CHWAAAAAAAK!

The sound of water being sliced apart was razor-sharp.

BOOM! BOOOOOOM! 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The river at the stern exploded, and the speedboat surged even faster.

Shock spread across Gangryang’s face.

“Th-that’s incredible, Brother.”

“Don’t talk to me right now. I need to concentrate.”

“Yes, sir!”

With heavy, deliberate motions, Yeon Hojeong thrust his palms out one after the other.

BOOOOOOM!

The surface of the river exploded again, giving the speedboat another burst of speed.

It’s harder than I remembered.

This was not a palm art meant for striking.

It was a palm art that pressed gently against the water’s surface, then triggered an explosion at exactly the right moment. It did not consume Inner Qi on the same scale as certain other methods, but it demanded far finer control than ordinary palm arts.

WHOOM!

For an instant, the speedboat tilted.

Yeon Hojeong shouted, “Brother!”

“My apologies, Hojeong! I lost my balance for a moment!”

“You need to spread the weight lower and wider!”

“Understood!”

Simply unleashing overwhelming palm force was not enough to make the speedboat gain speed.

For it to maintain proper balance while moving forward, Mo Yong-woo’s role at the bow was just as important. Using a method similar to Thousand-Pound Drop, he had to increase the weight while still balancing it in a way that would not interfere with speed.

Mookbi and Gangryang rowed on the left and right. At the stern, Yeon Hojeong drove the boat onward with finely controlled palm force. The speedboat cut across the Yangtze at a speed that had never been seen before.

After some time had passed, Mo Yong-woo called out, “Hojeong, is your Inner Qi holding up?”

“I’m fine. If it starts running out halfway through, I’ll rest then.”

Even when time was short, there was no reason to abandon their assigned roles. A careless mistake could cause an accident, and that would only delay them further.

Mo Yong-woo found that side of Yeon Hojeong newly surprising. At a glance, he could look like a man who simply charged ahead recklessly, but his eye for the whole field was always precise.

In any case, as time passed, each of them grew accustomed to the role they had taken on. Bit by bit, a measure of ease began to appear on the faces of all four.

“Hojeong.”

“Hm?”

“What do you make of what the sailor said?”

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

“I think the Medical God Association has its hands in this, but I can’t be sure.”

“Hm.”

Then Mookbi spoke.

“I still don’t understand.”

“What?”

“This organization, the Medical God Association. Can it really be that formidable? At the end of the day, it’s just an organization of physicians. I mean... sure, I can believe it has money.”

Mookbi knew more about medicine than one might expect. Not because she had received any proper education, but because while living in Gwanil Valley, she had learned enough medical knowledge to treat wounds and illness on her own.

That was why she could understand it in her head, but not feel it in her bones. She could not fully grasp just how valued physicians were, or how extraordinary the treatment they received could be.

“Even from a martial artist’s perspective, physicians aren’t people you can dismiss lightly. Of course they aren’t. If you’re injured, you need treatment. You can handle the small things yourself, but when you’re badly hurt, the need for a physician becomes desperate.”

“Mm.”

“But the way the imperial palace, the government, and ordinary people view physicians is on an entirely different level from how the martial world views them.”

“You mean they’re even more important?”

“Of course.”

Mo Yong-woo picked up where Yeon Hojeong left off.

“A physician of real skill often becomes the personal doctor of high officials and great nobles. Naturally, that gives him influence, and in addition to immense wealth, it means he ends up holding power greater than that of most officials.”

Mookbi furrowed her brow.

“To that extent?”

“I do not know what extent you had in mind, but likely far beyond what you imagined. If warriors and soldiers are those who deal with death, then physicians are those who deal with life. Naturally, they are bound to be treated accordingly.”

“Mmm.”

“To put it another way, isn’t that much the reason we are going to escort the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions in the first place? A physician of her ability is the kind of person you could bring in for a thousand pieces of gold and still feel you had not paid enough.”

“I see. Now I understand. So their power isn’t real military force, but influence derived from their own value.”

“Exactly.”

Yeon Hojeong spoke.

“And the physicians of our Central Plains do not casually pass their knowledge on to others. There have been people who tried, but the other physicians often ostracized them or threatened them, saying they were devaluing medicine itself.”

Mookbi sighed.

“What is there to hoard so jealously?”

“It makes sense that they would value it. You could call it their intellectual property. The problem is that they disregard other people’s free will too much. Then again, medicine itself is such a difficult discipline that even those who want to learn it would not find it easy.”

Gangryang spoke.

“It’s simple.”

Mookbi looked at him.

“What is?”

“The process.”

“What process?”

“There are not many people who can exert influence over boatmen.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes. Sister, did you know? Just like the Green Forest bandits, there are men who prey on people along the Yangtze.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes lit up.

“The Yangtze River Stockade.”

“That’s right.”

Gangryang said with an uncomfortable expression, “The Green Forest and the Yangtze River Stockade are both part of the Dark Path. And the Dark Path can’t help but watch the government’s mood more carefully than the Orthodox Path does. Unless it’s a group that can boast strength on the level of a great sect.”

“Mm, and?”

“Those with ties to the government can exert tremendous influence over the Dark Path.”

“So what does that—ah?!”

Mookbi cried out.

“Then the Medical God Association?”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“If the Medical God Association is a union formed by famous physicians of the Central Plains, then we can assume it has deep ties to the government.”

“But we only took three days to reach the Yangtze. They already managed that much in just three days?!”

“The information network of the martial world and the information network of the government aren’t all that different. If they truly want to spread word around, there’s no reason they can’t.”

Yeon Hojeong sighed.

Even so, he kept releasing palm force in a steady rhythm. By now, the motion seemed completely at home in his body.

“That’s why I wanted to move fast.”

“What in the world did the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions do to make them go this far?”

“That’s their concern, not ours. What matters is that we get into Jiangxi Province as soon as possible.”

Whatever the case, they had obtained a speedboat, so the result was not bad.

As she rowed, a thought struck Mookbi, and she tilted her head.

“But something is strange.”

“Hm? What?”

Mookbi frowned.

“If they’re an organization capable of exerting that kind of influence, wasn’t Ga Yeokso acting far too humbly? Even in front of famous figures like Young Master Yeon or Commander Mo Yong-woo.”

“Ga Yeokso?”

“Yes. Not just anyone can block the waterways in three days. And from the sound of it, the Medical God Association doesn’t seem to have any real reason to fear the Martial Alliance at all.”

This was not a matter of force, but of influence. The Medical God Association had deep ties to the government, so there was no need for either side to fear the other from the outset.

Of course, that was only true so long as they remained on decent terms. Government or martial world, either side had more than enough ability to target the other’s people if relations turned sour.

“Perhaps...”

Mo Yong-woo frowned.

“I think it may have been Ga Yeokso’s personal problem. The look he showed us then did not seem like an act.”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“I think so too.”

“In that case, just as you said, Hojeong, the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions may really be in danger. If Ga Yeokso handled matters in the form of acting first and reporting later, the Medical God Association may ignore that entirely and strike at once.”

“Yes. That’s possible.”

“Now that we’ve talked it through, I’m certain you were right. We should move as quickly as possible.”

“Right.”

Yeon Hojeong said to Gangryang, “For the time being, this is movement-arts training. Fall behind, and we leave you behind, so keep up properly.”

Gangryang grumbled, “You said that the first time we met too. You keep saying you’ll leave me behind.”

“Watch it.”

“Understood. No need to worry.”

Yeon Hojeong sighed.

“Damn it. I just hope nothing happens before we get there.”

Sadly, heaven did [N O V E L I G H T] not grant that wish.

After crossing the Yangtze without incident and entering Jiangxi Province in the blink of an eye with their monstrous movement arts, the group received shocking news from the Beggars’ Union branch.

“This is bad! An unidentified group has attacked the medical office where the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions is staying!”

“Those sons of bitches!”

“Thankfully, the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions is on the run! The attackers are not touching the patients. They are only pursuing her!”

“Anyone helping her?!”

“The Beggars’ Union. In case there was something more behind it, we have avoided direct intervention and focused instead on confusing the attackers’ eyes.”

“Well done. We’ll handle it from here.”

“You need to hurry. Whether it is luck or something else, the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions has been moving in a way that narrowly avoids every place the attackers are targeting, but there is no guarantee that good fortune will continue.”

“We leave at once. But answer me one thing first.”

“You mean the attackers’ identities?”

“That’s right. Can you make even a guess?”

“At present, there is no way to know.”

“Damn it. Fine. Keep working on it.”

“I wish you fortune in battle. Fortunately, the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions is heading north as well, so if you ride for one more day, you should meet her.”

PAAAAANG!

The group put on another burst of speed.

Thankfully, they kept up with Yeon Hojeong’s movement arts well. Mo Yong-woo was a martial artist of wide-ranging ability to begin with, so that much was only expected. Mookbi, at least in movement arts alone, was even better than Yeon Hojeong. And Gangryang stayed hard on their heels through sheer, punishing endurance.

A day passed like that.

Fire blazed in Mo Yong-woo’s eyes.

“Hojeong!”

“I felt it too!”

Beside a branch stream to the left, from a forest path some distance away, they sensed a sharp Killing Intent.

Yeon Hojeong knew at once. That refined Killing Intent belonged unmistakably to an assassin.

And the presence of the target being pursued by that assassin was vivid to a strangely mysterious degree.

THUMP!

His heart turned hot.

THUMP, THUMP!

Vermilion Bird Qi blazed, and his cardiac output surged.

HOOOOOOONG!

White wind gathered beneath his feet. The muscles throughout his entire body swelled tight, and the speed at which True Qi raced through his nerves doubled.

Remarkably, his Four Spirit Qi was even denser now than it had been before his departure from the Martial Alliance. He had reached a stage where, even without deliberate cultivation, his True Qi was growing on its own.

WHIIIIIIIING!

To endure that powerful Four Spirit Qi, the Jade Wave True Qi within him also began to emit far stronger power.

To contain the matured Four Spirit Qi, even the Jade Wave True Qi itself was growing. This mutually reinforcing interplay between intertwined energies was a pace of development he had experienced only a few times even in his days as the Dark Emperor.

Yeon Hojeong’s right foot kicked off a solid boulder.

KWAAAAANG!

As Yeon Hojeong shot forward like a streak of flame, he saw a blonde woman racing toward him, panting hard, her whole body covered in scratches.

The Divine Maiden of the Western Regions!

Yeon Hojeong’s face brightened at once.

But then—

Huh?

The brightness on his face froze in an instant.

“Hah... hah...!”

The Divine Maiden of the Western Regions came running toward him.

The unstable, flickering energy coming off her body made Yeon Hojeong’s eyes shake wildly.

“...The Three Fanatic Creeds?”