Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Fortuitous Encounter
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-Pshk!!
"Argh, why are there so damn many of these blue bamboo snakes crawling around? We're miles from their habitat."
Baek Hyun grumbled as he skewered the venomous serpents lunging for his throat with the true sword he'd commissioned not long ago.
It had been two months since he'd relocated his training spot to the heart of Starpoint Sect's mountain.
Not every day brought luck like the first.
But true to his status as a Dominion of the World veteran, Baek Hyun had scoured every inch of Starpoint Mountain's depths, reaping a decent haul of mid-to-low-grade spirit herbs in the process.
Jade Bee Honey from jade caverns—negligible internal energy boost, but packed with rejuvenation, lifespan extension, detoxification, and more.
White Cloud Mushrooms, cloud-like fungi with exceptional effects for healing internal injuries.
900-year-old lesser clubmoss rivaling wild ginseng in potency, and so on.
Baek Hyun had meticulously gathered a variety of lesser spirit herbs besides those, consuming select portions while selling the rest at a premium through Jang So-ya.
His Solar Body rendered things like Jade Bee Honey largely useless anyway.
Even so, those select herbs had dramatically bolstered his internal energy and physique.
The proceeds from sales went straight into an account at the Heavenly Fragrance Merchant Group's exchange, earmarked as operating funds for his eventual foray into the martial world.
And over those two months, it wasn't just his internal energy and wealth that had grown.
Delving into Starpoint Mountain's depths and harvesting herbs meant frequent brushes with spirit beasts—or perilous poisons.
Clashes with them had yielded实战 experience and insights no amount of training could provide, advancing his martial arts to the next level.
Significant progress in two of the three pillars of a warrior—heart 心, technique 技, and body 體.
The synergy propelled him, a mere four months into his martial journey, to first-rate realm.
An absurd feat even amid the geniuses and prodigies of the Nine Great Righteous Sects.
Not even his senior brothers, who brushed off most feats as "Solar Body perks," could hide their shock at this explosive growth.
'Growth is great and all... but it's a bit disappointing.'
Yet Baek Hyun himself still felt starved.
He knew his progress was ridiculously fast.
Climbing from third-rate to second-rate matched the speed from second to first.
Exponential, truly.
A growth curve he'd never witnessed even in the game before possession.
At this rate, he'd hold his own in future main story events.
Just one regret...
'How the hell haven't I stumbled on a single fortuitous encounter yet?'
Baek Hyun pondered, biting into freshly grilled blue bamboo snake barbecue.
Two months probing Starpoint Mountain's depths, yet not a whiff of opportunity—or anything like it.
With nine great sects' legacies, there had to be some ancestor's gift hidden away. No sign? Inevitably disappointing.
'If it's a remake-version opportunity, maybe Starpoint Sect's new ultimate technique!'
As a former world's-best Starpointer, he couldn't tolerate unknown supreme arts in his sect.
He had to find it and confirm.
'Guess I gotta push deeper.'
He'd mapped most of Starpoint Mountain.
Only the "innermost depths" remained—off-limits even to first-generation disciples.
No mere oversized tigers or beefed-up hornets like his prior hunts; true spirit beasts nested there, unqualified for lesser labels.
Territory of Monstrous Beings even Starpoint's transcendent experts hesitated to challenge.
Not yet for a first-rater like him, but...
'Worst case, just bolt.'
Two months had skyrocketed his Azure Hawk Seven Forms proficiency exponentially; assorted herbs plus diligent qi circulation had built his internal energy to half a jia.
Even against transcendent-grade Monstrous Beings, escape was feasible now.
"...Alright, innermost depths it is."
Baek Hyun tossed aside the devoured snake skewer and set off toward Starpoint Mountain's uncharted abyss.
Utmost caution, utmost care.
Suppressing the faint yang qi leakage in all directions, maximizing lightness skill to erase even footfall whispers.
Minimizing his presence to the max—a feat unattempted till now.
The unfamiliar discomfort left him stumbling awkwardly at first.
But soon, he grasped the knack.
Visualize compressing power pre-burst, like before unleashing inner force.
Right stealth method? Who knew.
But concealing his aura sparked new stimulus.
He'd unconsciously vented heart-sourced yang qi till now; total control was revolutionary.
Like flexing long-dormant muscles.
'Never knew internal energy worked like this.'
A shallow stab at stealth yielded unexpected epiphany.
Starpoint arts thrived on explosive power and speed via force concentration.
No waste: gather, focus every drop of inner force coursing the body.
Release compressed qi at will...
-Boom!!
It birthed localized force storms—blades mightier than lightning, wings swifter than thunder.
Core of Starpoint martial philosophy.
Applying his insight, Baek Hyun's form rocketed via Azure Hawk Seven Forms at insane speed.
Startled by the unprecedented output, but Clear Mind Heart Method steadied him quick.
He fine-tuned output and direction meticulously.
First wingbeat: clumsy.
Second: still awkward.
But third, fourth, fifth onward flowed ever more gracefully, elegantly.
The martial tower he'd built full-tilt these four months—immature yet rock-solid.
Its foundation, Flowing Cloud Step, effortlessly absorbed the surprise insight.
Starpoint's foundational footwork, mimicking cloud drifts.
Its soft, free motion infused fluidity into Starpoint's inherently linear, rigid arts.
At the tenth wingbeat...
-Swoooo...
Baek Hyun's presence vanished perfectly.
No blazing solar arrow, but an owl gliding silent through midnight skies.
Slower than initial bursts, yet stealthily unrecognizable from the qi-scattering youth moments prior.
Seizing fleeting insights innate genius.
No mere formula-reading savant, but flashes of piercing inspiration.
A talent from his "Lee Hyun" days.
Plus post-possession freakish motor nerves enabled on-the-fly adaptation and mastery.
'Got it. Faster escapes now.'
Perpetrator nonchalantly jetted toward the innermost depths.
Such feats were semi-regular "lucky"(?) post-possession routines.
No self-congrats; he scanned surroundings relentlessly, tension coiling body-wide.
'Fewer faint presences deeper in. Weaker critters don't even approach.'
No insect buzzes, no rabbit or bird signs—vanished like lies.
No visible boundary, yet instinct screamed it.
Overlord predator domain.
'...No lingering here.'
Swift verdict: skirt outermost innermost edges, probe carefully.
Ancestral training spots bore human traces for sure.
Intentional legacies left discoverable.
Where? Hidden where? Exactly...
'!!'
His sight snagged an unnatural vista—laser-drilled clean circle piercing a massive boulder.
Quintessential Starpoint art hallmark, unseen elsewhere.
'Found it.'
Baek Hyun rushed the holed rock, inspecting.
Impossibly precise bore through solid stone, beyond modern tech.
Touching it, instant realization: qi conduit key mechanism.
Channel inner force down this tube...?
-Click, rurrrrrrumble...
"Haha, hahahahaha!! Yes! Had to be at least one opportunity here!!"
Mechanism whirring, holed boulder shifted, revealing an endless cave mouth.
Door half-open, Baek Hyun craned in to scout.
Vast, labyrinthine beyond his qi sense—prime seclusion spot, aura dripping.
-Whoosh!!
Scan done, he unleashed pent-up solar yang qi, plunging inside.
Leaking his body's usual amount lit the cave torch-free bright.
How long till...?
Brighter glow ahead than his own—racing there unveiled unimaginable sight.
"...What the hell is that?"
Vast chamber for peak masters' carefree cultivation.
Dominating first: colossal Night Pearl illuminating all.
Fist-sized fetched house fortunes; this? Roughly 1.5 meters diameter.
Full moon afloat in cave—overwhelming beauty, mystery.
Moment entranced...
-Chill
Crisis-honed senses screamed danger.
Flee now.
Body reflexively bolted.
-Craaaaaash!!!
Instantly, pitch-black enormity half-smashed his prior spot.
Spotting midair attacker belatedly, Baek Hyun could only laugh dryly.
"Fuck, why's that here."
Too vast for "lifeform."
Like living shadow.
But no mistaking entity.
Blood-red eyes glaring, exuding bone-chilling malice.
Madness bent on slaughter.
Baek Hyun knew it true in that instant.
A "Malevolent Spirit."