The Aftermath of War
Upon arriving in Cheongdan City, Jin Somyeong first went to find Steward Go.
He hoped to learn, through someone he already knew, why the Lord of Cheongdan City had summoned them.
"Heh heh. I don't know either. This sort of thing is truly rare."
"Is that so..."
"The City Lord devotes himself almost entirely to cultivation, so even I have only met him in person a handful of times."
Unfortunately, that meant Jin Somyeong gained nothing. In the end, he accompanied Steward Go to the palace where the City Lord resided.
They arrived in a great hall spacious enough to practice flying techniques indoors.
"Everyone is here."
Jin Somyeong's gaze met that of the Lord of Cheongdan City, seated at the very head of the hall.
Unexpected.
The City Lord's first impression was nothing like what Jin Somyeong had imagined. The Golden Core sword cultivator from the Giant Sword Sect whom he had once seen had left such an overpowering impression on him that, inwardly, he had assumed the Lord of Cheongdan City would be similar.
He was not.
The Lord of Cheongdan City was a white-haired old man who brought the word gentleman to mind. His carefully tended beard was neat, and a benevolent smile lingered around his eyes and mouth, putting those who saw him at ease.
But impressions were only impressions.
"It is an honor to meet you, City Lord."
Naturally, Jin Somyeong treated him with the utmost courtesy. A Golden Core expert could not be judged by appearances.
"Mm. You must be Yeo Dongbin, the newly appointed steward. It is good to meet you."
At the City Lord's gesture, Jin Somyeong took a seat, and the old man's voice continued.
"All of you, listen closely. The situation with the war has been taking an ominous turn. We recently received information that one of the Giant Sword Sect's Golden Core sword cultivators fell into a trap and was gravely wounded."
"Is his life in danger?"
"That, we do not yet know."
"That is not good."
The stewards' expressions hardened. If the Giant Sword Sect, one of the major pillars among the orthodox sects, had suffered such a blow, then the demonic path would gain the advantage.
From Cheongdan City's neutral position, the best outcome was not for either side to win, but for the balance between them to remain taut and unbroken.
"As you can see, the situation is unstable. We cannot know who might attempt what. I believe we will have to expand the range of our patrols."
"Ah."
Relief spread across the stewards' faces. They had all been uneasy, not knowing why the City Lord had summoned them, and now the reason was finally clear.
After giving them a moment to think, the City Lord spoke calmly.
"I came from among the rogue cultivators myself, so I understand how you feel. If I simply order you to work like this, I am sure you will complain inwardly."
"N-no, of course not."
One steward immediately denied it, perhaps because the remark had struck home, but the City Lord merely chuckled.
"Enough. In any case, compensation should be given. Each of you will receive cultivation pills worth one hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones, as well as a second-tier art. I ask that you endure the hardship for a while."
After adding several further instructions, the City Lord left, and the chief steward, known as the second-in-command, stepped forward.
"Steward Seo, you will mainly patrol the inner city... Steward Yeo? You seem close with Steward Go. The two of you will inspect the area around the outer city together."
When Jin Somyeong looked at Steward Go, the man stroked his beard and nodded.
It was peaceful, yet somehow it felt like the calm before a storm.
One day, while that tense atmosphere persisted, Steward Go looked at Jin Somyeong's face during their patrol around Cheongdan City and marveled.
"Truly fascinating. I can't recognize you at all. Was that Cheonbyeonmanhwagong you chose really such an extraordinary disguise art?"
"Perhaps it just happens to suit me well."
Jin Somyeong, now appearing as a middle-aged man in his fifties, gave a faint smile. He was rather pleased with the second-tier spell art the Lord of Cheongdan City had given him as a reward.
I was disappointed that the effect of the Faceless Mask was weakening. This worked out well.
The Cheonbyeonmanhwagong he had chosen was a peak second-tier disguise art. It was a secret technique that combined various martial arts and immortal methods, such as bone-compression arts that altered the skeleton. Its defining feature was that it created a true physical transformation based on the body itself.
Once mastered, it allowed one to assume ten thousand forms, and because it could not easily be seen through by Divine Sense or ocular techniques, it was extremely useful.
I wanted to learn a movement art to replace Wind Riding Art, but...
After much deliberation, he had chosen Cheonbyeonmanhwagong. That was because the Cheonroedochegyeol he had recently learned would gain a divine ability similar to a movement art once it reached the proficient stage.
They say I'll be able to ride lightning to move.
He looked forward to discovering just how powerful Lightning Escape, said to be among the fastest of all escape arts in the world, would be.
Looking at the status window he had made himself filled him with satisfaction. After half a year of investing the Boundless Great Ability and devoting painstaking effort to cultivation, his proficiency in Cheonroedochegyeol had already passed the halfway point.
In just a few more months, Cheonroedochegyeol will reach proficiency.
The bolt of lightning in his mindscape grew larger day by day, and he welcomed it. He was looking forward to the day it finally came.
Then Jin Somyeong flinched and stopped.
"Wait. Someone is approaching."
"Hm...?"
Steward Go, who had been about to keep flying, frowned. The meaning behind his doubtful expression was obvious.
He found it hard to believe that Jin Somyeong, who had only recently entered Foundation Establishment, had noticed something before he had.
Steward Go was about to say something, but then his mouth fell open. He stared at Jin Somyeong with wide eyes.
"Y-you were right. It seems two people are fighting... No, is one of them fleeing?"
"It appears so. What should we do?"
"Urgh. We retreat for now."
At Steward Go's words, they turned toward Cheongdan City, but it already seemed too late.
The two cultivators engaged in the chase continued drawing closer, because the one fleeing was flying straight toward Jin Somyeong and Steward Go.
"Fellow Daoists! Please help me! I am a disciple of the Immortal Flower Golden Sect!"
At the woman's voice ringing from beyond the horizon, Jin Somyeong's brow narrowed.
The Immortal Flower Golden Sect was a Golden Core-level orthodox sect currently at war with the demonic forces.
"Ignore her. Nothing good will come of our involvement."
"Understood."
He withdrew as quickly as possible together with Steward Go, but the other party was even more desperate.
"Kh...!"
The woman's speed abruptly increased, as if she had used some secret art.
Seeing her transform into flame and fly toward them, Jin Somyeong reflexively gripped his sword, though he did not draw it. He found it infuriating that she was trying to drag them into trouble, but he could not simply kill her for it either.
"Hah... hah!"
With a deathly pale face, she wedged herself between Jin Somyeong and Steward Go, then immediately swallowed a pill.
When she closed her eyes as if entering meditation, Jin Somyeong was left speechless.
And then.
Before even a few breaths had passed, the pursuer caught up.
He was a clean-looking young man except for a long sword scar across his face, but his pallid skin and the musty stench of rotting corpses made it blatantly clear that he was a demonic cultivator.
Mid Foundation Establishment. Just shy of reaching late stage, perhaps.
Just as Jin Somyeong instinctively began calculating his odds of victory, the young man arrogantly lifted his chin and spoke.
"You lot. Do you dare interfere with the business of this body, the Young Master of the Cheonsi Sect?"
Steward Go was flustered by the arrogant voice. Seeing him at a loss, Jin Somyeong stepped forward.
"We have no interest. Settle it between yourselves."
Leaving the still-meditating disciple of the Immortal Flower Golden Sect where she was, Jin Somyeong gestured to Steward Go. It meant they should leave before becoming entangled in this nuisance.
They were just about to fly away.
"Wait!"
The Young Master of the Cheonsi Sect, who had been looking down on them arrogantly from beginning to end, twisted his face. He stroked the sword scar crossing his cheek and glared.
"Now that I look at you, you're a sword cultivator. Don't tell me you're a disciple of the Giant Sword Sect?"
"What if I'm not?"
"Hmm..."
The young master's expression turned strange. He narrowed his eyes and stared, then shifted his gaze.
He looked over Jin Somyeong, Steward Go beside him, and even the Immortal Flower Golden Sect disciple meditating behind them before clicking his tongue.
The attitude that had seemed ready to charge at them at any moment changed completely.
He spread his hands as if surrendering and smiled broadly.
"Thinking about it, it seems I made a mistake. You appear to be stewards of Cheongdan City. My apologies for troubling you."
He even bowed his head in apology, then abruptly flew away.
Clack.
Jin Somyeong, who had been gripping the hilt of his sword, let out a sigh.
That so-called young master felt deeply unpleasant.
If he had followed his own wishes, he would have cut the man down cleanly, but there were too many eyes watching. The Cheonsi Sect was a Golden Core-level force that handled jiangshi corpses.
If he was going to kill someone like that, he had to erase the aftermath cleanly. In the current situation, that was impossible.
Just then, the disciple of the Immortal Flower Golden Sect opened her eyes from meditation and smiled sweetly.
"Fellow Daoists, thank you so much for helping me. I will surely repay today's kindness someday."
After shamelessly offering that greeting, she flew off across the sky.
Watching her go left Jin Somyeong's head throbbing. Steward Go seemed to feel the same, because he kept sighing heavily.
"Haa. This has become truly troublesome. What are we supposed to do about this..."
"For now, how about returning to Cheongdan City and reporting it to the City Lord?"
"Urgh. I suppose we must. Let us hurry."
Some time later, Jin Somyeong and Steward Go arrived in Cheongdan City and went to see the City Lord.
When they reported, they neither added nor omitted anything.
They told him exactly what had happened, and the City Lord, who had listened silently, sighed.
"As it happens, I received a message as well. They said you attacked the Young Master of the Cheonsi Sect and gravely wounded him, and that they demand compensation."
"...Pardon?"
It was absurd. Jin Somyeong had not swung his blade even once, so what grave injury could they possibly be talking about?
No wonder the man had felt unpleasant from the moment he politely apologized. It irritated Jin Somyeong, as if he had been struck in the back of the head while standing perfectly still.
Just as Jin Somyeong was about to answer, the Lord of Cheongdan City waved a hand and cut him off.
"Ah, do not worry. I know very well it is nonsense. There is no reason you would have attacked the Young Master of the Cheonsi Sect without cause."
Steward Go, standing beside him, answered hurriedly.
"Exactly! We did not lay a hand on him!"
"Whew. Their intentions are obvious. They mean to drag me, a neutral party, into the war."
"Ah."
"From now on, they will use you as an excuse to make all manner of moves. However, there is something rather strange."
The Lord of Cheongdan City frowned and looked at Jin Somyeong.
"Steward Yeo. They are specifically demanding that you be handed over. They claim they will accept only an apology and send you back. Do you have any idea why?"
"Hmm."
Jin Somyeong retraced the situation at the time, but there was only one thing he could think of.
His attitude definitely changed after he realized I was a sword cultivator.
The sword scar on the young master's face suddenly came to mind, but there was almost nothing he could infer from that alone.
Did he get beaten by a sword cultivator before and develop a tremendous hatred for them?
Still, it was not convincing. As a reason, it was far too flimsy.
Well, who knows? Demonic path bastards are all lunatics anyway.
In any case, the situation was not good. Since the Cheonsi Sect, a Golden Core-level demonic sect, was demanding him, he could not know how the Lord of Cheongdan City would respond.
After pondering, Jin Somyeong shook his head.
"I do not know either."
"Hmm."
The City Lord looked between Jin Somyeong and Steward Go, then gave a sigh.
"There is no helping it. You two had best leave Cheongdan City as quickly as possible. The demonic path is clearly trying to use you as an excuse to drag me into the war, and there is no telling what they will do."
"Pardon?"
"...Understood."
Steward Go gaped in shock, but Jin Somyeong calmly nodded. He had already expected something like this to some degree from the moment the City Lord began looking troubled.
He was fortunate enough that the man had not forcibly seized him and handed him over to the Cheonsi Sect.
"Do not think too bitterly of it. Those demonic sect people are persistent. Even I cannot continue protecting you forever. Especially not now, in the middle of a war..."
Wearing a necklace made from a Silver Concealment Bead, Jin Somyeong quietly departed alone.
The Silver Concealment Bead, a magic tool obtained from the Red Cloud Secret Realm, was useful at times like this because merely carrying it hid one's presence.
Standing beneath the vast sky after leaving Cheongdan City as if he had been driven out, Jin Somyeong suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
"So what?"
He was free. Where could he not go?
He was no longer a weak Qi Refining cultivator. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who could fly through the sky and leave for another city!
Looking at the pure white clouds, he felt as if the tightness in his chest was being washed away.
Maybe I should just go to another country.
That might be better than being swept up in the war. He recalled the map of Damun Kingdom and chose a direction. He intended to look into transport ships at a nearby market town.
I don't know if crossing the border will be possible in wartime.
There was a high chance problems would arise, but it did not matter. If one had the will, there was always a solution. He would go first and look for a way.
He was flying with spiritual power when, all at once, from front and back, left and right, he sensed presences.
Goosebumps rose across his skin.
There were seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators alone, and well over ten below the Qi Refining level. They had formed an encirclement as if tightening a net, and Jin Somyeong's alertness surged.
How?
Just in case, he examined the Silver Concealment Bead, but nothing was wrong with it.
As he was now, even most mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators should not have been able to detect him.
Could it be the Lord of Cheongdan City?
He was somewhat suspicious, but honestly, the likelihood was low. There was no reason for a Golden Core cultivator to take such a roundabout approach.
If the City Lord had wanted to sell him out, he could simply have subdued him openly.
Countless thoughts flashed through Jin Somyeong's mind, but he had no time to ponder at leisure.
He immediately descended to the ground. Then, using even the Boundless Great Ability, he strengthened his concealment.
He hid himself in a canyon strewn with boulders as large as houses.
Did it work?
It had. The net closing in from every direction was thrown into disarray.
He was just about to exhale in relief while watching them flounder.
The sloppy encirclement abruptly tightened again. It reorganized itself precisely around him.
...Ha.
He tried to escape as much as possible, but it was impossible. It felt as though he were being hunted by an army led by a general.
The way they maintained a fixed distance from one another while narrowing the gap made it clear that they knew exactly where he was.
After a moment's deliberation, Jin Somyeong kicked off the ground.
Boom!
He abandoned stealth and sprinted at full strength. Unleashing the full physical ability he had attained at the Foundation Establishment level, he aimed for a single point in the encirclement.
He intended to concentrate everything on speed and break through.
Thanks to the blood vitality pouring from the organs tempered by Ojangbaekryeongyeol, his rapidly accelerating speed climbed without end.
"Huh?"
In only a few breaths, his eyes met those of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator forming the encirclement in the distance.
Close.
So close that Jin Somyeong's figure was reflected like a mirror in the man's wide-open pupils.
"Wh-what the!"
The other cultivator, apparently horrified by his absurd speed, hurriedly tried to retreat. Watching him, Jin Somyeong understood who had formed the encirclement.
The Cheonsi Sect!
Their clothing was of the same style as the young master he had met while patrolling. It was less ornate, but there was no mistaking it as the disciple robes of the Cheonsi Sect.
But the thought was brief.
Jin Somyeong emptied his mind of all distractions. At this point, who was chasing him and why no longer mattered in the slightest.
Whoosh!
He drove Ojangbaekryeongyeol to full force.
The blood vitality surging from his heart mixed with his spiritual power.
The instant he controlled all that energy, which felt ready to explode, and condensed it into the soles of his feet...
Boom!
The force, having reached its limit, pushed against the earth.
His figure, already too fast for the eye to follow, accelerated once more.
Clang!
Sword light shot out at the same instant he drew his blade, grazing the man's throat. A fountain of blood erupted a moment later, and the corpse collapsed.