Late Foundation Establishment

Jin Somyeong nodded as he looked at Hong Un-gwang, who was drenched head to toe in blood.

My teaching was correct after all.

It had been worth tossing him into the middle of a demon-beast horde. Hong Un-gwang swayed as though he might collapse at any moment, but a clear shimmer now burned along the edge of his sword. Through battle after battle on the edge between life and death, his Sword Qi had sharpened.

"Kheuheuheu... My Sword Qi is finally back!"

Hong Un-gwang, who had been rejoicing like a madman, crumpled to the ground. Jin Somyeong picked up the man, who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had fainted from complete exhaustion, and surveyed the surroundings.

About a kilometer away, he saw the Redflower Unit staring in his direction with appalled expressions. He approached them and held out Hong Un-gwang as if offering over a piece of luggage.

"Captain. Could you take this fellow back to the castle? I intend to hunt a few more demon beasts before I return."

"D-don't worry, Senior. I'll have a cultivator trained in medicine treat him."

Jin Somyeong glanced down. He had checked Hong Un-gwang's condition, and frankly, there were no fatal wounds. The man had merely exhausted all of his spiritual power and passed out.

"There's no need to go that far. Once you arrive at the castle, just throw him into some alley and that will be enough. He has nothing to do with me now."

"Ah... yes. I'll do as you say."

After handing off the burden, his shoulders felt lighter. Jin Somyeong immediately flew high into the sky and swept his gaze around the vicinity of Hyowol Castle.

The place with the strongest demonic energy is... there.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

He saw a demon beast built like a gorilla, beating a drum with its muscular arms. Each time that grating drumbeat spread across the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠battlefield, the movements of the surrounding demon beasts grew faster.

One glance was enough to tell him it was a target that had to be dealt with first.

Crackle!

Jin Somyeong cast his lightning movement art and became one with a bolt of lightning. Then, openly and without the slightest attempt to hide, he charged straight at the creature standing in the heart of the battlefield.

Clashing head-on with a demon-beast army outside the castle walls was close to suicide, but that did not matter. Through this mission with the Redflower Unit, he had already grasped just how far his own power had risen.

Beneath the third tier, there was no being that could threaten him.

Not one.

In the middle of a battlefield where tens, hundreds, and thousands upon thousands clashed and died, one figure stood out above all others.

Jin Somyeong.

Every time he swung his sword, a wide empty space opened around him. Crescent-shaped slashes flew outward like ripples spreading across water, and everything caught in their path was cut cleanly apart.

"Keep rushing him! He'll tire soon!"

The late Foundation Establishment-level demon beast giving the command was split vertically in two. The moment it drew Jin Somyeong's attention, its fate had been nothing but death.

Still, the order it left behind remained in effect. The demon beasts surrounding him on all sides threw themselves forward like lunatics, one wave after another.

Ten. A hundred. A thousand.

By the time the mountain of demon-beast corpses had piled up as high as a city wall, even the most vicious among them tucked their tails and began to retreat.

Grrrr...

They had begun to feel that he was a monster they could never kill, no matter what they tried.

Under ordinary circumstances, this should have been impossible. How difficult was it to fight alone against many on a battlefield? If one were human—no, if one were a living creature at all—collapsing from exhaustion would have been natural.

But Jin Somyeong did not tire. From beginning to end, his breathing remained calm. His body-tempering art, specialized in regeneration, had reached the orthodox stage, and the Ojangbaekryeongyeol granted him seemingly endless stamina.

On top of that, he had the spiritual power supplied by the Mental Secret Realm.

He would have been perfectly fine even if he fought for three days and nights.

Meanwhile, in the skies above Sky Island, powerful beings known as third-tier demon kings gazed down upon the floating island.

There was a fox with three tails, a monster that seemed to be a cross between a crocodile and a human, an ape with golden fur, and others besides.

A wolf demon king, still dripping blood as though it had just come from battle, swung its claws.

Boom!

A razor-sharp gale roared forth. The blade-like wind, strong enough to split even mountains, aimed straight for Sky Island, but once it drew within a certain distance, its strength rapidly weakened. The tempestuous force faded away until it was no more than a gentle breeze.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because of the formation array laid over Sky Island.

"Cowardly humans! The moment a battle turns even slightly against them, they run back inside their formation!"

Several of the demon kings were raging when the golden-furred ape spoke with interest.

"The Inverse Force Suppression Formation. It truly deserves to be called a protective formation that guards humanity."

"Hyeok-mu-geon. Don't just stand there admiring it. Tell us how to break it!"

"Hmm..."

"You aren't about to tell us you don't know, are you? Not after boasting all this time that you've learned formations."

When the wolf demon king, whose entire body was wrapped in blade-like winds, growled at him, Hyeok-mu-geon snorted.

"Who said I don't know? The Inverse Force Suppression Formation is certainly impressive, but its output has a clear limit. If fifteen Golden Core experts strike it at the same time, it will collapse."

At Hyeok-mu-geon's clean answer, the demon kings looked at one another. Their number was exactly twelve.

"Fifteen? Then we're three short."

"Where are we supposed to gather three more demon kings? Don't tell me we need to bow our heads to those arrogant sea dragons."

Hyeok-mu-geon, whose face held a strangely human subtlety of expression, curled the corner of his mouth.

"Why gather them? We of the demon race are strong. In another twenty years, some among the lower ones will break through to the next realm."

"Mm."

"So all of you should avoid dying in pointless battles and take care of your lives. The supermassive spirit vein is vast enough. We can afford to concede about a third of it to the humans."

"You want us to share a spirit vein with those vile humans? I'd rather die! Absolutely not!"

When the crocodile demon king, whose upper body and face were covered in blade scars, roared in anger, Hyeok-mu-geon let out a sigh.

"I'm saying we should merely pretend to concede. Or would you all rather charge in recklessly as usual and only be satisfied once you die one by one?"

"No, but even so..."

The demon kings' opinions split. Rational beings like the three-tailed fox sank into silent thought, but most of them visibly struggled against their instinctive revulsion.

Then their gazes, which had been looking down from above Sky Island, gradually gathered in one place.

There was a figure on the battlefield who was especially conspicuous.

"A lightning art and a sword cultivator?"

Every time lightning-laced Sword Qi flashed, dozens of demon beasts were brutally cut down.

Crackle!

Along with the ceaseless roar of thunder, commander-class demon beasts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠died without even being able to resist.

"That one... is dangerous."

With nothing but a fast and sharp sword, no one could stand against him. He was already someone who had shed the limits of the second tier.

Even worse, he moved without hesitation despite being outside the castle walls. With a body as tough as no human's should have been, he swept across the battlefield.

"He cultivated body refinement too?"

"Ha. Just how many cultivation resources did the humans pour into that one man?"

Only lightning and blood remained wherever the sword cultivator passed. There were so many demon beasts that it looked as if a golden brush were being dragged across a blackened plain.

"He's someone who must be killed immediately..."

Seeing the demon kings' eyes fill with murderous intent, Hyeok-mu-geon spoke with a mocking smile.

"If that human reaches Golden Core, half of us here will die. Do you still have the luxury of hesitation?"

"...Tch."

As war, with demon beasts and humans killing one another, became part of everyday life, a full year passed before anyone knew it.

Jin Somyeong had reached the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment.

He had entered the late stage.

Reading the status window, he could not help but marvel. Upon reaching late Foundation Establishment, the value of his Boundless Great Ability had broken past ten thousand.

Still, this is strange.

Oddly enough, fighting every day had made his realm rise at a terrifying pace. It was several times faster than when he had focused solely on cultivation back in his eastern residence without any interference.

When he closed his eyes, everything within a kilometer became clear to him. Compared to before, the range of his Divine Sense had doubled.

By breaking through a minor realm, he had obtained Divine Sense on the level of a Golden Core cultivator.

This change was quite significant. It was not only the distance that had increased. The sharpness of his five senses, his resistance to illusions, and every other ability related to perception had risen to another level.

If he wished, he could even pierce through the formations installed around the second-tier eastern residences and find out what his neighbors were doing.

And with Golden Core-level Divine Sense, his ability to control Condensing Light to Extinguish Dust had increased dramatically.

Now, using Condensing Light to Extinguish Dust once would not leave him on the verge of death.

I couldn't properly practice it during the war, though...

Jin Somyeong nodded and took a pill from his robes. It was a Body-Hardening Pill, which he had exchanged for after gathering no fewer than ten second-tier superior inner cores. The pill had only one effect.

It amplified the body's physical abilities for a brief instant.

It was useful if taken during battle, but its true purpose lay elsewhere.

They say taking it when attempting Golden Core increases the chance of success.

Every time he looked at it, the Body-Hardening Pill reassured him. Jin Somyeong placed it into his subspace and sank into thought.

There was not much he still needed before Golden Core. He could leave reaching the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment to time. If he listed the remaining preparations, there were two major things.

White Spirit Grass and a third-tier spirit vein.

First of all, obtaining a third-tier spirit vein would not be difficult. Once Sky Island occupied a supermassive top-grade third-tier spirit vein, he should be able to borrow a single eastern residence. With the contributions Jin Somyeong had accumulated during the war, that much would be entirely possible.

Of course, he could also grow the Mental Secret Realm instead.

The problem is getting superior-grade spirit stones.

The notification that appeared as a hologram left a bitter taste in his mouth.

More than ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones were piled up in his subspace, but he did not have a single superior-grade spirit stone. He had tried to acquire some, but it had not been easy.

The only answer he had received was that they were strategic materials consumed to maintain Sky Island's Inverse Force Suppression Formation, so absolutely none could be spared.

What was slightly absurd was that the solution to this problem was also exactly the same.

They say we'll be able to mine superior-grade spirit stones once we occupy the third-tier top-grade spirit vein...

In the end, all he had to do was wait. He had received a firm promise that once the mine began operating in earnest and there was a surplus of superior-grade spirit stones, they would provide him with around twenty.

As for the other thing he needed, White Spirit Grass, there was currently no suitable way to obtain it. This spirit herb, known as a Golden Core spiritual object, had not even been studied enough for anyone to know exactly what sort of environment it grew in.

It was an extremely precious heavenly treasure found only rarely in the Yomyeong Sea.

How should I get my hands on it...?

After considering the matter for a while, he left his eastern residence for the time being. He climbed onto the castle wall, which now felt as comfortable as home, and waited quietly.

Sky Island would soon enter the region containing the third-tier top-grade spirit vein.

Several days later, the tension proved laughably unnecessary. Sky Island settled over the third-tier top-grade spirit vein with absurd ease.

Jin Somyeong, who had expected a fierce war to erupt, was bewildered.

What is this?

It was good news, of course. The density of spiritual energy rose by an entire grade in every part of Sky Island. His eastern residence, which had originally been second-tier high-grade, was elevated to the level of second-tier top-grade. He had profited without doing anything at all.

Why are the demon beasts staying still?

It was far too strange to simply be pleased, so he asked Baek Yu-geon, who knew a great many things.

"It's all right. The demon beasts seem to have some kind of plan, but... beasts who don't even properly understand formations have made a mistake."

"A mistake?"

"The Inverse Force Suppression Formation becomes several times stronger once it binds with a spirit vein. Whatever their intention was, it's already too late now that the formation has connected to a third-tier top-grade spirit vein."

"I see..."

Baek Yu-geon's confidence put him at ease. Now that he had heard the explanation, it did make sense.

Just as Jin Somyeong was nodding, Baek Yu-geon spoke in a serious tone.

"Now that the formation has stabilized, the demon beasts won't attack for some time. We should use this chance to go destroy the colony of Command Fish Grass."

"Understood."

He did not refuse. This was something he had promised in exchange for receiving Baek Yu-geon's insights into Golden Core, after all.

Besides, Sky Island had just entered the Yomyeong Sea, and there was somewhere he needed to visit.

I should look for the Spirit-Seeking Talisman along the way.

The Spirit-Seeking Talisman was a talisman that found fated opportunities. The place where it had supposedly been obtained was near here.

He was quietly looking forward to it. If he poured ten thousand or more points of Boundless Great Ability into a Spirit-Seeking Talisman that found opportunities suited to its user, it might even lead him to a Golden Core spiritual object.