Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Signs of Intrusion
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After the disappearance of Initiate Disciple Baek Hyun, Azure Cloud Pavilion plunged into great chaos.
Baek Hyun had often slipped away during free training sessions, but he always returned before sunset.
This was the first time he had vanished without a word for so long.
It was clear that something ominous had happened.
They waited for his voluntary return just in case, but even after two days of his absence, he showed no sign of coming back.
In response, some Second-Generation Disciples and those who had been close to Baek Hyun searched the central areas of Starpoint Mountain where he usually trained, but they still couldn't find any trace of him.
Finally, as the instructors of Azure Cloud Pavilion agonized over the decision to suspend classes temporarily and search for him themselves...
"I'm sorry for going out without saying a word—!!"
The culprit himself finally appeared, looking as if he had rolled in from who-knows-where.
He bowed so deeply his head was nearly vertical, his waist bent so far it nearly did a full circle—an utterly bizarre posture.
The instructors of Azure Cloud Pavilion were briefly thrown into confusion by this grotesque pose they had never seen before in their lives.
But First-Generation Disciple Hyun-gang, recognizing it as a stance cultivated to the extreme of courtesy and remorse regardless of what it was, cleared his throat to refocus the room and was about to speak when...
"This disciple cannot offer even the slightest excuse for violating the sect's rules...! But may I humbly inquire whether it would be permissible to explain the reason for breaching those rules? Or if there is any objection to approving such an explanation? Or if deciding on that approval aligns with the proper way? Or if asking whether that question contradicts the teachings of the Tao and Buddhism is itself an improper request? Or if you could inform me whether you can teach me that? Or if I may even presume to ask about whether I can ask that!?"
"Y-Yes. I get that you're remorseful, so just explain why you left without telling anyone."
Hyun-gang, caught off-guard once more by Baek Hyun's overwhelmingly deferential(?) request that came a beat too fast, had no choice but to belatedly grant permission.
At those words, Baek Hyun swiftly straightened up as if he had been waiting and slipped his hand into his chest pocket.
Only then did Hyun-gang and the other instructors of Azure Cloud Pavilion somewhat regain their composure and prepare to scold Baek Hyun properly.
No matter how precious his Solar Body or how impeccable his usual conduct, leaving without permission for days was something that deserved a stern reprimand.
Whatever the reason, Baek Hyun's actions this time could not simply be overlooked...
"This is a manual for a movement technique called Vast Cold Moon Shadow Step. It seems to be one left behind by an ancestor of our sect. I lost track of time studying it..."
"W-Wait! A manual left by an ancestor!? You found something like that in Starpoint Mountain, our sect's territory!?"
"Yes! And in my immersion in the ancestor's enlightenment, I reached the Peak Realm!!"
"Th-That... You must be mistaken. Didn't you only just reach the First-Rate Realm? You must have accomplished something notable and thought it was the Peak Re—"
"Oh, is that so? I thought this was the fabled Realm of Emitting Qi."
-Hummm
At that moment, tremendous inner energy compressed into the wooden sword in Baek Hyun's hand, taking form.
Sword qi blazing fiercely like the sun itself, revealing the traits of his scorching Solar True Qi.
It was undeniable proof of a true Peak Realm expert.
"Seeing Senior Brother say that, it looks like I was mistaken after all. Haha, honestly, I thought it didn't make sense myself.
I was just deciphering the incantations nonstop, and suddenly sword qi appeared—I was shocked too. It must be some kind of trick that lets you use sword qi, right?"
"“““......”””"
While they were discussing how to handle a minor infraction, two nuclear bombs dropped.
In the end, the Second- and First-Generation Disciples gathered to discipline Baek Hyun had no choice but to shift their discussion to the manual he had brought.
"No way... Even with the Solar Body, does that make sense? The kid's only fourteen—fourteen!! A boy who hasn't even taken the entrance exam is already at our level...!"
"It's certainly unprecedented and shocking, but it does make sense. He was already in a different league from us to begin with, and he even took a Cintamani during the process of obtaining the manual."
"Filling the vessel of great latent potential with a Cintamani all at once, then digesting an ancestor's teachings to gain enlightenment in martial arts... Yeah, it's not entirely illogical."
"As Senior Brother Hyun-gang says, a phoenix-like divine beast naturally follows the path befitting its nature. Ordinary folks like us would burst at the seams trying to digest such fortune."
"Hahaha, at this rate, by the time the entrance exam rolls around, he might surpass us all."
"...Will it even take that long? The exam's still over a year away."
"Ugh, that Solar Body kid's sword qi looked vicious even from afar... I don't have confidence."
"Ahem, even a phoenix can't keep growing at this pace forever. At least until the entrance exam, let's maintain some dignity as senior brothers."
Once the discussion about Baek Hyun wrapped up somewhat, the instructors' gazes turned to the manual he had brought: Vast Cold Moon Shadow Step.
"Th-This manual...! Is this really the incantation for a movement technique!? How can it be so profound...!!"
"If the incantations for Shoot the Sun Sword Art are like endless hundreds of peaks, this movement technique feels like Mount Tai—utterly insurmountable. In terms of sheer complexity, it surpasses even Shoot the Sun Sword Art."
"Whew, even if the elders came to decipher this, it'd take days. Baek Hyun figured it out alone in just a few days... If that's true, reaching the Peak Realm is only natural."
The Second-Generation Disciples huddled together, heads close, reading the incantations of Vast Cold Moon Shadow Step and letting out endless exclamations of awe.
Unlike Initiate and Third-Generation Disciples who only trained basic swordsmanship, Second-Generation Disciples had learned bits and pieces of most martial arts in the Starpoint Sect.
They weren't at a practical combat level, but they had even received transmission of the sect's highest technique, Shoot the Sun Sword Art, and were practicing it.
Even to them, the incantations of Vast Cold Moon Shadow Step were on a level too difficult to comprehend.
"Is this really Starpoint Sect martial arts? Maybe it's a manual left by some other expert training on Starpoint Mountain..."
"Who else but a Starpoint Sect disciple would leave a manual on Starpoint Mountain? Besides, skimming the preface, the one who wrote this seems like a proper Taoist cultivator walking the righteous path. No way a Southern Barbarian Beast Palace expert would leave something like this."
"Quite right. So which ancestor left this manual? Someone capable of creating such exquisite martial arts should be someone we know."
"Baek Hyun said he found this manual inside a huge luminous pearl like a full moon, right? Then... could it be from 'Moonlight Sword', the former elder of our sect?"
"! That makes sense. Moonlight Sword was renowned even within Starpoint Sect for his profound swordsmanship."
"Moonlight Sword never took even a single disciple in his life, and after entering long-term seclusion, his whereabouts became mysterious. If the result of that seclusion was creating this movement technique, but with no successor to pass it to, he left it as this manual... That has credibility."
"We should verify more, but for now, it looks like fortune left by Moonlight Sword for later generations. Baek Hyun nearly let an ancestor's martial art slip into oblivion... He's done something huge."
What do you think, Senior Brother Hyun-gang?
Even as the Second-Generation Disciples' heated debate reached a rough conclusion, Hyun-gang—the Pavilion Master of Azure Cloud Pavilion and final authority on this matter—remained silent, lost in thought without joining the conversation.
The Second-Generation Disciples, sensing something off, addressed him when...
"Do you all... have time for such idle chatter right now?"
'!!'
A chilling voice, as if desperately suppressing boiling rage, leaked from Hyun-gang's twisted lips.
"Yes, your junior nephew's tremendous growth and the discovery of an outstanding manual left by an ancestor are both important matters. Shocking enough to make your minds go blank, truly amusing events. But..."
Right now, far more urgent and critical issues remain than those.
"Malevolent Spirits dared to hide in Starpoint Mountain, our sect's territory!!! A freakin' Imoogi, no less!!!"
-Rumble...!!
The intense roar from an 'Ultra-Peak' Realm expert shook the entire hall where they were meeting.
The 'Peak' Realm, a stage worthy of an esteemed expert.
Beyond that, a superhuman among superhumans who had crossed one more wall.
The heartfelt fury of a 'First-Generation Disciple' who had survived countless battlefields and fights to reach middle age was more than enough to shatter the minds of the still-immature Second-Generation Disciples.
"We Starpoint Sect disciples take pride in emulating Hou Yi's spirit to exterminate Malevolent Spirits... and one had nested right under our noses...! Your junior nephew nearly lost his life to that vile thing!!
That Imoogi driven mad is a monstrosity even I would struggle against. If it hadn't been recuperating from serious wounds, Starpoint Sect would have lost its rising young sun in vain!!
Do you realize how shameful this is to the heavens who entrusted that child to us!!!!"
"“““We're sorry! Senior Brother!!”””"
Only then did the Second-Generation Disciples realize their mistake and bow their heads in unison, but Hyun-gang's anger did not subside easily.
"Instead of comforting the boy who barely escaped death, you lot giggling over the fortune he risked his life for!! And you call yourselves Starpoint Sect disciples and Taoists-!!!"
"“““We're sorry! We're sorry!!”””"
Only after a long while did Hyun-gang finally calm his anger. He looked displeased at the Second-Generation Disciples standing there thoroughly cowed with heads bowed and continued.
"I will report this directly to the Sect Leader and elders. Malevolent Spirits—an Imoogi, no less—appearing in Starpoint Mountain under our management is no small matter. It means someone is up to no good.
You lot check Baek Hyun's body for any abnormalities, and on an appropriate level, explain the situation to the other children to reassure those who were worried about him."
"“““Yes! Senior Brother!!”””"
The strongest faction in Yunnan Province had noticed the intruders' presence.