Chapter 33 - Act 5. Iron Sun Thunder Sect (3)

Inside the box lay a spear.

To be precise, it was something that could only loosely be called a spear. There was a spearhead at either end, with two banners extending diagonally beneath them. One bore the emblem of Daemudo, the other a vermilion bird.

It resembled a banner spear, but the two blades and two banners gave it a peculiar appearance. Even the finish on the grip looked rather flimsy, making it seem... awkward to wield as a weapon.

As Yise examined it with a puzzled expression, Hong Mihui fluttered her fan and explained, her face brimming with self-assured pride.

“The Twin-Banner Spirit-Domain Sealing Standard. I named it myself.”

“May I ask what sort of supernatural treasure it is?”

“A spatial-barrier ritual implement modeled after the Lord of Daemudo’s favorite possession. Of course, its effectiveness hardly compares to the one he used.”

“A spatial barrier...!”

Hong Mihui added lightly, “It would be greedy to compare it with a divine relic in the first place, wouldn’t it?”

The Lord of Daemudo. This was a replica of an item used by a great Spirit Transformation Cultivator said to have ascended to the upper realm.

Calming his pounding heart, Yise took hold of it. The way it fit his hand was extraordinary. Though it looked roughly finished, it settled snugly into his grip as though it had been made from the outset for his hand alone.

“Using it is simple. Just plant it in the ground and the barrier will activate. Infuse it with spiritual energy, and it seals spiritual energy. Infuse it with Demonic Energy, and it seals Demonic Energy.”

At first, the explanation was difficult to grasp. Yise went over her words again.

‘Infuse it with spiritual energy to seal spiritual energy... Ah.’

Now he understood why she called it a treasure tailored to him. Even if one of his energies was sealed, he could fight with the other.

Yise tested it at once. He infused about a tenth of his spiritual energy into the banner spear and drove it into the ground. A barrier spread around it.

It looked like a translucent membrane shimmering in the air. Its reach was roughly three feet—smaller than he had expected.

“The more energy you put into it, the farther it reaches. It gradually shrinks over time. It isn’t terribly efficient, though.”

He pulled out the banner spear, infused more spiritual energy, and planted it again. The barrier widened slightly.

Its reach was certainly disappointing for the spiritual energy it consumed. And yet...

‘Its usefulness goes without saying.’

Against Demons, he could seal Demonic Energy and fight with spiritual energy. Against Cultivators, he could seal spiritual energy and fight with Demonic Energy.

For Yise, who wielded both, it would literally be a space in which he was invincible. Whether the barrier was large or small, any opponent who entered would be the only one deprived of their weapon.

Three feet was enough. Considering the reach of his hand axe, it was precisely the range he needed.

He understood why the original had been the Lord of Daemudo’s most treasured divine relic, and why she had so confidently promised him a treasure that suited him perfectly.

At the same time, gratitude welled up within him. As though reading it in his eyes, Hong Mihui smiled.

“You seem to have the gist of it. Of course, it isn’t impossible to counter. Simply pulling the banner spear out of the ground will dispel the barrier. And an enemy whose realm vastly surpasses yours is bound to have some means of breaking a spatial barrier.”

Her fan fluttered. The spatial barrier touching her shattered with a sharp crack.

“But you won’t find a better treasure for seizing that single instant to deliver a killing blow. Even with the Lord of Daemudo, until his relic’s effects became widely known, no one ever escaped his spatial barrier alive.”

Yise looked down at the banner spear.

The great Cultivator before him was a pillar of the sect. From what he had heard, she played an important role in most of its crafts, including pill refining, talisman making, and implement crafting.

And someone like her had devoted all this time to a novice disciple.

Yise had a philosophy by which he lived: never forget a grudge, and never forget a kindness.

He owed her an immense debt. He bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Hall Master. I will repay your kindness without fail.”

“Put it to good use, child.”

With those words, Hong Mihui departed as casually as she had arrived. There was no mention of coming to Vermilion Bird Hall someday, no admonition to obey her from now on. Nothing more was said. A great Cultivator’s generosity truly seemed to match her realm.

The door to the private training room closed.

Yise looked down once more at the banner spear in his hand, then carefully secured it to his back, as tenderly as he would a beloved lover.

* * *

Starting the day after he received the Twin-Banner Spirit-Domain Sealing Standard, Yise began camping outside the administrative office. He meant to snatch up suitable missions the moment they were posted.

It did not matter if anyone tried to compete. Once the doors opened, no novice disciple could outpace him and reach the noticeboard first.

He took any mission that involved hunting Demons, most of them at Risk Levels Nine through Seven.

The more perilous, the better. If actual combat could break through the wall of his minor threshold, he had no reason to shy away from anything.

He could not handle every mission alone, but at least all the promising ones fell to him. Naturally, complaints began to mount.

“They say the ones who have everything are the greediest...”

“Come on, let the rest of us make a living too!”

“If you go out, at least take some time off before coming back! Why do you have to be so diligent?”

Yet no one could confront Yise openly. The reason was simple: his mission record was outstanding.

His results were always flawless. He never let his guard down against a weak enemy. He insisted on thorough analysis and tried-and-true counters, and not once had anyone been injured on a team mission with him.

Even when he did all the work himself, he divided the spoils equally. In fact, those who had gone on missions with him eagerly waited for him to choose them whenever a team assignment arose.

At some point, a name began circulating among the novices.

The Qi Refining Demon Crusher.

It was hard to tell whether the nickname was an insult or a compliment.

Whether Yise knew about it or not, he was busy eyeing two missions covetously as he decided which to take.

“Senior, would it be possible to take two missions at once?”

“Two missions in completely opposite directions at once, you say? Then let me split your body down the middle to make that easier for you.”

“My mistake. I’ll take this one.”

Convinced at once by U Jeol’s clear-cut solution, Yise backed down.

* * *

In one corner of the training compound was a space no one used. Originally a makeshift storehouse that served little purpose, it had been rented by Yise with contribution points.

His fellow novices called it the butcher shop.

Inside, a scene rarely seen in the training compound was unfolding.

THWACK! THWACK!

The demonic beast’s flesh parted into neat cuts beneath the immortal-cuisine knife, a ritual implement. The three-tailed fox’s carcass, now a fox split in two, had its edible cuts set aside before the rest plunged into boiling water with a splash.

The butcher shop reeked of blood.

It was an unseemly enough sight to make names like Demon Crusher and Demon Butcher seem entirely fitting... yet Yise’s expression was utterly earnest.

He was seriously honing his skills in immortal cuisine.

He had first tried his hand at it during a mission. The assignment had dragged on so long that hunger drove him to butcher and eat part of a demonic beast he had caught. That was when he realized that, once all its Demonic Energy had been absorbed, a demonic beast’s carcass had the same benefits as a spirit beast’s.

His cultivation speed improved noticeably after eating it. From then on, he had one overriding condition when choosing a mission: it had to involve hunting demonic beasts, so he could obtain ingredients.

Until now, he had practiced repeatedly to achieve the best results. This was his first proper attempt, incorporating spiritual herbs and medicinal ingredients as well.

At last, the cooking was finished, and the results looked quite respectable. Yise gazed down at the completed dishes and named them.

Three-tailed fox bulgogi. And three-tailed fox restorative soup.

Looking pleased, Yise opened the butcher shop door.

Outside sat a crowd of novice disciples with uneasy expressions, like livestock dragged to the slaughterhouse.

“Cheer up. Anyone would think I’d forced you to come.”

‘You did force us!’

What an innocent bunch they were, wearing their thoughts plainly on their faces.

Of course, Yise paid it no mind. Their discontent would soon turn into gratitude.

“I made plenty, with all the care of a mother feeding her children.”

No one dared argue, but their expressions said it all.

“You actually went through with it...”

Seol Ryeong, the only one who knew the full story, accepted the dishes with a look of disgust. One held seasoned meat, the other soup.

“Well, it smells decent enough... It isn’t poison, is it?”

“Today’s the only day it’s free, so don’t be shy. Eat.”

Hae Unchan was the first to pick up his chopsticks, followed by Pi Garam. The other novices reluctantly began moving their utensils too.

“Hmm.”

Hae Unchan stopped chewing.

“Hey, this...”

Blinking, he looked down at his hand. His spiritual energy was moving, more distinctly and swiftly than usual.

“This is immortal cuisine, isn’t it?”

“What? My spiritual energy’s getting more active!”

“It’s like taking an elixir pill...”

At first came surprise. Immortal cuisine was rare, especially in Daemudo.

Then someone pointed out a problem in horror.

“This lunatic made meat soup out of a spirit beast in Daemudo?!”

“It’s not a spirit beast. It’s a demonic beast. I purified it first.”

That he had purified a demonic beast was surprising enough. More surprising still was how good it tasted.

The meat was tender and richly savory. Fragrant herbs completely eliminated its gaminess, bringing out the ingredients’ natural flavors in perfect harmony.

Somehow, the taste made one want to declare, “You pass.”

After some hesitation, Seol Ryeong finally took a bite. One piece. Then two. Chewing quietly, she slipped another piece into her mouth. Her wary expression had vanished before she knew it.

Soon, it became an all-out battle to grab even one more morsel.

Azure Mountain was thrown into an uproar.

Word traveled fast. Those who tasted the food brought acquaintances, who brought acquaintances of their own. There were even a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators staying on Azure Mountain among them.

By the time the sun began to set, a long line of the mountain’s disciples stretched out before the butcher shop. Complaints about being dragged there against their will had long since disappeared.

It was then that another novice came running breathlessly from afar.

“Sorry, it’s sold out.”

Someone spotted him and told him he was too late.

Without even catching his breath, the newcomer looked around, spotted Yise, and went straight toward him.

Yise remembered that face. It was Bu Chun, the fellow novice who had let him go first when choosing a cultivation manual on their first day.

He looked urgently troubled, as though something terrible had happened.

“Bu Chun. What’s wrong?”

Bu Chun paused, surprised that Yise remembered his name. For a moment he looked touched, but his expression soon hardened.

“I just heard...”

The gravity of his expression quieted everyone around him.

“Yeom Bo died on a mission.”

It was a short sentence. Those few words settled in silence, filling the space.

The novice disciples had suffered their first death.