Chapter 602
Chapter 602
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 602
Chapter Title: Radiant Ascension Path
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“I originally had three potions, but now only two are left. I got them from a stroke of luck some time ago.”
“Hand both of them over to the Ahyeon Clan. I'll make sure the compensation is more than generous.”
He wasn't even asking to buy them—he was demanding them outright.
'Power breeds arrogance. For now, I need to play along and bow my head.'
I pulled a top-grade potion from my bosom and placed it on the table.
Shin Gong-se's eyes widened in surprise. He probably never expected me to hand it over so readily.
“You seem shocked that I'm giving it up so easily.”
“...Yes. It's not exactly something you just hand over. All the persuasive arguments I prepared have gone to waste.”
“I'm not giving it away for free.”
If I held out and refused to give it up here, he'd definitely pull some scheme. The value of spirit elixirs far outweighed human life, after all.
'It's better to strike a deal while he's still open to negotiating. Fighting him would be tough—Seong Ji-gon and I aren't strong enough yet.'
Shin Gong-se reached for the potion. He stared intently at the pink liquid in the transparent vial before turning to me.
“I'd like to test its effects myself. I know what they are in theory, but the descriptions I've heard sound so unbelievable that I can't quite trust them yet.”
“Make a small cut on your hand and drip just one drop on it.”
Shin Gong-se raised his right index finger. A wisp of sword energy gathered at the tip. He scraped his left hand with his fingernail. The skin tore, and blood trickled out. Then he dripped a single drop of potion onto the wound. It healed in an instant.
“Incredible! It's leagues beyond any golden sore balm! For us martial artists, this would be better than a miracle cure!”
“Potions work great on external injuries, but they're not as effective on internal ones.”
“That's more than enough. Most martial artists die from external wounds, not internal ones. Hmm. But... this is tricky. How do you even put a price on a treasure like this?”
“What we want in return are some suitable spirit herbs and attribute measurers.”
A clan like the Ahyeon would have no trouble providing low-grade spirit herbs.
“Suitable spirit herbs... That's unexpected. Doesn't the Meteor Sword Sect provide you with elixirs?”
“Our talents aren't good enough to warrant that kind of support. And lately, something unsavory happened at the Meteor Sword Sect, so things aren't great there right now.”
The unsavory incident was, of course, me looting every last spirit elixir from their alchemy hall.
“I won't pry. I'll have the spirit herbs and attribute measurers ready by tomorrow. Can I take the potion now?”
“We're leaving for Hu-dan City tomorrow. At this rate, the deal might fall through.”
“Haha. There's a way. If I tie up Seok Ji-don here in Pa-yang City, the transport caravan won't dare move. Leave it to me—just wait until tomorrow. We'll discuss the details then. I'll send for you.”
We exchanged a few more words, and then Shin Gong-se stood up. He pocketed the potion, gave a curt nod, and left.
Seong Ji-gon let out a deep sigh.
“Yu-jin, you okay?”
“With what?”
“It's basically like we got robbed of the potion. There's no guarantee he'll even show up tomorrow... Wouldn't it have been better to just slip away in the night?”
“We'd have been caught if we ran. He's stronger than Seok Ji-don. He's probably reached the Five Qi Convergence realm.”
“......Should we run now?”
“Where would we even go? The Meteor Sword Sect isn't safe either. Better to make the deal.”
“It felt like he had something he wanted us to do... What if he turns us into his hunting dogs?”
“Oh? Your brain's finally starting to work. Yeah, that's exactly it. He'll use us like hounds and then boil us alive at the end.”
“Then we should run!”
“Relax. We can run later—it's not too late. We should at least get what we can first.”
Shin Gong-se. He might have the power, but I had the original story's knowledge.
After that, we returned to our room to rest before donning our face masks and prowling Pa-yang City's streets in search of women to assault.
And this is a few days later—but Seong Ji-gon and I ended up with a nickname.
The One-Robe Lust Demon.
We got it because we stripped naked for convenience while ravaging women, wearing only a single robe as we wandered around.
'What a ridiculous nickname.'
???
The next morning.
Seok Ji-don addressed the escorts with a grave expression.
“Something's come up that I need to look into. Departure's delayed until tomorrow.”
The departure really had been postponed.
'Something to look into... Shin Gong-se must have deliberately left traces of the Ahyeon Clan's involvement.'
There'd be no other reason to delay. The Straight Path Escort Agency and the Ahyeon Clan were currently at odds, after all.
And that afternoon, a shady man guided us to a grand mansion complete with gardens.
Shin Gong-se was waiting for us.
“Welcome. As promised, I've brought the spirit herbs and attribute measurers.”
He gestured to the table.
There were eight stalks of herbs infused with spiritual energy.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. All low-grade ones. It'd be better to use alchemy to refine them into spirit pills rather than consume them raw.
'I have books on alchemy, but doing it myself is another story. For now, I'll take the herbs...'
I shifted my gaze to the wooden plaques beside them. Two wooden boards etched with bagua diagrams. These were attribute measurers—you could use them once to determine your innate affinities. Single-use only.
“Thank you. You've kept your word.”
“The Ahyeon Clan always honors its promises. Unlike the Straight Path Escort Agency, we value integrity.”
“Could I use the attribute measurer here?”
“Of course. Mind if I stay? I can show you how to use it.”
“Yes, please do.”
Normally, it'd be polite to excuse oneself. Revealing your affinities to an enemy could become a weakness.
But Shin Gong-se would insist on staying, no matter the excuse.
'He's probably got eyes everywhere anyway. And affinities aren't everything.'
I picked up one attribute measurer.
“Young hero Yu-jin, hold it from below, like you're supporting it upward. Make sure the central bagua is visible. Ah, keep your head straight. It could be dangerous.”
“Like this?”
“Yes. Now, channel your qi into it.”
I did as instructed.
Crackle.
A small spark flashed at the center of the measurer.
Immediately after, dozens of blue lightning bolts writhed into existence.
Bzzzzt!
The measurer cracked and shattered.
“Oh! Young hero Yu-jin, you've got lightning affinity!”
“...Yeah. No sign of any other affinities.”
Innate affinities were seen as talents.
In other words, I had zero talent for any other element.
'The lightning must be from my lightning trait. Without it, I'd probably have no affinities at all.'
It left a bitter taste. I'd hoped for at least a touch of other elements.
“Don't be disappointed. It's impressive, really. Lightning is rare, and specializing in one affinity is better than being mediocre in several. You can grow faster with cultivation methods suited to it.”
“It comes with clear weaknesses, though.”
Shin Gong-se just gave a wry smile, not refuting me.
In this world, lightning's weakness was earth qi. If the opponent had earth affinity and used earth-based martial arts or spells, my lightning wouldn't work.
“Seong Ji-gon, your turn.”
“R-Right.”
Seong Ji-gon nervously picked up the measurer.
“...What if I have no affinities at all?”
“It's fine, young hero Ji-gon. Affinities aren't absolute. You can acquire them later through special elixirs or unique cultivation methods. Even without any innate ones, you can still learn martial arts.”
“Still, it'd be better to have them naturally.”
“True enough. Just give it a try, young hero Ji-gon.”
“Okay.”
Seong Ji-gon held the measurer aloft with both hands and circulated his qi. The reaction was slower than mine—my qi control was superior.
The measurer responded.
The wooden board warped, turning to rippling earth with small dirt hills forming. But it didn't stop there. The whole thing glowed golden, and flames burst forth at the center. Then everything vanished as it shattered.
“......”
Seong Ji-gon stared blankly at the broken pieces.
“Congratulations, young hero Ji-gon. You've got three affinities. The first reaction indicates the strongest: your earth is exceptional, followed by metal, then fire.”
“Three affinities! That's good, right?”
“Having any innate affinities marks you as a prodigy. Most ordinary people have none. Low realms favor single affinities, but higher realms benefit from multiples.”
Each had its pros and cons.
At least now I knew Seong Ji-gon had earth affinity.
'Earth affinity... Lucky guy. He'll get his hands on earth martial arts soon enough.'
For reference, the Meteor Sword Sect's arts were neutral, largely unaffected by affinities.
???
We lightened the mood and sat across from each other at the table.
“Do young heroes Yu-jin and Ji-gon know of the Na-gang Sect?”
“Wasn't it a spell sect that existed in Pa-yang City 150 years ago?”
“Correct. They were a powerhouse dominating this region back then. Not just spells—they practiced martial arts too.”
“I heard they disbanded due to internal strife.”
“Yes. But their spells linger throughout Pa-yang City. And recently, a rumor has been circulating: the Na-gang Sect leader hid a sect treasure somewhere in the city for his successor.”
“Sect treasure...”
“An artifact of great power. Even mid-tier sects usually have one or two. I hear the Meteor Sword Sect leader has one.”
“You don't mean you want us to find it?”
“Yes, but that's secondary. Your main task is to monitor the Straight Path Escort Agency. Three factions are after the treasure: the Ahyeon Clan, Straight Path, and South Intelligence Sect. We've handled the South Intelligence Sect already. Just keep an eye on Straight Path and sabotage them as needed.”
“We're heading back to Hu-dan City soon. Someone else from Straight Path will come.”
“Why do you think Straight Path reached out to the Meteor Sword Sect? To minimize their losses by using you as shields. Deliver this letter to your sect leader. You'll end up returning to Pa-yang City with Straight Path.”
Shin Gong-se handed me a letter.
“Can I ask what's in it?”
“Nothing much. Just the truth. Read it on the way if you want, but I doubt your sect leader will like it.”
“I won't peek.”
I tucked the letter away. A satisfied smile crossed Shin Gong-se's face.
“Lord Shin Gong-se, I have one request.”
“A request? If it's possible, I'll grant it.”
“Could you write another letter? With specific contents I dictate.”
“Intriguing. What contents?”
“Well...”
I told him what I wanted.
Shin Gong-se stared at me in disbelief before nodding.
“I don't get it. Is it really necessary?”
“Yes, absolutely. Was it too much to ask?”
“No. I'll write it.”
He wrote the letter right in front of us. Seong Ji-gon glanced at the contents and looked at me with admiring eyes—he'd guessed how I'd use it.
“Young heroes Yu-jin and Ji-gon, safe travels.”
“Haha, no worries. The road back shouldn't have any bandits.”
???
A few days later, the test convoy returned to the Meteor Sword Sect in Hu-dan City.
Seong Ji-gon and I handed Shin Gong-se's letter to the sect leader. He read it in silence for a long while.
“...Return and stand by. I'll summon you later.”
The elders convened, and a sect leader meeting followed.
The letter's contents were obvious.
It probably laid out Straight Path's scheme and the Pa-yang City situation in stark detail—enough to infuriate Sect Leader Seong Go-dan.
'The Meteor Sword Sect's destruction isn't far off.'