NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36
Chapter 36: A Perfect Plan
“Damn you!”
Jeoksawol’s sharp voice echoed through Gongdong Mountain.
Was there power in her voice? It reverberated throughout the mountain gate.
This is troublesome.
I instantly activated the Minor Yang Heart Method.
Wooooo!
As the flow of the Minor Yang Heart Method from my Dantian circulated through my whole body, I also utilized the Reverse Flow Blood Technique, known as the Reverse Flow Blood Method (역라순혈공), transmitted within Gongdong Sect.
Ku-whak-whak-whak-whak!
The path of blood reversed, amplifying the energy of the Minor Yang Heart Method. I surrounded my body with the intensified mystical energy to brace against Jeoksawol’s voice attack filled with her power.
“Cough!”
While alternating between the Hanging Exercise and Jerk Exercise, I struggled to control the energy infused into my penis and testicles. Despite my refined control, I couldn’t completely block the energy contained in Hyeongyeong’s mastery of her voice.
It’s not even her full power; just her intense emotions had unintentionally released a fragment of her strength, and it felt this intense.
Gag!
I spat out a mouthful of blood.
My insides felt scrambled, leaving me with light internal injuries.
It wasn’t seriously bad, and if I rested for three days and performed breathing exercises, I would be fine… but the problem was that I couldn’t perform the Hanging Exercise during that time.
Having only recently begun the Rising Supreme Technique, aiming to spin a cast-iron wheel around my penis, three days of energy loss would be devastating.
“What’s the meaning of this?! I heard that Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom senior may have a deadly grip, but should show mercy to those who have passed the test. Why are you tormenting a junior of the Martial World? Is the fame of Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom just a hollow myth?”
Either way, I was injured.
I decided to play on Jeoksawol’s maternal instincts, using this injury to create a debt toward her.
I wanted to enjoy Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom and Cloud and Rain Pleasure.
My earlier confession was 100% sincere.
And I noticed that Jeoksawol had started feeling attracted to me.
Her actions as the alternate Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom in playing the red-mask game were, inversely, about finding a man who sees her for who she is, not just her appearance.
For over 50 years, living as the Most Beautiful in the World, her true deficiency was the absence of a man who loved her regardless of looks.
But that didn’t mean I could embrace her right away.
Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom, no, Jeoksawol’s distrust of men made her sharp and unpredictable. She was a master of Hyeongyeong’s mastery; if I mishandled this, Jeoksawol could turn into a clingy psycho, dragging me down with her.
An image of Jeoksawol’s bad ending flashed through my mind.
Her turning into a sadistic obsessive woman, imprisoning me in Hao Mun’s secret lair, and torturing me endlessly for 365 days.
Moreover, she was an expert in sucking the Yang energy from a man using Chayangbo-eum.
Until now, to maintain her purity, she had been muddling a man’s mind using the medieval martial hypnosis app, Seobhon Technique, before subjugating their blood veins to extract Yang energy from them.
However, it was entirely feasible for her to perform Chayangbo-eum during Cloud and Rain Pleasure process as per the original purpose of her technique; she just hadn’t done it.
So, if I misstepped, there was a risk of being exhausted of my Yang energy by a succubus-like Jeoksawol, leaving me as gaunt as a mummy!
Tell me! Who were you thinking about?
Hehe, you’re so pitiful, crying like a heartbroken deer. Cry some more.
Crack!
I imagined Jeoksawol binding me to a pillar with her long hair while whipping my bare self with a tail made from a dragontail.
And also how, through sucking my Yang energy using her technique, she’d keep me from escaping!
It was horrifying.
What I wanted was a mutually satisfying Cloud and Rain Pleasure. But I’m no pervert, just a very ordinary, rational person with desires. Therefore, I couldn’t feel pleasure in the situation of being imprisoned by Jeoksawol, the queen of confinement.
Moreover, her sucking technique was dangerous. If one were to be absorbed in Chayangbo-eum, one’s Yang energy reduces. And Yang energy means vitality!
Indeed, if I made the wrong move, it was possible for all my precious energy obtained through Kegel Exercises, Jerk Exercises, Hanging Exercises, breath regulation, and various vitality elixirs to vanish in an instant like spring dreams!
Thus, failing to achieve mutual satisfaction wasn’t the right strategy.
I am not a colorful horse.
Had I been a slave to desire rather than reason, I might’ve sought pleasure with her.
However, I am a very rational and composed practitioner of color spectrum techniques who is the master of desires, not the slave. I wouldn’t engage in Cloud and Rain Pleasure with just any woman simply because she is pretty.
I wouldn’t engage in sexual acts that go against my principles either.
I must form a wonderful Three Storey Tea House in the future. A whale cannot play in a pond, so I can’t let Jeoksawol catch me like this.
To overcome Jeoksawol’s sucking technique, I would have to reach Hyeongyeong’s level.
However, my own capability was only at a secondary level. Thus, I simply couldn’t control her properly.
Moreover, I was an orthodox martial artist, and she was the head of the Sado Family!
Like Romeo and Juliet, our relationship was one which could hardly be publicly recognized.
At least not until I emerge as a hero in the Martial World!
So for now, I had to make her retreat.
Until I reached the height of Hyeongyeong and was recognized as a hero in the Martial World, some “push and pull” was necessary.
So for now, I needed to make Jeoksawol retreat.
Furthermore, I wondered if Sayeong Hoe and Heukryongbang would readily accept our martial arts challenge.
The reason I used the wish in the Martial Arts Competition Document was to ensure the establishment of the match.
While I increased the probability of them coming to the table with excessively favorable conditions for Heukryongbang, the opponent wasn’t a dumb fool nor just any orthodox faction.
Being a heterodox faction, one couldn’t ignore the likelihood that they might come at me in a dirty way rather than engage in fair combat.
If Heukryongbang were to lose even once against Gongdong Sect, they could be marked as the culprits who brought disgrace to the entire heterodox community.
Even if they came at me with dark tactics, I had methods to counter them. But it would be a hassle, and most importantly, it would create the problem of not being able to start the legendary tale of Lee Cheol-soo, the hero adored by women.
To build a story that captures the hearts of all the women of the Martial World, I must ensure the establishment of the martial arts duel with Heukryongbang!
Responding to their dark tactics wouldn’t be cool. It’d be annoying and dirty, and naturally lacked elements to capture women’s hearts.
However, martial arts is different. It’s gorgeous, direct, and provides dramatic presentation and stories that would capture hearts.
Thus, I begged the alternate Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom to make sure the duel would happen.
Being unattractive, I had to rely on external factors like storytelling to win the hearts of women.
Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom, no, Jeoksawol’s pride was so high that an emperor would be envious. It was impossible for someone like her to retract what she had said. She would fully carry out what was due to someone who passed the test.
Thus, demanding the establishment of the duel in this situation was the right thing to do.
Hiccup.
As I sat down, I bled a bit more, revealing my painful appearance to her.
“Are… are you okay?”
“…Will you… grant my wish?”
I looked at Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom with trembling voice.
She couldn’t refuse my wish.
I was desperate, so I gazed at her with a pleading look.
Even performances to deceive others didn’t have to be false. It was entirely possible to amplify my sincerity while deceiving her.
Jeoksawol’s discerning mind couldn’t see through a performance filled with genuine emotions.
Besides, I was a crafty bureaucrat who had survived 50 years in the treacherous world of the imperial palace, sitting atop the peak of power.
Pulling off this level of acting was as easy as pie.
After catching sight of my pitiful look, Jeoksawol turned her head swiftly.
In a small voice, she said, “…I will grant it. Hmph. Your wish shall certainly be fulfilled. And don’t get me wrong. What just happened… was… my, my mistake…”
Jeoksawol reluctantly acknowledged her mistake in a mosquito-like small, trembling voice.
I saw her nape and earlobes turning red as she turned around.
Her pride would not allow her to deny her mistake.
“That’s a relief…”
Just as I was trailing off,
“Saje! What happened? Saje!”
“Cheol-soo!”
I sensed the presence of my Master and senior approaching from the Gongdong Sect Main Base.
“…I should retreat for today.”
Sensing their presence, Jeoksawol swiftly leaped and vanished into the night.
Thud.
A bag dropped in the place she disappeared.
Before my Master and senior arrived, I quickly retrieved the bag Jeoksawol had dropped.
When I opened it, a refreshing medicinal scent gently stimulated my nose.
‘This scent is… Sokmyeongdan!’
It was a medicinal remedy for internal injuries, Sokmyeongdan.
A high-quality item too!
It seemed Jeoksawol had left it behind after seeing me wounded.
What an unexpected windfall! I quickly stuffed the bag into my pants before my Master and senior arrived and swung my sword, manipulating the battle traces, rolling in the dirt to clutter things up before lying down and calling out the last remaining Yang media to calm down with the patriotic song.
Using the battle trace manipulation method I learned during my time as a Dongchang operative.
It’s impossible for my untrained Master and senior to discern this.
“Saje!”
The first to arrive was my senior.
With tears welling up in his eyes, he embraced me tightly.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I couldn’t protect you again… sorry Saje…”
The distinctive wildflower scent of my senior brushed my nose.
From the moment I began manipulating the battle traces, I had already expected to be hugged, but no matter how many times I experienced it, I could never get used to the embrace of another man. Damn it. I clung to my sanity with Kegel Exercises and said,
“Senior, I am alright. Please, let go of me.”
“Saje… I’m sorry… really sorry…”
Despite my pleas, my senior wouldn’t let go of me.
I was going to go berserk any minute.
Just as my patience was reaching its limit.
“Cheol-soo.”
My Master arrived before us.
“What happened? What was that presence I felt from the mountain gate?”
Once my Master calmly questioned me, I was finally able to break free from my senior’s embrace.
“H-hiccup…”
Hearing my senior’s still-crying voice, I began reciting the script I had prepared.
“Today, the bright moon kept me awake, so I was gazing at it from the mountain gate. At that moment, a mysterious figure dressed in black came seeking our sect’s mountain gate.”
A figure in black…! The Sayeong Hoe bastards appeared!?
Hearing my words, my Master murmured through gritted teeth, filled with anger.
I was glad they misunderstood.
Thank you, infamous black mask from the medieval martial world, the villain everyone fears!
“The figure in black attacked as soon as they saw me sitting there. I hastily unleashed my martial arts to counter. During my duel, the black figure sensed the presence of you and my senior, so they escaped just now. Although I managed to defend the main base… I ended up with this internal injury… cough!”
I trailed off, deliberately coughing up some blood.
Using the sickly tricks I learned from my time as a Dongchang operative, I quickly created a pallid face, as if I were about to pass out at any moment.
“Oh my… have we encountered a bold villain? I shall never forgive Sayeong Hoe and their lackeys!”
My weak appearance and body triggered a passionate outburst from Jeonyeong.
“Sayeong Hoe… Heukryongbang… They’ve done this to Saje… I couldn’t protect him this time, but in the duel, I will…!”
And my senior also muttered with a grim face, his focus lost.
Everyone’s hostility and morale against Heukryongbang were fired up.
Seeing that, I closed my eyes.
Perfect.
With this much, neither my senior nor my Master would feel intimidated in front of the massive dark faction Heukryongbang.
As long as my senior wasn’t intimidated, he would show his true skills in the main game — the duel, which would effectively increase our winning chances to a flawless 100%.
We had to win regardless.
Now that the morale issue was settled, all that remained was for me to enjoy being a patient for three days and scoop up pork and liver under the pretext of patient meals.
While waiting for the duel against Heukryongbang, I would practice my vital energy training.
Truly a perfect plan!