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Chapter 4
The God Became a Poison Demon
Turning Misfortune into Fortune (2)
That scent was extremely faint and subtle, but it was definitely the fragrance of a spiritual herb.
As the greatest physician in his past life, he had encountered that scent countless times. And although the body of Sobaek was small, its senses were exceptionally sharp, making him certain of it.
“This body… this child Sobaek has extraordinary senses.”
The divine doctor within Sobaek carefully followed the direction of the scent.
There were very few people in the world who could detect that fragrance at all.
It was only possible because Sobaek’s sharp senses and Gwak Jeong-won’s experience and knowledge—able to distinguish spiritual herbs from ordinary plants—worked together.
Sniff, sniff!
Following the scent, Sobaek slowly moved forward. Eventually, under a massive palm tree, he found something.
Rustle, rustle!
As if possessed, Sobaek grabbed nearby stones and began digging beneath the tree.
In truth, before even confirming it, he already had a strong suspicion.
If a spiritual herb were to parasitize beneath such a large plant, either in stem or root form… it would likely be wild ginseng or a mushroom.
After digging for a while—
With his thin, childlike hands now stained with blood, he finally uncovered something white beneath the soil.
This… this is wild ginseng. And not ordinary—at least a hundred years old!
It was indeed a century-old wild ginseng (Baeknyeon hwasu-o / 百年何首烏).
In truth, only thousand-year wild ginseng was considered a true spiritual herb.
So compared to the powerful fragrance, it was slightly disappointing—but Sobaek did not feel let down.
This is exactly what this starving, malnourished body needs!
Sobaek had not been born small; he had simply never grown properly due to lifelong starvation and abuse.
For him, this ginseng was perfect—it would replenish his lacking nutrition and vitality.
If a stronger spiritual herb had appeared, his weak body might not have been able to absorb it properly. It could have even turned into poison instead.
In martial arts, spiritual medicine and deadly poison were often separated by only a thin line.
For an unhealthy body, a spiritual herb could become poison.
Thus, this hundred-year ginseng was actually more suitable for Sobaek than even a thousand-year one.
Grrr…
His stomach growled loudly.
He hadn’t even properly eaten a boiled potato—it had been taken by Il-ho and the others.
The strong scent of the ginseng made his hunger unbearable.
Normally, it should have been decocted before consumption.
But he had no time for that.
Crunch, crunch!
Sobaek dug the entire ginseng out and began eating it raw.
He didn’t even remove the soil clinging to the roots, devouring it like a madman possessed.
I must eat. I must grow. I must survive.
He wasn’t eating just because he was hungry.
It was for survival—and for something far greater: revenge.
Gulp.
The bitter, earthy taste stung his tongue. Even grains of sand were crushed between his teeth, but he didn’t care.
First, survive in the Ten Thousand Poison Sect.
That was the first step of his plan.
He would survive here, then properly learn martial arts that he had never been able to master in his previous life.
Fortunately, this body now housed a divine physician’s soul—and he was currently within the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, a sect specializing in poison arts.
Medicine and poison are deeply similar.
There was an old saying: medicine and poison share the same origin.
To heal someone and to poison someone are fundamentally the same knowledge applied differently.
Thus, for Gwak Jeong-won, who had already reached the pinnacle of medicine in his previous life, becoming a master of poison arts in this new life would be far easier than learning ordinary martial arts.
“Nothing in life is without reason.”
Had he fallen into a normal sect focused on external martial arts, his knowledge would have been far less useful.
But poison arts were different.
To know how to heal someone is to know how to kill them.
Chew, chew!
Sobaek continued devouring the ginseng.
Using all his medical knowledge, he ensured the herb’s essence was fully absorbed rather than wasted.
While an ordinary person might only extract 30–40% of its properties, Sobaek—through the divine physician’s skill—absorbed it completely.
I will use this energy to form internal power!
With no strength or internal energy, Sobaek attempted to cultivate qi in his dantian.
In his previous life, Gwak Jeong-won had studied basic martial arts to understand and treat warriors.
The technique he had practiced until just before his death was called the Heavenly Longevity Breathing Method (Cheonsu Hoheupbeop / 天壽呼吸法).
It is a crude internal cultivation method, but it has many advantages.
It was not a combat technique, but a health cultivation method.
If practiced daily, it improved longevity and purified internal energy.
Most importantly, it never conflicted with any other internal arts.
Even better, the energy cultivated by it could serve as a foundation for future martial arts.
Perfect for this body.
Sobaek slowly recalled the technique.
Breathing in and out—
“Hoo…”
He did not expect immediate results.
But something unexpected happened.
Whoooosh!
The moment he began circulating the technique, pure and refined energy began gathering in his lower abdomen.
“…!!”
Sobaek was shocked and looked down at his frail body.
“This… what is this…?”
He couldn’t believe it.
Even after decades of practicing this method in his past life, he had never seen such a rapid accumulation of internal energy.
Is it because of the hundred-year ginseng? No… even then, this is too much…
Then there was only one explanation.
This body… is a martial genius.
But if so, something didn’t make sense.
Before joining the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, Sobaek had wandered the martial world and met many fighters.
Even beggars of the Beggars’ Sect had seen him.
If he truly had such talent, someone should have noticed it long ago.
Unless… his body is of a rare type that hides its talent?
There were many special constitutions in the martial world.
Some were extremely difficult to detect unless one reached the level of a divine physician or supreme master.
Sobaek quickly checked his pulse.
“W-what?!”
His expression changed drastically.
His suspicion was correct.
This body was extraordinary.
A rare constitution found only once in tens of millions.
He possesses the Martial Extreme Vein (Mugeuk Jeolmyeok / 武極絶脈)!
Those born with it always became the strongest in the world.
However…
There was always a tragic ending.
Those who possess the Martial Extreme Vein all die young.
Unlike other rare bodies, this one allowed explosive growth—but the body would collapse before reaching adulthood.
No one had ever successfully cured it.
Not even the greatest divine physician.
Even Gwak Jeong-won—once called a divine doctor—had no confidence.
Sobaek lowered his head in despair.
A second life… yet only 7–8 years left?
But then he shook his head.
“No.”
Thinking again, this constitution might actually allow him to grow rapidly enough to achieve revenge.
And Gwak Jeong-won had once treated another extreme constitution—the Yin Absolute Vein.
That’s why I was called a divine physician.
Three conditions were needed to cure the Martial Extreme Vein:
First, an ultimate spiritual herb—far beyond even thousand-year ginseng. Something like ten-thousand-year wild ginseng.
Second, rebirth through bone marrow transformation (Hwan-gol-tae-tak / 換骨奪胎)—a complete restructuring of the body.
Third, surpassing his peak medical skills from his previous life.
With all three combined, even the Martial Extreme Vein could be cured—leaving only its advantages.
If that happened…
A truly unprecedented greatest martial artist who lives a full lifespan might be born.
Of course, those conditions were nearly impossible.
But Sobaek did not despair.
I have already died once… and returned.
Compared to resurrection, obtaining those conditions might actually be easier.
So he smiled.
“Rather… good.”
In this life thrown into the wilderness, he had already obtained a hundred-year ginseng.
No matter how harsh the situation became—
As long as he did not waver, he could always turn disaster into fortune.
