***
Cheon Mong-han stood still in surprise and begged until his hands were worn out.
"M-my apologies! I won't do it again! Please forgive me just this once!"
"Cheon-sunbae, it would be best for you not to cause this kind of trouble again!"
"Regardless of the sect's regulations or anything else, I'm a beggar with nothing to lose, so if things go wrong, it's just a matter of you dying and me dying! Do you understand?"
"Y-yes. I won't show my face before you again. N-never again."
Cheon Mong-han quickly spoke those words and tried to flee from the area, fearing that Lee An-jeong might chase after him and hit him again.
At that moment, Lee An-jeong suddenly shouted.
"But Cheon-sunbae... with an empty mouth?"
"What? What? What does that...?"
Cheon Mong-han, who was expressing doubt at Lee An-jeong’s words, suddenly realized something and looked at the Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman held in his hand.
It appeared certain that Lee An-jeong was telling him to leave that Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman behind and go.
"N-no... th-this is a treasure of my family..."
With those words, Cheon Mong-han hid the talisman in his chest and resisted vehemently.
At that, Lee An-jeong’s expression changed terrifyingly; he spat on the ground and shouted roughly.
"Ah, damn it! Tui! This won't do. Let's just pay the settlement money today and leave the mountain! Living recklessly is the life of us beggars anyway!"
He spoke roughly as if he had truly become a beggar and cracked his knuckles.
He looked as if he would take the Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman even if he had to kill the man.
Cheon Mong-han’s heart dropped, and he had no choice but to quickly take out the Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman and place it on the ground.
"H-here it is. I'll leave this talisman behind and go, so please just let me go! I can go now, right?"
With those words, Cheon Mong-han tried to step back cautiously.
However, Lee An-jeong had no intention of letting him go just yet.
"Is that all? There wouldn't be just one sheet, would there?"
"N-no. Truly, there is only this one sheet. Even this is a very precious treasure worth 50 mid-grade spirit stones, so there is only one in our family!"
"Hmm. Is that so? If I search you and even one more sheet comes out, then... you know, right?"
At Lee An-jeong’s words, Cheon Mong-han was terrified and shouted almost as if he were crying with an aggrieved expression.
"I’m telling the truth. If you’re suspicious, truly search me. Here!"
Cheon Mong-han then threw his storage pouch onto the ground.
'Oh! A storage pouch! Shall I see what else is in there?'
Then, Lee An-jeong, with a sinister expression, picked up the Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman from the ground and also picked up Cheon Mong-han’s storage pouch.
"Let’s see... what might be in here? Hehe—"
Upon hearing Lee An-jeong’s sinister laughter, Cheon Mong-han flinched and trembled.
Inside Cheon Mong-han’s storage pouch, there indeed was not another Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman.
However, it contained dozens of precious low-grade spirit stones, dozens of talismans, and even five mid-grade spirit stones.
"What? Cheon-sunbae, you were incredibly rich? Does it make sense for a miscellaneous labor disciple to even have mid-grade spirit stones? Didn't you get all of this illegally? Or it's a prohibited item, or something like that! Should I try asking Gong-son-yeon for sure?"
"N-no. It's absolutely not that. If you want it, you can take all of it. J-just leave me about one mid-grade spirit stone..."
At those words, Lee An-jeong frowned roughly and shouted.
"Aish, you still haven't come to your senses! Should I really pay the settlement money today? Damn it...!"
Seeing that sight, Cheon Mong-han’s face turned completely pale, and he waved his hands desperately.
"N-no. I thought wrongly. I-I'll give it all to you."
Only then did Lee An-jeong smile.
"Now you're finally speaking sense. Cheon-sunbae, thank you. I'll use it well. See you next time."
"N-no. There won't be another time when I appear before you. N-never!"
As soon as Lee An-jeong’s words fell, Cheon Mong-han grabbed only his empty storage pouch and vanished from the scene in an instant.
Hwang Cheon, who had been stealthily observing the mood, also fled hurriedly behind Cheon Mong-han.
Only then did Lee An-jeong look at the Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman in his hand with a grin.
He thought it was perfect since he needed new talismans anyway.
"Ohoho— It's worth 50 mid-grade spirit stones? To think he brought something like this in. Moreover, how much is all of this? At any rate, those guys who live well... regardless, this will be quite useful, won't it?"
Lee An-jeong looked at the Spiritual Reflection Mirror Talisman and the pile of low-grade spirit stones, talismans, and mid-grade spirit stones on the ground, put them into his storage pouch, and then turned toward Mak Cheong-un.
"Oh! Mak Cheong-un! You didn't completely run away? You're not a total coward, are you?"
At Lee An-jeong’s words, a light of admiration dwelled within Mak Cheong-un’s frightened expression.
"L-Lee An-jeong... you're really strong! As expected, you're definitely the Soft-Root Bloodline!"
In the expression with which Mak Cheong-un looked at Lee An-jeong now, even a sense of awe and a gaze of respect could be felt.
Mak Cheong-un was convinced that Lee An-jeong was undoubtedly of the Soft-Root Bloodline and would reach the Foundation Establishment stage before long.
'Why is this brat suddenly acting like this? Did he eat something wrong?'
All the way back to the training cave, Mak Cheong-un’s awe-filled gaze toward Lee An-jeong showed no signs of being withdrawn.
<><><>
Dong— Dong—
As it became afternoon, the bell rang twice again.
The time for labor training had come.
This labor training was the collection of spirit herbs.
Upon arriving at the starting point for spirit herb collection, about a hundred baskets and daggers were placed on the ground.
"Everyone, pick up one of those and return here before the sun sets. You know the quota is 3 Spirit-Gathering Herbs each, right? Spirit-Gathering Herbs are scattered everywhere, so if you look well, you'll be able to find about 3 before sunset. If you find Yang-Energy Herbs or Ice-Heart Herbs, finding just 1 is enough. Well, they say the legendary Yellow Dragon Herb appeared hundreds of years ago, so look carefully. Now! Everyone, depart!"
Gong-son-yeon, lying on a rock with her eyes closed, waved her hand dismissively.
With a bored expression, she soon began to snore.
Looking around, some familiar faces were visible.
Among them was Cheon Mong-han, who had been severely beaten by Lee An-jeong in the morning.
As soon as his eyes met Lee An-jeong’s, Cheon Mong-han flinched, quickly grabbed a basket and a dagger, and vanished into the mountains on the opposite side.
Lee An-jeong realized once again that the ancient truth—that a beating is the best medicine—was not wrong.
Lee An-jeong also grabbed a basket and a dagger and went deep into the mountains.
A moment later, Gong-son-yeon opened her closed eyes and grinned.
"Look at this? Judging by the atmosphere, it seems Lee An-jeong eventually won? How did a fellow who is only around the 1st star of the Qi Condensation stage beat Cheon Mong-han, who is at the 2nd star? That boy is quite an interesting one!"
However, as if she had never done so, she soon closed her eyes and began to snore.
<><><>
As expected of one of the few high mountain regions in the Byeok-guk country, Mount So-cheong had a rugged terrain.
Not long after entering the mountains, his body naturally tilted backward due to the precipitous slope.
Amidst that, thick clouds and mist filled his vision.
Perhaps because the amount of oxygen in the air had decreased, his breathing became slightly labored.
If it had been his previous body that had not practiced spiritual qi, Lee An-jeong would likely have been unable to climb further due to the adverse conditions and would have had to descend the mountain just like that.
For that reason, the sounds of coughing or staggering and falling were heard from here and there.
However, Lee An-jeong, who had risen to the 3rd star of the Qi Condensation stage, walked up the steep slope with a relaxed gait as if taking a stroll and muttered to himself.
"Hmm— Since I’m out here, I should definitely find at least a similar spirit herb."
This was the first time Lee An-jeong had come out for a spirit herb collection.
During this time, he had been waiting eagerly for a medicinal herb collection to be assigned, and finally, after a month, it had been assigned today.
The reason Lee An-jeong had waited so long was none other than ConXX and InXX.
It was because the quantity of these two medicinal herbs, which were the core of his cultivation, was gradually decreasing.
Because he had been taking them for over a month now, only about two months' worth remained.
If he could not quickly find medicinal herbs with similar effects, it would inevitably cause a massive hindrance to his cultivation when they were eventually depleted two months later.
"In short, I need to find drugs that have a stimulating effect and a stabilizing effect. Is there something suitable somewhere?"
From what he had heard, something called Clear-Heart Herb was said to have a great effect on stimulation and mental concentration.
Since it was said to grow rarely here on Mount So-cheong as well, Lee An-jeong decided to find Clear-Heart Herb first.
Just then, a sound was heard from somewhere.
"It's a Spirit-Gathering Herb!"
It seemed someone had discovered a spirit herb.
The Spirit-Gathering Herb was the most basic medicinal herb helpful for spiritual qi cultivation and was used in the manufacture of various elixirs.
In particular, among them, it was the main ingredient for the Spirit Qi Pill, which helped in rising through the realms for cultivators at the early stage of the Qi Condensation stage.
Lee An-jeong subtly enhanced his vision toward the place where that sound was heard.
Then, piercing through the clouds and mist, the figure of a boy about twenty paces away came into his sight in an instant.
In the boy's hand was a trumpet-shaped red flower, and an egg-shaped fruit was hanging below it.
"Oho! It seems that is the Spirit-Gathering Herb? Shall I look for it too?"
Once Lee An-jeong identified the Spirit-Gathering Herb, he memorized its feel and looked around his surroundings.
However, he could not find it at all due to the clouds and mist.
Since it was difficult to find with his eyes, he immediately closed his eyes and tried to sense the energy.
Because he had already taken two pills before leaving the training cave, the medicinal effect was flowing through his entire body.
Then, in the next moment, as if a light were brightening in the darkness, minute traces of energy were felt in several places around him.
"Huh? What? Why are there so many? And why is it so easy to feel?"
Surprisingly, dozens of Spirit-Gathering Herbs were scattered around.
Due to the clouds and mist, the other children were fumbling around and unable to find them, but because Lee An-jeong could sense them clearly, he could find them all too easily.
"Haha! Good! Shall I dig them all up?"
Lee An-jeong moved hurriedly and, after sweeping through the surroundings, dug up dozens of Spirit-Gathering Herbs, from the petals to the fruits, in one go.
Even though not even half an hour had passed since he climbed the mountain, he had already far exceeded the quota.
Since a miscellaneous labor disciple could keep anything above the quota, Lee An-jeong put only 3 Spirit-Gathering Herbs in his basket and put the rest in his storage pouch.
Having done that, Lee An-jeong began to observe his surroundings with a comfortable mind.
"Hah! Now I have to find that Clear-Heart Herb or whatever. How do I find it? I don't know what it looks like and I don't know its scent, so this is truly frustrating."
It was right then that a certain thought occurred to Lee An-jeong.
The memory of when he had found that deep underground spirit vein suddenly came to mind.
"Wait? That's right! If it's such a precious medicinal herb, wouldn't a strong spiritual nature be felt? Should I try searching properly by concentrating just like when I found the spirit vein?"
As soon as that thought occurred, Lee An-jeong immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.
Then, after taking out one mid-grade spirit stone from his storage pouch, he closed his eyes and began the breathing of the Qi-gathering method.
In an instant, powerful spiritual qi whipped around his fingertips and the tip of his nose and entered his body.
While absorbing the spiritual qi, Lee An-jeong focused his mind and tried to sense everything in his surroundings.
The energy of the Spirit-Gathering Herbs he had felt earlier and the faint energy of medicinal herbs of a similar grade began to be felt slowly from afar.
However, it was at that moment.
Suddenly, a very massive energy that was somewhat heterogeneous was felt.
Compared to the large spirit vein deep underground, it was truly a small energy that was nothing short of faint.
However, compared to the other spirit herbs in the vicinity, it possessed a very powerful energy that was clearly distinguishable.
Lee An-jeong snapped his eyes open at that moment and threw his body toward that place.
In an instant, after moving about a hundred paces deep into the mountains, a precipitous cliff suddenly appeared before Lee An-jeong’s eyes.
Surprisingly, the spirit herb harboring that massive energy was growing about ten paces below the edge of that cliff.
The yellow petals were beautiful with a brilliant light, and the three-pronged stem below it was curved like the shape of a dragon.
Even with a single glance, it was a spirit herb that appeared extraordinary.
***