Zhang Sam let out a dry chuckle.
'What a load of pretentious nonsense.'
The claim that the Divine Healer Clan treated patients without taking payment — it only meant they offered care to the poor who couldn't afford medicine.
A noble and virtuous act by any measure.
Yet these people called it a problem?
The man across from him, however, went on heatedly.
"If they don't take proper payment, commoners will grow accustomed to free treatment. It will lead to unhealthy dependence, weakening the medical trade as a whole!"
"So, in other words, the Divine Healer Clan is cutting into your profits."
"N-no, that's not what I meant…"
"Not what you meant? Of course it is. I understand. Food bowls are sacred, aren't they? Whether we swing swords or you wield needles, it's all to earn a living."
Namyang — a vital crossroads of trade and travel.
It had no great sects, but countless small ones clustered like flies, all hoping to scrape up crumbs of profit.
The same was true for the medical families.
Over five clans practiced medicine in Namyang alone — a fierce competition of healers.
"But why worry about the Divine Healer Clan?" Zhang Sam asked. "In terms of prestige, they can't even match the Two Benevolent Clans of Namyang, can they?"
Once, the Divine Healer Clan had borne the title Greatest Healer Under Heaven.
Now, they were a shadow of their former glory.
The foremost medical families in Namyang were the Two Benevolent Houses — powerful, prosperous, and shrewd.
"Our lord takes offense to the head of the Divine Healer Clan, Namyang's Divine Physician, Wi Jiseon. There's talk that he's the greatest healer in Namyang. Of course, such nonsense is spread by those who know nothing of true medicine."
Zhang Sam nodded slowly.
The Divine Healer Clan, in his eyes, simply lacked cunning.
They spent all their effort tending to patients instead of building influence.
Their manor sat in a poor, remote quarter of Namyang — a place where only the destitute lived.
'Medicine is business, after all. To prosper, you need to grease the right palms. But those fools are too rigid, too honest. Tsk.'
And yet, the fact that they still survived amid such ruthless competition proved just how exceptional their skill must be.
"If you, honored sir, were to help restore proper order to Namyang's medical world," the man said, bowing deeply, "our Two Benevolent Houses would forever remember your favor."
At the promise of a handsome reward, Zhang Sam nodded.
The Divine Healer Clan had no powerful patrons — no one to avenge them.
There would be no consequences.
His conscience stirred faintly, but he was of the underworld. A man of the black path couldn't afford the luxury of conscience.
"Fine. What exactly do you want me to do?"
"We already have a plan. First, you'll visit their patriarch, Wi Jiseon, for treatment. Then…"
As the man whispered, his voice dripping with malice, a dark shadow began to fall over the Divine Healer Clan.
Wi Jicheon turned his senses inward.
'The Divine Healer Technique… only at the first stage. Not surprising — I haven't treated a single patient yet.'
The Divine Healer Technique wasn't a martial art.
It was a medical art — a form of internal cultivation used for healing.
A type of Qi art.
'It assists in reading pulses, channeling Qi, balancing yin and yang, and enhancing longevity and vitality.'
It wasn't something unheard of.
Most medical clans possessed their own internal art.
He remembered what his father had told him the first time he'd learned it as a child:
"This technique is our family's secret. You must never reveal it to outsiders. It is the will of our ancestors — swear to uphold it."
Then, his father had added with a sheepish laugh:
"…Though, to be honest, I'm not sure why the ancestors placed such importance on such a trivial technique."
'Father never knew what the Divine Healer Technique truly was. That was deliberate — the ancestors hid it.'
Centuries ago, before the Divine Healer Clan rose to prominence, when the clan was still young — there had been a genius.
"Existing medical arts are insufficient. I must create one that heals with far greater power."
Had that man chosen the path of a warrior, he would have become a grandmaster among grandmasters.
Instead, he spent decades perfecting a miraculous Qi art — the Divine Healer Technique.
Its effects far surpassed all other medical arts, and through it, the Divine Healer Clan became known as the greatest healers under Heaven.
But generations later, someone uncovered its hidden danger.
"The Divine Healer Technique is not merely a medical art. It's a monstrous power — one that could drench the world in blood."
Its essence was the ability to sense, control, and guide Qi.
Illness is, in the end, a disorder in the flow of essence, energy, and spirit.
To correct that imbalance and restore harmony was the purpose of the technique.
But such mastery over Qi could be applied far beyond healing.
Imagine using it while taking elixirs —
controlling the energy to perfectly absorb their power.
Not only elixirs —
the same applied to cultivating heart techniques, or wielding any form of martial art.
'Every martial art, in the end, is about controlling the flow of Qi. The level of mastery depends on how completely that flow is understood and directed.'
Inferior techniques had scattered, inefficient flows.
Superior arts had smooth, unhindered channels — and that purity made them powerful.
At the pinnacle, the supreme arts — those called Divine Arts — mirrored the cosmic flow itself, embodying the laws of Heaven and Earth.
Now imagine a technique that could make that flow even more perfect.
'It could elevate any martial art to an entirely new realm.'
Second-rate techniques could surpass first-rate ones.
First-rate arts could rival divine techniques.
Even existing divine arts could be refined, perfected — transcending their original limits.
'Of course, it sounds like madness.'
Every martial art's Qi flow was designed for its own efficiency.
Tampering with it recklessly would lead to deviation — inner demons, madness, death.
'But the Divine Healer Technique makes the impossible possible.'
Unlike other medical arts, it allowed flawless control of Qi.
No deviation, no inner demons.
It could even correct imperfections within any martial art's flow.
'It's terrifying.'
And that wasn't all.
What is a human being?
What is disease? What does it mean to heal?
All things under Heaven are born from the balance of yin, yang, and the five elements.
Illness arises when one's harmony with the universe is disturbed.
This principle — the resonance between Heaven and Man — was at the heart of true medicine.
To study medicine was to study the relationship between humanity and the cosmos.
Thus, the deeper one delved into medicine, the deeper one's understanding of Heaven itself became.
'Of course, no one studies it that way anymore.'
Modern physicians focused on identifying causes of illness and finding appropriate cures — not cosmic balance.
Not because they were wrong — but because few possessed the insight to perceive the grand harmony of Heaven and Man.
'But the Divine Healer Technique is different.'
It contained that universal truth within its core.
The more one cultivated it, the more deeply one understood the connection between the human body and the universe itself.
Ironically, that truth wasn't limited to medicine.
It applied to martial arts as well.
'After all, martial arts are also a study of one's relationship with the world.'
Especially at the peak of mastery — at the threshold of transcendence — enlightenment was everything.
Without it, a man could stagnate for decades, unable to take even a single step forward.
'That's why it came to be known as the Heavenly Immortal Divine Art.'
A divine art said to contain the secrets of Heaven itself.
Who wouldn't covet such a thing?
In the end, the ancestors of the Divine Healer Clan made a wise decision.
Before its secret could spread, they sealed it away — divided it in two.
'A wise choice. They had no power to protect it anyway.'
They split the Heavenly Immortal Divine Art into two parts —
the core essence, and the lesser branch.
And the clan itself divided along with it.
The main family inherited the true Divine Healer Technique —
the branch family received the auxiliary formula, becoming the Baek Clan of the White Healer.
That's right.
That Baek Clan.
The same clan that would one day destroy the Divine Healer Clan.
Once, they had been brothers.
'That's why Jo Baekil approached me so warmly, calling himself my uncle. And we — fools that we were — believed him.'
Wi Jicheon's thoughts hardened.
Now was the time to grow stronger.
'Strengthening my body or inner energy would take too long.'
The fastest path was to recover the enlightenment he'd once possessed.
'I'll restore my mind to the pinnacle first. The imbalance can be corrected later.'
To any orthodox martial master, that would sound like insanity.
To reach a higher realm, one needed harmony of body, mind, and energy.
To raise only the mind first was to invite disaster — inner demons, madness, collapse.
But Wi Jicheon was unconcerned.
'The Heavenly Immortal Divine Art can correct such things easily.'
He would ascend, even as a demon.
The art could conceal his demonic Qi perfectly — no one would ever know.
In time, he would also learn orthodox martial arts. He had no intention of hiding forever.
With the Heavenly Immortal Divine Art, he could merge righteousness and demonhood without conflict.
'No wonder everyone coveted this art. It's practically divine.'
He closed his eyes and looked within.
There were countless ways to reach the summit — but every path required one essential realization.
To stand alone in the world, and define one's own existence.
'I am Asura.'
But this time, the path he would walk was different.
'Not an Asura who destroys — but one who protects. I'll become an Asura who shields those I hold dear!'