Chapter 164: We made a mistake…! (10)

Cale walked up the stairs and out of the Dragon's tomb.

The Sichuan Castle Lord. He made eye contact with the Fist King as soon as he walked into the now ownerless study.

"It's been a while, young master Kim."

"…Uhh, yes sir."

Cale flinched.

It could not be helped. The Fist King looked like hell right now.

'Did he go roll around in a pit of dust?'

He had soot all over his body and was extremely skinny as if the moisture was sucked out of his body.

And his great-granddaughter, Mok Hee…

"...."

She was blankly standing there as if her soul had been sucked out before bowing toward Cale.

'They look like they went and struggled a lot.'

Especially the three Embroidered Uniform Guards who came with the Fist King…

Unlike the Embroidered Uniform Guards that Cale had seen until now, their armors had a fancy crest on them. They were obviously high in ranking. They also seemed to be blanking out a bit.

'How much did they struggle if the people whose job is to protect the Emperor are blanking out like this?'

Cale looked at the metal container in the Fist King's hand.

'The thing in there is what turned these swords of the Emperor like this?

…I'm getting a bit anxious.'

He felt as if he could not take this elixir lightly.

But it made sense since the Fist King had to personally move to get this treasure of the Imperial family.

'Will I cough up blood after eating them?'

The fact that he was fine after consuming the Dragon's Tear earlier made Cale feel extremely unsettled that something big might happen now.

That might explain why Cale's gaze could not move away from the box in the Fist King's hand.

The Fist King saw Cale's gaze and gulped.

'How surprising.'

The Fist King had already been here and waiting before Chief Eunuch Wi could tell Cale that he was here.

He chose to wait because he heard that young master Kim was doing something in the basement.

As he was waiting…

'That was a formidable aura.'

Underneath the study… He felt an immense aura from the stairs heading to the basement.

The intense auras swirling around gave the Fist King such chills that he couldn't even be shocked at the loud banging noises.

Two.

He could clearly tell that two amazing powers were clashing against each other. The Fist King had no choice but to ask Chief Eunuch Wi what young master Kim was doing via sound transmission.

Young master Kim's people looked so relaxed that he felt the need to ask stealthily instead of openly.

'Chief Eunuch Wi. What is young master Kim doing?'

'…A Dragon...'

'Hmm?'

'…A Dragon. He is consuming a Dragon, Fist King-nim.'

'Ho.'

It was truly unbelievable.

Of course, the next sound transmission explained that young master Kim was not fighting a Dragon but absorbing everything that a Dragon had left behind, but…

Either way, it meant that he was consuming all of a Dragon with a human body.

'Truly, where is young master Kim's limit?'

Even thinking about that clash of amazing auras again gave him the chills.

The Fist King understood why his great-granddaughter and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were blanking out.

The strong auras that started from the basement and created such a shock that this large Castle Lord's residence shook…

It would be difficult to maintain their full consciousness while feeling those auras.

'Young master Kim. We have not even glimpsed at his limit yet.'

He is scary.

Kim Hae-il. This person felt scarier the more he got to know him.

'The Imperial family-'

He had this thought for the first time.

'Can the Imperial family control young master Kim?

Couldn't he destroy the Imperial Palace as well if he wanted to do so?'

The Fist King stopped his thoughts there. Any further thought would be fear itself, so he could not think about it any longer.

The Fist King was feeling as if the elixir in his hands was useless.

This thought became even more certain after he saw young master Kim's gaze.

Young master Kim's gaze as he looked at the box with the elixir-

"…There is no greed.'

He did not feel any signs of greed or desire. What he felt was actually anguish and hesitation.

'Ha.'

There were probably no martial artists like this anywhere in the world.

Elixirs and martial arts text… The majority of martial artists were people who would put their lives on the line and take another's life for these treasures.

Those cravings grew larger and larger the stronger a martial artist got.

It was because their growth slowed down the stronger they got.

It was easier to be seduced by the thought of relying on something else other than training.

"Young master Kim."

The Fist King offered the box to Cale.

'May I ask what this elixir is?"

The Fist King nodded his head and started to explain.

"A long time ago."

Cale flinched.

'I asked him to explain the elixir so why does it feel like he is about to start sharing a traditional fairytale?'

"It was a time when humans, divine beasts, and animals all lived together."

It really was a traditional fairytale.

"We call that period the ancient times."

The ancient times.

That term made Cale feel odd.

"At some point during ancient times… There was an imugi."

Imugi.

An existence before it becomes a Dragon. Or an existence that failed to become a Dragon.

They were talking about Dragons again.

"Unlike most imugis that lived by ponds or caves, this imugi lived in a peculiar place. It was a blacksmith's house."

– Human! This story sounds like it would be fun! It is very interesting!

Cale treated Raon's voice as background music.

He then thought to himself.

'Can't he just give it to me?'

However, the Fist King continued to speak.

"A blacksmith's daughter saw a dying young imugi and thought it was a baby snake. She brought it back home and took care of it, leading it to live with her."

– What a great blacksmith!

"However, that child quickly realized that this was no ordinary snake. Why? Because this peculiar imugi ate fire."

– A fire eating Dragon! How amazing!

"The child took the imugi back to the mountain she found it on. That mountain was a volcano. It was a dormant volcano so nobody knew it was a volcano. The imugi supposedly grew up eating the lava there."

– A lava eating Dragon! How cool.

"One day, after the years had passed, the volcano erupted. The lava flowed out uncontrollably and the sky became dyed the color of ashes. And the lava headed toward the village."

– …No...!

"The imugi appeared at that time. Fifty years had already gone by and the ten years or so child had followed her father's footsteps and become a blacksmith. She was now trying to find an heir herself. After growing for half a century, the imugi was supposedly very long as well.

-....

Raon was now silent.

"The imugi's body stopped to block the flowing lava. It consumed the lava nonstop and stopped what it couldn't eat with its body, until it managed to save the village from being destroyed by the lava. Apparently the volcanic ashes were unable to reach the village either."

Cale made eye contact with the Fist King.

"That imugi burned up the volcano itself."

It was written in the legends.

"That imugi was not a Dragon, but legend says that it was basically the embodiment of fire."

'Mm.'

Cale held back a gulp.

This was really not an ordinary item.

– Sniff.

Cale flinched.

Perhaps-

– Sniff sniff.

'Raon, are you crying?'

– Sniff, snort!

He could hear a teary voice.

– A, g, great and mighty, snort! Imugi!

The Fist King slowly opened the iron box.

"This box has a formation drawn on it. The formation suppresses the aura of the elixir. It can only be maintained for five days. We've used up most of the time getting here so you have to consume this elixir in the next twelve hours."

Something very small and black was gently placed inside this box with numerous formations on it.

"The only thing that the imugi left behind."

Fifty years. That was a long time for humans but not very long for an imugi.

Although its body had grown larger, the still young Dragon even burned up the cintamani, the orb it had gathered its aura to ascend to a Dragon in the future, in order to protect the village.

But there was one thing that remained without burning.

"We call this the Reverse Scale."

Reverse Scale.

It was the only scale of a Dragon that was upside down, known for being a Dragon's weakness but also something that would enrage a Dragon if it was touched.

The black scale… Cale looked at the extremely small scale.

– Wow, this-

The Fire of Destruction spoke in an extremely excited voice.

– Am I going to be completely unsealed and get stronger?

Wow."

Cale was amazed.

'The Imperial Palace really is generous.'

Reverse Scale.

Even the name made it easy to feel the precious value of this elixir.

"This must be the Imperial family's treasure."

The Fist King nodded his head.

"That's right. It truly is a treasure. It is an item even his Majesty cannot touch as he pleases."

He made eye contact with Cale and then added on.

"It is an item that was stored in a sealing formation near a volcano."

Cale finally understood why the Fist King looked like such a mess.

"You must have gone through a lot for this, sir."

"I should at least do this much."

Cale took the box that the Fist King offered.

He then started to walk.

"I think it would be best to absorb this in the basement."

"Guard-"

The Fist King stopped without finishing his sentence.

"I will be waiting up here."

"Yes sir."

The Fist King could see Choi Han walking behind Cale and heard a voice in his mind.

– I am going with him! Don't worry, Fist King! It was a touching story!

A real Dragon was by young master Kim's side.

* * *

"Huuuuuu."

Cale sat comfortably on the floor of the basement and sighed.

He then looked down at the black scale in the box.

"Human! That was such a touching story!"

Cale listened to Raon's rambling as he reached into the box without any hesitation.

His finger touched the scale.

Crackle.

'Hmm?'

The scale cracked.

'Huh?'

To be more accurate, a black crack appeared on it before the scale revealed its true appearance as if the black color was a shell.

"Human, it's so pretty-"

A brilliant red scale was sparkling beautifully.

"But human, why is your hand shaking so much?"

Cale's hand was shaking.

It was not his doing.

'Holy crap!'

The immense pressure being transferred to his hand from the scale was making it shake.

It was at that moment.

"Ugh!"

Cale's body curled forward.

"Human!"

He could not even pay attention to Raon's shouting. Cale urgently moved the hand that was not touching the scale.

He rummaged through his inner shirt pocket before grabbing something in his hand.

The white crown.

The bastard that consumes Dragon blood.

Cale remembered how a whirlpool-like black mouth appeared in the white jewel at the center of the crown and greedily sucked up the Dragon half-blood's blood.

And the new item that he just got that the Dominating Aura said may allow him to even make gods cower if he combined it with this crown…

'Why is this?'

This white crown was giving off a lot of heat right now.

It was so hot that Cale subconsciously curled forward.

Cale's face stiffened while looking at the white crown.

"Human!"

"Don't come here."

Cale stopped Raon from approaching. He then addressed Choi Han.

"The two of you go over there to the stairs."

"Yes, Cale-nim."

Choi Han must have noticed that it was serious as he took Raon and retreated to the stairs. Raon was extremely anxious but Cale couldn't help it.

The white jewel at the center of the white crown…

A black vortex had appeared there.

It was clear what it was trying to do.

'The scale!'

That disgusting vortex was twitching toward the direction of the scale in Cale's other hand.

Furthermore, the aura that the scale was releasing was getting stronger.

"Mm."

A pressure that was making even Choi Han flinch from a distance, to be more accurate, a presence, was extending out of the scale.

'I thought it was an imugi!

It was supposed to just be an imugi!

Not only that, this is just one scale of it so why is it releasing such pressure?!'

Cale subconsciously started releasing his Dominating Aura.

He could not help it. He needed to get past this.

It was at that moment.

– Cale.

It was an imposing voice.

The Dominating Aura. The owner of this power that was great for scamming calmly spoke.

– That crown reacts to Dragon blood.

Cale immediately retorted.

"But this is an imugi and not a Dragon?"

– That's correct. This crown is not reacting because it wants Dragon's blood or a Dragon's by-products.

'Then what?

Why is it suddenly acting like this?'

– Kehehe.

The imposing voice let out an odd laugh.

– I see. I think I understand this imugi's identity.

Ooooooooong-

The scale started vibrating intensely.

Cale's eyes opened wide.

A red aura slowly started rising from the small scale.

It looked like a blood-mixed fog.

– This imugi is one that received the choice to become a Dragon, that was fated to become one, but it rejected its fate and died after burning up its cintamani, which is basically its existence!

No wonder this crown desires it!

This crown that consumes Dragon blood would obviously want the will, the spirit, the only thing left behind by an imugi with the spirit that is equivalent to a Dragon!

The imposing voice quietly whispered.

– Only then can it overcome a Dragon. The crown does not like having someone above it.

Cale. This crown wants to place that scale where the white jewel is located. It would become very strong.

It was at that moment.

"Ugh!"

Cale curled forward again.

One of the spatial pocket bags was rumbling intensely.

Maxillienne.

One of the treasures that she left behind, the spatial pocket bag with the crown, was releasing intense heat.

Almost as if it was asking for Cale to give it the scale.

This Reverse Scale…

The two crowns were fighting over this item.

'This is driving me nuts!'

Cale couldn't believe it.

Why?

'I'm going to consume this!

Am I going to have it swiped by these crowns?'

– Cale. There is a way.

The imposing voice. The Dominating Aura sounded quite excited as he spoke.

– You wear the crown.

'What the hell is he saying? Why is it so hard to consume a single elixir?'

Cale was annoyed.

—

Translator's Comments

Yes. Wear the crown. Be the crown. You are the crown.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]