The transition between the Outer Sect and the Inner Sect wasn't just a wall; it was a different atmospheric layer.
Jin Ryeong followed Mei through the heavy iron gate, flashing the jade token at the bored guards. As they stepped onto the other side, the air changed. Gone was the smell of sweat, coal dust, and desperation. The air here smelled of jasmine, ozone, and money.
The ground was paved with white limestone, not mud. The buildings weren't wooden shacks; they were pagodas with curved roofs tiled in azure ceramic. Spirit Lanterns floated in the air without poles, illuminating the manicured gardens where disciples in silk robes meditated.
Jin Ryeong kept his head down, acting the part of a humble servant carrying a medical box. But his eyes—his Diagnosis Eyes—were wide open.
[Environmental Scan]
[Ambient Qi Density: 300% higher than Outer Sect.]
[Flora Detected: Spirit Bluegrass (Tier 1), Moon-Orchids (Tier 2).]
"Don't look around," Mei hissed, walking briskly ahead of him.
"If you make eye contact with an Elder, you're dead. Keep moving."
They navigated the winding paths, avoiding the main training squares. They reached a large, quiet building near the eastern cliff. The Inner Sanctum Infirmary.
It didn't look like a hospital. It looked like a temple. Mei stopped at the side entrance. She peeked inside.
"The night healer is Disciple Wu," she whispered. "He's a lazy nepotism hire. He's asleep in the front office. My teammate is in Bed 4."
Jin Ryeong nodded. He slipped past her, his footsteps silent on the polished wood floor.
The interior was dimly lit by glowing pearls embedded in the walls. Rows of beds were separated by silk curtains. It was quiet, save for the rhythmic breathing of the injured and the faint scent of medicinal herbs.
Jin Ryeong located Bed 4. He pulled back the curtain.
Lying there was a mountain of a man. Liang. The Vanguard of Squad Azure. He was huge, easily six and a half feet tall, with muscles that looked carved from granite. But right now, that granite was crumbling.
His skin was a sickly grey. His veins stood out in black, spiderweb patterns radiating from his chest. His breathing was shallow, a wet, rattling sound.
[System Activation: Diagnosis Eye]
[Target: Disciple Liang (Inner Sect - Rank 8)]
[Status: Critical Poisoning.]
[Toxin Identification: Rotting Orchid Venom (Refined).]
[Time to Organ Failure: 3 hours.]
"He looks worse than yesterday," Mei whispered, terrified, peeking over Jin Ryeong's shoulder.
"Can you save him?"
Jin Ryeong placed his hand on Liang's chest. The skin was cold and clammy.
"The poison has bonded with his Qi.
If the healers try to flush it with pure Qi, it will accelerate the rot.
That's why they failed."
"So what do you do?"
"I don't flush it," Jin Ryeong said, his eyes glowing faintly. "I eat it."
He activated his skill.
[Skill: Thousand Venom Hand (Reverse Flow)]
The more he used his Thousand Venom Hand skill, the more he discovered different way to use it.
Reverse flow was discovered by chance when handling one of the corpses.
Usually, the skill projected necrotic energy out. But the manual mentioned a high-level application: Venom Absorption. A user could draw compatible poisons into their own body to store or refine them.
Jin Ryeong pressed his palm flat against Liang's heart. He visualized his own meridians acting as a vacuum.
Suck.
The black veins on Liang's chest began to move. Like ink being drawn through a straw, the dark toxin flowed toward Jin Ryeong's hand.
[System Warning]
[Absorbing High-Grade Toxin...]
[Constitution Check (13): Passed.]
[Thousand Venom Hand Proficiency: +2%... +4%...]
It hurt. It felt like sticking his hand in ice water. The Rotting Orchid poison was cold and malicious. It tried to bite Jin Ryeong's veins, but his body—already acclimated to the venom—welcomed it.
Jin Ryeong's arm turned pitch black up to the elbow. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. He wasn't just curing Liang; he was stealing the energy Mei had accidentally put into him.
"Hnnng..." Liang groaned, his eyelids fluttering.
"Hold him down," Jin Ryeong ordered. "The extraction hurts more than the dying."
Mei grabbed Liang's shoulders. The big man thrashed as the last dregs of the poison were ripped from his bone marrow.
Slurp.
The final glob of black energy vanished into Jin Ryeong's palm. Liang gasped, a deep, clean breath filling his lungs. The grey color faded from his skin, replaced by a pale, healthy pink.
Jin Ryeong pulled his hand back. His right hand was now trembling, pulsing with a dark, violet aura. He had absorbed too much. He needed to vent it or store it.
"He's clean," Jin Ryeong said, standing up and hiding his glowing hand in his sleeve. "He'll sleep for two days. When he wakes up, tell him his cultivation will be weak for a week. No sparring."
Mei slumped against the wall, tears of relief in her eyes. "Thank you... thank you."
"Don't thank me," Jin Ryeong said coldly.
"Win the tournament. Get my pill."
"I will," Mei promised. "I have to go check the front. Stay here. I'll signal when the patrol passes."
Mei hurried away to the entrance.
Jin Ryeong was alone in the Inner Sect Infirmary. He looked at the rows of cabinets along the wall. Glass jars filled with pills. Drawers filled with high-grade bandages.
"Bonus time," he whispered.
He moved silently to the cabinets.
[Diagnosis Eye: Loot Mode]
Grade 1 Healing Powder. (Trash).
Ginseng Essence. (Common).
Blood-Clotting Salve. (Useful).
He swiped three jars of the clotting salve and tucked them into his sash. Then he saw a small, red bottle on the top shelf.
[Item: Adrenaline Surge Pill (Banned)]
Effect: Forces the heart to pump at 200% speed. Grants temporary strength boost. High risk of cardiac arrest.
"Perfect for a rainy day." He took it.
He turned to leave, but a sound stopped him. It wasn't a patrol. It was a sob. A quiet, pathetic weeping coming from the far end of the ward, from behind a curtain labeled 'Bed 12'.
Curiosity was dangerous. But information was power. Jin Ryeong walked over and peered through the gap in the silk.
Lying on the bed was... a sphere. No, a person. A Disciple. But he was morbidly obese. He looked like a ball of dough wrapped in a sect robe that was bursting at the seams. His face was a mess of purple bruises. His arm was in a sling. He was crying into a dumpling he was holding, eating it between sobs.
[System Activation: Diagnosis Eye]
[Target: Liu Bao (Outer Disciple - Probationary)] [Age: 17]
[Status: Severe Trauma (Blunt Force). Gluttony Depression.]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Level 2 (Stagnant).]
Wait. Why was an Outer Disciple in the Inner Infirmary?
Jin Ryeong scanned deeper.
[Anomalous Trait Detected: 'The Sponge Constitution'.]
Description: Meridians are incredibly elastic and absorbent. 90% of ingested energy is stored as fat rather than circulated.
High resistance to drug toxicity.
Jin Ryeong froze.
In the cultivation world, this was considered a "Trash Body." You ate pills, got fat, and gained no power. But to a Mad Doctor... This was a living battery.
A person who could eat any drug without dying?
A person who absorbed 90% of energy? If Jin Ryeong could find a way to "unlock" the fat and convert it back into Qi...
Liu Bao wouldn't be a disciple. He would be a nuclear reactor.
Jin Ryeong stepped through the curtain.
Liu Bao yelped, nearly choking on his dumpling. He scrambled back, his bed frame creaking ominously. "P-please! No more! I didn't steal the rations! I swear!"
He cowered, covering his face with chubby, bruised hands. He thought Jin Ryeong was another bully coming to finish the job.
Jin Ryeong stood over him. "Who beat you, Fatty?"
Liu Bao peeked through his fingers. He saw the servant robes. He relaxed slightly, but was still trembling. "S-senior Brother Han's lackeys... and Disciple Chen... and everyone."
"Why are you here?"
"My father..." Liu Bao sniffled.
"My father is a wealthy merchant.
He paid the Sect huge donations to let me in.
He pays for this bed. He pays for everything."
Liu Bao looked down at his belly.
"But money can't buy talent. I'm trash. Everyone knows it. I'm just a walking money bag for them to punch."
Jin Ryeong looked at the bruises.
"They beat you, and you eat to comfort yourself. Which makes you fatter. Which makes them beat you more."
Liu Bao nodded miserably.
"I'm going to quit. Tomorrow. I'll go home and sell rice."
"Open your mouth," Jin Ryeong ordered.
"W-what?"
"Open."
Liu Bao opened his mouth, confused. Jin Ryeong didn't give him candy.
He reached into his sash and pulled out a small, black pellet. It wasn't a pill. It was a concentrated ball of Dried Leech Powder mixed with a tiny drop of the Rotting Orchid Poison he had just extracted from Liang.
He flicked it into Liu Bao's throat. "Swallow."
Liu Bao gulped reflexively. "W-what was that?"
"A test," Jin Ryeong said.
"That was a mild poison. For a normal man, it would cause diarrhea for three days."
Liu Bao's face went pale.
But then... nothing happened. His stomach gurgled once. A faint warmth spread through his chest.
[System Scan]
[Target: Liu Bao.]
[Reaction: Poison absorbed by adipose tissue. Toxicity neutralized. Qi Reserves +0.5%.]
He ate it. His fat literally ate the poison and turned it into energy.
Jin Ryeong smiled. A terrifying, genuine smile. He leaned down, his face inches from Liu Bao's.
"You aren't trash, Liu Bao. You are a treasure.
But you are using your body wrong."
"I... I am?" Liu Bao stammered.
"Don't quit the sect," Jin Ryeong whispered.
"In three days, come to the Western Waste Chute at midnight.
Bring your money.
Bring your hunger."
"Why? Who are you?"
"I'm the guy who is going to turn all that fat..." Jin Ryeong poked Liu Bao's soft belly.
"...into muscle. And then, we are going to break the hands of everyone who touched you."
Jin Ryeong straightened up.
"Western Chute. Midnight. Don't be late."
He turned and walked away, the curtain swishing shut behind him.
Liu Bao sat there, stunned. He touched his stomach. The pain from his bruises felt... duller. For the first time in years, he didn't feel like eating. He felt something else. Hope...
Mei met Jin Ryeong at the side door. "The coast is clear. Did you get what you needed?"
"More than you know," Jin Ryeong said.
They slipped back into the night, crossing the boundary from the heaven of the Inner Sect back to the hell of the servants' quarters.
As Jin Ryeong walked back to his shed, he felt the heavy weight of the stolen bottles in his sash and the lingering burn of the poison in his hand.
He had his Kill Switch army underground. He had his Financial Backing (The Spirit Pill contract). And now, he had found his Proxy.
He looked up at the moon. "The Tournament," he muttered.
"It's going to be a bloodbath."
[System Notification]
[Saga Quest Initiated: The Puppet's Strings.]
[Objective: Train Liu Bao to pass the Tournament Preliminaries.]
[Time Limit: 14 Days.]
[Reward: Hidden Profession Unlock 'Venom Surgeon'.]
Jin Ryeong laughed softly.
Fourteen days to turn a pig into a tiger. Challenge accepted!