Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Not Long Now (2)
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A few years ago, when Seoran was still at the Qi Refining stage, she had participated in a friendship tournament between the capital sects.
That was how Seoran became friends with Ho Hye-mun and Geum Yeongyeong.
There had been four participating sects at the time.
Roughly comparing their power:
The rising sacred power, Gold Craft Sect.
The powerhouse of tradition and history, Black Bamboo Sect.
These two capital sects competed for the lead.
Far behind but fiercely chasing was Herbwood Sect.
It was the capital sect ruling Ju Nation, located northeast of Yang Nation.
It was also the host nation for the international cultivator market.
A thousand years ago, a Nascent Soul cultivator from Herbwood Sect had devised a grand plan, cultivating vast quantities of spiritual herbs and spirit trees.
It was a majestic sight that mere mortals fussing over hundred-year plans could never approach.
Though that Nascent Soul cultivator had passed away when his lifespan ended, the seeds sprouted after a few hundred years.
Useful spiritual herbs or spirit trees took at least several hundred years just to grow.
Without heavenly luck, it was a straight path to the sect's destruction.
But success brought great rewards.
The dedication of a wood-attribute Nascent Soul cultivator who abandoned his cultivation.
The patience of the capital sect members who suppressed their hunger for the sake of future generations and grew medicinal herbs.
And the sturdy alliances that protected them from invasions until their long efforts bore fruit.
Herbwood Sect, which endured for centuries behind Gold Craft Sect and Black Bamboo Sect, dominated the elixir material market across the entire western continent.
The fees from the international market were astronomical.
They regularly deposited friendship fees to their soulmate friends, Black Bamboo Sect and Gold Craft Sect, making their bonds grow ever tighter.
That was why Seoran and Damcheong could cross the border with just their identity tokens.
Border checks were for strangers they didn't know well.
Black Bamboo Sect and Herbwood Sect were no strangers.
Seoran and Damcheong entered the market as smoothly as flowing water and headed straight for the labor market.
And the moment they awaited arrived.
"Earth-attribute and water-attribute, one each, hop on!"
"Me!"
Seoran shot her hand up.
The cultivator labor market fell silent.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
'Who brought kids here?'
At first, they thought someone had brought their daughter.
But then, just in case, they used their spirit eyes.
Surprisingly, the horned girl and the plain girl both had massive inner pellets in their dantians.
Once again, they all thought the same.
'Why is a Core Formation cultivator here?'
The cultivators seeking work at the labor market were all Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Qi Refining cultivators couldn't use spells, and Core Formation cultivators and above usually only took named commissions.
It was common knowledge that only Damcheong and Seoran, who were earning money for the first time, didn't know.
The woman recruiting cultivators hesitated before asking.
"Uh, what attribute is this senior here?"
Observing spiritual power with spirit eyes revealed the attribute instantly.
Seoran's was Pure Earth spiritual power—yellow.
But Damcheong had brilliantly multicolored spiritual power.
Seoran answered immediately.
"This one has cultivated a water-attribute technique!"
In truth, dragons had ambiguous attributes.
The primal spiritual power dragons possessed could substitute for any attribute's spiritual power.
Thus, as long as they had spirit roots, there were no attribute restrictions.
Damcheong had transformed from a carp spirit beast into a dragon.
As an aquatic creature, a carp spirit beast, she had water spirit root.
And reborn as a dragon, wind spirit root.
In human terms, Damcheong was a water-wind dual spirit root holder.
If she succeeded in infusing her yeouiju with lightning, thunder spirit root would be added.
All together: rain, wind, clouds, and lightning.
This was how a dragon that freely commanded the weather of the heavens was completed.
A dragon achieving water-wind-thunder triple spirit roots became invincible.
Even Incarnation cultivators could be slain effortlessly, leaving no equals in the world.
But not against the greatest thief of all time.
Seoran had stolen the yeouiju, blocking the dragon's ascension, and single-handedly pushed a massive sect to the brink.
Who the next victim would be was unknown.
Perhaps even the ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators sitting at the labor market could be seen as victims.
It was like a 9-dan professional go player suddenly crashing a kids' beginner tournament.
The emergence of an ecosystem-disrupting invasive species that made competition impossible.
The recruiter fell into dilemma.
But she quickly made her decision.
There was no time to deliberate amid the urgency.
The recruiter shouted resolutely.
"Perfect! Both of you, come along!"
Destination: northern Ju Nation. Mission: canal repair work.
*****
Ju Nation was a trade powerhouse.
To the east lay the sea, to the west vast plains.
Thus, there were many canals connecting rivers to the sea.
The incident started with a sea monster.
For some reason, perhaps having eaten something bad and gone mad, a massive sea creature charged onto land and destroyed a vital canal.
They desperately covered it up, but the extensively damaged canal needed quick repairs.
That was why one of the canal repair supervisors had rushed to find earth- and water-attribute cultivators.
"This is the canal that needs repairing. Think you can do it within two months?"
She was desperate, chased by deadlines.
But she was lucky.
She had met Seoran and Damcheong at the labor market.
Seoran replied calmly.
"I'm not confident."
"Oh..."
The recruiter's face fell.
"I have confidence we'll finish!"
"Oh!"
Seoran and Damcheong began the canal repair work.
First, they drained the water filling the canal.
"Hyah!"
With Damcheong's shout and gesture, a miracle occurred.
The water in the canal rose into the air, exposing the bottom.
The astonishing part was that the liquid arched upward while still flowing.
The current from upstream flew through the air like a rainbow toward downstream.
It was a divine wonder permitted only to the world's strongest spirit creature, the dragon.
The recruiter reacted with fervor.
"Lifting an entire flowing river into the sky!"
Next was Seoran's turn.
Seoran had learned a Core Formation technique called Earthshaking Mountain Lift Art.
Literally, an art that lifted mountains and shook the earth.
Of course, the name had some exaggeration.
But the Earthshaking Mountain Lift Art performed by Ryu Seoran, the genius who descended dancing from another world, was different.
Seoran extended her index finger toward the canal bottom.
Then she flicked her wrist, pointing her finger skyward.
The stripped earth rose into the air as well.
It was a technique that amplified even a handful of spiritual power into immense force.
A golden pellet larger than a yeouiju sucked in surrounding spirit energy like a storm, converting it to spiritual power.
Seoran flipped the ground over like a pancake.
The recruiter felt a newfound faith awaken.
"Is she a goddess...?"
The massive project, which had seemed tight even for two months, was completed.
The next day, after finishing the repairs, Seoran asked.
"So, how many spirit stones do we get?"
The recruiter replied reverently.
"We'll pay you the full fee for two months' work."
She added.
"If your schedule allows, could you fix the other canals too? I'll talk to the other supervisors and give you all the construction fees."
The goddess of civil engineering, Ryu Seoran, declared.
"Lead the way, to wherever I'm needed."
For the next month, Seoran toured all of Ju Nation.
The canal repair supervisors who received the goddess of civil engineering gladly offered up all their repair budgets.
She had met the project deadlines, so she was indeed a goddess.
The supervisors were satisfied, and so was Seoran.
She raked in massive bonuses, becoming a spirit stone millionaire.
Her Earthshaking Mountain Lift Art proficiency soared as well.
And the rumors spread quickly.
'I heard there's a goddess of civil engineering in Ju Nation.'
Capital sects planning massive civil engineering projects flew into Ju Nation's international market.
Where would the goddess of civil engineering go next?
Auctions even sprang up for the earliest slots.
Behind the stage of the auction house filled with fervent heat, Seoran and Damcheong conversed.
"Lady Damcheong, are you really donating everything like me?"
"Yes. What does a dragon need with spirit stones?"
"Lady Damcheong..."
"No need for that look."
Amid their deepened bond, Seoran and Damcheong embraced.
And today's auction—the fiercest since the international cultivator market's founding—ended.
All proceeds from the auction, minus fees, were donated to the unfortunate Black Bamboo Sect.
Over three hundred slots were sold.
Even finishing one every other day would take about two years.
Seoran felt like she'd reenlisted.
But with Damcheong, she could endure.
Come, unfamiliar yet vast world.
I am no longer afraid.
Because I do not advance alone.
Seoran and Damcheong took the stage.
It felt like a slave auction, but it wasn't.
The participants clutched their number tags desperately.
They weren't the owners—Seoran was.
Those who offered money begged earnestly.
Thus, this scene couldn't be called an auction.
The fitting word for the situation was worship.
They were offering tribute and praying.
From this moment, Seoran was their goddess.
The newly born goddess said softly.
"Lead the way, to wherever you need me."
The believers, receiving their goddess's response, were ecstatic.
Seoran was getting into it too.
It was her first time receiving such treatment as an earth-attribute cultivator.
Earth-attribute, which no one sought.
But here, she received special treatment.
She was a star as popular as fire- or water-attribute—no jealousy needed.
Like a superstar captivating the world.
This was no different from a western continent world tour.
Time to return as the great showgirl.
The civil engineering duo began their continental tour.
The grand expedition ended sooner than expected.
Thanks to frequent ground-flipping, she had achieved great success in Earthshaking Mountain Lift Art.
A year later, the two arrived at the final construction site.
Geon Nation, territory of Seaside Gate bordering Black Bamboo Sect.