Chapter 26

After making Nodaewoong lower his tail and stand still, Yushinyun focused all his attention back on Do Jin-woo. Inside Do Jin-woo's body, an enormous amount of 'death energy' was raging wildly, like a storm. The true nature of his illness was none other than Yoo Jin-sang's curse.

Yushinyun clicked his tongue and thought to himself, "No, how did this uncle manage to endure it all this time?"

It was almost superhuman endurance. Inside his body, the amount of death energy that he received every night was equivalent to a year's worth. This meant that he had been enduring this pain for over a year.

"Just a little later, and he really would have lost his life." The danger Yushinyun mentioned earlier about Do Jin-woo being in a life-threatening condition was not a lie. The death energy had already penetrated not only his meridians but even deep into his bone marrow. It was a state where death could come at any moment.

"Wasn't it not this bad before?" Yushinyun recalled the state he saw during the battle with Jinkbuheung. At that time, it was not yet at a level that required immediate treatment.

"Ah!" At that moment, Nodaewoong's words came to mind.

- "Listen, Il Gongzi! Be careful with your words! Do you know why Baek Gakju is like this?"

Only then did Yushinyun realize that Do Jin-woo's condition had worsened because he had forced himself to draw energy to protect him.

Who was protecting whom?

"Huh, whether it's Wang San or this uncle, why do they sacrifice themselves so needlessly for others?" A sudden wave of guilt surged in Yushinyun's heart. He began to work with renewed determination, his eyes shining.

"Just a little more, I'll clean it all out for you." So focused was he that sweat began to bead on Yushinyun's forehead. Although he absorbed the death energy that was spread every night, absorbing death energy from a living person was by no means an easy task.

"If I make a mistake, my meridians could be damaged to the point where I can never use martial arts again." It didn't matter to him, but death energy was like a deadly poison to martial artists. That was why he had delayed treating Do Jin-woo until his skill level in necromancy reached a certain point. However, the new experience from last night made it possible to treat him even without reaching that level.

"Right, it was definitely this feeling."

Swish.

Yushinyun was guiding his energy calmly, just as Yoo Il-lang had done for him. The new experience was when Yoo Il-lang had performed a meridian guidance for him. At first, it seemed like just a poke with a finger, but it wasn't. It involved injecting a stream of one's own energy into another person's body and using that energy as a guide to safely circulate the energy. That was meridian guidance.

Taking part of this realization, Yushinyun injected a part of Donghwa Seon-gi through the meridian in the shoulder where his palm touched. He then wrapped the death energy inside Do Jin-woo's body with Donghwa Seon-gi and safely absorbed it into his own body.

As time passed, Do Jin-woo's face rapidly regained its color. Nodaewoong, who was watching, could only blink in surprise.

"How could Il Gongzi do this?" Even when Do Jin-woo was spitting blood, Nodaewoong thought he was just doing some crazy stunt, but now he was just amazed. After all, even the White-handed Divine Doctor and the Thousand Toxin Guest couldn't cure this illness.

"Hmm, just a little more now." Time flew by, and Yushinyun was now finishing up.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Whoosh!

As most of the death energy was extracted, the inherent energy that had been compressed inside Do Jin-woo's body was suddenly released.

"…!"

Rumble! Rumble!

Even Nodaewoong, who was watching, could sense the tremendous vitality radiating from Do Jin-woo's entire body.

"At this level, I can say the debt is repaid." At that moment, Yushinyun realized that Do Jin-woo was experiencing what could be called a stroke of luck. Do Jin-woo used the mysterious energy that entered his body as a shield and immediately circulated his own energy through his meridians like a wave.

The energy surged through the Yuzhen, Tianling, and Meixin points, charging towards the Ren and Du meridians.

Whoosh!

Not only the death energy but also the impurities in the meridians were being burned away. A pure and profound energy was overflowing from Do Jin-woo's body.

"Goodness! This is…!"

Nodaewoong's eyes widened like saucers. This phenomenon occurred when a martial artist transcended a level.

"The Ren and Du meridians are being activated!"

And the activation of the Ren and Du meridians meant that Do Jin-woo had reached the 'Absolute Supreme' level.

"Hmm."

Finally, Yushinyun exhaled deeply and removed his hand from Do Jin-woo's shoulder. Do Jin-woo was now sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed, gathering the new energy he had obtained.

"Uh, how? No, what is this?"

Nodaewoong was so shocked that he couldn't even finish his sentence. He hoped Yushinyun would explain, but Yushinyun was too busy. Numerous system messages were floating in front of his eyes.

[You have met the conditions to obtain a hidden quest.]

[You have obtained the hidden quest 'The Path to a Living Doctor I'.]

[You have obtained the trait 'Medicine (D)'.]

[You have gained additional experience points for discovering a hidden quest.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

... (omitted) ...

[You have obtained a vast amount of negative mana.]

[Congratulations! The negative mana in your 'Negative Mana Heart' has reached the 4th Circle.]

'Great!'

Yushinyun was elated. Not only Do Jin-woo but he himself had also obtained a stroke of luck. The year's worth of negative mana that had accumulated in Do Jin-woo's body did not dissipate into the air but entered Yushinyun's body. He absorbed all of it without losing a single bit.

As a result, four rings were engraved on his heart. It was an incredible speed. How long had it been since he reached the 3rd Circle, and now he was already at the 4th Circle?

Moreover, he had obtained another hidden quest and a new trait called 'Medicine'. Although he hadn't analyzed it in detail, given the name, it was clearly a healing trait. To obtain a healing trait in addition to a close-combat trait was truly a valuable achievement.

In his previous life, healing hunters were far rarer than other combat hunters. They weren't called nobles for nothing.

"…Young Master Shinyun."

'Hmm?'

Just as he was absorbed in his thoughts, a low voice echoed in his ears. Do Jin-woo, who had opened his eyes, was staring at him intently. His eyes were filled with vitality and vigor.

Yushinyun smiled slightly and said, "Well, no need to worry now."

The two men's faces showed a look of bewilderment at Yushinyun's nonchalant behavior. But then, Do Jin-woo folded his hands in a bow and bowed deeply.

"I owe you a debt that I cannot repay in my entire life."

"Ahem! It's nothing, really."

Yushinyun, unaccustomed to such situations, scratched the back of his head.

"But I still don't understand what happened. Could you explain it to us?"

"Right. How did you realize that Do Gakju was poisoned? And how did you manage to cure it?"

The two men bombarded him with questions simultaneously. Looking at their intensely curious faces, Yushinyun felt like laughing but held it back and organized his thoughts.

'Now, this is important.'

He then spoke with a solemn expression.

"There was no way I couldn't know. I was also poisoned by the same poison."

"…What?"

"What, what do you mean?"

Yushinyun's shocking words left the two men speechless. He continued, following the script he had prepared in his mind.

"To be precise, it's not a poison. It's a curse placed by someone."

"…!"

"…!"

The two men's eyes widened as if an earthquake had struck. So that's why no medicine worked. Yushinyun's words about the curse seemed plausible.

But at that moment, a foreboding feeling crept into their hearts. The outline of the person who had cursed them kept appearing in their minds.

Nodaewoong, with a deeply troubled expression, asked, "Even if that's true, how did you find out, Il Gongzi?"

"I didn't find out. I heard it."

"…From whom?"

Yushinyun paused for a moment before speaking each word with emphasis.

"From. My. Father."

"…!"

The two men's faces showed shock.

Yoo Ho-yeol.

It was an unexpected figure.

Just then, Do Jin-woo, who had reached a certain conclusion, asked with a pale face, his voice trembling.

"…Surely not, Il Gongzi?"

He was asking if Yoo Ho-yeol had also died from the curse.

"That's right. My father also passed away from the same curse."

"…!"

"…Goodness!"

As Yushinyun finished speaking, they reacted as if the sky had fallen. It was a terrifying and unimaginable story.

After a moment of shock, uncontrollable anger rose in their eyes. Biting his lips until blood dripped, Do Jin-woo asked Yushinyun.

"Who is the culprit?"

"You must have guessed."

Yushinyun's words meant one thing.

Yoo Jin-sang.

Their foreboding had become reality.

"…Why didn't you tell anyone about this important fact?"

"Who could I trust?"

Yushinyun's words left the two men speechless. The Baeunpyo Agency had long been under Yoo Jin-sang's control. If they were in his situation, they wouldn't have told anyone either.

In the silence, Yushinyun spoke in a low voice.

"…My father realized it too late. By then, it was already too late to recover. He quickly identified the culprit but couldn't cause chaos in the agency, so he gave up. He used the remaining time to find a way to save me."

Yushinyun paused for a moment before continuing.

"That way was to find a legend passed down in the family…."

A legend?

Confusion clouded the two men's faces.

"…Miraculously, my father finally found it."

Swish!

Yushinyun stood up and drew his sword from his waist.

"The power to burn away all evil."

He drew a specific energy from his dantian and infused it into his sword.

At that moment,

Crack! Crack!

Blue lightning began to surge from his sword.

"Surely not!"

"That's…!"

The two men's shocked reactions echoed.

Only then did they realize what Yushinyun meant by the legend. An old verse, long forgotten by everyone, including them, came to mind.

- The dragon hidden in the white clouds of Zhejiang

A breath that shakes the heavens

A roar that sends lightning into the earth

"…It's called the Twelve Lightning Swords."

Do Jin-woo's final words echoed loudly in the room like an echo in the mountains.

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