The Wondrous Castle Ascends
For a moment, Geum Byeok-ho paused. His brows furrowed in obvious displeasure.
“…The Simjok are the race that can read not only the emotions of living bodies, but the very emotions themselves. They have mastered the Simgongbeop called the Method of Deep Emotion in both the Heaven Race and Earth Race, allowing them to read the colors of emotion and, even further, to read the very mind itself.”
He paused again, still frowning, as if he couldn’t quite believe it.
“Of course, it’s true that the Simjok are one of the Three Great Races, but they were simply lumped together for convenience. Compared to the Heaven Race and Earth Race, they are nothing more than trash. There are so many Heaven and Earth Race experts that it’s impossible to count them all, but among the true Simjok, those worthy of being called experts number fewer than ten thousand. Ten thousand? Haha! Even my own descendants would number more than that…”
‘Are the Simjok the race with the fewest high-rank cultivators?’
I absorbed every piece of information Geum Byeok-ho spilled about the lower realm, committing it to my consciousness.
That was when Changhoja, my senior, spoke up.
“Wait, one question, Senior-nim. You said the Simjok can see the colors of emotion and that the Earth Race refines their bodies, but… for me and for that madman Jo Yeon, I can perceive the color of my will, and I’ve mastered a body-refining technique, yet if we use the same technique to distinguish races, doesn’t that mean there’s no real difference?”
Geum Byeok-ho smiled wryly at the question.
“No, there is a clear difference. As you said, the Heaven Race has already found their own optimal Seolbeop. Through sacrifice they gain the ability to read the veins of heaven. Their bodies are also refined separately, so in theory they can obtain the Earth Race’s eyes as well. And if they master the Simjok’s Deep Emotion Technique, they can theoretically obtain the Simjok’s eyes too. In theory, the Heaven Race can master all three techniques of the Three Great Races. That is why they are considered the most noble race, and why the human race within the Heaven Race is one of the reasons the lower realm is ruled by the Heaven Race.”
‘…Then why was I killed in my last life?’
I felt a wave of confusion and continued listening.
“The Earth Race can master their own unique techniques—Dragon-Rearing Techniques, for example—and if they also master the Deep Emotion Technique, in theory they can obtain the Simjok’s eyes. But the Simjok… they can’t master the Heaven Race’s techniques or the Earth Race’s. They’re foolish creatures who can only focus on their own Deep Emotion Technique. Even among the Heaven Race, three Star Shattering experts exist, but among the Earth Race there are only two. Among the Simjok, there’s only one at the Star Shattering level, and that’s the supreme leader. Before that leader was born, they were nothing but slave race.”
After chewing out the Simjok for a long time, Geum Byeok-ho finally gave me the full picture.
‘They truly are a specialized race focused on the Deep Emotion Technique…’
They weren’t just a powerful race. They were a weak one that could only master one technique.
“Fewer than ten thousand properly skilled Simjok exist, and if they weren’t all obsessed with the Deep Emotion Technique, they would have been captured long ago and their bloodlines wiped out! Even the Heaven Race and Earth Race can master the Will Technique or read the colors of emotion through experience, but they can’t go beyond that no matter what. That’s why the Heaven Race and Earth Race are so desperate to capture the Simjok and steal their secret method.”
In theory the Heaven Race could master it, but in practice almost no one had.
Geum Byeok-ho kept rubbing his side as he cursed the Simjok.
“…In truth, the Simjok are a race that has been driven out by the Heaven and Earth Races. That’s why, even though the Ascension Platform exists, only the Heaven Race and Earth Race can meet their own juniors who have ascended from the lower realm. The Simjok have no such right.”
‘There are many blue lines converging toward that place…’
I read his thoughts and understood.
He had been betrayed in the past.
After venting for a while, Geum Byeok-ho began to speak of other races as well.
The overall power and composition of the races in the lower realm…
Because I had previously been captured and altered by the dispatched Goe-gun, I drank in all of these truths like a thirsty man.
“The lower realm has one Star Plate Saint, five Star Shattering Venerables, and one Star Shattering-grade Simjok Venerable. The Integration Grand Completion is extremely rare; some species have up to five, while others have only one or two. Also…”
While I listened to Geum Byeok-ho’s basic information about the lower realm, we finally reached the domain of the human race.
Kugugugugugugugugugu!
‘That’s it… the human domain…’
I stared at the majestic sight before me and couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Poof!
A vast plain covered in pure white clouds.
Breaking through the clouds, we could see countless enormous Floating Islands scattered across the horizon.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of them, rose above the white sea of clouds like miniature versions of Deungsunhyang.
Every one of them was enveloped in a faint circular formation.
“That is the domain of the human race where we have staked our claim. First, you must all go to the smallest Floating Island, Siyeondo, receive identity badges from our disciples there, and then scatter. The Heavenly Person experts who arrived from other domains may choose freely.”
“Hmm, must we scatter?”
Changhoja asked, looking around with a reluctant expression.
“Of course. If you had been Heavenly Person experts, there would be no issue… but none of the leaders of the major powers here are more than Four Pillars, are they?”
Geum Byeok-ho folded his arms.
“According to the rules of the human domain, no more than three Four Pillar experts may remain in a single Floating Island.”
“Hmm, well. Good. It would be irritating enough if the three great sects all piled up in one place and fought over resources.”
Geum Byeok-ho nodded.
“Very well, then let us head to Siyeondo.”
We flew toward Siyeondo.
During the flight—
“...What? Something feels off.”
Changhoja frowned.
I, too, squinted at the distant Siyeondo growing closer.
‘There’s something… off about the distance.’
And then—
My face, Changhoja’s, Geum Byeok-ho’s, and Heuk-guk’s all showed shock.
‘That… that’s…’
The thin veils that had been covering every Floating Island had suddenly expanded into thick, powerful formations packed with immense energy.
No matter how small the smallest islands had looked like back in Deungsunhyang, they were now growing monstrously larger.
‘This is insane…’
Kugugugugugugu!
“We’re entering Siyeondo!”
The tiny island we had seen from afar was now revealing its terrifying size.
Deungsunhyang?
It was far beyond anything like that.
This was…
‘Dabcheon Desert…?’
The size of the Dabcheon Desert, which boasted the combined landmass of Yeon Kingdom, Byeokra Kingdom, and Seongje Kingdom.
It was the same scale as the Dabcheon Desert, which already covered one-quarter of the entire continent of Sugye.
I looked beyond Siyeondo and saw dozens more islands.
‘They were at least six to ten times larger than Siyeondo when seen from afar…’
In my previous life I had been sealed inside Seo Jang’s body and had only lived inside the Wondrous Castle, so I had never truly felt the vastness of the lower realm.
But now I understood.
The lower realm.
The human domain within the Heaven Race.
Each one of the countless Floating Islands in the human domain was either the same size or slightly smaller than the continent of Sugye I had once known.
“Open!”
Chwaaaaak!
Geum Byeok-ho raised his hand toward a vast formation that resembled the ocean. The barrier split open, creating a huge gap large enough for all of us to pass through at once.
“Enter.”
“….”
We stepped inside without a word.
Kugugugugugu!
Siyeondo was a place where gales constantly roared.
Here there was nothing like a habitable human settlement. It was nothing but a barren wasteland of rocks, sand, and stone.
“Follow me!”
We flew after Geum Byeok-ho toward one side of the island.
A rocky mountain range. Geum Byeok-ho drew a seal. One of the peaks gradually became transparent, revealing a colossal pavilion hidden inside the mountain.
A single mountain-sized pavilion stood before us like a living fortress.
“Everyone, go inside and receive your identity badges!”
Geum Byeok-ho finished his seal and pulled out thousands of ghosts from his sleeve.
They led the disciples of the three great sects—millions of them—into different halls. We followed ghost swarms and received our badges from everywhere in the pavilion.
After a while—
Pachut!
I, too, received my badge.
On the back was the character “Heaven.” On the front, the words “Human Race” and my name, “Seo Eun-hyun,” were engraved. Beneath them, in tiny letters: “Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun.”
Hundreds of millions of people received badges at once, yet the process finished surprisingly quickly.
Inside the mountain-sized pavilion, human-race citizens swarmed everywhere, working. Minor tasks were handled by law techniques, so the overall speed was not slow.
After half a day, everyone had received their badges and become fully citizens of the lower realm.
“Very well. Basic identity verification is complete. Now choose which Floating Island you will enter. The Heavenly Person experts from other domains may choose freely. As for the three great sects from Sugye…”
Geum Byeok-ho sighed softly.
“…I’m sorry, but you have no choice. Since you have Four Pillar leaders, you cannot enter just any island. Our Black Ghost Valley will follow me. As for you two—Changcheon Gaebyeokmun and Geumshin Cheonroemun—you must scatter to different locations.”
“I understand.”
“…Understood.”
Changhoja nodded.
Geum Byeok-ho answered with a grim expression.
I watched him and felt something strange.
‘Even though the history of Geumshin Cheonroemun is not short, why doesn’t anyone come out to welcome us…?’
A Four Pillar expert’s lifespan is incomparable to ordinary people.
That was why even ancestors who had defeated the lower realm thousands of years ago should have been able to establish themselves here.
‘What happened…?’
A while later, Geum Byeok-ho and Changhoja descended below the pavilion and chose a suitable island from the map.
“Very well. You must go to the island named on the map. Each Floating Island has its own human-race leader. Ask him for advice. Then I must be off…”
Geum Byeok-ho boarded the Seopmyeong Ship and, together with our Black Ghost Valley, flew toward the distant black island.
“Then, may your fortune be bright, Changhoja.”
“And yours.”
Changhoja and Geum Byeok-ho exchanged farewells and flew off in opposite directions.
After a certain distance from Geum Byeok-ho, I asked Changhoja the question that had been nagging me.
“Changhoja-nim.”
“Just call me Master now.”
“Ah, yes, Master. There is one thing I wish to ask.”
Whoosh!
In the distance I could see the island Changhoja had chosen.
“Why does the Black Ghost Valley come out to greet the ancestors, but even though Geumshin Cheonroemun is an ancient sect, no one comes out to welcome us? And why was Tae Sangjangmun Geum Byeok-ho’s expression so unpleasant…?”
I asked.
Changhoja clicked his tongue.
“I don’t know the full story either. But from what I’ve heard, after the Great Chaos of Sugye forty thousand years ago, Geumshin Cheonroemun has had no contact with the upper realm. The ancestors of Geumshin Cheonroemun who fled first during that war were implicated in something, so they cannot contact the upper realm. The few ancestors who have fled in recent centuries are mostly weaker than Geum Byeok-ho.”
“…I see.”
There was no ancestor to warn us about the danger of the Geumshin Cheonroemun.
‘…Should we leave them alone?’
In a few years the sect that would definitely be annihilated by a True Immortal…
What could we do to protect them?
‘There is only one answer.’
First, become stronger.
No matter how hard or how long…
To make these barbaric sects listen to us, we had to grow stronger.
‘I’ll become stronger.’
I made the vow firmly in my heart.
“Uuuuu…”
“Are you all right, Oh Cha-jang…?”
On the side of the Bi-cha.
Seeing Oh Hyun-seok Cha-jang, who was suffering from severe airsickness and had fallen into a panic attack, I clicked my tongue with pity.
Bi-cha had flown at great speed, but it was not as comfortable as a modern airplane, so it shook violently.
Cold wind poured in through every gap in the door.
From the moment we left the Bi-cha, Oh Hyun-seok had been forced to endure the dual torment of airsickness and freezing gale without a single chance to speak.
I pointed out the acupoints on his body, but the shaking only made the airsickness worse.
“Just hold on a little longer. We’re almost there.”
Whoosh!
In the distance I saw a Floating Island encircled by blue spiritual energy.
A majestic Floating Island five times the size of Siyeondo.
In truth, it was nothing less than a continent floating in the sky, welcoming us.
“Everyone, listen carefully!”
Changhoja’s voice thundered across the sky.
“While you received your badges, Senior-nim Geum Byeok-ho told me that the way to claim a new Floating Island is simple!”
Kugugugugu!
The thick formation surrounding the island grew closer.
Paaat!
Changhoja’s fist began to glow with fierce light.
“The method is to challenge the forces already inside the Floating Island and fight them to seize their territory! The Human Race Union even supports this survival-of-the-fittest system because it benefits the human race!”
“Do you all understand? Whether the lower realm or the upper realm, the essence is the same!”
Kugugugugu!
Tremendous fighting spirit poured from Changhoja’s body.
“Weak meat versus strong meat! The strong survive! Behold, my disciples of the Great Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun! Let us prove how worthy these lower-realm dogs are!”
Kugugugugu!
Countless Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun disciples behind me began to unleash their own overwhelming fighting spirit.
‘The Cheongmun Clan was just children playing around.’
The Cheongmun Clan, which worshipped the dangerous Gale Wind.
But the fighting spirit of the main branch, Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun, was on an entirely different scale.
“Come on! The time has come to smash the stone that was lodged in our throat! Let us enter our new nest, the Changhan-do!”
Kwaaaang!
Changhoja charged forward like a cannonball and smashed a huge hole through the formation of the Changhan-do with his body.
* * *
Uuuuuung!
The entire Changhan-do rang with the echo.
At the summit of the colossal Jade Snow Peak at the center of the island.
In a blue pavilion, several Heavenly Person experts were conversing.
“Contact has arrived from Siyeondo. A human-race sect called Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun has come to fight for a place on the island!”
“What kind of nonsense is this? A sect from the lower realm ascending?”
“I heard the news from Geongon City. They said their sect has ascended with a bunch of monstrous golems. The head of their sect reached Four Pillars the moment he ascended.”
“Four Pillars…? Damn it. The ordinary sects here can’t fight them. If we want to take them on…”
“Seongnyeongmun! Seongnyeongmun must take the lead!”
Many Heavenly Person experts looked at the man sitting on the side of the pavilion.
“Senior Jang, doesn’t Seongnyeongmun have a Four Pillar expert? If he had shown his power when he settled here as the Seongnyeong Cheongun, he would have…”
The man in the drab gray robe smiled faintly.
“Isn’t that too… funny a request?”
“W-what…!?”
“Having the sect leader come out just to deal with some lower-realm trash who only ascended a moment ago is like using a dragon-slaying knife to kill a chicken. How strong could they possibly be? The true Spirit Sea Techniques of the upper realm have never even been seen by these people. Fighting for territory is just a pretext. If we let them settle in some corner of the island, it will be enough.”
“But I heard there is a Four Pillar expert…”
“Hmph. If your sect activates your own Sect Grand Assembly, you can easily deal with one Four Pillar expert. Stop making a fuss. And do you really think that mad Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun is coming to fight for real?”
The other Heavenly Person expert answered with a serious face.
“It’s impossible for a new force to settle anywhere without fighting.”
“What nonsense. Submitting to a stronger force is also a method. In short, that Chungcheon whatever sect is saying this: ‘We have Four Pillar power and we are arrogant.’ They plan to sell their strength dearly to the strongest power on the island…”
“Urgent report!”
The Seongnyeongmun leader’s words were cut off as someone flew into the pavilion in panic.
“The Seongnyeongmun has been destroyed!!”
At those words, the leader of Seongnyeongmun, Wi-hyeon, froze solid.
* * *
Kwaaaaang!
“This is the best spiritual vein! From today this is the territory of the Great Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun! Get out!”
Changhoja laughed heartily and grabbed the neck of the Four Pillar expert inside the highest pavilion of Seongnyeongmun.
This kind of thing was happening everywhere across the human domain.
* * *
Noeryeong-do.
Noeryeong Cheongun Sect, Noeun-gak.
The place where Noeun-gak had stood had become the place that Noeun-gak had once occupied.
Kurung, kurrung!
Pazit, pazizizit!
Holding the flag wrapped in thunder, Geum Byeok-ho looked down at Noeun-gak with eyes full of killing intent.
“I heard that on this Noeun-gak, even though it belongs to the Geumshin Cheonroemun that ascended from the lower realm, a traitor who forgot his own sect’s name and sold the secrets of the Cheonroemun has been living in luxury. If you don’t come out within the count of ten, I will burn the entire Noeryeong-do to ash. One… two… nine… ten.”
Kwarurung, kwarurung!
Geum Byeok-ho counted so fast he didn’t even give the opponent time to answer and then swung the flag.
At the same moment, lightning covered the entire Noeryeong-do.
* * *
Kiyaaaa!
Ki-yaaa!
Heuknyeondo.
Two black ships rose over the Heuknyeondo thick with ghost qi and yin qi.
“At last the Seopmyeong Ship has arrived. Today, for the first time, the Black Ghost Valley will reclaim its territory in Heuknyeong Cheongun Sect…”
Kugugugugugu!
Geum Byeok-ho drew up the ghost qi from his entire body. Behind him Heuk-guk pulled tens of millions of ghost swarms into action.
A sharp ghost light spread across the dark Seopmyeong Ship.
On Heuknyeondo, the power of the Black Ghost Valley began to descend.
* * *
In the human domain’s cloud island area as well, countless new expert groups began pushing aside the old ones and claiming their territories.
* * *
“Kyaaaah! This arrogant bastard…! Lower-realm trash…!”
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Drab light spread in all directions as the Four Pillar expert held by Changhoja began to struggle.
[Hahaha! Trying to do something? You’re dreaming! It would be wise to hand over your territory to the main sect and leave peacefully!]
Kugugugugugu!
Changhoja’s momentum grew in turn.
Two Four Pillar experts rose into the sky and began to fight.
At the same time the voices of the Four Pillar experts echoed everywhere.
“Seongnyeongmun disciples, listen! Show these lower-realm trash the power of the upper-realm sages!”
“Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun disciples, listen!”
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Drab and blue light covered the sky.
Changhoja’s voice thundered.
“We win!”
That single sentence was enough.
Kugugugugugu!
Chungcheon Gaebyeokmun began to push out one sect after another with overwhelming force.
I looked down from the Bi-cha and thought.
‘Are they seriously not even trying to talk…’
The various administrative officials of Siyeondo had told Changhoja that fighting for territory was the method to claim a new island.
Even though the method itself was reasonable, I never imagined they would charge in without a word.
‘Unlike when I was in the Cheongmun Clan, there was no way I could quietly practice inside a room…’
Just as I shook my head—
Kwaaaaang!
A monster dropped in front of the Bi-cha carrying me and Oh Hyun-seok.
He looked roughly like the leader of the Seongnyeongmun.
“Kyaaaah! Kyak! This damn… what kind of monstrous golems ascended from the lower realm?!”
For a moment the leader gritted his teeth, then our eyes met.
The leader glared at me and ground his teeth.
Kugugugugu!
The power of the Nascent Soul realm surged from him.
“So you are the precious disciples of the sect. You are now my prisoners!”
I watched him for a moment, sighed softly, and stepped down from the Bi-cha.
“Hahaha, good. Quick surrender is a wise thought. You lower-realm idiots… First, capture you as prisoners. After the war for territory ends, I’ll pay your lives with…”
‘Invisible Sword won’t work.’
Well, it didn’t matter.
I could probably handle it with the Invisible Sword anyway.
Uuuung!
I pulled law power from the blood body armor that still covered my body and formed the law technique.
“Uuu…?”
When he looked confused—
Kugugugugu!
A blood-red tree grew from the ground, slowly gathering beside me, and turned into a wooden doll.
Pasak, pasa-sasak!
I placed my hand on the wooden doll and quickly drew a spiritual energy circuit.
The wooden doll gradually took on a familiar face.
Uuuung!
A moment later.
The spiritual energy circuit of the completed wooden doll sucked in the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy, and the doll began to erupt with terrifying spiritual pressure.
I looked at the leader of Seongnyeongmun with a blank expression and spoke.
“This friend is Seo Jang. Even though his appearance is like this, his heart is kind. If you get along well with him, it should be all right.”
Uuuuuung!
The countless flesh and circuits I had studied for the past thousand years.
Because I knew their structure perfectly, I could replicate them at any time.
Of course, the real body of Seo Jang contained extremely valuable materials, so I couldn’t create a true Four Pillar-grade puppet in an instant.
Therefore, the strength of the puppet I had hastily made right now was approximately…
Kwaaaaaang!
‘Nascent Soul initial stage…’
I looked at the yangsan-type Seo Jang that shot out light rays and thought.
The leader of Seongnyeongmun hurriedly began to prepare his law technique, barely dodging the light rays.
I, still looking relaxed, started making another Seo Jang.