The Scale of the World
Because its duties had always revolved around watching and searching, Cheongo had grown into a highly proficient scout. Moreover, having feasted on all manner of spiritual delicacies, it was now practically half a demon beast. The scouting duties it had once performed with ease had become second nature.
"There were so many! So many! Leopards, monkeys, flightless birds, and bugs!"
Knowing that the bird would chatter on endlessly about every single creature it had spotted if left unchecked, Jekyeong cut it off at the opportune moment.
"I see. Good work. Now, tell me which of those creatures seemed the dullest."
"Dull? Slow?"
"The ones that barely reacted even when you flew right over their heads."
"Ah. Hmm..."
Cheongo fell into deep thought for a moment before listing a few candidates. Jekyeong silently selected one of them. Then, looking at the bird as it stared back at him blankly, he spoke.
"How do I look?"
"Huh?"
"Do I seem any different than before?"
"Different? Different how?"
Cheongo tilted its head, its eyes narrowing as if trying to solve a puzzle. After cocking its head a few more times in sheer confusion, the bird began to flutter around Jekyeong, chattering excitedly.
"Strange! Strange! Jekyeong, did you get weaker?"
It seemed that concealing his aura with the Presence-Concealing Technique had given Cheongo the impression that he had grown weaker. This meant the bird judged a target's strength primarily by its aura. Jekyeong presumed that Cheongo was not the only one who relied on this metric. While ordinary beasts could gauge strength simply by looking at a creature's size, demon beasts operated on an entirely different level.
'So the Presence-Concealing Technique can hide my actual power, not just my physical presence.'
Jekyeong realized the Presence-Concealing Technique was far more versatile than he had initially believed. Once a creature became a demon beast, judging its strength by appearance alone became nearly impossible. Consequently, they had to rely on the aura a being exuded rather than its physical size. Since the technique could mask this aura, it meant he could feign weakness to bait his opponents. While highly suspicious foes might not fall for it, it would be incredibly effective against simple-minded beasts that immediately attacked anything they perceived as weaker than themselves.
"Jekyeong! Jekyeong! Did you really get weaker?"
Only when Jekyeong silently released the aura he had suppressed did Cheongo finally cease its frantic fluttering.
"How about now?"
"Jekyeong is strong again! Strong again! What is that? How did you do it?"
Jekyeong was reminded once again that Cheongo was a born audience member. The bird threw such a spectacular fuss over the slightest things that it made showing off incredibly satisfying. Perhaps the Seonin had also been charmed by the little bird's dramatic reactions back then, prompting him to bestow it with spiritual intelligence.
'Come to think of it, what was that Seonin's cultivation realm?'
Jekyeong had picked up various rumors in Bul-mang-won, but he had never heard of any technique that could artificially ignite a beast's spiritual intelligence. Furthermore, considering the cataclysmic events that occurred after the immortal's death—as described by Cheongo—the man could not have been a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.
'Could he have been at the Golden Core stage?'
Through his time in Bul-mang-won, Jekyeong had acquired a decent grasp of the world's affairs. The Changram Realm was often referred to as the Cultivation Realm, a moniker that was entirely justified. Every human in this world was, in essence, either a cultivator or someone who had failed to become one due to a lack of talent. If a person possessed even a shred of aptitude, they would stop at nothing to embark on the path of cultivation.
How many humans populated this world? Perhaps no one truly knew. The Human Territory was but a fraction of the entire Changram Realm, yet even that fraction was unimaginably vast. Within those boundless lands resided an equally unfathomable number of people, and a staggering portion of them were cultivators.
Yet, among those countless practitioners, over ninety percent spent their entire lives stuck in the early stages of Qi Refining. What about Foundation Establishment cultivators? They were so rare that barely one emerged out of hundreds of thousands, and they were treated as esteemed dignitaries in most human cities. And Golden Core cultivators? They were the rulers of metropolis-sized cities, occupying the absolute highest echelons of human society.
'If that Seonin was indeed a Golden Core cultivator, why did he die in a remote mountain valley like this?'
Had he grown weary of the secular world's vanity, choosing instead to cultivate in absolute solitude until he peacefully passed away in meditation? As his thoughts drifted, Jekyeong dragged up a question he had unconsciously been putting off.
'Where exactly am I?'
Jekyeong had learned from his seniors in Bul-mang-won that the human sphere of influence was called the Human Territory. However, even those seasoned cultivators did not know the exact boundaries of their domain. When Jekyeong had curiously asked if humans did not possess maps, they replied that while maps did exist, they were mostly localized charts drafted by individual cities. A comprehensive map detailing the entirety of the Human Territory simply did not exist.
This was because the Changram Realm—and by extension, the Human Territory—was simply too vast. It was the same reason a peasant living in a remote village would never bother looking at a star chart. Even if they gathered the courage to leave their birthplace, they would travel to the neighboring village or city at most. Why would they care about the positions of the stars in the night sky or the layout of the cosmos? Would they even think to ask? Consequently, a map encompassing the entire Human Territory did not exist—or at least, that was the common consensus.
Hearing this had made Jekyeong wonder if his extreme secrecy regarding his identity in Bul-mang-won had been an exercise in unnecessary paranoia... but he quickly dismissed the thought. Even the friendly seniors of the Mansi Assembly guarded their personal details with absolute vigilance. How could he, a member of the Beast Race, afford to be so naive?
'Even putting aside the Seonin who might have been a Golden Core cultivator, there are still those two human cultivators I encountered before. Judging by their presence alone, this place is highly likely to be either within the Human Territory or directly adjacent to it.'
The two cultivators who had captured his parents had seemed terrifying beyond belief at the time, but looking back, they were not particularly formidable. While this realization was partly due to his standards being elevated by his interactions with the seniors in Bul-mang-won, a calm retrospection of the event yielded the same conclusion. The pressure and fear he had felt from those two was far weaker than what he experienced when facing the seniors of the assembly.
'They were definitely Qi Refining cultivators.'
Jekyeong reasoned that since Qi Refining cultivators would never dare risk their lives by wandering deep into the Demon Territory, this region had to be close to human lands.
'If that's the case, then the direction I am heading now is away from the Human Territory.'
Humans possessed a strong pack mentality; they thrived in communities. Even if this area was merely adjacent to the Human Territory, it was highly unlikely those two Qi Refining cultivators had been wandering around entirely on their own. They undoubtedly belonged to a nearby sect, clan, or settlement.
'Fleeing as far away as possible is definitely the right move. But then again, straying too far might actually work against me.'
The presence of human activity nearby suggested that there were likely no overwhelmingly powerful foreign races or ancient beasts in the immediate vicinity. From that perspective, distancing himself too much from the Human Territory could be a double-edged sword. He had heard that the law of the jungle governed the human cultivation world as well, but it paled in comparison to the sheer brutality of the Beast Race. While the human version of "survival of the fittest" carried a degree of metaphor, for the Beast Race, it was literal: if you were weak, you became a meal. A concept of kinship? Such a notion did not exist among them.
To Jekyeong, the demon beasts did not categorize others as "strangers," but rather as "enemies." Yet, he did not look down on them for this primitive mindset. After all, he also viewed other demon beasts as either competitors or prey. To him, "kin" was a meaningless taxonomic classification. He did not care whether a companion was human or beast, so long as they were trustworthy and useful.
In short, the golden rule remained the same: avoid powerful entities at all costs, regardless of their race.
'I can't rely solely on Cheongo forever. Fortunately, I have the Presence-Concealing Technique, so I must master it.'
U Do-baek had mentioned that mastering the Presence-Concealing Technique would allow him to evade the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator to some extent. "To some extent" meant that even if he fell within their sensory range, he could suppress his presence enough to pass off as a mundane wild animal rather than a demon beast. Naturally, this required maintaining a reasonable distance, but even that was an invaluable advantage.
Steeling his resolve to train, Jekyeong looked down at the still-befuddled Cheongo.
"Once the fruit is fully ripe, take one in your beak and fly toward that lizard. When you pass over him, fly low. Make sure he sees the fruit you are carrying."
"Okay! Okay!"
"Once you pass him, return quietly. Then, repeat the exact same thing two days later. Do you understand?"
"Yes! Yes! You want me to show him where the fruit is coming from, right?"
"Exactly."
Working with an intelligent partner certainly made things easier. Jekyeong turned his gaze away from the bright-eyed bird and looked toward Mok-yo.
"I will hide nearby with my aura concealed, just as I did a moment ago. When the lizard arrives, you will engage him first. It would be best if you feign weakness to bait him into attacking more aggressively. Once he is fully committed to the fight, I will launch a surprise attack."
*Woo-wooo!*
"He says he understands!"
"Good. Let me know when the fruit is fully ripe."
It took two days for the fruit to fully ripen. During this period, Jekyeong diligently practiced the Presence-Concealing Technique, carefully pacing himself so as not to exhaust his energy before the hunt. Manipulating one's aura was entirely different from physical exertion; while his body remained fresh, the mental strain was immense. Despite his cautious pacing, by the time the fruit ripened two days later, a profound mental fatigue had washed over him, leaving him feeling utterly lethargic.
'In a way, I suppose this also qualifies as cultivating my mind state.'
It was fortunate that the fruit had ripened on schedule. Had it taken any longer, he might have been forced to delay the hunt just to let his mind recover.
'My motivation is flagging, but it won't hinder the hunt.'
Jekyeong suppressed his urge to rest through sheer force of will. A moment later, Cheongo took flight with a ripe fruit clamped firmly in its beak.
Three days passed.
Finally, a giant lizard bristling with long, sharp spikes from its head down to its back and tail emerged from the withered trees, its fork-tongue flicking the air.
*Woo-wooo-wooo!*
Sensing the intruder, Mok-yo let out a low, resonant rumble and hoisted several thick roots into the air. Yet, the spiked lizard paid no heed to the wood demon's warning. Its greedy eyes were locked onto the clusters of ripe fruit hanging from Mok-yo's branches.
"Churrr!"
Driven mad by the scent of the fruit, the spiked lizard charged forward like a wild boar. Mok-yo lashed out with its roots in response. From a safe distance, Jekyeong quietly observed the clash.
Compared to human cultivators, the spiked lizard was a far better quarry. And by "better," Jekyeong meant it was an easy target.
The beast's primary weapons were its razor-sharp teeth and the spikes covering its body, neither of which posed much of a threat to Mok-yo. The wood demon possessed a massive frame protected by thick, iron-hard bark, and it fought by whipping its long branches and roots from a safe distance. The spiked lizard could neither ignore nor effectively counter these ranged strikes.
It was no exaggeration to say that the lizard's defensive capabilities relied entirely on its spikes. However, unlike Jekyeong's scales or Mok-yo's bark, these spikes were not meant to absorb damage; their purpose was to inflict retaliatory wounds on whatever struck them. Consequently, while this defense was devastating in close-quarters combat, it was virtually useless against an opponent like Mok-yo, who kept its distance and pummeled the lizard unilaterally. Moreover, Mok-yo's bark was so dense that the wood demon did not flinch in the slightest, even when its roots and branches were pricked by the sharp needles.
'It's a terrible matchup.'
Had the spiked lizard faced the monkey demon beasts from before instead of Mok-yo, it would have put up a far better fight. Yet, while those agile monkeys had easily overwhelmed Mok-yo, the spiked lizard was being utterly dominated, unable to land a single meaningful blow. Such was the importance of matchups. It was, in essence, a giant game of rock-paper-scissors.
'But this is actually a problem. I can't just sit back and twiddle my thumbs.'
For the first time, Jekyeong realized that a hunt going too smoothly could present its own set of problems. At this rate, Mok-yo was going to defeat the spiked lizard entirely on its own. Of course, foolish as the lizard was, it was no idiot; it would undoubtedly flee before receiving a fatal blow, and the slow-moving Mok-yo would never be able to give chase. While Jekyeong could simply step in at the end to deliver the finishing blow, he was not content with merely stealing the kill.
'I have no choice.'
Watching the battle grow increasingly fierce, Jekyeong pushed his Presence-Concealing Technique to its absolute limit, completely masking his aura. He then began to glide silently toward the battlefield.
*Woo-wooo-wooo!*
Mok-yo pressed its advantage, driving the spiked lizard back with renewed vigor. Pummeling an opponent that posed absolutely no threat was incredibly cathartic. Having been thoroughly demoralized by recent events, the wood demon seized this opportunity to vent all of its pent-up frustration. The spiked lizard struggled desperately to fight back, but its attacks remained utterly useless against Mok-yo's impenetrable defense.