Chapter 55 - Act 8. Daemudo’s Main Mountain (6)

The three pureblood Cultivators stood rigidly in a row across from the sparring platform. Hands fidgeted with the ends of scabbards; faces turned downward, stifling nervous coughs. One even kept stealing glances at Yise before hastily looking away. Their behavior was certainly respectful, but anyone could see it was far from normal.

Yise’s brow creased slightly.

‘It certainly worked... but at this rate, will they even be able to put up a proper fight?’

Admittedly, he had been a little excessive to make sure they would cause no trouble later. Still, he could hardly leave formal disciples of Daemudo as broken wrecks. He sighed briefly, collected his thoughts, and looked at the three Cultivators. The way their shoulders stiffened simply because his gaze fell on them was quite a sight.

“Relax. I have no intention of touching you again unless you cross the line first. I’ll go easy on you, so give us a proper demonstration of your cultivation. Your families are watching, too.”

Reassured by his calm tone, the Cultivators sighed with relief, then shouted,

“Yes! Thank you for your mercy, Senior!”

... Why did they keep shouting?

Yise waved them away. He felt stares boring into him from either side. They belonged to Hong Wonseo and Hae Unchan.

“... Just what have you been doing since you got here?”

“Establishing the pecking order.”

“...”

Hong Wonseo shook her head in bewilderment.

“Ha. You really are something.”

Hae Unchan gave a disbelieving laugh, then studied their retreating opponents. Apparently disappointed by their cultivation levels, he let out a barely audible sigh.

“Can I ask you two a favor? I’d like to take them on alone in this match.”

“Go ahead.”

Yise agreed without objection, knowing that the main-mountain Cultivators as they were now would be no match for Hae Unchan even if all three attacked together. By the end of this match, they too would realize that cultivation level was not everything.

Hong Wonseo looked between Hae Unchan and Yise before answering indifferently.

“All right, then.”

Hae Unchan beamed.

Soon, the Qi Refining Cultivators’ spell combat tournament ended, and the platform was put in order. When their turn was called, the three stepped onto it together. Hae Unchan moved forward while the other two hung back. Murmurs immediately spread through the crowd.

“What are they doing?”

“Looks like he’s taking them on alone.”

“No way. This has to be a joke.”

“I did hear this year’s training compound disciples are incredibly talented...”

“Has a training compound team won the exchange gathering even once in the last few decades?”

The ordinary people chattered all around, intrigued by the sight, while the Cultivators checked Hae Unchan’s realm and condemned his arrogance.

“Against three opponents? An impertinent young fellow.”

“That Cultivator is the one—you know, Hall Master Hae Il’s great-great-grandnephew.”

“A young fellow with confidence to match his abilities, then.”

Amused by the comments all around them, Yise kept chuckling, until Hong Wonseo chided him. “At least pretend to get ready.”

“Begin.”

As the signal rang out, Hae Unchan slowly placed a hand on his sword hilt. It was his distinctive sword-drawing stance: a thoroughly showy pose he insisted on treating as his own fearsome signature.

His grip on the scabbard slowly loosened and tightened again. That tiny movement only made the three purebloods’ shoulders stiffen further.

Then he drew.

Streams of water shot from the blade, taking the shape of crescent moons as they flew toward each Cultivator.

Watching with interest, Yise remarked,

“If he’s going to cast spells like that, wouldn’t he be better off using his bare hands?”

“Apparently, that sword dramatically amplifies water spells.”

“So he’s a fake swordsman.”

The Cultivators each blocked Hae Unchan’s attack in their own way, then split in three directions and charged simultaneously: straight ahead, diagonally from the left, and diagonally from the right.

Hae Unchan pivoted slightly on his toes. Keeping impeccable form, he brought his sword down. The spell that followed his slash halted their advance and drove them onto the defensive instead.

Then, at some point, his spell shifted seamlessly. The separate jets of water ceased, and a long stream extended from his sword tip, much like Gushing Torrent, before beginning to churn into a vortex.

Gale and Illusory Water Art.

Whirlpool.

Yise’s gaze grew serious. As a single-attribute spiritual root bearer, Hae Unchan could learn only water spells. Fast cultivation was certainly an advantage, but Yise had always thought that it left him with far too obvious a weakness.

Yet the power of the spell Hae Unchan displayed far surpassed the fifth star. It even overturned the elemental relationship in which earth overcame water. The other two Cultivators had already been swept into the whirlpool and flung out of bounds. Ju Guyeon, who tried to hold it off with an earth-element defensive spell, strained desperately before finally collapsing.

‘So this is what you wanted to show me.’

Hae Unchan had probably wanted to show him what he had achieved and how far he had come—as if declaring that he was catching up fast.

Hae Unchan swept back his disheveled hair, then raised his head to look at Yise. His eyes seemed to ask, What do you think?

Yise nodded slowly.

An excellent spell. For a fifth-star Cultivator.

No sooner had the match ended than the main mountain’s Cultivators flocked around Hae Unchan.

“I heard there was a gifted youngster among this year’s entrants. So it was you.”

“Would you care to visit our gathering? Fellow practitioners of the sword often get together there.”

“Do you happen to keep in touch with Hall Master Hae Il?”

“Senior, would you consider taking a mission with me? I’m a covert operative with quite a high success rate.”

Apparently not having expected such a crowd, Hae Unchan stood trapped and flustered, unable to decide what to do. Yise took the opportunity to slip away. Hong Wonseo fell into step beside him.

“He certainly likes attention.”

“Thanks to him, we had an easy time of it. And drew less attention ourselves.”

Just then, applause sounded nearby.

“Well, that went quite differently from what I expected. I suppose there was no need for you to step in, Senior?”

It was Park Gangseo, approaching with a pleased expression.

With an air of exaggerated nonchalance, he slipped a hand onto Yise’s shoulder and leaned toward his ear.

“But you know, there’s a rumor going around that you beat some sense into all the purebloods beforehand.”

“Baseless gossip. Who’s spreading such vicious rumors?”

“Who else? Your left-hand man.”

“Bu Chun?”

“That’s right, your left-hand man. Naturally, I’m your right-hand man.”

Deciding he needed to teach Bu Chun to keep his mouth shut, Yise removed Park Gangseo’s hand. No Lingering Scent Powder had been left behind.

“When did you two get so close?”

“Nothing wrong with the right and left hands getting along. Anyway, Senior, when are you going to help me with my cultivation?”

“When I have time.”

“And when will that be—hey, wait for me!”

* * *

That night, in his quarters, Yise sat cross-legged and began slowly circulating the spiritual energy within his body. He confronted the barrier to the eighth star—the minor threshold—head-on.

The eighth-star formula was Purging Impurity, Purifying Spirit. At this stage, one separated out and removed the impure energy flowing among the spiritual energy within the body, leaving only pure spiritual energy behind.

At the next stage, the ninth star’s Replacing Bones, Spirit Forging, that refined spiritual energy would break down the bones and forge them anew into spirit bones. Upon reaching Great Attainment’s Shedding the Mortal Frame, Remaking the Body, all the skin and organs would be broken down and remade. Only the brain would remain unchanged. It was a process that bordered on gruesome, transforming the body into one entirely free of impure energy.

From this point onward, a single misstep could leave one crippled. Every step had to be taken with care. At the end of the process, the body would become impervious to blades and immune to all poisons. Only then would one qualify to set foot on the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

Yise let out a long breath. It sounded plausible enough in words, but the actual process was far from easy. First, he had to drain his body of spiritual energy until it was nearly empty.

Then, using the principles of the seventh star’s Spirit Drawing, he had to select and draw in only the spiritual energy free of impurities from the countless currents drifting between heaven and earth. He had to continue until his body rejected impure energy and naturally accepted only pure spiritual energy. Like repeatedly shaking sand in a sieve to sort it grain by grain, the same process had to be repeated endlessly. It was tedious and frustrating, but there was no shortcut.

Identifying the nature of the barrier actually calmed him. What he needed now was not enlightenment, but spiritual energy and time—an immense amount of energy and a very long time. His instincts told him that the leap to the eighth star would require at least twice as much as he currently held.

He rose lightly to his feet. Reach Great Attainment before the secret realm opened, obtain a fortuitous encounter inside it, and cross the threshold into Foundation Establishment in one leap. That was the path he had laid out for himself.

The following day, as the new year began, Yise headed to the Mission Pavilion in the administrative district. It was the busiest building in the district: a three-story pavilion neatly finished in black timber from its base to its eaves.

The first floor was a broad, plaza-like hall for posting and accepting missions, its walls packed with mission notices on every side. Staff members sat on the second floor, organizing missions and managing contribution points. On the third floor, which had an open center, countless message talismans darted to and fro as Cultivators scurried about to receive them.

Realizing that all those flying message talismans had been handled manually this whole time, Yise gave a dry chuckle.

‘So this is semi-automatic in its own way, too.’

Formal disciples streamed in and out of the first floor, examining the missions. Yise, too, slowly scanned the walls.

- Exterminate a plague ghost in the Dongheung Valley area. (Requirements: shaman at Middle Stage Qi Refining or above.)

- Private tutor wanted for a child Cultivator preparing for the entrance examination (triple spiritual root, age eight). (Requirements: first- or second-place finisher in the entrance examination.)

- Search for missing persons in Soha County. (Requirements: covert operative at Middle Stage Qi Refining or above.)

- Commission for a custom ritual implement. (Requirements: ritual-implement artisan at late-stage Qi Refining or above.)

- Manage and supervise spirit-stone mine laborers during the first lunar month. (Requirements: none.)

- Infiltrate the Jeong Empire and monitor the movements of the Saehyeon Sect. (Requirements: Foundation Establishment; available for a mission lasting at least three years. Mandatory missions may be deferred.)

- [Urgent] Request to rescue disciples on mission duty. (Requirements: Foundation Establishment warrior.)

... The range and scale of the missions truly lived up to the main mountain’s name. Yise’s finger moved slowly among the notices.

Hunts for demonic beasts that could provide ingredients for immortal cuisine, hunts for demonic practitioners offering substantial extra profits, and straightforward, safe escort missions. Suitable choices for those starting out on mission duty generally fell into one of those three categories. Yise’s hand naturally drifted toward them as well.

Then his finger stopped at one mission. He slowly read its details once more, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

‘... This looks interesting. The extras are quite worthwhile, too.’

In particular, the fact that the mission could not be attempted again, with penalties for failure, made it feel as though it had been waiting for him.