Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Miscellaneous Labor Quarter
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For now, the first thing to measure was how close we were to the time when the protagonist would bring down the Radiant Moon Sect.
Before the protagonist destroys the Radiant Moon Sect, he goes through all sorts of bizarre incidents. Fortuitous encounters, that sort of thing.
These so-called fortuitous encounters are usually earth-shattering events, and word always spreads about where and what kind of opportunity has appeared.
Stuff like, 'A beam of light shot up from some mountainside! The sky darkened, and lightning poured down like crazy.'
Ah, the idea that news in this world spreads only by word of mouth was something that only held true in remote backwaters. Cultivators had quite extensive communication networks.
So there was no need to worry about rumors not spreading. The news traveled incredibly fast.
Anyway,
Yuk-gyeong had divided the fortuitous encounters the protagonist gained before attacking the Radiant Moon Sect into three stages, in his judgment.
The danger level of these three stages increased progressively as they got closer to the end.
The first stage consisted of encounters far removed from the time he strikes the Radiant Moon Sect. These had virtually no danger.
The encounter where he snags a Houtian Spirit Herb amid the struggle between factions, reaping the fisherman's profit.
This 'Thousand-Year Frost Herb,' a Houtian Spirit Herb that bloomed once every millennium, grew brimming with tremendous spiritual energy. Eating it was said to aid one's cultivation in the Qi Gathering Realm and extend one's lifespan.
When the Thousand-Year Frost Herb fully ripened, auspicious clouds would gather in the sky, which people took as an omen of treasure, drawing crowds.
Having obtained the Thousand-Year Frost Herb, the protagonist leaps from the mid-stage to the late-stage of the Qi Gathering Realm.
This was probably before he even formed any grudge against the Radiant Moon Sect.
By investigating news of the Thousand-Year Frost Herb and closely watching for unusual phenomena like atmospheric anomalies, it should be possible to pinpoint it.
The second stage was the encounter that happens when there's still a decent amount of time before he comes to settle his grudge with the Radiant Moon Sect. This was a situation with some time left but still dangerous.
During an inter-sect exchange event hosted by the Bright Illusion Sect, he finds traces left by their founding patriarch—insights infused into the sect's treasure, the 'Infinite Illusory Ring Art.'
The branch sect Yongheon belonged to held regular exchange events with several friendly branch sects, and each time, the host would show off their treasures.
On that occasion, they displayed a cliff hundreds of zhang high that their founding patriarch had split with his bare fists.
Thanks to his uniqueness, protagonist Yongheon fully absorbed the founding patriarch of the Bright Illusion Sect's insights as his own.
This naturally caused an uproar in the Bright Illusion Sect, with discussions about whether to sanction Yongheon, but in the end, no conclusion was reached.
By checking news about the Bright Illusion Sect, it would be possible to tell if this incident had already happened or not yet.
The final third stage was the encounter he gained right before charging into the Radiant Moon Sect. This was an extremely dangerous situation.
In the struggle over a fragment of an Immortal Talisman presumed to have descended from the Immortal Realm, he obtains an encounter.
Even though this fragment from the Immortal Realm was less than a fifth of the whole, it caused atmospheric disturbances on its own and fled from people's grasp.
This bizarre Immortal Talisman fragment stirred the greed of many, and someone well-traveled speculated that when intact, it held enough power to destroy the mortal world.
Our protagonist Yongheon was a weakling in the struggle over the Immortal Talisman.
So he doesn't obtain the talisman itself, but through connections gained there, he forms his core and glimpses the threshold of the Golden Core Realm.
This would be just a few years before the destruction of the Radiant Moon Sect.
For something like the Immortal Talisman fragment, it would be a major issue even the Immortal Realm couldn't ignore, so he expected news wouldn't be hard to come by.
This was the three-stage scenario Yuk-gyeong had established for the downfall of the Radiant Moon Sect.
Like a madman, Yuk-gyeong paced the courtyard and his room, organizing his thoughts and devising plans.
His demeanor evoked the image of a deranged scientist.
His deliberations continued deep into the night.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Making a mockery of Yuk-gyeong's worries, morning dawned indifferently.
He thought he'd only dozed off briefly before waking, but outside, sparrows were chirping away.
The roosters had crowed at dawn long ago; now it was morning with the mountain birds twittering.
As Yuk-gyeong rubbed his eyes, a voice came from outside the door. It was Yeong-yeong's.
"Yuk-gyeong, young hero! Are you up?"
"Yes, coming."
When Yuk-gyeong opened the door and stepped out, everyone had already gathered. What was going on? Something happen?
Yuk-gyeong was the last one.
He joined the group in the courtyard to find out what the gathering was about.
At that moment, they were exchanging names. Seemed like they'd only just come out.
From the introductions, the slightly chubby, cute thirteen-year-old girl was Bang Seon-yang, and the tall, not-so-cute fourteen-year-old boy was Yuk Myeong-ho.
And our single spiritual root holder was Jang Mun-yeol.
"Must be nice having a single spiritual root; you sure slept soundly. Do single spiritual root holders need that much sleep too?"
Mun-yeol muttered to himself, low enough that no one else should hear.
But Yuk-gyeong's sharp ears caught it all.
Ever since that experience on the bridge where the wind had swept through his body, his five senses had become this acute.
Yuk-gyeong said nothing to Mun-yeol.
Jealousy was incurable.
It was the karma a talented man had to endure.
Why'd I sleep late? It was all because I was up worrying about the Radiant Moon Sect's future. And he doesn't even know that.
How could a sparrow comprehend the thoughts of a great phoenix?
Then Yeong-yeong spoke up.
"We need to go see the steward of the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter now. Everyone's here, so let's go. Follow me."
Apparently, a disciple from the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter had gathered all the new initiates and informed them they had to report to the steward.
So the new disciples had been waiting until everyone assembled to head to the steward together.
Now that they were all there, it was time to go.
Yeong-yeong, who knew the way from having come to the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter with her sister before, led the way, and the rest followed.
Along the way, Yeong-yeong explained the tasks available in the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter—what was hard, what was easy, and so on. She seemed to have learned a lot from her sister.
.
.
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The steward's office in the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter.
A bellow erupted from within.
The one shouting was a middle-aged man, the steward of the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter. With a sneaky goatee, a flat face, and a stubby pug nose, the steward was raging as if everything was wrong.
"When did I tell you to come, and you show up now? Do new initiates think they don't need to show their faces in the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter?"
Spiritual energy rippled out from the middle-aged man.
The waves of spiritual energy emanating from him were violent and profound—far beyond what Yuk-gyeong and the new initiates could withstand.
The powerful pressure bore down on them, instilling fear in their hearts just like at the One Heart Sect.
Seon-yang, Myeong-ho, Mun-yeol, and Yeong-yeong trembled on their legs and kept retreating, trying to put distance between themselves and the man.
Only Yuk-gyeong was somewhat free from the pressure, though even he found it hard to bear. Still, he wasn't backing up—until the others did, at which point he retreated a little out of courtesy.
Better not stand out. A jagged stone gets chiseled smooth. Especially when a superior is angry, you stay extra smooth.
"No, steward. This guy slept in late, so I woke him and we came together. We're sorry."
Mun-yeol had sold Yuk-gyeong out.
It was true Yuk-gyeong had come out last, but the others hadn't been up that early either. They would've been late regardless, and caught hell for it—but Mun-yeol had kindly sacrificed Yuk-gyeong.
The Miscellaneous Labor Quarter steward's eyes gleamed as he looked at Yuk-gyeong. To him, it seemed the man's expression flickered subtly, hinting at some ulterior motive.
"What? Perfect. So you're the single spiritual root holder who just joined. Clearly, you're relying on that root to act however you please. Fine. You all know you have to stay in the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter and carry out tasks, right? You, single spiritual root boy—from today, you're on latrine duty. Any objections?"
Latrine duty!
With how many people were in the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter? Multiple latrines, and he'd have to clean them all. Latrine duty was a horrific task.
And Yeong-yeong hadn't even mentioned it in her explanations. Why hadn't she warned them about this nightmare of a job?
Yuk-gyeong felt uneasy. Very uneasy.
He'd taken the blame for being late, so a bad assignment was to be expected—but that gleam in the steward's eye earlier felt impure.
Why would the Miscellaneous Labor Quarter steward, whom he'd never met, hate him on sight?
Because he was handsome?
No, that didn't fit; the steward had social status and age on his side—no reason to envy Yuk-gyeong.
Then what?
Yuk-gyeong set the question aside for now. He needed to respond first.
Push back? Or just accept?
Objecting here would probably lead to even worse harassment. Look at that face. It's daring him to complain.
What to do...