What the Hell Took You So Long!
Jeoguk and Ganguk were relatively close, so instead of taking a cloud ship, Yeop Hyeon rode straight to Canglan Academy on horseback.
The first thing he did upon arriving at the academy was summon Gu Jiu and the others.
Before long, the gathered group waited eagerly for words from Yeop Hyeon's mouth.
"I assume you all know the current state of affairs in Qingzhou and what's happening to me. Well... yeah, the war between me and Hogye Meng has just begun."
A war with Hogye Meng!?
A massive shift rippled across the faces of everyone in the room.
Hogye Meng weren't law enforcers or anything!
"Yeop Gangdo... aren't the ones you've pissed off this time a bit too strong?"
Mu Yun Qi asked with a dazed expression, and Yeop Hyeon shrugged casually in response.
"What can you do? It's not my fault all the trash in the world flocks to me 'cause I'm just that damn good."
Mu Yun Qi thrust a thumbs-up toward Yeop Hyeon.
"If we're talking thick-skinned faces, not even Hogye Meng could beat you at that."
"Hahaha!"
"Uhahaha!"
The room erupted into laughter at Mu Yun Qi's words.
The mood lightened in an instant.
"So, what's the plan going forward?"
Yeop Hyeon nodded at Gu Jiu's question and cleared his throat.
"Qingzhou's still a mess, and more and more powerhouses from Jungto Sinju are pouring in. Canglan Academy's strength alone can't protect it anymore. We need to unite the power of every clan, sect, and mountain faction in Qingzhou. That's the only way to drive them out!"
"Who handles the True Law Realm experts?"
Gu Jiu's question pierced like a needle.
Yeop Hyeon responded in a bold, booming tone.
"Leave that to me! Don't worry about it—I've got forces backing me that you wouldn't even know about!"
"......"
Gu Jiu glanced at Yeop Hyeon before speaking again.
"If that's the case, things should go smoothly. I'll handle rallying the factions in Qingzhou."
"If you're taking it on, I'm at ease. One more thing—the Chang Lan Dao Soldiers are still too weak. We need to raise them all to the Myriad Laws Realm."
"Are you insane?"
Mu Yun Qi, who had been listening quietly, couldn't hold back and shouted.
"Myriad Laws Realm...? Yeop Gangdo, you serious?"
Yeop Hyeon replied in a gentle voice.
"Yun Qi, truth is, our situation isn't as good as it seems. Qingzhou's on the brink of falling into their hands."
Mu Yun Qi nodded.
"I know, but turning all those Chang Lan Dao Soldiers into Myriad Laws Realm cultivators... that's..."
"Can money not solve it?"
Gu Jiu eyed Yeop Hyeon.
"Ever since things went south, the academy's income has tanked. We're not flush enough to mass-produce Myriad Laws Realm experts!"
Thud.
Yeop Hyeon placed a ledger on the table.
"Five hundred million top-grade spirit stones. That enough?"
Five hundred million!?
The room's occupants' eyes bulged as they stared at one another. Had he been robbing major sects this whole time!?
At that moment, Gu Jiu pulled a ledger from her bosom and set it on the table too.
"These are the Dao Tokens you asked O Ru Ju of Chwi Seon Ru for back then. Thirty-one in total. Add the ones we took from those Jungto Sinju martial artists last time, and that's forty-one. With five hundred million top-grade spirit stones, we could equip every Chang Lan Dao Soldier with one. But we still couldn't fully arm them."
Gu Jiu met Yeop Hyeon's gaze.
"Now do you get how hard it is to raise elite Dao Soldiers?"
"It ain't that tough!"
Geom Cho-cho spoke up suddenly.
As all eyes turned to her, Geom Cho-cho grinned sheepishly and continued.
"Simple. Kill the Jungto Sinju martial artists swarming Qingzhou and take their stuff. They came to steal from us, so we do the same, right?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
Mu Yun Qi laughed.
"The Chang Lan Dao Soldiers are strong enough already. They don't need to rely on you anymore, Yeop Gangdo—they can go kill and claim the weapons themselves!"
Yeop Hyeon looked at Gu Jiu, who nodded.
"Can't argue with that."
Yeop Hyeon's expression brightened a touch. At least some of the burden on his shoulders had lightened.
After the meeting wrapped up, Yeop Hyeon returned to his room and pulled out a ledger.
He now had five hundred million spirit stones left.
Time to restore the Gyeok Ok Tower with this!
With the Heavenly Maiden absent, the Gyeok Ok Tower was the only thing he could rely on in his final hour.
Plus, it held the hundreds of ledgers he'd stockpiled over time.
Though the tower had absorbed all the spirit stones inside, the other items remained intact. Those ledgers belonged to martial artists who'd made a killing in Canglan Province—surely packed with treasures. And two were from True Law Realm experts!
Reclaim the Gyeok Ok Tower, and he'd be rich.
Excitement flickered across Yeop Hyeon's face.
Absorb!
Soon, he began feeding spirit stones into the Gyeok Ok Tower. It devoured them greedily, as if it had been waiting.
An hour passed, and one hundred million spirit stones vanished. But the tower showed no response.
Another hour, another hundred million gone. Still nothing.
Some more time slipped by, and suddenly Yeop Hyeon broke into a cold sweat.
The tower had sucked up every last spirit stone from the ledgers, yet it remained utterly still.
Bam!
Yeop Hyeon slammed the table, his face blank with despair as he roared.
"What the hell do you want from me!? Seven hundred million top-grade stones down the drain, and you're still not satisfied!?"
That was how many top-grade spirit stones he'd fed the Gyeok Ok Tower so far.
Yeop Hyeon felt like weeping blood.
In times like these, seven hundred million top-grade spirit stones was more than even the greatest clans could scrape together.
Jeoguk had amassed barely tens of millions over decades.
Yet the Gyeok Ok Tower lay dormant after devouring them all.
No, this'll bankrupt me!
He didn't even know how much more it needed. He was just pouring water into a bottomless bucket blind.
Knock knock.
Someone rapped at the door, and Yeop Hyeon quickly composed himself.
"Come in!"
The door opened, revealing Gang Gu.
She still cut a heroic figure in her silver armor.
"Become a Sword Emperor yet?"
Gang Gu scanned Yeop Hyeon as she asked, and he nodded.
She nodded lightly in return.
"At this rate, you might catch up to that Lan Shu girl soon enough."
An Ranxiu!
The image of An Ranxiu's beauty flashed in Yeop Hyeon's mind.
"Follow me!"
Gang Gu shattered his reverie with her curt command and strode out.
She led him to a waterfall at the back of Canglan Mountain. Ten martial artists stood in perfect formation before it. They wore golden armor shimmering with black auras, gripping golden spears. Their auras were far from ordinary, their eyes sharp as honed blades. Thick killing intent radiated from their bodies.
Spotting Yeop Hyeon, the ten dropped to one knee in unison.
"We greet the Dean!"
Gang Gu spoke to Yeop Hyeon.
"All peak Divine Fusion Realm experts. Ten of them striking together could take down a Myriad Laws Realm cultivator with ease."
"Not good enough!"
Yeop Hyeon shook his head.
"I want each one able to face a Myriad Laws Realm expert alone!"
The ten warriors looked up in shock.
Yeop Hyeon eyed them.
"What, no confidence?"
They said nothing.
"In this chaos, no one knows where Qingzhou's fate—or Ganguk's, Canglan Academy's, or ours—will lead. Only by growing strong enough on your own can you survive!"
The ten cupped their fists in unison.
"We pledge our lives to the Dean's will!"
"Good. In two days, bring opponents worthy of raising your skills."
With that, Yeop Hyeon turned and left.
"Keep training!"
Gang Gu issued her brief order and followed.
On the way back to Canglan Academy, Gang Gu caught up and spoke.
"You need gear, money, and pills."
"Just sell me to Hogye Meng already!"
"How else without cash? You have no idea how tough it is to raise even one Dao Soldier?"
As Gang Gu glared, Yeop Hyeon could only force a bitter smile.
He was flat broke right now. Part of him wanted to march to Hogye Meng himself—didn't they have a massive bounty on his head!?
Just as Gang Gu opened her mouth again, Mu Yun Qi came sprinting from afar, gasping.
"Yeop Gangdo! Over a hundred martial artists showed up outside Imperial City. Looks like they're after you!"
"What!?"
Yeop Hyeon looked incredulous.
"Just a hundred? Who the hell's gonna care about that? Looting 'em won't even cover costs! Sigh... beggars can't be choosers, I guess..."
Yeop Hyeon shot toward Imperial City like the wind.
Mu Yun Qi stared blankly at the sight, muttering to Gang Gu.
"This... ain't quite the reaction I expected? Why's he so hyped?"
"He needs money."
"......"
Yeop Hyeon arrived outside Imperial City in no time. Moments later, a hundred Chang Lan Dao Soldiers emerged from the city, forming up for battle.
Soon, over a hundred martial artists appeared, brimming with confidence. The weakest was Penetrating Nether Realm. There were Myriad Laws Realm experts too, and a few whose realms were indeterminable.
They halted dozens of paces from Yeop Hyeon. As the lead middle-aged man opened his mouth to speak,
Yeop Hyeon bellowed, eyes blazing.
"Why the fuck did it take you so long to show up!?"
With those words, his figure vanished.
The middle-aged man's face paled as he moved to strike—
Whoosh!
A sword flew like the wind, halting at his brow.
The area fell deathly silent in an instant.
Sweat beading on his forehead, the middle-aged man stammered to Yeop Hyeon.
"Th-this one is from the Qinglim Sect..."
"Qinglim Sect?"
Yeop Hyeon paused as if pondering, then suddenly lit up with excitement.
"Perfect! Great! Now call for reinforcements. Bring every last martial artist from Qinglim Sect!"
In a flash, he brandished his sword, pointing at the men behind the middle-aged man, and shouted.
"This won't cut it. Too few—not even breaking even, just a loss. Hurry up and call more of your buddies. If they don't satisfy me, I'll kill you all!"
"......"