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 ca down from the Celestial Realm, nor were there any forces threatening Scarlet Lotus Hall.
Yet, this was rely 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 ti to step out. He was to store up strength and sharpen his blade for a greater storm.
The mbers of Scarlet Lotus Hall were the sa. Each, from their respective positions, strove desperately in preparation for the war to co.
"Again!"
Underground training hall of Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Gu Janghu's sharp roar echoed throughout.
In front of him, a hundred n 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 movent, 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 rcilessly, teaching them the dual wield swordsmanship honed in Killing Valley, silent movent 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)'.
anwhile, in the inner chambers of Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Lee Rin was imrsed in the study of dicine.
She devoted herself to mastering the Eternal dical 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 dicine: 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 dical training.
'The dical 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 thod of the Heaven Evading Way, the speed at which his internal energy gathered was trendous.
The accumulation was several tis 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 Fla Sword.
'Only by gaining this innate true ki can I endure the curse of the Wicked Fla 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 movents 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 sa spot on the tree post every ti.
Their precision was uncanny, as if asured.
Next—
CRASH!!!
The post was utterly obliterated, leaving no trace of its forr 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 extrely 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 nickna, 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 ti, 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 glead like a mirror.
'What an incredible martial art... Now I understand how Master was called one of the Ten Great Experts as a re 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 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 fra—
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 co 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 elents."
Jaseong's gaze turned icy.
"A narcotic is spreading in the Red Light District?"
"Those posing as custors 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 becos 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 elents are so intoxicated that they're useless—the entire Red Light District is paralyzed. Because of this, our Taiyuan branch's intelligence network has beco a complete ss."
At those words, Jaseong felt a strange sensation.
It was as if so external force was plotting to destroy the Red Light District, which was the foundation of the Hao Sect.
This intuition soon beca reality.
After the Taiyuan branch leader left, more branch leaders ca to Jaseong.
Hyang-I ca 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 sa 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 elents selling drugs on the streets! Please, I beg you!"
"In the Xi'an branch as well, healthy youths have beco 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 sa ti. Even in our own Guizhou Province, which belongs to Scarlet Lotus Hall, the drug is being discreetly distributed."
"... You an 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 na is Soul-Bewildering Powder—aning 'bewildering the soul'. The enemy is ticulous. At first, they discreetly addict the courtesans; after they crave it, they sell the drug at an exorbitant price."
"The rchants?"
"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 ca 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 glead 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 dical Sutra left by Master, you'd know—compounding the ingredients to create such a highly addictive effect requires masterful poison arts."
"......"
"This isn't sothing 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 ho.
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.
Soone was poisoning that very place with this filthy drug.
'... Looks like soone 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.
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