Chapter 245
Chapter 245
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 245
Chapter Title: Cultivator's Mountain (19)
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The next day.
Arisa had tacitly agreed that Chiu and Park Chan-woo hailed from the Hidden Realm.
She had come to find them once again.
Just traveling together would spread the word to everyone on the mid-mountain slopes.
However...
'...What are they doing?'
The two were still sparring.
Swords clashed back and forth, but it was pathetically sloppy, like children's playtime.
Could that even be called a sword duel?
Before that, was Chiu's follower really his rightful successor?
For someone handling such pitiful swordsmanship...
'One successor from the Asura Sect would be more than enough.'
Arisa shook her head.
Now wasn't the time to quibble over such things.
If she could properly win over Chiu, one tag-along wouldn't matter.
She had witnessed Chiu's skills firsthand, and they were the real deal.
"We meet often."
Chiu said, lowering his sword at a slant.
Arisa gave an awkward smile.
"I'd like to introduce you to the family from the Hidden Realm. And while we're at it, visit the 'Sanctuary of the Sword.'"
"Sanctuary of the Sword?"
"There are eight 'sanctuaries' on the mid-mountain slopes. Those acknowledged by the eight sanctuaries can ascend to the upper reaches of the mountain. Of them, the Sanctuary of the Sword is the one claimed by our Hidden Realm."
Arisa explained, but Chiu tilted his head.
Eight sanctuaries.
They weren't originally on the mid-slopes.
They seemed similar to the three trials at the entrance.
If the Hidden Realm controlled one of them, there was no reason not to go.
But he couldn't just follow along blindly.
Park Chan-woo asked.
"Don't the arhats from the Hidden Realm get acknowledged by all the sanctuaries?"
Arisa's skills were exceptional.
She seemed more than capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the powerhouses from the Corpse Sect, one of the 'Nine Families' gathered at the Tower of Mystery.
Despite having the prowess to reach the upper reaches, she lingered on the mid-slopes.
Probably due to her origins.
"...That's right. Specifically, four of them are particularly harsh on us, so no arhat from the Hidden Realm has ever ascended."
Arisa replied in a bitter tone.
Arhats from the Hidden Realm were uniformly discriminated against.
The Nine Families didn't want them ascending.
"Four out of eight. Half of them are blocking the way."
"The problem is that those four receive the full backing of the 'Nine Families.' That's why we need to unite our strength even more."
Arisa was determined to drag the two to the 'Sanctuary of the Sword' somehow.
With combat power like Chiu's added, they might have a shot at one of those four.
Chiu inwardly agreed.
He had climbed the mountain declaring himself from the Hidden Realm anyway.
Joining via Arisa's introduction would boost their influence within the Sanctuary of the Sword.
If they were going to join, better to make a grand entrance.
"Same thoughts..."
"No."
But Park Chan-woo shook his head.
"...?"
Arisa and Chiu looked at him with puzzled expressions, and Park Chan-woo slowly opened his mouth.
"We'll be staying here for a while. We'll think about visiting the 'Sanctuary of the Sword' later."
"Why? Didn't you hear that the arhats from the Hidden Realm need to band together?"
"If we were ordinary arhats from the Hidden Realm, sure."
He immediately countered Arisa's point.
From the start, they had drawn massive attention climbing to the mid-slopes.
Especially him, with his unprecedented 150th-floor result.
And besides...
'The Corpse Sect made a jiangshi from a creator's corpse. I saw it, so they won't stay quiet.'
They would make contact one way or another.
And even without the Corpse Sect, arhats eager to recruit Chiu and him would be a dime a dozen.
Heading straight to the Sanctuary of the Sword without thought was a clear bad move.
Even if they claimed shared origins, their value had already skyrocketed.
Park Chan-woo planned to pit multiple factions against each other, driving up their price to get scouted at the top rate.
That way, they'd easily gain 'acknowledgment' from all sanctuaries.
'Being acknowledged means proving that level of value.'
He had instantly grasped the nature of the mid-slope trials.
Blindly entering the 'Sanctuary of the Sword' would prove their lack of worth themselves.
Naturally, the others wouldn't acknowledge them, viewing them through colored lenses.
But if factions competed fiercely to recruit them, it was a different story.
The starting point of acknowledgment would shift.
'To gain acknowledgment from all sanctuaries, you must become someone of value.'
The reason the four sanctuaries rejected Hidden Realm arhats was simple.
They saw them as worthless.
But if they drew all eyes and possessed undeniable 'value' that everyone had to recognize, how could they not acknowledge it?
"You think other factions will come recruiting you?"
"Of course."
"...Foolish."
Arisa's expression turned icy in an instant.
It was a truly idiotic notion.
These two had no idea how other arhats viewed Hidden Realm arhats.
Even breaking through the entrance with stellar results changed nothing.
Uniting their strength to forcibly shatter those biases was the surest way.
Arisa looked at Chiu.
"Same thoughts?"
"I follow only my successor's opinion."
"...Don't regret it."
There was nothing more to hear.
Arisa turned on her heel.
Watching her leave, Chiu asked.
"Are you sure we don't need the Hidden Realm's power?"
"Why assume we can't get it?"
"...Do you have another plan?"
"I'll just stoke the competition. In the end, we'll enter the 'Sanctuary of the Sword.'"
"Then why...?"
"If we enter the 'Sanctuary of the Sword' now, we won't fully claim their power. But if we prove our 'value' first and then enter, they'll be deeply grateful."
"Ah...!"
Chiu clapped his hands as if struck hard.
It was thinking no ordinary arhat could manage.
No, no Hidden Realm arhat could ever conceive of it.
Park Chan-woo wasn't content merely borrowing the Hidden Realm's power.
He aimed to take it all, completely.
That way, they'd gain acknowledgment from every sanctuary.
Like returning home laden with gold.
Who would turn away family returning in glory?
They'd celebrate with a festival, and it still wouldn't be enough.
"But there's a prerequisite. Will other sanctuaries or families really approach us...?"
There would be some contact, sure.
The problem was most would be nobodies.
Aligning with middling powers could backfire.
Park Chan-woo leisurely gripped his sword again and said.
"Let's start again."
"...Understood."
Chiu gripped his sword, a trace of doubt lingering.
Then he spoke again.
"The tension in your shoulders seems mostly gone. Now it's time to learn 'how to apply force properly.'"
"...Feels like handling a sword for the first time."
He said honestly.
Was it because he was an assassin, not an ordinary swordsman?
Chiu's sword instruction diverged sharply from typical swordsmen's methods.
But this teaching style wasn't bad either.
'In the past, there were no proper assassins.'
There were assassination techniques and spells aplenty, but true 'assassins' were rare.
Even those fell far short of Chiu.
Before the Abyss invaded, swordsmanship had advanced, but assassination arts weren't passed down generationally anywhere.
No one sought the assassin's path anyway.
'Am I the most assassination-specialized one?'
But Park Chan-woo was different.
His 'Non-Existence' was the ultimate assassination trait.
If he could master the 'Asura Sword,' a one-strike-kill martial art, he could slay foes beyond his limits.
Sometimes a direct sword slash was surer than powerful magic.
But he couldn't blindly trust 'Non-Existence' forever.
'As my level rises, Non-Existence is weakening bit by bit.'
At -99 level, it had been perfect, but as levels increased, its influence seemed to wane slightly.
So he planned to learn not just Asura Sword, but full assassin techniques.
To prepare for the day Non-Existence broke.
"Block my attacks without wasting energy."
Chiu swung his sword languidly.
Varying strength with each swing made perfect defense no easy task.
But as time passed, they synced better.
'He has solid talent for the sword and aptitude as an assassin.'
Chiu was quietly impressed.
Park Chan-woo was improving daily.
It showed his passion and talent for the sword were extraordinary.
And he even showed 'assassin' qualities.
'His body doesn't suit ordinary swordsmanship. But master swordplay fitted to him, and he'll grow without limits.'
Heavenly Martial Physique.
A constitution able to learn any martial art.
Even with Heavenly Martial Physique, there were arts that suited one best.
Park Chan-woo seemed never to have learned one truly suited to him.
An assassin's talent wielding plain swordsmanship could never reach the pinnacle.
A Heavenly Martial Physique might eventually, but why take the long way?
He had some doubts.
Why hadn't the Heavenly Demon's successor been taught proper swordsmanship?
But Chiu shook his head.
This man acknowledged him.
The successor who volunteered to learn the assassin's sword.
So...
'This is fun.'
For now, teaching Park Chan-woo was simply enjoyable.
The next day.
As expected, visitors came looking for them.
Right after Arisa left, as if they'd been waiting.
"You didn't enter the 'Sanctuary of the Sword.'"
Kang Si-chan.
Heir of the Corpse Sect, called one of the Nine Dragons.
He stood there with two guardians.
Relieved they hadn't joined the Hidden Realm arhats at the Sanctuary of the Sword, Kang Si-chan smiled.
"Join our 'Corpse Sect.' Then you'll pass the acknowledgments of all eight sanctuaries immediately."
Meaning instant access to the upper reaches.
Absolute confidence they wouldn't refuse.
Park Chan-woo shrugged with a sneer.
"Is that all?"
"What...?"