The Red Sun Sect
The moment Jin Somyeong approached the gates of the Red Sun Sect, the gatekeeper, who had been yawning in boredom, reacted with sudden alertness. He leveled the spear-shaft artifact in his hand and cast the Spirit Eye Art.
His gaze swept Jin Somyeong from head to toe, and he clicked his tongue.
“Hmph. Barely at the first layer of Qi Refining, are you? What are you doing here?”
The wariness in his posture vanished as though washed away. In the look he cast down at Jin Somyeong, contempt flickered too plainly to hide.
“...My name is Jin Somyeong, a wandering cultivator. I heard that the Red Sun Sect was recruiting disciples, so I came.”
“Jin Somyeong? ...Aaaah!”
The gatekeeper’s face, which had been twisted with open annoyance, brightened in an instant. He smiled broadly and put on the manner of a kindly merchant.
“Of course! You’ve come to exactly the right place! The Red Sun Sect always welcomes wandering cultivators. You look young. How old are you?”
“Fifteen this year.”
“Mm, mm.” The gatekeeper nodded with evident satisfaction. “Fifteen! Just the right age. Here is the entry contract. Sign it. Drop a bead of your heart’s blood into the blank space there, and the contract will be complete. You can become a disciple of the Red Sun Sect immediately.”
Whoosh!
As if he had been waiting for this exact moment, the gatekeeper thrust a large sheet of paper toward him.
The contract was packed with writing, and the mysterious patterns drawn along its borders made Jin Somyeong think of magical parchment. From the faint spiritual energy it exuded, it was obvious at a glance that this was no ordinary sheet of paper.
...Something’s off.
The man was being far too eager. A primal sense of reluctance made Jin Somyeong take a step back.
“Please wait a moment. This junior will read it over first.”
“Hm? There’s no need! It’s nothing important, so just trust me and sign it!”
At some point, the gatekeeper’s tone had turned commanding. That overbearing attitude only deepened Jin Somyeong’s suspicion.
Contracts had to be treated with caution. Signing one carelessly could be extremely dangerous, especially a contract made with heart’s blood. Such agreements carried tremendous binding force. If he violated the terms, the backlash could cripple him or even kill him.
Jin Somyeong sneered inwardly, then behaved like a clueless boy.
“I can’t do that! If it’s an entry contract, it must contain the conditions I’m expected to obey. To become a diligent disciple, shouldn’t I make sure I don’t break the rules? I wouldn’t want to cause trouble for the Red Sun Sect, so I’ll read and memorize them first.”
As expected, when he acted openly like a loyal disciple, the gatekeeper was left with nothing to say.
He hesitated like a man struck dumb, then said, “...Hurry up. My shift changes soon, so I don’t have much time. If you enter the Red Sun Sect through someone else without my recommendation, you’ll have a hard time settling in.”
The man kept rushing him like someone desperate for the privy, but Jin Somyeong ignored it. Outwardly, he made a show of moving quickly, while he read the contract with care.
Every single character. One by one.
After some time had passed, Jin Somyeong barely managed to keep his face from twisting.
Laborer disciple?
He had suspected something, and sure enough, there it was.
The contract the gatekeeper had handed him had problems. A great many of them.
Damn it.
In the Red Sun Sect, laborer disciples occupied the very lowest rung. They were called disciples, but in truth they were little more than hired hands.
They had no time to cultivate because of all the work. They spent all day doing rough labor until they collapsed from exhaustion.
They existed so the core disciples could cultivate in comfort. In practice, they were no different from slaves.
The monthly stipend is only thirty Spirit Stone fragments?
There was not even a clause promising him a cave dwelling where he could cultivate. That meant he was expected to handle the most basic food, clothing, and shelter on his own.
Abysmal treatment. So bad it’s almost absurd.
Even a shabby shack in the Outer City, where public order was poor, cost five Spirit Stone fragments a month. In other words, his actual income would be twenty-five fragments.
Back when he had been a mortal, such earnings would have moved him to tears. Not now.
After becoming a Qi Refining cultivator, everything about him had improved, from his senses to his endurance and physical strength. Even without risking a climb up Jeokyang Mountain, he was confident he could earn more than this.
Fine, let’s put the monthly stipend aside. It would increase gradually as my realm rose anyway. But...
The truly vicious condition lay elsewhere.
Jin Somyeong forced down the emotion boiling inside him, cupped his hands, and asked the gatekeeper a question.
“Senior, it says here that after entering the Red Sun Sect, I cannot leave for at least thirty years. Is there any way that period could be shortened?”
The gatekeeper, who had been playing the part of a friendly merchant, spat on the ground. He shifted his weight onto one leg and spoke in a cold voice.
“Hmph! As if that would be possible. The thoughts of wandering cultivators like you are obvious. You intend to enter the Red Sun Sect, learn basic spells, and run away, don’t you? There’s no such convenient thing in this world!”
After mocking Jin Somyeong, he continued, “If you come in as a laborer disciple, you’ll be growing spirit crops in the fields. Just the spells needed to cultivate spirit rice number at least three. Their value is not small! Naturally, you must work for thirty years before we can say the sect hasn’t taken a loss.”
At that thug-like nonsense, curses surged up Jin Somyeong’s throat.
Put simply, they intended to use him as a serf and not release him until he was middle-aged.
If he worked as a slave in the Red Sun Sect for thirty years, he would be forty-five by the time he got out. Even if he devoted himself to cultivation then, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be impossible.
His path of cultivation would be cut off.
Absolutely not.
Every trace of desire to join the Red Sun Sect disappeared.
He could never agree to this. If he had to live as a slave for the rest of his life, it would be better to risk his life climbing Jeokyang Mountain.
The important question now was how to leave this place unharmed.
Just as he was racking his brain, a voice suddenly turned gentle.
“Junior, from what I can see, your spiritual root aptitude doesn’t look very good. Lowest grade, isn’t it?”
“...That’s right. I have mixed spiritual roots, so I would not be of much help to the Red Sun Sect.”
“Heh! At least you know your place... Ahem! No, no. Don’t worry. Our Red Sun Sect welcomes everyone. All you need to do is enter the Red Sun Sect and work diligently.”
“...”
“In any case, what I mean is that for someone with mixed spiritual roots like you, our Red Sun Sect is the only sect you can enter. Don’t waste your time for nothing. You’d be wise to decide quickly! Isn’t it to your benefit to learn spells and begin cultivating even one day sooner?”
The way he coaxed and threatened with such practiced ease made it clear this was not his first slave contract.
Jin Somyeong, who had been silent, let out a sigh.
It seemed he would not be able to leave unless he refused plainly.
“Senior, I apologize. These conditions are different from what I had in mind. I’ll think it over carefully and come back another time.”
“What?”
The kindly expression on the gatekeeper’s face turned vicious in an instant.
A cold, oppressive aura pressed down on Jin Somyeong’s shoulders. The man did not even hesitate to pressure him with spiritual energy.
“This venerable one has explained everything to you so kindly, and you dare refuse? Are you saying you intend to waste my time?”
His voice, sharp as ice and laced with killing intent, struck Jin Somyeong’s ears.
“Boy! Don’t put on airs for nothing. Think carefully! Do you think you’re the first wandering cultivator I’ve seen? Don’t come crying later, begging to be accepted as a laborer disciple. Enter the sect right now!”
Jin Somyeong narrowed his eyes. The man’s shamelessly clingy behavior, without even a shred of dignity, irritated him.
There was no point being polite to people like this.
“I decline.”
He spoke firmly and turned away.
Fortunately, this place was not the Outer City. It was the Inner City, the core district of Jeokyang Market.
Because it was jointly managed by the three great families and the City Lord’s Office, at least a minimal rule of law existed here.
A mere gatekeeper of the Red Sun Sect’s level could not openly use violence in the Inner City.
“Jin Somyeong! I’ll remember this clearly! If you come looking for us again, your treatment will be even worse! Don’t regret it then!”
The warning behind him was full of spite, but Jin Somyeong ignored it.
His impression of the Red Sun Sect had shattered completely. Any place that had a gatekeeper like that could not be a normal organization.
He absolutely could not join them.
In case of a possible ambush, Jin Somyeong walked along the main road crowded with people, his expression darkening.
To recommend a trash sect like that. What exactly is Bang Il’s intention?
Most of the information Bang Il had given him had been true, but every point that truly mattered had been omitted.
He had mentioned there was a minimum term of service, but Jin Somyeong had never imagined it would be a full thirty years.
If he had known it was a slave contract like this, he would never have gone to the Red Sun Sect in the first place.
Wait.
Suddenly, he realized something strange. When he had introduced himself to the gatekeeper, the man had clearly reacted as if he knew the name Jin Somyeong.
Remembering the way the man had seemed almost pleased made him uneasy.
How did he know my name? Did Bang Il tell him? Are the two of them in this together?
All manner of suspicions rose in him.
Did he receive a referral fee? Or... does he genuinely think that a vicious condition like working for thirty years isn’t bad?
In Bang Il’s eyes, Jin Somyeong was a pauper with mixed spiritual roots. In other words, someone with no hope of succeeding in cultivation.
Perhaps Bang Il thought that a life where he could at least eat safely was not a bad one.
Of course, Jin Somyeong still did not know the truth.
But one thing was certain: it had become difficult to trust Bang Il completely.
“Haa.”
He exhaled a sigh and shook his head.
In this harsh world, the number of people he could more or less trust had decreased by one. It was unfortunate.
And by visiting the Red Sun Sect for no reason, he had even created a grudge.
He swallowed the bitterness and lifted his head absently. Above him stretched a cloudless, clear sky.
The open view washed away some of the tightness in his chest.
“...Haha. I didn’t know freedom was this expensive.”
He had no regrets. If he had entered the Red Sun Sect, the sky would not look this clear to him now.
Besides, there was one fact the Red Sun Sect’s gatekeeper could never even dream of.
I have the Boundless Great Ability.
Some petty slave contract did not matter. He did not need to sign it.
There were many ways to survive. More than that, he was confident he could succeed in the cultivation world.
Stopping at one side of the bustling street, he sank quietly into thought.
Forget the Red Sun Sect. The most urgent issue is Spirit Stones.
The flow of his thoughts naturally turned toward Jeokyang Mountain.
People saw what they were used to seeing, and after relying on that workplace for three years, he could not help it.
Moreover, Jeokyang Mountain was genuinely useful. It was a treasure house overflowing with all kinds of cultivation resources.
If he could travel in and out of the mountain safely, he would not need to worry about Spirit Stones.
Wait. Now that I’ve become a Qi Refining cultivator, would climbing Jeokyang Mountain really be that dangerous?
As his trust in Bang Il fell, he naturally began doubting the truth of the information Bang Il had given him.
Jin Somyeong looked around, then moved his feet.
He picked one of the shops lining the road and entered. It seemed he needed to confirm the facts.
“Bah! A beggar with no Spirit Stones dares walk in here? Get out!”
After being driven out of the shop, Jin Somyeong clicked his tongue.
Damn.
His clothes were the problem. They were old and shabby, and even asking questions was no easy task. Most shops did not treat him as a customer. Instead, they suspected he might be a thief and guarded against him.
Still, I confirmed it.
After spending half a day speaking with the owners of five or six shops, he was certain.
Unfortunately, Jeokyang Mountain truly was a dangerous place.
It was especially dangerous for him as a first-layer Qi Refining cultivator. At the very least, Bang Il’s “advice” had not been false.
Sigh.
He was just about to return home and plan his next steps when one signboard suddenly caught his eye.
Scripture Pavilion
In that instant, Jin Somyeong’s pupils widened.
A realization flashed through his mind.
The Scripture Pavilion was a bookstore specializing in cultivation methods and spells. If so...
The Boundless Great Ability is an omnipotent power. Its drawback is that the amount of power it consumes grows exponentially depending on the difficulty of the wish.
Conversely, that meant the more he lowered the difficulty of the wish, the more sharply the cost would fall.
Using a spell with no foundation at all is obviously impossible. But... if I understand only the core principle of a spell, I might be able to use it through the Boundless Great Ability without properly mastering it.
If he succeeded, his chances of survival on Jeokyang Mountain would rise, and all sorts of problems would be solved at once.
Gulp.
The Scripture Pavilion seemed to shine before him. It looked like a treasure house where he could learn all kinds of spells for free.
Let’s go.
Without hesitation, he started walking. Acting quickly was one of his strengths.