What Makes a Man a Man?
I was suddenly taken aback by the woman proposing marriage to me, but then I felt my mind cool and steady.
“…Why would you propose to such a worthless man like me? With your status as the daughter of the Heavenly Lord, wouldn’t you be able to choose a far better marriage partner?”
“Humph! Shut up! I’ve decided to take you as my husband! Be quiet and marry me!”
It was then.
“Hum…”
The air stirred.
Hong Su-ryeong had somehow approached us, her eyes sharp as she stared at Heon-wi.
“You seem like an interesting young lady. However, the Golden Thunder Sect currently holds the dual cultivation rights for you.”
She trembled.
Heon-wi’s brows furrowed in irritation as she spoke.
“What do you mean? I’ve made up my mind to marry that guy. So why are you trying to give up your dual cultivation rights?”
“Hum…”
Hong Su-ryeong looked at her with even colder eyes and a mocking smile.
The next instant.
Flash!
“Stop it, Elder Hong!”
Crash!
In an instant, it looked as if lightning had struck. Hong Su-ryeong, who had suddenly appeared, held a sword and pointed its tip at Heon-wi.
And Geum Byeok-ho had stepped between them, grabbing Hong Su-ryeong’s wrist.
“Oh my, why didn’t you strike just a little deeper?”
Hong Su-ryeong’s sword hovered just at the tip of Heon-wi’s nose, and Geum Byeok-ho was sweating profusely.
“Elder Hong, please calm down and put away your sword. And young lady, please step back for now.”
“…Humph!”
Hong Su-ryeong sheathed her sword and retreated a step.
Heon-wi sneered and folded her arms.
“Young miss, I’m sorry, but the genius sword that made a name for the Golden Thunder Sect is something I intend to take.”
“If you’re the daughter of a Unity Heavenly Lord, then what? Who do you think you are to treat my sword as a mere object?”
Hong Su-ryeong asked without softening her cold gaze.
Heon-wi unfolded her arms and straightened her posture.
“Yes, my introduction was too brief.”
She ignored Hong Su-ryeong and looked at me.
“My father currently holds the position of Protector Heavenly Lord in Geongon City, the capital of the lower realm.”
**Geongon City Lord?**
Geongon City was the capital of the lower realm where the Ascension Platform, which lower-realm cultivators ascended to, was located.
Geongon City was managed alternately by the Heavenly Lord and the Earth Lord every five thousand years.
And to prevent attacks from spiritual beasts, demonic beasts, blood demons, and ghost creatures from the Ghost Realm, countless Nascent Soul Stage inspectors always lived there to guard the city. To control them, the Heavenly and Earth Lords would each select one Unity Heavenly Lord and bestow upon him the title of City Lord of Geongon City.
Thus, the Unity Heavenly Lords who became City Lords of Geongon City oversaw the city’s affairs and would intervene in sudden attacks on the city or when strange monsters appeared instead of victorious cultivators from the lower realm.
Because of their responsibilities, these City Lords were more commonly called Protector Heavenly Lords rather than City Lords.
In short, the one who had held the City Lord position of Geongon City when I and the lower-realm people first ascended was Heon-wi’s father, the Nascent Soul Stage inspector.
**When the madman first abducted the Nascent Soul Stage inspector of Geongon City, not even a trace remained of the Heavenly Lord who was supposed to be there, and it turned out to be Heon-wi’s father.**
Thinking about it, if Heon-wi’s father had rushed out to capture the madman when he kidnapped the Golden Crown Woodman, the madman might have been subdued on the spot.
But for some reason, the City Lord never showed himself, and as a result, the madman escaped and eventually evolved the Wondrous Castle to its extreme.
In a way, it was thanks to his daughter that the madman could turn the lower realm into a wasteland for a thousand years.
“Moreover, my father is the palace lord of the Pyeongrae Palace, one of the five great water sects in the human realm. And I am one of the Twenty-One Law Enforcers of the Pyeongrae Palace. If you marry me, not only will the Golden Thunder Sect gain the support of the Pyeongrae Palace, but we will also have the City Lord of Geongon as our backing. And I will request that you receive my father’s teachings!”
“….”
“It would be better for you to marry me unconditionally. If you join the Pyeongrae Palace, I will support you in learning the Taesan Yeolje Art, a martial skill that only the children of the Palace Lord can master!”
Gasps erupted from all around at her words.
“Whew, even so, giving the Taesan Yeolje Art to an outsider…”
“Truly amazing resolve.”
“How many people have learned the Taesan Yeolje Art besides the direct descendants and disciples of the Palace Lord?”
I looked at those who exhaled sighs.
First, the clone of the Chief Elder of Noeryeong Island and the Unity Heavenly Lord Wi-rim.
Then, the clone of the Unity Heavenly Lord Haeng-yeon, and the clone of the Unity Heavenly Lord Gae-jin.
Both continued to sigh.
Even the Unity Heavenly Lords were reacting this way, which meant the Taesan Yeolje Art was an incredibly powerful art.
**Moreover, just hearing the name, it was clearly a soil attribute art. It would suit me perfectly.**
If I judged it purely by the gains I could obtain, there was no reason to refuse.
But after cooling my head, I smiled and replied.
“I’m sorry, young lady, but I already have a dual cultivation partner chosen for me by my sect. As of now, I have no intention of marrying anyone else.”
“Hum…”
Her face filled with arrogance.
“You poor thing! I want you even more.”
“…Did you simply want to have me as your husband when you proposed?”
“No, that’s not it. I saw you block my attack and became completely smitten with you! So let’s get married!”
“Hum…”
I observed Heon-wi with clear eyes, while Hong Su-ryeong sneered and looked away from her.
Heon-wi smiled as she spoke to me.
“It seems your heart is still undecided. Then first…”
Click!
She snapped her fingers, and her cave pearl opened beside her.
And an enormous light began to burst forth from inside the cave pearl.
“Th-this is…!”
Geum Byeok-ho’s face paled in shock, and the Golden Thunder Sect disciples and congratulatory envoys around the cave pearl were all startled and floated into the sky.
Boom!
Countless spiritual stones began to pour out like a waterfall from the cave pearl.
In the unbelievable flood of spiritual stones, the peak of the Golden Lightning Peak, where the Golden Lightning Thunder Palace stood, was soon covered in spiritual stones.
Just by looking, it was an absurd amount, easily exceeding two or three hundred billion.
But it wasn’t over yet.
After the peak of the Golden Lightning Peak was covered in spiritual stones and the stones began flowing like a river below, Heon-wi’s cave pearl stopped spewing them.
“One trillion intermediate spiritual stones! With this much, the Golden Thunder Sect’s finances won’t run dry for at least a hundred years! It’s nothing to us from the Pyeongrae Palace. If you marry me, we can provide even greater support without limit!”
Geum Byeok-ho couldn’t close his mouth, and I was momentarily stunned by the overwhelming quantity.
**If it’s money, then there’s nothing you can’t have…**
Indeed, it was a staggering amount.
Moreover, if she married me, she said she would provide even more support. For any ordinary cultivator, the heart would naturally pound.
As expected, after seeing the mountain of spiritual stones, Geum Byeok-ho approached Heon-wi with even more respectful and humble behavior than before.
“For now, I thank you for the support, young lady. The Golden Thunder Sect is my main sect…”
“I’m not asking you to change your affiliation to the Pyeongrae Palace! I just want to marry so that the Golden Thunder Sect can frequently visit the Pyeongrae Palace. And this support money was given as a congratulatory gift from the elder in charge of the Golden Treasure Pavilion, so please accept it without hesitation.”
“U-uh…!”
“Then I’ll be off! I’ll visit frequently and give ‘congratulatory gifts’ from now on, so please think it over carefully. To reach the Heavenly Person stage from the Nascent Soul stage, resources are important, but the Pyeongrae Palace has even more instruments that can aid in comprehending the Heavenly Person stage!”
After speaking, Heon-wi gave me a last bold look and flew away on her cloud escape technique.
In the short yet intense appearance, the congratulatory banquet fell into a heavy silence for a moment.
“Hrm, hrm… That was scary. Well, we should continue with the banquet anyway?”
Changhoja gave Geum Byeok-ho a worried glance, and Geum Byeok-ho snapped out of it and quickly signaled the Nascent Soul Stage disciples and the Golden Treasure Pavilion disciples.
The Nascent Soul Stage disciples quickly flew around and began recovering the spiritual stones.
“Haha… Then let’s resume the congratulatory banquet.”
And from the countless representatives of other sects who had witnessed the enormous flood of spiritual stones, an enormous wave of congratulations began to pour toward Geum Byeok-ho.
“Congratulations, Lord!”
“Hahaha, although I hear Heon-wi has a difficult personality, she’s the type who acts fiercely when it counts. If the two of you become dual cultivators, the Golden Thunder Sect will have a bright future ahead.”
“She’s the unruly daughter of the Heavenly Lord, but the Pyeongrae Palace’s assets are said to be among the top two in the human realm, so it’s truly a great opportunity!”
Under the endless wave of congratulations, Geum Byeok-ho looked completely dazed.
Hong Su-ryeong and I locked eyes.
She clicked her tongue and said.
“She’s enough to drive anyone insane. Be careful, Geum Eun-hyun. You said out loud that you rejected her, but inside you were a completely different person.”
“…Yes, I saw it too.”
I gave a bitter smile.
If she had truly fallen for me and confessed her love, even I would have been shaken no matter what.
But I remembered her resolve.
**Simply, the resolve of a cunning old fox.**
It was an opponent who was never easy to deal with.
* * *
After the congratulatory banquet ended, I held a discussion with the elders in the Golden Thunder Palace.
“…Yes. From now on, the newly appointed elder of the main sect, Geum Eun-hyun. Congratulations.”
Geum Byeok-ho sat in his own seat and spoke.
Now, I too would be treated as an elder, and one elder’s seat had been assigned for me in the Golden Thunder Palace.
“Thank you, Supreme Sect Master.”
“Yes. Originally, after the congratulatory banquet ended, I would have let you rest comfortably… but I called you for one thing to say.”
I could easily guess what the topic would be.
“…The marriage to Heon-wi, the daughter of the Unity Heavenly Lord and City Lord of Geongon, Heon-won.”
“Yes. Please proceed.”
“First… Is there anyone among the elders who has information on Heon-wi?”
“Yes, I investigated quickly.”
From the elder’s seat, Geum Jin-chan stood and said.
“She is one of the seventeen children of the City Lord of Geongon and is said to be the seventh. She is three thousand one hundred and twenty years old. However, she is considered quite dull in talent, so she is still stuck in the mid-stage of the Heavenly Person realm. However, her cultivation is progressing well, and it is said she will soon reach the late stage of the Heavenly Person realm.”
“Over three thousand years old?”
At those words, Geum Byeok-ho’s brows furrowed.
“…Many. Among those who have ascended in the lower realm, unless it’s the Sea Dragon King or the Phoenix King, there’s no one in the human realm who can surpass this young lady.”
Because of the dragon race, Seo Hyoel was over four thousand five hundred years old, and the Phoenix King, a phoenix race, was over three thousand six hundred.
However, human beings only barely reached two thousand five hundred years old at the Heavenly Person stage, so Heon-wi’s age of just over three thousand one hundred was quite old compared to those who had ascended in the lower realm.
“Yes, there are many spiritual medicines in the Gwanghan realm that extend lifespan, such as the Longevity Fruit or Immortality Herb, so she has probably been extending her life through them.”
“I see. The recent cultivation bottleneck has come, and the talented person of our sect, Geum Eun-hyun, has been brought to overcome the bottleneck with the dual cultivation art?”
“That seems likely.”
“Hum… Do you all know about the Pyeongrae Palace to which Heon-wi belongs?”
The Human Total Federation currently had six major water sects as its mainstream.
First, the Black Lin Sea God Sect backed by the Black Dragon King Hyun-um.
Second, the Gaejin Sect backed by the Unity Heavenly Lord Gae-jin.
Third, the Yeoncheon Palace backed by the Unity Heavenly Lord Haeng-yeon.
Fourth, the Pyeongrae Palace backed by the Unity Heavenly Lord Heon-won.
Fifth, although there is no Heavenly Lord, its disciples are extraordinarily numerous, with branches in many heavenly gates, and it has a communication network with the Ghost Realm — the Black Ghost Valley.
Sixth, the Black Ghost Valley, a rival, and also a demonic path sect like itself — the Yin Marriage Ghost Shrine Sect.
These six water sects were truly the powerful mainstream sects that led the Human Total Federation, called the “Six Great Sects of the Human Realm.”
“Although we absorbed Noeryeong Island, our sect is still a newly emerging sect in its early days. If we receive support from the Pyeongrae Palace and expect the growth of Jeon Myeong-hoon, who has the Heavenly Treasure Lightning Body and… we might one day make the Golden Thunder Sect the number one sect of the human realm. However…”
Geum Byeok-ho’s eyes turned toward me and Hong Su-ryeong.
“The important thing is the opinion of the two of you, Geum Elder and Hong Elder. First, Elder Hong, what do you say?”
“What is there to say?”
Hong Su-ryeong gave a cold laugh at those words.
“Born so foolishly, I have no intention of giving my dual cultivation partner to that old hag who is still stuck in the late stage of the Heavenly Person realm despite living in this resource-rich Gwanghan realm.”
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