Invincible Teacher 47 Chapter 46

He clicked his tongue as he looked at Namgoong Min's swollen hand.

"Don't you know what happens if you carelessly touch the Yeonyeomok tree?"

"Yeo-yeonyeomok?"

At the mention of its name, So-hun looked at the tree and then spoke, "Oh? So this tree, is none other than the Yeonyeomok!?"

"It's the first time I've seen the tree in person as well! So this is the Yeonyeomok!"

The Yeonyeomok was a tree so rare that even Dang So-mun, a child of the Dang Family, had yet to come across it.

This was also why Namgoong Min had been unable to identify the tree as being dangerous.

As the poison of the Yeonyeomok tree was ineffective on those with a transcended level of cultivation, the person who hung the ribbon onto its branch had to have a transcended level of cultivation, and was most likely unaware of the tree's true identity.

Dang So-mun's complexion had darkened upon finding out the identity of the tree.

"I'm sure the treatment for touching the Yeonyeomok tree was….to burn the poison with something containing a powerful source of fire energy, like a sacred herb or an artifact containing fire energy, or to sear the person with fire…."

Namgoong Min's face began to contort.

"If we don't hurry up, the swelling and pain will spread throughout your body until your brain swells up, and then you'll either die or become paralyzed."

Whilst Dang So-mun had a reputation of being the fool of the Dang Family, he was undoubtedly a child of the family.

He clearly knew the treatment for the poison of the Yeonyeomok tree, but his words were not so easily accepted by the other students.

"Why is a half-wit blathering out quacklike treatments!"

"What? Searing the injury with fire?"

"Can you take responsibility for what you've just said?"

Kang-hyuk raised his hand up at the crude criticism of the students.

"Dang So-mun's information is correct."

"What?"

"It's correct?"

Kang-hyuk nodded.

"Also, if we don't hurry, the situation will truly be worsened. There's also something I would like to convey to all of you."

"...?"

"It's that the answer is always next to the question. Therefore, whenever you are in a situation of urgency, don't panic. Simply search your surroundings. All will be apparent to those who know the answer."

Kang-hyuk immediately ran somewhere after looking around. He headed towards a grass that was a finger's length in its height.

The leaves of the grass were long, and at the centre of the leaves were three red stripes.

Dang So-mun clapped his hands together jubilantly at the sight.

"Ah! It's that sacred herb!"

Chun-hak turned to look at him.

"That grass is a sacred herb?"

"Yes! The name of the grass is…."

"The Three Seals of Fire Grass. The plant absorbs all of the fire energy in its surroundings, and so, its leaves have a great concentration of fire energy within them."

Kang-hyuk instantly crushed the grass with his hands after picking it.

As he had his back to the students, they hadn't seen him, but So-hun, who had witnessed the spectacle, was astonished.

However, seemingly out of consideration for the students, he didn't show an obvious reaction.

After having crushed and picked the Three Seals of Fire Grass, Kang-hyuk walked over to Namgoong Min.

"Extend your hands out."

"Yes."

Kang-hyuk then applied a small amount of the juice of the crushed grass onto Namgoong Min's outstretched palm.

Within seconds of the application, the redness in his palms was disappearing.

"How is your pain?"

"...."

"It still feels like it hurts so much that you're going to go crazy, doesn't it?"

"Y-yes, it does."

"Then get on your knees, raise your hands, and reflect on your behaviour."

"Sorry?"

"There is no threat to your life now. So for now, make sure to imbibe the pain that you are feeling in this moment deeply within your mind. It is the result of your hasty action."

Namgoong Min had no response to Kang-hyuk's berating. It was because he was unable to hear him at all.

Kang-hyuk looked at Chun-hak.

"I have something that I wanted to ask you. How did you know that there was something odd about this tree? The reason shouldn't only be because of the absence of insects on the tree?"

Chun-hak then replied, "Usually, trees within a forest are in a symbiotic relationship with insects, but along with the absence of insects, I also noticed that this tree had a very pleasing colour and had a completely uncrooked growth."

Chun-hak tnen continued.

"Furthermore, there are no trees of the same type in the area, and no trees that are of such a high quality and size."

"So that's how you came to your conclusion?"

"Indeed."

"Hahaha! What incredible insight you have!"

Kang-hyuk was pleased by his answer. He could now understand the joy in having an excellent disciple.

He then remembered his brother.

'Jae-ya, so this is what you meant when you said you wanted to experience the joy of teaching the most talented pupils in the country!'

He then turned his head to look at the Yeonyeomok.

"If you ever come across trees that look similar to this tree when you are outdoors, make sure to not touch its surface with your bare hands. In most cases, there will be a poisonous sap covering it."

All gazes turned towards the Yeonyeomok at his words of warning.

A student then raised a question.

"Bu-but, why is the tree named Yeonyeomok (1) out of all of the names it could have?"

"Yeonyeomok is an appropriate name because an enchantress bewitches men with her beauty and words, but in the end, she only leaves the man with pain."

Kang-hyuk then continued, "The reason as to why the Yeonyeomok's poisonous sap is so dangerous is because, as Dang So-mun explained earlier, if the poison isn't treated in time, it will spread to the brain, causing it to swell, which will either result in death or paralysis."

Kang-hyuk glanced in the direction of Namgoong Min, who was still on his knees in repentance.

"How is the pain now?"

"It has gone down a little."

"The pain will be gone in around fifteen minutes. Have you reflected on your actions well enough?"

"Yes."

"What were you reflecting on?"

"I was reflecting on my error on not listening to Chun-hak Seonbae's words, as well as moving in haste."

"There's something else you missed out on."

"What?"

Kang-hyuk replied, "It's your error in acting upon guesswork. One of the most dangerous things when in a group is if one of the members begins acting upon their own volition in guesswork. It breaks down the communication and order of the team, as well as endanger the lives of the whole group."

"...."

"Did you reflect on that as well?"

"Yes."

Kang-hyuk did not believe Namgoong Min.

His impatient personality wasn't something that could easily be corrected by the level of pain he had just experienced.

Namgoong Min's grandfather, Namgoong Juk had to experience a few near-death situations for his personality to undergo a reformation.

However, Kang-hyuk felt that today's experience was sufficient for Namgoong Min.

"You can drop your hands now."

Namgoong Min immediately dropped his hands, and then massaged his aching arms.

Chun-hak looked at Kang-hyuk and bowed, implying his thanks.

All of a sudden, a student carefully spoke up.

"Erm, so does that mean we have to give up on that red ribbon?"

Chun-hak shook his head.

"No, we won't give up."

He addressed Dang So-mun.

"Do you have the Am-gi weapon with you right now?"

"Ah, Am-gi? Well, of course….."

Despite being a little startled by the unexpected attention, Dang So-mun quickly pulled out the Am-gi weapon from within his sleeve.

"But why do you want the Am-gi?"

"As a child of Sacheon's Dang Family, you have the ability to throw the Am-gi with complete precision at a stationary target right?"

Dang So-mun looked at the red ribbon hanging from the branch of the Yeonyeo tree at his question, and then asked, "B-by any chance, do you want me to aim the Am-gi at the branch from which the ribbon is hanging?"

"Yes."

The other students looked aghast at their conversation. A female student then spoke up.

"Seonbaenim, you are aware right? That that student…."

Chun-hak however, didn't respond to the girl, and simply looked at Dang So-mun.

"Can you do it?"

Dang So-mun nodded.

"I can do that much. Even if I stumble a little after moving and throwing the Am-gi…."

Dang So-mun felt relieved.

There was no leg stances required in throwing the Am-gi.

"I'll leave it to you then."

"Of course."

Dang So-mun nodded, grasped the weapon in his hand, and took a few steps backwards.

He then stopped and concentrated his gaze at his target, as though his full attention was focused on that single point.

Even those with a higher level of cultivation, Chun-hak and So-hun, were taken aback at the energy that was emanating from Dang So-mun at that moment.

They realized that Dang So-mun's level of cultivation was much higher than what they had anticipated.

Dang So-mun however, was unaffected by their reaction. He was solely focused on the target.

The Am-gi weapon flew out of his hands.

It was a weapon shaped like a small dagger.

It went through the tree branch like a shot arrow, and soon enough, it returned to Dang So-mun's hands.

More accurately, Dang So-mun caught the Am-gi back with one hand.

"Hah!"

He then let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh! Incredible! You truly are a son of the Dang Family with your skills of utilizing the Am-gi weapon!"

"I-I'm embarrassed."

Dang So-mun was clearly bashful from So-hun's praise.

"But your cultivation is….."

All of a sudden, a female student pointed at the tree branch.

"But the branch isn't broken yet?"

All eyes fell upon the tree branch at her words.

She was correct. The branch still seemed to be standing strong. Whilst the other students had a 'we knew it' expression on their faces, So-hun smiled, and queried Chun-hak.

"Chun-hak-ah, what can you see?"

"The tree's branch has undoubtedly been sliced. We just need to be prepared to receive it."

He then walked over to where the branch would be likely to fall. The scene was incomprehensible to the other students.

Kang-hyuk touched his chin out of habit, and smiled not long after. He initial impression had been correct.

Dang So-mun was unmistakably a genius.

Even if he was a child of the Dang Family, knowing such detailed and precise information about the Yeonyeomok tree was no easy feat.

Kang-hyuk's own knowledge of the tree had been picked up randomly.

However, Dang So-mun had full knowledge of the tree, and his level of Qi was considerably higher than the other students of his age group.

But Kang-hyuk had yet to understand why his genius was not well-known and appreciated, and why he was instead famed as being a halfwit.

'But….'

Kang-hyuk looked at Dang So-mun carefully, tilting his head. There was something off about the energy he had just exuded.

'That lad's energy, something's weird.'

His gaze deepened.

At that moment.

"Oh! Huh?"

Namgoong Min cried out as he looked at the branch. The unmoving branch begun to move.

As the branch fell to the ground, Chun-hak immediately snatched the red ribbon, being careful to avoid touching the branch.

"It's done!"

"Yay!"

The team members cheered in jubilation, and massaged Dang So-mun's shoulders.

"It's all thanks to you."

"Th-thank you."

As the students were revelling in joy, So-hun looked over at the sliced branch.

He was inspecting the cross-section of the branch.

One could ascertain the level of cultivation of the user of the Am-gi weapon by the cross-section of that was sliced.

'Hmmm…'

So-hun wordlessly stared at Dang So-mun after having inspected the branch cross-section.

At the same time, Chun-hak then addressed the group.

"We've spent longer than I thought we would in this location! Let's make a move!"

"Yes!"

The group began to move once more.

Kang-hyuk walked over to So-hun. He had noticed So-hun's serious looking expression.

"What's with your expression?"

So-hun hesitated for a while at his question.

"Is it because of Dang So-mun's level of cultivation?"

So-hun sighed, and nodded.

"It is that. From the cross-section of the branch, I can see that he has a second-class level of cultivation. He's only fifteen!

"I see."

"And also, do you know what he's nicknamed among the students? Half-wit of the Dang Family."

"...."

"There's definitely more to the eye."

Kang-hyuk shared So-hun's thoughts, but he felt it wasn't the right time.

"So Seonsaeng, it would be good to cover up this incident."

"Why do you say so?"

"The rumour must have emanated from the Dang Family themselves, as they didn't prevent the rumour from spreading."

"So you want to understand the Dang Family's intentions behind doing so first?"

"Exactly."

So-hun nodded his head.

"You should definitely do so. I'll have to see another member of the Dang Family after the end of this field trip."

So-hun stepped on the branch of the Yeonyeomok tree, using all of his strength.

*Snap!*

Within moments, the branch had crumbled into a powder.

So-hun then turned his head to look at Kang-hyuk.

"But I have more questions for you, Kang-hyuk Seonsaeng."

(1) Yeonyeo - Enchantress

Chapter end