Yagwi City
What the hell was going on in Yagwi City? Just when I thought I could finally live like a king in a nice house, the whole place was about to collapse. No, scratch that—not just my house, but the entire city I lived in was about to be vaporized. Crazy. Why does life always throw a wrench in the gears the moment things start going well? Seriously, would it kill them to let me be happy for just a little bit longer? These were the thoughts tossing and turning in my head as I lay in bed, having thoroughly enjoyed my sister's body. Then, out of nowhere, a sudden realization hit me. Should I run?
It was a passing thought, but honestly, it wasn't a bad idea. If I vanished right now without a trace, finding me wouldn't be easy. I could make up some excuse about going on a journey for cultivation or training, distance myself from the family, and by the time they realized I was gone, the war would be starting. Once the war kicked off, they wouldn't have the spare hands to hunt down someone like me. Despite how I looked, I was at the late stage of the Ungi (Qi Circulation) realm, specifically the Tong-un (Universal Circulation) stage, and I even possessed a dharma treasure. To kill me, they'd have to send multiple Ungi realm experts, and even then, success wasn't guaranteed. Would they really dispatch a Samgeuk Elder? In the middle of a war? Having a Samgeuk Elder set out just to capture some kid who had run off to who-knows-where ages ago? Not a chance. I was strong, but I didn't know much, and my status in the family was still ambiguous and unofficial. The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. As for fortuitous encounters, having Ryeo-ah and this dharma treasure was more than enough. With my strength, I could easily survive on my own, get hired under great terms, or even build a small faction of my own. I could take So-wol, Jeongha, and the Heavenly Fox with me and make them my executives. It wasn't like my current weight class was anything to scoff at.
"[It is not a bad idea.]"
Ryeo-ah chimed in, her voice cool and detached as if she had been listening to my inner monologue.
"[You possess more than enough talent, and your cultivation is high enough that you will not die a dog's death in some ditch. Though, it would have been better if you had reached the Samgeuk realm.]"
"I didn't have enough time," I muttered.
"[True. I loathe to admit it, but you are exceptionally capable. To think you are already peering at the threshold of the Samgeuk realm in less than ten years.]"
"But now that I'm actually thinking of leaving, there are a few things holding me back." I had heard about it from Ryeo-ah, but the training method for the Samgeuk realm was incredibly absurd. "You said I have to train all three aspects—Jing, Qi, and Shen—to their absolute limits?"
"[Indeed. The orthodox method is far too slow and inefficient, making it a threshold that demands a massive quantity of spiritual elixirs.]"
The Samgeuk realm required one to temper their spirit, body, and energy to their absolute limits. Sound easy? But if you thought about it for even a second, it was incredibly complicated. First of all, the categories were completely different. It was hard enough to focus on and master just one, so how could it be easy to master all three completely distinct concepts of Jing, Qi, and Shen? She had told me that under normal circumstances, most cultivators would only manage to master one or two paths before their lifespan ran out and they kicked the bucket. Doesn't this sound familiar? It was basically a souped-up version of the Yeondan (Core Condensation) realm, where you could reach the late stage just by mindlessly stuffing your face with spiritual elixirs. The only difference was that the sheer quantity, variety, and quality of the pills required here were on a completely different level, demanding all sorts of variations. And of course, individual comprehension and talent were mandatory prerequisites. You might ask, Can't you just use a ton of elixirs? But considering that not a single expert in the three great families—who monopolized all of Yagwi City's resources—had reached the Johwa (Creation/Harmony) realm, it was painfully obvious just how absurdly high that "ton" of resources actually was.
"[Fufu. They call it using spiritual elixirs, but in truth, it is merely mediocre fools trying to make up for their lack of comprehension and talent with resources. For those with sufficient talent and the comprehension to master all three cultivation arts, it is actually the easiest realm to bypass.]"
"So you're saying I need to be a natural-born genius in literature, math, and sports all at the same time." Did that even make sense? That was just too perfect.
"[Correct. One must be perfect. Only by being perfect does one earn the right to tread the higher paths of immortal cultivation.]"
"Perfect, huh."
"[Cultivation is the act of filling one's deficiencies to become a flawless immortal. If one can achieve flawless perfection, is that not simply another name for ascension?]"
"Omnipotence and omniscience, something like that." Shit. How was I supposed to do that? My head was already starting to throb. "Anyway, that's why just running away has a lot of drawbacks." The wealth accumulated by a prestigious clan like the Kang family could easily multiply my cultivation speed. If you asked me if that was more important than my life, I'd obviously say no. But then again, there was no guarantee I'd die in the war. While the City Lord was still alive—and even after he died, before the news spread to the surrounding areas—I wanted to make one massive haul and then make my escape.
"First of all, Yagwi City is doomed."
"[Indeed.]"
Unless someone suddenly popped into the Johwa realm out of nowhere, this was inevitable. A city ruled only by Samgeuk experts couldn't maintain its autonomy. There were rumors that Kang Baek-jin and the leaders of various sects had reached the peak of the Samgeuk realm. Hmm. No, that wouldn't work. I had a feeling that from now on, all of the family's resources would be funneled into Kang Baek-jin alone. This was a matter of survival. The moment the family and the rest of Yagwi City realized the City Lord was on his deathbed, everything would shift, and all resources would be sucked into the bellies of the select few who had reached the peak of the Samgeuk realm. Every single grain of spiritual elixir meant for promising future generations would be seized. Investing in the future? When you're about to be ruined right now, you have to put out the fire first. Perhaps someone like Kang Baek-jin had already caught on. I could practically see the heart-pounding speedrun to the Johwa realm beginning. And whose fault was it that the Lord of Yagwi City was on a timer?
"[A-Ahem.]"
"Seriously, how did things even get to that point?"
"[Well... sometimes when you are walking down the street, you simply feel the urge to kill a few people, do you not?]"
"Oh, is that so?"
"[There happened to be a Johwa realm body nearby, so I tried to seize it. Who could have known that fellow possessed a fragment of an immortal treasure in his robes? I was already blind with rage because my original body had been destroyed.]"
"Holy shit." So the time she turned the Lord of Yagwi City into a living corpse wasn't even her prime? I was starting to get genuinely terrified.
"[I only did it because I thought he was at the early stage of the Johwa realm. Had he been at the middle stage, I would not have even attempted it. In truth, if not for that immortal treasure, I would have won.]"
"Even so, you didn't even have a body. Is that really possible? Shit, are you actually an immortal?"
"[Tsk, tsk. What do you know? Once you step into the True Spirit realm, there is little difference between the physical body and the Nascent Soul. The body itself becomes a dharma treasure, and the Nascent Soul becomes another self.]"
"Whatever you say." Regardless of how great Ryeo-ah was in her prime, the only thing that mattered right now was the situation right in front of me. "Sigh. Fuck."
"[Still, it seems they do not yet know that the City Lord is on the verge of kicking the bucket.]"
"Why do you say that?"
"[What do you mean 'why'? If they realized the City Lord was about to draw his last breath, would Yagwi City be this quiet? Naturally, all logistics would be locked down, and every last handful of pills would be swept up to force-feed a successor into the Johwa realm.]"
"Ah."
"[Thus, if you wish to extract anything from your family, now is your chance. Before the Kang family catches wind of the City Lord's condition and funnels everything into a single person.]"
If that was the case, I couldn't just leave. Hmm... I probably couldn't officially ask the family for anything. No, wait. "Hey."
"[Yes?]"
"I agree. The family definitely doesn't know about the City Lord's state yet. That's why they're so relaxed." In modern terms, the City Lord being critically ill was equivalent to all of a nation's military weapons suddenly malfunctioning. It made no sense for things to be this peaceful when a tactical Johwa realm expert targeting Yagwi City could show up at any moment. "Are you absolutely sure the City Lord is on his deathbed? I saw him refining an entire nation to consume it. What if he recovers?"
"[The very fact that he is refining a mortal nation only confirms it. Such crude methods cannot heal the wounds I carved into him. It merely buys him time. It is proof that he has no other cards left to play.]"
If he had any other choice, he would have spent his time recovering instead of resorting to such a barbaric method. Ryeo-ah spoke with absolute confidence, stating that pouring water into a bottomless pot was the ultimate proof. "Ah, really? Is that so?" That meant I was probably the only one in this entire city who knew the City Lord was about to die. Information was always most valuable when no one else knew it. If I sold this information, how much would it be worth?
"[I cannot say that is a wise choice. How would you prove this information, and how would you explain how you obtained it? Even if they believed you, do you truly think they would let you live?]"
"Ah. Damn. You're right."
"[I do not dislike gambling, but it is best to avoid wagers that risk your life unless absolutely necessary.]"
If I blabbed about this information, they might physically crack open my skull to find out how I knew. "Ah... if I just run, all my problems are solved." Greed. That damn greed. The classic gambler's mindset of just one more big win and I'll pay it all back was bubbling up from the depths of my chest. "If only I could reach the Samgeuk realm. If I were at the Samgeuk realm, I wouldn't have to worry about this shit."
Once you reached the Samgeuk realm, they would try to win you over rather than eliminate you. That damn Samgeuk realm. "You said I can reach the Samgeuk realm if I push just one area to its absolute limit, right?"
"[Indeed. If you temper your physical body to the limit, you can form a ring related to the characteristics of the body-tempering cultivation art you have mastered. The moment you reach the extreme of Jing, Qi, or Shen and form a single ring, you become an early-stage Samgeuk expert.]"
"A ring, huh."
"[Do not obsess over the ring. What matters is pushing at least one aspect to its absolute limit.]"
"Man, that sounds like it'll take forever." The only one with any real potential was...
"[Are you interested in martial arts?]"
"It's got to be that, right?"
"[You have already implanted a monster's martial arts, a human's unique martial arts, and even the Obsidian Shoot into your body. If you must choose one, you must choose the body.]"
"But wait, among Jing, Qi, and Shen, does 'Shen' stand for the physical body? Isn't it 'Shen' as in spirit?"
"[What nonsense... Do you think a mere Samgeuk expert has the right to speak of the divine? In the martial world, every dog and pig babbles about 'divine arts' and whatnot, but the true divine is not something worthy of being discussed at the mere Samgeuk realm.]"
I felt a bit embarrassed since Ryeo-ah was genuinely asking what kind of bullshit I was talking about. Well, fair enough. If the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was actually the study of a literal Heavenly Demon God, I would have been utterly obliterated.
"[I do have an extraordinary method, however.]"
"What is it?"
"[If you agree not to charge me rent for the next ten years, I shall bestow a magnificent grand art upon you.]"
"Hand it over."
"[Oh? No negotiation? That was quick.]"
"I don't think you're the kind of cheap woman who would play around with something like this."
"[Hmph. You certainly know how to talk sweet when it suits you, yet you usually spout nothing but vulgarities. Here.]"
Soon, Ryeo-ah's memories began to seep into my mind. "This is..."
"[The Three Mountains Dao-Combining Great Art. It is a grand art that combines three distinct spiritual mountains within the body to pursue the absolute limit of the physical form. Doesn't it look as though it was created solely for the Samgeuk realm?]"
"And at the same time, it feels like it was made just for me."
"[Correct. Since you have already integrated the Obsidian Shoot into your body, you simply need to implant two other miraculous spiritual objects and nurture them just like the Obsidian Shoot. Simple, is it not?]"
"Alright." My mind was made up. The first place I headed, naturally, was my sister's office.
"You're asking if there are any other spiritual objects similar to the Obsidian Shoot I gave you before? There aren't. That's the kind of item you'd be lucky to find even if you ransacked the family treasury. If I had mastered an earth-attribute cultivation art, I wouldn't have even given it to you. I would have consumed it myself."
"Damn. Not even a rumor of one?"
"If we searched the family treasury, we might find something similar. But keep dreaming. Unless you trade that dharma treasure of yours, you have no other way of obtaining one. Depending on the circumstances, an Obsidian Shoot is a treasure valued even more highly than a dharma treasure."
Selling my dharma treasure to reach the Samgeuk realm was a profitable trade, but since one wouldn't be enough, I just kept it in mind. All I had achieved was realizing my sister's maternal warmth; she wasn't of any actual help.
"I'm seriously tempted to steal it."
Should I rob the family vault? My sister had only promised to look into some information for me, saying she couldn't do anything beyond that.
"[Ahem, ahem!]"
"My head hurts."
"[Harrumph!]"
"Should I just close my eyes and go for it?"
"[Ahem! Cough, cough!]"
"What? What do you want?" My head was already killing me.
"[Well, I do know how to make one...]"
"My lady. You know I love you, right?"
"[Filthy scoundrel. Shut your mouth.]"
"Yes, ma'am."
"[Hmph. However, it certainly will not be free... You have already paid ten years' worth of rent. Hmm. I suppose I must receive it as a labor fee.]"
Ah, I was already getting a bad feeling. That laugh, that strangely excited voice. I had heard it many times before. It was a cruel, nasal hum that didn't even bother to hide her intention to rip me off. And because I couldn't refuse, it was all the more terrifying.
"[If you obtain one from me, and then either sell that dharma treasure or find another way to secure the last one, it should somehow work out, would it not?]"
"Ryeo-ah."
"[Huhuhu. Speak.]"
"...You do know I truly respect you, right?"
"[Heheh. No takebacks. I shall impart one more related grand art to you now, so you can decide whether to accept it or not.]"
Her laugh was incredibly obnoxious because she knew I had no choice but to accept. I hesitated for a moment as the information began to seep into my mind, but in the end, I accepted it.
The Blood Sea Reef. As the name suggested, it was an artificial spiritual object that required an atrocious amount of blood to refine. In this case, it was more accurate to call it a demonic object rather than a spiritual one. A reef that hardened and solidified within a sea of overflowing blood, using the flesh and skin of living creatures as seaweed. Simply having a lot of blood wasn't enough; it strictly had to be the blood of cultivators. And for slaughter on that scale to occur, there was only one way.
"[Waging war against a cultivator sect means they possess a desperate resolve to end the war before they meet an early grave. A war with a time limit is bound to be extremely violent.]"