The door to the Leech Room clicked shut. Disciple Mei was gone.
Jin Ryeong was alone in the damp darkness. The adrenaline of the extortion faded, and as it did, the pain rushed in to fill the void.
"Ghh..."
Jin Ryeong doubled over, clutching his stomach. His Dantian felt like a balloon inflated to the point of bursting. He had been holding the Overcharged Qi (6/2) for hours, using the rhythm of the Basic Breathing Technique to keep it from dissipating.
But a Grade F technique had limits. It was like trying to hold back a flood with a wooden gate. The wood was splintering.
[System Warning] [Dantian Pressure: Critical.] [Meridian Stress: 85%.] [Warning: If Qi is not expended within 10 minutes, permanent Meridian Rupture will occur.]
"I need... to use it," Jin Ryeong gasped, stumbling toward the workbench.
He couldn't just fire it into the air. That would be a waste. In his world, waste was a sin. He needed to dump this energy into something productive. Something that required a massive burst of Qi that his normal body couldn't provide.
He pulled out the black-bound book he had extorted from Mei.
[Item: Thousand Venom Hand (Fragment - Grade D)] [Learning Requirements:]
- Constitution: 10+ (To survive the toxic feedback).
- Qi: 5+ (To circulate the toxins safely).
- Catalyst: A potent poison source.
Jin Ryeong scanned his stats.
- Constitution: 8 (Too low).
- Qi: 6 (Temporary Overcharge - Meets Requirement).
- Catalyst: He had the Bone-Rotting Powder.
"I don't have the Constitution," Jin Ryeong muttered, sweat dripping from his nose. "If I try to learn this, the feedback might kill me."
But if he didn't use the Qi now, his Dantian would explode anyway. It was a choice between certain death and probable death.
"Probability is better," he hissed.
He slammed the manual onto the table. He reached into his sash and pulled out the packet of Bone-Rotting Powder. He opened it. The black dust shimmered, smelling of sweet rot.
"System," Jin Ryeong commanded, his voice trembling. "Learn Skill."
[System Notification] [Learning 'Thousand Venom Hand'...] [Check: Constitution (8/10) - FAILED.] [Check: Qi (6/5) - PASSED.] [Warning: Insufficient Constitution. Learning attempt carries a 40% chance of death.] [Do you proceed?]
"Proceed," Jin Ryeong snarled. "And use the Overcharged Qi to buffer the damage."
He plunged his hands into the pile of black powder.
WHOOSH.
The manual on the table dissolved into black light and shot into his forehead. At the same time, the poison on his hands activated. It didn't just sit on his skin; it tried to eat him. It burrows into his pores, seeking his bloodstream.
"ARRRGH!"
Jin Ryeong screamed, biting his lip until it bled. His hands turned pitch black. The flesh felt like it was melting. The pain was blinding—worse than the Fire Ant Oil, worse than the Pill Slag.
'Circulate it! Don't let it settle!'
He engaged the Basic Breathing Technique. He took the massive reservoir of Overcharged Qi (6 points) and slammed it into his arms. He used the Qi as a shield, wrapping it around the poison, forcing the toxins to flow with his blood rather than eating his veins.
The Qi battled the Poison. The Surplus Energy vs. The Necrotic Rot.
His Dantian screamed as it emptied. 6... 5... 4... The pressure in his gut vanished, replaced by the agony in his hands.
3... 2... 1...
The Qi ran out. But the process was done. The poison had been integrated. The black color on his hands faded, leaving behind normal skin—but his fingernails were now stained a permanent, dark grey.
Jin Ryeong collapsed onto the cold stone floor, panting. His hands smoked slightly.
[System Notification] [Crisis Averted: Dantian Pressure Released.] [Skill Learned: Thousand Venom Hand (Level 1)] [Effect: By channeling 2 Qi, your palms become coated in necrotic energy for 1 minute. Direct contact causes 'Rot' damage.] [Permanent Side Effect: Your blood is now mildly toxic. Medicinal pills are 10% less effective on you.]
Jin Ryeong lay there, staring at the ceiling. He flexed his grey fingernails. He felt lighter. The "bomb" in his stomach was gone. And in its place, he had a weapon.
"Constitution Check failed," he laughed weakly. "But the Overcharge saved me."
The next morning.
Jin Ryeong was back in the Processing Room, sorting herbs. He looked exhausted, but his aura was stable. He was currently at 0/2 Qi, but his passive breathing was slowly ticking it back up.
Han, the Senior Assistant, walked in. He looked stressed. He was carrying a clipboard and shouting at a junior disciple.
"Idiot! You put the Fire-Spirit Grass next to the Ice-Lotus? Do you want to blow up the storage room?"
Han spotted Jin Ryeong. "You! Rat!"
"Yes, Senior Brother?" Jin Ryeong stood up.
"Elder Baek is asking for you. Again." Han looked jealous. "He's in the Furnace Room. He's attempting a Grade-4 pill refinement. He needs a 'fire-tender'."
Jin Ryeong nodded. "I am going."
As he walked past Han, the senior assistant grabbed his arm. "Listen to me," Han hissed. "Fire-tending is dangerous. If the temperature fluctuates by one degree, the furnace backfires. The last assistant lost his eyebrows. The one before that lost his face."
Jin Ryeong looked at Han's hand gripping his arm. He felt a strange urge to channel Qi into his palm and rot Han's wrist. But he suppressed it.
"I will be careful, Senior Brother."
The Furnace Room was the heart of the Medicine Hall. It was a circular chamber dominated by a massive bronze cauldron in the center. The cauldron was wrapped in chains and glowing runes. Underneath it burned a fire that wasn't orange, but blue. Spirit Fire.
Elder Baek stood on a platform above the cauldron, tossing rare herbs into the opening. He looked manic. His hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"You're late," Baek barked. "Get to the bellows."
Jin Ryeong ran to the massive leather bellows at the base of the furnace.
"The pill is the Bone-Forging Dan," Baek shouted over the roar of the fire. "It requires constant heat. Pump the bellows! Keep the needle in the green zone!"
Jin Ryeong grabbed the handle. It was heavy. He heaved. Whoosh. The blue flames roared. The temperature gauge on the side of the furnace ticked up.
"More!" Baek commanded. "It needs to melt the Iron-Root!"
Jin Ryeong pumped harder. His Strength (3) was barely enough. He had to use his entire body weight, throwing himself onto the lever. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Sweat poured down his body. The heat was unbearable. It felt like being cooked alive. His Constitution (8) was screaming.
[System Warning] [Environmental Hazard: Extreme Heat.] [HP: 48/50... 45/50...]
"Elder!" Jin Ryeong shouted. "It's too hot! The pressure is rising too fast!"
"Silence!" Baek threw a glowing red stone into the pot. "It must reach the critical point! Keep pumping!"
The furnace began to shake. The chains rattled. A high-pitched whine emitted from the bronze metal.
Jin Ryeong's Diagnosis Eye activated involuntarily.
[Target: Bronze Spirit Furnace] [Status: Critical Overload] [Flaw Detected: The vent valve is clogged with soot.] [Prediction: Catastrophic explosion in 15 seconds.]
"Elder!" Jin Ryeong let go of the bellows. "The vent! It's clogged!"
"What?" Baek looked down, distracted.
"It's going to blow!"
Jin Ryeong didn't wait for permission. He didn't run away. He ran toward the furnace.
If it exploded, Baek might survive with his high cultivation. Jin Ryeong would be vaporized. His only chance was to unclog the vent.
He scrambled up the side of the hot metal machinery. The heat seared his hands. He saw the vent valve. It was stuck, fused by black residue.
He grabbed it. It burned his skin. 'Turn! Damn you!' His strength wasn't enough.
10 seconds.
He needed leverage. He needed... slickness. He spat on the valve. It sizzled instantly. He remembered the Thousand Venom Hand. The skill description: Coated in necrotic energy. Necrotic energy decayed matter. It broke down bonds.
"Please work," Jin Ryeong whispered.
[Skill Activated: Thousand Venom Hand] Cost: 2 Qi (Current Qi: 1/2... Insufficient? No, he recovered 1 point during the pumping). Wait. He needs 2 points. He only has 1.
"Damn it!"
He grabbed a piece of Pill Slag from his pocket and shoved it into his mouth. Crunch. +5 Qi (Toxic).
[Qi: 6/2]
He channeled the toxic energy into his hand. His palm turned grey. He grabbed the stuck valve. The necrotic energy ate into the soot and rust sealing the metal. Hiss. The blockage dissolved.
5 seconds.
Jin Ryeong kicked the valve with his heel. CLANG.
It spun open. A jet of superheated white steam blasted out, missing Jin Ryeong's head by inches. WHOOOOOOSH.
The pressure in the furnace dropped instantly. The shaking stopped. The high-pitched whine faded.
Elder Baek stood on the platform, frozen. He looked at the steam venting safely. He looked at the pill inside, which was now settling into a perfect, round sphere. Then he looked down at Jin Ryeong, who was clinging to the side of the furnace, his hand smoking, his face covered in soot.
"You..." Baek's voice was filled with disbelief. "You unclogged a Spirit Valve with your bare hands?"
Jin Ryeong climbed down, legs shaking. He hid his grey-stained hand behind his back.
"I... I used spit and leverage, Elder."
Baek narrowed his eyes. He descended the platform. He walked up to the furnace and retrieved the pill. It was perfect. A Tier-4 Bone-Forging Pill.
Baek turned to Jin Ryeong. "You saved the pill," Baek said. "And you saved my furnace."
Baek reached into his robe and pulled out a pouch. "Most disciples would have run. You ran toward the fire."
He tossed the pouch to Jin Ryeong. "Take it. Fifty taels. And..."
Baek broke a small piece off the freshly made pill. A crumb. But a crumb of a Tier-4 pill was worth more than Jin Ryeong's life.
"Eat this. It will fix your burns. And maybe... make you a little less fragile."
[Item Acquired: Crumb of Bone-Forging Pill (Tier 4)]
Jin Ryeong caught it. He looked at the Elder.
"Thank you, Master."