Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: 192. Radiant Ascension Chart
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‘I can see a cabin down below. Made it here in really just ten minutes.’
I hid my body on a protruding section of the cliff. The height was about 20 meters—something I could descend in ten seconds.
‘All that’s left now is waiting. And that’s the hardest part.’
An old man lived in that rundown cabin below.
In the city, he was known as the beggar geezer, a figure of contempt. But the old man wasn’t weak enough to deserve such disdain.
‘The old man is at the 7th stage of Chuji.’
The beggar old man’s name was Hasuk.
A criminal who had committed crimes and was wanted, he’d stumbled upon this cabin at the base of the cliff ten years ago by chance and had been living in seclusion ever since. Since he appeared in the original story, I knew the basics about him.
‘He occasionally heads to the city to beg, steal food, or pick up discarded items.’
The Radiant Ascension Chart was originally a painting hanging in the cabin.
The previous occupant before Hasuk had been a hunter who died long ago from illness.
‘Hasuk is a shaman. His realm is higher than mine, so the best option is to avoid fighting him.’
In the original story, the protagonist got captured by Hasuk. Hasuk let his guard down due to the protagonist’s weakness, and the protagonist seized that opening to kill him. While looting valuables from the cabin, he accidentally discovered the secret of the Radiant Ascension Chart.
‘I’m the protagonist now. There’s no chance of the original events playing out. No need to fight Hasuk.’
While visiting brothels, I subtly gathered info on Hasuk and monitored him for days with a drone camera to learn his daily patterns.
Hasuk spent most of his time inside the cabin. I had no idea what he did in there. His trips to the city were random—could be a week later or three months.
‘Aiming for a gap when he leaves for the city isn’t feasible.’
I couldn’t monitor him forever.
‘But Hasuk does come out once at dawn to relieve himself.’
Probably due to the smell of waste, he moved a good distance from the cabin.
My plan was to sneak into the cabin during that moment, steal the Radiant Ascension Chart, and quietly flee into the mountains. That’s what I’d devised.
‘A guy living in seclusion won’t chase me deep into the mountains. Even if he’s pissed, he’ll just have to let it go.’
I watched the cabin, waiting for him to emerge quickly.
About two hours passed like that.
Hasuk came out of the cabin.
He wore tattered black rags. His head suffered severe baldness, with only a few strands of gray hair remaining.
He looked filthy at a glance. Getting close might infect you with something.
Hasuk moved farther away from the rundown cabin.
‘Now!’
Thud. Thud. Thud!
I descended rapidly to the ground and slipped inside the cabin.
The interior was dark, filled with a musty stench. Animal bones and unidentified wood scraps littered the place.
I ignored everything else and approached the Radiant Ascension Chart hanging on one wall.
It was roughly the size of a 27-inch monitor.
The painting depicted the sky and mountains, with clouds in the sky. Light beamed down from between the clouds, illuminating the earth.
At the center was a white dove flying through the heavens.
“Okay. Found it!”
I removed the Radiant Ascension Chart from the wall. On the back, the name 光明昇天圖 was written in small letters.
Suppressing the excitement swelling in my chest, I turned to flee the cabin.
“So that painting was your goal? Why? Isn’t it just an ordinary picture?”
Hasuk stood at the doorway.
“...You’re back already?!”
“Heh heh. I knew ages ago you were hiding on the cliff watching me. You thought I’d slack on vigilance just because it’s a cliff?”
I glanced around. The cabin had no windows—just one entrance.
“No choice now... I have to fight!”
I drew the Fire Lotus Sword from my inventory.
“Oh? What’s that thing emitting light? Pulling items from something so small... it’s definitely at least a high-grade magic tool! Hand it over! I’ll take it!”
Hasuk reached out toward me with both hands. A reddish energy gathered in his palms.
“Greedy old bastard, like a bloated toad! Die!”
I feinted a sword thrust at him, then kicked the wall beside me. No window or exit? I’d make one.
“You punk! Dare destroy my home?!”
Hasuk swung his palm at me. A palm strike infused with red energy flew toward me.
‘Moment!’
Moment (刹那)
Remaining stacks: 4
I dodged the palm strike and fled.
“Heh heh heh. Nimble footwork... but futile...”
I ignored Hasuk’s mocking voice from behind. Even if it pissed me off, with my current skill, taking him head-on was tough.
‘No need to risk it. I can just get stronger and kill him later.’
Back at the Meteor Sword Sect, Hasuk was powerless. The sect was full of experts who could crush him outright.
“Senile fool who can’t recognize treasure right under his nose. Heh heh heh. I’ll put the Radiant Ascension Chart to good use.”
I mocked him back, just as he’d mocked me—though he probably couldn’t hear.
“Oh...? So the Radiant Ascension Chart is the treasure?”
Hasuk appeared right in front of me.
“What abilities does it have to make you call it treasure? I’m curious—tell me.”
“Fuck.”
Moment (刹那)
Remaining stacks: 3
I sharply veered sideways and kept running.
‘...What the?’
As I ran, I sensed something off.
Just now, Hasuk hadn’t appeared from behind me but from in front. Unless he could teleport, that was impossible.
‘Hasuk can’t use spatial movement spells.’
And above all, even sprinting at full speed, only trees surrounded me. After running this far, I should’ve hit a clearing or rocks by now.
“...No way.”
I stopped and looked around.
“A formation?”
“Heh heh heh. Took you long enough.”
Hasuk appeared before me, laughing.
“Correct. I’ve activated the Immovable Array, one of the formations. You won’t escape it for the next two hours.”
My face twisted. I had no clue how to handle formations.
‘Recalling the original... Formations usually persist even after the caster dies. If it lasts two hours as he says... I have to fight.’
Two hours was too long to keep running—stamina-wise, impossible.
“Show me the treasure. Give it to me and explain how to use it, and I’ll spare you.”
Bullshit.
Hasuk was a criminal. A man with any integrity wouldn’t have become one and hidden here.
“You really mean that?”
“This treasure is called a smartphone...”
While explaining the smartphone, I pulled a grenade from my inventory, yanked the pin, and hurled it at him.
“Eat this!”
Boom!
The grenade exploded right in his face. Even at 7th stage Chuji, without reacting, he’d die.
The smoke cleared. Hundreds of leaves scattered where his corpse should’ve been.
“Foolish. Did I look that stupid?”
Hasuk’s voice came from behind.
Moment (刹那)
Remaining stacks: 2
I spun, swinging my sword.
Shadow Heaven Style: Flowing Line.
My blade traced a curving arc toward Hasuk’s neck.
Hasuk casually caught it with his red-energy-clad hand.
“Fast, but not beyond pursuit.”
Moment (刹那)
Remaining stacks: 1
I punched at Hasuk. He blocked with one hand, then kicked my abdomen.
“Gah!”
I flew back, crashing into a tree and slumping down. Even mid-flight, I gripped the Fire Lotus Sword like a cane and forced myself up.
I racked my brain. Moment didn’t faze him. Direct combat was grueling. He was a shaman who’d also reached a decent martial realm. Cultivating both sorcery and martial arts wasn’t rare here.
‘I need to kill him in one strike when he slips...!’
The problem: he stayed vigilant, never dropping his guard.
Different from the original.
It had to be. The original protagonist started at 1st stage Entry Form—barely more than a trained civilian. Hasuk couldn’t help but underestimate him.
“I meant it about sparing you. Heh heh.”
Hasuk extended his hand toward me. Red energy pulsed—a clear threat he could kill me anytime.
“...You think I’d spill about the treasure? Even if you kill me and take it, you won’t know how to use it.”
“So you won’t talk even in death?”
“No one knows yet if I’ll die or you.”
“Youthful bravado! Enviable, but foolish! Heh heh heh.”
Hasuk sneered at me.
I didn’t give up. I glared, waiting for an opening. It would come.
Hasuk opened his mouth. He muttered something—not at me.
‘...Sorcery?!’
An eerie energy emanated from Hasuk’s body.
Sorcery based on evil (邪)—witchcraft.
‘What he’s muttering is a curse chant...!’
Something tried invading my body. A chilling, sticky aura. I realized it was his witchcraft.
‘This feels just like... the Soul Bewitching Art from the original?’
The protagonist had fallen victim to it a few times. The description matched.
‘But my mind’s clear?’
One detail differed: the chant was supposed to gradually cloud the mind.
Hasuk drew closer.
Recalling how the original protagonist escaped the Soul Bewitching Art, I deliberately unfocused my eyes.
Hasuk grabbed my head. Something entered and left my mind.
He peered into my eyes intently, then smiled in satisfaction.
“Heh heh. Fully ensnared. First, tell me your name.”
“...Sung Yu-jin.”
“Sung? Are you the son of the Meteor Sword Sect leader, wielder of the Crimson Star Sword?”
“...Yes.”
“Dodged a bullet there. Give me that smartphone...? treasure.”
“...Here.”
Hasuk took the smartphone and examined it closely.
“Never seen anything like it. Earlier, light came from here... Gah!”
The moment he looked away from me, engrossed in the phone, I sprang up and plunged the Fire Lotus Sword into his chest.
“Y-You punk! Weren’t you under the Soul Bewitching Art?!”
“Just faked it. Die! Thunderbolt!”
Zzzap!
Blue lightning crackled from the Fire Lotus Sword, electrocuting Hasuk. He tried swinging at me but froze from the sudden shock.
“Grrrrgh!”
The lightning weakened briefly. Hasuk survived a pierced heart and electrocution. Monstrous vitality.
‘Some witchcraft sustaining him.’
Zzzap!
I unleashed it again.
“H-How... A mere Entry Form mid-stage punk wielding lightning qi...?!”
“No reason to tell you. Die!”
I squeezed every drop of mana inside me, generating thunderbolts. They flashed along the blade, arcing everywhere to fry Hasuk.
He endured a few times, then his body went limp. Dead.
I yanked the sword from his chest.
‘Can’t rule out playing dead.’
To ensure, I severed his head. Recalling the original protagonist killing him instantly with a dagger to the throat—neck was definitely the weak point.
After killing Hasuk, I leaned against a tree.
‘Damn it. If things went to plan, no need for this hassle!’
Irritated, I kicked his head. It flew up and impaled on a tree branch.
I averted my eyes from Hasuk’s head and picked up the fallen smartphone.
Then I took the Radiant Ascension Chart from my inventory.
I reached toward the dove at its center. Rubbing the painted dove a few times, my hand sank in. I grabbed something inside and pulled it out.
In my hand was a dead dove with a broken neck, and the one in the painting was gone.