Chapter 68 (2/2)

“You are making me more regretful. Really now… I envy that guy.”

Yeon Ha-rin did not answer. Honestly, she thought that it wasn’t Byeoktaesan that he really should be envious of but her, but she didn’t want to go that far.

Only useless talks would get prolonged by her saying that after all.

“Anyway, the reason I wanted to see you like this was because I wanted to write a letter of recommendation to the Yeon Household.”

“A letter of recommendation?”

Yeon Ha-rin’s eyes were round.

“I may look like this but I am the brother of the Homuryeonju. If it’s my recommendation, it won’t be too difficult to get a place in Homuryeon. Some of the seats are empty too.”

Baek Li Jang Cheon looked at the expression of Yeonharin and spoke.

“It won’t be a very high-ranking position, but I can bet you it will be a pretty important one. I wish to appoint a person from the Yeon Household for the job, what do you think?”

It was a very shocking proposal.

In fact, the Yeon Household was quite inferior to the other prestigious families.

They did sign up for Homuryeon, but getting a place for them in Homuryeon was a farfetched dream.

The seats were limited, and the number of families connected with the Homuryeon was huge.

However, Yeon Ha-rin did not accept his offer so readily. She pondered carefully.

“I am sorry but… that doesn’t seem to be a matter for me to judge. I think I should go back to the family and consult with the elders of the family first.”

Baek Li Jang Cheon smiled.

“Why are you making this so difficult? I’m just writing a letter of recommendation. Whether you use it or not is completely up to you.”

Baek Li Jang Cheon said that and pulled out an envelope from his chest pocket.

It was a recommendation letter he prepared in advance to use whenever something like this happened.

Yeon Ha-rin politely received it as it would be rude if she hesitated to this point.

“Thank you.”

Baek Li Jang Cheon smiled and nodded.

“It feels good to see a good prospect like you after a long time. I hope you will continue to devote yourself.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

The conversation between Baek Li Jang Cheon and Yeon Ha-rin ended like that.

Yeon Ha-rin quickly searched where Byeoktaesan was.

Her eyes moved much faster than usual when looking for Byeoktaesan. Soon, she found Byeoktaesan in a distance.

* * *

The atmosphere of the place where Byeoktaesan was located was quite serious.

Cheon Chu Shin Ui and Il Chim Gui were in the middle of scrutinizing the body of the Ma Seok Kwang.

Compared to when they first healed Ma Seok Kwang, they both continued with great care because they had to find something they couldn’t find earlier.

Soon the diagnosis was over.

Cheon Chu Shin Ui and Il Chim Gui talked about their findings and quietly shared their opinions for a while.

At the same time, they tried again, nodded, and discussed again.

That was done for 30 minutes.

Unlike usual, Byeoktaesan waited patiently without saying a word.

Then the atmosphere became heavier and heavier.

Ma Seok Kwang was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and was confused, so he could not say a word and only read the atmosphere.

When the discussion was over, Cheon Chu Shin Ui told Byeoktaesan.

“My lord, this guy is already a Kang-shi.”

“What?”

Ma Seok Kwang was surprised and shouted. To say he was a Kang-shi already, where was that nonsense coming from? He looked completely normal.

“It seems a little too late to revert the process. It might have been possible if he didn’t just stupidly burst his latent powers… … .”

“Do not be ridiculous! Me Kang-shi! You are saying I am a Kang-shi?”

“Be quiet.”

Byeoktaesan said in a calm voice.

Then, like it never happened, Ma Seok Kwang shut his mouth. He curled up to the fullest and looked at Byeoktaesan’s eyes. And he trembled like an aspen.

“Continue.”

Cheon Chu Shin Ui, who stopped talking because of the sudden situation, continued.

“The procedure that allows you to divide your latent power in half is to make a way to make them a half Kang-shi. It is to open up the energy through which the dead energy will pass.”

“And the reason why they blocked that pathway?”

“It seems to be because of the martial arts. It is difficult for the body with inner strength to accept energy given to them from the outside.”

“When they burst their latent powers, the energy inside will be drained away, thus giving the chance for the dead energy to fill the place. Is that what you are saying?”

“Presumably yes. But the exact thing can only be seen by watching the situation and checking more.”

Cheon Chu Shin Ui said that and looked at Ma Seok Kwang.

It was an irreversible situation anyway, so he wanted to use that guy to check the process of becoming a half Kang-shi.

“One thing is certain, this procedure is by no means simple.”

“It’s not simple?”

“A procedure that doesn’t outright kill them when they burst their latent powers wouldn’t be a simple procedure by any means, right? It probably cost a lot of money and effort.”

“It certainly would be.”

“And it will take a long time. It’s because they would need to give the dead energy sometime to settle down in the body.”

Byeoktaesan muttered as he stroked his chin.

“So did they all run away?”

Earlier, when Byeoktaesan appeared and defeated the half Kang-shi on the ship and absorbed their spiritual power, some of the people on the shore ran away.

Byeoktaesan also saw it, but at that time, he didn’t feel the need to pursue them. He thought he could go after them later anyway.

And in actuality, the Hao guild was tracking after them right now anyway.

“I suppose it’s something to look forward to.”

How would a half Kang-shi that has mastered martial arts be like?

Of course, the question here was not how strong the half Kang-shi was, but what kind of spiritual power they exude.

Obviously, they would be affected by inner strength, but how it will work was not yet well predicted.

“By the way, why didn’t you find it when you first fixed him? Is the person who performed the procedure better than you?”

Those words sparked the Cheon Chu Shin Ui.

“No, my lord. What sad words are you saying? We figured it out because it was us, but this was something almost impossible to figure out. Would we otherwise have a discussion about it for 30 minutes?”

And Il Chim Gui followed after his words.

“Surely, the guy who did this procedure is pretty good, but it’s too early to compare him with us. One thing is for sure, poison was used for this procedure.”

“Poison? Are there any signs of Dokma?”

“If it was the Dokma, he would not have left a trace.”

Il Chim Gui paused for a while and then spoke.

“It is a different poison from the poison used in the black iron room. The grain is completely different. And the way they used the poison was also different. It’s a different guy entirely.”

“Is it among the poisons I told you about?”

“There is something similar.”

In the past, he passed on all the poison recipes he obtained from Dokma to Cheon Chu Shin Ui and Il Chim Gui, and it seems that one of the recipes were similar.

Then that would mean the guy was another disciple of Dokma.

“That would mean that it wasn’t just one student that ran away and intervened in this.”

He got a little more interested.

And at that moment, one of the Hao guild members, who had been sent to pursue the escaped ones, returned.