Chapter 79: Spirit Spring Valley (1)
Grass Flower Hall Head, Do Young, strode in.
His expression looked rather unpleasant. It was understandable. He had been troubled today as well.
“Do Hyu, that bastard, taking this senior brother too lightly...”
Although Grass Flower Hall was responsible for the Azure Forest’s resources, this also brought many annoyances.
The Management Pavilion Master was constantly pressing for money, and Snowflake Hermit Palace was raiding Grass Flower Hall’s storehouse to make elixirs with herbs and other materials.
And today, even the Golden Needle Phantom Do Hyu took some spiritual herbs.
The reason was singular. It was to prepare for healing the body of Baek Yi-gang, the young master of the Baek Clan, who would soon be initiated.
When his disciple Yeop Su-nam told him that Baek Yi-gang had just visited, it made sense that the Grass Flower Hall Head frowned.
“Why him!”
“It was the command of the Forest Lord, Master. Hehe...”
Yeop Su-nam, sensing the bad mood of the Grass Flower Hall Head, was particularly obsequious.
“Oh well, if the Forest Lord says so, there’s nothing to be done... But, did he just take a quick look and leave?”
He said he showed Baek Yi-gang the herb samples of Spirit Spring Valley for the light footwork technique test.
That was fine. The other third-generation disciples had already memorized them, so it would be fair to give Yi-gang the same opportunity.
“Yes, he seemed to have seen them for a moment.”
“There are 99 types of spiritual herbs. But he just took a look for a moment and memorized them?”
“Uh...”
Yeop Su-nam’s mouth fell open in astonishment. Until a moment ago, he had just brushed it off as such.
“The kid is quite smart.”
“Humph, such an insolent child.”
Although Yeop Su-nam was merely relaying what Jin Mu had said, the Grass Flower Hall Head was grumbling for no reason.
“It’s obvious, he must have only looked at the 33 items on the right side.”
“Ah...”
The spiritual herbs in the right section were the most valuable and had the highest scores. The Grass Flower Hall Head concluded that Yi-gang must have memorized only these valuable spiritual herbs, ignoring the others.
Yeop Su-nam also agreed with the Grass Flower Hall Head’s speculation.
“That makes sense. After all, even I spent days wrapping my head around those spiritual herbs when I first memorized them.”
“Of course. No matter how smart one is, it’s difficult for an outsider to distinguish the features of those spiritual herbs. If he really memorized them, then we should bring him to Grass Flower Hall immediately.”
The Hall Head, smiling wryly, threw out a comment, “Open it up. Let’s check how well they have been maintained after such a long time.”
Yeop Su-nam was in charge of managing the samples.
He opened the box with a hearty laugh.
“I’ve been managing them meticulously, sir.”
“Let’s have a look.”
“Yes, right here, starting from the left to the right—ah!”
Yeop Su-nam screamed.
And then, the Grass Flower Hall Head smacked the back of his head with a loud smack.
“What? Meticulous?”
“Wh-why is this...!”
Among the top 33 spiritual herbs, there was the Ghost Soul Herb. The spiritual herb, which had bloomed vibrant blue flowers, was now withered and yellow.
Moreover, the Ghost Soul Herb was one of the samples that the Grass Flower Hall Head cherished the most.
“Do you know how much effort went into preserving this? You’ve killed it! You killed it!”
“Cough, Ma-master, this disciple is dying.”
Yeop Su-nam’s face turned blue as the Grass Flower Hall Head, who was grabbing and shaking his neck, scolded him.
“B-but it was fine just a moment ago.”
“Now you dare to insult your master with lies!”
Even while shedding tears of injustice, Yeop Su-nam could only think that he must have seen it wrong.
It was unimaginable that the Immortal Divine Sword, who had been by Yi-gang’s side, had consumed the Ghost Soul Herb for nourishment.
Time passed relentlessly.
Before long, the day to test the light footwork technique arrived.
Since Yi-gang came to the Azure Forest, all the third-generation disciples now recognized his face.
But time passing didn’t naturally integrate Yi-gang among them. They had been close since childhood, and Yi-gang was an outsider.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Yi-gang himself did not try to be overly friendly.
Like a single camellia flower fallen on a snowy field, Yi-gang stood out conspicuously.
“Get ready!”
He couldn’t understand why his friends, who had vowed not to lose to Yi-gang, were helping him like that.
Then, someone shouted, “It looks like the sun is about to rise!”
At the same time, the children rushed towards the cliff overlooking Spirit Spring Valley, where Yi-gang was standing. Son Hee-il hurried over as well.
“You guys, don’t be late. Get ready quickly.”
Now it really was time for everyone to fend for themselves.
There’s a limit to the number of spiritual herbs that can be gathered in Spirit Spring Valley. The first ones to rush there had an advantage.
And the first hurdle was this rocky cliff.
One needed to climb down this steep cliff as quickly as possible to enter Spirit Spring Valley.
Yeop Su-nam stood in front of the cliff with a flag.
“Every year, there are always a few who end up breaking arms and legs while descending. Be careful not to be one of them.”
His words were grim, though he said them with a chuckle. The third-generation disciples swallowed hard.
Finally, the sun peeked its head above the horizon.
Yeop Su-nam fluttered the flag high.
“Start!”
Immediately, the more impatient third-generation disciples began to descend the cliff first.
In the light footwork technique test, it’s not just speed that’s evaluated. Climbing up and down a cliff required various abilities.
Grip strength in the hands, muscle strength in the lower body. Stamina, internal energy. And above all, courage.
One must maintain composure and not be scared of the dangerous cliff. Only then can they enter Spirit Spring Valley without delay.
Yu Su-rin, Jun Myung, and Son Hee-il also wanted to start quickly.
But they couldn’t, as Yi-gang, their silent competitor, was still standing still on top of the cliff.
They thought he might be scared, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Yu Su-rin cautiously opened her mouth.
“...Won’t we be late if we don’t hurry?”
“It’s a relief we’re not starting from flat ground. I haven’t learned light body techniques.”
“What?”
Yi-gang, who made this unexpected remark, looked at Yu Su-rin. Having received kindness, he felt it was okay to give a piece of advice.
“Since you’ve also learned sorcery, it would be good to try and follow if you can.”
Yu Su-rin couldn’t understand what Yi-gang was talking about.
But Yi-gang soon explained with his actions.
Instead of bending his waist and going down the cliff like the other disciples, he leaped towards the cliff.
“Ah!”
Crying out involuntarily, Yu Su-rin ran to the edge of the cliff. It was high enough that a fall would be fatal.
However, Yi-gang didn’t fall and become a bloody mess.
He landed as lightly as a ball made of feathers. There wasn’t even a sound of impact.
Jun Myung and Son Hee-il were astonished.
“Wh-what is that?”
“Could it be...”
Even a master of light body techniques couldn’t defy gravity. So how did Yi-gang fall from the cliff and remain unharmed?
Yu Su-rin muttered in a dazed voice.
“Levitation...? No, did he make his body lighter instead?”
Yi-gang simply utilized the secret art of lightness, which he had learned from the Immortal Divine Sword. But to Yu Su-rin, it appeared almost like a sorcery spell.
Having landed on the ground, Yi-gang silently disappeared into the mist of Spirit Spring Valley.
Jun Myung and Son Hee-il hurriedly started climbing down the cliff.
“Su-rin, what are you doing! Hurry up and descend.”
“I am...”
Yu Su-rin hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
“I’ll go first too!”
Like Yi-gang, she leaped towards the cliff.
With a shout of her fighting spirit, Yu Su-rin’s falling speed significantly decreased.
In a slightly different way than Yi-gang, she managed to land safely on the ground.
She jumped up and down with joy at her success and then ran into the mist.
“Kuk, let’s go too.”
“Quickly!”
Jun Myung and Son Hee-il became more anxious and hurried even more.
