I looked around from the rock that held the Moon Orchid.

Even if Manjang Gorge was known to be deserted, maintaining awareness of my surroundings was second nature. Sitting cross-legged with my arms folded, I gazed at the Moon Orchid for a while.

If you glare too fiercely at a flower, it might wither from fright. So I took out the Flash Dagger and cut the Moon Orchid, swallowing it immediately as it slid down the blade.

It was bigger than the Moon Orchid I found in the Crimson Night High Peak of Daejeoksan.

Though it was a pity there was only one blossom, Moon Orchids always regrow in the same spot with time anyway.

If I told Yoran about this location, it’d be worth checking out later—once she has the skill to climb down and back up from Manjang Gorge on her own. Only then would her physical constitution and the Moon Orchid be on the same level.

If someone of low internal skill recklessly shoved anything into their gut, they'd likely be poisoned.

The more I chewed, the more a cold chill spread through my body.

A chill so intense I wouldn’t have been surprised if I shit myself on the spot.

If someone without extreme yang-type internal energy like Golden Nine Free-Wandering Manual had eaten this, they’d have suffered severe internal injuries on the spot.

In that case, I must now declare myself a man prepared to grow stronger.

Without profound internal energy, I would’ve turned into a frozen corpse beneath Manjang Gorge the moment I ate this.

At that moment, I glanced toward the swamp, slightly startled.

Somehow, I pictured a martial artist greedy for the Moon Orchid getting frozen solid and slipping into the swamp.

Because of the chill, I had no choice but to begin circulating my qi. My hands and feet instantly turned cold and my entire body shivered, but I quickly converted the Moon Orchid's energy into internal power using Moonlight Cold Heart Technique.

Once again, I confirmed that, like Dugangju, Moon Orchids had grades.

This one was top-grade.

By the time I finished circulating my qi, the merciless moon had risen. I confirmed that the extreme yin energy within me was now just as densely layered as the extreme yang energy. With this level of chill, I felt I could even rival the moonlight’s cold-heartedness.

And so, I became a merciless man appearing on a moonlit, cold-hearted night.

***

I gathered firewood and prepared to camp.