MDR 05

Chapter – 05

It hurts.

It really, really hurts.

My internal organs ache in a way I can barely comprehend—how I managed to endure this until now, I have no idea.

They say pain becomes something you get used to, but the older you get, the more it seems to hurt.

“Maybe this is my body’s warning to heal faster.”

Even though, at just eleven years old, I had trained my body to climb sheer cliffs with my bare hands, my exterior may look fine, but inside, it was a different story.

The Outer Circle Skill and Yang Energy kept clashing, making my insides scream in pain. Even as someone with the Nine Yang Vein, my internal energy accumulated but couldn’t flow properly, leaving my whole body numb and my insides aching.

“It’s time to heal the Nine Yang Vein.”

Easier said than done. Healing the Nine Yang Vein was by no means easy.

Even though I had recited the Nine Extreme Secrets every single day, my meridians had hardly recovered.

There were two methods to heal the Nine Yang Vein.

The first was to ingest Yin-rich elixirs.

Elixirs with strong Yin energy—like Millennial Snow Ginseng or Amitabha Holy Water—were representative examples, but acquiring them was as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.

There were also items obtainable only from the Northern Sea Ice Palace, such as Millennial Ice Crystals or the inner core of Ice Horn Snakes, but acquiring them was just as difficult as obtaining Millennial Snow Ginseng.

Buying them through reputable merchants was possible, but even the cheapest Millennial Snow Ginseng cost nearly as much as an entire building.

The second method was simpler: just consume as many ordinary Yin-neutral or non-Yang medicines as possible.

Eat everything in sight until your body naturally reaches a state where it can regulate Yang energy on its own.

That was the second method.

When I was Cheon Gi-rin, I had healed my Nine Yang Vein using this second method.

Of course, healing required more than elixirs. A master to help circulate the energy, or an attendant to assist, or a physician to monitor the process.

But for me, Mo Yong-jin, none of that was necessary—just a supply of Yin-rich elixirs or endless ordinary elixirs would suffice.

But due to family circumstances, acquiring them was nearly impossible.

Lately, Mo Yong-hyeok’s face had looked increasingly worse while going to the academy.

Even the daily meals were getting worse and worse.

“Sigh… If this were the old Mo Yong Clan, I would have healed in no time. Why did I have to ruin the Mo Yong Clan? There was also the Hebei Peng Clan below it… why destroy the Mo Yong Clan? Hah… wouldn’t it be nice if a kind-hearted, Yin-rich expert appeared?”

That would have been the third method—but it was impossible, so I didn’t even consider it.

You could always obtain ingredients, but a kind-hearted Yin-rich super-expert? Almost non-existent.

Yin-rich super-experts were extremely rare, and even if they existed, most were from the heretical sects.

Would such a person risk their life to heal my Nine Yang Vein? Impossible.

Even if they offered it for free, I wouldn’t accept.

Not because they were heretics, but because I couldn’t trust anyone else’s skill for such a delicate treatment.

Sigh…

I, Mo Yong-jin, let out a long sigh and began descending the mountain path instead of the cliff.

The sun was setting, so I had to get home before Mo Yong-hyeok returned.

“If he finds out I went to the back mountain again, he’ll be furious… better hurry back. Hah… was I too optimistic? This isn’t easy.”

Part of me wanted to storm into the Martial Alliance or the Demonic Sect and rob the apothecary—but with my current skill, I couldn’t even get close.

What good is enlightenment and technique if my body and internal energy can’t support them?

Looking at myself now, I could at most call myself third-rate.

Even considering my age, third-rate. Nothing more, nothing less.

Racing down the mountain, I reached home within the hour.

My home was now deep within the mountains.

It hadn’t always been here.

We had moved here from Jeongso Village exactly two years ago.

Why live in such a dense forest? Simply because we couldn’t afford anything better.

Even the nearest village, Jeongso, was about an hour away, but I actually liked this house.

Beneath the massive Taihang Mountain Range stretching across Hebei, the energy here felt good. The scenery, the sheer cliffs—all suited me perfectly.

It was an ideal place for cultivation.

“Good. I should start my energy-circulation exercises before Father returns.”

Even the smallest animals didn’t live in these silent mountains, so I could sit anywhere and begin my energy-circulation exercise.

I was circulating both Outer Circle Skill and Blazing Fire Divine Skill simultaneously.

Using two internal energy techniques at once was absurd, but for a Mad Demon, nothing was impossible.

Through sheer risk, I could now use both techniques freely without strain.

But there was a problem.

I soon had to stop my exercise.

It wasn’t the techniques.

It was my body.

My body was like a powder keg ready to explode.

Even though I continuously burned Yang energy through the Blazing Fire Divine Skill, as I aged, my generated Yang energy far exceeded what I could burn, and the resulting internal energy made my already cramped body even tighter.

The lower dantian began to be crushed again, and although I had internal energy, my severed meridians prevented me from circulating it properly.

That’s why I wanted to heal the Nine Yang Vein as soon as possible.

Sighing bitterly, I stood from my cross-legged position.

From far below the mountain, I saw a familiar figure approaching.

Mo Yong-hyeok was returning from work.

But my expression was strange as I looked at him.

Frowning, uncertain… but as he got closer, flames lit in my eyes.

“What…? Where have you been beaten up?”

I was furious.

He looked completely beaten—tattered clothes, bruised eyes.

“Father!”

I couldn’t contain myself and ran to him. Mo Yong-hyeok shyly tried to hide his face.

“What happened? Why do you look like this?!”

“Oh… nothing. I just slipped. Don’t make a fuss, let’s go home.”

He said this, but I already knew it was a lie.

Having beaten countless people in my previous life, I immediately recognized these injuries as from a beating.

“Do you think I’m an idiot! Your face is already purple like a panda after getting beaten, and now what? Are you going to turn into a bear bandit?”

His attempt at teasing—or comforting—made me flush with emotion. He shook his head and pushed me forward.

“Really, it’s nothing. Let’s go home.”

Even after returning home, I pressed him for answers, but he said nothing.

The next morning.

I went out to meet Mo Yong-hyeok as he left for work, smiling brightly at his back.

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll just see for myself.”

I secretly followed him to find out what had happened.

Keeping a safe distance, I used Hidden Moon Swift Step (Eunwol Sinbo).

It was a foot technique.

A particularly stealthy and fast technique, once used by Sofidu, a famous master.

I had learned it after beating him up once and thought it useful. I had often used it in my previous life.

I couldn’t yet infuse it with internal energy, but even imitating the movement made my footsteps disappear like a ghost.

Scritch!

A tree scraped underfoot, but Mo Yong-hyeok didn’t notice.

Though he ran a small academy using the Hebei Peng Clan’s methods, he was still a third-rate martial artist.

Even if I fought him, his experience and cleverness were enough to make him a challenge.

‘Oh, this is my first time leaving home.’

I had never ventured far from home in this life.

Except for the move, I had stayed inside all along, and even after moving here, I remained in the mountains, never descending to Jeongso Village.

The biggest reason was my father, Mo Yong-hyeok.

There was a superstition about the Nine Yang Vein: a child with it who survives past age twelve would live a long and healthy life.

Believing this, my father forbade me from leaving the house to protect me from potential threats.

Even after I recovered somewhat and started training, he didn’t change his mind.

And I didn’t rebel.

I was secretly happy.

Without my father around, I had free time to use as I pleased.

For Mo Yong-jin, who shouted “Only training will save me!”, this was a gift.

Stepping on rocks and descending the cliff, I felt an inexplicable thrill.

The closer I got to the village, the more I craved Dongpo Pork and Huazhou Wine I had enjoyed in my previous life, and my mouth watered.

My body was that of an eleven-year-old, but my mind was still Cheon Gi-rin, the Martial Alliance Leader.

‘Dangyong-hyung… his Dongpo Pork was the best. Ah… I want some after so long…’

Dangyong-hyung wasn’t a chef but one of the elders of the Sichuan Tang Clan who had once tried to assassinate me, Cheon Gi-rin, by poisoning my favorite Dongpo Pork.

I knew the pork was poisoned, but I ate it anyway. Why? Because I was curious about its taste.

To my surprise, it was perfect. I even made Dangyong-hyung my personal cook.

He continued to poison the Dongpo Pork, but I ate it all happily, praising its taste.

Now, following my father secretly, my goal had shifted—not solving the beating incident, but chasing after whatever scraps he left behind.

“Good. Finish this quickly, then Dongpo Pork and Huazhou Wine! If none, at least a bowl of Zhuyeqing!”

I completely forgot I was only eleven years old…