The Divine Doctor had gathered the herbs, and at last Seop Mugwang’s true treatment began.

No one could say how many days it would take to purge all the venom. Since the process could not be disturbed, the treatment was conducted inside the Clan Head’s private training hall.

Ssshhhhh—

A cold, eerie smoke spread beneath the training hall.

Heavier than air, the smoke pooled along the floor until it rose just past a man’s seated height, forming a dense layer.

At the center of the hall.

Seop Mugwang sat cross-legged, his body bristling with acupuncture needles as if his flesh had sprouted thorns.

The Divine Doctor’s expression, as she tapped and placed each needle with painstaking precision across his acupoints, was more solemn than ever.

Namgoong Mucheon entered the hall, his eyes calmly surveying the scene.

The thick smoke heavy with medicinal fragrance.

Seop Mugwang seated cross-legged.

The Divine Doctor inserting her needles.

And Chor Yeon of the Medicine Hall, tense and focused as she assisted.

The Chief Steward, who had arrived earlier to observe, approached Mucheon.

“They say the preparations are nearly finished.”

“Good.”

“Clan Head, please be cautious as well.”

“I am merely performing True Energy Guidance. What danger could there be in that?”

“Still...”

Was it not said that expelling the venom required an astronomical amount of inner force?

Even a peak master could not handle it, which was why, despite the busy state of the clan, Namgoong Mucheon himself had stepped forward.

“While I am away, make sure the assembly preparations proceed without fail.”

Perhaps uneasy at leaving his post at such a crucial time, Mucheon gave the order again.

“I have already told Cheongun what must be arranged. There should be no difficulties.”

“I shall assist the Young Clan Head with all my strength, so please do not worry.”

“Good.”

Through the shrouding smoke, the Divine Doctor rose to her feet.

“All is ready.”

Mucheon slipped off his outer robe and handed it to the Chief Steward, then strode toward Seop Mugwang.

She spoke to him.

“Do not halt even if the flow scatters. Once the venom leaves his body, the qi will naturally seek its proper path. You must continue the cycle.”

“I understand.”

Mucheon took position behind Seop Mugwang.

As he sat, his robe fluttering, the smoke briefly scattered, only to close back in thickly.

He placed his palm against Seop Mugwang’s back.

“I will combine qi circulation with acupuncture. Begin circulating your qi once you are able.”

The Divine Doctor gave her final instruction to Seop Mugwang, then nodded at Mucheon to begin.

Just as Mucheon was about to start the guidance—

“...I am sorry, brother.”

At last, Seop Mugwang broke his silence.

“To make you expend such strength at such an important time.”

“...”

“It seems I have done nothing but hold you back.”

Mucheon, on the verge of drawing up his energy, paused.

He gazed at Seop Mugwang’s back, which carried an air of loneliness, and spoke in a heavy voice.

“When first we met, you were truly a rough one.”

His mind returned to that day.

It was when he had slain the Black Lotus Lord and hunted down the remnants of the Black Lotus Sect hiding in the forest.

After cutting down the fugitives who darted through the trees like slippery eels, a man suddenly appeared and leveled his sword at him.

The man’s swordsmanship was on a level far above those he had just faced.

Until then, Mucheon had never seen a sword so violent and so powerful.

He could have killed the man at once, but he did not.

There was no killing intent in his blade.

Though he came at him as if to kill, the man’s eyes carried not malice but a deep sorrow.

Mucheon had endured hundreds of his grief-laden strikes.

The man seemed to know he could not win, yet still would not lower his sword.

The only way to end the fight was for Mucheon to cut him down.

Yet before Mucheon made such a choice, a woman appeared and cried out:

“That man is not of the Black Lotus Sect!”

Instead of slaying him, Mucheon chose to knock him unconscious.

When the man awoke, Mucheon learned that one of the men he had just killed was his younger brother.

The man had dropped to his knees before Mucheon in gratitude.

Thankful for stopping his younger brother’s atrocities.

Thankful for severing a bond of evil he himself could not bring himself to cut.

The man was a prodigy with the sword, the woman a prodigy in medicine.

Mucheon had accepted them both into the Namgoong Clan.

“I have never regretted bringing you into the clan. In truth, it was one of the finest choices I have ever made.”

Mucheon let out a soft laugh.

“You are my brother, though we do not share blood. And if it is for my brother, what could possibly be too precious?”

“...”

“And it was I who sent you to Yunnan. Had I known you would lose your inner force, I never would have. I too bear responsibility for your body being as it is now. So feel no more guilt, no more shame.”

Seop Mugwang’s shoulders quivered.

Clenching his fists tight, he whispered low:

“...Thank you.”

“Then if you are grateful, swear to me you will remain by my granddaughter’s side no matter what.”

“Of course. The little one is like my own child.”

“Good. That is enough.”

Fwooooh—

Namgoong Mucheon drew up his inner force.

The vast, blue energy swelling from his dantian slowly poured into Seop Mugwang.

“....”

Mucheon’s brow creased.

As the Divine Doctor had warned, his inner force, once inside Seop Mugwang’s body, scattered rapidly, unable to find a path.

It was as if holes riddled his acupoints, letting the energy leak away.

Hooohhh—

His force was flowing out quickly, but Mucheon did not stop the guidance.

The Divine Doctor withdrew the needle she had placed in the Baihui acupoint.

The treatment had only just begun.

****

A great pair of wings beat the air, and Seolmae landed on a tree branch near Seolhwa.

She untied the paper bound to its leg.

A letter from Yugang.

After feeding Seolmae with food she had brought from the clan, Seolhwa unfolded the letter.

[Master has not yet awoken. But his complexion has brightened much ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) more than before. The Medicine Hall monk also said he is improving. Monk Gwangcheon is much better as well, now visiting the hermitage every day to see Master.]

Since Seolmae was the messenger, the letter could not be long.

It was a concise report on the conditions of Guyangdo and Gwangcheon. And at the end—

[You know... I miss you.]

Seolhwa’s expression shifted subtly as she read the short line at the bottom.

She recalled how, not long ago, during a talk with the elders, Yugang’s face had unexpectedly surfaced in her mind—leaving her unsettled.

Her brow furrowed. At that moment Seolmae pressed its face against hers.

Seolhwa smiled faintly and stroked its head.

“Just a moment.”

She pulled out the letter she had prepared beforehand and tied it to Seolmae’s leg.

[The Divine Doctor is here at the clan. Once clan matters are finished, I plan to entrust Elder Guyangdo to her care.]

It was even shorter than Yugang’s.

After fastening it, she stroked Seolmae once more.

“I’m counting on you.”

With a powerful beat of its wings, Seolmae took flight.

It circled above her head a few times, then vanished into the distance.

Sssrrshh— A breeze stirred.

Her long hair fluttered in the wind.

Seolhwa gazed toward the Clan Head’s chambers.

‘By now, it must have begun.’

Seop Mugwang’s treatment was underway.

As with Soyak before, there was nothing Seolhwa could do but wait and hope for success.

Tap—

Her figure vanished in an instant.

Only a swirling eddy of aimless wind lingered where she had been.

A day passed.

Messages arrived from the Jegal Clan and Shaolin, stating they would attend the assembly.

Cheongun hastened the preparations—food, lodgings, guards, servants, countless matters demanding attention.

Another day passed.

Sweat poured from Seop Mugwang’s body as if it were rain.

The Divine Doctor pressed and needled each acupoint as the venom was expelled, and Namgoong Mucheon maintained the True Energy Guidance without pause.

Not a single moment of rest was allowed in the treatment.

Another day passed.

While training her sword, Seolhwa wiped away her sweat and glanced back toward the Clan Head’s chambers. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Only Chor Yeon, who moved between the training hall and Medicine Hall, shook her head each time—there was no sign the treatment was near its end.

The clan remained as busy as ever with preparations for the assembly.

Another day passed.

Letters arrived from the Sichuan Tang Clan, the Hebei Peng Clan, as well as the Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect, all declaring their attendance.

The following day, even the Murong Clan sent word they would join.

Thus, every faction favorable to the founding of the Martial Alliance had pledged to attend.

Only six sects remained.

Another day passed.

Faint currents of thunder began to stir around Seop Mugwang.

Flashes of light glimmered through the thick smoke, and steam rose from his body.

The Divine Doctor’s hands grew ever busier.

Until all the poison was gone, there could be no relaxation.

Another day passed.

For the first time in a long while, Seolhwa sparred with Woong in the dueling yard. Hwarin came running in.

Soyak had awakened.

The three of them rushed to the Medicine Hall.

At the sight of the revived Soyak, both Hwarin and Woong were struck speechless.

He was utterly changed.

Those who overcome Dual Polarity Meridian Severance are reborn with the Indestructible Celestial Body — a constitution near immortal.

Soyak’s body had transformed, now massive and solid with rugged muscle.

Only Seolhwa had known this would happen. Hwarin and Woong remained lost in confusion for quite some time.

That evening, a dinner was held to celebrate Soyak’s awakening.

Not extravagant, but sincere.

Having already adjusted to Soyak’s changed appearance, Hwarin and Woong laughed and spoke of the days in Surochae.

Seolhwa, mingling with quiet laughter, stepped outside for a breath of air.

She looked down at her hands, clenching and opening them absently. A cool breeze brushed past.

She raised her gaze—and her eyes trembled faintly.

Not far away stood Seop Mugwang.

With the same proud bearing he had carried when she first met him.

“....”

Something hot tightened around her throat.

She bit her lower lip hard.

Forcing the knot in her throat back down, she finally spoke.

“...Congratulations.”

Seop Mugwang’s lips curved into a sly smile.

“It’s thanks to you, little one.”

But the smile did not last long.

“You...”

He pressed something down inside himself.

“You’ve gone and saved me after all.”

His low voice drifted gently into the still night air.

The treatment had succeeded.