The Return of the Sw Chapter 115 : Not an Easy Man. -04

Chapter 115: Not an Easy Man. -04

“Thank you? If anything, I almost feel sorry since it was a much lighter favor than I expected.”

“Then we’ll combine the rest later and settle it all at once.”

“You’re going to let it accumulate?”

Nan Hui-ju let out a soft snort of laughter.

It was because his way of calculating things was unusual.

Yet what was strange was that it did not feel unpleasant.

Contrary to expectations, Ban Hojin was thorough and clean when it came to calculations.

“I might forget about it in the meantime.”

“As if you ever would, oppa.”

“To be honest, I know it too. I actually have a pretty good memory.”

“Aren’t you curious about the Nine Heavens Gate? Everyone seems interested in the war between the Sichuan Tang Family Alliance and the Nine Heavens Gate.”

“Won’t they handle it just fine on their own?”

Ban Hojin spoke in a tone that showed not the slightest worry.

If it had been the Sichuan Tang Family when internal division had broken out, they would have struggled to deal with the Nine Heavens Gate, but now it was different.

The Poison King, though nearing the end, was still enjoying his prime, and the Poison Emperor was also alive and well.

It would be difficult to face the Nine Heavens Gate alone, but since they were allied with other sects, they would not be greatly outmatched in terms of strength.

“Do you trust the Sichuan Tang Family that much?”

“It’s not so much trust as the fact that they have deep foundations. Purely in terms of scale, they’re also the largest family among the Five Great Families.”

“They’re so closed-off, yet their size is strangely large. Even for blood relatives, it’s excessive.”

“They’re a place with deep history. And they cultivate special martial arts.”

“Be careful. I heard the Poison Phoenix is extremely on edge.”

Nan Hui-ju was someone who, if she set her mind to it, could know matters from a thousand or even ten thousand li away as clearly as if they were right before her eyes.

That was why she warned Ban Hojin.

He was at an age where he was heavily ruled by his lower body, so if he made a single mistake, he might find himself swept up in a skirt before he knew it.

“I’m not that easy of a man.”

“I know, but there’s nothing wrong with being careful, is there? In the worst case, she might make unreasonable demands, so I’m saying don’t leave any room for that.”

“I always conduct myself properly. Even now.”

“Do you really have to say it like that?”

Nan Hui-ju made a sulky expression, but Ban Hojin merely shrugged.

At that sight, she openly showed her displeasure and rose from her seat.

“Are you going to stay at the Guest Reception Hall?”

“I would have, usually, but if people from the main sect are going to come and go frequently, Dengfeng County seems better. I don’t want to arouse unnecessary suspicion.”

“Do as you please.”

“Once the verification is finished, I’ll send someone right away.”

“Mm. Ah, would you like some chrysanthemum tea?”

Feigning ignorance, Ban Hojin offered chrysanthemum tea, and Nan Hui-ju glared at him slightly without a word.

Then, as if snorting, she let out a huff and left the room.

“If you don’t want it, then forget it.”

Watching Nan Hui-ju’s figure grow distant, her expression and steps clearly showing her discomfort, Ban Hojin shrugged.

Even at a late hour when darkness had thickly settled all around, the light in Ban Hojin’s room remained on.

Gazing at the oil lamp that emitted a soft glow, Ban Hojin opened a smooth wooden box.

At once, the distinct fragrance of wild ginseng filled the room.

It was not an aged, yin-infused ginseng like a Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, but simply an ordinary wild ginseng. However, from what he had learned, it had been aged at least five hundred years.

“For a group like the Dark Moon Sect, shouldn’t they at least have something like Thousand-Year He Shou Wu or stalactite essence?”

Although spiritual medicines were rare, if one truly searched, they were not entirely nonexistent.

Even if obtaining them from nature was like plucking stars from the sky, prestigious families or great sects usually had at least one hidden away.

Even Shaolin, for instance, manufactured Great Restoration Pills and Lesser Restoration Pills every year, though their success rate was low.

Yet after looting the Dark Moon Sect, the only spiritual medicine that had appeared was the wild ginseng now in Ban Hojin’s hand.

“Or did he eat everything as soon as he got it?”

Ban Hojin tilted his head.

He was reminded of the Dark Moon Sect Leader, whose internal energy had been unusually abundant for an assassin.

Ordinary assassins devoted all their abilities solely to killing, so except for Special-Grade Assassins, most had rather average internal energy.

They were made only for a single lethal strike, so vast reserves of internal energy were unnecessary.

But the Dark Moon Sect Leader had been different.

Even if he had retired from active duty, his internal energy had been excessively abundant.

“He was closer to a martial artist than an assassin.”

As befitted someone who had once been a Special-Grade Assassin, the Dark Moon Sect Leader’s concealment technique had been exceptional.

It had not fallen far behind the Special-Grade Assassins Ban Hojin had faced before.

Yet recalling their brief exchange of blows, his style had been closer to that of a martial artist than that of an assassin.

Assassins, by nature, did not think about their next attack.

“Well, he did increase my wealth, at least. And it’s not like I desperately need spiritual medicine.”

Aside from the Baekdokhwan and the wild ginseng before him, there had been no other spiritual medicines or elixirs, but there had been plenty of wealth instead.

And no less valuable were the top-secret pieces of information that could be sold, so Ban Hojin’s current assets were considerable.

To the point that it was excessive for a single individual to possess.

But this was the rightful compensation for his labor and spoils of war.

Crunch, crunch.

If they had not provoked him in the first place, Ban Hojin would never have personally sought out the Dark Moon Sect.

Even if they were destined to become underlings of the Four Tyrants of the World later, it was not the case right now.

However, once he had accepted Geum Sangryong’s commission, he had gained justification and annihilated them without hesitation.

And now, he tossed one of those spoils into his mouth and chewed thoroughly.

“Ugh.”

As was typical of wild ginseng, the taste was bitter beyond measure and astringent.

There was not even a trace of sweetness—only bitterness filled his mouth, and the important thing was that with each chew, the intensity grew stronger.

Instead of softening, the ginseng only became more intensely bitter, yet Ban Hojin continued chewing without expression.

To fully absorb the energy contained within the ginseng, he had to chew it continuously, nearly grinding it down.

Gulp!

After chewing the ginseng without rest for nearly the time it took to eat a meal, Ban Hojin finally swallowed.

At the same time, a warm energy spread outward from his chest.

The ginseng that had reached his stomach had begun to digest slowly.

Along with it, the energy accumulated over five hundred years began to rampage violently.

‘Go ahead and rampage as much as you like.’

Though it was not a thousand-year-old ginseng, the one he had swallowed contained energy far more powerful than a mere hundred-year ginseng.

Yet Ban Hojin remained calm even as its energy began to run wild at will.

Rather, he left it alone so that it would rampage even more fiercely.

He was waiting for it to expend all the energy it contained.

‘It seems I have no fate with spiritual medicines in this life either.’

Feeling the ginseng’s energy spread fiercely throughout his body, Ban Hojin muttered inwardly.

Returning to the past was a miracle in itself, but even so, he had hoped that fortune might accompany it as well.

As the saying goes, human greed had no end, and so he found himself wanting something beyond even that.

At the thought, Ban Hojin let out a faint chuckle and awakened the internal energy that lay quietly resting in his dantian.

‘Now then, shall I begin the absorption?’

Just as with the Baekdokhwan his companions had taken, spiritual herbs and spiritual medicines also converted into different amounts of internal energy depending on who consumed them.

The amount of internal energy produced was clearly divided according to the capability of the one who ingested it.

That was why Ban Hojin was confident.

As much as his body had grown younger, his sense for handling true energy had also become sharper. In an instant, he subdued the wild ginseng’s fiercely resisting energy and began merging it with the energy he originally possessed.

Huuuuung!

The energy, which had stubbornly resisted until the very last moment, suddenly attempted to escape outside his body.

Perhaps judging further struggle meaningless, it chose instead to return to nature.

But even so, it was still within the palm of the Buddha’s hand.

Through his pores, the energy tried to seep out of his body, yet Ban Hojin absorbed every last bit of it.

‘Good.’

Sweeping it back in like gathering grain with a rake, leaving not a single speck behind, Ban Hojin drew all the fleeing energy back into his body and felt a pleasant sense of elation.

His internal energy had increased in an instant.

However, Ban Hojin did not simply feel satisfied at having increased his inner power.

He set the internal energy, which was layering within his dantian, into motion once more—piercing the minor meridians throughout his body that were still blocked, or widening and strengthening the meridian channels he originally used.

Huuuuung!

Ordinary martial artists focused only on opening their meridians and minor channels, but to advance to a higher realm—to ascend to a greater stage—it was not enough for the pathways to merely be open.

What determined victory or defeat was how quickly and in what quantity one could move true energy.

Thus, consistently maintaining one’s meridians was absolutely necessary.

It was a tedious and painful process, so it was not easy to do daily, but training had always been a repetition of the same acts.

‘With this, I’ve almost recovered.’

The part he had lacked the most upon returning to the past was precisely his internal energy.

As for realm, that was merely a matter of adaptation; recovering it posed no great problem.

But internal energy was different.

It was subject to the absolute influence of time. Despite his steady effort, the amount he gained had not been very great. Yet with this wild ginseng, Ban Hojin had filled a considerable portion of what he lacked.

‘At twenty-one, this is definitely fast.’

Having replenished his lacking internal energy to a degree, Ban Hojin judged that he had recovered to nearly nine-tenths of the realm he had possessed just before death.

Considering his rejuvenated body, there was a strong possibility that by around thirty, he would reach a higher realm than in the past.

Conversely, he might fail to surpass the realm he had attained just before dying.

That was why Ban Hojin did not grow complacent.

‘As I am now, it would be certain defeat.’

Though his rate of growth was incomparably faster than in his previous life, it still fell short of the realm he had achieved before his death.

Moreover, there were three more absolute masters on par with the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, so even if he wanted to grow arrogant, he could not.

He felt that only when he could face two Lords of the Northern Sea Ice Palace at once would he even be able to contemplate the two characters for arrogance.

Swoosh.

After absorbing all the internal energy, Ban Hojin rose to his feet.

He had consumed the spiritual herb; now it was time to confirm it with his own body.

He also needed to see how far he could go with his increased internal energy.

Sreung.

Just before sunset, the backyard had been bustling with numerous rising juniors, but now it was so quiet it bordered on silent.

Within the heavy, cold stillness, Ban Hojin slowly drew his sword.

Then, closing his eyes, he began to perform a sword dance beneath the moonlight.

Shiiik. Shiiik.

There were no set forms in Ban Hojin’s sword.

Not the Three Dharma Swords, but he swung his blade spontaneously, carrying his present emotions and sensations.

Yet astonishingly, there was not a single air-tearing sound.

Though he did not infuse it with inner energy, he was swinging the sword at considerable speed, and yet no air-rending resonance was heard.

Whiik!

At that moment, Ban Hojin threw the sword.

As it floated in the air, he naturally caught it with his left hand.

In that state, he continued the sword dance.

Yet there was not the slightest sense of incongruity.

‘Muscles, trajectory, the meridians of my left arm and left hand, and the minor channels throughout my body.’

A sword was not something one simply swung.

Every part—muscles, blood, bones, nerves—everything in the body moved in harmony at once.

Thus, even if one had learned the Left-Hand Sword, it was impossible to wield it skillfully right away.

For that reason, compared to when he performed the Three Dharma Swords with his right hand, Ban Hojin had felt awkward and uncomfortable, but he had thought that only natural.

Shiiik! Shik!

As if proving that point, unlike when he performed the sword dance with his right hand, the moment he transferred the sword to his left, air-rending resonance flowed out.

Unlike before, there was something unnatural about it.

‘Interesting.’

Though the sword dance felt awkward and unfamiliar, that was precisely why Ban Hojin found it interesting.

It was as if he were holding a sword for the first time.

At the sensation that was both familiar and strange, Ban Hojin smiled.

And as the trajectory of the Left-Hand Sword formed in his mind, he felt as though the space itself had expanded.

‘Rather than having grown larger, it would be more accurate to say that the space and trajectories I can use have increased.’