Chapter 132: Blood Crow Sect (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: Blood Crow Sect (1)
"It’s nothing much. Where are you going?"
Chun-bong asked, watching Seo-jun pack a mountain of luggage.
"Um... an overnight trip?"
"With which girl?"
"Probably a guy?"
"Hmm... that’s a tough one."
There were two weeks left until the finals of the Yongbong Gathering.
Seo-jun judged that it was more than enough time to head to the Blood Crow Sect and make it back. If so, it was best to put his plan into action immediately.
Leaving those guys alone when they constantly pestered and annoyed him? He would definitely regret it later. I should have crushed them when I had the time... he'd end up thinking.
"Our Chun-bu-i. You can sleep well without Oppa, right?"
"If I say I can’t, will you stay?"
"I guess?"
"What?"
Slightly flustered by the unexpected answer, Chun-bong let out a sigh.
"I’ll sleep perfectly fine, so just go and come back quickly. And don’t cause any trouble."
"Okay~"
"Did you say goodbye to Unni?"
"I’m about to."
"What about your luggage? If you’re traveling far, you need food, blankets for sleeping, spare shoes, silver taels... you need to pack plenty of water, and also..."
"Geez, Mom! I’ll be back in a flash!"
"I just get worried whenever I look at you. Wondering what kind of mess this brat is going to get into today."
"That’s mean..."
Actually, since he was about to cause something akin to a 'mess,' he didn’t have much to say in his defense.
Wait, was he?
Erasing an entire sect didn’t seem like just a simple accident. Besides, they were a sect from the enemy camp in an ongoing war. Rather than causing trouble, it was more like achieving a military exploit.
Still, knowing Chun-bong would worry, he just glossed over it.
"It won’t take that long, and it won’t be dangerous. Just make sure you eat well and put some fat on those cheeks while I’m gone."
"Bullshit."
Hmph. Chun-bong snorted and glared at Seo-jun.
"You’re going there, aren’t you? The Blood Crow Sect."
"What! How did you know?!"
"You were the one talking about erasing them or whatever last time. What do you mean, 'how'?"
"Ah, right."
Sigh. Chun-bong let out another long breath.
"I’m sure you’re going because you see an opening... but if things look bad, just bolt. Got it? You were incredibly fast the last time I saw you."
"Of course. I don’t think even a typical Transcendent Realm master could catch me."
"Don’t get cocky and cause a disaster."
"I’m the definition of humble."
"...Just don’t go."
"Aing."
Seo-jun suddenly reached out, ruffled Chun-bong’s hair into a mess, and bolted away.
"I’ll be back soon...!"
Chun-bong waved her hand reluctantly.
"Be careful, seriously! Before I march in there and drag you back myself!"
* * *
After making his rounds to say goodbye to his acquaintances, Seo-jun left the villa and lightly kicked off the ground.
After a few leaps through the air, clouds brushed past his face. Stopping at that altitude, Seo-jun pulled out a map.
"Hmm."
He placed a compass on the map to gauge the direction.
"This should be right, yeah?"
He wasn’t such an idiot that he couldn’t even find his way. He just had to go straight in a north-northwest direction, right?
If he was wrong... well, he’d just consider it a sightseeing trip.
'It’ll be fine.'
As he steeled his will, the plum blossoms beneath his feet split into Yin and Yang, respectively. Soon, they achieved harmony.
BOOOOOM────────!!!
With a pressure that felt like his entire body was being crushed, the world stretched out into blurred lines. He had long since broken the sound barrier.
After maintaining the Primordial Unity Step for about ten minutes, he started to get the hang of it.
'My father-in-law definitely...'
Did he do it like this?
Sshhh—
Seo-jun held his hand like a blade and sliced through the air in his path. The pressure decreased, and his speed increased even further.
But immediately, he hit another wall of air.
BOOOOOM────────!!!
With a lingering unpleasantness as if he’d been punched, Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
'Okay. Let’s save this for after I hit the Transcendent Realm.'
Constantly cutting the air in his path was still a bit too taxing. He’d have to keep swinging his arms, and that was just too much of a hassle.
Instead, he changed his posture. Since he was just flying through the air anyway, he lay prone in the void. In that state, he slightly modified the shape of the Protective Astral Qi surrounding his body.
He only knew the basics of aerodynamics, so he didn't know the optimal shape, but he formed a streamlined silhouette by roughly imagining a bullet or the fuselage of an airplane. He didn't need to know about lift or anything like that. Such things were the struggles of those whose bodies were weak and had to use their brains.
Ultimately, as long as he flew fast, that was all that mattered.
BOOOOOM────────!!!
When he performed the Primordial Unity Step again, it was indeed a bit better than before. With his posture stabilized, he found some breathing room. Setting aside the pressure and speed, he was now able to check the map and compass while flying.
It was all thanks to the Protective Astral Qi surrounding him. Although the space inside the Qi was stifling due to the pressure, there was no wind.
"Whoops, that was close."
Checking the compass mid-flight, he realized his direction had drifted slightly without him noticing. He had almost become another missing person in the Central Plains.
Seo-jun corrected his course immediately and flew for a long time, remaining vigilant from then on.
By the time the sun began to set, the sky was dyed crimson.
"Hmm."
Sensing something was off, Seo-jun landed on the ground and looked around.
"Where am I...?"
It seemed he was lost.
* * *
He finally realized the problem with the Primordial Unity Step.
Was the internal energy consumption to maintain the Protective Astral Qi too high? That didn't matter. He could just refill his internal energy in real-time.
Was the mental strain of maintaining the streamlined shape of the Qi too much? That wasn't an issue either. Getting tired from manipulating a bit of internal energy was impossible for Seo-jun.
The problem with the Primordial Unity Step wasn't some trivial flaw like that. If one were to ask what the real problem was...
It was that if the user was an idiot, it was incredibly easy to get lost.
"No, seriously, what is this?"
Seo-jun sat down on the ground and studied the map.
'The Namgung Clan villa is here...'
He traced his finger along the travel route. A straight line toward the Blood Crow Sect. Then he remembered realizing his direction had drifted midway.
'Then from here, slightly to the left.'
Not long after, he had realized the direction was off again and corrected it, so if he turned north-northwest from here...
"Aha."
He had come a bit too far to the left.
Having reached this obvious realization, Seo-jun let out a hollow laugh. To get to the Blood Crow Sect from here, he first had to figure out where 'here' was. He knew he had come the wrong way, but he didn't know how wrong.
He had probably strayed quite a bit...
Seo-jun jumped to his feet and started walking. It was a minor setback, but it wasn't a big deal. In fact, it might be a good thing.
The Primordial Unity Step was a lightness skill that was far from stealthy. If he wasn't careful, he might attract the attention of a martial artist at the Transcendent Realm. From here on, it would be better to just run on the ground.
Spreading out his Qi sensing, Seo-jun ran toward where he felt the presence of people. After running for a short while, he arrived at a city.
At a glance, it looked surprisingly clean.
Since it was the territory of the Black Lotus Union, he had expected it to look like a decrepit back alley, but surprisingly, it wasn't much different from the territory of the Righteous Faction.
'Well, I guess that makes sense.'
Even if their treatment of commoners differed from the Righteous Faction, it was still the area where they lived. They wouldn't leave such a place looking like a pigsty.
Treating people like livestock? Even livestock had their homes, like stables or pens, and their owners took good enough care of them so they wouldn't die. Depending on the purpose of raising them, they might be slaughtered, but it was rare to kill livestock just because one was in a bad mood.
Of course, seeing how those Murim bastards acted, it might not be that rare, but regardless, there seemed to be some semblance of order here.
Accepting this, Seo-jun used the Shadow Hiding Technique, inspired by the Hidden Sword of the Darkness, to infiltrate the city. After reaching a reasonably crowded area, he deactivated the technique and blended in with the people.
'Should I just grab someone and ask?'
After some thought, he headed toward a place that looked like a tavern. There were people scattered inside.
"...W-Welcome."
As he entered, the tavern keeper bowed politely. It was because he had spotted the sword hanging at Seo-jun’s waist.
Noticing his gaze, Seo-jun grasped the atmosphere of the place. Rather than being polite, acting like an arrogant martial artist would likely draw less unwanted attention.
It wasn't a difficult task. Acting like an arrogant Murim geezer? That was Seo-jun’s specialty.
"Keeper."
"Yes, yes."
"Is the Blood Crow Sect far from here?"
"The Blood Crow Sect... you say...? I’ve heard the name, but as for the location..."
As the owner stammered, a sneer came from behind.
"How could a piece of trash like him know the location of a sect?"
Seo-jun turned around to see a group of men. One of them spoke with a smirk.
"Hey, you. Why are you looking for the Blood Crow Sect?"
"I’m asking because I need to go there. Is there any other reason?"
"That’s why I’m asking for your purpose."
The man’s companions also stared intently at Seo-jun. He didn't understand why they were being so sensitive about someone asking for a sect’s location.
"If I tell you, will you guide me?"
"If you wish."
What. He’d actually do it? Was he just a kind young man?
As Seo-jun stared blankly, the man burst into loud laughter.
"Bwahaha! Look at that stupid face!"
"Does a commoner think he’s become a martial artist just because he’s wearing a sword?"
"A fearless fellow, indeed."
The men laughed among themselves, and then one of them stood up and approached Seo-jun.
"Well, since you were funny, I’ll let you off with just an arm and a leg."
And with that, he suddenly drew his sword and swung it.
Seo-jun realized.
"Aha."
These dimwits must have thought he was just a commoner walking around with a sword because they couldn't sense any Qi from him. It was a reasonably logical deduction, as there was no reason for a master to be hanging around here.
It was a shame they were wrong, though.
Cr-crack!
The arm of the man swinging the sword froze solid in an instant.
"Wh-what...?"
The man stared up at him blankly. Seo-jun slapped him across the cheek.
SMACK!
The man’s body went flying and crashed into a corner of the tavern. The man’s companions stared at Seo-jun with wide eyes.
Seo-jun smirked.
"With such poor eyes for people, you won't live long."
"Wh-who... are you?"
"You have no manners."
As Seo-jun flicked his hand, a long ice spike grazed the cheek of the man who had spoken. Terrified, the man immediately prostrated himself.
"M-may I ask for Senior’s esteemed name...?"
"Fine. I shall allow it."
"Thank you...!"
The man slammed his head against the floor repeatedly. The Black Lotus Union folks seemed to have quick reactions.
"I am Baek Seo-jun of the North Sea Ice Palace."
"Th-the North Sea Ice Palace...? But I heard that all the masters of the Ice Palace are women..."
"Talking back?"
"I-I’m sorry!"
"Do you think you know the Ice Palace better, or do I?"
"...I have committed a mortal sin, Senior!"
"At least you know. I’ll let it slide this once."
Baek Seo-jun, the Super Peak master of the North Sea Ice Palace, gave a wide grin.
"Now, lead the way."
He had found a navigator.