Eun Seolhwa's Foundation Banquet (3)
The banquet had not even truly begun.
Even so, tables throughout the hall already held an array of mouthwatering dishes — a lavish indulgence meant purely for the palate, prepared for Immortals who no longer needed nutrition at all.
The banquet hall spanned two floors: the first for Qi Refinement cultivators, the second for those of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Though the lower floor held far more people, the upper floor claimed the greater space.
And at the very highest point of that second floor, Eun Seolhwa stood with an air of bored elegance. In the corners along the walls, Foundation Establishment cultivators who had arrived earlier were already deep in conversation among themselves. Their gazes swung toward the sisters who had just entered — Decia and Eun Nain.
"I see."
"The taller one is Decia, the smaller is Nain. Far better than their older siblings. The density of their spiritual power is high. They'll reach Foundation Establishment without trouble."
"The little one is rather slow, but… that only means her spiritual foundation is that much more solid. She'd stand out even against the geniuses of most major sects."
Dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators poured their attention onto them. That alone was enough — as if some vast, formless presence were crushing their souls without a single gap. Geumhae's steps grew heavier with every breath that caught in her throat.
Nain, who wasn't even there in person, felt her flesh crawl.
She glanced sideways. A thin sheen of cold sweat had gathered on Decia's brow as well. Yet Decia did not seem to suffer as much as Nain; she held her spine straight and met every stare without flinching.
Snap.
The crack of fingers cut across the banquet hall. Nain, whose breathing had been tightening toward hyperventilation, finally felt the air open up again. The crushing weight pressing down on her entire body began to recede.
"That is quite enough of your little games."
Eun Seolhwa's voice was cool and sharp. At her warning the gazes withdrew, and the taut air of the hall — drawn tight as a bowstring — slackened all at once, as if it had never been strained. Moments later the old men cleared their throats and began to make light of the whole affair.
Nain felt the tension drain from her.
I-I really thought I was going to die…
They hadn't even used a single technique. One look alone had clamped shut her windpipe. If any of them had carried so much as a speck of killing intent, Nain would have dropped dead on the spot. That was the gulf between Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment.
A difference in realm was the difference between a human and a natural disaster. The trailing winds of a hurricane that had already passed, the tsunami that surged in the wake of an earthquake, the ash that blanketed the sky after an eruption. Before the aftershocks of something so vast, a human being could not even think of standing against it.
"Your youngest, Decia, greets you, Mother."
In private she called her Mom, but this was a public occasion. As Decia bowed her head in a light formal greeting, Nain dipped hers as well. Watching them, Eun Seolhwa smiled faintly and flicked her fingers once more.
Fwoosh!
A flash of blue light, and the two of them were suddenly standing right beside her. Spatial transfer through dharma power — a minor parlor trick for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet Nain still found herself gaping in silent wonder.
The gap was far too extreme to believe it was only a single realm. She had known, of course, that Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment were worlds apart.
I knew that, but…
Experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely. The once-distant realm of Foundation Establishment suddenly felt close enough to touch.
Click.
With the light sound of a footstep, Eun Seolhwa closed the distance by one more pace. At the same time a tangible barrier rose around the three of them — a simple formation that blocked sound and projection.
"We've kept in touch often enough… but it really does feel like forever since I've seen your faces. You too, Decia. And you, Nain."
Nain nodded blankly, agreeing completely. It was the literal truth. Nearly ten years had passed since she last saw her mother in person — and even then, Nain had barely contacted her at all, claiming she was "training."
She was a thoroughly unfilial, non-attribute filial daughter.
"Thank you for coming. I know you're both at busy stages of your lives. Decia preparing for Foundation Establishment, and you, Nain, having only just broken through Qi Refinement…"
As if they had rehearsed it, both of them shook their heads at once — a vehement denial.
"No, Mom. Of course I had to come. A Foundation Banquet only happens once in a lifetime."
"Th-that's right, Mother…"
"Is that so? Heh… I was rather hoping this wouldn't be the last one."
Something… about her has really changed.
Nain felt that her mother was different somehow. She had always been kind, but the atmosphere around her had shifted completely. Even at a glance she seemed far brighter than before.
…Is it the influence of Foundation Establishment?
Foundation Establishment was the process of raising the first pillar of the Dao — and the gateway through which a human was reborn as something more than human. Many cultivators found their personalities changing around the promotion. A mother who had once been nothing but cold was now openly showing warmth.
"…I want to go beyond the Golden Forbidden, and beyond that as well — and stay with all of you."
Tap. Tap.
Eun Seolhwa tapped the state-of-the-art terminal behind her ear. At the same moment, the real Nain's terminal — buried in a corner of her room — began to vibrate.
Eun Seolhwa has sent you
10,000,000 Credits
"…Huk!"
Nain sucked in a sharp breath. It was an absurd sum of credits — enough to render meaningless every coin she had ever earned on her own. Panicking, she was about to speak through Geumhae at once.
But her mother got there first.
"You've safely passed the second selection, and the rearing period is over. There's no longer any restriction on support. Just think of it as a light gift."
"B-but this is way too much…"
Pfft.
Eun Seolhwa covered her mouth with one hand and laughed, as if thoroughly amused.
"To a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this amount of credits means nothing. I could send more, but… if I give you too much, it becomes hard to stand on your own, doesn't it? I'm sorry I can't do anything for Decia, though."
As the direct true-transmission disciple of the Golden Forbidden Sect's master, the scale of investment Decia received already slightly outstripped the whole of Eun Seolhwa's personal assets. Knowing that, Decia simply nodded and clamped a hand over Geumhae's mouth.
"Unnie. Just say thank you and take it. It's really nothing."
Nothing, she says…
It was more than twice what I had earned in my entire life… She was so flabbergasted she couldn't even manage a hollow laugh. The emptiness lasted only a moment, though. Almost at once, training plans that spent money like water began spinning through her head.
Elixirs from the Makri family, training formations from the Baekdu Kim family… Will I need dharma tools too?
While Nain sank into happy deliberation, Eun Seolhwa quietly studied her two daughters and smiled faintly. She still had two more surprises left.
One, however, was the highlight reserved for the very end of the banquet. She could not reveal it yet. As for the other…
"…Has he arrived?"
Eun Seolhwa murmured under her breath. Nain, yanked out of her pleasant fantasies, snapped her head up. For the first time, a flicker of wariness entered Geumhae's permanently vacant expression.
Crash!
A first-grade superior formation shattered like glass. Decia had half-drawn her sword, but after checking Eun Seolhwa's calm face she quietly sheathed it again. The only one who still had no idea what was happening was Nain.
Sensing danger, her right pupil blazed a fierce gold. Talisman-path spiritual power poured from a body that had gorged itself on vast quantities of mid-grade talismans. Dozens of talismans peeled free of her form of their own accord and arrayed themselves around Nain in a protective ring.
She hadn't spent the last two days merely loafing around. Not knowing what dangers might approach from outside, she had fed Geumhae as many different kinds of talismans as possible. In doing so, Nain had discovered a new function of Geumhae's.
Namely: any talisman absorbed once could be summoned and controlled again, regardless of type or number. The only limit was the spiritual power of Nain's true body. What she had deployed now was the absolute ceiling of what she possessed.
Several seconds passed after the formation broke. Staring at the breach with wary eyes, Nain finally realized something was off. If this had been an ambush, the attack should already have crashed in.
On top of that, this place held a Foundation Establishment cultivator in her mother — and Decia at Peak Qi Refinement. An assault aimed at them would have disassembled someone like Nain hundreds of times over and still had room left.
What is this?
She slowly turned around. Behind her stood her mother, stifling a chuckle, and her little sister, pressing a hand to her forehead with a long-suffering sigh.
"Ohh. Now this is an interesting sight."
A man shoved his way roughly through the wreckage of the formation. A trunk thick as a building, shoulders broad as a mountain, and a bald head clear as the Pacific itself. His muscle-packed frame easily topped three meters, and his skin was a brown so deep it bordered on pure black.
A living human weapon, in every sense. Nain knew exactly one person who looked like that.
"G-Grandpa?"
"That's right. Long time no see, Nain. Fixed that pathetic talent of yours at all yet?"
A Peak Foundation Establishment old monster.
Eun Seolhwa's foster father — and, by the family registry, Nain's grandfather. Seo Seongrak grinned so wide his mouth nearly split, the rock-grain of his muscles flexing to put his presence on full display.
His pure white teeth flashed under the chandelier light.
"As if I could miss a banquet this fun!"