Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 256
Chapter Title: The Mountain of Cultivators (30)
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Ari sa's eyes gleamed with resolve as she clutched the indulgence and stepped out of the secret realm.
'I'll never hand this pardon over to those bastards.'
Cheon Ji-ho had hoped she'd use it to strike a deal with the Corpse Sect, but that was far from her true intentions.
You never made deals with madmen, after all.
Demonic zombies, demon lords, and even avatars on top of that.
No one could dismiss all this as mere "personal deviance."
It was far more reasonable to assume the Corpse Sect itself—and its sect leader—were deeply involved.
In Ari sa's mind, the Corpse Sect was a faction that had joined hands with demons.
No, it went beyond that; they were one and the same.
It wasn't enough to excommunicate everyone involved after making it public.
Telling her to deal with them was no different from telling her to ally with demons herself.
'As long as we have Anton and the experiment log, we have plenty of leverage against the Corpse Sect.'
The problem was that both were only useful if they reached the upper echelons.
She needed to contact the Miracle Sect and put the Corpse Sect on trial alongside them.
Besides, both Anton and the log were in Park Chan-woo's possession.
If he changed his mind or died, the whole plan would crumble to dust.
She had to stay by his side, no matter what.
'A way to climb the mountain without using the pardon.'
To do that, she'd have to ascend the mountain, but it wouldn't be easy.
Yet he'd shown her that charging straight ahead wasn't the only answer.
There were plenty of methods.
She'd simply stuck to the direct approach and failed so far.
Hadn't he demonstrated it himself?
The process of proving his own worth.
And clearing every shrine in an instant!
'Nothing is impossible.'
Having witnessed it all so vividly from his side, she could only marvel.
She'd never seen anyone scale the mountain with such unstoppable momentum.
He moved with utter confidence, as if nothing in the world could faze him, and claimed what he wanted.
He accomplished what everyone deemed impossible without a moment's hesitation.
'...The successor of the Heavenly Demon.'
His image lingered before her eyes.
The successor of the Heavenly Demon, appearing amid chaos.
He commanded a beast of ominous ferocity and wielded swordsmanship beyond measure.
Was he good or evil?
Had he emerged to restore order to the corrupted Pantheon?
Was he seeking to revive the name Taebaek had erased?
She didn't know his exact intentions, but whenever she closed her eyes, Park Chan-woo's face strangely appeared.
Probably because of that title: successor of the Heavenly Demon.
He alone could return the Pantheon to its rightful state.
...That had to be it.
'I'll catch up to you soon.'
After passing every shrine's trial...
Park Chan-woo and Chiwoo headed straight up the mountain.
"So, you're the suspects who stirred up all this commotion on the mountain."
Near the warp leading to the upper levels, a group of Arhats had gathered.
Figures clad in black robes like reapers of death.
Inquisitors.
The senior inquisitor standing at their center eyed Park Chan-woo and Chiwoo alternately before speaking.
"The Mountain of Cultivators truly begins at the upper levels. But not just anyone can climb. Even passing every shrine's trial isn't enough."
"Are there other conditions?"
"We've received a tip that you're involved with demons."
"Haha! If anyone's truly tangled up with demons, it's gotta be Kang Shi-chan."
"Kang Shi-chan has been excommunicated. But with a tip like this, we have to investigate. Bear with us."
The Corpse Sect had acted faster than expected.
But excommunicating one guy like Kang Shi-chan wouldn't make this go away.
Incidents linked to demons kept piling up.
Chiwoo spoke with a hint of irritation.
"Shouldn't you check the Corpse Sect first?"
"That's not my jurisdiction."
"Do you know who tipped you off?"
"That's outside my purview too."
"...How exactly do you plan to verify?"
"Karma."
"......Karma?"
"In simpler terms, 'honor.' We'll check the honor you've accumulated. You might not know this, but avatars can barely build any."
They meant to test if Park Chan-woo and Chiwoo were avatars or not.
Avatars had extremely low—or no—honor.
Those contracted with demons had almost no path to gaining honor.
Honor and karma were proofs of one's existence.
The moment an avatar formed a contract, their very being blurred, making honor's standards vague.
Sometimes, accumulated honor even vanished.
But this method had its flaws.
Chiwoo frowned as he said,
"It feels like you're just looking for excuses if it's low. Is this really an objective way to detect avatars?"
"The surest way is checking the hellfire that erupts on death, but we can't kill you for that, can we?"
"Is that seriously all you've got for spotting avatars?"
"It's the most reliable method we have right now."
"...No progress at all."
Chiwoo shook his head, visibly disappointed.
She wondered if these were truly Arhats standing against demons.
After all these ages, nothing had changed.
And moreover...
'They're definitely trying to find fault.'
Their intentions didn't feel pure.
They might be in the Corpse Sect's pocket, or perhaps Arhats from the secret realm made the other nine clans uneasy, leading to a false tip.
'...My honor's probably faded already.'
There was a twinge of worry too.
Honor wasn't eternal.
Like memories, it faded with time if neglected.
Chiwoo had spent eons in the Avici Hell.
Whatever honor remained couldn't be much.
And Park Chan-woo was the same.
She hadn't asked, but that ferociously ominous beast... and the power akin to a demon's.
If that beast's origin was a demonic contract...
"We just need to check honor, right?"
"Successor...!"
Park Chan-woo suddenly spoke, startling Chiwoo.
Park Chan-woo chuckled and asked,
"Do I look like an avatar to you?"
"N-no, sir! Absolutely not!"
"Then why the jump?"
"Well..."
"Now you've given me even more reason to check my honor."
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Just kidding."
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
Ever since using the authority 'Absolute One' and glimpsing Baal's shadow, he'd noticed Chiwoo's attitude shift slightly.
He pretended to be calm, but Park Chan-woo wasn't blind to the worry.
No explanation would fully erase the doubts.
This was actually perfect.
A golden chance to dispel Chiwoo's suspicions and prove himself to the Pantheon.
Then the senior inquisitor spoke.
"'Honor' ties directly to one's nobility. Demons or avatars are far from noble, so they can't possess honor beyond a certain level. Prove yours exceeds that threshold, and we'll let you pass without issue."
He spoke with considerable knowledge of honor.
But he only knew half the story.
'The 100 names on the Hall of Honor. Half are demons.'
Demons far from noble?
He thought so too, but ironically, nearly half the Hall of Honor was demons.
Demon lords or greater.
Another oddity...
'No Arhats in the Hall of Honor, I suppose.'
If there were, they'd know about the demons dominating it.
A senior inquisitor spouting nonsense like this suggested it wasn't widely known.
...Or there really weren't any.
Chiwoo said,
"How do we check honor?"
"Place your hand on this 'Divine Immortal Orb,' and its color changes based on your honor."
"Divine Immortal Orb?"
"Yes. Crafted by the 'Immortals' of the Pantheon."
"......The Pantheon has Immortals?"
"Are you seriously asking because you don't know?"
The senior inquisitor shot back.
His gaze treated them like ignorant rude fools.
Chiwoo was just as baffled.
There were no Immortals back in his living days.
'I heard even the Immortals vanished with Lord Heavenly Demon.'
Had they returned?
He wanted to ask more but held back.
Dealing with the matter at hand came first.
"What colors correspond to honor levels?"
"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—in that order."
"Violet's the highest?"
"Yes. Though no one's ever reached it."
"What color clears suspicion?"
"Orange or higher."
The second-lowest.
The bar seemed lenient.
But don't be fooled.
Honor was inherently hard to accumulate.
"I'll go first, Successor."
Park Chan-woo nodded.
Chiwoo stepped forward briskly, extending his hand with faint tension.
A color bloomed over the Divine Immortal Orb.
Red.
It seemed to stop there, but it shifted to orange.
The bare minimum to clear suspicion.
"...Hmph. Not an avatar, then."
The senior inquisitor muttered, sounding disappointed.
But the color kept changing.
Yellow.
......Green.
"......"
The inquisitor clamped his mouth shut.
Green meant substantial honor.
From green onward was senior level; fewer than one percent of Arhats had it.
'Blue!'
Astonishingly, it changed again.
Blue was supreme.
Among the rarest on the mountain.
They were the revered icons everyone admired.
...But then.
"I-indigo!"
"It's indigo!"
The inquisitors cried out in shock.
It teetered on the brink of violet, the final stage, but stopped at indigo.
Even that was staggering.
Indigo was the highest record for any Arhat touching the orb.
Only one in the entire mountain.
'The Miracle Sect's clan head... only he had indigo honor.'
Now, the record was broken.
Officially, two bore indigo honor.
News of this would set the mountain abuzz again.
"......You're cleared."
Hostility vanished from the senior inquisitor.
At least Chiwoo was proven a respectable, honored Arhat.
One remained.
"My turn."
Under everyone's gaze, Park Chan-woo confidently placed his hand on the Divine Immortal Orb.
That instant.
Boom!
......The Divine Immortal Orb exploded.