Chapter 24 — Preparation for the Assembly
***
A full week had passed since I consumed the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus.
During that time, I remained inside this ice cave.
The Ice Blood Serpent’s inner core and the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus’s energy, which had not yet fully assimilated into my body, were still circulating through my meridians.
Until the energy completely settled, it was far safer to calmly regulate my inner energy here.
Moreover, there was no better place to train my martial arts without any disturbances.
Every single day, I devoted myself to relentless training inside the cave.
I stabilized the rapidly increased inner energy using the Kunlun Azure Soul Scripture, honed my movements with the Void Step, and swung my sword thousands of times daily in an all-out effort to comprehend the true essence of the Flowing Flower Sword.
However, training was not the only reason I stayed here.
There was another, more important purpose.
“Chomp… Damn, it’s not even chewy. It actually tastes pretty good.”
I muttered while taking a big bite of the roasted Ice Blood Serpent meat and chewing thoroughly.
Surprisingly, the meat wasn’t bad at all. When roasted, its flavor was quite similar to chicken.
“Burp. That hit the spot.”
After letting out a hearty burp, I turned my head to the side.
On one side lay the remains of the Ice Blood Serpent — now nothing but a pile of bare bones.
This was the result of eating it nonstop for an entire week.
Just to be clear, I don’t have a strange preference for eating reptiles.
There was a clear reason I devoured the Ice Blood Serpent’s meat like a madman.
Its effects.
The flesh of the Ice Blood Serpent was considered a spiritual herb of the highest grade.
Consuming it granted two special benefits.
The first was resistance to extreme cold.
Although it was a man-eating monster, the Ice Blood Serpent was also a spiritual creature that had grown by absorbing the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus’s extreme yin energy. Therefore, eating its meat granted a special constitution capable of enduring extreme cold.
The second was powerful detoxification.
While not complete immunity to all poisons, it gave the body the ability to neutralize most toxins the moment they were absorbed.
The path of revenge against Moyong Cheonhwi and the Orthodox Alliance would undoubtedly be incredibly harsh and difficult.
During that perilous journey, these two abilities would become absolutely necessary.
I closed my eyes for a moment and checked my body’s condition.
I could feel a clear, solid energy firmly settled within my dantian.
‘Huu… It has finally fully assimilated.’
I could clearly sense that the inner energy gained from the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus had now completely become mine.
At the same time, I realized something.
My inner energy, movement technique, and swordsmanship had all advanced to a higher level than before.
There was no longer any reason to remain in this ice cave.
It was time to move.
Besides, today was the long-awaited day of the Great Assembly of Elders.
“Alright. Since my preparations are complete, it’s time to head down the mountain.”
Before leaving the cave, I walked over to the spot where the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus had bloomed.
Small blades of grass with a faint blue glow were sprouting from the ice floor around it.
Ice Snow Herb.
A rare medicinal herb that only grew near the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus.
It didn’t have any special effects like increasing inner energy, but for my purposes, these were absolutely necessary.
I carefully harvested the herbs and tucked the leaves, which carried a gentle cold energy, securely into my robes.
Finally, I packed the remaining Ice Blood Serpent meat I hadn’t eaten yet — or more precisely, the tough hide-like portions that were too chewy to consume.
It wasn’t much, but if I sold it at an apothecary, I should be able to get a decent amount of money.
I left the cave and began descending along the ridge of the snow mountain.
After walking for some time, I spotted a group of people climbing up from below.
Five men wearing thick fur coats with quivers on their backs.
From their appearance, they seemed to be hunters who made their living catching mountain beasts nearby.
I was about to pass them without much interest when—
‘Hm? That person…?’
One of the men’s faces looked familiar.
I stopped my movement technique and approached them.
The men were startled and hurriedly stepped back.
Their eyes were filled with blatant fear as they looked at me.
They probably recognized I was a martial artist and were on guard.
“W-Who are you…! W-We’re just passing through!”
“If you want anything, we’ll give it all to you… Please, just spare our lives!”
Seeing them tremble and beg as if they had encountered a ghost, I could only feel dumbfounded.
‘What the hell? Why are they acting like this? Suddenly begging for their lives?’
Even if they ran into a martial artist on a remote mountain path, this level of terror seemed excessive.
I was momentarily confused, but soon realized the reason.
‘Ah… Right. My current appearance is pretty bad.’
For the past week, I had devoted myself entirely to training except for eating and sleeping. The concept of washing had completely vanished from my mind.
The blood I had been drenched in while killing the Ice Blood Serpent had dried and caked all over my body.
My entire figure looked like a blood-soaked demon that had crawled out of hell.
To them, I probably appeared as a deranged murderer or a bloodthirsty demon from the Heavenly Demon Cult.
I scratched the side of my head and spoke.
“Don’t misunderstand. I am a disciple of Kunlun. This blood isn’t human — it’s from a beast.”
The moment they heard “Kunlun,” the men’s wariness visibly eased.
One of them carefully spoke up.
“Ah… So you’re a Daoist from Kunlun. What kind of beast did you hunt to end up covered in so much blood…? Did you catch a bear or something?”
“It was bigger than a bear… Anyway, you all look like hunters. Am I right?”
“Yes, we’re hunters from the village down below.”
I quietly observed the face of the man who answered.
‘…Up close, it’s definitely him.’
He was the very hunter who had become a test subject in the Shadow Corps’ underground prison and met a miserable end.
The man who had discovered the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus with his comrades, lost them all, and spent the rest of his life lamenting that fact until his death.
And now he was standing right in front of me, alive and well.
In my memories, he had been the very image of despair.
A being who had lost all hope for the future and any will to live.
A powerless test subject who could only mourn his unfortunate fate every day.
But the man standing before me now was completely different.
He had the strong will of someone dreaming of a better future and stubbornly living day by day — eyes full of vitality.
I shifted my gaze to the men standing beside the hunter.
‘Those must be the comrades who died back then.’
Four men with honest faces, cautiously watching me.
If I hadn’t killed the Ice Blood Serpent, they would have all met a horrific end soon.
A strange feeling washed over me.
‘So… they’ve escaped their fated deaths.’
I sincerely hoped their new future would have a different ending from what I remembered.
“By the way… may I ask why you approached us, Daoist?”
When the hunter asked, I snapped out of my memories and returned to reality.
I looked back and forth between the hunter and his comrades.
After a brief hesitation, I took out the Ice Blood Serpent’s tough hide from my robes.
“Take this.”
“…What is this?”
“It’s the hide of an Ice Blood Serpent.”
The hunters’ eyes widened dramatically.
Having lived their entire lives as hunters, they knew the value of Ice Blood Serpent hide better than anyone.
“If you sell it to a suitable apothecary or weapons shop, you should get quite a bit of money.”
The hunter’s hands trembled as he accepted the hide.
“Why are you giving something so valuable to us…?”
He stared at me with a dazed expression.
I smiled at him and said.
“Just think of it as me repaying a debt from a previous life.”
“Huh?”
“And with the money you get from selling that hide, take a break for a while. At least for half a year, don’t come anywhere near Kunlun Mountain.”
“…?”
Seeing the hunter’s bewildered face, I inwardly prayed.
‘Please, in this life, don’t get kidnapped. Live an ordinary life.’
With those final words, I turned around.
I unfolded the Void Step and quickly descended the snow-covered mountain path.
The refreshing wind of the snow mountains brushed against my face, sweeping away the bitter memories of the past.
From now on, only moving forward toward the future remained.
‘It’s time to return to Kunlun.’
***
After arriving back at Kunlun, the first place I visited was the Affairs Hall.
The moment I opened the main gate and stepped inside, I saw Yi Sogwang and Wang Dusik standing there.
“Hey guys, I’m back!”
The two of them jumped in shock.
“M-Mujin?! What the hell?! Why are you covered in blood?!”
“What happened? Are you hurt somewhere?”
As they hurriedly ran over, they both immediately pinched their noses.
“Ugh! W-What is that smell?!”
“Cough… It smells worse than a latrine. Where the hell have you been?”
Seeing them step back, I raised my arm and sniffed myself.
…Yeah. It definitely has a strong wild scent.
‘Well, I did live like a beast for a week.’
I had been covered in the Ice Blood Serpent’s blood for seven days without washing, so the smell was inevitable.
Yi Sogwang pointed toward the bathhouse with a look of disgust.
“Mujin, just… go wash. Please.”
A short while later, I was finally able to soak my body in a tub of hot water.
“Kraaa… I feel alive again.”
After spending a week in an ice cave where even my bones felt frozen, soaking in warm water felt like heaven.
The tension deep inside my body melted away, along with all the accumulated fatigue.
After scrubbing off the layers of grime, I stepped out of the bathhouse to find Yi Sogwang waiting for me by the door.
He was holding a set of clothes over his arm.
“Sogwang, what’s that?”
“First Generation Elder Jin Gwang-ung stopped by last night.”
He handed me the clothes as he spoke.
“He left them for you to wear when you come to the Great Assembly of Elders.”
I unfolded the clothes.
It was the gray Daoist robe symbolizing a formal disciple of Kunlun.
Surprisingly, it fit my body perfectly.
‘When did he prepare something like this? He actually acts like a proper master sometimes.’
After adjusting my robes, I looked at myself in a nearby mirror.
The blood-covered savage from the wilderness was gone, replaced by a rather dignified Kunlun disciple.
Yi Sogwang’s eyes widened in admiration.
“Wow… You look amazing! Mujin, you really look like a proper Daoist now!”
“What Daoist? It’s just a set of clothes.”
I answered casually on the surface, but inside, I tightened my resolve as I fastened the waist belt.
‘Great Assembly of Elders… Today, I’m going to turn everything upside down.’
***
Kunlun was fundamentally a Daoist sect that emphasized the path of virtue.
It placed importance not only on martial arts but also on scholarly learning.
The [Literary Accomplishment Pavilion] was a place of learning where young Kunlun disciples were taught the wisdom of ancient sages.
Behind the pavilion was a space unknown to most people.
A secret training ground completely enclosed by dense bamboo forests, blocking all external view.
This was the venue where today’s Great Assembly of Elders would be held.
The area around the training ground was under strict lockdown today.
Warriors from the Heavenly Guard had been stationed to control all access.
Of course, as a proxy for the Great Assembly of Elders, I was an exception.
The moment I entered the training ground, the first thing I saw was the spectator seating.
Circular seats had been arranged along the bamboo walls.
About twenty people had already taken their seats.
They included Sect Leader Cheon Gwang-cheon, the First Generation Elders and their proxies, and what appeared to be members of the Orthodox Alliance envoy delegation.
Naturally, the Blood Physician Butcher, Baek Cheong-woo, was among them.
‘Haa… Just seeing that bastard’s face first thing in the morning makes me nauseous.’
Baek Cheong-woo was staring at me with a strange smile on his lips.
I could easily imagine what kind of perverted fantasies that murderer was having about me.
Just thinking about his filthy thoughts made me want to vomit.
‘You perverted fuck… Laugh all you want. I’ll rip that mouth of yours apart.’
As I was suppressing my boiling rage and calming my mind—
“Krahahaha! You’re here, you brat!”
A massive shadow blocked my path.
Broad shoulders like a mountain, tangled beard, and eyes full of madness.
My damn… no, my beloved master.
Kunlun’s Mad Bear, Jin Gwang-ung, had arrived.