.

‘Let’s try just the right arm first.’

– Crackle.

The sound of his joints cracking erupted, and his right arm twisted and shortened.

Crack, crackle.

His bones bent, and his skin folded and rolled up, and his arm length was reduced to about two-thirds of its original length. His pretty hand also shriveled up, and its shape was hideous, but it was as small as a child’s hand.

There was no pain.

The bone-shrinking art, Chukgolgong, was a measure of how much one could control their body. This was because it was only possible if not only the bones but also complex factors such as the blood vessels, meridians, and skin restoration were all taken into account.

Gyo-ryeong, a type of Chukgolgong, was useful for entering small rock crevices or narrow places, but he had never used it for that purpose before.

If it was narrow, you could just break it and widen it, so why would you squeeze your body in? In fact, the use of Gyo-ryeong was not to pass through anywhere.

Gyo-ryeong had a greater meaning when applied to others.

– Crackle, crack.

His right arm slowly returned to its original state with a loud cracking sound. The speed of its return was slow, which was appropriate for the second level.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how he’s doing.’

Perhaps because he had performed the bone-shrinking art, Hugong suddenly thought of a person and laughed.

A person who was innocent even though he was old.

The Bone-Breaking Monk of the Esoteric Sect.

In terms of strangeness, was there any place in this world like the Esoteric Sect?

It was about seven years ago.

At that time, the Bone-Breaking Monk said he was researching a new technique. When he asked what kind of technique it was, the answer was surprising. It was a type of illusionary art that allowed one to momentarily turn their body into smoke and escape through a small gap in a window frame or door.

– Alliance Leader, this is on a different level from things like Chukgolgong. It is comparable to the techniques of the immortals.

If he could do that, he would be able to escape no matter where he was trapped, and the Bone-Breaking Monk’s eyes sparkled with innocence.

When the Bone-Breaking Monk proudly asked, “What do you think, Alliance Leader?”, Hugong at that time could not hide his bewilderment.

When the Bone-Breaking Monk asked why he was puzzled, Hugong tilted his head and answered.

– Monk, do you have to be trapped? Can’t you just kill them all before you get trapped?

The Bone-Breaking Monk stared blankly, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he just closed his mouth and soon became gloomy. Even though he had told him an easy way, the Bone-Breaking Monk was probably still researching it now. The countless monks of the Esoteric Sect also pursued a similar direction as the Bone-Breaking Monk.

***

Two days after that.

The head of the Cheonhwa Library’s guard summoned Songhwa.

He was Byeokryeoksu (Thunderbolt Hand) Cheon Gyuin, and he had been with the chief steward.

Songhwa came forward and bowed politely.

“Captain, did you call for me?”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all.”

“I called you because there is something that has been worrying me recently. The Eldest Young Master is showing a different side from the past, but I am concerned that the change is so sudden.”

Songhwa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you still worried about the young master, Captain?”

“I want to believe that’s not the case, but now that everyone has let their guard down, it may be the most dangerous moment. In that respect, our guard team must never neglect our vigilance.”

“Yes.”

Hearing that, Songhwa suddenly became anxious, and her heart pounded.

She had been too relieved and had let her guard down recently. When he was meditating with only Bbyeokgokdan, she had only checked on him once or twice.

“I had let my guard down at some point. I will strengthen my vigilance and not be careless.”

Songhwa bowed and withdrew.

After confirming that Songhwa’s presence had disappeared, Byeokryeoksu’s eyes narrowed and took on a sinister light.

‘Hehe, I don’t know what’s real… but if the Eldest Young Master is faking all of this, then how big of a picture is he drawing?’

The physical training was nothing compared to what had happened recently. It was surprising that he had gone out as if nothing had happened, and after that, he had interacted with the children of reputable families in Anhui, and recently, he had even consumed the blood of the Hexagonal Eel.

At this time when the family head was happy and everyone was looking forward to it, what would be the shock and impact if the Eldest Young Master committed suicide?

‘It would be the ruin of the Cheonhwa Library.’

The conversation he had with the chief steward came to the mind of the guard captain, Cheon Gyoin.

– The Eldest Young Master’s viciousness is beyond words. Hehe, even if everyone in the world changes, the Eldest Young Master will not. And I am on the side of supporting the Eldest Young Master.

– Are you saying that even the current change is an act by the Eldest Young Master?

– Of course. The Eldest Young Master is that kind of person.

‘Perhaps it’s not an act. But does that matter?’

The day the chief steward arrives is coming soon.

I have to finish it before then.

A smile appeared on the lips of Byeokryeoksu Cheon Gyuin.