Chapter 23
Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Sea Severing Peak Direct Disciple Yong Yoo (2)
All the people in Sea Severing Peak's Peak Lord's Hall had just witnessed Geum So-ryeo's utterly unprecedented demeanor—how she had suddenly halted the ongoing Direct Disciple examination, declared the candidate accepted, and then abducted her new disciple to soar away toward the sect's Main Peak.
Mun Yoo, who couldn't move on his own due to the effort of suppressing his Karmic Force, watched as everyone ignored him completely and stared only at the departing Geum So-ryeo and Yong Yoo.
The others... well, it didn't really matter. After all, Mun Yoo himself had never placed much importance on his fellow senior and junior brothers anyway.
But one person was different.
Do Mun-hyang.
The one who had approached him with an unwavering smile even when he failed to obtain the Dual Fate Scripture, even when he was struggling at the first layer of the Refining Qi Realm and drawing mockery from everyone.
Though he had distanced himself by focusing solely on his own growth, she had always smiled at him whenever their paths crossed.
The one he harbored in his heart.
And now, that Do Mun-hyang was murmuring as she gazed at Yong Yoo departing, without a single glance at Mun Yoo's suffering form.
"Yoo Lang... I hope he's alright."
Yoo Lang. Do Mun-hyang had clearly called Yong Yoo by that name. Her voice was soft, and with everyone else focused on the departing Geum So-ryeo, no one else seemed to hear it... but Mun Yoo, who had his eyes fixed solely on her, heard it crystal clear.
'Lang?'
Wasn't that a term reserved among Dao Companions for those intending to form a marital bond?
'Why call Yong Yoo that?'
Why was she gazing at that loathsome rival with such longing affection, as if watching a departing lover?
Fuming with rage, Mun Yoo forced himself to his feet. But then he realized no one was even looking his way.
High Heaven Sect.
Sea Severing Peak.
Geum So-ryeo's Direct Disciple.
His affiliations were many and varied, but in none of them was there anyone looking at Mun Yoo.
And that was because Mun Yoo had pushed everyone away himself.
He had viewed anyone approaching him as an obstacle to his cultivation and bared his fangs at them. Rather than words, he wielded his sword; rather than goodwill, he unleashed malice, wounding everything around him to keep it at bay.
As a result, he had become utterly alone in Sea Severing Peak, the most populous place in the entire High Heaven Sect.
"......"
Realizing no one was watching him, Mun Yoo slowly dragged his body—still screaming from the aftermath of the recent battle.
Clad in his half-ruined golden robe.
Dragging his sword, cracked and fractured from overexerting Karmic and Meritorious Forces.
And with that, Mun Yoo vanished from the High Heaven Sect.
That Mun Yoo kid was stronger than I thought.
Because his growth diverged from the original story, I'd somewhat underestimated his abilities... but as expected of the protagonist?
Even taking a completely different path from the original, Mun Yoo had displayed exceptional Dao Combat prowess that transcended major realm boundaries, just as he did in the story.
Much like how celestials reincarnated into the mortal world naturally seize fortuitous encounters and heavenly luck to effortlessly ascend back to immortality.
Much like how Hyang Mae, as the main heroine, had drifted away from Mun Yoo to stay by my side yet still attained enlightenment so effortlessly and grew rapidly.
No matter what different path Mun Yoo took, he would undoubtedly reach the pinnacle he attained in the original—the Primordial Realm.
'That's why I had to kill him somehow.'
Having failed to kill Mun Yoo and now captured by Geum So-ryeo, I found myself atop the High Heaven Sect's Main Peak, surveying the monsters gathered around me.
The most prominent were the Sect Master, who resided here and ruled the High Heaven Sect, and the Vice Sect Master at his side.
Flanking the Sect Master were the Enforcement Elder, who governed the sect's rules, and the Guardian Elder, who protected the sect.
A short distance away, the Chief Steward and Assistant Steward, who managed the sect's wealth, were eyeing me while whispering among themselves.
On the opposite side from the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master stood the Drill Instructor and Assistant Drill Instructor, who executed the sect's external enemies and trained its core disciples, arrayed in majestic splendor, with five Guest Elders behind them.
Guest Elder—from "guest official," a term for honored guests treated like high officials of the state. In simple terms, it meant inviting wandering experts of great skill and granting them elder status as honored guests.
And seated in the twelve chairs around were the twelve Peak Elders representing High Heaven Sect's twelve peaks.
Right behind me was Geum So-ryeo, and thanks to the cushion she had provided, I was able to kneel comfortably on the soft surface.
Several other elders had brought their favored disciples—potential successors—all of whom were at least at the Core Formation Realm, some even at Nascent Soul.
'Looking at it like this, High Heaven Sect's forces are more impressive than I thought.'
Of course, ever since Geum Yang-pyeong's era, the sect had been slowly declining over nine thousand seven hundred years. But as the saying goes, even a fallen millionaire lasts three years—despite the decline, the sect's overall scale was astonishingly vast.
If Geum Yang-pyeong hadn't elevated High Heaven Sect to the position of representative orthodox sect in the Central Righteous Cultivation World, it wouldn't have endured this long.
Now, however, that very status made it a target for attacks from other orthodox and demonic sects eyeing the position...
In the novel, it had seemed like a pitiful sect getting beaten around everywhere, but seeing it boast such scale while proclaiming its decline made me think it deserved the beatings.
As I observed the sect's rulers like this, they were discussing matters with my Refined Flying Sword placed before them.
Geum Yang-pyeong's secret abode had already been located, and the sect's top array master had been dispatched to prevent it from vanishing further. All disciple residences and halls within a ten-thousand-zhang (30km) radius had been demolished to prepare the site as the supreme sacred ground.
Since the abode was on Sea Severing Peak, the victims were its disciples, but the elders showed no concern whatsoever for their living quarters being razed, chattering about other matters.
Honestly, all the other talk was irrelevant.
This current discussion was the most important to me.
Because they were deliberating on the rewards they would grant me.
"Do we really need to give him a reward? Isn't the honor of discovering our sect's supreme sacred ground enough?!"
Someone said as much.
"Hah! Are you saying that because you're stingy about rewarding a Foundation Establishment child? With such a narrow mind, how pitiful for the disciples below you."
"What did you say! You... you...!"
"Mind your dignity! For such a feat, with no reward at all—how do you think our High Heaven Sect disciples will see us? Do you really believe they follow us out of loyalty to the sect's mere prestige? With such shortsighted thinking!"
"You old fool!"
"Those guys fight every time they gather."
"Sigh."
I panicked at the elders suddenly quarreling, but the others acted as if it were routine and paid no mind.
"......"
"......"
Afterward, the elders conversed via sound transmission so the disciples couldn't hear. Geum So-ryeo occasionally gaped wide, veins bulging on her neck, as if raising her voice vehemently to voice her opinions.
She even slammed the armrests of her chair repeatedly, and once, another elder tried to muster his spirit energy in response only to be crushed by her power.
Whoa...
Geum So-ryeo, whose prowess ranked among the High Heaven Sect's elite and who bore Geum Yang-pyeong's bloodline, should have become Sect Master by right—but she had remained an elder to raise disciples.
I'd heard she wielded greater authority and influence than other elders despite the same rank... but to think she could overpower fellow elders right in front of the Sect Master without a word of protest.
From then on, it was Geum So-ryeo's unchallenged dominance.
She argued endlessly for days on end before finally sitting back with a satisfied expression, at which point the marathon meeting concluded and my rewards were decided.
"Do any other elders have objections?"
The Sect Master scanned the elders one last time, confirmed no dissent, nodded, and turned to me.
"Sea Severing Peak Direct Disciple Yong Yoo, attend."
"Y-yes!"
Suddenly called, I hastily straightened my posture in surprise, and the Sect Master smiled at me as he spoke.
"Yong Yoo, you have discovered and reported our High Heaven Sect's supreme sacred ground, heralding the sect's new beginning. This is a monumental achievement akin to unearthing our roots. Thus, we shall etch your name into High Heaven Sect's history, and in the forthcoming sacred ground, erect a stele and statue commemorating your deed."
...Huh? Wait, what...?
"Furthermore, to reward you befittingly, we shall impart our sect's secret techniques, bestow a defensive treasure to safeguard your body, and assign masters in Spirit Farming Technique and Spirit Liquor Brewing to instruct you."
Oh, that's pretty good.
"Henceforth, your treatment and stipend shall match that of a Core Direct Disciple—take note."
Core Direct Disciple. That meant treatment right below the elders.
Naturally, the stipend would easily exceed an Inner Disciple's by a hundredfold. No more wasting time on missions for money.
"Finally, upon reaching Foundation Establishment Perfection and reporting it to the sect, we shall provide you a Tribulation Evasion Pill to aid your breakthrough to Core Formation—heed this."
"Tribulation Evasion Pill!"
I cried out in shock, but no one reprimanded me for impudence.
It was that extraordinary a reward.
From the Core Formation breakthrough onward, cultivators faced heavenly tribulations from the heavens to thwart their advancement—a venerable trope from Journey to the West, cornerstone of xianxia tales.
In Journey to the West, immortals faced the Three Disasters of Longevity every five hundred years over fifteen centuries—fail, and immortality eluded them unto death.
Likewise in Black and White Immortal Chronicle, failing these heavenly tribulations meant failed breakthroughs: severe cases led to death or eternal stagnation; at minimum, grave internal injuries requiring long recovery or even realm regression.
The Tribulation Evasion Pill allowed one to evade these tribulations—a supreme treasure without peer in the cultivation world.
So rare they required Soul Transformation alchemists to craft, and nonexistent beyond Nascent Soul—forcing self-reliant breakthroughs thereafter.
In any case, for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like me, it was indisputably the ultimate boon.
I turned to Geum So-ryeo with eyes brimming with shock and gratitude. No matter how I looked at it, this wasn't their original intent—it was what she had fought the other elders for.
She'd promised great rewards... but to go this far.
Overwhelmed, I couldn't hold back tears, bowing deeply in prostration.
I bowed toward the Sect Master, but in my heart, it was to Geum So-ryeo.
"...Th-thank you... Truly, thank you."
Gratitude was all I could utter.
Amid that profound, I received back my Refined Flying Sword and returned to Sea Severing Peak—only to hear shocking news that instantly shattered my lingering emotion.
"Mun Yoo has fled the High Heaven Sect?"
I absentmindedly recalled the vast expanse of the Central Righteous Cultivation World from Yong Yoo's knowledge. Then the adjacent realms pressed right up against it.
Envisioning distances so immense they made my old Earth seem trivial... my mind reeled as I thought.
Then... how the hell... am I supposed to kill that guy?