Chapter 1001
Chapter 1001
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1001
Chapter Title: Path of Radiant Ascension
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“The trial on the eighteenth floor will begin in half a year. Rest up until then.”
The soldier delivered the message curtly and vanished.
I’d just arrived on the eighteenth floor and scanned my surroundings. Roughly fifty people were visible. I wouldn’t be the last. There were still climbers who hadn’t made it up yet.
In a dim corner, arms crossed, stood Hwang Bo-ga-hye. Our eyes met. I waved, and she returned it with an awkward smile, clearly aware of the stares around her.
I smacked my lips. Half a year. A long stretch, but with Hwang Bo-ga-hye as my personal fucktoy, it’d fly by. Most of it would probably auto-skip anyway, over in a flash.
First things first—maybe I’ll have her suck me off.
I was heading toward Hwang Bo-ga-hye when Seong Ji-gon and Jeong Bin popped up in front of me.
“Yu-jin! You’re a bit late.”
“Amitabha. Young Master Sung. I’ve missed you.”
“Ugh, get off me. Especially you, monk—don’t grab my arm, or I’ll kill you.”
I shoved Jeong Bin away.
“Young Master Sung... Can’t we talk over a meal? This humble monk is starving...”
Standing around chattering like idiots wasn’t our style. Like always, we pitched a tent in a suitable spot and ducked inside.
Dinner that night: pork ribs. The legendary K-BBQ.
“Seong Ji-gon, go fetch Hwang Bo-ga-hye.”
The elders and underlings from the Threefold Sect were all dead. She’d be alone now. A knockout like her? Better to keep her by my side before some thug got any stupid ideas.
Sticking her in a tent full of guys isn’t ideal either. Already reeks like dick in here.
Seong Ji-gon’s eyes lit up.
“As expected of you, Yu-jin. You’ve conquered Hwang Bo-ga-hye, huh?”
“Who do you think I am? The moment she caught my eye, she was my fucktoy.”
“Lucky bastard. I want a fucktoy of my own... but no girls here match my taste.”
Seong Ji-gon sighed and stepped out. Before he did, he shot me a look brimming with anticipation.
We’d periodically used ‘Mirror Tunnel’ together to slip out of Manmu Tower. To relieve his pent-up lust. When Seong Ji-gon’s urges built up too much, his training went to hell—focus shattered, mind scattered.
Bet he jerked off nonstop during the seventeenth-floor trial... Gotta take him out tonight.
A low mumble came from nearby.
It was Jeong Bin, staring at the grill over the charcoal fire, chanting sutras. But even his Buddhist piety couldn’t tame his hunger. Drool glistened at the corner of his mouth.
“Amitabha... Hurry... I hope Young Master Ji-gon gets back soon.”
He’d sampled K-BBQ a few times before, which made it worse. I grabbed his lower half, which kept trying to drift downward. No need to check—his state was obvious.
Soon the tent flap opened, and Seong Ji-gon returned with Hwang Bo-ga-hye in tow.
“You’re here? Sit.”
Her spot was obviously next to me.
“...Yes, Great Hero.”
Hwang Bo-ga-hye sidled over and sat beside me. I reached out right away, draping an arm over her shoulder and slipping my hand inside her clothes. I unwound the bandages binding her tits tight.
Plump! Her freed breasts nearly spilled out.
I kneaded them with my hand. Her nipples hardened under my fingers. I pinched and twisted one hard, making her flinch.
“Ngh...”
She glanced around. Jeong Bin ignored her body entirely—his eyes glued to the grill. Seong Ji-gon stared blankly into space, pupils swirling with lust. Probably fantasizing about some old hag. Guwol Seonja, most likely.
I summoned a plate piled with marinated ribs from my inventory. As I reached for the tongs with my free hand, Jeong Bin snatched them first.
“Amitabha! I’ll handle the grilling!”
“...You don’t trust me?”
“You burned the meat last time, Young Master Sung. Let me do it this time.”
“That was just a mistake. A fluke. Grilling’s grilling—what’s the difference?”
“There is a difference. A big one. I’ll prove it tonight. Just relax and eat.”
“Hmph. Fine.”
He’d swiped the tongs, but I wasn’t mad. Blame her—the girl glued to my side. My hand had been groping her huge tits nonstop...
Might as well kiss her while I was at it.
“Mmph... Hah... Ahh...”
Sizzle! Ssssss!
The ribs hit the grill, filling the air with that irresistible marinated aroma.
Before I knew it, I’d stripped Hwang Bo-ga-hye halfway and pulled her into my lap. Squelch, squelch. My fingers plunged into her pussy.
“So, what’d you guys get for clearing the seventeenth floor? I picked this elixir called the Thunder God Pill.”
“Amitabha. I chose an elixir too. Red Cloud Herb—looks like a red dandelion. Planning to take it during training later. But right now... gotta finish these ribs first.”
Jeong Bin answered, wrapping a perfectly cooked piece in lettuce and shoving it in his mouth.
“Mmm, hits the spot...!”
A faint night-bloom scent wafted from somewhere.
I whipped out my cock and slammed it into Hwang Bo-ga-hye’s pussy.
“Ahh! Ang! Ahng!”
She moaned like a slut, her pale ass bouncing up and down. I speared a piece of meat and popped it in my mouth. BBQ during sex hit different.
The monk’s right—the flavor’s on another level. Grilling’s a skill, huh...
I fed her a piece too. Her pussy clenched tight. She must’ve liked it.
“I went with a magic treasure this time. Thought it over—handy to have a few aces up my sleeve.”
“Not a bad call.”
Slap, slap.
I smacked her pussy with my palm. The impact rippled straight to my dick inside her.
“Ahh! Aaaang!”
Her juices squirted out, soaking the floor like a hose.
No one batted an eye at her orgasm. I licked her neck and groped her tits.
“Mine’s this—Spirit Chain. Pretty versatile. Stretches, thickens, even splits into copies. Moves on my command like this?”
Seong Ji-gon proudly summoned it. A small iron chain floated above his palm, wriggling like a snake. It grew thicker, then duplicated.
“...Better than I expected. And that’s just seventeenth-floor loot?”
“Downsides: fragile durability, and it guzzles inner energy.”
Makes sense.
Seong Ji-gon flicked his wrist. Whirr! The chain whipped out like a living thing, coiling around his arm.
I bucked, cumming deep inside Hwang Bo-ga-hye’s pussy.
“Ahh... Haah...”
I caught her slumping body and asked,
“Hwang Bo-ga-hye. What’d you pick?”
“I... um...”
Her eyes wavered. She thought I’d steal it. No such plan. She wasn’t a slave—she was my fucktoy. Gotta treat her right.
“Not taking it. Spill. And squeeze tighter.”
“...Yes. An elixir. White Night Herb. Grows far north, where the night never darkens.”
“Cool. Now shake that ass.”
“Ahh... Yes...”
I savored sex and supper in tandem.
Two years flew by, and we reached the twentieth floor. The final trial of Manmu Tower.
Twelve entrants left, including me. Seong Ji-gon, Jeong Bin, and Hwang Bo-ga-hye among them.
Surprisingly, three were shady types. Cloaked head to toe in black. Obvious sorcerers—they ignored everyone who tried talking to them.
“Allow me to explain the twentieth-floor trial.”
General Bae Un appeared. Beside him, as if it were natural, stood the white-haired, kindly old woman: Guwol Seonja.
“How much do you know about this world?”
Bae Un’s question came out of nowhere. No one answered. Few warriors here had pondered the world deeply. And his tone didn’t invite replies anyway.
“Your world is the Qin Empire. Vast enough that a mortal couldn’t traverse it in a lifetime. But compared to the whole world, the empire—under His Majesty’s rule—is just two-tenths.”
The warriors sucked in a breath.
That was elite knowledge here. Common folk thought the Qin Empire was the entire realm. No clue about continents beyond the seas.
“But this world isn’t everything. Other realms exist. You’ve heard the tales.”
“...The immortal realm, reachable only by ascension? And the underworld, where souls go after death?”
“Correct.”
“Ridiculous. Those are just stories.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t care.”
“......Understood. But what’s that got to do with the twentieth floor? Is the trial sending us to another world?”
“Hardly. Crossing worlds isn’t possible by ordinary means. No reason to send you there anyway. The twentieth-floor trial is...”
Bae Un trailed off. He sighed deeply. After a heavy silence, he continued.
“His Majesty has decreed: Beings from other realms covet this world. The foulest from the barren underworld are already crawling into our realm. Soon, all under heaven will face great peril. This trial prepares you for that.”
“...What kind of trial?”
Someone blurted out in frustration.
“The twentieth floor: a duel with an underworld being matched to your strength. Fight alone. Kill it.”
“......”
Silence fell. Everyone looked stunned. Doubting the underworld’s existence, probably.
Demons exist—why not a real underworld?
This world blended wuxia games and xianxia anyway. Demon lords or the Jade Emperor popping up wouldn’t faze me.
“Before we begin, I’ll announce the disqualifications.”
Bae Un declared. Shocking—no pre-trial disqualifications ever before.
“W-what’s that supposed to mean?!”
“We made it to the twentieth, and now this?!”
“Isn’t this a violation of Manmu Tower rules?!”
“Silence.”
Bae Un’s aura exploded. I swallowed a sigh. Instinct screamed: even all of us couldn’t take him.
“Manmu Tower stands by His Majesty’s command. Think He built it on a whim? It gives the talented a shot at becoming strong. But why foster strength?”
The answer was obvious. The trial’s nature said it all.
“To fight otherworldly foes.”
Bae Un gripped his pristine white spear.
He charged. Space screamed silently; wind didn’t just stir—it shattered.
I glanced back. The three black-cloaked figures at the rear were impaled on his spear, dying. Humanoid, but not human. No eyes, nose, or mouth. Skin like a toad’s—lumpy and gross.
“――――――――!!”
No human scream.
“Urk!”
“Gaaah!”
Some soldiers vomited or clutched their heads at the sound. Ogi-gyeong warriors winced. I felt nothing.
“Traitors get no imperial mercy. Die, scum.”
Blood and chunks sprayed everywhere.