The Glow of the Black Ghost
p>I let out a long sigh after finally receiving the title of Tae-su
p>The fact that Tae Yeol-jeon has vanished means the difficulty level has skyrocketed even higher.
p>Moreover, a title of Tae-su that the Human Alliance treats with such wariness is practically no different from having no title at all.
p>If I had stayed silent, the Integration-stage Tae-su who received word from Heon-won would have kept chasing me relentlessly.
p>But now that I possess the title of Tae-su, that problem is resolved.
p>For now, I decided this was enough.
p>I used the Thunder Transmission to contact Hong Beom.
p>“Hong Beom, come down beneath Cheonin-do with Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
p>While recovering my mana beneath the branch that Jun-je had made, I waited for Hong Beom.
p>Now that I had regained the title of Tae-su, the next task was straightforward.
p>‘First, I must rescue Kim Yeon. Kidnap Kang Min-hee however necessary, to prevent her from going berserk and turning into the Ghost Dao Holy Mother.
p>And then I should summon Yeon Wi to ask her about something.’
p>At that moment, lightning cracked across the sky.
p>Kwa-rurung!
p>The red lightning twisted like a living thing, and Jeon Myeong-hoon landed before me with his arms crossed, looking utterly calm.
p>“So what enormous stunt have you pulled this time?”
p>He surveyed the surroundings and clicked his tongue.
p>“A busy man like me can’t be bothered with trivialities. That said…”
p>I glanced at Jeon Myeong-hoon’s feet.
p>He had six shadows beneath him.
p>“You’ve already mastered almost the entire Six Extreme Yin Thunder God Technique, haven’t you?”
p>“Yes. I’ve fully mastered the Thunder Dao portion, but the curse and ghost aspects are proving difficult.”
p>The Six Extreme Yin Thunder God was a forbidden martial art that combined the curse arts, ghost arts, and thunder arts.
p>It infused the cultivator’s original spirit with the energy of curses, using symbols of six afflictions—misfortune, illness, poverty, evil, and weakness—then interpreted the combination with yin and yang to produce Yin Thunder.
p>However, since I had already mastered the Thunder Dao, the technique had evolved.
p>Jeon Myeong-hoon had taken the opposite path: first generating the Yin Thunder, then using it as a foundation to create curses and ghost energy in an unusual and reversed method.
p>‘How on earth is he even doing this…’
p>I stuck my tongue out at the sheer audacity of his Heavenly King of Thunder Body and spoke up.
p>“Let me explain the plan for the immediate future.”
p>“What is it?”
p>“First, our primary goal is to raise our own realms, but while we’re doing that, I want to gather our companions—Kim Yeon, Kang Min-hee, Oh Hyun-seok, and the others.”
p>“Oh-dae-ri?”
p>“Oh Hye-seo? Um… I have some information. She’s currently living well and in good health. No need to worry.”
p>“Well, if you say so, then I suppose that’s how it is.”
p>I laid out everything we needed to accomplish.
p>“I’ll rescue Kim Yeon first. You, meanwhile, go after Oh Hyun-seok—more precisely, the Deputy Branch Master. He’s in the Demon Realm right now, and the Demon Realm Tae-su are pressing the human race hard, so he’s probably retreating. Help him retreat as fast as possible.”
p>“How fast?”
p>“The probability is high that the Black Dragon King, Hyun-eum, will descend upon the Demon Realm. We need to move before he arrives. Of course, I plan to stop him even if he does come… but better safe than sorry.”
p>Without the Black Dragon King, Chang-ho-ja wouldn’t have had to sacrifice himself.
p>“Got it. I’ll do it that way.”
p>“Good. I’ll come back later with Kim Yeon. Hong Beom, for now, follow me. There’s something I need you to check.”
p>“Yes, I understand.”
p>After asking Jeon Myeong-hoon to rescue Oh Hyun-seok, I left the branch with Hong Beom.
p>“Follow me.”
p>Whoosh!
p>I used the Flight Technique with Hong Beom, flying toward the place where the woman from Tae-yeol Temple had fled.
p>Whoosh, whoooosh!
p>How many tens of li had we crossed?
p>I finally found her scent.
p>The woman from Tae-yeol Temple had used the Earth Burial Technique and dug deep underground to hide in a spot two hundred li away from the battlefield between us and the Tae-su.
p>Kku-guk!
p>I used my mana to pull her out of the ground.
p>“Hiiiiik! Senior! Please spare me! I’ve mastered the Inconceivable Technique! Even if you pill me with the pills, it won’t help my cultivation!”
p>…
p>The moment she was lifted above ground, she saw us unleashing mana and her legs gave out. She collapsed and screamed.
p>A completely different reaction from the fierce Tae Yeol-jeon of her past life.
p>I turned to Hong Beom and asked.
p>“Hong Beom, what do you think of this woman?”
p>Hong Beom looked at her, stroked his beard, and gave me a strange look.
p>“She smells. Probably hasn’t bathed in a while.”
p>…
p>…? Ah, sorry. Does the master intend to take her as a concubine?”
p>Whoosh…
p>A chill ran down my spine.
p>Hong Beom’s attitude had changed.
p>“Hong Beom.”
p>“Yes?”
p>“Don’t you feel anything else?”
p>“Um… she seems to have mastered the Inconceivable Technique. But its mana does look a bit unusual.”
p>…
p>Hong Beom treated her as if she were no more than a still object.
p>“What I mean is… when you look at this woman, don’t you suddenly feel like proposing marriage or confessing your love out of nowhere?”
p>I watched Hong Beom closely as I asked.
p>But instead of being flustered, he answered with genuine confusion.
p>“M-master… even if it’s your will, marriage is a major life event. A little…”
p>“You’re a snake spirit, so your views on marriage aren’t quite the same as humans, are they?”
p>The moment Hong Beom mentioned “snake” and marriage, the woman from Tae-yeol Temple’s face turned deathly pale.
p>“S-senior! I don’t know what I did to please you, but I have no confidence that I can satisfy a snake senior. P-please let me go!”
p>Her reaction had also changed.
p>In her past life, Tae Yeol-jeon might not have accepted Hong Beom’s advances, but she would have blushed and felt her heart flutter.
p>This time, faced with the prospect of marrying a snake monster, she radiated pure terror and revulsion.
p>Hong Beom, seeing her expression, frowned in clear displeasure.
p>“…Sorry, master. Even though I’m a snake, living with you for so long has made me overly influenced by human notions. Most of all… she stinks. Even if you fed her to me as food…”
p>“H-hiiiiik! Please don’t pill me!”
p>“…Even as food, the stench would make me vomit. Master, you don’t truly plan to marry me and her, do you?”
p>Both Hong Beom and the woman from Tae-yeol Temple stared at me with desperate eyes.
p>“Seniors, I’ve chosen celibacy! Besides, as you know, I stink and am lazy. I can’t possibly…”
p>“…Master… even if you think a snake like me is making a joke, I truly want to find a loved one and marry in a proper ceremony… but this is…”
p>I placed a hand on my head and nodded.
p>“Understood. I wasn’t planning to talk about a proper wedding.”
p>“G-gratitude, senior!”
p>“Thank you, master!”
p>Only then did the two of them bow to me in relief.
p>“…Well, since you’ve come this far… give me your Inconceivable Technique scroll.”
p>“The Inconceivable Technique scroll?”
p>“Yes. The ones still in the possession of Tae-yeol Temple.”
p>“Oh! Perfect timing. I just retrieved my entire fortune from a sudden disaster and it’s right here!”
p>She used the Earth Burial Technique and pulled out a worn-out bundle from underground.
p>‘…How desperately poor do you have to be to have nothing even in the Jeomuldo dimension?’
p>I stared at the pathetic little bundle as she rummaged through it and pulled out three old jade slips that were worn to the point of crumbling.
p>…
p>I examined the jade slips with a hardened expression.
p>‘They’re different.’
p>These were techniques I could not have mastered even in my past life, when I reached the Integration stage.
p>Techniques whose greatest achievement was only reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
p>Of course, the names remained the same: the Seven Kings of Heaven.
p>The concepts of the Heavenly Kings and the Future King—their titles, symbols, and meanings matched exactly what Tae Yeol-jeon had explained.
p>But something struck me as strange.
p>“Hey, after the Seven Kings complete their salvation of all sentient beings, what happens then?”
p>“Um… the Seven Kings? Let me think…”
p>She scratched her head as if she didn’t remember the content of the technique she had just mastered.
p>When I frowned, Hong Beom gave her a warning look.
p>“The master is asking. Answer quickly.”
p>She curled up and said with sudden realization.
p>“H-hiii. Sorry. I know that after the salvation of all sentient beings, the Seven Kings enter Nirvana within a lotus.”
p>“Nirvana in a lotus? What happens after that?”
p>“After that… there’s no transmission, but…”
p>“…What is the relationship between the Future King and the Seven Kings?”
p>“Um… I don’t know myself…”
p>Snap!
p>A vein bulged on my forehead, and her face fell.
p>“S-senior! I really don’t remember because I never actually learned it! The Future King is only a symbol representing hope for the future and doesn’t hold a major position in the Inconceivable Technique! Some legends say he’s a disciple, teacher, or relative of the Seven Kings depending on the region, but they’re all unsubstantiated myths. I don’t think much about his connection to them. Just treat him as one of the ordinary Heavenly Kings who stick to their own domains.”
p>“…No relationship?”
p>“Yes, that’s what my teacher told me…”
p>…
p>Then why had Tae Yeol-jeon spoken with such absolute certainty about the Future King to me in the past?
p>“…Are these the only techniques left in Tae-yeol Temple?”
p>“Yes.”
p>“Are there any techniques that can reach the Integration stage?”
p>“Yes? Haha, if there were, I would have become Tae-su long ago. Ah… sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, senior.”
p>She scratched her head and spoke jokingly until Hong Beom sent her a cold glare, then quickly bowed and curled up.
p>“The techniques passed down by Tae-yeol Temple are all that remain. As for Integration-stage techniques, I have never even seen one….”
p>“…Understood. And since these Inconceivable Techniques will be useful for my research, I’ll take them. Is that alright?”
p>“It is an honor, senior! When a high-level master like you masters them, it would be even better. I… also…”
p>“Also?”
p>“If possible, would you… accept me as your disciple…?”
p>At that, Hong Beom clicked his tongue and waved his hand.
p>“Master, in my opinion this woman stinks, lacks talent, and has no will. Don’t take her.”
p>Offended, she prostrated herself flat.
p>“I’m sorry! I overstepped! Then… when I hand over the Inconceivable Technique, could you at least tell them you obtained it from Tae-yeol Temple? Ah, no. That would be overstepping too.”
p>Crack!
p>Hong Beom’s fangs bared in anger as he spat.
p>“Master, out of mercy you showed him, you keep trying to do strange things through him. A lazy, talentless, stinking wretch who nevertheless uses cunning and shameless tactics.”
p>Her face went white as if she were about to faint at Hong Beom’s words.
p>“It would be better to just kill her.”
p>It seemed my attempt to promote the revival of Tae-yeol Temple through Hong Beom had ruffled his feathers, and he wore a rare angry expression.
p>“…Enough. Don’t kill her.”
p>I waved my hand.
p>I wasn’t pleased that he had tried to use me, but I wasn’t angry because it was clearly motivated by a desire to revive the temple.
p>“Besides, I’ll spread good words about your temple, so don’t worry. And this is the price of the technique scroll, so take it.”
p>I tossed him the Jade Slip Technique with the gem inside, and she prostrated herself deeply in gratitude.
p>I left with Hong Beom, technique scroll in hand, heading toward Cheonin-do.
p>I was going to see Kim Yeon.
p>‘…The eight Tae-su had become seven, and the eight disciples had become seven.’
p>The two events were connected.
p>I clenched my teeth.
p>‘What exactly happened…?’
p>I glanced back at Hong Beom, who was following me.
p>Today I had absolute certainty about how Hong Beom would treat her.
p>Hong Beom was not in love with a nun.
p>He was obsessed with the ‘certain entity’ that had once possessed that woman.
p>Who exactly had imitated Tae Yeol-jeon? And why had Hong Beom gone mad with love for that existence, even defying my orders?
p>And if that entity had mastered the Inconceivable Techniques I had given him, then what would have happened to me?
p>Carrying those complex thoughts, I headed toward Goe-gun.