Chapter 42
Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: 10 Years of Seclusion (5)
Yong Yoo overwhelming Han Chun-oh right in front of the Sea Severing Peak disciples had, as one might expect, caused a massive uproar.
Simply surpassing the power of the Core Formation Realm was impressive enough, but to outright dominate it? And Yong Yoo wasn't even a Heavenly Spiritual Root holder—he was just a Three Elements Spiritual Root cultivator.
A Three Elements Spiritual Root was certainly exceptional, but in a massive sect like the High Heaven Sect, where cultivators gathered in droves, it wasn't all that rare.
However, the Dao Combat talent to leapfrog the Core Formation Realm despite having a Three Elements Spiritual Root was something even the High Heaven Sect rarely saw.
Naturally, this sparked endless talk within Sea Severing Peak, elevating Yong Yoo's status there automatically. Given the peak's large number of disciples, the rumors quickly spread to the other peaks, and soon enough, tales of Yong Yoo were circulating throughout the entire High Heaven Sect.
And so, Yong Yoo's name flowed from there to the visiting cultivators staying at the sect for the Dao Tournament.
"I wondered why we hadn't heard anything from someone with that kind of skill for ten whole years, but to think a guy at Foundation Establishment Layer 2 reached Foundation Establishment Perfection in just a decade."
Pyong Yu-ran, staying at a high-end inn, overheard nearby guests gossiping about the ridiculously handsome and powerful new direct disciple from Sea Severing Peak. It reminded her of her clash with Yong Yoo ten years ago.
The warehouse filled with fog that broke down everything it touched, and Yong Yoo's voice echoing from within the mist-shrouded depths.
And that striking appearance of his, which had unwittingly captivated her when she'd seen him up close.
'Scary.'
The thought arose unbidden.
This was the Yong Yoo who had terrified a Core Formation Perfection cultivator while only at Foundation Establishment Layer 2. And now he'd reached Foundation Establishment Perfection himself?
Pyong Yu-ran loved clashing with other cultivators or engaging in Dao Debates, but if someone told her to stake her life against Yong Yoo, she'd bolt without a second thought.
She wanted to fight, not die.
'A Dao Debate or skill exchange? I'd be down for that anytime.'
Pyong Yu-ran had been so smitten by Yong Yoo's Dao Combat prowess—which far exceeded the limits of Foundation Establishment Layer 2—and his looks that she'd tracked him all the way to the High Heaven Sect. She'd even planned to become a disciple under Sea Severing Peak where he was.
But after arriving and learning about the Dao Tournament, along with its details, she'd changed her plans.
She'd make a name for herself there, catch someone's eye, join under better conditions, and receive more support to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.
Pyong Yu-ran was 355 years old.
True to her Dual Elements Spiritual Root, she'd reached Core Formation Perfection remarkably quickly, but her repeated attempts to break through to Nascent Soul had all hit snags and failed.
She'd come to believe that reaching Nascent Soul required something different from what she'd been doing...
'No matter how I think about it, coming to the High Heaven Sect was the right call. I can definitely achieve Nascent Soul here.'
Pyong Yu-ran popped a bite of the deer tongue pouch she'd ordered into her mouth and reflected on her ten years in the sect.
'It's larger than most major sects in the Qing Water Province, with more Nascent Soul cultivators than you can shake a stick at—and they even have Supreme Secret Scriptures, of all things.'
The High Heaven Sect's environment was like a paradise tailor-made for cultivators to train.
Most sects treated Nascent Soul cultivators as elders or let them become elders right away, but the downside here was that upon reaching Nascent Soul, you'd become a core disciple and have to compete as an elder candidate...
'On the flip side, it shows their confidence in nurturing disciples all the way to late Nascent Soul.'
Indeed, every elder in the High Heaven Sect was at least at late Nascent Soul, with some even at Nascent Soul Perfection.
Seeing most of them stuck there, aging without breaking through to Soul Transformation, really drove home the wall that was the Soul Transformation Realm.
'Eh, I'll worry about getting from Nascent Soul to Perfection after I actually break through.'
Right now, the priority was performing well in the Dao Tournament.
Currently, three people were seen as top contenders for the championship.
The biggest favorite was Yeom Suk, the genius from Sea Severing Peak who'd achieved Core Formation Perfection at the youngest age in High Heaven Sect history.
The next was Je Sang-woo from Present Music Peak, who'd steadily trained and seized fortuitous encounters to reach Core Formation Perfection despite his Five Elements Spiritual Root.
And finally, Pyong Yu-ran herself—a visiting cultivator who'd rocked the High Heaven Sect with her Core Formation Perfection prowess.
All three were at Core Formation Perfection and could form their Nascent Souls at any moment, yet they were biding their time, steadily building their foundations while awaiting the Dao Tournament.
Pyong Yu-ran mentally etched the two characters "Yong Yoo" alongside the names of those three Core Formation Perfections, finished her meal, and returned to her room.
Inside the Sect Master's Hall on the High Heaven Sect's main peak, the Sect Master gazed at the puppet before him.
Born long ago as a sect slave, the Sect Master had been taken in as a disciple upon discovering his spiritual root. While sampling the basics of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, he'd shown talent in puppetry and begun studying it in earnest.
Having fallen in love with puppets, the Sect Master had trained and sought fortuitous encounters solely to create stronger, superior puppets... and before he knew it, he'd become the High Heaven Sect's Sect Master.
After ascending to that position, he'd wanted to use his puppets for the sect. From his new station, he'd gathered materials to craft various puppets, among which his masterpieces—puppets boasting Nascent Soul Realm power despite being mere constructs—stood out.
The one before him now was one such example, stationed in a training cave for elders to use in practice among several Nascent Soul puppets.
The Sect Master kept staring at the slight crack on the puppet's fingertip.
"A kid at Foundation Establishment Perfection really did this?"
Yang Ho bowed deeply before his Sect Master and replied.
"Yes. I saw it with my own eyes, Sect Master."
"......"
The Sect Master noted how the crack gleamed smoothly, like polished glass, and identified the spell that had shattered it.
"Three Elements Subtle Harmony Palm Image, eh?"
"Yes. While fending off the puppet with his flying sword and spells, he seized an opening and crushed the finger with a Three Elements Subtle Harmony Palm Image condensed to a single point."
The mark Yong Yoo had left on the puppet was just a tiny crack on the tip of one finger.
But rephrase it as a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator damaging a Nascent Soul puppet, and the story changed entirely.
Who would believe a single snowflake falling from the sky could slice the fingertip of an armored man and draw blood?
That was the gap between Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul.
"A Child of Heaven, truly a Child of Heaven..."
Child of Heaven.
Short for Heavenly Proud Son—a term for cultivators with such overwhelming talent they seemed blessed by the heavens themselves.
These Children of Heaven often faced envy, jealousy, and suppression before they could mature, cutting their lives short. But if they survived and grew properly, they could shake the entire cultivation world with their influence and power.
The Sect Master finished his thoughts and immediately summoned the Guardian Elder.
The Guardian Elder oversaw the sect's protection, and naturally, his disciples excelled at safeguarding things as well.
"Sect Master, what is it?"
The Sect Master showed the Guardian Elder the puppet Yong Yoo had damaged, explained the situation, and watched him gasp and inspect it repeatedly, asking for confirmation over and over.
Once convinced that Yong Yoo had indeed damaged it with Foundation Establishment power, the Guardian Elder's expression turned grave.
"I understand why you've summoned me, Sect Master. I'll have my direct disciples protect Yong Yoo at once."
"See to it. A Child of Heaven can't be hidden even if you try. Especially since the boy's entering the Dao Tournament—everyone will know about him after this."
"Yes. If it can't be hidden, better to publicly value him under the sect's name for protection while secretly assigning covert guards behind the scenes."
The Sect Master nodded.
Children of Heaven were often as willful as their talent, so overt guarding or surveillance could stunt their growth. It was better to create an environment for free development and protect him discreetly from the shadows.
"Handle it well, Guardian Elder. I'll look into what specific support the boy needs."
"Yes."
"Ah, but you're still not taking a personal disciple? At your age, you should pick someone to succeed you soon..."
"Then I'll take my leave, Sect Master. I need to select Yong Yoo's guards as quickly as possible."
As the Sect Master began nagging, the Guardian Elder put on a stern face like a man burdened with grave duty, bowed, and retreated to the Guardian Hall, pondering how to protect Yong Yoo discreetly.
"Hm? Right, that kid Yong Yoo's been popular with the female disciples lately, hasn't he?"
The Guardian Elder immediately summoned one of his direct disciples—a decent-looking female one—and briefed her on the situation.
"Pardon? You're telling us to form a fan club for some mere Foundation Establishment disciple and secretly guard him?"
"Master, what on earth is this about?"
The Guardian Elder explained the full details to his displeased disciples. Upon hearing that Yong Yoo was a Child of Heaven, the first in the High Heaven Sect in thousands of years, their sour expressions cleared up.
"A Child of Heaven... Understood, Master, I grasp the mission's importance. But do we really need to form a fan club? Honestly, chasing after someone like a lovesick cultivator feels a bit..."
"We're at Nascent Soul Realm, Master. For covert protection, there are plenty of other methods."
"Ah, right. You've been so focused on training you don't know about Yong Yoo. For reference, he looks like this."
The two disciples stared at the appearance sketch their master handed them, then nodded.
"What should we name the fan club?"
"Shall we go guard him right now? Hehe."
"......"
The Guardian Elder worried whether he could entrust a precious Child of Heaven's protection to these foolish yet endearing idiots.
'These kids... Still swayed by a pretty face even after reaching Nascent Soul...'
His head throbbing, the Guardian Elder shooed them out.
While Yong Yoo remained oblivious to the sudden formation of the Dragon Young Master's Fan Club elsewhere, he asked the Sea Severing Peak steward to repair his eastern robes, then entered a temporary lodging with Wi A-han to perform ownership rites on his treasures.
First, he erased the ownership seals from the square, broad shield-shaped flying treasure and the two treasures that enhanced spells and artifacts from the sect ruins, then dripped his vital blood to link them with his divine sense. Next, he pulled out the treasure made from Marquis Hu's corpse from his storage pouch.
Heart pounding a little, Yong Yoo selected the smallest one among those he could sense in his hand and examined it with his divine sense, his eyes widening.
"Wow. Thank you, Master!"