Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special

Seojun strode proudly into the Heavenly Medicine Hall, flanked by Chunbong and Namgung Suah.

He hadn’t even known the place existed, but that wasn’t particularly surprising.

The Namgung Clan estate was massive. It wasn’t just as big as a house, but as wide as an entire village.

Wandering aimlessly was a surefire way to get lost, and since Seojun’s usual range of movement was limited, he probably knew less than a tenth of the buildings within the Namgung Clan.

Which was why they had a guide today.

“The Heavenly Medicine Hall handles most of the clan’s affairs related to spirit pills.”

Namgung Suah, a true local, led the way.

“Oh.”

The Heavenly Medicine Hall wasn’t just one building— it was the entire visible area.

As Seojun looked around curiously, Namgung Suah chuckled.

“It doesn’t just process spirit pills obtained from outside sources. It also houses every alchemy method our clan possesses and even develops new ones from time to time.”

“Like that, uh... Azure Heaven Pill from before?”

“Yes, that’s right. The Namgung Clan created the Azure Heaven Pill long ago.”

As Namgung Suah explained, Chunbong, who had been looking around like a kid on a field trip, suddenly pointed.

“There’s a person over there.”

At the end of her finger was... something vaguely person-shaped.

“Oh... what’s that?”

A corpse lay sprawled on the dirt. Well, not an actual corpse, but close enough that Seojun figured it was only a matter of time.

“Oh my? Hall Master?”

Namgung Suah quickly stepped forward and crouched beside the body.

After a brief examination, she gently shook its shoulder.

“Hall Master, you shouldn’t sleep here.”

“Shut up... I’m the Hall Master... I can sleep wherever I want...”

“Hall Master, we have, uh... guests...”

“Guests...?”

The supposed corpse lifted its head. Its gaze flickered from Seojun to Chunbong and finally to Namgung Suah.

“Gasp...! Young Lady...!”

The formerly lifeless figure sprang up and bowed deeply.

“What brings you here...?”

“Seojun was curious, so we came to take a quick look around with my father’s permission.”

“Ah, yes... Seojun. Seojun... Oh, that Young Master!”

The Hall Master, now fully resurrected, looked Seojun up and down before giving a light fist-palm salute.

“I am Namgung Youngbo, Hall Master of the Heavenly Medicine Hall.”

“Oh... yeah. I’m Lee Seojun.”

“I’m Chunbong.”

Namgung Youngbo studied them as they returned the gesture, his expression turning slightly awkward.

“I apologize. The Heavenly Medicine Hall is quite busy these days. For me to guide you...”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I was planning to guide them myself.”

“I see... Well, this isn’t the time.”

With that, Namgung Youngbo hurried off with quick steps. He seemed to have a lot of work.

“Big sis.”

“Yes?”

“Does the Namgung Clan overwork people? That guy looks like he’d drop dead if you poked him.”

“It’s not like that... They’re in the final stages of developing a new spirit pill. I heard they’ve been extremely busy.”

“Oh? A new spirit pill?”

Seojun’s eyes sparkled with interest. Chunbong’s did too.

“Hey Miss Geum.”

“What is it, Mr. Lee?”

“Doesn’t that sound interesting?”

“Hmm, good thinking.”

The two exchanged glances and nodded.

“Let’s go!”

they boldly tailed Namgung Youngbo, Namgung Suah let out an awkward laugh.

“Um... we really shouldn’t interfere...”

But despite appearances, Seojun usually knew how to respect boundaries.

Sighing, Namgung Suah picked up her pace and followed after them.

*One of the most important facilities in the Heavenly Medicine Hall.

Upon arriving at the alchemy room, the group was immediately hit with a strange odor.

“Ugh...”

Chunbong covered her nose, frowning.

It was fishy yet bitter, sweet yet salty.

The scent was a chaotic mix that made it impossible for the nose to adjust. Anyone working here had to endure this scent all day.

And then there was the wave of heat that hit them as they stepped inside, making it clear this wasn’t a place to linger for long.

“Young Lady?”

Namgung Youngbo looked surprised to see them.

“I’m sorry. They were curious about the alchemy process... We won’t interfere, so would it be alright if we observed for a bit?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

Namgung Youngbo quickly masked his discomfort. After all, since the Clan Head had granted permission, there was no reason to worry about alchemy methods being leaked.

They were the Young Master and Young Lady of the Namgung Clan, after all.

As long as they didn’t pry too much into the details, there wouldn’t be a problem.

“You! Toss that out and start over! What’s the point of holding onto something that’s already failed!”

“Yes, sir!”

Namgung Youngbo refocused on his work, leaving Seojun’s group behind.

The process he was working on now was optimizing an alchemy method. The formula had already been established, but its difficulty made it practically impossible to execute at a human level. So, he kept making adjustment after adjustment.

Preparing ingredients and putting them through various refining processes wasn’t the hard part.

The real challenge was the final step.

The precise sequencing of ingredients. The harmonization of binding them all together.

The Heaven-Man Divine Pill required qi to be guided into forming a certain structure. This meant that the alchemist had to shape its flow using their own inner qi.

Even the smallest error would lead to failure.

Exact timing, exact qi manipulation, exact force and direction, exact form.

And because the qi structure that needed to be formed inside the Heaven-Man Divine Pill was so complex, no one had succeeded so far.

Drip, drip.

Sweat poured down Namgung Youngbo’s entire body.

His skillful control of meticulously releasing inner qi while stirring the massive cauldron was impressive, but...

Bubble.

As a large bubble rose, Namgung Youngbo squeezed his eyes shut.

“I quit. I quit. This damn thing. Who the hell came up with this formula? Show yourself right now!”

Growing more frustrated, he stomped his feet in place.

Yang Songbaek, one of the hall’s subordinates, cautiously spoke.

“Um... Hall Master, you were the one who created the framework.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?!”

“No, but you asked, so...”

“You bastard! Now that I think about it, didn’t you leave work early last time too? Should we settle that today!?”

“Uh, Hall Master? Maybe not in front of the guests...”

Ah.

Momentarily forgetting their presence, Namgung Youngbo glanced at the group. Fortunately, they didn’t seem too interested.

The Young Master was peering into the cauldron with an intrigued expression, while the other two simply stared at him.

...Was there something in there?

Frowning, Namgung Youngbo stepped closer and looked inside. There was nothing special. It was just another failure as before.

“Um, Young Master?”

“Ah, Hall Master.”

Noticing Namgung Youngbo’s approach, Seojun pointed at the cauldron.

“Why did you do it like this? I think I roughly get what you’re trying to do, but... isn’t the process way too complicated?”

A beginner’s question. But that was natural. Most martial artists didn’t know much about alchemy.

Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Namgung Youngbo said.

“It is too complex... but the process itself has meaning, so there’s no helping it.”

“Is that so? It doesn’t seem like it has to be necessarily done this way... May I give it a try?”

Namgung Youngbo’s eyebrows twitched as he heard Seojun’s words. He didn’t have time for this.

Technically, nothing catastrophic would happen if there was a slight delay, but after spending nearly a decade on this project, it was hard not to feel impatient to see it completed.

Just as he was about to refuse, Namgung Suah spoke up.

“Hall Master, could you allow just one attempt? I apologize for the inconvenience, but... you never know, right?”

Namgung Suah smiled faintly. At the sight, Namgung Youngbo felt his frustration settle. Before he even realized it, he found himself nodding.

“Yes. If the Young Lady says so.”

Seojun quietly marveled at this.

“Oh...”

As expected of the Namgung Clan’s idol.

For reasons beyond his understanding, Namgung Suah’s popularity in the clan was borderline worship.

If she casually mentioned that she was too lazy to reach for a cup of water, someone would probably rush over to hand it to her.

Strange indeed.

How did she manage that?

*Seojun was given a brief explanation of the alchemy method for the Heaven-Man Divine Pill.

He didn’t bother paying attention to ingredient preparation or the various refining processes.

That part was already done anyway, and Seojun had to focus on was the final step.

Yeah, this is complicated.

The way inner qi functioned in the alchemy process. Seojun nodded slightly at that explanation.

It wasn’t martial arts... it was a concept closer to sorcery.

But Seojun had already learned sorcery, even if only at an amateur level, so he understood it just fine.

Basically, he needed to use his inner qi to guide the qi within the pill into forming a specific Five Elements Formation.

The issue was that this particular Five Elements Formation was ridiculously intricate. The Five Elements had to be arranged in precise sequences, their interwoven paths connected with perfect timing.

One mistake, and the whole thing would collapse.

“You probably won’t get any meaningful results right away. However... given that even I can barely complete half the process, there’s no need to feel pressured.”

“Okay.”

Completely unfazed, Seojun stepped up to the cauldron, its contents quietly bubbling.

It was definitely a complex and difficult process. From the moment inner qi was applied, a single error meant failure.

But that was all.

Compared to the Primordial Divine Art, this was easy.

Seojun was using the Primordial Divine Art casually, but even the martial arts prodigy Geum Chunbong didn’t dare to attempt learning it.

The alchemy method for the Heaven-Man Divine Pill wasn’t even in the same league, honestly.

For that reason, success wasn’t a question. The real challenge was optimizing the alchemy method.

He needed to lower the difficulty enough so that others besides himself could succeed.

He didn’t think it would be particularly difficult.

Why is this so difficult for them?

Well, first things first. He’d make it according to the standard method, get a feel for it, and go from there.

“Shall I begin?”

Seojun placed his hand over the cauldron.