Chapter 32
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32
The moment Black Leopard Cat saw the sword in Badger’s hand, the thought struck him that his judgment might have been wrong.
As the beautiful light wreathing Badger’s blade pushed back the gloom of the alchemy room, a clean, white line slashed across the dark stone chamber.
Facing the attack, spiritual pressure erupted from the bodies of the two Alliance Elders as well.
Black Leopard Cat frantically tapped his storage pouch, intending to pull out a defensive magical artifact. Yet before the artifact could even fully emerge, the beam of light from Badger’s sword split into six arcs.
For a fleeting moment, Black Leopard Cat thought he was gazing upon a work of art.
Within the dim stone chamber, a pristine white blossom was blooming.
The enchanted robe of the Alliance Elder in front tore open with a long rip, blood spurting from his shoulder. A thin cut opened across the second Alliance Elder’s cheek as well.
Yet Black Leopard Cat had neither the strength to ward off the sword light nor the time to evade it.
Ah…
Ssslice.
Black Leopard Cat felt his body grow strangely light. His vision tilted.
By the time he realized Badger’s sword light had passed through him, his limbs and torso were already sliding apart.
What an exquisite sword…
At the very instant Black Leopard Cat drew his final breath, the sword light that had carved through the floor severed the inscriptions of the Earthfire Formation beneath them. Through the fractured lines, crimson earthfire began to surge upward.
BOOOOM!
One of Jeokyo Island’s alchemy rooms blew apart with a deafening blast.
Chunks of red rock and shards of the pill cauldron soared high into the sky amidst roaring flames. The entire roof was blown away, engulfing a corner of Jeokyo Island in a massive fire.
Panicked shouts erupted all over the island.
“What happened?!”
“An alchemy room exploded!”
Shrouded in spiritual light, the two Alliance Elders shot into the air through the flames and dust. Close behind, Lee Hyun landed atop the red rocks.
The two Alliance Elders failed to counterattack immediately. They looked back and forth between the ruined alchemy room and the wounds on their bodies. The lingering afterimage of the pure white blossom that had bloomed just moments ago still seemed to shimmer in midair.
“The sword light… formed a complete scene?”
“Impossible…”
The sword techniques learned by Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators were mostly just spells that condensed spiritual power into sword light. As long as one possessed the correct circulation method and sufficient spiritual power, they could produce a certain degree of might even with a shallow understanding of the sword.
Yet the six streams of sword light Badger had just unleashed had traced distinct trajectories, intertwining and separating to form a single, unified image.
This was a profound art that transcended cultivation realms, achievable only by someone who had dedicated long ages exclusively to the sword.
“How could a petty thief possess such peerless swordsmanship…?”
At that moment, Lee Hyun kicked off the red rock, his figure vanishing in a blur.
“Don’t let him get away!”
The Alliance Elder bleeding from his shoulder slammed his palm downward. Azure light converged in midair, taking the form of a giant’s right arm that echoed with the roar of crashing waves.
RUUUUMBLE!
An azure palm stretching thirty feet plummeted toward Lee Hyun as he sprinted across the red stone.
Wuuuung!
Over a dozen Spirit Light Shields bloomed beneath the falling palm.
Crash! Boom! Bang!
The first five shattered in rapid succession. Even the sixth Spirit Light Shield warped violently, sending shockwaves that penetrated his Spherical Qi Barrier and struck Lee Hyun’s body.
Fortunately, his Force-Dispersing Underarmor distributed the impact across his whole body.
Lee Hyun tilted the remaining Spirit Light Shields, deflecting the force while harnessing the recoil.
BANG!
Propelled by the blast, his body shot forward at an even greater speed than before.
That Elder isn’t in the Early Foundation Establishment Stage!
Lee Hyun realized he had let his guard down. He wasn’t the only one who practiced Qi-Concealment Techniques.
At that moment, the other Alliance Elder formed a hand seal in midair. Six Bronze Flying Swords shot out from inside his sleeve.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!
The flying swords scattered before converging on Lee Hyun all at once.
Lee Hyun swung the Mountain-Suppressing Sword diagonally behind him, and the light wreathing the blade blossomed into six arcs once more.
The six streams of sword light struck the flats of the Bronze Flying Swords with pinpoint accuracy. The flying swords grazed past Lee Hyun’s body and were deflected away in all directions—toward the sea, the sky, and the red crags.
The Elder controlling the Bronze Flying Swords shouted, “He’s formidable! If we let him escape, he’ll be an endless nightmare!”
Lee Hyun’s body surged forward explosively.
I need to get out before more of them gather.
Gathering several fireballs in his palms, Lee Hyun launched them in all directions.
Fwoooosh!
The two Alliance Elders split left and right to evade.
As the exploding fireballs dyed the sky crimson, Lee Hyun slashed the Mountain-Suppressing Sword.
Sh-sh-sh-shhk!
Over a dozen beams of sword light burst forth from amidst the flames.
The Elder with the wounded shoulder flicked his sleeve, unfurling a spherical azure water screen that repelled the blaze. The scattered Bronze Flying Swords returned to the other Elder’s side, spinning like a cartwheel to parry the incoming sword lights one after another.
Although the water screen and flying swords shuddered violently, the attacks failed to inflict serious harm on the two Alliance Elders.
“Where does a mere Qi Refining ant get this much spiritual power?!”
“He’s definitely concealing his cultivation realm!”
“But has anyone ever seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator who can’t fly?!”
The Elder with the injured shoulder pressed his palm downward once more. This time, an azure ripple flowed from his fingertips, rapidly spreading across the red rocks.
On the other side, the six Bronze Flying Swords positioned themselves in different directions. Thin bronze lines connected them, forming a massive hexagonal sword net.
“Tighten the net! He can’t fly!”
As the azure ripple swept beneath his feet, Lee Hyun’s body grew as heavy as if he were submerged in deep water. Simultaneously, the hexagonal sword net began to close in swiftly from all sides.
Detonating the Spherical Qi Barrier around his body, Lee Hyun blasted away the clinging water qi. Feigning a retreat, he abruptly pivoted.
Thud!
Following up with the Square-Inch Step, Lee Hyun sprang in the opposite direction.
There stood the Elder controlling the Bronze Flying Swords. With his focus entirely consumed by maintaining the sword formation, he had never expected Lee Hyun to double back and charge straight toward him.
Hastily unfurling three layers of yellowish barriers around himself, the Elder directed the Bronze Flying Swords at Lee Hyun.
At that moment, the spiritual aura wreathing Lee Hyun’s Mountain-Suppressing Sword converged entirely onto its tip.
The light at the tip expanded like a solar halo, then condensed into a single, blinding point.
Six Swords of the Single Ultimate, Fourth Form.
White Rainbow Pierces the Sun.
The sword light pierced through the three yellow barriers in rapid succession.
“Guh!”
The Elder’s right flank was punctured and burst open. Blood sprayed into the air along with shredded scraps of his enchanted robe.
The Bronze Flying Swords lost their trajectory for an instant and went whistling past Lee Hyun.
Just then, a terrifying fluctuation of spiritual power bore down from above.
KA-BOOM!
The azure giant’s palm shattered eight layers of Spirit Light Shields at once, slamming Lee Hyun deep into the red stone.
Clouds of red rock powder billowed into the air.
But when the dust settled, there was no one there.
“Earth Escape Technique!”
Cultivators burst out of the other alchemy rooms across Jeokyo Island. An alarm bell clanged furiously from one side of the island, and countless Sound Transmission Talismans took to the sky.
Having melded into the earth, Lee Hyun moved swiftly toward the northern side of Jeokyo Island.
The island’s subterranean depths were an intricate web of earthfire veins and binding restrictions. Rather than diving deeper into unfamiliar terrain and risking being engulfed by earthfire, it was far better to skirt through the underground to the northern cliffs and break out into the sea.
Although the Force-Dispersing Underarmor had dissipated the brunt of the impact, a faint metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth.
This was the first time he had ever fought two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Lee Hyun had confirmed that his spiritual power and spells were fully effective against them.
Yet what struck him far more profoundly was the disparity created by the ability to fly.
I see. So that’s why no one ever seriously debated a battle between a mortal martial arts grandmaster and a Foundation Establishment cultivator…
Lee Hyun had long wondered about this. A martial artist in the Profound Realm should pose a threat even to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so why did nobody take such comparisons seriously?
No matter how powerful a Profound Realm master was, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator took to the sky and rained down spells from above, there was no way to counterattack. Conversely, if the tides turned against them, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could simply fly away whenever they pleased.
The northern cliffs of Jeokyo Island.
Having reached the northern extremity in no time, Lee Hyun burst through the red cliff face and shot straight toward the blue sea.
“Catch him!”
Shrouded in spiritual light, the two Alliance Elders circling above the cliff gave chase.
Plunging beneath the cliffs, Lee Hyun’s body struck the water’s surface.
Smack!
Hitting the surface once, his body skipped upward like a flat stone.
Thwack! Smack!
Lee Hyun shifted his posture until he was lying nearly parallel to the water. In that position, each kick against the surface propelled him forward by dozens of yards.
Pang! Pa-pang! Pa-pa-pa-pang!
The intervals between his skips grew shorter and shorter. Trailing a continuous rooster tail of white foam, he rapidly pulled away from Jeokyo Island.
“What in the world is that…?”
An unbelievable spectacle unfolded before the eyes of the two men looking down from the sky. A mere Qi Refining cultivator who couldn’t even fly was skimming across the water like a stone, casually reclining while rocketing away at terrifying speed.
Clutching his wounded side, the injured Alliance Elder ground his teeth.
“Damn it! The fact that he can’t fly confirms he’s at the Qi Refining Stage, so how is he moving at such a bizarre speed?!”
“Save your breath and increase your speed!”
“Damn it, if not for my side…”
The two Elders channeled more spiritual power. Their speed picked up, yet the gap between them and Lee Hyun showed no sign of closing. In fact, it was steadily widening.
Lee Hyun was applying principles from his past life. Utilizing the Reclining Escape Technique, he laid his body flat to minimize drag and shaped his Spherical Qi Barrier into a sleek, pointed wedge reminiscent of a bullet train’s nose.
Every time he skipped off the water, an explosive burst from his Earth-Shrinking Step added propulsion. As a result, Lee Hyun’s speed surpassed two hundred kilometers per hour. Since the flying speed of the two Alliance Elders hovered around one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, the distance was bound to grow.
The wounded Elder called out urgently, “Can’t we contact the Elders stationed on the mainland to surround him?”
“Can’t you see that ungodly speed?! He’ll reach the mainland before a Sound Transmission Talisman even arrives! Besides, do you think he’s crazy enough to wander into a cultivator clan’s territory? He’ll slip right through the gaps, obviously!”
The two pursued Lee Hyun for a while longer, but the distance only continued to stretch, and the wounded Elder’s complexion grew increasingly pale. In the end, their pace slowed first.
Even after confirming that the presences of the two Alliance Elders were fading into the distance, Lee Hyun did not reduce his speed.
He had no intention of pursuing a grudge against them. While it was true they had tried to capture him, they hadn’t picked a fight without cause.
Most Elders of the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance were patriarchs of cultivator clans that held the Tier 2 spirit veins across the southern coast and archipelagos of Namryeo Kingdom.
For instance, of the seven great Foundation Establishment clans in southern Namryeo Kingdom, five of the patriarchs also served as Alliance Elders.
Frankly, it was true that the Heaven-Seizing Society had been secretly tapping into the spiritual qi leaking from their spirit veins.
Although the spiritual qi of heaven and earth inherently belonged to no one, from the perspective of clans that had maintained formations and spirit fields for generations, they had every right to consider themselves victims.
For that reason, Lee Hyun had never intended to engage in a fight to the death with the two Elders.
On the other hand, Black Leopard Cat posed a threat that could lead all remaining members of the Heaven-Seizing Society to their deaths. As Chief Badger, he had to be eliminated.
A fine day to retire…
His body surged ever faster toward the coast of Namryeo Kingdom.
* * *
Four hours later.
A nameless cliff along the southern coast of Namryeo Kingdom.
Inside a small underground cavern rested a black stone slab. Carved into its center was the image of a cicada shedding its shell.
Lee Hyun slotted eight low-grade spirit stones into the grooves surrounding the slab.
Wuuuung—
The formation inscriptions connected to the slab lit up one by one.
It was an emergency contact formation the Heaven-Seizing Society had prepared long ago. The society had established multiple tiers of emergency protocols in case they were discovered by cultivator clans or their gathering sites were compromised.
Among them, the highest tier was the Shell-Shedding Order.
Abandon all gathering sites.
Erase all markers of vein cultivation seats and destroy the allocation ledgers.
Members sever all contact with one another and disperse.
Hold no more gatherings under the name of the Heaven-Seizing Society.
Lee Hyun placed his hand upon the stone slab.
“I enact the Shell-Shedding Order.”
The light split into eight streams and sank into the slab.
Once the message reached the nearest bases, the administrators there would transmit the order to the next locations. By repeating this process, all members would receive the word within four days at most.
A few days later.
The Withered Wood Shop in Baekpo Market shut its doors.
The masks, maps, and ledgers in the underground meeting room vanished completely.
At various residual-vein pockets, including Mount Azure Conch and Hidden River Valley, the markings and concealment formations of the Heaven-Seizing Society were dismantled.
The narrow tunnels leading to vein cultivation seats were collapsed, and the members scattered to the winds without inquiring after one another’s whereabouts.
A subterranean cave near Baekpo Market.
Lee Hyun set the Badger Mask down on the ground.
Having been used for many years, its edges and eyeholes were worn.
The tip of the Mountain-Suppressing Sword lightly tapped the mask.
Tock.
The mask split cleanly in two.
Lee Hyun incinerated the fragments with a Fireball Technique, then washed away even the remaining ashes into an underground water vein.
The identity token of Guest Alchemist Lee Muk and various other items engraved with the emblem of the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance were disposed of in the exact same manner.
“Take care, everyone.”
* * *
One year later.
Tunnel No. 2.
After escaping Jeokyo Island, Lee Hyun had spent nearly two months wandering beneath the soil of Namryeo Kingdom, continually altering his course.
When no pursuers appeared, he returned to Tunnel No. 2. For the next ten months, he remained entirely underground, self-sufficient while keeping watch over his surroundings.
Over the past year, not a single suspicious trace had been detected.
At this rate, I can safely assume Tunnel No. 2’s location hasn’t been compromised. No need to move. Moving is such a hassle…
The situation was different from when he had killed a cultivator from Cheongun Sect, which was presumably a great sect.
The Azure Tide Merchant Alliance had no Golden Core cultivators. Lee Hyun was not afraid of them.
However, he intended to avoid operating in southern Namryeo Kingdom for the time being, as Chief Badger’s combat methods had been exposed.
“Still, Ram Kingdom is vast. Who would recognize me if I operate outside Namryeo Kingdom?”
Lee Hyun retrieved a small medicinal packet. It was the final dose of Tier 1 Bone-Tempering Powder he had secured for himself while working as a guest alchemist on Jeokyo Island.
Having consumed multiple doses over the past year, he seemed to have reached the physical limit of bone reinforcement achievable through Tier 1 Bone-Tempering Powder.
He poured a third of the packet’s contents into a jade bottle filled with spirit spring water. As the ivory powder dissolved, he swirled the bottle and downed it in one gulp.
“Phew…”
Lying comfortably on the cultivation room floor, Lee Hyun circulated the Primordial Unity One-Qi Art.
Before long, a warm sensation diffused throughout his body.
The medicinal power traveled through his meridians and seeped into his bones.
The stimulation began at his fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Heat surged up his spine, while deep within his pelvis and knees, he felt an itching sensation as though hundreds of tiny ants were crawling about.
Crack.
With each breath Lee Hyun took, a dull ache radiated from his ribs and spine.
* * *
Two years later.
Cheongro Kingdom, Everlasting Spring Sect.
Cheongro Kingdom was a mortal kingdom situated in the west-central region of Ram Kingdom, a Tier 4 cultivation realm. It was located twenty thousand li north of Lee Hyun’s Tunnel No. 2 in Namryeo Kingdom.
The Everlasting Spring Sect held some renown for concocting Vitality-Raising Pills, which were used to break through from the Middle to the Late Stage of Qi Refining.
Inside a spacious hall of the Everlasting Spring Sect.
Twenty pill cauldrons were arranged at regular intervals. In front of each cauldron sat a Qi Refining rogue cultivator seeking entry into the sect.
Lee Hyun was among them.
Wuuuung—
The pill cauldron before him vibrated faintly.
Today’s examination task was the Spirit Recovery Pill. With virtually no practical efficacy, it was an examination pill devised by the Everlasting Spring Sect solely to assess alchemy skills.
The sect provided three sets of ingredients and the pill recipe; if one could produce at least two low-grade Spirit Recovery Pills within three attempts, they would be recognized as a Tier 1 Alchemist.
Whoosh—
Before Lee Hyun, six fireballs of varying sizes ignited. Inside the cauldron, three types of medicinal ingredients were refined in succession.
Azure medicinal fluid intermingled with wisps of pale yellow spiritual qi as the pure white essence extracted from the final herb rose to meet them. The cool mist expanded, gently wrapping around the volatile medicinal properties and coaxing the opposing forces into perfect balance.
Lee Hyun did not hesitate. His fingers shifted in a blur, snapping into the crisp, practiced gestures of the Pill-Condensing Hand Seal.
Wuuung—!
The furnace hummed as the internal pressure surged, heat and spiritual energy locking into place. A heartbeat later, the distinct, rhythmic clatter of solid spheres bounced against the iron belly of the cauldron.
Clatter.
The heat dissipated. Lee Hyun reached out and lifted the bronze lid, letting a plume of aromatic white steam billow into the hall. Resting quietly at the bottom were three freshly formed Spirit Recovery Pills, their polished surfaces catching the lamplight.
One mid-grade.
Two low-grade.
The proctor, a cultivator at the Late Qi Refining realm, leaned over the rim to inspect the batch. His eyes widened, his expression freezing in undisguised shock as he picked up the pills one by one to examine their luster and herbal veins.
“A mid-grade on the very first try…” The proctor muttered under his breath, looking at Lee Hyun as if seeing a ghost. Getting even two low-grade pills on a third attempt was enough to qualify as a Tier 1 Alchemist, but producing a mid-grade pill right out of the gate was a display of skill that far surpassed mere qualification.
Lee Hyun smoothed away his neutral demeanor and deliberately put on an expression of modest, bashful delight.
“I got lucky,” he said with an awkward scratch of his cheek.
Before the proctor could respond, a clear, authoritative voice drifted across the examination chamber from the entrance.
“Not bad at all for a rogue cultivator at the Qi Refining realm.”
The proctor stiffened. Recognizing the speaker immediately, he and the surrounding staff scrambled to their feet, bowing deeply with their hands respectfully clasped.
“Greetings, Elder Go!”
An elderly man strode into the hall with effortless grace, his flowing gray robes trailing behind him. He carried the faint, indelible aroma of high-tier spirit herbs and centuries of furnace smoke. Approaching the station, he cast an appraising eye over Lee Hyun’s cauldron before studying the three glossy Spirit Recovery Pills.
“Your control over the flame was steady and patient. Truly, not bad at all,” the elder remarked, nodding in mild approval. “I am Go Won-hak, Peak Lord of Pill Cauldron Peak and an Elder of the Everlasting Spring Sect.”
Go Won-hak picked up the roster scroll the proctor had been keeping and glanced at the freshly inked entry.
“Your name is… Lee Dong-i?”
“Yes, Senior,” Lee Hyun replied meekly.
Go Won-hak stroked his long beard, his brow furrowing slightly as he repeated the moniker.
“What a peculiar name. Why under the heavens would your family name you that?”
Because I was squatting near Tunnel No. 2 when I had to pick an alias on the spot…
Lee Hyun kept his inner deadpan completely concealed and offered an innocent, practiced excuse instead.
“My parents passed away when I was very young, so I never had the chance to learn the reasoning behind it.”
“Ah, indeed!” Go Won-hak’s eyes lit up, as though he had just unlocked some profound daoist truth. “That is precisely why we must never shed our humility! We must always seek enlightenment in every corner of life. Look at that—does not the wisdom of mortal parents, living and dying within their fleeting years, sometimes surpass the insights of living cultivators? Merely rolling the name ‘Dong-i’ off the tongue gives it the tender, affectionate warmth of a cherished pet name! What could this be if not a mother and father’s greatest prayer, wishing for their beloved child to be doted on and protected by everyone around him for the rest of his days?”
He beamed at Lee Hyun, practically radiant with self-satisfaction.
“It is not too late now that you have come to realize your parents’ true intention! The path of learning reveals itself everywhere. In that very spirit, boy—how would you like to become my registered disciple and enter Pill Cauldron Peak? Honing your craft beneath my guidance will let your alchemy soar far beyond what you could ever achieve out in the wild.”
The surrounding rogue cultivators held their breath in sheer envy. Becoming the direct registered disciple of a Peak Lord on the day of the entrance test was nothing short of ascending to heaven in a single leap.
Yet, before Lee Hyun could even formulate an answer, another voice boomed from the inner corridor of the pavilion.
“Now really, Elder Go! What kind of shameless person snatches away raw talent right in the middle of an ongoing examination?”
Another elderly man strode into view, his green robes heavily saturated with the rich, earthy scent of damp soil and rare flora.
Go Won-hak frowned, crossing his arms. “Snatching? What nonsense are you spouting, Elder Han? I am merely pointing a promising fledgling toward a path truly worthy of his gifts.”
“Rubbish!” The green-robed elder scoffed, stepping between Go Won-hak and the alchemy station with a pointed glare. “This entire entrance examination was organized by Hundred Herbs Peak! We supplied the spirit herbs, and we provided these cauldrons. If any peak has earned the right to make an offer, it is ours! Shouldn’t you at least let the boy hear our terms before you bully him into making a choice?”