Chapter 14

He Who Had Faith Became the Poison Demon 

Final Gate (5)

“Haah… haaah…!”

Once all the instructors finally withdrew, Wangshan let out a rough, gasping breath.

He had nearly been discovered, and the tension had been suffocating.

Given how skilled and experienced Subaek was, it was understandable. But for Wangshan—still young and inexperienced—not getting caught could only be described as sheer luck from above.

After catching his breath, Wangshan immediately looked for Subaek.

“Do you think Taekyung survived?”

Wangshan couldn’t calm his anxious heart.

Who could possibly know the answer to that question?

Subaek was also unable to sleep due to concern for Geum Taekyung, but one thing was certain.

“Throwing a corpse into that place means it gets carried out of this Southern Barbarian jungle… If Taekyung had the willpower he showed us, he would have survived. No—he might already have escaped. Let’s believe that.”

“Mm…”

This place was part of the Man Dok Sect’s entrance test—so dangerous that even survival itself was difficult.

Helping others while worrying about them was already more than enough.

“Those with purpose are helped by heaven. Taekyung… let’s meet alive again!”

Subaek and Wangshan silently wished Geum Taekyung good fortune one last time.

By then, about half a day had passed since they were struck by the poison needles.

As the full day approached its halfway point, the survivors and the dead had already begun to separate.

Swoosh.

When night completely fell, Subaek and Wangshan had fully recovered their strength and began checking how many children remained alive.

“What… what is this!”

To their shock, only about five children survived—including Subaek and Wangshan.

Even among the remaining three besides them, none had fully regained consciousness; they were still half-delirious, struggling against the poison.

‘Even Twenty-Four, who always clashed with me… and Twenty-Three, who had the strongest poison resistance… they’re gone!’

Subaek looked around carefully for any remaining enemies among the survivors.

Fortunately, Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four were nowhere to be seen.

The reason was simple.

Twenty-Three, Jang Chil, had been gravely injured by Subaek and Wangshan and was left dying—then thrown into the “Death Waterfall” by the instructors.

Twenty-Four, Gwak Hui, met the same fate.

Gwak Hui had been half-dead after being beaten by Jang Chil and had weak poison resistance, so he too was discarded into the waterfall.

It was, in a sense, poetic justice.

Strictly speaking, there was still one familiar face left.

“Huh?! That guy is… Oh Five—no, Twenty-Two!”

The one formerly known as Five, now reduced to Twenty-Two after his defeat in mounted combat training, was barely breathing.

“He’s still fighting the poison…”

Subaek frowned.

He wasn’t exactly an enemy like Twenty-Three or Twenty-Four anymore, but they were not on good terms—and he had once tried to target Subaek.

‘I’m done living like a naive physician.’

Subaek drew a clear line.

“Wangshan. Follow me.”

He led Wangshan into the jungle, now calmed after the heavy rain.

“Where are we going?”

Wangshan was afraid of the dark but trusted Subaek and followed anyway.

“If we just sit around, what are we going to do? Waste time?”

Subaek smiled meaningfully.

“We should eat… and increase our poison resistance ahead of time.”

“What?! Eat?!”

Wangshan, who loved food due to his large build and strength, immediately brightened up.

If he were a true martial artist aiming for the Man Dok Sect, he should have focused on the latter—but Wangshan was the opposite.

“Ha ha ha.”

Subaek couldn’t help but laugh after a long time, thanks to him.

They gathered fallen fruits like coconuts and bananas and foraged edible wild plants like yams using Subaek’s extensive medicinal knowledge.

“Phew~ I’m full.”

“Alright, we’ve eaten enough and recovered our strength… now let’s really begin.”

Subaek said this and pulled out the herbs he had collected.

“Wow! They’re so pretty! What are these beautiful flowers?”

Wangshan looked in awe at the colorful leaves and flowers.

Unfortunately, they were not what he thought.

“This is oleander, castor bean, and belladonna.”

“Can you eat them?”

“No. They’re all famous poisonous plants.”

They were deadly toxins that must never be touched.

Subaek had already gathered a large bundle of them.

“Poisonous plants?!”

Wangshan panicked, remembering the pain from the poison needles earlier.

But Subaek had a different idea.

“Listen. I don’t think this entrance exam is even the real challenge. Once we enter, we’ll be the lowest rank, and there will be countless experts above us.”

He was right.

The entrance exam was only the first filtering stage. Those who survived would become “poison humans” trained further.

“In the end, everyone competing with us will have stronger poison resistance. So what do we need to do?”

“W-we need to build stronger resistance…”

“Exactly.”

Subaek continued.

Of course, resistance could not normally be built quickly.

So he chose a brutal, unorthodox method.

“We chew small amounts of these poisonous plants and get poisoned.”

“What?!”

“Then I detoxify you with medicinal herbs I prepared. We alternate between poisoning and detoxification.”

It was an absurd method—dangerous and not recommended under normal circumstances.

But Subaek, with his divine medical skill, could make it work.

“So don’t worry. Even if you’re poisoned, I’ll detox you immediately.”

While Wangshan ate fruit, Subaek prepared herbal pills, grinding and shaping them into round balls.

Though crude, they were far superior to common medicines due to his medical knowledge.

“You don’t trust me?”

That sentence hit Wangshan hard.

“I’m doing it!”

He was timid—but also simple-minded.

Crunch!

He began chewing poisonous plants as if they were fruit.

He looked like a bear eating bamboo, almost funny in appearance.

Fortunately, Wangshan’s body was exceptionally robust, making the training extremely effective.

“Ooh! My hands don’t turn red anymore even when I touch poison!”

He cheered as his resistance improved through the extreme “hot and cold” training method.

Subaek watched him quietly and smiled faintly.

‘A reliable companion like Wangshan is necessary for survival.’

In a sect like Man Dok Sect, having allies was better than going alone.

Not only survival, but also companionship mattered.

Ssshh…

Wangshan wasn’t the only one growing stronger.

Subaek also steadily built up his poison resistance, though not as dramatically.

‘I don’t need to worry about poison. As long as I have my medical knowledge, I’ll be fine.’

Confident, he even examined venomous insects like red fire ants and hornets, carefully observing their effects without direct stings.

From this point onward, their true growth began.

Time passed, and dawn slowly broke.

“That’s enough. Let’s go back.”

“Okay!”

Now, even if they were struck by poison needles again, they were unlikely to be affected.

Both had at least doubled their resistance compared to the previous day.

They returned to the exam site.

Among the remaining survivors, one had already died—another unknown child, not Twenty-Two.

“Rest in peace.”

Subaek and Wangshan joined their hands in silence.

In the past, Subaek would have blamed himself for not saving them.

But now he was different.

‘I’m sorry, but surviving with Wangshan is already difficult enough.’

He was no longer a physician—he was a martial artist walking the path of survival and revenge.

Helping others had become secondary to strengthening his own survival.

After all, life was not precious in this era.

“Haaah… haaah…”

As they turned away from the dead, Twenty-Two (Jeong Sam) leaned against a large tree, breathing heavily, watching them.

Then he spoke in a shocking tone.

“You think I didn’t see? Haaah… I saw everything you did.”

Subaek and Wangshan froze in shock.

They had not expected him to regain consciousness.

‘Did he see Taekyung escaping?’

‘If he tells the instructors, we’ll be punished!’

They stood frozen, exchanging anxious looks.

Then they wondered how to deal with him.

“You… you were the ones who dealt with Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four, right? Right?”

Twenty-Two Jeong Sam smirked, acting like he knew everything.

He had misunderstood—thinking Subaek and Wangshan killed them after hearing fragmented information.

He did not know about Geum Taekyung’s escape at all, and his mind was clouded by poison-induced hallucinations.

“You fool.”

Subaek sneered.

‘He’s delirious from the poison—fever, hallucinations, confusion.’

Subaek quickly assessed the situation and concluded he was no threat.

In the end, the surviving four were:

One—Subaek
Three—Wangshan
Seventeen—unknown
Twenty-Two—Jeong Sam

Soon, the sun rose high into the sky.

At the agreed time, as a full day had passed—

Swoooosh!

Senior instructors led by Poison Eagle Commander Yong Sang and other lower instructors appeared in formation.

Finally, it was time to end the entrance test.