The first night of my inauguration ended peacefully, just as I had hoped.
I am someone who can conduct meetings effectively.
After sending the officials away, while So Gun-pyeong and Jin Yong-gak took their positions on high alert, I welcomed the quiet and sacred night.
It was also a day when the power of the Heavenly Jade was abundant within me.
As I sat alone in the great hall, wearing a mask and merely breathing, a servant approached and asked, "Lord, would you like to eat? Or shall I prepare a bath first?"
Did this servant know that the lord had changed? Or was he unaware? If he had only been doing menial tasks and hadn’t come out, it was understandable that he wouldn’t know.
To make my voice heard, I replied, "I don’t need a bath, and I’m fine after eating the pig's bone soup. It seems there’s some blood on my face, so bring me some water to wash up."
"Understood."
The servant walked away, seemingly oblivious to the situation.
I fell into a moment of contemplation. 'Does my voice sound like a rabbit's?' Both are low, but their characteristics are different.
As I watched the servant return with a basin of water, I took off my mask.
The servant, without thinking, looked at my face after I removed the mask and was startled, dropping the basin filled with water to the floor.
His eyes widened in shock.
I glanced at the spilled water and said in a subdued tone, "Bring it back. Clean up the floor too. You really threw that basin down quite forcefully."
"Ah, yes..."
"Don’t be surprised. This time, don’t spill it."
"Understood. I’m sorry."
After a moment, the servant returned, trembling as he brought the basin and placed it on the table before bowing deeply.
"Don’t tremble. You won’t be harmed. I am the new Black Cat Lord."
"Yes, Lord. It’s an honor to meet you."
After wiping the bloodstains from my face and cleaning the bloodied mask, I asked the servant, "Does my voice sound similar to the previous lord’s?"
"Not at the moment."
"Not at the moment?"
"Yes, when you wear the mask, your voice tends to come out slightly altered, so I didn’t notice the difference."
"So it sounds similar when I speak with the mask on."
"Yes."
Upon inspection, I found that the inside of the mask was made of a hard material, and the mouth area had tiny holes for air to escape, which altered the voice due to its enclosed structure.
With the mask like this, it seemed unlikely that my identity would be revealed because of my voice.
I could also somewhat mimic the tone and voice of the previous lord.
Suddenly, I felt the servant glance at me a few times, so I asked, "Why? Do I look handsome? Is your gaze drawn to me?"
"I’m sorry."
"Hmm."
What did that apology mean? Did it imply that I wasn’t handsome, or was he apologizing for daring to look at the lord?
"As you know, today is the first day of my lordship. You should guide me. Show me my quarters, personal cultivation room, and the elixir storage room. Lead the way."
"Yes, Lord."
I followed the servant as he showed me various places used by the previous lord.
The house was quite luxurious, with everything one could need.
There were places just for changing clothes, two bedrooms, a personal bathroom, and a room with an unknown wooden bed.
"What is this place? There’s just bedding here."
"On days when you practiced external skills, you would relax your muscles here."
"Who helps you relax?"
"The servants would come and help."
"Practicing is one thing, but doing unnecessary things..."
The next place he guided me to was a combined personal cultivation room and elixir storage.
I commanded the servant, "Gather the other servants and tell them to spread out and wait at a distance. If someone approaches, there’s no need to forcibly stop them. Just ask them what they want, and I’ll handle it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lord."
I waved my hand to send the servant away and closed the door.
Elixirs are rare types that one might never see in a lifetime in the martial world, and there are also common types.
Only a very small number of people have consumed truly rare elixirs.
The heirs of powerful families, the successors of sects, the leaders in their prime, or those who obtained rare elixirs through incredible fortune...
Adding them all together, they are not many.
Thus, most martial artists live their lives consuming common elixirs until they die.
Common elixirs are simply high-quality medicines made by physicians.
Because of this, when martial artists refer to divine physicians, they sometimes mean those who can produce good quality common elixirs.
I also know one such person.
He is a very problematic individual, and his fate is quite miserable, but he is someone I must find along with the Light of the Brightness.
I do not wish for him to meet a miserable end again.
Anyway, he is also entangled with the Great Demon, but now is not the time.
What is clear is that the sooner I can eliminate the Great Demon, the lower the chance he will live a miserable life.
Of course, in terms of my past life, I am still in the period of practicing at Yi Yang County, so I have plenty of time.
I opened each small drawer to check the common elixirs.
There are various types of common elixirs.
There are medicines for internal injuries, antidotes, and strength-enhancing elixirs mixed together, so they cannot be taken indiscriminately.
Elixirs can be broadly classified like this, and if classified in detail, there are even more types.
Among them, the most representative is the Beast Spirit Elixir.
Beasts refer to both flying and land animals.
The elixirs made for carrier pigeons or to permanently enhance the endurance and explosive power of horses are classified as Beast Spirit Elixirs, and it seems the Black Cat Lord dealt with carrier pigeons as well, as such elixirs were also present.
The reason the Martial Alliance is powerful is that they can mass-produce these common elixirs.
With solid financial backing, they increase the number of horses that have consumed elixirs and use them to unofficially operate cavalry composed of martial artists.
The Demon Sect is even worse.
They do not see people as people, so they conduct various experiments on beasts.
All these experiments were to counter the elite cavalry of the Martial Alliance, and because of this, countless innocent beasts have been sacrificed.
While rummaging through the drawers, I finally found three pills of the common elixir called Heart Heat Pill.
The reason these were still here is simple.
Taking just one Heart Heat Pill can cause a fever and aftereffects that feel like a cold, which is fitting for a common elixir.
I knew well about the Heart Heat Pill because I had often suffered from heat and internal chaos while practicing martial arts.
It is good to take the Heart Heat Pill when one’s internal energy is solidly built up.
Surprisingly, my current state is just that.
I listened carefully to my surroundings and simultaneously chewed and swallowed the three Heart Heat Pills.
Moments later, my entire body was filled with heat.
I sat cross-legged, my face flushed, preparing to unfold the Heart Method of the Golden Valley.
Having already reached the realm of the Flame Realm, the heat from the Heart Heat Pill was gradually suppressed.
In that instant, with my eyes closed, I was momentarily caught up in a strange imagination.
Even before starting the Heart Method, the process of heat consuming heat was vividly depicted by my bizarre imagination.
It was a scene where the masters trapped in the Heavenly Jade rushed out one after another, charging like beasts to devour the heat of the Heart Heat Pill.
My stomach sank slightly. 'Oh, that startled me...' Before I even began the One Thousand Heavens, I felt the energy of the Heavenly Jade intensifying, albeit faintly.
The energy of the elixir seemed to merge with the Heavenly Jade in an instant.
The feeling was truly strange, so I reached out to draw forth the essence of the Golden Valley’s method and held it in my hand.
I gathered the energy of the Flame Realm in my palm and then converted it.
As the energy of the Flame Realm coalesced in my palm, my palm gradually turned bright red.
'Today is strange.' I hadn’t yet grasped exactly what was strange.
The Heavenly Jade is likely an object that absorbs and accumulates the energy, vitality, and essence of living martial artists.
Suddenly, I had a suspicion that within my body, or within the Heavenly Jade I absorbed... there might be a strange ability to absorb the energy or internal power of others.
I muttered with a dazed expression, "Could it be...?" I just wanted to live as a madman.
I had no desire to become a monster that surpassed the madmen like the sect leader.
I closed my eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths to calm my mind like a wooden chicken.
In the meantime, I wished that nothing unusual would happen to my body.
After all, there are still too many monkeys I want to beat up.
Still, just in case... if such an ability were to manifest in me, I felt a desire to give it a name.
Absorption Technique, Absorption Internal Skill, Absorption Spirit Technique, Heavenly Jade Absorption Technique.
Heavenly Jade Absorption Divine Technique, Heavenly Jade Absorption Demon Technique, and the Light Demon Heavenly Jade Absorption Spirit Technique.
'Absorb... let’s forget it.' Indeed, naming something in any field is the most difficult task.
Somehow, it felt right to include the character for 'absorb,' but there was no name that rolled off the tongue.
I thought I would decide later, as I had not yet accurately recognized this ability.
I did not perform the breathing exercises in the personal cultivation room but continued to raise the energy of the Flame Realm in my palm to confirm this ability.
Judging that I would achieve no results this way, I sat cross-legged and quietly entered meditation.
I mixed the words of the Light of Brightness with my speculations, adding reasoning and imagination to explore the essence of the Heavenly Jade.
I also quietly observed the state of my body.
Then, I thought from the perspective of the sect leader.
What actions did the sect leader take immediately after obtaining the Heavenly Jade? It must have been a significant matter regarding whether the sect leader would become the greatest in the world.
The Demon Sect would have been on high alert like never before.
The guardians would have been tense, holding their breath around the sect leader, waiting.
Did he just perform breathing exercises...? No, it wouldn’t be so.
He likely performed the great method that could make him a Demon God simultaneously.
The Demon Path’s trajectory of martial arts is remarkably different from that of ordinary sects.
My free imagination reconstructed the figure of the sect leader.
He must have applied the great method while obtaining the Heavenly Jade, and if he succeeded, he would have become a monster beyond anyone’s ability to oppose.
Thus, the absurd opportunity of regression was given to me.
After finishing my meditation, I pondered for a moment with my arms crossed and reached out toward the drawer containing the elixirs using the absorption technique, a supplementary method used during tension.
For a long time, nothing happened.
Even though nothing occurred, I remained with my hand outstretched like a foolish man, modifying my strategy and flexibly thinking to confirm various insights.
After all, creating a martial art that never existed in the world is the work of madmen.
One must not follow the thoughts of others for something that has never existed to appear.
Even though my level of martial arts and internal power was not at a point where I could perform the Void Absorption Technique, I remained with my hand outstretched like a solid statue, rechecking the world of martial arts I had accumulated over my lifetime.
And in an instant, I discarded the theories of martial arts I had built up.
In the realm of a blank slate, I organized the power of the Heavenly Jade and the intricacies of absorption with the brush of my mind, inscribing them as formulas, then drew forth the fundamental power of the Heavenly Jade, turning my palm red once more.
Then, with a clatter, a small drawer containing the elixirs shot through the air and struck my palm.
Thud!
I quickly grabbed the drawer, calming my startled heart as I exhaled.
"Haah..."
The realization came rushing in an instant.
Along with it, I immediately decided on the name of this ability.
It would be the Heavenly Jade Absorption Great Method.
However, since the Heavenly Jade is a secret I cannot share with anyone, I planned to omit those two characters publicly.
On the historic first night of the Black Cat Lord’s inauguration, I thought solely of martial arts.