Chapter 258: Video Call (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 258: Video Call (3)
Ring, ring—!
With the incoming call from Geom-gwang flashing before him, Seo-jun took a calm, steady breath.
‘I should be able to pull this off.’
Geom-gwang. The Sword Maniac. If the man lived up to his moniker, he’d have no choice but to come charging over immediately, even if he suspected a trap.
They say that once a martial artist reaches the Transcendent Realm, they all develop some kind of obsession.
Among them, this Geom-gwang fellow was said to have a particularly severe case. If his devotion to the sword was even a tenth of Seo-jun’s devotion to Chun-bong, then the success of this operation was guaranteed.
Let’s flip the script. Suppose some Kidnapper A took Geum Chun-bong and threatened, "I have Geum Chun-bong. If you don't come right now, she dies."
Even if that Kidnapper A was a master of the Profound Realm, Seo-jun would push his Lightness Skill to the absolute limit to get there and immediately rip that son of a bitch’s head right off.
Worrying about whether it was a trap? That was out of the question.
The kidnapper might disappear with Chun-bong—or in Geom-gwang’s case, the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword—at any moment.
A martial artist both desperate and confident in their own strength wouldn't risk ruining everything by dragging their feet.
Therefore, this plan was practically destined to succeed.
In other words, his acting didn't even need to be perfect. Since Geom-gwang didn't know Baek Yun all that well anyway, the man would be forced to show up even if things felt a little off.
"Ahem!"
Clearing his throat, Seo-jun pressed the connect button.
Ding—
With a cheerful chime, a projection of light rose into the air from the crystal ball. Seo-jun’s eyes scanned the scenery on Geom-gwang’s end.
It looked like Geom-gwang was also somewhere deep in the mountains. Felled trees were visible in the background, and the man's entire body was drenched in sweat.
It seemed he had been in the middle of training. That was likely why his response had been delayed.
Seo-jun studied Geom-gwang’s appearance closely.
He had shaggy hair, eyes gleaming wildly through the unkempt strands, and a sturdy, compact build. Even through the crystal ball, a sharp, piercing pressure prickled Seo-jun's skin.
As Seo-jun observed him with a strange sense of tension, Geom-gwang bellowed at the top of his lungs.
[Why the hell did it take you so long to answer?! You found the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword?! If that’s a lie, I’ll rip your head off!]
What a psycho.
Faced with a revolutionary conversational style where the opponent threatened to do exactly what Seo-jun himself had just been thinking about, Seo-jun let out a long breath.
"Whew..."
Tension? What tension? Looking at this guy’s behavior, he probably would have come charging over even if Seo-jun had just spoken to him as himself.
Still, since he’d already committed to the bit, Seo-jun channeled the spirit of Baek Yun—a man who had already experienced having his head ripped off once before—and began his method acting.
"I have indeed secured the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword."
Maintaining Baek Yun’s blunt expression, he reached out and traced a single line in the air.
To the ignorant, it would look like a mere gesture. But to a Transcendent Realm martial artist and sword fanatic like Geom-gwang, the profound principles contained within that single stroke were immediately apparent.
[O-Oh...! It's true! Wait right there! Don't move a single inch and stay exactly where you are!]
Click—
The call cut off.
Seo-jun was momentarily stunned by Geom-gwang’s abrupt hang-up. Baek Yun had definitely said that Geom-gwang wouldn't know the location of this hideout.
Judging by that reaction, Baek Yun might have been mistaken.
Just in case, Seo-jun was about to send a text with the coordinates when—
Ring, ring—!
Another call came in from Geom-gwang.
"...What now?"
[You bastard! Where are you right now?! Spit out the location!]
Seo-jun suppressed a sigh and explained the location of the hideout.
Click—
The call ended immediately.
Even for Seo-jun, who considered himself quite open-minded, this was a difficult personality to deal with.
‘Maybe I should just start by punching him in the face the moment we meet.’
Having made up his mind, Seo-jun sat cross-legged and began to survey the surrounding space.
Though he had spent the last few days gaming, he wasn't crazy enough to actually waste all his time playing.
Currently, countless traps were laid out around Baek Yun’s hideout.
There were traditional formations like the Ice and Snow Heaven Net Formation and the 108 Arhat Formation, as well as thousands of "landmines" created using the Primordial Unity Sun-Moon Astral Qi.
A mage is one who prepares.
Though he wasn't exactly a mage, Seo-jun felt like one as he used his Qi to make all sorts of preparations to welcome Geom-gwang.
Basically, he had prepared so thoroughly that someone of Baek Yun’s caliber would be turned into mincemeat the moment they stepped inside.
There was no telling exactly how strong Geom-gwang would be.
Baek Yun had said the man was already in the Transcendent Realm six hundred years ago. Even if he had only progressed one step every century, his level would be formidable.
So, even if it turned out to be overkill, there was no harm in being over-prepared.
With the meticulousness of a master craftsman, Seo-jun waited for Geom-gwang, layering dozens of formations on top of one another.
And in the short time spent waiting, his formations evolved further and further.
Seo-jun thought to himself:
‘A formation is essentially a method of rearranging the principles of the world to one's liking, using something that exists in the world as an axis.’
At the basic level, there were things like the Five Elements Formation or the Nine Palaces Formation, and the configurations became infinite the deeper one delved.
For Seo-jun, who hadn't properly studied formations, devising an entirely new one shouldn't have been easy...
‘Isn't it basically just performing martial arts outside of my own body?’
Seo-jun possessed the ability to turn such absurd thoughts into reality.
Using only Qi, he mapped out the incredibly complex acupoints of a human being and fixed them into the surrounding space.
That was it.
He simply had to manifest the martial arts he usually used through the formation that took the shape of those acupoints, rather than within his own body.
The mental imagery required to perform the martial art? That didn't matter, since Seo-jun himself was at the center of the formation.
The moment he stepped out of the formation, it would lose its effect, but conversely, that meant there was no problem with it functioning as long as he stayed in place.
Wooooong—
Seeing the formation activate properly, Seo-jun flashed a satisfied smile.
‘First, the Beiming Divine Art... Emperor Sword Form, and let's make a few Heaven Piercings. Then the Primordial Unity Sun-Moon Art, the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art, the Heaven-Sun Imperial Extreme Fire Divine Art, and the Moonlight Spear...’
The mountain of layered formations became a sight that would make any normal martial artist faint from shock or suffer immediate Qi Deviation.
But Seo-jun wasn't satisfied. As he engraved his martial arts into the formations, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘If I can apply formations to engrave martial arts, is there any reason I can't engrave a Domain?’
It was pure nonsense.
Even Namgung Jin-cheon, upon hearing such a thing, would have seriously worried about his son-in-law’s mental health, asking, "Son-in-law, have things been very difficult for you lately...?"
A Domain meant using the expanded power of one's spirit to claim the surrounding space as one's own Qi and essence.
How could one possibly engrave the spirit of a Transcendent being into a formation?
Seo-jun solved it simply. He took all the various components of his Domain, the Ideal World, and detached them one by one.
The sky, the earth, the lightning, the sun, the moon, the mountains, the sea, the rivers, the plum blossoms, the snowy fields...
All things in the world transformed into separate concepts.
Seo-jun carefully took them out and gave them form using his Qi.
Flash—!
Orbs of light, each possessing its own distinct color, floated in the air.
Seo-jun looked at them with half-closed eyes. These were the components that made up the mental imagery of the human known as Lee Seo-jun.
Then, what remains inside me once I have emptied all of these?
......
Having inadvertently peered into his own deepest depths, Seo-jun silently raised his head. His eyes were hollow.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he resumed his work.
Just as he had once created Namgung’s Vast Heaven Sword and his own clones, Seo-jun molded Qi into shapes resembling transparent glass beads.
The elements of his mental imagery, which had already taken form, seeped into the beads and quietly merged with the surrounding space.
This would do. With this method, it was even possible to manifest multiple Domains simultaneously.
For now, three—maybe four—would be his limit, but even that was something that defied all common sense.
"Whew..."
Slap, slap!
Patting his own cheeks, Seo-jun flopped onto his back. Then, he picked up the crystal ball and started a game.
‘He’ll get here when he gets here...’
For now, he just wanted to rest.
*
To master the speech patterns of the Murim, one needed to revive the pure and blunt inner thoughts of a fifteen-year-old. (At least, this was Seo-jun’s personal opinion.)
For example, the phrase "You stupid prick" could be translated as "I cannot help but lament your idiocy!"
With a bit of application, "You stupid prick, just die then" could be translated as "Pay the price for your ignorance" or "Regret your stupidity for all eternity."
This was the profound knowledge Seo-jun had gained from living in the Murim for nearly three years.
When Geom-gwang finally arrived—hair flying wildly as he charged in shortly after their call—Seo-jun attempted a normal conversation first.
"What are you—"
"The Yellow Cloud Divine Sword...!!"
The attempt remained just an attempt.
Sighing deeply, Seo-jun made his declaration.
"Regret your ignorance for all eternity."
It meant: You stupid prick, just die then.
BOOOOOOOOM────────!!