Return of the Blossoming Blade — Chapter 180

HOME SWEET HOME, HUH?

I CAN BARELY RECALL THE LAST TIME I HAD THE LEISURE TO WATCH THE CLOUDS FLOAT BY.

SUCH IS THE BEAUTY OF DELEGATION, I SUPPOSE.

LOOK LIVELY, YOU MAGGOTS!

HOW IS IT THAT A MEASLY MONTH WAS ENOUGH TO LEAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU SO UTTERLY USELESS?!

SHAME ON YOU!

I SEE IT AS PLAIN AS DAY! NO SOONER HAD WE DEPARTED THAN YOU TOOK IT UPON YOURSELVES TO SLACK OFF FROM TRAINING FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH!

AND YOU EXPECT ME TO TRUST YOU LOUSY IDLERS ON OUR MISSIONS AWAY?!

B-BROTHER...

OH, SO NOW I'M YOUR BROTHER, AM I?!

TELL ME, BAEKSANG, WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN MY ABSENCE?!

IS HE POSSESSED...?!

ENOUGH OUT OF YOU.

TO THE TOP OF WILD GOOSE PEAK YOU GO.

AND YOU OUGHT TO MAKE HASTE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU.

THE LAST HALF TO RETURN WILL BE SENT STRAIGHT BACK UP!

NOW RUN, YOU LAZY MAGGOTS!!!

HMM.

SINCE OUR SENIORS HAVE BEEN SENT ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE, SO TO SPEAK, YOU LOT WILL ASCEND LOTUS PEAK INSTEAD.

WHAT...?!

AND SEEING AS HOW THE HALF THAT ARRIVES LATE SHALL BE SENT BACK,

LET ME THINK, HMM...

AHA.

I SAY THE REST OF YOU, ASIDE FROM THE FIRST TEN TO RETURN, WILL REPEAT THE HIKE.

B-BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?!

BY OURS, YOU BUNCH OF SLACKERS! DO WE NEED TO TELL YOU TWICE?!

SAVE YOUR BREATH AND GET RUNNING!!!

WHAT IN THE PLUM BLOSSOMS GOTTEN INTO THEM?!

DON'T ASK ME, JUST RUN!

IT BEGGARS BELIEF THAT WE WERE AWAY FOR BUT A MONTH AND THIS IS WHAT WE COME HOME TO.

THOUGH I'M LOATH TO ADMIT IT, I SEE NOW WHAT CHEONGMYEONG MADE OF US WHEN HE FIRST CAME TO THE SECT.

I SEE IT TOO, SENIOR BROTHER, IF NOT QUITE ENOUGH TO SYMPATHIZE.

YOU'RE QUITE WELCOME. WHERE WOULD YOU BE WITHOUT ME, EH?

AFTER ALL THE BEATINGS FOR MORALE-- I MEAN, INTENSIVE TRAINING ON OUR WAY TO YUNNAN...

IT'S NO WONDER EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM HAS GROWN SEVERALFOLD IN TERMS OF THEIR PROWESS COMPARED TO BEFORE.

NOT ONLY HAVE THEY FULLY ABSORBED THE INNER QI OF THE PRIMORDIAL PANACEA PELLETS, BUT THEIR TECHNIQUES HAVE BECOME MORE REFINED THAN EVER.

ON TOP OF THAT, THE SERIES OF GREAT MASTERS WE ENCOUNTERED IN OUR TRAVELS IS ALL BUT CERTAIN TO HAVE RAISED THEIR STANDARDS FOR MARTIAL PROWESS.

WITH ANY LUCK, MY COMPANIONS WILL GO ON TO HOLD THE TRAINEES IN THEIR CHARGE TO THE SAME, UNCOMPROMISING STANDARD.

IN TIME... THIS IS HOW A SECT ATTAINS GREATNESS.

AS ONE MASTER BEGINS TO DEMAND MORE FROM HIS PEERS...

SO, TOO, WILL THEY FORCE THEIR JUNIORS TO LEARN FROM HIS EXAMPLE.

ONCE THIS PROCESS REPEATS ITSELF MANY TIMES OVER, IT CREATES A CASCADE IN WHICH THE ENTIRE SECT HOLDS EACH OTHER TO ACCOUNT TO GROW MORE POWERFUL IN UNISON.

AFTER A YEAR OR SO, IT WILL BE SECOND NATURE TO OUR SECT SIBLINGS TO TRAIN THEMSELVES INDEPENDENTLY OF OUR HARANGUING.

THIS IS HOW A LEGACY IS PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS...

...TO BUILD A SECT OF GREAT RENOWN.

TO SOW THE SEEDS OF POTENTIAL AND WATCH THEM SPROUT IS ALWAYS A JOYFUL ENDEAVOR.

EVENTUALLY, DISCIPLINE AND DIRECTION SHALL BE RESTORED TO MOUNT HUA, AND WITH THE BOON OF THE PRIMORDIAL PANACEA IN OUR HANDS, OUR ASCENT WILL BE SWIFT BEYOND ALL RECKONING.

NOW, TIME FOR A WELL-EARNED NAP--

CHEONGMYEEEEONG!!!

OR NOT.

CHEONGMYEONG! WHERE ARE YOU?!

YOUR BELOVED SECT NEEDS YOU ONCE MORE!!!

Episode 174

LOOK, CHEONGMYEONG!

WHAT ARE WE TO DO ABOUT THIS?

THE MEDICINE POT, SECT LEADER?

WHAT ABOUT IT?

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT ITS BASE!

THERE'S A CRACK IN IT.

WHAT SORT OF CRACKPOT WOULD VANDALIZE AN INANIMATE OBJECT?

FOR A START, IT WAS ME, AND I HAD NO INTENTION OF VANDALIZING IT, BUT TO INFUSE IT WITH MY INNER QI.

YOUR INNER QI? IN A POT?

WHAT WOULD BE THE POINT IN THAT, SECT LEADER? THIS IS A POT, NOT A SWORD.

UNLESS YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON A NEW STYLE THAT USES A POT AS A WEAPON, OF COURSE.

NOT QUITE, BUT THE POT DOES HAVE ITS USES FOR A SOMEWHAT PECULIAR STEP IN THE RECIPE FOR THE PRIMORDIAL PANACEA PELLET.

YOU SEE, CRAFTING THE PELLET REQUIRES THE MEDICINE POT TO BE HEATED TO A SUITABLE TEMPERATURE BY A MASTER OF THE INTERNAL ARTS WHO POSSESSES A VAST RESERVE OF INNER QI.

A POT HEATED BY THE INDUCTION OF A MASTER'S QI?

WHAT DOES THAT DO, EXACTLY?

THE EXACT MECHANISM IS A MYSTERY TO ME, EXCEPT TO VENTURE THAT THE INFUSION OF INNER QI CLEANSES THE POT OF IMPURE ENERGIES.

AGAIN, SOUNDS LIKE A CRACKPOT THEORY TO ME.

BUT I SUPPOSE THE IMMORTAL PHYSICIAN'S CRAFT WAS STRANGER THAN FICTION.

EVEN NOW, HIS SECRETS CONFOUND US ALL.

EXCEPT THIS HAPPENED?

INDEED, WE HAD LORD SECT LEADER HERE INFUSE THE MEDICINE POT WITH HIS QI, BUT THE POT SIMPLY COULD NOT WITHSTAND THE STRAIN.

THIS IS THE THIRD WE'VE BROKEN, IN FACT.

FORTUNATELY, WE WERE MERELY TESTING THE PROCESS IN ADVANCE,

OTHERWISE WE MIGHT HAVE WASTED AN ENTIRE BATCH OF PRECIOUS INGREDIENTS.

JUST TO SUMMARIZE...

CRAFTING THE PRIMORDIAL PANACEA PELLET NEEDS AN INFUSION OF INNER QI INTO THE MEDICINE POT, EXCEPT SIMPLE CAST-IRON POTS SUCH AS THESE CANNOT BEAR THE STRAIN, IS THAT IT?

QUITE SO.

THEN WHY NOT MAKE ONE USING THE SAME ALLOY WE USE TO FORGE OUR BLADES?

I NEVER SEE OUR SWORDS CRACKING FROM ANY AMOUNT OF QI.

THAT WOULD BE LIKE COMPARING APPLES TO ORANGES, I'M AFRAID.

A SWORD IS CUSTOMARILY FORGED AND HAMMERED INTO SHAPE, WHEREAS A POT OF THIS SIZE CANNOT BE CRAFTED THE SAME WAY.

ACCORDING TO OUR NEW TRAINEE SOSO, NOT EVEN THE TANG CLAN WOULD BE CAPABLE OF SUCH A THING.

IN MY ESTIMATION, A PURER, STRONGER KIND OF IRON MAY BE NEEDED, BUT SUCH FINE METALS ARE OFTEN EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT TO ACQUIRE IN VOLUME.

THEN WHY NOT PRODUCE THE PELLETS IN BATCHES USING A SMALLER POT INSTEAD?

THE THOUGHT DID CROSS MY MIND, UNTIL I REALIZED THAT THE IMMORTAL PHYSICIAN'S NOTES OUTLINED SPECIFIC MEASUREMENTS AND PROPORTIONS FOR A REASON.

REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF THE PELLETS REQUIRES AN ADJUSTMENT OF THE PROPORTIONS ALTOGETHER, WHICH I'M AFRAID IS BEYOND MY MEANS.

THEN WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS...

WE NOW NEED ENOUGH STEEL OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY THAT CAN WITHSTAND A VAST INFLUX OF INNER QI, TO CAST INTO A GIANT MEDICINE POT OF ALL THINGS?

IN SO MANY WORDS, YES.

ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER... IS THERE SIMPLY NO END TO THE AMOUNT OF FETCH QUESTS THIS SECT WILL SEND ME ON?

IS THIS SOME SORT OF DIVINE PUNISHMENT?

DON'T LOOK AT ME.

HAAA...

WHERE WOULD WE FIND SUCH A METAL...?

WAIT, IRON...?

THE KIND THAT COULD WITHSTAND AN INFUSION OF INNER QI...

ENOUGH TO CAST INTO A GIANT MEDICINE POT?

IT CERTAINLY RINGS A BELL...

WOULD THE MILLENNIUM STEEL SUFFICE?

IT MOST CERTAINLY WOULD! A FABLED METAL LIKE THAT WOULD BE PERFECT, IN FACT!

BUT IF IT WERE SO EASY TO GET HOLD OF SOME, WE WOULD NOT BE IN NEED OF YOUR HELP, CHEONGMYEONG.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU MIGHT KNOW SOME WAY OF OBTAINING SOME MILLENNIUM STEEL POSTHASTE?

HA...!

HEHEHE, HAHAHAHA!

HMM?

MILLENNIUM STEEL, EH? HAHA! HAHAHAHA!

F-FORGIVE ME, CHEONGMYEONG... I SUPPOSE IT WAS TOO MUCH TO ASK.

EVEN FOR A DISCIPLE OF YOUR RESOURCEFULNESS, I SUPPOSE A MYTHICAL METAL OF THAT KIND IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SOURCE IN QUANTITY--

ONE DAY.

PARDON?

WELL, ONE BUSINESS DAY. YOU'LL HAVE IT TOMORROW AT THE LATEST, LORD ELDER.

HAVE WHAT, PRAY?

THE MILLENNIUM STEEL, OF COURSE.

OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO BEAT IT INTO THE SHAPE OF A POT FIRST?

IT WAS AROUND HERE, IF MEMORY SERVES ME...

OR MAYBE NOT.

AHA!

CHEONG-MOLE STRIKES AGAIN.

ONCE MORE INTO THE SECRET VAULT OF MOUNT HUA.

THOUGH IT HAD SLIPPED MY MIND THROUGH THE MYRIAD HAPPENINGS...

IT WAS EARLY IN MY RETURN TO MOUNT HUA THAT I DISCOVERED A VAST REPOSITORY OF MILLENNIUM STEEL, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

SINCE THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO FORCE THE DOORS OPEN THIS TIME, I DARESAY NO ONE WILL NOTICE IF I SNEAK RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE VAULT AND SLICE OFF A PIECE FROM ITS BASE.

BLESS YOU, BROTHER SECT LEADER!

FIRST, YOU GUIDE ME TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM, AND NOW THE MILLENNIUM STEEL! AS YOUR BELOVED JUNIOR BROTHER, I GRACIOUSLY ACCEPT THIS GIFT!

BELOVED JUNIOR BROTHER? MORE LIKE GREEDY VAULT ROBBER!

I SUPPOSE THE VAULT WAS FASHIONED FROM MILLENNIUM STEEL FOR A REASON.

EVEN WITH A SWORD AURA, MY BLADE FAILED TO LEAVE THE LIGHTEST SCRAPE.

HAD I NOT ELEVATED MY INNER QI SEVERAL TIMES TO THIS DAY, I WOULD NOT DARE TO TRY AND CUT THROUGH THE VAULT NOW.

GOOD THING I HAVE COME LEAPS AND BOUNDS SINCE THEN.

SHAME MY BRAIN HASN'T GROWN IN THAT TIME...!

WHERE ELSE WAS THE SLAB SUPPOSED TO GO IF I CUT IT DIRECTLY ABOVE MY HEAD?!

I SHOULD HOPE THIS WILL BE BIG ENOUGH FOR A COOKING POT...

...ALTHOUGH, IT'S A LITTLE THIN, ISN'T IT?

I MEAN...

...THIS METAL LAYER WAS PROBABLY AS THICK AS WE COULD AFFORD. BUILDING A VAULT THIS VAST USING A FABLED METAL LIKE MILLENNIUM STEEL WOULD HAVE COST EVEN THE GREAT SHAOLIN TEMPLE AN ARM AND A LEG, LET ALONE AN INDEPENDENT SECT SUCH AS MOUNT HUA.

THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO SCOOP OUT A THICK, ROUND PLATE TO CARVE RIGHT INTO A MEDICINE POT BY SWORD, BUT NOW...

...THERE'S ONLY ONE THING FOR IT.

I'LL JUST BEAT YOU INTO SHAPE MYSELF!

TAKE THAT!

AND THAT!

EVERY SINGLE TIME!

DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE?!

WELL, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT...?

THIS IS GOING TO TAKE THE WHOLE D*** NIGHT AT THIS RATE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

LET'S SEE WHO BENDS OR BREAKS FIRST, YOU OR ME!!!

DESPITE AN ENTIRE NIGHT OF PONDERING VARIOUS MEANS TO SOURCE THE MILLENNIUM STEEL, WE ARE NO CLOSER TO FINDING A SUREFIRE WAY.

EVEN IF WE DO SUCCEED IN SECURING THE STEEL, HOW WOULD WE CAST IT INTO A POT?

YOUNG CHEONGMYEONG MAY BE A FIEND FOR FINDING PRECIOUS OBJECTS, TO BE SURE, BUT THE MILLENNIUM STEEL IS A MATERIAL OF FABLED RARITY...

INDEED, I OUGHT TO CALL OFF THE SEARCH.

NO DOUBT THE BOY TRIED HIS BEST TO MAKE GOOD ON HIS BOASTFUL CLAIMS...

I OUGHT TO OFFER HIM SOME WORDS OF COMFORT ON A WASTED ENDEAVOR.

A GIANT POT?!

A QI-INFUSED SWORD SHATTERED LIKE GLASS...

TH-THEN THIS HAS TO BE THE GENUINE ARTICLE...!

S-SECT LEADER!

LORD SECT LEADEEEER!!!