Third Year Since Reincarnation, an Immortal at Last
"Hahaha!"
He looked fifteen at most.
Jin Somyeong, a grimy boy in dirt-stained, patched-up clothes, threw back his head and laughed with pure, ringing delight. He clenched his fist and shouted,
"I finally entered the first layer of Qi Refining!"
Three years had passed since he had awakened in this damned world of immortals. After suffering like a dog, he had at last taken his first step.
He had set foot upon the path of cultivation, the road by which one could stand on a flying sword and soar through the heavens, living for ten thousand years.
The very moment he became a Qi Refining cultivator, stepping over the threshold that separated mortal men from immortals, another joy came to him.
"Boundless Great Ability?"
He realized that the divine power engraved upon his soul had awakened.
Because it was an innate divine ability, he could handle it as naturally as moving his own hands and feet. Information concerning it rose in his mind of its own accord, and when he understood its concrete effects, his eyes flew wide open.
It was absurdly broken.
The Boundless Great Ability was, quite literally, omnipotent power.
A supreme, godlike force capable of accomplishing anything, so long as there was enough quantity.
True to its arrogant name, it was an outrageous great ability. Perhaps only the legendary True Immortals could wield a divine power like this. Its sheer magnitude was enough to overwhelm him.
It was vast and majestic, as though all things beneath heaven were contained within it.
"Ahaha..."
He could not stop laughing.
Because at last, into the life of a bottom-rung laborer who had barely clawed through each miserable day, a single ray of hope had descended.
Time turned back to one day earlier.
In Jeokyang Market, where those who dreamed of becoming immortals gathered to live and train, Jin Somyeong woke from sleep.
"Ah."
His cracked morning voice echoed through the cramped room. Having woken at dawn out of habit, he pressed his fingers hard against the space between his brows.
He wanted, with all his heart, to sleep longer, but he held back. Idleness was permitted only to those who had the right to indulge in it.
He stretched lightly, shaking the fog from his mind, then sat cross-legged and began circulating the Five Elements Qi Refining Art.
A faint wind stirred as mysterious energy flowed in with his breath, drawn down toward the lower abdomen and guided into the dantian.
With each breath, the process repeated, raising a feeble little vortex within him.
How much time passed like that?
"Haa."
Jin Somyeong exhaled a breath of turbid air, his expression darkening.
...Failed again today.
The Five Elements Qi Refining Art was an immortal-path cultivation method that allowed one to become an immortal if mastered.
It was nothing more than a basic technique, but even basic techniques required qualifications. Those without aptitude could not even enter the door.
Jin Somyeong murmured quietly,
"Status window."
...
Of course, nothing happened. Only bitterness drifted through the silent room.
After a long stretch of silence, Jin Somyeong let out a dry chuckle.
It had already been three years since he awakened the memories of his previous life.
This place, called the cultivation world, was astonishingly a world where immortals truly existed.
Immortals were transcendent beings whom ordinary people could not hope to oppose.
Gods, in the literal sense.
The higher they cultivated the Dao, the longer their lifespans became, and the more they could perform miracles that seemed no different from magic. High-realm immortals could move enormous mountains and fill vast seas with a single gesture.
According to legend, True Immortals possessed lifespans beyond imagining. Some said they lived for hundreds of millions of years and endured until the end of the world itself.
Divine beings of eternal life and undying bodies! It was the kind of story that sounded like a dream.
However, for an ordinary person to become an immortal, they needed a spirit root.
A spirit root could be understood as a kind of root that absorbed spiritual energy, the source of an immortal's power. It was the bare minimum qualification; without a spirit root, cultivation could not even begin.
Jin Somyeong had been lucky.
He possessed a spirit root, something said to appear in only one person out of ten thousand. In other words, he had the minimum qualification necessary to become an immortal.
But that was as far as his luck went.
A spirit root was merely the minimum condition. Depending on talent, it was divided once again into grades: lowest-grade, low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, earth-grade, heaven-grade, and so on.
The grade differed according to how sensitive one was to spiritual energy and how efficiently one absorbed it. Jin Somyeong's aptitude, unfortunately, was not very good.
"...Haha."
With a hollow laugh, Jin Somyeong finally admitted it.
My spirit root is either lowest-grade or low-grade... I didn't want to believe it, but it seems I really do have a miscellaneous spirit root.
If one's aptitude was good, one could enter Qi Refining with only the Five Elements Qi Refining Art. It meant becoming an immortal without the need for any special resources.
That privilege had not been granted to him.
Over the past three years, he had circulated the Five Elements Qi Refining Art countless times, but he had never managed to cross the critical threshold. Every attempt had ended in failure.
Swallowing the bitterness lingering on his tongue, Jin Somyeong gave a faint smile.
"It doesn't matter."
He would not give up simply because his talent was lacking.
Even in his previous life, he had always been fascinated by mysterious and transcendent beings. Since childhood, he had harbored a kind of longing for them. Naturally, as he became an adult, he had put away that impossible dream, but this place was different.
Having luckily awakened memories of his past life and arrived in a world of immortals, how could he not challenge it?
Besides, even a talentless person with a miscellaneous spirit root had a way to become an immortal.
Spirit Stones.
Mystical stones in which the pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth had condensed and hardened like crystal.
So long as he could absorb the spiritual energy contained within a Spirit Stone, even someone with a miscellaneous spirit root could enter Qi Refining.
If I can gather 110 Spirit Stone fragments, I should be able to exchange them for a real Spirit Stone. Once I do...
He could begin cultivating in earnest to become an immortal.
Someday, he would summon lightning with a wave of his hand and ride the clouds through the nine heavens.
Just imagining it made his heart tremble.
I can't be satisfied with an ordinary life. I will become an immortal and ascend the Great Dao of Longevity.
He reaffirmed the goal that had not changed once since his memories of his previous life awakened.
Since he had come to the world he had always dreamed of, he would risk his life to challenge it.
His fist clenched tight.
He made that vow silently, deep within his heart, then rose from his seat.
His circulation of the Five Elements Qi Refining Art was over. It was time to go earn money.
He reached into a hidden hole in the floor and drew out an old cloth pouch. With careful fingers, he opened it.
Inside lay dozens upon dozens of blue crystals, each no larger than a fingernail.
"...Gulp."
Looking at those jewels, which gave off a clear, luminous glow, made his fingertips tremble.
This was his entire fortune.
Since awakening his past-life memories, he had spent three years desperately saving up 105 Spirit Stone fragments.
To begin true cultivation, he needed a real Spirit Stone, and for that he needed a total of 110 fragments.
"I only need five more."
Forcing down the excitement boiling inside him, he took five Spirit Stone fragments from the pouch.
If he followed his heart, he would carry them all with him, but he could not do that.
If he ran into a robber, every fragment he had struggled so hard to gather would be taken from him. But he could not hide all of them either.
If he had no bait to throw away, he might be beaten crippled, or worse, killed. In this world, where public order was a joke, such things were common.
He had just tucked the five Spirit Stone fragments inside the front of his clothes when—
Bang, bang, bang!
At the rough pounding on the door, his face twisted.
At this hour?
An unwelcome visitor at dawn. It was not a good sign.
His expression darkening, he peered outside through the gap in the door. In a harsh world like this, caution had to come before all else.
...Steward Beom. Why is that bastard here at this hour?
It was a familiar face, but not one he was remotely happy to see. If anything, Jin Somyeong's expression stiffened further.
And for good reason. Steward Beom was a collector.
In Jeokyang Market, the Qi Refining cultivators who collected rent and maintained public order were known as stewards, and Steward Beom was one of them.
To Jin Somyeong, who was among the lowest of the low, he was a frightening figure with real authority.
Haa.
Steward Beom was famous for his rotten temper, so Jin Somyeong wanted to avoid him, but there was no choice. If left alone, the man would force his way in even if he had to break the door down.
Jin Somyeong quietly stepped back and positioned himself as though he had only just gotten up from bed.
"Ahem... Who is it?"
"Jin Somyeong! Open the door! I know you're in there!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
After waiting only a few seconds, the man's patience had already run out. The knocking grew rougher by the moment.
"P-please wait a moment! I'll open it right away!"
Thump, thump.
Jin Somyeong deliberately ran around the room, making hurried noises, then carefully opened the door.
"Steward Beom? What brings you here at this hour...?"
"Hmph! What else? I've come to collect the monthly rent. Why would I come looking for the likes of you otherwise?"
At that contemptuous gaze, as though the man were looking down on something filthy and low, Jin Somyeong's face darkened.
"...The monthly rent?"
"That's right! Besides, you go up the mountain every day. If I come during daylight, you're never here!"
It was true that Steward Beom's duties included collecting shack rent from the wandering cultivators who lived in the Outer City, but something about this was strange.
Normally, Steward Beom was notorious for being arrogant and lazy. He usually sat comfortably in the Steward Hall in the Inner City and waited for wandering cultivators to come pay their rent to him.
He had never once come in person to collect rent like this.
Moreover...
"Steward Beom, I believe there has been some kind of misunderstanding. I paid three months of rent in advance last time. There is still one month left on my lease."
"Hm?"
Steward Beom's brow furrowed sharply, and he snorted.
"Hmph. That doesn't matter. I'm going into closed-door cultivation for the next year, so I won't have time to collect rent. Pay one year's rent in advance. Sixty Spirit Stone fragments in total!"
"Pardon? Sixty?"
Jin Somyeong nearly felt his eyes pop out at the sheer madness of it.
To extort sixty Spirit Stone fragments with a few words—sixty fragments were practically half of everything he owned.
Anger surged at the absurd tyranny, but he pressed it down with all his might.
He spoke in the most respectful tone he could manage.
"Steward Beom, where would someone like me have that many Spirit Stone fragments? I only have five fragments on me."
"What?"
"I'll pay one month's rent in advance with these five. As for the rest, I will go to the Steward Hall myself later and pay another steward."
"..."
Steward Beom silently narrowed his eyes, then suddenly reached out.
Whooom.
Spiritual energy gathered from all directions and bound Jin Somyeong's entire body. It pressed down on him, leaving him unable to move even a fingertip.
"Only five? Hmph! If you're lying, you'll regret it."
Without hesitation, Steward Beom strode forward and snatched the pouch from Jin Somyeong's clothes.
Jin Somyeong could only watch, trapped by the man's spell.
Damn it! A steward, of all people, doing this kind of shit?
A steward's role was similar to that of a police officer in modern terms, a guardian of public order, yet his behavior was no different from that of a thug.
After rummaging through the pouch, Steward Beom clicked his tongue. He glared at Jin Somyeong with open contempt.
"You really only have five? Tsk. I wasted my time because of a pauper like you."
He cursed him after taking his money by force. Rage rose so fiercely that the back of Jin Somyeong's neck went numb.
Was even a mosquito's leg still meat, so long as there was something to chew? After taking all five Spirit Stone fragments, Steward Beom snorted.
Without exchanging another word, he turned and left.
Bang, bang, bang!
Steward Beom went next door and began repeating the same act. Watching him, Jin Somyeong ground his teeth.
You dog of a bastard. One day, I'll make you regret this.
He pressed that malice down and stored it deep within his heart. For now, he had no power, so he had to endure.
Returning inside, he took slow breaths and calmed himself.
"Settle down."
Things like this had happened countless times over the past three years. If he let every single one bother him, he would die from rage before anything else.
He forced his eyes shut and meditated for about a minute, regaining his composure.
Haa! I finally gathered 105 Spirit Stone fragments, and now five were stolen again. If I want a Spirit Stone, I need to gather ten more.
Quietly, he went to the corner of his bed. From the real pouch he had hidden there, he took out five Spirit Stone fragments.
If he had not handed over five fragments to Steward Beom just now, the man would not have left peacefully.
He would definitely have broken something. Or he might have injured my internal organs under the excuse of searching me.
Those gangster bastards always behaved the same way. If they were not appeased with bait, they vented their anger before leaving.
"Fine. I'll think of it as paying one month of rent in advance and go earn money."
He could only sigh at the damned level of public order in this place, but what could he do? This was the world he lived in. He had no choice but to adapt.
He gathered his supplies and left his lodging.
It was roughly two in the morning.
The sun had not yet risen, but he had to hurry. If he did not leave now, he would make no income today.
"Nngh!"
He folded his arms and shuddered as goosebumps rose along them.
The cold dawn air swept over his entire body. As it cooled the head that had grown hot with anger, he felt somewhat better.
Despite the early hour, the streets of the Outer City were fairly crowded.
It felt almost like walking through a market on a fair day. Wherever he turned his gaze, he could see a dozen or so people.
Of course, there was a reason so many people were out at dawn.
For those who cultivate, there is no distinction between night and day. Darkness like this is no different from broad daylight to them.
Jin Somyeong was walking briskly when he stopped without realizing it.
The street was lined with stalls, and one of them had caught his eye.
Freshly harvested Tricolor Grass. Ten Spirit Stone fragments!
Looking at the heap of brightly colored spirit herbs, envy welled up inside him.
Even at a rough glance, there were more than ten stalks. Their value exceeded one hundred Spirit Stone fragments.
Did they find a whole patch of Tricolor Grass? Lucky bastard.
If he had those spirit herbs, Jin Somyeong might be able to become a Qi Refining cultivator immediately.
He stood there, unable to move, swallowing his envy. Then someone approached the stall.
"Let's have a look at the condition of this Tricolor Grass."
"Mm. Go ahead."
"Eh, the quality's only so-so. Ten Spirit Stone fragments is too expensive."
"Nonsense! If you're not buying, don't get in the way. Tricolor Grass is an ingredient for Qi Gathering Pills, so it'll sell quickly."
"Now, now! What kind of merchant does business like that? Come on, sell them for eight each and I'll buy the lot."
Leaving the two men behind as they passionately haggled, practically spitting at each other, Jin Somyeong moved on.
He had no time to waste.
He had to reach his workplace before sunrise. He walked without resting for even a moment, and after who knew how long, he finally arrived at the foot of Jeokyang Mountain.
Only when his breath began to come roughly did he reach the place where he worked.
Hoo.
He took a deep breath and calmed his ragged breathing.
Jeokyang Mountain was extremely, extremely dangerous.
All kinds of beasts with sharp claws roamed there, and there were too many poisonous insects to count.
If he let his guard down for even a moment, he would go straight to the Yellow Springs. He would not even have the chance to complain about the unfairness of it.
And ordinary beasts were not the only things on Jeokyang Mountain.
There are demonic beasts too.
True monsters that wielded demonic power.
Even the weakest first-rank demonic beast could smash boulders apart, and once it started running, it was so fast the eye could hardly follow.
If he had the misfortune to encounter one, resistance would be impossible. That very day, he would have to link arms with the reaper and go inspect the road to the afterlife.
Climbing Jeokyang Mountain, swarming as it was with demonic beasts and wild animals, was literally an act of extreme danger that amounted to offering up one's life.
But he had no choice.
This is the only way I can earn Spirit Stone fragments.
Saving money safely was far too slow. Even if he worked for sixty years, he might not be able to obtain a single Spirit Stone.
If a mortal like him wished to become an immortal, he had to be prepared to die.
Rustle.
He rolled across the ground, covering his entire body in dirt. It was a desperate measure to erase the scent of human flesh.
It probably won't be very effective, but it's better than doing nothing.
Shrring.
He drew a crude broad-bladed saber, pushed aside the dense undergrowth, and began climbing Jeokyang Mountain.