Chapter 986
Chapter 986
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 986
Chapter Title: Radiant Ascension Path
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I couldn't head straight up to the 8th floor. The door to the 8th floor wouldn't open for another week.
"From now on, a bit of time will be granted each time you pass a trial. Use that time wisely, and it'll be a huge help."
It was time to learn new martial arts, absorb spirit elixirs, and raise the proficiency of one's treasures.
We set up camp in a suitable spot at the end of the 8th floor and pitched our tent. We ran into other climbers, but there was none of the tension from the 5th floor. The Manmu Tower soldiers were providing food and water for free.
During the break, I returned to Nakwol Mountain. Space movement scrolls and the space transfer system couldn't be used due to the Manmu Tower's barrier, but Mirror Tunnel was different.
"Seong Ji-gon. Guard this mirror no matter what."
"I know. Go ahead and take it easy. I'll just focus on training."
Back at Nakwol Mountain, I had sex with the Namgung sisters and Mi-ryeong, then trained under Wi Yu.
A week passed like that, and the time came to challenge the 8th floor trial.
The soldier handed iron medallions to me and Seong Ji-gon. The front of the medallion was engraved with the characters for "Manmu."
"Guard the Manmu iron medallion carefully. It's the most important item in the 8th floor trial."
The soldier cautioned us.
"This medallion looks pretty ordinary, though?"
"The 8th floor trial requires you to collect five Manmu iron medallions within a week."
"...So they didn't just give them to us. The other climbers got them too, huh?"
"That's right. Steal them however you can from the other climbers and bring five to us. We'll be at the center of the 8th floor. There are no restrictions on how you take them. You can win them fairly in a duel, ambush and seize them, or even steal them outright. All that matters is gathering five and bringing them to us."
I saw through the Manmu Tower's scheme.
The tower planned to drop more than half the climbers on the 8th floor. Not a bad thing. Seong Ji-gon and I were confident we could pass the 8th floor trial.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Clang!
Bell tolls echoed from all over the 8th floor. Signals announcing the start of the trial.
"You'll go this way."
The soldier pointed to a passage. Seong Ji-gon and I headed there without hesitation. When we emerged from the passage, we found ourselves on a barren plain. The open expanse was littered with rocks. And not even 100 meters away, we ran into a group that had just entered the 8th floor trial grounds. They spotted us too.
"About 30 of them. Ronin band?"
"The vibe screams ronin band. Or maybe they banded together just for the 8th floor. What do you think, Yu-jin?"
The 8th floor trial was about collecting medallions, not a battle royale where only the last one standing wins. We could team up for mutual benefit. It wasn't cheating.
"What do you mean? Kill them all and take their medallions."
"Oh, yeah? Not recruiting them like the Iron Crow Group?"
"No merit in it. The soldier said a week ago tricks won't work."
"Still, having minions would be convenient. We could dump all the annoying stuff on them."
"Even if we dominate them by force, they'll backstab us at the first chance. Managing them would just be a hassle."
They drew their swords and charged at us with murderous intent. Seong Ji-gon and I casually picked up our weapons. They were just a mob of nobodies relying on numbers.
"Seong Ji-gon. Wipe them out."
"Hmm. They don't look too tough."
Rumble.
Lightning crashed down from the sky.
And ten minutes later, we stood amid the corpses. Manmu iron medallions dangled from our hands.
We headed to the center. We'd cleared the 8th floor trial in less than three hours since it started.
I chose a spirit elixir as the reward for clearing the 8th floor trial. The treasures weren't impressive, and none of the martial arts caught my eye.
"You cleared the 8th floor quickly. The 9th floor trial opens in a month."
"A month? That's more downtime than I expected."
"The Manmu Tower needs time for preparations too. And don't you need time to absorb elixirs and learn new martial arts? A month is a long time for ordinary folk, but for warriors like us, it's short."
I'd momentarily forgotten, but in this world, a warrior's lifespan extended the higher their realm. Even reaching the Initial Realm granted 150 years. A month wasn't long.
I watched Seong Ji-gon consume the elixir and circulate his energy, then moved to Nakwol Mountain.
I met Wi Yu. It had been quite some time since we'd last seen each other, but she looked almost unchanged from our first meeting.
"Yu-jin. Improving the forms of the Yeongcheon Style isn't hard. Factoring in trial and error, it should take about a year."
"That short?"
"It's just a slight tweak to make the forms a bit more comfortable. It won't take long."
"Still, that's way faster than I thought."
"The real issue is the heart method. That'll take at least ten years, no matter what."
"Yeongcheon Qigong? Isn't Yeongcheon Qigong already divine enough to be called a supreme art?"
"You're right. Yeongcheon Qigong, built on the foundation of Yin-Yang Path, is incredibly refined. But it doesn't suit you as it is. Yeongcheon Qigong is a heart method and qigong for geniuses."
"Doesn't suit me... Even coming from you, Master, that's hard to accept. I'm doing pretty well with it in practice."
The foundation of Yeongcheon Qigong was the Primordial Taiji Art. Jin Se-young had told me that herself, so it was certain.
I acknowledged it was for geniuses. But it didn't resonate with me. The Yeongcheon Style existed as a feature of the Playful Life app. As long as I had enough points, I could raise its level as much as I wanted.
I raised my palm. Crackle. Blue electricity sparked to life. This was current generated using Yeongcheon Qigong, not my [Lightning Strike] trait.
"You're not using any of Yeongcheon Qigong's other powers at all."
Yeongcheon Qigong had two powers.
One was Thunder Light. The power to wield lightning.
The other was Dark Shadow. The power to manipulate darkness.
Yuria handled both with ease. The black lightning born from combining the two held tremendous power.
Jin Woo-seong, the 11th sect leader of Yeongcheon Style and master of Yeongcheon Sword Pavilion, couldn't match Yuria but could use Dark Shadow to some degree.
Jin Se-young had almost no aptitude for Dark Shadow but gradually learned to handle it a little as she grew.
I, on the other hand, hadn't grasped Dark Shadow at all. Honestly, I'd vaguely thought that someday, when the Yeongcheon Style trait leveled up, I'd be able to do it.
"I-I could do it if I tried."
"Is that so? Then show me."
"...Right now?"
"You're a warrior who has reached the Five Qi. Five Qi means mastering five energies. You're already handling thunder qi well. Dark qi should be within reach."
I stimulated the inner core in my body. Crack. Thunder qi flowed through me. I extended my palm. Black energy slowly emerged.
"That's not Dark Shadow. It's demonic qi."
"..."
I couldn't argue.
My inner core was based on thunder qi, with demonic qi layered on top. When I thought of something dark, demonic qi flowed out.
'If I raise the Yeongcheon Style trait more, maybe I can use Dark Shadow?'
I couldn't be sure. I knew thunder light and dark shadow fundamentally depended on aptitude.
'Think of Yuria. She used thunder light and dark shadow effortlessly. She's the world's top genius, so it made sense. If my talent matched Yuria's... I could use dark shadow too.'
"..."
My expression soured.
Even with Genius Time, I couldn't use Dark Shadow. I realized why. It wasn't an aptitude issue.
"From your face, I see you've figured it out."
"...Yeah. I'm overly biased toward thunder light."
And the [Lightning Strike] trait had likely played no small part in that.
"Exactly. Dark Shadow doesn't suit you. If you want it... you'll need to discard thunder light once. Start from scratch."
It was a tough proposition. I might have to abandon Lightning Strike for a while.
'Do I really need Dark Shadow that badly?'
Dark Shadow wasn't stronger per se—it had high utility. And combining it with thunder light did make it more powerful, that was true.
'Pure thunder light isn't weak. If power's lacking, just crush them with stronger lightning.'
And even without Dark Shadow, I had the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
I made my decision and looked at Wi Yu. During Genius Time, I'd already grasped her intent.
"I understand what you're thinking, Master. I'll give up on Dark Shadow as you wish."
Choices and focus.
I'd abandon Dark Shadow and concentrate on thunder light.
Wi Yu's lips curved into a smile.
"Good choice. We'll remake your Yeongcheon Qigong into a divine art solely for thunder light. That's our goal. And for that, we need materials."
"Materials?"
"Conveniently, you're in the Manmu Tower. Lucky you."
"...What kind? Something like a spirit elixir?"
"To overhaul a martial art, don't you need reference materials, obviously?"
"Don't you know countless martial arts, Master?"
"My knowledge is limited to swordsmanship. I don't know much about others. So bring back a heart method related to thunder qi. The better the martial art, the more helpful it'll be."
I nodded.
For the caliber of martial art Wi Yu wanted, I'd probably need to reach at least the 15th floor.
"Then we start sword training now. Fundamentals matter everywhere. Swing the sword 100,000 times by tonight."
"...Pardon? N-No, I'm past the stage for basics."
"Fundamentals have no end, even with a lifetime of practice. I'll watch, so don't think of slacking."
"..."
???
The past month's training had paid off. I'd reached the 5th stage of Five Qi, and Seong Ji-gon the 6th stage of Initial Realm.
We ascended to the long-awaited 9th floor. Manmu Tower 9th floor. The 10th was right around the corner.
We followed the soldier into the trial grounds.
Nearly 30 warriors crammed into a narrow room. A soldier stepped onto the platform and spoke.
"Listen up. I'll explain the 9th floor trial. You 30 are Group 55. This flag is your heart."
The soldier brought out a flag over 2 meters tall. Simple design: white background with bold red "55."
"For the next ten days, protect your heart and steal two hearts from other groups."
Murmurs rippled through the room. Groups seemed randomly assigned. Since Seong Ji-gon and I were together, it was probably pretty haphazard.
"That's all. Good luck."
The soldiers left the flags and withdrew.
Then three people climbed onto the platform. All in black, faces hidden under wide-brimmed hats. Surprisingly, the one in the center was a woman. Her ample breasts, slim waist, and voluptuous hips were evident.
She removed her hat. A black veil covered her face.
"Everyone. To pass this trial, we need cooperation. I'm Hwangbo Ga-hye, a warrior from the Hwangbo family."
Rattle. Rattle rattle.
A noisy sound rang out from somewhere. I scowled and glared around. Strangely, no one else seemed to hear it—they were all staring at the woman on the platform.
Rattle. Rattle rattle.
'Ugh, so annoying. What the hell is that noise? Where's it coming from...'
My wandering gaze froze and dropped downward.
Rattle! Rattle rattle!
The culprit was me.
This was the sound of my dick twitching.